Resource partitioning among African savanna herbivores in North Cameroon: the importance of diet composition, food quality and body mass

The relationship between herbivore diet quality, and diet composition (the range of food plants consumed) and body mass on resource partitioning of herbivores remains the subject of an ongoing scientific debate. In this study we investigated the importance of diet composition and diet quality on resource partitioning among eight species of savanna herbivore in north Cameroon, with different body mass. Dung samples of four to seven wild herbivore and one domesticated species were collected in the field during the dry and wet period. Diet composition was based on microhistological examination of herbivore droppings, epidermis fragments were identified to genus or family level. In addition, the quality of the faecal droppings was determined in terms of phosphorus, nitrogen and fibre concentrations. The results showed that there was no significant correlation between body mass and (differences in) diet composition for wet and dry season. When all species are considered, only significant relationships are found by the Spearman rank correlation analyses during the wet season between body mass and phosphorus and nitrogen, but this relationship did not exist during the dry season. When the analyses focuses on ruminants only (thus leaving out hippo), none of the relationships between body mass and diet quality was significant in either season. During the dry season the proportion of graminoids ranged between 10% (small unidentified herbivore species) to 90% (hippopotamus), during the wet season this proportion ranged from 60% (zebu) to 90% (hippopotamus). All species but zebu had more graminoids in their dung during wet season compared with dry season. However all species but hartebeest had more graminoids old stems in their dung during the dry season, compared with the wet season. The niche breadth for food categories consumed by kob (0.300), hippo (0.090), hartebeest (0.350), roan (0.510) and zebu (0.300) was much greater in the dry season than in the wet season for kob (0.120), hippo (0.020), hartebeest (0.190), roan (0.090) and zebu (0.200). When looking at grass taxa consumed, the niche breadth of kob (0.220), hartebeest (0.140), and roan (0.250) was also greater in the dry season when compared with the wet season for kob (0.050), hartebeest (0.120) and roan (0.120). The opposite was found for zebu and hippo. Comparison of the species’ diet compositions with randomized data showed that dietary overlap between different herbivore species was much higher than what would be expected on the basis of chance, demonstrating surprisingly limited niche separation between species. This offers potential for competition, but it is more likely that the high niche overlap indicates absence of competition, due to low herbivore densities and abundant food resources, permitting species to share non-limiting resources. With increasing herbivore densities and subsequent increasing scarcity of resources, the relationship between diet quality and body mass in combination with increased niche separation is expected to become more visibl

Instrumentarium monitoring mestmarkt en enkele analyses

Het nieuwe mestbeleid met daarin een stelsel van gebruiksnormen en de bijbehorende normen grijpen naar verwachting fors in op de mestmarkt. Dit rapport beschrijft onderdelen van het instrumentarium voor de monitoring van de mestmarkt. De onderdelen zijn analyses van derogatiebedrijven (1), van de acceptatie van dierlijke mest op kleiakkerbouwbedrijven (2) en van het gedrag van melkveehouders op het nieuwe mestbeleid (3). Daarnaast beschrijft het rapport de opzet voor een systeem voor monitoring van mestprijzen (4) en de opzet voor interviews met mestdistributeurs (5)

Ісламський фактор в міжнародних економічних відносинах: приклад ЄС і Турції

В роботі представлена спроба цілісного вивчення впливу культурних, соціальних, економічних і політичних факторів на процеси взаємовідносин Туреччини і ЄС, що дозволяє надати більш об'ємне й глибоке уявлення про соціально-політичні процеси в Туреччині і ЄС в контексті їх еволюції. Дана оцінка сучасного стану мусульманської діаспори в країнах ЄС з подальшою систематизацією даних. Зроблена авторська порівняльна характеристика процесів євроінтеграції України (у якої є свій «ісламський» фактор) і Туреччини і її систематизаці

Sociaal-economische effecten en nationaal mestoverschot bij varianten van gebruiksnor-men; Studie in het kader van Evaluatie Meststoffenwet 2004

Per 2006 zal Nederland in het kader van het Mestbeleid overgaan naar een nieuw stelsel met Gebruiksnormen in plaats van Minas. In opdracht van de Stuurgroep van de Evaluatie Meststoffenwet 2004 is door het LEI een studie uitgevoerd naar de verwachte effecten in 2006 van diverse varianten van dit nieuwe stelsel ten opzichte van Minas. De effecten heb-ben vooral betrekking op mineralenverbruik, mineralenverliezen, bedrijfseconomische resultaten van veehouderij- en akkerbouwbedrijven en het nationale mestoverschot

