Uma rede é um conjunto de nós conectados entre si através de um conjunto de arestas. Redes podem representar qualquer conjunto de objetos que possuam relações entre si. Comunidades são conjuntos de nós relacionados de uma maneira significativa, provavelmente compartilhando propriedades e/ou atuando de forma similar dentro de uma rede. Quando a análise de redes é aplicada ao estudo de padrões de movimentação animal, as unidades epidemiológicas de interesse (propriedades, estabelecimentos, municípios, estados, países, etc) são representadas como nós, enquanto a movimentação animal entre elas é representada através das arestas de uma rede. Descobrir a estrutura de uma rede, e portanto as preferências e rotas comerciais, pode ser útil para um pesquisador ou gestor de saúde animal. Foi implementado um algoritmo de detecção de comunidades para encontrar grupos de propriedades que é consistente com a definição de circuito pecuário, assumindo que uma comunidade é um grupo de nós (fazendas, abatedouros) no qual um animal vai mais provavelmente permanecer durante sua vida. Este algoritmo foi aplicado na rede interna de movimentação animal de 2007 do Estado do Mato Grosso. Esse banco de dados contém informação sobre 87.899 propriedades e 521.431 movimentações durante o ano, totalizando 15.844.779 de animais movimentados. O algoritmo de detecção de comunidades encontrou uma partição da rede que mostra um claro padrão geográfico e comercial, duas importantes características para aplicações em medicina veterinária preventiva, além de possuir uma interpretação clara e significativa em redes de comércio onde ligações se estabelecem a partir da escolha dos nós envolvidos. / A network is a set of nodes that are linked together by a set of edges. Networks can represent any set of objects that have relations among themselves. Communities are sets of nodes that are related in an important way, probably sharing common properties and/or playing similar roles within a network. When network analysis is applied to study the livestock movement patterns, the epidemiological units of interest (farm premises, counties, states, countries, etc.) are represented as nodes, and animal movements between the nodes are represented as the edges of a network. Unraveling a network structure, and hence the trade preferences and pathways, could be very useful to a researcher or a decision-maker. We implemented a community detection algorithm to find livestock communities that is consistent with the definition of a livestock production zone, assuming that a community is a group of farm premises in which an animal is more likely to stay during its life time than expected by chance. We applied this algorithm to the network of within animal movements made inside the State of Mato Grosso, for the year of 2007. This database holds information about 87,899 premises and 521,431 movements throughout the year, totalizing 15,844,779 animals moved. The community detection algorithm achieved a network partition that shows a clear geographical and commercial pattern, two crucial features to preventive veterinary medicine applications, and also has a meaningful interpretation in trade networks where links emerge from the choice of trader nodes.

This thesis combines two studies: the role of livestock in the temporal salvation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mormon exodus of 1846 and Cornelius P. Lott's contribution in the care of cattle and sheep during that time period. At Winter Quarters, the Church and its members depended in large measure for their survival upon the sizeable cattle herds they had acquired prior to their exodus from Nauvoo and during their trek across Iowa. Church leaders relied on men like Lott, whose expertise in the care of livestock, contributed significantly to the salvation of the Latter-day Saints. The work investigates the American agriculture and livestock industry in the first half of the nineteenth century for the context in which the Latter-day Saints acquired livestock and subsequently herded them across Iowa. During that time period, Missouri and Illinois had an abundance of good livestock, which contributed to success of the Mormon exodus. After their expulsion from the state of Missouri in 1838, the Church was left destitute of property and had to build up their livestock again. By 1846, they had amassed numerous herds, especially as they made a concerted effort to gather livestock in preparation for their exodus from Illinois. Along the Iowa trail, they continued acquiring cattle in great number by trading many of their possessions with local settlers. As Church leaders had designed, the