169 BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF ESTRUS IN THE COMMON ELAND ANTELOPE, TAUROTRAGUS ORYX

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 183
Author(s):  
G. Wirtu ◽  
P. M. Pennington ◽  
C. E. Pope ◽  
R. A. MacLean ◽  
J. Mercado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Estrous Cycle ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

Knowledge of the estrous cycle and behavior is important in managing captive breeding programs. However, such information is negligible in spiral-horned antelopes, including the eland. In the present study, conducted between September 2007 and March 2008, we sought to characterize mounting activity and courtship behavior in a group of eight adult eland females. Estrus was induced in groups of four females by treatment with 25 mg PGF2 ∝ (IM, Lutalyse®, Pharmacia and Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, MI, USA) administered after 7 days of daily oral progestin (5 mL of 2.2% altrenogest, DPT Laboratories, San Antonio, TX, USA) or 11 days after an initial treatment of PGF2 ∝ (25 mg). The eight females received each treatment in a crossover design. Females were induced and monitored during the induced and subsequent natural estrus for 34 to 38 days. Observations for estrus behavior were initially assisted by using Estrotect™ heat detector patches (Rockyway, Inc., www.estrotect.com). Since January 2008, the HeatWatch® electronic heat detection system (CowChips, Denver, CO, USA) and an androgenized eland female were used to assist with heat detection. For androgenization, 8 pellets of Synovex-H® (Fort Dodge Animal Health, Fort Dodge, IA) comprising a total dose of 1600 mg testosterone propionate and 160 mg estradiol benzoate were implanted (SC) on the convex side of the ear. To confirm mounting activity detected by Estrotect™ or HeatWatch®, eland behavior was recorded continuously using an 8-channel real time DVR. Chi-square analysis was used to test the association between time of day (day or night) and the frequency of standing to be mounted. The cycle length (n = 6 females) was the time interval (d) between the first mounts at the induced and natural estrus. The time of mounts was determined for a total of 52 mounts. More than half of the mounts (n = 32 or 61.5%) occurred between 6 pm and 6 am (night); however, there was no association between the number of mounts and time of the day (p = 0.886). Analysis of mounts by quarters of the day showed that mounts were evenly distributed between early afternoon (noon to 6 pm: 29%), late afternoon (6 pm to midnight: 33%) and early morning (midnight to 6 am: 29%) but were less frequent during late morning, between 6 am and noon (10%) possibly due to interference by human activities. The number of mounts observed per female ranged from 1 to 20. Mounts lasted for 2 seconds or less. The duration of estrus ranged from 2.1 to 29.0 hours. Typical courtship behaviors included prolonged head butting, flehmen response and following the female in estrus before mounting. The average length of the estrous cycle, based on mounting activities, was 19.3 d (range: 17–24). Although further studies are required in herds with eland males, the present results suggest that estrus detection for captive breeding or application of reproductive technologies in the eland should be spread around different times of the day and night. We have also demonstrated that an electronic mount detection system can be applied to assist with determination of estrus in the eland.

scholarly journals Urban Crowd Detection Using SOM, DBSCAN and LBSN Data Entropy: A Twitter Experiment in New York and Madrid

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 692
Author(s):  
Mohamed Sakkari ◽  
Abeer D. Algarni ◽  
Mourad Zaied
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Entropy Model ◽  
The City ◽  
Abnormal Events

The surfer and the physical location are two important concepts associated with each other in the social network-based localization service. This work consists of studying urban behavior based on location-based social networks (LBSN) data; we focus especially on the detection of abnormal events. The proposed crowd detection system uses the geolocated social network provided by the Twitter application programming interface (API) to automatically detect the abnormal events. The methodology we propose consists of using an unsupervised competitive learning algorithm (self-organizing map (SOM)) and a density-based clustering method (density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBCSAN)) to identify and detect crowds. The second stage is to build the entropy model to determine whether the detected crowds fit into the daily pattern with reference to a spatio-temporal entropy model, or whether they should be considered as evidence that something unusual occurs in the city because of their number, size, location and time of day. To detect an abnormal event in the city, it is sufficient to determine the real entropy model and to compare it with the reference model. For the normal day, the reference model is constructed offline for each time interval. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of our method used in the first stage (SOM and DBSCAN stage) to detect and identify clusters dynamically, and imitating human activity. These findings also clearly confirm the detection of special days in New York City (NYC), which proves the performance of our proposed model.

