Inbreeding levels in Northeast Brazil: Strategies for the prospecting of new genetic disorders

A new autosomal recessive genetic condition, the SPOAN syndrome (an acronym for spastic paraplegia, optic atrophy and neuropathy syndrome), was recently discovered in an isolated region of the State of Rio Grande do Norte in Northeast Brazil, in a population that was identified by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) as belonging to the Brazilian communities with the highest rates of “deficiencies” (Neri, 2003), a term used to describe diseases, malformations, and handicaps in general. This prompted us to conduct a study of consanguinity levels in five of its municipal districts by directly interviewing their inhabitants. Information on 7,639 couples (corresponding to about 40% of the whole population of the studied districts) was obtained. The research disclosed the existence of very high frequencies of consanguineous marriages, which varied from about 9% to 32%, suggesting the presence of a direct association between genetic diseases such as the SPOAN syndrome, genetic drift and inbreeding levels. This fact calls for the introduction of educational programs for the local populations, as well as for further studies aiming to identify and characterize other genetic conditions. Epidemiological strategies developed to collect inbreeding data, with the collaboration of health systems available in the region, might be very successful in the prospecting of genetic disorders

Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú in Association with Graminaceae in Dryland Conditions for Final Bovine Fattening Stage

To evaluate the factors that affect efficiency in a Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú association, with pastures for bovine fattening, 22 Zebu fattening cycles were studied on a farm of the Rectangulo Livestock Company, in Camagüey, Cuba, between 2002 and 2012. The local soil is brown without carbonates. The climate is tropical humid, and the annual precipitation average is 1 183mm. The factors evaluated were food balance, duration of the fattening cycle, and quantity of animals/cycle. The daily weight gain and expenses/income per operation were also analyzed. The pasture and Leucaena percentages were determined by plant counts. Food balances were estimated. The final value of the population of Leucaena cv Perú was 93% (P <0.05), with an increase in common Bermuda grass and other pastures. Short duration tests showed much higher gains (P <0.05), with values above 1.0 kg/animal/day. The number of animal/cycle (P <0.05) produced higher gains with fewer animals. Forest-grazing in association with Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú-graminaceae under dryland conditions produced mean daily gains above 0.800 kg/animal/day in the final stage of fattening bulls, based on food balances with adequate biological and economic results. The best behavior was observed in the shortest cycles, where the highest final weight/animal values were achieved, with fewer expenses and higher income

Bio-economic Impact of Strategic Changes in Murrah River Buffalo Management

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effects of changes in the strategy to manage the bio-economic efficiency of a Murrah Buffalo production system in the province of Camagüey, Cuba, located 21º north and 77º west, 217 meters above sea level. The climate is tropical humid (Aw) of plains. The mean annual precipitations were 1 180 mm (71% between May and October), the temperatures were between 24 and 29 °C. The soil is brown, without carbonates, and brown-red fersiallitic. The system comprises 5 100 ha and has 536 workers/year. A strategy to introduce management changes in agro-technical, food, reproductive, replacement, health, salary policy, and training was implemented as part of an innovation package with a systemic and participatory approach. The evaluation lasted eight years, and it was critical to increase dairy production in more than 200 000 kg/year in 2012, in comparison to 2004, with improvements in natality and reduction of operational expenses of the system. It was concluded that the strategy had a determining effect on the system's indicators

Characterization of Indoor Extremely Low Frequency and Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields in the INMA-Granada Cohort

Objective: To characterize the exposure to electric fields and magnetic fields of non-ionizing radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum (15 Hz to 100 kHz) in the dwellings of children from the Spanish Environment and Childhood-“INMA” population-based birth cohort. Methodology: The study sample was drawn from the INMA-Granada cohort. Out of 300 boys participating in the 9–10 year follow-up, 123 families agreed to the exposure assessment at home and completed a specific ad hoc questionnaire gathering information on sources of non-ionizing radiation electric and magnetic fields inside the homes and on patterns of use. Long-term indoor measurements were carried out in the living room and bedroom. Results: Survey data showed a low exposure in the children's homes according to reference levels of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection but with large differences among homes in mean and maximum values. Daytime electrostatic and magnetic fields were below the quantification limit in 78.6% (92 dwellings) and 92.3% (108 dwellings) of houses, with an arithmetic mean value (± standard deviation) of 7.31±9.32 V/m and 162.30±91.16 nT, respectively. Mean magnetic field values were 1.6 lower during the night than the day. Nocturnal electrostatic values were not measured. Exposure levels were influenced by the area of residence (higher values in urban/semi-urban versus rural areas), type of dwelling, age of dwelling, floor of the dwelling, and season. Conclusion: Given the greater sensitivity to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields of children and following the precautionary principle, preventive measures are warranted to reduce their exposure.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health (CIBERESP and FIS PI11/0610) and the Andalusia Regional Government, Council of Innovation, Science and Enterprise (Excellence Project P09-CTS-5488) and Council of Health (SAS PI-0675-2010)

Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú asociada con gramíneas en secano para ceba final bovina

