Heterotopic ossification in the middle finger: a case report

A case of heterotopic ossification developed after traumatic laceration of the middle finger. It is extremely rare for heterotopic ossification to locate in the finger. The diagnosis was accomplished with plain radiographs as well as with MRI and confirmatory study with histopathological microscopic examination which demonstrated nubbin of bone surrounded by fibrovascular connective tissue, and the marrow was predominantly fatty with prominent ectatic vessels and patchy mild lymphocytic infiltrate and gross appearance of partly calcified bony tissue.published_or_final_versio

Copper and zinc speciation in pig slurry: implications on mobility and bioavailability in soils

The fate of pollutants associated with organic wastes is a key issue. For example, pig slurry presents high concentration of Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) since they are used (at high concentration) as essential micronutrients in animal feeds. As a consequence, Cu and Zn accumulation was measured in soil surface layers that had been amended with pig slurry, inducing phytotoxicity as well as groundwater quality degradation. Better prediction of the mobility and bioavailability of Cu and Zn from pig slurry spreading can be achieved by determining the speciation of these elements. The aim of this study is to investigate Cu and Zn speciation in pig slurry. A multitechnique approach was adopted including size fractionation, XRD, SEM-EDS, ?XRF and XAS. The present study demonstrated that only 0.2% of total Cu or Zn present in pig slurry was bound to particles smaller than 0.45 ?m, while 75% of total Cu and Zn was bound to particles in the 0.45-20 ?m size range. ?XRF highlighted the colocalisation of Cu and sulfur. In addition, geochemical modelling demonstrated that physical chemical conditions within pig slurry lagoon are compatible with the precipitation of chalcocite (Cu2S). Finally, XANES shows that Cu speciation in raw pig slurry and size fractions is described by Cu2S and that its oxidation state is Cu(I). These Cu speciation in pig slurry may be the main reason for the observed Cu accumulation at the soil surface. Zn speciation revealed three patterns 49% Zn bound to organic matter, 37% amorphous Zn hydroxide, and 14% sphalerite (ZnS). The detected presence Zn sulphide, was unexpected and is reported for the first time. These three Zn forms seemed to be soluble in neutral or weakly acid soil systems, so the long-term impact of pig slurry spreading could lead to Zn leaching. (Résumé d'auteur

Modeling the live-pig trade network in Georgia: Implications for disease prevention and control.

Live pig trade patterns, drivers and characteristics, particularly in backyard predominant systems, remain largely unexplored despite their important contribution to the spread of infectious diseases in the swine industry. A better understanding of the pig trade dynamics can inform the implementation of risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control programs for swine diseases. In this study, a semi-structured questionnaire elaborated by FAO and implemented to 487 farmers was used to collect data regarding basic characteristics about pig demographics and live-pig trade among villages in the country of Georgia, where very scarce information is available. Social network analysis and exponential random graph models were used to better understand the structure, contact patterns and main drivers for pig trade in the country. Results indicate relatively infrequent (a total of 599 shipments in one year) and geographically localized (median Euclidean distance between shipments = 6.08 km; IQR = 0-13.88 km) pig movements in the studied regions. The main factors contributing to live-pig trade movements among villages were being from the same region (i.e., local trade), usage of a middleman or a live animal market to trade live pigs by at least one farmer in the village, and having a large number of pig farmers in the village. The identified villages' characteristics and structural network properties could be used to inform the design of more cost-effective surveillance systems in a country which pig industry was recently devastated by African swine fever epidemics and where backyard production systems are predominant

Assessment of mortar evolution in pig slurry by mechanical and ultrasonic measurements

This work presents the results obtained in a long-term experiment focused on the study of the evolution of cementitious materials immersed in pig slurry at real conditions. Cement mortars were made with four different cement types and immersed in pig slurry for 48 months. Furthermore, to separate pure hydration process from pig slurry effect, mortar samples were immersed in water for 12 months at laboratory conditions. Compressive strength, X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic measurements were made in all samples. Ultrasonic measurements were made from ultrasonic images obtained from automatic ultrasonic inspections. Use of ultrasonic images has allowed the extraction of information about the state of the studied materials. An empirical relationship between ultrasonic velocity and compressive strength has been obtained and the long-term effect of pig slurry on cementitious materials has been determined

