Costs to broiler producers associated with subclinical (mild) necrotic enteritis (SNE) were estimated using published information on impacts on body weight and feed conversion rate (FCR) associated with SNE and costs and revenues associated with broiler production. Estimates were expressed in U.S. dollars from the perspective of poultry producers. SNE was estimated to result in a 12% reduction in body weight and a 10.9% increase in FCR compared with healthy birds. For the purposes of this analysis, we considered scenarios involving hypothetical flocks of 20,000 birds raised to final body weights ranging from 4.63 to 7.94 lb. The incidence of SNE was assumed to occur at 20% based on the literature. For flocks raised for the length of time required to reach these target weights, SNE resulted in a loss to producers ranging from US$878.19 to US$1480.52 per flock. When feed costs required to obtain SNE flocks having a total live body weight equal to equivalent healthy flocks at market age were calculated, the increased cost to producers ranged from US$370.49 to US$739.38 per flock. SNE has the potential to cause a significant negative economic impact in broiler flocks. Strategies to reduce the incidence of SNE may help to increase the profitability of broiler production.

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Patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinomas that are HER2 positive by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or in situ hybridization show a significant survival benefit with trastuzumab therapy. In situ hybridization is traditionally done by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), despite some limitations. An alternative is the dual in situ hybridization (Dual ISH) technique that is fully automated and uses differentially labeled CEP17 and HER2 probes that can be read by light microscopy on 1 slide. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of Dual ISH in gastric/GEJ cancer and to compare the results with those obtained by IHC and FISH. Cases of gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma were analyzed by IHC, FISH, and Dual ISH and the correlation between methods calculated. Results for 50 patients were available. There was a 98% (49/50) concordance rate between Dual ISH and FISH. One discrepant case was nonamplified by FISH but showed focal amplification by Dual ISH. Discrepancy was attributed to tumor heterogeneity, which was a frequent finding (78% of HER2-positive cases). There was excellent correlation between Dual ISH and FISH for assessment of HER2 amplification. Dual ISH was rapid, easy to interpret, and maintained cell morphology, which was valuable in identifying tumor heterogeneity.