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It remains unknown whether dairy cows with more reactive temperament produce more enteric methane (CH 4 ) and are less bioenergetically efficient than the calmer ones. The objectives of this study were (a) to evaluate the relationship between cattle temperament assessed by traditionally used tests with energetic metabolism and enteric CH 4 emissions by crossbred dairy cows; (b) to assess how cows' restlessness in respiration chambers affects energetic metabolism and enteric CH 4 emissions. Temperament indicators were evaluated for 28 primiparous F1 Holstein-Gyr cows tested singly in the handling corral (entrance time, crush score, flight speed, and flight distance) and during milking (steps, kicks, defecation, rumination, and kick the milking cluster off). Cows' behaviors within respiration chambers were also recorded for each individual kept singly. Digestibility and calorimetry trials were performed to obtain energy partitioning and CH 4 measures. Cows with more reactive temperament in milking (the ones that kicked the milking cluster off more frequently) spent 25.24% less net energy on lactation (P = 0.04) and emitted 36.77% more enteric CH 4 /kg of milk (P = 0.03). Furthermore, cows that showed a higher frequency of rumination at milking parlor allocated 57.93% more net energy for milk production (P < 0.01), spent 50.00% more metabolizable energy for milk production (P < 0.01) and 37.10% less CH 4 /kg of milk (P = 0.04). Regarding the handling temperament, most reactive cows according to flight speed, lost 29.16% less energy as urine (P = 0.05) and tended to have 14.30% more enteric CH 4 production (P = 0.08), as well as cows with a lower entrance time (most reactive) that also lost 13.29% more energy as enteric CH 4 (P = 0.04). Temperament and restless behavior of Holstein-Gyr cows were related to metabolic efficiency and enteric CH 4 emissions. Cows' reactivity and rumination in the milking parlor, in addition to flight speed and entrance time in the squeeze chute during handling in the corral, could be useful measures to predict animals more prone to metabolic inefficiency, which could negatively affect the sustainability of dairy systems., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Previously, we reported the effect of rearing conditions (plastic floors and air quality) on carcass injury development of broiler chickens at thermal comfort. In this study, the same rearing conditions were tested at thermal stress. The birds were reared in 2 climatic chambers, and the experiment followed a completely randomized design with one factor, flooring material: wood shaving or perforated plastic. The birds were divided into 16 experimental pens, being 8 females and 8 males. The studied parameters were the same as the previous study (ammonia concentration, carbon dioxide, performance, carcass yield, and variability, and scores of hygiene, gait and chest, and hocks and footpad lesions). Higher ammonia (15 ppm vs. 4 ppm) and carbon dioxide (1,000 ppm vs. 850 ppm) concentration was seen at d 42 for the wood shavings floor as compared to the perforated plastic floor, respectively. Regarding gender, males had better performance than females at 42 d of age on both floor types. Males reared on wood shavings showed a higher meat production (29.049 kg/m2) than females (24.700 kg/m2). There were observed breast lesion incidences of 10.4% (score 1) in males reared on the plastic floor, as well higher incidence of hock injury and footpad dermatitis. Chickens reared on plastic flooring showed better hygiene than chickens reared on wood shavings. Our findings revealed that the use of perforated plastic flooring in a heat stress situation can improve the air quality (less CO2 and NH3 concentration) and bird cleanliness. On the other hand, chickens are more susceptible to develop lesions in the breast, hock, and footpad. We conclude that the use of plastic flooring in heat stress conditions needs more attention, since chickens are more susceptible to develop lesions on the carcass, being a source of pain, impairing bird wellbeing and causing losses in meat production.

