Initial outcomes of a harmonized approach to collect welfare data in sport and leisure horses

A truthful snapshot of horse welfare conditions is a prerequisite for predicting the impact of any actions intended to improve the quality of life of horses. This can be achieved when welfare information, gathered by different assessors in diverse geographical areas, is valid, comparable and collected in a harmonized way. This paper aims to present the first outcomes of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) approach: the results of on-farm assessment and a reliable and harmonized data collection system. A total of 355 sport and leisure horses, stabled in 40 facilities in Italy and in Germany, were evaluated by three trained assessors using the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses. The AWINHorse app was used to collect, store and send data to a common server. Identified welfare issues were obesity, unsatisfactory box dimensions, long periods of confinement and lack of social interaction. The digitalized data collection was feasible in an on-farm environment, and our results suggest that this approach could prove useful in identifying the most relevant welfare issues of horses in Europe or worldwide.     

The quality of animal habitats estimated from track activity and remote sensing data

A method is proposed for estimating the quality of animal habitats from field counts with positioning routes and tracks by means of GPS, multichannel Landsat data, digital elevation model, and discriminant analysis. The distribution of American and European minks is analyzed to demonstrate the principle of choosing an optimal method for analyzing the environmental characteristics that determine the distribution of species and for mapping and estimating the quality of habitats and the probability of track detection. The outlook and some problems of implementation of the proposed approach are discussed.     

The use of mouse models to unravel genetic architecture of physical activity: a review

The discovery of genetic variants that underlie a complex phenotype is challenging. One possible approach to facilitate this endeavor is to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) that contribute to the phenotype and consequently unravel the candidate genes within these loci. Each proposed candidate locus contains multiple genes and, therefore, further analysis is required to choose plausible candidate genes. One of such methods is to use comparative genomics in order to narrow down the QTL to a region containing only a few genes. We illustrate this strategy by applying it to genetic findings regarding physical activity (PA) in mice and human. Here, we show that PA is a complex phenotype with a strong biological basis and complex genetic architecture. Furthermore, we provide considerations for the translatability of this phenotype between species. Finally, we review studies which point to candidate genetic regions for PA in humans (genetic association and linkage studies) or use mouse models of PA (QTL studies) and we identify candidate genetic regions that overlap between species. On the basis of a large variety of studies in mice and human, statistical analysis reveals that the number of overlapping regions is not higher than expected on a chance level. We conclude that the discovery of new candidate genes for complex phenotypes, such as PA levels, is hampered by various factors, including genetic background differences, phenotype definition and a wide variety of methodological differences between studies .     

Design of a description language for generating wrapper to collect biological data

The biological data are scattered in various areas with various formats and they are changing continuously. Therefore, data integration becomes an important issue to provide researcher a dynamic access of data. In the data integration process, the method of extracting heterogeneous data dynamically from the data source is an essential part. Data extraction method using wrapper can provide flexibility and extensibility to an integration system.     

The use of a microcomputer in a biomedical research project

The use of an inexpensive microcomputer system in an NIH-supported biomedical research project is explained. Computer programs which store and analyze air pollution data; records from hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies, and schools; and data from a community public health survey are described. The analysis consists primarily of calculations of various temporal and geographical correlation coefficients in order to determine whether particulate air pollution is affecting public health in southern Puerto Rico.     

Automatic data recording of circadian rhythms

This paper illustrates a method for automatic data recording using the printer port of personal computer and software designed ad hoc. The system was tested by measuring circadian rhythms of activity in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum. Data is recorded in a text-only comma-delimited file, and displayed on screen.     

Display and analysis of electrophysiological data under WindowsMMM

Conclusion Windows represents an attractive environment in which to implement a data analysis program. This environment benefits from a number of tools and programs that allow manipulation and analysis data interactively. Windows also has networking facilities that enable analysis of data from any microcomputer connected to the network. This approach leads to more efficient use of electrophysiological set-ups. Object-oriented development tools provide new opportunities to develop applications for neuroscientists and should facilitate sharing independently designed algorithms.     

Use of a viewdata system to collect data from a multicentre clinical trial in anaesthesia.

The interactive electronic information storage and transmission system PRESTEL was assessed as a method of recording and collecting patient record forms from a multicentre trial in anaesthesia. PRESTEL terminals were provided in anaesthetic centres around Britain and all data handled by this public viewdata service, which connects users by telephone to a central computer. The trial was of a new analgesic supplement, alfentanil, and confirmed more rapid recovery of patients as compared with that after traditional anaesthesia with halothane. Advantages of the system were manifold and included reducing the need for the trial monitor to visit the trialist, an electronic "mailbox," confidentiality, and the ability immediately to identify violations of study protocol. No participant found the system too difficult to use, though the small keyboard was a source of complaint. Despite the initial cost of the system its utility vastly outweighs traditional methods of data collection.     

Description of electrophysiological data using a microcomputer*

ABSTRACT. Customization of an inexpensive microcomputer and peripherals to produce hard copy outputs of electrophysiological data is described. The system uses any of the Apple II series computers and a common A/D+D/A card together with a digital plotter. For the 1–2 s recordings normally used in studies of insect chemoreception, this computer configuration can replace more laborious permanent hard copy production techniques. Additional analytical programs can easily use the three data files produced by the current sytem.     

