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Annals of Agricultural and... Jun 2024Correlations between the number of milk somatic cells (SCC), the number of microorganisms, and the content of basic components of milk were studied on five farms (F1-F5)...
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
Correlations between the number of milk somatic cells (SCC), the number of microorganisms, and the content of basic components of milk were studied on five farms (F1-F5) with cows of the same breed, but with different milking systems.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
From each farm, 50 Holstein Friesien milk samples were collected once a month (250 samples/month; n=3,000) during March 2022 - February 2023. Samples from farms F1 and F5 were tested for fat, protein, lactose, no fat dry matter content (FTIR spectroscopy), for the SCC (Fossomatic 7), and for the differential cells (Vetscan DC-Q).
RESULTS
The highest fat content was confirmed on farm F5 (3.85 ± 1.70%) and F4 (3.82 ± 0.21%) with automatic milking system (AMS). However, from the point of view of protein content, these farms showed slightly lower values (<0.05). F1 did not meet the minimum required amount for fat content (2.84 ± 0.81%) set by the legislation of the Slovakia. The comparison shows that there is not much difference in cell size between healthy cells and mastitis cells. The average size of healthy cells was approximately 8.77 ± 0.49 μm. In the monitored period, the average values determined were at the level of 292,000/mL (5.46 ± 0.72 log10 SCC) in cow milk samples, while for the rest of the year, the values remained at 256,000/mL (5.40 ± 0.80 log10 SCC). F1 was categorized as a positive farm with a high TLC (total milk leucocyte count) concentration (5.58 log10 cells/mL, 406.65 ± 53.80 × 10 cells/mL) and a predominant NEU fraction (61%). Farms F2, F4, and F5 were classified as negative farms (TLC was 4.70 ± 0.26 log10 cells/ml).
CONCLUSIONS
According to the results, the size of SCCs in healthy milk does not differ from SCCs found in mastitis milk. From the results, it can be concluded that the transition to the latest generation of robotic milking method can positively affect milk production and its quality.
Topics: Animals; Milk; Dairying; Female; Cell Count; Cattle; Lactose; Slovakia; Milk Proteins; Lactation
PubMed: 38940103
DOI: 10.26444/aaem/187170 -
JACC. Advances Jan 2024Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is used to guide lipid-lowering therapy after a myocardial infarction (MI). Lack of LDL-C testing represents a missed...
BACKGROUND
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is used to guide lipid-lowering therapy after a myocardial infarction (MI). Lack of LDL-C testing represents a missed opportunity for optimizing therapy and reducing cardiovascular risk.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries who had their LDL-C measured within 90 days following MI hospital discharge.
METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries ≥66 years of age with an MI hospitalization between 2016 and 2020. The primary analysis used data from all beneficiaries with fee-for-service coverage and pharmacy benefits (532,767 MI hospitalizations). In secondary analyses, we used data from a 5% random sample of beneficiaries with fee-for-service coverage without pharmacy benefits (10,394 MI hospitalizations), and from beneficiaries with Medicare Advantage (176,268 MI hospitalizations). The proportion of beneficiaries who had their LDL-C measured following MI hospital discharge was estimated accounting for the competing risk of death.
RESULTS
In the primary analysis (mean age 76.9 years, 84.4% non-Hispanic White), 29.9% of beneficiaries had their LDL-C measured within 90 days following MI hospital discharge. Among Hispanic, Asian, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black beneficiaries, the 90-day postdischarge LDL-C testing was 33.8%, 32.5%, 30.0%, and 26.0%, respectively. Postdischarge LDL-C testing within 90 days was highest in the Middle Atlantic (36.4%) and lowest in the West North Central (23.4%) U.S. regions. In secondary analyses, the 90-day postdischarge LDL-C testing was 26.9% among beneficiaries with fee-for-service coverage without pharmacy benefits, and 28.6% among beneficiaries with Medicare Advantage coverage.
CONCLUSIONS
LDL-C testing following MI hospital discharge among Medicare beneficiaries was low.
PubMed: 38939806
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2023.100753 -
JACC. Advances Jan 2024A simple ambulatory measure of cardiac function could be helpful for monitoring heart failure patients.
BACKGROUND
A simple ambulatory measure of cardiac function could be helpful for monitoring heart failure patients.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this paper was to determine whether a novel pulse waveform analysis using data obtained by our developed multisensor-ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) device, the 'Sf/Am' ratio, is associated with echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
METHODS
Multisensor-ABPM was conducted twice at baseline in 20 heart failure (HF) patients with HF-reduced LVEF or HF-preserved LVEF (median age 66 years, male 65%) and over a 6- to 12-month follow-up after patient-tailored treatment. We assessed the changes in the pulse waveform index Sf/Am and LVEF that occurred between the baseline and follow-up. The Sf/Am consists of the area of the ejection part in the square forward wave (Sf) and the amplitude of the measured wave (Am). We divided the patients into the recovered (n = 11) and not-recovered (n = 9) groups defined by a ≥10% increase in LVEF.
