Ultrarobust calibration of an optical lattice depth based on a phase shift

We report on a new method to calibrate the depth of an optical lattice. It consists in triggering the intrasite dipole mode of the cloud by a sudden phase shift. The corresponding oscillatory motion is directly related to the intraband frequencies on a large range of lattice depths. Remarkably, for a moderate displacement, a single frequency dominates this oscillation for the zeroth and first order interference pattern observed after a sufficiently long time-of-flight. The method is robust against atom-atom interactions and the exact value of the extra external confinement of the initial trapping potential.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Declining inequality in Bolivia: How and Why

Latin America has often been depicted as one of the most unequal regions in the world. However, after the rising of inequality, the figure decline dramatically starting from the year 2000. In this setting, Bolivia has been one of the poorest performers on income distribution efforts, lately, this situation has been improving. The author investigates the dynamics of this change through an analysis of household level surveys for 4 different years (2003/04, 2005, 2008 and 2009). The research applies a method of inequality decomposition– as developed by (Fields, 2003)-, this technique consists on regressing the expenditure of households against a vector of explanatory variables. The results suggest that education (more than other variables) has contributed on the reduction of inequality in Bolivia. Moreover, the sources of inequality are mainly attributed to the differences on human capital accumulation more than any other variables, such as the gender of the household head or the ethnical origin of the household. The results are in line with similar work made by other authors on the same issue (Gray-Molina, et al., 2001; Gray Molina &Yañez, 2009

The non-performing loan ‘tsunami’ that never happened (and how to stop it happening now)

Initial fears of rapidly worsening bank asset quality and an ensuing ‘NPL tsunami’ from the COVID pandemic have not materialised so far, thanks to the policy mix that governments have implemented. But to avoid a new wave of NPLs, additional policy action is needed in Europe – particularly as Omicron uncertainty perists, argue Reiner Martin (Joint Vienna Institute), Piroska Nagy-Mohacsi (LSE), Elina Ribakova and Jonathan M Fortun Vargas (Institute for International Finance)

Adaptive capacity of female rabbits submitted to a change in breeding practices

[EN] The aim of this study was to test the consequences of a change in breeding practices on 219 multiparous rabbit does over 2 reproductive cycles (5th and 6th insemination). Three rabbit breeding systems were defined I: intensive, S: semi-intensive and E: extensive), which varied for the females in terms of reproductive rhythm (RR: 35, 42 and 49 d, respectively) and age at first insemination (20.6, 19.6 and 16.6 wk, respectively), and for kits in terms of age at weaning (32, 35 and 30 d, respectively) and age at slaughter (63, 70 and 70 d, respectively). Females were submitted to one of the 3 systems from the 1st to the 4th artificial insemination (AI), and to another system from the 5th to the 6th AI, before returning to the initial system at the 7th AI. Consequently, they were allocated to 4 groups: I-S-I, S-I-S, S-E-S and E-S-E. Because of poor reproductive performance in the I system and despite a high growth of kits before weaning due to a more energetic diet for does, a sudden change from an I system to an S system significantly increased productivity at 28 d, from 3.37 to 5.04 kg/AI. Conversely, in the S and E systems, the females were not very sensitive to an intensification (groups S-I-S and E-S-E) or an extensification (S-E-S) of the breeding system, leading to similar productivity at 63 d (14.4 and 14.3 kg/AI, 14.4 and 13.5 kg/AI, 16.5 and 16.2 kg/AI, respectively, for groups S-I-S, E-S-E and S-E-S). The consequences of a return to the initial system deserve to be tested over a longer period.This work was supported by the CAS DAR (Cunipalm n° 9023) and by the French rabbit Interprofessional Association (CLIPP).Theau.clément, M.; Galliot, P.; Souchet, C.; Bignon, L.; Fortun-Lamothe, L. (2016). Adaptive capacity of female rabbits submitted to a change in breeding practices. World Rabbit Science. 24(4):267-273. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2016.5155SWORD267273244Blanc F., Dumont B., Brunschwig G., Bocquier F., Agabriel J. 2010. Extensive ruminant farming systems highlight animal coping processes based on robustness, flexibility and plasticity. In: Robustesse, rusticité, flexibilité, plasticité, résilience, les nouveaux critères de qualité des animaux et des systèmes d'élevage. Sauvant D., Perez J.M. (Eds). Dossier INRA Prod. Anim., 23, 65-80.Maertens, L., Perez, J.M., Villamide, M., Cervera, C., Gidenne, T., Xiccato, G., 2002. Nutritive value of raw materials for rabbits: EGRAN tables 2002. World Rabbit Sci., 10: 157-166.Theau-Clément M., Boiti C., Mercier P., Falières J. 2000. Description of the ovarian status and fertilising ability of primiparous rabbit does at different lactation stage, In Proc.: 7th World Rabbit Congress, 4-7 July 2000, Valencia, Spain, Vol A: 259-266

High plasmatic progesterone levels at insemination depress reproductive performances of rabbit does

The aim of this experiment was to quantify the frequency of the high progesterone syndrome at the moment of insemination and to study the influence of progesterone level (P4) on receptivity and reproductive performances of primiparous and secondiparous rabbit does. A total of 422 primiparous INRA 0067 were inseminated twice at an interval of 42 days. Prior to artificial insemination (AI), sexual receptivity of the does was tested in the presence of a vasectomised buck and, just after AI, blood samples were collected to determine progesterone concentration by RIA. The mean plasma progesterone concentration was 1.8\ub13.4 ng/ml and significantly depended on parity (primiparous: 2.2\ub13.7 ng/ml, secondiparous: 0.9\ub12.2 ng/ml, P<0.001). At the following AI, 78% of pseudopregnant rabbit does returned to the basal level of oestrous condition, demonstrating that the pseudopregnancy is a reversible process. The overall percentage of pseudopregnant does (P4 651 ng/ml) was 25.9%, but it was differently (P<0.001) distributed between primiparous (31.2%) and secondiparous does (12.2%). Moreover, primiparous lactating females were more frequently pseudopregnant than non-lactating ones (36.5 vs. 18.9% respectively, P<0.001). The progesterone level of primiparous does was related to the lactation status (2.5\ub13.8 vs. 1.5\ub13.2 ng/ml, respectively for lactating and non-lactating, P<0.001). The receptivity was highly related to the level of progesterone (P4<1: 74.1%, 1 64P4<6: 79.1% vs. P4>6: 56.3%, P=0.006). Also the kindling rate was significantly influenced by progesterone concentrations. Non-pseudopregnant does (P<1 ng/ml) had the highest fertility rate (79.0%) but when the progesterone concentration increased from 1 64P4<6 to P4>6 ng/ml, the fertility decreased from 68.1 to 37.4%, respectively (P<0.001). Consequently, the productivity at birth was highly depressed when the progesterone level was over 6 ng/ml (9.5 and 8.6 vs. 4.5 number of born alive rabbits/AI, for P4<1, 1 64P4<6 and P4>6 respectively, P<0.001). The productivity of pseudopregnant and nonreceptive females was very poor in comparison with pseudopregnant receptive does (0.4 vs. 9.5 born alive rabbits/AI). The productivity at birth was also highly (P<0.001) influenced by the physiological status of the does. Primiparous non-lactating does produced the highest number of born alive rabbits/AI, whereas primiparous lactating does had the lowest productivity at birth (9.9 vs. 5.6), secondiparous lactating being intermediate (7.1). In conclusion, the high progesterone syndrome evaluated at the moment of insemination occurred in 25.9% of females and had a strong negative impact on receptivity and reproductive performance of rabbit does

The effects of the complete replacement of barley and soybean meal with hard wheat by-products on diet digestibility, growth and slaughter traits of a local Algerian rabbit population

[EN] Eighty one rabbits were used to study the utilisation of hard wheat by-products on the growth of rabbits from a local Algerian population. At weaning (28 d, 501±99 g), the animals were individually caged and received ad libitum one of the three experimental diets for 49 d. The control diet included 26% wheat bran (W26: control diet), alfalfa, bar- ley and soybean meal. The two other diets were formulated by substituting barley and soybean meal with hard wheat by-products, and contained 60% (W60) or 67% (W67) of these by-products (50 or 57% bran and 10% middling). On average, diets contained 11.8% crude fibre and crude protein decreased from 18.3 (W26) to 16.1% (W67). Growth traits and slaughter performances were recorded. Another group of thirty animals was used to determine dietary nutrient di- gestibility from 42 to 46 d of age. Dry matter digestibility and digestible energy content were lower in the W60 and W67 diets than in the control diet (W26) (71.3 and 71.5% vs. 74.9%, and 11.9 and 11.9 vs. 12.5 MJ/kg, respectively; P<0.01). In contrast, crude fibre digestibility was lower in W26 (21.9%) than in the other two diets (29.6 and 32.2% for W60 and W67, respectively; P<0.01). The growth rates were similar for all three groups (28.0, 27.1 and 26.0 g/d for W26, W60 and W67) as were the feed conversion ratios (3.14, 3.17 and 3.10, respectively). Dressing out percentage (66.4±2.0% on average for the cold carcass) was not affected by the amount of wheat by-products in the diet. The total mortality rate was high (23%), probably corresponding to the low crude fibre content of the three experimental diets, but was not connected to the amount of wheat by-products.Lakabi-Ioualitene, D.; Lounaouci-Ouyed, G.; Berchiche, M.; Lebas, F.; Fortun-Lamothe, L. (2010). The effects of the complete replacement of barley and soybean meal with hard wheat by-products on diet digestibility, growth and slaughter traits of a local Algerian rabbit population. World Rabbit Science. 16(2). doi:10.4995/wrs.2008.63216

Review: Towards the agroecological management of ruminants, pigs and poultry through the development of sustainable breeding programmes. II. Breeding strategies

Agroecology uses ecological processes and local resources rather than chemical inputs to develop productive and resilient livestock and crop production systems. In this context, breeding innovations are necessary to obtain animals that are both productive and adapted to a broad range of local contexts and diversity of systems. Breeding strategies to promote agroecological systems are similar for different animal species. However, current practices differ regarding the breeding of ruminants, pigs and poultry. Ruminant breeding is still an open system where farmers continue to choose their own breeds and strategies. Conversely, pig and poultry breeding is more or less the exclusive domain of international breeding companies which supply farmers with hybrid animals. Innovations in breeding strategies must therefore be adapted to the different species. In developed countries, reorienting current breeding programmes seems to be more effective than developing programmes dedicated to agroecological systems that will struggle to be really effective because of the small size of the populations currently concerned by such systems. Particular attention needs to be paid to determining the respective usefulness of cross-breeding v. straight breeding strategies of well-adapted local breeds. While cross-breeding may offer some immediate benefits in terms of improving certain traits that enable the animals to adapt well to local environmental conditions, it may be difficult to sustain these benefits in the longer term and could also induce an important loss of genetic diversity if the initial pure-bred populations are no longer produced. As well as supporting the value of within-breed diversity, we must preserve between-breed diversity in order to maintain numerous options for adaptation to a variety of production environments and contexts. This may involve specific public policies to maintain and characterize local breeds (in terms of both phenotypes and genotypes), which could be used more effectively if they benefited from the scientific and technical resources currently available for more common breeds. Last but not least, public policies need to enable improved information concerning the genetic resources and breeding tools available for the agroecological management of livestock production systems, and facilitate its assimilation by farmers and farm technicians

Effects of parity order and reproductive management on the efficiency of rabbit productive systems.

The aim of this work was to study the effect of parity order and reproductive management systems on rabbit production performance. A total of 73 rabbit does (I group) were submitted to a 35-day intensive rhythm [artificial insemination (AI) on day 4 post-partum (pp) and weaning at 25 days of lactation], and 108 rabbit does (SI group) were submitted to a 42-day semi-intensive rhythm (AI on day 11 pp and weaning at 35 days of lactation) during 9 months. Primiparous does had the lowest live body weight at parturition (P < 0.0001) and at 21 days of lactation (P < 0.0001). They also had lower milk production (P < 0.0001) than does with later parities. I group animals needed a higher number of AI than SI group to become pregnant (1.70 ± 0.03 vs. 1.39 ± 0.03; P < 0.0001: especially after the third). Prolificacy was not affected by the management system. Parturition interval (PI) was longer than expected in both groups [56.0 ± 1.4 and 50.9 ± 1.38 days in I and SI groups, respectively (P < 0.05)]. Mean productivity, estimated as number of weaned rabbits per female and year, was 12 kits higher in rabbit does of the SI group (P < 0.05). From the third parturition onward, an increase in live body weight of kits at different ages was observed. At 21 (P < 0.05) and 25 days of age (P < 0.01), kits from the I group rabbit does weighed more than those from the SI group; however, the latter showed a higher weight at 35 (P < 0.05) and 60 days of age (P < 0.05). Rabbit does with two or three parturitions had higher litter size at 21 and 25 days of age (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Kit mortality between 21 and 25 days of age and between 35 and 60 days of age was not affected by treatments but was higher in the I group between 25 and 35 days (18.2 vs. 5.03% in the I and SI groups, respectively; P < 0.0001) and as age of does increased (P < 0.05). In light of these results, we could conclude that long term doe reproductive performance is negatively affected and litter viability decreased when using intensive compared to a semi-intensive reproductive management

A new fluorescent oligonucleotide probe for in-situ identification of Microcystis aeruginosa in freshwater.

contaminated water bodies (freshwater, brackish and marine areas). Among 150 known cyanobacteria genera,>40 species are able to produce toxins, which are natural compounds that differ from both a chemical and toxicological point of view and are responsible for acute and chronic poisoning in animals and humans. Among the main classes of cyanotoxins, microcystins are frequently found in the environment. Fast and accurate methods for unequivocally identifying microcystin-producing cyanobacteria, such as Microcystis aeruginosa in water bodies, are necessary to distinguish them from other non-toxic cyanobacteria and to manage and monitor algal blooms. For this purpose, we designed, developed and validated an oligonucleotide probe for FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) analysis to detect Microcystis aeruginosa at the species level even at relatively low concentrations in freshwater. The FISH probe, MicAerD03, was designed using the ARB software with the Silva database within the framework of the MicroCoKit project, also with the intention of adding it to the microarray from the EU project, μAQUA, for freshwater pathogens, which had only genus level probes for Microcystis. We tested various fixative methods to minimize the natural autofluorescence from chlorophyll-a and certain accessory pigments (viz., phycobilins and carotenoids). The FISH probe was tested on pure cultures of Microcystis aeruginosa, and then successfully applied to water samples collected from different sampling points of the Tiber River (Italy), using a laser confocal microscope. Subsequently, the probe was also conjugated at the 5′ end with horse-radish peroxidase (HRP-MicAerD03) to apply the CAtalysed Reported Deposition-FISH (CARD-FISH) for increasing the fluorescence signal of the mono-fluorescently labelled probe and make it possible to detect M. aeruginosa using an epifluorescence microscope. Samples taken within the EU MicroCokit project indicated thatmicroarray signals for Microcystis were coming from single cells and not colonial cells. We confirmed this with the CARD-FISH protocol used here to validate the microarray signals for Microcystis detected at the genus level in MicroCokit. This paper provides a new early warning tool for investigating M. aeruginosa at the species level even at low cell concentrations in surface water, which can be added to the μAqua microarray for all freshwater pathogens to complete the probe hierarchy for Microcystis aeruginosa