1,720,965 research outputs found
A continuous recording approach to qualitative behaviour assessment in dairy buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)
No full texttIn order to develop a method suitable for a continuous qualitative evaluation of ani-mal behaviour while it changes during the observation period, two recently describedtechniques, the Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) and the Temporal DominantBehavioural Expression (TDBE), derived by the Temporal Dominance of Sensations, wereused in combination and applied to 8 Mediterranean buffalo heifers. Animals were sub-jected to two isolation tests lasting 150 s each. One consisted in isolating individual animalsfrom the rest of the group in the indoor part of the home pen, the other in leading ani-mals individually to an outdoor paddock, which was novel to the animals. The behaviourof the animals was video-recorded and the resulting 16 video clips were assessed by atwelve-member trained panel with previous experience in animal behaviour observation.The TDBE allowed the QBA to be performed continuously (C-QBA) during the observationperiod on a pre-determined list of six behavioural descriptors. Data were subjected to anal-ysis of variance using observer (n = 12), replication (n = 4), animal (n = 16) and the first orderinteractions as factors. Changes of behavioural expressions during the test were assessedby dividing it into three intervals of 50 s and using the 2one-sample test to check thedominance of each descriptor in each interval. The Wilcoxon test was used to comparequantitative and qualitative behavioural variables as assessed indoors and outdoors. Thelow level of variance explained for each descriptor by the interactions animal × replicationand animal × assessor as compared with the animal (the F of the factor animal was roughly10 times higher than that of the interactions), showed the intra- and inter-observer reli-ability of the panel. Indoors, the dominant descriptors of buffalo behaviour (calm, apatheticand curious) were all indicative of a low level of arousal and frequently switched from oneanother. Outdoors, most of the animals were described with terms indicating a high levelof arousal (e.g. Active and Nervous) and only at the end of the test they were generallyscored as Curious. Accordingly, the dominance of the descriptor Curious changed duringthe test when the animals were tested outdoors (2= 7.00, P < 0.05), whereas no significantchanges were observed for all the other descriptors both indoors and outdoors (P > 0.05).The results indicate that C-QBA, if combined with the appropriate tools (i.e. TDBE), may beable to follow and describe the variations of animal behavioural expressions in time
Contrasting Attitudes towards Animal Welfare Issues within the Food Chain
Full text linkIntensive systems have facilitated the production of animal-based products at relatively low prices. On one hand, these methods have been increasingly considered to be responsible for a dramatic reduction in animal welfare, as indicated by the high prevalence of stereotypies in sows, brittle bones in hens, lameness in broilers and short life span in dairy cattle. As a consequence, large segments of animal welfare-sensitive consumers have been identified. On the other hand, price conscious consumers, if accepting higher prices, are more likely to require explicit justification of returns in quality. Therefore, scientifically validated monitoring systems for assessing the welfare of farm animals have been developed in order to provide a certification system, allow the differentiation of animal-based products through constant and reliable signaling systems, and promote animal welfare friendly farming systems
Preliminary results on a sequenzial approach to qualitative behaviour assessment in buffaloes
No full textWe aimed to verify whether the qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) is able to detect the behavioural fluctuations occurring in animals during the observation period. An 8-member panel with a varied experience in animal behaviour was used. The panel was briefly trained on the temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) procedure and subsequently observed the behaviour of 4 buffalo heifers in 4 videos lasting 2 min each following this pro- cedure. Each video was obtained by assembling two clips portray- ing the same animal in two different conditions: home indoor pen (1 min) and novel outdoor paddock (1 min). Two videos started with the animal in the outdoor environment and two oth- ers in the opposite order. Six behavioural descriptors were cho- sen from a previous work conducted on the same animals: calm, active, curious, nervous, shy and apathetic. TDS consists in pre- senting to the panellist the list of behavioural descriptors on a computer screen along with each clip. Each assessor was asked to select the dominant descriptor, which was considered as dom- inant when it gained most of the attention of the observer. Each time the observer felt the behaviour changed, he/she scored the new dominant descriptor until the behaviour ended. Each clip was observed 4 times by each observer (4 replications) in a ranomised order at 24-h intervals. For each point of time, the pro- portion of runs (subject x replication) for which a given descrip- tor was assessed as dominant (dominance rate >30%) was com- puted. Results showed a satisfactory agreement among observers and replications. The observers clearly discriminated the first from the second half of each video. Calm and apathetic were dominant indoors, nervous and active were dominant out- doors, whereas curious was used in both conditions (Figure 1). In addition, the combination QBA-TDS showed how the behav- iour changed in time (e.g. habituation to the novel environment) in outdoor conditions (the dominance of nervous and active at the start switched to calm at the end in 3 out of 4 videos), where- as indoor animals showed reduced behavioural variations, possi- bly because they were already habituated to those conditions, thus they did not have to change their way to interact with the environment
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Cross-sucking and intersucking in dairy buffaloes
No full textWe assessed the incidence and the potential risk factors for cross-sucking in calves and intersucking in lactating cows in 33 buffalo farms. Three female trained assessors collected the data through a questionnaire including resource and management measures, which were directly taken and asked to the farmer, respectively. The incidences of cross-sucking and intersucking were also asked to the farmer while mortality was collected from farm recordings. The farm was used as experimental unit. For each categorical risk factor an ANOVA was performed to assess the association with outcome variables, whereas for continuous risk factors the association was tested using Pearson correlation coefficients. Cross-sucking and intersucking were observed in 90% and 42% of the farms, respectively; their mean incidences were 20.4±25.7 and 1.8±1.2 (mean±SD), respectively. Surprisingly, cross-sucking tended to be positively correlated with the age of separation from the mother (n=20, r=0.39, P=0.08). It also tended to be negatively associated with space allowance (n=20, r =-0.38, P=0.11). In addition, a positive correlation between cross-sucking and calf mortality was observed (n=20, r =0.45, P=0.06). The incidence of intersucking was positively correlated with the number of buffalo cows on the farm (n=33, r =0.45, P=0.01) and the number of dry animals per pen (n=33, r =0.36, P=0.04). The presence of cross-sucking in the categories of weaned calves and heifers induced a higher incidence of intersucking (F 1,31 =3.3, P=0.08 and F 1,31 =12.2, P=0.01, respectively). We conclude that appropriate management strategies should be implemented in order to reduce the incidence of cross-sucking and intersucking. In addition, the onset of cross-sucking in young stock, such as weaned calves and heifers, may favour the development of intersucking in lactating buffaloes
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
