Einfluss von Diäten aus konventioneller und biologischer Erzeugung auf Fruchtbarkeitsparameter bei Kaninchen

In order to test the effect of organic vs. conventional diets on fertility traits, we conducted an on-farm study with female rabbits. Eight groups of seven to eight female rabbits kept in systems with litter were fed ad libitum with either organic or conventional pellets. Offspring was weaned with approx. 28 days. In the first series analysed, the conception rate was higher in the conventional groups. Diet type had no significant influence on that trait. Nevertheless, a significant influence of diet on litter size was found: organically fed female rabbits produced more offspring per litter. The organic groups also showed higher rates of weaned animals, despite of a slightly higher mortality of offspring in these groups, but differences for both traits were not significant compared to conventional animals. Inconsistency of findings in the first series of this study concerning the effect of different diets on fertility traits were also found in literature. Data from the currently running second series will show whether the slightly positive effect of organic diet will become more evident

Basalt rock powder and organic compounds in corn crops

The use of basalt rock powder associated with an organic fertilizer with compost can be an option to reduce the use of soluble fertilizers. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic compost and basalt rock powder on the agronomic traits of the corn crop and on the levels of nutrients available in the soil solution, with two additional treatments of fertilization with NPK. The experimental design used was completely randomized blocks, in a factorial scheme (5x2) + 2, with two additional and four replications. The first factor consisted of five doses of organic compost (0, 4, 6, 8 and 10 t ha-1) and the second factor, with and without basalt rock dust (0 and 8 t ha-1). The additional treatment consisted of the application of 150 kg ha-1 of formulated NPK (10-15-15), equivalent to ½ of the recommended dose for the crop, associated with 8 t ha-1 of basalt rock powder and the second additional treatment consisted in the application of 300 kg ha-1 of formulated 10-15-15 of NPK and without rock dust. The agronomic characteristics of corn and the nutrient contents in the soil solution were evaluated. The results showed that the use of organic compost associated with rock dust promoted soil chemical improvements, especially pH elevation and calcium content increase. There was no effect of organic compost with rock powder on the agronomic characteristics of corn evaluated. The use of chemical fertilizer of an NPK formulation improved the corn crop compared to the use of organic compost and rock dust. The application of 8 t ha-1 of basalt rock powder, associated with 150 kg ha-1 of a formulated NPK improved the development of the corn crop compared to the use of 300 kg ha-1

Aspekte von Verpackungsmaterialien bei Ökoprodukten

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Progressive skin fibrosis is associated with a decline in lung function and worse survival in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort.

Objectives To determine whether progressive skin fibrosis is associated with visceral organ progression and mortality during follow-up in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). Methods We evaluated patients from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research database with dcSSc, baseline modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) ≥7, valid mRSS at 12±3 months after baseline and ≥1 annual follow-up visit. Progressive skin fibrosis was defined as an increase in mRSS >5 and ≥25% from baseline to 12±3 months. Outcomes were pulmonary, cardiovascular and renal progression, and all-cause death. Associations between skin progression and outcomes were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariable Cox regression. Results Of 1021 included patients, 78 (7.6%) had progressive skin fibrosis (skin progressors). Median follow-up was 3.4 years. Survival analyses indicated that skin progressors had a significantly higher probability of FVC decline ≥10% (53.6% vs 34.4%; p<0.001) and all-cause death (15.4% vs 7.3%; p=0.003) than non-progressors. These significant associations were also found in subgroup analyses of patients with either low baseline mRSS (≤22/51) or short disease duration (≤15 months). In multivariable analyses, skin progression within 1 year was independently associated with FVC decline ≥10% (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.65) and all-cause death (HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.31 to 5.09). Conclusions Progressive skin fibrosis within 1 year is associated with decline in lung function and worse survival in dcSSc during follow-up. These results confirm mRSS as a surrogate marker in dcSSc, which will be helpful for cohort enrichment in future trials and risk stratification in clinical practice

Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study

Objectives. Racial factors play a significant role in SSc. We evaluated differences in SSc presentations between white patients (WP), Asian patients (AP) and black patients (BP) and analysed the effects of geographical locations.Methods. SSc characteristics of patients from the EUSTAR cohort were cross-sectionally compared across racial groups using survival and multiple logistic regression analyses.Results. The study included 9162 WP, 341 AP and 181 BP. AP developed the first non-RP feature faster than WP but slower than BP. AP were less frequently anti-centromere (ACA; odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, P < 0.001) and more frequently anti-topoisomerase-I autoantibodies (ATA) positive (OR = 1.2, P = 0.068), while BP were less likely to be ACA and ATA positive than were WP [OR(ACA) = 0.3, P < 0.001; OR(ATA) = 0.5, P = 0.020]. AP had less often (OR = 0.7, P = 0.06) and BP more often (OR = 2.7, P < 0.001) diffuse skin involvement than had WP.AP and BP were more likely to have pulmonary hypertension [OR(AP) = 2.6, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.7, P = 0.03 vs WP] and a reduced forced vital capacity [OR(AP) = 2.5, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.4, P < 0.004] than were WP. AP more often had an impaired diffusing capacity of the lung than had BP and WP [OR(AP vs BP) = 1.9, P = 0.038; OR(AP vs WP) = 2.4, P < 0.001]. After RP onset, AP and BP had a higher hazard to die than had WP [hazard ratio (HR) (AP) = 1.6, P = 0.011; HR(BP) = 2.1, P < 0.001].Conclusion. Compared with WP, and mostly independent of geographical location, AP have a faster and earlier disease onset with high prevalences of ATA, pulmonary hypertension and forced vital capacity impairment and higher mortality. BP had the fastest disease onset, a high prevalence of diffuse skin involvement and nominally the highest mortality

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements