Zwei Jahre pro-Q – Bilanz eines biokonformen Eutergesundheitsprogrammes

The pro-q-project is an udder health programme especially for organic farmers under Swiss conditions. The aim is to minimize the use of s antibiotics and to assure a good udder health state on the farms. At the end of the third project year of 100 project farms 16 participate for more than two years. The udder health situation of these 16 farms improved moderately in the second project year (37% of the cows with a so-matic cell count > 100’000/ml) compared to the year before project start (40% of the cows with a somatic cell count > 100’000/ml). Furthermore, a nearly linear increase of the arithmetic mean of herd lactation number (3.27 year before project start, 3.33 first project year, 3.44 second project year, resp.) could be found. The number of antibiotic treatments per cow and year decreased from 0.37 in the year before project start to 0.24 in the second project year

Die Kombination von Kräuterextrakten mit Propionsäure zur Therapie subklinischer Ketosen im biologischen Landbau eine Feldstudie

On 25 Swiss and German organic dairy farms all fresh cows (a total of 283 cows between 5 and 50 days in milk) were tested weekly for blood- -hydroxybutyrate (BBHB), 121 exceeded the threshold of 1.0 mmol/l BBHB. A total of 84 cows were randomly assigned to three treatments which were given daily, diluted in 700ml fluid divided to two oral administrations for 4 days: placebo (PL), 240g sodium propionate per day (SP) and 240g sodium propionate combined with an extract of seven herbs (27g drug equivalent). Milk acetone (MAC) and BBHB were observed during the administration period and thereafter, in total for two weeks. A reduction of ketone bodies was measured in all three treatment groups. No significant differences between SP and PL arose regarding the observed parameters. During the first week of observation SP-H showed the lowest MAC and mean values differed significantly from those in group SP (p=0.035) and PL (p<0.001). After two weeks SP-H showed the largest reduction in BBHB which was by trend different from SP but without differences from PL. Compared to PL or SP, SP-H seemed to have slight advantages in a four days therapy of subclinical ketotic fresh cows

Management factors affecting udder health and effects of a one year extension program in organic dairy herds

The first part of this study was a cross-sectional analysis of the impact of 29 management factors on udder health in organic dairy farms in Switzerland. All 77 farms joined the extension program ‘pro-Q'. As a measure of udder health the theoretical bulk milk somatic cell count (TBMSCC) calculated by the monthly cow composite somatic cell count over a time period of 1 year was chosen. The basic udder health of the farms was determined by TBMSCC during the year prior to the start of the project (mean for all farms = 176 460 cells/ml). In the multivariable analysis, the five factors ‘swiss brown breed', ‘alpine summer pasturing', ‘calf feeding with milk from mastitis diseased cows', ‘hard bedding' and ‘no post-milking' remained as significant risk factors on udder health. In the second part of the study, the development of management factors and the udder health situation affected by an extension program after 1 year was investigated. A partial improvement of the management factors on the farms but no overall improvement on udder health and no association between management changes and udder health changes were found. Improvement of udder health was more likely in farms with higher basic TBMSCC than in those farms with less udder health problems at the beginning of the projec

A herbal feed additive shows potential to improve metabolic situation in early lactating dairy cows

The gap between performance and feed intake in early lactating dairy cows often leads to metabolic imbalance which is connected to udder inflammation (UI). A study with 72 dairy cows calving from November 2010 to March 2011 on 10 Swiss and German farms was conducted to test the effect of a herbal feed additive (HFA) containing mainly Urtica dioica L. (herba), Silybum marianum (L.) Gaert. (fructus), Artemisia absinthium L. (herba) and Achillea millefolium L. (herba). Cows were stratified (farm and milk yield) randomised divided into three groups. From 14 days prior predicted calving to the end of the following lactation cows received daily 100 g pellets containing A: 100% HFA, B: 50% HFA and 50% alfalfa and C: 100% alfalfa (placebo). Two or three cows per group were included per farm. Farmers documented the pellet intake individually per cow on a daily base. Cows with an intake less than two third of the offered dose per lactation part (early: day 1 – 100; mid: day 101 – 200; late: day 201 – 300) were excluded from analyse (A: 6 cows, B: 4 cows, C: 0 cows). Weekly milk samples from a healthy udder quarter were taken in lactation week 1 – 10 to analyse the aceton content indicating metabolic imbalance. Milk recording data (milk yield, milk contents and somatic cell score as UI marker) as well as the development of the body condition score, treatment, intercalving period and culling rate were analysed

