Camelids and sustainable development

Face to the global changes and new climatic constraints, the camel farming is confronted to new challenges, first to contribute to the “livestock revolution” (for reaching the requirements of a growing human population), especially in remote places of arid and mountainous areas, and in the same time to satisfy the necessity of sustainable development for the future generation. The current trends of the camelid farming systems in the world (settlement, intensification, market integration, territorial expanding, emerging diseases) question the scientists and the developers on the right ways for a sustainable development. Several aspects are discussed in the present paper: (i) the assessment of the contribution of camelids in the greenhouse gas emission, in relationships with the camel demography, (ii) the assessment and preservation of the camelid biodiversity, (ii) the assessment of the changes in the animal metabolism and in the environment management face to the intensification process, (iv) the control of the transboundary diseases in a population marked by mobility, and (v) the future of the social role of camelid in the more and more urbanized world.(Résumé d'auteur

Parathyroid hormone-related peptide stimulates intestinal strontium absorption in Camels (Camelus dromedarius)

The present work was undertaken to evaluate the stimulatory effect of Parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) on the intestinal calcium (Ca) absorption using stable strontium (Sr) as a surgoate marker in 10 Camels. The animals were randomly divided into two groups of five animals. Just after an oral Sr load (4.1 mmol of SrCl2), the first and the second (control) groups received either an i.v infusion of synthetic human PTHrP or solvent alone respectively. PTHrP induced a significant rise in levels of plasma Sr (52.8 ± 4.6 [mu]mol/L VS 41.7 ± 4.5 [mu]mol/L, P < 0.05, at the second hour after oral Sr load) and urinay Pi excretion comparatively with animal controls. Plasma Sr levels remained very higher in treated animals than those measured in controls until the fifth hour of experimentation (52 ± 4.7 [mu]mol/L VS 42.1 ± 4.5 [mu]mol/L, P < 0.05). PTHrP did not induce significant variation on Ca or Sr renal excretion. Our results seem to show that PTHrP may play an important role on modulation of intestinal Ca absorption in camels. (Résumé d'auteur

Informality and Productivity in Bolivia: A Gender Differentiated Empirical Analysis

The urban labor market in Bolivia can be divided into 4 main sectors: 1) the public sector, 2) the formal private sector, 3) self-employed informals, and 4) informal workers. Although incomes are generally higher in the public sector and in the formal private sector, there is a strong preference in Bolivia for being informally self-employed. Two thirds of both men and women in urban areas respond that they would prefer to be self-employed rather than a salaried employee, and few see any advantage of becoming formal under the current institutional set-up. Currently, half of all economically active women in urban areas are informally self-employed, while this is the case for only one third of men. This implies that women are actually closer to the desired state than men, according to their own preferences. The real problem for women is not that they are informally self-employed, but rather that the profitability of their informal enterprises is low. On average, monthly profits of female micro-entrepreneurs is about 40% lower than those of male micro-entrepreneurs. This report uses quantitative information from about 600 micro and small enterprises to break down and understand this gender gap in profitability, and the results show that almost the whole gap is due to the fact that women operate their businesses on a much smaller scale (with less productive capital and fewer employees) than men. Why do female entrepreneurs operate on a smaller scale? One partial explanation is that they do not want to grow, because the business then would loose some of the features that make a micro-business particularly attractive for women (not to depend on others, to be able to care for children simultaneously, flexible working hours, and daily revenues). More important, however, is the lack of access to capital. Micro and small businesses operated by women have only a third of the operating capital of male operated businesses. There are two main reasons for this. First, women generally have fewer opportunities to accumulate capital, both because their household and reproductive work takes time away from paid work, and because they tend to earn less than men when they do work for money. Second, they do not have access to credit on reasonable terms. Access by itself is not the problem, as there is a very active micro-credit industry in Bolivia, but the terms are so unattractive that women try to avoid it if at all possible. The interest rates are high (20-40% per year); the group-lending practices increases the risk for the borrower, as they may end up paying other group members’ debt also; and they are typically required to assist at compulsory training courses twice a month, which is demanding for busy women running both a business and a household. Banks offer loans at more reasonable terms, but the requirements are difficult for micro-entrepreneurs to comply with (especially proof of a monthly pay check) and the risk is large as an entire house is often put up as collateral for even a small loan. Capital and credit is not a binding constraint in all sectors, however. On average, returns to additional capital investments are estimated to be relatively high (internal rates of return of over 20%) in the food sales sector, the textile clothing sector, and the camelid clothing sector. In contrast, they are estimated to be negative for grocery stores and the transport sector, which have experienced overinvestment to the extent that the returns to both capital and labor in these two sectors have been severely depressed. Even in the sectors where returns to capital are relatively high, a doubling of productive capital would not lead to a doubling of monthly profits. In fact, estimation results show strongly diminishing returns to scale, which means that micro-enterprises have little incentive to grow. Under the current institutional setup in Bolivia, it makes more economic sense to have several identical micro-enterprises in the family rather than one larger enterprise, and this is indeed often observed in practice. This is partly due to the characteristics of the sectors (for example, several small stores can capture a larger market due to the geographical dispersion), but it is mostly due to the tax-system, which becomes very demanding, both in terms of bureaucratic procedures and in terms of tax burden, as soon as an enterprise grows past a certain threshold. Under the current institutional set up, micro-entrepreneurs perceive no benefits from becoming formal, and indeed estimation results confirm that formality would lower the monthly profits of micro-enterprises (less than 3 workers and less than $1000 in operating capital) by 30-40%. Slightly bigger firms (3-5 workers), however, may benefit from getting a NIT and thus be able to offer facturas to the clients.Informality, Productivity, Gender, Bolivia

