Biorefinery study of availability of agriculture residues and wastes for integrated biorefineries in Brazil

Brazil has a great potential for use renewable raw materials in biorefineries. It is one of the largest producers of agricultural and animal commodities, which produce large amounts of residues and wastes. These agricultural residues and animal waste can be effectively transformed to energy and other products in systems similar to a ethanol refinery where an integrated process involves conversion for biomass into fuel, energy and chemicals, integrated in the context of a biorefinery. The objective of this work is the determination of the actual availability of main agricultural residues and animal wastes generated in Brazil and of their generation potential index and their prospects for 2020. The results indicate that the sugarcane has the highest agronomic availability, reaching 157 million tons of fresh material and an estimated reuse potential of 19.6 million tons (dry basis), followed by soybeans, rice, maize, orange, wheat, cotton, cassava and tobacco.     

Cross-Platform Framing and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: Examining Elephant Conservation in Thailand

This case study investigates cross-platform framing process and framing alignment strategies of the world famous elephant conservation NGO. It examines how the intercultural adaptation facilitates the frame transformation against entrenched domesticated elephant traditions in Thailand. Besides web observation, this study conducted two field trips to interview the NGO staff and conservation experts, and observed human–elephant interaction. Enhancing the understanding of ecotourism, this study expands the framing theory by incorporating cross-platform and cross-cultural adaptation factors and provides insights of an effective Asian ecotourism model which transcends cultural differences and overcomes resistance by disseminating culturally sensitive and integrated framing strategies through various communication channels.     

Estimating dyad association probability under imperfect and heterogeneous detection

In animal behaviour studies, association indices estimate the proportion of time two individuals (i.e. a dyad) spend in association. In terms of dyads, all association indices can be interpreted as estimators of the probability that a dyad is associated. However, traditional indices rely on the assumptions that the probability to detect a particular individual (p) is either approximately one and/or homogeneous between associated and not associated individuals. Based on marked individuals we develop a likelihood based model to estimate the probability a dyad is associated (ψ) accounting for p < 1 and possibly varying between associated and not associated individuals. The proposed likelihood based model allows for both individual and dyadic missing observations. In addition, the model can easily be extended to incorporate covariate information for modeling p and ψ. A simulation study showed that the likelihood based model approach yield reasonably unbiased estimates, even for low and heterogeneous individual detection probabilities, while, in contrast, traditional indices showed moderate to strong biases. The application of the proposed approach is illustrated using a real data set collected from a population of Commerson's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) in Patagonia Argentina. Finally, we discuss possible extensions of the proposed model and its applicability in animal behaviour and ecological studies.     

Estimating influence of stocking regimes on livestock grazing distributions

Livestock often concentrate grazing in particular regions of landscapes while partly or wholly avoiding other regions. Dispersing livestock from the heavily grazed regions is a central challenge in grazing land management. Position data gathered from GPS-collared livestock hold potential for increasing knowledge of factors driving livestock aggregation patterns, but advances in gathering the data have outpaced advancements in analyzing and learning from it. We fit a hierarchical seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model to explore how season of stocking and the location where cattle entered a pasture influenced grazing distributions. Stocking alternated between summer on one side of the pasture one year and fall on another side of the pasture the next year for 18 years. Waypoints were recorded on cattle for 50 d each year. We focused our analysis on the pasture's 10 most heavily grazed 4-ha units, because these units were the most prone to negative grazing impacts. Though grazing of the study units was always disproportionately heavy, it was much heavier with the summer than fall stocking regime: Bayesian confidence intervals indicate summer grazing of study units was approximately double the average fall grazing value. This is our core result, and it illustrates the strong effect stocking season or date or both can have on grazing distributions. We fit three additional models to explore the relative importance of stocking season versus location. According to this analysis, stocking season played a role, but stocking location was the main driver. Ostensibly minor factors (e.g. stocking location) can greatly influence livestock distributions.     

Is bird song a reliable signal of aggressive intent?

