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The Leucaena Network: A Grazier Advocacy Organisation Ensuring The Future Of A Valuable Forage Resource For Northern Australia, K. Mclaughlin, B. F. Mullen, H. M. Shelton

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Leucaena leucocephala is a productive and sustainable forage tree legume for beef cattle production in northern Australia. Following a protracted period of research and development to overcome agronomic and social constraints, substantial adoption by graziers is now occurring (Mullen, these proceedings). However, a recent challenge has threatened future development, viz. the perception by some environmentalists that leucaena is an environmental weed. In addition, production-oriented support from public research and development organisations has diminished significantly over the past 20 years. The Leucaena Network (TLN) was formed in July 2000, primarily to counter the anti-leucaena movement, but has since developed as an …

Editorial, Al Asyary

Kesmas

No abstract provided.

Missing Value Imputation For Single Omics And Multi-Omics Data, Meng Song

Dissertations

The integration analyses of multi-omics data have the advantages of extending our understanding of biological system across multiple omics layers, unraveling the functional mechanism of complex disease development, and refining the discovery of novel drug targets. However, multi-omics studies often face challenges such as data heterogeneity, missing values problem, interpretability, and imbalance classes. Among these challenges, the missing values problem is a critical issue for large cohort studies as not all samples will get a complete measurement for all the omics layers. To address the problem of missing values in multi-omics data, I focused on the imputation of completely missing …

Pronghorn Survival And Resource Selection In Western Nebraska's Agriculturally Dominated Landscape, Katie Piecora

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska’s pronghorn population has been stable over the last decade, yet their presence on the landscape remains a contentious subject amongst private landowners. Conversion of grassland for crop production and increased anthropogenic activity has drastically altered pronghorn behavior throughout their current range, however basic ecology and resource use by pronghorn in Nebraska remains poorly understood. Establishing baseline population metrics and seasonal patterns of resource use for this population at the eastern periphery of the species range is critical to guide management actions. We deployed GPS collars on 110 adult pronghorn to quantify survival, mortality risk, and seasonal resource selection in …

The Emergence Of Convergence, Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Jessica G. Ernakovich, Jorge H. Garcia, Joseph A. Hamm, Orville Huntington, Craig R. Allen

Faculty Publications

Science is increasingly a collaborative pursuit. Although the modern scientific enterprise owes much to individuals working at the core of their field, humanity is increasingly confronted by highly complex problems that require the integration of a variety of disciplinary and methodological expertise. In 2016, the U.S. National Science Foundation launched an initiative prioritizing support for convergence research as a means of “solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs.” We discuss our understanding of the objectives of convergence research and describe in detail the conditions and processes likely to generate successful convergence research. We use our …

Exposure Characteristics Of Environmental Chemicals By Life Stages, Nisha Vijayakumar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental chemicals are ubiquitous and can contribute to human exposure. These exposures can result in long-term health consequences if they occur in early life. However, exposures to environmental chemicals are not evenly distributed throughout childhood. As a result, there exists variation in the levels of chemical exposure depending on the developmental stages, pathways of exposure, and broader systemic factors. However, in early life, limited research exists on exposures to environmental chemicals, particularly phthalates, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, environmental exposures to phthalates, pesticides, and PAHs, considering life stages, have not been fully explored. Hence it is imperative …

Climatic Clustering And Longitudinal Analysis With Impacts On Food, Bioenergy, And Pandemics, John Lagergren, Mikaela Cashman, Verónica G.Melesse Vergara, Paul R. Eller, Joao Gabriel Felipe Machado Gazolla, Hari B. Chhetri, Jared Streich, Sharlee Climer, Peter Thornton, Wayne Joubert, Daniel Jacobson

Computer Science Faculty Works

Predicted growth in world population will put unparalleled stress on the need for sustainable energy and global food production, as well as increase the likelihood of future pandemics. In this work, we identify high-resolution environmental zones in the context of a changing climate and predict longitudinal processes relevant to these challenges. We do this using exhaustive vector comparison methods that measure the climatic similarity between all locations on Earth at high geospatial resolution relative to global-scale analyses. The results are captured as networks, in which edges between geolocations are defined if their historical climate similarities exceed a threshold. We apply …

Short-Term Responses Of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, And Microbial Biomass To Cover Crop Mixtures And Monocultures, Igor Alexandre De Souza, Amanda B. Daly, Jorg Schnecker, Nicholas D. Warren, Adalfredo Rocha Lobo Jr., Richard G. Smith, Andre Fonseca Brito, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Increasingly, cover crops are being adopted for the purpose of improving soil health, yet the timescale and magnitude by which living annual cover crops might modify soil chemical and biological aspects of soil health is not well understood. At the same time, there is growing interest among farmers in cover crop mixtures due to perceptions that species-rich cover crop communities will enhance soil health relative to monocultures. In a field experiment in southeast New Hampshire, we investigated how groups of cover crops grown as monocultures and mixtures for specific seasonal niches (winter/spring, summer, and fall) influenced levels of soil nitrogen …

Isolation Of Bovine Milk-Derived Exosomes Via A Polyester Capillary- Channeled Polymer (C-Cp) Fiber Stationary Phase, Jerisa Pimentel, Carolina Mata, R. Kenneth Marcus

Chemistry Summer Research Program

No abstract provided.

