Orientador: Linda Jane Keeling / Coorientador: Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa / Banca: Carla Forte Maiolino Molento / Banca: Marcelo Simão da Rosa / Resumo: Bezerros leiteiros são separados de suas mães geralmente em algumas horas após o parto e, a partir deste momento, há um aumento expressivo da interação com os seres humanos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as atitudes dos tratadores para com os bezerros leiteiros, e os efeitos dessas atitudes no bem-estar desses animais. Foram realizadas observações diretas do manejo de aleitamento por três dias consecutivos, e as ações dos tratadores foram registradas em dez diferentes fazendas produtoras de leite nos estados de São Paulo (9) e Minas Gerais (1). Para avaliar o temperamento dos animais, três testes comportamentais foram realizados: escore de distância de fuga (FDS), teste de aproximação voluntária (VA) e avaliação qualitativa do comportamento (QBA). Um questionário contendo 21 questões foi aplicado para cada tratador. Um total de 12 tratadores e 328 bezerros foi avaliado. Para diminuir a dimensionalidade dos dados e entender as múltiplas associações entre as variáveis, foram realizadas: Análise de Componentes Principais (PCA), Análise de Fatores (FA) e Análise de Correspondência Múltipla (MCA), com uso do programa estatístico Statistica 7. Análises de variância confirmatórias foram realizadas usando o programa estatístico SAS; junto com a estimação dos coeficientes de correlação de Spearman (rs) para as variáveis não paramétricas. Diferenças significativas foram encontradas para os descritores do QBA entre as 10 fazendas avaliadas (F = 11.48, P < 0.0001). De acordo com a PCA, as fazendas 1, 2, 3 e 5 tiveram os animais com pior temperamento. As fazendas 3 e 5 apresentaram os tratadores que menos se preocupavam com os bezerros, de acordo com as respostas no questionário. Após a FA, foi possível fazer um ranking dos 'bons' e 'maus' tratadores, demonstrando que os tratadores 1, 2a e 2b foram aqueles que mais apresentaram ações positivas em relação aos bezerros, mas também um maior ... / Abstract: Dairy calves are usually separated from their dams within few hours after birth, when calves start their relationship with humans. The aim of this study was to assess the handler attitudes toward dairy calves and their effects on calf welfare. Direct observations during milk feeding period were made for three consecutive days, and all actions from the handlers were recorded in ten different commercial dairy farms in the states of São Paulo (9) and Minas Gerais (1). Calf temperament traits were assessed by performing three behavioural tests: flight distance score (FDS); voluntary approach test (VA); and qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA). A questionnaire containing 21 questions was applied for each handler. A total of 12 handlers and 328 calves were assessed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Factor Analysis (FA) and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) were held, using Statistica 7 software package, for shrinking the data dimensionality and understanding the multiple association among the variables. Confirmatory data analyses of variance (ANOVA) were carried out using SAS software program; and the Spearman coefficients of correlation (rs) were estimated for the non-parametric variables. Significant differences were found among the 10 farms regarding the QBA descriptors (F = 11.48, P < 0.0001). According to the PCA farms 1, 2, 3 and 5 presented calves with undesirable temperament descriptors. In addition, farms 3 and 5 showed handlers who least cared for the calves according to their answers in the questionnaire. After the FA, it was possible to make a ranking of the 'good' and 'poor' handlers, showing that handlers 1, 2a and 2b were the handlers who performed most positive actions, but were also the ones who performed most negative actions (in lower proportions); handlers 3 and 5 had the most ill calves under their care, and also animals which did not approach the test person. According to the MCA, it was possible ... / Mestre

