Möglichkeiten der Schmerzreduzierung bei der Kastration männlicher Saugferkel

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, die Auswirkung von präoperativ verabreichten Schmerzmitteln (Meloxicam, Metamizol) bzw. des Lokalanästhetikums Procainhydrochlorid auf den kastrationsbedingten, vor allem den postoperativen Schmerz zu untersuchen. Die Untersuchung wurde an vier bis sechs Tagen alten gesunden Ferkeln durchgeführt. Die Tiere wurden in die Versuchsgruppen I bis VI eingeteilt. Die nicht kastrierte Kontrollgruppe (I) wurde lediglich wie bei einer Kastration fixiert. Tiere der Kontrollgruppe (II) wurden ohne Verabreichung von Schmerzmitteln kastriert. 15 Minuten vor der Kastration wurde Tieren der Meloxicam-Gruppe (III) 0,4 mg/kg KGW Meloxicam i.m., Tieren der Meloxicam+Metamizol-Gruppe (IV) 0,4 mg/kg KGW Meloxicam und 50 mg/kg KGW Metamizol und Tieren der Metamizol-Gruppe (V) 50 mg/kg KGW Metamizol i.m. verabreicht. Tieren der Lokalanästhesie-Gruppe (VI) wurde 5 mg/kg KGW (0,5 ml) Procainhydrochlorid 15 Minuten vor der Kastration in jeden Hoden appliziert. Kurz vor der Fixation bzw. Kastration und eine, vier und 28 Stunden danach wurden Blutproben entnommen und ein, sieben und 14 Tage nach der Kastration wurden die Wunden mit Hilfe eines Wundscores beurteilt. Um postoperative und zum Teil auch intraoperative Schmerzen zu beurteilen, wurde die Kortisolkonzentration im Blut gemessen. Die Ergebnisse der beiden Kontrollgruppen I und II zeigen, dass Kortisol nicht durch Handling und Blutentnahme bedingten Stress, jedoch aufgrund der neuroendokrinen Stressreaktion durch erhebliche kastrationsbedingte Schmerzen, eine Stunde nach der Kastration stark ansteigt, nach vier Stunden bereits nachlässt und nach 28 Stunden wieder den Basalwert erreicht. Tiere, welchen präoperativ Meloxicam appliziert wurde, zeigen eine Stunde nach der Kastration nur einen sehr geringen Kortisolanstieg und damit eine erhebliche Verringerung der postoperativen Schmerzen gegenüber ohne Schmerzausschaltung kastrierten Ferkeln. Hingegen scheint eine alleinige Metamizol-Applikation die Schmerzen nach der Kastration weniger effektiv als Meloxicam zu mindern. Tiere, die unter Lokalanästhesie kastriert wurden, zeigen eine Stunde nach der Kastration im Mittel den höchsten Kortisolanstieg. Dies deutet auf mindestens vergleichbare, wenn nicht größere Schmerzen durch die intratestikuläre Lokalanästhesie mit Procainhydrochlorid im Vergleich zur Kastration ohne Schmerzausschaltung hin. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung beeinflussen weder Kastrationsschmerz oder Stress durch Handling und Blutentnahmen die Stoffwechselparameter Glukose und Laktat, noch sind kastrations- und belastungsbedingte Muskelschäden mit Hilfe der Gewebeenzyme AST, CK, LDH und α HBDH zu messen. Innerhalb von 28 Stunden nach der Kastration treten bei keiner Gruppe Wundheilungsstörungen auf, die zum Anstieg der Leukozytenzahlen führen. Innerhalb von 14 Tagen sind mit Ausnahme der Ferkel der Metamizol-Gruppe, die nach 14 Tagen einen geringgradig höheren Wundscore aufweisen, keine Unterschiede des Wundheilungsverlaufs oder der Ferkelverluste festzustellen. Daraus folgt, dass die Kastration unter intratestikulärer Lokalanästhesie mit Procainhydrochlorid die Forderung nach einer Verringerung der Schmerzen bei der Kastration von Saugferkeln nicht erfüllt. Hingegen erweist sich die einmalige präoperative Injektion des nichtsteroidalen Antiphlogistikums Meloxicam sowohl im Hinblick auf die Schmerzreduzierung als auch aufgrund der Praktikabilität als die Methode der Wahl

An Artificial Intelligence Based Method For Optimized Warehouse Storage Allocation

