Cow characteristics associated with the variation in number of contacts between dairy cows.

In modern freestall barns where large groups of cows are housed together, the behavior displayed by herd mates can influence the welfare and production of other individuals. Therefore, understanding social interactions in groups of dairy cows is important to enhance herd management and optimize the outcomes of both animal health and welfare in the future. Many factors can affect the number of social contacts in a group.

Identification of reindeer fine-scale foraging behaviour using tri-axial accelerometer data.

Animal behavioural responses to the environment ultimately affect their survival. Monitoring animal fine-scale behaviour may improve understanding of animal functional response to the environment and provide an important indicator of the welfare of both wild and domesticated species. In this study, we illustrate the application of collar-attached acceleration sensors for investigating reindeer fine-scale behaviour.

Uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis: a continued cohort study 40 years after uveitis onset.

Background: A third follow-up study, mean 40.7 years after uveitis onset, of a cohort originally consisting of 55 Swedish patients with uveitis associated with juvenile arthritis.

Method: A retrospective study of the patients' ophthalmic medical records.

Animal Welfare Implications of Digital Tools for Monitoring and Management of Cattle and Sheep on Pasture.

The opportunities for natural animal behaviours in pastures imply animal welfare benefits. Nevertheless, monitoring the animals can be challenging. The use of sensors, cameras, positioning equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles in large pastures has the potential to improve animal welfare surveillance.

Modelling group movement with behaviour switching in continuous time.

This article presents a new method for modelling collective movement in continuous time with behavioural switching, motivated by simultaneous tracking of wild or semi-domesticated animals. Each individual in the group is at times attracted to a unobserved leading point. However, the behavioural state of each individual can switch between 'following' and 'independent'.

Experimental rewilding may restore abandoned wood-pastures if policy allows.

Large herbivores play key roles in terrestrial ecosystems. Continuous defaunation processes have produced cascade effects on plant community composition, vegetation structure, and even climate. Wood-pastures were created by traditional management practices that have maintained open structures and biodiversity for millennia.

Impact of Year-Round Grazing by Horses on Pasture Nutrient Dynamics and the Correlation with Pasture Nutrient Content and Fecal Nutrient Composition.

Horse grazing may benefit biodiversity, but the impact of year-round grazing on nutrient dynamics has not been evaluated previously. This study compared pasture quality in a forest-grassland landscape grazed year-round by horses with that in exclosed mown areas. Twelve Gotlandsruss stallions were kept without supplementary feeding in three enclosures (~0.

Out of sight of wind turbines-Reindeer response to wind farms in operation.

To meet the expanding land use required for wind energy development, a better understanding of the effects on terrestrial animals' responses to such development is required. Using GPS-data from 50 freely ranging female reindeer () in the Malå reindeer herding community, Sweden, we determined reindeer calving sites and estimated reindeer habitat selection using resource selection functions (RSF). RSFs were estimated at both second- (selection of home range) and third-order (selection within home range) scale in relation to environmental variables, wind farm (WF) development phase (before construction, construction, and operation), distance to the WFs and at the second-order scale whether the wind turbines were in or out of sight of the reindeer.

Spatial modeling of data with excessive zeros applied to reindeer pellet-group counts.

We analyze a real data set pertaining to reindeer fecal pellet-group counts obtained from a survey conducted in a forest area in northern Sweden. In the data set, over 70% of counts are zeros, and there is high spatial correlation. We use conditionally autoregressive random effects for modeling of spatial correlation in a Poisson generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), quasi-Poisson hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM), zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP), and hurdle models.

Reindeer habitat use in relation to two small wind farms, during preconstruction, construction, and operation.

Worldwide there is a rush toward wind power development and its associated infrastructure. In Fennoscandia, large-scale wind farms comprising several hundred windmills are currently built in important grazing ranges used for Sámi reindeer husbandry. In this study, reindeer habitat use was assessed using reindeer fecal pellet group counts in relation to two relatively small wind farms, with 8 and 10 turbines, respectively.

Sea ice, rain-on-snow and tundra reindeer nomadism in Arctic Russia.

Sea ice loss is accelerating in the Barents and Kara Seas (BKS). Assessing potential linkages between sea ice retreat/thinning and the region's ancient and unique social-ecological systems is a pressing task. Tundra nomadism remains a vitally important livelihood for indigenous Nenets and their large reindeer herds.

Modeling interdependent animal movement in continuous time.

This article presents a new approach to modeling group animal movement in continuous time. The movement of a group of animals is modeled as a multivariate Ornstein Uhlenbeck diffusion process in a high-dimensional space. Each individual of the group is attracted to a leading point which is generally unobserved, and the movement of the leading point is also an Ornstein Uhlenbeck process attracted to an unknown attractor.

The epidemiology of herpes zoster and its complications in Medicare cancer patients.

Background: Literature on the epidemiology of herpes zoster (HZ) in cancer patients is sparse and does not include the elderly. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of HZ and related complications in elderly cancer patients and assess risk factors associated with HZ.

Methods: Patients ≥65 years diagnosed with cancer in 1991-2007 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry-Medicare linked database in this retrospective, longitudinal, open cohort study.

Phase I study of the c-raf-1 antisense oligonucleotide ISIS 5132 in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with previously untreated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: A phase I trial was performed to evaluate the administration of carboplatin/paclitaxel in combination with ISIS-5132, a phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotide inhibitor of c-raf-1 kinase expression, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Previously untreated patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC received ISIS 5132 by continuous intravenous infusion at 2.0 mg/kg/d for 14 days.

Long-term follow-up of patients with uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a cohort study.

Purpose: To analyze the clinical and visual outcome of 55 consecutive patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis examined 7 and 24 years after the onset of the eye disease.

Methods: A retrospective study.

Results: Fifty-five out of 350 patients with JIA developed uveitis (15.

Costs associated with intravenous chemotherapy administration in patients with small cell lung cancer: a retrospective claims database analysis.

Objectives: With new oral chemotherapy drugs emerging, it is useful to understand the costs associated with traditional intravenous (IV) therapy. This study aims to assess costs associated with IV chemotherapy in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) from the perspective of large employer-payers.

Study Design: Descriptive retrospective claims database analysis.

Phase II clinical trial of chemotherapy-naive patients > or = 70 years of age treated with erlotinib for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: This is a phase II, multicenter, open-label study of chemotherapy-naïve patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and age > or = 70 years who were treated with erlotinib and evaluated to determine the median, 1-year, and 2-year survival. The secondary end points include radiographic response rate, time to progression (TTP), toxicity, and symptom improvement.

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients with NSCLC were treated with erlotinib 150 mg/d until disease progression or significant toxicity.

Phase I trial of the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor marimastat combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Marimastat is an orally bioavailable inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases. A phase I study was initiated to determine whether conventional doses of carboplatin and paclitaxel are tolerated when combined with marimastat and to assess the influence of marimastat on paclitaxel pharmacokinetics.

Experimental Design: Three dose levels were evaluated.

High risk of brain metastases in surgically staged IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Purpose: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. We sought to review our experience with surgically staged IIIA (N2) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), focusing on the patterns of failure in consecutively treated patients from 1988 to 2000.

Patients And Methods: The records of 177 patients were reviewed.