Comparison of performance and fitness traits in German Angler, Swedish Red and Swedish Polled with Holstein dairy cattle breeds under organic production

Although the use of local breeds is recommended by organic regulations, breed comparisons performed under organic production conditions with similar production intensities are scarce. Therefore, we compared data of local and widely used Holstein dairy cattle breeds from 2011 to 2015 regarding production, fertility and health from German and Swedish organic farms with similar management intensities within country. In Germany, the energy-corrected total milk yield tended to be lower in the local breed Original Angler Cattle (AAZ, 5193 kg) compared to the modern German Holstein Friesian breed (HO, 5620 kg), but AAZ showed higher milk fat and protein contents (AAZ v. HO: 5.09% v. 4.18% and 3.61% v. 3.31%, respectively). In Sweden, the widely used modern Swedish Holstein (SH) breed had the highest milk yield (9209 kg, fat: 4.10%, protein: 3.31%), while the local Swedish Polled (SKB) showed highest milk yield, fat and protein contents (6169 kg, 4.47%, 3.50%, respectively), followed by the local breed Swedish Red (SRB, 8283 kg, 4.33%, 3.46%, respectively). With regard to fertility characteristics, the German breeds showed no differences, but AAZ tended to have less days open compared to HO (−17 days). In Sweden, breeds did not differ with regard to calving interval, but both local breeds showed a lower number of days open (−10.4 in SRB and −24.1 in SKB compared to SH), and SKB needed fewer inseminations until conception (−0.5 inseminations) compared to SH. Proportion of test day records with a somatic cell count content of ≥100 000 cells per ml milk did not reveal breed differences in any of the two countries. German breeds did not differ regarding the proportion of cows with veterinary treatments. In Sweden, SRB showed the lowest proportion of cows with general veterinary treatment as well as specific treatment due to udder problems (22.8 ± 6.42 and 8.05 ± 2.18, respectively), but the local breed SKB did not differ from SH in either of the two traits. In Sweden, we found no breed differences regarding veterinary treatments due to fertility problems or diagnosis of claw or leg problems during claw trimming. Our results indicate a stronger expression of the antagonism between production and functional traits with increasing production intensity. Future breed comparisons, therefore, need to consider different production intensities within organic farming in order to derive practical recommendations as to how to implement European organic regulations with regard to a suitable choice of breeds

Legehennen in einem mobilen Stallsystem - Auslaufnutzung und Flächenzustand -

The use of the free-range area by laying hens housed in a mobile system and the resulting condition of the range were investigated. The free-range was used very intensively. On an average of nine complete observation days 35 % of the birds (23 – 44 % means per day) were outside the house. The maximum of animals in the free range was 77 %. 75 % (60 – 95 %) of the hens outside the house stayed in an area of 20 m around the house. This led to deteriorated conditions of the range in these areas. By moving the mobile house regularly (after 2 weeks in summer and 6 weeks in winter) a destruction of the vegetation could be avoided, while after not moving the house for three months in winter a complementary seeding became necessary. We conclude that the use of mobile systems for poultry in conjunction with a regular change of position and sufficient area per animal can avoid destruction of the vegetation despite an intensive use of the free-range all year round

Legehennen in einem mobilen Stallsystem - Flächenmanagement und resultierende Stickstoffgehalte im Auslauf -

In the last years free range poultry was often criticised for its negative impacts on environment. As the animals do not use the run equally, a big part of the excreted nutrients are accumulated in the area close to the poultry house. This can lead to an increased rate of nutrient loss especially nitrogen by leaching. Within this study the use of a mobile housing system for 1.000 layers on an organic farm in North Hessia with a mean of 700 mm precipitation per year and an average of 8,9°C (soil texture: loam in the first, silt loam in the second year) was observed for two years. A documentation and optimization of the management and regular investigations into the contents of mineral nitrogen in all parts of the outdoor run were carried out. The aim of the study was to survey, if a well-balanced distribution of nutrients can be reached by moving the house within the free-range and which management is necessary for that. The results showed a better distribution of mineral nitrogen in the second year, when the house was moved in winter time every six weeks, while the contents were slightly less well-balanced, when it stayed at one position for three months in the first winter . In both years the highest amounts of mineral nitrogen in any part of the hen run with 37 and 24 mg / kg DM were much lower than the contents of up to 160 mg / kg DM close to stationary houses examined in other studies. The results of this study show that a well-balanced distribution of nutrients in free-ranges for poultry can be reached by using mobile housing systems combined with the right management

