a review

It is well documented that global warming is unequivocal. Dairy production systems are considered as important sources of greenhouse gas emissions; however, little is known about the sensitivity and vulnerability of these production systems themselves to climate warming. This review brings different aspects of dairy cow production in Central Europe into focus, with a holistic approach to emphasize potential future consequences and challenges arising from climate change. With the current understanding of the effects of climate change, it is expected that yield of forage per hectare will be influenced positively, whereas quality will mainly depend on water availability and soil characteristics. Thus, the botanical composition of future grassland should include species that are able to withstand the changing conditions (e.g. lucerne and bird's foot trefoil). Changes in nutrient concentration of forage plants, elevated heat loads and altered feeding patterns of animals may influence rumen physiology. Several promising nutritional strategies are available to lower potential negative impacts of climate change on dairy cow nutrition and performance. Adjustment of feeding and drinking regimes, diet composition and additive supplementation can contribute to the maintenance of adequate dairy cow nutrition and performance. Provision of adequate shade and cooling will reduce the direct effects of heat stress. As estimated genetic parameters are promising, heat stress tolerance as a functional trait may be included into breeding programmes. Indirect effects of global warming on the health and welfare of animals seem to be more complicated and thus are less predictable. As the epidemiology of certain gastrointestinal nematodes and liver fluke is favourably influenced by increased temperature and humidity, relations between climate change and disease dynamics should be followed closely. Under current conditions, climate change associated economic impacts are estimated to be neutral if some form of adaptation is integrated. Therefore, it is essential to establish and adopt mitigation strategies covering available tools from management, nutrition, health and plant and animal breeding to cope with the future consequences of climate change on dairy farming

The school counselor, sexual abuse, and R.E.T.

One in four girls and one in ten boys are sexually molested before they are eighteen years old (Cohen & Phelps, 1985; Harrison, 1985; Kempe & Kempe, 1984). The perpetrator of sexual abuse is usually someone the child knows (Adams & Fay, 1981). The father, stepfather or long-time live in boyfriend is the perpetrator in approximately one half of the cases (Cohen & Phelps, 1985; England & Thompson, 1988; Tharinger & Vevier, 1987)

Cover crops grown in monoculture and mixed cropping affect soils differently

Cover crops provide various benefits to agricultural soils. The legumes among cover crops may provide fixed nitrogen as nutrient. Other species show high uptake and storage capacity for nitrogen, thus preventing losses as water polluting nitrate or greenhouse effective nitrous oxide. The input of carbon by shoot and root biomass, as well as rhizodeposition and root decay after harvest or mulching increases soil quality e.g. in form of nutrient supply and organic matter buildup. Brassicaceae lack mutualism with mycorrhizal fungi and some species can reduce the number of phytopathogenic nematodes, thus affecting food web structures. However, many benefits provided by single plant species may be affected when these species grow under mixed cropping. In a pot experiment ten typical cover crop species were grown in monoculture: Phacelia tanacetifolia, Brassica rapa var. rapa, Raphanus sativus var. oleiformis, Sinapis alba, Trifolium incarnatum, Vicia villosa, Avena strigosa, Lolium multiforum, Sorghum bicolor x S. sudanense, and Fagopyrum esculentum. These were compared to six mixtures ranging in complexity from two to six species including the classics R. sativus/S. alba, R. sativus/A. strigosa, and the “Landsberger Gemenge”. Six plants per pot grew in two differently textured soils (silty loam, loamy sand) in a greenhouse for 60 days. Plant parameters measured, included shoot and root dry matter, their C and N content, root morphology, plant height as well as chlorophyll content. In the soil, the pH, C-to-N-ratio, inorganic nitrogen, microbial biomass, and abundance of microbial domains were measured. Already plant parameters indicated effects caused by mixed cropping. Height and chlorophyll content of P. tanacetifolia, S. alba, and S. bicolor were higher in monocultures than in mixtures indicating interspecific competition. Furthermore, below-ground biomass of two-species-mixtures containing R. sativus appeared to be higher than those of the corresponding monocultures. While monocultures increased soil pH differently, mixtures showed no significant difference between each other. This study aims to show that the impact on soil by different cover crop species are not necessarily realised the same way under mixed cropping

Nitrous oxide as a function of oxygen and archaeal gene abundance in the North Pacific

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) (NE/E01559X/1)

Provenancing Archaeological Wool Textiles from Medieval Northern Europe by Light Stable Isotope Analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H)

We investigate the origin of archaeological wool textiles preserved by anoxic waterlogging from seven medieval archaeological deposits in north-western Europe (c. 700-1600 AD), using geospatial patterning in carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and non-exchangeable hydrogen (δ2H) composition of modern and ancient sheep proteins. δ13C, δ15N and δ2H values from archaeological wool keratin (n = 83) and bone collagen (n = 59) from four sites were interpreted with reference to the composition of modern sheep wool from the same regions. The isotopic composition of wool and bone collagen samples clustered strongly by settlement; inter-regional relationships were largely parallel in modern and ancient samples, though landscape change was also significant. Degradation in archaeological wool samples, examined by elemental and amino acid composition, was greater in samples from Iceland (Reykholt) than in samples from north-east England (York, Newcastle) or northern Germany (Hessens). A nominal assignment approach was used to classify textiles into local/non-local at each site, based on maximal estimates of isotopic variability in modern sheep wool. Light element stable isotope analysis provided new insights into the origins of wool textiles, and demonstrates that isotopic provenancing of keratin preserved in anoxic waterlogged contexts is feasible. We also demonstrate the utility of δ2H analysis to understand the location of origin of archaeological protein samples

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.