Non‑ambulatory pigs in two Brazilian growing‑finishing farms : a clinic, etiological and pathological perspective on 76 cases

Background: Non-ambulatory pigs, colloquially known as downers or downed pigs, are animals presented with limited to no mobility, usually as a result of pre-existing neurologic or musculoskeletal conditions. Impaired ambulation is a major cause of euthanasia in pigs, leading to economic losses and animal welfare concerns. Additionally, reaching the underlying diagnosis of impaired ambulation in pigs is commonly a challenging task for swine practitioners. The aim of this necropsy-based study was to report the clinical, etiological, and pathological findings of 76 non-ambulatory grower-finisher pigs, and to correlate tail-biting lesions with the causes of death/reason for euthanasia in non-ambulatory pigs. Necropsies of downed pigs were performed during on-site visits to two pig farms in southern Brazil. Results: The diagnosis of the conditions was based on the clinical, macroscopic, histopathological, bacteriological, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings. The diseases diagnosed in non-ambulatory pigs in this study were suppurative arthritis (29/76), suppurative spondylitis (10/76), PVC-2 associated diseases (8/76), bone fracture (7/76), non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis (4/76), suppurative meningoencephalitis (6/76), fibrocartilaginous thromboembolism (3/76), epiphysiolysis (3/76), ascending bacterial myelitis (3/76), and other conditions (3/76). The frequency of suppurative arthritis, suppurative spondylitis, and ascending bacterial myelitis/meningitis was higher in pigs with tail biting lesions than controls (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Non-ambulatory pigs were observed during the entire rearing period, however, the occurrence of non-ambulatory pigs increased in animals aged ≥ 150 days. Infectious diseases were the most common cause of downed pigs, mainly associated with chronic bacterial infections. Tail biting lesions were an important predisposing factor to suppurative arthritis, suppurative spondylitis, and ascending bacterial myelitis/meningitis

Causas de morte em suínos de crescimento e terminação em duas granjas tecnificadas no Sul do Brasil

The aim of this study was to investigate the main causes of death in growing-finishing pigs in southern Brazil. During a one-year period (from 2018 to 2019), two industrial pig herds (18 and 20 thousand pigs each farm) in southern Brazil were monitored along the four seasons of the year (12 days per season on each farm), in order to perform necropsies of all pigs that died in that period. The two farms had an average monthly mortality rate ranging from 0.94 to 3.93% in the evaluated months. At necropsy, tissues were collected, fixed in 10% formalin solution and processed routinely for histopathological examination. When necessary, samples were sent for bacterial culture and PCR to identify etiologic agents. A total of 601 necropsies were performed, with 94.9% of conclusive diagnoses. Infectious diseases corresponded to 64.4% of conclusive diagnosis and non-infectious diseases to 35.6%. The most prevalent causes of death were: pneumonia (33%), gastric ulcers (15.4%), circovirosis (9.9%), systemic bacterial embolism (5.4%), polyserositis (4.4%), dilated cardiomyopathy and torsion of abdominal organs (4.3% each), and bacterial pericarditis (3.4%). Regarding pneumonias (199/601), the main agents identified in these cases were Pasteurella multocida, Influenza A virus and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, mainly in associations.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi investigar as principais causas de morte de suínos em fase de crescimento e terminação no Sul do Brasil. Durante o período de um ano (entre 2018 e 2019), duas granjas tecnificadas de suínos no Sul do Brasil foram acompanhadas nas quatro estações (12 dias por estação em cada granja), para realização de necropsias dos suínos que morreram nesse período. As duas propriedades apresentavam mortalidade mensal média entre 0,94 e 3,93% nos meses avaliados. Na necropsia, amostras de órgãos foram colhidas, fixadas em formol 10% e processadas rotineiramente para o exame histopatológico. Quando necessário, amostras foram enviadas para o cultivo bacteriano e PCR para identificação de agentes etiológicos. Foram realizadas um total de 601 necropsias, com 94,9% de diagnósticos conclusivos. As doenças infecciosas corresponderam a 64,4% dos diagnósticos conclusivos e as não infecciosas a 35,6%. As principais causas de morte foram: pneumonias (33%), úlcera gástrica (15,4%), circovirose (9,9%), embolia bacteriana sistêmica (5,4%), polisserosite (4,4%), cardiomiopatia dilatada e torção de órgãos abdominais (4,3% cada) e pericardite bacteriana (3,4%). Com relação às pneumonias (199/601), os principais agentes associadas as lesões foram Pasteurella multocida, vírus da Influenza A e Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, principalmente associados entre si

CARD15 genotype and phenotype analysis in 55 pediatric patients with Crohn disease from Saxony, Germany

Objectives: Crohn disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that is caused by environmental and genetic factors. Mutations in the CARD15 gene have been recently identified to be associated with the disease. Until now no genetic study has focused directly on a pediatric population. Methods: The authors sequenced all 12 exons of the CARD15 gene in 55 pediatric patients with Crohn disease from Saxony. Their average age at onset was 11.2 years (1-17.5 years). The authors also evaluated the genotype-phenotype relationship in the patients. Results: Fourteen different polymorphic and/or disease-related nucleotide alterations have been identified in the patients. Sixty-five percent of their genomic DNA samples harbored at least one of six mutations within the CARD15 gene, which previously has been identified as being associated with Crohn disease. The authors found that the cytosine insertion mutation 3020insC was significantly more common in their pediatric population than in patients with Crohn disease (26% versus 11 % of the alleles) whose results were reported in the literature. The genotype-phenotype analysis showed that the authors' patients with at least one of the six CARD15 disease-associated mutations had a high risk of inflammation located in the terminal ileum and ascending colon. In 10 of 19 patients with two mutations, intestinal resection surgery was necessary because of stricturing. Conclusions: In the authors' pediatric patients, the genetic influence on Crohn disease was more pronounced than that reported in any other study, and it strongly affected the clinical phenotype. (C) 2003 Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Inc

