A Pre-Landing Assessment of Regolith Properties at the InSight Landing Site

This article discusses relevant physical properties of the regolith at the Mars InSight landing site as understood prior to landing of the spacecraft. InSight will land in the northern lowland plains of Mars, close to the equator, where the regolith is estimated to be ≥3--5 m thick. These investigations of physical properties have relied on data collected from Mars orbital measurements, previously collected lander and rover data, results of studies of data and samples from Apollo lunar missions, laboratory measurements on regolith simulants, and theoretical studies. The investigations include changes in properties with depth and temperature. Mechanical properties investigated include density, grain-size distribution, cohesion, and angle of internal friction. Thermophysical properties include thermal inertia, surface emissivity and albedo, thermal conductivity and diffusivity, and specific heat. Regolith elastic properties not only include parameters that control seismic wave velocities in the immediate vicinity of the Insight lander but also coupling of the lander and other potential noise sources to the InSight broadband seismometer. The related properties include Poisson’s ratio, P- and S-wave velocities, Young’s modulus, and seismic attenuation. Finally, mass diffusivity was investigated to estimate gas movements in the regolith driven by atmospheric pressure changes. Physical properties presented here are all to some degree speculative. However, they form a basis for interpretation of the early data to be returned from the InSight mission.Additional co-authors: Nick Teanby and Sharon Keda

Guidelines for the ethical use of animals in applied ethology studies

Applied ethology has a continuing interest in the promotion of animal welfare and the ethical treatment of animals used in research. However, in contrast to some other fields involving animal research, there are currently no guidelines written specifically for those engaged in applied ethology studies. We aim here, to provide members of the profession with a basis for structured self-evaluation of the ethical nature of their work, and to serve as inspiration for those planning research involving the use of animals. The first three sections of this document discuss the background to why ethical guidelines are needed in applied ethology studies and the relation between these guidelines and legislation. In the first section, we briefly discuss the relevant ethical principles and decision models. The main body of the guidelines then discuss how 'costs' to the animals in applied ethology research can be minimised (using the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement) and `benefits' maximised. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented to the Annual General Meeting of the International Society of Applied Ethology, which accepted this as the basis of ethical review for papers presented at their International Congresses

Avaliação das respostas fisiológicas de bezerros zebuínos puros e cruzados nascidos em clima subtropical Evaluation of physiological responses of straightbred and crossbred Zebu calves born in a subtropical environment