Nanobodies as tools to understand, diagnose, and treat African trypanosomiasis

African trypanosomes are strictly extracellular protozoan parasites that cause diseases in humans and livestock and significantly affect the economic development of sub-Saharan Africa. Due to an elaborate and efficient (vector)-parasite-host interplay, required to complete their life cycle/transmission, trypanosomes have evolved efficient immune escape mechanisms that manipulate the entire host immune response. So far, not a single field applicable vaccine exists, and chemotherapy is the only strategy available to treat the disease. Current therapies, however, exhibit high drug toxicity and an increased drug resistance is being reported. In addition, diagnosis is often hampered due to the inadequacy of current diagnostic procedures. In the context of tackling the shortcomings of current treatment and diagnostic approaches, nanobodies (Nbs, derived from the heavy chain-only antibodies of camels and llamas) might represent unmet advantages compared to conventional tools. Indeed, the combination of their small size, high stability, high affinity, and specificity for their target and tailorability represents a unique advantage, which is reflected by their broad use in basic and clinical research to date. In this article, we will review and discuss (i) diagnostic and therapeutic applications of Nbs that are being evaluated in the context of African trypanosomiasis, (ii) summarize new strategies that are being developed to optimize their potency for advancing their use, and (iii) document on unexpected properties of Nbs, such as inherent trypanolytic activities, that besides opening new therapeutic avenues, might offer new insight in hidden biological activities of conventional antibodies

Socio-economic indicators of the camel production sector in southeast Tunisia: main households survey results

This Socio-economic study has been conducted by a team of PROCAMED Project. This project falls within the framework of the promotion of the innovating camel systems and of the local camel value chains for a sustainable management of the Saharan territories. The socio-economic survey was conducted in four regions of southeast Tunisia (Medenine, Tataouine, Gabes and Kebeli). A total of 147 households were interviewed on the management, significance and constraints associated to the camel production in the area using a field diagnostic survey. According to the camel breeders' responses, the family living status of the camel herders has based on camels and small ruminant's livestock activities. Most of the camel herders were keeping areas occupied by natural vegetation which can provide a feed source for animals. For the most part of the areas have an average annual rainfall below 300 mm and either a Saharan or an arid Mediterranean bioclimate. Although the land ownership status may change, the rangelands are mostly subject to the system known as collective ownership. Major source of income of the camel herders at all zones were sale of milk and meat, sale of animals and crop cultivation. Majority of the herders kept their camels in open air system and take their camels for grazing from morning till evening at all the zones. But, because of rangelands degradation the trend of supplementation becoming more and more adopted. Camels play an important role in the socio-economics of the people in this area. In order to improve the camel production in the study area, Livestock and dairy development department and local public services, should take into consideration the importance of camel and the prevalent problems in the area. (Résumé d'auteur

