Assessments of treatment of Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) of shoulder joint in dogs - the result of two years of experience

Osteochondrosis is a common and clinically important joint disorder that occurs in human and many species of animals such as pigs, horses and dogs. The aim of this article is to present the results of conservative and surgical treatment of Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) and to compare the recovery time in relation to race, age and extent of cartilage damage. The study was performed on 36 dogs of both sexes, aged from 4 to 24 months, weighing 12-70 kg, of different breeds (predisposed and non-specific for this disease). All patients underwent clinical, orthopedic and radiological examination through which the location of OCD changes in the shoulder joint and the degree of this problem were established. Based on the examinations the patients were qualified for particular treatment procedures. Control tests were performed after 14, 30 and 60 days, which allowed for a precise evaluation of the progress of therapy. Achieved results indicate that dogs age and the lesions extent in the shoulder joint have an impact on the outcome of treatment. Studies showed that the best therapeutic effects were obtained in dogs aged 6-10 months, which underwent surgery. The study proved that the early diagnosis of OCD strongly influence the recovery rate and may inhibit the development of degenerative changes in the joint (DJD)

Recent achievements in the production of biobased 1,3-propanediol

The increasing concerns related to the high prices and limited availability of fossil fuels have led to a remarkable growth of biodiesel industry in recent years. This, in turns resulted in the accumulation of high quantities of crude glycerol as a byproduct of the transesterification reaction. It is indeed estimated that the production of 100 kg of biodiesel results in the production of 10 kg of crude glycerol. The obtained crude glycerol byproducts could be purified and further used in several processes but this purification process is costly. The biorefinery concept i.e. the exploitation of wastes or byproducts for the obtainment of high value products has been then considered as an interesting alternative strategy for the valorization of this byproduct. In this context, several fine chemicals among which 1,3-propanediol are produced from biodiesel-derived raw glycerol feedstock . In this chapter, we report on recent achievements in the production of 1,3-propanediol from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol including a detailed literature review on the biotechnological processes developed and the strategies employed for yields improvement. The bottlenecks of these biorefinery processes are also discussed