Economic analysis of alternative nutritional management of dual-purpose cow herds in central coastal Veracruz, Mexico

Market information was combined with predicted input–output relationships in an economic analysis of alternative nutritional management for dual-purpose member herds of the Genesis farmer organization of central coastal Veracruz, Mexico. Cow productivity outcomes for typical management and alternative feeding scenarios were obtained from structured sets of simulations in a companion study of productivity limitations and potentials using the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System model (Version 6.0). Partial budgeting methods and sensitivity analysis were used to identify economically viable alternatives based on expected change in milk income over feed cost (change in revenues from milk sales less change in feed costs). Herd owners in coastal Veracruz have large economic incentives, from $584 to$1,131 in predicted net margin, to increase milk sales by up to 74% across a three-lactation cow lifetime by improving diets based on good quality grass and legume forages. This increment is equal to, or exceeds, in value the total yield from at least one additional lactation per cow lifetime. Furthermore, marginal rates of return (change in milk income over feed costs divided by change in variable costs when alternative practices are used) of 3.3 ± 0.8 indicate clear economic incentives to remove fundamental productivity vulnerabilities due to chronic energy deficits and impeded growth of immature cows under typical management. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the economic outcomes are robust for a variety of market conditions

Limitations and potentials of dual-purpose cow herds in Central Coastal Veracruz, Mexico

Feed chemical and kinetic composition and animal performance information was used to evaluate productivity limitations and potentials of dual-purpose member herds of the Genesis farmer organization of central coastal Veracruz, Mexico. The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System model (Version 6.0) was systematically applied to specific groups of cows in structured simulations to establish probable input–output relationships for typical management, and to estimate probable outcomes from alternative management based on forage-based dietary improvements. Key herd vulnerabilities were pinpointed: chronic energy deficits among dry cows of all ages in late gestation and impeded growth for immature cows. Regardless of the forage season of calving, most cows, if not all, incur energy deficits in the final trimester of gestation; thus reducing the pool of tissue energy and constraining milking performance. Under typical management, cows are smaller and underweight for their age, which limits feed intake capacity, milk production and the probability of early postpartum return to ovarian cyclicity. The substitution of good-quality harvested forage for grazing increased predicted yields by about one-third over typical scenarios for underweight cows. When diets from first parturition properly supported growth and tissue repletion, milk production in second and third lactations was predicted to improve about 60%. Judiciously supplemented diets based on good quality grass and legume forages from first calving were predicted to further increase productivity by about 80% across a three-lactation cow lifetime. These dual-purpose herd owners have large incentives to increase sales income by implementing nutritional strategies like those considered in this study

Giant tortoise genomes provide insights into longevity and age-related disease

© 2018, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. Giant tortoises are among the longest-lived vertebrate animals and, as such, provide an excellent model to study traits like longevity and age-related diseases. However, genomic and molecular evolutionary information on giant tortoises is scarce. Here, we describe a global analysis of the genomes of Lonesome George—the iconic last member of Chelonoidis abingdonii—and the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). Comparison of these genomes with those of related species, using both unsupervised and supervised analyses, led us to detect lineage-specific variants affecting DNA repair genes, inflammatory mediators and genes related to cancer development. Our study also hints at specific evolutionary strategies linked to increased lifespan, and expands our understanding of the genomic determinants of ageing. These new genome sequences also provide important resources to help the efforts for restoration of giant tortoise populations

Transport injuries and deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean Region : findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study

