New fundamental order of the School of Veterinary Medicine Hanover

On June 29, 2000, the Council of the School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) passed a new fundamental order. Upon termination of the current terms of office of the rector and the chancellor in September and at the end of the year 2001, respectively, a school management will be established with a longer term of office and a new type of School Council. However, the new fundamental order must still be approved by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. This change has been made necessary by radical restructuring affecting all universities in Lower Saxony: the transformation to a state enterprise with the concomitant introduction of a global budget demands full-time management. This is a step of historical significance, for this change in the fundamental order puts an end to a tradition of 87 years at the School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover under a constitutional rectorate. The following essay describes the most important changes and explains their necessity.     

Mycoplasma bovis infections in Swiss dairy cattle: a clinical investigation

Mycoplasma bovis causes mastitis in dairy cows and is associated with pneumonia and polyarthritis in cattle. The present investigation included a retrospective case–control study to identify potential herd-level risk factors for M. bovis associated disease, and a prospective cohort study to evaluate the course of clinical disease in M. bovis infected dairy cattle herds in Switzerland. Eighteen herds with confirmed M. bovis cases were visited twice within an average interval of 75 d. One control herd with no history of clinical mycoplasmosis, matched for herd size, was randomly selected within a 10 km range for each case herd. Animal health data, production data, information on milking and feeding-management, housing and presence of potential stress- factors were collected. Composite quarter milk samples were aseptically collected from all lactating cows and 5% of all animals within each herd were sampled by nasal swabs. Organ samples of culled diseased cows were collected when logistically possible. All samples were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In case herds, incidence risk of pneumonia, arthritis and clinical mastitis prior to the first visit and incidence rates of clinical mastitis and clinical pneumonia between the two visits was estimated. Logistic regression was used to identify potential herd-level risk factors for M. bovis infection. In case herds, incidence risk of M. bovis mastitis prior to the first visit ranged from 2 to 15%, whereas 2 to 35% of the cows suffered from clinical pneumonia within the 12 months prior to the first herd visit. The incidence rates of mycoplasmal mastitis and clinical pneumonia between the two herd visits were low in case herds (0–0.1 per animal year at risk and 0.1-0.6 per animal year at risk, respectively). In the retrospective-case-control study high mean milk production, appropriate stimulation until milk-let-down, fore-stripping, animal movements (cattle shows and trade), presence of stress-factors, and use of a specific brand of milking equipment, were identified as potential herd-level risk factors. The prospective cohort study revealed a decreased incidence of clinical disease within three months and prolonged colonization of the nasal cavity by M. bovis in young stock.     

Time scales and heterogeneous structure in geodynamic earth models

Computer models of mantle convection constrained by the history of Cenozoic and Mesozoic plate motions explain some deep-mantle structural heterogeneity imaged by seismic tomography, especially those related to subduction. They also reveal a 150-million-year time scale for generating thermal heterogeneity in the mantle, comparable to the record of plate motion reconstructions, so that the problem of unknown initial conditions can be overcome. The pattern of lowermost mantle structure at the core-mantle boundary is controlled by subduction history, although seismic tomography reveals intense large-scale hot (low-velocity) upwelling features not explicitly predicted by the models.     

南极半岛海洋气候区的土壤Ⅱ.有机质积累过程

南极海洋性气候土壤形成过程中具有明显的有机质积累作用,有机质对成土过程和土壤性状产生重要影响,如土壤酸化、有机-金属螯合物的形成和生物成矿现象。受地表生物活动强弱影响,不同土壤有机C、N含量差异明显。冻扰作用、灰化作用以及物理性裂隙渗漏是有机质在剖面的迁移和重新分配的主要途径。     

南极半岛海洋气候区的土壤Ⅳ.分类问题

本文简要论述了早期南极土壤分类研究工作。对在南极海洋性气候区应用《美国土壤系统分类》和《国际土壤分类参比基础》进行土壤分类工作的最新实践进行了阐述和比较;同时,依照《中国土壤系统分类》对本区进行了初步的分类尝试。研究结果显示,南极海洋性气候区的主要土壤分别属于《美国土壤系统分类》冻土纲下的各级单元。比较而言,其他两个分类系统在本区的应用相对困难。     

Effects of excess caloric fat feeding on the lipid metabolism in Shetland ponies

To investigate the influence of overweight and dietary fat supplementation on lipid and insulin glucose metabolism of Shetland ponies, eight Shetland pony geldings were fed a hypercaloric (30 MJ DE/150 kg bwt. and day) fat diet (10% fat as soybean oil) or a carbohydrate control diet for nine months until ponies gained an overweight of 15%. Afterwards oral glucose tolerance tests (oGTT; 5, 6 mmol/kg bwt.) were performed after a 12 hour fast and after a fast which led to an increase of plasma triglyceride concentrations to a threshold of 3 mmol/l (36-65 hrs.). Plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, triglycerides and non esterified fatty acids (NEFA) were determined for 480 minutes after the glucose load. Ponys having had received the control diet tended to a higher insulin secretion in case of both oGTTs, whereas the glucose tolerance was similar in both groups but lower than in ponies of normal weight. During the oGTTs after fasting leading to the plasma triglyceride threshold, triglyceride concentrations decreased significantly (p < 0.05) faster and stronger in fat fed ponies. Additionally, fat fed pony showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower NEFA levels. The results of this study demonstrate a positive effect of fat feeding on the triglyceride clearance of overweight Shetland ponies.     

The determination of TBA-reactive substances and alkenals in the presence of antioxidants.

This study investigated the inhibitory efficiency of all-rac-alpha-tocopherol, 2,6-ditert-butyl-p-cresole (BHT), and 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-chroman-2-carbonic acid (Trolox) on determination of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and short-chain alkenals in rat liver homogenates. The concentration of TBARS was measured fluorophotometrically. Aldehydes were determined after derivatization with methylhydrazine by gas chromatography (GLC). The concentrations of alkenals and TBARS in liver homogenates were diminished when antioxidants were present during the sample preparation. It is suggested that in the absence of antioxidants the samples are autoxidized further during the preparative procedures. For the aldehyde determination all-rac-alpha-tocopherol was the most effective antioxidant to reduce the bias due to autoxidation, whereas for TBARS it was Trolox.