97 Ovulation induction in anovulatory southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum)

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
P. Pennington ◽  
J. Capiro ◽  
K. Marshall ◽  
R. Felton ◽  
B. Durrant
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Follicle Growth ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum Simum

The extant Rhinocerotidae family is experiencing threats in the wild, making captive populations important genetic reservoirs for species survival. Because each species faces distinct challenges in captivity, populations are not self-sustaining. Therefore, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as AI will be necessary to maintain or increase captive genetic variation. Captive-born female white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) have low reproductive rates and apparent acyclicity is a common issue. Although females fail to ovulate and progesterone remains at baseline levels, follicle growth may occur and ovulation can be induced with exogenous hormones. Female southern white rhinos (n=6) housed as a bachelorette group were determined to be ovulatory (n=1) or anovulatory (n=5) by serial ultrasound and fecal progesterone (P4; ng g−1) analysis. However, all anovulatory females grew follicles beyond preovulatory size, which then regressed. At the time of study, when follicles were preovulatory size (35.4±1.2 mm; mean±SD), anovulatory females (n=4) were induced to ovulate (n=11) with a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist (4.5mg, SucroMate™; Bioniche Animal Health, Bogart, GA, USA) in a single intramuscular injection. Nine treatments resulted in ovulation (81.8%), all between 36 and 48h post-treatment, while 2 hemorrhagic anovulatory follicles (18.2%; HAF) formed, both in the same female. Ovulations were confirmed by disappearance of the follicle by 48h and P4 elevation above baseline was coincident with corpus luteum (CL) and HAF formation. All resulting luteal structures were included in analysis. Follicle growth was permitted to proceed without GnRH treatment between inductions (n=6); dominant follicles grew beyond preovulatory size (43.8±6.1mm) followed by regression and growth of another preovulatory follicle that was subjected to GnRH treatment. Data were analyzed by R studio (ver. 1.1.383). Luteal phases were characterized as “short” (<50 days) or “long” (>50 days). Only P4 above baseline (days) was significantly different (P<0.05) between long and short cycles. Other cycle parameters, such as CL visibility (days), time from ovulation to P4 above baseline (days), maximum P4 (ng g−1), and maximum luteal size (mm), were not significantly different between cycle types. Both cycle types were observed following both spontaneous (short, n=5; long, n=3) and induced ovulations (short, n=8; long, n=3). These data provide additional insight into the differences between long and short cycles and that GnRH is a reliable and effective method to overcome anovulation in SWR. We also prove that long cycle lengths are not necessarily indicative of early pregnancy loss, as has been previously suggested. Taken together, this information can enhance captive breeding efforts and the genetic diversity of the ex situ, SWR insurance population.

Intra- and inter-day variability in plasma tCO2 concentration in sedentary horses

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
B.E. Bergstrom ◽  
J.H. Foreman ◽  
C.R. Foreman ◽  
A.M. Barger
Keyword(s):  
Blood Test ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Strong Ion Difference ◽  
Serum Chemistry ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Glass Tubes

