Physical growing media characteristics of Sphagnum biomass dominated by Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr

The surface biomass of moss dominated by Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr. (Rusty Bog-moss) was harvested from a sparsely drained raised bog. Physical properties of the Sphagnum moss were determined and compared with those of weakly and moderately decomposed peats. Water retention curves (WRC) and saturated hydraulic conductivities (K-s) are reported for samples of Sphagnum moss with natural structure, as well as for samples that were cut to selected fibre lengths or compacted to different bulk densities. The gravimetric water retention results indicate that, on a dry mass basis, Sphagnum moss can hold more water than both types of peat under equal matric potentials. On a volumetric basis, the water retention of Sphagnum moss can be linearly increased by compacting at a gravimetric water content of 2 (g water / g dry mass). The bimodal water retention curve of Sphagnum moss appears to be a consequence of the natural double porosity of the moss matrix. The 6-parameter form of the double-porosity van Genuchten equation is used to describe the volumetric water retention of the moss as its bulk density increases. Our results provide considerable insight into the physical growing media properties of Sphagnum moss biomass.Peer reviewe

Ilmamaalin ampumaopillista tarkastelua nykyhetkellä

Artikkelin johdannossa todetaan, että ilmamaalin tuhoaminen on käynyt erittäin ajankohtaiseksi. "Yhä kasvavan ydintaisteluvälineistön käyttömahdollisuuksiin liittyvän vaaran takia joudutaan torjunnalle asettamaan olennaisesti uusia vaatimuksia..torjunnalle on asetettava kategorinen maalin tuhoamisen vaatimus." Artikkelissa tarkastellaan lentokonetta maalianalyysinä. Toisessa luvussa tarkastellaan lentokonemaalin karakterististen ominaisuuksien ja niiden seurauksia yleisesti. Osin yksityiskohtaisessa teknisessä tarkastelussa ovat suuri nopeus, kolmiulotteinen liikkumiskyky, suhteellisen pieni koko ja tuhoamisvaikeus. Kolmannessa luvussa tarkastellaan kehitysnäkökohtia ampumaopin kannalta, todeten, että kehityksen hallitsevimmaksi tekijäksi on tullut nopeus. Viimeisessä luvussa, "Ammunnan mahdollisuuksien yleistä arviointia", tuodaan esille muun muassa niitä tekijöitä, joihin voidaan vaikuttaa sekä tarkan etäisyyden määrittämisen merkitystä ja eräitä laskennallisia vertailuja eri sytyttimien välillä. Artikkelin liitteinä on matemaattisessa tarkastelussa käytettyjä perusteita

Efficacy of 5-day parenteral versus intramammary benzylpenicillin for treatment of clinical mastitis caused by gram-positive bacteria susceptible to penicillin in vitro

Peer reviewe

Consistency of use of plant stanol ester margarine in Finland

Abstract Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the consistency of use of plant stanol ester margarine and to characterise consistent and inconsistent users. Design: A cohort of plant stanol ester margarine users was established based on 14 national surveys conducted by the National Public Health Institute in Finland between 1996 and 1999. A follow-up study questionnaire was developed and sent to 1294 users in 2000. Setting: Subjects who reported using plant stanol ester margarine in both the original survey and the follow-up study were classified as consistent users, and the rest as inconsistent users. Subjects: The study population consisted of 1094 subjects aged 18-87 years, 590 men and 504 women. Results: There were 357 (33%) consistent and 737 (67%) inconsistent users of plant stanol ester margarine in the study population. Consistent users were more likely to be men and to have a higher household income than inconsistent users. Both consistent and inconsistent users were predominantly middle-aged persons with a healthy lifestyle and diet as well as a history of cardiovascular disease. Healthfulness was the main factor affecting bread spread choice among 94% of the consistent users and 59% of the inconsistent users. Conclusions: The use of plant stanol ester margarine is more often inconsistent than consistent. There is nevertheless a relatively large subgroup of long-term users of plant stanol ester margarine. It is important to examine the health effects especially among these regular user

Local host response following an intramammary challenge with Staphylococcus fleurettii and different strains of Staphylococcus chromogenes in dairy heifers

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are a common cause of subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The CNS inhabit various ecological habitats, ranging between the environment and the host. In order to obtain a better insight into the host response, an experimental infection was carried out in eight healthy heifers in mid-lactation with three different CNS strains: a Staphylococcus fleurettii strain originating from sawdust bedding, an intramammary Staphylococcus chromogenes strain originating from a persistent intramammary infection (S. chromogenes IM) and a S. chromogenes strain isolated from a heifer's teat apex (S. chromogenes TA). Each heifer was inoculated in the mammary gland with 1.0 x 10(6) colony forming units of each bacterial strain (one strain per udder quarter), whereas the remaining quarter was infused with phosphate-buffered saline. Overall, the CNS evoked a mild local host response. The somatic cell count increased in all S. fleurettii-inoculated quarters, although the strain was eliminated within 12 h. The two S. chromogenes strains were shed in larger numbers for a longer period. Bacterial and somatic cell counts, as well as neutrophil responses, were higher after inoculation with S. chromogenes IM than with S. chromogenes TA. In conclusion, these results suggest that S. chromogenes might be better adapted to the mammary gland than S. fleurettii. Furthermore, not all S. chromogenes strains induce the same local host response

