Acidosis in Skin Diseases

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Review of \u3ci\u3eUrochloa\u3c/i\u3e Breeder’s Toolbox with the Theory of Change and Stage Gate System Approach

Livestock production in the global south is at crossroads as there is a demand to increase Animal Source Foods to address hunger and pressure to lighten the environmental footprint often associated with livestock production. To satisfy both needs, the use of technologies that improve animal performance, while reducing land use and net Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by animals is essential. One of such technologies are Urochloa forage grasses. Urochloa forage grasses are well known for their rusticity and their ability to grow in soils of low fertility and high aluminum content. These characteristics allow Urochloa to grow in areas temporally or spatially less suitable for crop production, but also have made ruminants production profitable in areas that would not be otherwise. However, productivity and sustainability of ruminant production in these areas is likely to fall within the next decade due to climate change unless action is taken. Despite these known benefits of Urochloa forage species, breeding programs have long delayed initiation due to apomixes and differences in ploidy. In the mid-1980s, the development of suitable sexual germplasm allowed crossings, and therefore favoured the emergence of breeding programs. In recent decades, several advances in biology, molecular biology, phenotyping, population genetics, genomics and transcriptomics have generated a plethora of information that ought to be integrated for its use in a single breeding toolbox. We use the Theory of Change and Stage-Gate systems approach to review these advances in research and the utility of the current and future available tools. Further, we address the remaining lack of information, thus bridging the knowledge gap and enabling us to maximize the genetic gain in the different Urochloa breeding programs. In this way, we identify breeding bottlenecks and help to pinpoint priorities for Urochloa research and development

Understanding & Modeling State Stability: Exploiting System Dynamics

The potential loss of state stability in various parts of the world is a source of threat to U.S. national security. Every case is unique, but there are common processes. Accordingly, we develop a system dynamics model of state stability by representing the nature and dynamics of ‘loads’ generated by insurgency activities, on the one hand, and by articulating the core features of state resilience and its ‘capacity’ to withstand these ‘loads’, on the other. The problem is to determine and ‘predict’ when threats to stability override the resilience of the state and, more important, to anticipate propensities for ‘tipping points’, namely conditions under which small changes in anti-regime activity can generate major disruptions. On this basis, we then identify appropriate actionable mitigation factors to decrease the likelihood of ‘tipping’ and enhance prospects for stability

The Evolution and Future of Targeted Cancer Therapy: From Nanoparticles, Oncolytic Viruses, and Oncolytic Bacteria to the Treatment of Solid Tumors

While many classes of chemotherapeutic agents exist to treat solid tumors, few can generate a lasting response without substantial off-target toxicity despite significant scientific advancements and investments. In this review, the paths of development for nanoparticles, oncolytic viruses, and oncolytic bacteria over the last 20 years of research towards clinical translation and acceptance as novel cancer therapeutics are compared. Novel nanoparticle, oncolytic virus, and oncolytic bacteria therapies all start with a common goal of accomplishing therapeutic drug activity or delivery to a specific site while avoiding off-target effects, with overlapping methodology between all three modalities. Indeed, the degree of overlap is substantial enough that breakthroughs in one therapeutic could have considerable implications on the progression of the other two. Each oncotherapeutic modality has accomplished clinical translation, successfully overcoming the potential pitfalls promising therapeutics face. However, once studies enter clinical trials, the data all but disappears, leaving pre-clinical researchers largely in the dark. Overall, the creativity, flexibility, and innovation of these modalities for solid tumor treatments are greatly encouraging, and usher in a new age of pharmaceutical development

Patterns of Natural and Human-Caused Mortality Factors of a Rare Forest Carnivore, the Fisher (Pekania pennanti) in California.

Wildlife populations of conservation concern are limited in distribution, population size and persistence by various factors, including mortality. The fisher (Pekania pennanti), a North American mid-sized carnivore whose range in the western Pacific United States has retracted considerably in the past century, was proposed for threatened status protection in late 2014 under the United States Endangered Species Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in its West Coast Distinct Population Segment. We investigated mortality in 167 fishers from two genetically and geographically distinct sub-populations in California within this West Coast Distinct Population Segment using a combination of gross necropsy, histology, toxicology and molecular methods. Overall, predation (70%), natural disease (16%), toxicant poisoning (10%) and, less commonly, vehicular strike (2%) and other anthropogenic causes (2%) were causes of mortality observed. We documented both an increase in mortality to (57% increase) and exposure (6%) from pesticides in fishers in just the past three years, highlighting further that toxicants from marijuana cultivation still pose a threat. Additionally, exposure to multiple rodenticides significantly increased the likelihood of mortality from rodenticide poisoning. Poisoning was significantly more common in male than female fishers and was 7 times more likely than disease to kill males. Based on necropsy findings, suspected causes of mortality based on field evidence alone tended to underestimate the frequency of disease-related mortalities. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of mortality causes of fishers and provides essential information to assist in the conservation of this species