Sodium bicarbonate and other alkalinising solutions (‘milkshakes’) have been given to horses surreptitiously before exercise to provide exogenous buffering effects. After an initial positive blood test, some accused horse trainers claim that their horses ‘naturally test high’, so some jurisdictions allow a secured quarantine in which the horse is tested multiple times. The objective of this experiment was to determine the intra- and inter-day variability of plasma total CO2 (tCO2) and other plasma strong ions in a group of sedentary horses housed similarly to a quarantine period. The hypothesis was that plasma tCO2 would not remain constant over a multi-day monitoring interval, but would vary measurably during that interval. Eight sedentary (unconditioned) horses were studied for 2 weeks. Horses were acclimated to a climate-controlled indoor environment and an alfalfa-only diet for a minimum of 10 days prior to sampling. Horses were sampled 3 times daily for 5 consecutive days at 7:00, 11:00 and 15:00 h. Blood samples were collected directly into 10 ml heparinised evacuated glass tubes by jugular venipuncture using a double-ended 0.91 mm needle. Samples were chilled until concentrations of plasma tCO2, Na+, K+, and Cl-, were determined within 1-3 h of sampling using an automated serum chemistry analyzer which was calibrated daily using commercial reagents obtained from the manufacturer as well as externally-obtained NIST-traceable calibrating solutions. Mean results documented mild variations in mean plasma tCO2 (range 28.9-31.6 mmol/l), but individual horses’ plasma tCO2 ranged over 4-7 units. Results showed that there was considerable intra- and inter-individual variability in plasma tCO2. Mean pooled tCO2 and measured strong ion difference (SIDm) differed by time-of-day, with both late morning and early afternoon values lower than early morning values (P<0.001). There was a strong positive linear relationship between plasma SIDm and tCO2 (r=0.75, P<0.001).

scholarly journals Quantification of an atmospheric nucleation and growth process as a single source of aerosol particles in a city

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 15007-15017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Salma ◽  
Veronika Varga ◽  
Zoltán Németh
Keyword(s):  
Growth Process ◽  
Particle Number ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
The City

Abstract. Effects of a new aerosol particle formation (NPF) and particle diameter growth process as a single source of atmospheric particle number concentrations were evaluated and quantified on the basis of experimental data sets obtained from particle number size distribution measurements in the city centre and near-city background of Budapest for 5 years. Nucleation strength factors for a nucleation day (NSFNUC) and for a general day (NSFGEN) were derived separately for seasons and full years. The former characteristic represents the concentration increment of ultrafine (UF) particles specifically on nucleation days with respect to accumulation-mode (regional background) concentrations (particles with equivalent diameters of 100–1000 nm; N100−1000) due solely to the nucleation process. The latter factor expresses the contribution of nucleation to particle numbers on general days; thus, it represents a longer time interval such as season or year. The nucleation source had the largest effect on the concentrations around noon and early afternoon, as expected. During this time interval, it became the major source of particles in the near-city background. Nucleation increased the daily mean concentrations on nucleation days by mean factors of 2.3 and 1.58 in the near-city background and city centre, respectively. Its effect was largest in winter, which was explained by the substantially lower N100−1000 levels on nucleation days than those on non-nucleation days. On an annual timescale, 37 % of the UF particles were generated by nucleation in the near-city background, while NPF produced 13 % of UF particles in the city centre. The differences among the annual mean values, and among the corresponding seasonal mean values, were likely caused by the variability in controlling factors from year to year. The values obtained represent the lower limits of the contributions. The shares determined imply that NPF is a non-negligible or substantial source of particles in near-city background environments and even in city centres, where the vehicular road emissions usually prevail. Atmospheric residence time of nucleation-mode particles was assessed by a decay curve analysis, and a mean of 02:30 was obtained. The present study suggests that the health-related consequences of the atmospheric NPF and growth process in cities should also be considered in addition to its urban climate implications.

A Sub-Nanosecond Time Interval Detection System Using FPGA Embedded I/O Resources

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Arpin ◽  
Mélanie Bergeron ◽  
Marc-André Tetrault ◽  
Roger Lecomte ◽  
Réjean Fontaine
Keyword(s):  
Detection System ◽  
Time Interval

Microhabitat use during brumation in the Japanese treefrog, Dryophytes japonicus

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaël Borzée ◽  
Miyeon Kim ◽  
Jun Young Kim ◽  
Taeho Kim ◽  
Yikweon Jang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Diel Cycle ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽  
Direction Finder ◽  
Early Afternoon