Latter-day Saints arrived at the Missouri River with thousands of head of livestock. Their herds, particularly cattle, provided a significant lifeline for the Church in both sustenance and trade. Because the Latter-day Saints' livestock was such a precious commodity, Church leaders had to be selective in choosing men to care for the animals. Cornelius P. Lott represents that class of skilled hands who took on such assignments. He joined the Church in 1834 and became recognized by Joseph Smith in 1838 as he played a key role as a leader in the conflict against the Missouri mobs in 1838. He demonstrated his skills with livestock when the Prophet employed him as superintendent of the Smith farm in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith became well acquainted with Lott and favored him with unique privileges, including his participation in sacred temple ordinances, unavailable to most of the Church until later. Such experiences gave Lott opportunity to associate closely with Brigham Young and the Apostles. Hence, when Young sought for trusted men at the Missouri River who could care for the livestock, Lott was a natural choice. This study is valuable to Church history because it shows the importance of livestock and the men who cared for them in contributing to the success of the Mormon exodus and the temporal salvation of the Church. It is important in American history because gives insight into the role of cattle during the westward expansion era.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / There is a gap in the literature about the role and relevance of Indigenous Knowledge and beef cattle welfare in many parts of the Limpopo province. This gap is relevant because many marginalised cattle owners use indigenous knowledge in their day to day management of beef cattle. The aim of the study is to investigate the use of IK methods on beef cattle husbandry in Tshebela village in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo province as a contribution to filling the void identified above. The objectives of the study were as follows:  To investigate the IK methods used in beef cattle husbandry in the area of the study;  To assess if beef farmers use IK to identify medicinal plants to cure beef cattle;  To investigate farmers‘ perceptions and attitudes on the use of IKS on beef cattle husbandry in the area of study. A qualitative methodology that was used was primarily phenomenological in design. A purposive sampling technique was used and twenty seven (27) traditional beef farmers, two (2) local herbalists were recruited as participants. Data was collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observations. An interpretative phenomenological-based analysis was used to surface the role and relevance of indigenous knowledge in beef cattle husbandry. The findings suggest that indigenous knowledge is used by cattle owners alongside modern knowledge and that communal farming posed some challenges to the farmers

Resumo: Objetivo: O objetivo geral deste trabalho consiste em realizar um estudo comparativo dos impactos ambientais em sistemas intensivo, extensivo, orgânico da produção de bovinos de corte no Brasil Central a partir da ferramenta de Análise do Ciclo de Vida (ACV). Metodologia/Procedimentos de Pesquisa: A pesquisa classifica-se como de abordagem quantitativa, utilizando de ferramentas padronizadas, e baseada em cálculos mediante planilha eletrônica. Quanto à sua natureza pode ser descrita como de natureza aplicada, com objetivos definidos que remetem à pesquisa exploratória e descritiva. O procedimento aplicado foi de pesquisa de referencial bibliográfico e posterior aplicação em cenários prototípicos. A ACV segue as normas preconizadas pela ISO 14040 e os cálculos através das equações propostas, pelo IPCC, sendo posteriormente calculados em planilha eletrônica. Resultados e Discussões: Mensurar os impactos ambientais nos diferentes sistemas produtivos da bovinocultura: extensivo, intensivo e orgânico, quantificando os gases do GEE e uso da terra mediante os resultados alcançados, e verificar quais dos sistemas é o menos impactante ao meio ambiente, em termos de produtividade comparativamente. Implicações Gerenciais: Os resultados a serem obtidos com a pesquisa podem auxiliar na tomada de decisão no processo de escolha do sistema a ser escolhido levando em consideração o aspecto da gestão ambiental, e possíveis diretrizes e normas futuras com relação a leis ambientais que possam at... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Purpose: The general objective of this work is to perform a comparative study of environmental impacts in intensive, extensive, organic systems using the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tool. Design/methodology: The research is classified as a quantitative approach, using standardized tools, and based on spreadsheet calculations. Its nature can be described as applied nature, with defined objectives that refer to the exploratory and descriptive research. The procedure applied was to search for bibliographic references and later to place them in prototypical scenarios. The ACV follows the standards recommended by ISO 14040 and the quantum application of the proposed formulas, by the IPCC, and are then calculated in a spreadsheet. Findings and Discussions: Measure the environmental impacts in the different productive systems of cattle breeding: extensive, intensive and organic, quantifying GHG and land use using the results achieved, and verify which of the systems is the least impacting the environment in terms of productivity comparatively. Management Implication: The results to be obtained with the research can help in decision to making in the process of choosing the system to be chosen taking into consideration the aspect of environmental management, and possible future guidelines and norms regarding environmental laws that can reach the sector. Conclusion and Research limitations: The organic production system of cattle results in a lower environmental impact considering the ca... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

This study examined the feeding responses of mule deer to a system of spring livestock grazing. The specific purposes were 1) to determine botanical composition of diets selected by mule deer on a winter range subjected to previous spring grazing by sheep compared to one with no sheep grazing and 2) to develop a basis for predicting selection of individual plants by deer, based on physical characteristics of the plants and the species and physical proximity of associated plants. The study was conducted within the framework of a completely randomized experimental design with two treatments. Variables controlled for each unit of observation were grazing treatment (prior sheep grazing and no sheep grazing), sampling periods within the winter (early winter and late winter), weeks (four within each period), days (four within each week), sampling times (four each day), age of animal (fawns and adults) and identity of observer. Two adjacent 2.4 ha pastures were fenced. A sheep grazing treatment of 150 sheep days per ha was applied in late May, 1974, to one pasture. Five hand-reared mule deer were placed in each pasture for two six-week periods, one in early winter and the other in late winter. Diets were quantified by a mouthful count technique and hand plucking representative mouthfuls of each species consumed. Plant physical characteristics were measured while following grazing deer. For each plant encountered by the deer, the following variables were measured: species name, distance from the deer, height and width, degree of prior utilization, proportion of current live plant material present, species of and distance to nearest neighboring plant, and consumption or non-consumption of the plant by the deer. Differences were found between treatments in forage availability and abundance, and in botanical composition of diets selected by mule deer. The dietary differences were attributed to a greater proportion of current year's bitterbrush forage being available in the sheep grazed treatment and to reduced interference there from standing dead grass in selection of preferred green grasses and forbs. Deer diets in the sheep grazed pasture were higher in herbaceous plant material than in the deer pasture. Seasonal dietary changes were due to reduced plant availability by deer grazing, snow cover, and plant phenology. Major changes were an increase in shrub consumption through the early winter and well into the late winter periods, and a simultaneous decline in herbaceous species consumption. Snow melt and spring green-up permitted a sudden shift to forbs and grasses near the end of the late winter period. Plant attributes capable of predicting consumption of individual plants included 1) degree of prior utilization, 2) amount of current live plant material present, 3) distance of plant from grazing animal, 3) species of nearest plant, and 4) plant height. These characteristics probably exerted their influence indirectly through olfactory and tactile stimuli to the deer. The use of these attributes to place plants in consumed and not-consumed groups indicated that grazing deer probably cue on fairly specific plant characters in selecting plants for consumption.