Transport injuries (TI) are ranked as one of the leading causes of death, disability, and property loss worldwide. This paper provides an overview of the burden of TI in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by age and sex from 1990 to 2015. Transport injuries mortality in the EMR was estimated using the Global Burden of Disease mortality database, with corrections for ill-defined causes of death, using the cause of death ensemble modeling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient datasets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories. In 2015, 152,855 (95% uncertainty interval: 137,900-168,100) people died from TI in the EMR countries. Between 1990 and 2015, the years of life lost (YLL) rate per 100,000 due to TI decreased by 15.5%, while the years lived with disability (YLD) rate decreased by 10%, and the age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate decreased by 16%. Although the burden of TI mortality and morbidity decreased over the last two decades, there is still a considerable burden that needs to be addressed by increasing awareness, enforcing laws, and improving road conditions.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Measurement of changes in health across locations is useful to compare and contrast changing epidemiological patterns against health system performance and identify specific needs for resource allocation in research, policy development, and programme decision making. Using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we drew from two widely used summary measures to monitor such changes in population health: disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and healthy life expectancy (HALE). We used these measures to track trends and benchmark progress compared with expected trends on the basis of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). METHODS: We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 for all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, and non-fatal disease burden to derive HALE and DALYs by sex for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2016. We calculated DALYs by summing years of life lost and years of life lived with disability for each location, age group, sex, and year. We estimated HALE using age-specific death rates and years of life lived with disability per capita. We explored how DALYs and HALE differed from expected trends when compared with the SDI: the geometric mean of income per person, educational attainment in the population older than age 15 years, and total fertility rate. FINDINGS: The highest globally observed HALE at birth for both women and men was in Singapore, at 75·2 years (95% uncertainty interval 71·9-78·6) for females and 72·0 years (68·8-75·1) for males. The lowest for females was in the Central African Republic (45·6 years [42·0-49·5]) and for males was in Lesotho (41·5 years [39·0-44·0]). From 1990 to 2016, global HALE increased by an average of 6·24 years (5·97-6·48) for both sexes combined. Global HALE increased by 6·04 years (5·74-6·27) for males and 6·49 years (6·08-6·77) for females, whereas HALE at age 65 years increased by 1·78 years (1·61-1·93) for males and 1·96 years (1·69-2·13) for females. Total global DALYs remained largely unchanged from 1990 to 2016 (-2·3% [-5·9 to 0·9]), with decreases in communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) disease DALYs offset by increased DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The exemplars, calculated as the five lowest ratios of observed to expected age-standardised DALY rates in 2016, were Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Maldives, Peru, and Israel. The leading three causes of DALYs globally were ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and lower respiratory infections, comprising 16·1% of all DALYs. Total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rates due to most CMNN causes decreased from 1990 to 2016. Conversely, the total DALY burden rose for most NCDs; however, age-standardised DALY rates due to NCDs declined globally. INTERPRETATION: At a global level, DALYs and HALE continue to show improvements. At the same time, we observe that many populations are facing growing functional health loss. Rising SDI was associated with increases in cumulative years of life lived with disability and decreases in CMNN DALYs offset by increased NCD DALYs. Relative compression of morbidity highlights the importance of continued health interventions, which has changed in most locations in pace with the gross domestic product per person, education, and family planning. The analysis of DALYs and HALE and their relationship to SDI represents a robust framework with which to benchmark location-specific health performance. Country-specific drivers of disease burden, particularly for causes with higher-than-expected DALYs, should inform health policies, health system improvement initiatives, targeted prevention efforts, and development assistance for health, including financial and research investments for all countries, regardless of their level of sociodemographic development. The presence of countries that substantially outperform others suggests the need for increased scrutiny for proven examples of best practices, which can help to extend gains, whereas the presence of underperforming countries suggests the need for devotion of extra attention to health systems that need more robust support. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Virus genomes reveal factors that spread and sustained the Ebola epidemic.

The 2013-2016 West African epidemic caused by the Ebola virus was of unprecedented magnitude, duration and impact. Here we reconstruct the dispersal, proliferation and decline of Ebola virus throughout the region by analysing 1,610 Ebola virus genomes, which represent over 5% of the known cases. We test the association of geography, climate and demography with viral movement among administrative regions, inferring a classic 'gravity' model, with intense dispersal between larger and closer populations. Despite attenuation of international dispersal after border closures, cross-border transmission had already sown the seeds for an international epidemic, rendering these measures ineffective at curbing the epidemic. We address why the epidemic did not spread into neighbouring countries, showing that these countries were susceptible to substantial outbreaks but at lower risk of introductions. Finally, we reveal that this large epidemic was a heterogeneous and spatially dissociated collection of transmission clusters of varying size, duration and connectivity. These insights will help to inform interventions in future epidemics

