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Background Few studies have quantified dynamic balance in fencers despite previous suggestions that balance training may be beneficial for these athletes. Generally, asymmetry in dynamic balance performance between the left and right legs can be an indicator of lower extremity injury risk and used to monitor rehabilitation progress. Fencing is recognized as an asymmetric sport, therefore, differences in dynamic balance may exist among uninjured athletes. Hypothesis/Purpose The primary objective of this investigation was to evaluate whether asymmetry of dynamic balance is present in uninjured national-level fencers. It was hypothesized that elite uninjured fencers would demonstrate superior dynamic balance on the lead-leg of their fencing stance. A secondary objective was to compare dynamic balance performance of elite fencers to previously published data from high-level athletes participating in other sports. Study Design Descriptive Laboratory Study Methods Fourteen uninjured elite competitive fencers were recruited. Subjects self-reported the lead leg of their fencing stance. Each participant performed the Y-Balance test (YBT), which represented a measurement of dynamic balance control, on both legs. Reach distances were recorded directly from a commercially available YBT apparatus. Four reach distances were recorded: anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral, and a composite measure was calculated. Distances were leg length-normalized and expressed as a percentage. Sample averages and standard deviations were derived for the four YBT measurements. Results There were no significant differences in reaching distance between the lead and trail legs in any of the four YBT measures (p ≥ 0.65). Fencers appeared to demonstrate larger normalized reach distances in the posterolateral and posteromedial directions than other athletes. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that dynamic balance is not significantly different between the lead and trail legs in elite fencers, despite the asymmetrical nature of their sport. The apparent symmetry of dynamic balance control in uninjured fencers means that the YBT could be used in this population for monitoring progress during training and rehabilitation. Level of Evidence 2b

Sorghum is the most well-known helpful cereal crop for poor farmers in Ethiopia’s dry lowland areas due to it’s a high yielding, drought tolerant, nutrient use efficiency crop that can be grown over 80 % of the worlds’ cultivated land. It has many advantages in the economic lives of the farmers in the highlands of the country. It is a source of food, feed, fuel, construction, fencing to poor farmers of Ethiopia. Though, many biological and environmental stresses are reducing grain yield increment. Foliar and grain diseases are one of the main biological stresses limiting sorghum production and productivity in the high and intermediate rainfall areas of Ethiopia. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the current state of highland sorghum improvement in Ethiopia’s highlands. Breeders, pathologists, agronomists, and research extension workers have all worked hard to overcome the constraints. In addition, the national sorghum research program is focusing on developing tolerant varieties that can withstand a variety of pressures by backcrossing tolerant characteristics into existing potential landraces and elite advanced lines. Due to many yield-limiting conditions, the crop’s production is well below its potential. Sorghum breeding began in Ethiopia in the early 1950s to solve important production difficulties that contributed to low productivity, and as a result, a number of improved varieties have been offered to farmers. Since 1978, research and development efforts previous to Ethiopian sorghum enhancement have been studied. Generally, believe that future productivity will most likely increase as a result of the integration of a diverse collection of mutually beneficial disciplines and organizations with varying priorities in technology development, advancement, promotion, and market/product production. Multidisciplinary methodologies, system sustainability with temporal and spatial intensification, and participation of essential stakeholders, including farmers, in the technological development, increase, promotion, and proper intervention in production are also of interest.

Collisions with vehicles can be a major threat to wildlife populations, so wildlife mitigation structures, including exclusionary fencing and wildlife crossings, are often constructed. To assess mitigation structure effectiveness, it is useful to compare wildlife road mortalities (WRMs) before, during, and after mitigation structure construction; however, differences in survey methodologies may make comparisons of counts impractical. Location‐based cluster analyses provide a means to assess how WRM spatial patterns have changed over time. We collected WRM data between 2015 and 2019 on State Highway 100 in Texas, USA. Five wildlife crossings and exclusionary fencing were installed in this area between September 2016 and May 2018 for the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and other similarly sized mammals. Roads intersecting State Highway 100 were mitigated by gates, wildlife guards, and wing walls. However, these structures may have provided wildlife access to the highway. We combined local hot spot analysis and time series analysis to assess how WRM cluster intensity changed after mitigation structure construction at fine spatial and temporal scales and generalized linear regression to assess how gaps in fencing and land cover were related to WRM cluster intensity in the before, during, and after construction periods. Overall, WRMs/survey day decreased after mitigation structure construction and most hot spots occurred where there were more fence gaps, and, while cluster intensity increased in a few locations, these were not at fence gaps. Cluster intensity of WRMs increased when nearer to fence gaps in naturally vegetated areas, especially forested areas, and decreased nearer to fence gaps in areas with less natural vegetation. We recommend that if fence gaps are necessary in forested areas, less permeable mitigation structures, such as gates, should be used. Local hot spot analysis, coupled with time series and regression techniques, can effectively assess how WRM clustering changes over time., Wildlife mitigation structures are often constructed to reduce wildlife road mortalities; however, gaps in the fence may reduce the effectiveness of these structures. We assessed how hot spots of wildlife road mortality changed with construction of mitigation structures using emerging hot spot analysis and generalized linear regression. We found that hot spot intensity has not changed after 1 year postconstruction of mitigation structures and that resulting spatial patterns of wildlife road mortalities were not associated with the locations of mitigation structures.

Utilization of off-grid solar PV system is one of the availability approaches that can provide electricity to these villages from the remote area or mini grid home load system design for future purposeng to design and application of off-grid solar PV system, valued experience was gotten for popularizing off-grid solar PV system in the remote area of home load . which played an important exemplary role for utilization of solar energy in future. For remote area home/house security is very important. House is one of the basic needs of human being. A system is to be proposed which will protect the home from animals / birds, as which enter the house. A Solar / electric fence is provided around the home to protect the house from animal /birds/unknown human, so that they should not enter the house. If anyone touches electric fencing then a text message is sent to the owner’s mobile by the use of GSM. This research offers harmless and user-friendly home security for better security.

This study examined the various forms of agroforestry technologies adopted by the farmers as well as assessed the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents from the study area. Both descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as inferential statistics such as Logistic Regression model were used in the study. From the study, it was discovered that adopters of agroforestry technology accounts for 42.47%, while non-adopters accounted for 57.53% of the sampled respondents. The result further shows the different forms of agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers in the study area which includes boundary planting, multipurpose trees/shrubs, wind breaks and live fencing. The result of the analysis of the factors that influence the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers from the logistic regression analysis revealed that access to extension services, age, education, farming experience, farm size and gender were positive and significant factors in determining the adoption of agroforestry technologies among the farmers.

Virtual wildlife fencing presents as a cost-effective measure for roadkill mitigation, which aids in reducing fragmentation of wildlife populations by facilitating safer movement of wildlife across the landscape. In this study, we conducted an audit of a virtual fence installation in south-east Queensland, Australia. We assessed its reliability in flows of traffic and the effect that installation parameters and site conditions had on its effective operation in an urban setting. We made observations on the behavioural response of Eastern Grey Kangaroos Macropus giganteus to the acoustic signals produced by the fence. We found that the fencing activated consistently in response to headlights at dusk and dawn, and when traffic flows were dense, despite considerable variations in the range of installation parameters. However, we identified that the response of the virtual fence to headlights was affected by road curvature and we identified inconsistencies in the timing and pattern of activation in response to traffic. Behavioural observations showed a significant increase in kangaroo vigilance in response to the acoustic signal of the fence when resting or grazing, and kangaroos detected the acoustic signal up to 50 m away. While virtual fencing operates effectively and is a low-cost roadkill mitigation option that can be applied to the urban environment, more research is needed to better understand the effect of its acoustic and visual signals on wildlife behaviour and efficacy in busy urban environments.

