Changes in Defoliation Patterns of Plant Functional Groups under Variable Herbage Allowance in Campos Grasslands

Several studies have evaluated separately forage production, botanical composition, leaf traits and animal performance. However, few of them have focused on defoliation patterns at the level of functional groups (FGs) under different and variable herbage allowance (HA), especially in natural, diverse grasslands. The objective was to evaluate the relationship between HA and leaf traits on defoliation patterns of mature beef cows in the autumn, winter and spring. We evaluated the grazing probability (GP), intensity of defoliation (ID), and leaf traits on 14 species that represent more than 80% of total dry matter of the pasture. The experiment at which we evaluated those traits and responses has been managed under High HA (HHA) and Low HA (LHA) (8 and 5 kg dry matter kg live weight-1, respectively). Four plant FGs (A, B, C and D) were defined according to leaf traits, and a selectivity index (SI) was developed for each group (considering the proportion of grazed and ungrazed species). Grazing patterns shifted across seasons. In the autumn, grazing was concentrated on FGs A, B and C groups (GP = 0.417). While for FG D, represented by high-biomass tussocks, the GP was lower (0.075). During winter, when herbage accumulation rate is limited, the average GP was 0.175. FGs C and D were more defoliated in relation to autumn, and during spring the GP shifted to FG B (0.289). The ID was similar to all FGs and seasons (66 % of leaf removed). In autumn and spring, the SI was affected by FGs and HA while in winter were similar between FGs but higher in HHA. Cows behaved differently in the defoliation pattern, modifying mainly the GP on FGs rather than the ID. Variation in HA across season determined changes in defoliation pattern, allowing to express selectivity in autumn and spring

From ‘shallow’ to ‘deep’ policing:‘crash-for-cash’ insurance fraud investigation in England and Wales and the need for greater regulation

The policing of insurance fraud has traditionally been dealt with beyond the criminal justice system as a private matter between the claimant and the insurer with only a few iconic cases referred to the criminal justice system each year. The growth of insurance fraud, particularly ‘crash-for-cash’ fraud, and the disinterest of the police, has led to a change in the response of the insurance industry. This paper will argue that this response can be characterised as a shift from the traditional ‘shallow’ to a ‘deeper’ form of policing which sees greater focus upon criminal and quasi-criminal outcomes. This paper explores some of the private and innovative methods the industry has developed and illustrates what greater private criminal investigation might look like at a time when police privatisation has become a higher profile issue. The paper argues the shift to ‘deeper’ policing necessitates greater regulation of the private investigation of crime and outlines a number of proposals to address this gap which require further consideration and debate

Modeling complex metabolic reactions, ecological systems, and financial and legal networks with MIANN models based on Markov-Wiener node descriptors

[Abstract] The use of numerical parameters in Complex Network analysis is expanding to new fields of application. At a molecular level, we can use them to describe the molecular structure of chemical entities, protein interactions, or metabolic networks. However, the applications are not restricted to the world of molecules and can be extended to the study of macroscopic nonliving systems, organisms, or even legal or social networks. On the other hand, the development of the field of Artificial Intelligence has led to the formulation of computational algorithms whose design is based on the structure and functioning of networks of biological neurons. These algorithms, called Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), can be useful for the study of complex networks, since the numerical parameters that encode information of the network (for example centralities/node descriptors) can be used as inputs for the ANNs. The Wiener index (W) is a graph invariant widely used in chemoinformatics to quantify the molecular structure of drugs and to study complex networks. In this work, we explore for the first time the possibility of using Markov chains to calculate analogues of node distance numbers/W to describe complex networks from the point of view of their nodes. These parameters are called Markov-Wiener node descriptors of order kth (Wk). Please, note that these descriptors are not related to Markov-Wiener stochastic processes. Here, we calculated the Wk(i) values for a very high number of nodes (>100,000) in more than 100 different complex networks using the software MI-NODES. These networks were grouped according to the field of application. Molecular networks include the Metabolic Reaction Networks (MRNs) of 40 different organisms. In addition, we analyzed other biological and legal and social networks. These include the Interaction Web Database Biological Networks (IWDBNs), with 75 food webs or ecological systems and the Spanish Financial Law Network (SFLN). The calculated Wk(i) values were used as inputs for different ANNs in order to discriminate correct node connectivity patterns from incorrect random patterns. The MIANN models obtained present good values of Sensitivity/Specificity (%): MRNs (78/78), IWDBNs (90/88), and SFLN (86/84). These preliminary results are very promising from the point of view of a first exploratory study and suggest that the use of these models could be extended to the high-throughput re-evaluation of connectivity in known complex networks (collation)

From ‘shallow’ to ‘deep’ policing: ‘crash-for-cash’ insurance fraud investigation in England and Wales and the need for greater regulation

The policing of insurance fraud has traditionally been dealt with beyond the criminal justice system as a private matter between the claimant and the insurer with only a few iconic cases referred to the criminal justice system each year. The growth of insurance fraud, particularly ‘crash-for-cash’ fraud, and the disinterest of the police, has led to a change in the response of the insurance industry. This paper will argue that this response can be characterised as a shift from the traditional ‘shallow’ to a ‘deeper’ form of policing which sees greater focus upon criminal and quasi-criminal outcomes. This paper explores some of the private and innovative methods the industry has developed and illustrates what greater private criminal investigation might look like at a time when police privatisation has become a higher profile issue. The paper argues the shift to ‘deeper’ policing necessitates greater regulation of the private investigation of crime and outlines a number of proposals to address this gap which require further consideration and debate

