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Smallholder farmers’ livelihoods follow predictable and cyclical patterns related to annual cycles of weather, crop and animal production and market fluctuations. Understanding seasonality forms an essential part of unravelling farming systems behaviour and performance, especially in contexts with strong seasonality, such as southern Mali. Farmers make strategic, tactical and operational decisions related to different time horizons to support their agricultural activities. The diverse resource endowments of farming households influence their decisions, and adaptive capacity. This study aimed to understand farmers’ management decisions to cope with weather variability and related consequences. We used a case study approach to analyse temporal interactions between farming system components using data collected over three consecutive years (2017–2019). We focused on three research questions. First, how do farmers navigate the regular patterns of seasonal variations in rainfall, prices, food and fodder availability, and income? Second, how does seasonality influence complementarity between farm components, and trade-offs and synergies among farming objectives that result from the allocation of scarce resources? Finally, how do farming households of different resource endowments respond to unexpected changes and how does this affect the above-mentioned synergies and trade-offs? The data collection methods included (1) focus group discussions, (2) household surveys, and (3) detailed farm monitoring. Farmers undertook diverse production activities, which helped to mitigate negative consequences of crop failure. While providing opportunities for increased adaptive capacity, this diversity also creates interdependencies among farming system components, leading to reinforced positive outcomes in good years and negative outcomes in bad years. This double-edged sword challenges the simple assumption that diversification increases the stability of a farming system. All farm types faced seasonal resource constraints to adapt to unexpected changes. However, the magnitudes of changes in synergies and trade-offs among objectives were less pronounced for medium resource endowed farmers because of their more balanced people- and herd-to-land ratio compared to high resource endowed farmers. Our findings suggest that a better understanding of farm management decisions and the influence of seasonality is key to support farm productivity and to expand the adaptive capacity of smallholders. We suggest that policies aiming to support farm productivity should pay attention to the specific impediments faced by farms with different resource endowments to adapt to changes. Especially, access to credit helps poorer farmers not only to navigate the seasonal food and cash constraints but also to escape poverty traps.

Climate-related variability in crop production and market price variability affect food and income security of Uganda’s rural households. We used household surveys from two contrasting sites in Uganda to quantify the relationships between crop production variability, adaptation strategies and household resource characteristics. Variability of production was large for all crops with almost doubling of yields under good conditions and halving of yields in bad years. Ex-post adaptation strategies were common, and the most frequent were relying on off-farm income, selling livestock, and reducing food consumption. Using off-farm income or selling livestock to compensate for crop damage were not feasible for 25–50% of the population. Few households applied ex-ante adaptation strategies, and those who did used strategies that required little financial investment, such as switching crops. The restricted application of ex-ante adaptation strategies and the fact that major ex-post adaptation strategies were inaccessible for large parts of the population is alarming considering that climate change studies show that weather variability and extreme weather events are expected to worsen and to jeopardize crop production. Interventions must aim to reduce households’ sensitivity to variability in crop production and prices by increased preparedness to shocks, strengthening the asset base, and diversifying the livelihood portfolio. Social protection programmes are important for the poor who have no means to cushion effects from climate or price variability.

Evaluation of lifetime productivity of individual animals in response to various interventions allows assessment of long-term investment opportunities for farmers. In order to gain a better understanding of promising feed interventions for improvement of small ruminant production in Southwestern Nigeria, a dynamic modelling approach was used to explore the effect of different feeding strategies on the lifetime productivity of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Modifications were made to the current version of Livestock Simulator developed for cattle production to simulate goat production systems particularly for WAD goats. Effects of changes in input parameters (quality of feed and potential adult weight) confirmed the sensitivity of the modelled weight development and reproductive performance. The values of simulated model outputs corresponded well with observed values for most of the variables, except for the pre-weaning mortality rate in the cut-and-carry system where a wide discrepancy between simulated (2.1%) and observed (23%) data was found. The scenario analysis showed that simulated goats in the free grazing system attained sexual maturity and kidded much later than those in the grazing with supplementation and the cut-and-carry systems. The simulated results suggested that goats require supplementation with protein and energy sources, in order to promote lifetime productivity, early sexual maturity and higher birth weight. In terms of economic returns based on feed cost alone, the moderately intense system produced the most profit. We therefore conclude that grazing with adequate supplementation using farm-generated feed resources offers an opportunity for improving smallholder goat production systems in West Africa.

Fluoroacetate has been widely used to inhibit glia metabolism in vivo. It has yet to be shown what the effects of chronic intrathecal infusion of fluoroacetate on nociceptive behavioral testing are. The effects of chronic infusion of fluoroacetate (5 nmoles/h) for 2 weeks were examined in normal rats. Chronic intrathecal fluoroacetate did not alter mechanical threshold (von Frey filaments), responses to supra-threshold mechanical stimuli (von Frey filaments), responses to hot (hot plate) or cool (acetone test) stimuli and did not affect motor performance of the animals, which was tested with rotarod. This suggests that fluoroacetate at appropriate dose did not suppress neuronal activity in the spinal cord. Keywords: Fluoroacetate, Intrathecal, Nociception, Rat

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is probably the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. The correct identification of HCV genotype has important clinical implications as a marker of responsiveness to antiviral therapy and serves as a guideline for the duration of treatment. The VERSANT HCV Genotype 2.0 Assay failed to detect HCV genotype 2k/1b. HCV genotype 2k/1b detection requires NS5B sequencing.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is probably the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. The correct identification of HCV genotype has important clinical implications as a marker of responsiveness to antiviral therapy and serves as a guideline for the duration of treatment. The VERSANT HCV Genotype 2.0 Assay failed to detect HCV genotype 2k/1b. HCV genotype 2k/1b detection requires NS5B sequencing., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The hepatic rupture of a subcapsular haematoma during HELLP syndrome is a rare complication carrying a high mortality. There is no clear guideline management in the literature. We report here a case of a subcapsular haematoma which required liver transplantation.