Screening of cattle sera: distribution of vesiviruses in terrestrial domestic animals. To broaden the knowledge of vesivirus occurrence and distribution dynamics in domestic livestock, we attempted the first extensive study in cattle to assess the distribution of vesiviruses by examining the seroprevalence. Cattle were chosen to be studied here, because this livestock is well characterized, they are suffering diseases with high percentages of unknown aetiologies and extensive animal data are available. Furthermore, several case reports exist on the isolation of vesiviruses from cattle. The objective was to evaluate the distribution of vesiviruses in cattle, correlate vesivirus infection with disease manifestations and estimate the possible impact on other animals and humans. Roughly seven hundred bovine sera from nine States within the United States were acquired and were tested for antibodies against vesiviruses. The sera tested were drawn from a total population of about 9 million cattle in nine States with a geographical distribution ranging from northern Alaska to tropical Hawaii. Screening of horse sera and tissue: correlation of vesivirus prevalence and mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS)? A newly emerged disease in horses was analyzed in the second half of this research project. Since all tests for the common toxic abortogenic agents had failed, a further nationwide investigation was initiated for uncommon and unknown infectious agent(s). Caliciviruses, and vesiviruses in particular, are a well established cause of abortion in swine and seals. Nevertheless, these viruses are not routinely tested for or diagnosed. When the Laboratory for Calicivirus Studies at Oregon State University was asked for specific help in this investigation, pertinent seroepidemiological studies were entrusted to me under the guidance of Professor Dr. Alvin W. Smith. After the first serological examination of equine blood samples from mares that had aborted in 2001 and an equal number of sera from unaffected animals from 2000 were examined, tissue samples from aborted fetuses and two other sets of blood samples from ETC-exposed mares from two experiments were acquired. These have been tested for vesivirus-antibodies and antigen. Furthermore, additional samples of ETC were tested for vesiviruses by RT-PCR.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Screening of cattle sera: distribution of vesiviruses in terrestrial domestic animals. To broaden the knowledge of vesivirus occurrence and distribution dynamics in domestic livestock, we attempted the first extensive study in cattle to assess the distribution of vesiviruses by examining the seroprevalence. Cattle were chosen to be studied here, because this livestock is well characterized, they are suffering diseases with high percentages of unknown aetiologies and extensive animal data are available. Furthermore, several case reports exist on the isolation of vesiviruses from cattle. The objective was to evaluate the distribution of vesiviruses in cattle, correlate vesivirus infection with disease manifestations and estimate the possible impact on other animals and humans. Roughly seven hundred bovine sera from nine States within the United States were acquired and were tested for antibodies against vesiviruses. The sera tested were drawn from a total population of about 9 million cattle in nine States with a geographical distribution ranging from northern Alaska to tropical Hawaii. Screening of horse sera and tissue: correlation of vesivirus prevalence and mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS)? A newly emerged disease in horses was analyzed in the second half of this research project. Since all tests for the common toxic abortogenic agents had failed, a further nationwide investigation was initiated for uncommon and unknown infectious agent(s). Caliciviruses, and vesiviruses in particular, are a well established cause of abortion in swine and seals. Nevertheless, these viruses are not routinely tested for or diagnosed. When the Laboratory for Calicivirus Studies at Oregon State University was asked for specific help in this investigation, pertinent seroepidemiological studies were entrusted to me under the guidance of Professor Dr. Alvin W. Smith. After the first serological examination of equine blood samples from mares that had aborted in 2001 and an equal number of sera from unaffected animals from 2000 were examined, tissue samples from aborted fetuses and two other sets of blood samples from ETC-exposed mares from two experiments were acquired. These have been tested for vesivirus-antibodies and antigen. Furthermore, additional samples of ETC were tested for vesiviruses by RT-PCR.

