On-barn pig weight estimation based on body measurements by structure-from-motion (SfM)

Information on the body shape of pigs is a key indicator to monitor their performance and health and to control or predict their market weight. Manual measurements are among the most common ways to obtain an indication of animal growth. However, this approach is laborious and difficult, and it may be stressful for both the pigs and the stockman. The present paper proposes the implementation of a Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry approach as a new tool for on-barn animal reconstruction applications. This is possible also to new software tools allowing automatic estimation of camera parameters during the reconstruction process even without a preliminary calibration phase. An analysis on pig body 3D SfM characterization is here proposed, carried out under different conditions in terms of number of camera poses and animal movements. The work takes advantage of the total reconstructed surface as reference index to quantify the quality of the achieved 3D reconstruction, showing how as much as 80% of the total animal area can be characterized

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

Digital Technologies and Automation in Livestock Production Systems: a Digital Footprint from Multisource Data

In the last years, dairy production is changing fast towards smart livestock systems, driven by the rapid pace of technological advancements as Internet of Things, big data, machine learning, augmented reality and robotics. These technologies are pushing widespread collection, implementation, transmission and use of digitized information in livestock farms. Currently, this an uncontrolled process that poses questions on sustainability of the virtual environment where such processes take place. The aim of the present paper is to introduce a preliminary digitization footprint approach, which parameterizes the amount of digital information so as to quantify these data in terms of volumes invested for data storage, processing or transfer

Fatal Nocardia farcinica Bacteremia Diagnosed by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry in a Patient with Myelodysplastic Syndrome Treated with Corticosteroids

Nocardia farcinica is a Gram-positive weakly acid-fast filamentous saprophytic bacterium, an uncommon cause of human infections, acquired usually through the respiratory tract, often life-threatening, and associated with different clinical presentations. Predisposing conditions for N. farcinica infections include hematologic malignancies, treatment with corticosteroids, and any other condition of immunosuppression. Clinical and microbiological diagnoses of N. farcinica infections are troublesome, and the isolation and identification of the etiologic agent are difficult and time-consuming processes. We describe a case of fatal disseminated infection in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome, treated with corticosteroids, in which N. farcinica has been isolated from blood culture and identified by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry. The patient died after 18 days of hospitalization in spite of triple antimicrobial therapy. Nocardia farcinica infection should be suspected in patients with history of malignancy, under corticosteroid therapy, suffering from subacute pulmonary infection,and who do not respondto conventional antimicrobial therapy. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry can be a valuable tool for rapid diagnosis of nocardiosis

The Impact of the Dairy Cow Diet on Anaerobic Digestion of Manure

ABSTRACT. The present work is part of a research project focused on the evaluation of the effect of diverse dairy cow diets on manure composition and on the emissions of GHG from dairy farms, including the effect in terms of biogas/biomethane potential in the case of exploitation of manure in an anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In fact, anaerobic digestion determines the production of biogas (CH4 and CO2) in a confined environment, preventing uncontrolled emissions of GHG related to poor manure management practices. The project aims to study the evolution of the microbial community from the digestive system of the animals (in manure), and subsequently in an anaerobic digestion process and in the soil after the land spreading phase. This in relation with the performance of the AD process and with the environmental impact of the spreading, as gas emissions. Two dairy farms (Farm A and C) and one fattening farm (Farm B) were selected. The animal feed was represented by a total mixed ration of hay, silage and concentrates, with higher concentration of TS, NDF, ADF and ADL for Farm A, higher starch concentration for Farm C and lowest TS, while intermediate characteristics were reported for Farm B. Manures from the three farms presented different TS concentration (highest for Farm B). The anaerobic digestion process of manures from the three farms presented very different developments and dynamics: manure C presented a rapid increase of biogas production and methane concentration, with a decrease of daily production in the proximity of the 50th day of process, while manures from Farm A and B, showed a critical initial phase characterized by low methane production and low pH. Full methanogenic conditions were reached only after about 50 days from the start. This difference seems to be related mainly to the organic load of digesters treating manure A and B, leading to an excess of volatile fatty acids and partial inhibition of methanogenic activity and to the lack of inoculum, not used to avoid external alteration of microbial populations

Mercati e competitività

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