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Banana (Musa acuminata) by-products and other agricultural residues such as rice straw and sugarcane top are abundant in the southern part of China, but most of them are wasted and discarded. Under this experiment, several silages containing banana by-products with other crop residues were investigated for their fermentation characteristics and feeding values to beef cattle. There were three treatments (T) as follows: T1 = fresh banana by-products (FBBP) + 4% corn meal (CM), T2 = FBBP + rice straw (RS) at 70:30 (fresh weight), T3 = FBBP + sugarcane top (SCT) at 70:30 (fresh weight). Twenty-one beef cattle bulls (220 ± 15 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to 3 groups and assigned to one of three silage treatments in a total feeding period of 237 days. Results revealed that all of the three silage mixtures had a good fermentative profile with lower pH and higher organic acids. The FBBP + CM group significantly increased DM, CP, EE, and Ca content (P

The aims of this study were to describe the development of a Chinese version of the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ) and examine its reliability and validity. The original English version of the OQLQ was translated into Chinese (OQLQ-C) by a forward-backward translation method. Psychometric evaluation of the OQLQ-C was carried out on a sample of 126 patients with dentofacial deformities. Reliability of the OQLQ-C was determined by means of internal consistency and test-retest methods, while validity was ascertained by content validity and construct validity. Internal consistency for total OQLQ-C score was 0.932 (Cronbach’s alpha), and the test-retest reliability was 0.913 (Spearman correlation coefficient). Content validity of OQLQ-C was supported by content validity index (CVI) with scale-level (S-CVI) of 0.99 and item-level (I-CVI) of 0.875 to 1. The OQLQ-C was distributed to 4 different factors, and the total variance explained was 67.049%. The Chinese version of the OQLQ demonstrated acceptable reliability and good validity in patients with dentofacial deformities. These findings enable assessments of oral health-related quality of life in Chinese literate patients with dentofacial disorders. ChiCTR1900028206

Intercropping is a globally accepted method of forage production and its effect on silage quality depends not only on forage combination but also fertilization strategy. In the present study, field intercropping of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) at five seed ratios (100:0, 75:25: 50:50, 25:75, 0:100 in %, based on seed weight) was applied under three N fertilizing levels (0, 50, and 100 kg/ha), and harvested for silage making and in vitro rumen degradation. As a result of intercropping, the actual proportions (based on dry matter) of alfalfa in mixtures were much closer to seed proportion of alfalfa in field, except 75:25 orchardgrass-alfalfa intercrops with no fertilization. The actual proportions of alfalfa in mixtures decreased by 3%&ndash, 13% with the increase of N level. Increases of alfalfa proportion in mixtures increased silage quality, nutrients degradability and CH4 emissions. Increasing N levels increased silage pH, concentration of butyric acid, and fiber fractions. In summary, inclusion of alfalfa at around 50% in orchardgrass-alfalfa silage mixtures were selected for favorable ensiling and higher forage use efficiency while also limiting CH4 emissions, compared to monocultures. The silage quality and feeding values of mixtures were influenced more by forage ratios than by N levels.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different forage ratios of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) on in vitro rumen degradation and fermentation characteristics. Orchardgrass and alfalfa were harvested separately and prepared as hay and silage mixtures at ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 (w/w on a dry matter basis) and anaerobically incubated for 48 h with rumen fluid obtained from lactating dairy cows. Fermented residues and cultured fluids were used to determine nutrient degradability, fermentation parameters, and associative effect indices. Increasing the proportion of alfalfa in hay and silage mixtures quadratically increased in vitro organic matter disappearance (IVOMD, up +5.14%) and marginally decreased in vitro neutral detergent fiber disappearance (NDFD, down &minus, 1.79%). Meanwhile, increasing the proportion of alfalfa accelerated the rumen fermentation process (e.g., gas production) and remarkably enhanced the growth of rumen microbes as indicated by microbial protein production (MCP, 13.4% increase). Increments of rumen degradability and methane production were more pronounced in silage mixtures than hay mixtures. In combination, a forage ratio of 50:50 for orchardgrass and alfalfa is recommended for both hay and silage in order to improve the feed use potential in ruminants.

Purpose Dynamic asymmetry has not been as rigorously evaluated as static asymmetry for patients with skeletal deformity but could well be even more important. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dynamic facial movement of Class III patients with facial asymmetry using a 3-dimensional (3D) motion capture system. Materials and Methods The present cross-sectional study recruited patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion with and without facial asymmetry. A 3D facial motion capture system was used to record the expression process of a maximal smile. Eleven orofacial landmarks were selected to analyze and calculate the cumulative distance and average speed of each landmark during smiling. The predictor variable was mandibular symmetry. The outcome variables consisted of the measurements of each soft tissue landmark and the absolute differences for the paired landmarks between 2 sides. Other variables consisted of descriptive data, including the age and gender of each patient. The data were analyzed using independent t tests and paired t tests. Bonferroni's adjustment was used to control for multiple comparisons. Results A total of 63 patients were divided into 2 groups, an asymmetric group (n = 46) and a control group (n = 17), according to the degree of skeletal deviation. The difference in the cumulative distance of the bilateral cheilions was statistically significant between the 2 groups (P = .002). The difference for the asymmetric and control groups was 2.06 ± 1.78 mm and 1.00 ± 0.79 mm, respectively. In the asymmetric group, a comparison of the deviated side with the nondeviated side revealed statistically significant differences in the magnitude of motion for the cheilion (P Conclusions The patients with skeletal asymmetry also showed asymmetry in soft tissue functions while smiling. The magnitude of movement in the nondeviated side was greater than that in the deviated side.

Purpose To fulfill the requirements of computer-aided orthognathic surgery, the authors developed a method of recording head positions in pitch and roll and tested its accuracy and reliability. Materials and Methods A laser level was used to project a horizontal laser line onto a volunteer's face. A 3-dimensional (3D) photograph of the volunteer was taken to capture the laser line using the 3dMDface System, so the head positions could be recorded. To test the accuracy and reliability of this method, 35 head positions were recorded and compared with the positions recorded by the gyroscope method (P n for pitch and R n for roll). A cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scan was taken, during which the head position was recorded by the gyroscope (P 0 and R 0 ). CBCT data were imported into ProPlan CMF 1.3 software and a virtual head was created. To reproduce each recorded head position, each 3D photograph was superimposed onto the virtual head through surface registration, and the virtual head was rotated to make the laser line parallel to the coordinate axes in the lateral and frontal views; the rotation angles were recorded, respectively, as P n ′ and R n ′. Under ideal conditions, P n ′ should equal P n − P 0 and R n ′ should equal R n − R 0 . The accuracy was evaluated using the Bland-Altman method. Reliability was tested by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis. Results The 95% limits of agreement between the rotation angles recorded by the present method (P n ′, R n ′) and the gyroscope method (P n − P 0 , R n − R 0 ) were −0.598° to 1.589° for pitch and −1.156° to 1.674° for roll; such a difference was generally accepted as being accurate. The ICCs were 0.996 (0.992, 0.998) for pitch and 0.998 (0.997, 0.999) for roll. Conclusion The 3dMDface System and laser level method of recording head positions was accurate and reliable.