Magnetic resonance imaging of the skin.

A thorough examination of the skin is essential to screen various diseases accurately, evaluate the effectiveness of topically applied drugs and assess the results of dermatological surgeries such as skin grafts. The assessment of skin properties is also crucial in the cosmetics industry, where it is important to evaluate the effects skin care products have on these properties. The simplest and most widely used method of skin evaluation, the 'naked eye' assessment, enables researchers to assess only the skin surface and involves a large amount of inter-observer variability. Thanks to a great progress that has been made in physics, electronics and computer engineering in recent years, sophisticated imaging methods are increasingly available in day-to-day studies. The aim of this review was to present one of these techniques, namely the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to discuss its possible use in skin examination and analysis. We present basic principles of MRI, as well as several interesting applications in the field of dermatology, and discuss the advantages and limitations of this method.

Temperature and body weight affect fouling of pig pens.

Fouling of the solid lying area in pig housing is undesirable for reasons of animal welfare, animal health, environmental pollution, and labor costs. In this study the influence of temperature on the excreting and lying behavior of growing-finishing pigs of different BW (25, 45, 65, 85, or 105 kg) was studied. Ten groups of 5 pigs were placed in partially slatted pens (60% solid concrete, 40% metal-slatted) in climate respiration chambers. After an adaptation period, temperatures were raised daily for 9 d. Results showed that above certain inflection temperatures (IT; mean 22.6 degrees C, SE = 0.78) the number of excretions (relative to the total number of excretions) on the solid floor increased with temperature (mean increase 9.7%/ degrees C, SE = 1.41). Below the IT, the number of excretions on the solid floor was low and not influenced by temperature (mean 13.2%, SE = 3.5). On average, the IT for excretion on the solid floor decreased with increasing BW, from approximately 25 degrees C at 25 kg to 20 degrees C at 100 kg of BW (P < 0.05). Increasing temperature also affected the pattern and postural lying. The temperature at which a maximum number of pigs lay on the slatted floor (i.e., the IT for lying) decreased from approximately 27 degrees C at 25 kg to 23 degrees C at 100 kg of BW (P < 0.001). At increasing temperatures, pigs lay more on their sides and less against other pigs (P < 0.001). Temperature affects lying and excreting behavior of growing-finishing pigs in partially slatted pens. Above certain IT, pen fouling increases linearly with temperature. Inflection temperatures decrease at increasing BW.

The effect of two traffic situations on the behavior and performance of cows in an automatic milking system.

Two cow traffic situations were tested sequentially in an automatic milking system (AMS) for effects on cow behavior, effective use of the barn, and milking capacity. The first situation was forced cow traffic: 63 cows had to pass through the AMS to go from the lying area to the feeding area. The second was semiforced cow traffic: 67 cows (60 cows from before) had free access to a forage feeding area at one end of the barn but could only access an area with concentrate feeders by passing through the AMS. Behavior of all cows was monitored as well as for two subsets of cows present in both situations: 8 cows with low frequency vs. 7 cows with high frequency of visits to the AMS. In each situation, cows were observed for 72 h. Cow locations and behavior were noted at 10-min intervals for all cows and individually for the selected cows. In semiforced traffic, the herd readily used the freely accessible forage feeding area, ate longer (17.4% of the day vs. 15.1 +/- 0.59%), and stood less in freestalls (9.0 vs. 11.8 +/- 0.30%) than when cow traffic was forced. Nonmilking visits to the AMS tended to decrease, whereas milking visits remained unchanged in the semiforced situation. The subset of cows that visited the AMS more often had fewer nonmilking visits (1.8 vs. 4.2 +/- 0.7) in the semiforced traffic situation whereas cows with low frequency of visits to the AMS had a nonsignificant increase (1.5 vs. 1.0) in nonmilking visits. Cows that visited the AMS frequently used the forage feeding area and the lying area next to it more than low frequency cows and use of those areas increased further during the semiforced situation. The semiforced cow traffic was deemed more desirable than forced cow traffic both for cows and for the capacity of the automatic milking system.

Do cows prefer a barn compartment with a grooved or slotted floor?

Cow preferences for one of two compartments with different floors were tested in a barn with two symmetrical, connected compartments, each intended for 16 cows. Compartments were identical except for the floor. One floor was grooved longitudinally to the feeding barrier and the other was slotted perpendicular to that barrier. Sixteen pregnant, lactating Holstein-Friesian cows were used. After 14 d of habituation, cow behavior was videotaped for 10 full 24-h d, spread over 22 d. Their daily time budget spent on different activities performed in both compartments was analyzed, as was their relocation and use of the concentrate dispenser in each compartment. On average, cows spent 120 min longer per day in the slotted floor compartment than in the grooved floor compartment, and performed all activities in the daily time budget significantly longer in this compartment. However, testing the preference of individuals revealed that, although five cows significantly preferred the slotted floor compartment, two cows significantly preferred the other compartment, and nine cows had no preference. On the slotted floor, cows ate longer at the feeding barrier and more often drank front-on to the water trough; on the grooved floor they more often drank standing parallel to the water trough. Thus, they seemed to prefer to stand parallel to the slots. Relocation of cows, indicated by index of movement, was not significantly different between the floors. Relocation seemed to be stimulated more by the presence of concentrate dispensers in both compartments than by floor profile. Although one floor type was not clearly preferred over the other, the findings and methods of this study have implications for design and implementation of future preference tests for testing husbandry systems and their components.

Cow behaviour on a new grooved floor in comparison with a slatted floor, taking claw health and floor properties into account.