Livestock presence in forest ecosystems is considered a factor in forest destruction in developing countries; therefore, rehabilitation practices following livestock exclusion could be a good way to restore forests. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the soil properties and plant biodiversity 12 years after applying fencing and planting in the livestock farms in the Hyrcanian Forests of Iran. First, three regions close to each other were selected and then four areas (treatments) were considered in each region: 1. An area under livestock use (L), 2. an enclosed area (E; with fences, established in 2007), 3. a planted area (P; established with Acer velutinum seedlings in 2007), and 4. a control area (C; natural forest); therefore, a total of 12 areas were considered. In each of the 12 areas, three plots (20 × 20 m) were randomly established (a total of 36 plots), and all the vascular plants in the herbaceous layer and woody species seedlings were recorded in order to study the biodiversity of the vegetation cover. One soil sample was taken from each plot to examine the physical and chemical properties of the soil. The results showed that bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and available potassium were not significantly different between the C, E, and P treatments. Rehabilitation practices improved the soil pH (P: 6.36 ± 0.06, E: 6.59 ± 0.08), EC (P: 0.86 ± 0.05, E: 0.82 ± 0.04 ds cm−1), total nitrogen (P: 0.31 ± 0.001, E: 0.31 ± 0.005), available phosphorus (P: 10.13 ± 2.22, E: 19.29 ± 2.43 mg kg−1), and available potassium (P: 1369.60 ± 31.06, E: 1898.80 ± 448.60 mg kg−1). The Margalef index was lower in the L area and no significant difference was observed between the E and P areas. Since the multivariate analysis (based on the vegetation and soil data) showed that P and E had more similarity to C, these treatments could accelerate the forest restoration process.

Sensors, such as accelerometers, in tracking devices allow for detailed bio-logging to understand animal behaviour, even in remote places where direct observation is difcult. To study breeding in birds remotely, one needs to understand how to recognise a breeding event from tracking data, and ideally validate this by direct observation. We tagged 49 adult female pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) with transmitter neckbands in Finland in spring of 2018 and 2019, and in Svalbard in summer 2018, and validated inferences from tracking by feld observations of nesting sites and family status in 2018–2020 (54 spring–summer tracks). We estimated nesting locations by taking the median coordinates of GPS-fxes at which the goose was motionless (overall dynamic body acceleration, ODBA < 1) on days with a daily median ODBA < 1, which approached the real nesting locations closely (within 1.6–3.7 m, n = Background: Semi-natural pastures are unfertilized grasslands with a long history of traditional low-input grazing management. This kind of pastures are recognized for their high species richness. However, as a consequence of modernization of agriculture, many of the semi-natural pastures have been lost during the last century, leading to a serious threat to farmland biodiversity. Semi-natural pastures are relatively low in productivity. Hence, to increase proftability, farmers may want to give the grazing animals access to additional nutrient sources. This can be done either as supplementary feeding, or by fencing the semi-natural pastures into the same enclosure as improved, more nutrient-rich, pastures. These practices are, however, controversial. It is argued that since semi-natural pastures are species-rich partly because they are nutrient-poor, introducing additional nutrients into the system should be avoided. Accordingly, in Sweden, these interventions are often prohibited while receiving fnancial subsidies for management of semi-natural pastures. However, since many farmers are dependent on such support to maintain their pastures, these prohibitions often cause problems. The question has been raised whether giving the grazers access to additional nutrient sources really afect the biodiversity in semi-natural pastures, as is assumed. The primary aim of the proposed systematic review is to answer this question. Method: Peer-reviewed and grey literature will be searched for using bibliographic databases, search engines, specialist websites and stakeholder contacts. The references will be screened for relevance according to a predefned set of eligibility criteria. The criteria will be tested and clarifed iteratively, until consistency in interpretations is achieved. Thereafter, the literature will be screened in two stages, frst based upon title and abstract and then by examining full texts. Full text screening will be performed with blinded decisions by two independent reviewers. Each relevant study will then be critically appraised, based on a set of predefned validity criteria. A narrative synthesis will be provided, outlining the evidence base in terms of bibliographic information and study metadata. If possible, quantitative syntheses based on meta-analyses will be performed. Identifed relevant knowledge gaps will be highlighted and discussed. Grasslands, Grazing management, Supplementary feeding, Creep feeding, Nutrient relocation, Biological diversity, Species diversity, Functional diversity, Cattle, Livestock

Solar-based virtual fences use the principle of converting solar energy into electrical energy and giving electric shock while touching the fences. Electronic fence systems are used at many places such as forest areas, farms, etc. To protect those places against animals and thefts solar energy is converted to electrical energy to provide the necessary voltage for electrical fences As the Unregulated DC voltage from the solar energy is converted to regulated DC voltage and further converted to AC voltage using an inverter. And this electrical energy is used to give short but sharp shocks to the animals or anyone who touches the fence, But there is life threat through electrical shocks, as even though it is a short time shock it will be dangerous to life as it electrical energy and there will be chances of death, So we proposed a model of VIRTUAL FENCING technique which protects the farmland by scaring away the animals which tries to enter the fence protected land and at the same time it alerts the owner about the intrusion and lets the owner choose the type of defense to use remotely which is made possible in our model through a GSM module.

This study was conducted to identify major livestock production constraints and improved forage production efforts in the Damot Gale district. Four representative kebeles, two associated with our NGO project and two from nonproject outreach activities, were selected. Forty farmers from each kebele were randomly chosen for the purpose of individual interviews using a semistructured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and Excel. The topmost livestock production constraint was feed shortage where a larger proportion of farmers (75.6%) suffered from the problem with higher ( p ≤ 0.01) severity in nonproject intervention areas. Of these, 38.6% were challenged for a period of three months while another 61.4% suffered for about four months. Purchasing grass (31.4%) and concentrate (33.5%) and feeding enset (Ensete ventricosum) leaf (21.49%) were the most commonly adopted coping mechanisms to alleviate feed shortages during the dry season, while using purchased grass and enset leaf was the main coping strategy in nonproject intervention ( p ≤ 0.01) areas. The majority of households (90.75%) participate in improved forage production regardless of farm size. Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) (71.38%) and elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) (42.63%) are the most common improved forages in both study areas. These forages are produced for the purpose of two or more functions (feed, cash, and preventing erosion) that vary ( p ≤ 0.01) among intervention status. Major niche locations adopted for improved forage production include farm land, soil and water conservation structures, and perimeter fencing. Greatest constraints on improved forage production were seed/material shortage followed by land shortage and lack of awareness. Project intervention ( p ≤ 0.01), tropical livestock unit (TLU) holding ( p ≤ 0.01), and forage seed/planting material access ( p

