Peer-to-peer communication in East and West Africa may help promote COVID-19 policy compliance

Containing the COVID-19 pandemic requires the public’s cooperation in adopting health behaviours such as mask wearing and physical distancing. An online survey conducted in April 2020 shows that respondents in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda had accurate information about COVID-19 but underestimated their peers’ support for COVID-related health policies. However, a majority of respondents were willing to encourage others to practice physical distancing, suggesting that peer-to-peer communication could be used to increase compliance with public health policies

Farmer and scientific knowledge of soil quality: a social ecological soil systems approach.

This article focuses on how farmers identify and evaluate the quality of soils cultivated and how their indicators compare to those used by agricultural scientists. The aim is to bridge the gap between specific farmer knowledge and universal scientific knowledge by adopting an ecosystem framework applied to agriculture through the concept of agro-ecosystems. This approach was applied to farming in mountainous areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a global environmental hotspot that has been degraded over time. In order to reverse this trend, local actors have to build agro-ecological systems that maintain environmental quality, agronomic sustainability and socio-economic viability. For this to happen, local and scientific knowledge must be bridged and mutually adapted in order to be successful. This study therefore concentrates on processes of inter-communication between farmers and agricultural scientists concerning the role of soil quality in farming and conservation

The effect of claw horn disruption lesions and body condition score at dry-off on survivability, reproductive performance, and milk production in the subsequent lactation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL; sole ulcers and white line disease) and body condition score (BCS) at dry-off on survivability, milk production, and reproductive performance during the subsequent lactation. An observational prospective cohort study was conducted on a large commercial dairy in Cayuga County, New York, from September 2008 until January 2009. A total of 573 cows enrolled at dry-off were scored for body condition and hoof trimmed; digits were visually inspected for the presence of CHDL. The BCS data were recategorized into a 3-level variable BCS group (BCSG), with cows with BCS \u3c3 placed in BCSG 1 (n = 113), cows with BCS = 3 placed in BCSG 2 (n = 254), and cows with BCS \u3e3 placed in BCSG 3 (n = 206). Cows in BCSG 2 were 1.35 and 1.02 times more likely to conceive than cows in BCSG 1 and 3, respectively. The cull/death hazard for BCSG 1 cows was 1.55 and 1.47 times higher than for cows in BCSG 2 and BCSG 3, respectively. Milk yield for cows in BCSG 2 (44.6 kg/d, 95% CI 43.4–45.8) was significantly greater than that for cows in BCSG 1 (41.5 kg/d, 95% CI 39.8–43.3). Cows with previous lactation days open ≤91 had 1.6 times higher odds of being classified into BCSG 1 at dry-off; cows with previous lactation mature-equivalent 305-d milk \u3e14,054 kg had a similar 1.6 times higher odds of being classified into BCSG 1. Claw horn disruption lesions were found in 24.4% of the cows (n = 140) at dry-off. Cows without CHDL were 1.4 times more likely to conceive than cows with CHDL. Additionally, lesion cows were 1.7 times more likely to die or be culled than nonlesion cows. Absence of CHDL did not have a significant effect on milk yield. These findings highlight the importance of claw health and BCS at the end of lactation on future survival and performance

16S rRNA amplicon sequencing reveals a polymicrobial nature of complicated claw horn disruption lesions and interdigital phlegmon in dairy cattle

Lameness represents an intractable problem for the dairy industry. Complicated claw horn disruption lesions, interdigital hyperplasia, and interdigital phlegmon are important lameness causing foot lesions. Their aetiology is multifactorial, but infectious processes are likely implicated in disease pathogenesis. Our aim was to investigate the bacterial profiles of these lesions using 16S rRNA gene sequencing of samples obtained from 51 cattle across ten farms in the UK. In this study, interdigital hyperplasia, interdigital hyperplasia with signs of interdigital dermatitis, interdigital phlegmon, complicated sole ulcers, complicated toe ulcers lesions, and complicated white line lesions were investigated; corresponding healthy skin control samples were also analysed. All diseased tissues displayed reduced microbial richness and diversity (as described by Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson alpha-diversity indices) compared to their healthy skin control samples. Our results confirm the association of Treponema spp with some of these disorders. Other anaerobic bacteria including Fusobacterium spp., Fastidiosipila spp. and Porphyromonas spp. were implicated in the aetiology of all these lesions with the exception of interdigital hyperplasia. Complicated claw horn disruption lesions, and interdigital phlegmon were found to have similar bacterial profiles. Such sharing of bacterial genera suggests many of the infectious agents detected in these foot lesions are acting opportunistically; this finding could contribute towards future treatment and control strategies

Laringectomia total associada à traqueostomia definitiva como tratamento da paralisia laríngea grave em cão

O artigo não apresenta resumo

A Silsesquioxane Organically Modified with 4-Amino-5-(4-pyridyl)-4 H

The octakis(3-chloropropyl)silsesquioxane (SS) was organofunctionalized with 4-amino-5-4(pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol. The product formed (SA) was undergo another reactions in two steps, first with copper and so hexacyanoferrate (III) to form CuHSA. The organofunctionalized silsesquioxane was characterized by the following techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in solid state, and thermogravimetric analysis in air and nitrogen atmosphere. The composite CuHSA was incorporated into a graphite paste electrode and the electrochemical behavior studies were conducted with cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammogram of the modified graphite paste electrode with CuHSA showed one redox couple with formal potential Eθ′=0.75 V versus Ag/AgCl(sat) (KCl 1.0 mol L−1; v = 20 mV s−1) attributed to the redox process Fe(II)(CN)6/Fe(III)(CN)6 of the binuclear complex formed. The redox couple presents an electrocatalytic response of sulfhydryl compounds such as n-acetylcysteine and l-cysteine. For determination of n-acetylcysteine and l-cysteine the modified graphite paste electrode showed a linear region in the concentration range of 2 to 20 mmol L−1. The modified electrode was chemically and electrochemically stable and showed good reproducibility