RESULTS
Although the ambulatory BP levels and variabilities did not change in either group, the Sf/Am increased significantly in the recovered group (baseline 21.4 ± 4.5; follow-up, 25.6 ± 3.7, = 0.004). The not-recovered group showed no difference between the baseline and follow-up. The follow-up/baseline Sf/Am ratio was significantly associated with the LVEF ratio ( = 0.469, = 0.037). The Sf/Am was significantly correlated with the LVEF in overall measurements (n = 40, = 0.491, = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrated that a novel noninvasive pulse waveform index, the Sf/Am measured by multisensor-ABPM is associated with LVEF. The Sf/Am may be useful for estimating cardiac function.
PubMed: 38939805
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2023.100737 -
Journal of Arrhythmia Jun 2024We explored the results of two tests of the novel HeartInsight algorithm for heart failure (HF) prediction, reconstructing trends from historical cases. Results suggest...
We explored the results of two tests of the novel HeartInsight algorithm for heart failure (HF) prediction, reconstructing trends from historical cases. Results suggest potential extension of HeartInsight to implantable cardioverter defibrillators patients without history of HF and illustrate the importance of the baseline clinical profile in enhancing algorithm specificity.
PubMed: 38939800
DOI: 10.1002/joa3.13032 -
Journal of Arrhythmia Jun 2024We report the behavior of OptiVol2 fluid index (OVFI2) and intrathoracic impedance on remote monitoring before the appearance of signs of infection. A sustained rise in...
We report the behavior of OptiVol2 fluid index (OVFI2) and intrathoracic impedance on remote monitoring before the appearance of signs of infection. A sustained rise in OVFI2 early after implantation reflects peri-device fluid retention.
PubMed: 38939798
DOI: 10.1002/joa3.13005 -
Journal of Arrhythmia Jun 2024Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs) can detect various events early. However, the diagnostic ability of CIEDs has not been...
BACKGROUND
Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs) can detect various events early. However, the diagnostic ability of CIEDs has not been sufficient, especially for lead failure. The first notification of lead failure was almost noise events, which were detected as arrhythmia by the CIED. A human must analyze the intracardiac electrogram to accurately detect lead failure. However, the number of arrhythmic events is too large for human analysis. Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be helpful in the early and accurate detection of lead failure before human analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To test whether a neural network can be trained to precisely identify noise events in the intracardiac electrogram of RM data.
METHODS
We analyzed 21 918 RM data consisting of 12 925 and 1884 Medtronic and Boston Scientific data, respectively. Among these, 153 and 52 Medtronic and Boston Scientific data, respectively, were diagnosed as noise events by human analysis. In Medtronic, 306 events, including 153 noise events and randomly selected 153 out of 12 692 nonnoise events, were analyzed in a five-fold cross-validation with a convolutional neural network. The Boston Scientific data were analyzed similarly.
RESULTS
The precision rate, recall rate, F1 score, accuracy rate, and the area under the curve were 85.8 ± 4.0%, 91.6 ± 6.7%, 88.4 ± 2.0%, 88.0 ± 2.0%, and 0.958 ± 0.021 in Medtronic and 88.4 ± 12.8%, 81.0 ± 9.3%, 84.1 ± 8.3%, 84.2 ± 8.3% and 0.928 ± 0.041 in Boston Scientific. Five-fold cross-validation with a weighted loss function could increase the recall rate.
CONCLUSIONS
AI can accurately detect noise events. AI analysis may be helpful for detecting lead failure events early and accurately.
PubMed: 38939795
DOI: 10.1002/joa3.13037 -
Journal of Arrhythmia Jun 2024Guidelines recommended remote monitoring (RM) in managing patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices. In recent years, smart device (phone or tablet)...
BACKGROUND
Guidelines recommended remote monitoring (RM) in managing patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices. In recent years, smart device (phone or tablet) monitoring-based RM (SM-RM) was introduced. This study aims to systematically review SM-RM versus bedside monitor RM (BM-RM) using radiofrequency in terms of compliance, connectivity, and episode transmission time.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review, searching three international databases from inception until July 2023 for studies comparing SM-RM (intervention group) versus BM-RM (control group).
RESULTS
Two matched studies (21 978 patients) were retrieved (SM-RM arm: 9642 patients, BM-RM arm: 12 336 patients). There is significantly higher compliance among SM-RM patients compared with BM-RM patients in both pacemaker and defibrillator patients. Manyam et al. found that more SM-RM patients than BM-RM patients transmitted at least once (98.1% vs. 94.3%, < .001), and Tarakji et al. showed that SM-RM patients have higher success rates of scheduled transmissions than traditional BM-RM methods (SM-RM: 94.6%, pacemaker manual: 56.3%, pacemaker wireless: 77.0%, defibrillator wireless: 87.1%). There were higher enrolment rates, completed scheduled and patient-initiated transmissions, shorter episode transmission time, and higher connectivity among SM-RM patients compared to BM-RM patients. Younger patients (aged <75) had more patient-initiated transmissions, and a higher proportion had ≥10 transmissions compared with older patients (aged ≥75) in both SM-RM and BM-RM groups.
