Linear Body Research Articles

Relationship between Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements in Pakistani Quail (Coturnix japonica PK)

Relationship between Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements in Pakistani Quail (Coturnix japonica PK)

Estimation of The Correlation Value of Body Weight and Linear Body Size of KUB Chickens Fed Fermented Cow Feces

The purpose of this study was to estimate the correlation value of growth traits and linear body size of KUB chickens fed feed containing fermented cow feces such as body weight, shank length, chest circumference, back length, and wingspan of KUB chickens from 8 to 16 weeks of age. Forty-eight adult chickens were used as parents consisting of 8 males, and 40 females. From their AI mating, they produced 100 chicks as research materials. A completely Randomized Design with 4 treatments and 5 replications for each treatment was used in this study. A correlation analysis was carried out using Spearman correlation analysis to calculate the correlation value and error standard. All data obtained were analyzed using SPSS release 21 software. The results showed that KUB chickens that consumed feed containing fermented cow feces as much as 10% were able to produce body weight and linear body size that was better than other treatments. The estimated correlation value between body weight and linear body size of KUB chickens consuming fermented cow feces varied from very strong to very weak. For selection purposes, it can be carried out mainly on traits with high positive correlation values.

Zambian indigenous chicken genetic resources: phenotypic characteristics and their production systems among small-scale farmers.

Indigenous chickens are very important to households for income and protein. However, their performance is usually poor, especially under small-scale farmer management, despite their potential to perform better. The performance of these chickens can be improved by selective breeding. However, for this to be a success, there is a need to understand the phenotypic and production characteristics of these chickens fully. Hence, this study aimed to characterize the phenotypes of these chickens and their production system among small-scale farmers. A structured questionnaire was administered to 177 small-scale farmers. A total of 538 chickens whose mean weight was 1.66 kg were individually phenotyped in Luapula, Muchinga, and Northern provinces of Zambia. Ownership of the indigenous chickens was dominated by females (65.37%), with most (64.31%) having attained primary education. Most housed their chickens in family houses (42.03%). All the farmers let their chickens scavenge for their feed, with 45.58% of them providing basic supplementation. Most (84.10%) farmers bought their breed stock from within their community and had a mean flock size of 12.5 chickens/household, which they mostly (78.09%) kept as free-range. The majority (77.39%) practiced culling, with low productivity being the most common reason for culling (84.45%). Only 59.01% of farmers practiced selective breeding, while 86.22% practiced uncontrolled mating. The age at first mating for cocks and hens was 6.8 months and 6.34 months, respectively, with 6.73 months being the age at first egg. It takes 15.43 days to reach a mean clutch size of 13 eggs. The hatchability and mortality at 8 weeks were 83.44% and 67.57%, respectively. All chickens were sold as live chickens, and the majority (51.59%) of the farmers sold their chickens within the community at 7.23 months. Diseases and predators were the most common challenges affecting farmers in the study area. Consultations with veterinarians, vaccinations, and deworming were uncommon while treating sick chickens mostly using ethnoveterinary medicines was common. The most common qualitative traits were brown (27.88%) and mixed (26.77%) plumage color, white skins (91.45%) and shanks (48.70%), single comb type (91.08%), red earlobe (55.76%), and orange eyes (78.07%). All linear body measurements positively and significantly correlated with the body weight averaging 1.66kgs, an indicator that selection for any of them would result in a corresponding increase in body weight. Principal Component Analysis extracted two components with 69.38% of the total variation. The diversity in phenotypes of these chickens and their production systems indicate huge potential for improvement by implementing breeding programs.

Effects of a novel synbiotics-enzyme complex as a replacement for antibiotics on growth performance, slaughter and meat characteristics, immune organ index, and intestinal morphology of broilers.

