Quarter Basis Research Articles

Geospatial and Temporal Studies on Climatic Parameters and Their Impact on Inland Fish Production: A Case Study

Climate change threatening the word food security including fisheries production. The current study aimed to find the relationship between different climatic variables and fish production by generating spatial maps. The climatic parameters data viz., mean maximum temperature; mean minimum temperature; total rainfall, and mean wind speed were plotted in GIS (Geographical Information System) platform and thematic mapping of it’s for all the districts of Maharashtra for the year 1975 and 2017 on quarter basis was done using QGIS 3.6.1. The thematic maps of the percentage change in parameters of all the quarters of the year 2017 and 1975 were done for all the zone of Maharashtra. In addition, the thematic maps of the percentage change in parameters along with fish production of all the quarters of the year 2017–18 for the year 2012 were done for all the zone. The sensitivity analysis of climatic parameters with inland fish production for Maharashtra state and all the seven zones were done using GAM (Generalized Additive Model). The mean maximum temperature (MMAX) and total monthly rainfall (TMRF) were found to the most significant factors in the prediction of inland fish production. The average increase in MMAX during the 2nd and 3rd quarters (April to September) was less than the average increase in MMAX during the 1st and 4th quarters, whereas, in case of rainfall an average decrease was estimated during the 2nd and 3rd quarter. The current study found that Nagpur and Pune were the two highest fish-producing regions, and Konkan and Aurangabad were the two least productive regions.

Detection of heat-shock protein 70 in cow’s milk using ELISA

Context Heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) has been suggested as an effective biomarker to assess heat stress in livestock. Milk sampling being a non-invasive procedure in cows, the detection of HSP70 in milk would be beneficial for heat-stress studies in cows. Aims The objective of the present study was to optimise an ELISA system to detect HSP70 in cow’s milk and to assess its application in quantifying HSP70 in milk collected during two different weather conditions (hot and mild) and from two production groups (low and high yielding). Methods Foremilk samples were collected from 48 Holstein-Friesian cows under two different weather conditions (hot, n = 25 and mild, n = 23) and from two production groups (low yielding, n = 15 and high yielding, n = 33). Milk HSP70 was measured using a newly optimised, competitive in-house ELISA. The assay validation parameters (i.e. dilutional linearity, parallelism, recovery rate, intra-assay and inter-assay precision) were computed. Key results The minimum detection limit and the sensitivity range of the ELISA were 125 ng/mL and 125–4000 ng/mL respectively. The HSP70 concentrations in cow’s milk ranged from 536.88 to 1532.04 ng/mL. There were weak negative correlations (P < 0.05; n = 48) between HSP70 concentration and milk yield, calculated on either a per cow per day (r = −0.39), per cow per am or pm milking (r = −0.29), or per cow per quarter (r = −0.35) basis. Estimated marginal mean (EMM) HSP70 mass (HSP concentration × milk yield) in milk was higher during hot weather than during mild weather in all three of the above yield calculations (P < 0.0001). An increased (P < 0.05) EMM HSP70 mass was found in high-yielding group compared with low-yielding group when yield calculation was based on per cow per quarter. Conclusions A sensitive ELISA system was optimised to quantify HSP70 in cow’s milk. Higher milk HSP70 masses were found in milk samples collected during hot weather and from high-yielding cows. Implications The assay of HSP70 in milk is a useful tool for non-invasive detection of heat stress in cows. Further studies to measure HSP70 in milk samples collected from the same individual cows during different seasons would be needed to better explain and to confirm these findings.

Bali Economic, Mobility, Transportation and Hotels to The end of 2021 Tren

Purpose: Based on the Bali Economic Quarterly Development document for the second quarter of 2021 by BPS, the Covid-19 pandemic has become a greater distortion when compared to past events in the Province of Bali. The economic crisis in 1998, the Bali Bombing I in 2002, the Bali Bombing II in 2005, and the eruption of Mount Agung in 2017 can have a lighter impact
 Design/methodology/approach: Restrictions on transportation routes and calls to stay at home recommended throughout the country should negatively shock the tourism sector
 Findings: This number experienced a decrease of 7 visits or a decrease of -28.00 percent compared to the previous quarter. The decline in Bali tourism on a quarter to quarter basis is also in line with year on year conditions.
 Paper type: Research paper

Estimating Quarterly GDP for Nepal: An Application of Chow-Lin Procedure

Nepal started producing annual national income estimates following an internationally accepted system of 'National Account Systems' since the late1960s; and, accordingly, the annual GDP figures for Nepal are available for a longer period. However, the production and publication of quarterly GDP for public consumption have been both rare and occasional. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing an estimate for quarterly GDP for the period of 1997/98 Q1 to 2017/18 Q4 following well established Chow-Lin procedure. The quarterly exports and government tax revenue are used to extrapolate the magnitude and movement of quarterly GDP. The results show a deterministic seasonal movement over the quarters. In particular, increased economic activities are observed in the second and fourth quarters while making a comparison on quarter to quarter basis. It is expected that this paper will partially fulfill the gap of unavailability of quarterly GDP figures in the public domain, and documents that the researcher may use suitable econometric exercise to obtain inter-temporal disaggregation of low-frequency data such as annual GDP into quarterly figures.

Genetic tools and techniques for fish improvement

Mastitis is an economically important disease in goats. In the present study, a total of 100 quarter milk samples were collected from 50 apparently healthy Sirohi Goats in Udaipur district. The culture examination of these samples revealed the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in Sirohi goats as 26 (26/100) % and 34 (17/50) % on udder quarter basis and animal basis, respectively. The highest prevalence of subclinical mastitis was observed in 3rd lactation (50 %). Among the different isolates, staphylococci were found as most prevalent organism accounting for 37.50 (12/32) %, followed by streptococci 28.12 (9/32) %, E. coli 18.75 (6/32) %, bacilli 9.37 (3/32) % and Corynebacterium spp. 6.25 (2/32) %. The threshold values of modified California mastitis test, total somatic cell count and electrical conductivity in subclinical mastitic milk samples were observed to be +1, 1.0 million cells/ml of milk and 6.0 mS/cm, respectively.

Studies on Subclinical Mastitis in Sirohi Goats in Southern Rajasthan with Reference to Prevalence and Diagnostic Aspects

Mastitis is an economically important disease in goats. In the present study, a total of 100 quarter milk samples were collected from 50 apparently healthy Sirohi Goats in Udaipur district. The culture examination of these samples revealed the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in Sirohi goats as 26 (26/100) % and 34 (17/50) % on udder quarter basis and animal basis, respectively. The highest prevalence of subclinical mastitis was observed in 3rd lactation (50 %). Among the different isolates, staphylococci were found as most prevalent organism accounting for 37.50 (12/32) %, followed by streptococci 28.12 (9/32) %, E. coli 18.75 (6/32) %, bacilli 9.37 (3/32) % and Corynebacterium spp. 6.25 (2/32) %. The threshold values of modified California mastitis test, total somatic cell count and electrical conductivity in subclinical mastitic milk samples were observed to be +1, 1.0 million cells/ml of milk and 6.0 mS/cm, respectively.

Case study: Evaluating quarter and composite milk sampling for detection of subclinical intramammary infections in dairy cattle

