Influence of Toyocerin (Bacillus cereus var. toyoi) on the breeding performances of primiparous rabbit does

[EN] This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Bacillus cereus var. toyoi (Toyocerin¿ 109) on performance of rabbit does during two reproductive cycles. A total of 102 does were assigned to three treatments: T0 (basal diet), T200 (basal diet + 0.2 g Toyocerin¿/kg feed) and T1000 (basal diet + 1 g Toyocerin¿/ kg feed). The experimental diets contained a coccidiostat and were given ad libitum. No antibiotics were administered with the feed or water along the trial. Artificial insemination (AI) of does was performed 11 days (d) after kindling and kits were weaned at 35 d of age. Does, kits and feed were weighted at the beginning, AI, kindling, 18 d after kindling and weaning. Toyocerin¿ increased feed intake of lactating does, mainly between 18 d after kindling and weaning (P<0.05). When T200 was compared with T0 treatment, feed intake increased 76 g/d in the first cycle and 34 g/d in the second one. These increases allowed higher kit growth from 18th day to weaning and live weight at weaning (P<0.05). The weight of T200 kits was 43 g (4.9%) and 54 g (5.6%) higher than those of T0 kits in the first and second cycles, respectively. In the second cycle, Toyocerin¿ reduced kit mortality during the first 18 days of life from 18.5% with T0 to 11.1% with T200 and 9.9% with T1000 (P<0.05). Feed efficiency was not affected by treatments. No effects of Toyocerin level were observed on any recorded traits. The results of this experiment suggest that Toyocerin¿ can have a positive effect on productivity of rabbit does kept under an intensive system.The authors thanks to António Silva and Clara Silva for technical assistants. This work was supported by a Project signed by Rubinum.Pinheiro, V.; Mourao, J.; Jimenez, G. (2007). Influence of Toyocerin (Bacillus cereus var. toyoi) on the breeding performances of primiparous rabbit does. World Rabbit Science. 15(4). https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2007.59015

Protons in near earth orbit

The proton spectrum in the kinetic energy range 0.1 to 200 GeV was measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during space shuttle flight STS-91 at an altitude of 380 km. Above the geomagnetic cutoff the observed spectrum is parameterized by a power law. Below the geomagnetic cutoff a substantial second spectrum was observed concentrated at equatorial latitudes with a flux ~ 70 m^-2 sec^-1 sr^-1. Most of these second spectrum protons follow a complicated trajectory and originate from a restricted geographic region.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, 7 .eps figure

Search for antihelium in cosmic rays

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was flown on the space shuttle Discovery during flight STS-91 in a 51.7 degree orbit at altitudes between 320 and 390 km. A total of 2.86 * 10^6 helium nuclei were observed in the rigidity range 1 to 140 GV. No antihelium nuclei were detected at any rigidity. An upper limit on the flux ratio of antihelium to helium of < 1.1 * 10^-6 is obtained.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, 9 .eps figure

A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.Comment: To be submitted to NIM B Added material requested by referee. Minor stylistic and grammer change

Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data

In our paper "Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data" (Global Ecology and Biogeography) we use GPS tracking data from 1,498 from 49 different species to evaluate the expert-based habitat suitability data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Therefore, we used the GPS tracking data to estimate two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal and habitat type: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN’s classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Our results showed that IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (>95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a >50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. These findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, our study shows that GPS tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data. In this dataset we provide the measures of habitat suitability for each individual and each habitat type, calculated using different methods. In addition, we provide data on the body mass and IUCN Red List category of the species, as well as whether the species can be considered a habitat specialist or habitat generalist

Data of "Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data"

In our paper "Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data" (Global Ecology and Biogeography) we use GPS tracking data from 1,498 from 49 different species to evaluate the expert-based habitat suitability data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Therefore, we used the GPS tracking data to estimate two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal and habitat type: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN’s classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Our results showed that IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (>95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a >50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. These findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, our study shows that GPS tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data. In this dataset we provide the measures of habitat suitability for each individual and each habitat type, calculated using different methods. In addition, we provide data on the body mass and IUCN Red List category of the species, as well as whether the species can be considered a habitat specialist or habitat generalist