Invited review: Camel skin diseases survey in Morocco

The present study aimed to collect data related to skin diseases in dromedary camels in the south of Morocco. As a whole, 168 herds from 9 provinces located in the south of Morocco have been prospected. Finally, 275 camels were involved in this monitoring, presenting 336 skin disease cases with different etiologies (bacterial, viral and parasitic). Mite and dermatophyte infections were predominant with 52% and 30% as respective proportions. On average, 11% and 7% of all cases detected suffered respectively from lymphadenitis and camelpox/ecthyma. Skin diseases in dromedary camels are highly affected by the animal's sex, as females were more affected than males; age seemed to have no effect. The absence of systematic treatment and prevention, even though these infections are all treatable, may somehow explain the recidivism of skin diseases in the herd every year

Selenium status and supplementation in dromedary camels

The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) is well suited to the desert environment due to its remarkable physiological and metabolic adaptation. Nutrients requirements of the camel are not well defined, particularly that of trace elements. Selenium supplementation is often recommended to treat conditions attributed to Se deficiency such as cardiomyopathy. This paper reports the results of four experiments carried out using pregnant, non-pregnant, young and adult female camels. The commercial source of Se (i.e. sodium selenite) was used to provide supplementary levels between 0 to 16 mg of Se/day. The concentration of Se in serum and the activity of erythrocytes glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured. The Se concentration in serum of camels increased linearly with increased Se supplementation levels from 0 to 4 mg/day, then plateau when levels further increased to a maximum of 16 mg/day. The average Se concentration (expressed as ng/ml) ranged between 100 and 500. Similar trend was observed for the GSH-Px activity. The results suggest a maximum tolerable dose of 8 mg/day and the recommended dose between 2 and 4 mg/day. (Résumé d'auteur

Serological Survey of Antibodies to Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida in Camelids from Argentina

South American camelids are a source of livestock wealth in Andean countries. In Argentina,there is little information about camelid pathogens, and most of the literature data available areseroprevalence works against virus. Besides, little is known about the immunological status againstbacterial agents affecting these animals. In an effort to explore the serological status of Argentineancamelids, we evaluated the presence of serum antibodies against bacterial pathogens involved inpneumonic diseases (Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica) in llamas from differentregions of the country. By ELISA, a high seroprevalence for both pathogens was found in the serumsamples; higher optical density (OD) values were obtained when the sera were incubated with heatkilledP. multocida as coating antigen compared to M. haemolytica. In addition, a large number ofsera analyzed presented high OD values for both microorganisms independently of their originregion. Serum avidity was also evaluated, by means of an assay based on antibody desorption byurea. No correlation was found between the high ODs obtained for P. multocida and the serumavidity. On the other hand, samples reacting with M. haemolytica had lower OD values but higheravidity index. The antigenic recognition pattern for both microorganisms was determined bywestern blot. Unlike P. multocida, the antigenic recognition pattern of M. haemolytica did not differamong serum samples obtained from animals living in different areas. In summary, we found thatcamelids can synthetize antibodies that recognize M. haemolytica with high avidity for differentantigens of the bacterium, suggesting that Argentinean camelids are in contact with M. haemolyticawhich is probably a causative agent of subclinical infections. Conversely, specific antibodies forP. multocida were also found, but these sera presented low avidity that is probably the result of acolonization process by this bacterium, or else, to be a consequence of cross-reactivity phenomenaFil: Díaz, Ailén Magalí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Ledesma, Martin Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Calcagno, M. L.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Físico Matemática. Cátedra de Matemáticas; ArgentinaFil: Leoni, Juliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Manghi, Marcela Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Canellada, Andrea Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Castro, Marisa Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; Argentin