Evaluation of detailed training data to identify risk factors for retirement because of tendon injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses     

Lam KK  Parkin TD  Riggs CM  Morgan KL 《American journal of veterinary research》2007,68(11):1188-1197

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors for premature retirement because of tendon injury in a Thoroughbred racehorse population. ANIMALS: 175 Thoroughbred racehorses (cases) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club that were retired from racing because of tendon injury between 1997 and 2004 and for which the last preretirement exercise was at a fast pace were each matched with 3 control horses that were randomly selected from all uninjured horses that had galloped on the same date as that last exercise episode. PROCEDURES: Training data for all horses were examined. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for retirement from racing attributable to tendon injury. Two multivariable conditional logistic regression models were created; each contained 8 explanatory variables. RESULTS: Compared with control horses, case horses were older at the time of import, accumulated more race distance soon after import, were more likely to have had previous official veterinary or ultrasonographic examinations, raced fewer times during their career, and were in training for a longer period and had exercised at a reduced intensity during the 180-day period preceding the last fast-paced work date. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In addition to identification of risk factors for tendon injury among racing Thoroughbreds, results have suggested that resources focused on obtaining accurate training data may be misdirected in the absence of internationally agreed criteria for incident tendon injury among racehorses. Nevertheless, changes in training intensity and findings of previous clinical examinations could be used to identify horses at risk of tendon injury-associated retirement.  相似文献   

Regional seroprevalence of bluetongue virus in cattle in Illinois and western Indiana     

Boyer TC  Ward MP  Wallace RL  Singer RS 《American journal of veterinary research》2007,68(11):1212-1219

OBJECTIVE: To estimate seroprevalence of bluetongue virus (BTV) and the geographic distribution of seropositive cattle herds in Illinois and western Indiana. SAMPLE POPULATION: 10,585 serum samples obtained from cattle in 60 herds during 3 transmission seasons (2000 through 2002). PROCEDURES: In a longitudinal study, serum samples were tested for BTV antibodies by use of a competitive ELISA. Four geographic zones were created by use of mean minimum January temperature. A multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression model with a random effect for herd was used to estimate seropositive risk for zone, age of cattle, herd type, and transmission season. RESULTS: Overall, BTV antibodies were detected in 156 (1.5%) samples. Estimated seroprevalence in 2000, 2001, and 2002 was 1.49%, 0.97%, and 2.18%, respectively. Risk of being seropositive for BTV was associated with geographic zone and age. Seroprevalence increased progressively from northern to southern zones, with no evidence of BTV infection in the northernmost zone. In the southernmost zone, annual seroprevalence ranged from 8.65% to 11.00%. Adult cattle were 2.35 times as likely as juvenile cattle to be seropositive. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Overall seroprevalence was lower than has been reported for Illinois cattle. Bluetongue virus antibodies were distributed heterogeneously in this region. Only in the southernmost zone was seroprevalence consistently > 2%. Regionalization of BTV risk based on state borders does not account for such variability. Serologic data could be combined with landscape, climate, and vector data to develop predictive models of BTV risk within transitional regions of the United States.  相似文献   

What is your diagnosis? Pulmonary abscess     

Heng HG  Holt T 《Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association》2007,230(7):993-994

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Island differences in population size structure and catch per unit effort and their conservation implications for Komodo dragons     

Tim S. Jessop  Thomas Madsen  M. Jeri Imansyah  Heru Rudiharto  John A. Phillips 《Biological conservation》2007,135(2):247-255

Species inhabiting archipelagos are often characterised by high levels of interpopulation divergence (e.g. size related traits). This divergence may, in turn, influence their life-history. To facilitate better management and conservation of the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), an island endemic, we identified demographic differences between two island populations in Komodo National Park, Indonesia. Comparison of data collected from dragon populations inhabiting Rinca Island and the much smaller Gili Motang Island indicated that between 1994 and 2004, the Komodo dragon population on Gili Motang significantly decreased its: (1) mean body mass, (2) body condition and (3) relative abundance. These results suggest that the numerically small Gili Motang population was oscillating downwards; in contrast, the Rinca Island population had been relatively stable. More importantly these results emphasize the necessity for managers of this priority conservation species to understand further the inherent functional differences among dragon populations to develop island specific management units. Current management practices (e.g. monitoring) instigated by Komodo National Park management ignore small island dragon populations and thus run the risk of being unable to detect adverse effects for populations that are potentially most prone to decline.  相似文献   

Testing the utility of abiotic surrogates for marine habitat mapping at scales relevant to management     