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Em roedores, as vibrissas são detectores táteis que desempenham papel importante na exploração espacial do ambiente e na discriminação de texturas. No córtex somatosensorial, os campos receptivos de cada uma das vibrissas estão organizados no hemisfério contralateral em colunas discretas denominadas barris. A lesão unilateral dos barris produz um comportamento assimétrico caracterizado pela redução no uso da vibrissa contralateral à lesão na exploração do ambiente, assimetria esta que diminui progressivamente na medida em que os animais são repetidamente testados. Em ratos, este comportamento, normalmente medido pelo número de vezes que os animais encostam as vibrissas na parede de um campo aberto, tem se mostrado uma ferramenta importante em estudos de plasticidade e recuperação funcional após lesões corticais. Contudo, em camundongos com lesões unilaterais dos barris, o registro dos toques das vibrissas na parede tem levado a resultados contraditórios. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo principal o estabelecimento de um modelo comportamental para avaliação da recuperação funcional após lesões unilaterais dos barris do córtex somatosensorial em camundongos. Para tanto, o sentido dos deslocamentos realizados próximos às quinas do campo aberto foi registrado em camundongos Suíços machos submetidos à criolesão unilateral dos barris foi avaliado em três estudos independentes. No primeiro estudo, demonstramos que no grupo Criolesado houve um predomínio dos deslocamentos em sentido contralateral na primeira vez em que foram testados no campo aberto e este resultado foi independente do fato de na primeira sessão ter sido realizada um ou nove dias após a cirurgia. Além disso, demonstramos que o predomínio de deslocamentos em sentido contralateral foi diminuindo na medida em que os animais eram repetidamente testados no campo aberto. No segundo estudo, demonstramos que os animais do grupo Criolesado que foram previamente submetidos a cinco sessões experimentais no campo aberto não apresentaram, após a cirurgia, diferenças entre os deslocamentos realizados em sentido ipsolateral e contralateral à lesão. Já no terceiro estudo, demonstramos que os animais do grupo Criolesado que não foram previamente testados no campo aberto apresentam um predomínio de deslocamentos em sentido contralateral, mesmo quando o teste foi realizado 48 dias após a lesão unilateral dos barris. Nossos dados sugerem que o sentido dos deslocamentos próximo às quinas do campo aberto pode ser uma ferramenta importante para avaliar a recuperação das lesões unilaterais nos barris do córtex somatosensorial. Além disso, para avaliar a recuperação funcional após a lesão unilateral dos barris do córtex somatossensorial, sem o viés da habituação à situação do teste, os animais devem ser testados apenas uma vez / In rodents, the vibrissae are tactile detectors that have an important role in the spatial exploration of the environment and in texture discrimination. In the somatosensory cortex, the receptive fields of each of the vibrissae are organized into discrete columns, known as barrels, in the contralateral hemisphere. The unilateral lesions of the barrels results in an asymmetric behavior characterized by the reduction in the use of the vibrissae contralateral to the lesion during the exploration of the environment. This asymmetry progressively diminishes as the animal is repeatedly tested in the same environment. In rats, this behavior, usually assessed by the number of times the animals touch the walls of an open field arena with their vibrissae, has been considered a useful tool in studies addressing plasticity and functional recovery after cortical lesions. However, in mice with unilateral lesions of the barrels, the analysis of the number of times that the vibrissae touch the walls have lead to contradictory results. The present work aims to establish a behavioral model for the evaluation of functional recovery after unilateral lesions of the barrel field located in the somatosensory cortex of the mouse. To that end, the direction of movement near the corners of the open field of Swiss male mice subjected to unilateral cryolesion of the barrel was analyzed in three independent studies. In the first study, we demonstrated that the cryolesioned animals displayed a predominance of contralateral movements in the first time that they were tested in the open field and that this result was present whether the animals was first tested one or nine days after the lesion. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the predominance of movements toward the contralateral side of the lesion diminished as the animals were repeatedly tested in the open field. In the second study, we demonstrated that the cryolesioned animals that were, prior to barrel field lesioning, subjected to five sessions in the open field did not display, after lesioning, differences between the number of ipso and contralateral movements. In the third study, we demonstrated that the cryolesioned animals that were not previously tested in the open field displayed a predominance of contralateral movements even if the first test was carried out forty eight days after the unilateral lesion of the barrels. Our data suggest that the analysis of the direction of movement near the corners of the open field can be an important tool in the assessment of functional recovery after unilateral lesions of the barrels located in the somatosensory cortex of mice. Moreover, in order to properly assess functional recovery after unilateral lesion of the barrel field without the confounding factor of habituation, animals must be tested only once

Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-06T13:03:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-05-25. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-10-06T13:18:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000848622.pdf: 418966 bytes, checksum: d0c0096fb7fa2455fd86b464b638c2d7 (MD5) / Na presente tese, uma das nossas hipóteses era que o temperamento possa ser usado como indicador de indivíduos capazes de se adaptar ao regime de confinamento, bem como que novilhas prenhas com melhor temperamento possam mostrar melhores resultados de desempenho produtivo e reprodutivo, uma vez que estas possuem maior motivação para competir pelo alimento no cocho. Sendo assim, o objetivo do estudo do segundo capítulo foi avaliar a utilização de velocidade de saída do tronco de contenção (FS, m.s-1), como indicador de temperamento, para prever a capacidade individual de bovinos para se adaptarem ao ambiente de confinamento. Foram avaliados 549 bovinos da raça Nelore durante dois anos consecutivos; ano 1 (2012, N = 268) e ano 2 (2013, N = 281). Os animais foram provenientes de dois grupos: Grupo 1, com média idade de 237,29 ± 22,30 dias e 280,09 ± 29,05 kg de PV (n = 141) no primeiro ano e com média de idade de 276,33 ± 12,24 dias e 299,26 ± 30,09 kg de PV (n = 143) no segundo ano; Grupo 2 com média de idade de 324,57 ± 32,20 dias e 318,68 ± 36,07 kg de PV (n = 127) no primeiro ano e 318,16 ± 47.99 dias e 318,16 ± 47,99 kg de PV (n = 138) no segundo ano. Durante o período experimental, os bezerros de cada grupo de idade, foram distribuídos em dois currais de confinamento (com aproximadamente 40 m2/animal), sendo que cada possuía oito cochos eletrônicos (GrowSafe®) para avaliar o comportamento alimentar e consumo individual. As variáveis comportamentais incluíram a frequência de visitas ao cocho (BAf, visitas/dia), duração da visita ao cocho (BAd, min/dia), e taxa de alimentação (ER, g/min; o consumo alimentar foi avaliado pela ingestão de matéria-seca (DMI, kg/d). As medidas de FS (m.s-1) foram realizadas quatro vezes durante o estudo, no primeiro dia (FS1, imediatamente antes da entrada dos animais em confinamento), e aproximadamente com intervalo de 28 dias (FS2, FS3 e FS4). Com base nestas medições... / In the present thesis we hypothesized that temperament traits can be used as indicators of the individual capacity of cattle to adapt to the feedlot environment, and that pregnant heifers with better temperament can show better results of growth and reproductive performance, since they have greater motivations to compete to access the feed bunk. Thus, the aim of the study on the second chapter was to assess the use of flight speed method (FS, m.s-1) to predict the cattle's ability to adapt to the feedlot environment. Five hundred and forty-nine Nellore bull calves were used in this study, which was carried out over two consecutive years; Year 1 (2012, N = 268) and Year 2 (2013, N = 281). The animals consisted of two groups: i) Group 1 averaging 237.29 ± 22.30 d of age and 280.09 ± 29.05 kg of BW (n = 141) in yr 1, and 276.33 ± 12.24 d of age and 299.26 ± 30.09 kg of BW (n = 143) in yr 2 and; ii) Group 2 averaging 324.57 ± 32.20 d of age and 318.68 ± 36.07 kg of BW (n = 127) in yr 1, and 332.83 ± 24.86d of age and 318.16 ± 47.99 kg of BW (n = 138) in yr 2. During the experimental period, calves from each group were allocated equally into one of two feedlot pens (~ 40 m2.animal), and each pen contained eight adjacent electronic troughs (GrowSafe® System Ltd.) to document individual feeding behavior and intake. Feeding behavior variables assessed included bunk attendance frequency (BAf, visits/d), bunk attendance duration (BAd, min/d), and eating rate (ER, g/min-1; feed intake was assessed by dry matter intake (DMI, kg/d). FS (m.s-1) was measured four times during the trial, on the first day (FS1, immediately before the animals entry in the feedlot facilities), and approximately every 28 days (FS2, FS3, and FS4) after. Based on these measurements, two additional FS variables were calculated for each animal including; the arithmetical means of FS (FSmean) and the differences between FS1 and FS4 (FSdiff). Consequently, FSdiff was ...

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T16:53:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-01-24Bitstream added on 2015-05-14T16:58:40Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000824288.pdf: 663043 bytes, checksum: 0b1ed58726a442bad335307ba7f4269d (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / CAPES: 4718/11-9 / CNPq: 47.8769/2010-5 / FAPESP: 10/09516-1

Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-20T17:09:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-04-02. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-08-20T17:27:24Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000843768_20160401.pdf: 37533 bytes, checksum: bbdb383aa5c5e90a926bc6588cf00f2f (MD5) Bitstreams deleted on 2016-04-01T11:49:39Z: 000843768_20160401.pdf,. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-04-01T11:50:34Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000843768.pdf: 430478 bytes, checksum: 329d4ff33963f916f623cf9c77954b46 (MD5) / O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi avaliar as implicações da disponibilidade de espaço no bem-estar, desempenho e qualidade de carcaça e carne de bovinos de corte confinados. Foram confinados 1350 machos inteiros em três disponibilidades de espaço: 6 (T6), 12 (T12) e 24 (T24) m2/animal. Todos os animais receberam a mesma dieta. Foram utilizados indicadores de bem-estar animal com base no ambiente (escore de poeira e profundidade da lama) e com base nos animais, sendo parte destas medidas realizada com os animais alojados nos currais do confinamento, como as medidas de indicadores comportamentais (número de animais em pé, deitado, ou no cocho), de conforto (grau de sujidade dos animais), e de saúde (número de tosses e espirros por minuto, porcentagens de animais com diarreia, alteração de cascos, problemas de locomoção, alteração de tegumento, e com corrimentos nasal e ocular), e parte após o abate dos animais, no frigorífico, avaliandose indicadores de saúde, com o diagnóstico macroscópico de vísceras (porcentagem de animais com bronquite, enfisema pulmonar, nefrite e cisto urinário), e indicadores de estresse, com a coleta das glândulas adrenais direita e esquerda de 20% dos animais de cada tratamento (medindo o peso e as áreas cortical e medular). Foram avaliados também indicadores de desempenho (peso final, ganho de peso médio diário, peso da carcaça quente) e de qualidade das carcaças (número e severidade dos hematomas e grau de acabamento de gordura) e da carne (pH). Em geral, os resultados mostraram que o T24 ofereceu melhores condições ambientais para realizar a fase de terminação dos bovinos que os demais tratamentos, evidenciada pela menor frequência de ocorrência de poeira e profundidade da lama (P < 0,01), menores porcentagens de animais com corrimentos nasal e ocular e com problemas de locomoção (P < 0,05), além de menor porcentagem de animais com diagnóstico de bronquite, enfisema pulmonar... / The objective of this research was to evaluate the implications of the space availability in feedlot beef cattle on animal welfare, performance and carcass and meat quality. One thousand, three hundred and fifty bulls were confined within three space allowance: 6 (T6), 12 (T12) and 24 (T24) m2/animal. All animals received the same diet. The animal welfare were assessed using environmental (dust score and mud depth) and animal based indicators, part of these measurements was carried out with the animals housed in confinement pens by using behavioral (number of animals standing, lying down, or in the feed bunk), comfort (percentage of dirty animals), and health indicators (number of coughs and sneezes per minute, and the percentages of animals with diarrhea, hooves alterations, locomotion problems, tegument alterations, and nasal and ocular discharges), and part after slaughtering the animals, evaluating health indicators, with macroscopic diagnosis of animal viscera (percentage of animals with bronchitis, emphysema, nephritis and urinary cyst), and stress indicators besides the collection of the left and right adrenal glands from 20% of the animals from each treatment (to assess the weight and cortical and medullar areas). Growth performance (final body weight, average daily gain weight, hot carcass weight), and carcasses (number and severity of bruises and degree of fat finishing), and meat quality (pH) indicators were also measured. In general, the results showed that the T24 offered better environmental conditions for the finishing phase of beef cattle than the other treatments, evidenced by the lower frequency of occurrence of dust and mud depth (P < 0.01), lower percentages of animals with nasal and ocular discharges and locomotion problems (P < 0.05), and lower percentage of animals diagnosed with bronchitis, emphysema, nephritis and urinary cyst. In addition, T24 showed higher mean of daily weight gain (P < 0.01), lower means ...

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-06-05Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:07:16Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000811490.pdf: 526564 bytes, checksum: dcca2d67b68376ef731515d08cc74487 (MD5) / O objetivo com o presente estudo foi avaliar a evolução do temperamento de bovinos de corte mantidos em sistema de pastejo com um método de lotação rotativa e avaliar como essa evolução do temperamento afeta o ganho de peso dos animais. O estudo foi realizado com bovinos machos inteiros, em fase de terminação, pertencentes a três diferentes fazendas, sendo avaliados um lote de 565 animais na fazenda 1 (F1), quatro lotes totalizando 758 bovinos na fazenda 2 (F2) e quatro lotes totalizando 656 animais na fazenda 3 (F3). Os bovinos foram mantidos em sistema de pastejo com método de lotação rotativa, manejados para troca de piquete a cada quatro dias e conduzidos ao curral, para realização de manejo de pesagem, em média a cada 35 dias. Foram realizadas duas sessões de avaliação do temperamento na F1, três na F2 e quatro na F3, com intervalo médio de 35 dias entre as avaliações. Foram utilizados três indicadores do temperamento durante o manejo de pesagem dos animais no curral: i) escore composto de reatividade (ECR); ii) Velocidade de saída (VS em m/s) e iii) avaliação qualitativa do comportamento (QBA). Para os dados do QBA foi aplicada Análise de Fatores, que permitiu a obtenção de um índice qualitativo de temperamento (IQT), assumindo que quanto menor o valor deste índice, melhor era o temperamento. Para avaliar se houve alteração no temperamento dos animais ao longo do tempo, as médias de ECR, VS e IQT foram comparadas ao longo das sessões de avaliação (AV) com uso da análise de variância (ANOVA) para medidas repetidas no tempo, utilizando o procedimento MIXED do SAS. Para avaliar se houve efeito da alteração no temperamento sobre o desempenho, as médias do ganho de peso médio diário (GMD) foram comparadas em função de três classes de mudança do temperamento ao longo do tempo (aumentaram, mantiveram ou reduziram a expressão do temperamento), com uso de ANOVA. Esta classificação foi feita ... / The aim of this study was to evaluate the temperament of beef cattle kept in grazing system with rotational stoking method and evaluate the association between temperament evolution and the animals’ weight gain. The study was carried out with finishing bulls from three different farms, being assessed one group of 565 animals from farm 1 (F1), four groups totaling 758 animals from farm 2 (F2) and four groups totaling 656 animals from farm 3 (F3). The animals were kept in grazing systems with rotational stoking method and handled for picket exchanging every four days and taken to the corral to weighing on average of 35 days. Two temperament assessment sessions were performed on F1, three sessions on F2 and four on F3, on an average of 35 days between assessments. Three indicators of temperament were used during weighing in the corral: i) reactivity composed score (RCE); ii) flight speed (FS in m/s) and iii) qualitative behavior assessment (QBA). QBA data was analyzed by using Factors Analysis, obtaining a Temperament Qualitative Index (TQI) for each animal, assuming that the lower the value of the TQI, the best the animal’s temperament. To evaluate whether there was a change in animal’s temperament over time the averages of RCE, FS and TQI were compared over the evaluation sessions (EV) using variance analysis (ANOVA) for repeated measures using the MIXED procedure of SAS. To evaluate whether there was effect of temperament changing on animal’s performance, the average gain and average daily gain (ADG in g.day-1) were compared according to three classes of temperament changing over time (increased, remained or reduced the temperament expression), using ANOVA. This ranking was done in a group of animals per farm (groups 1, 2 and 6), which were composed only of Nelore cattle. Significant decrease (P <0.05) was observed between the assessment averages of all farms for the three indicators used (RCE, VS and QBA), which can be ...

