Ruminal methane emissions in grazing beef heifers.

Brazil is one of the largest beef exporter in the world, and this is due to the introduction of Nellore cattle which has been adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the country. With more than 200 million head, distributed in different production managements, producing through mainly extensive grazing system, Brazil has the responsibility to increase its productivity. That means, to produce more in smaller areas using fewer animals. One option to achieve that goal is to make the rotational management, thus, it may provide a better control of food supply for animals. However, it is also necessary to be concerned about the environment, especially for the methane produced from enteric fermentation in rumen. The objective of this study was to measure the emission of enteric methane in beef heifers in rotational and continuous grazing systems

Carbon stock in areas of pasture and native vegetation.

One of the factors that may indicate the quality of soil is the organic matter (SOM), directly linked to structural, biological and chemical soil characteristics, in addition it is stock for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). For grazing areas, stocks of C and N vary when compared to natural vegetation inventories. Factors such as the type of management adopted, climatic condition and renewal of plants can contribute to stocks become smaller over land use. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the initial and final C stocks in pasture under two types of grazing and native vegetation

Visceral fat area and cardiometabolic risk: The Kardiovize study

BACKGROUND: Visceral fat is associated with adiposity-based complications. Bioimpedance measurement allows estimation of visceral fat area (VFA) in an easy manner. However, a validated cut-off value for VFA by bioimpedance associated with cardiometabolic risk is lacking in European population. AIM: To determine cut-off values of VFA measured via bioimpedance associated with cardiometabolic risk. METHODS: Random cross-sectional Czech population-based sample of 25-64 years old subjects. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used and the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were calculated. The Cardiometabolic Disease Staging System (CMDS) was used to classify cardiometabolic risk: Stage 1 - 1 or 2 metabolic syndrome (MetS) components, without impaired fasting glucose (IFG); Stage 2 - MetS or IFG; Stage 3 - MetS with IFG; Stage 4 - type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: 2052 participants (54.5% females, median age 49 years) were included. Median VFA (inter-quartile range) were 82.2 cm2 (54.8) in men and 89.8 cm2 (55.6) in women. The best VFA cut-offs associated with Stage 1 in men and women were 71 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.654; specificity = 0.427) and 83 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.705; specificity = 0.556) ; Stage 2: 84 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.673; specificity = 0.551) and 98 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.702; specificity = 0.628) ; Stage 3: 90 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.886; specificity = 0.605) and 109 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.755; specificity = 0.704); Stage 4: 91 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.625; specificity = 0.611) and 81 cm2 (sensitivity = 0.695; specificity = 0.448), respectively. CONCLUSION: A cut-off value of VFA of 71 cm2 in men and 83 cm2 in women exhibited the earliest stage of cardiometabolic risk, and 90 cm2 in men and 109 cm2 in women showed the best performance to detect risk

Dysglycemia and Abnormal Adiposity Drivers of Cardiometabolic-Based Chronic Disease in the Czech Population: Biological, Behavioral, and Cultural/Social Determinants of Health

In contrast to the decreasing burden related to cardiovascular disease (CVD), the burden related to dysglycemia and adiposity complications is increasing in Czechia, and local drivers must be identified. A comprehensive literature review was performed to evaluate biological, behavioral, and environmental drivers of dysglycemia and abnormal adiposity in Czechia. Additionally, the structure of the Czech healthcare system was described. The prevalence of obesity in men and diabetes in both sexes has been increasing over the past 30 years. Possible reasons include the Eastern European eating pattern, high prevalence of physical inactivity and health illiteracy, education, and income-related health inequalities. Despite the advanced healthcare system based on the compulsory insurance model with free-for-service healthcare and a wide range of health-promoting initiatives, more effective strategies to tackle the adiposity/dysglycemia are needed. In conclusion, the disease burden related to dysglycemia and adiposity in Czechia remains high but is not translated into greater CVD. This discordant relationship likely depends more on other factors, such as improvements in dyslipidemia and hypertension control. A reconceptualization of abnormal adiposity and dysglycemia into a more actionable cardiometabolic-based chronic disease model is needed to improve the approach to these conditions. This review can serve as a platform to investigate causal mechanisms and secure effective management of cardiometabolic-based chronic disease