Role of Cooperative in Improving Accessibility to Production Resources and Household Economy of Backyard Pig Raisers in Batangas, Philippines

The backyard (small scale) pig sector is considered a key proponent in the development of Philippine agriculture and of the local animal industry. For years, it outperforms the commercial (large-scale) pig sector in terms of aggregate inventory, volume and value of production and number of direct dependents it employs nationwide. However, the marked increase of pork demand driven by rapid urbanization and population growth in major urban centers of Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Central and Southern Luzon regions hinder the local backyard pig sector to cope with the "Livestock Revolution". With this phenomenon, backyard pig raisers are required to upscale their farm operation to increase the domestic pork supply and to meet the rising demand of the people. The backyard pig raisers' limited access to scarce production resources is adversely affected by commercial pig operators specially in Central and Southern Luzon regions where the impacts of the "Livestock Revolution" is strongly felt. The assembly of backyard pig raisers to cooperative is one of the potential measures promoted by the government (public) and private sector to directly link them with the dynamics of the whole market chain ranging from procurement of critical production resources and services to the differentiated products of the output market. Through their linkage to the formal livestock market, backyard pig raisers gains the potential to improve their operation and socioeconomic status as well. Based on a field survey, this paper aims to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving the backyard pig raisers' access to various production resources and their household economy.Backyard pig farming, Livestock Revolution, cooperative production, contract growing, facilitate credit and services, household economy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Pigtail: A Pig Addendum

The object of the jeopardy dice game Pig is to be the first player to reach 100 points. Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player holds and scores the sum of the rolls (i.e., the turn total). At any time during a player’s turn, the player is faced with two choices: roll or hold. If the player rolls a 1, the player scores nothing and it becomes the opponent’s turn. If the player rolls a number other than 1, the number is added to the player’s turn total and the player’s turn continues. If the player instead chooses to hold, the turn total is added to the player’s score and it becomes the opponent’s turn. In our original article [Neller and Presser 2004], we described a means to compute optimal play for Pig. Since that time, we have also solved a number of Pig variants. In this addendum, we review the optimality equations for Pig, show how these equations change for several Pig variants, and show how the resulting optimal policies change accordingly. [excerpt

Analysis of pig meat production with respect to different housing systems of pig

The research focused on two production systems of fattening pigs: conventional system (housing on cross - barred floor) and ecological system (housing on deep litter). Favorable climatic conditions for pig meat production, possibilities to produce cheaper food of better quality and great amounts of litter, are a good basis for making ecological pig production widely accepted by family farms. Ecological aspect of such production of pigs, along with its economic analysis will be key factors, which will influence pig producers in their choice of the most suitable technological solution. In comparison to the conventional way of keeping pigs, main advantages of pig housing on deep litter are cheaper building and equipping of pens, better effect on health conditions of pigs, as well as easier manipulating with manure. Following this context, the research objective was to analyze economic indicators of different pig production systems and to compare economic results obtained in conventional and ecological way of pig production. The research aim was to determine economic possibilities and to evaluate results of production systems in question, justifying their economic and social aspects.Economic Analysis, Conventional Production, Ecological Production, Livestock Production/Industries,

Knowledge synthesis: Animal health and welfare in organic pig production - Final Report COREPIG

This report reviews the available information on the welfare of pigs when maintained according to organic standards in Europe. It begins by overviewing the populations of organic pigs in different countries at the time of writing (2007), the organic standards which govern their management and the systems in which they are typically kept. It then reviews for each stage in the production cycle (sows, suckling piglets, weaned pigs and fattening pigs) the available literature on health and welfare problems which might be experienced by the animals and the hazards which might give rise to these problems. Finally the report reviews the methods current available for the measurement of pig health and welfare and the extent to which monitoring systems currently exist in different countries, or might be developed. The information gathered in this review formed the basis for the subsequent development of tools for use in a HACCP based management and surveillance system for organic pig herds. These tools will assist the organic pig farmer to prevent selected pig diseases and welfare problems by monitoring and controlling the risk factors. Further details can be found on the COREPIG project website www.icrofs.org/coreorganic/corepig.htm