bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Big Decisions: Opting, Converting, Drifting
Authors: Ullmann-Margalit Edna 
Published: June 2019

I want to focus on some of the limits of decision theory that are of interest to the philosophical concern with practical reasoning and rational choice. These limits should also be of interest to the social-scientists' concern with Rational Choice.Let me start with an analogy. Classical Newtonian physics holds good and valid for middle-sized objects, but not for the phenomena of the very little, micro, sub-atomic level or the very large, macro, outer-space level: different theories, concepts and laws apply there. Similarly, I suggest that we might think of the theory of decisionmaking as relating to middle-sized, ordinary decisions, and to them only. There remain the two extremes, the very ‘small’ decisions on the one hand and the very ‘big’ decisions on the other. These may pose a challenge to the ordinary decision theory and may consequently require a separate treatment.
Effect of method of conservation on the n-alkane C31 concentration of two legumes and three temperate grasses
Authors: Reyes-Reyes M.R. , Buntinx S. E. , Barajas-Torres F. S. , Gavilán-García I. C. , Castrejón-Pineda F.A. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryThe objective of this study was to compare five methods of forage preservation (ice, dry ice, liquid-N, drying in newspaper, and sundried) on the concentration of the n-alkane C31 in Medicago sativa cv Puebla 76 (lucerne/alfalfa), Trifolium repens latum (white clover), Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass), Pennisetum clandestinum (kikuyu grass) and Dactylis glomerata (orchardgrass/cocksfoot). The sampled forages in ice and dry ice were kept in hermetically sealed plastic bags in a plastic cooler. The deep frozen samples were put into small plastic bags and submerged in liquid-N. The samples dried in newspaper were placed between sheets of newspaper, and put into hermetically sealed plastic bags. All these samples were taken to the laboratory and freeze-dried approximately 24 h later. The sun-dried samples were taken to the laboratory in newspaper and sun-dried for 48 h. The forage samples were ground and worked on in triplicate, extracted by the Soxhlet method (C34 n-alkane was used as standard and n-heptane as solvent), saponified, separated, purified and injected into a gas chromatograph. The data were analysed for variance as a randomised factorial (n=74). The comparison between means was by the Boneferroni test (P<0.05). The interaction between forage and method of conservation was significant P<0.0001). There were no differences between methods of conservation for white clover (mean 26mg C31/kg DM) or orchardgrass/cocksfoot (mean 31 mgC31/ kgDM). In comparison with liquid-N, (261 mgC31/kgDM), the other methods reduced the concentration of n-alkane in kikuyu grass by 27-35%. Sun and newspaper dried samples increased the concentration of C31 in alfalfa/lucerne by 6 and 15% respectively in comparison with freezing with liquid-N (291 mgC31/kgDM), while that frozen on ice reduced C31 by about 8%. This method, however, increased the ryegrass n-alkane by 12% in relation to liquid-N (169 mgC31/kgDM), but sun drying reduced it by about 40%. It is concluded that drying in liquid-N is the most reliable method for the conservation of samples for n-alkane analysis.
Cumulative gas production: how to measure it, and what it can and cannot tell you
Authors: Williams Barbara A. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryThe three most important factors describing the nutritive value of ruminant feeds are: feed intake, rumen fermentation, and enzymatic digestion. Animal experiments are usually expensive and time-consuming, so many in vitro techniques have been developed which are supposed to assist in the prediction of nutritive value, usually of rumen fermentation. One of these is the measurement of gas production from the substrate when incubated with a specific inoculum. The cumulative gas production technique measures gas at regular intervals in time, as an indicator of the kinetics of fermentation. The resultant cumulative gas profiles, fitted to specific equations, and in combination with other end-products (i.e. VFA and NH3) can indicate both the rate and extent of fermentability of the test substrates. This information can be used to compare substrates with each other. However, the fact that the technique has not yet been standardized, and that inoculum varies according to time and place, means that comparison both between runs and locations, can be very difficult. Also, there are a number of aspects of the technique which will always mean that its resemblance to the in vivo situation must be limited. Some of these limitations and other important considerations of the technique are described in this review.
Can plant secondary metabolites have a role in controlling gastrointestinal nematode parasitism in small ruminants?
Authors: Athanasiadou S. , Kyriazakis I. , Jackson F. 