Our objective was to evaluate a 200,000 cells/mL somatic cell count (SCC) cut-point on both the quarter and composite level to determine its effectiveness at identifying subclinical mastitis infections in one commercial dairy herd in Central New York. Milk samples from 107 Holstein cows were used for analysis. All cows were eligible for enrollment provided they had 4 working udder quarters, were >14 and <365 d in milk, and had no clinical mastitis event or treatment with intramammary antibiotics ≤14 d prior to d of sampling. A total of 428 quarter and 107 composite samples from 34 primiparous and 73 multiparous animals were analyzed for total SCC and aerobic culture. Performance of SCC for identification of subclinically infected animals was evaluated against the gold standard aerobic culture. Sensitivities for a 200,000 cells/mL cut-point on both the quarter and composite basis were 28.6%, and specificities were 91.5% and 87.3% on the quarter and composite basis, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined on a quarter basis found the cut-point that optimized the sensitivity and specificity of a positive culture was 32,000 cells/mL, with a sensitivity of 76.2%, a specificity of 62.4%, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.73. The ROC curve cut-point that optimized the sensitivity and specificity for the composite samples was 75,000 cells/mL, with a sensitivity of 57.1%, a specificity of 78.9%, and an AUC of 0.67. A large proportion of culture positive primiparous cows (38%) had low SCC (median of 101,000 cells/mL on the quarter and 80,000 cells/mL on the composite level), and therefore, when multiparous cows were examined separately, the cut-point that optimized sensitivity and specificity on the quarter basis increased to 645,000 cells/mL with a corresponding sensitivity of 34.8%, specificity of 97.5%, and AUC of 0.65. On the composite basis, the cut-point based on multiparous cows only was 152,000 cells/mL, with a corresponding sensitivity of 60.0%, and specificity of 82.0%, and an AUC of 0.65. Our data indicate that the 200,000 cells/mL cut-point was inefficient in identifying subclinically infected animals, regardless of whether quarter or composite sampling was used. The low prevalence of subclinical infections as well as the large proportion of minor pathogens, especially in primiparous animals, contributed to this inefficiency. This case study provides evidence that, with continued improvement upon mastitis control and reduction in major mastitis pathogens, blanket cut-points may no longer provide the same diagnostic usefulness as they once did.

Association of California Mastitis Test Scores with Intramammary Infection Status in Lactating Dairy Cows Admitted to a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

BackgroundSubclinical mastitis is of concern in veterinary hospitals because contagious mastitis pathogens might be unknowingly transmitted to susceptible cows and then back to their farm of origin.ObjectivesTo evaluate the California mastitis test (CMT) as an indicator of intramammary infection (IMI) in lactating dairy cows admitted to a veterinary hospital.AnimalsA total of 139 admissions of 128 lactating dairy cows admitted to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital over a 2‐year period.MethodsA retrospective study with a convenience sample was conducted. Medical records of cows with CMT results and milk culture results for the day of admission were reviewed. Breed, age, season, maximum CMT score for the 4 quarters, maximum CMT score difference, and clinical diagnosis were evaluated as predictors of IMI by the chi‐square test and stepwise logistic regression.ResultsAn IMI was identified in 51% of quarters. For cows admitted without evidence of clinical mastitis, the sensitivity of a CMT score ≥trace in predicting an IMI on a quarter or cow basis was 0.45 and 0.68, respectively. The distributions of maximal quarter CMT score and the maximum difference in quarter CMT score for cows without evidence of clinical mastitis did not differ (P = 0.28, P = 0.84, respectively) for cows with and without IMI. Stepwise logistic regression did not identify significant predictors of IMI in cows without clinical mastitis.ConclusionsLactating dairy cattle admitted to a veterinary hospital should be managed as if they have an IMI, even in the absence of clinical mastitis.

Isolation, identifications and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of coagulase positive &lt;i&gt;Staphylococcus&lt;/i&gt; from subclinical mastitic dairy cattle in and around Haramaya University

