Overview of research projects

Project Details:
Die Frage einer möglichen Vergrößerung von linkem Vorhof und linker Hauptkammer spielt eine entscheidende Rolle in der Therapieentscheidung und der Prognose bei verschiedenen Herzerkrankungen des Hundes. Als Goldstandard zur strukturellen Beurteilung des Herzens gilt hier regelmäßig die Echokardiographie. Da diese Technik Spezialisten vorbehalten ist, besteht ein großes Interesse an geeigneten radiologischen Messparametern, um eine Beurteilung bei Patienten, bei denen eine Echokardiographie nicht möglich ist, vornehmen zu können. In dieser Studie sollen verschiedene Röntgenscores auf ihre Eignung zur Beurteilung der Herzgröße beim Hund überprüft werden.

Funding: Bundeswehr, 60.690 EUR

Project Details:
Da sich die COVID-19-Pandemie weiter ausbreitet, ist die frühzeitige Identifizierung von SARS-CoV-2-infizierten Personen von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Unterbrechung der Infektionsketten. Flüchtige organische Verbindungen, die bei Infektionen der Atemwege entstehen, können bestimmte Geruchsabdrücke verursachen, die von trainierten Hunden mit hoher Präzision erkannt werden können.

Results:

Medical scent detection dogs can discriminate samples from SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals from controls. Performance of dogs is comparable between sweat, urine and saliva samples.

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-05281-3

Cooperation Partners:

Bundeswehr

Funding: Industry (Feed manifacturing) , 39.065 EUR

Project Details:
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Project Details:
Ex-vivo-Modelle vereinen die Vorteile von In-vitro Methoden und In-vivo Forschung ohne dabei einen Tierversuch durchführen zu müssen und berücksichtigen so das 3R- Prinzip. Seit Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts werden diese Modelle immer mehr auch bei Großtierarten erforscht und genutzt. In Ermangelung eines Modells für equine Uteri, soll im Rahmen dieses Projektes ein solches Modell erarbeitet und etabliert werden.

Cooperation Partners:

Institut für Veterinär-Pathologie, Universität Leipzig

Funding: Landesbetrieb f. Küstenschutz, Nationalpark u. Meeresschutz Schleswig-Holstein, Tönning, 51.769 EUR

Project Details:
Harbour porpoises are representatives of marine mammal top predators in the North Sea and Wadden Sea. With the amendment of the National Park Act in 1999, part of the national park was explicitly dedicated to the protection of harbour porpoises, since a high density of mother-calf groups was found in this area. As part of the reorganization of the Federal-State Marine Programme (BLMP), a programme for the joint monitoring of marine mammals was agreed in January 2011, which meets the requirements of monitoring in accordance with the relevant European directives and international conventions. The Schleswig-Holstein National Park Administration (NPV) in the Schleswig-Holstein State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Park and Marine Conservation (LKN) is responsible for organizing, implementing and financing the acoustic monitoring of harbour porpoises in this programme. The acoustic surveys for the NPV are carried out by the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) as part of the joint marine mammal monitoring within the BLMP. For this purpose, measuring stations are operated at four defined locations in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea (Lister Tief, Meldorfer Bucht, Rochelsteert and Westerland). Since this year another measuring station was deployed in the Elbe estuary. The measuring stations are equipped with click detectors (C-PODs), which record the echolocation activity of harbor porpoises. The C-PODs are serviced and data downloaded at regular intervals. The obtained data is evaluated against the background of the optimization of the acoustic monitoring as well as necessary extensions for a permanent operation of the measuring stations. The data from this long-term study will provide information on the possible pattern and tidal dependency of harbor porpoise detections throughout the day and over the course of a year.

Results:

The data analysis showed that harbor porpoises have been detected at all monitoring positions over the study period to date. However, spatial (between stations) and temporal differences (individual years, over the course of a year, over the course of a day) in detection rates were documented. At the station Lister Tief (LT), on the eastern side of Sylt, the lowest detection rates were recorded. The station Westerland (WL), west of Sylt in the whale sanctuary, has the highest detection rates (maximum per day) over the study period. The station Meldorfer Bucht (MB), which is located in the immediate vicinity of Büsum harbour, also showed very high detection rates, with an increasing trend in the summer months. The modelling of the individual stations could clearly show that there is a strong seasonality in the harbor porpoise detections. All stations show a maximum in detections in spring, in the period from mid-March to mid-April. This period is just before the phase of the highest birth rate, which lasts from mid-June to end of July. During this period, increased detections were only detected at station MB. Approximately two months after breeding begins the mating season of harbour porpoises in the North Sea. Within this period, an increased detection was observed at Rochelsteert station (RS) in contrast to all other stations. This could be an indication that the area around the station is used for mating. The calves are suckled for about 10 months, but start feeding independently on solid food, in the form of small shrimp-like crabs (Euphausiidae, e.g., North Sea shrimp), with the age of approximately five months. During this stage, an increase in detection rates was documented at Station LT. It is conceivable that juvenile harbour porpoises visit shallow water areas, such as the area at station LT, to forage on benthic first solid food.

