Exploring the potentials of underutilized grain amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) along the value chain for food and nutrition security: A review.

The burden of malnutrition in Africa calls for deeper exploration of underutilized species which are rich in nutrients and have the potential to reduce food and nutrition insecurity. The common staple crops are not able to meet daily requirements for both macro- and micro-nutrients. In order to lessen this burden; protein, calorie and micronutrient deficiencies must be properly addressed for optimal growth and development to be attained. African indigenous underutilized vegetables can play a significant role in the food security of vulnerable groups like under-five children and women in both urban and rural settings. The potential of grain amaranth in meeting the nutrition needs of humans has remained a subject of interest in scientific research. Amaranth is considered one of the most commonly produced and consumed indigenous vegetables on the African continent with high nutritional potentials but yet to be fully exploited. This review therefore aims at discussing the current knowledge of the inherent potentials of grain amaranths, its current application in the food industry and proposes a framework for actions and partnerships required to scale up and improve amaranth value chain.

On-farm detection of claw lesions in dairy cows based on acoustic analyses and machine learning.

Claw lesions are a serious problem on dairy farms, affecting both the health and welfare of the cow. Automated detection of lameness with a practical, on-farm application would support the early detection and treatment of lame cows, potentially reducing the number and severity of claw lesions. Therefore, in this study, a method was proposed for the detection of claw lesions based on the acoustic analysis of a cow's gait. A panel was constructed to measure the impact sound of animals walking over it. The recorded impact sound was edited, and 640 sound files from 64 cows were analyzed. The classification of animal-lameness status was performed using a machine-learning process with a random forest algorithm. The gold standard was a 2-point scale of hoof-trimming results (healthy vs. affected), and 38 properties of the recorded sound files were used as influencing factors. A prediction model for classifying the cow lameness was built using a random forest algorithm. This was validated by comparing the reference output from hoof-trimming with the model output concerning the impact sound. Altering the likelihood settings and changing the cutoff value to predict lame animals improved the prediction model. At a cutoff at 0.4, a decreased false-negative rate was generated, and the false-positive rate only increased slightly. This model obtained a sensitivity of 0.81 and a specificity of 0.97. With this procedure, Cohen's Kappa value of 0.80 showed good agreement between model classification and diagnoses from hoof-trimming. In summary, the prediction model enabled the detection of cows with claw lesions. This study shows that lameness can be detected by machine learning from the impact sound of hoofs in dairy cows.

Feeding practices of pre-school children and associated factors in Kathmandu, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: In developing countries such as Nepal, many children aged below 3 years do not grow at a sufficiently high rate and are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies (e.g. vitamin A). Challenges to child nutrition can result from poverty, unhealthy traditional practices, inadequate caring and feeding practices. The present study aimed to assess the feeding practices of pre-school children and their associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in pre-schools located in Kathmandu district between February and March 2018. Three levels in terms of price range (lower, medium and higher level) of pre-schools were selected to reach the mothers of children aged ≤3 years. A structured questionnaire was administered to 145 mothers. Descriptive analyses were conducted to observe the characteristics of the population. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the association for the factors of mothers' perception of their current feeding practices. RESULTS: We found that dal-bhat/jaulo was a common complementary food irrespective of socio-economic background. Interestingly, mothers who had received a higher education were significantly less likely to change their feeding practices (odds ratio = 0.118, confidence interval = 0.01-0.94). The mothers that fed a higher quantity porridge to their children showed a high willingness to change the feeding practices. CONCLUSIONS: Poor feeding practices are still an important public health problem in Nepal and were observed to be associated with low socio-economic status, unawareness and a lack of knowledge towards dietary diversity combined with strong beliefs related to social forces and cultures.

A new approach for categorizing pig lying behaviour based on a Delaunay triangulation method.

Machine vision-based monitoring of pig lying behaviour is a fast and non-intrusive approach that could be used to improve animal health and welfare. Four pens with 22 pigs in each were selected at a commercial pig farm and monitored for 15 days using top view cameras. Three thermal categories were selected relative to room setpoint temperature. An image processing technique based on Delaunay triangulation (DT) was utilized. Different lying patterns (close, normal and far) were defined regarding the perimeter of each DT triangle and the percentages of each lying pattern were obtained in each thermal category. A method using a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network, to automatically classify group lying behaviour of pigs into three thermal categories, was developed and tested for its feasibility. The DT features (mean value of perimeters, maximum and minimum length of sides of triangles) were calculated as inputs for the MLP classifier. The network was trained, validated and tested and the results revealed that MLP could classify lying features into the three thermal categories with high overall accuracy (95.6%). The technique indicates that a combination of image processing, MLP classification and mathematical modelling can be used as a precise method for quantifying pig lying behaviour in welfare investigations.

[Nail polish allergy. An important differential diagnosis in contact dermatitis]. / Nagellack-Allergie. Eine wichtige Differentialdiagnose bei Kontaktdermatitis.

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: Case 1. A 34-year-old woman presented with a recurrent, itching and erythematous plaque on her right cheek. Case 2. A 27-year-old woman reported itching erythema on her fingertips from time to time recently. Inspection revealed dyshidrosiform blisters. Both patients had been using nail varnish and varnish remover. Case 3. A 49-year-old woman had, for about 5 years, repeatedly experienced itching erythema at the perionychium of several fingers on which she had placed artificial nails. Marked oedema and erythema was noted. INVESTIGATION: Extensive epicutaneous tests were performed on these patients. They showed sensitisation against important allergens in nail varnish (toluolsulphonamide-formaldehyde resin), nail varnish remover (benzophenone-2) and artificial nails (ethylacrylate), respectively. The three patients also showed type IV sensitisation against other substances. DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND COURSE: Epicutaneous tests documented type IV allergies to important constituents of nail varnish, nail varnish remover and artificial nails. Symptoms and skin changes disappeared when these three items were no longer used. CONCLUSION: Allergies against nail varnish and its remover and against artificial nails should be included in the differential diagnosis of skin allergies, even when patients have additional type IV sensitizations against common allergens. As the causative allergen can be easily avoided, knowledge of the particular problems associated with these allergies is of a great practical significance.

[Sensitization to nickel sulfate in patients with ileitis terminalis (Crohn disease)]. / Sensibilisierung gegen Nickelsulfat bei Patienten mit Ileitis terminalis (Morbus Crohn).

The history of inpatients with Crohn's disease revealed several occurrences of contact dermatitis due to metal ions. Therefore, we considered the question as to whether allergic reactions to amalgam fillings or mercury, delivered in small amounts, could be a factor in the activity of regional enteritis. 23 patients with Crohn's disease (15 females, 8 males), aged from 20 to 44 years were screened by an extended standard patch test (following the rules of the ICDRG). Surprisingly, no case of hypersensitivity to amalgam and/or mercury was found. However, nickelsulfate yielded positive reactions in 39.1% of all tested patients (9/23). In comparison to the normal population this prevalence of nickelsulfate hypersensitivity is distinctly increased. It may be an epiphenomenon of Crohn's disease (sensitization via an enhanced permeability of the irritated mucous membranes for nutritive nickelsulfate) or an etiopathogenetic co-factor. In the latter case regional enteritis might be regarded as an allergic-irritative disease of the bowel.

[Contact allergy to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and N-hydroxyphthalimide]. / Kontaktallergie gegen Dicyclohexylcarbodiimid und N-Hydroxyphthalimid.

We report a case of a female laboratory worker in the chemical industry who acquired contact allergy to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and N-hydroxyphthalimide. Both substances are used in the chemical synthesis of peptides. So far there have only been a few reports concerning contact allergy to these substances.