In this commentary, we discuss recent experiments on the reliability of bird song as a signal of aggressive intent during territorial conflicts. We outline relevant theoretical views on honest signaling, highlighting the vulnerability handicap hypothesis as a possible explanation for soft song’s reliability in predicting attack. We also sketch possible methods of testing whether soft song agrees with key predictions of the vulnerability handicap hypothesis. Finally, we suggest possible empirical refinements that may be useful in future studies of signals of intent, both in birds and in animals broadly. In particular, we argue that future studies of intent should strive to incorporate the following elements into their experimental design: (1) multi-modal signal components, (2) interaction dynamics, and (3) minimal time intervals. Simulated exchanges using dynamically interactive models may provide a powerful means of incorporating all three of these design features simultaneously.

畜禽养殖污染是不容忽视的新的环境问题

本文论述了畜禽养殖业对环境带来的污染已成为新的环境问题,并提出了改进的措施。     

工业纤维废渣利用的生物技术研究

用平板分离法从树皮中选育出“５０８８号菌种”，使麻纺厂的废弃下脚料转化成可替代饲料中玉米成份的“媲谷菌饲”。并利用造纸厂白泥，粘胶纤维厂废水处理产生的污泥作饲料钙，锌元素添加剂获成功。     

分段厌氧—A／O系统处理高浓度禽粪水

用两段厌氧发酵,降低了造价。用厌氧生物膜法,增加厌氧菌接触反应面,提高了处理效果和沼气产气率。用A/O系统技术处理氪氮,处理效果显著。为禽粪水处理,提供了高效、简便和可靠的处理技术。     

The use of waggle dance information by honey bees throughout their foraging careers

We studied the extent to which worker honey bees acquire information from waggle dances throughout their careers as foragers. Small groups of foragers were monitored from time of orientation flights to time of death and all in-hive behaviors relating to foraging were recorded. In the context of a novice forager finding her first food source, 60% of the bees relied, at least in part, on acquiring information from waggle dances (being recruited) rather than searching independently (scouting). In the context of an experienced forager whose foraging has been interrupted, 37% of the time the bees resumed foraging by following waggle dances (being reactivated) rather than examining the food source on their own (inspecting). And in the context of an experienced forager engaged in foraging, 17% of the time the bees initiated a foraging trip by following a waggle dance. Such dance following was observed much more often after an unsuccessful than after a successful foraging trip. Successful foragers often followed dances just briefly, perhaps to confirm that the kind of flowers they had been visiting were still yielding forage. Overall, waggle dance following for food discovery accounted for 12–25% of all interactions with dancers (9% by novice foragers and 3–16% by experienced foragers) whereas dance following for reactivation and confirmation accounted for the other 75–88% (26% for reactivation and 49–62% for confirmation). We conclude that foragers make extensive use of the waggle dance not only to start work at new, unfamiliar food sources but also to resume work at old, familiar food sources.     

Distribution of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in the whole blood of typical meat animals

The concentrations and distribution of polychlorinated naphthalenes(PCNs) in the whole blood of eight typical terrestrial meat animals(chicken, duck, rabbit, pig, cattle, sheep,horse and donkey) consumed daily in our life were investigated. The total concentrations(on a liquid volume basis) of PCNs were in a range from 305 to 987 pg/L. Donkey blood contained the highest PCN concentrations. Mono-CNs were the dominant homolog group,accounting for 38%–71% PCNs. Apart from the mono-CNs and tri-CNs homolog groups, two hepta-CNs(mean: 9.5%) contributed most, followed by tetra-CNs(mean: 6.5%). The congeners CN1, 5/7, 24/14, 27/30, 52/60, 66/67, and 73 were the most abundant congeners or congener groups. The highest toxicity equivalencies(TEQs) were observed in cattle blood(117.4 fg TEQ/L) then chicken blood(117.1 fg TEQ/L). CN73 contributed 65% to total TEQs,followed by CN70(20%) and CN66/67(14%). The dietary intakes of PCNs were also estimated.Chicken meat, which forms the second largest component of meat product consumption in China, contributed most to the total TEQs(61%), followed by beef(27%) and pork(5.9%). The consumption of chicken might pose the highest risk from exposure to PCNs than other types of meat to populations who prefer to eat chicken meat.