Carotid artery plaque composition : Relationship to clinical presentation and ultrasound B-mode imaging

Objective: To correlate B-mode ultrasound findings to carotid plaque histology. Design: European multicentre study (nine centres). Material and Methods: Clinical presentation and risk factors were recorded and preoperative ultrasound Duplex scanning with special emphasis on B-mode imaging studies was performed in 270 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Perioperatively macroscopic plaque features were evaluated and the removed specimens were analysed histologically for fibrous tissue, calcification and 'soft tissue' (primarily haemorrhage and lipid). Results: Males had more soft tissue than females (p = 0.0006), hypertensive patients less soft tissue than normotensive (p = 0.01) and patients with recent symptoms more soft tissue than patients with earlier symptoms (p = 0.004). There was no correlation between surface description on ultrasound images compared to the surface judged intraoperatively by the surgeon. Echogenicity on B-mode images was inversely related to soft tissue (p=0.005) and calcification ions directly related to echogenicity (p < 0.0001). Heterogeneous plaques contained more calcification than homogeneous (p = 0.003), however there was no difference in content of soft tissue. Conclusion: Ultrasound B-mode characteristics are related to the histological composition of carotid artery plaques and to patient's history. These results may imply that patients with distant symptoms may be regarded and treated as asymptomatic patients whereas asymptomatic patients with echolucent plaques should be considered for carotid endarterectomy

Milk yield of cross-bred buffalo under two production systems in the Amazonian region of Brazil

This study was conducted at the Agroforestry Research Center of EMBRAPA (CPAFRO), Rond&ocirc;nia, Brazil, to determine the effects of various factors on milk yield (MY) of crosss-bred buffalo (Murrah, Mediterranean and Jafarabadi) under two production systems. Production system one (PS1) corresponded to the period from 1984 to 1998 where animals (4471 observation) were milked once a day and received only pasture without supplementation. Production system two (PS2) corresponded to the period from 1999 to 2002 where animals (458 observations) were milked once or twice daily with concentrate supplementation to pasture. Fixed variables were contemporary group (CG), genetic group (GG), Sire (S) and Dam (D). Age (days) at calving (AC), weight at calving (WC) and tast day (TD) were included as linear covariates. Data were analyzed using PROC GLM (SAS, 2005). Results showed that average milk yield for PS1 and PS2 were 3.24 and 4.31 kg/day, respectively. With the exception of WC, in PS2, all other factors significantly affected milk yield in buffalo on two production systems. In PS1, the highest milk yield was for the genetic group 7/8M and the lowest for genetic group 1/2M. For PS2, the highest milk yield was for genetic group 3/4M and the lowest for genetic group 7/8M. Using the significant covariates, the following regression equations were developed to estimate milk yield for buffalo under the two production systems: MY(PS1) = 1.99719578 + 0.00409672WC - 0.00012372AC - 0.00616303DC; MY(PS2) = 3.650977 + 0.000462760AC - 0.010300571DC

Lactation curve of cross-bred buffalo under two production systems in the Amazonian region of Brazil

This study was conducted at the Agroforestry Research Center of EMBRAPA (CPAFRO), Rond&ocirc;nia, Brazil, to evaluate the lactation curve of crosss-bred buffalo [Murrah (M), Mediterranean (Me) and Jafarabadi(J)] under two production systems. Production system one (PS1) corresponded to the period of 1984 to 1998 where animals (4471 observation) were milked once a day and received only pasture without supplementation. Production system two (PS2) corresponded to the period of 1999 to 2002 where animals (458 observations) were milked twice daily with concentrate supplementation to pasture. Eight mathematical functions were used: Inverse Polynomial, Linear Hyperbolic, Incomplete Gamma, Logarithmic, Logarithmic Quadratic, Linear, Quadratic and Jenkins &amp; Ferrel. Statistical analysis was conducted using PROC NLIN of SAS (2005). Results showed that for both production systems, Incomplete Gama was the best function to describe the lactation curve. Values of coefficient of determination, standard-deviation, coefficient of variation and standard-error were 95%, 0.068, 7.20, and 0.003, respectively. The corresponding values for PS2 were 96%, 0.200, 2.12, and 0.003. Values of the lactation curve parameters (a, b, and c) for PS1 and PS2, respectively, were (a) 7.0035923 and 10.9209, (b) -0.1080043 and -0.1614882, (c) 0.0434868 and 0.0679365

Reprinted Article &quot;carotid artery plaque composition - Relationship to clinical presentation and ultrasound b-mode imaging&quot;

Objective: To correlate B-mode ultrasound findings to carotid plaque histology. Design: European multicentre study (nine centres). Material and Methods: Clinical presentation and risk factors were recorded and preoperative ultrasound Duplex scanning with special emphasis on B-mode imaging studies was performed in 270 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Perioperatively, macroscopic plaque features were evaluated and the removed specimens were analysed histologically for fibrous tissue, calcification and 'soft tissue' (primarily haemorrhage and lipid). Results: Males had more soft tissue than females (p = 0.0006), hypertensive patients less soft tissue than normotensive (p = 0.01) and patients with recent symptoms more soft tissue than patients with earlier symptoms (p = 0.004). There was no correlation between surface description on ultrasound images compared to the surface judged intraoperatively by the surgeon. Echogenicity on B-mode images was inversely related to soft tissue (p = 0.005) and calcification was directly related to echogenicity (p &lt; 0.0001). Heterogeneous plaques contained more calcification than homogeneous (p = 0.003), however, there was no difference in content of soft tissue. Conclusion: Ultrasound B-mode characteristics are related to the histological composition of carotid artery plaques and to patient's history. These results may imply that patients with distant symptoms may be regarded and treated as asymptomatic patients whereas asymptomatic patients with echolucent plaques should be considered for carotid endarterectomy