Long-term effect of neonatal calf diarrhoea on productive and reproductive performance: preliminary data

This paper analyses the long-term effects of Neonatal Calf Diarrhoea (NCD) on the first milk production. A total number of 41 dairy heifers, belonging to two commercial dairy farms were admitted to our Clinic for NCD between 2008 and 2015. Survived animals, once returned to their farm, were followed until the end of the first lactation. As a treatment for NCD, we administered fluids and sodium bicarbonate intravenously according to the dehydration score described by Boccardo et al. (2017) and blood-gas analysis results. The quantity of replacement fluid in liters was calculated as: replacement fluid (L)=dehydration (%) x bodyweight (kg). The required amount of sodium bicarbonate was calculated as: sodium bicarbonate (g) = body weight (kg) × base excess (mmol/L) × 0.6 (L/kg) × 0.084 (g/mmol). Calves with a history of anorexia received 5 mg/kg glucose added to the saline solution. Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid was administered SC at the dose of 10 + 2.5 mg/kg for 5 days to each calf. During lactation, we analyzed: milk production in a 305-day lactation, average fat percentage, average protein percentage, average somatic cell count and interval from birth to first calving.Furthermore, days of hospitalization and severity of diseasewere considered (average calves age = 8,09 days, average body weight = 41,66 kg, average hospitalization = 10,61 days, average duration of treatment = 5,24 days). As a control, we considered non-hospitalized heifers (n.=238) with the same age, from the same herd, without clinical history of NCD. Differences between the NCD group and control group were analyzed with general linear models. No statistic difference between the NCD group and control group was underlined (Table 1). These findings differ from previous literature results. In fact, Aghakeshmiriet al.(2017) found that the NCD increased the first calving age and heifer raising costs; Svensson and Hultgren (2008) showed that animals survived from NCD had a lower milk production. On the other hand, our results are similar to those reported by Warnicket al.(1994;1995), even if in these works no data regarding the type of treatment and severity of clinical sings were considered. This study, while preliminary, suggests that the timely treatment of NCD could prevent irreversible damages and ensure to reach a reproductive and productive standard during the first lactation. However the simple size needs to be increased

LUCAS Versus Manual Chest Compression During Ambulance Transport : A Hemodynamic Study in a Porcine Model of Cardiac Arrest

Background-Mechanical chest compression (CC) is currently suggested to deliver sustained high-quality CC in a moving ambulance. This study compared the hemodynamic support provided by a mechanical piston device or manual CC during ambulance transport in a porcine model of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Methods and Results-In a simulated urban ambulance transport, 16 pigs in cardiac arrest were randomized to 18 minutes of mechanical CC with the LUCAS (n=8) or manual CC (n=8). ECG, arterial and right atrial pressure, together with end-tidal CO2 and transthoracic impedance curve were continuously recorded. Arterial lactate was assessed during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and after resuscitation. During the initial 3 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the ambulance was stationary, while then proceeded along a predefined itinerary. When the ambulance was stationary, CC-generated hemodynamics were equivalent in the 2 groups. However, during ambulance transport, arterial and coronary perfusion pressure, and end-tidal CO(2 )were significantly higher with mechanical CC compared with manual CC (coronary perfusion pressure: 43 +/- 4 versus 18 +/- 4 mmHg; end-tidal CO2: 31 +/- 2 versus 19 +/- 2 mmHg, P Conclusions-This model adds evidence in favor of the use of mechanical devices to provide ongoing high-quality CC and tissue perfusion during ambulance transport.Peer reviewe

Effect of mild hypercapnia on outcome and histological injury in a porcine post cardiac arrest model

Aim of the study: To evaluate in an established porcine post cardiac arrest model the effect of a mild hypercapnic ventilatory strategy on outcome. Methods: The left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded in 14 pigs and ventricular fibrillation induced and left untreated for 12 min. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed for 5 min prior to defibrillation. After resuscitation, pigs were assigned to either normocapnic (end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) target: 35-40 mmHg) or hypercapnic ventilation (EtCO2 45-50 mmHg). Hemodynamics was invasively measured and EtCO2 was monitored with an infrared capnometer. Blood gas analysis, serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and high sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) were assessed. Survival and functional recovery were evaluated up to 96 h. Results: Twelve pigs were successfully resuscitated and eight survived up to 96 h, with animals in the hypercapnic group showing trend towards a longer survival. EtCO2 and arterial partial pressure of CO2 were higher in the hypercapnic group compared to the normocapnic one (p <0.01), during the 4-hour intervention. Hypercapnia was associated with higher mean arterial pressure compared to normocapnia (p <0.05). No significant differences were observed in hs-cTnT and in NSE between groups, although the values tended to be lower in the hypercapnic one. Neuronal degeneration was lesser in the frontal cortex of hypercapnic animals compared to the normocapnic ones (p <0.05). Neurological recovery was equivalent in the two groups. Conclusion: Mild hypercapnia after resuscitation was associated with better arterial pressure and lesser neuronal degeneration in this model. Nevertheless, no corresponding improvements in neurological recovery were observed.Peer reviewe

