Assessment of Feeding Program During the Rearing Period of Pekin Ducks Selected as Breeders for Lean Meat Production

Pekin ducks are known to deposit a thick layer of subcutaneous fat in the breast area, a characteristic that is less pronounced in the chicken. In previous studies, it was observed that Pekin ducks show a great variability in live body weight and leanness (as measured by breast muscle thickness) at market age. This observation provides a good basis for possible improvements of the carcass through selection and breeding of leaner ducks. Ultrasound scanning is a useful technique to assess the carcass merit of the live animal. It has been widely and successfully used in beef cattle and swine for the estimation of carcass yield. It is well recognized that the feed intake of Pekin ducks must be restricted during the development period before sexual maturity (24 weeks of age) to prevent excess body fat deposition which significantly reduces their reproductive performance. Ducks being raised for market reach their approximate adult size at around 8 weeks of age and thereafter require mainly enough food for maintenance plus a small amount for activity and growth.[...

Reproductive Performance of F1 Pekin Duck Breeders Selected with Ultrasound Scanning for Breast Muscle Thickness and the Effect of Selection on F2 Growth and Muscle Measurement

Reducing fatness in farm animals has been most successful with pigs by selective breeding because the body fat in the pig is mainly subcutaneous and its measurement on live animals can be assessed. Duck fat distribution follows closely a similar pattern as in the pig since the body fat presence in this poultry species is the subcutaneous deposits that cannot be removed during processing. However, reducing body fat content in pigs resulted in poor reproductive performance. In poultry, selection for maximum weight gain has led to increased body fatness which negatively correlates with body protein, which in turn positively correlates with egg production.[...

Overlap of diseases underlying ischemic stroke - The ASCOD phenotyping.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: ASCOD phenotyping (A, atherosclerosis; S, small vessel disease; C, cardiac pathology; O, other causes; and D, dissection) assigns a degree of likelihood to every potential cause (1 for potentially causal, 2 for causality is uncertain, 3 for unlikely causal but disease is present, 0 for absence of disease, and 9 for insufficient workup to rule out the disease) commonly encountered in ischemic stroke. We used ASCOD to investigate the overlap of underlying vascular diseases and their prognostic implication. METHODS: A single rater applied ASCOD in 405 patients enrolled in the Asymptomatic Myocardial Ischemia in Stroke and Atherosclerotic Disease study. RESULTS: A was present in 90% of patients (A1=43% and A2=15%), C in 52% (C1=23% and C2=14%), and S in 66% (S1=11% and S2=2%). On the basis of grades 1 and 2, 25% of patients had multiple underlying diseases, and 80% when all 3 grades were considered. The main overlap was found between A and C; among C1 patients, A was present in 92% of cases (A1=28%, A2=20%, and A3=44%). Conversely, among A1 patients, C was present in 47% of cases (C1=15%, C2=15%, and C3=17%). Grades for C were associated with gradual increase in the 3-year risk of vascular events, whereas risks were similar across A grades, meaning that the mere presence of atherosclerotic disease qualifies for high risk, regardless the degree of likelihood for A. CONCLUSIONS: ASCOD phenotyping shows that the large overlap among the 3 main diseases, and the high prevalence of any form of atherosclerotic disease, reinforces the need to systematically control atherosclerotic risk factors in all ischemic strokes

Is intracerebral hemorrhage a time-dependent phenomenon after successful combined intravenous and intra-arterial therapy?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Onset-to-reperfusion time (ORT) has recently emerged as an essential prognostic factor in acute ischemic stroke therapy. Although favorable outcome is associated with reduced ORT, it remains unclear whether intracranial bleeding depends on ORT. We therefore sought to determine whether ORT influenced the risk and volume of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) after combined intravenous and intra-arterial therapy. METHODS: Based on our prospective registry, we included 157 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients successfully recanalized with combined intravenous and intra-arterial therapy between April 2007 and October 2011. Primary outcome was any ICH within 24 hours posttreatment. Secondary outcomes included occurrence of symptomatic ICH (sICH) and ICH volume measured with the ABC/2. RESULTS: Any ICH occurred in 26% of the study sample (n=33). sICH occurred in 5.5% (n=7). Median ICH volume was 0.8 mL. ORT was increased in patients with ICH (median=260 minutes; interquartile range=230-306) compared with patients without ICH (median=226 minutes; interquartile range=200-281; P=0.008). In the setting of sICH, ORT reached a median of 300 minutes (interquartile range=276-401; P=0.004). The difference remained significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors (adjusted P=0.045 for ICH; adjusted P=0.002 for sICH). There was no correlation between ICH volume and ORT (r=0.16; P=0.33). CONCLUSIONS: ORT influences the rate but not the volume of ICH and appears to be a critical predictor of symptomatic hemorrhage after successful combined intravenous and intra-arterial therapy. To minimize the risk of bleeding, revascularization should be achieved within 4.5 hours of stroke onset