Estimating risk probabilities for sickness from behavioural patterns to identify health challenges in dairy cows with multivariate cumulative sum control charts.

Dairy cattle housing is characterised by increasing herd sizes and the need for assisting technical tools to monitor the cows' health. This study investigated the combination of logistic regression models with multivariate cumulative sum (MCUSUM) control charts in healthmonitoring of dairy cattle. Sensor information of 618 cows with 791 lactations (138 438 cow days), nine behavioural variables were included as parts of the behavioural patterns: physical activity ("neck activity", "leg activity", "walking duration"), resting ("lying duration", "standing duration", "transitions from lying to standing") and feeding ("feeding duration", "rumination duration", "inactivity duration") behaviour.

Variable selection for monitoring sickness behavior in lactating dairy cattle with the application of control charts.

The present observational study investigated the application of multivariate cumulative sum (MCUSUM) control charts by including variables selected by principal component analysis and partial least squares (PLS) regression to identify sickness behavior in dairy cattle. Therefore, sensor information (24 variables) was collected from 480 milking cows on a German dairy farm between September 2018 and December 2019. These variables were gathered in potentially different scenarios on farm.

Determination of Body Parts in Holstein Friesian Cows Comparing Neural Networks and k Nearest Neighbour Classification.

Machine learning methods have become increasingly important in animal science, and the success of an automated application using machine learning often depends on the right choice of method for the respective problem and data set. The recognition of objects in 3D data is still a widely studied topic and especially challenging when it comes to the partition of objects into predefined segments. In this study, two machine learning approaches were utilized for the recognition of body parts of dairy cows from 3D point clouds, i.

Estimation of genetic parameters and breeding values for feed intake and energy balance using pedigree relationships or single-step genomic evaluation in Holstein Friesian cows.

At the beginning of lactation, high-performing dairy cows often experience a severe energy deficit, which in turn is associated with metabolic stress. Increasing feed intake (FI) or reducing the energy deficit during this period could improve the metabolic stability and thus the health of the animals. Genomic selection for the first time enables the inclusion of this hard-to-measure trait in breeding programs.

Lactation curves and model evaluation for feed intake and energy balance in dairy cows.

A good health status of high-performing dairy cows is essential for successful production. Feed intake affects the metabolic stability of dairy cows and can be used as a measurement for energy balance. By implementing feed intake and energy balance into the breeding goal, these traits provide great potential for an improvement in the health of dairy cows by breeders.

Structural Asymmetry and Kinetic Limping of Single Rotary F-ATP Synthases.

F-ATP synthases use proton flow through the F domain to synthesize ATP in the F₁ domain. In , the enzyme consists of rotor subunits γε and stator subunits (αβ)₃δ₂. Subunits or (αβ)₃ alone are rotationally symmetric.

Oxygenic photosynthesis: history, status and perspective.

Cyanobacteria and plants carry out oxygenic photosynthesis. They use water to generate the atmospheric oxygen we breathe and carbon dioxide to produce the biomass serving as food, feed, fibre and fuel. This paper scans the emergence of structural and mechanistic understanding of oxygen evolution over the past 50 years.

Developing a multi-Kinect-system for monitoring in dairy cows: object recognition and surface analysis using wavelets.

Camera-based systems in dairy cattle were intensively studied over the last years. Different from this study, single camera systems with a limited range of applications were presented, mostly using 2D cameras. This study presents current steps in the development of a camera system comprising multiple 3D cameras (six Microsoft Kinect cameras) for monitoring purposes in dairy cows.

The Phylogenetic Signature Underlying ATP Synthase c-Ring Compliance.

The proton-driven ATP synthase (FOF1) is comprised of two rotary, stepping motors (FO and F1) coupled by an elastic power transmission. The elastic compliance resides in the rotor module that includes the membrane-embedded FO c-ring. Proton transport by FO is firmly coupled to the rotation of the c-ring relative to other FO subunits (ab2).

Quantification of the effects of fur, fur color, and velocity on Time-Of-Flight technology in dairy production.

With increasing herd sizes, camera based monitoring solutions rise in importance. 3D cameras, for example Time-Of-Flight (TOF) cameras, measure depth information. These additional information (3D data) could be beneficial for monitoring in dairy production.

ATP synthase.

Oxygenic photosynthesis is the principal converter of sunlight into chemical energy. Cyanobacteria and plants provide aerobic life with oxygen, food, fuel, fibers, and platform chemicals. Four multisubunit membrane proteins are involved: photosystem I (PSI), photosystem II (PSII), cytochrome b6f (cyt b6f), and ATP synthase (FOF1).

Spatio-temporal resolution of primary processes of photosynthesis.

Technical progress in laser-sources and detectors has allowed the temporal and spatial resolution of chemical reactions down to femtoseconds and Å-units. In photon-excitable systems the key to chemical kinetics, trajectories across the vibrational saddle landscape, are experimentally accessible. Simple and thus well-defined chemical compounds are preferred objects for calibrating new methodologies and carving out paradigms of chemical dynamics, as shown in several contributions to this Faraday Discussion.

Structure and energy transfer in photosystems of oxygenic photosynthesis.

