Assessing hygiene proficiency on organic and conventional pig farms regarding pork safety: A pilot study in Finland

A key element in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be a single farm payment system that is linked to compliance with rules on, for instance hygiene standards. However, there are no recommended methods for assessing the hygiene proficiency of pig production farms. The present study was undertaken to develop a method for this purpose. A first implementation was done on pilot scale; with a set of both conventional and organic pig farms (N = 15). Fifty hygiene-related factors were selected, especially with reference to the possible proliferation of enteric pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The factors were allocated into 8 evaluation categories: (1) general production management, (2) animal density, (3) the outdoor area for pigs, (4) pest and pet animals, (5) general hygiene in the piggery, (6) pen hygiene, (7) feed production hygiene, and (8) feeding hygiene. A farm questionnaire and a supplementary on-site observation form were devised, and one arbitrary scale of hygiene points assigned for each factor. In addition to the mailed questionnaires, one person subsequently visited all the farms, perused the questionnaire with the owners and completed the observation form. The hygiene scores of the farms in each evaluation category were compared both without weighting and with weighting based on expert opinions. The method proved to be feasible and applicable to different types of production.     

Successful drug development despite adverse preclinical findings part 1: processes to address issues and most important findings

Unexpected adverse preclinical findings (APFs) are not infrequently encountered during drug development. Such APFs can be functional disturbances such as QT prolongation, morphological toxicity or carcinogenicity. The latter is of particular concern in conjunction with equivocal genotoxicity results. The toxicologic pathologist plays an important role in recognizing these effects, in helping to characterize them, to evaluate their risk for man, and in proposing measures to mitigate the risk particularly in early clinical trials. A careful scientific evaluation is crucial while termination of the development of a potentially useful drug must be avoided. This first part of the review discusses processes to address unexpected APFs and provides an overview over typical APFs in particular classes of drugs. If the mode of action (MoA) by which a drug candidate produces an APF is known, this supports evaluation of its relevance for humans. Tailor-made mechanistic studies, when needed, must be planned carefully to test one or several hypotheses regarding the potential MoA and to provide further data for risk evaluation. Safety considerations are based on exposure at no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAEL) of the most sensitive and relevant animal species and guide dose escalation in clinical trials. The availability of early markers of toxicity for monitoring of humans adds further safety to clinical studies. Risk evaluation is concluded by a weight of evidence analysis (WoE) with an array of parameters including drug use, medical need and alternatives on the market. In the second part of this review relevant examples of APFs will be discussed in more detail.     

交播技术在园林草坪养护中的应用研究

在过渡气候带的园林绿地，进行了暖季型草坪秋季交播多年生黑麦草籽的应用试验，结果表明：交播技术可用于马尼拉、狗牙根和矮生百慕大等暖季型草坪上，交播时间宜在10月底前进行，交播种子用量多年生黑麦草以20－30g/m^2为宜。     

畜牧学科遗传育种与动物营养学面上项目申请和资助情况分析

畜禽遗传育种学和动物营养学是国家自然科学基金委员会生命科学部六处畜牧学科面上项目的重要组成部分,本文对2004—2007年畜牧学科面上项目中的遗传育种学、动物营养学和饲料资源学的申请和资助情况进行了总结,对申请和资助项目快速增长情况进行了分析,并针对2008年基金委资助格局发生变化的状况,建议项目申请者明确定位,撰写申请书时要在突出创新思想的基础上,以提出的科学问题为主线,阐明拟解决科学问题的方法和手段。本文旨在为从事该专业的科研人员申报科学基金提供参考。     

GMOs in animal agriculture: time to consider both costs and benefits in regulatory evaluations

In 2012, genetically engineered (GE) crops were grown by 17.3 million farmers on over 170 million hectares. Over 70% of harvested GE biomass is fed to food producing animals, making them the major consumers of GE crops for the past 15 plus years. Prior to commercialization, GE crops go through an extensive regulatory evaluation. Over one hundred regulatory submissions have shown compositional equivalence, and comparable levels of safety, between GE crops and their conventional counterparts. One component of regulatory compliance is whole GE food/feed animal feeding studies. Both regulatory studies and independent peer-reviewed studies have shown that GE crops can be safely used in animal feed, and rDNA fragments have never been detected in products (e.g. milk, meat, eggs) derived from animals that consumed GE feed. Despite the fact that the scientific weight of evidence from these hundreds of studies have not revealed unique risks associated with GE feed, some groups are calling for more animal feeding studies, including long-term rodent studies and studies in target livestock species for the approval of GE crops. It is an opportune time to review the results of such studies as have been done to date to evaluate the value of the additional information obtained. Requiring long-term and target animal feeding studies would sharply increase regulatory compliance costs and prolong the regulatory process associated with the commercialization of GE crops. Such costs may impede the development of feed crops with enhanced nutritional characteristics and durability, particularly in the local varieties in small and poor developing countries. More generally it is time for regulatory evaluations to more explicitly consider both the reasonable and unique risks and benefits associated with the use of both GE plants and animals in agricultural systems, and weigh them against those associated with existing systems, and those of regulatory inaction. This would represent a shift away from a GE evaluation process that currently focuses only on risk assessment and identifying ever diminishing marginal hazards, to a regulatory approach that more objectively evaluates and communicates the likely impact of approving a new GE plant or animal on agricultural production systems.     

