Pastureland Management, and Influence on the Economic Response of Breeding Herds

The influence of the main pastureland components on the economic response of breeding herds at the Rescate de Sanguily Company was studied from January 2012 to December 2014. Six breeding farms from Ricardo Flores Farm were chosen in the municipality of Jimaguayú, province of Camagüey, Cuba. Variables of pastureland, and forage resources in general were used. To determine the main components that led to variability of breeding units, a Principal Component Analysis was performed; components with values above the unit were selected. Stocking rates variables over 0.60 were chosen too. The elements related with pastureland management in breeding units were defined (forage area with native and cultivated grass), which explain the more than 40 % variance in all the units under the study. Forage balance is negative in the units, as a result of poor agro technical management of grasslands; however, the expensesincome ratio is positive (between CUP $2 500 and$17 600), caused by the low feeding costs. Activities and resources linked to pasture and forage agro techniques must be prioritized, along with the completion of forage areas

Manejo del pastizal y su influencia en la respuesta económica de rebaños de cría.

Se estudió la influencia de los principales componentes del manejo del pastizal en la respuesta económica de rebaños de cría de la Empresa Genética Rescate de Sanguily, desde enero de 2012 a diciembre de 2014. Se seleccionaron seis unidades de cría de la granja  Ricardo Flores, perteneciente a esta empresa, ubicada en el Municipio de Jima-guayú, provincia Camagüey, Cuba. Se tomaron variables sobre la situación de los pastizales y los recursos forrajeros en general y para determinar los componentes fundamentales que determinan la variabilidad de las unidades de cría. Se utilizó el análisis de  componentes principales, seleccionando aquellos componentes que presentaban un autovalor superior a la unidad y dentro de cada componente principal aquellas variables con cargas superiores a 0,60; se pudo definir que entre los elementos del manejo de los pastizales en unidades de cría, destacan el área de forraje, de pastos cultivados y pastos naturales, que explican más del 40% de la varianza entre las unidades del estudio. El balance forrajero en las entidades es negativo, como resultado de la pobre atención agrotécnica a los pastiza les; aún así, la relación gastos-ingresos es positiva, con ganancias brutas que oscilan entre 2 500 y 17 600 CUP, lo que obedece a los bajos costos por concepto de alimentación. Se requiere priorizar las actividades y recursos relacionados con la agrotécnia de los pastos y forrajes, así como el completamiento de áreas de forrajes.Pastureland Management and Influence on the Economic Response of Breeding Herds.ABSTRACTThe influence of the main pastureland components on the economic response of breeding herds at the  Rescate de Sanguily Enterprise was studied, from January 2012 to December 2014. Six breeding units from  Ricardo Flores unit were chosen, in the municipality of  Jimaguayú, province of Camagüey, Cuba. Variables of pastureland, and forage resources in general were used. To determine the main components that led to variability of breeding units, a Prin-cipal Component Analysis was performed;  components with values above the unit were selected. Stocking rates va-riables,  over 0.60, were chosen too.  The elements related with pastureland management in  breeding units were de-fined (forage area with native and cultivated grass), which explain the more than 40  % variance in all the units under the study. Forage balance is negative in the units, as a result of poor agrotechnical management of grasslands; however, the expenses-income ratio is positive (between CUP $2 500 and$17 600), caused by the low feeding costs. Activities and resources linked to pasture and forage agrotechniques must be prioritized, along with the completion of forage areas

Investigación en matemáticas, economía y ciencias sociales

El resultado de este libro que reune inquietudes académicas en torno a temas tan estudiados como los que están alrededor del maíz, del frijol o del café; y tan contemporáneos como las aplicaciones concretas de las ciencias ya citadas, al estudio de la adopción del comercio electrónico en empresas del sector agroindustrial o, el caso de la generación de biogas o energía eléctrica por medio de biodigestores. Al editar este texto e incorporarlo a la bibliografía de los temas de referencia, se enriquecen opciones de consulta para los estudiosos de esos temas en general; pero también para interesados en aspectos tan específicos como la cadena de suministro del mercado hortofrutícola en Texcoco

A pan-European epidemiological study reveals honey bee colony survival depends on beekeeper education and disease control