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Parasitological dynamics in cattle dung under silvopastoril conditions

4 ilus. 2 tab. 8 ref.Se evalu? la velocidad de descomposici?n de bostas de bovinos j?venes y su relaci?n con la din?mica parasitol?gica en dos sistemas: a) silvopastoril y b) pastura sin ?rboles. A los siete d?as, el sistema silvopastoril alcanz? un valor del 94 por ciento de descomposici?n de las excretas mientras que en el sistema sin ?rboles la descomposici?n fue m?s lenta (40 por ciento). Los conteos fecales de huevos de nem?todos paras?ticos y el porcentaje de infestaci?n de las excretas dieron resultados similares. Este comportamiento estuvo relacionado con la diversidad de la fauna ed?fica y en especial, con la presencia de los cole?pteros copr?fagos en las excretas, que fueron m?s comunes en el sistema silvopastoril. The decomposition rate of cattle dung and its relation to parasitological dynamics were evaluated under two systems: a) silvopastoral and b) pasture without trees. Decomposition of the dung in the silvopastoral systems was rapid (94 percent after seven days), while in the system without trees it was slower (40 percent). Similar results were observed for the decrease in the number of parasitic nematode eggs in the dung and the reduction of the infestation percentage of the excreta. These results were correlated with the diversity of the edaphic fauna and especially with the presence of coprophagous coleoptera in the dung, which were more common in the silvopastoral system

Assessing UK Drug Policy from a Crime Control Perspective.

Over the entire last quarter of the 20th century the British drug problem worsened, despite the implementation of a variety of approaches and commitment of substantial criminal justice and other resources. The link between chronic use of expensive drugs and property crime makes this experience important for understanding trends in crime and justice in Britain. The worsening of the problem can be seen in the growing number of new heroin users each year over almost the entire period 1975–2000, on top of which was layered, starting in the late 1990s, the first major outbreak of chronic cocaine use. This was not the common pattern in Western Europe over that time and by 2000 the UK had Western Europe’s most serious drug problem. The response initially took the form of increasing enforcement against drug markets; in just the decade 1994–2005 the number of prison cell years handed out in annual sentences has tripled. Even with this expansion we estimate that the annual probability of incarceration for a class A drug dealer is only approximately 6 per cent. Since 2000 there has also been a massive increase in treatment resources linked to the criminal justice system. The number of treatment assessments in recent years has been as large as 58 per cent of the number of persons estimated to be problematic users of Class A drugs. The government believes that drug policy has contributed to the decline in crime in the UK since 2000. Using what is known about treatment outcomes, we argue that despite impressive evidence of effect on individual level offending, the effect of treatment expansion in reducing overall crime rates is likely to have been limited

Configuration of daily grazing and searching of growing beef cattle in grassland: observational study.

Abstract:Many of the studies in Campos grasslands focus on management aspects such as the control of herbage allowance, and application of nutrients and/or overseeding with legumes. However, there is little literature on how the Campos grassland resource is utilised, especially regarding the grazing pattern and the relationship between pasture quantity and quality on daily grazing activities. The study of the ingestive behaviour in species-rich and heterogeneous native grasslands during daylight hours, and understanding how animals prioritise quality or quantity of intake in relation to pasture attributes, are important to comprehend the ingestive-digestive processes modulating the energy intake of animals and to achieve a better grazing management. Therefore, the objective was to describe and quantify the daily grazing behaviour of growing cattle grazing native pasture with different structures as a result of different management practices, and study the relationship of pasture attributes and intake through multivariate analysis. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Agronomy, Paysandú, Uruguay. Treatments were native grassland, overseeding with Trifolium pratense and Lotus tenuis + phosphorus, and native pasture + nitrogen-phosphorus. Grazing activities were discriminated into grazing, searching (defined when animals take 1?2 bites in one feeding station and then change to another feeding station and so on), ruminating and idling. The probability of time allocated to each activity was continuously measured during daylight hours (0700?1930) and was related to pasture structure and forage quality using regression tree models, while the bite rate was determined every 2 h. The diurnal pattern of growing cattle showed grazing and searching sessions, followed by ruminating and idling sessions. The length of sessions (as the probability of time allocated to each activity) varied throughout the day. The grazing probability was greater during afternoon than morning and midday (0.74 vs 0.45 vs 0.46, respectively), and it was associated with higher bite rate (34.2 bites/min). Regression tree models showed different grazing, searching and ruminating strategies according to pasture attributes. During the morning, animals modified grazing, searching, ruminating and idling strategies according to bite rate, crude protein in diet and herbage allowance. At midday, they only adjusted ruminating and idling, while during afternoon sessions, grazing activities were modified by pasture quantity attributes such as herbage mass and herbage allowance. By controlling the herbage allowance, herbage mass and pasture height, animals prioritise quality in the morning and quantity in the afternoon, integrating and modifying the grazing-searching and ruminating-idling pattern