In animal husbandry, it is of great interest to determine and control the key factors that affect the production characteristics of animals, such as milk yield. In this study, simplified selective tree-based ensembles were used for modeling and forecasting the 305-day average milk yield of Holstein-Friesian cows, depending on 12 external traits and the farm as an environmental factor. The preprocessing of the initial independent variables included their transformation into rotated principal components. The resulting dataset was divided into learning (75%) and holdout test (25%) subsamples. Initially, three diverse base models were generated using Classifiction and Regression Trees (CART) ensembles and bagging and arcing algorithms. These models were processed using the developed simplified selective algorithm based on the index of agreement. An average reduction of 30% in the number of trees of selective ensembles was obtained. Finally, by separately stacking the predictions from the non-selective and selective base models, two linear hybrid models were built. The hybrid model of the selective ensembles showed a 13.6% reduction in the test set prediction error compared to the hybrid model of the non-selective ensembles. The identified key factors determining milk yield include the farm, udder width, chest width, and stature of the animals. The proposed approach can be applied to improve the management of dairy farms.

Mycoplasmosis is a bacterial infection that significantly affects poultry production, and it is often controlled with antibiotics, including doxycycline. The conducted study aimed to determine population pharmacokinetic (PopPk) parameters of doxycycline in healthy (n = 12) and in Mycoplasma gallisepticum-challenged (n = 20) chickens after its oral administration via drinking water at the registered dose rate of 20 mg/kg b.w./24 h for five days, without or with co-administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC, a dose of 100 mg/kg b.w./24 h) via the feed. Doxycycline concentrations in plasma were analyzed with the LC-MS/MS method. The values of tvV/F and tvk_e were 4.73 L × kg⁻¹ and 0.154 h⁻¹, respectively, and they showed low BSV. A high BSV of 93.17% was calculated for the value of tlag of 0.8 h, which reflects the inter-individual differences in the water consumption. PTA was computed after Monte Carlo simulation with the registered dose for doxycycline. The target of %fT > MIC ≥ 80% and 100% can be achieved in 90% of the broiler population, after a correction for protein binding, for bacteria with MIC ≤ 0.5 mg × L⁻¹ and 0.25 mg × L⁻¹, respectively. The applied PopPk model did not reveal significant effect of M. gallisepticum infection and co-administration of NAC on pharmacokinetic parameters of doxycycline.

Ramin Atash, DDS, PhD/Antoaneta Yordanova, DDS/Sibel Cetik, DDS, PhD: Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of coloring on the interfacial surface adhesion between a zirconia framework and ceramic veneer using three-point flexural bonding strength. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 zirconia bars (Zirlux ST1; DE Healthcare) were cut and divided into two groups of 20 (Groups 1 and 2). The two groups were then further split and divided into four groups of 10 each (Groups 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b). Groups 1a and 1b tested adhesion of uncolored zirconia and two different shades of ceramic veneer, and Groups 2a and 2b tested adhesion of zirconia colored with two different coloring liquids and one shade of ceramic veneer. Results: Some coloring liquids used to color zirconia can significantly affect the bond strength between zirconia and the veneer, whereas ceramic veneer shades do not influence adhesion. Conclusion: Bonding strength between zirconia framework and ceramic veneer is affected by the coloring of the zirconia.

In the field of stock breeding the research of the factors which influence the highest levels of the productivity (for example milk yield) is of significant importance both for the selection of animals and for determining the conditions of their raising. This article researches the influence of 11 linear type traits of the Holstein Friesian breed of cows on the adjusted milk yield for 305 days. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the possibilities of the method Random Forest (RF) method for building models with high enough statistical significance to determine the main linear type traits of the animals influencing the milk yield. From a sample of 97 cattle observations from 4 farms in Bulgaria two RF models were built to study the dependence of 305 days Milk yield of the Holstein Friesian breed in terms of 12 independent variables - 11 linear type traits and the farm where the animals are raised. The first model is based on 11 independent variables for linear type traits, and the second is based on the same 11 independent variables as the farm has been added. Both models describe about 95% of the data and identify and agree on the main linear type traits that affect the milk yield - udder width, chest width, hock development and locomotion. The models are compared with the published CART models of the same data set.

INTRODUCTION: Early seizures are considered complications of stroke, and late seizures are a type of structural epilepsy. If they are separated as a new independent nosology unit, the problem in the diagnostic – treatment approach will be solved. PHYSIOLOGY: Cerebral blood flow is regulated by local factors such as carbon dioxide and oxygen content. Brain activity is also an important factor in the regulation of the volume speed of the blood – with locally increased neuronal activity, the local blood flow increases. Neurons in the CNS are subject to a variety of effects mediated by membrane receptors of two types – ionotropic and metabotropic. PATHOGENESIS: Early seizures are due to transient biochemical dysfunctions, while late seizures are due to gliosis changes affecting neuronal excitability. HISTOLOGY: The highlighted histopathological aspects confirm and support the results of clinical and radiological studies with dead nervous tissue, replaced by numerous newly formed capillaries, and surrounded by lipid-laden macrophages. CLINICAL PICTURE: This is represented by a complex combination of excitatory epileptic manifestations and residual focal symptoms depending on the localization of the lesion. LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICS: A very typical group of patients with post-stroke seizures have a high risk of recurrence when some of the studied biomarkers for this are available in the blood. In summary, the additional expanded package of studies of stroke patients should include screening diagnostics for the risk of epileptic seizures, namely: IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, Mg2+, Ca2+, CD40L, and Hsc70. IMAGING: Transient periodic MRI abnormalities have been demonstrated, possibly as a result of cerebral edema induced by seizure activity. Routine MRI in stroke patients is recommended. TREATMENT: It is possible that rt-PA may increase the risk of early seizures after stroke. Levetiracetam (LEV) as a neuroprotective agent in stroke has been proposed as the drug of first choice, based on safety and efficacy profiles. The usual practice is to treat recurrent early-onset seizures with short-term (3–6 months) treatment with antiepileptic drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Separation of stroke-epilepsy as a new independent nosology entity will solve the diagnostic treatment problems in this area by changing the minimum package for laboratory tests, as well as routine MRI in patients with clinical evidence of stroke. LEV is the first-line agent for the treatment of these patients, in combination with correction of registered laboratory parameters.

BACKGROUND: The influence of the factors on Vitamin D as a health indicator in premenopausal and menopausal women is a significant subject to be investigated. AIM: The study uses the potential of classification and regression trees (CART) as a data mining method for medical type samples. METHODS: The data set is built by records of 84 indoor working women at the age of 45 to 67 years from five Bulgarian companies. The data are obtained through laboratory tests of serum concentrations of 25-OH-Vitamin D and a questionnaire, created for the study. Statistical data processing is made by descriptive statistics and the CART method. RESULTS: The results show Vitamin D deficiency in 69% of the studied women at risk from Stara Zagora. For the target variable – Vitamin D (the quantity of 25-OH-Vitamin D), a regression CART tree was built. The calculated percentages of normalized importance for each independent variable reveal that the most important predictors, affecting Vitamin D, are body mass index (100%), alcohol (84.2%), education (70.3%), coffee (70.2%), Са_Vit D (69.8%), and sports frequency (42.4%), while the other variables have much less importance. CONCLUSION: The application of the CART method makes it possible to study the distribution and importance of the factors influencing the state of vitamin D. The presence of such a high percentage of women at risk requires a comprehensive approach, including educational programs and strict application of guidelines for vitamin D supplementation to prevent the effects of hypovitaminosis.