Published: June 2019

SummaryPlant secondary metabolites (PSM) are widely known for their antinutritional properties; their excessive consumption can detrimentally affect herbivore health and, in some cases, survival. However, a growing body of evidence is suggesting that some classes of PSM may also have some positive effects on herbivores. Such positive effects include the antiparasitic properties of certain PSM and their beneficial consequences on the herbivore's fitness. One of the better-exploited classes of PSM that have been reported with anthelmintic properties is that of the condensed tannins. The consumption of moderate concentrations of condensed tannins has resulted in reduced level of parasitism in sheep and other ruminants. In this paper we discuss the conditions that should be met in order for the positive anthelmintic properties of PSM, and condensed tannins in particular, to be beneficial for parasitised sheep. We also examine whether PSM could have a role in controlling parasitism in ruminants and point out the future research needed to achieve an efficient use of PSM for parasite control.
Perceived welfare issues in dairy cattle, with special emphasis on metabolic stress
Authors: Nielsen B. L. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThere appears to be little consensus on the extent and the exact nature of the dairy cow welfare problem. In the present paper the welfare of cows is described in the light of metabolic stress. The duration of lactation relative to level of production is highlighted as the main factor which sets the dairy cow apart from other lactating mammals. A conceptual diagram of the components and effects of metabolic load is given, a number of questions are raised and two aspects of dairy production are highlighted which relate to the welfare of modern dairy cows. These relate to decreased fertility in high yielding cows and the cumulative effects of successive lactations. Finally, the need for the dairy industry to participate actively and openly in the welfare debate is emphasized.
Genetics of food intake, live weight, condition score and energy balance
Authors: Veerkamp R. F. , Koenen E. P. C. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThe objectives of this study were to investigate genetic variation for traits that are part of the food utilization complex and to investigate the scope for future genetic improvement of traits possibly linked to metabolic stress: live weight (change), condition score (change) and energy balance. Many aspects of the food utilization complex appear to be heritable and are affected by genetic selection for yield. In general, genetic selection for yield increases intake and body tissue mobilization and energy balance is expected to decrease. However, unfavourable effects of genetic selection can be compensated for by measuring additional traits to be included in breeding programmes. Food intake, live weight (change) and condition score (change) are all potential options. Which traits should be measured, at what lactation stages and in which (nutritional) environment will merely depend on the coheritability with health and fertility, the genetic correlation with milk yield and the cost of measuring the trait effectively in a breeding programme.
Management options to reduce load
Authors: Thomas C. , Leach K. A. , Logue D. N. , Ferris C. , Phipps R. H. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to define the critical periods within the lifetime of the cow where metabolic load is likely to have an influence on health, welfare and reproductive performance and to devise management strategies which will reduce the metabolic ‘load’ at those critical periods. The paper uses the data from the SAC Acrehead ‘metabolic stress’ study as its base. This systems study examines a low input (LI) and a high output (HO) strategy and their influence on financial performance, nutrient balance and the health and welfare of dairy cows. Milk yields ranged from 53371 (LI spring calving heifers) to 100191 (HO autumn-calving cows). By using weight and condition-score losses, reduced milk yield and metabolic profiles as indices of metabolic stress, two critical points were identified in the systems. These were in LI systems in years of low forage supply and spring-calving cows at grass in spring. The Acrehead study is remarkable in that it shows that cows of relatively high genetic merit have, in the main, a similar incidence of disease and level of immune function in both systems. However the general level of reproductive performance and incidence of lameness, although comparable with other studies, is disappointingly poor and reproductive performance at Acrehead has been declining over time. Thus there is reason for decreasing the degree of load in both systems. Strategies over the lifetime of the cow designed to overcome these problems in critical periods are examined. These periods are identified as rearing,pre-partum, calving and early lactation. Within each of these periods, management options to overcome load, such as feeding, housing and, where applicable, milking, are discussed. From the combination of systems results from Acrehead and reference to the literature it is concluded that, in the past, too much emphasis has been placed on examining the effects of nutrition alone on metabolic load and its implications. On the other hand, too little research has been conducted on the interaction between nutrition and the management of the cow, in terms of housing and grouping, food trough access and building design. It is also important to recognize that each day within the lifetime of the cow is not independent. Thus management during one period could have an influence during a subsequent period, not only on the likelihood of the cow to experience metabolic load but also on her ability to ameliorate its effects on health and reproduction.
