Eutergesundheit in der ökologischen Milchviehhaltung – Einfluss von Laktatonsstadium und Laktationszahl auf die Behandlungsinzidenz klinischer Masttiden

Mastitis is one of the most important diseases in organic dairy farming. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to investigate the influence of stage of lactation and parity on mastitis risk in organic dairy cows. 43 German organic farms with German Holstein cows were selected via a questionnaire. These farms are being visited approximately every three months since 2005. Minimum herd size is 30 cows, and annual milk yield averages 6,277 kg/cow (min=3,175; max=9,653). During the farm visits, mastitis cases and treatments were extracted from farm records and data were processed using InterHerd©. The mean mastitis (treatment) incidence was 22 cases/100 cow years, which is comparable to incidences in organic farms reported elsewhere. 19 mastitis cases/100 cow years found in the dry-off-period was even lower than the incidence in other investigations on organic dairy farms. The highest incidence rate was found 0-7 days p.p. (mean=147 cases/100 cow years), and risk of mastitis increased with parity. Allopathic treatments were rather common in the farms surveyed (85% of treatments), indicating discrepancies in the implementation of organic farming objectives

Aerosol-Climate Interactions During the Last Glacial Maximum

International audience; Purpose of Review: Natural archives are imprinted with signs of the past variability of some aerosol species in connection to major climate changes. In certain cases, it is possible to use these paleo-observations as a quantitative tool for benchmarking climate model simulations. Where are we on the path to use observations and models in connection to define an envelope on aerosol feedback onto climate? Recent Findings: On glacial-interglacial time scales, the major advances in our understanding refer to mineral dust, in terms of quantifying its global mass budget, as well as in estimating its direct impacts on the atmospheric radiation budget and indirect impacts on the oceanic carbon cycle. Summary: Even in the case of dust, major uncertainties persist. More detailed observational studies and model intercomparison experiments such as in the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project phase 4 will be critical in advancing the field. The inclusion of new processes such as cloud feedbacks and studies focusing on other aerosol species are also envisaged

East Greenland ice core dust record reveals timing of Greenland ice sheet advance and retreat.

Accurate estimates of the past extent of the Greenland ice sheet provide critical constraints for ice sheet models used to determine Greenland's response to climate forcing and contribution to global sea level. Here we use a continuous ice core dust record from the Renland ice cap on the east coast of Greenland to constrain the timing of changes to the ice sheet margin and relative sea level over the last glacial cycle. During the Holocene and the previous interglacial period (Eemian) the dust record was dominated by coarse particles consistent with rock samples from central East Greenland. From the coarse particle concentration record we infer the East Greenland ice sheet margin advanced from 113.4 +/- 0.4 to 111.0 +/- 0.4 ka BP during the glacial onset and retreated from 12.1 +/- 0.1 to 9.0 +/- 0.1 ka BP during the last deglaciation. These findings constrain the possible response of the Greenland ice sheet to climate forcings

High-throughput identification of genotype-specific cancer vulnerabilities in mixtures of barcoded tumor cell lines.

Hundreds of genetically characterized cell lines are available for the discovery of genotype-specific cancer vulnerabilities. However, screening large numbers of compounds against large numbers of cell lines is currently impractical, and such experiments are often difficult to control. Here we report a method called PRISM that allows pooled screening of mixtures of cancer cell lines by labeling each cell line with 24-nucleotide barcodes. PRISM revealed the expected patterns of cell killing seen in conventional (unpooled) assays. In a screen of 102 cell lines across 8,400 compounds, PRISM led to the identification of BRD-7880 as a potent and highly specific inhibitor of aurora kinases B and C. Cell line pools also efficiently formed tumors as xenografts, and PRISM recapitulated the expected pattern of erlotinib sensitivity in vivo

