Genome-wide association meta-analyses and fine-mapping elucidate pathways influencing albuminuria

Increased levels of the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) are associated with higher risk of kidney disease progression and cardiovascular events, but underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we conduct trans-ethnic (n = 564,257) and European-ancestry specific meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies of UACR, including ancestry- and diabetes-specific analyses, and identify 68 UACR-associated loci. Genetic correlation analyses and risk score associations in an independent electronic medical records database (n = 192,868) reveal connections with proteinuria, hyperlipidemia, gout, and hypertension. Fine-mapping and trans-Omics analyses with gene expression in 47 tissues and plasma protein levels implicate genes potentially operating through differential expression in kidney (including TGFB1, MUC1, PRKCI, and OAF), and allow coupling of UACR associations to altered plasma OAF concentrations. Knockdown of OAF and PRKCI orthologs in Drosophila nephrocytes reduces albumin endocytosis. Silencing fly PRKCI further impairs slit diaphragm formation. These results generate a priority list of genes and pathways for translational research to reduce albuminuria

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Precision of helicopter-based total-area counts of large ungulates in bushveld

Precision in helicopter total-area counts in bushveld for a range of common species are evaluated. Counts were conducted on properties ranging in size from 250 ha to 10 000 ha as part of experiments on precision and power. Counts were conducted in three vegetation types: mopane veld, sourish mixed bushveld and arid bushveld. Scant regard is given to precision as a factor in large herbivore monitoring, with more effort often devoted to accuracy. Coefficients of variation varied from 3.2 % to 70.9 %. Median values are generally acceptable for the establishment of trends for long-term monitoring, but might be inadequate for annual population size monitoring and evaluation. A regression of all species and vegetation types by the standard error showed a significant correlation. Similar regressions were also developed for impala, kudu, warthog, and zebra. Regressions by vegetation type for mopane veld, sourish mixed bushveld, and northwest arid bushveld were also significant. However, the high correlation for some vegetation types might be an artifact of the small sample sizes

Comparative efficiency of two game counting techniques as applied to Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve

Gamecounts form one of the prime monitoring actions in wildlife management. These counts are generally used to make predictions on the nature of large ungulate populations with a view to making management decisions relating to these populations. Techniques to be applied are often chosen subjectively with little regard to the technique's statistical ability to show population change. In this study replicate data sets from an aerial and a ground counting strategy applied to ungulate populations at Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve were compared in their statistical ability to show population change as percentage of mean at pre-selected levels of significance, using statistical power as a measure of efficiency.Articl

Auditing wildlife

Reilly B.K. and Y. Reilly. 2003. Auditing wildlife. Koedoe 46(2): 97–102. Pretoria. ISSN 0075-6458. Accountants and auditors are increasingly confronted with the problem of auditing wildlife populations on game ranches as their clients' asset base expands into this industry. This paper aims to provide guidelines on these actions based on case study data and research in the field of wildlife monitoring. Parties entering into dispute on numbers of animals on a property often resort to their auditors for advice. This paper tracks a method of deciding on whether or not to audit the population based on wildlife value and an initial sample count. This will act as a guideline for the accounting profession when confronted by this problem

Power and precision of replicated helicopter surveys in mixed bushveld

It is well known that aerial game counts in South Africa are often applied in a non-standardised, unreplicated fashion. They contribute to poor management decisions based on their results as they may be subject to large statistical Type I and II errors. Replicate counts of large herbivores were conducted in a 8 500 ha sample site in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve in July 1991. These data were used to estimate precision of the counts and estimate statistical power to detect population changes for different combinations of replications and significance levels

Helicopter-based censusing of domestic dogs in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Decision support in veterinary epidemiology often depends on density estimates of domestic animals. These estimates are usually based on ground surveys of various types. Ground surveys are difficult to undertake in the informal housing settlements that are frequently encountered in developing countries. In addition, they are time-consuming and expensive. In this study, field experience in enumerating wildlife from helicopters was used to count domestic animals in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data for domestic dogs are analysed for precision and accuracy and the technique evaluated in terms of its value for decision support