PSIX-31 The effect of days on feed and trenbolone acetate + estradiol-17β implants on the dimensional measurements of serially harvested steer carcasses

Charolais x Angus steers (n = 80) were serially harvested to evaluate the effect of days on feed and exogenous growth promotion on dimensional measurements of chilled carcasses. Steers were randomly distributed to treatment and harvest day in a 2 x 10 factorial design. Steers were paired by genetic similarity and randomly assigned one of two treatments; implanted with Revalor-XS (REV) on d 0 and d 190 or non-implanted control (CON). Four pairs were randomly assigned to market endpoints of 0, 42, 84, 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, or 378 DOF. Forty-eight h after harvest, a digital image was obtained of the lateral aspect of the right side of each carcass in front of a grid containing 390 contrasting black and green squares (100 cm2 each). Images were individually calibrated to a common standard and digitally measured for 2-dimensional surface area and maximal carcass length and width. Maximal length was measured from the caudal tip of the hindshank to cranial edge of the foreshank and maximal width was measured from the dorsal edge of the crest to the ventral edge of the foreshank. Carcass dimensional measurements were analyzed using mixed models; fixed effects were implant treatment and DOF with d 0 BW as a covariate. No TRT x DOF interaction was observed (P ≥ 0.13) for any dependent variable. Steers administered REV yielded 516 cm2 greater (P < 0.01) surface area than CON; moreover, surface area increased 21.0 cm2 /day. No TRT effect (P = 0.57) was observed for maximal length, however maximal width was 3.9 cm greater (P < 0.01) for REV steers. Steer carcasses increased 0.16 cm/day in length and 0.07 cm/day in width. These data illustrate growth in carcass size following exogenous growth promotant administration and finishing steers for various lengths of time.

The Anteromedial Cortex of the Calcaneus: A Cadaveric Study

Category: Hindfoot Introduction/Purpose: The irregular morphology of the calcaneus obstructs its clear visualization on radiographic imaging. Particularly challenging is identifying the medial cortex given its concavity and bony overlap of the calcaneal body. Iatrogenic screw penetration of the medial wall of the calcaneus comes with increased risk of injuring the neurovascular bundle and the flexor hallucis longus tendon. Despite all intraoperative precautions, it is not infrequent to see misplaced screws in postoperative imaging. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the normal proportion of the calcaneus width to radiographically define the extent of the medial cortex on axial fluoroscopic imaging. Methods: Eight left sided fresh-frozen below-the-knee amputated cadaveric specimens were utilized for this study. Each specimen was dissected on the medial side of the hindfoot to allow visualization of the medial cortex of the calcaneus. A partial cuboid ostectomy was performed to visualize the calcaneocuboid joint and to install radiopaque markers on the borders of the anterior calcaneal facet. Finally, Harris axial views were obtained. Two independent observers measured the widths of the calcaneus on digital fluoroscopic Harris views at two levels: the maximal width at the sustentaculum tali and the maximal width at the anterior process. A ratio was calculated between these measurements. Results: The ratio between the maximal width at the anterior process and the sustentaculum ranged between 0.42 and 0.52 with an average ratio of 0.47 +/- 0.04. Conclusion: Calcaneal screw misplacement, particularly from lateral to medial, can lead to damage of the neurovascular bundle and the flexor hallucis long tendon ultimately affecting clinical outcomes. The measurements in the present study suggest a lower risk of violating the medial cortex when the length of the screw placed in the anterior process of the calcaneus is less than half of the maximal width of the calcaneus at the sustentaculum tali. As the medial cortex is difficult to visualize on intraoperative fluoroscopy, the clinical use of this normal ratio in axial views could help surgeons to avoid calcaneal screw misplacement.

“Pseudo-suprascapular notch”: is it a sonographic trap in suprascapular nerve block?

Background and objectivesThe aim of the study was to describe the radiological anatomy of the pseudo-suprascapular notch—a structure localized at the floor of the supraspinatus fossa, just below the true suprascapular notch. In sonographic examination, it may imitate the suprascapular notch leading to misidentification of these structures.MethodsUltrasound assessment of the suprascapular notch region was performed in 100 patients who underwent chest CT due to other indications. The presence of the suprascapular notch and the pseudo-suprascapular notch was evaluated together with their maximal width and depth using both techniques. The correlation between the dimensions of these two notches was assessed.ResultsThe pseudo-suprascapular notch was recognized in 82 patients. In four of them the suprascapular notch could not be visualized in ultrasound due to obscuring clavicle. In all cases the pseudo-suprascapular notch contained a small artery. In comparison to the suprascapular notch, the pseudo-suprascapular notch was significantly narrower and shallower, except for 10 cases with vestigial suprascapular notch where the pseudo-suprascapular notch was the only hollow in this region. The dimensions of both structures did not correlate with each other. Finally, the pseudo-suprascapular notch did not present any significant asymmetry (p=0.1185) or sexual dimorphism (43 women vs 38 men, p=0.2025).ConclusionsThe pseudo-suprascapular notch is a hollow for nutrient vessels that can be mistaken for the regular suprascapular notch in cases of difficult sonographic navigation.

