No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study was conducted on the grazing of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats managed by 41 farmers in Nigeria. The study focused on the use of "fodder banks" by small-scale farmers. The objective of the research was to determine the effect of seeding Stylosanthes hamata on herbage productivity and goat performance under three grazing management systems: tethering (conventional), free grazing natural pasture or free grazing legume-seeded pasture (fodder bank). / Irrespective of the system of management, goats grazing the various pastures had a weaning weight of 6.0 $ pm$ 0.3 kg. At 6, 9 and 12 months the body weights were 9.3 $ pm$ 0.41, 11.7 $ pm$ 1.36 and 12.6 $ pm$ 0.73 kg, resulting from an average daily gain (ADG) of 49.0 $ pm$ 4.0, 33.4 $ pm$ 4.0, 31.0 $ pm$ 0.1 and 25.0 $ pm$ 0.03 g day$ sp{-1}$ for the growth periods of birth to 3 months (pre-weaning) 3-6, 3-9, and 3-12 month (post-weaning) growth periods, respectively. There were no significant differences among the grazing systems with regard to birth weights and 3-month body weight (weaning weight). However, during the 3 to 6-month growth period, the ADG of goats tethered on natural pasture was higher than that observed for goats grazing S. hamata seeded pasture or fenced natural pasture, but this difference disappeared with time. At the 12-month period goats grazing fodder banks were heavier than goats tethered on natural pasture during the late wet season period, but the effect was not significant. Although animals lost weight during the late rainy season, animals grazing fodder banks seemed to have lost less weight than those grazing natural pasture. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Despite extensive studies on Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in McMurdo Sound since the 1960s, uncertainty still remains regarding female foraging habits during the lactation period. Based on their large body mass at the start of lactation and large relative mass loss at the end, the current hypothesis is that Weddell seals fast or feed to a neglible extent during lactation. However, this hypothesis has not been fully tested to date, as evidence for foraging is indirect and is based primarily on dive behaviour. The work presented in this thesis describes the development of a new dietary method, the biomarker method, and its application for studying the foraging behaviour of female Weddell seals during lactation. Biomarkers were used to (1) monitor the onset of feeding in individual animals, and (2) determine what prey females were feeding on using characteristic/taxon-specific biomarker patterns. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays were developed to detect and quantify dietary biomarkers in biological samples, mainly tissues, serum and plasma. Trimethylamine N-oxide, arsenobetaine, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, homarine and glycine betaine were first measured in thirty-three prey and potential prey species of Weddell seals collected from the Ross Sea and McMurdo Sound regions of Antarctica. These same compounds were then measured in the plasma of twelve female Weddell seals over the lactation period at the Hutton Cliffs seal colony, McMurdo Sound in 2006. Time-depth recorders monitored seal dive activity over the same period. The data obtained from both NMR and LC-MS/MS assays showed that biomarkers in Antarctic species varied both in content and concentration. The compound homarine, which occurs primarily in cephalopods, is suitable for distinguishing between major food groups of known prey of Weddell seals (i.e., fishes versus cephalopods). DMSP, a compound that occurs primarily in fish common in McMurdo Sound (e.g., Trematomus bernacchii and Pagothenia borchgrevinki) but not in significant amounts in Dissostichus mawsoni or Pleuragramma antarcticum, two main prey items for Weddell seals, may also be a suitable biomarker for distinguishing between major and minor prey types. The detection of plasma TMAO, AsB and homarine indicated that 75% of Weddell seals studied fed during lactation. The presence of these three compounds indicates the seals were preying upon a combination of fish and cephalopods. Two lactating females started foraging as early as 9 to 12 days postpartum and elevated biomarker levels were concurrent with increased dive activity. The onset of foraging and dive behaviour amongst individuals was highly variable; however, the results suggests that the number of females who feed during lactation may be more prevalent and initiated at an earlier stage than previously thought. This may have implications for future reproductive success given effects of climate change on sea ice abundance and resource availability. Overall, the work presented in this thesis provides new insights into the foraging behaviour of female Weddell seals during lactation and has added to the current knowledge of the biomarker distribution within the Antarctic ecosystem.

Food selectivity is a common problem in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While research into this area is beginning to develop, there are currently few studies investigating the use of parent-implemented interventions within this population. The present study aimed to teach parents to implement multi-component behavioural interventions at home to ameliorate the food selectivity of their children. The study also aimed to show that these interventions could increase children’s preference for previously nonpreferred foods. Five children and their parents participated. The interventions delivered to the children were tailored to meet their needs and to fit within the context of their families. Each of these interventions was composed of antecedent, positive reinforcement and escape extinction strategies. Parents recorded their children’s food acceptance and disruptive behaviours during each intervention session. In addition, preference assessments were conducted in order to track changes in the children’s preferences for the target foods. The results showed that all of the parents were able to introduce at least one new food to their children’s diets during the intervention. Further, four of the five children showed an improvement in their preference for the targeted foods. These results were maintained at follow-up, although two of the children had only maintained some of the foods that had been introduced. All of the parents reported that their children consumed more foods at follow-up than they had during baseline and indicated that they thought the interventions had been effective. These results indicate that parents are able to implement multi-component behavioural interventions to increase the range of foods in their children’s diets and improve their children’s preference for these foods.