Agricultural strategies are changing quickly as a result of late advances in sustainable power innovation. The new headways in environmentally friendly power can be adequately utilized in the agribusiness area to decrease reliance on regular harvests water system procedures and petroleum derivatives. The Solar-Powered Smart Irrigation System intends to give an IoT arrangement in computerizing the watering interaction utilizing an Arduino-based microcontroller and sensors. It is an energy proficient and eco-accommodating framework that produces power from the photovoltaic cells to supply water to the plants from the water siphons. The watering cycle is driven by the dampness substance of the dirt utilizing sensors. Edge limit are set for soil dampness sensor to guarantee productive and viable utilization of water asset. The fundamental microcontroller unit controls the framework at whatever point the sensor is across limit esteem. Likewise, the framework has implicit temperature and dampness sensors to screen the environment condition on the particular climate. Another sensor is carried out to gauge the water tank level which fills in as capacity limit that provisions the water to the framework. With the incorporation of IoT, mechanized water system can be effectively access and distantly checked over the versatile application through a remote specialized gadget. With these shrewd water system procedures, it replaces the customary water system framework that helps decline the manual intercession and mix-ups

Understanding the performance of agroforestry woody species in controlled and free grazing systems is crucial for scaling up agroforestry practices. The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate the determinants of agroforestry woody species composition and regeneration in free and controlled grazing systems in the Ethiopian highlands. Household and field surveys were conducted on 83 and 171 households selected from controlled grazing (CG) and free grazing (FG) systems, respectively. Woody species performance was compared between the two grazing systems using independent T-test. Seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) was used to identify the factors determining woody species density/abundance, diversity and regeneration. Most trees were grown for fuel wood and timber rather than for fodder. CG users owned more diversified species and abundant regenerates and mature trees/shrubs than FG users. The SUR results showed that herd size, farmland size, fencing, plantation of seedlings, education, wealth, grazing system, farmland distance from homestead and slope were the major factors affecting the composition and regeneration of species. Specifically the SUR results per-household indicated that woody species regeneration was highly affected by grazing system. Fencing is the common underlying factor positively affecting species diversity, regeneration and density of mature trees. Homestead distance from road and number of planted seedlings significantly affected density of regenerates and mature trees. Density of mature trees and species diversity were significantly affected by agroecology and slope. Woody species diversity was significantly affected by education, wealth, farmland size and project participation. Our findings revealed that the scaling up of woody species in agroforestry requires not only CG and favorable agroecology but also matching of agroforestry options with household and farmland characteristics.

The coronavirus has challenged the lives of many people all around the globe. The widespread use of COVID-19 left people starving with no money and bread. To combat this effect on people the only way is to maintain social distance and be cautious all the time. We put forward a mobile application-based strategy to combat the risk of COVID-19. The motive of the proposed model is to make people aware of COVID-19 cases updates and also notify them at various situations. We developed the mobile application using android studio and made use of Google firebase for the database. COVID-19 cases status along with information related to pandemic and emergency contacts are featured in the application. The outcomes of the application are good in response time as well as in the delivering of notifications. Index Terms: Geo-Fencing, Mobile Application, COVID-19, Android Studio, Google Firebase

The study intended to identify the problems of the farmers and prioritise them for extension intervention. The study was facilitated by the political head of the department within a hundred days of the resumption of duty. Meetings were facilitated through district offices of both the department and municipalities. The identification of farmers’ problems focused mainly on production, financial and infrastructural projects. Data was collected through a participatory rural appraisal approach. Farmers were allowed to express problems affecting them in a meeting setup. The extension officers (E.O) captured problems expressed by farmers and classify them according to the questionnaire template developed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to capture and analyse data. The data was presented to extension officers and management of DARD. The major findings of the study revealed that :( 1) Water supply, (2) Availability of land, (3) Livestock theft, (4) production inputs, (5) Machinery, and (6) fencing were major problems of the farmers. The recommendation of the study was that: (a) Problems be resolved according to their importance and (b) preference for implementation of extension intervention programmes to be a bottom-up than a top-down approach.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the personal characteristics supporting Paralympic athletes’ self-realization in sports. The study involved 106 members of the Paralympic and Deaflympic teams of Ukraine (16-53 year-old, the average age of 28.3 ± 7.2 years; 84 men with the average age of 27.7 ± 6.7 years and 22 women with the average age 30.3 ± 8.3 years) in different sports (football, fencing, power-lifting, sitting volleyball, judo, canoeing in pairs, swimming). It is determined that the most important personal factor supporting Paralympic athletes’ self-realization in sports is their psychological hardiness. Their self-efficacy, capacity for self-organization of their activities and psychological well-being can also be considered as significant personal characteristic necessary for their self-realization in sports.

Context Herding and mustering procedures during livestock management can be time-consuming, labour intensive, and costly. The ability to gather animals virtually is an enticing notion but technology to do this is not widely commercially available. Aims The eShepherd® virtual fencing system being developed for cattle may be able to remotely herd animals. This system operates via global positioning system, and requires animals to wear a neckband device. Animals are trained to associate an audio tone with an electrical pulse to avoid a virtual boundary. Methods Experiments were conducted with cattle using pre-commercial prototypes of the automated virtual fencing neckbands, and with sheep using manually operated dog training collars implementing the same virtual fencing algorithm to explore the potential of this technology for herding, and optimal fence designs for herding success. In the first experiment, five groups of 12 cattle were moved down a 344 m paddock using three different fence placement designs. Results The most successful design for cattle herding was a back fence that followed behind the animals to prevent them from turning back in the wrong direction. The fences were manually activated by personnel based on the cattle movement. The same type of fence design was manually applied to two groups of six sheep to successfully herd them down a 140 m paddock in the second experiment. Conclusions All herding was highly dependent on the animal’s own pace of movement as no signals were applied to ‘push’ the animals, the systems only prevented movement back in the wrong direction. The pre-commercial prototype of the automated eShepherd® device used is now obsolete and testing with updated versions would be needed to confirm its application for animal herding. Implications These preliminary trials indicate potential for virtual fencing technology to herd livestock, but technology improvements are required, and an automated device for sheep is not yet available.

Over one-fourth of the world's land area is dedicated to agriculture, and these lands provide important ecosystem services (ES). Trees are a key component of agricultural ecosystems' ability to provide ES, especially in tropical regions. Agricultural landowners' evaluation of the ES provided by trees influences management decisions, impacting tree cover at large scales. Using a case study approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with four types of agricultural landowners in southern Costa Rica to better understand how they value ES provided by trees. We used a socio-cultural valuation method, which revealed that landowners highly valued regulating and provisioning ES provided by trees and that the number and type of ES identified was influenced by the principle economic activity. Those farmers with larger amounts of forests on their properties more often identified cultural ES. The socio-cultural valuation methods revealed that respondents valued trees as wildlife habitat, coupling supporting and cultural services with both material (e.g., tourism) and non-material benefits (e.g., beauty). Few farmers in the study benefited from payment for ecosystem services programs, but the high value farmers placed on trees indicates there are other opportunities to increase tree cover on farms, such as promotion of live fencing and expanded riparian corridors. Results from this work can help improve conservation outcomes by shifting the focus of ecosystem service valuation to the needs and concerns of small-scale farmers in the development of outreach programs, management plans, and policies aimed at increasing tree cover on private lands in agricultural landscapes.

