Highlights of progress in the production of silage over the past 50 years include the introduction of improved hybrids of maize (Zea mays L.), the forage harvester, the big baler, polyethylene ...covering for horizontal silos, stretch‐wrap film for bales and novel additives designed to improve the fermentation and aerobic stability of silage. The key biochemical pathways in the silage fermentation have been described together with the effects of microbial and chemical additives on fermentation and aerobic stability during the feed‐out phase. The significance of oxygen and water in silage fermentation has been quantified and efficacy of covering silos has been established, with recent progress in the development of oxygen barrier film. Future perspectives include improving food safety and animal health by increasing the hygienic quality of silage, reducing the environmental impact of silage by decreasing loss of nitrogen to soil and atmosphere, reducing methanogenesis in the rumen and increasing methane yield from silage as biofuel, and the use of silages as feedstocks for multiple end uses in biorefineries.
Bsed on the recent observations from two underground laboratories, the construction-induced excavation damage zone (EDZCI) caused by explosion or by mechanical excavation and stress-induced ...excavation damage zone (EDZSI) are distinguished. The key location for in situ testing of EDZ and method development has been the TBM tunnel in Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden since the 1990s. The research and development has been continued between 2010 and 2012 with in situ stress measurement campaign and in 2013 with ground penetrating radar investigations with new GPR EDZ method. The new GPR EDZ method based on frequency analysis of the reflected signal indicates mean depth for EDZCI of 120mm. The same zone is indicated also by various other geophysical and laboratory methods, and is distinguished as construction-induced and continuous around the tunnel perimeter. Fracture mechanics modelling suggests a lowered hydraulic conductivity of 1.8×10−13m/s in EDZSI and 4.0×10−11m/s in EDZCI. Biaxial testing suggests a zone in which Young’s modulus values are lowered, and which is not continuous around the tunnel. This zone is distinguished as an observable part of stress-induced EDZSI.
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•The stress-induced excavation damage zone EDZSI and the construction-induced excavation damage zone EDZCI are distinguished and defined.•Several observations of the construction-induced damage zone are reported.•Observations of the stress-induced damage zone are reported.•Fracture mechanics modelling is used to study the properties of the EDZSI and EDZCI.
Background The radial nerve is at risk after diaphyseal humeral fracture or surgery to repair the fracture. We hypothesized that there are no factors associated with iatrogenic radial nerve palsy ...and, secondarily, that there are no factors associated with traumatic radial nerve palsy or radial nerve palsy of any type. Methods We analyzed 325 adult patients who underwent operative treatment of a diaphyseal humerus fracture at 6 hospitals between January 2002 and November 2014 to determine factors associated with a radial nerve palsy. We excluded patients with pathologic fractures, fractures with massive bone loss, prior surgery in another hospital, periprosthetic fractures, and if no operative note was available. Results In patients without a traumatic radial nerve palsy, an iatrogenic radial nerve palsy occurred in 18 of 259 diaphyseal humeral fractures (7%). The surgical approach was associated with iatrogenic radial nerve palsy ( P = .034). No factors were associated with traumatic radial nerve palsy (66 of 325 patients 20%) of the humeral diaphysis. Open fractures, location of fracture, and high-energy trauma were significantly associated with radial nerve palsy of any type (84 of 325 patients 26%). Conclusions Patients and surgeons should keep in mind that iatrogenic transient dysfunction of the radial nerve will occur in approximately 1 in 5 patients treated with lateral exposure of the humerus, in 1 in 9 patients treated with posterior exposure, and in 1 in 25 patients with an anterolateral exposure.
•Potential of locally produced feeds to provide protein to dairy cows was evaluated.•Rapeseed meal, faba beans and blue lupin seeds were compared with a control diet.•Rapeseed and faba bean ...supplementation increased omasal amino acid supply by 11%.•Rapeseed meal provided better amino acid profile compared with the grain legumes.•Faba bean showed some positive features compared with dies based on blue lupin.
Information about the amino acid (AA) supply of locally produced protein supplements to dairy cow metabolism is needed to design sustainable diets for milk production. In this dairy cow experiment, grass silage and cereal-based diets supplemented with isonitrogenous amounts of rapeseed meal (RSM), faba beans (FB) and blue lupin seeds (BL) were compared with a control diet (CON) without protein supplementation. The diets were arranged as a 4 × 4 Latin Square using periods of 21 days, and four rumen-cannulated Nordic Red dairy cows were used in the experiment. The intake of all AAs increased in response to protein supplementation and was for many individual AAs higher when RSM rather than the grain legumes FB and BL were fed. The total AA flow at the omasal canal was 3 026, 3 371, 3 373 and 3 045 g/day for cows fed CON, RSM, FB and BL, respectively, but only RSM resulted in higher milk protein output. This may be explained by the higher provision of essential AA for milk protein synthesis when RSM was fed. The cows fed FB showed some positive features such as a tendency for greater omasal flow of branched-chain AA compared with BL. Overall, low plasma methionine and/or glucose concentrations in all treatments suggest that their supply was possibly limiting further production responses under the dietary conditions of the current study. It seems that the benefits of grain legume supplementation are limited when high-quality grass silage and cereal-based diets are used as the basal diet, but higher responses in amino acid supply and subsequent production responses can be expected when RSM is used.
