Randomised positive control trial of NSAID and antimicrobial treatment for calf fever caused by pneumonia

One hundred and fifty-four preweaning calves were followed between May and October 2015. Calves were fitted with continuous monitoring temperature probes (TempVerified FeverTag), programmed so a flashing light emitting diode (LED) light was triggered following six hours of a sustained ear canal temperature of ≥39.7°C. A total of 83 calves (61.9 per cent) developed undifferentiated fever, with a presumptive diagnosis of pneumonia through exclusion of other calf diseases. Once fever was detected, calves were randomly allocated to treatment groups. Calves in group 1 (NSAID) received 2 mg/kg flunixin meglumine (Allevinix, Merial) for three consecutive days and group 2 (antimicrobial) received 6 mg/kg gamithromycin (Zactran, Merial). If fever persisted for 72 hours after the initial treatment, calves were given further treatment (group 1 received antimicrobial and group 2 received NSAID). Calves in group 1 (NSAID) were five times more likely (P=0.002) to require a second treatment (the antimicrobial) after 72 hours to resolve the fever compared with the need to give group 2 (antimicrobial) calves a second treatment (NSAID). This demonstrates the importance of ongoing monitoring and follow-up of calves with respiratory disease. However, of calves with fever in group 1 (NSAID), 25.7 per cent showed resolution following NSAID-only treatment with no detrimental effect on the development of repeated fever or daily live weight gain. This suggests that NSAID alone may be a useful first-line treatment, provided adequate attention is given to ongoing monitoring to identify those cases that require additional antimicrobial treatment

Physico-chemical and sensory properties of cassava flour biscuits supplemented with mango flour

Biscuits are ready-to-eat and convenient food product containing digestive and dietary principles of vital importance. A study was undertaken to develop biscuits with good nutritional quality from cassava flour (CF) and mango flour (MF) and to evaluate the quality characteristics of biscuits produced. Cassava roots were processed into flour using standard method. Moderately ripe mangoes were washed, peeled, sliced, dried in a heat pump dehumidifier dryer at the temperature of 40°C for 3 hours and ground to produce MF. The MF was used at different levels of 10, 15,20 and 25% to substitute the CF for biscuit formulations. The developed biscuits were subjected to physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory quality evaluation. Physicochemical analyses revealed that there were no significant differences (p<0.05) in relation to moisture content in all biscuit samples made with different percentage of MF. The average moisture content of the biscuits was 6.93%. The protein, fibre, fat, ash and vitamin C content increased with increase in the proportion of MF level, with the 20% MF level having the values of 8.11%, 2.33%, 15.90%, 2.71% and 23.50 mg/100 g, respectively. The highest protein and fibre content were found in biscuit sample supplemented with 25% of MF; this biscuit sample was not significantly different from the sample supplemented with 20% MF. The soluble carbohydrate contents were highest for all biscuit samples in terms of all the physico-chemical parameters. Biscuits supplemented with 25% MF had the highest vitamin C content (24.61 mg/100 g) and this sample was not significantly different from the biscuit supplemented with 20% MF. The pH values of the biscuit samples decreased significantly (p<0.05) with the increase in MF supplementation but they were >6.0 being considered non acidic food product. Microbiological analysis indicated that there was no total plate count observed in the tested samples. Sensory evaluation showed that supplementation of CF biscuits with MF up to 20% did not significantly (p<0.05) affect the color, texture, crispiness and taste except aroma when compared with the control sample. The supplementation of CF with MF had been successful for the formulation of biscuits with better physicochemical and organoleptic qualities within the universal standards for biscuits

