Oral supplementation of medium-chain fatty acids during the dry period supports the neutrophil viability of peripartum dairy cows

A randomised clinical trial was conducted to explore the effect of orally supplemented medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) to heifers and cows starting 6-8 weeks prior to expected calving date on blood and milk polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leucocyte (PMNL) apoptosis between 1 and 3 d in milk (DIM). The effects of MCFA-supplementation on the likelihood of intramammary infections (IMI) in early lactation, and test-day somatic cell count (SCC) and average daily milk yield (MY) during the first 4 months of lactation were evaluated as well. Twenty-two animals were included of which half were orally supplemented with MCFA starting 6-8 weeks prior to calving and half served as non-supplemented controls. The PMNL viability in both blood and milk was quantified using dual-colour flow cytometry with fluorescein-labelled annexin and propidium iodide. In non-supplemented animals, % blood PMNL apoptosis significantly increased between start of supplementation and early lactation, reflecting a potential reduction in innate immune capacity, whereas this was not true in the MCFA-supplemented animals. Similar results were seen in milk PMNL apoptosis. Overall, the % apoptotic milk PMNL between 1 and 3 DIM was significantly lower in the MCFA-supplemented group compared with the non-supplemented group. There was no substantial effect of oral MCFA-supplementation on the likelihood of quarter IMI nor on the composite test-day milk SCC or average daily MY. In conclusion, oral MCFA-supplementation starting 6-8 weeks before expected calving date supported the blood and milk neutrophil viability in early lactating dairy cows. Still, this was not reflected in an improvement of udder health nor MY in early and later lactation. The results should trigger research to further unravel the mechanisms behind the observed immunomodulating effect, and the potential relevance for the cows' performances throughout lactation

Impact of long-term stress on the light output of a WRGB AMOLED display

This paper describes how long-term use impacts the light output of a commercial 55' WRGB AMOLED display with InGaZnO TFT backplane. This covers effects which are known by the terms 'aging', 'image-sticking,' and 'burn-in.' The focus is on three different observations: permanent change in light output as a function of time, permanent screen burn-in, and permanent shift in color point. From this work it can be concluded that state-of-the-art OLED displays still suffer from light output instability under prolonged stress. The results suggest that the permanent change in light output can be explained by the combination of three different phenomena: a decrease in efficiency of the OLEDs as a function of time for active subpixels, a positive threshold voltage shift of the driving transistor for active subpixels, and a negative threshold voltage shift of the driving transistor for inactive subpixels, if they are illuminated and/or kept at high temperature. To our knowledge, this is the first work that describes and quantifies the permanent change in light output of a commercial WRGB OLED panel with InGaZnO TFT backplane. It sheds light on which effects occur and can be a valuable tool, both in the design and optimization of OLED panels and in the determining the circumstances under which this technology may be applicable. © 2005-2012 IEEE

Influence of temperature on the steady state and transient luminance of an OLED display

In this paper, the influence of temperature on the luminance of an organic light-emitting device (OLED) display is investigated. Luminance, temperature, and power measurements are executed on a 55-in white-red-green-blue active-matrix OLED display with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 and an oxide-Thin-film-Transistor (TFT) backplane, under a controlled, static temperature environment. The measurements indicate a strong influence of temperature on the luminance of the display, resulting from the temperature dependence of both the TFT and the OLED. The influence of temperature on the luminance of an OLED display is also investigated in a dynamic context. Measurements show that temperature changes resulting from losses in the display have an important influence on the luminance stability of the display. The measurements linking luminance and temperature in a static temperature environment allow estimating the change in luminance in a dynamic context. Finally, this paper presents the results of a number of experiments that were set up to show scenarios in which the temperature dependence of the display's luminance has a direct negative impact on the picture quality of the display. The results of this work show that the thermal behavior of an OLED display must be taken into account when working towards a high-performing OLED display. © 2005-2012 IEEE

Relationship of the medial clavicular head to the manubrium in normal and symptomatic degenerated sternoclavicular joints

Background: Clavicular prominence is common in patients with symptomatic degenerative sternoclavicular arthritis. It is unclear if this is caused by enlargement or subluxation of the clavicle. The aim of this report is to describe a reproducible measurement technique to evaluate the relationship of the medial clavicular head to the manubrium. Methods: One hundred normal sternoclavicular joints, twenty-five sternoclavicular joints with symptomatic degenerative arthritis, and twenty-five non-symptomatic sternoclavicular joints on the contralateral side were studied with three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction with use of computer modeling. The greatest width (anterior-posterior distance) and height (superior-inferior distance) of the clavicle in the sagittal plane were measured, and the positions of the anterior and superior borders of the medial clavicle and their distances to the frontal and axial planes, respectively, were evaluated. The ratio of the anterior-posterior distance to the anterior-frontal plane distance was measured to evaluate the anterior-posterior position of the clavicle and the ratio of the superior-inferior distance to the superior-axial plane distance was measured to evaluate its superoinferior position. If the ratio was not in the 95% normal range, the clavicle was defined as subluxated. The reproducibility of this technique was evaluated on the basis of the interobserver and intraobserver reliability. Results: This technique showed good interobserver and intraobserver reliability. The mean anterior-posterior and superior-inferior distances were significantly larger in association with symptomatic sternoclavicular arthritis than in the normal sternoclavicular joints (p < 0001). The clavicle was subluxated anteriorly in twenty-two of the twenty-five cases of symptomatic sternoclavicular arthritis, but it was not subluxated superiorly. Conclusions: The medial clavicular head in patients with degenerative sternoclavicular arthritis is significantly larger than it is in the normal population, and it is usually subluxated anteriorly