Enteric methane mitigation strategies for ruminant livestock systems in the Latin America and Caribbean region: a meta-analysis.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) is a developing region characterized for its importance for global food security, producing 23 and 11% of the global beef and milk production, respectively. The region?s ruminant livestock sector however, is under scrutiny on environmental grounds due to its large contribution to enteric methane (CH4) emissions and influence on global climate change. Thus, the identification of effective CH4 mitigation strategies which do not compromise animal performance is urgently needed, especially in context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) defined in the Paris Agreement of the United Nations. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were to: 1) collate a database of individual sheep, beef and dairy cattle records from enteric CH4 emission studies conducted in the LAC region, and 2) perform a meta-analysis to identify feasible enteric CH4 mitigation strategies, which do not compromise animal performance. After outlier?s removal, 2745 animal records (65% of the original data) from 103 studies were retained (from 2011 to 2021) in the LAC database. Potential mitigation strategies were classified into three main categories (i.e., animal breeding, dietary, and rumen manipulation) and up to three subcategories, totaling 34 evaluated strategies. A random effects model weighted by inverse variance was used (Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V3.3.070). Six strategies decreased at least one enteric CH4 metric and simultaneously increased milk yield (MY; dairy cattle) or average daily gain (ADG; beef cattle and sheep). The breed composition F1 Holstein × Gyr decreased CH4 emission per MY (CH4IMilk) while increasing MY by 99%. Adequate strategies of grazing management under continuous and rotational stocking decreased CH4 emission per ADG (CH4IGain) by 22 and 35%, while increasing ADG by 22 and 71%, respectively. Increased dietary protein concentration, and increased concentrate level through cottonseed meal inclusion, decreased CH4IMilk and CH4IGain by 10 and 20% and increased MY and ADG by 12 and 31%, respectively. Lastly, increased feeding level decreased CH4IGain by 37%, while increasing ADG by 171%. The identified effective mitigation strategies can be adopted by livestock producers according to their specific needs and aid LAC countries in achieving SDG as defined in the Paris Agreement

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

VALORACIÓN DE ENERGÍA DIGESTIBLE DE LA GLICERINA CRUDA PROVENIENTE DE ACEITE DE PALMA – Elaeis guineensi – PARA CERDOS EN CRECIMIENTO EN FUNCIÓN DEL NIVEL DE ALMIDÓN DE MAÍZ EN LA DIETA

Para determinar la energía digestible aparente (EDA) de la glicerina cruda (GC) proveniente del aceite de palma ( Elaeis guineensis ) en cerdos se realizaron dos experimentos (E). En E1 se determinó la EDA para GC con la técnica de la bolsa móvil de nailon (TBMN) utilizando ocho cerdos castrados con cánula duodenal. En E2 se determinaron la EDA y la energía metabolizable aparente (EMA) para GC, por el método convencional con indicador (MCI), con 10 cerdos castrados ubicados en jaulas metabólicas. En E1 y E2 se evaluaron, en un arreglo factorial 2 x 5, dos niveles de almidón de maíz (NA) en la dieta, 10% (NA10) y 12% (NA12), y cinco niveles de sustitución con GC (0%, 2 , 5%, 5,0%, 7 , 5% y 10%) en E1 en un diseño completo al azar y en E2 en un diseño de cuadrado latino. Para TBMN y MCI los datos se analizaron mediante regresión lineal múltiple y el metabolismo del nitrógeno en MCI como un diseño de cuadrado latino utilizando los módulos REG y GLM del paquete SAS. Por TBMN no hubo efectos (P > 0 , 05) del NA sobre la EDA de GC. La EDA de GC se calculó en 3.251 kcal/kg MS. La EDA de GC en MCI dependió de NA (P 0 , 05). Los resultados de EDA corregidos por NA con MCI mostraron correlación alta (R 2 = 0 , 82) con TBMN. Con MCI se pudo establecer que el aumento en NA en la dieta reduce la EDA de GC

Evaluation of a Colombian oregano oil (Lippia origanoides Kunth) and a novel yeast product from Pichia guilliermondii, alone or in combination, on rumen fermentation, methanogenesis and the microbiome in the rumen simulation technique

In this study, Lippia origanoides Kunth, native to the Alto Patía region in Southwest Colombia, and Pichia guilliermondii LV196, an inactivated yeast from the germplasm bank of Agrosavia (Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation), alone or combined, were tested for their long-term effect on rumen fermentation and methanogenesis whilst also characterising their effect on bacterial and methanogen communities. Whereas essential oils act through selective inhibition of microbial groups, yeasts are thought to work through the selective stimulation of key microbes in the rumen. We hypothesized that yeast supplementation could modulate the antimicrobial effect of a high thymol-containing oregano oil, allowing a more efficient feed utilization whilst decreasing methane production. When added to a rumen simulating fermentor (RUSITEC), L. origanoides Kunth at 132 µL/d had a detrimental effect on rumen fermentation which was accompanied by a reduction in the relative abundance of protozoa and fungi and a profound impact on the bacterial and archaeal communities. P. guilliermondii LV196 at 0.5 g/L, however, had no effect on fermentation parameters or nutrient utilization, and neither changes in microbial abundances or in the structure of bacterial and archaeal communities were observed. P. guilliermondii LV196 did not stimulate microbial numbers nor activity and, consequently we could not test whether it could have counterbalanced the antimicrobial effect of the essential oil. Future studies need to both investigate lower levels of essential oil addition, but also to re-examine the effects of P. guillermondii in the rumen and/or to replace it with other yeast of known biological activity when combined with oils extracted from L. origanoides Kunth.The authors wish to express their appreciation for the financial support provided by British Council, Newton Institutional Links (project: Improving competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of dairy production in the high tropics of Colombia)

Builders of Megaliths: Society, monumentality and environment in 4th Millennium cal BC Antequera

We would like to thank Professors Antonio Gilman and Alasdair Whittle for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. We also would like to thank both anonymous reviewers for their insightful and useful comments. This research has been funded by two projects of the National R&D Plan of the Spanish Government: Megalithic Biographies: The Antequera Megalithic Landscape in Its Temporal and Spatial Context (HAR2017-87481-P, 2018-2021), and Nature, Society and Monumentality: High-Resolution Archaeological Investigations of the Antequera Megalithic Landscape (HAR2013-45149-P, 2014-2017). All work undertaken as part of this research was framed within the General Research Project Societies, Territories and Landscapes in the Prehistory of Antequera (Málaga), authorised by the Ministry for Culture and Historical Heritage of the Andalusian Government (2013-2021)