To evaluate the factors that affect efficiency in a Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú association with pastures for bovine fattening, 22 Zebu fattening cycles were studied on a farm of the Rectángulo Livestock Company, in Camagüey, Cuba, between 2002 and 2012. The local soil is brown without carbonates. The climate is tropical humid, and annual precipitation averages 1 183 mm . The factors evaluated were, food balance, duration of the fattening cycle, and quantity of animals/cycle. The daily weight gain and expenses/income per operation were also analyzed. The pasture and Leucaena percents were determined by plant counts. Food balances were made. Leucaena cv Perú reached final values of 93 % (P < 0.05) with an increase in common Bermuda grass and others. Short duration tests showed much higher gains (P < 0.05), with values above 1.0 kg/animal/day. The number of animal/cycle (P < 0.05) produced higher gains with fewer animals. Forest grazing in association with Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú-graminaeae in drylands produced mean daily gains above 0.800 kg/animal/day in the final stage of fattening bulls, according to food balances with adequate biological and economic results, and the best behavior in the shortest cycles, where the highest final weight/animal values were achieved, with fewer expenses and higher income.Con el objetivo de evaluar factores que afectan la eficiencia en una asociación de Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú con pastos para ceba final de bovinos, se analizaron desde el 2002 al 2012, 22 ciclos de ceba de toros Cebú en una finca de la Empresa Pecuaria Rectángulo de ceba en Camagüey, Cuba. El suelo es Pardo sin Carbonatos. El clima es tropical húmedo (Aw) y precipitación anual de 1 183 mm . Los factores evaluados fueron: balance alimentario, duración de ciclo de ceba y cantidad de animales/ciclo. Se analizaron índices de ganancia diaria de peso, gastos e ingresos por operación. Se determinaron los por cientos de pastos y Leucaena por conteo de plantas. Se realizaron balances alimentarios. Leucaena cv Perú alcanzó valores finales del 93 % (P < 0,05) en su población, con incremento de Guinea común y otros pastos. Las pruebas de corta duración logran ganancias muy superiores (P < 0,05) con valores por encima de 1,0 kg/animal/día. El número de animales/ciclo afectó (P < 0,05) por mayores ganancias con menos animales. La tecnología de silvopastoreo con asociación de Leucaena leucocephala cv Perú-gramíneas en secano, permitió obtener ganancias medias diarias por encima de 0,800 kg/animal/día en toros de ceba final evaluadas por balances alimentarios con resultados biológicos y económicos muy adecuados y el mejor comportamiento para los ciclos más cortos, donde se obtuvieron los mayores pesos finales/animal, con menos gastos por suplementos y mayores ingresos

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

Suplementación con Norgold + miel urea al 3 % de bovinos cebú en crecimiento-ceba en sistema de pastoreo en época de seca.

Con el objetivo de determinar el alcance productivo en bovinos cebú al utilizar como suplemento Norgold + mela-za-urea al 3 % durante la etapa de crecimiento-ceba bajo sistema de pastoreo, se emplearon 60 toretes, de iguales pesos y características raciales, conformándose cuatro grupos experimentales; sometido a 9 h diarias de pastoreo, sobre pasto pitilla (Dichantium annulatum) + tejana (Paspalum notatum) de calidad regular; 3 kg de forraje de Penisetum Cuba CT – 115; 1,0; 1,5 y 2,0 kg de Norgold para los grupos I, II, III y IV, respectivamente y sal mineral y agua adlibitum. Se determinó el peso vivo inicial y final, crecimiento absoluto, ganancia media diaria y consumo, así como se estimó el beneficio/costo. Los animales del tratamiento 4 lograron alcanzar 401 kg de peso vivo; es decir, el 47,43 % de su peso respecto al peso vivo inicial en 180 días, y como promedio para todo el período, una ganancia media diaria y conversión de 716,66 g y 10,37 kg de alimento/kg de peso vivo, respectivamente. Se concluye que los tratamientos donde se incluye 2,0 y 1,5 kg de Norgold, respectivamente, lograron ganancias medias diarias y conversión alimentaria superiores (P < 0,05) a los sistemas tradicionales con base de melaza-urea y otros subproductos, así como la producción de carne que se logra permite una relación costo/beneficio positiva, lo cual significa que el sistema es factible, productivo y económico.Norgold Supplementation + Urea Molasses (3 %) for Pasture Fattening Growing Zebu Bovines in the Dry Season. ABSTRACTWith the objective of determining the productive reach in bovine Cebú when using as supplement Norgol + molas-ses-urea to 3 % during the stage of growth-it feeds low shepherding system, 60 properly uniformed toretes was used as for weight and characteristic racial conforming to subjected four experimental groups at nine daily hours of shepherding, on grass PITILLA (Dichantium annulatum) + Tejana (Paspalum notatun) of regular quality; 3 kg of forage of Penisetum Cuba CT - 115; 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kg of Norgold for the groups I, II, III and IV, respectively and salt mineral and it dilutes ad libitum. The weight alive initial was determined and final, absolute growth, daily half gain and I consummate as well as was considered the benefit/cost. The animals of the treatment four were able to reach 401 kg of live weight , that is to say, 47.43 % of their weight regarding the weight live initial in 180 days and like average, for the whole period, a daily half gain and conversion of 716.66 g and 10.37 food kg / kg of weight lives respectively. It concludes that the treatments where it is included 2.0 and 1.5 Norgold kg respectively they achieved earnings daily stockings and conversion alimentary superiors significantly (P ≤ 0.05) to the systems that traditionally have been orchestrated with the help of molasses-urea and the employment of other by-products, as well as the meat production that is achieved allows a relationship positive benefit / cost, that which means that the system is feasible, productive and economic

Using modeling tools for implementing feasible land use and nature conservation governance systems in small islands e The Pico Island (Azores) case-study

The present study deals with the development of systematic conservation planning as management instrument in small oceanic islands, ensuring open systems of governance, and able to integrate an informed and involved participation of the stakeholders. Marxan software was used to define management areas according a set of alternative land use scenarios considering different conservation and management paradigms. Modeled conservation zones were interpreted and compared with the existing protected areas allowing more fused information for future trade-outs and stakeholder's involvement. The results, allowing the identification of Target Management Units (TMU) based on the consideration of different development scenarios proved to be consistent with a feasible development of evaluation approaches able to support sound governance systems. Moreover, the detailed geographic identification of TMU seems to be able to support participated policies towards a more sustainable management of the entire islan