The present study investigated the use of perforated plastic floors in the rearing of male and female poultry under thermal comfort conditions. The study was conducted in 2 climate chambers, in one was conventional poultry litter (wood shavings) and in the other was a perforated plastic floor. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with the factors wood shavings and plastic floor. In each chamber, the animals were divided into 16 experimental pens (8 with males and 8 with females) with a density of 12 birds/m2. The poultry rearing effect was evaluated in terms of air quality (% concentration of ammonia [NH3] and carbon dioxide [CO2]); broiler performance, e.g., weight gain (kg), feed intake (kg), feed conversion, carcass yield and parts (%), meat production (kg/m2), and viability (% of live birds at d 42); scores of hygiene and mobility; and injuries in the chest, hocks, and footpads. Treatments affected air quality, with higher concentrations of NH3 on d 42 (25 ppm vs. 2 ppm) and CO2 (1,400 ppm vs. 1,000 ppm) for wood shavings than for perforated plastic floor, respectively. Males showed a better performance (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion) than females on d 42 in both floor types (wood shavings and plastic floor). Males reared on wood shavings showed a higher meet production (35.992 kg/m2) than females (32.257 kg/m2). On the plastic floor, males showed a better viability (100%) than females (94.05%), as well better meet production for males (38.55 kg·m-2) than females (31.64 kg/m2). There was no incidence of breast lesions in any of the studied systems. The birds reared on the plastic floor had better hygiene scores and lower hock injury rates than birds reared in the wood shavings chambers. The results of the present study show that the use of perforated plastic floors in chicken farming is an efficient method, which promotes a better-quality environment, superior production rates, and reduced incidence of injuries., (© 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

Objective: Perineural invasion (PNI) is detected in almost 20% of prostate biopsies and has been related to worse prognostic factors in radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens and lower disease-free survival rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of PNI during periods of extended prostate biopsies and to determine the value of this preoperative parameter as a predictor of pathologic findings in surgical specimens and in biochemical recurrence., Materials and Methods: Between 2001 and 2009, 599 prostate biopsies and their respective RP specimens were examined in our laboratory. The RP specimens were always examined completely. The mean age of the patients was 61 years, and the mean PSA was 6.4 ng/mL. The mean and median number of biopsy cores obtained was 14.4 and 14, respectively. PNI was identified in 105 biopsies (17.5%). We studied the ability of PNI in prostate biopsies to determine the tumor stage in surgical specimens and the relationship of PNI with biochemical recurrence during a mean follow-up time of 51.4 months., Results: The presence of PNI in prostate biopsies was observed in older patients (63 vs. 61 years old, P = 0.008). All of the prognostic factors determined for the RP specimens were significantly worse in patients with PNI compared with those without PNI. PNI was strongly associated with a higher pathologic stage (87% specificity, 40% sensitivity, odds ratio 4.8). Stage pT3 prostatic cancer was determined in 46 (43.8%) of 105 patients with PNI on biopsy compared to 69 (14%) of 494 patients without PNI (P = 0.01). Fifty-six (19.6%) patients had a biochemical recurrence, and PNI correlated significantly with PSA recurrence. A Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant difference in recurrence-free survival between patients with and without PNI (45% vs. 53%, respectively, P = 0.021, log-rank test = 0.19)., Conclusion: PNI is an important morphologic preoperative predictor of the pathologic stage as well as biochemical recurrence and must always be mentioned when adenocarcinoma is diagnosed on prostate biopsies., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Objective: Because of the improvements on detection of early stage prostate cancer over the last decade, focal therapy for localized prostate cancer (PC) has been proposed for patients with low-risk disease. Such treatment would allow the control of cancer, thereby diminishing side effects, such as urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction, which have an enormous impact on quality of life. The critical issue is whether it is possible to preoperatively predict clinically significant unifocal or unilateral prostate cancer with sufficient accuracy. Our aim is to determine whether there is any preoperative feature that can help select the ideal patient for focal therapy., Material and Methods: A total of 599 patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy followed by radical prostatectomy to treat PC were examined in our laboratory between 2001 and 2009. We established very restricted criteria to select patients with very-low-risk disease for whom focal therapy would be suitable (only 1 biopsy core positive, tumor no larger than 80% of a single core, no perineural invasion, PSA serum level < 10 ng/ml, Gleason score < 7 and clinical stage T1c, T2a-b). We defined 2 groups of patients who would be either adequately treated or not treated by focal therapy. The primary endpoint was the evaluation of preoperative features in order to identify which parameters should be considered when choosing good candidates for focal therapy., Results: Fifty-six out of 599 patients met our criteria. The mean age was 59 years, and the mean number of biopsy cores was 14.4. Forty-seven (83.9%) were staged T1c, and 9 (16.1%) were staged T2a-b. Forty-four (78.6%) patients could be considered to have been adequately treated by focal therapy, and 12 (21.4%) could not. There was no statistical difference between the 2 groups considering age, clinical stage, PSA levels, Gleason score, and tumor volume in the biopsy. All 12 patients who could be considered inadequately treated had a bilateral, significant secondary tumor, 58.3% had Gleason ≥ 7, and 25% were staged pT3., Conclusion: Although focal therapy might be a good option for patients with localized prostate cancer, we are so far unable to select which of them would benefit from it based on preoperative data, even using very restricted criteria, and a considerable proportion of men would still be left undertreated., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)