The objective of this study was to compare the behaviour of cows on a grooved floor with that of cows kept on a slatted floor. The trial was carried out with two groups of 12 Holstein-Friesian cows kept in a cowshed with two symmetrical halves, identical except for the floor. One floor was grooved longitudinally to the feeding fence (width of grooves 35mm) and the other was slatted (gaps 35mm wide) perpendicular to the feeding fence. Both floors had scrapers to remove manure. After 3 weeks of being kept on these two floors, cows were switched between floors for 3 weeks. In the third week of each 3-week-period, behavioural observations of cows related to their time budget over 24h, relocation on each floor indicated by index of movement and specific behaviours (aggression, self maintenance) performed on the floors were executed. The health of claws was examined before the trial and 6 weeks later, after the trial. The grooved floor influenced the cows' daily time budget: cows kept on the grooved floor stood less (P<0.05) with four legs inside the cubicles (group 1: 36min, group 2: 39min) than cows kept on the slatted floor (group 1: 57min, group 2: 60min). Neither the specific behaviours of cows nor their movement performed on both floors were different. After switching from the grooved floor to the slatted floor, cows lay for 669min a day (in comparison to 746min a day while kept on the grooved floor, P<0.05) and they stood parallel to the feeding fence for 174min a day (in comparison to 126min a day while kept on the grooved floor, P<0.05). Given that both groups of cows on the grooved floor and the group that began on the slatted floor had a similar daily time budget, it is possible that the different time budget of the remaining group, which started off on the grooved floor, was a reaction (pleasure or disappointment) induced by returning to the familiar floor. The grooved floor was more fouled with faeces (P<0.05) than the slatted floor. The grooved floor can be evaluated as being equal to the slatted floor with a scraper in terms of the behaviour performed on it. There were hardly any slip incidents on it (during 64h of observations, two slip incidents on the grooved floor, four slip incidents on the slatted floor). However, the occurrence of stumble incidents involving the manure scraper (66 cases on the grooved floor and 48 on the slatted floor during 64h of observations) and the occurrence of foot lesions (probably of traumatic origin) suggests that the functioning of the manure scraper, which is indispensable on grooved floors, needs to be optimised.

Robot milking and effect on reproduction in dairy cows: a preliminary study.

The aim of this study was to analyse whether automatic milking has an effect on reproduction in dairy cows. Probably the most important consequence of automatic milking is an increased milking frequency. More frequent milking means more production and thereby an extra threat for the energy balance during the first months of lactation. A deep negative energy balance (NEB) is often followed by negative effects on fertility. However, tested under experimental circumstances, automatic milking with a frequency not higher than 3 times/day and with an individual management and feeding system has benefits for production and very little negative effects on reproduction. Experimental farms with automatic milking systems have fertility figures that do not differ from experimental farms with conventional milking systems. Additional and more data of automatic milking under farm conditions has to be collected and evaluated before the effect on fertility can be assessed with more certainty.

The effect of omitted milking on the behaviour of cows in the context of cluster attachment failure during automatic milking.

In robotic milking there is always a slight chance of failure to attach the milking cluster. Attachment failure is most likely for cows whose udder conformation is less convenient for robot attachment. In general, after milking failure cows try to revisit the milking robot if they are not sent to a separate area. Since it is difficult to estimate the effect of milking failure on such a cow and her welfare in conditions of robotic milking, a specific 16-day trial was conducted on 12 cows. These cows were milked in a milking parlour with six milking stalls. Each afternoon milking, three cows were not milked. All the cows were closely observed in the cubicle house for 1 h after the afternoon milking. Thereafter, all cows were brought to the milking parlour the third time and the three unmilked cows were milked. In total, each cow was observed 12 times after milking and four times after omitted milking. The following behavioural traits were registered: time budget for the 1 h, occurrence and time until eating, drinking, lying, urination and defecation, and aggressive interactions. Milking order was defined on the basis of how often a cow came to the milking parlour in the first batch of six cows. Moreover, the data related to the milk yield and the use of the automatic feeding installation with the complete diet were analysed. After omitted milking, only the cows from the first batch stood longer in cubicles (14.2 min of 1 h) and lay less (5.4 min of 1 h) than milked cows of the same batch (respectively 7.0 min and 16.3 min for standing and lying in cubicles) (P<0.01). After omitted milking, cows urinated earlier and more frequently (64.5%) than milked cows (36.3%) (P<0.002) (both batches). There were no statistically significant differences in eating time and feed intake after milking and omitted milking. Milk yield per cow averaged 24.9 kg during days with omitted (delayed by 1 h) milking and 25.3 kg during the days without omitted milking (P<0.05). It was concluded that cows show some signs of discomfort after omitted milking (urination); this discomfort seemed to be greater in cows coming earlier to the milking parlour (afterwards they preferred to stand rather than to lie). The 60% of cases of milk leakage found after omitted milking indicates that failed cluster attachment can be accompanied by an extra risk factor for the occurrence of mastitis. However, omitted milking as a treatment did not influence feeding and aggressive behaviour or milking order when unmilked cows were brought to the milking parlour the third time together with the milked cows. Our methods and results can be useful for estimating the effects of robot milking failures on a cow. Future studies should pay particular attention to high-yielding cows and to longer periods of delayed milking.

[Atypical Opalski's syndrome]. / Nietypowy zespól Opalskiego.

The authors report a woman aged 53 years with the main components of the syndrome of Opalski coexisting with signs characteristic of Wallenberg's syndrome. The lacking components of the former syndrome included Horner's syndrome, while nystagmus, diplopia without evident oculomotor nerves, paresis, disturbances of speech and deglutition belonged to the latter syndrome. The clinical pattern and the course of the disease suggested a vasogenic focus in the right submedullary region and inferolateral part of the medulla.