•Cryosurgery (liquid nitrogen) or caustic paste debudding were evaluated in goat kids as alternatives to cautery disbudding.•Cryosurgery and caustic paste debudding elevated pain sensitivity relative ...to cautery disbudding.•Cautery disbudding caused skull injury, whereas the alternative methods did not.•Average daily gains were not affected by disbudding method.
Pain sensitivity and skull/brain injury associated with cautery, cryosurgical and caustic paste disbudding were evaluated in goat kids. Kids (reared for meat; n=280) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments (n=70 per treatment): (1) sham-handling (SHAM) or (2) cautery (CAUT), (3) cryosurgical (CRYO) or (4) caustic paste (CASP) disbudding. A pain sensitivity test was carried out 15min pre-treatment and 1h post-treatment. Skull/brain injury was assessed at post-mortem examination. Kids with evidence of injury to the skull/brain, as well as a random sample of kids (n=15 per treatment) without evidence of skull/brain injury, were selected for histological examination of brain tissue. Average daily gains (ADG) were calculated from body weight measurements taken 10min pre-treatment and then at 2, 7 and 14days post-treatment as a measure of the potential effects of pain or injury on growth. CASP and CRYO kids displayed higher pain sensitivity post-treatment than CAUT or SHAM kids, suggesting that they experienced more acute pain 1h post-treatment. One of 70 CAUT kids had a perforated skull, but there was no histological evidence of brain injury in this animal; a further nine CAUT kids exhibited hyperaemia of the skull. The other treatments did not result in injury to the skull/brain. There was no evidence of a difference in ADG across treatments. Caustic paste and cryosurgical disbudding resulted in greater acute pain sensitivity than cautery disbudding; however, cautery disbudding has the potential to cause skull injury if performed incorrectly.
Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in embedded wireless sensor networks with applications ranging from habitat monitoring to medical applications. Wireless sensor networks have several ...important attributes that require special attention to device design. These include the need for inexpensive, long-lasting, highly reliable devices coupled with very low performance requirements. Ultimately, the "holy grail" of this design space is a truly untethered device that operates off of energy scavenged from the ambient environment. In this paper, we describe an application-driven approach to the architectural design and implementation of a wireless sensor device that recognizes the event-driven nature of many sensor-network workloads. We have developed a full-system simulator for our sensor node design to verify and explore our architecture. Our simulation results suggest one to two orders of magnitude reduction in power dissipation over existing commodity-based systems for an important class of sensor network applications. We are currently in the implementation stage of design, and plan to tape out the first version of our system within the next year.
We report on the results of a spectroscopic analysis of the transition strengths of Er-doped LiNb03. The line strengths of several transitions from the ground state to excited state manifolds are ...evaluated from measured polarised absorption spectra and analysed using Judd-Ofelt theory, taking into account the crystal anisotropy. The measured and calculated oscillator strengths at 300 K compare favourably within the typical uncertainties associated with the Judd-Ofelt theory. The Judd-Ofelt parameters obtained have been used to evaluate the excited-state-absorption (ESA) transition strengths from the 4111,~level, which have important implications for pumping Er: LiNb03 devices.
— Efficient and very‐compact projectors embedded into mobile consumer‐electronic devices, such as handsets, media players, gaming consoles, and GPS units, will enable new consumer use and industry ...business models. A keystone component for such projectors is a green laser that is commensurately efficient and compact. A synthetic green‐laser architecture is described that can achieve efficiencies of 15%. The architecture consists of an infrared distributed Bragg reflector laser coupled into a second‐harmonic‐generation device for conversion to green.
Systems and tools are needed to identify and mitigate preconception health (PCH) risks, particularly for African American (AA) women, given persistent health disparities. We developed and tested ..."Gabby," an online preconception conversational agent system.
One hundred nongravid AA women 18-34 years of age were screened for over 100 PCH risks and randomized to the Gabby or control group. The Gabby group interacted with the system for up to six months; the control group received a letter indicating their health risks with a recommendation to talk with their clinician. The numbers, proportions, and types of risks were compared between groups.
There were 23.7 (SD 5.9) risks identified per participant. Eighty-five percent (77 of 91) provided 6 month follow up data. The Gabby group had greater reductions in the number (8.3 vs. 5.5 risks, P < .05) and the proportion (27.8% vs 20.5%, P < 0.01) of risks compared to controls. The Gabby group averaged 63.7 minutes of interaction time. Seventy-eight percent reported that it "was easy to talk to Gabby" and 64% used information from Gabby to improve their health.
Gabby was significantly associated with preconception risk reduction. More research is needed to determine if Gabby can benefit higher risk populations and if risk reduction is clinically significant.
An abstract of a study by Hempstead et al examining the effects of meloxicam (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and isoflurane (a general anesthetic) on the behavior of dairy goat kids ...following cautery disbudding is presented. The changes in behavior suggest that administration of either subcutaneous meloxicam or isoflurane gas was effective for reducing post-operative pain and distress associated with cautery disbudding in dairy goat kids.
Thalidomide is emerging as a useful agent in the management of several complications of disease due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We conducted three prospective studies of 56 HIV-infected ...patients who were treated with thalidomide for 14–21 days; 24 (43%) of these patients discontinued therapy owing to adverse reactions. Cutaneous and/or febrile reactions were the most frequent toxicities, arising in 20 (36%) of the patients. These reactions occurred after a mean interval (±SD) of 10 ± 3 days and were associated with significantly lower CD4 T lymphocyte counts in reactors than in nonreactors (median count, 52.5/mm3 vs. 242 cells/mm3, respectively; P = .009). Four of four rechallenged patients experienced accelerated hypersensitivity; hypotension occurred in one case. Although sedation was an almost universal side effect among the patients, it was moderate or severe in only seven (13%); constipation was moderate or severe in five (9%) of the patients. Severe neuropathic symptoms and mood changes were each noted in two (4%) of the 56 patients. We conclude that the increasing use of thalidomide to treat HIV-infected patients must be accompanied by recognition of the drug's increased potential for toxicity in this population.
Objective Cystic fibrosis (CF), caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) gene, continues to present diagnostic challenges. Newborn screening and an evolving ...understanding of CF genetics have prompted a reconsideration of the diagnosis criteria. Study design To improve diagnosis and achieve standardized definitions worldwide, the CF Foundation convened a committee of 32 experts in CF diagnosis from 9 countries to develop clear and actionable consensus guidelines on the diagnosis of CF and to clarify diagnostic criteria and terminology for other disorders associated with CFTR mutations. An a priori threshold of ≥80% affirmative votes was required for acceptance of each recommendation statement. Results After reviewing relevant literature, the committee convened to review evidence and cases. Following the conference, consensus statements were developed by an executive subcommittee. The entire consensus committee voted and approved 27 of 28 statements, 7 of which needed revisions and a second round of voting. Conclusions It is recommended that diagnoses associated with CFTR mutations in all individuals, from newborn to adult, be established by evaluation of CFTR function with a sweat chloride test. The latest mutation classifications annotated in the Clinical and Functional Translation of CFTR project ( http://www.cftr2.org/index.php ) should be used to aid in diagnosis. Newborns with a high immunoreactive trypsinogen level and inconclusive CFTR functional and genetic testing may be designated CFTR - related metabolic syndrome or CF screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis; these terms are now merged and equivalent, and CFTR - related metabolic syndrome/CF screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis may be used. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision codes for use in diagnoses associated with CFTR mutations are included.
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