New simplified protocols for timed artificial insemination (TAI) in milk-producing donkeys

This study compared the outcome of two new timed artificial insemination (TAI) protocols in a milk-producing donkey farm. Ninety Amiata jennies were inseminated at the moment of ovulation induction with hCG, with fresh-transported semen that had been stored at room temperature from 3 up to 6 h, with an approximate average storage time of 4 h and a half. In both protocols, on Day 0 jennies were treated with alfaprostol (PGF2α), and on Day 7 they were checked by ultrasound (US) and, if in estrus, they were treated in order to induce ovulation and were then artificially inseminated. In the slow-short TAI protocol, jennies not already inseminated were treated again with PGF2α at Day 14. On day 21 US was repeated and estrus jennies were induced to ovulate and inseminated. In the fast-long TAI protocol, US was performed once a week in jennies not already inseminated and if found in estrus, they were induced to ovulate and inseminated, while those not in estrus were treated again with PGF2α. This protocol was repeated for up to nine weeks. The rates of inseminated/treated, pregnant/inseminated and pregnant/treated jennies were 76%, 56% and 43% for the slow-short TAI protocol and 94%, 47% and 44% for the fast-long TAI protocol. The age class and the lactation status of the jennies had no significant effect on synchronization success or final pregnancy rate. This study demonstrates that it is possible to achieve reasonable pregnancy rates through simplified TAI protocols in jennies, reducing animal handling to a minimum

Role of body condition score and adiponectin expression in the progression of canine mammary carcinomas

Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for developing breast cancer in post-menopausal period in humans and has been suspected to be associated with a worse prognosis also in the bitch. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between body condition score (BCS) and the prognosis of canine mammary carcinomas (CMCs) and the relationships between adiponectin expression and tumour behaviour. Seventy-three bitches with tubular, tubulopapillary, solid or complex carcinomas were included in the present study. For each dog, evaluation of BCS was conducted using a nine-point BCS system and the study population was divided into normal weight (4–5/9 points; n = 42), overweight (6–7/9 points; n = 19) and obese (8–9/9 points; n = 12). Type of diet (commercial, homemade or mixed) was recorded. After surgical excision, histological type, tumour size and nodal status were assessed and adiponectin expression was determined and quantified by immunohistochemistry and morphometric analysis. CMC histotype was not correlated with BCS, while a positive correlation between BCS and histological grade (p <.01) was observed. Overweight and obese bitches combined showed a shorter cancer-specific survival than normal weighted bitches (p <.01). Bitches fed with a homemade diet had a higher BCS than dogs fed with a commercial one, although no relationship was observed between diet and cancer-specific survival. Thirty-six CMCs scored positive for adiponectin expression (49%), but no correlation was found between the hormone expression and either CMC characteristics or prognosis. In conclusion, a higher BCS seems to be related with a higher prevalence of more aggressive CMCs and negatively affects the survival time in bitches with these mammary tumours

Evaluation of jennies' colostrum: IgG concentrations and absorption in the donkey foals. A preliminary study

Immunoglobulin type G (IgG) concentration both in jennies' colostrum and in serum of donkey foals are mostly unknown in the first 24 h after delivery. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the IgG concentrations of colostrum during the first 24 h of lactation of Amiata jennies, the absorption of colostrum and the weekly body weight gain of the donkey foals. IgG concentrations were assessed in the jennies' colostrum and in the serum of donkey foals. Colostrum was collected in 9 jennies ready after delivery, and at 6, 12, 24 h after foaling from both halves. Serum was collected at the same sampling times from 9 donkey foals. Donkey foals were weighted at birth and then weekly until the 28th days of life. Temporal changes of IgG concentrations in dam's colostrum and in donkey foal serum were analyzed by a linear regression model and a general linear model, respectively. Results showed that colostrum IgG concentration were similar between the left and the right half. Colostrum IgG concentrations decreased continuously throughout the time in all jennies by 0.0244 Log10 mg/mL per hour. Serum IgG concentrations in donkey foals at birth was significantly lower compared to other times. No correlation was found between the colostrum IgG concentrations and the average weekly body weight gain of the donkey foal. The pattern of colostrum IgG levels in jennies and serum IgG concentration in donkey foals seem to be similar to what reported for equine. However, the donkey foals seem to be less agammaglobulinemic at birth compared to the horse foal. The pattern and both serum and colostrum concentrations evaluated in the Amiata donkeys were slightly different from results reported in other donkey breeds, underlying the importance of setting references specific to breed

