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International audience; There is a global need for advanced training in quantitative genetics and genomics. An approach for achieving that aim is to share resources and capacities across-institutions to develop and deliver high-quality instruction to traditional and non-traditional students alike. Such cohesion can only be achieved through an international initiative able to connect with and synchronize students and instructors dispersed over vast distances. It also should bridge diverse cultural and traditional ways of learning and instructing. Key considerations for establishing a framework for such a partnership include i) program infrastructure and administration ii) curriculum content, quality and accreditation, and iii) personal mentoring. This panel discussion will draw together individuals with expertise in on-line training, reflecting diverse global perspectives. The objective will be to encourage input and dialog among those attending the session regarding the suitability and relevance of distance-delivery programs within their educational environment. A goal of the session will be to establish a consortium of individuals wishing to combine their expertise, and existing and new distance-delivered course work, in a manner accessible to an international audience.

Ejaculates from 48 bulls comprising equal numbers of Aryshire, Fresian, Guernsey and Jersey breeds at an artificial insemination station in Kenya were analysed. The effect of age, breed and month of the year on semen volume, spermatozoa concentration and motility were studied. The second ejaculate volumes, concentrations and motility were significantly higher (p

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is extremely rare in anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Primary ALCL of CNS on radiology is often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. We report a fatal case of primary ALCL of CNS in a 17 year old male. He came with history of headache and left partial seizures. MRI showed a well- circumscribed lesion in the right fronto-parietal lobe eroding the skull bone. Biopsy showed large pleomorphic cells. Immunohistochemical stains showed positivity for CD30, CD43, EMA and ALK-1. In spite of radiotherapy and steroids, patient expired. Hence a high level of suspicion is essential for early diagnosis and for instituting appropriate treatment.

Malignant melanoma is a rare tumor in otorhinolaryngology. In this paper, we have reported the first case of melanoma of nasopharynx which we came across in 20 years of ENT practice. A 55 year old male patient with complaints of swelling of nose and left side of neck, nasal blockage and epistaxis was diagnosed as melanoma of nose with metastasis in the neck based on clinical and radiological examination. The tumour was excised by lateral rhinotomy with supraomohyoid block dissection on the left side. The tumour was found to originate from lateral wall of nasopharynx and middle turbinate. The surgery was followed by radiotherapy. Diagnosis of melanoma was confirmed on histopathology. During 30 months follow-up, no recurrence was noticed.

Conventional economic evaluations of crossbreeding programmes have overestimated their benefits by ignoring subsidies, the increased costs of management such as veterinary support services, and the higher levels of risk and socio-environmental costs associated with the loss of the indigenous genotypes. A conceptual evaluation framework is developed and applied to Kenyan dairy farmers. Results suggest that at the national level crossbreeding has had a positive impact on Kenyan society's welfare, although taking into account important social cost components substantially lowers the net benefits. Farm-level performance is, however, little improved under certain production systems by replacing the indigenous zebu with exotic breeds.

In this study we compare revealed and stated-preference approaches to value live-stock traits of cattle in Kenya. The premise is that much can be learnt about non-market values of indigenous animal genetic resources (AnGRs) from the use of multi-attribute stated-preference methods, if these compare well with revealed-preference results. The objective is to investigate the performance of choice experiments (CEs) in Maasai cattle trading, by conducting an external test of preference consistency. This involves comparing value estimates for cattle attributes derived from CEs data with those obtained using a hedonic analysis of actual transactions by the same population of traders, in the same markets and over the same period. If CEs perform well, they can be used to investigate values of those genetically-determined livestock traits currently not prominent in pastoralists' populations, but desirable candidates for breeding or conservation programmes (e.g. disease resistance). It is argued that these methods are important in developing countries where livestock are kept for economic reasons and for cultural and risk management functions which are critical to livelihood strategies, but not valued by markets. The results indicate that CEs estimates pass the external test and appear to be adequately precise in estimating values for cattle traits that are relevant in market transactions for Maasai traders. They may be, therefore, a promising tool for valuing phenotypic traits expressed by indigenous AnGRs.