Impact of Automation Level of Dairy Farms in Northern and Central Germany on Dairy Cattle Welfare.

An increasing number of automation technologies for dairy cattle farming, including automatic milking, feeding, manure removal and bedding, are now commercially available. The effects of these technologies on individual aspects of animal welfare have already been explored to some extent. However, as of now, there are no studies that analyze the impact of increasing farm automation through various combinations of these technologies.

Risk reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection conferred by humoral antibody levels among essential workers during Omicron predominance.

The extent to which semi-quantitative antibody levels confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in populations with heterogenous immune histories is unclear. Two nested case-control studies were designed within the multisite HEROES/RECOVER prospective cohort of frontline workers to study the relationship between antibody levels and protection against first-time post-vaccination infection and reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 from December 2021 to January 2023. All participants submitted weekly nasal swabs for rRT-PCR testing and blood samples quarterly and following infection or vaccination.

Measurement of breast artery calcification using an artificial intelligence detection model and its association with major adverse cardiovascular events.

Breast artery calcification (BAC) obtained from standard mammographic images is currently under evaluation to stratify risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in women. Measuring BAC using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, we aimed to determine the relationship between BAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC) severity with Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE). This retrospective study included women who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) within one year of mammography.

Outcomes of ingested superabsorbent polymers ("water beads"): A poison center study.

Background: Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are hydrophilic polymers that expand many-fold from their original size after contact with water. Ingestions of "water beads" by young children have been reported to cause bowel obstruction however, the incidence of bowel obstructions is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study analyzing ingestions reported to our regional poison center from January 1, 2002 to April 25, 2023.