Prävalenz von Hilfsschleimbeuteln (Bursae auxiliares) und Klauenverletzungen bei Mastschweinen zum Schlachtzeitpunkt – Ergebnisse einer Studie an vier Schlachthöfen

The formation of auxiliary bursae is not part of the embryonal development but occurs as a pathologic reaction to a trauma, especially when exposed parts of the extremities are mechanically stressed. Among other reasons the keeping of pigs on artificial flooring and in particular the use of fully slatted flooring surfaces plays an important role.In a study at four abattoirs in Southern Germany we investigated the prevalence of auxiliary bursae in fattening pigs at the time of delivery and during meat inspection. For that purpose classification criteria were developed to record and graduate the occurrence and type of severity of bursae. Animals without appearance of bursae were graded 0, while animals with bursae being lightly, moderately or severely pronounced were graded 1, 2 and 3 respectively. 91.2% of 9 2 randomly selected finishers from conventional keeping showed prevalence of grade 1 to 3 bursae (grade 1: 7.7%; grade 2: 3. %; grade 3: 0.7 %), only 2.2% of these pigs were not affected (grade 0). In addition, claw injuries were detected in 26.5% of another group of 00 randomly selected fattening pigs.The prevalence of auxiliary bursae in a control group, consisting of 52 animals from organic production, was only 13.2%. In this group, the detected bursae were less pronounced (grade 1) and no claw injuries appeared.The high prevalence of technopathies such as auxiliary bursae and claw injuries in fattening pigs from conventional production points to the need for action regarding animal welfare and are relevant for operative selfmonitoring measurements based on the German animal protection law (§ 11). Information on the origin of the animals, i. e. on farms, was not available throughout the study because of privacy reasons. In order to investigate causal factors for the development of auxiliary bursae and claw injuries beyond the keeping of animals on fully slatted floors, a study on risk factors is necessary. Our data demonstrate that collection of animal welfare data collected at slaughter is needed as a base for veterinary guidance and onfarm interventions aiming to improve animal health and welfare standards.Akzessorische Bursen, sogenannte Hilfsschleimbeutel, sind embryonal nicht vorgebildet, sondern entstehen als pathologische Reaktion, insbesondere bei erhöhten mechanischen Beanspruchungen exponierter Stellen. Für die Entstehung werden u. a. Spaltenböden ohne Einstreu verantwortlich gemacht. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde das Auftreten von Hilfsschleimbeuteln an den Gliedmaßen von Schlachtschweinen bei Anlieferung an vier süddeutschen Schlachthöfen und bei der Fleischuntersuchung erfasst. Dazu wurde zunächst ein Boniturschema entwickelt, mit dem Tiere ohne sichtbares Auftreten von Bursen (Grad 0) von Tieren mit Bursen unterschiedlich starker Ausprägung differenziert werden konnten (Grad 1, 2 und 3: gering-, mittel- bzw. hochgradige Veränderungen). Bei insgesamt 9 2 randomisiert ausgewählten Masthybriden aus konventioneller Haltung traten Bursen mit einer Prävalenz von 91,2 % auf, wobei alle drei Schweregrade vertreten waren: 7,7 % (Grad 1), 3, % (Grad 2) und 0,7 % (Grad 3). Nur bei 2,2 % der Tiere wurden unauffällige Gliedmaße (Grad 0) bonitiert. Parallel dazu wurden bei 26,5 % von 00 zufällig ausgewählten Tieren aus konventioneller Haltung Klauenverletzungen festgestellt. Bei 52 Kontrolltieren aus ökologischer Haltung auf Betonboden mit Stroh und Auslauf traten akzessorische Bursen nur als geringgradige Veränderung (Grad 1) bei 13,2 % der Schweine auf.Die Auffälligkeiten an den Gliedmaßen von Mastschweinen aus konventioneller Haltung zeigen einen tiergesundheitsrelevanten Handlungsbedarf auf. Die festgestellten Veränderungen sind geeignete Tierschutzindikatoren, die nach § 11 des Tierschutzgesetzes für Eigenkontrollen bei der Nutztierhaltung erhoben und bewertet werden sollen. Da Herkunftsdaten der Tiere aus datenschutzrechtlichen Gründen nicht zur Verfügung standen, sollte über eine Risiko-Faktoren-Analyse geklärt werden, welche kausalen Faktoren neben der Haltung auf Spaltenböden ursächlich an der Entstehung der Technopathien beteiligt sind. Die Erfassung und Nutzung der am Schlachthof gewonnenen, tierwohlrelevanten Daten sind Grundlage für eine tierärztliche Interventionsmöglichkeit auf Betriebsebene mit dem Ziel einer Verbesserung der Tiergesundheit

A Genetically Engineered Commercial Chicken Line Is Resistant to Highly Pathogenic Avian Leukosis Virus Subgroup J

Viral diseases remain a major concern for animal health and global food production in modern agriculture. In chickens, avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) represents an important pathogen that causes severe economic loss. Until now, no vaccine or antiviral drugs are available against ALV-J and strategies to combat this pathogen in commercial flocks are desperately needed. CRISPR/Cas9 targeted genome editing recently facilitated the generation of genetically modified chickens with a mutation of the chicken ALV-J receptor Na+/H+ exchanger type 1 (chNHE1). In this study, we provide evidence that this mutation protects a commercial chicken line (NHE1ΔW38) against the virulent ALV-J prototype strain HPRS-103. We demonstrate that replication of HPRS-103 is severely impaired in NHE1ΔW38 birds and that ALV-J-specific antigen is not detected in cloacal swabs at later time points. Consistently, infected NHE1ΔW38 chickens gained more weight compared to their non-transgenic counterparts (NHE1W38). Histopathology revealed that NHE1W38 chickens developed ALV-J typical pathology in various organs, while no pathological lesions were detected in NHE1ΔW38 chickens. Taken together, our data revealed that this mutation can render a commercial chicken line resistant to highly pathogenic ALV-J infection, which could aid in fighting this pathogen and improve animal health in the field

