In 41 veal calves divided into three groups and fed different levels of dietary iron, blood hemoglobin, plasma iron, liver, spleen, and muscle iron, muscle heme pigment, and carcass muscle color at slaughter were studied. At 45 min postmortem, total carcass color was visually evaluated in the 41 carcasses. In different muscles of the carcasses the color was measured instrumentally using an invasive color measurement method at 45 min postmortem (MCDI score) and a surface color measurement method at 20 h postmortem (Minolta L*, a*, b*, and Chroma scores). Among the three groups, differences (P less than .05) in muscle iron concentrations, muscle heme pigment concentrations, and Minolta a*, b*, and Chroma scores were found. Most striking were the differences in mean iron concentrations in the longissimus thoracis muscles between Groups A (29 micrograms/g DM) and B (44 micrograms/g DM) and in the semimembranosus muscles between Groups A (31 micrograms/g DM) and C (45 micrograms/g DM). The correlations found between Minolta L*, a*, or Chroma score and the iron and heme pigment concentrations in the semimembranosus muscles were high in comparison with those found in the longissimus thoracis and rectus abdominis muscles. Compared with the plasma iron concentration, the blood hemoglobin concentration showed higher correlations with muscle iron and muscle heme pigment concentrations. It can be concluded that different iron concentrations in the milk replacer during the first 7 wk of fattening influence, to some extent, muscle iron and muscle heme pigment at slaughter. However, these differences were not measurable in the overall visual color evaluation of the carcass surface muscles.

The effect of 100 ppm of Fe in milk replacer on some hematological and tissue Fe variables was studied during the first 7 wk of the fattening period in two groups of eight calves with low or high initial blood hemoglobin concentrations. Hemoglobin concentration in calves with initially low hemoglobin increased. It decreased in those with initially high hemoglobin, but the difference remained over the experimental period. Higher mean liver Fe concentration, in some cases extremely high, and lower mean total Fe-binding capacity were found throughout the experiment in the group with the initial high hemoglobin. Of all variables, only low muscle Fe concentrations were correlated linearly with plasma Fe. In another experiment, the relationship of some hematological and tissue Fe variables during late gestation (about 10 d prepartum), at calving in dams, and at delivery in calves was investigated. The calves showed markedly higher liver Fe concentrations at delivery than their dams just before delivery, but these liver Fe concentrations were not correlated between dam and calf. The hematological and tissue Fe variables showed a weak correlation between dams and calves during late gestation or at delivery. However, dams as well as calves were Fe-sufficient.

Summary The DOM project is a non-randomized population-based breast cancer screening programme in Utrecht which started in 1974-75.The 17-year effect has been evaluated by a case-control study of breast cancer deaths dunng the period (Weiss and Lazovich. 1996). was ealuated by excluding breast cancer deaths wvith a short follovi-up period after diacnosis (i.e. deaths of patients wvho viere less likely to hax-e been screened). because their inclusion wiould gixe the impression of a disproportionately large number of deaths from breast cancer in unscreened wvomen. Maximum likelihood estimation of the odds ratio (OR) associated with breast cancer screeningr was obtained 962

The effect of different iron concentrations in the milk replacer on the development of iron deficiency anaemia during a fattening period of 28 weeks was studied in three groups of 14 calves. The iron contents in the milk replacer differed during the first seven weeks: 60, 100 and 150 mg Fe/kg in groups A, B and C, respectively. In all three groups blood haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, plasma iron concentration and saturation decreased during the fattening period, whereas the total iron-binding capacity increased. At week 7, liver iron concentrations were high with a large individual variation [A: 201 (61-706), B: 99 (47-129), C: 296 (77-1572) micrograms/g dry matter]. During the fattening period, liver iron concentrations decreased, with the lowest values at week 25 [A: 54 (34-82), B: 55 (44-83), C: 57 (42-79) micrograms/g dry matter]. Muscle iron concentrations decreased between week 7 and 19. Except plasma iron and saturation in group C, no differences in haematological and tissue iron variables were found throughout the fattening period in spite of different iron contents in the milk replacer during the first seven weeks.