Estudou-se a influência de fatores climáticos sobre as respostas fisiológicas de bezerros, puros e cruzados, filhos de vacas da raça Nelore ou de alta mestiçagem de Nelore acasaladas com touros das raças Aberdeen Angus (AN), Simental (SN), Canchim (CN) e Nelore (NI e NR). Os bezerros AN, SN, CN e NI foram mantidos em sistema rotacionado intensivo, enquanto o grupo NR foi mantido em sistema extensivo. Os bezerros foram observados de forma direta desde o nascimento até a primeira mamada, medindo-se a latência para a primeira mamada (LM). Aproximadamente 24 horas após o parto, coletaram-se amostras de sangue do bezerro para as dosagens de proteína total (PT), glicose (Gli), triiodotironina (T3), tiroxina (T4), relação T4:T3, cortisol (Cort) e imunoglobulina G (IgGb), além das medidas de temperatura retal do bezerro (TR) e dos pesos de vacas e bezerros. Para análise dos efeitos de clima, foram tomadas no dia do nascimento as medidas de temperatura do ar (Temp), umidade do ar (UR) e precipitação (PRE). Os parâmetros fisiológicos foram estudados pelo método dos quadrados mínimos com modelos que incluíram os efeitos de ano e mês de nascimento, grupo e sexo do bezerro, categoria da vaca e hora do parto e das interações ano &times; grupo e ano &times; mês de nascimento, além das covariáveis peso do bezerro, PRE, Temp, UR e LM. Temp mostrou efeito significativo para as concentrações de T3, T4, T4:T3 e de Cort. Quanto maior Temp, menores as concentrações de T3 e de Cort e maiores as de T4 e de T4:T3. LM influenciou os níveis de Cort, PT e IgGb, de modo que, quanto maior LM, maior a concentração de Cort e menor as de IgGb e PT. Também houve efeito significativo de grupo do bezerro sobre PT, que foi maior nos bezerros NR que nos bezerros NI.<br>The influence of environmental parameters on the physiological responses of purebred and crossbred Nellore calves born in a subtropical region was studied. All calves were born from high grade Nellore cows sired by Aberdeen Angus (AN), Simmental (SN), Canchim (CN) and Nellore (NI) bulls. These calves were raised under intensive management and another group of Nellore calves (NR) was raised under extensive management, similar to the typical brazilian system for beef production. Calves were observed from birth until the end of the first suckling, and the variable first suckling latency (LM) was estimated. Aapproximately 24 hours after birth, blood samples were collected from each calf to measure the plasma concentrations of total protein (PT), glucose (Gli), triiodothyronin (T3), thyroxin (T4), T3:T4 ratio, cortisol (Cort) and immunoglobulin-G (IgGb). At the same time, the calves' rectal temperature was taken and the cows and the calves were weighed. Climatic data of temperature (Temp), relative humidity (UR) and rain precipitation (PRE) in the birth day were also recorded. Physiological parameters were analyzed by least squares method using a model that included the effects of year and month of calving, group of calf, sex of calf, cow category, calving time, year &times; group and year &times; month of birth interactions and the covariables calf's weight, PRE, Temp, UR and LM. The effect of Temp was significant for the concentrations of T3, T4, T4:T3 and Cort. The concentrations of T3 and Cort decreased and the levels of T4 and T4:T3 ratio increased as Temp increased. Similarly, the concentration of Cort increased and the concentrations of IgGb and PT decreased as LM increased. PT level was significantly higher in NR calves than in NI ones

Behavior, performance and physiological parameters of pigs reared in deep bedding Comportamento, desempenho e parâmetros fisiológicos de suínos criados em cama sobreposta

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the behavior, performance and physiological parameters of pigs in different production systems. Twenty four animals in the growth phase were distributed in a randomized block design in three treatments: T1 - concrete floor, T2 - deep bedding with wood shaving, and T3 - deep bedding with coffee husks. The behavioral study was carried out by observing the animal behavior for an uninterrupted period of eight hours throughout seven weeks. The proportions of time spent in each behavior were characterized using the frequency histogram composition. Environmental (IBGTH), physiological (rectal and skin temperature and respiratory rate) and performance (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion) parameters were measured in animals during the period. The production systems of deep bedding showed higher values of IBGTH. There was no effect of production systems evaluated on the performance parameters. Rectal temperature was higher in animals reared on deep bedding with coffee husks in relation to the concrete floor. The use of deep bedding benefited the behavior of piglets in the growth phase and it reduced the agonistic behavior among individuals.<br>Foi conduzido um experimento para avaliar o comportamento, desempenho e parâmetros fisiológicos de suínos, em diferentes sistemas de produção. Foram utilizados 24 suínos em crescimento, distribuídos em delineamento casualizado, nos tratamentos: T1 - piso de concreto; T2 - cama sobreposta com maravalha; T3 - cama sobreposta com casca de café. Realizou-se observação do comportamento animal, por oito horas ininterruptas, ao longo de sete semanas. Foram caracterizadas as proporções de tempo dedicadas a cada comportamento, utilizando a composição de histograma de frequência. Foram mensurados parâmetros ambientais (ITGU), fisiológicos (temperatura retal e de superfície e frequência respiratória) e de desempenho dos animais (ganho de peso, consumo de ração e conversão alimentar) durante o período. Os sistemas de produção sobre cama proporcionaram maiores valores de ITGU. Não houve efeito dos sistemas avaliados sobre os parâmetros de desempenho. A temperatura retal foi superior nos animais criados sobre cama de casca de café, em relação ao piso de concreto. O uso de camas sobrepostas beneficiou o comportamento de leitões em fase de crescimento e reduziu o comportamento agonístico entre indivíduos