Effect of housing system on reproductive behaviour and on some endocrinological and seminal parameters of donkey stallions

Reproductive management of male donkeys employed for artificial breeding has been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of housing system, with the animals grouped together in a paddock or kept in individual boxes, on sexual behaviour, cortisol and testosterone concentration and seminal characteristics of adult male donkeys. The study included four Amiata donkey jacks (stallions) from which ejaculates, saliva and blood were collected during two distinct 3 weeks periods, one in the group and one in the box housing system. Time needed for semen collection was shorter when donkeys were kept in paddocks compared to when they were kept in single boxes (14:57 ± 07:27 and 20:52 ± 09:31 min, p < .05). Native semen characteristics were not influenced by housing system, while cooled preservation in an Equitainer(®) showed that sperm motility parameters were significantly higher during the paddock period compared to the box period. Salivary cortisol was influenced by housing system, both before and 60 min after ejaculation, being statistically higher when donkeys were housed in paddocks. On the contrary, overall and basal testosterone concentrations were significantly higher when animals were kept in boxes. In conclusion, in the present study, good quality semen could be successfully collected from donkeys irrespective of the housing system despite some differences in hormone concentrations

A Collision Warning Oriented Brake Lights Detection and Classification Algorithm Based on a Mono Camera Sensor

In this paper, a brake lights detection and classification algorithm based on a monocular camera and oriented to collision warning is described. First, the current driving lane is identified through a lane detection algorithm. Shrinking the search area to the actual driving lane, the preceding vehicle is detected exploiting YOLO object detector. Then, preceding vehicle lateral and third brake lights are identified in the Lb colorspace by harnessing brightness and color information, along with geometrical considerations. Finally, brake lights status is determined by means of SVMs classifiers, based on features computed both on light regions and the overall vehicle image, and the braking status of the preceding vehicle is determined. The algorithm is designed to work in different illumination conditions during day time: experimental results prove the robustness of the proposed strategy with respect to different illumination conditions and brake lights shape, with an overall algorithm precision of 96.3%

An odometry free automatic perpendicular parking strategy for a light urban vehicle based on a low resolution lidar

In this paper, an automatic perpendicular parking algorithm for a light urban vehicle with active steer assembly is presented, designed to help the user when the manoeuvre has to be performed in a narrow space between two obstacles. The parking strategy is odometry free and based only on the measurements from a limited FOV low resolution Lidar, resulting in a simple and cost effective solution. In the initial phase of the manoeuvre, the algorithm exploits the Lidar information - combined with the a priori knowledge of the park structure - to localize the vehicle in the parking environment and to generate the steering action accordingly, so as to approach the parking space. Then, as the vehicle approaches the parking spot entrance, an obstacle avoidance logic is applied to end the manoeuvre without crashes. The performance of the proposed strategy has been assessed through an extensive simulation campaign and validated by experimental tests using a real instrumented vehicle

On vehicle pitch estimation via solid-state LIDAR

Solid-state LIDAR technology has recently emerged, allowing for smaller and more affordable devices. In the present work, we investigate the possibility of using a vehicle mounted solid-state LIDAR to estimate the vehicle pitch and heave dynamics. We present and compare two approaches: a model-based estimation and a data driven algorithm. The algorithms are tested on an instrumented vehicle. The experimental results show that the data-driven approach outperforms the model-based estimation in estimating pitch caused both by accelerations and braking and by road disturbances

A personalized Adaptive Cruise Control driving style characterization based on a learning approach

Advanced Assistance Driver Systems (ADAS) adaptation with respect to driver driving style is a research field of major interest, given the additional benefits that could be obtained in terms of comfort and safety perceived by the user. In this work, a personalized Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) oriented driving style features extraction method is proposed, meant to be used to choose an ACC tuning which better fits the driver on road behaviour. The method exploits an Artificial Neural Network driver model, capable of capturing the driver behaviour in a car following scenario, trained and validated over real data. From a closed-loop model analysis in a simulation environment driving style features are then extracted, looking at the system response to variations of the preceding vehicle speed. Finally, the effectiveness of the extracted features for a non-trivial characterization of the driver behaviour is assessed, comparing the results obtained considering three different drivers