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-06-03Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:06:31Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000811488.pdf: 596989 bytes, checksum: 3de1973b7f316ceea82925cd20ef00ed (MD5) / Bezerros leiteiros são separados de suas mães geralmente em algumas horas após o parto e, a partir deste momento, há um aumento expressivo da interação com os seres humanos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as atitudes dos tratadores para com os bezerros leiteiros, e os efeitos dessas atitudes no bem-estar desses animais. Foram realizadas observações diretas do manejo de aleitamento por três dias consecutivos, e as ações dos tratadores foram registradas em dez diferentes fazendas produtoras de leite nos estados de São Paulo (9) e Minas Gerais (1). Para avaliar o temperamento dos animais, três testes comportamentais foram realizados: escore de distância de fuga (FDS), teste de aproximação voluntária (VA) e avaliação qualitativa do comportamento (QBA). Um questionário contendo 21 questões foi aplicado para cada tratador. Um total de 12 tratadores e 328 bezerros foi avaliado. Para diminuir a dimensionalidade dos dados e entender as múltiplas associações entre as variáveis, foram realizadas: Análise de Componentes Principais (PCA), Análise de Fatores (FA) e Análise de Correspondência Múltipla (MCA), com uso do programa estatístico Statistica 7. Análises de variância confirmatórias foram realizadas usando o programa estatístico SAS; junto com a estimação dos coeficientes de correlação de Spearman (rs) para as variáveis não paramétricas. Diferenças significativas foram encontradas para os descritores do QBA entre as 10 fazendas avaliadas (F = 11.48, P < 0.0001). De acordo com a PCA, as fazendas 1, 2, 3 e 5 tiveram os animais com pior temperamento. As fazendas 3 e 5 apresentaram os tratadores que menos se preocupavam com os bezerros, de acordo com as respostas no questionário. Após a FA, foi possível fazer um ranking dos ‘bons’ e ‘maus’ tratadores, demonstrando que os tratadores 1, 2a e 2b foram aqueles que mais apresentaram ações positivas em relação aos bezerros, mas também um maior ... / Dairy calves are usually separated from their dams within few hours after birth, when calves start their relationship with humans. The aim of this study was to assess the handler attitudes toward dairy calves and their effects on calf welfare. Direct observations during milk feeding period were made for three consecutive days, and all actions from the handlers were recorded in ten different commercial dairy farms in the states of São Paulo (9) and Minas Gerais (1). Calf temperament traits were assessed by performing three behavioural tests: flight distance score (FDS); voluntary approach test (VA); and qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA). A questionnaire containing 21 questions was applied for each handler. A total of 12 handlers and 328 calves were assessed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Factor Analysis (FA) and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) were held, using Statistica 7 software package, for shrinking the data dimensionality and understanding the multiple association among the variables. Confirmatory data analyses of variance (ANOVA) were carried out using SAS software program; and the Spearman coefficients of correlation (rs) were estimated for the non-parametric variables. Significant differences were found among the 10 farms regarding the QBA descriptors (F = 11.48, P < 0.0001). According to the PCA farms 1, 2, 3 and 5 presented calves with undesirable temperament descriptors. In addition, farms 3 and 5 showed handlers who least cared for the calves according to their answers in the questionnaire. After the FA, it was possible to make a ranking of the ‘good’ and ‘poor’ handlers, showing that handlers 1, 2a and 2b were the handlers who performed most positive actions, but were also the ones who performed most negative actions (in lower proportions); handlers 3 and 5 had the most ill calves under their care, and also animals which did not approach the test person. According to the MCA, it was possible ...

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Robert L. Larson / Bradley J. White / There are multiple modalities available to evaluate health or stress status of animals. The objective of my research was to evaluate different modalities including behavior, rectal and nasal temperature, and blood samples to determine the relationship with these outcomes of interest in bovine respiratory disease (BRD) events, environmental conditions, transportation, and Mannheimia haemolytica challenge model. The objective for the final project was to determine whether diagnostic sensitivity or specificity resulted in greater economic value for the industry using simulation models for identification of BRD. There was a positive association with rectal temperature and probability of not finishing the production cycle normally, but this relationship was not linear. Rectal temperature of feedlot calves at first treatment for BRD had limited value as a prognostic indicator of whether those calves would finish the production cycle normally. A positive association between rectal temperature and ambient temperature and temperature-humidity index was determined. Environmental conditions must be considered when rectal temperature is used as a diagnostic tool. At 48 hours after initiation of transportation there were no differences in body weight, rectal temperature, and time spent at various locations in the pen detected between transported and non-transported control heifers. Transportation of heifers during periods of high ambient temperatures caused transient changes in physiologic and behavioral indices of heifers. Calves challenged with Mannheimia haemolytica had more changes in behavior, body weight, and blood biomarkers during high ambient temperatures compared to control calves. Results of this study may guide research in development of objective assessment tools for identification and management of cattle affected with BRD during extreme summer conditions. For both low and high apparent prevalence cohorts, increasing diagnostic specificity resulted in more rapid, positive change in net returns compared to change in increasing sensitivity. Improvement of diagnostic specificity, perhaps through a confirmatory test or pen-level diagnostics, can increase diagnostic value. Mortality risk was the primary driver for net returns. Results from this study are important for determining future research priorities to analyze diagnostic techniques for BRD and provide a novel way for modeling diagnostic tests.

