Aigua i sanejament

Es tracta d'una extensa publicació que en el seu subtítol, “Accions locals per a aconseguir objectius mundials”, concreta el seu objectiu principal: fer difusió d'experiències concretes locals en zones urbanes d'ingressos mitjans i baixos, amb l'adaptació de les qual a altres circumstàncies locals ajuden a la consecució de dos de les fites de l'Objectiu de Desenvolupament del Mil·lenni núm. 7 de “Garantir la sostenibilitat ambiental”.Esta extensa publicación concreta en su subtítulo -“Acciones locales para alcanzar objetivos mundiales”- su objetivo principal: hacer difusión de experiencias concretas locales en zonas urbanas de ingresos medios y bajos, con cuya adaptación a otras circunstancias locales ayuden a la consecución de dos de las metas del Objetivo de Desarrollo del Milenio nº 7 de “Garantizar la sostenibilidad ambiental”.Peer Reviewe

Net return distributions when metaphylaxis is used to control bovine respiratory disease in high health-risk cattle

This study’s objective was to estimate net returns and return risk for antimicrobial metaphylaxis options to manage bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in high health-risk feedlot cattle. The effectiveness of antimicrobials for metaphylaxis varies by cattle population. How differing antimicrobial effectiveness translates to net return profitability for heterogeneous cattle populations is less understood. Net returns and return risk were assessed using a net return simulation model adapted to allow for heterogeneity in high health-risk cattle placement characteristics and antimicrobial choice to control BRD. The net return model incorporated how antimicrobials modify BRD health and performance outcomes. Health and performance outcomes were calibrated from published literature and proprietary feedlot data. Proprietary data came from 10 Midwestern feedlots representing nearly 6 million animals and 50,000 cohorts. Twelve placement-by-metaphylaxis decision combinations were assessed: high health-risk steer placement demographics were 600 or 800 lb steers placed in Winter (Oct–Mar) or Summer (Apr–Sept) managed with one of three different health programs: “no metaphylaxis,” “Upper Tier” antimicrobial, or “Lower Tier” antimicrobial. Net return distributions were compared between “no metaphylaxis” and a specific antimicrobial tier within specific cattle populations. We found the expected incremental net return of administering an “Upper Tier” (“Lower Tier”) antimicrobial for metaphylaxis compared to “no metaphylaxis” for high health-risk steers was $122.55 per head ($65.72) for 600 lb and $148.65 per head ($79.65) for 800 lb winter placements. The incremental expected net return and risk mitigated by metaphylaxis varied by placement weight, season, and antimicrobial choice. The probability net returns would decline by at least $50 per head was signif-icantly reduced (from approximately 4% to 40%) when any antimicrobial was used on high health-risk steers. Both tiers of antimicrobials used for metaphylaxis increased expected net returns and decreased net return variability relative to no met-aphylaxis. Thus, feedlots were more certain and realize a greater profit on high health-risk pens of steers when metaphylaxis was used. This occurred because the reduction in cattle health and performance outcomes using any antimicrobial was sufficiently large to cover added initial and subsequent antimicrobial costs. Results aid in assessing metaphylaxis strategies in high health-risk cattle

PERFORMANCE OF THE EXACT AND CHI-SQUARE TESTS ON SPARSE CONTINGENCY TABLES

A cross-sectional observational study design was used to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in wild deer feces. Samples were voluntarily submitted at a number of different locations. In order to determine if the proportions of E. coli 0157: H7 positive samples submitted were equal for each of the 26 locations, a 26 by 2 contingency table was analyzed. There were only four E. coli 0157:H7 positive samples, which resulted in a sparse table. It is possible to obtain statistically significant results in sparse tables using Fisher\u27s exact test, whereas the chi-square test is generally unreliable in such situations. Thus, Fisher\u27s exact test should be considered when small expected cell counts bring into question the validity of the chi-square test. However, the statistical conclusions based on either the exact test or an asymptotic chi-square test are shown to vary drastically by slight alterations in the distribution of non-empty cells. Therefore, a different statistical conclusion very easily could have been reached if a volunteer had submitted a sample at a different location. In addition, we show that the computational times for exact tests in SAS® can be an applicational limitation

