Poultry interventions and child nutritional status in low-income countries

Poultry production with the majority of free-range chickens is widely practiced in rural communities of low-income countries. Chickens and their  eggs are important sources of income and food for the family. Eggs are nutritious with high quality protein and several macro-and micro-nutrients. Evidences showed that increased consumption of eggs improved the nutritional status of children under the age of two years. Projects aimed at increased egg intake among infants and young children have been implemented with different models and approaches, resulting in different outcomes. This paper reviewed the effectiveness of interventional studies in increasing egg intake among infants and young children in low-income countries. A total of eight articles were selected using PubMed and Google Scholar search engines with inclusion criteria of interventions with randomized and controlled study design that measured egg intake among children under the age of two years in low income countries, published in the last five years (from 2015 to 2019) and written in English. The interventions were systematically classified into three categories based on their implementation model: agriculture/poultry only, nutrition education only, and integrated poultry and nutrition interventions. All the models showedincreased egg intake with different levels of significance. Poultry only interventions were successful in egg production in excess quantity increasing egg consumption of infants  and young children. However, the interventions were challenged by caregivers’ priority for income from the sale of the eggs and birds than feeding the children. Hence, egg intake did not increase high enough to the level of an-egg-a-day despite production and availability. Promoting egg for complementary feeding, interventions of nutrition education only resulted in significantly increased egg intake among children under the age of two years. Nevertheless, its sustainability might be challenged as it requires buying eggs every time, creating an economic burden to the rural low-income families. The third model integrated poultry and nutrition interventions, significantly increased egg consumption even with small scale poultry using local chickens by improving nutrition awareness of caregivers and increasing egg availability at household level, demonstrating greater potential of sustainability. Poultry interventions targeting increased egg intake among infants and young children in low-income countries need to be integrated with nutrition education for maximum effect with minimal cost. Moreover, the  implementation of strategies to reduce chicken excreta contamination of the environment is equally important for the children to benefit the maximum from increased egg intake. Key words: egg intake, poultry, nutrition education, egg-a-day, low-income countrie

Fine needle aspiration cytology of hepatic metastases of neuroendocrine tumors: A 20‐year retrospective, single institutional study

Background Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is considered an excellent technique for documenting metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of FNA in diagnosing metastatic NETs to the liver and determining the grade and origin of these metastases. Methods Our laboratory information system was searched from 1997 to 2016 to identify all cases of metastatic NETs to the liver that were sampled by FNA. The cytopathology and surgical pathology reports as well as the patients' electronic medical records were reviewed. The cytohistologic type and grade of the metastatic NETs, as well as the site of the patient's primary were recorded. Results High‐grade NETs, including small cell and poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas, constituted 62% (167/271) of the cases, while low‐grade NETs, including well differentiated NET (grade1 and grade 2), pheochromocytomas, paragangliomas, and carcinoid tumors of lung, constituted 38% (104/271) of cases. The most common diagnosis was metastatic small cell carcinoma accounting for 45% (122/271) of cases. The most common primary sites were lung (44%; 119/271) followed by pancreas (19%; 51/271). The FNA diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology in 121 cases that had a concurrent biopsies or resection specimens. Conclusions FNA is an accurate method for diagnosing metastatic NETs to the liver. There were significantly more high‐grade (62%) than low‐grade (38%) metastatic NETs to the liver. In our practice, lung (44%) and pancreas (19%) were the most common primary sites of metastatic NETs involving the liver. In 16% of the cases, a primary site could not be established

Economics and Biodiversity in Intensively Managed Agro-Ecosystems

This paper explores the dynamic effects of biodiversity conservation on agricultural production in the context of specialised intensive farming systems. The focus is on the analysis of the dynamic effects of changes in the levels of agrobiodiversity, on technical change and productivity in intensive agricultural systems. A theoretical model is used to derive hypotheses regarding these linkages that are empirically tested using a stochastic production frontier model with data from a panel of UK cereal farms for the period 1989-2000. The results suggest that the increased agrobiodiversity has positively helped to shift the production frontier outwards. This indicates that the evolution of an intensive agricultural system to less intensive use of inputs can be consistent with non-decreasing output levels and an enhancement of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.Agrobiodiversity, Intensive Agriculture, Productivity, Technical change, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q12, Q16, Q24,

The Economics of Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Transition

This paper explores the dynamic effects of biodiversity conservation on agricultural production in the context of specialised intensive farming systems that may be in transition towards more sustainable farming. The focus is on the analysis of the dynamic effects of changes in the levels of agrobiodiversity, on technical change and productivity in intensive agricultural systems. A theoretical model is used to derive hypotheses regarding these linkages that are empirically tested using a stochastic production frontier model with data from a panel of UK cereal farms for the period 1989-2000. The results suggest that the increased agrobiodiversity has positively helped to shift the production frontier outwards. This indicates that agricultural transition from more to less intensive agricultural systems can be consistent with non-decreasing output levels and an enhancement of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.agrobiodiversity, intensive agriculture, productivity, technical change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q12, Q16, Q24,

A physio-ecological study on sesleria caerulea (L) ard.: at Thrislington common (Durham)

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Sustainable Urban Corridors in Khartoum Case of Mohammed Najeeb Street

This article aims at measuring the sustainability of the streets of Khartoum using the Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index (P.E.Q.I.). This index has six categories: Intersection safety; traffic; street design; perceived safety; land use; and perceived walkability. Each category has several items. As a case study, Mohammed Najeeb main street is studied since it represents main streets in Khartoum. Results show that the sustainability standard of the studied street is below average (40%). Conclusions are written. And recommendations are drawn