Human influence on 2020 extreme Meiyu rainfall in China – the tug of war between greenhouse gases and aerosols

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

In June and July of 2020, Eastern China was hit by extreme Meiyu rainfall, with a particularly long rainy season and frequent extreme rainfall events. The accumulated Meiyu rainfall in the Yangtze River Valley in 2020 was 54% greater than normal, breaking the record since 1961. Having caused extensive floods and economic and societal losses, it is highly concerned whether human activities have played a role in the occurrence of such extreme events.

 

Human activities have reduced the occurrence probability of persistent heavy Meiyu rainfall events in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley as that in observations in 2020 by approximately 46%, according to a study recently published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences. This research reveals the anthropogenic influence on the occurrence of extreme Meiyu rainfall events, particularly the tug of war between greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols.

 

To assess the human influence, scientists used multi-model simulations that participate in the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project (DAMIP) in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). These simulations are driven by different external forcings, e.g., anthropogenic forcing, greenhouse gas forcing and aerosol forcing, and are thus useful tools in attribution studies.

 

“Comparing model simulations with and without anthropogenic forcing, we show that human activities have reduced the probability of persistent heavy rainfall events as that in observations in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in 2020,” said ZHOU Tianjun, the leading and corresponding author on the paper. Zhou is a senior scientist at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

 

The two major anthropogenic forcing components – greenhouse gases and aerosols – had opposite influences, though. On one hand, greenhouse gas emissions would have increased the probability by approximately 44%, as a result of atmospheric warming and moistening. On the other hand, this effect was offset by anthropogenic aerosols, which reduced the probability by approximately 73%, by reducing atmospheric moisture and weakening the East Asian summer monsoon circulation.

 

“The attribution analysis demonstrates that human influences on extreme events rely heavily on the components of external forcing, in particular, the relative contributions of greenhouse gases and aerosols,” added Dr. Wenxia Zhang, the co-author of the study. “It is worth noting that the attribution of present changes is not simply analogous to future climate, with the changing greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions in the future.”

 

With the continuous emissions of greenhouse gases and reductions in aerosols in the future, similar persistent heavy rainfall events are projected to occur more frequently. Higher greenhouse gas emissions are expected to lead to higher occurrence probabilities. Thus, efficient mitigation measures will help to reduce the impacts related to extreme rainfall.

See the article: Zhou T, Ren L, Zhang W. 2021. Anthropogenic influence on extreme Meiyu rainfall in 2020 and its future risk. Science China Earth Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9771-8

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JOURNAL

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-020-9771-8 

Breastfeeding protects babies from bacteria resistant to antibiotics

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

In a study carried out at the University of Helsinki, it was found that infant formula is associated with roughly 70% higher occurrence of genes associated with antibiotic resistance in the gut of newborns, more than the other factors studied. The study also demonstrates that breastfeeding newborns is associated with a reduced proliferation of opportunistic pathogens resistant to antibiotics in the infant, which may lessen the risk of difficult infections.

The increasing prevalence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics constitutes a significant risk to human health. Usually, the occurrence of antibiotic resistance is thought to result from abundant antibiotic use, as exposure to antimicrobial drugs promotes the enrichment of microbes that are resistant to them. However, according to recently obtained evidence, bacterial genes which confer resistance can already be found in abundance in the gut microbiota of newborns and infants even before exposure to antimicrobials. In a joint study, Finnish and American researchers investigated factors linked to the proportion of bacteria carrying genes that confer antibiotic resistance in the gut microbiota of newborns.

Feeding infants with formula significantly affects the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

According to the researchers, the diet of newborns was found to be the primary factor associated with the relative abundance of resistance genes present in the gut. A considerably higher abundance of resistance genes was seen in children whose diet consisted at least partially of infant formula compared to children who were exclusively breastfed or consumed donated breastmilk. At the same time, infant fortifier based on cow’s milk, which is routinely used to improve the diet of breastfed infants, did not have any perceptible effect on the number of resistance genes. The effect of infant formula exposure was markedly more significant than that of antibiotic regimens given to the mother or infant, or of other factors affecting the composition of the gut microbiota, such as delivery mode, the duration of the pregnancy or the infant’s age.