Abstract Although amphibians undergo drastic changes in physiology and behaviour before hibernation, this phase of their life cycle (i.e., brumation) is the least understood. We investigated the patterns of microhabitat use by Dryophytes japonicus during brumation using a Harmonic Direction Finder to track 27 adults in October 2013. Most frogs used chestnut trees throughout their diel cycle. The species was most active within the “leafy vegetation” microhabitat, moving about 2 m within 72 h on average, and mostly circa 10 AM. Frogs moved less in the four other microhabitats, with individuals moving between 1 m and 50 cm, typically during the early afternoon. Around 3 pm, the microhabitat mostly used was “on bark”, with displacements almost totally halted. The use of microhabitats and shelters, as well as movements in relation to time of day, suggests that D. japonicus displays behavioural thermoregulation during brumation. This research is the first providing insights in the brumation ecology of a non-freeze-resistant Palearctic anuran.

OUTCOME OF SECOND BABY OF TWIN IN A RURAL TEACHING HOSPITAL OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Kajal Kumar Patra ◽  
Anirban Mandal ◽  
Thyadi Himabindu
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Perinatal Outcome ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Multiple Pregnancies ◽  
Second Twin

Background: Multiple pregnancies are a high-risk situation because of its inherent risks to mother and the fetus. Twin or multiple pregnancies are gaining importance worldwide because of the attributable rise in treatment of infertility including assisted reproductive technologies. Twin pregnancies are associated with increased fetal loss, prematurity, structural abnormalities, and fetal growth restriction. Complications associated with twin pregnancy. The conduct of a twin delivery remains one of the most challenging events in the current obstetric practice. This Methods: study was an Hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital, Bankura, West Bengal from January 2020 to December 2020. 238 patients were included in the study after informed consent from the patient about being a part of this study. Template was generated in MS excel sheet and analysis was done on SPSS software. Results: Majority 154 (64.7%) of women belonged to age group 21-30 years. Gestational age of 159 (66.8%) mothers were < 37 weeks. Perinatal outcome of second twin was highest in the maternal age group 20 years. Perinatal outcome of second twin was highest in the birth weight of the 2nd twin < 2500 grams. Delivery time interval between the babies was maximum 175 (73.5%) is < 10 minutes. Gestational age, Conclusions: presentation, mode of delivery, and birth weight are the signicant determinants of perinatal outcome of the second twin. The second twin is at higher risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality than the rst twin. Frequent antenatal care should be advised to the mothers.

EFFECT OF TIME OF DAY, A PARASITIC FUNGUS, AND A GENETIC MUTATION ON RATE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY

1966 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. Hall ◽  
F. R. Forsyth ◽  
C. L. Lockhart ◽  
L. E. Aalders
Keyword(s):  
Early Morning ◽  
Genetic Mutation ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Parasitic Fungus ◽  
Mutant Type ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Rate Of Photosynthesis ◽  
Sugar Levels ◽  
Leaf Disks

The apparent rate of photosynthesis in the lowbush blueberry was measured, at four periods of the day, on leaf disks in Warburg flasks and with the use of Pardee's CO2 buffers. Significant differences were found in rates of O2 evolution at the four different periods. Oxygen evolution was greatest in the early morning when reducing sugars and starch levels were lowest. By early afternoon when starch and reducing sugar levels were much greater in the leaf disks the rate was the lowest.Leaf disks infected with Exobasidium vaccinii had a lower rate of apparent photosynthesis than normal leaves of the same clone. Disks cut from normal leaves of Vaccinium angustifolium had a higher rate of apparent photosynthesis than those of a variegated mutant. The leaves of the mutant were significantly smaller and seedlings of the mutant type grew more slowly than normal ones of the same cross. For these reasons lowbush blueberry plants of the mutant type or having the red-leaf disease are at a distinct disadvantage in nature.

scholarly journals At What Time of Day Do Daily Extreme Near-Surface Wind Speeds Occur?

