Dairy Cow Ownership and Child Nutritional Status in Kenya

This study examines the hypothesis that dairy cow ownership improves child nutritional status. Using household data from coastal and highland Kenya, three econometric model formulations are estimated. Positive impacts on chronic malnutrition are observed for coastal Kenya. No negative effects on acute or chronic malnutrition are found for either region.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

Will Small-Scale Dairy Producers in Kenya Disappear Due to Economies of Scale in Production?

There is growing policy concern regarding the competitiveness of small-scale livestock production in the wake of the contemporary livestock revolution in many developing countries. In Kenya, this debate has focused on economies of scale and the undue influence of policy distortions on promoting the scaling up of dairy farms. This paper seeks to investigate economies of scale in Kenyan dairy in terms of relative profit efficiency at different levels of output, and identify policy and technology options to help small-scale farmers develop solutions to the challenges of competition. Data were collected from 204 dairy producers of different farm sizes in rural Kiambu and Thika, and urban Nairobi districts and a stochastic frontier model approach was used to analyze the determinants of profitability and inefficiency. Unit profitability per farm ranged between US$0.13 - US$0.16 per liter of milk with no significant variation across scales of farm. However, at all given levels of scale of farm, inefficiency significantly contributed to variability in profitability across farms. Scale had no significant effect on efficiency, confirming the relative competitiveness of small-scale dairy producers. Dairy farmers with commercial poultry achieved higher relative profit efficiency as poultry waste was fed to cattle. Rural location relative to Nairobi also increased efficiency. Linking rural areas and major market centre with good roads, strengthening of farmers' co-operative societies and exploring use of cheaper raw materials in the manufacture of concentrate feeds may strengthen the competitive position small dairy farms versus large ones.Dairy Production, Stochastic Production Frontier, Efficiency, Profitability, Livestock Production/Industries, C21, Q12,

Use and perceived added value of patient-reported measurement instruments by physiotherapists treating acute low back pain:a survey study among Dutch physiotherapists

Contains fulltext : 217665.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Targeting HCV Entry For Development of Therapeutics

Recent progress in defining the molecular mechanisms of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) entry affords the opportunity to exploit new viral and host targets for therapeutic intervention. Entry inhibitors would limit the expansion of the infected cell reservoir, and would complement the many replication inhibitors now under development. The current model for the pathway of entry involves the initial docking of the virus onto the cell surface through interactions of virion envelope and associated low density lipoproteins (LDL) with cell surface glycosaminoglycans and lipoprotein receptors, followed by more specific utilization with other hepatocyte membrane proteins: Scavenger Receptor Class B type 1 (SR-BI), CD81, Claudin 1 (CLDN1) and Occludin (OCLN). The use of blockers of these interactions, e.g. specific antibodies, suggests that inhibition of any one step in the entry pathway can inhibit infection. Despite this knowledge base, the tools for compound screening, HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) and cell culture virus (HCVcc), and the ability to adapt them to industrial use are only recently available and as a result drug discovery initiatives are in their infancy. Several therapies aiming at modulating the virus envelope to prevent host cell binding are in early clinical testing. The first test case for blocking a cellular co-receptor is an SR-BI modulator. ITX 5061, an orally active small molecule, targets SR-BI and has shown potent antiviral activity against HCVpp and HCVcc. ITX 5061 has exhibited good safety in previous clinical studies, and is being evaluated in the clinic in chronic HCV patients and patients undergoing liver transplantation. Entry inhibitors promise to be valuable players in the future development of curative therapy against HCV

W/M serrated osteotomy for infantile Blount’s disease in Ghana: Short‑term results

Purpose: The W/M serrated high tibial osteotomy is a not frequently described surgical technique for simultaneously correcting the varus and torsional deformity in patients with Blount’s disease. Without the need for internal fixation, this surgical treatment is well suited for developing countries. This study describes the short‑term results of the bilateral and unilateral W/M serrated osteotomy in patients with infantile Blount’s disease.Methods: Between May 2008 and January 2013, 52 patients were treated with uni‑ (n = 22) or bi‑lateral (n = 30) W/M serrated osteotomy of the proximal tibia due to a tibial varus deformity in two district hospitals in Ghana. Other causes than infantile Blount’s disease were excluded from the analysis. Pre‑ and post‑operative clinical and radiological measurements were done, and complications were monitored up to 12 weeks after surgery.Results: Seventeen patients (five males, 12 females; mean age 4.9 [standard deviation: 2.10]) were included, which underwent a total of 25 W/M serrated osteotomies. The femorotibial angle was corrected from 34.1° ([mean] range: 6 68°) to − 7.1° ([mean] range: −28–5°). Only one patient had developed a wound infection, and all reached full consolidation.Conclusions: The W/M serrated osteotomy seems a profitable alternative technique for treating the varus and torsional deformity in patients with Blount’s disease in the circumstances of developing countries. The short‑term outcomes are good and promising with a low complication rate and good consolidation. Long‑term follow‑up results of these patients are needed to observe possible complications.Level of Evidence: IV, therapeutic case series.Keywords: Blount’s disease, complications, infantile, osteotomy, tibia var

Cancer-Type Regulation of MIG-6 Expression by Inhibitors of Methylation and Histone Deacetylation

Epigenetic silencing is one of the mechanisms leading to inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene, either by DNA methylation or histone modification in a promoter regulatory region. Mitogen inducible gene 6 (MIG-6), mainly known as a negative feedback inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family, is a tumor suppressor gene that is associated with many human cancers. To determine if MIG-6 is inactivated by epigenetic alteration, we identified a group of human lung cancer and melanoma cell lines in which its expression is either low or undetectable and studied the effects of methylation and of histone deacetylation on its expression. The DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) induced MIG-6 expression in melanoma cell lines but little in lung cancer lines. By contrast, the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) induced MIG-6 expression in lung cancer lines but had little effect in melanoma lines. However, the MIG-6 promoter itself did not appear to be directly affected by either methylation or histone deacetylation, indicating an indirect regulatory mechanism. Luciferase reporter assays revealed that a short segment of exon 1 in the MIG-6 gene is responsible for TSA response in the lung cancer cells; thus, the MIG-6 gene can be epigenetically silenced through an indirect mechanism without having a physical alteration in its promoter. Furthermore, our data also suggest that MIG-6 gene expression is differentially regulated in lung cancer and melanoma

Olfactomedin 4 Serves as a Marker for Disease Severity in Pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection

Funding: Statement of financial support: The study was financially supported by the VIRGO consortium, an Innovative Cluster approved by the Netherlands Genomics Initiative and partially funded by the Dutch Government (BSIK 03012). The authors have indicated they have no personal financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. Data Availability Statement: The data is accessible at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE69606.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Different carbon isotope fractionation patterns during the development of phototrophic freshwater and marine biofilms

Natural phototrophic biofilms are influenced by a broad array of abiotic and biotic factors and vary over temporal and spatial scales. Different developmental stages can be distinguished and growth rates will vary due to the thickening of the biofilm, which is expected to lead to a limitation of light or mass transport. This study shows that variation in CO<sub>2(aq)</sub> availability leads to a fractionation shift and thereby affects δ<sup>13</sup>C signatures during biofilm development. For phototrophic freshwater biofilms it was found that the δ<sup>13</sup>C value became less negative with the thickening of the biofilm, while the opposite trend was found in marine biofilms. Modeling and pH profiling indicated that the trend in the freshwater system was caused by an increase in CO<sub>2(aq)</sub> limitation resulting in an increase of HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> as C-source. The opposite trend in the marine system could be explained by a higher heterotrophic biomass and activity causing a higher carbon recycling and thereby lower δ<sup>13</sup>C values. We conclude that δ<sup>13</sup>C was more related to the net areal photosynthesis rate and carbon recycling, rather than to the growth rate of the biofilms

Phase III randomised controlled trial on PSMA PET/CT guided hypofractionated salvage prostate bed radiotherapy of biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer (PERYTON-trial):study protocol

BACKGROUND: Salvage external beam radiotherapy (sEBRT) for patients with a biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy provides a 5-year biochemical progression-free survival up to 60%. Multiple studies have shown that dose escalation to the primary prostate tumour improves treatment outcome. However, data is lacking on the role of dose escalation in the recurrent salvage setting. The main objective of the PERYTON-trial is to investigate whether treatment outcome of sEBRT for patients with a BCR after prostatectomy can be improved by increasing the biological effective radiation dose using hypofractionation. Moreover, patients will be staged using the PSMA PET/CT scan, which is superior to conventional imaging modalities in detecting oligometastases. METHODS: The PERYTON-study is a prospective multicentre open phase III randomised controlled trial. We aim to include 538 participants (269 participants per treatment arm) with a BCR after prostatectomy, a PSA-value of < 1.0 ng/mL and a recent negative PSMA PET/CT scan. Participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio between the conventional fractionated treatment arm (35 × 2 Gy) and the experimental hypofractionated treatment arm (20 × 3 Gy). The primary endpoint is the 5-year progression-free survival after treatment. The secondary endpoints include toxicity, quality of life and disease specific survival. DISCUSSION: Firstly, the high rate of BCR after sEBRT may be due to the presence of oligometastases, for which local sEBRT is inappropriate. With the use of the PSMA PET/CT before sEBRT, patients with oligometastases will be excluded from intensive local treatment to avoid unnecessary toxicity. Secondly, the currently applied radiation dose for sEBRT may be too low to achieve adequate local control, which may offer opportunity to enhance treatment outcome of sEBRT by increasing the biologically effective radiotherapy dose to the prostate bed. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04642027). Registered on 24 November 2020 – Retrospectively registered. The study protocol was approved by the accredited Medical Ethical Committee (METc) of all participating hospitals (date METc review: 23-06-2020, METc registration number: 202000239). Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants