Comparison of different adjustment models of the growth curve of Barbarin lambs under two bioclimatic zones in Tunisia

L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les performances de croissance de la race ovine Barbarine avec ses deux principaux écotypes (Barbarine à tête rousse et la Barbarine à tête noire) sous deux différents étages bioclimatiques (aride et semi-aride) ainsi que d’ajuster la courbe de croissance de cette race. On a utilisé les données de contrôle de croissance de vingt troupeaux de race ovine Barbarine, collectées durant 4 années, concernant 12 919 agneaux pesés à 21 jours d’intervalle. Les poids aux âges types ainsi que les Gains moyens Quotidiens (GMQ) 10-30, 30-50, 50-70 et 70-90 de la race Barbarine à tête rousse sont supérieurs à ceux de la Barbarine à tête noire. Les poids aux âges types de la Barbarine à tête rousse sont de 5,33 Kg, 8,50 Kg, 11,5 Kg, 15,2 Kg et 17,7 Kg respectivement pour les poids à 10, 30, 50, 70 et 90 jours. Celles des gains moyens sont de 160,3 g, 163,4g, 219,2 g et 157,5 g respectivement pour les GMQ10-30, GMQ30-50, GMQ30-70 et GMQ30-90. De même, les performances de croissance enregistrées sous l’étage bioclimatique aride sont supérieures à celles de l’étage semi-aride. L’ajustement des courbes de croissance a été effectué selon quatre modèles mathématiques non linéaires (Brody, Logistique, Gompertz et Von Bertalanffy). Ces modèles ont été évalués en fonction du coefficient de détermination (R²) et de la somme des carrées des écarts résiduels (SCER). Les résultats ont indiqué que le modèle Logistique, ayant les valeurs de R² les plus élevées et les SCER les plus faibles, a montré le meilleur ajustement de la croissance des agneaux barbarins, alors que le modèle de Brody a donné les valeurs de R² les plus basses et les SCER les plus élevées. Les paramètres de la fonction Logistique (A, B et C) sont respectivement de 17,9 ; 4,1 et 0,0381 pour la Barbarine à tête noire et de 18,8, 4,00 et 0,0406 pour la Barbarine à tête rousse. Les paramètres des courbes de croissance ont varié avec l’interaction écotype – étage bioclimatique, la ferme, l’interaction troupeau – année d’agnelage, l’âge de la mère, l’interaction  sexe – mode de naissance et le mois de naissance. Mots clés: Courbe de croissance, modèle non linéaire, race BarbarineThe objective of this study is to analyze the growth performance of the Barbarine sheep breed with its two main ecotypes (Red-headed Barbarine and Black-headed Barbarine) under two different bioclimatic zones (arid and semi-arid) as well as to adjust the growth curve of this breed. Growth monitoring data from twenty flocks of Barbarine sheep were used, collected over 4 years on 12 919 lambs weighed regularly at 21-day intervals. The weights at the standard ages as well as Averge Daily Gains (ADG) 10-30, 30-50, 50-70 and 70-90 of the Red-headed Barbarine are higher than that of the Black-headed Barbarine. The average weights at typical ages of the Red-headed Barbarine were 5.33 Kg, 8.50 Kg, 11.5 Kg, 15.2 Kg and 17.7 Kg respectively at 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 days. Those of the ADG were 160.3 g, 163.4 g, 219.2 g and 157.5 g respectively for the ADG10-30, ADG 30-50, ADG 30-70 and ADG 30-90. Similarly, the growth performances recorded under the arid bioclimatic zone were higher than those of the semi-arid zone. The adjustment of the growth curves was carried out according to four nonlinear mathematical models (Brody, Logistics, Gompertz and Von Bertalanffy). These models were evaluated based on the coefficient of determination (R²) and the sum of squares of residual deviations (SCER). The results indicated that the Logistic model, having the highest R² values ??and the lowest SCERs, showed the best fit for Barbarin lamb growth while Brody's model gave the lowest R² values ??and the highest SCERs. The Logistic function parameters (A, B and C) were respectively 17.9, 4.08 and 0.0381 for the black-headed barbarine and 18.8, 4.00 and 0.0406 for the Red-headed Barbarine. These parameters varied with the interaction ecotype – bioclimatic zone, the farm, the interaction herd – year of lambing, the age of the mother, the interaction sex – mode of birth and the month of birth. Keywords: growth curve, nonlinear model, Barbary breed