Gouldian Finch Monitoring: Foraging Activity And Grass Phenology - Goomig Project 2022 To 2023, J Graff

Irrigated Agricultural Development in the North

The Goomig Project (Weaber Plains Development Project) is an irrigated agricultural development located approximately 30 km north of Kununurra, which involves clearing of approximately 9,260 ha of vegetation for agriculture. Approximately 11,470 ha of native vegetation surrounding, or remaining between, the cleared areas is designated as a buffer area (the study area) to be managed to protect surrounding conservation reserves and watercourses (Strategen 2014). Monitoring of Gouldian Finch wet season foraging activity and phenology and productivity of grasses important for foraging in the buffer area during ongoing operation are required as conditions of the approval for the project, and is …

Characterization And Estimation Of Musculoskeletal Pain Using Machine Learning, Boluwatife Faremi

Master's Theses

Traditional scales utilized for recording pain are known to be highly subjective and biased due to inaccuracies in recollecting actual pain intensities. As a result, machine learning (ML) models that are trained using these scores as ground truth are reported to have low performance for objective pain classification because of the huge disparity between what was felt in moments of pain and the scores recorded afterward.

In the present study, two devices were designed for gathering real-time, continuous in-session subjective pain scores and the recording of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) altered endodermal (EDA) activity. 24 participants were recruited to …

Mapping, Intensities And Future Prediction Of Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics Using Google Earth Engine And Ca- Artificial Neural Network Model, Maysoon A.A. Osman, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Joshua Orungo Onono, Lydia A. Olaka, Muna M. Elhag, Marian Adan, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Mapping of land use/ land cover (LULC) dynamics has gained significant attention in the past decades. This is due to the role played by LULC change in assessing climate, various ecosystem functions, natural resource activities and livelihoods in general. In Gedaref landscape of Eastern Sudan, there is limited or no knowledge of LULC structure and size, degree of change, transition, intensity and future outlook. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to (1) evaluate LULC changes in the Gedaref state, Sudan for the past thirty years (1988–2018) using Landsat imageries and the random forest classifier, (2) determine the underlying …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 5 - July 2023, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Key Publications
• IGHD in the News
• Webinars, Academics & Conferences
• ‘Choice’ Programme - Technical Advisory Group
• Welcome New Team Members
• Mark your Calendars: Upcoming Event
• Congratulations Team IGHD
• Collaborate With Us

Decreased Moderate To Vigorous Physical Activity Levels In Children With Asthma Are Associated With Increased Traffic-Related Air Pollutants, Juan Aguilera, Soyoung Jeon, Amit U. Raysoni, Wen-Whai Li, Leah D. Whigham

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

People with asthma, particularly young children, are more adversely aected by trac emissions-and regular exercise reduces asthma symptoms and improves lung function. We studied the relationship between air pollution and objectively measured physical activity in children with asthma who were attending a school near a freeway. We continuously monitored air pollutants-PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3)-at the school for 10 weeks and measured physical activity levels via accelerometry in children (n = 12, ages 6-12 years). Concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were negatively associated with moderate to vigorous physical activity (PM2.5 and PM10: p < .001; NO2: p = …

Chlorate Levels In Dairy Products Produced And Consumed In Ireland, Lorna Twomey, Ambrose Furey, Bernadette O'Brien, Tom P. Beresford, Paula Reid, Martin Danaher, Mary Moloney, David Glleeson

Physical Sciences Publications

In recent years, chlorate has become a residue of concern internationally, due to the risk that it poses to thyroid gland function. However, little is known about its occurrence in dairy products of Irish origin. To address this, a study was conducted in which samples of milk (n = 317), cream (n = 199), butter (n = 178), cheese (n = 144) and yoghurt (n = 440) were collected from grocery stores in the Republic of Ireland. Sampling was conducted across spring, summer, autumn and winter of 2021. Samples from multiple manufacturers of each respective dairy product were procured and …

Identifying Factors Contributing To Under-Five Mortality In Nigeria, Olateju Alao Bamigbala, Ayodeji Oluwatobi * Ojetunde