“The results were confirmed and the model further honed by reanalysing the gut microbiota data of more than 600 newborns collected in prior studies. In this dataset too, infant formula was associated with a roughly 70%, increased the occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes in the infant gut, more than the other factors,” says Dr. Katariina Pärnänen, describing the results of her doctoral thesis.

Preterm infants who received infant formula had approximately twice the number of resistance genes in their gut compared to infants who were fed nothing but breastmilk. The effect of formula feeding was particularly pronounced in premature infants and infants who had been exposed to antibiotics.

Bacteria in the gut microbiota differ in breastfed and formula-fed infants

The protective effect of breastmilk against antibiotic resistance, and the corresponding exposing effect of infant formula, appear to be transmitted by certain bacteria found in the gut microbiota. Prior research has shown that a diet based on breastmilk alone increases the number of bifidobacteria, which are beneficial to infant health, in the infant gut. In contrast, infants fed entirely or partially with formula had more bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family and other potential pathogens in their intestines, providing an explanation for the larger number of resistance genes. Pärnänen’s research findings indicate that the number of the ESBL and MRSA superbacteria was higher in formula-fed premature infants compared to premature infants whose diet consisted only of breastmilk.

Pärnänen says that the findings shed more light on the health effects of breastmilk.

“Breastmilk is the primary source of nutrition for all infants, and its health benefits are of particular importance to premature infants. The new findings indicate that breastfeeding premature and newborn infants also reduces the proliferation of bacteria resistant to antibiotics in the infant gut, thus potentially reducing the risk of difficult infections, which I consider a particularly important find due to the ever-increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance,” Pärnänen says.

Based on the study, the current practice of improving the diet of premature infants using specifically designed fortifier appears to be safe also in terms of antibiotic resistance. The researchers assume that fortifier given to premature infants does not increase the number of resistant bacteria as much as conventional formula, even though both are dairy-based products. This is due to differences in composition and the method of mixing the fortifier administered to the infants with breastmilk. However, the effect of fortifier could not be comprehensively surveyed in this study due to the small number of infants who received it.

Some researchers specialising in antibiotic resistance believe that bacteria resistant to antibiotics will continue to gain in prevalence even if the use of antibiotics were to be radically curtailed. Consequently, measures not based on reducing antibiotic use can be particularly useful in the fight against superbugs, while breastmilk may turn out to be an exceedingly effective weapon for protecting premature infants and newborns.

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

DOI

10.1093/ajcn/nqab353 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Early-life formula feeding is associated with infant gut microbiota alterations and an increased antibiotic resistance load

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

22-Oct-2021

Fermented soybeans suppress asthma-induced airway inflammation

Osaka City University finds that feeding a fermented soy product called ImmuBalance to asthma model mice significantly reduces eosinophilic-related inflammation in the bronchi

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OSAKA CITY UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: INFLAMMATION IS SUPPRESSED IN THE GROUP TREATED WITH IMMUBALANCE view more 

CREDIT: OSAKA CITY UNIVERSITY

(Osaka, Japan)—Bronchial asthma causes symptoms such as wheezing and cough due to chronic airway inflammation, but there is no fundamental treatment for it, leaving a desire for new prevention and treatment methods. Now a new study reveals that a fermented soy product called ImmuBalance suppresses airway inflammation in animal models of asthma.

Researchers from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine have found that in a ImmuBalance-treated group of asthma model mice, white blood cells associated with asthma called eosinophils were significantly reduced in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Also, in addition to a decrease in inflammation and mucus around the bronchi, the team found a suppression of proteins that induce eosinophilic inflammation.

“The relationship between soy intake and allergic diseases has been epidemiologically reported in the past,” explained Hideaki Kadotani, first author of the study, “suggesting that the components of soy may have some anti-allergic effects”

“It was reported that imbalances in the gut microbiota may be involved in immune system and allergic diseases, and fermented dietary fiber, like that found in soy, might have beneficial effects in allergic asthma models.” continues Associate Professor Kazuhisa Asai, supporting author of the study.

In the study, the effects of such an imbalance on asthma were examined by giving ImmuBalance-enriched feed to asthma model mice. In the ImmuBalance-treated group, the number of eosinophils in BALF was significantly reduced, and inflammation around the bronchi and mucus production in the bronchial epithelium was suppressed. Also, the expression of Th2 cytokines and the immunoglobulin serum IgE that induce eosinophilic inflammation in BALF were measured and found to be significantly suppressed when compared to mice fed a normal diet.