Dental extraction, intensity-modulated radiotherapy of head and neck cancer, and osteoradionecrosis : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To seek evidence for osteoradionecrosis (ORN) after dental extractions before or after intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC). Methods: Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched from 2000 until 2020. Articles on HNC patients treated with IMRT and dental extractions were analyzed by two independent reviewers. The risk ratios (RR) and odds ratios (OR) for ORN related to extractions were calculated using Fisher's exact test. A one-sample proportion test was used to assess the proportion of pre- versus post-IMRT extractions. Forest plots were used for the pooled RR and OR using a random-effects model. Results: Seven of 630 publications with 875 patients were eligible. A total of 437 (49.9%) patients were treated with extractions before and 92 (10.5%) after IMRT. 28 (3.2%) suffered from ORN after IMRT. ORN was associated with extractions in 15 (53.6%) patients, eight related to extractions prior to and seven cases related to extractions after IMRT. The risk and odds for ORN favored pre-IMRT extractions (RR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.04-0.74, p = 0.031, I2 = 0%, OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.99, p = 0.049, I2 = 0%). However, the prediction interval of the expected range of 95% of true effects included 1 for RR and OR. Conclusion: Tooth extraction before IMRT is more common than after IMRT, but dental extractions before compared to extractions after IMRT have not been proven to reduce the incidence of ORN. Extractions of teeth before IMRT have to be balanced with any potential delay in initiating cancer therapy. Keywords: Dental care; Dental management; Oropharyngeal cancer; Osteoradionecrosis prevention; Radiation toxicit

LBT/LUCIFER Observations of the z~2 Lensed Galaxy J0900+2234

We present rest-frame optical images and spectra of the gravitationally lensed, star-forming galaxy J0900+2234 (z=2.03). The observations were performed with the newly commissioned LUCIFER1 near-infrared instrument mounted on the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We fit lens models to the rest-frame optical images and find the galaxy has an intrinsic effective radius of 7.4 kpc with a lens magnification factor of about 5 for the A and B components. We also discovered a new arc belonging to another lensed high-z source galaxy, which makes this lens system a potential double Einstein ring system. Using the high S/N rest-frame optical spectra covering H+K band, we detected Hbeta, OIII, Halpha, NII and SII emission lines. Detailed physical properties of this high-z galaxy were derived. The extinction towards the ionized HII regions (E_g(B-V)) is computed from the flux ratio of Halpha and Hbeta and appears to be much higher than that towards stellar continuum (E_s(B-V)), derived from the optical and NIR broad band photometry fitting. The metallicity was estimated using N2 and O3N2 indices. It is in the range of 1/5-1/3 solar abundance, which is much lower than the typical z~2 star-forming galaxies. From the flux ratio of SII 6717 and 6732, we found that the electron number density of the HII regions in the high-z galaxy were >1000 cm^-3, consistent with other z~2 galaxies but much higher than that in local HII regions. The star-formation rate was estimated via the Halpha luminosity, after correction for the lens magnification, to be about 365\pm69 Msun/yr. Combining the FWHM of Halpha emission lines and the half-light radius, we found the dynamical mass of the lensed galaxy is 5.8\pm0.9x10^10 Msun. The gas mass is 5.1\pm1.1x10^10~Msun from the H\alpha flux surface density by using global Kennicutt-Schmidt Law, indicating a very high gas fraction of 0.79\pm0.19 in J0900+2234.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures accepted by ApJ, revised based on referee repor

Factors Affecting European Farmers’Participation in Biodiversity Policies

This article reports the major findings from an interdisciplinary research project that synthesises key insights into farmers’ willingness and ability to co-operate with biodiversity policies. The results of the study are based on an assessment of about 160 publications and research reports from six EU member states and from international comparative research.We developed a conceptual framework to systematically review the existent literature relevant for our purposes. This framework provides a common structure for analysing farmers’ perspectives regarding the introduction into farming practices of measures relevant to biodiversity. The analysis is coupled and contrasted with a survey of experts. The results presented above suggest that it is important to view support for practices oriented towards biodiversity protection not in a static sense – as a situation determined by one or several influencing factors – but rather as a process marked by interaction. Financial compensation and incentives function as a necessary, though clearly not sufficient condition in this process

Promoting health and welfare in organic laying hens. Recommendations to ensure hen health and welfare in organic husbandry

In the HealthyHens project we investigated laying hen health and welfare in organic poultry systems in eight European countries. This leaflet presents our findings and recommendations. Most of our recommendations are also relevant for conventional poultry systems