Determinants of Milk Marketing Channel Selection by Urban and Peri-Urban Commercial Dairy Producers in Ethiopia

አህፅሮት  ይህ ጥናት ገበያ ተኮር የወተት ላሞች ርባታ ላይ የተሰማሩ የወተት አምራቾች የጥሬ ወተት ግብይት መንገዶችን ለማጥናት እና የአምራቾችን የመሸጫ (የግብይት) አማራጮች (ቻናል) አመራረጥን የሚወስኑ ጉዳዮችን ለመለየት የተካሄደ ነዉ፡፡ ጥናቱን ለመተግበር በዋና ዋና ከተሞች እና በከተሞች ዙሪያ በተለያየ የሥራ ስ የወተት ላሞች ርባታ ላይ ከተሰማሩ 475 አካላት ጥሬ መረጃ ተሰብስቧል፡፡ ትንተናዉም የተለያዩ ገላጭ ዘዴዎችንና በዛ ያሉ አማራጮችን መሠረት ያደረጉ ሞዴሎች (መልቲ ቫሪዬት ፕሮቢት ሞዴል) በመጠቀም ተከናውኗል፡፡ የጥናቱ ዉጤት እንደሚያሳየዉ ምንም እንኳን በወተት ርባታዉ ላይ የተሰማሩት አካላት የተለያዩ የወተት መሸጫ አማራጮች ቢኖሯቸዉም የወተት ሽያጩ በዋናነት የሚካሄደዉ በኢ-መደበኛ የግብይት አማራጭ ነዉ፡፡ የመልቲ ቫሪዬት ፕሮቢት ትንተና ዉጤቱ እንደሚያሳየዉ የወተት አምራቾቹ የትምህርት ደረጃ እና በላሞች ርባታ ላይ ያካበቱት የሥራ ልምድ፣ የሥራዉ ስፋት፣ የወተት መሸጫ ቦታ ርቀት፣ በወተት ላሞች ርባታ የኅብረት ሥራ ማኅበር አባልነት፣ በእያንዳንዱ የወተት መሸጫ አማራጭ የሚቀርበዉ የወተት ዋጋ እና የወተት ላሞች ርባታዉ የሚከናወንባቸዉ ቦታዎች የወተት አምራቹ የሚሸጥበትን ቻናል የሚወስኑ ጉዳዮች ናቸዉ፡፡ ስለዚህ አሁን ያለዉን ኢ-መደበኛ የወተት ግብይት ወደ መደበኛዉ ለመቀየር የሚቀየስ የግብይት ሥልት ግብይቱን ማዘመን ላይ የተኮረ መሆን እንዳለበት ጥናቱ አመልክቷል፡፡ ይህን ስልት ተግባራዊ ለማድረግ ከሚረዱ ተግባራት መካከል መደበኛና ኢ-መደበኛ ስልጠናዎችን ለወተት አምራቾች በመስጠት መደበኛ ግብይቱን እንዲቀላቀሉ ማድረግ፣ የወተት ማቀነባበሪያ ፋብሪካዎችን በማጠናከር እና በሁሉም ትላልቅ ከተሞች ላይ እንዲመሠረቱ ሁኔታዎችን በማመቻቸት ለወተት አምራቾቹ ጥሩ የገበያ አማራጭ እንዲሆኑ ማድረግ፣ የወተት አምራች የኅብረት ሥራ ማህበራትን አቅም በመገንባት ከወተት አምራቾቹ ወተት የመሰብሰብ ሚናቸዉን እንዲወጡ ማድረግ፣ የወተት ማቀነባበሪያ ፋብሪካዎች በከተማ ዳር እንደሚያደርጉት ሁሉ በትላልቅ ከተሞች ዉስጥም የወተት መሰብሰቢያ ጣቢያዎችን በማቋቋም በኢ-መደበኛ መንገድ የሚሸጠዉን ጥሬ ወተት ወደ መደበኛ ግብይት የመቀየሩን ሂደት ከማሳለጣቸዉም በላይ የማቀነባበሪያ ፋብሪካቸዉን ሙሉ አቅም በመጠቀም የወተት ዘርፉን ትርፋማነት መጨመር ይቻላል፡