Antibiotic use in broilers is being discouraged globally due to the challenges it poses. This study was conducted to assess the effects of supplementing broilers with a Symbiotic-Enzyme complex (SEC) containing prebiotics (mannose oligosaccharides), probiotics (Clostridium butyricum and Bacillus subtilis), and enzymes (glucose oxidase, and α-galactosidase) as an alternative to antibiotics on growth performance, carcass and meat quality traits, mortality, linear body measurements, intestinal morphology and immune organ indexes. A total of 864 mixed-sex 1-day-old arbor acres (AA+) broilers were allocated to 8 experimental groups replicated 9 times with 12 chickens per replicate. These included 6 treatment groups with SEC inclusion levels of 0.025, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10%, respectively, and two control groups: a negative control group containing a basal diet only and the positive control group (Antibiotics group) containing a basal diet and antibiotic oxytetracycline added at 0.2%. Growth performance was measured on day 21 and 42, and the mortality, carcass, meat quality traits, linear body measurements, intestinal morphology, and organ size indexes were measured on day 42. The results indicated that supplementing broilers with 0.1% SEC resulted in insignificant (P > 0.05) increases in average daily feed intake (ADFI), significant (P < 0.05) increases in the average daily gains (ADG), and significant (P < 0.05) reduction in a feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) in all the phases compared to the control and antibiotics groups. Supplementation of broilers with 0.1% SEC inclusion levels also significantly (P < 0.05) increased the body slope length, chest width, chest depth, keel length, and shank circumference. Furthermore, broilers on diets containing 0.1% SEC inclusion level also had significantly (P < 0.05) higher dressed, semi-evisceration, evisceration, and breast muscle percentages. Including SEC at 0.1% also significantly (P < 0.05) increased villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio (V/C) but reduced crypt depth in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum compared to the control groups. SEC inclusion at 0.1% significantly (P < 0.05) increased the spleen, bursal, and thymus indexes, respectively. Supplementation of broilers with 0.1% SEC can be used as an antibiotic alternative because it increases the F/G, improves the carcass and meat quality, increases the body conformation, improves the small intestines' functions, and immune organ size.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Linear Classification Traits in Hanwoo cows Using Multiple Trait Animal Model

This study was conducted to analyzed the statistical model of Hanwoo(Korean native cattle) cows linear classification trait, analyze the structure and environmental effects of linear classification data, and estimate genetic parameters for linear classification data by applying the analyzed environmental effects to use them as basic data for improving the body measurement and appearance of Hanwoo cows animals at the farm level. The data used in this study collected cows linear classification data that participated in the Hanwoo cows linear classification project promoted by the Korea Animal Improvement Association(KAIA) from 2014 to 2019 to quantify the body measurement of cows and use them for livestock improvement, selection, and culling. Among them, the most recent linear classification data was selected as analysis data, the previous data was deleted, outliers in the data were removed, and 369,723 Hanwoo cows suitable for Estimated Breeding Value(EBV) analysis were used. In addition, outliers were removed from the Hanwoo cows linear classification data, and the final score calculated by applying level and grade trait data and four data such as body height, body width, rump length, and pinbone width, which were found to have a high genetic correlation among 19 traits, was used. After removing outliers from the data, the most recent data was selected and used for analysis based on the linear classification month age when the linear classification data was repeatedly recorded for each parity. The least square mean analysis by linear classification trait showed that body height, which is most involved in body measurement and growth, steadily increased up to about 50 months, but there was no change thereafter. It was analyzed that the growth of Hanwoo cows ends on average when they are 50 months old, and the increase in body height slowed after the calf was produced. In the basic statistical analysis of linear classification traits, the average and standard deviation of body height, body width, rump length, pinbone width, and final score were analyzed as 6.22±1.33, 5.83±1.22, 5.88±1.20, 5.63±1.32 and 80.0±1.83. To analyzed the factors of environmental effects, the farm-birth year-birth season was set as one effect HYS(Herd-Year-Season) to establish the BCS(Body Condition Score), the classifier, the linear classification month, and the contemporary group, and a variance analysis was conducted to confirm that there was a high significant difference(p&lt;0.001) with traits in BCS, classifier, linear classification month, and HYS. In the estimation of the genetic parameters of linear classification traits for Hanwoo cows, the heritability of body height, body width, rump length, pinbone width, and final score were estimated to be 0.42, 0.18, 0.34, 0.25 and 0.37, respectively. In the analysis of the genetic correlation coefficient between linear classification traits, body height, body width, rump length, pinbone width, and final score were analyzed as 0.80, 0.96, 0.95 and 0.94, respectively, pinbone width and final score were analyzed as 0.84, 0.84, and 0.89, rump length and pinbone width and final score were 0.94 and 0.92, and pinbone width and final score were analyzed as having a high genetic correlation of 0.97. In the phenotypic correlation coefficient analysis, body height, rump length, pinbone width, and final score were analyzed as 0.39, 0.63, 0.54, and 0.70, respectively, while body width, rump length, pinbone width, and final score were 0.40, 0.48, and 0.65, and rump length, pinbone width, and final score were analyzed as 0.61 and 0.70, and pinbone width and final score were 0.73, showing a high correlation between the traits. In the future, continuous research on linear classification traits should be conducted to find out the ideal body type ability of Hanwoo cows for growth ability and fertility trait, and it is believed that the productivity of Hanwoo should be improved through this.

