A Test pf Calf Rations -- Methods of Controlling Contamination of Milk during Milking

A Test of Calf Rations Since the spring of 1899 the Department of Dairy Husbandry has been conducting experiments in calf rearing by using hand separator skim-milk and light rations of grain. The first test was published in Bulletin No. 68 of this Station and dealt with a comparison of calves reared by hand with those sucking their dams. The hand-fed calves were reared on skim-milk, ground flaxseed being used to replace the lacking butter fat. This test resulted in a fine lot of calves reared at a very low cost, but it also brought out the fact that much more data were needed in the way of comparing rations to be used with skim-milk. Methods of Controlling Contamination of Milk During Milking Milk contamination takes place largely during the process of milking, especially when the cows are kept in the barn. It was, therefore, thought best to start\u27 with investigations along this first and most troublesome source of infection, namely, milking. The plan of the experiment was to test a number of advocated methods of lessening milk contamination. \u27To do this, four cows were selected from the University dairy herd, all uniform in breed, weight, and time of lactation, so as to avoid, as much as possible,variation among individual animals

A Test pf Calf Rations -- Methods of Controlling Contamination of Milk during Milking

A Test of Calf Rations Since the spring of 1899 the Department of Dairy Husbandry has been conducting experiments in calf rearing by using hand separator skim-milk and light rations of grain. The first test was published in Bulletin No. 68 of this Station and dealt with a comparison of calves reared by hand with those sucking their dams. The hand-fed calves were reared on skim-milk, ground flaxseed being used to replace the lacking butter fat. This test resulted in a fine lot of calves reared at a very low cost, but it also brought out the fact that much more data were needed in the way of comparing rations to be used with skim-milk. Methods of Controlling Contamination of Milk During Milking Milk contamination takes place largely during the process of milking, especially when the cows are kept in the barn. It was, therefore, thought best to start\u27 with investigations along this first and most troublesome source of infection, namely, milking. The plan of the experiment was to test a number of advocated methods of lessening milk contamination. \u27To do this, four cows were selected from the University dairy herd, all uniform in breed, weight, and time of lactation, so as to avoid, as much as possible,variation among individual animals

ACTH-Bestimmungen im Plasma aus dem Bulbus cranialis venae jugularis

Der Anstieg der Corticosteroninkretion in das Nebennierenvenenblut frisch hypophysektomierter Ratten diente zur Bestimmung von ACTH-Spiegeln in 1 ml nativen, menschlichen Plasma. Normale ACTH-Plasmaspiegel sind sowohl bei Punktion der Vena cubitalis als auch des Bulbus cranialis venae jugularis durch diese Methode nicht oder nur ungenau zu erfassen. Bei Patienten mit pathologisch erhöhten ACTH-Spiegeln in der Vena cubitalis sind die ACTH-Spiegel im Bulbus cranialis venae jugularis signifikant höher. Es ließ sich eine Beziehung zwischen ACTH-Spiegel in der Peripherie (Vena cubitalis), Differenz der ACTH-Spiegel zwischen Bulbus cranialis venae jugularis und Vena cubitalis und biologischer Halbwertszeit von endogenem ACTH aufstellen. Nach den Ergebnissen der Bestimmung von ACTH-Spiegeln bei Nebennierengesunden läßt sich folgern, daß die biologische Halbwertszeit von endogenem ACTH größer als 4 min sein muß. Bei Patienten mit erhöhten ACTH-Spiegeln ließ sich die biologische Halbwertszeit von endogenem ACTH größenordnungsmäßig mit ca. 40 min berechnen. Bei diesen Patienten betrug die mittlere tägliche ACTH-Inkretion ca. 100 E.ACTH-contents of 1 ml specimens of human plasma were assayed by measurement of increases of corticosterone output in the adrenal vein of acutely hypophysectomized rats. This procedure is not sensitive enough to measure normal ACTH-levels acurately, neither when blood was drawn from the bulbus cranialis venae jugularis, nor from the vena cubitalis. In patients having pathologically elevated ACTH-levels, the ACTH-content of plasma is significantly higher in the bulbus cranialis venae jugularis than in peripheral venous blood. An equation is presented formulating the relation of peripheral ACTH-levels, differences of ACTH-levels between bulbus cranialis venae jugularis and vena cubitalis, and of the biological halflife of endogenous ACTH. On the basis of the results of the determinations of socalled normal ACTH-levels it can be concluded, that the biological halflife of endogenous ACTH is longer than 4 min. From the data of patients with elevated ACTH-levels a halflife of approximately 40 min and a mean ACTH-secretion of approx. 100 units per day could be calculated

The association of quantitative PSMA PET parameters with pathologic ISUP grade: an international multicenter analysis.

