The unique resistance and resilience of the Nigerian West African Dwarf goat to gastrointestinal nematode infections

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>West African Dwarf (WAD) goats serve an important role in the rural village economy of West Africa, especially among small-holder livestock owners. They have been shown to be trypanotolerant and to resist infections with <it>Haemonchus contortus </it>more effectively than any other known breed of goat.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this paper we review what is known about the origins of this goat breed, explain its economic importance in rural West Africa and review the current status of our knowledge about its ability to resist parasitic infections.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We suggest that its unique capacity to show both trypanotolerance and resistance to gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections is immunologically based and genetically endowed, and that knowledge of the underlying genes could be exploited to improve the capacity of more productive wool and milk producing, but GI nematode susceptible, breeds of goats to resist infection, without recourse to anthelmintics. Either conventional breeding allowing introgression of resistance alleles into susceptible breeds, or transgenesis could be exploited for this purpose. Appropriate legal protection of the resistance alleles of WAD goats might provide a much needed source of revenue for the countries in West Africa where the WAD goats exist and where currently living standards among rural populations are among the lowest in the world.</p

Bots And Personal Data : Does The General Data Protection Regulation Appropriately Govern Processing By Bots?

Technology has had an undeniable impact on both society and law, particularly in the realm of personal data. The use of bots has allowed for the processing of information on an unprecedented scale. This thesis asks whether the General Data Protection Regulation (“the GDPR”) will be able to provide appropriate protection for data subjects when processing is performed by bots, while also balancing the rights and interests of data controllers, and promoting the healthy and socially desirable development of technology. In chapter I, this thesis begins by searching for a common definition of bots. It is concluded that “what is a bot?” cannot be answered with a simple definition, but should instead involve asking whether a particular program exhibits a number of different factors, including whether it is self-executing, whether it acts without human interference and whether it operates within a wider network. The thesis then divides bots into three broad categories: automated process bots, data miners and decision makers. The thesis then turns to the law. It begins with an overview of data protection law in Europe, summarising the hierarchy of laws and their purposes. It concludes that European data protection law operates on three levels: human rights (e.g. the ECHR), general regulation (e.g. the GDPR) and then specific regulation (e.g. the ePrivacy Directive). Chapter II of this thesis contains an in-depth analysis of the GDPR. It examines the most important aspects of data protection law raised by processing by bots: the basic concepts of data protection law (being the concepts of personal data, processing, controller and processor); the justification for processing (with a particular focus on consent); data quality principles and data subject rights; and the right to data portability, the right to object and the right not to be subject to an automated decision. As part of this examination, the thesis looks at the contents of the legal rules, how they apply to processing by bots and whether this is desirable or not. The general findings of this section are that the GDPR has a number of issues when applied to processing by bots, but that none of these issues necessarily prevent data controllers from using bots, and many provisions do encourage bots to develop in a socially desirable way. However, notable issues with the law include that the definition of personal data is extremely wide when considering the capabilities of bots to identify, or re-identify, data subjects from supposedly anonymous data sets; that consent may not provide an adequate level of protection for data subjects (both in general and particularly in relation to bots); that the data quality principles are extremely vague and may not fit processing by bots particularly neatly; that the right to object, although clearly intended to apply to bots, is somewhat limited by other factors; and that the right not to be subject to automated individual decision making suffers from a number of drafting ambiguities, but (if interpreted correctly) could provide good protection, although there is a risk that the ability to consent to such decisions will render this protection useless in practice. Chapter III then examines the impact of the different regulatory approaches. This chapter begins by looking at the weaknesses of the general regulatory approach, before considering whether a specific regulatory approach aimed directly at bots would be able to address these issues. It is concluded that although the specific regulatory approach does have some strengths, its weaknesses (e.g. difficulties with defining the scope of the regulation) render it unattractive as a solution. Instead, the thesis recommends a hybrid approach, where a general regulatory structure is complimented by specific rules where necessary. Finally, ch. III looks at non-legal regulation and concludes that it can be a useful compliment to help address some of the ambiguities caused by a general regulatory approach. The thesis concludes by considering the arguments discussed above and finding that, on balance, the GDPR is capable of providing adequate protection to data subjects, while balancing the rights and interests of data controllers and promoting the healthy and socially desirable development of technology. However, the current implementation of the GDPR is not perfect. There is, therefore, still work to be done on improving the law, both in terms of statutory interpretation of the existing laws, the use of amending legislation where necessary, and the growth of complimentary non-legal regulatory methods

Late presentation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a former association football (soccer) player

BACKGROUND: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by widespread accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau that typically occurs in people who have suffered repetitive head impacts. To date, very few cases have been reported in association football (soccer) players. OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinicopathological features of a case of CTE in an 84-year-old former football player who was clinically diagnosed as having dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). METHODS: A retrospective review of the patient's primary care and hospital medical records was performed along with a comprehensive neuropathological examination. RESULTS: This patient presented age 84 with symmetrical parkinsonism and cognitive impairment that was exacerbated by prochlorperazine. His condition was rapidly progressive with recurrent falls within 1 year. Other features included headaches, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, disturbed sleep and aggression. He received a clinical diagnosis of DLB and died approximately 2 years after the onset of symptoms. A post-mortem examination revealed stage 4 CTE. CONCLUSIONS: While the contemporaneous onset of parkinsonism and cognitive symptoms in the context of possible neuroleptic sensitivity is suggestive of DLB, the additional symptoms of aggressive behaviour, depression and suicidality in a former football player are consistent with the neuropathological diagnosis of CTE. This case, which is notable for the late presentation, demonstrates that CTE may masquerade as other dementias and highlights the importance of seeking a history of repetitive head impacts

Estimates of Regional and Global Life Expectancy, 1800-2001

Historians and demographers have gone to considerable trouble to reconstruct life expectancy in the past in individual countries. This overview collects information from a large body of that work and links estimates for historical populations to those provided by the United Nations, the World Bank, and other sources for 1950-2001. The result is a picture of regional and global life expectancy at birth for selected years from 1800 to 2001. The bibliography of more than 700 sources is published separately on the web. Copyright 2005 The Population Council, Inc..