COVID-19 treatment in patients with comorbidities: Awareness of drug-drug interactions

Contains fulltext : 232386.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Insights into mRNP Biogenesis Provided by New Genetic Interactions Among Export and Transcription Factors

The various steps of mRNP biogenesis (transcription, processing and export) are interconnected. It has been shown that the transcription machinery plays a pivotal role in mRNP assembly, since several mRNA export factors are recruited during transcription and physically interact with components of the transcription machinery. Although the shuttling DEAD-box protein Dbp5p is concentrated on the cytoplasmic fibrils of the NPC, previous studies demonstrated that it interacts physically and genetically with factors involved in transcription initiation. We investigated the effect of mutations affecting various components of the transcription initiation apparatus on the phenotypes of mRNA export mutant strains. Our results show that growth and mRNA export defects of dbp5 and mex67 mutant strains can be suppressed by mutation of specific transcription initiation components, but suppression was not observed for mutants acting in the very first steps of the pre-initiation complex (PIC) formation

Chromosomal instability in untreated primary prostate cancer as an indicator of metastatic potential.

BackgroundMetastatic prostate cancer (PC) is highly lethal. The ability to identify primary tumors capable of dissemination is an unmet need in the quest to understand lethal biology and improve patient outcomes. Previous studies have linked chromosomal instability (CIN), which generates aneuploidy following chromosomal missegregation during mitosis, to PC progression. Evidence of CIN includes broad copy number alterations (CNAs) spanning > 300 base pairs of DNA, which may also be measured via RNA expression signatures associated with CNA frequency. Signatures of CIN in metastatic PC, however, have not been interrogated or well defined. We examined a published 70-gene CIN signature (CIN70) in untreated and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and previously published reports. We also performed transcriptome and CNA analysis in a unique cohort of untreated primary tumors collected from diagnostic prostate needle biopsies (PNBX) of localized (M0) and metastatic (M1) cases to determine if CIN was linked to clinical stage and outcome.MethodsPNBX were collected from 99 patients treated in the VA Greater Los Angeles (GLA-VA) Healthcare System between 2000 and 2016. Total RNA was extracted from high-grade cancer areas in PNBX cores, followed by RNA sequencing and/or copy number analysis using OncoScan. Multivariate logistic regression analyses permitted calculation of odds ratios for CIN status (high versus low) in an expanded GLA-VA PNBX cohort (n = 121).ResultsThe CIN70 signature was significantly enriched in primary tumors and CRPC metastases from M1 PC cases. An intersection of gene signatures comprised of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) generated through comparison of M1 versus M0 PNBX and primary CRPC tumors versus metastases revealed a 157-gene "metastasis" signature that was further distilled to 7-genes (PC-CIN) regulating centrosomes, chromosomal segregation, and mitotic spindle assembly. High PC-CIN scores correlated with CRPC, PC-death and all-cause mortality in the expanded GLA-VA PNBX cohort. Interestingly, approximately 1/3 of M1 PNBX cases exhibited low CIN, illuminating differential pathways of lethal PC progression.ConclusionsMeasuring CIN in PNBX by transcriptome profiling is feasible, and the PC-CIN signature may identify patients with a high risk of lethal progression at the time of diagnosis

Drug interactions: a review of the unseen danger of experimental COVID-19 therapies

As global health services respond to the coronavirus pandemic, many prescribers are turning to experimental drugs. This review aims to assess the risk of drug-drug interactions in the severely ill COVID-19 patient. Experimental therapies were identified by searching ClinicalTrials.gov for 'COVID-19', '2019-nCoV', '2019 novel coronavirus' and 'SARS-CoV-2'. The last search was performed on 30 June 2020. Herbal medicines, blood-derived products and in vitro studies were excluded. We identified comorbidities by searching PubMed for the MeSH terms 'COVID-19', 'Comorbidity' and 'Epidemiological Factors'. Potential drug-drug interactions were evaluated according to known pharmacokinetics, overlapping toxicities and QT risk. Drug-drug interactions were graded GREEN and YELLOW: no clinically significant interaction; AMBER: caution; RED: serious risk. A total of 2378 records were retrieved from ClinicalTrials.gov, which yielded 249 drugs that met inclusion criteria. Thirteen primary compounds were screened against 512 comedications. A full database of these interactions is available at www.covid19-druginteractions.org. Experimental therapies for COVID-19 present a risk of drug-drug interactions, with lopinavir/ritonavir (10% RED, 41% AMBER; mainly a perpetrator of pharmacokinetic interactions but also risk of QT prolongation particularly when given with concomitant drugs that can prolong QT), chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (both 7% RED and 27% AMBER, victims of some interactions due to metabolic profile but also perpetrators of QT prolongation) posing the greatest risk. With management, these risks can be mitigated. We have published a drug-drug interaction resource to facilitate medication review for the critically ill patient

