Analysis of the productive and immune response of lambs infected with gastrointestinal nematodes and fed with saccharin

Objective: To determine the productive traits and immune response in Blackbelly lambs infected with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) fed with saccharin. Design / methodology / approach: Three treatments (T) were randomly assigned to 18 Blackbelly lambs, with an initial live weight (LW) of 13.9 + 3.2 kg. In T1 anthelmintic + base diet (CTah) was used; T2 without anthelmintic + base diet (STah) and T3 were grazing lambs without anthelmintic (STPS). The experimental design was completely randomized with measures repeated over time and the averages of the treatments were compared using Lsmeans. Evaluations included live weight (LW), egg per gram of feces (EPG), packed cell volume (PCV), total plasma protein (TPP), differential leukocyte count (WBC), and IgA level by ELISA with Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis antigens Results: The STah and CTah lambs showed a higher number of EPG (885 ± 142) and LW (29.73 ± 5.06 kg). While grazing lambs (STPS) showed the lowest PCV (26.4 ± 0.5%) compared to STah and CTah lambs (27.4 to 28.4%), caused by the high prevalence of H. contortus. The IgA level in grazing lambs was from 20.2 to 24.5% with respect to the positive standard, RPS, while the stabled lambs (STah and CTah) showed values ??close to 5% RPS. Study limitations / implications: Due to anthelmintic resistance problems, it was not possible to keep lambs free of infection in grazing, so this group was not included. Findings / conclusions: Feeding with saccharin allows increasing the resilience of sheep and achieving adequate weight gains in parasitized lambsObjective: Determine the productive and immune response of Blackbelly lambs infectedwith gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and fed with saccharin.Design/ methodology/ approach: A total of 18 Blackbelly lambs, with an initial live weight (LW) of 13.9 + 3.2 kg, were randomly assigned to three different treatments (T): T1, anthelmintic treatment + basal diet (CTah); T2, basal diet without anthelmintic treatment (STah); and T3, grazing lambs without anthelmintic treatment (STPS). This experiment followed a completely randomized design with repeated measures over time; mean values were compared using Lsmeans. The parameters evaluated included live weight (LW), fecal egg count per gram (FEC), packed-cell volume (PCV), plasma protein (PP), white blood celldifferential count (LEU), and IgA concentration by ELISA with Haemonchus contortusand Trichostrongylus colubriformis antigens.Results: STah and CTah lambs showed higher FEC (885 ± 142) and LW (29.73 ± 5.06kg). Grazing lambs (STPS) had lower PCV (26.4 ± 0.5%) compared to the STah andCTah lambs (27.4 to 28.4%) due to the high prevalence of H. contortus. The IgAconcentration in grazing lambs ranged from 20.2 to 24.5% of the positive standardserum titer. The feedlot lambs (STah and CTah) showed values close to 5%.Study limitations/ implications: Due to anthelmintic resistance problems, it wasimpossible to maintain grazing lambs free of infection; therefore, this group was notincluded.Findings/ conclusions: Saccharin increases sheep resilience and achieves adequateweight gains in parasitized lambs

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Colombian consensus recommendations for diagnosis, management and treatment of the infection by SARS-COV-2/ COVID-19 in health care facilities - Recommendations from expert´s group based and informed on evidence

La Asociación Colombiana de Infectología (ACIN) y el Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud (IETS) conformó un grupo de trabajo para desarrollar recomendaciones informadas y basadas en evidencia, por consenso de expertos para la atención, diagnóstico y manejo de casos de Covid 19. Estas guías son dirigidas al personal de salud y buscar dar recomendaciones en los ámbitos de la atención en salud de los casos de Covid-19, en el contexto nacional de Colombia

Turix, a dynamic mechanistic model for feed evaluation

The objective of this study was to use the Turix model (a new mechanistic dynamic model that can be used for feed evaluation under tropical conditions), along with in situ and in vitro sugar cane experimental data from a previous study, to evaluate sugar cane kinetics through estimation of three parameters associated with ruminal bacterial growth: kM,SmL, the substrate uptake; kLM, the bacterial growth from intermediate metabolite; and Y VFAP,FS, the products related to volatile fatty acid yield. Values of these parameters for the whole sugar cane and its neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) fractions were: a) kM, SmL, 16.20, 50.47 and 21.97 mL h-1 (mg M)-1 ; b) kLM, 96.00, 543.00 and 1,680.00 h-1 ; and, 1.02, 0.40 and 0.23 g g-1 , respectively. Results from the model adjustment showed a slow microbial substrate uptake c) Y VFAP, FS and a low biomass yield for whole sugar cane. The highest substrate uptake was obtained for NDF, while the highest biomass yield was obtained for ADF. The interrelation between the parameters kM, SmL showed to be important for biological and Y VFAP, FS description of microorganism growth and VFAP and biomass production

