Responses of Pigs to Stunning with Nitrogen Filled High-Expansion Foam

Nitrogen gas (N2) delivered in high expansion foam in a closed container could be a feasible method for humanely stunning pigs. This study aimed to evaluate potential aversion in pigs to the N2 foam method and its effect on stun quality. Furthermore, the study aimed to assess potential aversion to the foam itself. Sixty pigs (27.8 ± 4.4 kg) were divided into three treatments and were exposed to either N2-filled foam, air-filled foam, or no foam air. The N2 foam was effective at purging the air from the container and quickly created stable anoxic conditions. The pigs did not show any strong aversive behaviours when exposed to foam. However, they seemed to avoid putting their heads and snouts into the foam when foam levels became high. Escape attempts through the lid also increased when the foam started covering their heads. The mean time to loss of posture was 57.9 s. Based on the results, stunning with the N2 foam technique could be a viable alternative to high concentration CO2 stunning and potentially lead to improved animal welfare at slaughter.

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Olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by web-application in patients with persistent olfactory dysfunction after SARS-CoV-2 infection: observational study. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.29583 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fabrice Denis ◽

Anne-Lise Septans ◽

Lea Periers ◽

Jean-Michel Maillard ◽

Florian Legoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Web Application ◽

Primary Outcome ◽

Visual Stimulation ◽

Real Life ◽

Olfactory Dysfunction ◽

High Concentration ◽

Real Life Data ◽

The Mean ◽

Mean Time ◽

Olfactory Training

BACKGROUND Persistent olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a significant complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Olfactory training (OT) using aromatic oils are recommended to improve olfactory recovery, but quantitative data are missing. OBJECTIVE We aimed to quantify the benefit of OT associated with visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application on patients with 1-month or more OD. METHODS We performed an observational real-life data-based study on a cohort of patients with at least 1-month persistent OD included between 1/30/21 and 3/26/2021. Analysis was performed after a 4-weeks mean time of OT and at least 500 patients assessable for primary outcome. Participants exposed themselves twice daily to odors from four high concentration oils and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application. Improvement was defined as a 2/10 points increase on self-assessed olfactory visual analogue scale. RESULTS 548 were assessable for primary outcome assessment. The mean baseline self-assessed olfactory score was 1.9/10 (SD 1.7) and increase to 4.6 (SD 2.8) beyond a mean time of olfactory training of 27.7 days (SD 17.2). Olfactory training was associated with at least 2-points increase in 64.2% (n=352). The rate of patients with improvement was higher in patients having trained for more than 28 days versus patients having trained for less than 28 days (72.2% vs 59.0% respectively, p=.002). The benefit was observed regardless of the duration of the OD. CONCLUSIONS OT associated with visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application was associated with significant improvement in olfaction, especially if OT duration was superior to 28 days. CLINICALTRIAL NCT04806880

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Olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by web-application in patients with persistent olfactory dysfunction after SARS-CoV-2 infection: observational study.

10.1101/2021.05.13.21257176 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fabrice Denis ◽

Anne-Lise Septans ◽

Lea Periers ◽

Jean-Michel Maillard ◽

Florian Legoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Web Application ◽

Primary Outcome ◽

Visual Stimulation ◽

Real Life ◽

Olfactory Dysfunction ◽

High Concentration ◽

Real Life Data ◽

The Mean ◽

Mean Time ◽

Olfactory Training

Background: Persistent olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a significant complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Olfactory training (OT) using aromatic oils are recommended to improve olfactory recovery, but quantitative data are missing. Objective: We aimed to quantify the benefit of OT associated with visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application on patients with 1-month or more OD. Methods: We performed an observational real-life data-based study on a cohort of patients with at least 1-month persistent OD included between 1/30/21 and 3/26/2021. Analysis was performed after a 4-weeks mean time of OT and at least 500 patients assessable for primary outcome. Participants exposed themselves twice daily to odors from four high concentration oils and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application. Improvement was defined as a 2/10 points increase on self-assessed olfactory visual analogue scale. Results: 548 were assessable for primary outcome assessment. The mean baseline self-assessed olfactory score was 1.9/10 (SD 1.7) and increase to 4.6 (SD 2.8) beyond a mean time of olfactory training of 27.7 days (SD 17.2). Olfactory training was associated with at least 2-points increase in 64.2% (n=352). The rate of patients with improvement was higher in patients having trained for more than 28 days versus patients having trained for less than 28 days (72.2% vs 59.0% respectively, p=.002). The kinetic of improvement was 8 days faster in hyposmic than in anosmic patients (p<.001). The benefit was observed regardless of the duration of the OD. Conclusions: OT associated with visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web-application was associated with significant improvement in olfaction, especially if OT duration was superior to 28 days.

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Efficacy of lethal-trap devices to improve the welfare of trapped wild dogs

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr18129 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 89 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paul D. Meek ◽

Stuart C. Brown ◽

Jason Wishart ◽

Heath Milne ◽

Paul Aylett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Canis Familiaris ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Main Trial ◽

The Mean ◽

Wild Dog ◽

Wild Dogs ◽

Mean Time

Context Wildlife and pest managers and stakeholders should constantly aim to improve animal-welfare outcomes when foot-hold trapping pest animals. To minimise stress and trauma to trapped animals, traps should be checked at least once every 24h, normally as soon after sunrise as possible. If distance, time, environmental or geographical constraints prevent this, toxins such as strychnine can be fitted to trap jaws to induce euthanasia. However, strychnine is considered to have undesirable animal-welfare outcomes because animals are conscious while clinical signs of intoxication are present. A toxin considered more humane, para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP), is available to induce euthanasia in trapped animals but is untested for presentation and efficacy. Aim We tested the efficacy of two types of lethal trap device (LTD’s), each using a paste formulation of PAPP as the active toxin to replace the use of strychnine on foot-hold jaw traps. Methods Elastomer LTDs and PAPP-cloths were fitted to jaw traps set to capture wild dogs (Canis familiaris). Camera-trap data was used to record animal behaviours after capture and to determine the efficacy of both modalities. Key results Every trapped wild dog (n=117) gnawed at the elastomer LTD’s or PAPP-cloth attached to the trap jaws that restrained them; one dog failed to liberate the toxin. From the dogs caught in the main trial (n=56), a mortality rate of 84% and 87% was reported respectively. The mean time from trap-to-death for elastomer LTDs was 64min and 68min for PAPP-cloths. Conclusions Elastomer LTDs and PAPP cloths combined caused the mortality of 85% of captured dogs. This efficacy could be improved by adopting the recommendations discussed in the present study for deploying PAPP-based LTDs during trap deployment. Implications PAPP-based LTDs offer an alternative option to the use of strychnine and improve the welfare outcomes for trapped predators, especially where traps are not checked within the recommended 24-h period.

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Predicting Daily Maintenance Dose of Fluindione, an Oral Anticoagulant Drug

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1650357 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 75 (05) ◽

pp. 731-733 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

V Cazaux ◽

B Gauthier ◽

A Elias ◽

D Lefebvre ◽

J Tredez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Effective Dose ◽

Maintenance Dose ◽

Successive Approximations ◽

Hemorrhagic Complication ◽

Simple Method ◽

Individual Variations ◽

Anticoagulant Drug ◽

The Mean ◽

Mean Time ◽

Daily Maintenance Dose

SummaryDue to large inter-individual variations, the dose of vitamin K antagonist required to target the desired hypocoagulability is hardly predictible for a given patient, and the time needed to reach therapeutic equilibrium may be excessively long. This work reports on a simple method for predicting the daily maintenance dose of fluindione after the third intake. In a first step, 37 patients were delivered 20 mg of fluindione once a day, at 6 p.m. for 3 consecutive days. On the morning of the 4th day an INR was performed. During the following days the dose was adjusted to target an INR between 2 and 3. There was a good correlation (r = 0.83, p<0.001) between the INR performed on the morning of day 4 and the daily maintenance dose determined later by successive approximations. This allowed us to write a decisional algorithm to predict the effective maintenance dose of fluindione from the INR performed on day 4. The usefulness and the safety of this approach was tested in a second prospective study on 46 patients receiving fluindione according to the same initial scheme. The predicted dose was compared to the effective dose soon after having reached the equilibrium, then 30 and 90 days after. To within 5 mg (one quarter of a tablet), the predicted dose was the effective dose in 98%, 86% and 81% of the patients at the 3 times respectively. The mean time needed to reach the therapeutic equilibrium was reduced from 13 days in the first study to 6 days in the second study. No hemorrhagic complication occurred. Thus the strategy formerly developed to predict the daily maintenance dose of warfarin from the prothrombin time ratio or the thrombotest performed 3 days after starting the treatment may also be applied to fluindione and the INR measurement.

