An evaluation of traits other than production and its association with the survival of dairy cows milked once a day in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of AgriScience at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

New Zealand dairy cows have traditionally been milked twice a day (TAD). However, an increasing number of dairy farms have shifted to once a day (OAD) milking in the last few years for several reasons. A particular emphasis has been placed on the cow’s conformation and its management during the milking routine in OAD dairy farms, as these factors might have altered the culling decisions of herds after shifting from TAD to OAD milking. This thesis evaluates production traits and traits other than production (TOP) in the herd of Massey University Dairy 1 since the start of OAD milking and for three consecutive seasons (2013- 2015), with an assessment of the influence that these traits have on the cow’s survival. Results showed a significant effect of breed, season and lactation on TOP. The scores for most udder traits showed a gradual decrease over lactations. The main reasons for culling were low fertility (37.2%), poor udder conformation (19.9%) and low production (12.8%). Hazard ratios from a Cox proportional hazard model showed that Holstein-Friesian and crossbred cows had a higher likelihood of culling than Jerseys, which also had the highest scores for most udder traits. For some TOP, such as adaptability to milking, rump angle and udder support, higher scores were associated with a lower likelihood of culling. However, intermediate scores were optimum for traits such as body capacity and leg conformation. The results of this thesis are the first to show culling reasons and risk factors for survival in cows recently shifted from TAD to OAD. The analyses of TOP over seasons and over lactations are also unique to this thesis as most studies on this topic only include TOP on first lactation cows. The findings of this thesis indicate that TOP would have a higher priority to make culling decisions in OAD herds during the transition from TAD to OAD milking, compared to TAD herds and also established OAD herds that have used this milking frequency for several seasons. Furthermore, besides body capacity and udder support, traits such as adaptability to milking, rump angle and leg conformation could also potentially be included in a new selection index for OAD dairy cattle

Bank competition in the Middle East and northern Africa region

This paper studies the extent of bank competition in the Middle East and Northern Africa region during 1994-2008, using non-structural measures of competition such as the H-statistic and the Lerner index. Both these measures suggest that banking sector competition in the region is lower relative to other regions and has not improved in recent years. An analysis of the determinants of competition across countries suggests that lower levels of competition in the Middle East and Northern Africa are explained by the region’s worse credit information environment and lower market contestability.Banks&Banking Reform,Markets and Market Access,Labor Policies,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance

Adults with Developmental Disabilities’ Personal Hygiene

Adults with intellectual disabilities often lack personal hygiene skills such as teeth brushing, hand washing, hair combing and washing, as well as regular showering. Although, there are various reasons for this, which may include, the lack of ability (physical or mental), attention, memory, behavioral or sensory problems, personal hygiene for adults is a vital life skill to possess to be successful in life. In order to address this issue, I created a two-day lesson for adults with intellectual disabilities receiving services through Community Life Services in Watsonville, California, which intends to increase this population\u27s knowledge on personal hygiene and the importance of correctly performing it on a regular basis

Ana and Adriana Trujillo interview

Juanita Martinez-Rocha interviews Ana Trujillo, mother, and Adriana Trujillo, daughter, on March 17, 2023

Are international environmental policies effective? The case of the Rotterdam and the Stockholm Conventions

This is the first paper to show that participation in an international environmental agreement has some effectiveness. Our identification strategy consists of applying difference-in-differences techniques in a panel data framework to various levels of data aggregation. We find that ratification of the Rotterdam Convention (RC) and the Stockholm Convention (SC) leads to a reduction in trade of hazardous substances from OECD to non-OECD countries. In particular, we find that when the exporter ratifies the RC, there is a reduction in the import of hazardous chemicals of about 7 percent. In the case of the SC, the results show significant reductions of around 16 percent in trade shipments of persistent organic pollutants. This reduction is more than double the effect found for the RC, which was expected due to a more restricted obligation imposed by the SC convention

Automatización del proceso de gestión de registro académico “Universidad en el Campo” FAREM-Matagalpa, año 2012

En la presente investigación se evaluó el proceso registro académico de la “Universidad en el Campo” FAREM-Matagalpa, donde se identificaron las dificultades en dicho proceso y a la vez se valoraron alternativas, con el propósito de mejorar el proceso de publicación de la información tanto para estudiantes como docentes. El proceso de registro académico se lleva a cabo a través de un control manual, siendo esté de gran apoyo a las principales funciones realizadas en dicha universidad, pero no logrando satisfacer las necesidades de acuerdo la buena gestión de la información. Dentro de las actividades fundamentales encontradas en el proceso de registro están: realización de informes, elaboración de formatos para inscripción de los estudiantes, asignación de módulos, asignación de grupos de estudio a los docentes y publicación de notas a los estudiantes. Las dificultades encontradas fueron: publicación manual de reportes de notas a los estudiantes e informes de notas de los docentes a través de Excel y Word, dirigidas al coordinador del proyecto “Universidad en el Campo”. A partir de las dificultades manifestadas previamente, se lograron valorar dos alternativas, una que consistía en llevar un proceso manual y la otra que consistía en automatizar el proceso atraves de un Sitio Web Dinámico, seleccionando este último, como alternativa óptima para dar solución a esta problemática del proceso de registro académico. La solución informática planteada vendrá a dar respuesta a las necesidades existentes, mejorando así la buena administración de la información y brindando así un mejor servicio a los estudiantes y al colectivo de docente

Effect of pesticides on integrated mite management in Washington State

The effect of pesticides used against codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., on integrated mite management was studied for three years in five or six commercial apple orchards in central Washington. Phytophagous and predatory mites were counted throughout the season in blocks ranging from 0.4-1.6 ha in size treated with four codling moth insecticides. In one year of the study (2006), five out of six orchards experienced elevated mite densities relative to the standard. In four orchards, novaluron caused a 3.0-16.9× increase in mite populations; acetamiprid caused a 2.6-3.4× increase, and thiacloprid caused a 1.7-13.8× increase. In the fifth orchard, the organophosphate standard had an extremely high mite population, in addition to all three experimental treatments. In 2005 and 2007, only one or two orchards had elevated mite levels in the novaluron, acetamiprid, and thiacloprid treatments. Additive effects of codling moth and thinning programs were evaluated in small plot research trials. Treatments with all three elements [1) codling moth insecticide; 2) calcium polysulfide; 3) carbaryl] produced the highest levels ofspider mites. Three sulfur-containing products (calcium polysulfide, ammonium thiosulfate, and dry flowable sulfur) were evaluated for their effect onGalandromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) and apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa). All three materials caused suppressed G. occidentalis numbers. Calcium polysulfide caused the greatest reduction in apple rust mite numbers, ammonium thiosulfate the least reduction, with dry flowable sulfur intermediate between the two. Additive effects of codling moth materials, carbaryl, and sulfur-containing products may be causing increased mite levels in Washington orchards

La velarización en shipibo

Taking as an explanatory frame the presuppositions coming from the not-linear generativephonology, the phenomenon of velarización is he re described as the appearanceof a complex segment with a velar second articulation which comes into being throughthe confluence of labial sounds with an unrounded central high vowel. No other theoryhelps establish a relation of greater affinity between the phonological features and thesurface segments.Nuestro estudio aborda el fenómeno de velarización en shipibo, tomando como marcoexplicativo los presupuestos planteados por la fonología generativa no lineal. El fenómenode velarización supone la aparición de un segmento complejo con segunda articulaciónvelar, a partir de la confluencia de sonidos labiales con la vocal central alta noredondeada) de naturaleza fonológica en shipibo. El aporte del marco generativo en laexplicación de este proceso es medular en la medida en que se establece una relación demayor afinidad entre los rasgos fonológicos y los segmentos descritos

Usos de la lengua creole en contextos y actividades escolares del Brooks Hill Bilingual School

La investigación es una mirada a la situación sociolingüística de una institución educativa, bilingüe de carácter público ubicada en la isla de San Andrés. El trabajo muestra los contextos de uso de la lengua creole y del papel que cumple dentro de la comunidad educativa, analizando los eventos extracurriculares que integran a la comunidad circundante, a padres de familia y a los estudiantes, y como la institución por medio de la integración de la cultura usan el creole para complementar la experiencia educativa en niveles de preescolar y primaria.Abstract. The research describes the sociolinguistic situation of a bilingual public educational institution; located on the island of San Andrés. The work shows the contexts of use of the Creole language and the role played it has within the educational community, analyzing the extracurricular events that integrate the surrounding community, parents and students, here is an analytical view of how the institution through the integration of the culture use the Creole as a complement on the educational experience at preschool and primary levels.Maestrí