Investigating Long-term Outcomes of Surgical Treatment in Spinal Tumors: A 10 years Follow-up Study

Background: Spinal tumors account for 10-15% of total central nervous system neoplasms. This study presents the results of surgical procedures performed on a significant number of patients with spinal tumors.Methods: The present article presents results of surgery performed on 104 of 204 patients with spinal cord tumors referred to the hospital clinic where they underwent the operation from 2005 to 2015. The studied cases included age, sex, and duration of the disease, and clinical symptoms and their time of occurrence, place of birth, radiological characteristics, surgical results, surgical resection, tumor histology, and complications. In addition, the results are compared with other studies.Results: A total of 104 studied subjects who underwent the surgery 50% were male. The mean age of patients was 37.1 years. The most common site of the tumor was the thoracic (30.8%) and cervical regions (27.9%). Extramedullary and intramedullary tumors accounted for 74.1% and 25.7% of cases, respectively. Among the extramedullary masses, the most common pathology was nerve plexus tumor (58.4%) and then meningium (18.2%). Astrocytoma (55.6%) and epandiomy (25.9%) were, respectively, the most common types of intramedullary tumors. The total or almost total resection was performed in 78.9 of cases. The average follow-up time was 29 months. The post-operative neurological status of patients was improved in 84.6% of cases.Conclusions: The factors affecting on the final state of the patients after the operation include the degree of malignancy, the extent of the lesion and the pre-operative severity of the neural defect

The productivity and financial impacts of eight types of environmental enrichment for broiler chickens

Reduced mobility in broilers can contribute to leg health problems. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as one approach to combat this through stimulating increased physical activity. Past studies have tested the effect of environmental enrichments on bird behaviour, health and welfare, but few have estimated their financial impacts. This study tested the impact of eight types of environmental enrichment on enterprise net margin, accounting for direct intervention costs plus indirect effects via changes to bird mortality, weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and foot pad dermatitis. The trial used 58 pens each containing approximately 500 broilers (Ross 308) at a stocking density of 40 kg/m2. The environmental enrichments were: roughage, vertical panels, straw bales, elevated platforms (5 and 30 cm), increased distances between feed and water (7 and 3.5 m) and stocking density reduced to 34 kg/m2, plus a control group. Mortality was recorded daily and feed intake and weight weekly. Footpad dermatitis was assessed on day 35. Only one intervention improved financial performance (3.5 m between feed and water) above the control, suggesting that most environmental enrichment would have a negative financial impact due to the additional intervention costs, unless consumers were willing to pay a price premium

Blow-Up Results for a Nonlinear Hyperbolic Equation with Lewis Function

The initial boundary value problem for a nonlinear hyperbolic equation with Lewis function in a bounded domain is considered. In this work, the main result is that the solution blows up in finite time if the initial data possesses suitable positive energy. Moreover, the estimates of the lifespan of solutions are also given

Effect of perch access on perching, health and production outcomes in commercial broiler breeder flocks.

There is a need for more knowledge about perch use in broiler breeders and the potential effects of perches on health and production outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of perches by commercial broiler breeders, effect of perch access on keel bone fractures (KBF), footpad dermatitis (FPD) and number of floor eggs. Two commercial breeder flocks (Ross 308) reared at the same facility were observed during the production period. Half of each flock was provided with 15 cm perch/bird and the other half had no perches. The perch group had two types of perches; a steel plate mounted on the hen feeder lines "feeder perch" (15 cm high) and elevated plastic perches (5 cm high). Perching by hens and roosters was recorded during the dark period by counting birds on each of the two perch types in 10 sections and in the corresponding patches on the control side at 25, 35, and 45 wk of age (WOA). FPD was scored in 100 random hens in each group at 30 WOA and end of lay, KBF was scored by postmortem in 100 random hens in each group at end of lay, and number of floor eggs (n) in each treatment was scored daily. More hens perched on the feeder perch with the steel plate mounted, compared to the feeder line without the steel plate, but this difference decreased with age (P < 0.0001). Within the perch treatment, more hens perched on the feeder lines compared to the plastic perches at all ages (P < 0.0001). When combining number of hens on the plastic and feeder perches, on average 6.7 birds perched per meter perch, which is full capacity given an average shoulder width of 15 cm/bird. Perch use among the roosters was low overall, but more roosters perched in the perch group compared to the control group at 35 WOA (P = 0.007). Between 47 and 53% of the hens had KBF at the end of the lay. At 30 WOA, birds housed with perches were more likely to have lower FPD. Perch treatment did not affect number of floor eggs. In conclusion, broiler breeder hens perch when the perches are sufficiently high and allow all birds to perch simultaneously, and access to perches may have positive effects on FPD

