Magen-Darm- und Lungenwurmproblematik der Bio Weide-Beef®-Produktion; Umsetzung von Kontrollmassnahmen

Die vorliegende Semesterarbeit ist Bestandteil eines grösseren Projektes des Forschungsinstituts für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) in Frick zur Abklärung der Parasitenproblematik in den Bioweidebeef-(BWB)-Betrieben. Sie beinhaltet die Ergebnisse der Betriebe, die im Verlauf der vorangegangenen Untersuchungen ein unbefriedigendes Ergebnis bezüglich Magen-Darm-Nematoden- und Lungenwurm-Befall erzielt haben. Ein Ziel des biologischen Landbaus ist, den Einsatz von Anthelminthika bei den Weidetieren so weit wie möglich zu reduzieren und die ökologische Qualität der Produktion zu verbessern. Anhand der Ergebnisse der im Jahr 2002 durchgeführten Analysen und der Betriebsstrukturen wurden alternative Kontrollmassnahmen erarbeitet und mit den Tierhaltern diskutiert. Die vorgeschlagenen Massnahmen umfassten das Weidemanagement (Magen-Darm-Nematoden) und die Schluckimpfung (Lungenwürmer). Da die älteren Tiere im Verlauf der ersten Weidesaison eine Immunität gegenüber diesen Parasiten entwickeln, beschränkten sich die Untersuchungen auf Jungtiere unter 12 Monaten. Ziel dieser Semesterarbeit war, die Wirksamkeit der umgesetzten Massnahmen zu überprüfen. Von den 12 kontaktierten Betrieben erklärten sich 10 zu einer erneuten Zusammenarbeit bereit und beteiligten sich am Projekt. Die Betriebsleiter wurden gebeten, drei Serien von Kotproben einzusenden, die anschliessend auf das Vorkommen von Magen-Darm-Nematoden-Eiern und Lungenwurm-Larven untersucht wurden. Die Befunde deuten auf eine eindeutige Abnahme der Eiausscheidung von Magen-Darm-Nematoden gegenüber dem Vorjahr hin. Dank dem durchgeführten Weidemanagement mit altersgemischten Herden oder der Einbeziehung von anderen Tierarten konnte der Parasitendruck wesentlich herabgesetzt werden. In zwei Betrieben, die aus unterschiedlichen Gründen die weidetechnischen Massnahmen nicht oder nur unzureichend umsetzen konnten, trat ein stärkerer Befall mit Magen-Darm-Nematoden bei den Jungtieren auf, der mit Entwurmungsmitteln kontrolliert werden musste. Bei den Lungenwürmern wurde dank der vorgenommenen Vakzinierung ein gutes Ergebnis erzielt und keine Erkrankungen beobachtet. Da eine Übertragung von Infektionen über frisch in die Herde integrierte Remonten erfolgen könnte, wurden Betriebe, die Remonten produzieren, auf ihr Gefährdungspotential untersucht. Die Ergebnisse deuteten gesamthaft auf keine grosse Problematik bezüglich Magen-Darm-Nematoden-Befall bei dieser Tiergruppe hin. Durch Einführung von Massnahmen im Rahmen des Weidemanagements liesse sich die Situation bei einigen Betrieben aber noch verbessern. Die Ergebnisse in den Betrieben, die die empfohlenen Massnahmen umsetzen konnten, zeigen, dass sich auch ohne Einsatz von Entwurmungsmitteln das Infektionsrisiko mit Magen-Darm-Nematoden und Lungenwürmern deutlich reduzieren lässt. Die erzielten Ergebnisse geben entscheidende Hinweise für die Tragfähigkeit von weidetechnischen Kontrollmassnahmen. Um jedoch ein vollständiges Bild möglicher Einflussfaktoren zu erlangen, müssen die empfohlenen Massnahmen über weitere Jahre beobachtet werden

Control of gastrointestinal nematodes in organic beef cattle through grazing management