EVALUATION OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE SAFETY OF VETERINARY RADIOFREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION DEVICES AT 1 T

Implants containing metallic components have the potential to become heated or move within the patient while in the magnetic resonance (MR) environment. Despite containing a ferromagnetic core and having been in use for over 20 years, no information is available on the safety of veterinary radiofrequency identification devices during MR examinations. These devices are the most commonly encountered metallic implants in dogs and cats undergoing MR imaging. Three commercial veterinary microchips were evaluated for safety in the MR environment at 1 T. Parameters tested were translational force, torque, heating, artifact production, and function. Translation and torque were larger than that expected from normal activity under normal gravity. No significant heating was observed. Signal void artifacts may affect diagnosis if they are too close to the area of clinical importance. Microchip function was unaffected by routine clinical MR imaging. Capsule formation around devices is a major factor in counteracting translation and torque. Our findings support that is acceptable for patients to undergo MR imaging with this 1 T system following an interval of 3 months postimplantation to allow capsule growth. Because of the complex interactions involved, these observations may not be translatable to MR scanners of different field strength and/or manufacturer. Further safety testing of these and other radiofrequency identification devices is therefore recommended at different field strengths and equipment specifications.     

Vertebrate pesticide risk assessment by indigenous communities in New Zealand

In New Zealand, the vertebrate pesticide sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080) is aerially applied in baits for control of the brush-tailed possum Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792). Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, have raised concerns about 1080 impacts on culturally-important species. Here, we outline two steps taken to help Maori assess 1080 risk. First, field research was undertaken to determine if naturally-occurring plants utilized by a Maori community for food and medicine would take up 1080 from baits. Single baits were placed at the base of individual plants of two species, pikopiko (Asplenium bulbiferum) and karamuramu (Coprosma robusta). Plants were sampled at various times up to 56 days, and samples were analyzed for 1080 content. No 1080 was detected in any of the pikopiko samples, whereas 1080 was detected in karamuramu, at a maximum concentration of 5 ppb after seven days, and 2.5 ppb after 14 days. This concentration decreased to 0 at 28 days, indicating that 1080 was not persistent. The results of the present study suggest there is negligible risk of humans being poisoned by consuming plants that have taken up 1080 from baits. To allay community concerns that minute concentrations of 1080 might influence the medicinal properties of plants, it is suggested that a withholding period of 30 days after 1080 control operations could be adopted. Second, after further consultation we undertook a review of the scientific literature relating to 1080 impacts on additional non-target species of cultural importance to Maori. The information was presented on an interactive foodweb database that allowed the collection and presentation of a large volume of complex information about 1080 in a holistic and pictorial fashion. This database was presented to many Maori communities throughout New Zealand, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The database is likely to play a key role in informing these communities about 1080, and is seen as an important new tool to help these communities make their own risk assessments.     

基因工程技术的发展及其在农作物上的应用

对基因工程技术的发展历程进行了概述,总结了不同的转基因方法;对基因工程技术在农作物上的应用进行了阐述;分析了转基因技术目前存在的问题,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

麸皮在新生仔猪护理中的应用

新生仔猪饲养管理比较复杂,此阶段疾病的出现和死亡率都相对较高,寒冷应激是新生仔猪发病的最主要诱因之一。因此,实践生产中、在做好饲养管理的前提下,减少外界环境的不良应激、是提高新生仔猪体的抵抗力、避免疾病发生的重要措施。麸皮中种皮与糊精粉层的粗纤维含量比较高,且具有结构疏松多孔、表面积大,有利于通风等优点,在新生仔猪护理中,麸皮能很快吸收新生仔猪体表及口腔,鼻腔的羊水和粘液,能有效减小仔猪出生时的寒冷应激。     

中药精液消毒剂的消杀效果及安全性评价研究

为了解新研制的中药精液消毒剂的消毒效果和安全性,本研究开展了体外抑菌杀毒和安全性综合评价实验。体外药效学实验显示:该消毒剂对大肠杆菌高敏,对门氏菌、禽巴氏杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌均中敏,4种菌的体外MIC值分别为31.3、62.5、62.5和31.3 mg/mL;消毒剂按1∶400及以上浓度与新城疫病毒互作,可在5 min内对该病毒有100%杀灭率。安全性评价实验显示:该消毒剂的小鼠急性毒性LD50值>5000 mg/Kg,无毒性;对兔子的皮肤和眼睛染毒,无刺激;消毒剂按1∶10浓度及以下,对常温稀释保存的种公鸡精液中精子生存指数影响不大。临床应用实验显示:在冻融条件下,该消毒剂1∶10浓度组的种公鸡精液中精子存活率要显著高于其它试验组(P<0.01);消毒剂按1∶10浓度对种公鸡精液稀释消毒,种蛋受精率和孵化率都有明显提高,但差异不显著(P>0.05)。结果表明:该消毒剂不仅对种公鸡精液中常见病原微生物具有较好的杀灭效果,而且安全无刺激、无毒,对种鸡繁育无不良影响。