Modelling for the inheritance of multiple births and fertility in endangered equids: Determining risk factors and genetic parameters in donkeys (Equus asinus).

Multiple births or twinning in equids are dangerous, undesirable situations that compromise the life of the dam and resulting offspring. However, embryo vitrification and freezing techniques take advantage of individuals whose multiple ovulations allow flushing more fertilised embryos from the oviduct to be collected, increasing the productivity and profitability of reproductive techniques. Embryo preservation is especially important in highly endangered populations such as certain donkey (Equus asinus) breeds; for which conventional reproductive techniques have previously been deemed inefficient. For instance, becoming an effective alternative to artificial insemination with frozen semen to preserve the individuals' genetic material. The objective of this study was to examine the historical foaling records of Andalusian donkeys to estimate prevalence, risk factors, phenotypic and genetic parameters for multiple births, assessing the cumulative foal number born per animal, maximum foal number per birth and multiple birth number per animal. We designed a Bayesian General Animal Mixed Model with single records considering the 'fixed' effects of birth year, birth season, birth month, sex, farm, location, and husbandry system. Age was considered and included as a linear and quadratic covariate. Gibbs sampling reported heritability estimates ranging from 0.18 ± 0.101 to 0.24 ± 0.078. Genetic and phenotypic correlations ranged from 0.496 ± 0.298 to 0.846 ± 0.152 and 0.206 ± 0.063 to 0.607 ± 0.054, respectively. Predicted breeding values obtained enable the potential selection against/for these traits, offering a new perspective for donkey breeding and conservation

caracterizacion zoometrica y evaluacion de la condicion corporal en la raza camellar canaria

La conservación, mejora y uso racional de los recursos genéticos animales locales y su diversidad son propósitos prioritarios a nivel nacional e internacional de evidente carácter legítimo. Reconocida en situación de amenaza, la raza camellar canaria (Camelus dromedarius) se encuentra marginalmente reducida a las islas orientales del archipiélago. Su uso queda restringido fundamentalmente a la explotación turística y, de forma esporádica, a labores variadas en el ámbito agropecuario. La caracterización morfoestructural y zoométrica del camello canario es una tarea clave que permitirá la identificación de aquellos caracteres o rasgos fenotípicos implicados en la actividad productivo-económica de estos animales con el fin de recuperar posibles nuevos nichos funcionales. La presente propuesta metodológica se enmarca en un contexto de oportunidad y resurgimiento de una potencial industria de producción con el asentamiento de las bases para un programa de recuperación y cría selectiva de esta raza camellar a través de su sustentabilidad funcional

caracterizacion etologica de la raza camellar canaria

El interés creciente en la aplicación de las ciencias del comportamiento a la producción animal ha posibilitado el desarrollo progresivo de técnicas para el mejoramiento y ajuste de los sistemas de manejo con vistas a obtener rendimientos productivos elevados en el marco de la sostenibilidad. La reproducción selectiva y diferencial para rasgos conductuales específicos y deseables en la raza camellar canaria (Camelus dromedarius), previa caracterización etofuncional, puede aplicarse a lograr un incremento del valor adaptativo de los animales a las presiones de los sistemas de producción pecuaria en que se encuentran. Esta iniciativa se enmarca en un plan estratégico de conservación, mejora y fomento de una raza autóctona amenazada a través de vías alternativas de rentabilidad y utilización sostenibles de la raza y sus productos. La cualificación del equipo humano implicado, así como la optimización técnica y mecánica de las infraestructuras en los sistemas de producción camellar, se convierten en objetivos de consideración prioritaria en etología aplicada

Global phylogeny of Treponema pallidum lineages reveals recent expansion and spread of contemporary syphilis.