Tim Stevens  Rod M. Connolly 《Biological conservation》2004,119(3):351-362

Habitat mapping at the scale at which marine protected areas are designed and managed is essential for assessment of, and design for, representation. Most habitat mapping studies rely solely or in part on abiotic surrogates for patterns of biodiversity. The utility of abiotic variables in predicting biological distributions at the local scale (10 s of km) was tested in a remote video survey of macrobenthos in Moreton Bay, Australia. Habitat classifications of the same set of 41 sites based on 6 abiotic variables and abundances of 89 taxa and bioturbation indicators were compared using correlation, regression and ordination analyses. The concepts of false homogeneity (abiotically similar but biologically distinct) and false heterogeneity (abiotically distinct but biologically similar) were defined to describe types of errors associated with using abiotic surrogates to construct habitat maps, and quantified using two separate methods. Overall, the best prediction by abiotic surrogates explained less than 30% of the pattern of biological similarity. Errors of false homogeneity were between 20% and 62%, depending on the methods of estimation. Predictive capability of abiotic surrogates at the taxon level was poor, with only 6% of taxon/surrogate correlations significant. Abiotic variables did not discriminate sufficiently between different soft bottom communities to be a reliable basis for mapping. These results have implications for the widespread use of abiotic surrogates in marine habitat mapping to plan for, or assess, representation in marine protected areas. Little confidence can be placed in marine habitat classifications based solely or largely on abiotic surrogates without calibration by rigorous biological surveys at the appropriate scale. Therefore, it is questionable whether marine protected areas designed on this basis can have measurable benefits for conservation.  相似文献   

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among young people in Great Britain     

Jebb SA  Rennie KL  Cole TJ 《Public health nutrition》2004,7(3):461-465

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in British young people (4-18 years) in 1997. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people. SETTING: Great Britain. SUBJECTS: Nationally representative sample of 1836 young people (age 4-18 years). RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity based on body mass index (weight/height(2)) and the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs was 4.0%, with a further 15.4% identified as overweight. Asians were almost four times as likely to be obese as white subjects (13.6 vs. 3.5%, P<0.001). Among white subjects there was no significant difference in the prevalence of obesity between girls and boys, or with age. The risk of obesity was significantly higher in subjects from social classes IV and V than from social classes I-III (6.5 vs. 2.7%, P=0.003). Subjects living in Scotland and Wales were significantly more likely to be obese than those in England (7.6 and 6.5 vs. 2.9%, respectively, P<0.01). Multiple logistic regression showed that, among white subjects, those in social classes IV and V living in Wales and Scotland were three times more likely to be obese than the other children in the survey (odds ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1-9.8). CONCLUSION: These data provide information on the national prevalence of overweight and obesity in Great Britain and baseline data from which to monitor future trends. This analysis provides important demographic information on those most at risk of obesity, which may be used to inform public health strategies to prevent obesity in young people.  相似文献   

Melanopsin is required for non-image-forming photic responses in blind mice     

Panda S  Provencio I  Tu DC  Pires SS  Rollag MD  Castrucci AM  Pletcher MT  Sato TK  Wiltshire T  Andahazy M  Kay SA  Van Gelder RN  Hogenesch JB 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,301(5632):525-527

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Providing Precision Farming Education Through Conferences and Workshops     

Fiez  Tim 《Precision Agriculture》2002,3(4):353-358

In response to rapidly growing interest in precision farming, universities and others have developed numerous educational programs. Many of these events are multi-day conferences and workshops as these venues provide the time necessary for attendees to learn about the many technologies, analysis approaches, and management strategies that make up precision farming. The Washington State University Western Precision Agriculture Conference, the Assiniboine Community College Precision Agriculture Conference and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crop Modeling for Environment-Specific Management Workshop exemplify these types of educational programs. The Western Precision Agriculture Conference uses a traditional format where the audience primarily listens to presentations. The Assiniboine Community College Precision Agriculture Conference provides a mixture of presentations and hands-on sessions where attendees actually use precision farming tools or develop site-specific management plans. Finally, those who attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crop Modeling for Environment-Specific Management Workshop complete exercises related to each topic and presentation. Because a conference or workshop brings many experts together for a short period of time, organizers of all three events have tried to capture conference content for later use in other educational programs. Their approaches to this include videotaping interviews of conference speakers and assembling software and data used during the conference on compact disk. Given the multidisciplinary nature of precision farming, conferences and workshops that utilize multiple expert presenters such as those discussed in this paper are among the best sources of precision farming education.  相似文献   

Boron-toxicity tolerance in barley arising from efflux transporter amplification   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Sutton T  Baumann U  Hayes J  Collins NC  Shi BJ  Schnurbusch T  Hay A  Mayo G  Pallotta M  Tester M  Langridge P 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2007,318(5855):1446-1449

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Domesticated nature: shaping landscapes and ecosystems for human welfare   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Kareiva P  Watts S  McDonald R  Boucher T 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2007,316(5833):1866-1869

Like all species, humans have exercised their impulse to perpetuate and propagate themselves. In doing so, we have domesticated landscapes and ecosystems in ways that enhance our food supplies, reduce exposure to predators and natural dangers, and promote commerce. On average, the net benefits to humankind of domesticated nature have been positive. We have, of course, made mistakes, causing unforeseen changes in ecosystem attributes, while leaving few, if any, truly wild places on Earth. Going into the future, scientists can help humanity to domesticate nature more wisely by quantifying the tradeoffs among ecosystem services, such as how increasing the provision of one service may decrease ecosystem resilience and the provision of other services.  相似文献