A first generation whole genome RH map of the river buffalo with comparison to domestic cattle

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

LH Response (in vivo and in vitro) to an LHRH Agonist Administered to Domestic Male Cats

We investigated plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration in domestic male cats challenged with Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone Analog (LHRH-A) [des Gly10, (DTrp6)-LHRH ethylamide] that mediates the function of the hypothalamic-piruitary-gonadal axis (HPG). Plasma LH concentrations in cats treated daily with LHRH (10 μg/ 100 μl/kg/day, subcutaneously - sc) for 19 days (LHRH group) and in controls treated with saline (NaCl - 0.9%, same volume - SAL group) were chronically studied. LHRH administration (sc) for 15 days induced a significant fall (P < 0.05) in plasma LH concentrations during the chronic study. After the 15th day of treatment the groups were divided once more into animals treated with LHRH (10 μg/100 μl/kg) or saline (iv), and a time course study (300 min) was performed (acute study). Next, four groups of cats were compared in an acute study involving the sc/iv administration of SAL/SAL, SAL/LHRH, LHRH/SAL, and LHRH/LHRH. The responses of the SAL animals challenged by acute iv administration of LHRH (group SAL/LHRH) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those of animals treated with LHRH (sc) (group LHRH/LHRH). LH release was also significantly increased in the latter group (P < 0.05), although the effect was short lasting, being recorded only at the first observation (45 min). An in vitro study with the pituitaries was also performed on day 20. Mean (±SEM) LH concentrations in the culture medium containing pituitaries with LHRH (10-7 M) or saline were determined. In vitro analysis of these pituitaries demonstrated a significantly reduced response (P < 0.05) by animals treated sc with LHRH for 19 days. This study represents a source of data for the domestic cat going beyond its own physiology. Serving as a model, this animal provide important information for the study of reproductive physiology in other members of its family (Felidae), almost all of them threatened with extinction.

Attitudes to technical change

Includes bibliography

The U.S. Import of Beef: Friend or Foe to Domestic Beef Production?

Controversy surrounding the United States import of beef has been an issue since at least 1958, which marked the beginning of major imports from Australia (Edward, 1964). From the onset, U.S. beef producers have been concerned that beef imports would depress the prices they receive for their product. Consumer groups, on the other hand, have welcomed increased imports, expecting that increased competition would lower meat prices. As a result of these conflicting views, the past 50 years has seen the creation of various measures of legislation which control the volume of imports.

On land management: landowners' attitudes to land and farming in Valdera, Tuscany

This thesis aims at explaining the intersecting dynamics of structural changes in agriculture and urbanisation, which involves changes in urban-rural relationships. The research questions are: how and why do landowners differ in their attitudes to land and farming? what are the main implications on rural landscapes and the policy implications? Relationships between urbanisation and agriculture are firstly analysed through a critical literature review; the analysis focuses on the 'landowner' as the key actor who actively takes decisions on the rural landscape From the empirical study – which is based on a Tuscan area (Valdera), and addressed through qualitative methods – a great diversity of landowners' attitudes to land and farming emerge, thus contributing to the agricultural restructuring, such as: 1) the emphasis on recreational function of the countryside for urban people 2) contracting out of land management, especially when landowners live or/and have 'urban' employment 3) the active role of hobby farmers in land management 4) agricultural operations simplification and lack of investments (especially in case of property rights expropriation). The thesis is framed in three papers, with the same methods and research questions. It seems evident that rural landscapes is subjected to functional changes (e.g. residential) and structural changes (landscape polarisation), which requires the need 1) to consider that rural landscape management is increasingly less connected to agricultural production as economic activity; 2) to give a coherence to the range of policy interventions (physical planning, landscape, sectoral).

Free-Ranging Wild Boar: A Disease Threat to Domestic Pigs in Switzerland?

The risk of transmission of pathogens from free-ranging wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) to outdoor domestic pigs (S. scrofa domesticus) is of increasing concern in many European countries. We assess this risk, using Switzerland as an example. We estimated 1) the prevalence of important pathogens in wild boars and 2) the risk of interactions between wild boars and outdoor pigs. First, we tested 252 wild boars from selected areas between 2008 and 2010 for infection with Brucella spp. Bacterial prevalence was estimated to 28.8% (confidence interval [CI] 23.0-34.0) when using bacterial culture (B. suis Biovar 2) and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Antibody prevalence was 35.8% (CI 30.0-42.0), which was significantly higher than in previous studies in Switzerland. We also tested 233 wild boars for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Antibody prevalence was 0.43% (CI 0.01-2.4) for EU-PRRSV and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results were negative. These findings suggest that B. suis is increasingly widespread in wild boars and PRRSV is currently not of concern. Second, we documented the spatial overlap between free-ranging wild boars and outdoor piggeries by mapping data on their respective occurrence. Wild boars are most widespread in the mountain range along the western and northern Swiss borders, while most piggeries are located in central lowlands. A risk of interaction is mainly expected at the junction between these two bioregions. This risk may increase if wild boars expand eastward and southward beyond anthropogenic barriers believed to limit their range. Therefore, we evaluated the potential of expansion of the wild boar population. Population trends suggest a continuous increase of wild boars for the past 15 yr. Surveillance of selected wildlife passages using cameras on highways and main roads indicates that these barriers are permeable (average of up to 13 wild boar crossings per 100 days). Thus an increase of wild boar range should be considered. There may be a risk of B. suis spillover from wild boars in Switzerland, which could increase in the future. Data on the occurrence of interactions between pigs and wild boars are needed to assess this risk.

