Effects of barrier perch access and early dietary protein and energy dilution on some welfare parameters, tibiotarsus measurements, fear and mobility level in broiler chickens.

1. This experiment determined the effect of increasing mobility in broiler chickens by placing barrier perches between feeders and drinkers. In addition, the limitation of early weight gain by dietary energy and protein dilution on some welfare parameters, tibiotarsus measurements, fear and mobility level was examined.2. A total of 504 male, one-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to four treatments with three replicate pens per treatment and 42 broiler chickens per pen as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Treatments included feeding the basal control diet between 0-42 days or a diet diluted by 10% energy and 20% crude protein fed between 0-21 d, with the control diet fed between 22-42 d. The second factor was the presence or absence of barrier perches. All treatments were allocated as a completely randomised design. Welfare parameters (foot pad dermatitis, hock burn, gait score, feather score, breast blister), tibiotarsus measurements (bone mineral content, bone mineral density, fluctuating asymmetry and relative fluctuating asymmetry), tonic immobility and mobility level were recorded.3. Results showed that access to a barrier perch and the diluted diet increased the mobility in broiler chickens. However, access to a barrier perch had no significant effect on tibiotarsus and welfare parameters. Broiler chickens had better gait scores (P < 0.05) and lower foot pad dermatitis incidence (P < 0.01) in groups fed the diluted diet. The diluted diet had no significant effect on bone mineral density but reduced the tibiotarsus bone mineral content (P < 0.05).4. In conclusion, the diluted diet provided positive effects in terms of leg health due to weight gain limitations in the early period, thus improving broiler chicken welfare.

Sarcoidosis of the vagina treated with methotrexate.

We describe the first case of mediolateral episiotomic sarcoidosis of the deep vaginal tissue, without involvement of the pulmonary parenchyma or pulmonary symptoms. A 68-year-old female was admitted with a vaginal mass that had developed about 1 month prior. On bimanual examination, we found a painful solid mass approximately 4 cm in diameter on the episiotomy line of the deep vaginal tissue. The patient underwent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging on suspicion of a malignancy, and a vaginal true-cut biopsy was performed. The biopsy specimen exhibited non-caseating, granulomatous inflammation and many multinucleated giant cells, strongly suggesting sarcoidosis. We had excluded other granulomatous diseases; a final diagnosis was made of stage-1 sarcoidosis in the deep vaginal mass. A 3-month course of methotrexate (2.5 mg/week) was commenced to treat a flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis. The vaginal mass resolved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of sarcoidosis in a deep vaginal mass without pulmonary parenchymal or other solid-organ involvement.

Distribution of CXCR4 and γ-catenin expression pattern in breast cancer subtypes and their relationship to axillary nodal involvement.

Chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and γ-catenin are known to play an important role in development of metastasis in breast cancer. However, there is not enough information about these biological markers' distribution in different breast cancer subtypes, or their relationship to lymph node metastases in each subtype. In this study, staining characteristics of CXCR4 and γ-catenin were analyzed in each breast cancer subtype and their relationship to lymph node involvement explored. There was a statistically significant relationship between CXCR4 and certain tumor subtypes (p < 0.05). Basal-like and HER2 enriched tumors showed strong CXCR4 positivity (45.7%). Furthermore, a significant correlation was discovered between CXCR4 positivity and lymph node involvement (p < 0.05). Among tumor subtypes staining positively with CXCR4, 80% of basal-like, 90% of HER2 enriched, and 78.5% of luminal A showed axillary lymph node involvement. In general, there was a positive relationship between histological grade and CXCR4 expression (p = 0.004). A statistically significant correlation existed between HER2 positivity and γ-catenin expression (p < 0.05). Basal-like and HER2 enriched breast cancer subtypes express CXCR4 staining more often than the other subtypes. Additionally, there is also a positive relationship between lymph node involvement and CXCR4 staining of these subtypes.

Diagnostic accuracy of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate serum anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) levels with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) subtypes and with an erosive disease course. METHODS: The study group comprised 122 children with JIA; 16 were evaluated during both active disease and remission. Nineteen children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 27 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 15 healthy children were also included in the study. Twelve children with JIA were rheumatoid factor (RF) positive, and 34 patients had persistent erosive joint disease. Anti-CCP antibody levels were determined by ELISA; values above 5 relative units were regarded as positive. RESULTS: Three girls with seropositive polyarticular JIA and erosive joint disease had positive anti-CCP values. Children evaluated during active disease and remission, patients with SLE, and healthy children all had negative anti-CCP antibody levels. However, 19/27 (70%) adult patients with RA had positive anti-CCP antibody values. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast with RA, anti-CCP positivity is only rarely found in patients with JIA. In patients with RF positivity and/or in patients with erosive joint disease, anti-CCP can be detected.