Increasing the productivity of Morkaraman sheep through crossbreeding with prolific Romanov sheep under semi-intensive production systems

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cross-breeding Turkish indigenous Morkaraman (M) ewes with prolific Romanov (R) rams on the reproduction and performance traits, growth traits, slaughter and carcass characteristics of the crossbred offspring under semi-intensive production systems. No significant differences were observed between M and RxM for number of ewes lambing. The differences between M and RxM for number of lambs born alive, number of weaned lambs, number of lambs surviving up to 120 days, and up to the end of pasture were significant. Average birth, weaning, and post-grazing weights of lambs were 3.71 kg, 17.81 kg and 23.93 kg and 2.89 kg, 17.14 kg, and 22.32 kg in M and RxM lambs, respectively. The weight difference between M and R x M lambs at birth and at the end of the grazing period was significant. M had higher end-of-pasture and slaughter weight. After the grazing period, the slaughter characteristics of ram lambs were investigated. The differences between M and RxM lambs were significant for weight of slaughter, hot and cold carcass, tail fat, and organs (testis, heart and lung). Additionally, M lambs had a larger longissimus dorsi area than RxM lambs. It was evident that the M lambs had higher growth and slaughter values and some carcass characteristics than RxM crossbred lambs. It was concluded that, under the climate and management-nutritional conditions of the region, purebred M is a more suitable breed than RxM crossbreds.Keywords: Reproduction, growth performance, slaughter traits, carcass characteristic

Influence of bone density on implant stability parameters and implant success: a retrospective clinical study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of the present clinical study was to determine the local bone density in dental implant recipient sites using computerized tomography (CT) and to investigate the influence of local bone density on implant stability parameters and implant success.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 300 implants were placed in 111 patients between 2003 and 2005. The bone density in each implant recipient site was determined using CT. Insertion torque and resonance frequency analysis were used as implant stability parameters. The peak insertion torque values were recorded with OsseoCare machine. The resonance frequency analysis measurements were performed with Osstell instrument immediately after implant placement, 6, and 12 months later.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 300 implants placed, 20 were lost, meaning a survival rate of %. 93.3 after three years (average 3.7 ± 0.7 years). The mean bone density, insertion torque and RFA recordings of all 300 implants were 620 ± 251 HU, 36.1 ± 8 Ncm, and 65.7 ± 9 ISQ at implant placement respectively; which indicated statistically significant correlations between bone density and insertion torque values (p < 0.001), bone density and ISQ values (p < 0.001), and insertion torque and ISQ values (p < 0.001). The mean bone density, insertion torque and RFA values were 645 ± 240 HU, 37.2 ± 7 Ncm, and 67.1 ± 7 ISQ for 280 successful implants at implant placement, while corresponding values were 267 ± 47 HU, 21.8 ± 4 Ncm, and 46.5 ± 4 ISQ for 20 failed implants; which indicated statistically significant differences for each parameter (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CT is a useful tool to determine the bone density in the implant recipient sites, and the local bone density has a prevailing influence on primary implant stability, which is an important determinant for implant success.</p

Expanding the clinical and immunological phenotypes of PAX1-deficient SCID and CID patients

Paired box 1 (PAX1) deficiency has been reported in a small number of patients diagnosed with otofaciocervical syndrome type 2 (OFCS2). We described six new patients who demonstrated variable clinical penetrance. Reduced transcriptional activity of pathogenic variants confirmed partial or complete PAX1 deficiency. Thymic aplasia and hypoplasia were associated with impaired T cell immunity. Corrective treatment was required in 4/6 patients. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation resulted in poor immune reconstitution with absent naïve T cells, contrasting with the superior recovery of T cell immunity after thymus transplantation. Normal ex vivo differentiation of PAX1-deficient CD34+ cells into mature T cells demonstrated the absence of a hematopoietic cell-intrinsic defect. New overlapping features with DiGeorge syndrome included primary hypoparathyroidism (n = 5) and congenital heart defects (n = 2), in line with PAX1 expression during early embryogenesis. Our results highlight new features of PAX1 deficiency, which are relevant to improving early diagnosis and identifying patients requiring corrective treatment

Meta Modeling for Business Process Improvement

Conducting business process improvement (BPI) initiatives is a topic of high priority for today’s companies. However, performing BPI projects has become challenging. This is due to rapidly changing customer requirements and an increase of inter-organizational business processes, which need to be considered from an end-to-end perspective. In addition, traditional BPI approaches are more and more perceived as overly complex and too resource-consuming in practice. Against this background, the paper proposes a BPI roadmap, which is an approach for systematically performing BPI projects and serves practitioners’ needs for manageable BPI methods. Based on this BPI roadmap, a domain-specific conceptual modeling method (DSMM) has been developed. The DSMM supports the efficient documentation and communication of the results that emerge during the application of the roadmap. Thus, conceptual modeling acts as a means for purposefully codifying the outcomes of a BPI project. Furthermore, a corresponding software prototype has been implemented using a meta modeling platform to assess the technical feasibility of the approach. Finally, the usability of the prototype has been empirically evaluated

Postoperative outcomes in oesophagectomy with trainee involvement

BACKGROUND: The complexity of oesophageal surgery and the significant risk of morbidity necessitates that oesophagectomy is predominantly performed by a consultant surgeon, or a senior trainee under their supervision. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of trainee involvement in oesophagectomy on postoperative outcomes in an international multicentre setting. METHODS: Data from the multicentre Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Study Group (OGAA) cohort study were analysed, which comprised prospectively collected data from patients undergoing oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer between April 2018 and December 2018. Procedures were grouped by the level of trainee involvement, and univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to compare patient outcomes across groups. RESULTS: Of 2232 oesophagectomies from 137 centres in 41 countries, trainees were involved in 29.1 per cent of them (n = 650), performing only the abdominal phase in 230, only the chest and/or neck phases in 130, and all phases in 315 procedures. For procedures with a chest anastomosis, those with trainee involvement had similar 90-day mortality, complication and reoperation rates to consultant-performed oesophagectomies (P = 0.451, P = 0.318, and P = 0.382, respectively), while anastomotic leak rates were significantly lower in the trainee groups (P = 0.030). Procedures with a neck anastomosis had equivalent complication, anastomotic leak, and reoperation rates (P = 0.150, P = 0.430, and P = 0.632, respectively) in trainee-involved versus consultant-performed oesophagectomies, with significantly lower 90-day mortality in the trainee groups (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Trainee involvement was not found to be associated with significantly inferior postoperative outcomes for selected patients undergoing oesophagectomy. The results support continued supervised trainee involvement in oesophageal cancer surgery