Funder: Queensland GovernmentSyphilis, which is caused by the sexually transmitted bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, has an estimated 6.3 million cases worldwide per annum. In the past ten years, the incidence of syphilis has increased by more than 150% in some high-income countries, but the evolution and epidemiology of the epidemic are poorly understood. To characterize the global population structure of T. pallidum, we assembled a geographically and temporally diverse collection of 726 genomes from 626 clinical and 100 laboratory samples collected in 23 countries. We applied phylogenetic analyses and clustering, and found that the global syphilis population comprises just two deeply branching lineages, Nichols and SS14. Both lineages are currently circulating in 12 of the 23 countries sampled. We subdivided T. p. pallidum into 17 distinct sublineages to provide further phylodynamic resolution. Importantly, two Nichols sublineages have expanded clonally across 9 countries contemporaneously with SS14. Moreover, pairwise genome analyses revealed examples of isolates collected within the last 20 years from 14 different countries that had genetically identical core genomes, which might indicate frequent exchange through international transmission. It is striking that most samples collected before 1983 are phylogenetically distinct from more recently isolated sublineages. Using Bayesian temporal analysis, we detected a population bottleneck occurring during the late 1990s, followed by rapid population expansion in the 2000s that was driven by the dominant T. pallidum sublineages circulating today. This expansion may be linked to changing epidemiology, immune evasion or fitness under antimicrobial selection pressure, since many of the contemporary syphilis lineages we have characterized are resistant to macrolides

Barriers to health care services for migrants living with HIV in Spain

BACKGROUND: In Spain, migrants are disproportionately affected by HIV and experience high rates of late diagnosis. We investigated barriers to health care access among migrants living with HIV (MLWH) in Spain. METHODS: Cross sectional electronic survey of 765 adult HIV-positive migrants recruited within 18 health care settings between July 2013 and July 2015. We collected epidemiological, demographic, behavioral and clinical data. We estimated the prevalence and risk factors of self-reported barriers to health care using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of those surveyed, 672 (88%) had information on health care access barriers: 23% were women, 63% from Latin America and Caribbean, 14% from Sub-Saharan Africa and 15% had an irregular immigration status. Men were more likely to report barriers than women (24% vs. 14%, P = 0.009). The main barriers were: lengthy waiting times for an appointment (9%) or in the clinic (7%) and lack of a health card (7%). Having an irregular immigration status was a risk factor for experiencing barriers for both men (OR: (4.0 [95%CI: 2.2–7.2]) and women (OR: 10.5 [95%CI: 3.1–34.8]). Men who experienced racial stigma (OR: 3.1 [95%CI: 1.9–5.1]) or food insecurity (OR: 2.1 [95%CI: 1.2–3.4]) were more likely to report barriers. Women who delayed treatment due to medication costs (6.3 [95%CI: 1.3–30.8]) or had a university degree (OR: 5.8 [95%CI: 1.3–25.1]) were more likely to report barriers. CONCLUSION: Health care barriers were present in one in five5 MLWH, were more common in men and were associated to legal entitlement to access care, perceived stigma and financial constraints

analisis biocinematico de locomocion y termografia aplicada en la raza camellar canaria

La comprensión anatómica y locomotora de los aires naturales del camello es un elemento esencial para su evaluación cinética y cinemática en tanto que constituyen herramientas de marcada predictibilidad del rendimiento funcional, gasto energético y respuesta al entrenamiento. El estudio biomecánico, en asociación con evaluaciones termográficas complementarias, permite la delimitación precisa de los factores de riesgo potencialmente asociados a lesiones músculo-esqueléticas derivadas del trabajo físico desarrollado por estos animales y en consideración de patologías de etiología multifactorial en la mayor parte de los casos. Competiciones de velocidad, exhibiciones lúdicas o paseos turísticos son algunas de las actividades motoras desempeñadas por camellos y que, en regiones geográficas concretas, se encuentran perfiladas por un marcado arraigo cultural. En el caso particular del camello canario (Camelus dromedarius), su uso actual está marginalmente relegado al sector turístico. En condición de raza autóctona amenazada, el ajuste sistematizado de registros de rendimiento locomotor enriquecerá la viabilidad y sostenibilidad de las acciones de conservación, cría selectiva y revalorización funcional de esta raza camellar