Die Nachfrage nach Agrarerzeugnissen gilt als zentrale Ursache für den Verlust weltweit wichtiger Ökosysteme. In Brasilien hat speziell die Ausweitung der Sojaproduktion zur Abholzung tropischer Wälder und Savannen geführt. Zumeist werden neu gerodete Flächen als Rinderweiden genutzt und vormalige Weiden für den Sojaanbau umgewandelt. Diese Entwicklung führt zu der Annahme, dass die Ausweitung der Sojaproduktion indirekt für die Rodung verantwortlich ist. Staatliche Umweltpolitiken und die Selbstverpflichtung der Sojaindustrie haben seit 2004 zu einer Verringerung der Abholzung beigetragen. Vor diesem Hintergrund zielt die vorliegende Dissertation darauf ab, ein vertieftes Verständnis der Wechselwirkungen zwischen Soja- und Rinderwirtschaft zu erlangen. Im Fokus stehen räumliche und zeitliche Dynamiken von Landnutzung und Landnutzungsverdrängung in Mato Grosso und Pará, einer der dynamischsten Regionen Brasiliens. Für diese Bundesstaaten werden Landnutzung und Landnutzungsverdrängung im regionalen Kontext, auf Grundstücksebene und mithilfe von Szenarien untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Strategien zur Verringerung der Abholzung Einfluss auf die Dynamiken der Landnutzung und Landnutzungsverdrängung hatten. Die durch die Ausweitung des Sojaanbaus hervorgerufene Verdrängungsprozesse haben sich nach der Implementierung der Umweltschutzstrategien verringert. Auch die Abholzung auf einzelnen Grundstücken in Mato Grosso ging zurück. Zugleich zeigt die Analyse, dass die Selbstverpflichtung der Sojaindustrie durch indirekte Abholzung teilweise untergraben wird. Die Ergebnisse der Szenarien unterstreichen die regionale Dynamik und speziell die Risiken einer weiteren Ausweitung von Rinderweiden. Insgesamt legen die Ergebnisse nahe, dass auf Reduktion der Abholzung abzielende Strategien die Wechselwirkungen von Soja- und Rinderwirtschaft beachten müssen. Dies erfordert eine verstärkte Zusammenarbeit von Rinderwirtschaft, Sojaindustrie und staatlichen Organisationen. / Demands for agricultural commodities are a major threat for some of the most valuable ecosystems in the world. The expansion of the agricultural sector in Brazil, fueled by global demands for soybeans, contributed to the loss of tropical and savanna ecosystems. However, most deforestation was caused by pastures, raising concerns about land use displacement processes between soybean expansion and cattle ranching. Promising, reductions of deforestation were observed following the implementation of governmental strategies and zero-deforestation supply chain commitments. This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of spatial and temporal dynamics of soybean expansion and cattle ranching, driving deforestation in one of the most dynamic agricultural expansion and deforestation frontier of Brazil, in Mato Grosso and Pará. In this region, land use displacement describes the conversion of pasture to soybean followed by deforestation for cattle ranching at another location. This process was assessed at regional and property-level. Moreover, scenario analysis was applied to identify regional and subregional dynamics of land use changes. The results indicated that environmental governance affected regional and local land use dynamics and displacement processes. Distal displacement processes between soybean expansion and deforestation were significant, contributing to deforestation, but declined subsequently to the implementation of environmental policies. Likewise, deforestation at property-level declined following the policy implementations. However, the effectiveness of the zero-deforestation supply chain commitment was found to be at risk due to property-level displacement deforestation. Additionally, the scenario analysis emphasized the importance of subregional dynamics and identified risks of future deforestation. Integrating efforts between supply chain (soy and cattle) and governmental actors may be crucial to reduce deforestation in the Amazon.

No description available.

Diese Arbeit ist ein Beitrag zur Entwicklung einer Strategie für die eine CO2 sparende zu- künftige Landwirtschaft, in der nur geringe Emissionen von Treibhausgasen entstehen, die Stromerzeugung vor Ort aus natürlichen Ressourcen erfolgt, eine maximale Ausnutzung der Sonnenenergie genutzt wird, und der Konflikt zwischen der Nutzung der verfügbaren Ressourcen für Nahrungsmittel und Treibstoff Produktion vermieden wird. Alle Versuche in der Arbeit wurden in den Jahren 2005 -2009 auf der Öko-Farm (TOSOLY) der UTA (Fundación para la Producción Agropecuaria Tropical Sostenible Capitulo Kolumbien - UTA) unter der Leitung von Dr. TR Preston (Präsident ) und MSc Lylian Rodríguez (Director) durchgeführt. / This thesis is a contribution to the strategy that should underpin all future farming systems: namely the need to “de-carbonize” the system, by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, generating electricity locally from natural resources, making maximum use of solar energy and ensuring there is no conflict between use of available resources for both food and fuel production. All the experiments described in the thesis were carried out in the period 2005 -2009 at the ecological farm (TOSOLY) of the UTA Foundation (Fundación para la Producción Agropecuaria Tropical Sostenible Capitulo Colombia – UTA) of which the principals are Dr T R Preston (President) and MSc Lylian Rodríguez (Director).