PRAGACC: A System to Identify Vulnerabilities and Classify Livestock Farms

PRAGACC is a system designed to classify cattle units, determine their weaknesses and make decisions to miti- gate them. This system is composed of two matrixes or subsystems: (I) natural resources and (II) other resources. Each matrix comprises the following variables: microclimate (A), soil (B), hydrology (C), flora and vegetation (D), and on-production animals (E) for subsystem I, and economy (F), production (G), and human resources (H) for subsystem II. Variables are determined according to 26 and 28 components for subsystems I and II, respectively. Criteria to evaluate each variable were gathered by applying a 34-question inquiry to a farmer from the studied cattle unit. A previously fixed value for each answer according to the questions contributed to the answer-related components and these, in turn, to the variables. Units classification under a subsystem depends on the number of variables showing any kind of weakness. This classification is useful in determining measures to be implemented and their priority

Aeromonas IN CHILDREN LESS THAN 5 YEAR-OLD WITH ACUTE DIARRHEA

OBJETIVO: Determinar la importancia de Aeromonas como agente diarreogénico en niños meno- res de 5 años, así como comparar su frecuencia con la de otros enteropatógenos. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Entre 1998 y 1999, se tomó 285 muestras de heces de niños con diarrea aguda, en 5 Centros Hospitalarios, las que fueron enviadas al Instituto de Medicina Tropical Daniel A. Carrión en el medio de transporte Cary Blair, para su procesamiento e identificación de Aeromonas por el método Aerokey II. RESULTADOS: Aeromonas fue la bacteria más aislada entre los enteropatógenos, sobre todo en niños menores de 2 años y en verano, y la Aeromonas caviae fue la especie más frecuente. Aeromonas fue aislada en la mayoría de los casos del agar TCBS, por lo que empleamos discos de O/129 para diferenciarla de Vibrio cholerae. Todas las Aeromonas fueron sensibles in vitro a furazolidona y neomicina. CONCLUSIONES: Aeromonas fue el prin- cipal agente etiológico de la diarrea aguda acuosa, en niños menores de 5 años.OBJECTIVE: To determine Aeromonas importance as diarrhea agent in children less than 5 year- old and compare its frequency with other enteropathogens. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1998 and 1999 285 fecal samples were taken from children with acute diarrhea in 5 hospitals, which were then sent to Daniel A. Carrión Institute of Tropical Medicine in Cary Blairs transportation medium for processing by Aerokey II method. RESULTS: Aeromonas was the most frequent bacteria isolated among enteropathogens, mainly in children less than 2-year old and in summer, and Aeromonas caviae was the most frequent species. Aeromonas was mainly isolated in agar TCBS, employing O/129 disks to differentiate it from Vibrio cholerae. All Aeromonas were sensitive in vitro to furazolidone and neomycin. CONCLUSIONS: Aeromonas was the main etiological agent of aquous acute diarrhea in children less than 5 year-old

Classification of Dairy Farms and Identification of their Weaknesses by the PRAGACC System

Fourteen dairy farms from the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production (UBPC) Patria o Muerte in Camagüey, Cuba, were classified by the PRAGACC system and their principal weaknesses were detected in order to implement mitigation measures. In all farms, deficiencies concerning management of ecosystem elements were detected (subsystem I, natural resources); out of them, five farms were impaired in two variables, six in three variables, and three in four variables. Among the principal deficiencies identified for this subsystem, water availability and its inadequate use, lack of trees on grasslands, and insufficient endogenous sources as alternatives for cattle feeding were the most evident. Regarding subsystem II (others resources), six farms showed an inefficient production process mainly associated with absence of initiatives in finding energy sources and the non-utilization of certain materials for biofertilizers manufacturing. Two other farms were identified as the most affected, thus demanding a higher priority in measures implementation. PRAGACC also increased the likelihood of a priority arrangement for the remaining farms

PRAGACC: Sistema para identificar vulnerabilidades y clasificar entidades ganaderas