NIRCAM image simulations for NGST wavefront sensing

The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) will be a segmented, deployable, infrared-optimized 6.5m space telescope. Its active primary segments will be aligned, co-phased, and then fine-tuned in order to deliver image quality sufficient for the telescope's intended scientific goals. Wavefront sensing used to drive this tuning will come from the analysis of focussed and defocussed images taken with its near-IR science camera, NIRCAM. There is a pressing need to verify that this will be possible with the near-IR detectors that are still under development for NGST. We create simulated NIRCAM images to test the maintenance phase of this plan. Our simulations incorporate Poisson and electronics read noise, and are designed to be able to include various detector and electronics non-linearities. We present our first such simulation, using known or predicted properties of HAWAII HgCdTe focal plane array detectors. Detector effects characterized by the Independent Detector Testing Laboratory will be included as they become available. Simulating InSb detectors can also be done within this framework in future. We generate Point-Spread Functions (PSF's) for a segmented aperture geometry with various wavefront aberrations, and convolve this with typical galaxy backgrounds and stellar foregrounds. We then simulate up-the-ramp (MULTIACCUM in HST parlance) exposures with cosmic ray hits. We pass these images through the HST NICMOS `CALNICA' calibration task to filter out cosmic ray hits. The final images are to be fed to wavefront sensing software, in order to find the ranges of exposure times, filter bandpass, defocus, and calibration star magnitude required to keep the NGST image within its specifications

A randomised, controlled trial of a dietary intervention for adults with major depression (the "SMILES" trial): study protocol

Despite increased investment in its recognition and treatment, depression remains a substantial health and economic burden worldwide. Current treatment strategies generally focus on biological and psychological pathways, largely neglecting the role of lifestyle. There is emerging evidence to suggest that diet and nutrition play an important role in the risk, and the genesis, of depression. However, there are limited data regarding the therapeutic impact of dietary changes on existing mental illness. Using a randomised controlled trial design, we aim to investigate the efficacy and cost-efficacy of a dietary program for the treatment of Major Depressive Episodes. <br /

Congenital Cardiac Outflow Tract Abnormalities in Dogs: Prevalence and Pattern of Inheritance From 2008 to 2017

Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) and valvular pulmonic stenosis (PS) are two of the most common congenital heart diseases of dogs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and mode of inheritance of these congenital heart diseases in a large veterinary teaching hospital population. Case records of dogs presented to the University of California Davis, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (UCD VMTH) between January 2008 to December 2017 were reviewed retrospectively and pedigree information was obtained when available. There were 259 unique SAS and 336 unique PS cases diagnosed during the study period. The prevalence of SAS was 0.3% of overall hospital admissions and 4.7% for all dogs seen by the cardiology service. The prevalence for PS was 0.41% of overall hospital admissions and 6.1% of dogs seen by the cardiology service. Bullmastiffs and Newfoundlands had the greatest prevalence (6.59 and 4.46%, respectively) and odds ratio (52.43 and 34.73, respectively) for SAS. Bulldogs and French Bulldogs had the greatest prevalence (4.8 and 2.7%, respectively) and odds ratio (13.32 and 7.52, respectively) for PS. The identified prevalence of SAS and PS is higher than previously reported. Pedigree analysis in SAS affected Bullmastiffs, Golden Retrievers, and Rottweilers suggested an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. The mode of inheritance for PS in Bulldogs, also appears to be autosomal recessive. The results of this study can be used to inform future selection of breeding pairs and genetic studies aimed at reducing the prevalence of these common congenital heart diseases