Different forms and frequencies of soybean oil supplementation do not alter rumen fermentation in grazing heifers

Over the productive cycle, the performance of cattle in grazing systems may be compromised, and feed supplementation is a strategy to establish nutritional balance and maximise the performance of grazing animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different supplementation frequencies (i.e. daily supplementation (DS) versus Monday, Wednesday and Friday (MWF)) with different forms of soybean oil (i.e. soybean grain (SG), soybean oil (SO) and rumen-protected fat (RPF)) on the nutrient digestion and rumen fermentation of heifers grazing Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu pastures. Twelve crossbred heifers (1/4 Nellore × 1/4 Santa Gertrudis × 1/2 Braunvieh) with an initial bodyweight of 236.3 ± 27.6 kg were distributed in a completely randomised design with a factorial arrangement 3 × 2 (three diets and two supplementation frequencies). There was no interaction among the SO form or supplementation frequency on dry matter intake and dry matter digestibility (P > 0.05). The animals supplemented with SG exhibited lower nitrogen intake and absorption compared with animals that were fed SO (P < 0.05). The efficiency of microbial synthesis was not influenced by the diet or supplementation frequency (P > 0.05). Forms of SO affected the rumen pH; animals fed SO showed pH values similar to those of animals receiving SG but lower values than animals fed RPF (P < 0.05). Animals supplemented with DS exhibited higher levels of rumen ammonia nitrogen relative to those supplemented MWF. The reduction of supplementation frequency (from DS to MWF k) in our experimental conditions can be used to increase the efficiency of pasture utilisation without effects in fermentation activity of the rumen microbial population. Supplementation with SO is a strategy to increase propionic acid concentration and reduce A : P ratio, which is an indicator of improvement of the efficiency of the ruminal energy utilisation.

Impact of ground soybean and starch levels on the quality of meat from feedlot young Nellore bulls

Twenty-eight young Nellore bulls (395±32kg initial body weight) were assigned to a completely randomized design (2×2 factorial design with 7 animals per treatment) to evaluate effects on the quality of meat. Diet treatments consisted of high (about 25%) or low (about 16%) starch levels, with or without ground soybean addition. Shear force was decreased in the meat from animals fed a low-starch diet (P=0.0016). Meat from animals fed a high-starch diet had increased total concentrations of unsaturated (P=0.0029) and monounsaturated fatty acids (P=0.0253). Polyunsaturated fatty acid content increased in the meat from animals fed a diet containing soybean (P=0.0121). High starch diets (>25%) decreased the concentration of saturated fatty acids and increased the amount of unsaturated fatty acids in the meat from young Nellore bulls.

Chemoresistant Myeloma: Phase II Clinical Study with Low-Dose Thalidomide Plus High-Dose Dexamethasone

Thalidomide produces a response rate from 32 to 66% of pre-treated myeloma patients with doses ranging from 100 to 800 mg/daily. Common, dose-related side effects are sedation, constipation, polyneuropathy. Increased incidence of thromboembolic events were observed in myeloma patients receiving thalidomide as front-line therapy or in association with chemotherapy. Less common adverse reactions are central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction and cutaneous reactions. We describe the update of our experience with low dose thalidomide plus monthly high dose dexamethasone and zolendronate. Most patients were able to tolerate this regimen with few side effects. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) lowering was early observed in patients who subsequently responded.

Thoracic Stop-Flow Perfusion in the Treatment of Refractory Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

This study was undertaken to determine the survival of patients with unresectable and refractory non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) submitted to thoracic stop-flow perfusion (TSP). Forty-five patients with NSCLC confined to thoracic region entered the study. All 45 patients had been pretreated with some form of chemotherapy and had progression of disease. The cytostatic regimen was mitomycin 10 mg/m2, navelbine 25 mg/m2 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2. In 39/45 patients, immediately after TSP, hemofiltration was performed to reduce systemic side effects There were 16/45 responses to the first TSP (CR 0; PR 16): a response rate of 35.6%. Median time to progression was 4 months. Median survival was 7.5 months.1-year survival rate was 36.4%, 2-year survival rate was 14%, and 3-year survival rate was 5.7%.

Dealing with minor illnesses: The link between primary care characteristics and Walk-in Centres' attendances

The reformulation of existing boundaries between primary and secondary care, in order to shift selected services traditionally provided by Emergency Departments (EDs) to community-based alternatives, has determined a variety of organisational solutions. One innovative change has been the introduction of fast-track systems for minor injuries or illnesses, whereby community care providers are involved in order to divert patients away from EDs. These facilities offer an open-access service for patients not requiring hospital treatments, and may be staffed by nurses and/or primary care general practitioners operating within, or alongside, the ED. To date little research has been undertaken on such experiences. To fill this gap, we analyse a Walk-in Centre (WiC) in the Italian city of Parma, consisting of a minor injury unit located alongside the teaching hospital's ED. We examine the link between the utilisation rates of the WiC and primary care characteristics, focusing on the main organisational features of the practices and estimating panel count data models for 2007-2010. Our main findings indicate that the extension of practice opening hours significantly lowers the number of attendances, after controlling for General Practitioner's and practice's characteristics.