El maravilloso mundo de la oralidad

129 p. Recurso Electr?nicoEste proyecto de investigaci?n fue motivado a partir de una problem?tica detectada, la cual observ? la dificultad que presentaron los ni?os en la expresi?n oral en el grado de pre jard?n de la Instituci?n Educativa. Teniendo en cuenta esta problem?tica se retomaron aportes te?ricos como el MEN, la Constituci?n Pol?tica, la Ley 115 de 1994, los lineamientos curriculares el Decreto 2247 de 1997, que tienen como fin mejorar la calidad de la educaci?n preescolar, y se realizaron encuestas observaciones, y entrevistas a la comunidad educativa en general, obteniendo informaci?n clara de los ni?os, sirviendo de base para enriquecer conocimientos y marcar cambios en los procesos de ense?anza aprendizaje dentro y fuera del aula, de una forma pedag?gica y arm?nica que es fundamental en el desarrollo del ni?o en la etapa inicial. Teniendo en cuenta estos conocimientos se implementaron actividades acordes a las necesidades e intereses de los ni?os, con el fin de potenciar en ellos el desarrollo de la oralidad, mediada a trav?s de la narrativa, teatro y arte teniendo en cuenta que cada una de estas actividades contaba con unas su actividades para mejorar el lenguaje, las habilidades motrices, estimular la imaginaci?n, creatividad y la l?dica ayudando de esta manera a un buen desarrollo integral, social e intelectual en los ni?os y ni?as de la Instituci?n Educativa. Con base en estas actividades se logr? potencializar en los ni?os el desarrollo de habilidades y capacidades en los diferentes aspectos social, emocional, cognitivo, comunicativo y motor, logrando el ?xito en los objetivos propuestos.This Research Project was a motivation at the beginning of a problematic in the educative institution that was detected in a difficulty that Pre-Kinder children showed in their oral expression. Considering this problematic, some theoretical supports were retaken from the Ministry Of National Education, the Law 115, 1994, the curriculum guidelines of the Decree 2247, 1997, which purpose is to improve the educative quality in the pre scholar area, and some interviews were generally conducted in the educative community, gathering clear information about the children, using it as a base for enriching our knowledge and making changes in the teaching - learning process, inside and outside the classroom, in a pedagogical way which is fundamental in the development of the child in his or her early stage. Basing on this knowledge, some activities were carried out according to the students? interests or necessities, in order for their speech development to strengthen, through different ways such as narrative, role plays, body language and motor skills, stimulating their ability to imagine, creativity and ludic, helping in this sense for a good integral, social and intellectual development in boys and girls inside the educative community. And according to these tasks, it was achieved to strengthen their development of skills and capabilities in the social, emotional, cognitive, communicative and motor aspects, as a success in the proposed objectives. Keywords: oral, communication, pedagogical project, integral development, educative institution, knowledge, teacher ? student, learning-teaching, ludic, language, early education, cognitive development

MIVES multi-criteria approach for the evaluation, prioritization, and selection of public investment projects. A case study in the city of Barcelona

A meaningful contribution to the evaluation of heterogeneous public investments is described in this article. The proposed methodology provides a step towards sustainable urban planning in which decisions are taken according to clear, consistent and transparent criteria assisted by the MIVES multi-criteria analysis framework. The MIVES methodology combines multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), incorporating the value function (VF) concept and assigning weights through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). First, a homogenization coefficient is calculated to develop the Prioritization Index for Heterogeneous Urban Investments (PIHUI), so that non-homogenous alternatives may be comparable. This coefficient measures the need of society to invest in each public project through the consideration of its contribution to the regional balance, the scope of its investment, the evaluation of the current situation and the values of the city. Then, the MIVES multi-criteria framework is used to evaluate the degree to which each investment would contribute to sustainable development. Different economic, environmental and social aspects were considered through a decision framework, constructed with the three aforementioned requirements, five criteria and eight indicators. The case study conducted for the Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility Area of Barcelona municipal council is presented in this article, showing how this method performs accurate, consistent, and repeatable evaluations.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Value of Arrival Metaphylaxis in U.S. Cattle Industry