Molecular Population Structure for Feral Swine in the United States

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) have invaded most of the United States and continue to expand throughout North America. Given the ecological and economic threats posed by increasing feral swine abundance, it is imperative to develop an understanding of their patterns of natural range expansion and human-mediated introductions. Towards this goal, we used molecular markers to elucidate the genetic structure of feral swine populations throughout the United States and evaluated the association between historical introductions and contemporary patterns of genetic organization. We used STRUCTURE and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) to delineate genetic clusters for 959 individuals genotyped at 88 single nucleotide polymorphism loci. We identified 10 and 12 genetic clusters for the 2 clustering approaches, respectively. We observed strong agreement in clusters across approaches, with both describing clusters having strong geographic association at regional levels reflecting past introduction and range expansion patterns. In addition, we evaluated patterns of isolation by distance to test for and estimate spatial scaling of population structure within western, central, and eastern regions of North America. We found contrasting spatial patterns of genetic relatedness among regions, suggesting differences in the invasion process, likely as a result of regional variation in landscape heterogeneity and the influence of human mediated introductions. Our results indicate that molecular analyses of population genetic structure can provide reliable insights into the invasion processes of feral swine, thus providing a useful basis for management focused on minimizing continued range expansion by this problematic species

CGIAR GENDER Platform: Evaluation Report

The summative and formative evaluation of the GENDER (Generating Evidence and New Directions for Equitable Results) Platform assessed its progress from January 2020 to October 2022, to document lessons and best practices, to also provide forward-looking recommendations for the newly transitioned CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform. The evaluation was conducted between October 2022 – June 2023 by the external team, which was led by an evaluation expert and comprised of three subject matter experts to specifically address Evidence, Methods, and Alliances modules of the Platform. This evaluation employed theory-based, utilization-focused, participatory, and feminist approaches aligned with CGIAR’s Evaluation Framework and Policies. The Platform evaluation readiness was determined by an evaluability assessment jointly carried out by the GENDER platform team, with facilitation and quality assurance under IAES, following the CGIAR evaluability assessment guidelines. The presentation of approaches and methodology of the evaluation and its novelties was shared with the wider audiences at the 2023 gLOCAL event: How Evaluations Contribute to Addressing The Greater Societal Issues: Evaluation of the CGIAR GENDER Platform Additional detail on methodology is provided in the Annex. Seven key evaluation questions were framed along the five evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and sustainability. Quality of Science evaluation criteria was integrated into the specific evaluation sub-questions of the Evidence module study, to pretest the evaluation guidelines CGIAR on evaluating QoR4D in process and performance evaluations. The evaluation used three kinds of triangulation: investigator triangulation, data triangulation, and methodological triangulation. Mixed methods were employed, including: online survey (119 respondents- see survey blog), key informant interviews (84 participants), and desk reviews on Platform indicator data, annual reports, module financial data, and other secondary documents. Executive summaries of three module reports are includes in the Annex, complementing the Platform-wide evidence and conclusions. Responding to the key stakeholder groups, the evaluation made 11 recommendations for: the GENDER Platform and CGIAR management. Complementing lessons from other platform evaluations of Excellence in Breeding Platform and Big Data in Agriculture, lessons learnt from this evaluation of the GENDER platform that would apply to new CGIAR impact platforms. Please read the evaluation report with stand-alone annexes, and Management Response to the evaluation. Stay tuned for other knowledge management products

Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Feral Swine near Spinach Fields and Cattle, Central California Coast1

We investigated involvement of feral swine in contamination of agricultural fields and surface waterways with Escherichia coli O157:H7 after a nationwide outbreak traced to bagged spinach from California. Isolates from feral swine, cattle, surface water, sediment, and soil at 1 ranch were matched to the outbreak strain