Desarrollo de una aplicación móvil para predecir la producción de biomasa forrajera

Las tendencias actuales están dirigidas hacia el uso de dispositivos móviles, sin embargo, hay un escaso desarrollo de aplicaciones informáticas en las ciencias agropecuarias de manera temporal, espacial y sistemática. La investigación propone una metodología que permite desarrollar un prototipo capaz de compartir, procesar e intercambiar información cuantitativa del sistema de producción bovina de carne, con ayuda de herramientas informáticas como los servicios Web en REST (REST, por sus siglas en inglés, Representational State Transfer), Computación en la Nube (AWS) (AWS, por sus siglas en inglés, Amazon Web Services‎), modelos de simulación y los sistemas de información geográfica. Se concluye que con la aplicación informática se puede disponer de los resultados de las predicciones en línea y móvil, con el objetivo de ser utilizados como una herramienta para los tomadores de decisiones por parte de los productores, inversionistas y el gobierno

Aplicación móvil para predecir la producción bovina de carne mediante un modelo de simulación

Las tendencias actuales están dirigidas hacia el uso de dispositivos móviles, sin embargo, hay un escaso desarrollo de aplicaciones informáticas en las ciencias agropecuarias de manera temporal, espacial y sistemática. La investigación propone una metodología que permite desarrollar un prototipo capaz de compartir, procesar e intercambiar información cuantitativa del sistema de producción bovina de carne, con ayuda de herramientas informáticas como los servicios Web en REST (REST, por sus siglas en inglés, Representational State Transfer), Computación en la Nube (AWS) (AWS, por sus siglas en inglés, Amazon Web Services‎), modelos de simulación y los sistemas de información geográfica. Se concluye que con la aplicación informática se puede disponer de los resultados de las predicciones en línea y móvil, con el objetivo de ser utilizados como una herramienta para los tomadores de decisiones por parte de los productores, inversionistas y el gobierno

Feed efficiency indexes in hair sheep: meat quality and associated genes. Review

Los ovinos de pelo desempeñan un papel importante en la producción de carne en zonas tropicales, donde los estudios de eficiencia alimenticia han sido poco evaluados. El consumo de alimento representa más del 70 % de los costos; por lo tanto, la selección de animales con alta eficiencia alimenticia puede mejorar la rentabilidad del sistema de producción. Se han desarrollado herramientas que permiten seleccionar individuos con mayor eficiencia alimenticia sin comprometer la calidad del producto. Por lo que esta revisión tiene la finalidad de identificar estas herramientas genético-moleculares y estadísticas, como son, el consumo de alimento residual (CAR) y ganancia e ingesta residual (GIR). En la literatura consultada, se reportan diferencias en el consumo de materia seca (CMS) en un rango del 9 al 30 % entre animales eficientes e ineficientes, manteniendo una ganancia diaria de peso (GDP) similar empleando el índice CAR. Por otro lado, utilizando el índice GIR los CMS son similares, aunque la GDP en animales eficientes es mayor hasta en 50 g día-1, reduciendo la conversión alimenticia en un kilo. Esta diferencia se asume a un conjunto de genes asociados a la eficiencia alimenticia (Adra2a, Gfra1, Gh, Glis1, Il1rapl1, Lep, Lepr, Mc4r, Oxsm, Pde8b, Rarb, Ryr2, Sox5 y Sox6, Trdn), que pudieran ser utilizados para la selección de ovinos de razas de pelo con alta eficiencia alimenticia, teniendo en cuenta los genes relacionados con la calidad de carne (Capns1, Cast, Dgat1, Fabp4, Igf-i, Lep, Mstn y Scd).Hair sheep are essential for meat production in tropical regions, where feed efficiency has been little evaluated. Feed consumption represents more than 70 % of the costs. Therefore, animals with high feed efficiency could increase the profitability of the production system. There exist tools that help select individuals with increased feed efficiency without compromising the quality of the product. This review aims to identify these genetic-molecular and statistical tools, such as residual feed intake (RFI) and residual intake and gain (RIG). Previous studies report differences ranging from 9 to 30 % in the dry matter intake (DMI) of efficient and inefficient animals, maintaining a similar daily weight gain (DWG) using the RFI index. Moreover, the DMI is similar using the RIG index. Although, the DWG of efficient animals is higher by up to 50 g d-1, reducing feed conversion by one kg. This difference is attributed to a group of genes associated with feed efficiency (Adra2a, Gfra1, Gh, Glis1, Il1rapl1, Lep, Lepr, Mc4r, Oxsm, Pde8b, Rarb, Ryr2, Sox5, Sox6, and Trdn). These genes could be used to select hair sheep with high feed efficiency, considering the genes associated with meat quality (Capns1, Cast, Dgat1, Fabp4, Igf-i, Lep, Mstn, and Scd)