Prediction of body weights from linear body parameters of rabbit genotypes in the humid tropics

This study aimed to determine the association between body weight and linear body parameters in rabbits. A total of 93 kittens generated from crosses of New Zealand White (NZW) x NZW, Chinchilla (CHA) x CHA, NZW x CHA, and CHA x NZW genotypes of rabbit in a nested classification of a Completely Randomized Design were used for this study. Data on body circumference weight (BW) and linear body parameters namely, body length (BL), ear length (EL), heart girth (HG), head-to-shoulder (HS), length of hind limb (LHB), length of forelimb (LFB), tail length (TL) and thigh girth (TG) were taken bi-weekly from weeks 2 to 12. The regression procedure used was a stepwise multiple regression using the backward elimination method. The body weight was regressed on linear body parameters using the stepwise multiple regression procedure in SPSS software. The result showed that the regressions of body weight on linear body parameters are all positive and highly significant (p&lt;0.01; 0.05) except for CHA x CHA in week 2. The values of the coefficient of determination (R2) ranged from 26 - 91% in NZW x NZW, 85 - 98% in NZW x CHA, 1 - 88% in CHA x CHA, and 92 - 99% in CHA x NZW. CHA x NZW had the highest R2 value of 94, 99, 94, 97, and 96% in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12, respectively. NZW x CHA also had a similar R2 value of 94, 96, and 98% in weeks 2, 8 and 10, respectively. For predicting body weight at weeks 2 and 4, LFB and TG were good predictors of body weight for NZW x NZW mating type while at weeks 6 and 10, LFB was a good predictor of body weight. Also, BL and HS proved to be the best predictors of body weight for NZW x CHA mating type. For CHA x CHA, HG and TG were good predictors of body weight while in CHA x NZW, BL was a good predictor of body weight at these periods except for weeks 10 and 12. This suggests that body weight increases with an increase in linear body measurements. Except CHA x CHA in weeks 2 and 12, all the multiple regression equations were significant; all the parameters had R2 values above 60% which shows that the linear model was a perfect fit. Hence, BL can be predicted with accuracy using CHA x NZW cross to facilitate the selection of rabbits for body weight-related purposes.

Морфологічна диференціація Anura (Amphibia) у пізньому онтогенезі: аналіз популяцій Rana temporaria з регіону Карпат

The study is devoted to the morphological features of the common frog of the Carpathian region of Ukraine, namely the expression, directionality and structure of sexual differences of this species. The work uses data obtained as a result of the processing of the scientific collection of Rana temporaria (Linnaeus, 1758) from the territory of the Ukrainian Carpathians (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia oblasts), which is housed at the National Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv). A total of 381 common frog specimens were studied—233 males (L = 24.6–84.5 mm) and 148 females (L = 23.2–94.2 mm). It is shown that individual differences in linear dimensions and body proportions in a sample of common frog males and females are structured and clearly reflect the morphological differentiation of individuals according to the age criterion. In the late ontogenesis of the common frog, generalised sex-related differences extend with the increasing age of individuals: in juveniles SqMD = 2.36, in subadults SqMD = 4.77, and in adults SqMD = 22.08. At the same time, not only does the expression of sex-related differences increase, but also their orientation changes significantly. According to our data, this year’s juveniles (juvenis) are individuals that did not winter at all (0+). At the same time, males are reliably (t = 4.50; p &lt; 0.001) larger in body length (24.6–37.5 mm; Lmean = 29.87 mm) than females (23.2–32.7 mm; Lmean = 26.40 mm). But already in the group of semi-adult (subadultus) frogs, the orientation of sexual dimorphism in terms of body length changes completely—females are reliably larger than males, which is even more pronounced in adult, sexually mature individuals. Males of tailless amphibians grow and physiologically mature faster than females, so they begin to reproduce 1–2 years earlier. Females, which grow more slowly and mature later, join the reproduction having a larger size and older age. It is shown that sexual differences begin to form in the subadultus group. The generalised differences (SqMD) by sex are significantly smaller than by age. Adult sexually mature females compared to males are characterised by larger values of 18 body parameters, except for shoulder length (H.) and elbow joint diameter (Cr.a.c.), which are most reliably larger in males. These features of the proportions of the limbs provide the male with reliable holding of the female during mating (amplexus).

EFFECT OF GENOTYPE, SEX AND AGE AND ITS ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY WEIGHTS AND BODY MEASUREMENTS IN INDIGENOUS CHICKEN POPULATION

A study was carried out to determine the effect of genotype, sex and age and its association between body weights and body measurements in indigenous chicken population. The parent stocks were sourced from the local markets within Dutsin-Ma and its environs. Each parental genetic group was separated into breeding groups of 1:10 cock to hen, respectively on a deep litter. Performance data of body weight (BW), chest girth (CG), body length (BL), shank length (SL), shank circumference (SL), wing length (WL) and keel length (KL), respectively of 120 progenies generated at 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks of age were analyzed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS, Version, 9.1). Generally, body increased with age. The overall mean obtained were 659.64 g, 20.93 cm, 22.12 cm, 8.00 cm, 11.93 cm, and 8.24 cm for body weight, chest girth, body length, shank length, wing length and keel length, respectively. The effect of genotype on body weight and body measurements were significant (P&lt;0.05). The naked neck chickens had higher values for all the morphological traits, followed by normal and frizzle feathered birds, respectively. Males had significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher body weights and body measurements than females. The phenotypic correlations among growth traits were positive moderate, high and significant (P&lt;0.05). The estimates ranged from 0.49 to 0.73 between body weight and body measurements. Highest estimates were observed between body weight and chest girth (rp=0.73) in naked neck chicken. Correlations between sexes were generally high and positive and ranged from 0.61 to 0.77 and 0.56 to 0.70 in males and females, respectively. The highest (rp=0.77) positive coefficient was recorded between body weight and wing length in males and between body weight and body length (rp=0.71) in the females. This implies that selection for improvement in the linear body traits could lead to improvement in body weight of these chickens.

Species dependent correlation analysis and regression models of body weight on linear body measures in indigenous sheep and goats of Zimbabwe

