Now, Don’t Go Chasing Rabbits

The Ithaka US Faculty Survey 2012 (http://bit.ly/10NnQw9) is out, and by the time you read my blurb, it will have cobwebs on it, and the 2013 will be well on the way. So, why write about it at all? It’s always important to find out what people think of you, in this case libraries and their main clientele, faculty, even if what you find out may have to have a dozen qualifications surrounding it. Libraries and librarians are either on the cusp of something new and exciting, or on the edge of the abyss, soon to fall into oblivion, so finding out what people think should be important to us. So why not take a peek?

Desempenho animal em sistema silvipastoril com acácia-negra (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.) e rendimento de matéria seca de cultivares de Panicum maximum Jacq. sob dois regimes de luz solar

Esse estudo foi compreendido por dois experimentos de campo, no período de outubro/2003 a abril/2004, na Fundação Estadual de Pesquisa Agropecuária (FEPAGRO), localizado em Tupanciretã, no Planalto Médio, região ecoclimática do RS. O principal objetivo do primeiro experimento foi avaliar o desempenho de novilhas de corte e a dinâmica de três pastos constituídos por Panicum maximum cvs. Gatton e Aruana e por Digitaria diversinervis em um sistema silvipastoril (SSP), associadas com acácia-negra (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.) sob duas densidades arbóreas (833 e 500 árvores/ha). Os resultados mostraram que não houve efeito da densidade arbórea com relação à dinâmica dos pastos e no desempenho animal. As cvs. de P. maximum apresentaram maiores resultados de massa de forragem residual do que a D. diversinervis. A taxa de acúmulo diário de MS, forragem total, oferta de forragem real e relação folha/colmo não diferiram entre as espécies. A cv. Gatton obteve maior resultado de forragem disponível quando comparado com a D. diversinervis. O ganho médio diário, ganho por área, animais.dia/ha, lotação animal e carga animal média também não diferiram com relação as forrageiras. O objetivo do segundo experimento foi avaliar o rendimento de matéria seca total de cinco cultivares de Panicum maximum, crescendo dentro e fora de um bosque de Eucalyptus sp. de 17 anos de idade, estabelecido na densidade de 1111 árvores/ha. A produção media de MS e a taxa de crescimento diário foram significativamente menores (P≤0.05) na condição de sombra (5.529 kg/ha) do que em pleno sol (22.346 kg/ha). Na condição de sombra, os resultados das cvs. não diferiram, enquanto que os resultados em pleno sol apresentaram diferenças significativas (P≤0,01), onde a cv. Tanzânia apresentou menores resultados no rendimento de matéria seca e taxa de crescimento e a cv. Mombaça os maiores resultados Pode-se concluir que as cvs. Mombaça, Tobiatã, Gatton e Vencedor são boas promissoras para o uso em SSP. Esse estudo indicou claramente altos níveis de desempenho animal sob pastejo em SSP com algumas cvs. de P. maximum selecionadas ou D. diversinervis usando Acacia-Negra no Sul do Brasil.

Exploring the dimensions of eco-feedback in the wild

Worldwide reports about energy usage have noted the importance of the domestic energy consumption sector in the worldwide scenario. This fact motivated and supported the birth and spread of the so-called eco-feedback devices. Such devices provide information about individual or group energy consumption behavior with the goal of reducing the impact in the environment. Motivated by the body of work which questions the long term effectiveness of eco-feedback systems, this thesis focus on evaluating in-the-wild the long term usage of eco-feedback systems. We have conducted five long term studies with different eco-feedback systems designed to evaluate different dimensions in the design of eco-feedback plus two more focused short term studies aimed at studying concrete approaches. Our summary reports on the fact that the there is a novelty effect associated with ecofeedback systems in which the usage of these devices declines significantly after a month. We did not found evidence that the novelty effect is related to location or the type of information represented, nor that the decrease in the eco-feedback usage could lead to the consumption relapsing to values previous to the introduction of the eco-feedback. Our work has also generated other contributions related to the positioning of the feedback, using metaphors for representing the consumption and presenting information about the source of the energy in the feedback.

Testicular volume and reproductive status of Wild Callithrix jacchus

ARAÚJO, Arrilton ; SOUSA, Maria Bernardete Cordeiro . Testicular volume and reproductive status of Wild Callithrix jacchus. International Journal of Primatology, v.29, p.1355–1364, 2008. DOI 10.1007/s10764-008-9291-4

Density of sand flies (diptera: psychodidae) in domestic and wild animal shelters in an area of visceral leishmaniasis in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

XIMENES, Maria de Fátima Freire de Melo; SOUZA, Maria de Fátima de; CASTELLON, Eloy Guilhermo. Density of sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in domestic and wild animal shelters in an area of visceral Leishmaniasis in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, v.94, n.4, p.427-432, jul./ago. 1999. Disponivel em: Acesso em: 4 out. 2010.

Seasonal variations in chemical composition and stable isotopes of farmed and wild Brazilian freshwater fish

This study examined variations in the Fulton condition factor, chemical composition, and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the Brazilian freshwater fish cachara (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum), comparing farmed and wild fish in different seasons. Values for energy, protein, moisture, and Fulton's condition factor were higher for farmed than for wild fish in the rainy season, indicating better nutritional quality; however, these differences were not observed in the dry season. Likewise, we found significant enhancement of delta(15)N in farmed fish in the rainy season but not in the dry season, whereas enhancement of delta(13)C was observed in both seasons. The combined measurement of delta(13)C and delta(15)N provided traceability under all conditions. Our findings show that stable isotope analysis of C and N can be used to trace cachara origin, and that seasonal variations need to be considered when applying chemical and isotopic authentication of fish and fish products. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intraoperative topical administration of mitomycin C, in different concentrations, on the cicatrization of mioplasties of the dorsal rectus of rabbits

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of ethyl-cyanoacrylate and octyl-cyanoacrylate on experimental corneal lesions in rabbits

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases, type IV collagen, and interleukin-10 in rabbits treated with morphine after lamellar keratectomy

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Systemic inflammatory response indicators in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) experimentally infected with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria stiedai (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae)

Hemograms and acute-phase proteins in adult male New Zealand White rabbits that had been experimentally infected orally with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria stiedai were evaluated over a 28-day period. Fifty animals were used, divided into two groups: group A infected with 1 x 10(4) sporulated oocysts of E. stiedai and group B inoculated with distilled water. on the seventh day after infection, the infected animals presented anemia and leukocytosis with neutrophilia and monocytosis. Protein fractionation by means of electrophoresis identified 19 acute-phase proteins with molecular weights ranging from 24 to 238 kD. Ceruloplasmin, transferrin and haptoglobin showed high levels on the seventh day after infection, with gradual increases in their concentrations until the end of the experimental period. Thus, from the data of the present study, E. stiedai is considered to be a pyogenic etiological agent for which the infection level can be monitored through the leukocyte count and serum concentrations of ceruloplasmin, transferrin and haptoglobin, and these can be recommended as complementary tests.

Rabbits' eye globe sonographic biometry

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Morphometry of megakaryocytes in the liver of New Zealand White rabbits during intrauterine and postnatal development

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)