Tanzania Journal of Science

The under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) is the probability that a child born in a specified year will die before turning 5 years of age. U5MR is still high in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors contributing to under-5 mortality in Nigeria. The data used in this study were from the 2018 NDHS, encompassing 2013–2018. The methods of analysis used for this study were frequency, percentage, and Zero Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) regression. Data were analyzed using R programming v.4.1.2 and p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The result showed 35.4% under-5 mortality out of the 33,924 infant mortality sample data that were collected. The findings revealed maternal age, regions (North East and North West), maternal education (no education), wealth index (poorest households), and size of child at birth (very small birth size) as significant factors associated with under-5 mortality in Nigeria. The results also showed that the odds of under-5 mortality increase as the age of the mother increases. Therefore, the Nigerian government should understand that poverty is not just an economic problem but also a significant factor in health; as a result, the battle against poverty needs to receive the necessary attention.  Keywords:    Under-5 mortality; World Health Organization; Zero inflated distribution; Risk factors; Nigeria.

Lactating Ewes Were Strongly Attracted To Salt When Spread On Sodium-Deficient Undergrazed Hill Pastures, N. Mandaluniz, J. C. Ruiz, R. J. Lucas

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

New Zealand hill and high country pastures for sheep and cattle cover very variable topography. Shady south face hill country pastures on steeper slopes are grazed inefficiently because of their mature state and low nutritive value. Flatter more fertile areas reflect more frequent defoliation and stock camping behaviour. These inland pastures are deficient in sodium (Na) (Aspinall et al., 2004) because they are distant from coastal sea spray. Management alternatives are sought to improve pasture quality on steep, shady aspects. The provision of different nutrients such as Na or nitrogen (N), which are deficient in these under-grazed areas of …

Intake By Lactating Goats Browsing On Mediterranean Shrubland, M. Decandia, G. Pinna, A. Cabiddu, G. Molle

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Mediterranean regions goat feeding systems are mainly based on shrubland that contain a wide variety of species. There are only a few equations for predicting feed intake of stall-fed goats (Luo et al., 2004). The objective of this study was to develop a model for predicting the intake of lactating goats browsing on Mediterranean shrubland.

The Effect Of Stocking Rate And Lamb Grazing System On Sward Performance Of Trifolium Repens And Lotus Corniculatus In Uruguay, F. Montossi, R. San Julián, M. Nolla, M. Camesasca, F. Preve

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Lambs have a great potential to diversify and stimulate meat and wool production and economical returns within the industry. The main objective of this study was to evaluate different feeding and management alternatives for the production of high quality wool and meat as well as their effects on sward characteristics in the Basaltic region of Uruguay.

Effect Of Forage Legume Species And Stocking Rate Of Lambs On Sward Characteristics In Uruguay, F. Montossi, D. F. Risso, R. San Julián, M. Iglesias, N. Ramos, I. De Barbieri, R. Cuadro, A. Zarza

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The sheep industry is a mayor component of the pastoral industries, given its importance for the Uruguayan economy. In the last decade, sheep farmers have been more interested in low cost technologies to enhance productivity and profit. The objective of this study, conducted in the Basaltic region of Uruguay, was to evaluate the effect of legume species and stocking rate of lambs on sward structure, production, composition and nutritive value.

Effect Of Stocking Rate And Grazing System On Fine And Superfine Merino Wool Production And Quality On Native Swards Of Uruguay, I. De Barbieri, Fabio Montossi, E. J. Berretta, A. Dighiero, A. Mederos

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Modern textile tendencies show that consumers prefer light, soft, resistant, natural, and comfortable clothes, for which fine and superfine wools are in great demand, particularly at the high value markets (Whiteley, 2003). The main objective of the present study was to define sustainable stocking rates and grazing systems on native swards for fine and superfine wool production in the Basaltic region of Uruguay.

Productivity And Grazing Capacity Of Five Typical Natural Rangelands For Yaks In The Alpine Region Of China, Xuebing Yan, Yuxia Guo, Z. He, W. Kun

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Qinghai-Tibet plateau has greatly aroused the interest of scientists as an uncommon rangeland resource of great agro-ecological importance. Yak (Bos grunniens) is a unique, vulnerable ungulate. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the productivity and feed value of five natural rangelands.

