New approaches for risk assessment and management of bovine protothecosis

Protothecosis is a potential zoonosis related to bovine mastitis. In several countries, a higher incidence of protothecal bovine mastitis that is being recorded and the resistance of Prototheca species to various factors (chlorine, high temperatures, antimicrobial and antiseptic treatments, pH variations), make it difficult to control its spread among farms. The authors aim to describe the infection caused by microalgae, focusing on the problems within cattle farms and proposing new approaches to farm management, based on Regulation (EU) No 2016/429 on transmissible animal diseases. This new flexible approach, based on risk analysis, is a further tool in protecting against Prototheca species. The list of transmissible animal diseases under Regulation (EU) No 2016/429 includes those caused by microorganisms resistant to antimicrobials, which can have important implications for human and animal health, feed and food safety. This approach would involve a series of changes to the rules used for Official Controls (Regulation (EU) No 2017/625) moving from the concept of the food chain to that of the agri-food chain.     

研究: 奶牛与水牛初乳中乳寡糖组分比较研究

乳寡糖是由乳汁中含量丰富的固体物质组成．研究结果表明,乳寡糖有提高免疫、益生元及抗感染等作用,已发现与婴儿肠道发育、神经智力发育等多方面关系密切．水牛奶是除牛奶外的第二大奶源,国际上公认其为营养含量高、口感好的优质乳制品,但目前针对水牛乳寡糖的研究多以美洲水牛为研究对象,尚无中国水牛的相关研究．本研究利用固相萃取对已脱脂和除去蛋白质的广西水牛初乳乳汁样品进行纯化,并采用苯胺 (aniline,Bn)衍生化试剂对其进行衍生化处理,通过UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS液相质谱进行优化后,对水牛初乳中的寡糖组分进行测定并与牛乳进行了对比,最终测得奶牛初乳中19种及水牛初乳中的9种乳寡糖组分,并对二者的种类及含量进行比较,发现在两种初乳的乳寡糖中,中性糖二糖m/z 385.15和中性糖三糖m/z 547.21以及酸性糖m/z 635.23均为其主要寡糖成分,与其他乳寡糖相比含量相对较高．总体而言水牛初乳中的中性寡糖占比比奶牛初乳高,二者中性糖占乳寡糖总量的比例分别为88.88%和63.16%．     

表观遗传对炎症的调控机制及其在奶牛乳房炎抗病育种中的应用前景

炎症受遗传和非遗传因素(环境或表观遗传)的共同影响, 其中表观遗传(Epigenetic)在炎症的发生发展过程中发挥重要调控作用。表观遗传修饰是指DNA序列没有改变, 而基因表达却发生了可遗传的变化, 主要包括DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等。表观遗传为病原微生物与炎症反应间关系的研究架起了重要桥梁。炎症反应中T辅助细胞的分化, 细胞因子、趋化因子等基因的表达都受到表观遗传的调控。文章主要综述了DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰等对炎症尤其是乳房炎的调控机制, 并就表观遗传调控在奶牛乳房炎治疗及抗病育种中的应用前景进行了展望。     

Attitudes of Dairy Farmers toward Cow Welfare in Relation to Housing,Management and Productivity

ABSTRACT

The quality of stockmanship contributes to the human–animal relationship, animal welfare and productivity. Attitudes can affect the way farmers treat their animals, the environment they provide the animals with, and even their own job satisfaction through the feedback received from the animals. Farmers' perceptions of animals have also been shown to have an impact on productivity. We investigated 161 Finnish dairy farmers' attitudes toward improving animal welfare through an attitude questionnaire that used the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical framework. The theory states that personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, together shape an individual's behavioral intentions and behaviors. To study the relationship between attitudes, animal welfare, and milk production, we used environment-based animal welfare indicator data consisting of categorized housing and management parameters, and mean milk production data. Non-parametric partial correlation analyses and regression analyses revealed that perceiving the measures to improve animal welfare to be important and easy were positively, although weakly, related to higher animal welfare standards/indicators, while no connection with production was established. Contrary to our expectations, sources of subjective norms, such as an agricultural adviser, were mostly negatively linked with animal welfare indicators and even with production. The farmers considered taking care of their own well-being as the most important way of improving animal welfare, and intending to do so was weakly but positively linked with animal welfare indicators. Any causal relationships, however, cannot be derived from the data.     

Nest trampling and ground nesting birds: Quantifying temporal and spatial overlap between cattle activity and breeding redshank