Order picking is a major driver of warehouse operation costs. With the objective of minimizing the time and cost required for picking customer orders in large warehouses, this paper presents an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm for optimized warehouse storage allocation. Specifically, the linear upper confident bound (linUCB) algorithm, a contextual multi-arm bandit algorithm, is used to select storage locations for incoming products, that are optimal with regard to the expected stock removal. To facilitate the perception and decision making of the agent, dimensionality reduction by means of clustering is employed, enabling the linUCB agent to interact with a low dimensional representation of the warehouse. For training, we present a reward function that evaluates the agent’s decision making based on the actual cost of picking a product from the warehouse. Because the calculation of the reward metric is exclusively based on actually incurred picking distances, human bias in the design of the reward function is minimized. In a practical case study, the suggested method is applied to a real warehouse layout with 4,650 storage locations, two picking areas and 30 different product categories. For the training and evaluation of the method a warehouse simulation is used. The performance of the linUCB agent is benchmarked against a conventional ABC allocation strategy. A comparison shows that the artificial intelligence-based storage allocation outperforms the ABC-method

Implementation of piglet castration under inhalation anaesthesia on farrowing farms

Background Since 01.01.2021, suckling piglets may no longer be castrated without anaesthesia in Germany. Previous studies showed castration using isoflurane anaesthesia in combination with a suitable analgesic, meet the requirements of the German Animal Welfare Act. It can be carried out independently by farmers and other qualified persons with an automated and certified isoflurane device. Therefore, the aim of the present field study was to implement the use of three different anaesthetic devices for surgical castration of male piglets under automated isoflurane anaesthesia on 15 conventional pig farms in southern Germany. In addition, the depth of anaesthesia based on defensive movements, the labour time required in contrast to anaesthetic-free castration, castration-related anaesthetic incidents and the piglet mortality rate as well as occupational safety were investigated. For this purpose, farrowing batches of 11,574 piglets castrated under isoflurane anaesthesia (IA) were compared with the results of the 1568 piglets of anaesthetic-free farrowing batches (AF). Results In total, 80.1% of the castrated piglets showed sufficient depth of anaesthesia, although this varied significantly between devices. 1.7% of the piglets suffered an anaesthetic incident, of which 0.1% died during or within 24 h after anaesthesia. The required time for the complete working process differed significantly between AF (1.7 ± 0.8 min/piglet) and IA batches (2.2 ± 0.8 min/piglet) but not for castration itself. The mean isoflurane consumption was 0.57 ± 0.27 ml/piglet and differed significantly between the devices ( p < 0.001). The isoflurane concentration in the ambient air of the person-related workplace safety measurements was below the internationally lowest value of 15 mg/m 3 from Ontario and Israel. Conclusion In conclusion, 2 of the 3 types of devices used, a sufficient depth of anaesthesia during castration under isoflurane was achieved in 85% of castrated piglets. Anaesthetic incidents occurred in 1.7% of the animals, of which 0.1% died. Castration under isoflurane is more time-consuming than anaesthetic-free castration, but the castration time itself did not differ significantly. The occupational exposure limits were below the internationally lowest limit value of 15 mg/m 3 for the persons involved. Even though castration under isoflurane is more time consuming than anaesthetic-free castration, it is a well-establishable method for practice and a dear improvement for animal welfare

Archive for Architecture

Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in engl. SpracheDas Kunstareal München mit den Museen und Bildungsinstitutionen rund um die Pinakotheken und den Köngisplatz befindet sich derzeit im Um- und Aufbruch. Der Standort der heutigen Mensa der Technischen Universität im nördlichen Garten der Glyptothek wird mittelfristig als eine Folge des Umzugs weiterer Fakultäten zum Campus Garching aufgelöst werden. Aufgrund der besonderen Lage als Dreh- und Angelpunkt im Zentrum des Kunstareals München wird untersucht, welches Potenzial dieser Standort durch eine neue kulturelle Nutzung für das Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität im Kunstareal in sich trägt. Einleitend werden die Themenbereiche Kunstareal München, Architekturmuseum der TU München und Schaudepot näher betrachtet und erörtert, um grundlegende Informationen zum historischen Kontext des Orts, Nutzerprofil und dem spezifischen Gebäudetypus aufzuzeigen. Aus den gewonnenen Erkenntnissen geht der Entwurf "Architekturschaulager" hervor. Er umfasst ein architektonisches Gesamtkonzept für das Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München. Es entsteht nicht nur ein Ort der Verwahrung, sondern viel mehr eine neuartig verstandene Kombination von geistigem Studium, wissenschaftlicher Forschung und öffentlich zugänglicher Ausstellung.Kunstareal Munich, with its museums and educational institutions around Königsplatz and Pinako¬theken, is changing and upraising. The location of today´s canteen of the Technical University Munich in the northern garden of the Glyptothek in Munich-s Maxvorstadt will be closed by the relocation of further faculties to Campus Garching in the middle term. Due to the unique site in the center of the "Kunstareal München" the potential of this area as a location for the Museum of Architecture of the TU Munich is analyzed. Preliminarily, the topics Kunstareal, Museum of Architecture of the TU Munich and Schaudepot are considered and discussed in more detail in order to illustrate essential information about the historical background, user profile and the special typology of the building. The draft "Architekturschaulager" arises out of the findings gained from this analysis and comprises an architectural overall concept for the Museum of Architecture of the TU Munich. The result is not only a place of safekeeping, but rather a combination of intellectual studies, scientific research and public accessible exhibition.14

