Measuring lameness prevalence: effects of case definition and assessment frequency

Lameness assessments are commonly conducted at a single point in time, but such assessments are subject to multiple sources of error. We conducted a longitudinal study, assessing the gait of 282 lactating dairy cows weekly during the first 12 wk of lactation, with the aim of assessing how lameness prevalence changed in relation to case definition and assessment frequency. Gait was scored using a 5-point scale where scores of 1 and 2 were considered sound, 3 was clinically lame, and 4 and 5 were severely lame. We created 5 lameness definitions using increasingly stringent thresholds based upon the number of consecutive events of locomotion score ≥3. In LAME1, a cow was considered lame when locomotion score was ≥3 at any scoring event, in LAME2, LAME3, LAME4, and LAME5, a cow was considered lame when locomotion score was 3 or higher during 2, 3, 4, and 5 consecutive scoring events, respectively. We also assessed the effect of assessment frequency on measures of prevalence and incidence using weekly assessment (ASSM1), 1 assessment every 2 wk (ASSM2), 1 assessment every 3 wk (ASSM3), and 1 assessment every 4 wk (ASSM4). Using LAME1, 69.2% of cows were considered lame at some point during the trial, with an average point prevalence of 31.8% (SD: 2.8) and average incidence rate of 10.9 cases/100 cow weeks (SD: 3.7). Lameness prevalence decreased to 28.0% when using LAME5. Survival analysis was used to assess the effects of parity, using these different case definitions. Parity is a known risk for lameness, such that case definitions and prevalence estimates should be stratified by parity to inform management decisions. Using the LAME3 criterion, primiparous cows had the highest chance of reaching 12 wk without a lameness event, and fourth and higher parities had the lowest. Weighted linear and quadratic kappa values were used to assess agreement between different assessment frequencies and lameness definitions; we found substantial to excellent agreement between ASSM1 and ASSM2 using LAME1, LAME2, and LAME3 definitions. Agreement was fair to substantial between ASSM1 and ASSM3 and low to fair between ASSM1 and ASSM4. Likewise, the agreement between LAME1 and LAME2 was fair in primiparous cows, substantial in second and third parity cows, and poor to fair in fourth and greater parity cows. We conclude that lameness prevalence estimates are dependent upon case definition and that the use of more stringent case definitions results in fewer cows classified as lame. These results suggest that routine locomotion assessments be conducted at least every 2 wk, and that cows should be defined as lame on the basis of 2 consecutive assessments

Bean Golden Mosaic: Research Advances

El frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) es una de las fuentes de proteina (15-35%) y calorías (ca. 340 caI./100 gr) más importantes en la América Latina. En esta región, centro de origen de esta especie, se producen más de cuatro millones de toneladas de frijol al año, lo cual equivale al 88% de la semilla de frijol producida en las regiones tropicales del mundo. Brasil, el mayor productor de frijol del mundo, posee un consumo per capita de cerca de 20 kg/año. En America Central, el frijol es igualmente importante, siendo consumido en la mayoría de los países centroamericanos hasta tres veces por día. Proporcionalmente, en la America Central se cultiva el doble del área que en Brasil, relativo a sus extensiones territoriales. El frijol es también producido en islas del Caribe, tales como Cuba (ca. 26.000 TM), Haití (56.000 TM) y República Dominicana (55.000 TM) según datos de 1990 (CIAT). México, el segundo productor de frijol en la America Latina, consume aproximadamente 1.2 millones de toneladas métricas de frijol al año. A pesar de que México cultiva cerca de 1.800.000 hectáreas de frijol, la demanda interna no es satisfecha en algunos años dado la baja productividad del cultivo. Esta baja productividad relativa del frijol, no solo en México sino también en el resto de la América Latina (700 kg/ha vs. 1.600 kg/ha en los Estados Unidos), es una consecuencia de los múltiples problemas bióticos y abióticos que inciden en el cultivo, en el trópico Americano. Es precisamente en las regiones productoras de frijol situadas en climas cálidos, de altitud baja a intermedia (0-1200 m.s.n.m), donde el mosaico dorado del frijol alcanza su mayor incidencia.The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important source of protein and calories in Latin America. In this region, the center of origin of this legume species, over 4 million tons of dry beans are produced per year. Nevertheless, many Latin American countries, including two of the largest producers of beans in the world, Brazil and Mexico, have to import beans to meet internal demand. This shortage of beans is related to the low productivity of this crop in Latin America (700 kg /ha vs. 1,600 kg/ ha average in the USA). The low productivity in the main bean production regions of tropical America is associated to the incidence of several biotic and abiotic constraints. Among the biotic constraints, bean golden mosaic virus is undoubtedly the main bean production problem in the lowland tropics, particularly, during the dry seasons of the year.Programa Cooperativo Regional de Frijol para Centroamérica, México y el Caribe (PROFRIJOL)Cooperación Suiza para el Desarrollo (COSUDE)Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM

Psychology and aggression

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68264/2/10.1177_002200275900300301.pd

The impact of breastfeeding patterns on regional differences in infant mortality in Germany, 1910

This paper examines the impact of breastfeeding practices on the large regional differences in infant mortality in Germany around 1910. Breastfeeding is strongly negatively associated with infant mortality and remains so after controlling for public health measures and for demographic, economic, and social factors that also affect infant mortality. But it contributes much less to regional differences in infant mortality than do access to medical care, percentage illegitimate and marital fertility. Breastfeeding is less important than these other factors because it affects fewer causes of death and has a smaller impact on cause-specific infant mortality rates. L'auteur étudie l'impact des pratiques d'allaitement sur les grandes différences régionales de mortalité infantile observées en Allemagne aux alentours de 1910. Il existe une association fortement négative entre l'allaitement et la mortalité infantile, même quand on contrôle les facteurs démographiques, économiques, sociaux et de politique sanitaire, qui, eux aussi, affectent la mortalité infantile. Mais les différences régionales de mortalité infantile s'expliquent nettement moins par l'allaitement que par l'accessibilité des soins médicaux, le taux d'illégitimité des naissances et la fécondité légitime. L'allaitement est un facteur de moindre importance que ceux-ci parce qu'il n'a d'impact que sur un petit nombre de causes de décès, et un faible impact sur les taux de mortalité infantile par cause.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42730/1/10680_2005_Article_BF01796777.pd

Heritability of Field Resistance to Bean Golden Mosaic Virus in Dry Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Programa Cooperativo Regional de Frijol para Centroamérica, México y el Caribe (PROFRIJOL)Cooperación Suiza para el Desarrollo (COSUDE)Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM