Research

Project Details:
Erkrankungen der Beckenregion des Pferdes stellen u.a. aufgrund der starken Bemuskelung dieser Region und der Unzugänglichkeit einzelner Strukturen oft eine diagnostische Herausforderung dar. Zum Teil ist die Wertigkeit von klinischen und bildgebenden Befunden im Beckenbereich hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung als Lahmheitsursache unklar.
Pferde mit Erkrankungen der Beckenregion (d.h. des knöchernen Beckens, der Beckengürtelmuskulatur, des Hüftgelenks, des Kreuz-Darmbein-Gelenks, des Lumbosakral-Gelenks) werden klinisch, ggf. mittels diagnostischer Betäubungen, ultrasonographisch und röntgenologisch untersucht. Es erfolgt eine vergleichende Auswertung der bildgebenden Befunde hinsichtlich ihres diagnostischen Wertes, ggf. unter Einbeziehung von Sektionsbefunden. Die Erkrankungen werden falls möglich medikamentell oder anderweitig behandelt, und der Behandlungserfolg wird langfristig nachverfolgt.

Results:

Geburek, F., Wagels, R., Markus, R., Kampmann, C., Peters, M., Stadler, P. Ultrasonographische Panoramabild-Darstellung als Ergänzung der klinischen und röntgenologischen Diagnostik von Frakturen im Bereich des Beckens bei Pferden. Pferdeheilkunde 2005, 21 (6): 517-524.

 

Geburek, F., Rötting, A.K., Stadler, P.M. Comparison of the diagnostic value of ultrasonography and standing radiography for pelvic-femoral disorders in horses. Vet. Surg. 2009, 38 (3): 310-317.

 

Sauer, F.J., Hellige, M., Beineke, A., Geburek, F. Osteoarthritis of the coxofemoral joint in 24 horses: Evaluation of radiography, ultrasonography, intra-articular anaesthesia, treatment and outcome. Equine Vet J. First published online Jan 7 2024.

https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.14053

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (MWK), Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (MWK)

Project Details:
die zugrunde liegende Genetik ist unbekannt und an genetisch hoch komplexen menschlichen Zellen schwer entschlüsselbar. Wir möchten das einfachste tierische Modellsystem, das Placozoon Trichoplax, nutzen, um die verantwortlichen Gene zu identifizieren. Diese ""Plattentiere"" besitzen keinerlei Organe oder Symmetrie, sie besitzen lediglich eine klare Polarität zwischen oben unten. Der Signalgeber für die Polarität ist die Schwerkraft. Diese können wir auf natürliche Art und Weise im Weltraum (Raketenflüge) bzw. im Labor künstlich ausschalten (mittels Klinostaten), um die Auswirkungen auf die Genexpression von Polaritätsgenen zu studieren. Mit den Plattentieren als Untersuchungsobjekt und genetischen Studien in der Schwerelosigkeit können wir jetzt einen neuen Weg der interdisziplinären experimentellen Krebsforschung beschreiten. Wir haben ein internationales Konsortium aus Krebsmedizinern, Weltraumforschern, Bioinformatikern, Genetikern und Evolutionsbiologen zusammengestellt, um diesen neuen Forschungsansatz auf den Weg zu bringen."

Results:

1) Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum (DLR) Köln

2) LaTrobe University, Medical School, Melbourne, Australia

3) Yale University, Yale Genomics Center, New Haven, USA

4) Prof. Robert DeSalle; Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, AMNH, New York)

Cooperation Partners:

30.000 EUR

Funding: Ministerium für Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur des Landes Schleswig-Holstein (MEKUN), 48.739 EUR

Project Details:
Harbor porpoises are the only native cetacean species in the waters of the North Sea and Baltic Sea of Schleswig-Holstein. Harbor porpoise habitat is under increasing pressure from growing human activities, which include, for example, shipping, offshore construction, military and seismic activities, fishing, changes in food availability, and exposure to environmental pollutants. Recent studies have now shown that the mean age at death of female harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea is 3.67 (+/-0.30) years and from the North Sea is 5.7 (+/-0.27) years, and this is despite the fact that harbor porpoises can live over 20 years and do not reach sexual maturity until 3-5 years of age. Furthermore, counts of harbor porpoises in the German North Sea have shown that the number of animals in these waters is decreasing, including in the reproduction areas off Sylt. Studies conducted on 24 harbor porpoises from the Baltic Sea after blasts from British landmines showed that 10 of the animals had characteristic blast trauma. The dead detection monitoring funded by the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature, S.-H. (MEKUN) showed a very high number of dead harbor porpoises in the Baltic Sea also in 2021. The effects due to the pollution of environmental pollutants in waters of Schleswig-Holstein cannot be evaluated so far, because the required data is too limited. Chemical analyses for pollutants in the tissues of the animals have not yet been part of the regular investigations within the scope of the dead-find monitoring, but could be investigated in 2021 as part of a pilot study commissioned by MEKUN.
In order to gain new insights into the relationship between hearing damage and elevated levels of contaminants, this project will investigate specific contaminants in harbor porpoise tissues and examine the auditory apparatus of harbor porpoises found dead.

Results:

Bericht an das Ministerium für Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur des Landes Schleswig-Holstein

https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/fachinhalte/A/artenschutz/Downloads/untersuchungSchweinswale2022.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

Funding: Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., 289.316 EUR

Project Details:
All recombinant RSVs (rRSVs) will be rescued in HEp-2 cells infected with MVA-T7 via transfection of the appropriate full length BAC clone along with either the RSV-B17-058221 and RS V-B18-002094 helper plasmids. All rescued viruses will be analyzed by NGS at passage 3 to identify if any mutations occurred during in vitro passaging. If mutations are identified then COMPANY and INSTITUTION will discuss the
requirement for growth of additional independent rescued viruses, with the COMPANY responsible for the final decision.

Funding: Ministerium für Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, 64.600 EUR

Project Details:
Raccoon dogs and raccoons are neozoa, invasive species that are not originally situated in Germany. Both species are potential reservoirs for infectious diseases and as oppotunistic carnivores they can also influence our native fauna as predators and competitors.
In our project we investigated in total 140 animals over two years. We want to analyse the influence and the risk of these alien species on our native fauna. Therefore, we want to assess the health status, especially the occurance of zoonotic and infectious diseases and the nutrition of the animals.
The analysis of the samples and data is still ongoing. All animals underwent a full necropsy and the analysis of histopathological, bacteriological, virological, parasitological and toxicological samples is taking place. In addition, stomach content analysis and age determination is done.

Results:

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/12/1379

Funding: Verein der Förderer der Wildtierforschung e.V., 13.000 EUR

Project Details:
Wildlife losses are a commonly recognized problem when mowing land for forage and silage production. Although the causes and rates of loss for individual wildlife species are fairly well quantified, the effects of mowing on medium- or long-term population trends have been little studied. This is especially true in light of the increasing cultivation of bioenergy crops in two-crop systems in traditional cropland areas and in areas with intensive grassland management in recent years.
Against this background, it is urgently necessary to look for pragmatic ways of reducing wildlife losses that can be integrated into agricultural work processes by simple means and that promise a high degree of effectiveness. The present concept is based on the use of acoustic game deterrents or sirens, which, for example, attached to a mowing vehicle can lead to the startling of animals present in the mowing area. In order to effectively design such a game deterrent system, it is first necessary to gather the basic theoretical knowledge. In later follow-up projects, this information can be used to develop a practical game siren. The aim of the present study concept is to develop the basics for an acoustic game deterrent in the following work packages. The work packages a and b are designed as literature research :
a. Literature search and presentation of the audible range of target species, i.e., what frequency ranges and sound intensities appear most promising for acoustic game deterrence.
b. Literature search on sound propagation in agricultural areas.
c. Sound measurements in grassland: Here, the sound pressure of suitable frequencies at different heights and distances to the emission source as well as in different dense grass stands will be analyzed in a simple experiment. Since the focus of the study is in Western Europe, the following animal species are defined as target species in the literature study:
° roe deer,
° brown hare,
° wild rabbit,
° pheasant,
° partridge,
° mallard duck
° meadow birds (e.g. lapwing, curlew, oystercatcher)

Funding: Ministerium für Energie­wende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur, 71.822 EUR

Project Details:
As the most common marine mammal species in Schleswig-Holstein, sick or dead seals cause most of the seal hunters' missions. In close cooperation with them, the animals are transferred to the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) in Büsum for further examinations. These examinations include the complete, standardised autopsy of selected animals, further examinations such as histology, bacteriology, virology, serology and parasitology, as well as the collection and preservation of samples for later analyses or other research projects. The final assessment of the causes of disease and death serves, among other things, to record risk factors for the seal populations in Schleswig-Holstein. In addition, possible human (anthropogenic) influences on the seals will be analysed. However, the investigations will also examine the possible significance of the growing seal populations as a reservoir of infectious diseases and whether viruses move back and forth between the wild animal populations and thus mutations of the pathogens are possible. Since the project is based on close cooperation with the seal hunters, the scientific knowledge gained will be incorporated into their work. The ITAW, among others, trains the seal hunters in the handling of marine mammals, but also in the recognition of infectious diseases. For them as first contact persons, the ongoing development and review of hygiene measures, infectious diseases and documentation materials play an important role. Microbiological examinations are important here, for example, because infectious agents such as seal distemper virus, influenza viruses, brucella and erysipelas have repeatedly been detected in seals in the past, which can be dangerous for seals and in some cases have zoonotic potential (infecting humans). In addition, the observations of the seal hunters are very valuable for the work at the institute. For example, if they report abnormalities in the animal or in the animal population, the investigations at ITAW can be adapted. Especially in view of the current bird flu epidemic along the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein, the detection of the H5N8 bird flu serotype on seals by the ITAW last year and the worldwide Corona pandemic, the virological investigations are to be intensified again in the current project year.

