Ammoniakemissie melkveehouderij moet verder omlaag

De reductie van de ammoniakemissie in Nederland is in de afgelopen jaren tot stilstand gekomen. Uit de voorlopige emissiecijfers voor 2010 blijkt dat er voor de melkveehouderij mogelijk zelfs sprake is van een lichte stijging van de ammoniakemissie. Dat is zorgelijk, want Nederland haalt het nationale emissieplafond maar net. Wanneer in de periode tot 2020 de nationale melkproductie volgens verwachting gaat stijgen, zal de druk op de ammoniakemissie verder toenemen

Zwangerschapsgymnastiek voor melkvee

In this report the results are described of the experiment investigating the effect of physical activity during the dry period on health and welfare of dairy cattle

Zinc and copper in dairy cattle feeding

This literature study shows that dietary supplementation of copper and zinc to dairy cattle above current recommendations does not show convincing health benefits

Early onset facioscapulohumeral dystrophy - a systematic review using individual patient data

Infantile or early onset is estimated to occur in around 10% of all facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) patients. Although small series of early onset FSHD patients have been reported, comprehensive data on the clinical phenotype is missing. We performed a systematic literature search on the clinical features of early onset FSHD comprising a total of 43 articles with individual data on 227 patients. Additional data from four cohorts was provided by the authors. Mean age at reporting was 18.8 years, and 40% of patients were wheelchair-dependent at that age. Half of the patients had systemic features, including hearing loss (40%), retinal abnormalities (37%) and developmental delay (8%). We found an inverse correlation between repeat size and disease severity, similar to adult-onset FSHD. De novo FSHD1 mutations were more prevalent than in adult-onset FSHD. Compared to adult FSHD, our findings indicate that early onset FSHD is overall characterized by a more severe muscle phenotype and a higher prevalence of systemic features. However, similar as in adults, a significant clinical heterogeneity was observed. Based on this, we consider early onset FSHD to be on the severe end of the FSHD disease spectrum. We found natural history studies and treatment studies to be very scarce in early onset FSHD, therefore longitudinal studies are needed to improve prognostication, clinical management and trial-readiness

Phosphorus in transition cows : A dairy cow trial on phosphorus metabolism in the transition period

The present study evaluates the effect of different dietary phosphorus (P) levels in dairy cattle during the transition period, focussing on animal performance and animal health. Overfeeding P in the dry period (185% vs. 100% of requirements) did not affect feed intake or milk yield postpartum, but decreased plasma P and Ca concentrations and increased the risk for periparturient hypocalcemia. A reduction of the dietary P content in lactation diets (70% vs. 100%) reduced the average plasma P concentration, increased plasma Ca concentration and P mobilisation and reduced faecal excretion of P. However, no negative effects on cow performance or animal health were found for diets with a P content below calculated requirements in the first eight weeks postpartum

Gating of Long-Term Potentiation by Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors at the Cerebellum Input Stage

The brain needs mechanisms able to correlate plastic changes with local circuit activity and internal functional states. At the cerebellum input stage, uncontrolled induction of long-term potentiation or depression (LTP or LTD) between mossy fibres and granule cells can saturate synaptic capacity and impair cerebellar functioning, which suggests that neuromodulators are required to gate plasticity processes. Cholinergic systems innervating the cerebellum are thought to enhance procedural learning and memory. Here we show that a specific subtype of acetylcholine receptors, the α7-nAChRs, are distributed both in cerebellar mossy fibre terminals and granule cell dendrites and contribute substantially to synaptic regulation. Selective α7-nAChR activation enhances the postsynaptic calcium increase, allowing weak mossy fibre bursts, which would otherwise cause LTD, to generate robust LTP. The local microperfusion of α7-nAChR agonists could also lead to in vivo switching of LTD to LTP following sensory stimulation of the whisker pad. In the cerebellar flocculus, α7-nAChR pharmacological activation impaired vestibulo-ocular-reflex adaptation, probably because LTP was saturated, preventing the fine adjustment of synaptic weights. These results show that gating mechanisms mediated by specific subtypes of nicotinic receptors are required to control the LTD/LTP balance at the mossy fibre-granule cell relay in order to regulate cerebellar plasticity and behavioural adaptation

Gasvormige emissies in 2011 nog niet gedaald

Het thema 'Gasvormige emissies' binnen Koeien & Kansen loopt inmiddels twee jaar. In 2010, is de uitgangssituatie vastgesteld en zijn de projectdoelstellingen benoemd. 2011 was het eerste jaar dat we in de Bedrijfsontwikkelingsplannen aandacht besteedden aan maatregelen om gasvormige emissies (broeikasgassen en ammoniak) te verminderen. Voor broeikasgassen lukt dat nog niet zo een twee drie, maar het is ook niet slechter geworden

Broeikasgassen melkveehouderij : op zoek naar het stuur

In het project Koeien & Kansen wordt gestreefd naar een zo efficiënt mogelijke stikstof- en fosfaatkringloop en sinds twee jaar ook aan het thema ‘gasvormige emissies’. Binnen laatstgenoemde thema wordt verkend welke maatregelen melkveehouders kunnen treffen om de broeikasgas- en ammoniakemissie fors te verminderen. Uit een eerste jaar van experimenteren blijkt dat dit nog niet zo eenvoudig is

Effect of increased maturity of silage maize at harvest on conservation, dairy cow performance and methane emission

Increasing maturity at harvest is evaluated as a cost-free method to increase starch concentration and rumen by-pass starch of maize silage, reducing methane emission. Results showed no effect on cow performance or silage stability, but the calculated effect on methane emission was low with the maize cultivar used