“In clinical practice, steroid inhalants are the basis of asthma treatments, yet they are known to have adverse side effects“, states Professor Tomoya Kawaguchi, lead advisor to the study. “Our results suggest that the intake of fermented soybean products should be recommended as a complementary coping strategy to asthma with fewer side effects”

These findings appear in the journal Nutrients.

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We are Osaka City University - the oldest research university in Osaka. With 9 undergraduate faculties and 11 graduate schools all dedicated to making urban life better, energy cleaner, and people healthier and happier, we have won numerous awards and have produced 2 Nobel laureates. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.osaka-cu.ac.jp/en

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JOURNAL

Nutrients

DOI

10.3390/nu13103380 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

The Fermented Soy Product ImmuBalance Suppresses Airway Inflammation in a Murine Model of Asthma

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Sep-2021

People who purchased guns during buying surge more likely to have suicidal thoughts

Rutgers study points to need for policies on safe storage, waiting periods and suicide risk screening

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: MICHAEL ANESTIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH CENTER AT RUTGERS AND AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT RUTGERS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH view more 

CREDIT: CREDIT: RAYMOND CLINKSCALE, RUTGERS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

People who purchased firearms during the 2020–2021 purchasing surge – particularly first-time buyers – were more likely to have thoughts of suicide, according to a Rutgers study.

The study appears in JAMA Network Open.

The researchers surveyed 6,404 adults from New Jersey, Minnesota and Mississippi and found that surge purchasers were more likely than other firearm owners and non-firearm owners to report suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, the previous year and previous month. Although firearm access is associated with a risk for suicide, the study found that first-time firearm owners who purchased a gun during this period were more likely than established firearm owners to report lifetime and past-year suicidal ideation.

According to the study, about 6 percent of U.S. residents purchased a firearm between March 2020 and mid-July 2020. Of these, 34 percent were first-time buyers, a rate higher than typical. The states in the study were chosen due to their difference in geography, demographics, political climate, firearm ownership rates, firearm purchasing laws, gun violence rates and culture.

This unprecedented surge in firearm sales over the last year throughout the United States was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the contentious election season and the racial justice movement after the death of George Floyd.

The Rutgers study found that 56 percent of surge purchasers have experienced lifetime suicidal thoughts compared to 32 percent of non-firearm owners and 28 percent of other firearm owners. Over the past year, 42 percent of surge purchasers reported suicidal thoughts versus 23 percent of non-firearm owners and 18 percent of other firearm owners. Also, 20 percent of surge purchasers reported suicidal thoughts in the past month compared to 11 percent of non-firearm owners and 7 percent of other firearm owners. Almost 40 percent of these buyers store at least one firearm unlocked.

Surge purchasers were more likely than other firearm owners to use locking devices (36 percent vs. 26 percent), but less likely to store firearms unloaded in a closet or drawer (22 percent vs 30 percent). Among surge purchasers, first-time firearm owners were less likely than established firearm owners to use gun safes (39 percent vs. 52 percent) or store loaded firearms hidden in a closet or drawer (11 percent vs. 18 percent).  In contrast, first-time firearm owners were more likely to use locking devices (42 percent vs. 29 percent).

“These findings highlight that individuals who made the decision to become firearm owners during the purchasing surge exhibit a higher risk for suicidal thoughts than typical firearm owners,” said lead author Michael Anestis, executive director, New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers and an associate professor at Rutgers School of Public Health. “The fact that suicidal thoughts were particularly common among surge purchasers who became first time firearm owners is an important consideration given data demonstrating an elevated suicide rate in the months following the first acquisition of a firearm.”

The study illustrates the need to implement policies and interventions that increase safety among firearm purchasers, such as safe firearm storage and temporary storage of firearms away from home during times of stress, as well as policies that promote different forms of protection, such as home alarm systems.\

“This approach needs to be supplemented with practical tools such as information on different options for safe firearm storage, incentives for both retailer and consumer to purchase safe storage equipment and information on where firearm owners can legally and temporarily store firearms outside the home,” Anestis said. He also called for better legislation on safe storage, waiting periods and mandating of suicide risk screening questions during firearm purchases.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.32111 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Oct-2021

 

Association of Racial Disparity of Cannabis Possession Arrests Among Adults and Youths With Statewide Cannabis Decriminalization and Legalization

Brynn E. Sheehan, PhD^1,2; Richard A. Grucza, PhD^3,4; Andrew D. Plunk, PhD⁵

Author Affiliations Article Information

JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(10):e213435. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3435

Key Points

Question  How are statewide cannabis policies (eg, legalization, decriminalization, no policy change) associated with cannabis arrest rate racial disparities among adults and youths?

Findings  In this case-control study of 43 US states with and without cannabis policy changes, decriminalization and legalization were associated with large reductions in race-based arrests among adults; however, the timing of effects suggests differential policy effects. Among youth, only decriminalization was associated with reductions in arrests and arrest disparities; cannabis arrests for adults and youth increased over time in states that did not implement a cannabis policy change.

Meaning  The study findings suggest that increases in arrest rate disparities in states without legalization or decriminalization highlight the need for targeted interventions to address racial injustice.

Abstract

Importance  Despite calls for cannabis decriminalization and legalization, research investigating the association of policy with arrest rates and racial disparities is scarce.

Objectives  To examine racial differences in cannabis arrest rates among adults and youths after statewide decriminalization, legalization, and no policy changes.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This case-control study used race-based arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Program and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results county-level population data from January 2000 through December 2019. Data were analyzed in July 2021. Event-study analyses based on the arrest rates from 43 US states were conducted to compare preimplementation and postimplementation differences in arrest rates for states with decriminalization, legalization, and no policy changes.

Exposures  Nine states implemented legalization, 8 implemented decriminalization, and 26 had no policy change.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Outcome measures were cannabis arrest rates for Black and White adults and youths per year and by state, while controlling for several covariates.

Results  Rates were reported per 100 000. When comparing absolute differences in arrests from January to December 2008 (before policy changes) to January to December 2019, legalization was associated with 561 and 195 fewer arrests and decriminalization with 448.6 and 117.1 fewer arrests for Black and White adults, respectively. States without a policy change saw reductions of 47.5 and 33.0 arrests for Black and White adults, respectively. Among youth, legalization was associated with 131.1 and 131.2 fewer arrests and decriminalization with 156.1 and 124.7 fewer arrests for Black and White youths, respectively. Among states without a policy change, arrests reduced by 35 and 52.4 for Black and White youths, respectively. Plotted trends of the arrest ratios from January 2000 through December 2019 suggests racial disparities remained over time. Event-study analyses suggest that decriminalization was associated with an arrest rate reduction for Black and White adults and youths. The timing of reductions suggests differential policy effects. Arrest disparities increased in states that did not have a cannabis policy change.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this case-control study of states with and without cannabis decriminalization and legalization policies, increased arrest rate disparities in states without either policy highlight the need for targeted interventions to address racial injustice.

READ ON OR DOWNLOAD PDF HERE

JAMA Health Forum – Health Policy, Health Care Reform, Health Affairs | JAMA Health Forum | JAMA Network

This squirrel watches its neighbor's back

Barbary ground squirrels look for predators together as a survival strategy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

 

IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER ANNEMARIE VAN DER MAREL STUDIES THE BEHAVIOR OF BARBARY GROUND SQUIRRELS IN THE CANARY ISLANDS. view more 

CREDIT: ANNEMARIE VAN DER MAREL

Just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean everything isn’t actually trying to kill you.

Ground squirrels have few natural defenses against predators, so they rely on an early warning system to identify threats and alert others to run for cover.

But unlike meerkats that take individual turns standing watch while the rest forage, ground squirrels found off the coast of Africa keep watch together — a behavior called synchronous vigilance, according to a new study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Lead author Annemarie van der Marel, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cincinnati, spent three winters studying Barbary ground squirrels, an invasive species introduced to the Canary Islands from Morocco on Africa’s mainland. The almond-eyed, striped rodents with bushy tails live in colonies and take shelter underground in a network of burrows like other ground squirrels.

“They’re pretty cute. People had them as pets and that’s how they were introduced to the Canary Islands in 1965,” she said.

“I looked at whether and why they were social. I began studying the strategies for how they evade predation and increase survival. That’s how I got to the question of the synchronous vigilance of the species,” she said.

Prey animals such as kangaroos and wild boar also use synchronous vigilance to stay safe, van der Marel said.

Co-author Marta López Darias, a researcher with the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology in Spain, said the synchronized behavior increased with the size of the group, similar to observations made in other species that use this defense mechanism.

Unusual for ground squirrels, the populations found in the Canary Islands are as comfortable in the trees as on the ground, she said. They seem to prefer high vantage points such as the old rock walls above the fields and ravines where they can scan all angles of their surroundings. On the Canary Islands’ Fuerteventura, the squirrels face daily threats from domestic cats and birds of prey like buzzards and common kestrels.

“When they forage, they’re most vulnerable,” van der Marel said. “So the squirrels have to balance the time spent foraging and being vigilant. Their main defense mechanism is being watchful and alerting other group members to escape predation.”

To find food, the squirrels set out daily from their underground dens to forage for roots, seeds and fruit. Active in the day, they rely on their keen vision to detect threats from the air and land. The alarm call of a nearby squirrel will alert others and may send some running for the safety of rock piles or the nearest burrow. Often, other squirrels will join in the watchful vigil.

The animals can’t look for food and be on high alert for predators at the same time. So throughout the day they stop what they’re doing to scan the environment together, often from a higher vantage point, van der Marel said.

Virtually all the squirrels spend time standing watch during the day. About one-third of the time, they do so alone. But 40% of the time, they have company. And when a predator is observed, multiple squirrels stop to stand watch 60% of the time, the study found.

Researchers found that squirrels that spent more time watching still found enough food to remain in good physical condition. Likewise, their extended vigilance did not affect their overall survival rates.

“There are plentiful resources and less predation pressure, so they don’t have to forage as much,” she said.

CAPTION

Barbary ground squirrels were introduced to the Canary Islands in 1965.

CREDIT

Annemarie van der Marel

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JOURNAL

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

DOI

10.1007/s00265-021-03094-1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Barbary ground squirrels do not have a sentinel system but instead synchronize vigilance

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

16-Oct-2021

COI STATEMENT

No conflicts of interest or competing interests.

Drones, bots and self-driving cars: How this new Kanata North innovation centre will help drive the future of autonomous vehicles

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

“It’s a place of limitless imagination,” says uOttawa professor Burak Kantarci about the Faculty of Engineering’s new Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre, which opened its doors in October. Located in uOttawa’s Kanata North campus, in the heart of Canada’s largest technology park, the centre will help the tech industry accelerate the autonomous vehicle innovation.

The term “autonomous vehicle,” or “smart vehicle,” refers to any vehicle equipped with decision-making systems and sensors that allow it to perceive its surroundings. Self-driving cars typically come to mind, but drones and bots are also part of this ecosystem.

“What excites me most is that we’re essentially envisioning the future of this technology, which will soon be ubiquitous and indispensable to society,” says Kantarci. “We’re working with industry on different topics simultaneously and finding solutions to problems that the tech world is facing. It’s never just a single problem or a single solution, so it requires a lot of imagination.”

The centre offers rapid, low-cost experimentation for connected and autonomous vehicles, including self-driving car prototypes, drones and certain types of ground bots. Its research will focus primarily on problem-solving issues related to the connectivity, physical and cyber security, decision making and sustainability of vehicles and networks.

“In other words, we design experiments to assess how these vehicles talk to each other and their connected units, making sure they maintain healthy communication, making sure sensors aren’t compromised, so they don’t break down,” Kantarci says. “We try to anticipate where anomalies can occur in the platforms and find ways to reconfigure networks to avoid these anomalies happening in the first place, so there is no service disruption for the end user.”

What makes the centre unique is that it’s an open access research facility. Not only is it embedded in one of Canada’s largest technology development hubs, but it is also positioned to bring together experts from various fields — social scientists, economists, ethics and compliance specialists, and decision-makers, alongside engineers and computer scientists — to maximize innovation.

“The Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre is vital to realizing our vision of building a successful technology ecosystem in Kanata North,” says Sylvain Charbonneau, vice-president, research at the University of Ottawa. “Its forward-looking research will be a valuable asset to the development of real-life applications in this rapidly growing industry.”

