Phenotypical evaluation of “Cane da Pastore delle Alpi” canine population

The objective of the present study was to investigate the morphological traits of an autochthonous herding-dog canine population found in the Western Italian Alps and closer hilly areas, in order to define its ethnological characterization. The evolution of this breed is strictly related to flocks and herds production developed centuries ago in these regions. This population represents a valuable expression of local culture and tradition and even though not officially recognized as official ENCI-FCI breed it stimulates public interest. The study was carried out on 40 adult dogs (15 &40; 25 &42). Data were collected on a two section schedule according to official breed standards. Sixteen traits were evaluated and recorded; measurement instruments were: cinometer (height at withers: HW), tape-measure (cannon bone circumference: CB); descriptions (definitions, classes) were related to subject personal data, coat colour, coat length, percentage of white areas, eyes colour, byte, top-line, bone, head planes, skull/foreface ratio, stop and dewclaws. SAS\uae statistic package was applied to data analysis: physical measurements were analysed by ANOVA (GLM), dog sex and the interaction of sex and year of birth were the considered source of variance, morphological traits frequencies were calculated by PROC FREQ. Student\u2019s t-test was applied to the calculation of the least square means difference. No significant effects of the considered sources of variation were calculated on HW and CB, underlining a high population variability and a lack of selection strategies. Dogs HW was 58.13\ub11.03 cm, bitches HW was 55.08\ub11.29 cm (LSmeans\ub1s.e.) very close to the standard described for the officially recognized breed of Pastore Bergamasco (60.00\ub12.00 cm &42; 56\ub12.00 cm &40), an ancient Italian herding-dog with the same functions and overlapping origin areas. Calculated results draw a clear ethnographical description of Pastore delle Alpi population. These results describe the most common morphological traits of the Pastore delle Alpi underlining the links with Italian and French herding-dog breeds, and constitute a first basic step in breed official recognition

Focus sui problemi comportamentali del gatto : seconda parte: aggressivit\ue0 felina=Focus on feline behavioural disorders : part 2: feline agression

Obiettivi. Valutare i problemi comportamentali pi\uf9 frequenti nel gatto e in particolare l\u2019aggressivit\ue0 Materiali e metodi. Rilievi percentuali dei dati raccolti dal Consultorio per i Problemi Comportamentali del Piccoli Animali nel periodo compreso tra novembre 1998 e ottobre 2007. Risultati. Su 87 gatti, il 53% ha riportato aggressivit\ue0 interspecifica e il 47% intraspecifica. Nella prima il 56% ha manifestato aggressivit\ue0 offensiva. Di questi la maggioranza era di sesso maschile e di et\ue0 inferiore a 1 anno. L\u2019et\ue0 di adozione era tra 0 e 50 giorni nel 56% dei casi. Tutti i gatti non avevano possibilit\ue0 di uscire e non convivevano con nessun altro animale. Il nucleo familiare nel 45% dei casi era composto da una sola persona. Un disturbo correlato all\u2019ansia \ue8 stato riscontrato nel 56% dei gatti. La vittima preferita degli attacchi era il proprietario. Invece, tra i gatti con aggressivit\ue0 intraspecifica il 78,5% manifestava un\u2019aggressivit\ue0 da pressione sociale. I maschi erano pi\uf9 rappresentati, l\u2019et\ue0 era compresa tra 1 e 5 anni nella maggior parte dei casi. Il 46% conviveva con pi\uf9 di tre gatti e con un nucleo familiare composto da due o pi\uf9 persone. Nel 36,5% dei soggetti \ue8 stato diagnosticato anche un disturbo eliminatorio. L\u2019evento scatenante \ue8 stato l\u2019introduzione di un nuovo gatto nell\u201982% dei casi. Conclusioni. I risultati ottenuti sono sovrapponibili con i dati presenti in letteratura. I maschi sono pi\uf9 propensi a manifestare aggressivit\ue0. L\u2019et\ue0 di adozione e un ambiente poco stimolante possono favorire l\u2019aggressivit\ue0 offensiva. L\u2019aggressivit\ue0 da pressione sociale sembrerebbe favorita dall\u2019introduzione di un nuovo gatto e dal sovraffollamento.Objects. Evaluation of most frequent feline behavioural problems and in particular of aggression behaviours. Material and methods. Assessment of Behavioural Clinic data collected in the period between November 1998 and October 2007. Results. The 53% of 87 cats was affected by human directed aggression and 47% by inter-cat aggression. About human directed aggression, 56% of cat showed offensive aggression towards human being. The majority of cats was male and between 0 and 1 year old. Age of adoption was between 0 and 50 days in 56% of cases. All subjects didn\u2019t have the possibility to go out and didn\u2019t cohabit with other animals. In 45% of cats the family was compound by 1 person. A anxiety related disorder was diagnosed in 56%. The favoured victim of feline attacks was owner. About inter-cat aggression, 78,5% was affected by social pressure aggression. The male cats were more represented than female, in the majority of case the age was between 1 and 5 years. 46% cohabited with 3 or more cats and with 2 or more persons. House soiling was diagnosed in 36,5% of subjects. The introduction of new cat was the triggering event in 82% of cases. Conclusions. The results are similar with literature. The male cats are more inclined to aggression than female. The age of adoption and the poor environment can promote the offensive aggression toward human being. High animal density and introduction of new cats can be triggering events of social pressure aggression toward household cats

