Shaping Agribusiness and its Impact on the Competitive Environment of Agricultural Enterprises

The paper deals with the key issues of contemporary food system development and their economic content related to the position of agricultural enterprises. It explains, that the problem faced by the whole Europe and thus also by the Czech Republic, i.e. how to compete successfully on an increasingly globalised food market, fully concerns the shaping of a new agriculture structure and all its sectors, which are more-or-less related to the food and non food sector based upon agricultural raw materials production. By generalising the typical features in the running integration processes within this economy segment, essential tendencies of changes in the present-day business environment which affect both the supply and demand sides of market formation, concerning production, processing and merchandise of food are characterised. New challenging approaches for agricultural enterprises as well as from the the CAP regulation policy point of view in this business branch are evaluted there.agribusiness, agricultural enterprise, competitiveness, decoupled payments, structural change, Agribusiness,

YAM PRODUCTION AS PILLAR OF FOOD SECURITY IN LOGO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Food production is a necessary condition in reducing hunger and ensuring food security, especially to the poor rural dwellers that are vulnerable to misfortune. This contribution is an attempt to explore the importance of yam production, socioeconomic characteristics of farmers, constraints to yam production, and yam as an integral of food security in the Logo Local Government of Benue State, Nigeria. The primary data for the study were collected from the I40 yam farmers who were randomly selected with a structured questionnaire. The data are mostly analysed with frequency and percentage. The findings of the study show that the majority of the respondents are males. The main reasons for yam farm as indicated by the respondents were food security, income and employment. The major constraints to yam production as reported by the respondents were lack of fertilizer, access to finance, modern farm inputs, and pest and diseases. To improve the level of yam production and ensure food security in the area, constraints to yam production should be tackled by both public and private sectors by assisting farmers with a wide range of farm input subsidies and affordable credit facilities to invest in yam production for higher productivity, and establishing yam processing industries for value addition

Guía para la evaluación Nutricional

Una cuidadosa evaluación de las necesidades nutricionales de perros y gatos debe considerarse para mantener una salud óptima, como parte del tratamiento de enfermedades o para maximizar la calidad de vida en todos los animales. Por este motivo, el objetivo de esta guía de WSAVA es que se realice una evaluación nutricional y una recomendación nutricional específica en cada paciente y en cada visita. Esto será reconocido como la 5ta evaluación vital (5VA por sus siglas en inglés), siguiendo a los otros signos vitales de temperatura, pulso, respiración y evaluación del dolor que ya se tienen en cuenta en cada visita con el paciente. Realizar una breve evaluación del estado nutricional de rutina cuando se hace la historia y el examen clínico puede hacerse como parte de la revisión del paciente. Los factores de riesgo nutricionales que pueden ser identificados fácilmente por la historia clínica y el examen físico incluyen: edad (en crecimiento o adultos mayores), índice de condición corporal sub-óptimo (sobrepeso o delgado), pérdida de masa muscular, dieta atípica o casera, condiciones médicas o cambios en el apetito. Deberá hacerse una evaluación más profunda si uno o más factores han sido identificados. Esta guía provee un criterio para evaluar al animal y la dieta, y también factores clave de alimentación y ambientales. Adicionalmente se incluyen recomendaciones para interpretación, análisis y acción para que se pueda instituir un plan para optimizar el estado nutricional del animal. El cumplimiento por el dueño de las recomendaciones nutricionales requiere un trabajo conjunto del veterinario, técnicos o enfermeros veterinarios y demás personal de la clínica. Utilizar esta guía nutricional de WSAVA trabajando con el equipo en la educación nutricional continua, realizando la implementación de los protocolos apropiados y enfocándose en la comunicación con el cliente son componentes clave para alcanzar el objetivo de la evaluación del 5to signo vital

MLPA is a practical and complementary alternative to CMA for diagnostic testing in patients with autism spectrum disorders and identifying new candidate CNVs associated with autism

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex heterogeneous developmental disease with a significant genetic background that is frequently caused by rare copy number variants (CNVs). Microarray-based whole-genome approaches for CNV detection are widely accepted. However, the clinical significance of most CNV is poorly understood, so results obtained using such methods are sometimes ambiguous. We therefore evaluated a targeted approach based on multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) using selected probemixes to detect clinically relevant variants for diagnostic testing of ASD patients. We compare the reliability and efficiency of this test to those of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and other tests available to our laboratory. In addition, we identify new candidate genes for ASD identified in a cohort of ASD-diagnosed patients. Method We describe the use of MLPA, CMA, and karyotyping to detect CNV in 92 ASD patients and evaluate their clinical significance. Result Pathogenic and likely pathogenic mutations were identified by CMA in eight (8.07% of the studied cohort) and 12 (13.04%) ASD patients, respectively, and in eight (8.07%) and four (4.35%) patients, respectively, by MLPA. The detected mutations include the 22q13.3 deletion, which was attributed to ring chromosome 22 formation based on karyotyping. CMA revealed a total of 91 rare CNV in 55 patients: eight pathogenic, 15 designated variants of unknown significance (VOUS)—likely pathogenic, 10 VOUS—uncertain, and 58 VOUS—likely benign or benign. MLPA revealed 18 CNV in 18 individuals: eight pathogenic, four designated as VOUS—likely pathogenic, and six designated as VOUS—likely benign/benign. Rare CNVs were detected in 17 (58.62%) out of 29 females and 38 (60.32%) out of 63 males in the cohort. Two genes, DOCK8 and PARK2, were found to be overlapped by CNV designated pathogenic, VOUS—likely pathogenic, or VOUS—uncertain in multiple patients. Moreover, the studied ASD cohort exhibited significant (p < 0.05) enrichment of duplications encompassing DOCK8. Conclusion Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and CMA yielded concordant results for 12 patients bearing CNV designated pathogenic or VOUS—likely pathogenic. Unambiguous diagnoses were achieved for eight patients (corresponding to 8.7% of the total studied population) by both MLPA and CMA, for one (1.09%) patient by karyotyping, and for one (1.09%) patient by FRAXA testing. MLPA and CMA thus achieved identical reliability with respect to clinically relevant findings. As such, MLPA could be useful as a fast and inexpensive test in patients with syndromic autism. The detection rate of potentially pathogenic variants (VOUS—likely pathogenic) achieved by CMA was higher than that for MLPA (13.04% vs. 4.35%). However, there was no corresponding difference in the rate of unambiguous diagnoses of ASD patients. In addition, the results obtained suggest that DOCK8 may play a role in the etiology of ASD