“This new, highly relevant research infrastructure, complemented with some of our brightest talent, offers a compelling advantage to our industry partners looking to de-risk and accelerate prototyping of their solutions for faster time to market,” says Veronica Farmer, director, partnerships and commercialization, at uOttawa Kanata North.

The centre’s indoor experimental test bed has been paired with state-of-the-art computing infrastructure for collecting vast amounts of data, along with powerful workstations for running advanced machine-learning models.

“One of the biggest challenges starting out in this field was finding data,” says Kantarci. “Through our experiments, we will be able to generate this data in real time and for any scenario. And that’s what’s most valuable. It’s going to be our fuel of the next decade.”

Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through its Alliance grants program, Kantarci’s research team and its collaborators recently developed a strategy to send AI-driven autonomous vehicles serving as COVID-19 rapid testing facilities into vulnerable, at-risk communities to help them reduce the spread of the virus.

First, they used mobility data to identify where infected populations might be located. Then they assessed the risk levels for different regions or communities, to map out optimal trajectories and use their mobile testing facilities to identify individuals who had contracted the virus as early as possible.

The AI-driven decision models could also help health officials and supply chain solution providers make more effective decisions amid the current pandemic or a future health crisis.

“For a long time, vehicles were not much more than a means of transportation,” says Kantarci. “But from now on, and in the future, connected autonomous vehicles are going to be used for everything, everywhere.”

A better way to raise chickens for low-intensity, small stakeholders

Researchers introduce new production model to improve Rwandan broiler industry

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE

 

IMAGE: USING IMPROVED BREEDS AND MODERN PRACTICES, RWANDAN FARMERS ARE EMPOWERED TO RAISE 100-BIRD FLOCKS AS A SOURCE OF INCOME AND NUTRITION. view more 

CREDIT: UTIA

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – How can rural producers in Rwanda better produce chicken for both household consumption and profit? University of Tennessee researchers are suggesting a hybrid model for the Rwandan broiler industry, among other improvements, in a new journal article. 

“Strengthening smallholder engagement and integration in the Rwandan commercial broiler value chain” delves into the broiler industry in Rwanda. Through a four-year pilot project with the Smith International Center, researchers partnered with a Rwandan feedmill, Zamura Feeds Ltd., to test a poultry production model with smallholders. Through this project, the US and Rwandan teams examined the broiler supply chain, and identified ways to improve the broiler industry in Rwanda. The effort was funded under the umbrella of a Global Development Alliance (GDA), which leverages public-private partnerships, in this case between: USAID/Rwanda; a US-based foundation, the African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP); a Rwandan animal feed company, Zamura Feeds Ltd.; and a U.S. land-grant institution, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). 

The pilot project employed a private extension model to train, supply resources for, and support 500 smallholder households to successfully produce broiler chickens to modern industry standards for consumption and market sale. Trained farmers raise broilers in their own bio-secure 100 sq. ft. coop, with 100 birds on a 45-day grow-out cycle. Through the provision of micro-loans for capital and recurring expenses and guaranteed broiler chicken buyback at the end of each grow-out cycle, the goal was to create a sustainable model for small-scale broiler production that can be scaled up throughout Rwanda and the surrounding region. 

“Smallholders in Rwanda make up over 80% of farmers and cultivate less than 2.2 acres of land on average. Many farmers already raise chickens in traditional backyard settings, primarily for home consumption,” said Hans Goertz, the project administrator and co-author of the article. “In a densely populated, mountainous country such as Rwanda, intensifying poultry production presents an avenue for households to diversify and improve their income and nutrition.”

Currently, the Rwandan broiler industry consists of smallholders and large poultry operations. The smallholders operate most farms in Rwanda, but they are limited to low-intensity, village poultry production. Large operations and importers supply the commercial meat market in East Africa.

However, hybrid asset-building broiler operations are a third production model that provide an entry point for smallholders in the broiler industry. Integrating this method would allow the small operations to increase production and profitability.

To scale up this model, the researchers had several suggestions across the broiler value chain, including: reducing the recurring costs of production; providing value chain trainings; facilitating microfinancing; reducing post-harvest costs; increasing local demand for broiler meat; and strengthening policies in support of smallholders.