Adjustment of the lactation curve of Holstein cows according to Wood's model

Les deux objectifs de cette étude ont été d’ajuster les courbes de lactation des vaches Holstein en Tunisie et d’étudier les facteurs de variations des paramètres de ces dernières. L’ajustement a été réalisé selon le modèle de Wood pour les 9 premières lactations. Les données proviennent de 190 905 contrôles journaliers de la quantité de lait, de la matière grasse (MG) et de la matière protéique (MP), collectés entre 1995 et 2011 et répartis sur 10 troupeaux issus de 4 différents secteurs de production. La fonction de Wood a servi pour modéliser les courbes de lactations par la régression non linéaire. Les paramètres de la courbe de lactation «a», MG et MP les plus élevées ont été enregistrés à la 3ème, 4èmeet 5ème lactation, contrairement au paramètre «b». Le paramètre «c» et la persistance la plus élevée de la courbe de lactation ont été enregistrés à la 1ère lactation. Pour les paramètres des courbes de lactation et ses traits (lait, MG et MP), ils ont tous été affectés par les facteurs inclus dans le modèle d’analyse à savoir le secteur, le troupeau, l’interaction année de vêlage-saison de vêlage et le numéro de lactation. Mots clés: Contrôles journaliers, ajustement, Wood, courbe de lactationThe two objectives of this study were to adjust the lactation curves of Holstein cows in Tunisia and to study the factors of variation of the parameters of the latter. The adjustment was made according to the Wood model for the first 9 lactations. The data comes from 190,905 daily checks of the quantity of milk, fat (MG) and protein (MP), collected between 1995 and 2011 and distributed over 10 herds from 4 different production sectors. Wood's function was used to model the lactation curves by nonlinear regression. The highest “a”, MG and MP lactation curve parameters were recorded at the 3rd, 4th and 5th lactation, unlike the “b” parameter. The “c” parameter and the highest persistence of the lactation curve were recorded in the 1st lactation. For the parameters of the lactation curves and its traits (milk, fat and protein), they were all affected by the factors included in the analysis model, namely the sector, the herd, the interaction year of calving - calving season and lactation number. Keywords: Daily checks, adjustment, Wood, lactation curv

Assessment of growth hormone gene polymorphism effects on reproductive traits in Holstein dairy cattle in Tunisia

Research to assess the effect of single genes on reproductive traits in bovine species is imperative to elucidate genes' functions and acquire a better perspective of quantitative traits. The present study was undertaken to characterize genetic diversity in the bovine growth hormone (GH) gene in a population of 410 Holstein dairy cows in Tunisia. The analyses were based on single nucleotide polymorphisms, and GH-AluI and GH-MspI detections and genotyping were carried out using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with the MIXED procedure to reveal the possible effect of GH genotypes on reproductive traits. The frequency data of AluI(L//V) and MspI(+//−) alleles were 87.04//12.96 and 70.06//29.94, respectively. The distribution of the frequency of GH genotypes for LL/LV/VV and (−/−)//(+/−)//(+/+) were 77.75//18.59//3.66 and 15.37//29.13//55.50, respectively. The results of the statistical analyses proved that GH-AluI showed a substantial favorable effect on exanimate traits except for the age at first calving; however, only a suggestive effect of GH-MspI on the calving interval (CI) and the days open (DI) was found. The homozygous LL genotype seemed to be advantageous with respect to the CI and the DI compared with LV and VV genotypes. Heterozygous MspI(+/−) cows tended to have a longer CI and DI than MspI(+/+) and MspI(−/−) cows, but the difference was not statistically significant. A significant effect of different GH-AluI–MspI combined genotypes was found on the number of inseminations per conception, the CI and the DI, and the LL/– combined genotype seemed to be associated with better reproductive performance. Based on these results, the LL genotype of the GH locus can be considered to be a favorable genotype for reproductive traits in Holstein dairy cattle, although these findings need to be confirmed by further research before polymorphisms can be used in a marker-assisted selection program.</p

Performance of the ATLAS Electromagnetic Calorimeter End-cap Module 0

The construction and beam test results of the ATLAS electromagnetic end-cap calorimeter pre-production module 0 are presented. The stochastic term of the energy resolution is between 10% GeV^1/2 and 12.5% GeV^1/2 over the full pseudorapidity range. Position and angular resolutions are found to be in agreement with simulation. A global constant term of 0.6% is obtained in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 < eta < 3.2 (inner wheel)

Performance of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter end-cap module 0

The construction and beam test results of the ATLAS electromagnetic end-cap calorimeter pre-production module 0 are presented. The stochastic term of the energy resolution is between 10% GeV^1/2 and 12.5% GeV^1/2 over the full pseudorapidity range. Position and angular resolutions are found to be in agreement with simulation. A global constant term of 0.6% is obtained in the pseudorapidity range 2.5 eta 3.2 (inner wheel)

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Genetic parameters of reproductive traits in Tunisian Holsteins

Multi-trait Bayesian procedure was used to estimate genetic parameters for reproductive traits in Tunisian Holstein cows. A total of 31 348 lactations of the calving years 2005 to 2012 were analyzed. Fertility traits were the calving interval (CI), days open (DO), days to first insemination (DFI), days from first insemination to conception (FIC), and number of inseminations per conception (NI). Posterior means of heritabilities of CI, DO, DFI, FIC, and NI were 0.047, 0.03, 0.025, 0.024, and 0.069, respectively. Posterior means of repeatabilities of the same respective traits were 0.106, 0.094, 0.051, 0.036, and 0.17. Genetic correlations among female fertility traits were also computed. Calving interval and DO had the highest genetic correlation estimate (0.85) because they have overlapping genetic meanings. The lowest genetic correlation estimate (−0.25) was found between DFI and NI. Genetic parameter estimates are low and are even lower than those reported in most literature, implying that more focus should be put upon improving the management of reproduction in dairy cattle herds in Tunisia