Reports of honey bee population decline has spurred many national efforts to understand the extent of the problem and to identify causative or associated factors. However, our collective understanding of the factors has been hampered by a lack of joined up trans-national effort. Moreover, the impacts of beekeeper knowledge and beekeeping management practices have often been overlooked, despite honey bees being a managed pollinator. Here, we established a standardised active monitoring network for 5 798 apiaries over two consecutive years to quantify honey bee colony mortality across 17 European countries. Our data demonstrate that overwinter losses ranged between 2% and 32%, and that high summer losses were likely to follow high winter losses. Multivariate Poisson regression models revealed that hobbyist beekeepers with small apiaries and little experience in beekeeping had double the winter mortality rate when compared to professional beekeepers. Furthermore, honey bees kept by professional beekeepers never showed signs of disease, unlike apiaries from hobbyist beekeepers that had symptoms of bacterial infection and heavy Varroa infestation. Our data highlight beekeeper background and apicultural practices as major drivers of honey bee colony losses. The benefits of conducting trans-national monitoring schemes and improving beekeeper training are discussed

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Combined fit to the spectrum and composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory including magnetic horizon effects

The measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays can be interpreted assuming the presence of two extragalactic source populations, one dominating the flux at energies above a few EeV and the other below. To fit the data ignoring magnetic field effects, the high-energy population needs to accelerate a mixture of nuclei with very hard spectra, at odds with the approximate E$^{-2}$ shape expected from diffusive shock acceleration. The presence of turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields in the region between the closest sources and the Earth can significantly modify the observed CR spectrum with respect to that emitted by the sources, reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles that reach the Earth. We here take into account this magnetic horizon effect in the combined fit of the spectrum and shower depth distributions, exploring the possibility that a spectrum for the high-energy population sources with a shape closer to E$^{-2}$ be able to explain the observations

Effect of aliskiren on post-discharge outcomes among diabetic and non-diabetic patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial

Aims The objective of the Aliskiren Trial on Acute Heart Failure Outcomes (ASTRONAUT) was to determine whether aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, would improve post-discharge outcomes in patients with hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) with reduced ejection fraction. Pre-specified subgroup analyses suggested potential heterogeneity in post-discharge outcomes with aliskiren in patients with and without baseline diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results ASTRONAUT included 953 patients without DM (aliskiren 489; placebo 464) and 662 patients with DM (aliskiren 319; placebo 343) (as reported by study investigators). Study endpoints included the first occurrence of cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 and 12 months, all-cause death within 6 and 12 months, and change from baseline in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 1, 6, and 12 months. Data regarding risk of hyperkalaemia, renal impairment, and hypotension, and changes in additional serum biomarkers were collected. The effect of aliskiren on cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 months (primary endpoint) did not significantly differ by baseline DM status (P = 0.08 for interaction), but reached statistical significance at 12 months (non-DM: HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64-0.99; DM: HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.91-1.47; P = 0.03 for interaction). Risk of 12-month all-cause death with aliskiren significantly differed by the presence of baseline DM (non-DM: HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; DM: HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.15-2.33; P < 0.01 for interaction). Among non-diabetics, aliskiren significantly reduced NT-proBNP through 6 months and plasma troponin I and aldosterone through 12 months, as compared to placebo. Among diabetic patients, aliskiren reduced plasma troponin I and aldosterone relative to placebo through 1 month only. There was a trend towards differing risk of post-baseline potassium ≥6 mmol/L with aliskiren by underlying DM status (non-DM: HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71-1.93; DM: HR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.30-4.42; P = 0.07 for interaction). Conclusion This pre-specified subgroup analysis from the ASTRONAUT trial generates the hypothesis that the addition of aliskiren to standard HHF therapy in non-diabetic patients is generally well-tolerated and improves post-discharge outcomes and biomarker profiles. In contrast, diabetic patients receiving aliskiren appear to have worse post-discharge outcomes. Future prospective investigations are needed to confirm potential benefits of renin inhibition in a large cohort of HHF patients without D

A search for ultra-high-energy photons at the Pierre Auger Observatory exploiting air-shower universality

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the most sensitive detector to primary photons with energies above ∼0.2 EeV. It measures extensive air showers using a hybrid technique that combines a fluorescence detector (FD) with a ground array of particle detectors (SD). The signatures of a photon-induced air shower are a larger atmospheric depth at the shower maximum (X$_{max}$) and a steeper lateral distribution function, along with a lower number of muons with respect to the bulk of hadron-induced background. Using observables measured by the FD and SD, three photon searches in different energy bands are performed. In particular, between threshold energies of 1-10 EeV, a new analysis technique has been developed by combining the FD-based measurement of X$_{max}$ with the SD signal through a parameter related to its muon content, derived from the universality of the air showers. This technique has led to a better photon/hadron separation and, consequently, to a higher search sensitivity, resulting in a tighter upper limit than before. The outcome of this new analysis is presented here, along with previous results in the energy ranges below 1 EeV and above 10 EeV. From the data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory in about 15 years of operation, the most stringent constraints on the fraction of photons in the cosmic flux are set over almost three decades in energy