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 to isolate coagulase positive Staphylococcus (CPS) from subclinical mastitic (SCM) lactating cows, to establishing prevalence, to identify risk factors and to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of CPS isolates in and around Haramaya University, Eastern Ethiopia. A semi-structured questionnaire survey, California mastitis test (CMT), bacterial isolation and identification and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted during the study. A total of 210 dairy cattle from seven farms were screened for SCM by CMT. The prevalence of SCM in the study areas was 71.4% (150/210). Milk samples were collected from 562 quarters of 150 cows free of clinical mastitis but positive in CMT. Among these cows 38 of them had blind quarters (6. 76%). The prevalence of CPS was found to be 66.0% (99/150) and 28.46% (160/562) on animal and quarter basis, respectively. Among the risk factors studied, SCM due to CPS was significantly higher (P &gt; 0.05) in older cows (100%) than younger (70.0%), in cows during late lactation (96.3%), in cows which gave more than 5 births (100%), in cross-breed cows (71.2%) than local breed cows (54.3%), in cows with udder I teat injuries (96.3%) and in cows managed under poor house hygiene (82.5%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 9 antibiotics carried out using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and revealed high multidrug resistance of 71 (87.6 %). High level of resistance to common drugs like ampicillin (90.1 %), penicillin (67.9%), and tetracycline (54.3%) was registered. In contrast, the CPS isolates were susceptibility for chloramphenicol, gentamycin and kanamycin at 63%, 46.9%, and 41.97%, respectively. In conclusion, the study confirms the importance of CPS as a mastitis causing multidrug resistant bacterium. Therefore, improved management and early treatment of SCM cases with drug of choice is imperative to tackle CPS mastitis.Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility, Coagulase positive Staphylococcus, and risk factors

Determining the Prevalence and Seasonality of Fasciola hepatica in Pasture-based Dairy herds in Ireland using a Bulk Tank Milk ELISA

BackgroundFasciola hepatica is a helminth parasite of global importance in livestock, with major economic impact. However information on F. hepatica infections in Irish pasture-based dairy herds is limited. Therefore this study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence, seasonality and management factors associated with F. hepatica. A total of 319 Irish dairy herds were selected for this study. Bulk tank milk (BTM) samples were collected from 290 dairy farms on a quarter year basis, while from a further 29 dairy farms BTM samples were collected on a monthly basis to provide a more detailed pattern of F. hepatica exposure in Irish herds. BTM samples were analysed using a commercially available F. hepatica antibody detection ELISA. Furthermore, within-herd prevalence of F. hepatica was assessed in a subset of these 29 herds (n = 17); both individual serum samples and bulk tank milk samples were collected.ResultsA within-herd prevalence of ≤ 50 % was found for herds with negative bulk tank milk samples. The mean prevalence of the 290 study herds was 75.4 % (Range 52 %–75.1 %), with the highest prevalence being observed in November (75.1 %). The seasonal pattern of F. hepatica shows elevated antibodies as the grazing season progressed, reaching a peak in January. A significant association was found between F. hepatica and age at first calving.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that F. hepatica is present in a large proportion of Irish dairy herds and provides a basis on which control practices, particularly in adult dairy cows, can be reviewed.

Prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis in dairy farms

A total of 560 lactating cows belonging to Bangladesh Agricultural University dairy farm (n = 59): Local Zebu (L), Local × Friesian (L × F), Local × Jersey (L × J), Local × Red Chittagong Cattle (L × RCC), Local × Sahiwal (L × SL), Red Chittagong Cattle (RCC); and Central Cattle Breeding Station and Dairy Farm (n = 501): Local Zebu, L × F, SL × F, Sahiwal and Australian Friesian Sahiwal (AFS) were selected to measure prevalence of subclinical mastitis (SM). The California Mastitis Test was done and the prevalence of SM was 68% on cow basis and 57% on quarter basis. The prevalence rate was significantly higher in L × F (87%, P &lt; 0.05), SL × F (88%, P &lt; 0.05), L × J (100%, P &lt; 0.01), AFS (89%, P&lt; 0.05) and SL (100%, P &lt; 0.01). The local Zebu (31%) and RCC (28%) were least susceptible to SM. SM was significantly higher in multiparous (P &lt; 0.05) and older cows (P &lt; 0.05). The front quarters were more prone to SM than the rear. Factors such as breed, age, parity and management may have been responsible for high prevalence of SM in both farms. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bvet.v30i2.18257 Bangl. vet. 2013. Vol. 30, No. 2, 70-77

