Review of Camel Calves Nutrition and Management in Kenya

Camels are important livestock species in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya. Camels provide milk, meat and serves as means of transport (drawing water, carry make shift houses, elderly people and children) for mobile pastoral communities. They supply milk and meat even during dry and drought periods when other livestock species struggle for their survival. Production systems for the camels are largely extensive with camel husbandry techniques mainly inherited from pastoral traditional knowledge passed down over generations. High calf mortality (about 63%) is a common phenomenon in the pastoral production systems of northern Kenya. A review was conducted to established causes of the high mortality and recommendations developed with a view to reduce mortality to manageable levels.  This review showed that calf colostrum suckling restriction at birth, calf diarrhoea and other diseases, milk competition with calves for household consumption and income generation and limited forages during droughts were among the major causes of camel calf mortality. The review consolidated previous research on camel calves’ nutrition and management and has recommended nutrition and management tips to reduce mortality. Key words: calve mortality, milk competition, colostrum, supplementation, milk replacer. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-8-04 Publication date: April 30th 202

Linking Research to Development in Pastoral Communities of Northern Kenya: Recent Experiences and Key Findings in Participatory Research Approaches

Over 50% of Kenya\u27s land mass is arid. The mainstay of the local economies of these areas is nomadic pastoralism. Arable agriculture is limited to the few oases and mountain zones. Due to the harsh climate, there are few alternative livelihood options available to the local communities of mostly herders. Efforts to improve agricultural productivity have often been hampered by low adoption of available technologies. This low adoption is linked to many factors, notably the non-involvement of the stakeholders in the research process and the weak linkage between research and extension. To address these shortcomings, new approaches were tested with the aim of improving acceptability and use of agricultural technologies and knowledge in a pastoral community of northern Kenya

Genotype-environment-year interaction on oil antioxidants in an olive district of Northern Italy

A two-year survey in 18 representative groves of a north Italian olive district sampled cvs. 'Caltivar' and 'Leccino' for single-site oils. Polyphenols had a major role in determining oil autoxidation stability with respect to tocopherols, even if the higher autoxidation stability of 'Leccino' over 'Casaliva' was probably due to the more than double content in tocopherols, which was significantly affected by years. In spite of the large variations both in oil and in environmental parameters, no statistically significant model emerged for relations between antioxidants oil content and site parameters

Spectroscopic investigation of nitrate-metal and metal-surfactant interactions in the solid AgNO3/C12EO10 and liquid-crystalline [M(H2O)n](NO3)2/C12EO 10 systems

Interactions of the nitrate ions in various metal nitrate salts with CnH2n-1(CH2CH2O)mOH (CnEOm)-type nonionic surfactants have been investigated both in the solid and in the liquid-crystalline (LC) systems. In the ternary system, the mixture of salt/water/CnEOm has a mesophase up to a certain concentration of salt, and the nitrate ions in this phase are usually in a free-ion form. However, upon the evaporation of the water phase, the nitrate ion interacts with the metal center and coordinates as either a bidentate or unidentate ligand. It is this interaction that makes the AgNO3 ternary system undergo a phase separation by releasing solid Ag(CnEOm)xNO3 complex crystals. In contrast, the salt/surfactant systems maintain their stable LC phases for months. Note also that the salt/surfactant systems consist of transition-metal aqua complexes in which the coordinated water molecules play a significant role in the self-assembly and organization of the nonionic surfactant molecules into an LC mesophase. Throughout this work, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been extensively used to investigate the interactions of the nitrate ions with a metal center and the metal ions with the surfactant molecules. Polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques have been applied to investigate the nature of the crystalline and LC phases

Sensory and chemical analyses of monovarietal olive oils from lake Garda (Northern Italy)

The qualitative description of an olive oil should be based not only on chemical and physical analyses but also on sensory evaluation. The present study was designed to evaluate by sensory analysis the monovarietal oils from olive accessions in a germplasm collection in northern Italy\u2019s Lake Garda area. Relationships of chemical and sensory evaluation were studied by correlation and multiple regression analysis. Olive accessions were successfully classified by oil sensory profile. A rather good agreement among sensory traits and chemical analysis of volatile compounds and polyphenols was found

Differentially Expressed Proteins in Primary Endothelial Cells Derived From Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Endothelial dysfunction is one of the primary factors in the onset and progression of atherothrombosis resulting in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the pathological and cellular mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in AMI have not been systematically studied. Protein expression profiling in combination with a protein network analysis was used by the mass spectrometry-based label-free quantification approach. This identified and quantified 2246 proteins, of which 335 were differentially regulated in coronary arterial endothelial cells from patients with AMI compared with controls. The differentially regulated protein profiles reveal the alteration of (1) metabolism of RNA, (2) platelet activation, signaling, and aggregation, (3) neutrophil degranulation, (4) metabolism of amino acids and derivatives, (5) cellular responses to stress, and (6) response to elevated platelet cytosolic Ca2+ pathways. Increased production of oxidants and decreased production of antioxidant biomarkers as well as downregulation of proteins with antioxidant properties suggests a role for oxidative stress in mediating endothelial dysfunction during AMI. In conclusion, this is the first quantitative proteomics study to evaluate the cellular mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in patients with AMI. A better understanding of the endothelial proteome and pathophysiology of AMI may lead to the identification of new drug targets

Characterization of local olive (Olea europaea l.) accessions by oil composition, morphological and molecular markers methods

Olive accessions collected in Lake Garda, one of the northernmost olive growing districts in the world, were characterised by a combination of morphological traits, chemical analysis of oils and AFLP-DNA markers. Among the more relevant accessions, other than the very well-known cultivars \u2018Casaliva\u2019, \u2018Frantoio\u2019, \u2018Leccino\u2019 and \u2018Pendolino\u2019, the local \u2018Baia\u2019, \u2018Mitria\u2019 and \u2018Regina\u2019 should be regarded as interesting for both horticultural and oil quality traits