Influence of outdoor rearing and indoor temperature on growth performance, carcass, adipose tissue and muscle traits in pigs, and on the technological and eating quality of dry-cured hams.

The effects of restricted outdoor rearing during winter (W) or summer (S), and the influence of indoor ambient temperature [17 °C (I17) vs. 24 °C (I24), the latter being considered as control] on pig growth performance, carcass, muscular and adipose tissue traits, and technological and eating quality of dry-cured hams were evaluated. I17 pigs exhibited higher, whereas W had similar and S lower growth rates than the controls (P<0.001). Carcass traits were not different between groups, except in lower back fat weights of S and W pigs (P<0.01). Decrease in environmental temperature affected the fatty acid composition of the back fat leading to higher MUFA and lower SFA and PUFA contents (P<0.001) in I17 and W pigs, whereas S pigs exhibited higher PUFA levels (P<0.001) and fat firmness (P<0.01) than the controls. Rearing system did not significantly influence the intramuscular fat content of Semimembranosus (P=0.08), and had no effect on ultimate pH. In the Longissimus lumborum, percentage and relative area of αR fibers increased in W pigs (P<0.05), but citrate synthase activity did not differ between groups. I17 and W hams exhibited higher processing yields of dry-cured hams than controls (P<0.05). Sensory analyses showed that pig rearing conditions influenced the product appearance, the I17 and W hams exhibiting lower homogeneity (P<0.01) and intensity (P<0.05) of colour, and higher marbling scores (P<0.01) than I24 hams, but had no influence on texture or flavour.

[Relative evaluation of arterial and portal perfusion of the liver during scintigraphy using technetium 99m sodium phytate]. / Evaluation relative des perfusions artérielle et portale du foie au cours d'une scintigraphie au technetium 99m phytate de sodium.

Quantitative assessment of the relative arterial and portal blood flows by calculation of the slopes of the arterial and venous components of the liver first-pass curve was performed in 67 patients with steatosis or cirrhosis referred for liver scintigraphy. In normal subjects, the portal venous blood flow amounts to 74.3 +/- 3% of total liver blood flow. In the present study, this figure was reduced to 58.6 +/- 8.6% in steatosis (n = 5) and 35.5 +/- 14.6% in cirrhosis (n = 33). Analysis of liver blood flow enhances the sensitivity of radioisotopic scans in diffuse liver diseases and is of considerable value for the indication, prognosis and follow-up of surgical shunts.

[The use of bone scintigraphy with technetium 99 m pyrophosphates in the diagnosis of algodystrophies. A report on 74 observations (author's transl)]. / La place de la scintigraphie osseuse aux pyrophosphates de technetium 99 m dans le diagnostic des algodystrophies. A propos de 74 observations.

Bone scintigraphy with technetium 99m pyrophosphates was used to study a series of 74 cases of algodystrophies. Though non-specific, this investigation was the determining factor for confirming the diagnosis in more than 48% of cases, by demonstrating early bone hyperfixation, its topographical characteristics, and the return to normal conditions after 3 to 12 months. Bone hyperfixation has to be exaluated together with clinical, biological, and radiological signs when considering the diagnosis, and though in half the cases it is not indispensable for diagnosis, it is always of value for determining the amount of extension of the algodystrophic process.

[Sympathetic reflex dystrophy with hypofixation of technetium 99 m pyrophosphates on bone scintigraphy (author's transl)]. / Algodystrophie avec hypofixation à la scintigraphie osseuse par les pyrophosphates de technetium 99 m.

A patient with sympathetic reflex dystrophy following injury to the right foot presented fairly typical clinical and radiological signs, though the hot phase was particularly short. Bone scan with technetium 99 m pyrophosphates demonstrated hypofixation, which, though extremely rare, has been previously reported in the published literature. The fact that isotopic bone hypofixation can occur during sympathetic reflex dystrophy should be recognised, as far from constituting an argument against the early diagnosis of this affection, it should enable the organic nature of the disorder to be confirmed, and assist the physician in making an early diagnosis.

[Algodystrophy in children and young adults with low isotope retention in the bones. Apropos of 5 cases]. / Algodystrophie de l'enfant et de l'adulte jeune avec hypofixation osseuse isotopique. A propos de 5 observations.