External validation of a deep learning electrocardiogram algorithm to detect ventricular dysfunction

Objective - To validate a novel artificial-intelligence electrocardiogram algorithm (AI-ECG) to detect left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in an external population. Background - LVSD, even when asymptomatic, confers increased morbidity and mortality. We recently derived AI-ECG to detect LVSD using ECGs based on a large sample of patients treated at the Mayo Clinic. Methods - We performed an external validation study with subjects from the Know Your Heart Study, a cross-sectional study of adults aged 35–69 years residing in two cities in Russia, who had undergone both ECG and transthoracic echocardiography. LVSD was defined as left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 35%. We assessed the performance of the AI-ECG to identify LVSD in this distinct patient population. Results - Among 4277 subjects in this external population-based validation study, 0.6% had LVSD (compared to 7.8% of the original clinical derivation study). The overall performance of the AI-ECG to detect LVSD was robust with an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.82. When using the LVSD probability cut-off of 0.256 from the original derivation study, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in this population were 26.9%, 97.4%, 97.0%, respectively. Other probability cut-offs were analysed for different sensitivity values. Conclusions - The AI-ECG detected LVSD with robust test performance in a population that was very different from that used to develop the algorithm. Population-specific cut-offs may be necessary for clinical implementation. Differences in population characteristics, ECG and echocardiographic data quality may affect test performance

Accuracy of five algorithms to diagnose gambiense human African trypanosomiasis.

Algorithms to diagnose gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, sleeping sickness) are often complex due to the unsatisfactory sensitivity and/or specificity of available tests, and typically include a screening (serological), confirmation (parasitological) and staging component. There is insufficient evidence on the relative accuracy of these algorithms. This paper presents estimates of the accuracy of five algorithms used by past Médecins Sans Frontières programmes in the Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and Uganda

Desafios da integração nos novos arranjos institucionais de políticas públicas no Brasil

Resumo O Governo Federal brasileiro tem experimentado arranjos institucionais que tem como objetivo construir políticas públicas efetivas em um contexto territorial complexo. Neles há dois eixos centrais: (i) a tentativa de articular temáticas intersetoriais e (ii) a construção de modelos de gestão de políticas públicas com coordenação entre os entes federativos e a sociedade civil. Este artigo analisa como novos arranjos institucionais consideram o papel dos territórios. A análise está estruturada em duas questões centrais: (a) qual a centralidade dada à concepção de território e em que medida ele desempenha papel ativo ou passivo no desenho do arranjo; (b) que fatores poderiam explicar contornos do arranjo institucional e como a dimensão territorial se materializa neles. O artigo analisa três arranjos: Plano Brasil Sem Miséria; Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento; Programa Territórios da Cidadania. As análises baseadas em documentos oficiais dos programas visam compreender, a partir de sua estrutura de funcionamento, como se dão questões como intersetorialidade, relações federativas e concepção de território. Analisando os programas, percebe-se que, ainda que em graus variados, há mais justaposição do que integração de políticas públicas, e que neles os territórios – entendido como os lócus de implementação das políticas e as forças sociais nele presentes – não ocupam uma posição ativa, revelando-se meros repositórios de investimentos. Como consequência, essa fragilidade, observada tanto na dupla integração desejada como na articulação territorial, é algo que resulta em perda de eficiência dos investimentos e em comprometimento dos resultados. Esses limites se devem, em grande medida, ao peso da cultura setorial que permeia os gestores e o comportamento das forças sociais, associado a uma cultura institucional de privilégio dos resultados alcançáveis em curto prazo. Esses aspectos, por sua vez, concretizam-se tanto nas normas que regulamentam os arranjos como no leque de agentes envolvidos. Em termos teóricos essa hipótese se afasta das análises que tomam os arranjos meramente sob o ângulo administrativo ou de gestão e se aproxima das abordagens institucionalistas, para as quais não se pode analisar os arranjos institucionais isolados do ambiente institucional do qual são, a um só tempo, parte e expressão

Infections are a global issue: Infection addresses global issues

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