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of diagnostic methods in adult food allergy

Food allergy has an increasing prevalence in the general population and in Italy concerns 8 % of people with allergies. The spectrum of its clinical manifestations ranges from mild symptoms up to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. A number of patients can be diagnosed easily by the use of first- and second-level procedures (history, skin tests and allergen specific IgE). Patients with complex presentation, such as multiple sensitizations and pollen-food syndromes, frequently require a third-level approach including molecular diagnostics, which enables the design of a component-resolved sensitization profile for each patient. The use of such techniques involves specialists' and experts' skills on the issue to appropriately meet the diagnostic and therapeutic needs of patients. Particularly, educational programs for allergists on the use and interpretation of molecular diagnostics are needed

Clinical Scores in Veterinary Medicine: What Are the Pitfalls of Score Construction, Reliability, and Validation? A General Methodological Approach Applied in Cattle

Clinical scores are commonly used for cattle. They generally contain a mix of categorical and numerical variables that need to be assessed by scorers, such as farmers, animal caretakers, scientists, and veterinarians. This article examines the key concepts that need to be accounted for when developing the test for optimal outcomes. First, the target condition or construct that the scale is supposed to measure should be defined, and if possible, an adequate proxy used for classification should be determined. Then, items (e.g., clinical signs) of interest that are either caused by the target condition (reflective items) or that caused the target condition (formative items) are listed, and reliable items (inter and intra-rater reliability) are kept for the next step. A model is then developed to determine the relative weight of the items associated with the target condition. A scale is then built after validating the model and determining the optimal threshold in terms of sensitivity (ability to detect the target condition) and specificity (ability to detect the absence of the target condition). Its robustness to various scenarios of the target condition prevalence and the impact of the relative cost of false negatives to false positives can also be assessed to tailor the scale used based on specific application conditions

Bayesian evaluation of the accuracy of a thoracic auscultation scoring system in dairy calves with bronchopneumonia using a standard lung sound nomenclature

BackgroundAlthough thoracic auscultation (AUSC) in calves is quick and easy to perform, the definition of lung sounds is highly variable and leads to poor to moderate accuracy in diagnosing bronchopneumonia (BP). Hypothesis/ObjectivesEvaluate the diagnostic accuracy of an AUSC scoring system based on a standard lung sound nomenclature at different cut-off values, accounting for the absence of a gold standard test for BP diagnosis. AnimalsThree hundred thirty-one calves. MethodsWe considered the following pathological lung sounds: increased breath sounds (score 1), wheezes and crackles (score 2), increased bronchial sounds (score 3), and pleural friction rubs (score 4). Thoracic auscultation was categorized as AUSC1 (positive calves for scores & GE;1), AUSC2 (positive calves for scores & GE;2), and AUSC3 (positive calves for scores & GE;3). The accuracy of AUSC categorizations was determined using 3 imperfect diagnostic tests with a Bayesian latent class model and sensitivity analysis (informative vs weakly informative vs noninformative priors and with vs without covariance between ultrasound and clinical scoring). ResultsBased on the priors used, the sensitivity (95% Bayesian confidence interval [BCI]) of AUSC1 ranged from 0.89 (0.80-0.97) to 0.95 (0.86-0.99), with a specificity (95% BCI) of 0.54 (0.45-0.71) to 0.60 (0.47-0.94). Removing increased breath sounds from the categorizations resulted in increased specificity (ranging between 0.97 [0.93-0.99] and 0.98 [0.94-0.99] for AUSC3) at the cost of decreased sensitivity (0.66 [0.54-0.78] to 0.81 [0.65-0.97]). Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceA standardized definition of lung sounds improved AUSC accuracy for BP diagnosis in calves

Standard Characterization of Multi-junction Thin-film Photovoltaic Modules - Spectral Mismatch Correction to Standard Test Conditions and Comparison with Outdoor Measurements

Multi-junction thin-film devices have emerged as very promising PV materials due to reduced cost, manufacturing ease, efficiency and long term performance. The consequent growing interest of the PV community has lead to the development of new methods for the correction of indoor measurements to standard test conditions (STC), as presented in this paper. The experimental setup for spectral response measurement of multi-junction large-area thin-film modules is presented. A method for reliable corrections of indoor current-voltage characterization to STC is presented: results are compared with outdoor measurements where irradiance conditions are close to standard ones, highlighting ongoing challenges in standard characterization of such devices.JRC.DDG.F.8-Renewable Energy (Ispra

Editorial: Efforts to reduce feed-food competition

Editorial on the Research Topic efforts to reduce feed-food competitio