Some Slaughter and Carcass Traits of the Lambs of Dalmatian Pramenka Reared in Three Different Fattening Systems

In order to determine the impact of different fattening system (I - milk, pasture; II - indoors, milk, grains, III - milk, pasture, concentrate) on slaughter value and carcass quality of the lambs of Dalmatian Pramenka, 18 lambs (100 ± 5 days old), 6 in each group, were slaughtered. Lambs of one group were from the same flock and selected by birth weight (2.00 ± 0.20 kg). After slaughtering and cutting the carcasses into halves, in order to determine the share of legs and shoulders as well as certain tissues in the halves, the legs and shoulders were separated from the halves and total dissection was made. The significant differences (P<0.05) of slaughter weight (I - 21.17 kg, II - 23.25 kg, III - 26.25 kg) and hot carcass weight (I - 9.98 kg, II - 11.92 kg, III - 12.92 kg) among three groups were found. The legs II (1.65 kg) and III (1.71 kg) were significantly heavier (P<0.001) than legs I (1.32 kg), as well as shoulders (I - 0.52 kg, II - 0.65 kg, III - 0.69 kg; P<0.01). Total dissection of the halves established these tissues ratio: muscle 51.25 %, fat 10.18 %, connective 13.93%, bone 23.04% and other tissues 2.32%. The biggest quantity of muscle tissue was found in halves III (3.27 kg) what was more (P<0.05) than in halves II (2.83 kg) and I (2.50 kg). However, the biggest quantity of fat was found in halves II (0.85 kg) what was more (P<0.01) than in halves I (0.33 kg) and III (0.52 kg). Therefore, the addition of concentrate in pasture fattening system (III) increased the muscularity, without significantly increasing the amount of fat in the lamb carcass

Resting Behaviour of Broilers in Three Different Rearing Systems

The highest number of broilers is reared in the intensive fattening system on the floor with litter. Besides the intensive systems some sustainable rearing ways are also brought forward (ecological, biologic-dynamic, organic, etc.). The aim of this study was to establish the possible differences in resting behaviour of broilers in three rearing systems: intensive on the floor, free range, and organic system. The results showed great varieties between intensive and less intensive systems. In the intensive system on the floor animals rested statistically highly significantly more than in other two systems. However no differences in the behaviour of broilers in the stall were noticed, ifcompared to broilers in free range and those in the organic system. Comparison of the outdoor area showed that broilers rested statistically significantly more in the organic system. The reasons for different resting behaviour could be in leg weakness, body weight, group size, health problems, age, housing system, etc. Our research did not confirm our hypothesis that the older broilers rest more

Diagnostic accuracy of haemophilia early arthropathy detection with ultrasound (HEAD-US): A comparative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study

Background. Repeated haemarthroses affect approximately 90% of patients with severe haemophilia and lead to progressive arthropathy, which is the main cause of morbidity in these patients. Diagnostic imaging can detect even subclinical arthropathy changes and may impact prophylactic treatment. Magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) is generally the gold standard tool for precise evaluation of joints, but it is not easily feasible in regular follow-up of patients with haemophilia. The development of the standardized ultrasound (US) protocol for detection of early changes in haemophilic arthropathy (HEAD-US) opened new perspectives in the use of US in management of these patients. The HEAD-US protocol enables quick evaluation of the six mostly affected joints in a single study. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the HEAD-US protocol for the detection and quantification of haemophilic arthropathy in comparison to the MRI. Patients and methods. The study included 30 patients with severe haemophilia. We evaluated their elbows, ankles and knees (overall 168 joints) by US using the HEAD-US protocol and compared the results with the MRI using the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG) MRI score. Results. The results showed that the overall HEAD-US score correlated very highly with the overall IPSG MRI score (r = 0.92). Correlation was very high for the evaluation of the elbows and knees (r 48 0.95), and slightly lower for the ankles (r 48 0.85). Conclusions. HEAD-US protocol proved to be a quick, reliable and accurate method for the detection and quantification of haemophilic arthropathy

B --> pi and B --> K transitions in partially quenched chiral perturbation theory

We study the properties of the B-->pi and B-->K transition form factors in partially quenched QCD by using the approach of partially quenched chiral perturbation theory combined with the static heavy quark limit. We show that the form factors change almost linearly when varying the value of the sea quark mass, whereas the dependence on the valence quark mass contains both the standard and chirally divergent (quenched) logarithms. A simple strategy for the chiral extrapolations in the lattice studies with Nsea=2 is suggested. It consists of the linear extrapolations from the realistically accessible quark masses, first in the sea and then in the valence quark mass. From the present approach, we estimate the uncertainty induced by such extrapolations to be within 5%.Comment: Published versio

