Rags2Riches: Social Impact Survey

To improve impact measurement, the fellows created and piloted a social impact survey. The purpose of the survey is to develop social impact measurements that will allow the enterprise to assess artisans’ livelihood development and quality of life. In order to improve efficiency of data collection and analyses, this paper-based survey was then converted into a mobile application, upon return to campus in the fall

Rags2Riches: Community Expansion Module

This module serves as an extensive training manual to teach new communities of Rags2Riches everything they need to know about becoming artisans of the social enterprise. The community supervisor will visit the community-intraining on a weekly basis in order to instruct them on this manual as well as check their on-going progress. Since there is a tremendous amount of material to be taught during this process, it is important for the community supervisor to be knowledgeable on every subject covered

Rags2Riches: Action Research Findings

The poor lack access to market and income opportunities all over the world; this reality is more pronounced among women. Rags2Riches, Inc. (R2R hereafter) addresses this problem in the Philippines by creating social and economic opportunities through livelihoods for its artisan partners and their communities. By providing training in weaving skills and financial literacy, R2R assists each artisan, their families, and their communities. In order to measure its impact, R2R developed a social impact survey; however, it was paper-based and was not well suited to gather the social impact data that donors and investors require. R2R seeks to continue scaling its impact by partnering with more communities. To support the training of new artisans and communities, R2R has used an educational tool, however activities were not standardized into a timeline or documented in a module

Detection of high cardiovascular risk patients with ankylosing spondylitis based on the assessment of abdominal aortic calcium as compared to carotid ultrasound

ABSTRACT: Background: This study aimed to determine whether, besides carotid ultrasound (US), a lateral lumbar spine radiography may also help identify ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients at high risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Methods: A set of 125 AS patients older than 35 years without a history of CV events, diabetes mellitus, or chronic kidney disease was recruited. Carotid US and lateral lumbar spine radiography were performed in all of them. The CV risk was calculated according to the total cholesterol systematic coronary risk evaluation (TC- CORE) algorithm. Presence of carotid plaques was defined following the Mannheim Carotid Intima-media Thickness and Plaque Consensus. Abdominal aortic calcium (AAC) in a plain radiography was defined as calcific densities visible in an area parallel and anterior to the lumbar spine. Results: Carotid US showed higher sensitivity than lateral lumbar spine radiography to detect high CV risk in the 54 patients with moderate TC-SCORE (61% versus 38.9%). Using carotid plaques as the gold standard test, a predictive model that included a TC-SCORE >= 5% or the presence of AAC in the lateral lumbar spine radiography in patients with both moderate and low CV risk (< 5%) according to the TC-SCORE yielded a sensitivity of 50.9% with a specificity of 95.7% to identify high/very high CV-risk AS patients. A positive correlation between AAC and carotid plaques was observed (r2 = 0.49, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A lateral lumbar spine radiography is a useful tool to identify patients with AS at high risk of CV disease

Whole-genome analysis of introgressive hybridization and characterization of the bovine legacy of Mongolian yaks

The yak is remarkable for its adaptation to high altitude and occupies a central place in the economies of the mountainous regions of Asia. At lower elevations, it is common to hybridize yaks with cattle to combine the yak’s hardiness with the productivity of cattle. Hybrid males are sterile, however, preventing the establishment of stable hybrid populations, but not a limited introgression after backcrossing several generations of female hybrids to male yaks. Here we inferred bovine haplotypes in the genomes of 76 Mongolian yaks using high-density SNP genotyping and whole-genome sequencing. These yaks inherited ~1.3% of their genome from bovine ancestors after nearly continuous admixture over at least the last 1,500 years. The introgressed regions are enriched in genes involved in nervous system development and function, and particularly in glutamate metabolism and neurotransmission. We also identified a novel mutation associated with a polled (hornless) phenotype originating from Mongolian Turano cattle. Our results suggest that introgressive hybridization contributed to the improvement of yak management and breeding

Detection of carotid artery calcification on the panoramic images of post-menopausal females is significantly associated with severe abdominal aortic calcification: a risk indicator of future adverse vascular events

OBJECTIVES: Outcome studies among post-menopausal females with calcified carotid artery plaque (CCAP) on their panoramic images have not been previously undertaken. We sought to compare the extent of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) on lateral lumbar spine radiographs (LLSRs), among groups of females with (CCAP+) and without (CCAP−) carotid lesions on their panoramic images. “Severe” levels of AAC have previously been validated as a risk indicator of future adverse cardiovascular events. METHODS: This cross-sectional case–control study included a “CCAP+ group” consisting of females more than 50 years of age having the carotid lesion diagnosed by their dentists and an atherogenic risk factor (age, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia)-matched “CCAP− group”. A physician radiologist, using the Framingham index, evaluated the LLSRs for the magnitude of AAC. Summary statistics for key variables were computed and conditional logistic regression techniques were considered. RESULTS: Members of the CCAP+ group were significantly (p = 0.038) more likely to demonstrate “severe” levels of AAC on their LLSRs than members of the CCAP group. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first published study demonstrating that CCAP on panoramic images of post-menopausal females is significantly associated with “severe” levels of AACs on LLSRs independent of traditional risk factors. Given that these levels of AAC are a validated risk indicator of future myocardial infarction and stroke, dentists must evaluate the panoramic images of post-menopausal females for the presence of CCAP. Patients with carotid atheromas should be referred to their physicians for further evaluation given the systemic implications

Genetic Influences on Cattle Grazing Distribution: Association of Genetic Markers with Terrain Use in Cattle

Eighty-seven cows were GPS (Global Positioning System) tracked for 1 to 3 months in mountainous and/or extensive pastures at five ranches located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana. The Illumina Bovine HD SNP array, which evaluates approximately 770,000 genetic markers (i.e., single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs) across the 30 bovine chromosomes, was used to genotype DNA from these cows and to examine genetic associations with grazing distribution. Terrain use indexes were calculated from tracking data based on normalized averages of slope use, elevation use, and distance travelled from water. Genetic analyses identified a chromosomal region, known as a quantitative trait locus (QTL), associated with these traits. One genetic marker on chromosome 29 identified a gene that has been reported to be involved in locomotion, motivation, and spatial memory. This locus accounted for 24% of the phenotypic variation in use of steep slopes and high elevations, while another QTL on chromosome 17 accounted for 23% of the phenotypic variation. Three other QTLs accounted for 10% to 20% of the variation in terrain use indexes. Using results from the initial high-density genetic marker analyses, a smaller 50-SNP panel was developed targeting previously identified QTL regions and was used to evaluate the 85 cows tracked previously with an additional 73 cows from four ranches. With the 50-SNP panel analyses, multiple genetic markers near or within the gene identified on chromosome 29 confirmed the association with indexes of terrain use. In addition, genetic markers on chromosomes 4, 8, 12, and 17 accounted for a significant portion of the phenotypic variation in terrain use indexes. The associations between terrain use indexes and genetic markers near candidate genes demonstrate that grazing distribution can be inherited and provide a new approach to associate genetic variation with cattle grazing behavior of range beef cattle. © 2015 Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information