Voluntary Assurance on Interim Financial Statements and Earnings Quality

Under current Canadian securities regulatory requirements, public companies are able to choose whether to have their interim financial statements reviewed by external auditors on a quarter by quarter basis, but they must disclose when there has been no review performed. This differs from US practice where the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires a timely review of interim financial statements by the company’s auditor. Thus, the Canadian regulatory environment provides a natural laboratory to study the association between the determinants of voluntary reviews and earnings quality. Our study provides evidence that large and highly levered firms with independent board of directors tend to have their interim statements reviewed voluntarily. Moreover, quarterly discretionary accruals of reviewed firms are generally smaller than those of non-reviewed firms, reflecting better earnings quality. We control for possible self-selection bias in our empirical tests.

Assessment of sub-clinical mastitis and its associated risk factors in dairy livestock of Lamjung, Nepal

INTRODUCTION: Mastitis is one among the top three threats faced by dairy farmers. The study was carried out to assess sub-clinical mastitis, management practices and associated risk factors for mastitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in Chandreshwor and Archalbot VDCs of Lamjung district taking 63 dairy livestock randomly each from a herd along with questionnaire survey to respective owner. Tem ml of milk sample from each quarter was taken in a sterilized syringe for further laboratory investigation. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was performed at farmer’s shed. Organisms were identified based on colony characteristics, Gram's staining and various biochemical tests. RESULTS: On CMT, subclinical mastitis was 46.1% (n=29) and 30.15% (n=76) on animal and quarter basis respectively, however, culture showed, 28.6% and 24.2%. Streptococcal mastitis was the commonest (11.1%) followed by coliform (9.5%) and staphylococcal (7.9%). Mastitis was highest in left fore quarter (34.92%) followed by left hind (31.76%), right hind (28.57%) and right fore (25.39%). Coliform &amp; Staphylococcal mastitis was highest in left fore and right hind quarter respectively. Most of dairy animals (86%) were on zero grazing, 30% (n=19) of the farmers had forage trees and only 29% (n=18) had known about subclinical mastitis. The average milk production was 3.5 ±1.47 liters. Subclinical mastitis was associated significantly (p&lt;0.01) with livestock yielding more than 3 lt per lactation. CONCLUSIONS: There was high prevalence of subclinical mastitis in dairy livestock at Lamjung due to poor management, unhygienic shed, and little knowledge on subclinical mastitis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijim.v2i2.8322 Int J Infect Microbiol 2013;2(2):49-54

Prevalence of some mastitis causes in dromedary camels in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The present study was designed to determine the prevalence of different types of mastitis in camels in U.A.E. and to identify the causative microorganisms and their sensitivity to different antimicrobial agents. From 162 lactating she-camels, 630 milk samples were collected from different cities in Abu Dhabi Emirate/UAE. The overall prevalence of mastitis was 18.52% (7.94% on quarter basis), the prevalence of clinical and sub clinical mastitis was found to be 24.70% and 11.67% on animal basis, respectively; it being 9.70% and 5.86% on quarter basis, respectively. The hind quarters were more frequently affected than the fore quarters. Bacteriological examination of milk samples revealed that Staphylococcus was the chief etiological agents both in clinical and sub clinical mastitis (41.67%) in camels, followed by Streptococcus spp. (21.67%), Enterobacter spp. (15.00%), C. pyogenes (10.00%), Micrococcus spp. (5.00%), Pasteurells spp. (5.00%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.66%). Most of the Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and C. pyogenes strains were sensitive to carbenicillin, gentamycin, kanamycin, and erythromycin, but resistant to colistin and sulphamethoxazole. Other pathogens like Enterobacter, Micrococcus, Pasteurella spp. and Ps. aeuroginosa isolates showed variable sensitivities to the antimicrobials.