Adaptive optical interconnects: The ADDAPT project

Existing optical networks are driven by dynamic user and application demands but operate statically at their maximum performance. Thus, optical links do not offer much adaptability and are not very energy-effcient. In this paper a novel approach of implementing performance and power adaptivity from system down to optical device, electrical circuit and transistor level is proposed. Depending on the actual data load, the number of activated link paths and individual device parameters like bandwidth, clock rate, modulation format and gain are adapted to enable lowering the components supply power. This enables exible energy-efficient optical transmission links which pave the way for massive reductions of CO2 emission and operating costs in data center and high performance computing applications. Within the FP7 research project Adaptive Data and Power Aware Transceivers for Optical Communications (ADDAPT) dynamic high-speed energy-efficent transceiver subsystems are developed for short-range optical interconnects taking up new adaptive technologies and methods. The research of eight partners from industry, research and education spanning seven European countries includes the investigation of several adaptive control types and algorithms, the development of a full transceiver system, the design and fabrication of optical components and integrated circuits as well as the development of high-speed, low-loss packaging solutions. This paper describes and discusses the idea of ADDAPT and provides an overview about the latest research results in this field

Circulating adrenomedullin estimates survival and reversibility of organ failure in sepsis: the prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock-1 (AdrenOSS-1) study

Background: Adrenomedullin (ADM) regulates vascular tone and endothelial permeability during sepsis. Levels of circulating biologically active ADM (bio-ADM) show an inverse relationship with blood pressure and a direct relationship with vasopressor requirement. In the present prospective observational multinational Adrenomedullin and Outcome in Sepsis and Septic Shock 1 (, AdrenOSS-1) study, we assessed relationships between circulating bio-ADM during the initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay and short-term outcome in order to eventually design a biomarker-guided randomized controlled trial. Methods: AdrenOSS-1 was a prospective observational multinational study. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included organ failure as defined by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, organ support with focus on vasopressor/inotropic use, and need for renal replacement therapy. AdrenOSS-1 included 583 patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis or septic shock. Results: Circulating bio-ADM levels were measured upon admission and at day 2. Median bio-ADM concentration upon admission was 80.5 pg/ml [IQR 41.5-148.1 pg/ml]. Initial SOFA score was 7 [IQR 5-10], and 28-day mortality was 22%. We found marked associations between bio-ADM upon admission and 28-day mortality (unadjusted standardized HR 2.3 [CI 1.9-2.9]; adjusted HR 1.6 [CI 1.1-2.5]) and between bio-ADM levels and SOFA score (p &lt; 0.0001). Need of vasopressor/inotrope, renal replacement therapy, and positive fluid balance were more prevalent in patients with a bio-ADM &gt; 70 pg/ml upon admission than in those with bio-ADM ≤ 70 pg/ml. In patients with bio-ADM &gt; 70 pg/ml upon admission, decrease in bio-ADM below 70 pg/ml at day 2 was associated with recovery of organ function at day 7 and better 28-day outcome (9.5% mortality). By contrast, persistently elevated bio-ADM at day 2 was associated with prolonged organ dysfunction and high 28-day mortality (38.1% mortality, HR 4.9, 95% CI 2.5-9.8). Conclusions: AdrenOSS-1 shows that early levels and rapid changes in bio-ADM estimate short-term outcome in sepsis and septic shock. These data are the backbone of the design of the biomarker-guided AdrenOSS-2 trial. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02393781. Registered on March 19, 2015

Effective 100 Gb/s IM/DD 850-nm Multi- and Single-Mode VCSEL Transmission Through OM4 MMF

To cope with the ever increasing data traffic demands in modern data centers, new approaches and technologies must be explored. Short range optical data links play a key role in this scenario, enabling very high speed data rate links. Recently, great research efforts are being made to improve the performance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) based transmission links, which constitute a cost-effective solution desirable for massive deployments. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate intensity-modulation direct-detection transmissions with a data rate of 107.5 Gb/s over 10 m of OM4 multimode fiber (MMF) using a multimode VCSEL at 850 nm, and up to 100 m of OM4 MMF using a single-mode VCSEL at 850 nm. Measured bit error rates were below 7% overhead forward error correction limit of 3.8e−03, thus, achieving an effective bit rate of 100.5 Gb/s. These successful transmissions were achieved by means of the multiband approach of carrierless amplitude phase modulation. To cope with the ever increasing data traffic demands in modern data centers, new approaches and technologies must be explored. Short range optical data links play a key role in this scenario, enabling very high speed data rate links. Recently, great research efforts are being made to improve the performance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) based transmission links, which constitute a cost-effective solution desirable for massive deployments. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate intensity-modulation direct-detection transmissions with a data rate of 107.5 Gb/s over 10 m of OM4 multimode fiber (MMF) using a multimode VCSEL at 850 nm, and up to 100 m of OM4 MMF using a single-mode VCSEL at 850 nm. Measured bit error rates were below 7% overhead forward error correction limit of 3.8e-03, thus, achieving an effective bit rate of 100.5 Gb/s. These successful transmissions were achieved by means of the multiband approach of carrierless amplitude phase modulation