Nasal irrigation is a grade A recommendation treatment, which is essential in many pathological conditions. Very heterogeneous practices are observed in paediatrics as a result of poor instruction in this technique. We propose to describe the nasal irrigation technique developed by a team of respiratory physiotherapists in Lille for the management of cystic fibrosis and bronchiolitis. This technique is intended for children over the age of 6 months, as it requires an oral breathing reflex and cough reflex that are not systematically acquired before this age. Nasal irrigation is performed on a 30° upward inclined plane on a calm and cooperative child, away from meals. The child is maintained gently, without pressure, in the fencing position with the head turned away from the practitioner. Using a continuous flow spray, the practitioner grasps the top of the upper nostril and irrigates the nostril for an average of 3 s (6 mL per nostril). These steps are then repeated until satisfactory patency is achieved in both nostrils. This technique constitutes a practical tool to help healthcare professionals and parents perform nasal irrigation in young children over the age of 6 months.

Based on the performed theoretical studies and calculations, the developed methodological foundations of designing the external enclosing structures of energy-efficient buildings based on cellular concrete with a given set of properties are presented, which are of great economic importance for construction oriented in the modern period towards the creation of energy-efficient civil facilities

Automatic analysis of human motion in sports can provide useful feedback for athletes and coaches. Both depth and inertial sensors are commonly employed for this task. Each type of device has its strengths and weaknesses. Depth cameras allow for efficient tracking of joint positions, although they require a clear field of view. Inertial sensors are useful for determining acceleration and orientation but need to be mounted on the practicing person. In this paper, we perform a case study on fencing in order to investigate the usefulness of both data modalities in real-time qualitative motion analysis in sports. Qualitative analysis of motion goes beyond typical action recognition scenario as it requires the detection of actions in continuous movement as well as determining parameters of the performed motion. In this work a dedicated dataset of fencing footwork is introduced, including synchronized depth and inertial data. Methods for detection and qualitative analysis of the fencing lunge action are proposed and experiments are conducted in order to compare the accuracy and efficiency of analyzing fencing footwork with both depth and inertial sensors.

Background Avian Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection that mainly affects domesticated birds. On June 21, 2018, the Kwahu-West Municipal Veterinary Office was notified of sudden deaths of birds on a poultry farm. Seven days later, a second farm sited 100 meters from the index case-farm also recorded bird deaths. We investigated to confirm the causative agent, identify its source, and implement control measures. Methods We conducted a survey of six poultry farms and human contacts of affected farms in Nkawkaw. A suspected case-farm of HPAI was any farm in Nkawkaw with sudden death of bird(s), with or without clinical signs of HPAI from June 1 to July 10, 2018. Six bird carcasses were collected on affected farms for laboratory analysis. We interviewed owners of affected farms and assessed the farm environments, as well as clinical status of human contacts. Results A total 2,280 birds were affected on two adjacent farms. HPAI-H5N1 was confirmed for all samples investigated. The index case-farm with 1,438 birds, reported 30 bird deaths on June 16, 2018, 24 hours after receiving a consignment of birds from an HPAI-H5N1 confirmed farm in a neighboring region of Ghana. The second case-farm recorded bird deaths 7 days later. Both farms operated aluminum sheet-roofed metallic mesh pens without fencing. Beddings in pens were not regularly changed. Four poultry farms located within an 6km radius of the affected farms did not report sick or dead birds. All twenty-three human contacts were asymptomatic of flu, after 14-days follow-up. Conclusions This HPAI-H5N1 outbreak was likely imported through the introduction of birds from a neighboring region due to lax livestock movement regulations, and poor biosecurity measures on farms. Disinfection and depopulation exercises effectively controlled the outbreak. We recommend strict implementation of biosafety measures on farms and at entry points in the district

This article considers the history of labour relations within Namibia’s agricultural sector, with specific emphasis on the karakul sheep industry. It examines debates concerning shortages of shephe...

Human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs) may arise when expanding human populations and activities overlap or compete for space and resources with wildlife. They may also be due to growing wildlife populations that encroach on human settlements or other areas of human development. Forms of human-wildlife conflict include livestock predation, harassment, property damage, habitat loss due to human activities, and interpersonal conflict over wildlife issues resulting in injuries or mortalities. The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is among animals involved in livestock predation for many reasons thus leading to conflicts with livestock owners. This study focused on the causes of human-hyena conflict and the socio-economic impacts of hyena predation on livestock. The study adopted a survey research design. Data were collected using an interview schedule and key informant meetings, targeting different segments of the community. Purposive sampling was employed in data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that poor park fencing is the major cause of human hyena conflict with a representation of 40% (125 respondents). Despite the fact that LNNP is fenced, community members still raise complaints about porosity. On the other hand, 60% of Soysambu Conservancy is not fenced, potentially giving hyenas freedom to move from the conservancy to the community. The total estimated cost that is lost to hyena predation in this region as per the responses received in the surveys is approximately $74,740 USD annually. A total of 1020 shoats were either wounded or killed. Our results suggest that one potential solution is to completely fence both protected areas and maintain the fences to reduce if not halt human-hyena conflicts and perceptions of hyenas as a conflict-prone species.

This paper is devoted to the analysis of the history of fencing development in Russia. The article provides data on the results of Russian fencers on the world arena. Fencing in Russia has more than a century of history. Its origin took place at the beginning of the 18th century. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that modern fencing is characterized by the emergence of new tasks aimed not only at development, but also at stimulating interest in this sport. The purpose of the study is to analyze the performance of Russian fencers on the world arena. Material of the present paper is the analysis of the performances of Russian fencers of various levels from 1993 to 2016. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature and Internet sources, retrospective analysis. Result. The results of Russian fencers on the world arena are analyzed, the Olympic cycles are investigated and their results are summed up.

The common pool resource (CPR) theory has made invaluable contributions to the governance of natural resources in the past decades, but few literatures have specifically paid attention to the different property right arrangements of resource system and resource units, and their relationship. In this paper, we take two types of grassland property right system on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) in China, one is grassland contract system under that the previous grassland common use was given up and the other is grazing quota system under that the common use is still kept in the community level, as cases to present the different consequences on the ecological conditions, herders’ livelihoods and livestock husbandry. Furthermore, from the perspective of property rights of resource system-units, we explore why the two systems resulted in the different consequences. We find that the grazing quota system indicated by the number of livestock each household allowed to raise has more advantages in improving the herders’ livelihoods and reducing the livestock production costs, and both systems could alleviate the grazing pressure though the long-term effects of the contract system might be negative on ecological conditions. The main reason why the grazing quota system works better is that this type of individual use rights were clarified based on the resource units so the grassland could be kept common use as an integrated resource system, while the contract system was claimed by physically dividing the resource system by fencing, thus the resource system was fragmented which led to mismatch with the large scope movement needs of livestock grazing. We argue that, theoretically, the grazing quota system is a private property rights embedded in the grassland common property right system, which forms a nested property right regime. Our findings have important implications for both of the CPR theory and practical rangeland management worldwide.