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are a major health and economic risk factor in ruminant production in organic and conventional farms (Thamsborg et al., 1999). Fattening of organic beef cattle (OBC) on pasture is an emerging area for organic farmers in Switzerland, which partly compensates the declining development in dairy production. So far, there are no data available about the parasitic status of beef cattle kept in organic farms between weaning (4-6 month) and slaughter (24-26 month). The aim of the present study was to assess the parasitological status of organic beef cattle in the pre-alpine and alpine region of Switzerland and to analyse the benefits of different grazing strategies for GIN control

Burnout in cardiac anesthesiologists. results from a national survey in italy

Objective: There is increasing burnout incidence among medical disciplines, and physicians working in emergency settings seem at higher risk. Cardiac anesthesiology is a stressful anesthesiology subspecialty dealing with high-risk patients. The authors hypothesized a high risk of burnout in cardiac anesthesiologists. Design: National survey conducted on burnout Setting: Italian cardiac centers. Participants: Cardiac anesthesiologists. Interventions: The authors administered via email an anonymous questionnaire divided into 3 parts. The first 2 parts evaluated workload and private life. The third part consisted of the Maslach Burnout Inventory test with its 3 constituents: high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. Measurements and Main Results: The authors measured the prevalence and risk of burnout through the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire and analyzed factors influencing burnout. Among 670 contacts from 71 centers, 382 cardiac anesthesiologists completed the survey (57%). The authors found the following mean Maslach Burnout Inventory values: 14.5 ± 9.7 (emotional exhaustion), 9.1 ± 7.1 (depersonalization), and 33.7 ± 8.9 (personal accomplishment). A rate of 34%, 54%, and 66% of respondents scored in “high” or “moderate-high” risk of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, respectively). The authors found that, if offered to change subspecialty, 76% of respondents would prefer to remain in cardiac anesthesiology. This preference and parenthood were the only 2 investigated factors with a protective effect against all components of burnout. Significantly lower burnout scores were found in more experienced anesthesiologists. Conclusion: A relatively high incidence of burnout was found in cardiac anesthesiologists, especially regarding high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment. Nonetheless, most of the respondents would choose to remain in cardiac anesthesiology

METHOD AND PLANT FOR ACTIVATING CATALYSTS

La presente invenzione si riferisce ad un metodo di attivazione di un materiale catalizzatore solido, ad un catalizzatore attivato ottenibile da detto metodo di attivazione, ad una cella a combustibile, un elettrolizzatore, una batteria metallo-aria o una marmitta catalitica contenente detto catalizzatore attivato, nonché ad un impianto per realizzare detto metodo di attivazione

Thermal analysis of the antineutrino 144Ce source calorimeter for the SOX experiment

The technical note describes the calorimeter which will be used to measure the activity of the antineutrino 144Ce source of the SOX experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratories. The principle of the calorimeter is based on the measurement of both mass flow and temperature increase of the water circulating in the heat exchanger surrounding the source. The calorimeter is vacuum insulated in order to minimize the heat losses. The preliminary design and thermal Finite Element Analysis (FEA) are reported in the note

Can Urine Metabolomics Be Helpful in Differentiating Neuropathic and Nociceptive Pain? A Proof-of-Concept Study

The diagnosis of pain nature is a troublesome task and a wrong attribution often leads to an increase of costs and to avoidable pharmaceutical adverse reactions. An objective and specific approach to achieve this diagnosis is highly desirable. The aim of this work was to investigate urine samples collected from patients suffering from pain of different nature by a metabolomics approach based on 1 H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis. We performed a prospective study on 74 subjects: 37 suffering from pain (12 with nociceptive and 25 with neuropathic pain), and 37 controls not suffering from any kind of chronic pain. The application of discriminant analysis on the urine spectral profiles allowed us to classify these two types of pain with high sensibility and specificity. Although the classification relies on the global urine metabolic profile, the individual contribution in discriminating neuropathic pain patients of metabolites such as choline and phosphocholine, taurine and alanine, suggests potential lesions to the nervous system. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a urine metabolomics profile is used to classify these two kinds of pain. This methodology, although based on a limited sample, may constitute the basis for a new helpful tool in the clinical diagnosis

