Methane (CH 4 ) emissions by dairy cows vary with feed intake and diet composition. Even when fed on the same diet at the same intake, however, variation between cows in CH 4 emissions can be substantial. The extent of variation in CH 4 emissions among dairy cows on commercial farms is unknown, but developments in methodology now permit quantification of CH 4 emissions by individual cows under commercial conditions. The aim of this research was to assess variation among cows in emissions of eructed CH 4 during milking on commercial dairy farms. Enteric CH 4 emissions from 1964 individual cows across 21 farms were measured for at least 7 days/cow using CH 4 analysers at robotic milking stations. Cows were predominantly of Holstein Friesian breed and remained on the same feeding systems during sampling. Effects of explanatory variables on average CH 4 emissions per individual cow were assessed by fitting a linear mixed model. Significant effects were found for week of lactation, daily milk yield and farm. The effect of milk yield on CH 4 emissions varied among farms. Considerable variation in CH 4 emissions was observed among cows after adjusting for fixed and random effects, with the CV ranging from 22% to 67% within farms. This study confirms that enteric CH 4 emissions vary among cows on commercial farms, suggesting that there is considerable scope for selecting individual cows and management systems with reduced emissions.
Previous studies of the effects of coenzyme Q10 and minocycline on mouse models of Huntington's disease have produced conflicting results regarding their efficacy in behavioral tests. Using our recently published best practices for husbandry and testing for mouse models of Huntington's disease, we report that neither coenzyme Q10 nor minocycline had significant beneficial effects on measures of motor function, general health (open field, rotarod, grip strength, rearing-climbing, body weight and survival) in the R6/2 mouse model. The higher doses of minocycline, on the contrary, reduced survival. We were thus unable to confirm the previously reported benefits for these two drugs, and we discuss potential reasons for these discrepancies, such as the effects of husbandry and nutrition.
Adverse medical events-medical interventions that cause harm or injury to a patient separate from the underlying medical condition-are unfortunately an all-too-frequent occurrence in US hospitals. They may cause as many as 187,000 deaths in hospitals each year, and 6.1 million injuries, both in and out of hospitals. We estimate the annual social cost of these adverse medical events based on what people are willing to pay to avoid such risks in non-health care settings. That social cost ranges from $393 billion to $958 billion, amounts equivalent to 18 percent and 45 percent of total US health care spending in 2006. A possible solution: Patients offered voluntary, no-fault insurance prior to treatment or surgery would be compensated if they suffered an adverse event-regardless of the cause of their misfortune-and providers would have economic incentives to reduce the number of such events.
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