The issue of quantitative and qualitative assessment of the macro environment impact on the development of fencing of Ukraine was carried out by the method of PEST-analysis. It has been established that in the group of politico-legal factors the most significant are: legislative support for fencing development in Ukraine; in the group of economic factors – financing and logistics support of sports schools; in the group of social factors – the level of coaching staff and working conditions in sports schools; in the group of technological factors – innovative technologies and their influence on the fencing development. The findings show that sports fencing development is hampered by several macro environment factors and conditions that require implementation of some reforms.

The use of virtual fencing (VF) in pasture-grazed farm systems is currently close to commercial reality but there are no studies applying the principles of responsible research and innovation, such as foresighting, to this technology. This paper reports results of a study aimed at foresighting potential implications associated with virtual fencing of cattle. A Delphi method was used to survey the opinions of farming practitioners and researchers, using pasture-grazed cattle farming in New Zealand as a case study. The key benefits were identified as environmental protection, improved feed allocation, access to previously unavailable grazing areas, labour savings and individual animal management. The five most important potential barriers identified were device reliability, farmer perception of a value proposition, ethical issues related to community perception of negative animal welfare, lack of feed budgeting skills of farmers, and excessive training time. We suggest that more knowledge is needed on ethical issues associated with VF, including understanding public opinions of such technology developments. We suggest that development and use of VF has been focussed primarily on technical features and user benefits and needs to include consideration of wider socio-ethical principles to ensure responsible innovation processes. The findings from this study will aid focussed research and development to incorporate ethically acceptable development alongside technical factors.

We used multiple methods to examine livestock depredation by African lions (Panthera leo), spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), leopards (Panthera pardus) and black‐backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) in livestock enclosures across the Maasai steppe of Northern Tanzania. In this landscape, pastoralists keep cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys. All are vulnerable to depredation by carnivores. Various factors, such as boma characteristics, landscape attributes and attacks by multiple carnivores, were analysed to understand the best predictors of livestock loss at a boma. We found that livestock depredation was significantly correlated with the number of carnivore species that attacked the boma, the number of boma fences and proximity to protected areas, rivers and roads. Bomas with one fence experienced more loss than those with two walls of fencing. We also found that livestock depredation increased farther from protected areas (β = 0.50, SE = 0.10) and rivers (β = 0.39, SE = 0.10) and closer to roads (β = −0.28, SE = 0.11). These results highlight the complex interaction of fine‐scale factors that influence carnivore depredation of livestock at any given boma. We recommend that mitigation address the range of factors, including the structural integrity of a boma, landscape attributes and multiple carnivore raids.

Background: Sports injury is critical for elite athletes, especially those in combat sports, which have high injury risk as the athletes attack their opponents' bodies to win. The purpose of this study was to examine the injury frequency according to the injured area and injury rate on two occasions (training and competitions) by age and sports in male combat athletes.Methods: The subjects in this study comprised 1,263 athletes who were registered as athletes in middle school, high school, university, and professional levels in men's combat sports (boxing, fencing, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling) at the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee. An online-based survey was conducted. We carried out a frequency analysis using the R statistics program, and calculated a 95% confidence interval.Results: The highest injury experience rates were in boxing (59.3%) and taekwondo (72.7%) for professional level, in judo (60.5%) and wrestling (57.7%) for university level, and in fencing (54.8%) for high school level. The results of the analysis showed that injury occurred least frequently in the following body parts: the head in fencing (19.1%) and judo (18.0%), torso in taekwondo (14.1%) and wrestling (18.1%), and lower extremities in boxing (13.7%). The most frequently injured body parts werethelowerextremitiesinfencing(33.1%)andtaekwondo(38.9%), upperextremitiesinjudo(30.5%)andwrestling(31.9%), and head in boxing (37.4%). The injury incidence rates during competitions, by age, were 0.03, 0.11, 0.14, and 0.14 for the middle school, high school, university, and professional levels, respectively. The injury incidence rates during competitions, by sports, were 0.06, 0.07, 0.14, 0.15, and 0.16 in judo, wrestling, taekwondo, boxing, and fencing, respectively. The injury incidence rates during training, by age, were 1.33, 1.46, 1.71, and 1.75 for the middle school, high school, university, and professional levels, respectively. The injury incidence rates during training, by sports, were 1.25, 1.36, 1.57, 1.79, and 1.86 in judo, wrestling, fencing, taekwondo, and boxing, respectively. The overall analysis of injury incidence rate is 0.10 during competitions, and 1.52 during training, irrespective of age and sports type.Conclusion: The area of injury and proportion vary according to the type of sports. However, in accordance with the definition of time loss, the injury incidence rate during training was tenfold compared to the IR during competitions, and the injury incidence rate in striking sports was higher than in grappling sports during both training and competitions.

Large public inner-city events require a significant amount of temporary security infrastructures and altered mobility designs to safely facilitate the movement of the public throughout already hig...

The border fencing has become a hot topic in the world’s current political affairs. At the end of the Cold War, there were only 15 walls all around the world, but now, 70 such barriers are protecting the countries from the terrorists ( https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/24/border-walls-berlin-wall-donald-trump-wall/553250002/ ), drug cartels, insurgents, or suicide bombers lurking on the other side. For the past two decades, the peace of Pakistan has been extremely deteriorated by the suicide bombers mainly coming from Afghanistan through Pak-Afghan Border. Recently, the government of Pakistan decided to build a border fence around the border. In this study, the effectiveness of this border fencing is determined in terms of its ability to stop terrorism, smuggling, and illegal immigration. The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach such as the fuzzy technique of order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) is employed to determine the effectiveness of the border to stop terrorism, smuggling, and illegal immigration. The data for this study is collected from the army officers who worked at the Pak-Afghan Border. The results of Fuzzy TOPSIS depict that the most influencing factor is terrorism while the second most affected factor (alternative in this case) is smuggling. The third factor is illegal immigration which has the lowest weightage of importance among all the alternatives. The results of this study can be helpful for countries such as Pakistan that are facing the problems related to terrorism, smuggling, and illegal immigration from the neighboring countries in taking a decision to build border fencing.

Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs), and deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) in particular, are a major safety problem on roads in Virginia, United States. Mitigation measures such as improved fencing and location-specific driver alerts are being implemented and evaluated in Virginia and elsewhere. One of the most promising mitigation methods uses a buried cable animal detection system (BCADS) to provide roadside or in-vehicle warnings to approaching drivers based on the active presence of an animal on or near the roadway. In this study, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in collaboration with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) implemented and monitored the performance of a BCADS on a public road to provide a real-world assessment of system capabilities and possible operation issues. Concurrently, a flashing light “Deer Crossing” warning sign was installed at the site and linked with the BCADS to alert approaching drivers when an animal crossing was detected. Continuous video surveillance data were collected for a year to monitor animal movement, vehicle traffic, and system performance. Study findings indicate that the BCADS is capable of detecting larger animals such as deer, and sometimes smaller animals such as coyotes, with almost 99% reliability. The system also performed well when covered by approximately 0.6 m (2 ft) of snow. Vehicle speed and brake light application data collected during warning sign activation showed that approximately 80% of drivers either braked or slowed in response, indicating that the sign was effective. A 75% reduction in deer-vehicle crashes was observed in the first year after system deployment.