Minimising medicine use in organic dairy herds through animal health and welfare planning

Livestock is important in many organic farming systems, and it is an explicit goal to ensure high levels of animal health and welfare (AHW) through good management. This will lead to reduced medicine use and better quality of animal products. In two EU network projects NAHWOA & SAFO it was concluded that this is not guaranteed merely by following organic standards. Both networks recommended implementation of individual animal health plans to stimulate organic farmers to improve AHW. These plans should include a systematic evaluation of AHW and be implemented through dialogue with each farmer in order to identify goals and plan improvements. 15 research institutions in 8 European countries are involved in the proposed project with the main objective to minimise medicine use in organic dairy herds through active and well planned AHW promotion and disease prevention. The project consists of 5 work packages, 4 of which comprise research activities building on current research projects, new applications across borders, exchange of knowledge, results and conclusions between participating countries, and adopting them to widely different contexts. International and national workshops facilitate this exchange. Focus areas are animal health planning, AHW assessment using animal based parameters and development of advisory systems and farmer groups. Epidemiological analyses of the effect on AHW from reduced medicine use and herd improvements are planned in all participating countries

Farmer groups for animal health and welfare planning in European organic dairy hers

A set of common principles for active animal health and welfare planning in organic dairy farming has been developed in the ANIPLAN project group of seven European countries. Health and welfare planning is a farmer‐owned process of continuous development and improvement and may be practised in many different ways. It should incorporate health promotion and disease handling, based on a strategy where assessment of current status and risks forms the basis for evaluation, action and review. Besides this, it should be 1) farmspecific, 2) involve external person(s) and 3) external knowledge, 4) be based on organic principles, 5) be written, and 6) acknowledge good aspects in addition to targeting the problem areas in order to stimulate the learning process

Probing liquid surface waves, liquid properties and liquid films with light diffraction

Surface waves on liquids act as a dynamical phase grating for incident light. In this article, we revisit the classical method of probing such waves (wavelengths of the order of mm) as well as inherent properties of liquids and liquid films on liquids, using optical diffraction. A combination of simulation and experiment is proposed to trace out the surface wave profiles in various situations (\emph{eg.} for one or more vertical, slightly immersed, electrically driven exciters). Subsequently, the surface tension and the spatial damping coefficient (related to viscosity) of a variety of liquids are measured carefully in order to gauge the efficiency of measuring liquid properties using this optical probe. The final set of results deal with liquid films where dispersion relations, surface and interface modes, interfacial tension and related issues are investigated in some detail, both theoretically and experimentally. On the whole, our observations and analyses seem to support the claim that this simple, low--cost apparatus is capable of providing a wealth of information on liquids and liquid surface waves in a non--destructive way.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Measurement Science and Technology (IOP