Multi-trait covariance functions to estimate genetic correlations between milk yield, dry-matter intake and live weight during lactation
Authors: Veerkamp R. F. , Thompson R. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractEnergy balance is a function of dry-matter intake (DMI), live weight and milk yield over a certain time period. To investigate potential strategies to use genetic selection for the improvement of the negative energy balance, genetic co-variances were estimated among DMI, live weight and milk yield during the first 15 weeks of lactation (no.=628). Rather than estimating the full 45 by 45 matrix a random regression model was used to estimate a second order covariance functions for the additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. Fixed effects were test-day, a group effect and week in lactation. Estimates for the genetic covariance function demonstrated that a high level of milk yield is only moderately correlated with a high level of DMI (0.21) but very strongly correlated to an increase of intake (0.97) and a loss of live weight (-0.46) during the first 15 weeks of lactation. Levels of weight and intake were correlated strongly (0.81). Estimates for the genetic correlations between weeks 1 and 15 were 0.79, 0.34 and 0.83 for milk yield, DMI and live weight respectively. DMI during early lactation was negatively correlated with milk yield but DMI during the later weeks was positively correlated with milk yield. The implication is that when selection is for a linear combination of milk yield, DMI and live weight (i.e. energy balance or efficiency) the moment in lactation of measuring each trait on the cow is of importance
Correlations between food intake in young bulls and production, fertility and health disorders in lactating dairy cattle
Authors: Wassmuth R. , Boelling D. , Jensen J. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractDisease incidence in dairy cattle is to be reduced for animal welfare and economical reasons. This should be achieved not only by improvement of management but preferably also by genetic means. This study looks at the possibility of decreasing disease incidence in first lactation cows by increasing food intake. The latter is not measured on the cows directly but on young bulls during their performance test. Data consisted of 2203 Danish Red, 4527 Danish Black and White and 1022 Danish Jersey potential AI-bulls and 56 494 Danish Red, 264107 Danish Black and White and 57 661 Danish Jersey first lactation cows. Measures of food intake were provided by two Danish performance test stations. Information on incidence of mastitis, retained placenta, metritis, sole ulcer and ketosis as well as calving interval and energy corrected milk yield of first lactation cows was based on data extracted from the national data base in Denmark. Genetic (co)variances were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood. Heritability estimates of disease incidence and calving interval were low, ranging from <0.01 to 0.13 depending on breed. Heritability estimates of energy corrected milk yield were in the range of 0.28 to 0.33. In all breeds, an unfavourable genetic relationship between milk yield and disease incidence was found, while genetic correlations between food intake and ketosis were favourable, ranging between -0.03 and -0.25. Fertility disorders had an inconsistent correlation with food intake traits across breeds. Food intake of bulls could be included in the selection process in order to avoid nutrition-related disorders like ketosis.
Localization of metabolic restriction point in cows of differing genetic merit
Authors: Sorensen A. , Knight C. H. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractMilk synthesis and secretion have a high priority in the metabolism of the lactating cow. At peak lactation the nutrient needs of the mammary gland are of such magnitude relative to total metabolism that the udder has been compared with a parasite. The question arises: has the udder taken control of the cow? The aim of this study was to investigate whether the metabolic restriction point determining maximum milk output is localized at the level of the mammary gland itself or elsewhere in the body. The results indicate that the restriction point determining the maximum metabolic capacity is not localized in the udder as indicated by the ability of the mammary tissue to increase further its rate of milk secretion and therefore the maximum capacity is determined at the level of the whole body.
Effect of milk yield and energy balance on neutrophil function in dairy cows
Authors: Poelarends J. J. , Kruijt L. , van der Gaast H. , Veerkamp R. F. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractNeutrophils perform a series of sequential functions to kill pathogens entering the body. The objective of this study was to investigate whether variation across cows in neutrophil function tests is related to milk production and energy balance. Blood samples from 37 Holstein-Friesian heifers were taken early morning after milking and prior to feeding. Each cow was sampled about 30 days before calving and at 30 and 100 days after calving. Three groups of neutrophil function tests were used: (i) measurement of phagocytosis of bacteria (with heat inactivated serum (no complement) or complete serum (complement and antibodies)); (ii) measuring production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with 30, 100 or 300 nmol/l phorbol myristate acetate (PMA); and (iii) after ingestion of bacteria (Staphylococcus or Streptococcus). Milk production (including fat, protein and lactose percentage), live weight and food intake were recorded for the first 100 days of lactation and blood metabolic concentrations (non-esterified fatty acid, glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate) were measured fortnightly (six samples per cow). Restricted maximum likelihood was used to estimate the regression coefficients of neutrophil function on these traits and cow identity was fitted as random effect to account for the repeated measurements. There was no effect of milk yield on the neutrophil function but animals with a higher food intake and a more positive energy balance had a lower ROS production across the lactation (PMA). Of the metabolic characteristics, (beta hydroxybutyrate was positively associated with the capacity of reactive oxygen species production (significantly for 300 nmol/l PMA and close to significant for 100 nmol/l PMA;P< 0.05) but negatively with reactive oxygen species after ingestion of bacteria. Hence, results from these two reactive oxygen species tests contradict each other. The results suggest that immune function is not affected by selection for milk yield, as long as food intake capacity is increased sufficiently.
