Husbandry practices and phenotypic characteristics of indigenous goat populations in Ethiopia

The present study was conducted with the objective to characterize the husbandry practices and phenotypic characteristics of mature Bati, Borana and Short-eared Somali goats kept under traditional management systems so that the information generated can be used in designing breeding programs. The study was covered five districts in four administrative zones of Ethiopia representing Bati (in Oromia Zone) and Kalu (in South Wollo Zone) for Bati goats; Yabello (in Borana Zone) for Borana goats and Shinille and Erer (in Siti Zone) for Short-Eared Somali goats. A total of 345 households interview was made and phenotypic measurements were taken on 601(468 females and 133 males) heads of adult goats with 4 pair of permanent incisors (PPI). However, because of difficulty of finding adequate number of 4PPI sample males, measurements were taken from 2PPI and above males. In this study, in number, goats accounted for 72.01, 50.93 and 47.38% of other livestock species in Siti, around Bati and Borana, respectively. The least square mean (±SE) of goat flock size (44.02±3.33) per household in Siti was significantly (p0.05),whereas Short-eared Somali goats remained significantly (p<0.05) lower for most of the body measurement characteristics. The canonical analysis done on phenotypic measurements also put Bati and Borana goats closer by discriminating Short-eared Somali goat populations. The similarities between Bati and Borena goats and significance divergence of Short-eared Somali goats in phenotypic measurements suggested that the need of further molecular characterization study to validate information from phenotypic characterization. Correlation coefficient was consistently highest between live weight and chest girth in both sexes across the goat populations. Hence, linear measurements could be valuable to estimate live body weight for those farm communities where sensitive weighing scales are not readily available

Preservation of goat preantral follicles enclosed in ovarian tissue in saline or TCM 199 solutions

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of saline and TCM 199 solutions at different temperatures and incubation times on the morphology of goat preantral follicles. At the slaughterhouse the ovaries from does (n = 5) was divided into 18 fragments. The ovarian samples were randomly allocated to a saline or TCM 199 solution and stored at 4, 20 or 39°C for 4, 12 or 24 h. The histological analysis showed that of normal follicles stored in a saline solution at 4°C for up to 24 h was similar to that of TCM 199. However, the average number of morphologically normal preantral follicles stored in saline solution at 20°C for 12 and 24 h and at 39°C for all incubation periods was significantly (P < 0.05) lower when compared to those in TCM 199. Saline solution or TCM 199 can be used with the same effectiveness in preserving goat preantral follicles at 4°C for storage periods of up to 24 h. However, for the preservation of goat preantral follicles at higher temperatures, TCM 199 is recommended. © 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V

ApoE polymorphisms and diarrheal outcomes in Brazilian shanty town children

A series of studies have shown that the heavy burdens of diarrheal diseases in the first 2 formative years of life in children living in urban shanty towns have negative effects on physical and cognitive development lasting into later childhood. We have shown that APOE4 is relatively common in shanty town children living in Brazil (13.4%) and suggest that APOE4 has a protective role in cognitive development as well as weight-for-height in children with heavy burdens of diarrhea in early childhood (64/123; 52%), despite being a marker for cognitive decline with Alzheimer&#8217;s and cardiovascular diseases later in life. APOE2 frequency was higher among children with heaviest diarrhea burdens during the first 2 years of life, as detected by PCR using the restriction fragment length polymorphism method, raising the possibility that ApoE-cholesterol balance might be critical for growth and cognitive development under the stress of heavy diarrhea burdens and when an enriched fat diet is insufficient. These findings provide a potential explanation for the survival advantage in evolution of genes, which might raise cholesterol levels during heavy stress of diarrhea burdens and malnutrition early in life

Análise de agrupamento na seleção de modelos de regressão não-lineares para curvas de crescimento de ovinos cruzados Cluster analysis applied to nonlinear regression models selection to growth curves of crossed lambs

Este estudo teve como objetivo utilizar a análise de agrupamento para classificar modelos de regressão não-lineares usados para descrever a curva de crescimento de ovinos cruzados, tendo em vista os resultados de diferentes avaliadores de qualidade de ajuste. Para tanto, utilizaram-se dados de peso-idade dos seguintes cruzamentos entre raças de ovinos de corte: Dorper x Morada Nova, Dorper x Rabo Largo e Dorper x Santa Inês. Após a indicação do melhor modelo, objetivou-se ainda aplicar a técnica de identidade de modelos a fim de identificar o cruzamento mais produtivo. Foram ajustados doze modelos não-lineares, cuja qualidade de ajuste foi medida pelo coeficiente de determinação ajustado, critérios de informação de Akaike e Bayesiano, erro quadrático médio de predição e coeficiente de determinação de predição. A análise de agrupamento indicou o modelo Richards como o mais adequado para descrever as curvas de crescimento dos três grupos genéticos considerados, e os testes de identidade de modelos indicaram o cruzamento Dorper x Santa Inês como sendo o mais indicado para a pecuária local.<br>This study had the objectives to use the cluster analysis in order to classify nonlinear regression models used to describe the growth curve in relation to different quality fit evaluators. Were utilized weight-age data from the following crossbred beef lambs Dorper x Morada Nova, Dorper x Rabo Largo e Dorper x Santa Inês. After the choice of the best model, we aimed also to apply the model identity in order to identify the most efficient crossbred group. Eleven nonlinear models were used, whose fit quality was measured by determination coefficient, Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, mean quadratic error of prediction and predicted determination coefficient. The cluster analysis indicated the Richards as the best model for the three data sets, and the model identity tests revealed that the Dorper x Santa Inês crossbred group was recommend for meat production