PURPOSE To assess if PSMA PET quantitative parameters are associated with pathologic ISUP grade group (GG) and upgrading/downgrading. METHODS PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with or without pelvic lymph node dissection staged with preoperative PSMA PET at seven referral centres worldwide were evaluated. PSMA PET parameters which included SUVmax, PSMAvolume, and total PSMA accumulation (PSMAtotal) were collected. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association between PSMA PET quantified parameters and surgical ISUP GG. Decision-tree analysis was performed to identify discriminative thresholds for all three parameters related to the five ISUP GGs The ROC-derived AUC was used to determine whether the inclusion of PSMA quantified parameters improved the ability of multivariable models to predict ISUP GG ≥ 4. RESULTS A total of 605 patients were included. Overall, 2%, 37%, 37%, 10% and 13% patients had pathologic ISUP GG1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. At multivariable analyses, all three parameters SUVmax, PSMAvolume and PSMAtotal were associated with GG ≥ 4 at surgical pathology after accounting for PSA and clinical T stage based on DRE, hospital and radioligand (all p  28, PSMAvol 0-2, 2-9, 9-20 and > 20 and PSMAtotal 0-12, 12-98 and > 98). PSMAvolume was significantly associated with GG upgrading (OR 1.03 95%CI 1.01 - 1.05). In patients with biopsy GG1-3, PSMAvolume ≥ 2 was significantly associated with higher odds for upgrading to ISUP GG ≥ 4, compared to PSMAvolume < 2 (OR 6.36, 95%CI 1.47 - 27.6). CONCLUSION Quantitative PSMA PET parameters are associated with surgical ISUP GG and upgrading. We propose clinically relevant thresholds of these parameters which can improve in PCa risk stratification in daily clinical practice

Cost-effectiveness of the implementation of [Ga-68]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT at initial prostate cancer staging

Background: Despite its high specificity, PSMA PET/CT has a moderate to low sensitivity of 40–50% for pelvic lymph node detection, implicating that a negative PSMA PET/CT cannot rule out lymph node metastases. This study investigates a strategy of implementing PSMA PET/CT for initial prostate cancer staging and treatment planning compared to conventional diagnostics. In this PSMA PET/CT strategy, a bilateral extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) is only performed in case of a negative PSMA PET/CT; in case of a positive scan treatment planning is solely based on PSMA PET/CT results. Method: A decision table and lifetime state transition model were created. Quality-adjusted life years and health care costs were modelled over lifetime. Results: The PSMA PET/CT strategy of treatment planning based on initial staging with [ 68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT results in cost-savings of €674 and a small loss in quality of life (QoL), 0.011 QALY per patient. The positive effect of [ 68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT was caused by abandoning both an ePLND and unnecessary treatment in iM1 patients, saving costs and resulting in higher QoL. The negative effect was caused by lower QoL and high costs in the false palliative state, due to pN1 lim patients (≤ 4 pelvic lymph node metastases) being falsely diagnosed as iN1 ext (> 4 pelvic lymph node metastases). These patients received subsequently palliative treatment instead of potentially curative therapy. Conclusion: Initial staging and treatment planning based on [ 68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT saves cost but results in small QALY loss due to the rate of false positive findings

The Development and External Validation of Artificial Intelligence-Driven MRI-Based Models to Improve Prediction of Lesion-Specific Extraprostatic Extension in Patients with Prostate Cancer

Adequate detection of the histopathological extraprostatic extension (EPE) of prostate cancer (PCa) remains a challenge using conventional radiomics on 3 Tesla multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (3T mpMRI). This study focuses on the assessment of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven models with innovative MRI radiomics in predicting EPE of prostate cancer (PCa) at a lesion-specific level. With a dataset encompassing 994 lesions from 794 PCa patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) at two Dutch hospitals, the study establishes and validates three classification models. The models were validated on an internal validation cohort of 162 lesions and an external validation cohort of 189 lesions in terms of discrimination, calibration, net benefit, and comparison to radiology reporting. Notably, the achieved AUCs ranged from 0.86 to 0.91 at the lesion-specific level, demonstrating the superior accuracy of the random forest model over conventional radiological reporting. At the external test cohort, the random forest model was the best-calibrated model and demonstrated a significantly higher accuracy compared to radiological reporting (83% vs. 67%, p = 0.02). In conclusion, an AI-powered model that includes both existing and novel MRI radiomics improves the detection of lesion-specific EPE in prostate cancer