Time of day had little effect on detection rates over the entire study period. However, a pattern in diurnal rhythms with more frequent detections in the morning hours was observed at Station LT. A similar pattern was also evident at station RS, with slightly higher detections throughout the day.

The tidal effect is more pronounced than diurnal patterns and could be observed at high tide or in the phases between high and low tide. Station LT shows increased detection rates just before low tide and a minimum during high tide. When comparing stations WL and RS with MB, an opposite effect is observed. Station MB shows a minimum in detection rates shortly after high tide, wheras a maximum during high tide was present at stations WL and RS.

Harbour porpoises were also detected at the measuring station in the Elbe estuary. The data does not yet allow for modelling over the entire year, as the station was just deployed in summer. However, the tidal effect with a maximum of harbour porpoise detections at high tide and lower detections at low tide has already been documented.

The Wadden Sea monitoring has so far generated robust and continuous long-term data sets up to ten years of harbour porpoise click activity. With these unique data sets, it is possible to generate models that provide information on harbour porpoise presence in the Wadden Sea and the effect of possible environmental parameters. The increase of the data base over the years has shown that the models provide an increasingly clear picture of the effect of abiotic factors on harbour porpoises. The assessments of harbour porpoise presence required by international agreements (MSFD and trilateral agreements) can currently only be carried out on a temporal scale using the acoustic data generated within the project with click detectors. In order to further expand the data base and thus improve the quality for assessment, it is necessary to continue the Wadden Sea monitoring every year.

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, 97.745 EUR

Project Details:
The ongoing dispute over the future of livestock has enormous economic relevance in a state like Lower Saxony; in the livestock-rich regions, the issue is also becoming socially explosive. The issue is a major concern for society.
The aim of the project is to objectify the debate and contribute to a deeper understanding of the positions. The core of the project consists of analyzing the content and positions of animal husbandry and relating them to their own ability to engage in discourse.

Results:

The project locates and analyzes reasons for moments of failure and escalation in the farm animal discourse. At the same time, perspectives for its improvement are identified in order to point out possible turning points towards a more peaceful, respectful and constructive discussion about so-called farm animals.

The main results of the project are a discourse path as a suggested outline and a flyer with rules for discussion, which can be viewed on the website https://wiemenschenuebertierestreiten.jimdofree.com/.

Funding: Nds. Tierseuchenkasse, 16.508 EUR

Project Details:
In Germany Salmonella control in pigs is based on testing slaughtered pigs for antibodies. Despite intensive testing and control measures the percentage of farms in the so-called category III did not decrease significantly, so far. Therefore, voices were raised to rethink about the current surveillance strategies. Immunisation of pigs in all production levels and testing for viable pathogen instead of antibodies are ideas that are discussed. The Lower-Saxonian Animal Disease Fund is interested in supporting these ideas and piloting a modified surveillance system. However, there might be concerns, emotional retention forces and helpful ideas among representatives of the related stakeholder groups. They shall be collected and considered before implementing any potential changes. Therefore, the project intendeds to investigate these concerns, emotional reten-tion forces and helpful ideas by conducting a stakeholder analysis and working with the stakeholders in focus groups. Results will werebe put together, and interpreted in terms of relevance for potential changes in the current surveillance program and published.

Project Details:
Addition of antibiotics to semen extenders is required to control the growth of commensale bacteria in animal semen. Follwing the One Health concept and the DART strategy for reduction of antibiotics, alternative antimicrobial strategies in preserved boar semen are tested.

Project Details:
Boar spermatozoa are sensitive to cooling and, therefore, commonly are preserved at 16°C for use in artificial insemination (AI). Recently, hypothermic semen preservation at 5°C was established to reduce the risk for bacterial growth and to stabilize transport conditions. The aim is to assess the eligibility of AI boars for hypothermic semen preservation using conventional spermatology.

Cooperation Partners:

Hochschule Osnabrück

GfS Ascheberg

Funding: Industry (Veterinary pharmaceuticals/Vaccines), 550.000 EUR

Project Details:
confidential

Results:

https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-1274-9268