ProPIG - Organic pig health, welfare and environmental impact across Europe

Organic production is perceived by consumers as being superior in animal welfare and sustainability and the demand for organic pork products is slowly increasing. Within the past ten years a variety of husbandry and management systems have been developed across the EU, ranging from farms with pigs outdoors all year round using local breeds to farms with housed pigs having concrete outside runs and using conventional breeds (CorePIG, Rousing et al, 2011). So far, mainly clinical parameters have been used to describe the health situation on organic pig farms, identifying some key problems, such as weaning diarrhoea and piglet mortality. Organic pig production is - amongst others - characterised through a holistic approach based on the EU Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and the IFOAM principles: ‘health, ecology, fairness and care’. This clearly states that health is more than absence of clinical symptoms and, the relation between animals and their environment is identified: ‘Health’ is defined as ‘the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is not simply the absence of illness, but the maintenance of physical, mental, social and ecological well-being’ (IFOAM; 2006). Concepts of animal welfare include physical and mental welfare as well as the concept of naturalness (Fraser 2003), which is often interpreted as the ability to perform natural behaviour. Verhoog et al (2003) describe three main approaches within organic agriculture’s concept of nature and naturalness: the no-chemicals approach, the agro-ecology approach and the integrity approach. Applying those concepts to organic pig production can highlight potential conflicts: outdoor systems are perceived as the optimal housing system for pigs, as they allow natural behaviour such as rooting. However, this behaviour can cause damage to the grass cover and furthermore the manure fate in outdoor areas needs to be considered. A few studies on outdoor pig production have shown a clear N and P surplus and a high degree of distribution heterogeneity in outdoor areas, increasing the risk of N and P losses (Watson et al. 2003). Robust and competitive organic pig production needs to encompass low environmental impacts and good animal health and welfare. So far few studies have quantified both aspects in different pig husbandry systems. In addition, the theory that improving animal health and welfare reduces environmental impacts through decreased medicine use, improved growth rate and feed conversion efficiency has still to be verified. The aim of the CoreOrganic2 project ProPIG (2011-2014; carried out in eight European countries) is to examine the relationship between health, welfare and environmental impact. On-farm assessment protocols will be carried out on 75 farms in three pig husbandry systems (outdoor, partly outdoor, indoor with concrete outside run). Environmental impact will be assessed using both Life Cycle Assessment and calculations of nutrient balances at farm and outdoor area level. Animal health and welfare will be evaluated from animal based parameters including clinical and selected behavioural parameters. Results will be fed back and used by the farmers to decide farm specific goals and strategies to achieve these goals. As an outcome, all farms will create their individual health, welfare and environmental plan, which will be reviewed after one year to allow continuous development. This will provide the opportunity not only to investigate, but also improve the influence of organic pig farming systems on animal welfare and environmental impact. This fulfils the fourth IFOAM principle of care: ‘Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment’ (IFOAM, 2006)

Betriebsspezifische Strategien zur Reduktion des Umwelteinflusses durch Verbesserung von Tiergesundheit, Wohlergehen und Ernährung von Bioschweinen

In der biologischen Schweinehaltung stellen widerstandsfähige und zugleich leistungsfähige Tiere die Grundlage für gute Tiergesundheit, hohes Tierwohl und geringe Umweltwirkung dar. ProPIG hatte zum Ziel, durch Verbesserung der Tiergesundheit und des Tierwohls auf 75 Betrieben in 8 europäischen Ländern die Umweltwirkung von Bioschweinesystemen zu minimieren. Während dreier Betriebsbesuche wurde die Situation anhand tierbezogener Indikatoren erfasst, betriebsspezifische Verbesserungsstrategien festgelegt und die Effektivität der Maßnahmen nach einem Jahr beurteilt. Zusätzlich wurde die Umweltwirkung der drei Haltungssysteme (Stallhaltung mit Betonauslauf/ teilweise Freiland/Freiland) berechnet, wobei eine große Variation innerhalb des Systems, aber kein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen den Systemen bzgl. Treibhausgasemissionen gefunden wurde. Die Managementstrategien, die von den Bauern und Bäuerinnen gewählt wurden, werden in einem „Handbuch“ zu Tiergesundheit zusammengefasst. Zudem wird ein Exceltool als Entscheidungshilfe für die Reduktion der Umweltwirkung entwickelt, das von BeraterInnen angewandt werden kann

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): antimicrobial-resistant Rhodococcus equi in horses

Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) was identified among the most relevant antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in the EU for horses in a previous scientific opinion. Thus, it has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on its eligibility to be listed, Annex IV for its categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Article 9 and Article 8 for listing animal species related to the bacterium. The assessment has been performed following a methodology previously published. The outcome is the median of the probability ranges provided by the experts, which indicates whether each criterion is fulfilled (lower bound ≥ 66%) or not (upper bound ≤ 33%), or whether there is uncertainty about fulfilment. Reasoning points are reported for criteria with uncertain outcome. According to the assessment here performed, it is uncertain whether AMR R. equi can be considered eligible to be listed for Union intervention according to Article 5 of the AHL (10–66% probability). According to the criteria in Annex IV, for the purpose of categorisation related to the level of prevention and control as in Article 9 of the AHL, the AHAW Panel concluded that the bacterium does not meet the criteria in Sections 1 and 2 (Categories A and B; 5–10% and 10–33% probability of meeting the criteria, respectively), and the AHAW Panel is uncertain whether it meets the criteria in Sections 3, 4 and 5 (Categories C, D and E; 10–66% probability of meeting the criteria in all three categories). The animal species to be listed for AMR R. equi according to Article 8 criteria are mainly horses and other species belonging to the Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla orders.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in dogs and cats

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (S. pseudintermedius) was identified among the most relevant antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in the EU for dogs and cats in a previous scientific opinion. Thus, it has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on its eligibility to be listed, Annex IV for its categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Article 9, and Article 8 for listing animal species related to the bacterium. The assessment has been performed following a methodology previously published. The outcome is the median of the probability ranges provided by the experts, which indicates whether each criterion is fulfilled (lower bound ≥ 66%) or not (upper bound ≤ 33%), or whether there is uncertainty about fulfilment. Reasoning points are reported for criteria with uncertain outcome. According to the assessment here performed, it is uncertain whether AMR S. pseudintermedius can be considered eligible to be listed for Union intervention according to Article 5 of the AHL (30–90% probability). According to the criteria in Annex IV, for the purpose of categorisation related to the level of prevention and control as in Article 9 of the AHL, the AHAW Panel concluded that the bacterium does not meet the criteria in Sections 1, 2 and 4 (Categories A, B and D; 0–1%, 1–10% and 10–33% probability of meeting the criteria, respectively) and the AHAW Panel is uncertain whether it meets the criteria in Sections 3 and 5 (Categories C and E, 5–66% and 30–90% probability of meeting the criteria, respectively). The animal species to be listed for AMR S. pseudintermedius according to Article 8 criteria are mostly species belonging to the families of Canidae and Felidae, such as dogs and cats.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): antimicrobial-resistant Enterococcus faecalis in poultry

Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) was identified among the most relevant antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in the EU for poultry in a previous scientific opinion. Thus, it has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on its eligibility to be listed, Annex IV for its categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Article 9 and Article 8 for listing animal species related to the bacterium. The assessment has been performed following a methodology previously published. The outcome is the median of the probability ranges provided by the experts, which indicates whether each criterion is fulfilled (lower bound ≥ 66%) or not (upper bound ≤ 33%), or whether there is uncertainty about fulfilment. Reasoning points are reported for criteria with uncertain outcome. According to the assessment here performed, it is uncertain whether AMR E. faecalis can be considered eligible to be listed for Union intervention according to Article 5 of the AHL (33–66% probability). According to the criteria in Annex IV, for the purpose of categorisation related to the level of prevention and control as in Article 9 of the AHL, the AHAW Panel concluded that the bacterium does not meet the criteria in Sections 1, 2 and 4 (Categories A, B and D; 0–5%, 5–10% and 1–10% probability of meeting the criteria, respectively) and the AHAW Panel is uncertain whether it meets the criteria in Sections 3 and 5 (Categories C and E, 33–66% and 33–66% probability of meeting the criteria, respectively). The animal species to be listed for AMR E. faecalis according to Article 8 criteria are mostly birds of the orders Galliformes and Anseriformes, but also mammals and reptiles can serve as reservoirs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio