Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase

Virtual fencing systems have emerged as a promising technology for managing the distribution of livestock in extensive grazing environments. This study provides comprehensive documentation of the learning process involving two conditional behavioral mechanisms and the documentation of efficient, effective, and safe animal training for virtual fence applications on nursing Brangus cows. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) animals would learn to avoid restricted zones by increasing their use of containment zones within a virtual fence polygon, and (2) animals would progressively receive fewer audio-electric cues over time and increasingly rely on auditory cues for behavioral modification. Data from GPS coordinates, behavioral metrics derived from the collar data, and cueing events were analyzed to evaluate these hypotheses. The results supported hypothesis 1, revealing that virtual fence activation significantly increased the time spent in containment zones and reduced time in restricted zones compared to when the virtual fence was deactivated. Concurrently, behavioral metrics mirrored these findings, with cows adjusting their daily travel distances, exploration area, and cumulative activity counts in response to the allocation of areas with different virtual fence configurations. Hypothesis 2 was also supported by the results, with a decrease in cueing events over time and increased reliance with animals on audio cueing to avert receiving the mild electric pulse. These outcomes underscore the rapid learning capabilities of groups of nursing cows in responding to virtual fence boundaries

Syndromic Surveillance: Adapting Innovations to Developing Settings

The tools and strategies of syndromic surveillance, say the authors, hold promise for improving public health security in developing countries

Integrating space and time: a case for phenological context in grazing studies and management

In water-limited landscapes, patterns in primary production are highly variable across space and time. Livestock grazing is a common agricultural practice worldwide and a concern is localized overuse of specific pasture resources that can exacerbate grass losses and soil erosion. On a research ranch in New Mexico with average annual rainfall of 217 mm, we demonstrate with a quantitative approach that annual seasons vary greatly and examine foraging patterns in Angus-Hereford (Bos taurus) cows. We define five seasonal stages based on MODIS NDVI: pre-greenup, greenup, peak green, drydown and dormant, and examine livestock movements in 2008. Daily distance traveled by cows was greater and foraging area expanded during periods with higher precipitation. A regression model including minimum NDVI, rainfall and their interaction explained 81% of the seasonal variation in distance traveled by cows (P<0.01). Cows explored about 81 ha·d−1 while foraging, but tended to explore smaller areas as the pasture became greener (greenup and peak green stages). Cows foraged an average of 9.7 h daily and spent more time foraging with more concentrated search patterns as pastures became greener. Our findings suggest that phenological context can expand the capacity to compare and integrate findings, and facilitate meta-analyses of grazing studies conducted at different locations and times of year

Uma caracterização fenotípica do gado Crioulo Rarámuri Introduzido no Sudoeste dos Estados Unidos

Our objective was to describe key phenotypic characteristics of a population of Rarámuri Criollo (RC) cattle introduced from the Copper Canyon of Chihuahua, México into the Southwestern United States almost two decades ago. We recorded 26 phenotypic traits of 37 RC individuals including mature cows, first-calf heifers, and mature bulls raised at the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range in southern New Mexico. This herd of RC cattle exhibited intermediate body sizes compared to the smaller Corriente and larger Texas Longhorn and Florida Cracker cattle. Coat colors were similar to those described for other Criollo biotypes but horn shape and size of RC appear to be different than that of other US-based Criollo breeds. Though smaller than commercial beef breeds, RC cattle appear to be well-matched to the Southwestern US environments as evidenced by previous studies that evaluated their grazing behavior, weight gains, and carcass quality. Rarámuri Criollo cattle are a genetic resource whose conservation could be critically important for climate change adaptation of ranches in the desert Southwest.  El objetivo de este trabajo fue describir las características fenotípicas de una población de ganado bovino Criollo Rarámuri (CR) introducido desde las Barrancas del Cobre en Chihuahua, México al Sudoeste de los Estados Unidos hace aproximadamente dos décadas. Se registraron 26 características fenotípicas en 37 individuos incluyendo vacas adultas, vaquillonas de primera parición y toros adultos Criollo Rarámuri criados en el campo experimental La Jornada del Servicio de Investigaciones Agropecuarias del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos ubicado en el sur del estado de Nuevo México. El rodeo de Criollo Rarámuri evaluado presenta tamaños corporales intermedios entre el ganado bovino Corriente (más liviano) y el Texas Longhorn y Florida Cracker (más pesados). El CR presenta colores de pelaje similares a los descriptos para otros biotipos de ganado bovino Criollo, pero el tamaño y la forma de la cornamenta del Criollo Rarámuri son diferentes de otras razas Criollas de los EE.UU. Aunque el tamaño del CR es menor que el de bovinos de razas carniceras mejoradas, este ganado aparenta estar mejor adaptado al ambiente árido del SO de los Estados Unidos como sugieren los resultados de ensayos experimentales previos que evaluaron su conducta de pastoreo, su ganancia de peso, y calidad de carne. El CR es un recurso genético cuya conservación podría ser sumamente importante como herramienta de adaptación al cambio climático y sus efectos sobre la ganadería extensiva en el SO de los EE.UU.Nosso objetivo foi descrever as principais características fenotípicas de uma população de gado Rarámuri Criollo (RC) introduzido do Copper Canyon de Chihuahua, México, no sudoeste dos Estados Unidos, quase duas décadas atrás. Registramos 26 características fenotípicas de 37 indivíduos RC, incluindo vacas maduras, novilhas de primeira cria e touros adultos criados na área experimental USDA-ARS Jornada, no sul do Novo México. Este rebanho de gado RC exibiu tamanhos de corpo intermediários em comparação com o menor Corriente e o maior Texas Longhorn e o Florida Cracker. As cores da pelagem eram semelhantes às descritas para outros biótipos Crioulos, mas a forma do chifre e o tamanho do RC parecem ser diferentes dos de outras raças Crioulas baseadas nos Estados Unidos. Embora menor do que as raças comerciais de corte, o gado RC parece ser bem compatível com os ambientes do sudoeste dos Estados Unidos, conforme evidenciado por estudos anteriores que avaliaram seu comportamento de pastejo, ganho de peso e qualidade de carcaça. O gado Rarámuri Crioulo é um recurso genético cuja conservação pode ser extremamente importante para a adaptação às mudanças climáticas de fazendas no deserto do sudoeste

Foraging Behavior of Heritage versus Desert-Adapted Commercial Rangeland Beef Cows in Relation to Dam-Offspring Contact Patterns

We compared cow-calf contacts, as well as movement, activity, and pasture use patterns of heritage Raramuri Criollo (RC) and desert-adapted commercial Angus Hereford crossbred (AH) beef cattle grazing Chihuahuan Desert pastures during 4 wk in the summers of 2016 and 2017. Within each herd of 11 cow-calf pairs, a group of 7−9 randomly selected cows were fitted with Global Positioning System collars that recorded animal position at 10-min intervals. Proximity loggers configured to record contact events (< 1-m radius) were fitted on a subset of five cow-calf pairs of each breed. The effect of breed on cow-calf contacts, as well as the dams’ movement, activity, and pasture use patterns were analyzed via mixed analysis of variance models. A higher number of RC cow-calf contacts occurred while the dam was grazing and traveling compared with AH counterparts (P ≤ 0.05). No breed-related differences were observed in the overall number and duration of cow-calf contact events. Compared with AH dams, RC cows traveled farther each day (RC: 7.51 vs. AH: 4.85 km, P < 0.01) at higher movement velocities (5.46 vs. 3.53 m. min−1, P < 0.01) and spent more time traveling (1.05 vs. 0.48 h, P < 0.01), more time grazing (9.37 vs. 7.45 h, P < 0.01), and less time resting (13.07 vs. 15.68 h, P < 0.01). RC cows explored almost three times more daily area than AH (152.30 vs. 57.69 ha, P = 0.01) but spent similar amounts of time within 200 m and 100 m of a drinker. RC calves explored larger daily areas than their AH counterparts (83.0 vs. 20.8 ha, P = 0.05), but no breed differences were detected in the number of contact events near drinkers. RC calves possibly impose fewer constraints on their dams’ movement and activity patterns compared with commonly used British crossbreds when grazing the Chihuahuan Desert during summer.EEA BalcarceFil: Nyamuryekung’e, Shelemia. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados Unidos.Fil: Cibils, Andres F. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados Unidos.Fil: Estell, Richard E. US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service; Estados Unidos.Fil: McIntosh, Matthew. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados Unidos.Fil: VanLeeuwen, Dawn. New Mexico State University. Department of Agricultural Extension Education; Estados Unidos.Fil: Steele, Caitriana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: González, Alfredo. New Mexico State University. Department of Agricultural Extension Education; Estados Unidos.Fil: Spiegal, Sheri. Agricultural Research Service, Department of Agriculture; Estados Unidos.Fil: Continanza, Fátima Guadalupe. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina

An epigenetic aging analysis of randomized metformin and weight loss interventions in overweight postmenopausal breast cancer survivors.

Metformin and weight loss relationships with epigenetic age measures-biological aging biomarkers-remain understudied. We performed a post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial among overweight/obese breast cancer survivors (N = 192) assigned to metformin, placebo, weight loss with metformin, or weight loss with placebo interventions for 6&nbsp;months. Epigenetic age was correlated with chronological age (r = 0.20-0.86; P &lt; 0.005). However, no significant epigenetic aging associations were observed by intervention arms. Consistent with published reports in non-cancer patients, 6&nbsp;months of metformin therapy may be inadequate to observe expected epigenetic age deceleration. Longer duration studies are needed to better characterize these relationships.Trial Registration: Registry Name: ClincialTrials.Gov.Registration Number: NCT01302379.Date of Registration: February 2011.URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01302379

Internet and Telephone Access in Developing Countries

<p>Adapted from [<a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050072#pmed-0050072-b022" target="_blank">22</a>].</p