Forschung

Global warming is a serious concern in dairy cattle farming because resulting heat stress affects animal health and welfare and is a major cause of low productivity. New insights into resilience mechanisms in the reproductive tract provide the basis for improving and developing preventive measures against heat stress and its sequelae. Information on potential associations between heat stress exposure and pathophysiological mechanisms in the reproductive tract is largely missing, in particular with regard to heat stress under central European conditions. With our study, we follow the overall goal to support Lower Austrian Farmers to fulfil their mission of supplying the domestic population with healthy and high-quality food in a resource-efficient manner. The project is structured into three workpackages (WPs) with the aims to • Investigate the in vivo effect of heat stress on inflammation and microbial infection in the postpartum bovine uterus under climatic conditions, typical for lower Austria (WP1). • Investigate the in vitro effects of differential heat exposure conditions on the immune response of bovine endometrial epithelial cells co-cultivated with pathogenic and commensal bacteria (WP2). • Develop a predictive model for heat stress and its sequelae for the early detection and monitoring of heat stress in dairy cows (WP3). The project combines innovative microbiological and molecular methods with profound information on the clinical phenotype of cows and sensor data. The project profits from a new cooperation and an interdisciplinary team with team members in different stages of their career. The integrated analysis of data from individual animals and their environments will open new avenues for the prevention of diseases, for improving animal welfare and farm economics. Our proposed holistic approach follows the overall goal of maintaining resource-efficient and sustainable agriculture, which is an actual topic with socio-economic relevance.

Die Immunglobulin E (IgE)-assoziierte Allergie ist nach wie vor die am weitesten verbreitete immunologisch vermittelte Krankheit, von der weltweit fast 30 % der Bevölkerung betroffen sind. Dementsprechend ist sie eine der wichtigsten nicht übertragbaren Krankheiten, von denen die Menschheit betroffen ist. Allergische und chronische Atemwegserkrankungen stellen derzeit ein großes Problem für die öffentliche Gesundheit dar und verursachen hohe Morbidität, Kosten und Sterblichkeit. Allergische Patienten leiden nicht nur an relativ milden Erscheinungsformen wie allergischer Rhinitis und Konjunktivitis, sondern auch andere Organe wie Lunge, Haut und Magen-Darm-Trakt können stark betroffen sein. Die schwerste Form der Allergie, der anaphylaktische Schock, der durch Nahrungsmittelallergene und Giftallergene verursacht wird, kann auch bei sehr jungen Menschen zu lebensbedrohlichen Zuständen und zum Tod führen. Auch Asthma ist eine schwer beeinträchtigende und lebensbedrohliche Form der Allergie, die von der frühen Kindheit bis ins hohe Alter auftritt. Es stehen verschiedene pharmakologische und biologische Behandlungsmethoden zur Verfügung, aber ihre Wirkung ist bescheiden, hält nur so lange an, wie das Medikament verabreicht wird, und bietet keine nachhaltige Wirkung. Die molekulare Allergiediagnose ermöglicht einen Wandel der Gesundheitsversorgung hin zu den Grundsätzen der "P4-Medizin", d. h. einer prädiktiven, präventiven, personalisierten (Präzisions-) und partizipativen Medizin.

There have been reports of global decline in managed honey bees and wild bees around the world. The rapid dying of honey bee colonies was named “colony collapse disorder” (CCD) and has been linked to different factors. One of the factors are novel insecticides named neonicotinoids. The acute toxity and adverse effects on bees is not only limited to the parent compound, but their (intermediate) metabolites have been shown to be toxic as well. So far, partial metabolic pathways in honey bees were described for only three out of seven neonicotinoids in use. For the remaining four neonicotinoids the metabolism by honey bees is still unclear. The overall objective of this study is to elucidate the metabolism of orally administered neonicotinoids in honey bees. The specific objectives are to determine known and unknown neonicotinoid biotransformation products and their kinetics. The study will be divided into four phases. In phase I, neonicotinoids will be administered at two locations to groups of caged honey bees with a feeding solution containing a mixture of unlabeled and 13C-labeled neonicotinoids with doses up to LD50 and sampling at 8 time points. Next, the targeted compounds will be extracted with organic solvents. For untargeted analysis, an isotope assisted approach will be used with direct analysis of the extracts as to avoid loss of putative biotransformation products (Phase II). Data will be evaluated with the aid of comprehensive databases. Unknown neonicotinoid biotransformation products will be searched for by the “MetExtract II” software tool (phase III). Finally, in a field-experiment, real world honey bee samples will be collected and analyzed for the biotransformation products found in phase III. In our project, isotope-assisted methods will be used the first time to study how honey bees metabolize the seven commercially most frequently used neonicotinoids.