Effect of lipid sources with different fatty acid profiles on the intake, performance, and methane emissions of feedlot Nellore steers

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of lipids with different fatty acid profiles on the intake, performance, and enteric CH4 emission of Nellore steers. A total of 45 Nellore animals with an average initial BW of 419 ± 11 kg (at 15 ± 2 mo) were distributed in a completely randomized design consisting of 5 treatments and 9 replicates. The roughage feed was maize silage (600 g/kg on a DM basis) plus concentrate (400 g/kg on a DM basis). The dietary treatments were as follows: without additional fat (WF), palm oil (PO), linseed oil (LO), protected fat (PF; Lactoplus), and whole soybeans (WS). The lipid source significantly affected (P < 0.05) nutrient intake. The greatest intakes of DM, OM, and CP were observed in the animals that were fed the WF or PF diets, and the lowest intakes were observed in the animals that were fed the PO diet. Intake of NDF decreased (P < 0.05) with the addition of PO. Enteric methane emission (g/kg DMI) was reduced by an average of 30% when the animals were fed diets containing WS, LO, and PO (P < 0.05), and these diets caused a larger reduction in the energy loss in the form of methane compared to those without added fat and with added PF (3.3 vs. 4.7%). The different fatty acid profiles did not affect the backfat thickness or the loin eye area of the animals (P > 0.05). However, animals fed PO displayed lower daily weight gain (0.36 kg/d), feed efficiency (0.08 kg ADG/kg DM), HCW (245 kg), and hot yield percentage (52.6%) compared to animals that were fed the other diets. Therefore, PO compared to the other lipid sources used in this study reduces intake, performance, feed efficiency, and carcass yield. Therefore, PO is not suggested for feedlot-finished animals.

Abstract P3-14-16: A phase 2 trial of myocet®, cyclophosphamide +/- trastuzumab followed by weekly paclitaxel +/- trastuzumab as primary systemic therapy in operable and locally advanced breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapies are highly effective in primary systemic treatment of breast cancer (BC). Myocet® (M) is a non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin exhibiting reduced cardiotoxicity as compared to doxorubicin. Combination of M and cyclophosphamide (C) has demonstrated efficacy in first line treatment of metastatic BC, however few data are available in neoadjuvant setting, especially in combination with trastuzumab (T). The aims of the study were activity, in terms of pathological complete response (pCR; ie, no remaining invasive tumor in breast and lymphnodes) and safety of a sequential schedule of M and C +/- T followed by weekly paclitaxel (P) +/- T. METHODS: Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), HER2 positivity (defined as 3+ overexpression by immunoistochemical testing or HER2 amplification by fluorescent in situ hybridisation) and Ki67 index were assessed in core needle biopsies at baseline and in residual tumour after chemotherapy. Patients with stage II/III BC received 4 cycles of MC (myocet 60 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 on day 1 every 3 weeks), followed by 12 weekly doses of P (paclitaxel 80 mg/m2); all patients with HER2+ disease received T in combination with chemotherapy (trastuzumab loading dose of 8 mg/kg followed by 3 cycles of 6 mg/kg alongside MC; 2 mg/kg per week with the following 12 P administrations). RESULTS: 49 patients were enrolled, with 44 patients having completed chemotherapy and undergoing surgery to date. Median age was 56 years (range, 34 to 72). Tumour characteristics were as follows: stage IIA 10 patients, IIB 16, IIIA 13, IIIB 5, IIIC 1, and 4 patients with inflammatory BC; ER+/PgR+ 21 patients, ER+/PgR- 13, triple negative 8, HER2+ 16; Ki67&gt; 15% in 41 patients. Forty-four patients were evaluable for pathological response. pCR was obtained in 12 patients (27.3%). The rate of pCR in HER2+ and HER2- BC was 57.1% and 13.3%, respectively. Clinical response was obtained in 36 out of 41 clinically evaluable patients (87.8%): CR in 20 (48.8%) and PR in 16 (39%). Conservative surgery was performed in 16 patients (36.4%) and mastectomy in 28 (63.6%). The most frequently observed grade 3-4 AEs were: alopecia 47 patients (95.9%), grade 3 neutropenia 2 (4.1%), febrile neutropenia 2 (4,1%), grade 3 paresthesia 2 (4.1%), grade 3 vomiting 1 (2%), grade 3 cutaneous erythema 1 (2%). Only 1 patient experienced an asymptomatic decrease of ejection fraction lower than 50%. Five patients (10.2%) discontinued treatment with M+C because of: allergic reaction to M in 3 patients, grade 2 liver toxicity in 1 and grade 3 vomiting in 1. All of them completed the following treatment with P. Three patients (6.1%) discontinued P because of: allergic reaction in 1 patient, infectious pneumonia in 1 and grade 3 cutaneous erythema in 1. CONCLUSIONS: The use of M in this sequential anthracycline- and taxane-based regimen resulted tolerable even in combination with T and active despite of the high rate of patients with ER+ disease and with locally advanced cancer. Consistently with previous data, pCR was higher in patients with HER2+ BC.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P3-14-16.

