Activities of organic farmers succeeding in reducing lameness in dairy cows

Sixty-seven organic producers were among 189 dairy farmers completing the “Healthy Feet Project” in the UK. This aimed to reduce lameness in dairy herds by implementing existing knowledge. Participants received input at two levels: monitoring alone, or monitoring with extra support through a single veterinary advisory visit, annual visits from a trained non-veterinary facilitator and materials and contacts to encourage change. On average lameness on organic farms reduced by 12 percentage points over the three year period. On the farms achieving the greatest reduction,the most common changes were improvements to tracks and cubicle comfort, and more frequent footbathing or foot trimming. Practices to improve foot cleanliness, such as more frequent removal of slurry, were less often adopted. Further progress might be achieved by improvements of foot hygiene. Several farms with low lameness that reduced prevalence further improved their handling facilities and treated cows more promptly

Global Genome Biodiversity Network:saving a blueprint of the Tree of Life - a botanical perspective

Background Genomic research depends upon access to DNA or tissue collected and preserved according to high-quality standards. At present, the collections in most natural history museums do not sufficiently address these standards, making them often hard or impossible to use for whole-genome sequencing or transcriptomics. In response to these challenges, natural history museums, herbaria, botanical gardens and other stakeholders have started to build high-quality biodiversity biobanks. Unfortunately, information about these collections remains fragmented, scattered and largely inaccessible. Without a central registry or even an overview of relevant institutions, it is difficult and time-consuming to locate the needed samples. Scope The Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) was created to fill this vacuum by establishing a one-stop access point for locating samples meeting quality standards for genome-scale applications, while complying with national and international legislations and conventions. Increased accessibility to genomic samples will further genomic research and development, conserve genetic resources, help train the next generation of genome researchers and raise the visibility of biodiversity collections. Additionally, the availability of a data-sharing platform will facilitate identification of gaps in the collections, thereby empowering targeted sampling efforts, increasing the breadth and depth of preservation of genetic diversity. The GGBN is rapidly growing and currently has 41 members. The GGBN covers all branches of the Tree of Life, except humans, but here the focus is on a pilot project with emphasis on ‘harvesting’ the Tree of Life for vascular plant taxa to enable genome-level studies. Conclusion While current efforts are centred on getting the existing samples of all GGBN members online, a pilot project, GGI-Gardens, has been launched as proof of concept. Over the next 6 years GGI-Gardens aims to add to the GGBN high-quality genetic material from at least one species from each of the approx. 460 vascular plant families and one species from half of the approx. 15 000 vascular plant genera

The Southampton Initiative for Health:A Complex Intervention to Improve the Diets and Increase the Physical Activity Levels of Women from Disadvantaged Communities

The Southampton Initiative for Health is a training intervention with Sure Start Children’s Centre staff designed to improve the diets and physical activity levels of women of childbearing age. Training aims to help staff to support women in making changes to their lifestyles by improving three skills: reflection on current practice; asking ‘open discovery’ questions; and goal-setting. The impact of the training on staff practice is being assessed. A before and after non-randomized controlled trial is being used to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention in improving women’s diets and increasing their physical activity levels

Evidence of Silica Leakage to the Tropical Atlantic via Antarctic Intermediate Water during Marine Isotope Stage 4

Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) are the main conduits for the supply of dissolved silica (silicic acid) from the deep Southern Ocean to the low latitude surface ocean, and therefore have an important control on low latitude diatom productivity. Enhanced supply of silicic acid by AAIW (and SAMW) during glacial periods may have enabled tropical diatoms to outcompete carbonate-producing phytoplankton, decreasing the relative export of inorganic to organic carbon to the deep ocean and lowering atmospheric CO2. This mechanism is known as the 'Silicic Acid Leakage Hypothesis' (SALH). Here we present records of neodymium and silicon isotopes from the western tropical Atlantic that provide the first direct evidence of increased silicic acid leakage from the Southern Ocean to the tropical Atlantic within AAIW during glacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (~60-80 ka). This leakage is coeval with enhanced diatom export in the NW Atlantic and across the eastern equatorial Atlantic and provides support for the SALH as a contributor to CO2 drawdown during full glacial development

The Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) Data Portal

The Author(s) 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] The attached file is the published pdf

Solution structure of the inner DysF domain of myoferlin and implications for limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2b

Mutations in the protein dysferlin, a member of the ferlin family, lead to limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B and Myoshi myopathy. The ferlins are large proteins characterised by multiple C2 domains and a single C-terminal membrane-spanning helix. However, there is sequence conservation in some of the ferlin family in regions outside the C2 domains. In one annotation of the domain structure of these proteins, an unusual internal duplication event has been noted where a putative domain is inserted in between the N- and C-terminal parts of a homologous domain. This domain is known as the DysF domain. Here, we present the solution structure of the inner DysF domain of the dysferlin paralogue myoferlin, which has a unique fold held together by stacking of arginine and tryptophans, mutations that lead to clinical disease in dysferlin

Ethical, legal, and social issues in the Earth BioGenome Project.

The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project's technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP's Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not-and cannot-provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP's work