Exclusion fencing is a common tool used to mitigate a variety of unwanted economic losses caused by problematic wildlife. While the potential for agricultural, ecological and economic benefits of pest animal exclusion are often apparent, what is less clear are the costs and benefits to sympatric non-target wildlife. This review examines the use of exclusion fencing in a variety of situations around the world to elucidate the potential outcomes of such fencing for wildlife and apply this knowledge to the recent uptake of exclusion fencing on livestock properties in the Australian rangelands. In Australia, exclusion fences are used to eliminate dingo (Canis familiaris dingo) predation on livestock, prevent crop-raiding by emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae), and enable greater control over total grazing pressure through the reduction of macropods (Macropodidae) and feral goats (Capra hircus). A total of 208 journal articles were examined for location, a broad grouping of fence type, and the reported effects the fence was having on the study species. We found 51% of the literature solely discusses intended fencing effects, 42% discusses unintended effects, and only 7% considers both. Africa has the highest proportion of unintended effects literature (52.0%) and Australia has the largest proportion of literature on intended effects (34.2%). We highlight the potential for exclusion fencing to have positive effects on some species and negative effects on others (such as predator exclusion fencing posing a barrier to migration of other species), which remain largely unaddressed in current exclusion fencing systems. From this review we were able to identify where and how mitigation strategies have been successfully used in the past. Harnessing the potential benefits of exclusion fencing while avoiding the otherwise likely costs to both target and non-target species will require more careful consideration than this issue has previously been afforded.

Background: Ankle sprain in the Lead Leg Side (ALLS) is common in fencing athletes, and studies comparing the ankle range of motion (ROM) and strength of both legs are insufficient. Objectvies: To compare the ankle ROM and hip strength between two legs in fencing athletes who has ankle instability in the lead leg side. Design: Cross-sectional design. Methods: Seven fencing athletes with ankle instability participated in this study, and they randomly assigned into ankle in the Lead Leg Side (ALLS) and ankle in the Rear Leg Side (ARLS). Instability was determined by the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT), and then joint ROM and hip muscle strength were measured. Results: There were significant differences in dorsiflexion ROM, hip strength (extension and abduction) between the ALLS with ankle instability and ARLS (P

Mortality of animals on roads is a critical threat to many wildlife populations and is poised to increase strongly because of ongoing and planned road construction. If these new roads cannot be avoided, effective mitigation measures will be necessary to stop biodiversity decline. Fencing along roads effectively reduces roadkill and is often used in combination with wildlife passages. Because fencing the entire road is not always possible due to financial constraints, high-frequency roadkill areas are often identified to inform the placement of fencing. We devised an adaptive fence-implementation plan to prioritize road sections for fencing. In this framework, areas along roads of high, moderate, and low levels of animal mortality (respectively, roadkill hotspots, warmspots, and coldspots) are identified at multiple scales (i.e., in circles of different diameters [200-2000 m] in which mortality frequency is measured). Fence deployment is based on the relationship between the amount of fencing being added to the road, starting with the strongest roadkill hotspots, and potential reduction in road mortality (displayed in mortality-reduction graphs). We applied our approach to empirical and simulated spatial patterns of wildlife-vehicle collisions. The scale used for analysis affected the number and spatial extent of roadkill hot-, warm-, and coldspots. At fine scales (e.g., 200 m), more hotspots were identified than at coarse scales (e.g., 2000 m), but combined the fine-scale hotspots covered less road and less fencing was needed to reduce road mortality. However, many short fences may be less effective in practice due to a fence-end effect (i.e., animals moving around the fence more easily), resulting in a trade-off between few long and many short fences, which we call the FLOMS (few-long-or-many-short) fences trade-off. Thresholds in the mortality-reduction graphs occurred for some roadkill patterns, but not for others. Thresholds may be useful to consider when determining road-mitigation targets. The existence of thresholds at multiple scales and the FLOMS trade-off have important implications for biodiversity conservation.Un Plan Adaptativo para la Priorización de Secciones de Carretera para Cercar y Reducir la Mortalidad Animal Resumen La mortalidad de los animales en las carreteras es una amenaza muy importante para las poblaciones silvestres y se pronostica que aumentarán enérgicamente debido a la construcción continua y planeada de carreteras. Si estas nuevas carreteras no pueden evitarse, se necesitarán medidas efectivas de mitigación para detener la declinación de la biodiversidad. El cercado a lo largo de las carreteras reduce efectivamente los atropellamientos y se usa frecuentemente junto con los pasos de fauna. Ya que cercar por completo la carretera no siempre es posible debido a las restricciones financieras, es común identificar las áreas con una frecuencia alta de atropellamientos para que la colocación de cercas esté informada al respecto. Diseñamos un plan adaptativo de implementación de cercas para priorizar las secciones de carretera que requieren ser cercadas. En este marco de trabajo, identificamos las áreas a lo largo de las carreteras con un nivel alto, moderado y bajo de mortalidad animal (respectivamente, puntos calientes, cálidos y fríos de atropellamiento) a diferentes escalas (es decir, en círculos de diferentes diámetros [200-2000 m] dentro de los cuales se mide la frecuencia de la mortalidad). El despliegue de cercas está basado en la relación entre la cantidad de cercas que se van añadiendo a la carretera, iniciando en los puntos calientes de atropellamiento, y la reducción potencial de la mortalidad en la carretera (presentada en gráficas de reducción de la mortalidad). Aplicamos nuestra estrategia a los patrones espaciales empíricos y simulados de las colisiones entre vehículos y animales. La escala utilizada para el análisis afectó al número y a la extensión espacial de los puntos calientes, cálidos y fríos de los atropellamientos. A escalas finas (p. ej.: 200 m), se identificaron más puntos calientes que a escalas más amplias (p. ej.: 2000 m), pero combinadas las escalas finas, los puntos calientes cubrieron una superficie menor de la carretera y se necesitaron menos cercas para reducir la mortalidad. Sin embargo, muchas cercas cortas pueden ser menos efectivas en la práctica debido al efecto de fin de valla (es decir, que los animales se muevan alrededor de la cerca con mayor facilidad), lo que resulta en una compensación entre pocas cercas largas y muchas cercas cortas, que denominamos compensación de cercas FLOMS (pocas-largas-o-muchas-cortas). Los umbrales en las gráficas de reducción de la mortalidad se presentaron para algunos patrones de atropellamiento, pero no para otros. Los umbrales pueden ser útiles para considerar cuando se determinan los objetivos de mitigación para las carreteras. La existencia de los umbrales a escalas múltiples y la compensación de FLOMS tienen implicaciones importantes para la conservación de la biodiversidad.动物被路杀是许多野生动物种群面临的一项严重威胁。考虑到正在进行和计划实施的道路建设, 这一问题还将日益加剧。如果无法避免建设新道路, 就必须采取有效的缓解措施来阻止生物多样性下降。在道路两旁修建围栏可以有效减少路杀, 且经常与野生动物通道结合使用。由于资金限制, 通常不能沿整条道路设置围栏, 因此一般会找出路杀高发地段来为围栏的布设提供信息。我们设计了一个适应性的围栏建设实施计划, 来确定优先建设围栏的路段。在这个框架中, 我们在多尺度上 (即在 200-2000 米直径的圆内测量路杀死亡率) 确定了路杀频率高、中、低的道路沿线地区 (分别是路杀热点地区、暖点地区和冷点地区) 。围栏布设是基于道路上从路杀热点地区开始的增加围栏的数量, 与可能的路杀死亡率降低 (通过死亡率下降图来显示) 之间的关系。我们将该方法应用于野生动物-车辆撞击的经验和模拟空间模型中, 发现用于分析的尺度影响了路杀热点、暖点、冷点地区的数量和空间范围。在精细尺度下 (如 200 米) 比在粗糙尺度下 (如 2000 米) 能识别出更多热点地区, 但将精细尺度下的热点地区结合起来只覆盖了较少的道路, 为减少路杀而需要建设的围栏也较少。然而, 由于存在围栏末端效应 (即动物可以更轻易地绕过围栏) , 建设许多短围栏在实践中可能不够有效, 因此需要在少量长围栏和大量短围栏之间进行取舍, 我们称之为 FLOMS (few-long-or-many-short, 少量长围栏或大量短围栏) 的权衡。此外, 某些路杀模式的死亡率下降图中出现了阈值, 而其它模式则没有。在确定减缓路杀影响的目标时, 阈值可能有一定帮助。多尺度下的阈值存在和 FLOMS 权衡对生物多样性保护具有重要意义。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】.