[Truncated abstract] The activity of the reproductive endocrine axis is the result of interactions among many organs and tissues, particularly the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and gonad. However, it depends on more than the communication between anatomical structures because it is also affected by genotype, internal factors (e.g., metabolic inputs) and external factors (e.g., photoperiod, socio-sexual cues, stress, nutrition). This multifactorial complexity makes it difficult to use animal experimentation to investigate the pathways and mechanisms involved. Therefore, in this study, I have turned to mathematical modelling. The general hypothesis was that, by modelling the hormonal feedback loop that links the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and gonad, I would be able to discover the critical control points in this homeostatic system. This would allow me to inform and direct research into the processes that control reproduction, including inputs from environmental factors. My studies began with the development of a model of the negative feedback loop through which testosterone controls the secretion of pulses of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) by the hypothalamus. The model incorporated two critical factors: testosterone concentration and a time delay in the inhibition of the activity of the GnRH 'pulse generator' by testosterone. The general assumptions were: i) there are two positive feedforward processes (GnRH pulses stimulate LH pulses, and, in turn, LH pulses stimulate testosterone secretion); ii) testosterone exerts negative feedback that reduces the frequency of GnRH pulses. The model incorporated a group of equations that represent the GnRH pulse generator, through which the inhibitory effect of testosterone acted to reduce GnRH pulse frequency. Simulations were run with various values for the time delay in feedback and, as model development progressed, the simulations were extended to include combinations of time delays and levels of sensitivity of the GnRH pulse generator to inhibition by testosterone. The output of the simulations showed clearly that a time delay in negative feedback, as well as the concentration of testosterone, can greatly affect the frequency of GnRH pulses and the shape of the GnRH secretory profile. Importantly, the effect of the time delay depends on the sensitivity of the pulse generator to testosterone. In addition, the simulations suggested two additional components that might be involved in the control of the GnRH pulse generator: i) a delay in the rate of adaptation to a change in steroid feedback; and ii) a minimum pulse interval (maximum frequency). These studies iii therefore suggest that the regulation of the activity of the GnRH pulse generator, and thus the frequency and profile of GnRH and LH pulses, requires interactions among these four components. These interactions should be tested in animal experimentation. In the next stage, I extended the model so I could test whether the feedback delay might involve the process of aromatization in which testosterone is converted to oestradiol at brain level. ... This information can be used to direct future experimental studies that will help us to understand the factors that underlie the dynamic behaviour of the hypothalamic and pituitary systems that control reproduction.

Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Examines the distribution, biology and ecology of the Anguina-type nematodes and the bacterium Rathayibacter toxicus which are associated with flood plain staggers, a disease similar to annual ryegrass toxicity. Possible pasture and livestock management options to control the disease are discussed, as is biological control using the fungus Dilophospora alopecuri. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture and Wine, Discipline of Plant and Pest Science, 2003?

<p>The production of meat has risen dramatically during the past decades. This process, generally referred to as the <em>Livestock Revolution</em>, particularly includes so called “developing countries”, hosting the most intensive augmentation of both production and consumption. As agricultural activities often are performed by small-scale farmers in these countries, the principal question for this study has been how family farmers are affected by the <em>Livestock Revolution</em>.</p><p>This study approaches the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> in Brazil, the world’s biggest national exporter of meats and animal feeds, from the small-scale farmer perspective. Drawing on a case study of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, it is argued that family farmers experience multi-level marginalization. Smallholders of pork and poultry face direct marginalization through vertical integration with the large-scale meat processors (the agribusiness). Other family farmers experience marginalization through the actual exclusion from ‘integration’, as the combined corporate forces of agribusiness and supermarket chains control the principal distributive channels. Small-scale farmers also face indirect marginalization as the increasing production of soybeans (used as animal feeds) and large-scale cattle raising create an unfortunate ‘competition for arable land’. Overall, the case study seems to reflect a national tendency, in which the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> intensifies the polarization of the agrarian community in Brazil, thus creating parallel patterns of prosperity for the agribusiness and marginalization for the small-scale farmers.</p><p>As the Food Regime analysis aims to approach the global political economy by analysing agri-food structures, this theoretical approach has been used to contextualize the case of <em>Livestock Revolution</em> in Brazil. From this viewpoint, the <em>Livestock Revolution</em> constitutes an explicit expression of a corporate Food Regime, increasing the power of private companies at the expense of family farmers. However, the Food Regime analysis also identifies divergent patterns of this Third Food Regime, in which the corporate discourse is being challenged by an alternative paradigm of food and agriculture. The marginalization of farmers in rural Brazil has indeed provoked emancipatory responses, including alternative patterns of production and distribution, as well as direct confrontations such as land occupations. This ‘resistance from the margins’ accentuates the conflict between contrasting visions for food and agriculture, apparently embedded in the Food Regime. The farmers’ emancipation is therefore somewhat determined by the rather uncertain progress of the Third Food Regime.</p>