The authors report 5 observations of young adults, 3 teen-agers and 2 children suffering from algodystrophy, and in whom isotopic exploration of the skeleton disclosed a clear bony hypofixation during the entire evolution. These observations confirm their 1981 work concerning a young adult suffering from algodystrophy with isotopic bony hypofixation. Recent Canadian and American studies emphasize also the frequency of isotopic hypofixation in children algodystrophy. It seems, therefore, that isotopic bony hypofixation (linked perhaps to a decreased blood flow), is rather specific of algodystrophy in young subjects.

Thermomechanical investigation of poly(methylmethacrylate) containing an organobismuth radiopacifying additive.

Previously we demonstrated the feasibility of using up to 24% triphenylbismuth (TPB) as a radiopaque, monomer-miscible additive for dental acrylic resins. In this study we examined the influence of TPB on thermomechanical properties of a representative polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) ambient-cured resin used for temporary dental crowns and bridges. TPB (0%, 5%, 15% or 30% w/w) was dissolved in the monomer component, added to the powder component, and allowed to cure in rectangular molds. After 1 h they were either stored at 23 degrees C for 23 h, or heated for 5 min at either 40 degrees C or 50 degrees C, and then stored for 23 h. They were then scanned from -10 degrees to 125 degrees C in a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer using the three-point bending mode of deformation at 1-Hz frequency. The onset to the glass-transition temperature (Tg) is decreased by 13 degrees to 32 degrees C by addition of TPB, while the storage modulus (E') at 25 degrees C is either unchanged or is slightly increased. TPB did not interfere with the curing reaction, and postcure heating at 40 degrees C had no effect on either E' or Tg. However, heating at 50 degrees C generally increased Tg but had very little effect on E' throughout the 0-50 degree C operating temperature range. TPB crystals were observed to have precipitated at TPB levels above 8%. These crystals, dispersed throughout the PMMA, act as reinforcing fillers. This reinforcement can account for the lack of a decrease in E', as would be expected if TPB had a plasticizing effect below Tg. However, even at 5%, a concentration at which all the TPB remains dissolved in the solid polymer, no decrease in E' was observed. This implies that TPB exerts an antiplasticizing effect at temperatures below 50 degrees C, possibly by occupying free volume among the polymer chains. It is concluded that TPB, in amounts adequate to impart diagnostic levels of radiopacity, is unlikely to adversely affect the clinical utility of PMMA-based dental acrylic resins.

[Partial algodystrophy]. / L'algodystrophie parcellaire.

The authors describe, on the basis of 7 cases, a special form of decalcifying algodystrophy not described in the literature, characterized by a very localized pain beginning gradually, or more often suddenly. It is of mechanical or mixed type, accompanied by local, pseudo-inflammatory signs being either apparent or discrete, very elective and very sharp pain upon palpation of a very limited area of a condyle or a tibial plate, with hyperfixation located through scintigraphy with technetium 99m polyphosphates, and regressing either spontaneously, or more quickly under treatment, of which thyrocalcitone is the essential part, without undergoing a phase of intense loco-regional demineralization. This form of algodystrophy, that they propose to call partial algodystrophy, can, like the other forms of algodystrophy, appear in monofocal or plurifocal form, either straight off or at a distance from the first incidence, which leads this new radioclinical type to be considered a simple form of algodystrophy of the limbs, midway between the types without radiological anomaly during development and the complete and extensive ones with major radiological signs. Finally, they underline the great value or scintigraphy in diagnosing this form of algodystrophy and algodystrophy without radiologic anomaly.

Diagnostic and prognostic criteria of chronic left ventricular failure obtained during exercise-201Tl imaging.

Lung thallium fixation was studied during stress effort and redistribution in 39 patients with proven coronary artery disease (CAD) and in 11 control patients. The quantitative indices (Lung Stress Index (LSI), Lung Redistribution Index (LRI), and their ratio (LSI/LRI] were tested. The last one best correlated with left ventricular end diastolic pressure elevation and positive stress test. Detection of left ventricular failure was possible (sensitivity 80%, specificity 95%) using LSI and LSI/LRI. These indices could detect left ventricular failure in high-risk patients.

[Involvement of the thoracic was in algodystrophy. Apropos of a case report]. / L'atteinte de la paroi thoracique au cours de l'algodystrophie. A propos d'une observation.

With reference to an unusually severe and extensive case of algodystrophia, the sternal and costal localizations of this disorder are described. These fit the definition of the painful anterior thoracic wall syndrome, described i 1955 by Printzmetal and Massumi, which may complicate chronic coronary insufficiency or myocardial infarction or occur as a primary disease.