Porcine model elucidates function of p53 isoform in carcinogenesis and reveals novel circTP53 RNA

Recent years have seen an increasing number of genetically engineered pig models of human diseases including cancer. We previously generated pigs with a modified TP53 allele that carries a Cre-removable transcriptional stop signal in intron 1, and an oncogenic mutation TP53R167H (orthologous to human TP53R175H) in exon 5. Pigs with the unrecombined mutant allele (flTP53R167H) develop mainly osteosarcoma but also nephroblastomas and lymphomas. This observation suggested that TP53 gene dysfunction is itself the key initiator of bone tumorigenesis, but raises the question which aspects of the TP53 regulation lead to the development of such a narrow tumour spectrum. Molecular analysis of p53 revealed the presence of two internal TP53 promoters (Pint and P2) equivalent to those found in human. Consequently, both pig and human express TP53 isoforms. Data presented here strongly suggest that P2-driven expression of the mutant R167H-Δ152p53 isoform (equivalent to the human R175H-Δ160p53 isoform) and its circular counterpart circTP53 determine the tumour spectrum and play a critical role in the malignant transformation in flTP53R167H pigs. The detection of Δ152p53 isoform mRNA in serum is indicative of tumorigenesis. Furthermore, we showed a tissue-specific p53-dependent deregulation of the p63 and p73 isoforms in these tumours. This study highlights important species-specific differences in the transcriptional regulation of TP53. Considering the similarities of TP53 regulation between pig and human, these observations provide useful pointers for further investigation into isoform function including the novel circTP53 in both the pig model and human patients.ISSN:0950-9232ISSN:1476-559

Muscle histopathology in nebulin-related nemaline myopathy : ultrastrastructural findings correlated to disease severity and genotype

Peer reviewe

Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe

Genome-wide association study identifies six new loci influencing pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure.

Numerous genetic loci have been associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in Europeans. We now report genome-wide association studies of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In discovery (N = 74,064) and follow-up studies (N = 48,607), we identified at genome-wide significance (P = 2.7 × 10(-8) to P = 2.3 × 10(-13)) four new PP loci (at 4q12 near CHIC2, 7q22.3 near PIK3CG, 8q24.12 in NOV and 11q24.3 near ADAMTS8), two new MAP loci (3p21.31 in MAP4 and 10q25.3 near ADRB1) and one locus associated with both of these traits (2q24.3 near FIGN) that has also recently been associated with SBP in east Asians. For three of the new PP loci, the estimated effect for SBP was opposite of that for DBP, in contrast to the majority of common SBP- and DBP-associated variants, which show concordant effects on both traits. These findings suggest new genetic pathways underlying blood pressure variation, some of which may differentially influence SBP and DBP

Norms and Values in Refugee Resettlement : A Literature Review of Resettlement to the EU

As a result of the refugee reception crisis in 2015 the advocacy for increasing resettlement numbers in the overall refugee protection framework has gained momentum, as has research on resettlement to the EU. While the UNHCR purports resettlement as a durable solution for the international protection of refugees, resettlement programmes to the European Union are seen as a pillar of the external dimension of the EU’s asylum and migration policies and management. This paper presents and discusses the literature regarding the value transmissions taking place within these programmes. It reviews literature on the European resettlement process – ranging from the selection of refugees to be resettled, the information and training they receive prior to travelling to their new country of residence, their reception upon arrival, their placement and dispersal in the receiving state, as well as programs of private and community sponsorship. The literature shows that even if resettlement can be considered an external dimension of European migration policy, this process does not end at the border. Rather, resettlement entails particular forms of reception, placement and dispersal as well as integration practices that refugees are confronted with once they arrive in their resettlement country. These practices should thus be understood in the context of the resettlement regime as a whole. In this paper we map out where and how values (here understood as ideas about how something should be) and norms (expectations or rules that are socially enforced) are transmitted within this regime. ‘Value transmission’ is here understood in a broad sense, taking into account the values that are directly transmitted through information and education programmes, as well as those informing practices and actors’ decisions. Identifying how norms and values figure in the resettlement regime aid us in further understanding decision making processes, policy making, and the on-the-ground work of practitioners that influence refugees’ lives. An important finding in this literature review is that vulnerability is a central notion in international refugee protection, and even more so in resettlement. Ideas and practices regarding vulnerability are, throughout the resettlement regime, in continuous tension with those of security, integration, and of refugees’ own agency. The literature review and our discussion serve as a point of departure for developing further investigations into the external dimension of value transmission, which in turn can add insights into the role of norms and values in the making and un-making of (external) boundaries/borders.The material for this paper has been collected and reviewed as part of the Horizon 2020 project NOVAMIGRA - Norms and Values in the European Migration and Refugee Crisis. The initial version of this paper (Deliverable 3.4, a confidential document for internal use within the project only) was the first of a two-part deliverable on the external dimension of European norms and values. The initial version contained contributions from our project partners at the Centre for Migration Studies (CeBaM), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, Elżbieta M. Goździak, Izabella Main, Izabela Kujawa in the form of fieldwork material. This fieldwork material, together with our own from various countries, will be part of our analysis in the second part of this deliverable – a forthcoming (2021) report on best practices of value transmission in resettlement (Deliverable 3.5).</p