Using spatially explicit commodity flow and truck activity data to map urban material flows

To analyze and promote resource efficiency in urban areas, it is important to characterize urban metabolism and particularly, material flows. Material flow analysis (MFA) offers a means to capture the dynamism of cities and their activities. Urban‐scale MFAs have been conducted in many cities, usually employing variants of the Eurostat methodology. However, current methodologies generally reduce the study area into a “black box,” masking details of the complex processes within the city's metabolism. Therefore, besides the aggregated stocks and flows of materials, the movement of materials—often embedded in goods or commodities—should also be highlighted. Understanding the movement and dispersion of goods and commodities can allow for more detailed analysis of material flows. We highlight the potential benefits of using high‐resolution urban commodity flows in the context of understanding material resource use and opportunities for conservation. Through the use of geographic information systems and visualizations, we analyze two spatially explicit datasets: (1) commodity flow data in the United States, and (2) Global Positioning System‐based commercial vehicle (truck) driver activity data in Singapore. In the age of “big data,” we bring advancements in freight data collection to the field of urban metabolism, uncovering the secondary sourcing of materials that would otherwise have been masked in typical MFA studies. This brings us closer to a consumption‐based, finer‐resolution approach to MFA, which more effectively captures human activities and its impact on urban environments.     

An interactive microcomputer program for the computation of most probable number

An interactive computer program for the rapid computation of Most Probable Numbers (MPN) with 95% confidence intervals and goodness-of-fit, is presented. The program, written in ‘MICROSOFT BASIC’ employs an iterative algorithm based on a modification of the Newton-Raphson method and accomodates any number of replicates up to ten dilutions. It is applicable to most microcomputers with little or no modification. Since the computed MPN, confidence interval,a nd goodness-of-fit tests are displayed simultaneously, MPN tables are no longer required.     

采伐剩余物对林地表层土壤生化特性和酶活性的影响

对福建省大武夷山常绿阔叶林野外站三明观测点的35年生米槠天然更新次生林皆伐后采伐剩余物进行不同处理(火烧LB、保留LR)后表层土壤(0—10 cm)主要生化特性、芳香性指数、腐殖化程度以及酶活性进行研究。结果表明:半年后,与LB相比,LR土壤可溶性有机碳、可溶性有机氮和微生物量碳含量分别增加92%、105%和39%,土壤有效磷含量和代谢熵值下降42%和68%,土壤酸性磷酸酶、β-葡萄糖苷酶和纤维素水解酶活性增加了3.3倍、2.8倍和2.1倍,酚氧化酶活性下降了34%(P0.05)。LR土壤芳香性指数(4.99±2.39)较低,腐殖化指数(1.72±0.01)较高,但与LB均无显著差异(P0.05)。1a后,LB除土壤β-葡萄糖苷酶活性略有降低外,其他3种土壤酶活性较半年前均显著上升。土壤有机碳、全氮、可溶性有机碳氮、有效磷、土壤碳矿化速率和土壤腐殖化指数较半年时显著下降,其中土壤可溶性有机碳含量减少近80%,代谢熵减少近68%(P0.05)。LR土壤芳香性指数(10.58±0.34)较半年前显著增加(P0.05)。处理1a后LB土壤有效磷含量(1.71±0.12)mg/kg显著高于LR,但LR土壤可溶性有机碳、可溶性有机氮含量和土壤碳矿化速率较LB仍明显更高(P0.05)。可见,采伐剩余物不同处理对森林土壤质量存在不同程度的影响,保留采伐剩余物有利于改善林地水热条件和养分循环,对地力的维持有利。     

A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics

Giribet, G. 2010. A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91 : 11–19 Animal phylogenies have been traditionally inferred by using the character state information derived from the observation of a diverse array of morphological and anatomical features, but the incorporation of molecular data into the toolkit of phylogenetic characters has shifted drastically the way researchers infer phylogenies. A main reason for this is the ease at which molecular data can be obtained, compared to, e.g., traditional histological and microscopical techniques. Researchers now routinely use genomic data for reconstructing relationships among animal phyla (using whole genomes or Expressed Sequence Tags) but the amount of morphological data available to study the same phylogenetic patterns has not grown accordingly. Given the disparity between the amounts of molecular and morphological data, some authors have questioned entire morphological programs. In this review I discuss issues related to the combinability of genomic and morphological data, the informativeness of each set of characters, and conclude with a discussion of how morphology could be made scalable by utilizing new techniques that allow for non‐intrusive examination of large amounts of preserved museum specimens. Morphology should therefore remains a strong field in evolutionary and comparative biology, as it continues to provide information for inferring phylogenetic patterns, is an important complement for the patterns derived from the molecular data, and it is the common nexus that allows studying fossil taxa with large data sets of molecular data.     

A simple,microcomputer based data acquisition system for monitoring pH shifts

The use of ‘of the shelf’ microcomputer hardware and software and a new type of laboratory style combination pH electrode with a built in preamplifier makes it possible to monitor pH shifts in a group of experimental vessels in a time frame of seconds without resorting to expensive smart switch boxes or multiple pH meters. A data acquisition system is described for monitoring pH shifts.     

In search of better strategies of using activity traps to collect Dytiscidae and Noteridae (Coleoptera): a case study of a local fauna in central European Russia

Activity traps (ATs) are a widely used method of sampling water beetles (Coleoptera). This case study attempts to investigate the effect of mouth size and trapping effort on the performance of the ATs and reveal sex ratios and proportions of morphs in dimorphic females in populations of Dytiscidae and Noteridae in one particular area of Udomelsky District, Tver Oblast, Russia. ATs are more selective compared to hand netting but make it possible to collect a greater number of abundant species with relatively little expenditures of effort and time. The width of the trap mouth has no effect on efficiency. Long-time (48?h exposure) traps are not more efficient than short-time (24?h) ones, in terms of the relative intensity of collecting individuals and species. The applied number of ATs (up to 330 trap-days) was not sufficient to reveal the full diversity of diving beetles in the studied waterbodies.