A meta-analysis based on published experiments with lactating dairy cows fed mainly grass silage-based diets was conducted to study the effects of intake, diet composition, and digestibility at a ...maintenance level of feeding on the apparent total diet digestibility. A data set that included a total of 497 dietary treatment means from 92 studies was collected and analyzed using mixed model regression analysis with a random study effect. Diet organic matter digestibility (OMD) in dairy cows at a production level (OMDp) was positively associated with OMD at maintenance (OMDm), but the slope was less than 1 (0.69). Diet OMDp decreased as feed intake increased, and diets with high OMDm exhibited greater depressions in digestibility with increased intake than did diets with low OMDm. Digestibility of organic matter and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) increased as dietary crude protein concentration increased, whereas increased concentrate fat decreased digestibility. Replacement of grass silage with whole-crop cereal silage was associated with a quadratic decrease in diet digestibility. Metabolic fecal output, defined as fecal organic matter minus NDF, averaged 95.8 (SE=0.65) g/kg of dry matter intake, and it was not influenced by intake or diet composition. Variation in OMDp in cows fed grass silage-based diets was therefore attributable to variation in dietary NDF concentration and NDF digestibility. Depression in digestibility of organic matter with increased intake was less than predicted by the National Research Council and Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein systems. The following 2-parameter model indicates that the difference between OMD estimated in sheep fed at maintenance compared with dairy cows at production level is related both to dry matter intake and digestibility at maintenance level: OMDp=257 (±43) + 0.685 (±0.054) × OMDm (g/kg of dry matter) – 2.6 (±0.44) × dry matter intake (kg/d); adjusted residual mean square error=8.4g/kg. It was concluded that diet digestibility in dairy cows can be predicted accurately and precisely from digestibility estimated at maintenance intake in sheep by using regression models including animal and dietary factors.
Background and purpose: This study aims to assess time trends in case-mix and to evaluate the risk of revision and causes following primary THA, TKA, and UKA in private and public hospitals in the ...Netherlands.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 476,312 primary arthroplasties (public: n = 413,560 and private n = 62,752) implanted between 2014 and 2023 using Dutch Arthroplasty Register data. We explored patient demographics, procedure details, trends over time, and revisions per hospital type. Adjusted revision risk was calculated for comparable subgroups (ASA I/II, age ≤ 75, BMI ≤ 30, osteoarthritis diagnosis, and moderate–high socioeconomic status (SES).Results: The volume of THAs and TKAs in private hospitals increased from 4% and 9% in 2014, to 18% and 21% in 2022. Patients in private hospitals were younger, had lower ASA classification, lower BMI, and higher SES compared with public hospital patients. In private hospitals, age and ASA II proportion increased over time. Multivariable Cox regression demonstrated a lower revision risk for primary THA (HR 0.7, CI 0.7–0.8), TKA (HR 0.8, CI 0.7–0.9), and UKA (HR 0.8, CI 0.7–0.9) in private hospitals. After initial arthroplasty in private hospitals, 49% of THA and 37% of TKA revisions were performed in public hospitals.Conclusion: Patients in private hospitals were younger, had lower ASA classification, lower BMI, and higher SES compared with public hospital patients. The number of arthroplasties increased in private hospitals, with a lower revision risk compared with public hospitals.
Politicians' work pressure is gaining more attention in parliamentary studies. To participate in the discussion about governing under pressure, this article offers an interdisciplinary approach to ...investigate how representatives navigate within a flexible, limitless work culture. This article presents a new inquiry to re-examine contemporary political agency by combining cultural studies theories with empirical insights in Nordic countries. By analysing 52 semi-structured interviews with MPs in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the study finds that politics attracts people who want to change the world, but these attributes may initiate a vicious cycle, taking the form of psychological strain.
The direct superior approach (DSA) is a modification of the classic posterolateral approach (PLA) for total hip arthroplasty (THA), in which the iliotibial band and short external rotators are ...spared. The revision rate of the DSA has not been investigated previously using arthroplasty registry data. We examined the reasons and risk of revision of the DSA, compared with the direct anterior approach (DAA) and PLA.
In this population-based cohort study we included 175,543 primary THAs performed between 2014 and 2020 (PLA, n = 117,576; DAA, n = 56,626; DSA, n = 1,341). Competing risk survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses, adjusted for potential confounders, were performed.
After 3 years, crude revision rates due to any reason were 2.1% (95% confidence interval CI 1.3-3.3) for DSA, and 2.9% (CI 2.8-3.0) for PLA. Crude dislocation revision rates were 0.3% (CI 0.1-0.8) for DSA, versus 1.0% (CI 0.9-1.0) for PLA. Dislocation revision rate for DSA did not differ from DAA (0.3% CI 0.2-0.3). Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated no overall difference in revision rates for the DSA (HR 0.6 CI 0.4-1.09) compared with the PLA. Lower risk of revision due to dislocation was found in patients operated on through the DSA (HR 0.3 0.1-0.9) compared with the PLA.
Early nationwide results suggest that the DSA for total hip arthroplasty seems to show a tendency towards a lower risk of revision for dislocation but no overall reduced revision risk compared with the PLA.
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