Effecten in 2006 en 2009 van mestakkoord en nieuw EU-Landbouwbeleid

Juli 2004 is een akkoord met Brussel gesloten over het Mestbeleid na 2006. Het nieuw landbouwbeleid zal ook na 2006 gevolgen hebben voor de landbouw. In opdracht van LNV is een studie uitgevoerd naar de effecten van deze beleidsvoornemens voor 2006. De effecten hebben vooral betrekking op mineralenverbruik en -verliezen, bedrijfseconomische resultaten van veehouderij en akkerbouwbedrijven en het nationale mestoverschot. Effects in 2006 and 2009 of the Manure Agreement and new EU agricultural policy In July 2004 an agreement was reached with Brussels on the Manure Policy to be adopted after 2006. The new agricultural policy will also have consequences for agriculture after 2006. A study has been carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality into the effects of these policy proposals in 2006. The effects relate primarily to the consumption and losses of minerals, the commercial results of livestock and arable farms and the national manure surplu

Prolonged activation of nasal immune cell populations and development of tissue-resident SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8(+) T cell responses following COVID-19

Systemic immune cell dynamics during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are extensively documented, but these are less well studied in the (upper) respiratory tract, where severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replicates(1-6). Here, we characterized nasal and systemic immune cells in individuals with COVID-19 who were hospitalized or convalescent and compared the immune cells to those seen in healthy donors. We observed increased nasal granulocytes, monocytes, CD11c(+) natural killer (NK) cells and CD4(+) T effector cells during acute COVID-19. The mucosal proinflammatory populations positively associated with peripheral blood human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRlow monocytes, CD38(+)PD1(+)CD4(+) T effector (T-eff) cells and plasmablasts. However, there was no general lymphopenia in nasal mucosa, unlike in peripheral blood. Moreover, nasal neutrophils negatively associated with oxygen saturation levels in blood. Following convalescence, nasal immune cells mostly normalized, except for CD127(+) granulocytes and CD38(+)CD8(+) tissue-resident memory T cells (T-RM). SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8(+) T cells persisted at least 2 months after viral clearance in the nasal mucosa, indicating that COVID-19 has both transient and long-term effects on upper respiratory tract immune responses.Perioperative Medicine: Efficacy, Safety and Outcome (Anesthesiology/Intensive Care

Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men

Non-AIDS defining cancers in the D:A:D Study-time trends and predictors of survival : a cohort study

BACKGROUND:Non-AIDS defining cancers (NADC) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive individuals. Using data from a large international cohort of HIV-positive individuals, we described the incidence of NADC from 2004-2010, and described subsequent mortality and predictors of these.METHODS:Individuals were followed from 1st January 2004/enrolment in study, until the earliest of a new NADC, 1st February 2010, death or six months after the patient's last visit. Incidence rates were estimated for each year of follow-up, overall and stratified by gender, age and mode of HIV acquisition. Cumulative risk of mortality following NADC diagnosis was summarised using Kaplan-Meier methods, with follow-up for these analyses from the date of NADC diagnosis until the patient's death, 1st February 2010 or 6 months after the patient's last visit. Factors associated with mortality following NADC diagnosis were identified using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression.RESULTS:Over 176,775 person-years (PY), 880 (2.1%) patients developed a new NADC (incidence: 4.98/1000PY [95% confidence interval 4.65, 5.31]). Over a third of these patients (327, 37.2%) had died by 1st February 2010. Time trends for lung cancer, anal cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma were broadly consistent. Kaplan-Meier cumulative mortality estimates at 1, 3 and 5 years after NADC diagnosis were 28.2% [95% CI 25.1-31.2], 42.0% [38.2-45.8] and 47.3% [42.4-52.2], respectively. Significant predictors of poorer survival after diagnosis of NADC were lung cancer (compared to other cancer types), male gender, non-white ethnicity, and smoking status. Later year of diagnosis and higher CD4 count at NADC diagnosis were associated with improved survival. The incidence of NADC remained stable over the period 2004-2010 in this large observational cohort.CONCLUSIONS:The prognosis after diagnosis of NADC, in particular lung cancer and disseminated cancer, is poor but has improved somewhat over time. Modifiable risk factors, such as smoking and low CD4 counts, were associated with mortality following a diagnosis of NADC