Moderate lameness leads to marked behavioral changes in dairy cows

Lameness is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting the welfare of cows in modern dairy production. Lameness leads to behavioral changes in severely lame cows, which have been investigated in much detail. For early detection of lameness, knowledge of the effects of moderate lameness on cow behavior is crucial. Therefore, the behavior of nonlame and moderately lame cows was compared on 17 Swiss dairy farms. On each farm, 5 to 11 nonlame (locomotion score 1 of 5) and 2 to 7 moderately lame (locomotion score 3 of 5) cows were selected for data collection in two 48-h periods (A, B) separated by an interval of 6 to 10 wk. Based on visual locomotion scoring, 142 nonlame and 66 moderately lame cows were examined in period A and 128 nonlame and 53 moderately lame cows in period B. Between these 2 periods, the cows underwent corrective hoof trimming. Lying behavior, locomotor activity, and neck activity were recorded by accelerometers (MSR145 data logger, MSR Electronics GmbH, Seuzach, Switzerland), and feeding and rumination behaviors by noseband sensors (RumiWatch halter, ITIN + HOCH GmbH, Liestal, Switzerland). Furthermore, visits to the brush and the concentrate feeder, and the milking order position were recorded. In comparison with nonlame cows, moderately lame cows had a longer lying duration, a longer average lying bout duration, and a greater lateral asymmetry in lying duration. Average locomotor activity, locomotor activity during 1 h after feed delivery or push-ups, and average neck activity were lower in moderately lame cows. Eating time and the number of eating chews (jaw movements) were reduced in moderately lame compared with nonlame cows, whereas no effect of moderate lameness was evident for ruminating time, number of ruminating chews and boluses, and average number of ruminating chews per bolus. Moderately lame cows visited the concentrate feeder and the brush less frequently, and they were further back in the milking order compared with nonlame cows. In conclusion, nonlame and moderately lame cows differed in a biologically relevant way in many of the behavioral variables investigated in this study. Therefore, the use of these behavioral changes seems to be promising to develop a tool for early lameness detection.     

Deformation of a surface layer and coating application using a flexible tool

The microstructure and properties of the functional coatings formed by impact friction processing of product surfaces with a flexible tool are studied. It is established that the processing produces a hard nanostructured surface layer with fragments up to 0.13 µm in size, as it is achieved by severe plastic deformation.     

Piperacillin/tazobactam‐induced neurotoxicity in a hemodialysis patient: A case report

Antibiotics are potentially a cause of neurotoxicity in dialysis patients, the most common are the beta‐lactams as ceftazidime and cefepime, and few cases have been reported after piperacillin/tazobactam use. This report presents a case of a hypertensive and diabetic 67‐year‐old woman in regular hemodialysis, which previously had a stroke. She was hospitalized presenting pneumonia, which was initially treated with cefepime. Two days after treatment, she presented dysarthria, left hemiparesis, ataxia, and IX and X cranial nerves paresis. Computed tomography showed no acute lesions and cefepime neurotoxicity was hypothesized, and the antibiotic was replaced by piperacillin/tazobactam. The neurologic signs disappeared; however, 4 days after with piperacillin/tazobactam treatment, the neurological manifestations returned. A new computed tomography showed no new lesions, and the second antibiotic regimen withdrawn. After two hemodialysis sessions, the patient completely recovered from neurological manifestations. The patient presented sequentially neurotoxicity caused by two beta‐lactams antibiotics. This report meant to alert clinicians that these antibiotics have dangerous neurological effects in chronic kidney disease patients.     

Temperature cycling and its effect on mechanical behaviours of highporosity chalks

Temperature history can have a significant effect on the strength of water-saturated chalk.In this study,hydrostatic stress cycles are applied to understand the mechanical response of chalk samples exposed to temperature cycling between each stress cycle,compared to the samples tested at a constant temperature.The total accumulated strain during a stress cycle and the irreversible strain are reported.Chalk samples from Kansas(USA)and Mons(Belgium),with different degrees of induration(i.e.amount of contact cementation),were used.The samples were saturated with equilibrated water(polar)and nonpolar Isopar H oil to quantify water weakening.All samples tested during 10 stress cycles with varying temperature(i.e.temperature cycled in between each stress cycle)accumulated more strain than those tested at constant temperatures.All the stress cycles were performed at 30℃.The two chalk types behaved similarly when saturated with Isopar H oil,but differently when saturated with water.When saturated with water,the stronger Kansas chalk accumulated more total strain and more irreversible strain within each stress cycle than the weaker Mons chalk.     

A Constitutive Equation of Thermoelasticity for Solid Materials

A new constitutive equation of thermoelasticity for crystals is presented based on the interatomic potential and solid mechanics at finite temperature. Using the new constitutive equation, the calculations for crystal copper and graphene are carried out under different loading paths at different temperatures. The calculated results are in good agreement with those of the previous thermoelasticity constitutive equation based on quantum mechanics, which clearly indicates that our new constitutive equation of thermoelasticity is correct. A lot of comparisons also show that the present theory is more concise and efficient than the previous thermal stress theory in the practical application.     

数据挖掘技术在软件系统中的应用

随着高新科学技术的发展,科学家研究出的利于人类工作生活的技术程序越来越多,大部分技术主要集中在如何帮助人们简化平时的工作量,能快速查找到自己所需要的信息,毕竟现代社会,工作效率和工作质量是关键。数据挖掘技术就具备这样的特点,数据挖掘技术在软件系统的应用将大大降低我们的工作量,提高我们的工作效率。现在我们研究数据挖掘技术在软件系统的应用,分析它是如何发挥其作用的,希望能提高使用该挖掘技术人员的使用效率。     

Quantum Sensing in a Physiological‐Like Cell Niche Using Fluorescent Nanodiamonds Embedded in Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers

Fluorescent nanodiamonds (fNDs) containing nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers are promising candidates for quantum sensing in biological environments. This work describes the fabrication and implementation of electrospun poly lactic‐co‐glycolic acid (PLGA) nanofibers embedded with fNDs for optical quantum sensing in an environment, which recapitulates the nanoscale architecture and topography of the cell niche. A protocol that produces uniformly dispersed fNDs within electrospun nanofibers is demonstrated and the resulting fibers are characterized using fluorescent microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and longitudinal spin relaxometry results for fNDs and embedded fNDs are compared. A new approach for fast detection of time varying magnetic fields external to the fND embedded nanofibers is demonstrated. ODMR spectra are successfully acquired from a culture of live differentiated neural stem cells functioning as a connected neural network grown on fND embedded nanofibers. This work advances the current state of the art in quantum sensing by providing a versatile sensing platform that can be tailored to produce physiological‐like cell niches to replicate biologically relevant growth environments and fast measurement protocols for the detection of co‐ordinated endogenous signals from clinically relevant populations of electrically active neuronal circuits.