Methanotroph abundance not affected by applications of animal urine and a nitrification inhibitor,dicyandiamide, in six grazed grassland soils

Purpose  

Methanotrophs are an important group of methane (CH₄)-oxidizing bacteria in the soil, which act as a major sink for the greenhouse gas, CH₄. In grazed grassland, one of the ecologically most sensitive areas is the animal urine patch soil, which is a major source of both nitrate (NO₃ ⁻) leaching and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. Nitrification inhibitors, such as dicyandiamide (DCD), have been used to mitigate NO₃ ⁻ leaching and N₂O emissions in grazed pastures. However, it is not clear if the high nitrogen loading rate in the animal urine patch soil and the use of nitrification inhibitors would have an impact on the abundance of methanotrophs in grazed grassland soils. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of animal urine and DCD on methanotroph abundance in grazed grassland soils.     

Long term use of hydraulic artificial urethral sphincters in nine dogs from New Zealand with urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence

AIMS: To report on the long-term outcomes of hydraulic artificial urethral sphincter (HAUS) placement for the correction of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) in New Zealand dogs.

METHODS: Retrospective data were obtained from cases of dogs which had a HAUS placed after failed medical and/or surgical management of USMI between August 2012 and November 2016. Owner assessment of urinary incontinence was evaluated by an online survey in May 2017 using a visual analogue scale (0 being normal, 100 being severely affected) for the frequency, volume and severity of any straining to urinate, immediately prior to the placement of the HAUS and at the time of the survey. The number of days between surgery and the completion of survey were recorded.

RESULTS: Seven females and two male dogs, which were all desexed except for one female, were eligible for inclusion in the study. The period of follow-up following HAUS placement ranged from 206–1,685 days. Following HAUS placement, frequency and volume of urinary incontinence decreased for six dogs and were practically unchanged for three dogs. The median frequency score decreased from 70 to 13 and the volume score decreased from 73 to 12. There was no consistent change in the perceived degree of straining to urinate. Complications occurred in three dogs; one required repositioning of a dislodged injection port, one required management for haematuria and a hypoplastic bladder, and one required surgical removal of fibrous tissue around the HAUS cuff.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVENCE: HAUS placement was an effective method for the treatment of persistent USMI in most dogs and provided good clinical results based on owner assessment. The technique was associated with few complications and allowed successful long-term control of urinary incontinence without the need for medical management.     

A lysimeter study of nitrate leaching from grazed grassland as affected by a nitrification inhibitor,dicyandiamide, and relationships with ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea

Nitrate (NO₃^?) can contribute to surface water eutrophication and is deemed harmful to human health if present at high concentrations in the drinking water. In grazed grassland, most of the NO₃^?‐N leaching occurs from animal urine‐N returns. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), in decreasing NO₃^? leaching in three different soils from different regions of New Zealand under two different rainfall conditions (1260 mm and 2145 mm p.a.), and explore the relationships between NO₃^?‐N leaching loss and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA). The DCD nitrification inhibitor was found to be highly effective in decreasing NO₃^?‐N leaching losses from all three soils under both rainfall conditions. Total NO₃^?‐N leaching losses from the urine patch areas were decreased from 67.7–457.0 kg NO₃^?‐N/ha to 29.7–257.4 kg NO₃^?‐N/ha by the DCD treatment, giving an average decrease of 59%. The total NO₃^?‐N leaching losses were not significantly affected by the two different rainfall treatments. The total NO₃^?‐N leaching loss was significantly related to the amoA gene copy numbers of the AOB DNA and to nitrification rate in the soil but not to that of the AOA. These results suggest that the DCD nitrification inhibitor is highly effective in decreasing NO₃^? leaching under these different soil and rainfall conditions and that the amount of NO₃^?‐N leached is mainly related to the growth of the AOB population in the nitrogen rich urine patch soils of grazed grassland.     

"人、机、料、法、环"与兽药GMP的关系

本文尝试将质量管理学中五要素"人、机、料、法、环"的重要概念引入到兽药GMP管理体系中来,便于记忆和理解,有助于进一步认识、掌握和运行GMP.     

对兽药地方标准清理工作的思考

当前兽药地方标准清理工作已进入攻关阶段,但在清理地方标准的实际工作中尚存在一些问题,笔者分析了这些具体问题,认为在升标工作中,政府应当给予合理的政策扶持,加快地方标准清理工作进度,保护企业利益;企业应当着重做好品种筛选,合理安排临床试验资金投入;企业通过采取联合参与升标方式,减少资金投入;对于移植外省标准,可采取不同措施妥善解决;为保证升标工作顺利进行,农业部和各省兽医行政管理部门应做好升标培训指导工作.     

江苏省兽药科技创新探析

当前兽药生产企业已全面通过GMP验收，兽药科技创新成为后GMP时代企业生存发展的首要任务。在此形势下江苏省提出了“建设兽药强省”工作思路。针对当前江苏乃至全国兽药产业现状进行了调查分析和研究探索，就如何充分利用本省科研优势和GMP建设形成的基础设施优势，在政府投入引导机制、合作创新开发机制和企业内研发机制等方面提出了建设性意见。     

Workplace stress, mental health, and burnout of veterinarians in Australia

Objective To determine the frequency of the states of depression, anxiety, stress and burnout using internationally validated methods and to relate these to the demographic characteristics of veterinarians in Australia. Methods A postal survey of registered veterinarians with at least one year's experience and whose address was available; 1947 returned the questionnaire providing data for analysis. Results Overall, veterinarians describe higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress and burnout than the general population. The severity of these states was determined by gender, background, type of practice and years after graduation. Conclusions Modifying the curricula of veterinary schools to include the teaching of personal cognitive and coping skills to undergraduate veterinary students, the provision of the opportunity to enhance these skills throughout their veterinary career and changes in the veterinary workplace could result in improved mental health, increased job engagement and work satisfaction.     

Stratospheric Mean Ages and Transport Rates from Observations of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide

Measurements of stratospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations were analyzed to investigate stratospheric transport rates. Temporal variations in tropospheric CO2 were observed to propagate into the stratosphere, showing that tropospheric air enters the lower tropical stratosphere continuously, ascends, and is transported rapidly (in less than 1 month) to both hemispheres. The mean age A of stratospheric air determined from CO2 data is approximately 5 years in the mid-stratosphere. The mean age is mathematically equivalent to a conserved tracer analogous to exhaust from stratospheric aircraft. Comparison of values for A from models and observations indicates that current model simulations likely underestimate pollutant concentrations from proposed stratospheric aircraft by 25 to 100 percent.