Supplemental Information 1: Raw data

Background The practice of feeding of diets containing raw animal products (RAP) to pets (dogs and cats) is discouraged by veterinary organizations and governmental public health organizations. Nevertheless, the practice of feeding RAP to pets is increasing in popularity. Pet owner motivations for feeding RAP diets to pets have not been explored and the benefits of RAP diets remain largely anecdotal. We hypothesized that pet owners feeding RAP diets would not rely on veterinary advice in choosing their pet’s diet. We also hypothesized that these owners would have lower levels of trust in veterinary advice with respect to nutrition relative to pet owners not feeding RAP. Methods An anonymous web-based survey was developed to identify pet owner motivations for feeding RAP diets, and to characterize the veterinarian-client relationships of individuals feeding RAP diets. Results There were 2,337 respondents and 2,171 completed surveys. Of survey respondents, 804 reported feeding RAP at the time of the survey. While 20% of pet owners feeding RAP relied on online resources to determine what or how much RAP to feed, only 9% reported consulting with a veterinarian in making decisions about feeding RAP. Pet owners feeding RAP reported lower levels of trust in veterinary advice both ‘in general’ and ‘with respect to nutrition’ than pet owners not feeding RAP. Most pet owners reported that a discussion regarding their pet’s nutrition does not occur at every veterinary appointment. Discussion Pet owners feeding a RAP diet have lower trust in veterinary advice than pet owners not feeding a RAP diet. Owners feeding RAP are more reliant on online resources than their own veterinarian in deciding what and how much RAP to feed. Pet owners perceive that nutrition is not discussed at most veterinary appointments. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the veterinarian-client communication with regards to nutrition

Shaping Agribusiness and its Impact on the Competitive Environment of Agricultural Enterprises

The paper deals with the key issues of contemporary food system development and their economic content related to the position of agricultural enterprises. It explains, that the problem faced by the whole Europe and thus also by the Czech Republic, i.e. how to compete successfully on an increasingly globalised food market, fully concerns the shaping of a new agriculture structure and all its sectors, which are more-or-less related to the food and non food sector based upon agricultural raw materials production. By generalising the typical features in the running integration processes within this economy segment, essential tendencies of changes in the present-day business environment which affect both the supply and demand sides of market formation, concerning production, processing and merchandise of food are characterised. New challenging approaches for agricultural enterprises as well as from the the CAP regulation policy point of view in this business branch are evaluted there

Peroxidative protection of parenteral admixture by d-α-tocopherol and its effect on oxidative status of obese cats

High lipid : low dextrose (HL:LD) parenteral admixture (PA) is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that are sensitive to peroxidation. This study evaluated the antioxidative effect of vitamin E in both HL:LD PA and in obese cats given HL:LD PA. Natural d-α-tocopherol (Vital E-300) was added to HL:LD PA at seven concentrations (8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, or 64 IU/g of lipid). PA were exposed to fluorescent light for 24 hours at room temperature. Hydroperoxides were measured at baseline and 24 hours hang time. Significantly lower hydroperoxide concentrations were found with > 24 IU/g of lipid at baseline (P 48 IU/g lipid) to lower hydroperoxides at 24 hours (P < 0.0001). HL:LD PA with 40 IU/g lipid/day d-α-tocopherol was delivered intravenously to obese cats (PA Toc⁺) over 48 hours. Control cats (PA Toc⁻) received HL:LD PA without a d-α-tocopherol supplementation. Oxidative status of cats was evaluated at baseline and 24, 48, and 96 hours. Cats in both groups exhibited an increase in MDA concentration (time effect; P < 0.0001). WBC-tGSH and WBC-GPx did not change in either group of cats. RBC-tGSH and RBC-GPx changed over time (time effects; P = 0.0005; P = 0.0016, respectively) with the PA Toc⁺ cats exhibiting a higher RBC-tGSH concentration (treatment x time interaction; P = 0.012). Serum α- and γ-tocopherol concentrations increased in PA Toc⁺ cats (treatment effect; P < 0.0001). These findings suggest that d-α-tocopherol significantly alters oxidative status in vivo.Master of Scienc