Evaluación técnica y de costo de cuatro tratamientos para el control de malezas en plantaciones de caoba del Pacífico

18 p.Las malezas son consideradas unas de las principales plagas que causan pérdidas agrícolas, ya que su control representa un costo elevado en la producción. Por lo tanto bajar costos de control de malezas resulta una práctica muy importante. En este proyecto se probaron cuatro tratamientos en los cuales se midió el control de malezas, los costos de los tratamientos, las especies tolerantes a los herbicidas usados y fitotoxicidad. Se usaron tratamientos químicos y físicos mecánicos. El estudio se realizó en tres sitios aledaños a Zamorano plantados con caoba del Pacífico (Swietenia humilis) los cuales contaban con diferentes tipos de maleza, en Florencia se encontró pasto bermuda (Cynodon dactylon), en El Burro flor amarilla (Baltimora recta) y en San Nicolás pasto johnson (Sorghum halepense). Se usaron cuatro réplicas por tratamiento en cada sitio. Los tratamientos fueron glifosato o Round-up 35.6 SL con dosis de 59.4 y 29.9 g de i.a.llitro, glifosato o Round-up Max con una dosis de 11.2 g de i.a/litro y la desbrozadora Husqvarna"235R, la cual sirvió como testigo. En Florencia el tratamiento que resultó con un mejor conttol y fue estadísticamente diferente (P=0.0318) a los demás fue Round-up 35.6 SL a 59.4 g de i.a.llitro. En San Nicolás los tres tratamientos químicos no tuvieron diferencias significativas. En El Burro tampoco se encontró diferencia significativa entre los tratamientos. El uso de la desbrozadora Husqvarna 235R en los tres sitios de estudio resultó estadísticamente diferente a los demás tratamientos (P=0.05). El tratamiento de Round-up 35.6 SL a 29.9 g de i.a/litro resultó con los costos más bajos de control por hectárea. El número de plantas encontradas con fitotoxicidad no fueron estadísticamente significativas en ninguno de los tres sitios de estudio. Commelina diffusa o siempreviva fue tolerante a los herbicidas usados. Se puede concluir que el control de malezas para los sitios de estudio se hará de acuerdo a la maleza predominante en la zona, ya que para Cynodon dactylon se obtuvo un mejor control usando Round-up 35.6 SL a 59.4 g de i.a.llitro. Asimismo se recomienda hacer ensayos con dosis más bajas ya que las malezas de hoja ancha como la Baltimora recta se mostró muy susceptible a las dosis usadas en este ensaY9.1. Índice de cuasdros 2. Introducción 3. Revisión de literatura 4. Materiales y métodos 5. Resultados y discusión 6. Conclusiones 7. Bibliografí

BOBA FRET: Bootstrap-based analysis of single-molecule FRET data

Time-binned single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) experiments with surface-tethered nucleic acids or proteins permit to follow folding and catalysis of single molecules in real-time. Due to the intrinsically low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in smFRET time traces, research over the past years has focused on the development of new methods to extract discrete states (conformations) from noisy data. However, limited observation time typically leads to pronounced cross-sample variability, i.e., single molecules display differences in the relative population of states and the corresponding conversion rates. Quantification of cross-sample variability is necessary to perform statistical testing in order to assess whether changes observed in response to an experimental parameter (metal ion concentration, the presence of a ligand, etc.) are significant. However, such hypothesis testing has been disregarded to date, precluding robust biological interpretation. Here, we address this problem by a bootstrap-based approach to estimate the experimental variability. Simulated time traces are presented to assess the robustness of the algorithm in conjunction with approaches commonly used in thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of time-binned smFRET data. Furthermore, a pair of functionally important sequences derived from the self-cleaving group II intron Sc.ai5γ (d3'EBS1*/IBS1*) is used as a model system. Through statistical hypothesis testing, divalent metal ions are shown to have a statistically significant effect on both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of their interaction. The Matlab source code used for analysis (bootstrap-based analysis of smFRET data, BOBA FRET), as well as a graphical user interface, is available via http://www.aci.uzh.ch/rna/