B-->pi and B-->K transitions in standard and quenched chiral perturbation theory

We study the effects of chiral logs on the heavy-->light pseudoscalar meson transition form factors by using standard and quenched chiral perturbation theory combined with the static heavy quark limit. The resulting expressions are used to indicate the size of uncertainties due to the use of the quenched approximation in the current lattice studies. They may also be used to assess the size of systematic uncertainties induced by missing chiral log terms in extrapolating toward the physical pion mass. We also provide the coefficient multiplying the quenched chiral log, which may be useful if the quenched lattice studies are performed with very light mesons.Comment: 33 pages, 8 PostScript figures, version to appear in PR

Two component dark matter

We explain the PAMELA positron excess and the PPB-BETS/ATIC e+ + e- data using a simple two component dark matter model (2DM). The two particle species in the dark matter sector are assumed to be in thermal equilibrium in the early universe. While one particle is stable and is the present day dark matter, the second one is metastable and decays after the universe is 10^-8 s old. In this model it is simple to accommodate the large boost factors required to explain the PAMELA positron excess without the need for large spikes in the local dark matter density. We provide the constraints on the parameters of the model and comment on possible signals at future colliders.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, discussion clarified and extende

Two-dimensional limit of exchange-correlation energy functional approximations in density functional theory

We investigate the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) exchange-correlation energy functional approximations of density functional theory in anisotropic systems with two-dimensional (2D) character. Using two simple models, quasi-2D electron gas and two-electron quantum dot, we show a {\it fundamental limitation} of the local density approximation (LDA), and its semi-local extensions, generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and meta-GGA (MGGA), the most widely used forms of which are worse than the LDA in the strong 2D limit. The origin of these shortcomings is in the inability of the local (LDA) and semi-local (GGA/MGGA) approximations to describe systems with 2D character in which the nature of the exchange-correlation hole is very nonlocal. Nonlocal functionals provide an alternative approach, and explicitly the average density approximation (ADA) is shown to be remarkably accurate for the quasi-2D electron gas system. Our study is not only relevant for understanding of the functionals but also practical applications to semiconductor quantum structures and materials such as graphite and metal surfaces. We also comment on the implication of our findings to the practical device simulations based on the (semi-)local density functional method.Comment: 21 pages including 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Determining γ\gamma using B±→DK±B^\pm \to D K^\pm with multibody D decays

We propose a method for determining $\gamma$ using $B^\pm\to D K^\pm$ decays followed by a multibody $D$ decay, such as $D \to K_S \pi^-\pi^+$, $D \to K_S K^-K^+$ and $D \to K_S \pi^-\pi^+\pi^0$. The main advantages of the method is that it uses only Cabibbo allowed $D$ decays, and that large strong phases are expected due to the presence of resonances. Since no knowledge about the resonance structure is needed, $\gamma$ can be extracted without any hadronic uncertainty.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Clinical Implementation of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy-Regional Disparities across Selected ESC Member Countries.

BACKGROUND: The present analysis aimed to estimate the penetration of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on the basis of the prevalence and incidence of eligible patients in selected European countries and in Israel. METHODS AND RESULTS: The following countries were considered: Italy, Slovakia, Greece, Israel, Slovenia, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. CRT penetration was defined as the number of patients treated with CRT (CRT patients) divided by the prevalence of patients eligible for CRT. The number of CRT patients was estimated as the sum of CRT implantations in the last 5 years, the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) White Book being used as the source. The prevalence of CRT indications was derived from the literature by applying three epidemiologic models, a synthesis of which indicates that 10% of heart failure (HF) patients are candidates for CRT. HF prevalence was considered to range from 1% to 2% of the general population, resulting in an estimated range of prevalence of CRT indication between 1000 and 2000 patients per million inhabitants. Similarly, the annual incidence of CRT indication, representing the potential target population once CRT has fully penetrated, was estimated as between 100 and 200 individuals per million. The results showed the best CRT penetration in Italy (47-93%), while in some countries it was less than 5% (Romania, Russian Federation, and Ukraine). CONCLUSION: CRT penetration differs markedly among the countries analyzed. The main barriers are the lack of reimbursement for the procedure and insufficient awareness of guidelines by the referring physicians

A consistent picture for large penguins in D -> pi+ pi-, K+ K-

A long-standing puzzle in charm physics is the large difference between the D0 -> K+ K- and D0 -> pi+ pi- decay rates. Recently, the LHCb and CDF collaborations reported a surprisingly large difference between the direct CP asymmetries, Delta A_CP, in these two modes. We show that the two puzzles are naturally related in the Standard Model via s- and d-quark "penguin contractions". Their sum gives rise to Delta A_CP, while their difference contributes to the two branching ratios with opposite sign. Assuming nominal SU(3) breaking, a U-spin fit to the D0 -> K+ pi-, pi+ K-, pi+ pi-, K+ K- decay rates yields large penguin contractions that naturally explain Delta A_CP. Expectations for the individual CP asymmetries are also discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure