The status of cattle genetic resources in North Ethiopia: On-farm characterization of six major cattle breeds

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 15-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zerabruk ◽  
O. Vangen ◽  
M. Haile
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
The Other ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Cattle Breeds ◽  
Mixed Crop ◽  
The Status ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Secondary Information ◽  
On Farm

SummaryOn-farm surveys and characterisation of six indigenous north Ethiopian cattle breeds (Afar, Arado, Begait, Fogera, Medenes and Raya) was carried out with the objective of determining the current status of these breeds. Information from a structured questionnaire distributed to 450 farmers, 37 group discussions, field measurements of heart girth and height on 25 males and 25 females from each breed and secondary information were used to carry out the study. Population size of the Arado breed increased by more than three fold between 1992 and 1999, while the Raya, Fogera and Begait population decreased by57, 27 and 67%; between 1981 and 1999 respectively. Three distinctive types were identified within the Afar and Begait breeds with different adaptation and threat levels in relation to changes to the bio-physical and social environment. Overall production and reproduction performance of the breeds in the pastoral production system (Afar and Begait) was higher than the Raya and Medenes, and Arado and Fogera breeds of the agro-pastoral and mixed crop/livestock production systems respectively. Extinction probability for most ofthe breeds was high, the highest (0.67) being for the Begait breed. On the other hand, except for the initiative taken to evaluate, improve and conserve the Fogera breed at the Metekel and Andasa cattle breeding ranches, there are no institutionalized attempts towards improving and/or conserving the other breeds.

The Abergelle and Irob cattle breeds of North Ethiopia: description and on-farm characterisation

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 7-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zerabruk ◽  
O. Vangen
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Cattle Breed ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Average Height ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Tigray Region ◽  
Cattle Breeds ◽  
Difficult Terrain ◽  
Secondary Information ◽  
On Farm

SummaryA field survey was carried out between January and June 2002 in order to describe and evaluate two local cattle breeds, Abergelle and Irob, found in the Tigray region of North Ethiopia with little previous description available. Information from structured questionnaire of 175 farmers, twenty-one focused group discussions, field measurements of hearth girth and height at withers of 25 males and 25 females of each breed, and secondary information were utilised to carry out an on-farm characterisation and description of these breeds. The two breeds are found to be the smallest breeds in the region with an average body weight of 234 ± 13 and 153 ± 15 kg and average height at withers of 109 ± 3 and 97 ± 5 cm for males and females of the Abergelle breed. For the Irob breed the corresponding figures were 245 ± 36 and 200 ± 36 kg body weight and 106 ± 3 and 105 ± 5 cm height at withers. The Abergelle breed is recognized by farmers to have adaptive advantages to the hotter and drier low lands. Its tolerance to diseases and parasites and ability to cope with feed shortages during the long dry periods are favourably rated by the majority of farmers. The Irob cattle breed is adapted to a mountainous production environment and is highly rated by farmers for its capacity to thrive on the difficult terrain and its utilization of cactus (Opantia ficus indica) as a major source of nutrition.

Improving Dairy Production in India's Rainfed Agroecosystem: Constraints and Strategies

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K. Misra ◽  
C.A. Rama Rao ◽  
K.V. Subrahmanyam ◽  
Y.S. Ramakrishna
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Feed Resources ◽  
The Status ◽  
Dairy Animals ◽  
Socioeconomic Considerations ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Dairy Development ◽  
Rural Appraisal

A rainfed agroecosystem occupies 68% of India's cultivated area and supports 40% of the human and 65% of the livestock population. Dairy production is an important component of rural development programmes in rainfed areas to improve the livelihoods of farmers. The objective of the study was to characterize the status of smallholder dairy production systems in rainfed areas to generate information that would assist in designing strategies for dairy development programmes. These objectives were achieved by adopting a participatory system approach, which uses diagnostic survey and techniques of participatory rural appraisal. The dairy production systems in rainfed areas are complex and are generally based on traditional and socioeconomic considerations, guided largely by the available feed resources. A scarcity of feed and fodder resources (both quantity and quality), the low production potential of animals, the non-availability of critical inputs or services in time, along with access to capital and markets, were the primary reasons for the low productivity of dairy animals. The study suggests that farmer participation is essential for developing and promoting technical interventions. A favourable policy environment in terms of access to microcredit, assured market and veterinary services will have to be provided, and socioeconomic and technical constraints need to be addressed. Animal health camps and on-farm trials need to be conducted to create awareness among farmers about better dairy production practices.

Status of Family Fissidentaceae in Gujarat

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.G. Shah ◽  
D.N. Mehta ◽  
R.V. Gujar
Keyword(s):  
Distinct Species ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Reproductive Structures ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
Vegetative Characters ◽  
First Time ◽  
Different Parts

Bryophytes are the second largest group of land plants and are also known as the amphibians of the plant kingdom. 67 species of bryophytes have been reported from select locations across the state of Gujrat. The status of family fissidentaceae which is a large moss family is being presented in this paper. Globally the family consists of 10 genera but only one genus, Fissidens Hedw. has been collected from Gujarat. Fissidens is characterized by a unique leaf structure and shows the presence of three distinct lamina, the dorsal, the ventral and the vaginant lamina. A total of 8 species of Fissidens have been reported from the state based on vegetative characters as no sporophyte stages were collected earlier. Species reported from the neighboring states also showed the absence of sporophytes. The identification of different species was difficult due to substantial overlap in vegetative characters. Hence a detailed study on the diversity of members of Fissidentaceae in Gujarat was carried out between November 2013 and February 2015. In present study 8 distinct species of Fissidens have been collected from different parts of the state. Three species Fissidens splachnobryoides Broth., Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens curvato-involutus Dixon. have been identified while the other five are still to be identified. Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens xiphoides M. Fleisch., which have been reported as distinct species are actually synonyms according to TROPICOS database. The presence of sexual reproductive structures and sporophytes for several Fissidens species are also being reported for the first time from the state.

Practical Necessity and Moral Heroism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Fruh
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Moral Exemplars ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Practical Necessity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Illuminating Light

Discussions of closely associated notions of practical necessity, volitional necessity, and moral incapacity have profited from a focus on cases of agential crisis to further our understanding of how features of an agent’s character might bind her. This paper turns to agents in crises in order to connect this way of being bound to the phenomenon of moral heroism. The connection is fruitful in both directions. Importing practical necessity into examinations of moral heroism can explain the special sense of bindingness moral heroes frequently express while preserving the status of heroic acts as supererogatory. It also helps explain how heroes persevere and act as so few others do. On the other hand, the context of moral heroism allows a fuller development of some features of the concept of practical necessity, shedding more illuminating light on the roots of practical necessity in character through recent findings in the psychology of moral exemplars.

On Presumption

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edna Ullmann-Margalit
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Change ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
The Status ◽  
Difficult Situations

Some of the most difficult decisions in law and ordinary life are simplified by the use of some kind of presumption. Accused criminals are presumed to be innocent, and most of the time, legislative acts are presumed to be constitutional. And when people do not know what to do, they often adopt a presumption of some kind—for example, sticking with the status quo, or perhaps in favor of making a specific change. In countless domains, presumptions help people to extricate themselves from difficult situations. They can serve as a way of breaking an initial symmetrical situation by using a supposition not fully justified, yet not quite rash either—favoring one action over the other.

The Futurists. Experts in World Futures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Futures Studies ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Images Of The Future ◽  
The Way

Alvin Toffler’s writings encapsulated many of the tensions of futurism: the way that futurology and futures studies oscillated between forms of utopianism and technocracy with global ambitions, and between new forms of activism, on the one hand, and emerging forms of consultancy and paid advice on the other. Paradoxically, in their desire to create new images of the future capable of providing exits from the status quo of the Cold War world, futurists reinvented the technologies of prediction that they had initially rejected, and put them at the basis of a new activity of futures advice. Consultancy was central to the field of futures studies from its inception. For futurists, consultancy was a form of militancy—a potentially world altering expertise that could bypass politics and also escaped the boring halls of academia.

scholarly journals 83 Evaluation of transmammary-delivered firocoxib and an ethyl chloride spray to mitigate pain associated with processing procedures in piglets

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Author(s):  
Abbie V Viscardi ◽  
Elizabeth Shirtcliff ◽  
Emily Eppler ◽  
Savannah Miller ◽  
Johann Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Ethyl Chloride ◽  
Hair Cortisol ◽  
Post Processing ◽  
Significant Treatment ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Tail Docking ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
On Farm

Abstract Piglets raised in commercial production systems in the U.S. undergo painful management procedures, including surgical castration, tail docking and ear notching, without analgesia or anesthesia provision for pain relief. This is a significant animal welfare concern. There is an immediate need to identify the most practical and effective analgesia or anesthesia option for use on-farm. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of 2.0mg/kg firocoxib, administered to the sow and delivered transmammary to her piglets, and a vapocoolant spray (ethyl chloride) to reduce processing pain. Five-day old male and female Yorkshire-cross piglets were used. 2.0mg/kg firocoxib was administered to the sow intramuscularly 7h prior to processing piglets. An ethyl chloride spray was applied to the ears, tail and scrotum of the piglets immediately before ear notching, tail docking and surgical castration, respectively. Piglets were assigned to one of four treatment groups: firocoxib and vapocoolant spray (FV; n=32), firocoxib only (F; n=32), vapocoolant spray only (V; n=32), no treatment (CON; n=32). The observation period was from 24h pre- to 48h post-processing (specific time points = baseline, 0h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 7h, 24h, 30h, 36h, 48h). Preliminary results found piglets displayed significantly more pain-related behaviors at 24h and 30h post-processing than at most other time points (p< 0.05). Piglets had significantly higher cranial temperatures at 7h post-processing than all other time points (p< 0.05). There was a trend in FV and F piglets having a higher cranial temperature at 36h post-processing compared to V and CON piglets (p=0.08). All piglets had significantly higher hair cortisol levels at 4 vs 20-days old (p< .0001); however, there were no significant treatment effects on cranial temperature, hair cortisol or pain behavior, suggesting firocoxib and the ethyl chloride spray were unable to significantly reduce piglet pain post-processing. Further study analysis is needed to confirm these initial findings.

scholarly journals Dental Applications of Carbon Nanotubes

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4423
Author(s):  
Marco A. Castro-Rojas ◽  
Yadira I. Vega-Cantu ◽  
Geoffrey A. Cordell ◽  
Aida Rodriguez-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Glass Ionomer ◽  
Oral Infections ◽  
Functional Behavior ◽  
The Status ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Dental Applications

Glass ionomer cements and resin-based composites are promising materials in restorative dentistry. However, their limited mechanical properties and the risk of bulk/marginal fracture compromise their lifespan. Intensive research has been conducted to understand and develop new materials that can mimic the functional behavior of the oral cavity. Nanotechnological approaches have emerged to treat oral infections and become a part of scaffolds for tissue regeneration. Carbon nanotubes are promising materials to create multifunctional platforms for dental applications. This review provides a comprehensive survey of and information on the status of this state-of-the-art technology and describes the development of glass ionomers reinforced with carbon nanotubes possessing improved mechanical properties. The applications of carbon nanotubes in drug delivery and tissue engineering for healing infections and lesions of the oral cavity are also described. The review concludes with a summary of the current status and presents a vision of future applications of carbon nanotubes in the practice of dentistry.

scholarly journals Women in Violent Extremism in Sweden

Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Hernan Mondani ◽  
Amir Rostami ◽  
Tina Askanius ◽  
Jerzy Sarnecki ◽  
Christofer Edling
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
The Other ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Employment Share ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Islamic Extremism ◽  
Better Than

