Fragen des Arbeits-, Tier- und Umweltschutzes bei der Schweinemast in verschiedenen Systemen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung mikrobieller Belastungen

Vor dem Hintergrund häufiger Atemwegserkrankungen bei Schweinen und landwirtschaftlich Beschäftigten war es das Ziel eines interdisziplinären Verbundprojektes, Belastungen von Mensch, Tier und Umwelt in ökologischen und konventionellen Haltungssystemen für die Schweinemast zu erfassen. Die Untersuchungen wurden in zwei konventionellen (Stall A, B) (BVT-Stall, 50% reduzierter Schlitzanteil, Zwangsbelüftung) und zwei ökologischen Ställen durchgeführt: Stall C (Praxisstall: Tiefstreu, freie Fenster-Lüftung), Stall D (Praxisstall: EU-Öko-VO, Trauf-First-Lüftung). Über 2 Mastperioden (je 3 Messungen; kalte / warme Jahreszeit) wurden die Parameter erfasst: luftgetragene Endotoxine, Schimmelpilze, Bakterien mit Differenzierung, arbeitsmedizinische Staubfraktionen, Materialproben, Staubfraktion PM10, NH3, CO2 und CH4, Lufttemperatur, Luftfeuchte. Die Beschreibung der Tiergesundheit erfolgte über serologische (Mycoplasmen, PRRS-, Influenza-A- und Circo-Virus) und koprologische (Parasitenbefall) Analysen und über Schlachtkörper- und Organbefundungen (Lunge, Pleura, Perikard, Leber). Am Beispiel der Endotoxin-Konzentration wurden die z.T. sehr hohen biologischen Belastungen deutlich: Stall C (Median: 14.495 EU/m3), Stall A/B (5.544 EU/m3), Stall D (2.876 EU/m3). Personengetragene Messungen führten zu deutlich höheren Werten. Die CO2- und NH3-Konzentrationen lagen in allen Ställen im Durchschnitt deutlich unter dem Grenzwert von 3000 ppm bzw. 20 ppm. In Stall C und D war die CH4-Konzentration allerdings höher als in Stall A/B (oberer Bereich der Literaturangaben). Auffällige Lungenbefunde fanden sich bei ca. 45% der untersuchten Schlachttiere, unabhängig vom Haltungssystem; parasitäre Leberveränderungen wurden ausschließlich in den Ställen C und D ermittelt. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung der Ausführung, Dimensionierung und Regelung des Lüftungssystems sowie die Sauberkeit bzw. Hygiene und insbesondere das Betriebsmanagement im Stall und ihre Schlüsselrolle hinsichtlich der Freisetzungsmengen von Schadstoffen sowie der Tiergesundheit. Demgegenüber kommt der Klassifizierung der Haltungsumwelt durch die Einteilung in Haltungssystemen nur eine geringe Aussagekraft zu

A Century and a Half of Research on the Stable Fly, \u3ci\u3eStomoxys calcitrans\u3c/i\u3e (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), 1862-2011: An Annotated Bibliography

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a cosmopolitan pest of livestock, wild animals, pets, and humans. It is a primary pest of cattle in the United States, estimated to cause more than $1 billion in economic losses annually. It also causes dissension at the rural-urban interface and is a problem in recreation areas such as Florida beaches and the Great Lakes. Due to its pestiferous nature and painful bite, methods to control stable flies have been investigated for over a century. A large amount of research has been reported on stable fly biology, ecology, genetics, physiology, and vector competence. For this bibliography, literature has been gathered from journals and other resources available to the authors, and a selected number of articles have been annotated. This bibliography represents an update of literature published since 1980; literature from pre-1980 was included if copy could be ascertained

A Century and a Half of Research on the Stable Fly, \u3ci\u3eStomoxys calcitrans\u3c/i\u3e (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), 1862-2011: An Annotated Bibliography

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a cosmopolitan pest of livestock, wild animals, pets, and humans. It is a primary pest of cattle in the United States, estimated to cause more than $1 billion in economic losses annually. It also causes dissension at the rural-urban interface and is a problem in recreation areas such as Florida beaches and the Great Lakes. Due to its pestiferous nature and painful bite, methods to control stable flies have been investigated for over a century. A large amount of research has been reported on stable fly biology, ecology, genetics, physiology, and vector competence. For this bibliography, literature has been gathered from journals and other resources available to the authors, and a selected number of articles have been annotated. This bibliography represents an update of literature published since 1980; literature from pre-1980 was included if copy could be ascertained

