Arzneimitteleinsatz zur Steuerung des Reproduktionsgeschehens in der biolo-gischen Ferkelproduktion

Under the rules of the EU Regulation 2092/91 “…the use of hormones or similar substances to control reproduction (e.g. induction or synchronisation of oestrus), or for other purposes, is prohibited. Nevertheless, hormones may be administered to an individual animal, as a form of therapeutic veterinary treatment.” This article tries to explain the difference between veterinary treatment and zootechnic measures in organic pig production such as synchronisation of oestrus and shows critical control points for the inspection body to improve the quality of inspection visits

Evaluation der Achsverhältnisse nach Implantation der ungekoppelten Knieendoprothese BPK-S Integration und Beurteilung des mittelfristigen klinischen Outcomes

Aim of the study The aim of the study is the radiological and clinical evaluation after performing a total knee arthroplasty with the “Brehm Perfection Knee System” Material and methods Between 2003 and 2005, 102 total knee arthroplasties in 88 patients were performed in the department of emergency surgery, at “Chirurgische Universitätsklinik Erlangen-Nürnberg”. In all of the operations a 5-in-1- resection block was used for the femoral cuts. We tried to contact all the patients. 88 knees in 76 patients could be examined after an average of 23 months after undergoing the operation. We evaluated the radiological alignment as well as the clinical outcome. The clinical outcome was assessed using the Hospital of Special Surgery Score (HSS) and the Knee Society Score (KSS). The results were statistically evaluated using the Student-T-test or the U-test. Results The examined patients achieved an average of 168.2 points in the KSS (84.6 points Knee-Score, 83.6 points Function-Score) and 80.9 points in the HSS. 87.5% of the patients were subjectively satisfied with the result. An average of 104.7° was achieved concerning the possibility to flex the knee. Four knees could not be fully extended. In the radiological evaluation the following angles were measured: 84.4° femoral a.p. (optimum 84°) 90.4° tibial a.p. (optimum 90°) 1.4° posterior slope (optimum 3°) The optimal leg axis regarding the knee is achieved with a femurotibial angle of 174 degrees; our patients achieved an average of 174.03 degrees. Overall, 92% of the evaluated knees reached an alignment with less than three degrees varus or valgus. Radiolucent lines were found in a total of 10 femoral implants and in 8 tibial implants. None of them proved a loosening of a component. Regarding the statistical evaluation, significantly better results were detected in the group of patients with a femoral angle between 85° and 87° in the HSS and the Knee Score. The differences in Function Score and the ability of flexion were statistically insignificant. The differences between knees with a tibial angle between 89° and 91° (group I) and the knees with a tibial angle greater than 91° or lesser than 89° (group II) were insignificant, even if the knees in group I achieved slightly better flexion and better readings in the test results. The posterior slope had no statistically measurable effect regarding flexion or the results achieved in the test scores. Conclusion Using the femoral 5-in-1 resection block resulted in a good alignment compared to other studies. The results were better than most conventionally implanted knee prostheses and only slightly less good than prostheses implanted using a navigation system. Overall, less than three degrees varus or valgus were reached in 92% of the evaluated knee prostheses.Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die radiologische und klinische Evaluation nach Implantation der Knieendoprothese „Brehm Perfection Knee system“. Material und Methoden Zwischen 2003 und 2005 wurden 102 der oben genannten Knieprothesen bei 88 Patienten in der Abteilung für Unfallchirurgie der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg implantiert. Bei allen Operationen wurde ein 5-in-1 Schnittblock verwendet. 88 Prothesen bei 76 Patienten konnten nachuntersucht werden. Durchschnittlich waren seit der Implantation 23 Monate vergangen. Sowohl das radiologische Alignment als auch das klinische Ergebnis wurde ausgewertet. Zur Bewertung des klinischen Outcomes wurden der „Hospital of Special Surgery Score“ (HSS) sowie der Score der amerikanischen Knee Society (KSS) verwendet. Zur statistischen Auswertung wurden der Student-t-Test und der U-Test verwendet. Ergebnisse Die nachuntersuchten Patienten erreichten durchschnittlich 168,2 Punkte beim KSS (84,6 Punkte beim Knie-Score, 83,6 Punkte beim Function-Score) und 80,9 Punkte beim HSS. Die durchschnittliche Flexionsfähigkeit betrug 104,7 Punkte. Vier Patienten wiesen ein Streckdefizit auf. Bei der radiologischen Auswertung wurden folgende durchschnittliche Winkel ermittelt: 84,4° femoraler Valguswinkel (Optimum 84°) 90,4 ° tibialer Winkel (Optimum 90°) 1,4° posterior slope (Optimum 3°) Eine optimal postoperative Beinachse wird bei einem femurotibialen Winkel von 174° erreicht. Die Studienpatienten erreichten einen Winkel von durchschnittlich 174,03°. Insgesamt wurden 92% der Prothesen mit einer Varus- oder Valgusabweichung von unter drei Grad implantiert. Radiologisch nachweisbare Lysesäume wurden bei zehn femoralen und 8 tibialen Komponenten gefunden, wobei bei keiner dieser Komponenten eine Lockerung nachweisbar war. Die Probanden mit einem femoralen Winkel zwischen 85° und 87° erreichten statistisch signifikant bessere Werte beim HSS und Knee-Score. Die Unterschiede beim Function-Score sowie bei der Beugefähigkeit waren nicht signifikant. Die Unterschiede bei den Prothesen mit einem tibialen Winkel zwischen 89° und 91° (Gruppe 1) und jenen mit einem Winkel unter 89° oder über 91° (Gruppe 2) waren nicht signifikant, auch wenn Gruppe 1 etwas bessere Testergebnisse sowie eine bessere Beugungsfähigkeit zeigten. Der posterior slope hatte keinen statistisch nachweisbaren Effekt in Bezug auf Beugefähigkeit oder Testergebnisse. Schlussfolgerung Die Verwendung des 5-in-1 Sägeblockes führt im Vergleich mit anderen Studien zu einer guten Achsausrichtung. Die Ergebnisse waren besser als die meisten konventionell implantierten Knieprothesen der zum Vergleich vorliegenden Studien. Die nachuntersuchten Prothesen schnitten nur geringfügig schlechter ab als Prothesen, welche mit Navigationsunterstützung implantiert wurden. Insgesamt wurde die geforderte Achsgenauigkeit von weniger als drei Grad Varus- oder Valgusabweichung bei 92% der nachuntersuchten Prothesen erreicht

