Use of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes and probiotic in finely ground starters to improve calf performance.

The present study investigated the effects of adding wheat straw treated with exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) and a probiotic supplement to finely ground starters on growth performance, rumen fermentation, behavior, digestibility, and health of dairy calves. A total of 48 Holstein dairy calves (39.8 ± 1.67 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to one of 4 nutritional treatments (n = 12 calves per treatment). The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of two diets with or without EFE-treated wheat straw (2 g/day/calf) and diets with or without probiotics (2 g/day/calf). All calves were weaned on day 63 and remained in the study until day 84. The addition of EFE to wheat straw had no effect on starter feed intake, increased neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility and recumbency, but decreased average daily gain (ADG) after weaning (240 g/d). The addition of probiotics to the diet had no effect on starter feed intake, improved feed efficiency, ADG (150 g/d), final weight (11.3 kg), and NDF digestibility, and decreased the ratio of acetate to propionate in the rumen. The addition of probiotics to starter feed for calves could improve their growth.

Extended transition milk feeding for 3 weeks improves growth performance and reduces the susceptibility to diarrhea in newborn female Holstein calves.

Dairy calves may benefit from extending the duration of feeding transition milk (TM; the subsequent two to six milkings after parturition) to enhance performance and health during early life. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of replacing pasteurized waste milk (non-saleable milk containing antibiotic and/or drug residues) with pasteurized TM for 3 weeks on the growth performance and health of dairy calves. A total of 84 healthy newborn female Holstein calves were blocked by birth order and assigned randomly to 4 treatment groups with partial replacement of pasteurized waste milk by TM (second milkings after parturition) at 0 (0 l/day TM + 6 l/day milk), 0.5 (0.5 l/day TM + 5.5 l/day milk), 1 (1 l/day TM + 5 l/day milk), or 2 l (2 l/day TM + 4 l/day milk) for a 21-day period. From day 22 onward, all calves were fed individually with 6 l/day pasteurized waste milk. Calves were weaned on day 60 and monitored until day 90 of the study. Liquid feed DM intake (DMI) was increased with increasing levels of TM (P = 0.001). Starter feed DMI and total DMI (liquid feed DMI + starter feed DMI) were not affected by the treatment effect. Calves were fed 2 l/day TM gained more BW compared with those in the control group during the postweaning and overall periods. The average daily gain tended (P = 0.06) to be higher in calves fed 2 l/day TM compared with calves fed 0 (+ 65 g/day), 0.5 (+ 53 g/day), or 1 (+ 76 g/day) l/day TM during the preweaning period. Daily weight gain was also higher in calves fed 2 l/day TM compared with calves in the control group during the postweaning (+ 137 g/day; P = 0.04) and overall (+89 g/day; P < 0.01) periods, respectively. Calves fed 2 l/day TM had a higher feed efficiency compared with calves in the control group during all studied periods. The calves fed TM2 had a lower chance of having diarrhea compared with other treatment groups. Duration but not the frequency of diarrhea was lower in calves fed TM2 vs TM0 (2.5 vs 4.2days; P = 0.03). In general, partial replacement of waste milk with TM (2 l/day) may be recommended to feed dairy calves at an early stage of life to support a higher growth rate and health benefits.

Free-flap failures and complications in an American oral and maxillofacial surgery unit.

Free tissue transfer is a reliable surgical technique that enables primary reconstruction following ablative surgery. Widely practised in many European units, acceptance into mainstream oral and maxillofacial surgery in the USA has been slow. The authors reviewed free flap practice patterns and outcomes in a US oral and maxillofacial surgery training program with specific emphasis on failures and complications to illustrate obstacles encountered during the initial phase of practice implementation. The demographic and clinical data of 71 consecutive patients who underwent microvascular reconstruction over 3 years (2002-2005) were reviewed. The study group included 48 males and 23 females who underwent 72 free tissue transfer procedures. Fourteen patients required operative exploration in the perioperative period. Six patients were explored for clinically compromised flaps. Thrombotic events occurred in 4 patients; 1 flap was successfully salvaged. There were 4 flap failures and 9 complications related to the donor site. Two perioperative deaths occurred from non-flap-related complications. Prolonged hospital stay and ICU utilization was observed in patients with surgical complications. Complications in this study did not affect the overall success rates of free-flaps. Salvage rates from thrombotic events were unaffected despite rigid flap monitoring protocols.

Yield components, leaf pigment contents, patterns of seed filling, dry matter, LAI and LAID of some safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes in Iran.

In order to assess the genotypic variation among yield components and different physiological parameters and their relationships with safflower seed yield, six safflower genotypes were grown in Pakdasht, Iran in a randomized complete block design with four replications, during 2003-2004 growing season. Among the genotypes, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a+b, total carotenoids contents, chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio and Chlorophyll a+b/total cartenoids ratio ranged from 0.78 to 1.10, from 0.54 to 0.71, from 1.37 to 1.71, from 0.09 to 0.13 mg g(-1), from 1.33 to 1.68 and from 13.52 to 14.82, respectively. Negative relationships existed between seed yield and pigment contents. There were significant yield differences among genotypes and varied from 2452.60 to 3897.20 kg ha(-1). A diverse range of capitulum diameter (24.08-28.91 mm), seed weight/capitulum (1.18-2.04 g), number of seeds/m2 (8704.5-13165.4), number of capitula/plant (16.38-23.27), number of seeds/capitulum (35.65-41.90) and 1000-seed weight (29.94-50.60 g) was recorded. Genotypes differed in HI and the HI values ranged from 21.83% (LRK-262) to 29.62% (IL.111). In the studied set of 6 safflower genotypes, total biomass and LAI peaked around after full flowering and at the beginning of flowering, respectively. Zarghan-279 (with the greatest LAID) had 25% longer LAID than LRV.51.51 (with the lowest LAID). Differences among genotypes for rate of seed filling and effective seed filling duration were significant and differences in seed yield could be attributed to differences in the rate of seed filling. The results of this experiment indicate that physiological parameters including rate of seed filling, rapid leaf formation and expansion and delayed plant senescence are the characteristics of high-yielding safflower. Also, higher dry matter accumulation, HI, seed weight/capitulum, 1000-seed weight and capitulum diameter were found to be closely related to high-yield genotypes.

MDM2+/CDK4+/p53+ oral liposarcoma: case report and review of the literature.

Although liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas, its location in the oral cavity is very rare. To our knowledge, only 43 cases of liposarcoma originating in the oral tissues have been reported in the English-language literature. In this article, we report a case of well-differentiated liposarcoma affecting the cheek of a 28-year-old man and review the oral liposarcoma literature. Immunohistochemical analysis of the tumor revealed an MDM2+/CDK4+/p53+ immunophenotype that is consistent with the immunohistochemical profile of well-differentiated liposarcoma originating in other areas of the body. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of the DNA levels of the MDM2 (human homologue of the murine double-minute type 2), CDK4 (cyclin-dependent kinase 4), and SAS (sarcoma amplified sequence), genes was performed, revealing only SAS gene amplification. The possibility of misdiagnosis of oral liposarcoma because of its sometimes inconspicuous clinical and microscopic features is emphasized. Careful pathologic examination of liposarcoma is essential for discrimination from benign adipose tissue neoplasms and for precise histologic classification, both of major prognostic significance. Possible implications of molecular and cytogenetic analysis for unraveling the pathogenesis and determining the prognosis of liposarcoma are discussed.

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: a case report.

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a particularly aggressive form of oral leukoplakia that is resistant to treatment and presents a high risk of recurrence and malignant transformation. This article describes the microscopic and clinical characteristics of one case of PVL, which initially presented as hyperkeratosis with mild dysplasia and posteriorly developed multifocal areas and verrucous carcinoma despite treatment.