Informal Institutions and the Regulation of Smuggling in North Africa
Authors: Gallien Max 
Published: June 2019

Contemporary writing on North African borderlands invokes the idea of a general, unregulated porosity through which small-scale informal traders of food or textiles move alongside drug smugglers and terrorists. I challenge that conception, demonstrating that the vast majority of smuggling activity is in fact highly regulated through a dense network of informal institutions that determine the costs, quantity, and types of goods that can pass through certain nodes, typically segmenting licit from illicit goods.While informal, the institutions regulating this trade are largely impersonal and contain third-party enforcement, hence providing a direct empirical challenge to common characterisations of informal institutions in political science. I argue that revisiting the characteristics associated with informal institutions, and understanding them as contingent on their political environment, can provide a new starting point for studying institutions, the politics of informality, state capacity, and the regulation of illegal economies.
The Effect of Electing Women on Future Female Candidate Selection Patterns: Findings from a Regression Discontinuity Design
Authors: Jankowski Michael , Marcinkiewicz Kamil , Gwiazda Anna 
Published: June 2019

AbstractIn this article, we address the question of how electing women to national or subnational parliaments affects future female candidate selection in an open-list proportional representation system, using the example of Poland. We consider three potential effects of electing a woman. First, based on existing theories of the incumbency advantage, elected women should have higher chances of reselection and reelection in future elections (incumbency effect). Second, as a result of becoming more powerful within their party, elected women might have a stronger influence on future list composition, and thus more women should run for office on these lists (empowerment effect). Finally, we argue that other parties might adjust their candidate selection patterns in response to the election of women on other party lists (contagion effect). We find strong evidence for the incumbency effect and some support for the contagion effect. The empowerment hypothesis, however, finds no empirical support.
Breed and sex effects on muscle fibre characteristics in two contrasting sheep breeds: Scottish Blackface and Texel
Authors: Bunger L. , Navajas EA , Stevenson L. , Lambe NR , Maltin CA , Simm G. , Chang KC 
Published: June 2019

Lamb production is an important part of UK agriculture, contributing more than 10% of total livestock output. It is crucial for maintaining employment and infrastructure in rural communities, and in managing and enhancing the countryside and biodiversity. For the UK sheep industry to continue as a major producer and exporter of lamb, the improvement of its economic sustainability is essential and requires high product quality.As one of the major terminal sire breeds in the UK, Texel sheep (TEX) have been selected over generations for rapid growth, muscularity and lean meat content. In contrast, Scottish Blackface sheep (SBF) have been selected for their hardiness and maternal ability, with less attention being paid to carcass traits. It is clear therefore that divergent selection goals are driving the breeding of TEX and SBF. Based on work in pigs in particular, where selection for lean tissue growth rate has been used extensively, it might be predicted that these two breeds would have diver-gent muscle fibre characteristics. The proportion of muscle fibre types and their size affect muscularity as well as functional properties of the musculature and meat eating quality (MEQ). Breed differences indicate a genetic basis for these traits. This study evaluates the effects of breed and sex, together with those of birthweight and litter size on fibre type characteristics.
Balancing the competing needs of climate change, biodiversity and rural communities
Authors: Prosser H 
Published: June 2019

The work of the UK Climate Change Commission (UKCCC) in recommending targets and options for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is focusing attention on what agriculture and land use can contribute to deliver these targets. Although overall the major issue is the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from energy use, agriculture and land use are significant emitters of methane and nitrous oxide. UKCCC has identified three main routes by which emissions can be reduced• Lifestyle change with less reliance on carbon intensive produce -eg switching from sheep, and beef to pig, poultry and vegetables.• Changing farm practices – eg to improve use of fertilisers and manures• Using new technology on farms – eg modifying rumen processes, anaerobic digestion.
How well are citizens represented by their governments? Issue congruence and inequality in Europe
Authors: Rosset Jan , Stecker Christian 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThis study analyses congruence across various issues in 16 European democracies. Making use of public opinion and expert survey data, our analyses show that congruence between the policy preferences of citizens and the stances of governments is much more complex than what is revealed by studies focusing on ideology solely. Size and directions of incongruence are larger and more systematic on specific issues than on the left–right scale. On redistribution, citizens are more to the left than their governments, while popular support for European integration is systematically lower among citizens than among their representatives. Moreover, the relatively poor are particularly underrepresented on redistribution, while the preferences of the relatively lower educated are not well reflected in government preferences in relation to European integration. We interpret these results as being partly linked to a representation gap with privileged social groups enjoying higher levels of congruence with their government.