Status of bovine mastitis and associated risk factors in subtropical Jeju Island, South Korea

The present investigation was carried out to study the prevalence of mastitis in 136 Holstein cows from a subtropical province of South Korea. Out of 527 milk samples studied, 22.6% were found positive for mastitis. On animal level, prevalence was estimated at 55.2%. Late lactating cows were at higher risk for mastitis development as compared to those in early and mid lactations. The study revealed that the risk of an increase in somatic cell count (SSC) and mastitis increased with advanced age and in animals with higher parity. The highest infection rate of 71.4% was found in the age group >9years followed by cows with higher than fifth parity (65.5%). On severity and quarter basis, cows of <3years of age had higher occurrence (12.5%) of severe mastitis. From the present study, it may be concluded that a positive relationship exists between increased prevalence of mastitis and high SCC and the advance in age and parity of Holstein cows.

The economic burden of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: U.S. Medicare perspective.

e16025 Background: Castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer (mCRPC) is associated with high medical costs and resource utilization. The aim of this study was to examine the total direct medical costs and resource utilization of mCRPC patients covered by Medicare. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using a representative 5% sample of 1999-2010 quarterly Medicare claims. Males over the age of 18 were included in the analysis if they had all of the following: (i) at least one claim with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, (ii) at least one claim for a mCRPC treatment between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2010, (iii) a diagnosis of bone metastases after their prostate cancer diagnosis but before receiving mCRPC treatment, (iv) at least one quarter of Medicare eligibility before and after their index quarter, which was defined as the quarter of bone metastases diagnosis. Descriptive summary statistics of patient healthcare resource utilization and medical costs were reported on a per patient per quarter (PPPQ) basis. Results: A total of 5,018 mCRPC patients were identified from 1999-2010 with a mean (SD) age at index of approximately 76 (7) years and an average follow up time of 2.0 years. During the index quarter, mCRPC patients had a mean (SD) of 29.2 (19.1) medical claims for a mean (SD) cost of $13,649 ($15,943). Post index, the average number of claims per patient was higher than pre-index (20.0 vs. 9.8) resulting in substantially higher costs ($9,512 vs. $3,220). MCRPC patients received more frequent medical scanning during and after index, with patients receiving 3.2 scans during the index quarter and 1.2 scans PPPQ post-index compared to 0.6 scans PPPQ pre-index. PSA testing increased from 0.6 tests PPPQ before the index quarter to 1.4 tests PPPQ from the index quarter onwards. Conclusions: Based on data from the Medicare database from the decade prior to the approval of sipuleucel-T, cabazitaxel, abiraterone, and enzalutamide , the cost of care of patients with mCRPC was approximately $76,000 over 2 years. However, since the Medicare database does not include outpatient prescription data, the actual cost over 2 years is an underestimate. Future costs are expected to rise with the availability of these new agents.

Prevalence of subclinical mastitis and isolated udder pathogens in dairy cows in Southern Vietnam

Dairy production is not traditional in Vietnam. The farmers have little practical knowledge and udder health control is generally lacking. In order to give the farmers appropriate advice, knowledge about the distribution of udder pathogens is crucial. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis and to identify udder pathogens isolated from smallholder dairy herds in Southern Vietnam. Twenty farms with a herd somatic cell count (SCC) ranging from low (≤ 400 × 10(3)cells/mL) to high (>400 × 10(3)cells/mL) were randomly selected. Milk samples were collected from 458 quarters of 115 clinically healthy cows. SCC was analyzed on farm by a portable cell counter. Bacteriological samples were taken using Mastistrip(©) cassettes and sent to Sweden for examination. For all herds the mean herd SCC was 632 × 10(3)/mL milk. The prevalence of subclinical mastitis at quarter SCC basis was 63.2 % and at cow basis 88.6 %. Only 40 % of all cows were bacteriologically negative in all quarters. Streptococcus agalactiae was the most commonly found bacteria species, isolated from 96 of the 458 quarter samples, in 13 of the 20 farms. The results indicate pronounced subclinical mastitis problems among the dairy cows in this region mainly due to infections with S. agalactiae. The high prevalence of this highly contagious pathogen is probably attributable to the generally poor milking hygiene and low awareness of proper measures to prevent occurrence and spread of udder infections. A strict, targeted action program for the herds in this area is required in order to lower the prevalence of subclinical mastitis.