Although several studies have estimated economic impacts of antimicrobials for growth promotion, little is known about economic impacts of the common animal health management strategy known as metaphylaxis: administering antimicrobials to groups of animals to prevent disease. This article develops a new framework to map animal disease to producer profitability and determine societal economic impacts surrounding metaphylactic use of antimicrobials in beef cattle production. Results indicate the direct net return value of metaphylaxis to the U.S. fed cattle industry is at least $532 million. Beef producer surplus losses of$1.8 billion would be associated with eliminating metaphylaxis

Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Enteric Gram Negative Facultative Anaerobe Bacilli in Aerobic versus Anaerobic Conditions

Citation: DeMars, Z., Biswas, S., Amachawadi, R. G., Renter, D. G., & Volkova, V. V. (2016). Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Enteric Gram Negative Facultative Anaerobe Bacilli in Aerobic versus Anaerobic Conditions. Plos One, 11(5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0155599Antimicrobial treatments result in the host's enteric bacteria being exposed to the antimicrobials. Pharmacodynamic models can describe how this exposure affects the enteric bacteria and their antimicrobial resistance. The models utilize measurements of bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility traditionally obtained in vitro in aerobic conditions. However, in vivo enteric bacteria are exposed to antimicrobials in anaerobic conditions of the lower intestine. Some of enteric bacteria of food animals are potential foodborne pathogens, e.g., Gram-negative bacilli Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. These are facultative anaerobes; their physiology and growth rates change in anaerobic conditions. We hypothesized that their antimicrobial susceptibility also changes, and evaluated differences in the susceptibility in aerobic vs. anaerobic conditions of generic E. coli and Salmonella enterica of diverse serovars isolated from cattle feces. Susceptibility of an isolate was evaluated as its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) measured by E-TestR following 24 hours of adaptation to the conditions on Mueller-Hinton agar, and on a more complex tryptic soy agar with 5% sheep blood (BAP) media. We considered all major antimicrobial drug classes used in the U.S. to treat cattle: ?-lactams (specifically, ampicillin and ceftriaxone E-Test1 ), aminoglycosides (gentamicin and kanamycin), fluoroquinolones (enrofloxacin), classical macrolides (erythromycin), azalides (azithromycin), sulfanomides (sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim), and tetracyclines (tetracycline). Statistical analyses were conducted for the isolates (n?30) interpreted as susceptible to the antimicrobials based on the clinical breakpoint interpretation for human infection. Bacterial susceptibility to every antimicrobial tested was statistically significantly different in anaerobic vs. aerobic conditions on both media, except for no difference in susceptibility to ceftriaxone on BAP agar. A satellite experiment suggested that during first days in anaerobic conditions the susceptibility changes with time. The results demonstrate that assessing effects of antimicrobial treatments on resistance in the host's enteric bacteria that are Gram negative facultative Anaerobe Bacilli requires data on the bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility in the conditions resembling those in the intestine. © 2016 DeMars et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Meta-analysis of the effects of laidlomycin propionate, fed alone or in combination with chlortetracycline, compared with monensin sodium, fed alone or in combination with tylosin, on growth performance, health, and carcass outcomes in finishing steers in North America