Conservation grazing for breeding birds needs to balance the positive effects on vegetation structure and negative effects of nest trampling. In the UK, populations of Common redshank Tringa totanus breeding on saltmarshes declined by >50% between 1985 and 2011. These declines have been linked to changes in grazing management. The highest breeding densities of redshank on saltmarshes are found in lightly grazed areas. Conservation initiatives have encouraged low‐intensity grazing at <1 cattle/ha, but even these levels of grazing can result in high levels of nest trampling. If livestock distribution is not spatially or temporally homogenous but concentrated where and when redshank breed, rates of nest trampling may be much higher than expected based on livestock density alone. By GPS tracking cattle on saltmarshes and monitoring trampling of dummy nests, this study quantified (i) the spatial and temporal distribution of cattle in relation to the distribution of redshank nesting habitats and (ii) trampling rates of dummy nests. The distribution of livestock was highly variable depending on both time in the season and the saltmarsh under study, with cattle using between 3% and 42% of the saltmarsh extent and spending most their time on higher elevation habitat within 500 m of the sea wall, but moving further onto the saltmarsh as the season progressed. Breeding redshank also nest on these higher elevation zones, and this breeding coincides with the early period of grazing. Probability of nest trampling was correlated to livestock density and was up to six times higher in the areas where redshank breed. This overlap in both space and time of the habitat use of cattle and redshank means that the trampling probability of a nest can be much higher than would be expected based on standard measures of cattle density. Synthesis and applications: Because saltmarsh grazing is required to maintain a favorable vegetation structure for redshank breeding, grazing management should aim to keep livestock away from redshank nesting habitat between mid‐April and mid‐July when nests are active, through delaying the onset of grazing or introducing a rotational grazing system.     

基于网络药理学探讨皂角刺治疗乳痈的作用机制

摘要 目的：基于网络药理学探讨皂角刺治疗乳痈的作用机制。方法：通过建立皂角刺药物靶点数据集、乳痈相关疾病靶点数据集，构建皂角刺治疗急性乳腺炎的蛋白互作（PPI）网络，构建并分析"皂角刺活性成分-潜在靶点-急性乳腺炎"网络。开展基因本体（GO）功能富集分析和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析，探讨皂角刺治疗乳痈的可能机制。结果：共得到皂角刺活性成分11个，筛选出活性成分所对应的不重复靶点共97个，其中1个活性成分无对应靶点。通过搜集GeneCards 和OMIM数据库，共得到292个急性乳腺炎的相关靶点基因。将疾病靶点基因与药物活性成分所对应的靶点进行比对后，得到10个交集靶点，即皂角刺治疗急性乳腺炎的潜在靶点。皂角刺活性成分按degree值排前3名的依次为槲皮素（quercetin）、漆黄素（fisetin）、山奈酚（kaempferol），其中皂角刺治疗乳痈的靶点包括白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）、酪氨酸激酶受体2（ERBB2）、细胞间黏附分子-1（ICAM1）、雌激素受体1（ESR1）等5个关键靶点，主要涉及乳腺癌疾病通路、TNF信号通路和雌激素信号通路等3条信号通路。结论：皂角刺治疗乳痈的作用机制可能与机体的炎症反应以及雌激素水平变化等密切相关。     

不同饲养密度对亮斑扁角水虻幼虫生长发育及新鲜牛粪转化率的影响

为了解决养牛业中粪便污染问题,本研究利用亮斑扁角水虻(黑水虻)来转化利用牛粪,探讨了饲养密度对新鲜牛粪的转化效率。本试验以亮斑扁角水虻为研究对象,选择设置每20.0 kg牛粪投入3500头、8750头、17500头4日龄幼虫3个处理密度,在每个密度日均1.0 kg等量饲喂条件下,分析亮斑扁角水虻幼虫百虫重、粗蛋白、粗脂肪、牛粪转化率指标的差异,探索一种适于亮斑扁角水虻幼虫处理新鲜牛粪的饲养密度。结果表明:百虫重、粗蛋白、粗脂肪3个指标在3组处理之间都存在极显著差异。百虫重和粗脂肪两个指标和试验组密度情况在0.01的水平上显著负相关,但3个处理中转化率最高的为8750头的饲养密度。综合评价认为亮斑扁角水虻4日龄幼虫8750头/20.0 kg牛粪的投入量为实验范围内最佳饲养密度。     

In Vivo-Like Antigenic Surface Properties of Staphylococcus aureus from Bovine Mastitis Induced upon Growth in Milk Whey

Antigenic surface properties of Staphylococcus aureus strains grown in milk whey were compared with TSB-grown bacteria using immuno-gold electron microscopy. It is shown that colloidal gold (CG) particles coated with polyclonal antibody raised against Staphylococcus aureus surface antigen expressed in vivo bound to the surface of S. aureus strain F1440 grown in milk whey, but not to homologous bacteria grown in TSB. S. aureus strains grown in milk whey agglutinated in the presence of the polyclonal antibody, whereas the corresponding bacteria grown in TSB did not agglutinate. Immuno-gold particles did not bind to milk whey-grown bacteria treated with periodate. Periodate-treated milk whey-grown bacteria did not agglutinate in the presence of the polyclonal antibody, whereas periodate treatment had no effect on TSB-grown bacteria.     

The effects of dietary monensin sodium upon superovulation and embryo viability from mature cows

Twelve mature British crossbred cows were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group A was fed no monensin while group B received 200 mg/head/day. Superovulation with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) was attempted in all cows between days 9 and 11 of the estrous cycle. The number of corpora lutea per treated cow was significantly greater (P<0.05) than in controls. The number of ova recovered per cow was not significantly different between the two groups. Mean total luteal weight was significantly greater for monensin-treated cows. Embryo viability was determined using fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and was found to be similar in both groups.