&lt;p&gt;Measurements of live weight in goats and sheep are an important source of information for a range of scientific fields and applications in animal husbandry activities. The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between body weight and body measurements and to predict live body weight from body measurements in indigenous Matabele goats and indigenous Sabi sheep at Matopos Research Station in Zimbabwe. For this purpose, data on body weight (BWT) and linear body measurements (LBM) such as heart girth (HG), body length (BL), wither height (WTH), and rump height (RH) were collected from randomly selected females of each species at the age of 4 years. The corresponding means, standard deviations (SD), and coefficients of variation (CV) were determined for body weight and linear body measurements. Bivariate correlations between bodyweight and linear body measure characteristics were also determined. Simple and multiple regression were used to develop a model to predict BWT using linear body measures. Indigenous Matabele goat females’ CV ranged from 15.77% to 22.68%, while indigenous Sabi sheep females’ CV ranged from 19.16% to 19.37%. The CV was calculated by dividing the mean by the standard deviation. At 4 years of age, the mean BWT of the indigenous Sabi sheep and female Matabele goat were 35.96 ± 0.83 kg and 27.90 ± 0.66 kg, respectively. In indigenous Matabele goat females, the average linear body measures were HW (74.20 ± 0.53 cm), WTH (48.55 ± 0.53 cm), BL (47.53 ± 0.61 cm), and RH (57.50 ± 0.88 cm). The mean values for native Sabi sheep were 63.33 ± 0.70 cm, WTH (52.00 ± 0.80 cm), BL (51.26 ± 0.78 cm), and HW (85.56 ± 1.04 cm). The results showed a strong and positive correlation between BWT and linear body measures in female indigenous Matabele goats. The phenotypic correlation values were HG (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.79), BL (r = 0.70), WTH (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.68), and RH (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.56), in decreasing order. In indigenous Sabi sheep, the phenotypic correlation for BWT and linear body measurement was high and positive for HG (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.73), and positive and moderate to low with WTH (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.41), BL (&lt;em&gt;r =&lt;/em&gt; 0.32), and RH (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.36). Again, the results also indicated that HG had a high and positive phenotypic correlation with BL (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.53), while modest correlation was observed with HG and WTH (&lt;em&gt;r&lt;/em&gt; = 0.41) and HG and RH (0.32). The optimal regression models for easily measuring body weight using HHG are BWT = −46.711 + 1.006 HG (&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; = 60%) and BWT = −15.209 + 0.586 HG (&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; = 53%) for indigenous Matabele goats and indigenous Sabi sheep, respectively. It is recommended that smallholder farmers use HG measurements to estimate body weight in both indigenous Sabi sheep and indigenous Matabele goat females at the age of 4 years.&lt;/p&gt;

Ultrasound-Assisted Removal of a Wooden Foreign Body Embedded in the Neck

Objectives: The deep submucosal migration of ingested foreign bodies into the pharyngolaryngeal mucosa is a sporadic event, and its management can be very challenging. In the case of the failure of endoscopic retrieval, open surgical techniques are usually required, and intraoperative ultrasonography can become a useful adjunct for identifying their precise localization. Methods: An 84-year-old woman presented with new-onset dysphagia and odynophagia after the accidental ingestion of a fragment of a toothpick a few hours before in the absence of hoarseness or respiratory distress. Ultrasonography and an unenhanced CT scan of the neck revealed a 3 cm linear foreign body embedded into the neck between the left pyriform sinus and the esophageal wall. Results: We report the removal of a fragment of a wooden toothpick deeply lodged between the left pyriform sinus and the esophageal wall, which was managed via an open transcervical approach with the aid of intraoperative ultrasound guidance. Conclusions: We suggest that both preoperative and intraoperative ultrasonography should represent the first-line imaging technique for deeply embedded neck foreign bodies.

Міжвидові та статеві відмінності за морфометричними ознаками у п’яти видів дроздів роду Turdus (TURDIDAE, AVES)

The data presented in this article is the first complex ecomorphological study of five close species of thrushes of the genus Turdus (T. pilaris, T. merula, T. iliacus, T. philomelos, and T. viscivorus). For the first time, on the basis of representative materials and using me­thods of univariate and multivariate statistics, the main forms of group variability and adaptive divergence were studied in the five species of Turdus. Interspecific and sexual differences in morphometric characters were also analyzed. In total, 124 museum specimens were processed, which were collected in the territory of the Ukrainian Polissia: fieldfare – 28 individuals (17 ♂, 11 ♀), song thrush – 27 individuals (14 ♂, 13 ♀), mistle thrush – 25 individuals (12 ♂, 13 ♀), blackbird – 25 individuals (12 ♂, 13 ♀), and redwing – 19 individuals (13 ♂, 6 ♀). It has been revealed that, according to the total body size, the five thrush species studied differentiate into groups of small (redwing and song thrush), medium (blackbird), and large (fieldfare and mistle thrush) species. The blackbird has the most unique body proportions, with a relatively large head, long beak, but shorter wing length. It is shown that sexual differences on the background of interspecific differences are practically not expressed in the five studied species. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that interspecific differences in linear body size are much larger than sexual differences. The mistle thrush and redwing differ the most in linear body size (DE = 51.0–60.4). The smallest differences are observed between the redwing and song thrush (DE = 10.1–15.1), as well as between the mistle thrush and fieldfare (DE = 8.1–16.4). Compared to the other four species, the blackbird has relatively longer head and, especially, beak, but shorter wing. In our opinion, these features in the body proportions of the blackbird are related to its life-style, and mainly to feeding specifics. According to the results of factor analysis, the first two principal components (PC1, PC2) quite fully (90.16 % of the total variance) describe the variation of the 14 morphometric characters in females and males of the five thrush species. The relatively high values of factor loadings of all characters on PC1 (-0.82…-0.98) indicate the consistency of their variability.

Using Coefficient of Variation to Study the Carcass Traits Uniformity for Three Lines of Japanese Quail

Quail body weight and its traits are important to poultry breeders and processors. Body weight correlated positively and negatively to several linear body measurements. Moreover, body weight affected by several factors such as age, sex, breed, rearing and feeding system, handling and slaughtering conditions. Two hundred ten day old unsexed Japanese quail chicks were obtained from three genetic lines of Japanese quail to study carcass traits uniformity by using coefficient of variation. At 40 days of age the feed was withdrawn for 6h, the birds were weighed individually to obtain live body weight. Thereafter the birds were slaughter by knife and let to bleed for 3 min. After the removal of feathers, the carcasses were dissection manually into various parts (chest, thigh, wings, back, head, nick, feet, heart, liver, and gizzard) and weight in gram by using electronic balance with (0.001) sensitivity. General Linear Model within the statistical program SPSS was used to study the effect of genetic lines and sex on carcass traits. Some traits were non-significant effected between the genetic lines such as in male were (Live body weight, head, nick, heart, liver, gizzard), and in female (live body weight, carcass, chest, wing back, head, feet, heart, liver, gizzard). We conclude that the carcass traits of Japanese quail differ among the three genetic lines (white, brown, and grey). And the high values of coefficient of variation may due to the breeding system of the birds.

Early psychomotor development and growth hormone therapy in children with Prader-Willi syndrome: a review.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by the loss of imprinted gene expression on the paternal chromosome 15q11-q13. PWS is characterized by varying degrees of early psychomotor developmental deficits, primarily in cognition, language, and motor development. This review summarizes the early mental cognitive development, language development, and motor development in patients with PWS, compares the correlation of genotype with phenotype, and provides an update regarding the effects and concerns related to potential main side effects of treatment with recombinant human growth hormone on early psycho-cognitive and motor function development along with the linear growth and body composition of children with PWS.Conclusion: Early psychomotor development is strongly correlated with the prognosis of patients with PWS; moreover, current studies support that the initiation of interventions at an early age can exert significant beneficial effects on enhancing the cognitive and linguistic development of patients with PWS and allow them to "catch up" with motor development. What is Known: • Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by multisystem damage, andchildren with Prader-Willi syndrome are typically characterized by early developmental delays, specifically in the areas of cognitive and motor development. •Recombinant human growth hormone therapy is the only medical treatment approved for Prader-Willi syndrome. What is New: •Extensive presentation of psycho-cognitive and motor development features and genotype-phenotype correlation in children with Prader-Willi syndrome. • The effects of growth hormone on early psychomotor development in children with Prader-Willi syndrome were thoroughly reviewed, including their short- and long-term outcomes and any associated adverse effects.