Dynamic Scaling and Two-Dimensional High-Tc Superconductors

There has been ongoing debate over the critical behavior of two-dimensional superconductors; in particular for high Tc superconductors. The conventional view is that a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition occurs as long as finite size effects do not obscure the transition. However, there have been recent suggestions that a different transition actually occurs which incorporates aspects of both the dynamic scaling theory of Fisher, Fisher, and Huse and the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition. Of general interest is that this modified transition apparently has a universal dynamic critical exponent. Some have countered that this apparent universal behavior is rooted in a newly proposed finite-size scaling theory; one that also incorporates scaling and conventional two-dimensional theory. To investigate these issues we study DC voltage versus current data of a 12 angstrom thick YBCO film. We find that the newly proposed scaling theories have intrinsic flexibility that is relevant to the analysis of the experiments. In particular, the data scale according to the modified transition for arbitrarily defined critical temperatures between 0 K and 19.5 K, and the temperature range of a successful scaling collapse is related directly to the sensitivity of the measurement. This implies that the apparent universal exponent is due to the intrinsic flexibility rather than some real physical property. To address this intrinsic flexibility, we propose a criterion which would give conclusive evidence for phase transitions in two-dimensional superconductors. We conclude by reviewing results to see if our criterion is satisfied.Comment: 14 page

The molecular phylogeny of eph receptors and ephrin ligands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tissue distributions and functions of Eph receptors and their ephrin ligands have been well studied, however less is known about their evolutionary history. We have undertaken a phylogenetic analysis of Eph receptors and ephrins from a number of invertebrate and vertebrate species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our findings indicate that Eph receptors form three major clades: one comprised of non-chordate and cephalochordate Eph receptors, a second comprised of urochordate Eph receptors, and a third comprised of vertebrate Eph receptors. Ephrins, on the other hand, fall into either a clade made up of the non-chordate and cephalochordate ephrins plus the urochordate and vertebrate ephrin-Bs or a clade made up of the urochordate and vertebrate ephrin-As.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have concluded that Eph receptors and ephrins diverged into A and B-types at different points in their evolutionary history, such that primitive chordates likely possessed an ancestral ephrin-A and an ancestral ephrin-B, but only a single Eph receptor. Furthermore, ephrin-As appear to have arisen in the common ancestor of urochordates and vertebrates, whereas ephrin-Bs have a more ancient bilaterian origin. Ancestral ephrin-B-like ligands had transmembrane domains; as GPI anchors appear to have arisen or been lost at least 3 times.</p

Multiple receptor tyrosine kinases are expressed in adult rat retinal ganglion cells as revealed by single-cell degenerate primer polymerase chain reaction

BACKGROUND: To achieve a better understanding of the repertoire of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) in adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) we performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using degenerate primers directed towards conserved sequences in the tyrosine kinase domain, on cDNA from isolated single RGCs univocally identified by retrograde tracing from the superior colliculi.RESULTS: All the PCR-amplified fragments of the expected sizes were sequenced, and 25% of them contained a tyrosine kinase domain. These were: Axl, Csf-1R, Eph A4, Pdgfrbeta, Ptk7, Ret, Ros, Sky, TrkB, TrkC, Vegfr-2, and Vegfr-3. Non-RTK sequences were Jak1 and 2. Retinal expression of Axl, Csf-1R, Pdgfrbeta, Ret, Sky, TrkB, TrkC, Vegfr-2, and Vegfr-3, as well as Jak1 and 2, was confirmed by PCR on total retina cDNA. Immunodetection of Csf-1R, Pdgfralpha/beta, Ret, Sky, TrkB, and Vegfr-2 on retrogradely traced retinas demonstrated that they were expressed by RGCs. Co-localization of Vegfr-2 and Csf-1R, of Vegfr-2 and TrkB, and of Csf-1R and Ret in retrogradely labelled RGCs was shown. The effect of optic nerve transection on the mRNA level of Pdgfrbeta, Csf-1R, Vegfr-2, Sky, and Axl, and of the Axl ligands Gas6 and ProteinS, was analysed. These analyses show transection-induced changes in Axl and ProteinS mRNA levels.CONCLUSIONS: The repertoire of RTKs expressed by RGCs is more extensive than previously anticipated. Several of the receptors found in this study, including Pdgfrbeta, Csf-1R, Vegfr-2, Sky, and Axl, and their ligands, have not previously been primarily associated with retinal ganglion cells