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Abiotic reduction of 2,4-dinitrotoluene in the presence of sulfide minerals under anoxic conditions

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1996.0235 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 34 (10) ◽

pp. 25-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Cheng Jiayang ◽

Makram T. Suidan ◽

Albert D. Venosa

Keyword(s):

Electron Donor ◽

Chemical Reduction ◽

Sulfide Minerals ◽

Sulfide Concentration ◽

Magnesium Ions ◽

High Concentration ◽

Anoxic Conditions ◽

High Affinity ◽

Iron Nickel ◽

Abiotic Reduction

Abiotic reduction of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) in the presence of sulfide minerals has been investigated under anoxic conditions at 35°C. 2,4-DNT was abiotically reduced to 4-amino-2-nitrotoluene (4-A-2-NT) and 2-amino-4-nitrotoluene (2-A-4-NT) in the presence of high concentration of sulfide (0.84 mM). No abiotic reduction of 2,4-DNT was observed in the presence of low sulfide concentration (0.42 mM). The rate and the extent of the abiotic reduction of 2,4-DNT were increased with an increase in sulfide concentration. Sulfide served as an electron donor for the reduction of 2,4-DNT. The 2-nitro group was preferentially reduced, making the 2-A-4-NT:4-A-2-NT ratio in the final products 2:1. The addition of iron, nickel, and cobalt minerals significantly enhanced the abiotic reduction. The FeS, NiS, and CoS solids formed in the serum bottles catalyzed the reduction of 2,4-DNT preferentially to 4-A-2-NT. MnS and CuS solids also catalyzed the reduction of 2,4-DNT to 4-A-2-NT, but did not change the overall reduction of 2,4-DNT. However, the presence of calcium, zinc, and magnesium minerals impeded 2,4-DNT reduction. The calcium, zinc, and magnesium ions have a high affinity to sulfide, inactivating sulfide as an electron donor for the chemical reduction of 2,4-DNT.

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Retrospective analysis of mortality within 30 days of systemic anticancer therapy and comparison with a previous audit at an Australian Regional Cancer Centre

Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice ◽

10.1177/10781552211016086 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107815522110160

Author(s):

Bernadatte Zimbwa ◽

Peter J Gilbar ◽

Mark R Davis ◽

Srinivas Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan

Keyword(s):

Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽

Anticancer Therapy ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Feedback Process ◽

Time To Death ◽

Cancer Centre ◽

Haematology Patients ◽

The Mean ◽

Regional Cancer Centre ◽

Mean Time

Purpose To retrospectively determine the rate of death occurring within 14 and 30 days of systemic anticancer therapy (SACT), compare this against a previous audit and benchmark results against other cancer centres. Secondly, to determine if the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), not available at the time of the initial audit, impacted mortality rates. Method All adult solid tumour and haematology patients receiving SACT at an Australian Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) between January 2016 and July 2020 were included. Results Over a 55-month period, 1709 patients received SACT. Patients dying within 14 and 30 days of SACT were 3.3% and 7.0% respectively and is slightly higher than our previous study which was 1.89% and 5.6%. Mean time to death was 15.5 days. Males accounted for 63.9% of patients and the mean age was 66.8 years. 46.2% of the 119 patients dying in the 30 days post SACT started a new line of treatment during that time. Of 98 patients receiving ICI, 22.5% died within 30 days of commencement. Disease progression was the most common cause of death (79%). The most common place of death was the RCC (38.7%). Conclusion The rate of death observed in our re-audit compares favourably with our previous audit and is still at the lower end of that seen in published studies in Australia and internationally. Cases of patients dying within 30 days of SACT should be regularly reviewed to maintain awareness of this benchmark of quality assurance and provide a feedback process for clinicians.

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Vitamin D Level Stability in Dystrophinopathy Patients on Vitamin D Supplementation

Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases ◽

10.3233/jnd-200625 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Naomi Vather-Wu ◽

Matthew D. Krasowski ◽

Katherine D. Mathews ◽

Amal Shibli-Rahhal

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Retrospective Cohort ◽

Vitamin D Supplementation ◽

Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

Frequent Monitoring ◽

25 Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

The Mean ◽

Stable Maintenance ◽

Mean Time

Background: Expert guidelines recommend annual monitoring of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) and maintaining 25-OHD ≥30 ng/ml in patients with dystrophinopathies. Objective: We hypothesized that 25-OHD remains stable and requires less frequent monitoring in patients taking stable maintenance doses of vitamin D. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study, using the electronic health record to identify 26 patients with dystrophinopathies with a baseline 25-OHD ≥30 ng/mL and at least one additional 25-OHD measurement. These patients had received a stable dose of vitamin D for ≥3 months prior to their baseline 25-OHD measurement and throughout follow-up. The main outcome measured was the mean duration time the subjects spent with a 25-OHD ≥30 ng/mL. Results: Only 19% of patients dropped their 25-OHD to < 30 ng/ml, with a mean time to drop of 33 months and a median nadir 25-OHD of 28 ng/mL. Conclusions: These results suggest that measurement of 25-OHD every 2–2.5 years may be sufficient in patients with a baseline 25-OHD ≥30 ng/mL and who are on a stable maintenance dose of vitamin D. Other patients may require more frequent assessments.