Body circumference fitting model based on coupled linear regression and body type classification

Body circumference fitting model is a key technology for personalization in smart manufacturing by the apparel industry. First, the paper collected front and side images plus manual measurement data of 122 young men. Second, through contour recognition and feature point detection of the collected images, the width and thickness of each body part plus the height were estimated. Then, a correlation analysis of these known factors was conducted. The paper proposed that weight was included in initial regression model for circumferences as an additional independent variable along with width and thickness. Finally, according body type classification, a multivariate regression model was established. After validation, the values predicted by the multivariate regression model were within ±1.5 cm of the manual values for 90.9% of the individuals on average. The paper provides theoretical support for body circumference fitting and may also be beneficial to the development of the smart manufacturing of garments.

Phenotypic characterization of indigenous sheep breeds in the Jimma Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to undertake phenotypic characterization of sheep, in their production environment. A total of 570 sheep were used in this study for body measurements. After the data were collected, using the Proc GLM model, quantitative data were analysed by SAS version 9.3 (2014) and qualitative data were analysed by SPSS. The dominant coat colour pattern observed was 81.1% plain, 16.4% patchy and sheep with spotted pattern (2.5%), respectively. Brown (43.5%), fawn (17.5%) and red (13.0%) were the most frequently observed coat colour types. The majority (91.1%) of sheep were polled whereas (8.9%) of the sheep were horned. The effect of the district on body weight and most of the linear body measurements were significant (p < 0.05) except head length, canon bone length, ear length and tail length. Chest girth explains more variation than any other linear body measurements in both ewes (94%) and rams (93%). The prediction of body weight based on regression equation y = −21.82 + 0.68x for female sheep and y = −49.90 + 1.08x for male sheep, where y and x are body weight and chest girth, respectively. In general, it could help as an input for efficient utilization, conservation and improvement in the future.

Case Report: Duodenal perforation complicated by psoas muscle collection and spondylodiscitis successfully managed without surgery - An unusual case of a toothpick ingestion

Perforation of the intestine caused by an ingested foreign object remains a complex challenge in terms of clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. A 55-year-old man presented with complaints of right-sided abdominal pain and functional impairment of the lower limbs. Physical examination revealed an afebrile status and tenderness in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a duodenal perforation caused by a densely linear foreign body. Additionally, a collection in the psoas muscle and contiguous spondylodiscitis were identified. To address this condition, an endoscopic procedure was performed to extract the toothpick successfully, and a CT-guided fine-needle aspiration was conducted to collect the fluid. Spondylodiscitis was managed with antibiotic therapy and immobilization. Remarkably, significant clinical and radiological improvement was observed within a span of three weeks. This case emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary care involving interventional treatments as a viable and safe alternative to surgical intervention.

Predicting body weight of South African Sussex cattle at weaning using multivariate adaptive regression splines and classification and regression tree data mining algorithms

ABSTRACT The use of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) and classification and regression tree (CART) to estimate the live body weight at weaning age of the Sussex cattle breed remain poorly understood in South Africa. This study was conducted to examine the effect of linear body measurements on body weight at weaning using MARS and CART algorithms. The body weight and linear body measurements included sternum height, withers height, heart girth, hip height, body length, rump length and rump width were collected from 101 Sussex cattle (female = 57 and male = 44) at weaning. Goodness of fit criterions was used to select the best data mining algorithms. The results showed that MARS showed higher predictive performance in the criteria as compared to CART algorithm. The findings of the study suggest that MARS algorithm can be used to estimate the BW at weaning age in Sussex cattle breed. These findings might be helpful to cattle farmers in the selection criterions of breeding stock at weaning age.

Investigation on the tensile rheological behavior of pa6 film based on fractional order model

This paper presents the research results on the rheological behavior of Polyamide 6 (PA6) film during uniaxial stretching. The creep and relaxation tests of PA6 films were conducted on dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tester under uniaxial tensile conditions. And analyzed the PA6 film creep behavior under different stress and temperature, the stress relaxation behavior under different strain. With the increase of temperature or stress, the creep behavior of PA6 film was enhanced. With the increase of strain, the relaxation of PA6 film showed an enhanced tendency. Fractional-order Maxwell model, fractional-order Kelvin model and fractional-order linear body model were used to fit and analyze the experimental data under different conditions. The results showed that the fractional-order linear body model was better suited for describing the rheological behavior of PA6 film under uniaxial stretching. Then, the fractional-order linear body model was used to fit and analyze the creep and relaxation curves under different conditions, and the rheological properties of PA6 film were discussed according to the fitting results. The results indicated that the rheological elements in the internal microstructure of PA6 film were more easily activated under high stress state, and the macroscopic viscous characteristics were more obvious under high strain state. The above results will provide a theoretical basis to further explore the deformation mechanism of PA6 film during tensile tests.

