A cost-effective management practice to decrease phosphorus loss from dairy farms.

Phosphorus (P) loss from land can impair surface water quality. A paired-catchment study was conducted on a grazed dairy farm that tested the hypothesis that cultivating and sowing a low-P-requiring grass in near stream areas and high-P-requiring clover ( L.) elsewhere lost less P to water and was potentially more profitable than a mixed grass-clover pasture managed for the cover component. Two catchments were treated the same for 2 yr, after which 40% of the treatment catchment was cultivated around the stream, sown in ryegrass ( L.) and fertilized with 150 kg nitrogen (N) ha yr and 10 kg P ha yr. White clover was established in the remainder of the catchment and received no N but 30 kg P ha yr. The control catchment received 150 kg N ha yr and 30 kg P ha yr. After the monocultures were installed, filterable reactive P and total P concentrations decreased by 44 and 26% respectively, while the better-quality forage suggested a possible improvement in profitability. We concluded that with some caveats (e.g., a 2% increase in modeled N loss), using grass-clover monocultures strategically across a dairy farm may decrease P loss to surface water and improve profitability compared with a mixed pasture.

Exercise peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) accurately reflects arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and predicts mortality in systemic sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Measures of oxygenation have not been assessed for prognostic significance in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). METHODS: 83 subjects with SSc-ILD performed a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test with an arterial line. The agreement between peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was examined and survival differences between subgroups of subjects stratified on SpO2 were analysed. Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to examine the prognostic capabilities of SpO2. RESULTS: At maximal exercise the mean (SD) difference between SpO2 and SaO2 was 2.98 (2.98) and only 15 subjects had a difference of >4 points. The survival of subjects with SSc-ILD whose maximum exercise SpO2 (Spo(2)max) fell below 89% or whose SpO2max fell >4 points from baseline was worse than subjects in comparator groups (log rank p = 0.01 and 0.01, respectively). The hazard of death during the median 7.1 years of follow-up was 2.4 times greater for subjects whose SpO2max fell below 89% (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.9, p = 0.02) or whose SpO2max fell >4 points from baseline (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 5.0, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In patients with SSc-ILD, SpO2 is an adequate reflection of SaO2 and radial arterial lines need not be inserted during cardiopulmonary exercise tests in these patients. Given the ease of measurement and its prognostic value, SpO2 should be considered as a meaningful clinical and research outcome in patients with SSc-ILD.

Tumour necrosis factor gene polymorphisms are associated with COPD.

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha has been shown to be an important factor in animal models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, human studies of TNF polymorphisms in COPD have been equivocal. Six TNF single nucleotide polymorphisms (-1031C/T, -863C/A, -857C/T, -237G/A, -308G/A and +487G/A) and their haplotypes were investigated in 423 Caucasian smokers (298 patients with spirometric evidence of COPD and 125 without airflow obstruction). The -308 minor allele (A) had a higher odds ratio (OR) of being associated with COPD in multivariate analysis (controlling for age, sex, pack-yrs; OR 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-3.2) and was also associated with worse forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity. The -237 minor allele (A) had a lower OR of being associated with COPD (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.19-0.86). In COPD patients, the -857 minor allele (T) had a lower OR of being associated with severe stages of COPD (Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease stage III and IV versus stage I and II, OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24-0.88). Other TNF single nucleotide polymorphisms were not associated with COPD but the -1031/-863 haplotype CC/TC had a lower OR in COPD patients versus smoking controls (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05-0.97). The present study adds further evidence that tumour necrosis factor genotypes play a role in susceptibility to cigarette smoke.

Small vessel vasculitis of the lung.

The diagnosis and management of SVV remains one of the most challenging clinical scenarios encountered by a clinician. Careful attention to detail and a thorough knowledge of the specific disorders, their therapies, and complications thereof is required to optimally care for these patients. The recent completion of a number of randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trials has greatly improved our knowledge base and ability to care for vasculitis patient. The next decade holds even more promise.

Effects of surgical or banding castration on stress responses and behaviour of bulls.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of surgical and latex banding methods of castration in 14- and 9-month-old bulls. DESIGN: Two randomised, controlled experiments. PROCEDURE: In Experiment 1, following administration of local anaesthetic, 14-month-old bulls were castrated by either surgical or banding methods, or left entire. Behavioural, plasma cortisol, plasma haptoglobin and bodyweight responses were recorded. A group of steers from the same mob was used as an additional comparison for bodyweight data. In Experiment 2, following administration of local anaesthetic, 9-month-old bulls were castrated by either surgical or banding methods and cortisol, haptoglobin and bodyweight responses were recorded. Entire bulls from the same group were used as an additional comparison for bodyweight data. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, surgical castrates exhibited more leg stamping and tail swishing than banded or entire animals in the hours after castration. Surgical castrates in both experiments also showed an increase in plasma haptoglobin, which resolved after 4 days. Plasma cortisol was generally not affected by castration. Surgical castrates grew more slowly than entire bulls, but faster than banded animals, in the 56 days after treatment. In Experiment 1, after 56 days, the bodyweights of surgical and banded castrates were not different from the bodyweights of the steers. Fourteen-month-old banded cattle developed persistent wounds above the latex band which remained for several weeks after scrotal dehiscence, but this did not occur in the 9-month-old animals. CONCLUSION: The banding procedure produced fewer acute effects, but a greater suppression of growth than surgical castration and induced prolonged wound formation in the older age group, suggesting that this procedure may not be as suitable for yearling cattle.