A genetic improvement program on the Creole goat of Guadeloupe is presently underway. It is a medium-sized meat breed with a traditional slaughter weight of 18 kg which can be reached at 6 to 18 months of age, depending on the system. Experiments are on-going at INRA upon the effects of diet, management conditions, helminth infestation on Creole kids with the aim of improving the goat meat prod...

Genetic improvement of planting material (in a broad sense) is an important component of agricultural growth for nations and regions in the process of economic development. Asia’s Green Revolutions in rice and wheat are perhaps the best-known examples of dramatic agricultural growth associated with crop genetic improvement. Most experts agree that no such seed-based revolution has occurred in S...

iv 1 Problem Definition 1 2 Origins from Two Extremes 3 2.1 The Origins of Agile Methods 3 2.2 The Origins of CMMI 5 3 Factors that Affect Perception 7 3.1 Misuse 7 3.2 Lack of Accurate Information 8 3.3 Terminology Difficulties 9 4 The Truth About CMMI 11 4.1 CMMI Is a Model, Not a Process Standard 11 4.2 Process Areas, Not Processes 13 4.3 SCAMPI Appraisals 14 5 The Truth About Agile 16 6 The...

Studies on the priorities for agricultural research in Eastern and Central Africa concluded that milk is the most important commodity for research and development in the region, based on its potential contribution to the agricultural GDP. It has been presumed that, the right policies, marketing systems and technical support must be sought for dairy development in Africa. In order to determine t...

Readers of this issue will find a provocative position put forward by Peddecord and Hammond (Clin Chem 1990;36:2027-35). In their article reviewing the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Act (CLIA) of 1988, they present, within the historical context for laboratory regulation, a comprehensive view of the proposed regulations implementing this law and provide insight into the complex process of ma...

Selection leads to genetic improvement but also reduces genetic variation in the progeny. When all animals in a population are closely related there is little genetic variation and little scope for further genetic progress. Mate selection procedures are used to help maintain genetic variation, and hence genetic progress, in the future and to avoid the fitness problems related to severe inbreeding.

This final rule amends the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations to specify that, upon the request of a patient (or the patient's personal representative), laboratories subject to CLIA may provide the patient, the patient's personal representative, or a person designated by the patient, as applicable, with copies of completed test reports that, using the laborato...

Selection strategies for the genetic improvement of reproductive performance of sheep in Australia are discussed in the context of current and emerging industry practice. The predicted rates of gain in reproductive rate are compared with varying amounts of pedigree and performance records of relatives. The paper also considers the merits of exploiting indirect as well as direct selection, inclu...

Aligning Financial Incentives (FIs) to health policy goals is becoming increasingly popular. In many cases, such initiatives have failed to deliver anticipated benefits. Attributing this to the actions of self-interested and resistant professionals is not an entirely helpful approach. It is important to avoid simplistic assumptions to build knowledge of how and why schemes are implemented in pr...

Traditional selection based on genetic merit calculated from phenotypic and pedigree information has been tremendously effective at improving production in dairy cattle. Hypothetically, genetic improvement could be accelerated even further for yield and other economically important traits by directly selecting upon the genetic differences underlying the phenotypes. To elucidate these genetic di...