Morphological characterization of Sussex cattle at Huntersvlei farm, Free State Province, South Africa.

Sussex cattle breed is characterized by their distinctive solid red coat colour and white tail switch. Sussex cattle are known for being easy to handle and manage, making them an ideal choice for cattle farmers. The phenotypic characterization of this cattle breed in South Africa is unknown. Hence, the objective of this study was to characterize the morphological structure, phenotypic and body indices traits of Sussex cattle in South Africa at Huntersvlei farm, Frere State province of South Africa. One hundred and one weaners (n = 101) between 6 and 8 months old (female = 57 and male = 44) and fifty yearlings between 12 and 15 months old (female = 15 and male = 35) were used in this study. Body weight at weaning, yearling and linear body measurements such as head length (HL), head width (HW), ear length (EL), ear width (EW), sternum height (SH), withers height (WH), heart girth (HG), hip height (HH), body length (BL), rump length (RL), and rump width (RW) were measured. Moreover, the animals were assessed for coat colour and horn presence. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to describe the Sussex cattle breed. The results indicated that male Sussex cattle had highly significant (p < 0.01) mean numeric values for the BW and morphometric traits. The results further showed that Sussex cattle had highly significant (p < 0.01) increase for the BW and morphometric traits as age advances in all sexes. Interaction effect of sex and age showed a highly significant (p < 0.01) effect with BW and measured morphometric traits, while moderately significant (p < 0.05) with EW. Male Sussex cattle showed highly significant (p < 0.01) higher mean numeric values for the body index (BI), length index (LI) and compact index (CI) indices. While female Sussex animals showed highly significant (p < 0.01) mean numeric values for area index (AI) and proportionality (PR). Body weight showed a positive highly significant (p < 0.01) correlation with the measured morphometric traits except for the moderate significant (p < 0.05) correlation with EL. Coat colour traits ranged from 15 (9.93%), 103 (68.21%) to 33 (21.85%) for light, moderate and dark colours, respectively. While horn presence traits ranged from 48 (31.79%), 42 (27.81%) to 61 (40.40%) for polled, scur and horned respectively. The PCA results extracted only two components in both sexes of the animals. The morphological variations obtained in this study could be complemented by performance data and molecular markers of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to guide the overall breed characterization, conservation and development of appropriate breeding and selection strategies.

Phenotypic characterisation of indigenous chicken in the central zone of Tanzania

Abstract The study was conducted to assess the phenotypic diversity within the indigenous chicken population in Tanzania, the central zone, preciously Dodoma and Singida regions. Six districts from two regions were purposively selected based on their potential for chicken population. A total of 176 adult local chickens of both sexes were used to estimate the body weight, linear body measurements and visual assessments of phenotypic traits. The results indicated that the predominant comb type was single (90.9%) followed by pea comb (6.8%). The dominant plumage colour was a combination of different colours (66%), followed by black (14%). Yellow shank colour (59.1%) was dominant over other colours. The estimated overall mean values of body weight, body length, chest circumference, and shank length were 1.80 kg, 39.3, 31.3, and 8.8 cm, respectively. Males were significantly heavier than females (2.2 vs 1.3 kg; p &lt; 0.05). The values of most linear body measurement traits were significantly different (p &lt; 0.01). The chest circumference was not significantly different across the studied districts. The present finding suggests that indigenous chickens in the study area possess unique genetic potentials that would be used for further breeding programs for optimum utilisation of these genetic resources by the rural communities.