Effect of eprinomectin treatment on milk yield and quality in dairy cows in South Tyrol, Italy

The effect of treatment with eprinomectin on milk yield, milk composition and somatic cell counts (SCCs) was studied in 105 dairy cows located on seven farms in South Tyrol, Italy. On each farm, half of the animals were treated with eprinomectin and the other half were used as an untreated control group. Three test day records per animal were obtained before treatment (days -117, -75 and -33) and another three test day records were obtained after treatment (days 22, 62 and 131). Test day records comprised milk yield, milk composition, SCC and days in milk. On the day of treatment, blood samples and faecal samples were taken for parasitological analysis. Cows with positive faecal egg counts yielded less milk. A significant effect of eprinomectin on milk yield was observed after treatment and was most pronounced on the second and the third test days after treatment (+1.90 kg [P=0.002] and +2.63 kg [P<0.001], respectively). Furthermore, a significant decrease in SCC was observed on the second test day after treatment.

Migrant Background and Higher Education Participation in Europe. The Effect of the Educational Systems

The main aim of this article is to shed light on the extent to which differences in higher education participation between people with and without a migrant background of low/higher social origin can be explained by two macro-level characteristics of national educational institutions: stratification of the secondary school system and provision of alternative access to higher education. General assumptions are that people with a migrant background of low social origin benefit in low-stratified secondary school systems and in systems that provide alternative access to institutions of higher education more than their native peers in the same social stratum, owing to primary and secondary effects of migrant background. Database is a pooled dataset of the five waves of the European Social Survey. Results of logistic multi-level analyses indicate that a low-stratified secondary school system improves the probability of people with a migrant background/low social origin attaining a higher education degree. On the other hand, a stratified secondary school system reduces their chances regarding this educational stage. The provision of alternative access to an institution of higher education improves their likelihood of becoming higher education graduates.

Effects of systematic patient education in skin care and protection in a hand eczema clinic.

BACKGROUND Hand eczema has a high impact on patients' quality of life. The treatment focuses on improving skin barrier function. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects and acceptance of a novel educational program for patients with hand eczema. METHODS Retrospectively, the records of 36 patients who attended the prevention program and follow-up visits were analyzed. Physician global assessment (PGA) scores, acceptance and behavioral changes were assessed. RESULTS In 67% of patients, an improvement of the hand eczema could be attributed to the effects of our educational program. The mean PGA score significantly decreased from 3 before education to 2.2 during follow-up. Behavioral changes in both skin care and protection were reported in 81 and 86%, respectively. CONCLUSIONs: Our educational program had a positive effect on clinical outcome as well as adherence to skin care and protection measures. Its integration in a hand eczema clinic was feasible and well accepted by the patients.

How Do Second-Generation Immigrant Students Access Higher Education? The Importance of Vocational Routes to Higher Education in Switzerland, France, and Germany

We analyse the access to different institutional pathways to higher education for second-generation students, focusing on youths that hold a higher-education entrance certificate. The alternative vocational pathway appears to compensate to some degree, compared to the traditional academic one, for North-African and Southern-European youths in France, those from Turkey in Germany, and to a lesser degree those from Portugal, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, Albania/Kosovo in Switzerland. This is not the case in Switzerland for Western-European, Italian, and Spanish youths who indeed access higher education via the academic pathway more often than Swiss youths. Using youth panel and survey data, multinomial models are applied to analyse these pathway choices.