abstract: Warning coloration deters predators from attacking prey that are defended, usually by being distasteful, toxic, or otherwise costly for predators to pursue and consume. Predators may have an innate response to warning colors or learn to associate them with a defense through trial and error. In general, predators should select for warning signals that are easy to learn and recognize. Previous research demonstrates long-wavelength colors (e.g. red and yellow) are effective because they are readily detected and learned. However, a number of defended animals display short-wavelength coloration (e.g. blue and violet), such as the pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor). The role of blue coloration in warning signals had not previously been explicitly tested. My research showed in laboratory experiments that curve-billed thrashers (Toxostoma curvirostre) and Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii) can learn and recognize the iridescent blue of B. philenor as a warning signal and that it is innately avoided. I tested the attack rates of these colors in the field and blue was not as effective as orange. I concluded that blue colors may function as warning signals, but the effectiveness is likely dependent on the context and predator. Blue colors are often iridescent in nature and the effect of iridescence on warning signal function was unknown. I reared B. philenor larvae under varied food deprivation treatments. Iridescent colors did not have more variation than pigment-based colors under these conditions; variation which could affect predator learning. Learning could also be affected by changes in appearance, as iridescent colors change in both hue and brightness as the angle of illuminating light and viewer change in relation to the color surface. Iridescent colors can also be much brighter than pigment-based colors and iridescent animals can statically display different hues. I tested these potential effects on warning signal learning by domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and found that variation due to the directionality of iridescence and a brighter warning signal did not influence learning. However, blue-violet was learned more readily than blue-green. These experiments revealed that the directionality of iridescent coloration does not likely negatively affect its potential effectiveness as a warning signal. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2015

abstract: Women are exposed to numerous endogenous and exogenous hormones across the lifespan. In the last several decades, the prescription of novel hormonal contraceptives and hormone therapies (HTs) have resulted in aging women that have a unique hormone exposure history; little is known about the impact of these hormone exposures on short- and long- term brain health. The goal of my dissertation was to understand how lifetime hormone exposures shape the female cognitive phenotype using several innovative approaches, including a new human spatial working memory task, the human radial arm maze (HRAM), and several rodent menopause models with variants of clinically used hormone treatments. Using the HRAM (chapter 2) and established human neuropsychological tests, I determined males outperformed females with high endogenous or exogenous estrogen levels on visuospatial tasks and the spatial working memory HRAM (chapter 3). Evaluating the synthetic estrogen in contraceptives, ethinyl estradiol (EE), I found a high EE dose impaired spatial working memory in ovariectomized (Ovx) rats, medium and high EE doses reduced choline-acetyltransferace-immunoreactive neuron population estimates in the basal forebrain following Ovx (chapter 4), and low EE impaired spatial cognition in ovary-intact rats (chapter 5). Assessing the impact of several clinically-used HTs, I identified a window of opportunity around ovarian follicular depletion outside of which the HT conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) was detrimental to spatial memory (chapter 6), as well as therapeutic potentials for synthetic contraceptive hormones (chapter 9) and bioidentical estradiol (chapter 7) during and after the transition to menopause. Chapter 6 and 7 findings, that estradiol and Ovx benefitted cognition after the menopause transition, but CEE did not, are perhaps due to the negative impact of ovarian-produced, androstenedione-derived estrone; indeed, blocking androstenedione’s conversion to estrone prevented its cognitive impairments (chapter 8). Finally, I determined that EE combined with the popular progestin levonorgestrel benefited spatial memory during the transition to menopause, a profile not seen with estradiol, levonorgestrel, or EE alone (chapter 9). This work identifies several cognitively safe, and enhancing, hormonal treatment options at different time points throughout female aging, revealing promising avenues toward optimizing female health. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2015