Modulation of Vascular Endothelium by Imatinib: A Study on the EA.hy 926 Endothelial Cell Line

In this study the EA.hy 926 endothelial cell line--simulating endothelial cells--was treated with imatinib in order to define a possible anti-angiogenic role for imatinib. Dose and time response experiments were performed. Cell morphology was studied, while migration efficiency, intercellular permeability and VE-cadherin expression were assayed, both in the presence and in the absence of imatinib. Imatinib-induced EA.hy 926 cell apoptosis was also examined. Results showed that imatinib reduced the endothelial cell population, changed cell monolayer morphology and reduced cell-to-cell cohesiveness. Migration efficiency was significantly decreased while intercellular permeability was 2.76-fold increased in the presence of imatinib. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy showed nearly complete down-regulation of VE cadherin in imatinib-treated cells. Furthermore, apoptotic activity was detected in imatinib-treated cells. Altogether our results support an antiangiogenic profile for imatinib that possibly contributes to its therapeutic potential.

Intra-Arterial Hepatic Chemoembolization in Liver Metastases from Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Phase II Study

Neuroendocrine tumors, particularly those of gastrointestinal tract origin, have a predisposition for metastasizing to the liver, causing parenchymal substitution and paraneoplastic syndrome. Lipiodol embolization combined with anticancer drugs is a recent tool in regional therapy. It has been proven that chemoembolization reduces tumor bulk and hormone levels, and that it palliates the symptoms of many patients with liver-dominant neuroendocrine metastases. Beginning in December 1988, ten patients with unresectable and chemotherapy-refractory liver metastatic neuroendocrine tumors were treated with chemoembolization based on a mixture of lipiodol, mitomycin, cisplatin, epirubicin, followed by gelfoam powder and contrast media. Toxicity encountered included: upper right quadrant pain requiring narcotics, elevation of lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and transaminases. One patient had liver abscess and persistent fever for 2 weeks. We obtained two complete remissions lasting 12 and 34 months and 5 partial remissions. The median survival was 22 months. Four patients had urinary elevation of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA). They showed more than a 75% decrease in urinary secretion after treatment. In a patient with transplanted liver we noticed a partial response lasting 7 months. We conclude that chemoembolization will improve the clinical condition of a significant percentage of patients with liver metastases, that future therapy of carcinoid tumors will be based on specific tumor biology and that treatment will be customized for each individual patient combining the use of cytoreductive procedures including radiofrequency ablation, laser treatment and chemoembolization.

Ceravolo

Gemcitabine is considered the gold standard treatment for unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Intra-arterial drug administration had shown some interesting results in small phase II studies. In this study, patients were randomly assigned to receive gemcitabine at a dose of 1,000 mg/m2 over 30 minutes intravenously weekly for 7 weeks, followed by 1 week of rest, then weekly for 3 weeks every 4 weeks or FLEC: 5-fluoruracil 1,000 mg/m2, leucovorin 100 mg/m2, epirubicin 60 mg/m2, carboplatin 300 mg/m2 infused bolus intra-arterially into celiac axis at a 3-week interval 3 times or 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 plus folinic acid 20 mg/m2 for 5 days every 4 weeks for 6 cycles. The primary endpoint was overall survival, while time to treatment failure, response rate, clinical benefit response were secondary endpoints. Sixty-seven patients were randomly allocated gemcitabine and 71 were allocated FLEC intra-arterially. Patients treated with FLEC lived for significantly longer than patients on gemcitabine (p=0.036). Survival at 1 year increased from 21% in the gemcitabine group to 35% in the FLEC group. Median survival was 7.9 months in the FLEC group and 5.8 months in the gemcitabine group. Median time to treatment failure was longer with FLEC (5.3 vs 4.2 months for FLEC vs gemcitabine respectively; p=0.013). Clinical benefit was similar in both groups (17.9% for gemcitabine and 26.7% for FLEC; p=NS). CT-scan partial response was similar in both groups (5.9% for gemcitabine and 14% for FLEC; p=NS). Toxicity profiles were different. Compared with gemcitabine, the FLEC regimen given intra-arterially improved survival in patients with unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

First characterisation of natural radioactivity in building materials manufactured in Albania

This study focuses on the radiological characterisation of building materials manufactured in Albania by using a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer. The average activity concentrations of (40)K, (226)Ra and (232)Th were, respectively, 644.1±64.2, 33.4 ± 6.4 and 42.2 ± 7.6 Bq kg(-1) in the clay brick samples and 179.7 ± 48.9, 55.0 ± 5.8 and 17.0 ± 3.3 Bq kg(-1) in the cement samples. The calculated activity concentration index (ACI), varied from 0.48±0.02 to 0.63±0.04 in the clay brick samples and from 0.29±0.03 to 0.37±0.02 in the cement samples. Based on the ACI, all of the clay brick and cement samples were categorised as A1 materials. The authors can exclude (at 3σ level) any restriction of their use as bulk materials.