Month-Wise Prevalence of Subclinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows in Guangdong Province, China

To evaluate the month-wise prevalence of subclinical mastitis (SM) and its relations with climatic temperature and humidity, and to provide references for control and prevention of mastitis in dairy cows in Guangdong, China, California mastitis test method was used to determine the monthly prevalence of SM (MPSM, %) of lactating Holstein cows from 11 dairy farms in Guangdong Province, China, including about 516 cows per monthly examination. The average MPSM on a cow and a quarter basis were 30 and 13% respectively, and there was a positive linear correlation between monthly mean air temperature (MT, °C) and MPSM on a cow basis (r=0.763, P=0.004) or a quarter basis (r=0.577, P=0.049), but there were no correlations between MT and MPSM on a cow or a quarter basis (P>0.05). There was a shift in MPSM trend that the highest MPSM (38.4%) was not for the hottest July with MT at 30.8°C, but for the later September at 27.9°C. The farms need to develop new housing conditions to control cowshed temperatures in the hot season to reduce the mastitis prevalences in the posthot months.

Comparison of the effects of quarter-individual and conventional milking systems on milkability traits

Abstract. This study was carried out to investigate a new quarter-individual milking system called MultiLactor® (Siliconform GmbH, Türkheim, Germany). The MultiLactor enables milking on quarter level basis with low vacuum (37 kPa), sequential pulsation and periodic air inlet. Within the same dairy farm, the influence of this quarter-individual milking system (MULTI) on milkability traits was compared with a conventional milking system (CON). CON was equipped with a conventional milking cluster and used alternating pulsation. Vacuum level was adjusted to 40 kPa. For the study, 84 Holstein Friesian cows were randomly selected and uniformly divided into two herds. During the 30-week survey, the milk flow curves were recorded every other week by using a LactoCorder (WMB, Balgach, Switzerland). Significant differences (P&lt;0.05) between both milking systems were found for all milk flow traits, except for milk yield and decline phase. Concerning the incline (tAN) and plateau (tPL) phase, large differences existed between MULTI and CON. The estimated value of tAN calculated for MULTI (29.4 s) took only half of the time when calculated for CON (56.4 s). The estimated value of tPL at CON was reduced by 1.43 min (35 %) compared to MULTI. Milking process at MULTI (8.49 min) took longer time than for CON (7.43 min). From the study, it was concluded that the effect of shorter tAN in the quarter-individual milked cows may be related to additional prestimulation by an actuator. In contrast, the longer milking time in MULTI is possibly caused by lower vacuum level and periodic air inlet.

Economic review

Gross Domestic Product expanded by 0.4 per cent in the final quarter of 2009, but this was not sufficient to prevent an overall annual fall of 4.9 per cent in 2009. On a quarter on quarter basis GDP growth has shown a steady improvement throughout the year. Household consumption recorded modest growth in the second half of the year, driven by an increase in spending on motor cars, and fixed investment moderated from the very large falls in the first and second quarters. Government consumption has also contributed positively to growth throughout most of the year. However, the contribution of changes in stocks is still erratic, and net trade has weighed on growth as imports expand faster than exports – despite the significant depreciation in sterling in late 2008. Household and corporate sector balance sheets show continuing signs of retrenchment as net-lending increases. In the labour market, the headline measures of unemployment, employment and inactivity all deteriorated to a greater extent for men than women over the last two years. This seems to reflect that the fall in jobs was more concentrated in industries where male employment is significantly higher. Manufacturing producer prices inflation has started to pick up in line with rising oil and other commodity prices. However, services producer prices remain in deflationary territory, as difficult market conditions and strong competition places downward pressure on prices.