Focus sui problemi comportamentali del gatto : prima parte: eliminazione inappropriata e marcatura=Focus on feline behavioural disorders : part 1: inappropriate elimination and marking

Obiettivi. Valutare i problemi comportamentali pi\uf9 frequenti nel gatto e in particolare i disturbi eliminatori. Materiali e metodi. Valutazione dei dati raccolti dal Consultorio per i Problemi Comportamentali del Piccoli Animali nel periodo compreso tra novembre 1998 e ottobre 2007. Risultati: Su 87 gatti, il 48% presentava un disturbo eliminatorio, il 35% una forma di aggressivit\ue0 e il 17% altri problemi comportamentali. Nei disturbi eliminatori \ue8 emerso che il 69% presentava una eliminazione inappropriata, il 19% una marcatura e il 12% entrambe. Le principali cause sono sembrate essere cambiamenti ambientali, introduzione di un nuovo soggetto e conflitti sociali dovuti a sovraffollamento. Discussione. Prima di sottoporre un gatto con un disturbo eliminatorio a una visita comportamentale \ue8 necessario valutare qualsiasi causa organica. Un\u2019anamnesi comportamentale dettagliata aiuta a individuare il tipo di problema e le cause scatenati e/o predisponenti; le relazioni tra gatti, se il nucleo include pi\uf9 di un soggetto o se \ue8 possibile un contatto con gatti in esterno, anche indiretto, devono essere attentamente esaminate per impostare una terapia comportamentale adeguata.Objects. Evaluation of most frequent feline behavioural problems and in particular of house soiling. Material and methods. Evaluation of Behavioural Clinic data in the period between November 1998 and October 2007. Results. 48% of cats was affected by house soiling, 35% by aggression behaviours and 17% by other problems. About house soiling, 69% was inappropriate elimination, 19% was marking and 12% both. The principal causes could be environmental changes, addition of a new cat and social conflicts due to multiple cat households. Discussion. Before behavioural examination it\u2019s necessary to exclude primary medical diseases. A detailed behavioural history helps to identify the kind of problem and its causes. If household cats or unfamiliar cats are present, their relationships must be closely examined. This permits to administer a correct behavioural treatment

An integrated toolbox for image registration, fusion and classification

In this paper we present a suite of new image processing tools for the GRASS Geographic Information System. New modules are suggested to support improved and semi-automated geocoding of vertical imagery. The ortho-rectification procedures have been extended to rectify oblique imagery from digital hand-held cameras for rendering purposes. Multi- and hyperspectral image analysis has been implemented to derive landuse/landcover maps at subpixel resolution. Image fusion with the Brovey transform is shown. We finally show high performance SMAP image classification on an openMosix cluste