Ear tagging in piglets: the cortisol response with and without analgesia in comparison with castration and tail docking

The objectives of the present study were to compare the cortisol response caused by ear tagging piglets with the distress caused by other known painful husbandry procedures (e.g. castration and tail docking) and to evaluate the effectiveness of analgesia with meloxicam to reduce the cortisol response caused by these procedures. In total, 210 male piglets were randomised to equal numbers (n=30) into one of seven groups: a control group which was only handled (H), an ear tagged group that received no analgesia (ET), an ear tagged group with analgesia (ETM), a castration group with no analgesia (C), a castration group with analgesia (CM), a tail-docked group with no analgesia (TD) and a tail-docked group with analgesia (TDM). The procedures were carried out on day 3 or 4 after farrowing. Five blood samples were taken from each piglet: 30 min before the respective procedure (baseline value), and 30, 60 min, 4 and 7 h after processing, to assess cortisol concentrations. Means as well as the area under the curve (AUC) value were analysed and the effective sizes of the procedures were established. At 7 h after the experimental treatment, cortisol concentrations had returned to base values in all groups. ET evoked a greater cortisol response than H piglets at 30 min (P<0.001) and 60 min (P=0.001). The cortisol response to ET was lower than C at 30 min (P=0.001) but did not differ significantly at the other sample times. The mean cortisol response was similar between ET and TD piglets over all sample times. Taking both intensity and duration of the cortisol response into account (AUC), ET evoked a greater response than TD. Analgesia (ETM) resulted in significantly lower cortisol levels than ET at 30 and 60 min post-procedure. Castration (C) provoked the highest cortisol response of all procedures; a significant analgesic effect (CM) was shown only at 4 h post-procedure. TD resulted in significantly higher cortisol levels than H piglets only at 30 min; analgesia (TDM) significantly reduced the cortisol response at 30 min. We conclude that ear tagging causes a dramatic increase in cortisol levels compared with handling alone in piglets, which suggests that this procedure causes substantial distress. However, further research is needed to confirm these results

Towards a Mobile Peer-to-Peer Service Platform

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology is regarded as being disruptive for traditional fixed and mobile operators. However, it can also be considered as an opportunity for new ways of service provisioning. On the one hand, P2P concepts allow a more efficient usage of existing platform resources through relying on existing infrastructure including even the customer equipment and thus provide a cheap service platform. On the other hand, P2P technology brings new business opportunities through extending the service portfolio to user provided services and to ubiquitous environments. Along these lines, we outline in this paper the requirements and building blocks for a P2P based service platform for mobile environments. In addition to P2P lookup and information distribution, these building blocks include reliability, controllability, bootstrapping, reputation management, which address operator specific requirements in particular. Mobile networks pose severe challenges to a P2P service platform in terms of heterogeneous devices and access connections and frequent user joins and leaves. We present a hierarchical P2P system as a core component for a P2P service platform addressing those problems.

Penile Injuries in Immunocastrated and Entire Male Pigs of One Fattening Farm

Penile injuries in boars have been discussed as a relevant welfare problem in pork production with entire males (EM). The incidence of penile injuries with immunocastrated boars has not been described so far. Thus, it was the aim of this study to systematically compare frequency and severity of penile injuries in EM and IC. Incidence and size of penile injuries (wounds, scars, hematomas) were evaluated in 192 IC and 215 EM from one farm after slaughter (120 kg live weight; four batches (BA) in at least weekly intervals over five weeks). 75.8% EM and 48.4% IC showed injuries at the pars libra of the penis. Scars were observed in 71.2% EM and 44.8% IC. Scars/animal were significantly influenced by treatment (IC vs. EM), B and treatment x B and increased with age in EM (BA1: 2.61 ± 3.05; BA4: 3.59 ± 3.47), but not in IC (BA1: 2.00 ± 3.02; BA4: 1.22 ± 1.91). Wounds were obvious in 17.2% EM and 8.3% IC. Wounds/animal were only influenced significantly by treatment and were lower in IC than in EM. Thus, it is concluded that immunocastration reduces the frequency and severity of penile injuries in IC when compared to EM of same age and weight