Evaluación de la degradación, consumo voluntario y comportamiento productivo de ovinos alimentados con saccharina y maíz

The objective of the study was evaluate 1 the voluntary consumption and the productive behavior of sheep fed with a diet of Saccharin with ground corn (GC), as well as ruminal degradation in situ in bovines. Voluntary feed consumption and weight gain were analyzed in 24 growing Katahdin x Pelibuey sheep, with an initial average weight of 17 ± 3.0 kg, fed with four diets (10, 20, 30 and 40 % of GC). The effective degradation (ED) of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was evaluated in two cannulated bovines at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36 hours as factor A and five levels of GC (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 %) as factor B, for which factorial distribution was used in a completely randomized design. Treatment with 10 % of GC presented the highest valúes of in situ degradation for both DM and NDF, which was related to a high level of soluble fraction and a low non-degradable fraction. Non-degradable fractions, degradation rates, and effective degradation were similar (p ≥ 0.05). Effective degradation increased from 10 % GC treatment. The bovines fed with 40 % of GC had the highest consumption during (70.7 kg) and the highest gain of weight (0.124 kg). The contribution of ground corn to the diet improved in situ degradation in bovines, consumption and weight gains of bovines.El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el consumo voluntario y el comportamiento productivo de ovinos alimentados con una dieta de Saccharina con maíz molido (MM), así como la degradación ruminal in situ en bovinos. Se analizó el consumo voluntario del alimento y la ganancia de peso en 24 ovinos Katahdin x Pelibuey en crecimiento, con un peso inicial promedio de 17 ± 3.0 kg, alimentados con cuatro dietas (10, 20, 30 y 40 % de MM). En dos bovinos canulados se evaluó la degradación efectiva (DE) de la materia seca (MS) y de la fibra detergente neutro (FDN) a las 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36 h como factor A y cinco niveles de MM (0, 10, 20, 30 y 40 %) como factor B, para lo cual se utilizó una distribución factorial en un diseño completamente al azar. El tratamiento con 10 % de MM presentó los valores más altos de degradación in situ, tanto para la MS como para la FDN, el cual estuvo relacionado con un alto nivel de fracción soluble y una baja fracción no degradable. Las fracciones no degradables, las tasas de degradación, y la degradación efectiva, fueron similares (p ≥ 0.05). La degradación efectiva aumentó a partir del tratamiento con 10 % de MM. Los ovinos alimentados con 40 % de MM tuvieron el mayor consumo (70.7 kg) y la mayor ganancia de peso (0.124 kg). La aportación de maíz molido a la dieta, mejoró la degradación in situ en bovinos, el consumo y las ganancias de peso de ovinos

Web service to support decision-making for beef cattle production systems in Cárdenas- Tabasco, Mexico

The researchers propose a methodology to share, process, and exchange agricultural information among different applications through a Web service. The Web service will be available online and mobile and can be used as a tool for decision-making. Initially, agricultural regions and cartography of the study area were identified. Subsequently, a simulation model of potential yield of pasture and animal behavior by regions and area, was designed. Finally, a Web service, using Amazon Web Services and REST for exchanging information, was developed. Web services in the cloud, enable interoperability using data, mapping information of agricultural regions, simulation models, and protocols for data transfer, thus making available the prediction results