Metabolic Profiling Of Heathland Plants In The Diet Of Sheep, Gordon G. Allison, Mariecia D. Fraser, J. M. Moorby, J. Kopka, A. Erban, Vince J. Theobald

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Little is known about how plant biochemistry influences the grazing behaviour of animals grazing heterogeneous vegetation communities. Furthermore, most biochemical profiles of grassland species are restricted to major nutritional characteristics. Recent developments in analytical techniques have made possible the detailed analysis of minor components, which can potentially affect animal feeding preferences, performance and health. Gas chromatography/time of flight mass spectroscopy (GC/TOF-MS) coupled with automated library annotation is ideally suited to the acquisition of detailed metabolite profiles of plant extracts (Wagner et al., 2003) and can be applied to other matrices such as blood and faeces. In this study GC/TOF-MS …

Grazing Behaviour And Selection Of Browse Species By Cattle, Sheep And Goats On Natural Pasture In The Sahelian Zone Of Burkina Faso, H. O. Sanon, C. Zoungrana-Kabore, I. Ledin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pastures in semi-arid countries, are subject to seasonal variability. Browse species that are less dependent on rainfall, are highly valued. Goats are browsers, while cattle and sheep are grazers. However, faced with a scarcity of feed resources, especially in the late dry season, all animal species fall back on browse species. The objective of this study was to estimate feeding behaviour and browse species utilisation by cattle, sheep and goats on natural pasture in different seasons, and concurrently appreciate the indigenous knowledge on browse species in the study area.

Grazing Preference, Herbage Production And Quality Of Diploid And Tetraploid Lolium Perenne Cultivars In Southern Chile, Oscar A. Balocchi, Ignacio F. López

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Lolium perenne is the most important plant species used in sown pasture in Southern Chile. Cultivars used are mainly diploid. However, in recent years some tetraploid cultivars have been introduced into the country. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of the ploidy of the cultivars on herbage production, nutritive value, grazing preference and utilisation of the herbage.

Effect Of Dairy Effluent On Turnip Nutritive Characteristics, Joe L. Jacobs, G. N. Ward, Frank R. Mckenzie

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In southern Victoria, high summer temperatures and low rainfall lead to low pasture growth and a decline in nutritional value until rainfall commences in autumn. Annual forage crops such as turnips often are used to fill the summer feed gap. Jacobs & Ward (2003) observed that dairy effluent applied at low rates could improve turnip DM yields and crude protein content. Results from the first two years of a 3-year study comparing a range of effluent application rates on turnip leaf and root nutritive characteristics are reported.

Estilosantes Campo Grande In Brazil: A Tropical Forage Legume Success Story, Celso D. Fernandes, Bela Grof, S. Chakraborty, Jaqueline R. Verzignassi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Estilosantes Campo Grande (ECG) is a mixture (80/20 by weight) of Stylosanthes capitata and S. macrocephala, derived through genetic combination of selected accessions by open crossing over 6 generations (Grof et al., 2001). The cultivar is the result of >10 years of research on a collection of >1000 ecotypes of Stylosanthes species collected and maintained by Embrapa. The main use of ECG in Brazil is to improve grass-dominant pastures. It has good persistence with Brachiaria spp., Panicum maximum (Tanzania-1 and Mombaça) and Andropogon gayanus. It has excellent adaptation to low fertility sandy soils and is persistent under …

Rumen Degradation Characteristics Of Four Species Of Native Pastures From Central Mexico In Three Growing Periods, A. A. Rayas, A. M. J. Espinoza‐Ortega, J. G. Estrada‐Flores, C. Arriagal, F. Mould, O. A. Castelán-Ortega

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The smallholder cattle systems of the Toluca valley in central Mexico are based on the use of maize and native grasses. Research has been devoted to nutritional characterisation of improved pastures, but native species of grasses have not been studied, despite their importance. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the in vitro rumen degradation kinetics of four species of native pastures.

The Impact Of Continuous Grazing By Free Ranging Sheep On The Structure And Botanical Composition Of Grassland As Determined By Multivariate Analysis, G. A. Heshmati

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grazing shapes the botanical composition of vegetation at the landscape level (Oksanen et al., 1995). Sheep seek spatially scattered plants of nearly constant and high nutritional value. There is strong interaction between the grazing behaviour of the sheep and the structure of the plant community that it grazes (Squires, 1981). This paper examines the situation in a grassland vegetation grazed by free-ranging sheep in a semi arid region of North Eastern Iran.

Effects Of Vegetation Structure And Plant Height When Grazed On Persistency Of Meadow Fescue Pasture, K. Sudo, Y. Ogawa, K. Umemura

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

An intensive grazing technique using meadow fescue (Mf) pasture has been developed in northern Japan, where soil freezes in winter. It has been shown that the appropriate plant height of Mf pasture when grazed for persistency is about 27 cm. When Mf and perennial ryegrass (Pr) pastures were grazed at the same plant height of 20 cm, vegetation of Mf pasture declined and plant length of Mf pasture was longer than that of Pr pasture (Sudo et al., 2002). These phenomena might be due to the effects of differences in grass species and plant height when grazed on vegetation …