The Calibration Home Base for Imaging Spectrometers

The Calibration Home Base (CHB) is an optical laboratory designed for the calibration of imaging spectrometers for the VNIR/SWIR wavelength range. Radiometric, spectral and geometric calibration as well as the characterization of sensor signal dependency on polarization are realized in a precise and highly automated fashion. This allows to carry out a wide range of time consuming measurements in an ecient way. The implementation of ISO 9001 standards in all procedures ensures a traceable quality of results. Spectral measurements in the wavelength range 380–1000 nm are performed to a wavelength uncertainty of +- 0.1 nm, while an uncertainty of +-0.2 nm is reached in the wavelength range 1000 – 2500 nm. Geometric measurements are performed at increments of 1.7 µrad across track and 7.6 µrad along track. Radiometric measurements reach an absolute uncertainty of +-3% (k=1). Sensor artifacts, such as caused by stray light will be characterizable and correctable in the near future. For now, the CHB is suitable for the characterization of pushbroom sensors, spectrometers and cameras. However, it is planned to extend the CHBs capabilities in the near future such that snapshot hyperspectral imagers can be characterized as well. The calibration services of the CHB are open to third party customers from research institutes as well as industry

Performance, labour and economic aspects of different farrowing systems

Pig farming is undergoing significant changes. Animal welfare is gaining importance in our society and the long-term future of the pork industry depends upon production methods being accepted by consumers and retailers alike. Farmers have to find economically viable systems as an alternative to farrowing crates that must also be competitive. There are several different farrowing systems available on the Austrian market today. They can be roughly divided into two categories: pens and farrowing crates allowing various degrees of freedom of movement and nest building of sows and litters. The eight systems studied differed in design, space allowance, door opening and closing devices; as well as wall, feeder, crate and creep area design. These differences created variations in performance, work time requirements and gross margin. The number of piglets weaned per litter and sow (from 8.87 to 9.73 piglets) differed significantly among the systems investigated. The system related differences in average piglet weight at weaning time were as high as 4.7%. The system related labour requirements (not including work time requirements for management) ranged from 4.2 to 6.0 hours annually per sow. Labour requirement times varied up to 42.7%. According to these differences, the outputs and gross margins were lower for free farrowing pens than for farrowing crate systems. The system-related differences in gross margins annually per sow were as high as 29.3%, the highest variations were found between sows kept in sow pens and those in farrowing crates. Among the different farrowing crates, system related gross margin differences per sow and year were less than 8%

Gruppensäugen in der Bioschweinehaltung

Gruppensäugen ist richtig geplant und sachkundig gemanagt ein artgemäßes Haltungsverfahren, das Tierwohl, Leistungen und Wirtschaftlichkeit in Einklang zu bringen. Das Merkblatt fasst die Schlussfolgerungen aus wirtschaftlichen Untesuchungen, sowie die Erfahrungen von Beratern und Forschern zusammen. Es erläutert, welche Maßnahmen in Management, Haltung, Fütterung und Tiergesundheit notwendig sind, damit die Haltung der säugenden Sauen in der Gruppe erfolgreich ist

Beifütterung von Ferkeln in freien Haltungssystemen

The digestive capacity of a piglet and the enzyme activity in the first weeks are aimed corresponding to the piglets requirements. Early provision of creep feed is necessary. The aim of the project was to study the feeding behaviour of piglets and sows during lactation in three different housing systems. In total data of 93 litters and 917 piglets were evaluated. The sows farrowed in either the Welser pen or the WelCon pen. They either remained in these systems until the end of lactation, or changed after 14 days to a multi-suckling system. The sows were fed ad libitum. Feed consumption was recorded weekly. The creep feeding started when piglet´s age reached 17 days on average. The feed supply for the piglets was dry and on the ground. Weight gain and feed consumption of piglets and sows were examined. In order to determine the length of stay of piglets and sows at the feeding place, video observation were performed. Only in the last suckling week the feed consumption of the piglets increased. Significant differences between the Welser pen, WelCon pen and multi-suckling system were found

A novel real-time PCR assay for specific detection and quantification of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk with the inherent possibility of differentiation between viable and dead cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP) is the etiological agent of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in ruminants and is suggested to be one of the etiologic factors in Crohn's disease in humans. Contaminated milk might expose humans to that pathogen. The aim of the present study was to develop a novel real-time PCR assay providing the additional possibility to detect viable <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP) based on the MAP-specific Mptb52.16 target. The design included an internal amplification control to identify false negative results.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Inclusivity and exclusivity tested on 10 MAP strains, 22 non-MAP mycobacteria, and 16 raw milk microflora strains achieved 100%. The detection limit in artificially contaminated raw milk was 2.42 × 10¹MAP cells/ml milk. In a survey of naturally contaminated samples obtained from dairy herds with a known history of paratuberculosis, 47.8% pre-milk and 51.9% main milk samples tested positive. Real-time PCR-derived MAP-specific bacterial cell equivalents (bce) ranged from 1 × 10⁰to 5.1 × 10²bce/51 ml; the majority of samples had less than one bce per ml milk. Expression of the chosen target was detected in artificially contaminated raw milk as well as inoculated Dubos broth, thus confirming the real-time PCR assay's potential to detect viable MAP cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Concentrating the DNA of a large sample volume in combination with the newly developed real-time PCR assay permitted quantification of low levels of MAP cells in raw milk and pasteurized milk. The selected target - Mptb52.16 - is promising with regard to the detection of viable MAP. Future studies integrating quantitative DNA- and RNA-based data might provide important information for risk assessment concerning the presence of MAP in raw milk and pasteurized milk.</p