Investigation of the effect of using data collection technology on students' attitudes to science instruction

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effect of using of data collection technology on student attitudes towards science instruction. The study was conducted over the course of two years at Madison High School in Adrian, Michigan, primarily in college preparatory physics classes, but also in one college preparatory chemistry class and one environmental science class. A preliminary study was conducted at a Lenawee County Intermediate Schools student summer environmental science day camp. The data collection technology used was a combination of Texas Instruments TI-84 Silver Plus graphing calculators and Vernier LabPro data collection sleds with various probeware attachments, including motion sensors, pH probes and accelerometers. Students were given written procedures for most laboratory activities and were provided with data tables and analysis questions to answer about the activities. The first year of the study included a pretest and posttest measuring student attitudes towards the class they were enrolled in. Pre-test and post-test data were analyzed to determine effect size, which was found to be very small (Coe, 2002). The second year of the study focused only on a physics class and used Keller’s ARCS model for measuring student motivation based on the four aspects of motivation: Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (Keller, 2010). According to this model, it was found that there were two distinct groups in the class, one of which was motivated to learn and the other that was not. The data suggest that the use of data collection technology in science classes should be started early in a student’s career, possibly in early middle school or late elementary. This would build familiarity with the equipment and allow for greater exploration by the student as they progress through high school and into upper level science courses.

Affective attitudes to face images associated with intracerebral EEG source location before face viewing

We investigated whether different, personality-related affective attitudes are associated with different brain electric field (EEG) sources before any emotional challenge (stimulus exposure). A 27-channel EEG was recorded in 15 subjects during eyes-closed resting. After recording, subjects rated 32 images of human faces for affective appeal. The subjects in the first (i.e., most negative) and fourth (i.e., most positive) quartile of general affective attitude were further analyzed. The EEG data (mean=25±4.8 s/subject) were subjected to frequency-domain model dipole source analysis (FFT-Dipole-Approximation), resulting in 3-dimensional intracerebral source locations and strengths for the delta–theta, alpha, and beta EEG frequency band, and for the full range (1.5–30 Hz) band. Subjects with negative attitude (compared to those with positive attitude) showed the following source locations: more inferior for all frequency bands, more anterior for the delta–theta band, more posterior and more right for the alpha, beta and 1.5–30 Hz bands. One year later, the subjects were asked to rate the face images again. The rating scores for the same face images were highly correlated for all subjects, and original and retest affective mean attitude was highly correlated across subjects. The present results show that subjects with different affective attitudes to face images had different active, cerebral, neural populations in a task-free condition prior to viewing the images. We conclude that the brain functional state which implements affective attitude towards face images as a personality feature exists without elicitors, as a continuously present, dynamic feature of brain functioning.

Epidemic of Salmonellosis in Passerine Birds in Switzerland With Spillover to Domestic Cats

A die-off of passerine birds, mostly Eurasian siskins (Carduelis spinus), occurred in multiple areas of Switzerland between February and March 2010. Several of the dead birds were submitted for full necropsy. Bacteriological examination was carried out on multiple tissues of each bird. At gross examination, common findings were light-tan nodules, 1 to 4 mm in diameter, scattered through the esophagus/crop. Histologically, a necroulcerative transmural esophagitis/ingluvitis was observed. Bacterial cultures yielded Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium. At the same time, 2 pet clinics reported an unusual increase of domestic cats presented with fever, anorexia, occasionally dolent abdomen, and history of presumed consumption of passerine birds. Analysis of rectal swabs revealed the presence of S. Typhimurium in all tested cats. PFGE (pulsed field electrophoresis) analysis was performed to characterize and compare the bacterial isolates, and it revealed an indistinguishable pattern between all the avian and all but 1 of the feline isolates. Cloacal swabs collected from clinically healthy migrating Eurasian siskins (during autumn 2010) did not yield S. Typhimurium. The histological and bacteriological findings were consistent with a systemic infection caused by S. Typhimurium. Isolation of the same serovar from the dead birds and ill cats, along with the overlapping results of the PFGE analysis for all the animal species, confirmed a spillover from birds to cats through predation. The sudden increase of the number of siskins over the Swiss territory and their persistency during the whole winter of 2009-2010 is considered the most likely predisposing factor for the onset of the epidemic.