Lung epithelial apoptosis in influenza virus pneumonia: the role of macrophage-expressed TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand

Mononuclear phagocytes have been attributed a crucial role in the host defense toward influenza virus (IV), but their contribution to influenza-induced lung failure is incompletely understood. We demonstrate for the first time that lung-recruited “exudate” macrophages significantly contribute to alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) apoptosis by the release of tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in a murine model of influenza-induced pneumonia. Using CC-chemokine receptor 2–deficient (CCR2−/−) mice characterized by defective inflammatory macrophage recruitment, and blocking anti-CCR2 antibodies, we show that exudate macrophage accumulation in the lungs of influenza-infected mice is associated with pronounced AEC apoptosis and increased lung leakage and mortality. Among several proapoptotic mediators analyzed, TRAIL messenger RNA was found to be markedly up-regulated in alveolar exudate macrophages as compared with peripheral blood monocytes. Moreover, among the different alveolar-recruited leukocyte subsets, TRAIL protein was predominantly expressed on macrophages. Finally, abrogation of TRAIL signaling in exudate macrophages resulted in significantly reduced AEC apoptosis, attenuated lung leakage, and increased survival upon IV infection. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a key role for exudate macrophages in the induction of alveolar leakage and mortality in IV pneumonia. Epithelial cell apoptosis induced by TRAIL-expressing macrophages is identified as a major underlying mechanism

Invasive potential of cattle fever ticks in the southern United States

Background For >100 years cattle production in the southern United States has been threatened by cattle fever. It is caused by an invasive parasite-vector complex that includes the protozoan hemoparasites Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, which are transmitted among domestic cattle via Rhipicephalus tick vectors of the subgenus Boophilus. In 1906 an eradication effort was started and by 1943 Boophilus ticks had been confined to a narrow tick eradication quarantine area (TEQA) along the Texas-Mexico border. However, a dramatic increase in tick infestations in areas outside the TEQA over the last decade suggests these tick vectors may be poised to re-invade the southern United States. We investigated historical and potential future distributions of climatic habitats of cattle fever ticks to assess the potential for a range expansion. Methods We built robust spatial predictions of habitat suitability for the vector species Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and R. (B.) annulatus across the southern United States for three time periods: 1906, present day (2012), and 2050. We used analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) to identify persistent tick occurrences and analysis of bias in the climate proximate to these occurrences to identify key environmental parameters associated with the ecology of both species. We then used ecological niche modeling algorithms GARP and Maxent to construct models that related known occurrences of ticks in the TEQA during 2001–2011 with geospatial data layers that summarized important climate parameters at all three time periods. Results We identified persistent tick infestations and specific climate parameters that appear to be drivers of ecological niches of the two tick species. Spatial models projected onto climate data representative of climate in 1906 reproduced historical pre-eradication tick distributions. Present-day predictions, although constrained to areas near the TEQA, extrapolated well onto climate projections for 2050. Conclusions Our models indicate the potential for range expansion of climate suitable for survival of R. microplus and R. annulatus in the southern United States by mid-century, which increases the risk of reintroduction of these ticks and cattle tick fever into major cattle producing areas.We thank USDA-APHIS mounted patrol inspectors for collecting field samples used in this study. This work was supported by USDA-NIFA Grant 2010-65104-20386. Use of trade, product, or firm names does not imply endorsement by the US Government. The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

Electron flux models for different energies at geostationary orbit

Forecast models were derived for energetic electrons at all energy ranges sampled by the third-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). These models were based on Multi-Input Single-Output Nonlinear Autoregressive Moving Average with Exogenous inputs methodologies. The model inputs include the solar wind velocity, density and pressure, the fraction of time that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was southward, the IMF contribution of a solar wind-magnetosphere coupling function proposed by Boynton et al. (2011b), and the Dst index. As such, this study has deduced five new 1 h resolution models for the low-energy electrons measured by GOES (30–50 keV, 50–100 keV, 100–200 keV, 200–350 keV, and 350–600 keV) and extended the existing >800 keV and >2 MeV Geostationary Earth Orbit electron fluxes models to forecast at a 1 h resolution. All of these models were shown to provide accurate forecasts, with prediction efficiencies ranging between 66.9% and 82.3%