The quantitative relationship between the urinary excretion of <I>TBA</I> and the uptake of <I>PPA </I>and <I>CHCA</I> was examined by continuous intraruminal infusion of <I>PPA</I> (8, 16 or 24 mmol/d) either alone or with <I>CHCA </I>(8 or 16 mmol/d) in sheep nourished by intragastric infusions of all nutrients. The daily excretion of <I>TBA</I> was linearly correlated (<I>r</I> 0.99, <I>P</I><0.001) with the amounts of <I>PPA</I> and <I>CHCA</I> infused. The urinary recovery of infused <I>PPA</I> and <I>CHCA</I> as <I>TBA</I> was 0.79 (<I>s.e.</I> 0.01). Recovery of infused <I>SA</I> (8 mmol/d) as urinary total salicylic acid (<I>TSA</I>) was 0.89 (<I>SD</I> 0.08). Both <I>TBA</I> and <I>TSA</I> excretions were found to be exclusively of exogenous origin, with negligible faecal excretion. It is concluded that urinary <I>TBA</I> is a potential estimator of <I>PPA + CHCA</I> absorption from the digestive tract. <I>SA</I> may have potential as a marker of urine volume. The relationship between urinary excretion of <I>TBA</I> and forage intake was assessed with steers fed different amounts of fresh herbage from pastures comprising oat, rye, vetch and lucerne. Herbage samples collected daily were incubated <I>in vitro</I> with buffered rumen fluid for 48 h. The <I>PPA</I> production per unit of herbage <I>DM</I> incubated was fitted to the exponential function of time <I>Y </I>= <I>a +</I> [<I>b</I>. (1 - <I>e</I>^-<I>c.l</I>)]. Regression analysis showed that the <I>TBA:</I>creatine concentration ratio was a good explanatory variable (<I>r</I>²0.92-095; <I>P</I><0.001) of herbage intake. <I>TBA</I>:creatinine concentration ratio divided by the product <I>b.c</I>, both constants from the fitted curves of <I>PPA</I> production of herbage cultures, was another good index (<I>r</I>² up to 0.98). It is concluded that a method for the prediction of herbage intake for grazing animals based on <I>TBA</I> excretion in urine seems promising.

No description available.

No description available.

The number of elderly people around the world is growing rapidly. This has led to an increase in the number of people who are seeking assistance and adequate service either at home or in long-term- care institutions to successfully accomplish their daily activities. Responding to these needs has been a burden to the health care system in terms of labour and associated costs and has motivated research in developing alternative services using new technologies. Various intelligent, and non-intelligent, machines and robots have been developed to meet the needs of elderly and people with upper limb disabilities or dysfunctions in gaining independence in eating, which is one of the most frequent and time-consuming everyday tasks. However, in almost all cases, the proposed systems are designed only for the personal use of one individual and little effort to design a multiple-user feeding robot has been previously made. The feeding requirements of elderly in environments such as senior homes, where many elderly residents dine together at least three times per day, have not been extensively researched before. The aim of this research was to develop a machine to feed multiple elderly people based on their characteristics and feeding needs, as determined through observations at a nursing home. Observations of the elderly during meal times have revealed that almost 40% of the population was totally dependent on nurses or caregivers to be fed. Most of those remaining, suffered from hand tremors, joint pain or lack of hand muscle strength, which made utensil manipulation and coordination very difficult and the eating process both messy and lengthy. In addition, more than 43% of the elderly were very slow in eating because of chewing and swallowing problems and most of the rest were slow in scooping and directing utensils toward their mouths. Consequently, one nurse could only respond to a maximum of two diners simultaneously. In order to manage the needs of all elderly diners, they required the assistance of additional staff members. The limited time allocated for each meal and the daily progression of the seniors??? disabilities also made mealtime very challenging. Based on the caregivers??? opinion, many of the elderly in such environments can benefit from a machine capable of feeding multiple users simultaneously. Since eating is a slow procedure, the idle state of the robot during one user???s chewing and swallowing time can be allotted for feeding another person who is sitting at the same table. The observations and studies have resulted in the design of a food tray, and selection of an appropriate robot and applicable user interface. The proposed system uses a 6-DOF serial articulated robot in the center of a four-seat table along with a specifically designed food tray to feed one to four people. It employs a vision interface for food detection and recognition. Building the dynamic equations of the robotic system and simulation of the system were used to verify its dynamic behaviour before any prototyping and real-time testing.