Welfare assessment: correlations and integration between a Qualitative Behavioural Assessment and a clinical/health protocol applied in veal calves farms

This study is aimed at finding correlations and possible integration among Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) and a specific protocol of clinical/health evaluation. Both welfare assessment methods were based on direct animal observation and were applied in 24 Italian veal calves farms at 3 weeks (wks) of rearing. Principal component analysis (PCA) summarized 20 QBA descriptors on two main components (PC1 and PC2) with eigenvalues above 4 and explaining 29.6 and 20.3% of the variation respectively. PCA on residuals obtained after correcting for housing condition yielded highly similar results, indicating that the rearing environment of the calves was not an important determinant of the observer reliability of QBA. A relationship was found between QBA PC2 and the presence of signs of cross-sucking recorded during the clinical visit (presence PC2=1.11 vs. absence PC2=-1.55,

Space shuttle: Supersonic aerodynamic characteristics of the MSC 040A orbiter (M equals 2.0 to 4.0)

A wind tunnel test of the space shuttle orbiter configuration 040A was run in a 20 in. supersonic wind tunnel. Basic aerodynamic data for this vehicle were determined at Mach 2.0, 2.4, 3.0 and 4.0

Cholesterol metabolism during the growth of a rat ascites hepatoma (Yoshida AH-130).

The metabolism of cholesterol has been investigated in tumour cells, ascitic fluid and blood serum during the growth of an ascites hepatoma (Yoshida AH-130) in the rat. High rates of cholesterol synthesis and elevated free and esterified cholesterol content were observed in tumour cells. During tumour growth, the host animals progressively developed marked changes in the level and distribution of serum cholesterol consisting in an increase of total cholesterol and of a marked reduction of HDL cholesterol (HDL2 subfraction in particular). In agreement with previous observations, these findings indicate that a consistent pattern of altered cholesterol homeostasis develops in relation to normal or neoplastic tissue growth. High synthetic rates and intracellular accumulation of cholesterol are observed in the proliferating cells. Moreover, blood serum cholesterol decreases in the HDL fraction while it increases in LDLs, suggesting that during proliferative processes cholesterol fluxes between tissues and serum lipoproteins are markedly perturbed

Linear-quadratic optimal control under non-Markovian switching

We study a finite-dimensional continuous-time optimal control problem on finite horizon for a controlled diffusion driven by Brownian motion, in the linear-quadratic case. We admit stochastic coefficients, possibly depending on an underlying independent marked point process, so that our model is general enough to include controlled switching systems where the switching mechanism is not required to be Markovian. The problem is solved by means of a Riccati equation, which a backward stochastic differential equation driven by the Brownian motion and by the random measure associated to the marked point process

Subjective Cognitive Complaints in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) are reported frequently, but their prevalence and association with changes on objective testing are not fully known. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical correlates, and predictive value of SCCs in PD. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. From 204 abstracts, we selected 31 studies (n = 3441 patients), and from these, identified the prevalence, clinical features, associations with neuropsychiatric symptoms, and predictive values of SCCs in PD. RESULTS: The meta-analysis showed an SCC prevalence of 36%. This prevalence, however, was significantly moderated by study heterogeneity regarding female sex, disease severity, levodopa equivalent daily dosage, exclusion from the overall sample of patients with objective cognitive impairment, and measurement instrument. SCC prevalence did not differ between de novo and treated PD patients. SCCs were weakly and negligibly associated with cognitive changes on objective testing in cross-sectional studies. However, in cognitively healthy patients, SCCs had a risk ratio of 2.71 for later cognitive decline over a mean follow-up of 3.16 years. Moreover, SCCs were moderately related to co-occurring symptoms of depression, anxiety, or apathy and were more strongly related to these neuropsychiatric symptoms than objective cognitive functioning. CONCLUSION: Our analyses suggest that SCCs in patients with and without objective cognitive impairment are frequent, occurring in more than one third of PD patients. Establishing uniform measurement instruments for identifying PD-related SCCs is critical to understand their implications. Even in cases lacking evidence of objective cognitive impairment and where SCCs might reflect underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms, the possibility of later cognitive deterioration should not be excluded. Therefore, SCCs in PD patients warrant close monitoring for opportunities for targeted and effective interventions. © 2024 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society