Acute sterfte bij het rund: autopsieprotocol en retrsospectieve studie

Sudden death is defined as the unexpected death of an apparently healthy animal within 24 hours after onset of the symptoms. In literature, many causes of sudden death have been reported. In the field, it is very difficult to confirm the exact cause of sudden death only by necropsy. Nevertheless, an exact diagnosis is requested in case of insurance expertise or herd health problems. In the present article, a practical protocol for approaching sudden death in cattle is proposed. The protocol is based on information available in the literature and on a retrospective necropsy series of sudden death cases in cattle in Flanders (n=124). The most common causes were enterotoxemia (23.7%), acute pneumonia (9.3%) and Taxus baccata intoxication (6.8%)

An outbreak of the peracute form of malignant catarrhal fever in Belgian cattle

A large outbreak of the peracute form of malignant catarrhal fever in cattle in Belgium is described. The main symptoms were nervous signs and high fever. Over a four-month period, 13 Belgian Blue yearlings and one cow died. Mortality was 16.3% of the herd. The diagnosis was confirmed by identifying ovine herpesvirus-2 DNA by PCR, both in the affected cattle and in the sheep on the farm. This case report illustrates the increasing importance of malignant catarrhal fever as a herd problem and the occurrence of the peracute form, as also reported in other European countries. It also illustrates the importance of malignant catarrhal fever as a differential diagnosis for nervous disorders in cattle

IN-Palm - Technical Report: an agri-environmental indicator to assess potential nitrogen losses in oil palm plantations

[Extract] IN-Palm is an agri-environmental predictive indicator specific to oil palm plantations based on an operational model. It simulates the risk of nitrogen (N) losses from the field, through 6 loss pathways: ammonia (NH3) volatilisation; N losses through runoff-erosion; nitrous oxide (N2O), dinitrogen (N2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions; and N leaching. Simulations require 21 readily available input variables on crop factors, soil, weather and management practices. Calculations are done for one hectare of palms, for an age of palms chosen by the user, from 1 to 30-year-old

Passive Sampling as a Tool to Assess Atmospheric Pesticide Contamination Related to Vineyard Land Use

The massive use of pesticides in agriculture has led to widespread contamination of the environment, particularly the atmospheric compartment. Thirty-six pesticides, most used in viticul-ture, were monitored in ambient air using polyurethane foams as passive air samplers (PUF-PAS). Spatiotemporal data were collected from the samplers for 10 months (February–December 2013), using two different sampling times (1 and 2 months) at two different sites in a chateau vineyard in Gironde (France). A high-volume active air sampler was also deployed in June. Samples were extracted with dichloromethane using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) (PUFs from both passive and active) or microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) (filters from active sampling). Extracts were analyzed by both gas and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 23 airborne pesticides were detected at least once. Concentrations in PUF exposed one month ranged from below the limits of quantification (LOQs) to 23,481 ng PUF−1. The highest concentrations were for folpet, boscalid, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and metalaxyl-m—23,481, 17,615, 3931, and 3324 ng PUF−1. Clear seasonal trends were observed for most of the pesticides detected, the highest levels (in the ng m−3 range or the µg PUF−1 range) being measured during their application period. Impregnation levels at both sites were heterogeneous, but the same pesticides were involved. Sampling rates (Rs) were also estimated using a high-volume active air sampler and varied significantly from one pesticide to another. These results provide preliminary information on the seasonality of pesticide concentrations in vineyard areas and evidence for the effectiveness of PUF-PAS to monitor pesticides in ambient air. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.COntinental To coastal Ecosystems: evolution, adaptability and governanc

Genome-Wide Identification of Bcl11b Gene Targets Reveals Role in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Signaling

B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 11B (Bcl11b) is a transcription factor showing predominant expression in the striatum. To date, there are no known gene targets of Bcl11b in the nervous system. Here, we define targets for Bcl11b in striatal cells by performing chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) in combination with genome-wide expression profiling. Transcriptome-wide analysis revealed that 694 genes were significantly altered in striatal cells over-expressing Bcl11b, including genes showing striatal-enriched expression similar to Bcl11b. ChIP-seq analysis demonstrated that Bcl11b bound a mixture of coding and non-coding sequences that were within 10 kb of the transcription start site of an annotated gene. Integrating all ChIP-seq hits with the microarray expression data, 248 direct targets of Bcl11b were identified. Functional analysis on the integrated gene target list identified several zinc-finger encoding genes as Bcl11b targets, and further revealed a significant association of Bcl11b to brain-derived neurotrophic factor/neurotrophin signaling. Analysis of ChIP-seq binding regions revealed significant consensus DNA binding motifs for Bcl11b. These data implicate Bcl11b as a novel regulator of the BDNF signaling pathway, which is disrupted in many neurological disorders. Specific targeting of the Bcl11b-DNA interaction could represent a novel therapeutic approach to lowering BDNF signaling specifically in striatal cells

Identifying cost-competitive greenhouse gas mitigation potential of French agriculture

The agriculture, forestry and other land use sector are responsible for 24% (10–12 Pg CO2e per year) of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide, with concomitant opportunities for mitigation. A scientific panel used deliberative methods to identify ten technical measures comprising 26 sub-measures to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture in France. Their abatement potential and cost are compared. The proposed measures concern nitrogen (N) management, management practices that increase carbon stocks in soils and biomass, livestock diets, and energy production and consumption on farms. Results show that the total abatement potential can be divided into three parts. One third of the cumulated abatement potential corresponds to sub-measures that can be implemented at a negative technical cost. These sub-measures focus on increased efficiency in input use including N fertilisers, animal feed and energy. The second third are sub-measures with moderate cost (€25 per metric Mg of avoided CO2e). These require investment with no direct financial return, the purchase of particular inputs, dedicated labour time or involve production losses. Assuming additivity, the cumulated abatement is 32.3 Tg CO2e per year in 2030, but only 10 Tg (i.e. 10% of current agricultural emissions) when calculated under current inventory rules. This study confirms that a significant abatement potential exists in the agricultural sector, with two thirds of this potential at low or even negative cost. This is likely to be an underestimated as it is based on a status quo of the current agricultural system. Results also emphasise the need to upgrade inventory rules so that efforts to reduce emissions can be accounted for