<p>The production of meat has risen dramatically during the past decades. This process, generally referred to as the Livestock Revolution, particularly includes so called “developing countries”, hosting the most intensive augmentation of both production and consumption. As agricultural activities often are performed by small-scale farmers in these countries, the principal question for this study has been how family farmers are affected by the Livestock Revolution.</p><p>This study approaches the  Livestock Revolution in Brazil, the world’s biggest national exporter of meats and animal feeds, from the small-scale farmer perspective. Drawing on a case study of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, it is argued that family farmers experience multi-level marginalization. Smallholders of pork and poultry face direct marginalization through vertical integration  with the large-scale meat processors (the agribusiness). Other family farmers experience marginalization through  the actual exclusion from ‘integration’, as the combined corporate forces of agribusiness and supermarket chains control the principal distributive channels. Small-scale farmers also face indirect marginalization as the increasing production of  soybeans (used as animal feeds) and large-scale cattle raising create an unfortunate ‘competition for arable land’. Overall, the case study seems to reflect a national tendency, in which the  Livestock Revolution intensifies the polarization of the agrarian community in Brazil, thus creating parallel patterns of prosperity for the agribusiness and marginalization for the small-scale farmers.</p><p>As the Food Regime analysis aims to approach the global political economy by analysing agri-food structures, this theoretical approach has been used  to contextualize the case of Livestock Revolution in Brazil. From this viewpoint, the Livestock Revolution constitutes an explicit expression of a corporate Food Regime, increasing the power of private companies at the expense of family farmers. However, the Food Regime analysis also identifies divergent patterns of this Third Food Regime, in which the corporate discourse is being challenged by an alternative paradigm of food and agriculture. The marginalization of farmers in rural Brazil has indeed provoked emancipatory responses, including alternative patterns of production and distribution, as well as direct confrontations such as land occupations. This ‘resistance from the margins’ accentuates the conflict between  contrasting visions for food and agriculture, apparently embedded in the Food Regime. The farmers’ emancipation is therefore somewhat determined by the rather uncertain progress of the Third Food Regime.</p>

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and geostatistical techniques were used to predict diet quality of sub-Saharan African (SSA) livestock, and to create cokriged estimated diet quality maps for cattle across a landscape. Rations of native vegetation were stall-fed to cattle (Bos indicus), sheep (Ovis aries), and goats (Capra hircus) to generate diet-fecal pair data. Trials were conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana. Historical data from Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Niger were included. Diet samples were analyzed for crude protein (CP%), and digestible organic matter (DOM%), while feces were scanned for NIR spectra. NIRS equations were developed from data using modified partial least square (MPLS) regression. Coefficients of determination (R2) of CP for cattle, sheep, and goats were 0.92, 0.95, and 0.97, with corresponding standard errors of calibration (SEC) being 0.90, 0.79, and 0.80, respectively. Standard errors of cross validation (SECV) for CP were 1.12%, 1.08%, and 1.03% for cattle, sheep, and goats, respectively. R2 and SEC values for DOM were 0.88, 0.94, 0.94 and 2.82%, 1.68%, and 2.65%, for cattle, sheep, and goats, respectively. Corresponding SECV values for DOM were 3.26%, 2.07%, and 3.30%, respectively. The statistics reported were within the acceptable limits for NIRS calibrations. The results indicate that dietary CP and DOM of free-ranging SSA livestock can be predicted with the same precision as that of conventional wet chemistry methods. The cattle equation was used to predict cattle fecal samples collected, from February to August 2000, from selected households located within the northern Ghana savanna. The predicted CP% and DOM% were used with Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) data, and cokriging technique to create diet quality maps for March and July 2000 for the northern Ghana savanna. Cross validation results indicated a moderate capability of cokriging to estimate predicted CP% for March (r2 = 0.687, SEp = 1.736) and July (r2 = 0.513, SEp = 1.558). Cokriged-estimated DOM value for July was above average (r2 = 0.584, SEp = 3.611), while March DOM% estimation was rather poor (r2 = 0.132, SEp = 3.891). The techniques of cokriging and creation of diet quality maps were moderately successful in this study.