Results:

Bericht (PDF) Untersuchungen zum Gesundheitszustand von Seehunden in Schleswig-Holstein im Jahr 2022

https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/fachinhalte/A/artenschutz/Downloads/seehundbericht2022.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

Funding: ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Sea), 22.760 EUR

Project Details:
There is an increasing concern on the effects of underwater noise on hearing of cetaceans. However, cochlear frequency maps (i.e. distribution of frequencies along the cochlear spiral within the inner ear) are still lacking for marine mammal species. The aim of this study is to predict the cochlear frequency map for harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), based on morphometrics of the sensory cells of the organ of Corti (hearing organ). Once the map for a species is known, it will be possible to identify the frequencies that are impaired once lesions are found in the inner ear, and have better understanding of the consequences for individual to have a hearing loss in a particular hearing range. In cases of noise-induced hearing loss, it will be possible to extrapolate the characteristics of potential sound sources that have triggered a damage. This map will be a crucial tool for management of the effects of underwater noise on hearing in porpoises, as well as improved decision-making in conservation plans for harbour porpoises and other marine mammals.

Results:

Morell, M., Rojas, L., Caplot, A., Siebert, U. 2022. Prediction of the cochlear frequency maps of harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Report to ASCOBANS (reference SSFA-ASCOBANS-2022-002_TiHo)

https://www.ascobans.org/sites/default/files/document/ascobans_ac28_inf8.6_report-cochlear-frequency-maps-hp_0.pdf

Funding: BFG, 9.212 EUR

Project Details:
In this project, a diagnostic examination of nutria shot in 2020 and 2021is carried out, and liver tissue is made available for chemical analysis. For this purpose, 41 individuals from Lower Saxony will be autopsied, including a histologic examination of lung, liver, kidney and spleen tissue. In addition, an individual age determination (adult animal/juvenile animal), sex, nutritional status, general health status and a sampling of liver tissue will be provided. Chemical residue analyses will be carried out by the BFG. The diagnostic findings are presented and summarized in an Excel sheet and final reports per sampling.

Results:

In this project, a diagnostic examination of nutria shot in 2020 and 2021 was carried out, and liver tissue is made available for chemical analysis. For this purpose, 41 individuals from Lower Saxony were autopsied, including a histologic examination of lung, liver, kidney and spleen tissue. In addition, an individual age determination (adult animal/juvenile animal), sex, nutritional status, general health status and a sampling of liver tissue was provided. Chemical residue analyses were carried out by the BFG, the results were not yet reported. The diagnostic findings were presented and summarized in an Excel sheet and final reports per sampling. All animals showed typical traumatic, death-related injuries with histologically recognizable agonal changes in the lungs and the circulatory system. In addition, low-grade diffuse liver lipidoses were found in three animals, and high-grade urolithiasis was found in one animal. Five animals were pregnant females. Chronic interstitial pneumonia with a suspected infectious, presumably viral cause was diagnosed in 27 animals.

Funding: Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur Niedersachsen, 100.630 EUR

Project Details:
Das beantragte Projekt ConnEx adressiert mit den Lehrenden und den technischen wie didaktischen Service- und Support-Einrichtungen an den niedersächsischen Hochschulen zwei für die Dachinitiative Hochschule.digital Niedersachsen strategisch relevante Akteursgruppen und zielt auf eine strategische Förderung der Vernetzung, des Austauschs und Transfers innerhalb dieser Gruppen. Die Projektleitung hat die Leuphana Universität Lüneburg.

Results:

https://hochschuledigital-niedersachsen.de/home/connex-vernetzung-von-expertinnen-und-services/

Cooperation Partners:

Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst, Hochschule für Bildende

Künste Braunschweig; Hochschule Emden/Leer, Hochschule Hannover, Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, Hochschule Osnabrück, Jade

Hochschule, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leibniz Universität Hannover,

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Technische Universität Clausthal, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Stiftung Universität Hildesheim, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Universität Osnabrück, Universität Vechta, ELAN e.V.