PRAGACC is a system designed to classify cattle units, determine their weaknesses and make decisions to miti- gate them. This system is composed of two matrixes or subsystems: (I) natural resources and (II) other resources. Each matrix comprises the following variables: microclimate (A), soil (B), hydrology (C), flora and vegetation (D), and on production animals (E) for subsystem I, and economy (F), production (G), and human resources (H) for sub- system II. Variables are determined according to 26 and 28 components for subsystems I and II, respectively. Crite ria to evaluate each variable were gathered by applying a 34-question inquiry to a farmer from the studied cattle unit. A previously fixed value for each answer according to the questions contributed to the answer-related components and these, in turn, to the variables. Units classification under a subsystem depends on the number of variables show- ing any kind of weakness. This classification is useful in determining measures to be implemented and their priority.Para facilitar la identificación de vulnerabilidades y la clasificación de entidades de producción bovina, así como contribuir al discernimiento de las medidas de mitigación que se deberán adoptar, se diseñó un sistema al que se le denominó PRAGACC, que consta de dos matrices o subsistemas: (I) recursos naturales y (II) otros recursos. Cada matriz está compuesta por las siguientes variables: microclima (A), suelo (B), hidrología (C), flora y vegetación (D) y animales en producción (E), dentro del subsistema I, y economía (E), producción (G) y recursos humanos (H), en el II; estas, a su vez, se determinan de acuerdo con 26 y 28 componentes para I y II, respectivamente. Los criterios para evaluar cada variable, se obtuvieron de una encuesta de 34 preguntas, que se aplicó a un productor de la entidad. Las interrogantes poseen un valor prefijado por respuesta, que aporta a las componentes con las que se vincula y de estas a las variables. Las entidades se clasifican por subsistema, según el número de variables que se consideran afectadas y esta clasificación determina las medidas que se deberán adoptar, así como la prioridad en su aplicación

Identificación de vulnerabilidades y clasificación de unidades de producción lechera mediante el sistema PRAGACC

Fourteen dairy farms from the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production (UBPC) Patria o Muerte in Camagüey, Cuba, were classified by the PRAGACC system and their principal weaknesses were detected in order to implement mitigation measures. In all farms, deficiencies concerning management of ecosystem elements were detected (subsystem I, natural resources); out of them, five farms were impaired in two variables, six in three variables, and three in four variables. Among the principal deficiencies identified for this subsystem, water availability and its inadequate use, lack of trees on grasslands, and insufficient endogenous sources as alternatives for cattle feeding were the most evident. Regarding subsystem II (others resources), six farms showed an inefficient production process mainly associated with absence of initiatives in finding energy sources and the non-utilization of certain materials for biofertilizers manufacturing. Two other farms were identified as the most affected, thus demanding a higher priority in measures implementation. PRAGACC also increased the likelihood of a priority arrangement for the remaining farms.Mediante el sistema PRAGACC se identificaron las principales vulnerabilidades y se clasificaron las 14 vaquerías de la unidad de producción cooperativa (UBPC) Patria o Muerte en Camagüey, Cuba, con miras a la aplicación de medidas de mitigación. En el análisis de las entidades todas manifestaron problemas al manejar elementos del ecosistema (subsistema I, recursos naturales); de ellas, cinco mostraron afectaciones en dos variables, seis en tres y tres en cuatro. Dentro de los principales problemas identificados en este subsistema se destaca la baja disponibilidad y el uso inadecuado del agua, la escasa presencia de árboles en los pastizales y las insuficientes fuentes endógenas como alternativas para alimentar al ganado. En relación con el subsistema II (otros recursos) se encontró que seis entidades manifestaron insuficiencias en el proceso productivo, vinculadas principalmente con la falta de iniciativas en la obtención de fuentes de energía y el desaprovechamiento de materiales para la producción de bioabonos. El sistema permitió identificar dos entidades más afectadas, que deben tener prioridad al aplicar las medidas. PRAGACC también posibilitó dar orden de prioridad a las restantes vaquerías

Pechiche (Vitex cymosa Berteo ex Speng), a nontraditional fruit from Ecuador, is a dietary source of phenolic acids and nutrient minerals, in addition to efficiently counteracting the oxidative-induced damage in human dermal fibroblasts