Effects of antioxidants on CSE-induced cell death in human asthmatic primary bronchial epithelial cells

The link between cigarette smoke (CS) and lung inflammation is quite strong, however relatively little is still known on the effects of CS on human bronchial epithelial cells survival during asthma. In this study we focused our attention on the apoptotic effects of CS on healthy (HC) and asthmatic (AS) primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) and on the role of antioxidants to protect epithelial cells from CSE-induced apoptosis. Twenty subjects (10 HC and 10 AS) were recruited for this study and PBEC were obtained by bronchoscopy. PBEC were treated with oxidants (H2O), anti-oxidants (GSH and AA) and cigarette smoke extracts (CSE). Early apoptosis (EA) and necrosis were measured by flow cytometry using Annexin-V and propidium iodide. After treatment with CSE 20%, AS showed an increased susceptibility to the CSE treatment compared to HC (24.34+/-9.61 vs 48.45+/-11.91, p=0.003). Similarly, when EA was taken into consideration, there was a significant increase of EA cells in the AS group treated with CSE compared to HC (33.12+/-10.38 vs 16.73+/-6.92, p<0.05). AA failed to protect both HS and AS PBEC from CSE-induced cell death. GSH instead was able to protect significantly both HS and AS from CSE-induced cell death. In particular, the association between GSH and CSE 20% determined a significant (p=0.005 in HC and p=0.003 in AS) increase of viability when compared to CSE alone and at the same time EA levels dropped considerably (p<0.05 in HC and p=0.003 in AS) down in the presence of this antioxidant Moreover, GSH treatment determined a significantly bigger (p=0.002) overall increase in viability in the AS group when compared to the HC group. In view of this data it could be possible to hypothesise that the typical imbalance in oxidants-antioxidants levels of asthmatic bronchial epithelial cells might be responsible for their increased susceptibility to oxidative stress

A Moiré Deflectometer for Antimatter

The precise measurement of forces is one way to obtain deep insight into the fundamental interactions present in nature. In the context of neutral antimatter, the gravitational interaction is of high interest, potentially revealing new forces that violate the weak equivalence principle. Here we report on a successful extension of a tool from atom optics - the moirè deflectometer - for a measurement of the acceleration of slow antiprotons. The setup consists of two identical transmission gratings and a spatially resolving emulsion detector for antiproton annihilations. Absolute referencing of the observed antimatter pattern with a photon pattern experiencing no deflection allows the direct inference of forces present. The concept is also straightforwardly applicable to antihydrogen measurements as pursued by the AEgIS collaboration. The combination of these very different techniques from high energy and atomic physics opens a very promising route to the direct detection of the gravitational acceleration of neutral antimatter

Measuring the free fall of antihydrogen

After the first production of cold antihydrogen by the ATHENA and ATRAP experiments ten years ago, new second-generation experiments are aimed at measuring the fundamental properties of this anti-atom. The goal of AEGIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) is to test the weak equivalence principle by studying the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter with a pulsed, cold antihydrogen beam. The experiment is currently being assembled at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator. In AEGIS, antihydrogen will be produced by charge exchange of cold antiprotons with positronium excited to a high Rydberg state (n > 20). An antihydrogen beam will be produced by controlled acceleration in an electric-field gradient (Stark acceleration). The deflection of the horizontal beam due to its free fall in the gravitational field of the earth will be measured with a moire deflectometer. Initially, the gravitational acceleration will be determined to a precision of 1%, requiring the detection of about 105 antihydrogen atoms. In this paper, after a general description, the present status of the experiment will be reviewed