CONCLUSION
SM-RM is a step in the right direction, with good compliance, connectivity, and shorter episode transmission time, empowering patients to be in control of their health. Further research on cost-effectiveness and long-term clinical outcomes can be carried out.
PubMed: 38939794
DOI: 10.1002/joa3.13054 -
JACC. Advances Apr 2024Maternal mortality is a major public health crisis in the United States. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Labor and... (Review)
Review
Maternal mortality is a major public health crisis in the United States. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Labor and delivery is a vulnerable time for pregnant individuals with CVD but there is significant heterogeneity in the management of labor and delivery in high-risk patients due in part to paucity of high-quality randomized data. The authors have convened a multidisciplinary panel of cardio-obstetrics experts including cardiologists, obstetricians and maternal fetal medicine physicians, critical care physicians, and anesthesiologists to provide a practical approach to the management of labor and delivery in high-risk individuals with CVD. This expert panel will review key elements of management from mode, timing, and location of delivery to use of invasive monitoring, cardiac devices, and mechanical circulatory support.
PubMed: 38939671
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2024.100901 -
PeerJ 2024Enhancing detection of cryptic snakes is critical for the development of conservation and management strategies; yet, finding methods that provide adequate detection...
BACKGROUND
Enhancing detection of cryptic snakes is critical for the development of conservation and management strategies; yet, finding methods that provide adequate detection remains challenging. Issues with detecting snakes can be particularly problematic for some species, like the invasive Burmese python () in the Florida Everglades.
METHODS
Using multiple survey methods, we predicted that our ability to detect pythons, larger snakes and all other snakes would be enhanced with the use of live mammalian lures (domesticated rabbits; ). Specifically, we used visual surveys, python detection dogs, and time-lapse game cameras to determine if domesticated rabbits were an effective lure.
RESULTS
Time-lapse game cameras detected almost 40 times more snakes ( = 375, treatment = 245, control = 130) than visual surveys ( = 10). We recorded 21 independent detections of pythons at treatment pens (with lures) and one detection at a control pen (without lures). In addition, we found larger snakes, and all other snakes were 165% and 74% more likely to be detected at treatment pens compared to control pens, respectively. Time-lapse cameras detected almost 40 times more snakes than visual surveys; we did not detect any pythons with python detection dogs.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study presents compelling evidence that the detection of snakes is improved by coupling live mammalian lures with time-lapse game cameras. Although the identification of smaller snake species was limited, this was due to pixel resolution, which could be improved by changing the camera focal length. For larger snakes with individually distinctive patterns, this method could potentially be used to identify unique individuals and thus allow researchers to estimate population dynamics.
Topics: Animals; Boidae; Rabbits; Time-Lapse Imaging; Snakes; Florida; Dogs; Photography; Predatory Behavior
PubMed: 38938602
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17577 -
JACC. Advances Oct 2023Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) have a higher incidence of arrhythmias during pregnancy, yet the utility of mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) to predict...
BACKGROUND
Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) have a higher incidence of arrhythmias during pregnancy, yet the utility of mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) to predict adverse outcomes is unknown.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study is to determine whether arrhythmias on screening MCT correlate with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
METHODS
Patients with CHD prospectively enrolled in the Standardized Outcomes in Reproductive Cardiovascular Care initiative underwent 24-hour MCT (within 18 months prior to pregnancy). Positive findings on MCT were defined as episodes of bradyarrhythmia, symptomatic atrioventricular block, ectopic atrial or ventricular activity, and supraventricular or ventricular tachycardia. Clinically significant arrhythmia events (CSAEs) were those requiring medical or device intervention or an emergency room visit. Clinical events during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods were compared using Fisher's exact test. Analyses were performed using Stata version 16.
RESULTS
In 141 pregnancies in 118 patients with CHD, MCT detected positive findings in 17%. Adverse cardiac outcomes occurred in 11% of pregnancies, of which CSAE occurred in 3.5%. Positive MCT was significantly associated with subsequent CSAE (21% vs 0%, < 0.001) and cumulative adverse maternal cardiac outcomes (33% vs 7%, = 0.001) but did not correlate with obstetric (46% vs 41%, = 0.660) or neonatal outcomes (33% vs 31%, = 0.810). Of the patients with CSAE, 75% had ≥moderate CHD complexity.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with CHD had a high rate of positive MCT findings. This was associated with CSAE and adverse maternal cardiac outcomes. Patients with ≥moderate CHD complexity may benefit from screening MCT to improve preconceptual counseling and planning.
PubMed: 38938332
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2023.100593