SfM-Based Method to Assess Gorgonian Forests (Paramuricea clavata (Cnidaria, Octocorallia))

Animal forests promote marine habitats morphological complexity and functioning. The red gorgonian, Paramuricea clavata, is a key structuring species of the Mediterranean coralligenous habitat and an indicator species of climate effects on habitat functioning. P. clavata metrics such as population structure, morphology and biomass inform on the overall health of coralligenous habitats, but the estimation of these metrics is time and cost consuming, and often requires destructive sampling. As a consequence, the implementation of long-term and wide-area monitoring programmes is limited. This study proposes a novel and transferable Structure from Motion (SfM) based method for the estimation of gorgonian population structure (i.e., maximal height, density, abundance), morphometries (i.e., maximal width, fan surface) and biomass (i.e., coenenchymal Dry Weight, Ash Free Dried Weight). The method includes the estimation of a novel metric (3D canopy surface) describing the gorgonian forest as a mosaic of planes generated by fitting multiple 5 cm × 5 cm facets to a SfM generated point cloud. The performance of the method is assessed for two different cameras (GoPro Hero4 and Sony NEX7). Results showed that for highly dense populations (17 colonies/m2), the SfM-method had lower accuracies in estimating the gorgonians density for both cameras (60% to 89%) than for medium to low density populations (14 and 7 colonies/m2) (71% to 100%). Results for the validation of the method showed that the correlation between ground truth and SfM estimates for maximal height, maximal width and fan surface were between R2 = 0.63 and R2 = 0.9, and R2 = 0.99 for coenenchymal surface estimation. The methodological approach was used to estimate the biomass of the gorgonian population within the study area and across the coralligenous habitat between −25 to −40 m depth in the Portofino Marine Protected Area. For that purpose, the coenenchymal surface of sampled colonies was obtained and used for the calculations. Results showed biomass values of dry weight and ash free dry weight of 220 g and 32 g for the studied area and to 365 kg and 55 Kg for the coralligenous habitat in the Marine Protected Area. This study highlighted the feasibility of the methodology for the quantification of P. clavata metrics as well as the potential of the SfM-method to improve current predictions of the status of the coralligenous habitat in the Mediterranean sea and overall management of threatened ecosystems.

THE CANTOR SET’S MULTI-FRACTAL SPECTRUM FORMED BY DIFFERENT PROBABILITY FACTORS IN MATHEMATICAL EXPERIMENT

With the purpose of researching the changing regularities of the Cantor set’s multi-fractal spectrums and generalized fractal dimensions under different probability factors, from statistical physics, the Cantor set is given a mass distribution, when the mass is given with different probability ratios, the different multi-fractal spectrums and the generalized fractal dimensions will be acquired by computer calculation. The following conclusions can be acquired. On one hand, the maximal width of the multi-fractal spectrum and the maximal vertical height of the generalized fractal dimension will become more and more narrow with getting two probability factors closer and closer. On the other hand, when two probability factors are equal to 1/2, both the multi-fractal spectrum and the generalized fractal dimension focus on the value 0.6309, which is not the value of the physical multi-fractal spectrum and the generalized fractal dimension but the mathematical Hausdorff dimension.

Identifying Fallers and Nonfallers With the Maximal Base of Support Width (BSW): A One-year Prospective Study

The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to determine whether the maximal width of the base of support (BSW) measure is able to predict the risk of multiple falls in community-dwelling women. Thirty-eight community-dwelling women (mean age of 72 ± 8 years old) participated. Falls were prospectively recorded during the following year. Overall, 29 falls were recorded; six (16%) women were multiple fallers and 32 (84%) were nonfallers. There was a significant difference in the BSW between the fallers and nonfallers (F[1, 37] = 5.134 [p = .030]). A logistic regression analysis indicated a significant contribution of the BSW test to the model (odds ratio = 0.637; 95% CI [0.407, 0.993]; p = .046 per 1 cm).The cut-off score was determined to be 27.8 cm (67% sensitivity and 84% specifcity). These results indicate that women with a smaller BSW at baseline had a significantly higher risk of sustaining a fall.

Ultrasonographical examination of feline adrenal glands: intra- and inter-observer variability

Interpretation of ultrasonographical measurements requires an understanding of the source and the magnitude of variation. A substantial part of the variation can be attributed to the observer, the equipment or the animal. The aim of this study was to evaluate which adrenal gland measurement is the least variable within and between observers. Three experienced ultrasonographers examined six cats at three different times on the same day, more than 1 h apart, according to a strict scanning protocol. Seven ultrasonographical measurements were performed on each adrenal gland (maximal length on sagittal images, maximal height at the cranial and caudal poles on sagittal and transverse images, and maximal width of the cranial and caudal poles on transverse images). Height measurements in both planes showed the lowest variability within and between observers compared with length and width measurements. Descriptive ultrasonographical features, such as echogenicity of the gland, presence of hyperechoic spots or layering assessment, demonstrated satisfactory-to-good intra- and inter-observer agreement, whereas the shape assessment showed very poor inter-observer agreement. The results of this study describe a reliable scanning protocol that can be the basis for future adrenal ultrasonographical examinations for cats suspected of adrenal disease (eg, hyperaldosteronism, hyperadrenocorticism, sex hormone-producing tumours).