Pechiche fruits (Vitex cymosa Berteo ex Speng) from Ecuador were studied to determine their phenolic acid profile, nutrient minerals and capacity to protect primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDFa) against oxidative-induced damage. Up to five phenolic acids were identified, with homovanillic acid as the main one. Vitamin C, β-carotene and lutein were also determined. Phosphorus and potassium were the main macrominerals, while iron was the principal micromineral. HDFa were preincubated with a crude pechiche extract (PCext) and then subjected to oxidative stress. The activity of five antioxidant enzymes, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ATP levels and lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation were used as markers of oxidative damage. Preincubation with PCext for 24 h allowed for the significant reduction of intracellular ROS levels, improved the intracellular ATP levels and protected lipids and proteins against oxidative damage (p < 0.05). Additionally, preincubation with PCext was also able to significantly (p < 0.05) improve the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione transferase, compared to the stressed group without pretreatment. The results obtained in this study suggest the potential of pechiche as a source of bioactive compounds, as well as its beneficial effect against oxidative stress.MINECO | Ref. AGL2015-64522-C2Interreg España-Portugal | Ref. 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_

Confiabilidad interpretativa sobre la construcción científica de premisas en la redacción problemática de los manuscritos

El propósito de este trabajo fue evaluar la confiabilidad interpretativa sobre la construcción científica de premisas en la redacción problemática de los manuscritos. Se analizaron 22 propuestas de manuscritos: 14 presentadas como trabajos en extenso durante la participación de congresos y ocho para su publicación en revistas indexadas desde agosto de 2018 hasta febrero de 2019. Se seleccionaron 10 docentes evaluadores para analizar la calidad introductoria de cada propuesta donde se midieron cinco estructuras metodológicas: análisis de contexto, antecedentes, vacío del conocimiento, objetivos y fundamentación estableciéndose un criterio de análisis según escala tipo Likert. Se comparó los resultados de las calificaciones mediante un ANOVA. La confiabilidad de los resultados indicados fue mediante alfa de Cronbach. El promedio otorgado por los docentes fue de 17,9 (total: 20) señalando que la evaluación sobre las propuestas fue muy aceptada (3,58; total cuatro puntos). No hubo diferencias estadísticas significativas (p = .6034) con relación a las evaluaciones docentes. Sin embargo, al realizar una estadística t para una muestra (grados de libertad: 9) se observó que, el valor p = 0 donde la H1 expresó que la confiabilidad interpretativa de docentes evaluadores sobre la construcción de premisas en los manuscritos científicos es de calidad no aceptada lo cual, mostró contradicción en lo interpretado por los docentes siendo corroborado mediante la confiabilidad hallada por el alfa de Cronbach (0,5: moderada). Se concluye que, se requiere aumentar la preparación metodológica en docentes evaluadores para mejorar su interpretación sobre la construcción de premisas en los manuscritos científicos

DRB1*03:01 Haplotypes: Differential Contribution to Multiple Sclerosis Risk and Specific Association with the Presence of Intrathecal IgM Bands

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease with a genetic basis. The strongest associations with the disease lie in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) region. However, except for the DRB1*15:01 allele, the main risk factor associated to MS so far, no consistent effect has been described for any other variant. One example is HLA-DRB1*03:01, with a heterogeneous effect across populations and studies. We postulate that those discrepancies could be due to differences in the diverse haplotypes bearing that allele. Thus, we aimed at studying the association of DRB1*03:01 with MS susceptibility considering this allele globally and stratified by haplotypes. We also evaluated the association with the presence of oligoclonal IgM bands against myelin lipids (OCMB) in cerebrospinal fluid. METHODS: Genotyping of HLA-B, -DRB1 and -DQA1 was performed in 1068 MS patients and 624 ethnically matched healthy controls. One hundred and thirty-nine MS patients were classified according to the presence (M+, 58 patients)/absence (M-, 81 patients) of OCMB. Comparisons between groups (MS patients vs. controls and M+ vs. M-) were performed with the chi-square test or the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Association of DRB1*03:01 with MS susceptibility was observed but with different haplotypic contribution, being the ancestral haplotype (AH) 18.2 the one causing the highest risk. Comparisons between M+, M- and controls showed that the AH 18.2 was affecting only M+ individuals, conferring a risk similar to that caused by DRB1*15:01. CONCLUSIONS: The diverse DRB1*03:01-containing haplotypes contribute with different risk to MS susceptibility. The AH 18.2 causes the highest risk and affects only to individuals showing OCMB