“Hybrid production models like the one described in this article provide a way for smallholder farmers to start broiler enterprises and compete with larger producers in the market,” Goertz said, “We hope that this body of research contributes to a more vibrant, inclusive broiler sector that provides economic opportunities and affordable animal protein for East African communities.”

Researchers on the project are Tom Gill, Smith Chair in International Sustainable Agriculture; Regis Nisengwe, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, UTIA; Hans Goertz, project development specialist, and David Ader, assistant director, both with the UTIA Smith International Center; Katie McGehee, director of the African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP); Ritah Nshuti, chief operations officer, Zamura, Ltd.; Alon Gumisiriza, poultry technician manager, Zamura, Ltd.; Mike Smith, professor of animal science, UTIA (retired); and Emily Urban, graduate student, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section, Cornell University. 

The full journal article, “Strengthening smallholder engagement and integration in the Rwandan commercial broiler value chain” was published October 8, 2021, in World's Poultry Science Journal. 

Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.

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JOURNAL

World s Poultry Science Journal

ARTICLE TITLE

Strengthening smallholder engagement and integration in the Rwandan commercial broiler value chain

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Oct-2021

Honeybees use social distancing to protect themselves against parasites

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

 

VIDEO: HONEYBEE ALLOGROOMING BEHAVIOUR (UPPER LEFT) AND TROPHALLAXIS (FEEDING, CENTRE) view more 

CREDIT: CREDIT: DR MICHELINA PUSCEDDU, UNIVERSITY OF SASSARI

Honeybees increase social distancing when their hive is under threat from a parasite, finds a new study led by an international team involving researchers at UCL and the University of Sassari, Italy.

The study, published in Science Advances, demonstrated that honeybee colonies respond to infestation from a harmful mite by modifying the use of space and the interactions between nestmates to increase the social distance between young and old bees.

Co-author Dr Alessandro Cini (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, UCL Biosciences) said: “Here we have provided the first evidence that honeybees modify their social interactions and how they move around their hive in response to a common parasite.

“Honeybees are a social animal, as they benefit from dividing up responsibilities and interactions such as mutual grooming, but when those social activities can increase the risk of infection, the bees appear to have evolved to balance the risks and benefits by adopting social distancing.”

Among animals, examples of social distancing have been found in very different species separated by millions of years of evolution: from baboons that are less likely to clean individuals with gastrointestinal infections to ants infected with a pathogenic fungus that relegate themselves to the suburbs of anthill society.

The new study evaluated if the presence of the ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor in honeybee colonies induced changes in social organisation that could reduce the spread of the parasite in the hive. Among the stress factors that affect honeybees, the Varroa mite is one of the main enemies as it causes a number of harmful effects on bees at individual and colony level, including virus transmission.

Honeybee colonies are organised into two main compartments: the outer one occupied by the foragers, and the innermost compartment inhabited by nurses, the queen and brood. This within-colony spatial segregation leads to a lower frequency of interactions between the two compartments than those within each compartment and allows the most valuable individuals (queen, young bees and brood) to be protected from the outside environment and thus from the arrival of diseases.

By comparing colonies that were or were not infested by the Varroa mite, the researchers found that one behaviour, foraging dances, that can increase mite transmission, occurred less frequently in central parts of the hive if it was infested. They also found that grooming behaviours became more concentrated in the central hive. The researchers say it appears that overall, foragers (older bees) move towards the periphery of the nest while young nurse and groomer bees move towards its centre, in response to an infestation, to increase the distance between the two groups.

Lead author Dr Michelina Pusceddu (Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari) said: “The observed increase in social distancing between the two groups of bees within the same parasite-infested colony represents a new and, in some ways, surprising aspect of how honeybees have evolved to combat pathogens and parasites.

“Their ability to adapt their social structure and reduce contact between individuals in response to a disease threat allows them to maximise the benefits of social interactions where possible, and to minimise the risk of infectious disease when needed.

“Honeybee colonies provide an ideal model for studying social distancing and for fully understanding the value and effectiveness of this behaviour.”

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The study involved researchers from UCL, the University of Sassari, the University of Turin and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany).

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.abj1398 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Honey bees increase social distancing when facing the ectoparasite <em>Varroa destructor</em>

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Oct-2021