Oxygenic photosynthesis is the principal converter of sunlight into chemical energy on Earth. Cyanobacteria and plants provide the oxygen, food, fuel, fibers, and platform chemicals for life on Earth. The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy is catalyzed by two multisubunit membrane protein complexes, photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII).

Evaluation of different lactation curve models fitted for milk viscosity recorded by an automated on-line California Mastitis Test.

Laboratory somatic cell count (LSCC) records are usually recorded monthly and provide an important information source for breeding and herd management. Daily milk viscosity detection in composite milking (expressed as drain time) with an automated on-line California Mastitis Test (CMT) could serve immediately as an early predictor of udder diseases and might be used as a selection criterion to improve udder health. The aim of the present study was to clarify the relationship between the well-established LSCS and the new trait,'drain time', and to estimate their correlations to important production traits.

Calibration of an automated California mastitis test with focus on the device-dependent variation.

The aim of the paper was to estimate the accuracy of the metrology of an installed indirect on-line sensor system based on the automated California Mastitis Test (CMT) with focus on the prior established device-dependent variation. A sensor calibration was implemented. Therefore, seven sensors were tested with similar trials on the dairy research farm Karkendamm (Germany) on two days in July 2011 and January 2012.

Polymorphisms within the APOBR gene are highly associated with milk levels of prognostic ketosis biomarkers in dairy cows.

Essentially all high-yielding dairy cows experience a negative energy balance during early lactation leading to increased lipomobilization, which is a normal physiological response. However, a severe energy deficit may lead to high levels of ketone bodies and, subsequently, to subclinical or clinical ketosis. It has previously been reported that the ratio of glycerophosphocholine to phosphocholine in milk is a prognostic biomarker for the risk of ketosis in dairy cattle.

A refined reaction-diffusion model of tau-microtubule dynamics and its application in FDAP analysis.

Fluorescence decay after photoactivation (FDAP) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) are well established approaches for studying the interaction of the microtubule (MT)-associated protein tau with MTs in neuronal cells. Previous interpretations of FDAP/FRAP data have revealed dwell times of tau on MTs in the range of several seconds. However, this is difficult to reconcile with a dwell time recently measured by single-molecule analysis in neuronal processes that was shorter by two orders of magnitude.

Single-molecule tracking of tau reveals fast kiss-and-hop interaction with microtubules in living neurons.

The microtubule-associated phosphoprotein tau regulates microtubule dynamics and is involved in neurodegenerative diseases collectively called tauopathies. It is generally believed that the vast majority of tau molecules decorate axonal microtubules, thereby stabilizing them. However, it is an open question how tau can regulate microtubule dynamics without impeding microtubule-dependent transport and how tau is also available for interactions other than those with microtubules.

Interplay between phosphorylation and palmitoylation mediates plasma membrane targeting and sorting of GAP43.

Phosphorylation and lipidation provide posttranslational mechanisms that contribute to the distribution of cytosolic proteins in growing nerve cells. The growth-associated protein GAP43 is susceptible to both phosphorylation and S-palmitoylation and is enriched in the tips of extending neurites. However, how phosphorylation and lipidation interplay to mediate sorting of GAP43 is unclear.

Lateral pH gradient between OXPHOS complex IV and F(0)F(1) ATP-synthase in folded mitochondrial membranes.

Ion-driven ATP synthesis by rotary F0F1 ATP-synthase powers aerobic life. Since Mitchell's seminal hypothesis, this synthesis has been discussed in terms of the proton-motive force between two bulk phases, each in equilibrium. In active mitochondria, a steady proton flow cycles between pumps and the distant ATP synthase.

Feasibility of automated body trait determination using the SR4K time-of-flight camera in cow barns.

As herd sizes have increased in the last decades, computerized monitoring solutions, which provide fast, objective and accurate evaluations of the herd status, gain more and more importance. This study analyzes the feasibility of a Time-of-Flight-camera-based system for gathering body traits in dairy cows for use under cow barn conditions. Recording, determination of body condition score on a 5 point scale by visual and manual inspection, and measuring the backfat thickness with ultrasound took place from July 2011 to May 2012 at the dairy research farm Karkendamm of the Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel (Germany) and between August 2010 and July 2012 at the Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Animal Husbandry of Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture in Grub (Germany).

Effect of genetic merit for energy balance on luteal activity and subsequent reproductive performance in primiparous Holstein-Friesian cows.

Postpartum energy status is critically important to fertility. However, studies dealing with the relationship between both traits are rare and most refer only to the phenotypic level. In this study, random regression models were used to generate cow-specific lactation curves for daily breeding values (BV) of energy balance (EB) to assess the effect of genetic merit for energy status on different traits derived from progesterone profiles and on subsequent reproductive performance of high-producing dairy cows.

Mathematical approaches to detect low concentrations in progesterone profiles.

There is a general need for higher objectivity and accuracy in describing the physiological fertility performance of dairy cows. To develop the alternative meaningful starting points for the selection of genetically superior dairy cows, this study focused on the detection of low progesterone concentrations, which are indicative of estrus events. Three mathematical approaches were used: one based on the exponentially weighted moving average control chart, and two threshold methods, which were developed in-house.