The Total Open Monophonic Number of a Graph

For a connected graph G of order n &gt;- 2, a subset S of vertices of G is a monophonic set of G if each vertex v in G lies on a x-y monophonic path for some elements x and y in S. The minimum cardinality of a monophonic set of G is defined as the monophonic number of G, denoted by m(G).&nbsp; A&nbsp; monophonic set of cardinality m(G) is called a m-set of G. A set S of vertices&nbsp; of a connected graph G is an open monophonic set of G if for each vertex v&nbsp; in G, either v is an extreme vertex of G and v ˆˆ? S, or v is an internal vertex&nbsp;of a x-y monophonic path for some x, y ˆˆ? S. An open monophonic set ofÂ&nbsp;minimum cardinality is a minimum open monophonic set and this cardinality is the open monophonic number, om(G). A connected open monophonic set of G is an open monophonic set S such that the subgraph &lt; S &gt; induced by S is connected. The minimum cardinality of a connected open monophonic set of G is the connected open monophonic number of G and is denoted by omc(G). A total open monophonic set of a graph G is an open monophonic set&nbsp;S such that the subgraph &lt; S &gt; induced by S contains no isolated vertices. The minimum cardinality of a total open monophonic set of G is the total open monophonic number of G and is denoted by omt(G). A total open monophonic&nbsp;set of cardinality omt(G) is called a omt-set of G. The total open monophonic&nbsp; numbers of certain standard graphs are determined. Graphs with total open monphonic number 2 are characterized. It is proved that if G is a connected graph such that omt(G) = 3 (or omc(G) = 3), then G = K3 or G contains&nbsp;exactly two extreme vertices. It is proved that for any integer n&nbsp; 3, there exists a connected graph G of order n such that om(G) = 2, omt(G) = omc(G) = 3. It is proved that for positive integers r, d and k&nbsp; 4 with 2r, there exists&nbsp;a connected graph of radius r, diameter d and total open monophonic number k. It is proved that for positive integers a, b, n with 4 &lt;_ a&lt;_ b &lt;_n, there exists&nbsp; a connected graph G of order n such that omt(G) = a and omc(G) = b

Cross Pixel Optical Flow Similarity for Self-Supervised Learning

We propose a novel method for learning convolutional neural image representations without manual supervision. We use motion cues in the form of optical flow, to supervise representations of static images. The obvious approach of training a network to predict flow from a single image can be needlessly difficult due to intrinsic ambiguities in this prediction task. We instead propose a much simpler learning goal: embed pixels such that the similarity between their embeddings matches that between their optical flow vectors. At test time, the learned deep network can be used without access to video or flow information and transferred to tasks such as image classification, detection, and segmentation. Our method, which significantly simplifies previous attempts at using motion for self-supervision, achieves state-of-the-art results in self-supervision using motion cues, competitive results for self-supervision in general, and is overall state of the art in self-supervised pretraining for semantic image segmentation, as demonstrated on standard benchmarks

A new adaptive test for paired data for small to moderate sample sizes.

When carrying out data analysis, a practitioner has to decide on a suitable test for hypothesis testing, and as such, would look for a test that has a high relative power. Tests for paired data tests are usually conducted using t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test or the sign test. Some adaptive tests have also been suggested in the literature by O'Gorman, who found that no single member of that family performed well for all sample sizes and different tail weights, and hence, he recommended that choice of a member of that family be made depending on both the sample size and the tail weight. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive test. Simulation studies for n=25 and n=50 show that it works well for nearly all tail weights ranging from the light-tailed beta and uniform distributions to t(4) distributions. More precisely, our test has both robustness of level (in keeping the empirical levels close to the nominal level) and efficiency of power. The results of our study contribute to the area of statistical inference

A Brief Introduction to Decolonial Computing

Does computing need to be decolonized, and if so, how should such decolonization be effected? This short essay introduces a recent proposal at the fringes of computing, which attempts to engage these and other related questions

Emerging Hallmarks of Mitochondrial Biochemistry in Cardiac Trabecular Morphogenesis and Left Ventricular Noncompaction (LVNC)

Functioning as a pivotal platform for energy production and transduction, mitochondria generate ATP to meet the dynamic demands of embryonic development. Consequently, disruption or alteration in mitochondrial activity influences not only cellular status, but also can impact organ formation. Disrupted mitochondrial performance not only impairs cardiovascular function but can also disrupt cardiac maturation through prevention of the myocardium’s transition between the trabeculation to the compaction phase. During embryonic development, proliferating cardiomyocytes create a trabecular mesh network. Gradual compaction of this network transforms the intra-trabecular spaces into the capillaries of the coronary circulation. Achievement of functional compaction and ultimately normal cardiac function is dependent in part on mitochondrial well-being with failure to complete remodeling of the inner trabecular layer contributing to disrupted endocardial vasculature and fibrosis, left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). LVNC, commonly associated with mitochondrial genetic alterations, is speculated to occur due to an interruption during the process of compaction at the early developmental stages of the left ventricle (LV). Mitochondrial mutations, remain the common etiology of LVNC with a wide spectrum of these genes associated with other cardiomyopathies related to LVNC. Understanding the impact that mitochondrial genetic alterations have on the evolution of cardiac noncompaction could provide new treatment opportunities