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Surveillance System in Smart Cities: A Dependability Evaluation Based on Stochastic Models

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10080876 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 876

Author(s):

Igor Gonçalves ◽

Laécio Rodrigues ◽

Francisco Airton Silva ◽

Tuan Anh Nguyen ◽

Dugki Min ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surveillance System ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Heterogeneous Data ◽

Time To Failure ◽

Video Streams ◽

Dependability Evaluation ◽

The Mean ◽

Mean Time ◽

The Internet Of Things

Surveillance monitoring systems are highly necessary, aiming to prevent many social problems in smart cities. The internet of things (IoT) nowadays offers a variety of technologies to capture and process massive and heterogeneous data. Due to the fact that (i) advanced analyses of video streams are performed on powerful recording devices; while (ii) surveillance monitoring services require high availability levels in the way that the service must remain connected, for example, to a connection network that offers higher speed than conventional connections; and that (iii) the trust-worthy dependability of a surveillance system depends on various factors, it is not easy to identify which components/devices in a system architecture have the most impact on the dependability for a specific surveillance system in smart cities. In this paper, we developed stochastic Petri net models for a surveillance monitoring system with regard to varying several parameters to obtain the highest dependability. Two main metrics of interest in the dependability of a surveillance system including reliability and availability were analyzed in a comprehensive manner. The analysis results show that the variation in the number of long-term evolution (LTE)-based stations contributes to a number of nines (#9s) increase in availability. The obtained results show that the variation of the mean time to failure (MTTF) of surveillance cameras exposes a high impact on the reliability of the system. The findings of this work have the potential of assisting system architects in planning more optimized systems in this field based on the proposed models.

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The impact of COVID-19 infection on hip fracture 30-day mortality

Trauma ◽

10.1177/1460408620949725 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146040862094972

Author(s):

Ahmed Fadulelmola ◽

Rob Gregory ◽

Gavin Gordon ◽

Fiona Smith ◽

Andrew Jennings

Keyword(s):

Hip Fracture ◽

Hip Fractures ◽

Hospital Admissions ◽

The Elderly ◽

Primary Outcome Measure ◽

Time To Death ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Mean ◽

The Impact ◽

Mean Time

Introduction: A novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, has caused a fatal global pandemic which particularly affects the elderly and those with comorbidities. Hip fractures affect elderly populations, necessitate hospital admissions and place this group at particular risk from COVID-19 infection. This study investigates the effect of COVID-19 infection on 30-day hip fracture mortality. Method: Data related to 75 adult hip fractures admitted to two units during March and April 2020 were reviewed. The mean age was 83.5 years (range 65–98 years), and most (53, 70.7%) were women. The primary outcome measure was 30-day mortality associated with COVID-19 infection. Results: The COVID-19 infection rate was 26.7% (20 patients), with a significant difference in the 30-day mortality rate in the COVID-19-positive group (10/20, 50%) compared to the COVID-19-negative group (4/55, 7.3%), with mean time to death of 19.8 days (95% confidence interval: 17.0–22.5). The mean time from admission to surgery was 43.1 h and 38.3 h, in COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative groups, respectively. All COVID-19-positive patients had shown symptoms of fever and cough, and all 10 cases who died were hypoxic. Seven (35%) cases had radiological lung findings consistent of viral pneumonitis which resulted in mortality (70% of mortality). 30% ( n = 6) contracted the COVID-19 infection in the community, and 70% ( n = 14) developed symptoms after hospital admission. Conclusion: Hip fractures associated with COVID-19 infection have a high 30-day mortality. COVID-19 testing and chest X-ray for patients presenting with hip fractures help in early planning of high-risk surgeries and allow counselling of the patients and family using realistic prognosis.

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On the absorption probabilities and mean time for absorption for discrete Markov chains

Monte Carlo Methods and Applications ◽

10.1515/mcma-2021-2084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Nikolaos Halidias

Keyword(s):

Markov Chain ◽

Random Walk ◽

Markov Chains ◽

Generating Function ◽

Discrete Time ◽

Probability Generating Function ◽

The Mean ◽

Mean Time ◽

Absorption Probabilities

Abstract In this note we study the probability and the mean time for absorption for discrete time Markov chains. In particular, we are interested in estimating the mean time for absorption when absorption is not certain and connect it with some other known results. Computing a suitable probability generating function, we are able to estimate the mean time for absorption when absorption is not certain giving some applications concerning the random walk. Furthermore, we investigate the probability for a Markov chain to reach a set A before reach B generalizing this result for a sequence of sets A 1 , A 2 , … , A k {A_{1},A_{2},\dots,A_{k}} .

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