Finnsheep and their crosses under subtropical conditions

Finnsheep (F) have been introduced to eight countries in the subtropical Near East region over the last two decades. Those trials aiming at breeding pure F under the subtropical conditions were generally not successful. Pure F faced problems of adaptability to the subtropical environmental conditions, however, bad management and some health problems (especially Pneumonia) contributed significantly to the failure of some trials. On the other hand, crossbreeding trials with F in the region were generally successful. F-crosses proved to be well adapted to heat stress and exposure to solar radiation compared with the local breeds. Number of lambs born/ewe lambed was improved in F-crosses, as compared to local breeds, by 18—75 %in the first cross and 10—38 % in the 1/4 F. F-crossbred ewes showed encouraging results in their ability to breed more than once/year, especially those with lower F-blood (1/4 F). Number of lambs born/ewe/year in accelerated lambing systems ranged from 1.91 to 2.72 in the first cross and from 1.67 to 2.18 in 1/4 F either in experimental farms or at the producers. Crossing fat tail sheep with F substantially decreased fat in the tail of the crossbreeds, while it increased significantly internal fat and total fat percentage in the carcass

Prediction of the performance of synthetic sheep strains utilizing Finnsheep and native sheep breeds in Egypt

This investigation was carried out to estimate individual and maternal heterotic components for ewe productivity traits to enable predicting the performance of synthetics including local (Rahmani (R) and Ossimi (O)) and Finn (F) inheritance. Reproduction performance traits studied were number of ewes conceived (ECJ), number of lambs born (LBJ), number of lambs at four months of age (L4J), kilograms born (KBJ) and kilograms at four months of age (K4J), all being per ewe joined, and number of lambs born (LBL), number of lambs at four months of age (L4L), kilograms born (KBL) and kilograms at four months of age (K4L), all being per ewe lambed. Results indicate an expected increase of 0.32, 0.19, 0.50 and 0.27 in LBJ, L4J, LBL and L4L for F.R and 0.32, 0.23, 0.59 and 0.40 in the same traits for F.O after two generations of interse mating, respectively. For FR.R and FO.O the improvements were(0.18, 0.18), (0.13, 0.15), (0.22, 0.28) and (0.15, 0.22) in LBJ, L4J, LBL and L4L, resp. It can be concluded that introducing the F to the local subtropical sheep in Egypt would substantially improve their reproductive performance whether for implementation at the small farmer level (quarter F) or at higher intensification level (half F)

Genome-wide landscape of runs of homozygosity and differentiation across Egyptian goat breeds

: Understanding the genomic features of livestock is essential for successful breeding programs and conservation. This information is scarce for local goat breeds in Egypt. In the current study, genomic regions with selection signatures were identified as well as runs of homozygosity (ROH), genomic inbreeding coefficients (FROH) and fixation index (FST) were detected in Egyptian Nubian, Damascus, Barki and Boer goat breeds. A total of 46,268 SNP markers and 337 animals were available for the genomic analyses. On average, 145.44, 42.02, 87.90 and 126.95 ROHs were detected per individual in the autosomal genome of the respective breeds. The mean accumulative ROH lengths ranged from 46.5 Mb in Damascus to 360 Mb in Egyptian Nubian. The short ROH segments (< 2 Mb) were most frequent in all breeds, while the longest ROH segments (> 16 Mb) were exclusively found in the Egyptian Nubian. The highest average FROH was observed in Egyptian Nubian (~ 0.12) followed by Boer (~ 0.11), while the lowest FROH was found in Damascus (~ 0.05) and Barki breed (~ 0.03). The estimated mean FST was 0.14 (Egyptian Nubian and Boer), 0.077 (Egyptian Nubian and Barki), 0.075 (Egyptian Nubian and Damascus), 0.071 (Barki and Boer), 0.064 (Damascus and Boer), and 0.015 (Damascus and Barki), for each pair of breeds. Interestingly, multiple SNPs that accounted for high FST values were observed on chromosome 6 in regions harboring ALPK1 and KCNIP4. Genomic regions overlapping both FST and ROH harbor genes related to immunity (IL4R, PHF23, GABARAP, GPS2, and CD68), reproduction (SPATA2L, TNFSF12, TMEM95, and RNF17), embryonic development (TCF25 and SOX15) and adaptation (MC1R, KDR, and KIT), suggesting potential genetic adaptations to local environmental conditions. Our results contribute to the understanding of the genetic architecture of different goat breeds and may provide valuable information for effective preservation and breeding programs of local goat breeds in Egypt

Opportunities and challenges of integrating crop and livestock systems in the desert reclaimed lands of Egypt

The Mediterranean agriculture is constrained by high competition for land and water utilization. One of the challenges for farmers is to increase land productivity through a better use of livestock in mixed crop-livestock farming systems. To assess the opportunities and challenges of integrating crop and livestock activities in irrigated areas, a survey was conducted among 175 small-scale farms in the West Delta desert land of Egypt in 2013/2014. Five regions were investigated and comprised the old reclaimed lands where settlers came in the 1960s, the intermediate reclaimed lands where farmers settled down in the 1980s, and the new reclaimed lands that were attributed to new farmers in the 1990s. The study highlighted two types of farmers’ strategies: 1) diversification and specialization with focus on fruit tree plantation by university graduates, who had benefited from the attribution of around two hectares of land in the settlement program since the end of the 1970s; and 2) diversification with emphasis on livestock by common beneficiary settlers from the Nile Valley, who had benefited from the attribution of one hectare of land since the 1990s. Graduates focusing on fruit trees corresponded to a strategy of developing new business activity, whereas common beneficiaries diversifying their farming systems through livestock corresponded to the need to secure a stable source of family income all year round. Whereas diversification appeared to be a driving force for agricultural development in this context, specialization could be a social and economic risk as graduates became more dependent on national and international markets. This was reflected in the perception of farmers who underlined the need to integrate technical, ecological, economic and social constraints in their decisions

Contribution of grazing areas to small ruminant production systems in the Mediterranean countries

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Initial genomic characterization of Italian, Egyptian and Pakistani goat breeds

Selection and breeding practices in goats have differed greatly among countries and populations. These processes, together with natural selection and regional drift, have shaped the phenotypic variability of goat breeds (Kim et al., 2015). The availability of improved genomic analysis tools for this species may provide useful information on the history of selection, adaptation and differentiation of goats from different areas of the world, that can be evaluated by the study of gene frequencies and length of the Runs of Homozigosity (contiguous length of homozygous genotypes, ROH; Purfield et al., 2012). In current study, we examined using a goat medium density SNP chip animals from three different countries: Egypt (with lack of selection scheme), Italy (with several standardized breeds; Nicoloso et al., 2015) and Pakistan (with several breeds showing peculiar phenotypes) to produce a genomic landscape of goats breeds in these countries. A total of 1,123 animals of 39 different populations, and 48,895 SNP markers were analyzed. Genotypes were imputed on a country-based approach, and markers without known position in the genome were excluded from the analysis. MDS and ADMIXTURE plots confirmed the good differentiation among populations from the three countries. Runs of Homozygosity (ROH) were performed for each country and population allowed the detection of genomic regions with high homozygosity levels, common in at least two out of three sampling areas. These results provide new insights into goat genome structure within and among breeds and countries. The detection of conserved regions with different lengths may explain recent selection strategies or adaptation to different, extreme environmental conditions. The research was funded by INNOVAGEN project. Support by Iowa State University and the Ensminger funds for AE and AT as well as support by the Fulbright Foundation for AE are gratefully acknowledged. Sampling from Pakistan was funded by PAK-USAID project

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London