This presentation summarizes a register-based study on women who have been identified as belonging to three violent extremist milieus in Sweden: violent Islamic, violent far-right, and violent far-left extremism. We studied the women in these milieus along a number of analytical dimensions, ranging from demographic and educational to criminal background and network relationships, and compared them to three reference groups: (i) non-extremist biological sisters to female extremists in the study population; (ii) men in the respective extremist milieus; and (iii) female members of other antagonistic milieus such as organized crime. Our results showed that there are both similarities and differences between groups. In some cases, like age and region of birth, there are commonalities between violent far-right and violent far-left women. Regarding region of birth and migration background, women affiliated to violent far-right and violent far-left extremism are predominantly born in Sweden. Women affiliated to violent Islamic extremism tend to be born in Sweden to a greater extent than men in the same milieu, but to a much lesser degree than women in the violent far-right and violent far-left. When it comes to education, women in the violent Islamic milieu are closer to women in violent far-right extremism. Women in violent far-left extremism perform best at school, with consistently higher grades. The average score of women in violent far-left extremism is identical to that of their sisters, and women in violent far-left extremism perform on average substantially better than men in the same milieu. Women in violent Islamic extremism, in contrast, perform on average similarly to men in violent far-left extremism, and they perform better than their biological sisters. Regarding labor market attachment, violent Islamic extremists have the weakest attachment and the highest dependency upon financial assistance as well as a low employment share (36 percent in 2016), but also a relatively high share of individuals with a high number of unemployment days, suggesting that women in violent Islamic extremism experience higher social exclusion. We find the highest employment share among women in violent far-left extremism, where 89 percent are gainfully employed in 2016 (80 percent for at least three of the last five years) and about a 20 percent unemployment share. Men in violent far-left extremism have an employment share around 10 percent below that of the women in far-left extremism for 2016. The highest fractions of individuals that have not been in contact with the health system due to mental disorders are among violent Islamic extremism, with the women’s fraction at 84 percent, compared to their non-extremist sisters and men in the same milieu that are just above 79 percent. Women in violent far-left extremism have the highest share of in-patient major mental disorders among the extremist milieus (3 percent), higher than men in the same milieu (less than 1 percent) as well as than women and their sisters in the other categories. During the period 2007–2016, 68 percent of individuals in the extremist milieus are covered by the register of suspected individuals. The coverage is substantially higher for men, 72 percent than for women, 43 percent. Compared to their sisters, women in all three milieus are criminally active to a much higher extent. However, women in all three milieus are less criminally active than women in other antagonistic milieus, among whom 67 percent have been suspected at least once. In all three milieus, the share of men with a criminal record is about twice as large as that of women. As far as the gender aspect is concerned, we know that extremist milieus generally have a conservative view of the role of women in society. In our results, this is reflected in the low rates of crime in women compared to men, and relatively marginal positions in the co-offending networks. The fact that women in violent far-left extremism have stronger positions in their networks than the other women in the study population is expected, given that the ideology of this milieu allows for greater equality. This means that women in violent far-left extremism participate more often than, e.g., women in violent far-right extremism, in political actions where violence is common. This pattern of gender roles and criminal involvement also holds concerning women in violent Islamic extremism. This milieu has a more traditional view of the role of women than views among even violent far-right extremists. Women in violent Islamic extremism are less involved in crime and, in particular, violent crime.

Institutional repositories in Africa: Regaining direction

2021 ◽  
pp. 026666692110154
Author(s):  
Usman Ahmed Adam ◽  
Kiran Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Current Status ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Widespread Implementation ◽  
Typical Performance ◽  
The Status ◽  
Global Access ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Institutional repositories are powerful tools to facilitate global access to intellectual output by members of the institution, particularly in assisting them to preserve and maximize access to their research output globally. This exploratory study of the status of institutional repositories implementation in African countries using the global Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and Transparent Ranking: All Repositories by Google Scholar, reports on the operational status and the performance of repositories. Factor analysis and cluster analysis are used to analyze the operational level of institutional repositories in African countries. The analysis showed that the typical performance of institutional repositories remains below average. The possibility of global open access to research results through institutional repositories in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, and Egypt appeared to be relatively more feasible than other African countries. This study concludes that many organizations, institutions, and societies spend great efforts in support of open access implementation in Africa, however, the widespread implementation of institutional repositories is still very slow paced, and the performance of the implemented repositories was below expectation. Suggestions for regaining the intended direction of African institutional repositories are given based on the current status.

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