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

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

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

Vaccination is a suitable tool in the control of Aujeszky's disease outbreaks in pigs using a Population Dynamics P systems model

Aujeszky's disease is one of the main pig viral diseases and results in considerable economic losses in the pork production industry. The disease can be controlled using preventive measures such as improved stock management and vaccination throughout the pig-rearing period. We developed a stochastic model based on Population Dynamics P systems (PDP) models for a standard pig production system to differentiate between the effects of pig farm management regimes and vaccination strategies on the control of Aujeszky's disease under several different epidemiological scenarios. Our results suggest that after confirming the diagnosis, early vaccination of most of the population (>75%) is critical to decrease the spread of the virus and minimize its impact on pig productivity. The direct economic cost of an outbreak of Aujeszky's disease can be extremely high on a previously uninfected farm (from 352-792 Euros/sow/year) and highlights the positive benefits of investing in vaccination measures to control infections. We demonstrate the usefulness of computational models as tools in the evaluation of preventive medicine programs aimed at limiting the impact of disease on animal production.This work was partially supported by FEDER project COMRDI16-1-0035-03

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

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

Combining multi-agent simulations and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate policy options for the management of livestock effluents in Réunion Island

This study uses a multi-agent system to simulate the behaviour of economic players in a context of rapidly evolving environmental policy. The area under study is represented by a sector of a French overseas Department, Réunion Island, with a high concentration of pig farms in the upland region and extensive sugarcane plantations in the coastal zone. We first simulate local pig farmers' reactions to several policy options aimed at reducing the pollution coming from pig rearing. Multi-agent simulations are then coupled with cost-benefit analysis in order to calculate the net present value of different policy options. Advantages and limits of the use of the proposed methods to support decision-making are finally discussed. (Résumé d'auteur

The poultry and pig sector in Argentina : husbandry practice and animal welfare

This report gives an overview of the current husbandry and management practices in the poultry and pig sector in Argentina related to animal welfare. The research centered on a description of the broiler, layer and pig sector in Argentina, the regulatory framework in force in Argentina with respect to animal welfare and a survey on husbandry practice in the poultry and pig sector