Presentation at ISAE 2019 - Bergen, Norway

The FreeBirds project aims to generate more insight into the relationship between organic chickens’ free-range use and bird health, welfare and performance, as well as soil nutrient load. One completed study of the project compared the range use, welfare and performance of Dekalb White (DW) and Bovans’ Brown (BB) laying hens on an experimental setting simulating organic on-farm conditions. Six hundred non-beak-trimmed hens of each hybrid (N = 1200) were housed in groups of 100, from 17 to 38 weeks of age, in 12 pens according to EU requirements for organic egg production. Indoor pens measured 4.5 × 4.5 m. Each pen provided 12 nest boxes and 18 cm/hen of elevated perch length. Wood shavings was provided as litter and the indoor net stocking density was 5.1 hens/m2. The outdoor range for each pen measured 4.5 × 90 m, providing an outdoor density of 4 m2/hen. The ground on the outdoor range had grass covering but no trees; shelter was available in the form of four 10-meter long tarps running along the length of the range at 10-meter intervals. Feed and water were provided ad-lib indoor and maize silage and/or carrots was provided as roughage under the first shelter of the outdoor range three times a week. Live observations of range use were carried out weekly, recording the number of hens outdoors and their distance from the pophole. Furthermore, assessment of plumage condition, as part of a welfare assessment protocol, was performed by four observers on all hens at 17 and 38 weeks of age. Preliminary statistical analysis were carried out in the software SAS using mixed models. The models included the fixed factors hybrid and age and the random factors pen and observer. Tukey test was used for post hoc testing. The range use in week 38 showed that while the total number of hens observed outside did not vary with hybrid, DW used shelters more than BB (mean ± SD: 15.1 ± 12.1 hens vs. 10.8 ± 7.5 hens; p = 0.002). Furthermore, BB ranged further away from the house than DW (mean ± SD: 4.47 ± 5.34 BB hens observed > 60 m away from the pophole vs. 1.23 ± 2.61 DW hens observed > 60 m away from pophole; p < 0.0001). Regarding plumage condition, there was an interaction of hybrid and age: while both hybrids had lower scores, (i.e. better plumage condition) at 17 weeks compared to 38 weeks of age (p < 0.001), BB had better plumage condition than DW at each time point (p < 0.001; lsmeans plumage score ± SE: BB17 = 0.98 ± 0.29; DW17 = 1.37 ± 0.29; BB38 = 4.2 ± 0.29; DW38 = 5.8 ± 0.29). These preliminary results indicate that DW are less explorative/more fearful compared to BB and highlights the need for breed-specific management such as greater shelter provision for DW. This, combined with the better plumage condition of BB, suggests that BB is a breed more robust to the environment of organic production compared to DW hens

Protective Effect of Docetaxel Against Autophagy-Related Genes in Vitrification of Mouse Metaphase II Oocytes

Background: Autophagy is a conservative mechanism for cell survival as the main response of cells to stress conditions. The present study aimed to assess the effect of docetaxel on the survival, fertilization, and expression of autophagy-related genes in vitrified oocytes. Methods: The study was conducted in 2018 at the Stem Cells Technology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Shiraz, Iran). Denuded oocytes were randomly selected and assigned to five groups, namely control (n=133), docetaxel (n=136), docetaxel+cryoprotectants (n=146), docetaxel+vitrification (n=138), and vitrification (n=145). The effect of vitrification on the expression of autophagy-related gene 5 (ATG5) and Beclin-1 was determined using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 26.0) and GraphPad Prism 9.Results: Survival and fertilization rates in each experimental group were significantly reduced compared to the control group (P=0.001). After in vitro fertilization of oocytes, the 2-cell formation rate was significantly reduced in the docetaxel+vitrification and vitrification groups compared to the control and docetaxel groups (P=0.001 and P=0.001, respectively). Pre-incubation of oocytes with docetaxel reduced gene expression levels of Beclin-1 and ATG5 in the docetaxel+cryoprotectants and docetaxel+vitrification groups (P=0.001 and P=0.019, respectively). The expression level of these genes was also reduced in the docetaxel group compared to the control group (P=0.001). Conclusion: Incubation of mouse metaphase II oocytes with docetaxel prior to vitrification reduced the expression of autophagy-related genes and increased survival and fertilization rates compared to untreated oocytes