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 4226-4244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fajber ◽  
Adam H. Monahan ◽  
William J. Merryfield
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Values ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Boundary Layer Processes ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Extreme Wind ◽  
Extreme Wind Speeds

Abstract The timing of daily extreme wind speeds from 10 to 200 m is considered using 11 yr of 10-min averaged data from the 213-m tower at Cabauw, the Netherlands. This analysis is complicated by the tendency of autocorrelated time series to take their extreme values near the beginning or end of a fixed window in time, even when the series is stationary. It is demonstrated that a simple averaging procedure using different base times to define the day effectively suppresses this “edge effect” and enhances the intrinsic nonstationarity associated with diurnal variations in boundary layer processes. It is found that daily extreme wind speeds at 10 m are most likely in the early afternoon, whereas those at 200 m are most likely in between midnight and sunrise. An analysis of the joint distribution of the timing of extremes at these two altitudes indicates the presence of two regimes: one in which the timing is synchronized between these two layers, and the other in which the occurrence of extremes is asynchronous. These results are interpreted physically using an idealized mechanistic model of the surface layer momentum budget.

116 DEVELOPMENT OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE ENDANGERED MISSISSIPPI GOPHER FROG (RANA SEVOSA) AND SPERM TRANSFER FOR IN VITRO FERTILIZATION

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kouba ◽  
E. Willis ◽  
C. Vance ◽  
S. Hasenstab ◽  
S. Reichling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Sperm Concentration ◽  
Reproductive Technologies ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Leopard Frog ◽  
Genetic Management ◽  
Mississippi Gopher Frog

Species-specific differences in breeding strategies and physiology have limited the application of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for critically endangered amphibians in captive assurance colonies. In 2006, the Memphis Zoo (MZ) initiated a program to develop ART for the critically endangered Mississippi gopher frog after natural breeding failed. Standard gamete collection and IVF developed by MZ for reproducing endangered toads such as the Wyoming or boreal toad were applied to the gopher frog with little success, especially hormonal therapy for sperm production. Using the leopard frog as a model species for Ranids, we tested the time and dose dependence of a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) and hCG on sperm quantity and quality. Initial findings from the leopard frog study were critical in designing the study on gopher frogs. Our objectives were to (1) compare 2 different hormones administered intraperitoneal (500 IU hCG vs 15 μg LHRHa) or their combination on spermiation in gopher frogs; (2) develop in vivo oocyte maturation and ovulation protocols using LHRHa (15 μg) and hCG (500 IU); and (3) transfer this technology to another institution as proof of principle. In gopher frogs, 100 and 83% of the males produced sperm in response to the LHRHa and the combination treatment, respectively, whereas only 16% responded to hCG alone. Sperm concentration peaked at 1 h post-administration for all treatments, with the LHRH/hCG cocktail treatment producing the highest concentration of sperm (mean = 4.6 × 106 ± 1.2 × 106 sperm mL–1, n = 6). No differences in motility were observed between treatments (P > 0.05). For females, a series of priming hormones of hCG and LHRHa were given several months before an ovulatory hormone regimen resulting in ovulation by 100% of the females (n = 6), whereas animals not primed failed to ovulate (n = 4). These 3 separate priming and IVF trials conducted between 2008 and 2010 resulted in each female laying ∼2000 eggs, with an average fertilization rate of 76% for inseminated eggs and hundreds of tadpoles produced. These IVF tadpoles represent the first captive reproduction of gopher frogs and highlight how ART can be applied to conservation and genetic management of threatened species. Subsequently, we tested our IVF protocols on gopher frogs at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo using fresh (collected on site) and chilled, shipped sperm from MZ. We collected 6169 eggs from 9 hormone-primed females with all animals ovulating. A portion of the total eggs ovulated were inseminated, resulting in 2401 fertilized eggs (38.9% of total eggs collected) across 18 different male–female pairings leading to viable tadpoles. In addition, sperm transferred overnight from the MZ produced 202/441 fertilized eggs (46%). The transfer of this technology and production of endangered amphibians using chilled, shipped sperm from live animals is a conservation milestone that can be applied to other captive breeding programs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document