Citation: Cernicchiaro, N., Corbin, M., Quinn, M., Prouty, F., Branine, M., & Renter, D. G. (2016). Meta-analysis of the effects of laidlomycin propionate, fed alone or in combination with chlortetracycline, compared with monensin sodium, fed alone or in combination with tylosin, on growth performance, health, and carcass outcomes in finishing steers in North America. Journal of Animal Science, 94(4), 1662-1676. doi:10.2527/jas2015-0086The objective of this research was to use data from multiple studies to comprehensively quantify the effects of feeding 1) laidlomycin propionate (LP), alone and/or in combination with chlortetracycline, compared with 2) monensin sodium (MS), alone and/or in combination with tylosin, at commercially approved dosages, on ADG, DMI, feed efficiency (FE), mortality, and carcass characteristics (HCW and liver abscesses). A secondary objective was to explore potential sources of heterogeneity among the comparative effectiveness studies. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature and industry reports was used to identify studies that included direct comparisons of these treatments in finishing steers in North America. Random-effects meta-analysis models of performance, carcass, and health-related outcomes were fitted with extracted data, consisting of a total of 17 data sets comprising a total of 135 pens and 13,603 steers. Results showed that pens of steers fed LP had increased ADG (live and carcass adjusted), DMI, and HCW compared with those fed monensin (P 0.05) were identified for FE or for health-related outcomes (overall and cause-specific mortality). There was a substantial amount of heterogeneity in outcomes among studies, and when pen size and type of production setting were included in mixed-effects metaregression models, they accounted for only a small proportion of the between-study heterogeneity found in the meta-analysis models. Therefore, caution should be exercised when interpreting summary estimates in the presence of substantial heterogeneity. However, these results provide comprehensive information on the comparative effects of different ionophores across multiple studies and multiple years, states, and production settings. These unique results can enable quantitative and informed decisions by potential end users of these feed additives that are widely used in the U.S. beef industry for reducing the costs of beef production through enhanced cattle performance

Escherichia coli O26 in feedlot cattle: Fecal prevalence, isolation, characterization, and effects of an E. coli O157 vaccine and a direct-fed microbial

Escherichia coli O26 is second only to O157 in causing foodborne, Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC) infections. Our objectives were to determine fecal prevalence and characteristics of E. coli O26 in commercial feedlot cattle (17,148) that were enrolled in a study to evaluate an E. coli O157:H7 siderophore receptor and porin (SRP®) vaccine (VAC) and a direct-fed microbial (DFM; 106 colony-forming units [CFU]/animal/day of Lactobacillus acidophilus and 109 CFU/animal/day of Propionibacterium freudenreichii). Cattle were randomly allocated to 40 pens within 10 complete blocks; pens were randomly assigned to control, VAC, DFM, or VAC+DFM treatments. Vaccine was administered on days 0 and 21, and DFM was fed throughout the study. Pen-floor fecal samples (30/pen) were collected weekly for the last 4 study weeks. Samples were enriched in E. coli broth and subjected to a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) designed to detect O26-specific wzx gene and four major virulence genes (stx1, stx2, eae, and ehxA) and to a culture-based procedure that involved immunomagnetic separation and plating on MacConkey agar. Ten presumptive E. coli colonies were randomly picked, pooled, and tested by the multiplex PCR. Pooled colonies positive for O26 serogroup were streaked on sorbose MacConkey agar, and 10 randomly picked colonies per sample were tested individually by the multiplex PCR. The overall prevalence of E. coli O26 was higher (p<0.001) by the culture-based method compared to the PCR assay (22.7 versus 10.5%). The interventions (VAC and or DFM) had no impact on fecal shedding of O26. Serogroup O26 was recovered in pure culture from 23.9% (260 of 1089) of O26 PCR-positive pooled colonies. Only 7 of the 260 isolates were positive for the stx gene and 90.1% of the isolates possessed an eaeβ gene that codes for intimin subtype β, but not the bfpA gene, which codes for bundle-forming pilus. Therefore, the majority of the O26 recovered from feedlot cattle feces was atypical enteropathogenic E. coli, and not STEC