Characterisation of the course of Mycoplasma bovis infection in naturally infected dairy herds

Mycoplasma bovis causes bovine respiratory disease, mastitis, arthritis and otitis. The importance of M. bovis has escalated because of recent outbreaks and introductions into countries previously free of M. bovis. We characterized the course of M. bovis infection on 19 recently infected dairy farms over 24 months. Our objective was to identify diagnostic tools to assess the efficacy of control measures to assess low risk infection status on M. bovis infected farms. PCR assays and culture were used to detect M. bovis, and in-house and BioX ELISAs were used to follow antibody responses. Cows and young stock were sampled on four separate occasions, and clinical cases were sampled when they arose. On 17 farms, a few cases of clinical mastitis were detected, mostly within the first eight weeks after the index case. Antibodies detected by in-house ELISA persisted in the serum of cows at least for 1.5 years on all farms, regardless of the M. bovis infection status or signs of clinical disease or subclinical mastitis on the farm. Six out of 19 farms became low risk as the infection was resolved. Our results suggest that, for biosecurity purposes, regular monitoring should be conducted on herds by screening for M. bovis in samples from cows with clinical mastitis and calves with pneumonia, in conjunction with testing young stock by screening longitudinally collected nasal swabs for M. bovis and sequential serum samples for antibody against recombinant antigen.Peer reviewe

Bacterial species associated with interdigital phlegmon outbreaks in Finnish dairy herds

Background: Severe outbreaks of bovine interdigital phlegmon (IP) have occurred recently in several free stall dairy herds in Finland. We studied the aetiology of IP in such herds, and the association of bacterial species with the various stages of IP and herds of various morbidity of IP. Nineteen free stall dairy herds with IP outbreaks and three control herds were visited and bacteriological samples collected from cows suffering from IP (n = 106), other hoof diseases (n = 58), and control cows (n = 64). The herds were divided into high morbidity (morbidity ≥50%) and moderate morbidity groups (9–33%) based on morbidity during the first two months of the outbreak. Results: F. necrophorum subspecies necrophorum was clearly associated with IP in general, and T. pyogenes was associated with the healing stage of IP. Six other major hoof pathogens were detected; Dichelobacter nodosus, Porphyromonas levii, Prevotella melaninogenica, Treponema spp. and Trueperella pyogenes. Most of the samples of acute IP (66.7%) harboured both F. necrophorum and D. nodosus. We found differences between moderate morbidity and high morbidity herds. D. nodosus was more common in IP lesion in high than in moderate morbidity herds. Conclusions: Our result confirms that F. necrophorum subspecies necrophorum is the main pathogen in IP, but also T. pyogenes is associated with the healing stage of IP. Our results suggest that D. nodosus may play a role in the severity of the outbreak of IP, but further research is needed to establish other bacteriological factors behind these severe outbreaks

Bacteriological etiology and treatment of mastitis in Finnish dairy herds

Background: The Finnish dairy herd recording system maintains production and health records of cows and herds. Veterinarians and farmers register veterinary treatments in the system. Milk samples for microbiological analysis are routinely taken from mastitic cows. The laboratory of the largest dairy company in Finland, Valio Ltd., analyzes most samples using real-time PCR. This study addressed pathogen-specific microbiological data and treatment and culling records, in combination with cow and herd characteristics, from the Finnish dairy herd recording system during 2010-2012. Results: The data derived from 240,067 quarter milk samples from 93,529 dairy cows with mastitis; 238,235 cows from the same herds served as the control group. No target pathogen DNA was detected in 12% of the samples. In 49% of the positive samples, only one target species and in 19%, two species with one dominant species were present. The most common species in the samples with a single species only were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) (43%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (21%), Streptococcus uberis (9%), Streptococcus dysgalactiae (8%), Corynebacterium bovis (7%), and Escherichia coli (5%). On average, 36% of the study cows and 6% of the control cows had recorded mastitis treatments during lactation. The corresponding proportions were 16 and 6% at drying-off. For more than 75% of the treatments during lactation, diagnosis was acute clinical mastitis. In the milk samples from cows with a recorded mastitis treatment during lactation, CNS and S. aureus were most common, followed by streptococci. Altogether, 48% of the cows were culled during the study. Mastitis was reported as the most common reason to cull; 49% of study cows and 18% of control cows were culled because of mastitis. Culling was most likely if S. aureus was detected in the milk sample submitted during the culling year. Conclusions: The PCR test has proven to be an applicable method also for large-scale use in bacterial diagnostics. In the present study, microbiological diagnosis was unequivocal in the great majority of samples where a single species or two species with one dominating were detected. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and S. aureus were the most common species. S. aureus was also the most common pathogen among the culled cows, which emphasizes the importance of preventive measures.Peer reviewe