The project for implementation of construction operations was made for the Iversky Female Monastery. The fence is a stepped brick wall which situated on the reinforced foundation framework. The project presents engineering solutions for the construction of bored piles, pouring concrete of the foundation framework and brickwork. The project considers the incommodious conditions on the building site.

To identify significant predictors of the adoption of more than one tick-exposure and tick-borne disease risk reduction behavior among a cross-section of Indiana residents. Study participants were recruited through quota sampling, before completing an online self-administered questionnaire in Qualtrics. The most adopted tick exposure risk reduction behavior (TERRB) (was ‘Walking on established trails and avoiding contact with adjacent vegetation’ (83%, n = 2418). This was followed by ‘Conducting a thorough check of clothing and the body soon after returning from the outdoors’ (81%, n = 2373). The two least adopted TERRBs were,’ Treating outdoor clothing with special insect repellent (e.g. Permethrin)’ (48%, n = 1409) and ‘Wearing appropriate clothing’ (‘Tucking shirt into pants, and the pants into socks when outdoors’) respectively (52%, n = 1524). Study participants who engaged in residential tick control practices (i.e. ‘three-foot wide barrier of wood chips/gravel between lawn and woodland’, ‘yard pesticide application’, ‘shrub & tree-branch trimming’, ‘yard fencing’, ‘fixed time lawn mowing’, and ‘leaf litter removal’) were significantly more likely to adopt nearly all the assessed TERRBs. Higher scores on TERRB efficacy index were associated with engaging in multiple TERRBs. Higher degree of worry about safety/health because of ticks was also associated with adoption of multiple TERRBs. In conclusion, increased risk perceptions, among Indiana residents is significantly associated with adoption of multiple TERRBs. Identifying the predictors of the adoption of more than one TERRB is vital for the prevention of tick-borne diseases.

Indian crested porcupine is the largest rodent pest that damages a wide variety of crops, vegetables, and tree species which ultimately causes huge economic loss in Pakistan, which is an agricultural country. It prefers to live in hilly terrain but common in temperate and tropical forests, shrublands, and grasslands. This study focused on the identification and assessment of crops damaged along with the main precautionary measures used by the local farmers. The data was collected from twenty-four villages of two union councils i.e. Chamhad and Slahad of district Abbottabad. Two types of data (primary and secondary) were collected from the study area. Primary data was collected for identification and estimation calculation of total crop damaged through direct field observation by taking random quadrates in each village of the study area. The damage in the crop was assessed by randomly selecting a quadrate of 1x1 m2 for the wheat, pearl millet, and Sorghum fields. While 4x4 m2 quadrates were taken for maize and vegetables. At least three quadrate samples were taken from each field including one quadrate taken from the center of the field area. In union council Chamhad, damage to maize (11.31%) and wheat (0.73%) by the Indian crested porcupine while in union council Salhad, damage of maize (6.95%) and wheat (1.6%) was observed. In the entire study area, overall damage to maize crop (8.01%) and wheat (0.88%) was calculated. Based on information obtained from the farmers, the Indian porcupine inflicted damage to potato, tomato, cauliflower, chili pepper, turnip, radish, pea, and onion, etc. Secondary data obtained through a questionnaire survey to explore the human porcupine conflict and precautionary measures used by the farmers and landowners. Open and close-ended questionnaires (159) highlighted the presence of Indian crested porcupine in the study area and 96% of the respondents have seen porcupine directly. Many types of precautionary measures were used by the farmers such as fencing, night stay, night firing, and dogs to decrease the crop damage, respondents (63.91%) use guns for hunting. however, due to the largely agricultural area and nocturnal behavior of Indian crested porcupine majority of the respondents (51.57%) did not use any precautionary measure. Biological control of Indian porcupine is recommended in the study area. Farmers should be encouraged and provide incentives and killing through current should be banned while proper hunting license should be issued to overcome overhunting. Scientific studies are required to control the reproduction of porcupine specifically in the more damaged areas. O porco-espinho indiano é a maior praga de roedores que danifica uma grande variedade de culturas, vegetais e espécies de árvores, o que acaba por causar enormes perdas econômicas no Paquistão, que é um país agrícola. Prefere viver em terrenos montanhosos, mas comuns em florestas temperadas e tropicais, arbustos e pastagens. Este estudo concentrou-se na identificação e avaliação das lavouras danificadas, juntamente com as principais medidas de precaução utilizadas pelos agricultores locais. Os dados foram coletados de 24 aldeias de dois conselhos sindicais, ou seja, Chamhad e Slahad, do distrito de Abbottabad. Dois tipos de dados (primário e secundário) foram coletados da área de estudo. Foram coletados dados primários para identificação e cálculo de estimativa do total da cultura danificada por meio da observação direta do campo, tomando quadrantes aleatórios em cada aldeia da área de estudo. O dano na cultura foi avaliado pela seleção aleatória de um quadrante de 1x1 m2 para os campos de trigo, milheto pérola e sorgo, enquanto quadrantes de 4x4 m2 foram tomados para milho e legumes. Pelo menos três amostras de quadrante foram colhidas de cada campo, incluindo um quadrante retirado do centro da área do campo. No Conselho Sindical de Chamhad, houve danos ao milho (11,31%) e ao trigo (0,73%) pelo porco-espinho indiano, enquanto no Conselho Sindical de Salhad, danos ao milho (6,95%) e ao trigo (1,6%) foram observados. Em toda a área do estudo, danos gerais à cultura do milho (8,01%) e ao trigo (0,88%) foram calculados. Com base em informações obtidas dos agricultores, o porco-espinho indiano infligiu danos à batata, tomate, couve-flor, pimenta, nabo, rabanete, ervilha, cebola, etc. Dados secundários foram obtidos por meio de um questionário para explorar o conflito suíno humano e as medidas de precaução utilizadas pelos agricultores e proprietários de terras. Questionários abertos e fechados (159) destacaram a presença de porco-espinho indiano na área de estudo e 96% dos entrevistados viram o porco-espinho diretamente. Muitos tipos de medidas de precaução foram utilizados pelos agricultores, como esgrima, estadia noturna, fogo noturno e cães para diminuir os danos na lavoura. Dos entrevistados, 63,91% usaram armas para caçar. No entanto, devido à área ser em grande parte agrícola e ao comportamento noturno da maioria dos porcos-espinhos indianos, 51,57% não usaram nenhuma medida de precaução. O controle biológico do porco-espinho indiano é recomendado na área de estudo. Os agricultores devem ser encorajados e fornecer incentivos, e o uso da corrente para matar os animais deve ser banido, assim como deve ser emitida a licença de caça adequada para superar a caça excessiva. Estudos científicos são necessários para controlar a reprodução de porco-espinho, especificamente nas áreas mais danificadas.

We get our daily needs easily from the market. But, we hardly think about the farmers who give them to us. A farmer faces a lot of problems starting from weather condition to the unstable nature of prices for their goods. One of the main problems is destruction of crops by the animals and birds. Hence, the agricultural field is to be observed continuously to identify the passage of this sort of animals or some other undesirable interruption. This paper proposes an innovative system which helps the farmer in knowing the entry of animal/bird and taking some preventive steps automatically to drive away the animal/bird from the agriculture field. This work uses pyroelectric infrared (PIR) motion sensor to find any movement in the field. The PIR sensor is fixed on the stepper motor to get the location of animal or bird which entered the field. When the movement is detected, it gives vital preventive measures such as flashing of light, alarming, and sprinkling of water, to drive the animal away. Meanwhile, the information will be sent to the farmer with the help of TWILIO platform. So that, the farmer can arrive on time to avoid any further destruction. To summarize as a whole, the idea which is proposed and implemented can be a good solution for the animal intrusion problem, and also, it reduces the loss of human/animal lives due to electric fencing.

Road ecology has traditionally focused on the impact of in-situ and functional roads on wildlife. However, road construction also poses a major, yet understudied, threat and the implications for key aspects of animal behaviour are unknown. Badgers (Meles meles) have been implicated in the transmission of tuberculosis to cattle. There are concerns that environmental disturbances, including major road construction, can disrupt badger territoriality, promoting the spread of the disease to cattle. To address these knowledge gaps the ranging behaviour of a medium-density Irish badger population was monitored using GPS-tracking collars before, during, and after a major road realignment project that bisected the study area. We estimated badgers’ home range sizes, nightly distances travelled, and the distance and frequency of extra-territorial excursions during each phase of the study and quantified any changes to these parameters. We show that road construction had a very limited effect on ranging behaviour. A small increase in nightly distance during road construction did not translate into an increase in home range size, nor an increase in the distance or frequency of extra-territorial excursions during road construction. In addition, suitable mitigation measures to prevent badger deaths appeared to ensure that normal patterns of ranging behaviour continued once the new road was in place. We recommend that continuous badger-proof fencing be placed along the entire length of new major roads, in combination with appropriately sited underpasses. Our analysis supports the view that road construction did not cause badgers to change their ranging behaviour in ways likely to increase the spread of tuberculosis.

Urban cities are facing the challenges of microclimatic changes with substantially warmer environments and much less access to fresh vegetables for a healthier food supply than in adjacent rural areas. In this respect, urban rooftop agriculture is considered as a green technology for city dwellers and the community to attain environmental and socioeconomic benefits in a city. For this purpose, a roof top of 216 square meters was selected as an experimental plot where 70% of the area was covered with the selected crops (Tomato, Brinjal, Chili, Bottle Gourd and Leafy vegetables such as Spinach, Red Spinach and Water Spinach, they were cultivated under fencing panels of Bottle Gourd). The microclimatic parameters such as air temperature, near roof surface temperature, indoor temperature and relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration from different locations of the agricultural roof and from nearby bare roofs were observed during the whole experimental period (November 2018–May 2019). Five existing rooftop gardens with green area coverages of 40, 50, 60, 80, and 85% were selected, and 5 bare nearby roofs were also selected through field visits and questionnaire surveys of 200 existing rooftop gardens. The air and ambient temperature, cooling degree day and energy saving trends were assessed for the selected roofs. The economic assessment was carried out through the net present value and internal rate of return approach of urban rooftop agriculutre. The results showed that the temperature was reduced from 1.2 to 5.5% in different area coverages of agricultural roofs with plants compared to the nearest bare roofs. For the time being, the cooling load was decreased from 3.62 to 23.73%, and energy saving was increased significantly from 5.87 to 55.63% for agricultural roofs compared to bare roofs. The study suggested that the value of urban rooftop agriculture was high environmentally and economically compared to the traditional bare roof, which would be an added amenity by the city dweller’s individual motivations and state interests, and it could be aligned to achieve a more sustainable city.

Ungulate browsing has a major impact on the composition and structure of forests. Repeatedly conducted, large-scale regeneration inventories can monitor the extent of browsing pressure and its impacts on forest regeneration development. Based on the respective results, the necessity and extent of wildlife management activities such as hunting, fencing, etc., can be identified at a landscape scale. However, such inventories have rarely been integrated into wildlife management decision making. In this article, we evaluate a regeneration inventory method which was carried out in the Bavarian Forest National Park between 2007 and 2018. We predict the browsing impact by calculating browsing probabilities using a logistic mixed effect model. To provide wildlife managers with feedback on their activities, we developed a test which can assess significant changes in browsing probability between different inventory periods. To find the minimum observable browsing probability change, we simulated ungulate browsing based on the data of a potential browsing indicator species (Sorbus aucuparia) in the National Park. Sorbus aucuparia is evenly distributed, commonly found, selectively browsed and meets the ecosystem development objectives in our study area. We were able to verify a browsing probability change down to ±5 percentage points with a sample size of about 1,000 observations per inventory run. In view of the size of the National Park and the annual fluctuations in browsing pressure, this estimation accuracy seems sufficient. In seeking the maximal cost-efficiency, we were able to reduce this sample size in a sensitivity analysis by about two thirds without severe loss of information for wildlife management. Based on our findings, the presented inventory method combined with our evaluation tool has the potential to be a robust and efficient instrument to assess the impact of herbivores that are in the National Park and other regions.

The scientific article provides some considerations for the use of relatively new heat and sound insulation materials. As fencing, load-bearing, self-supporting structures, as well as for the walls of external auxiliary premises, the replacement of masonry with other alternatives is proposed. The authors offer ideas on the use of some lightweight concrete, such as foam concrete, the production of which at present can reduce the cost of building exemplary residential buildings.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is among a number of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) threatening the Balkans and therefore, preventing feeding of insects on cattle would reduce the spread of VBDs. In order to test the efficiency of Livestock Protective Fences (LPF) in the protection of dairy cattle from insect bites, a case-control study was conducted, in the districts of Nisava, Pirot and Pcinja, Southern Serbia. It consisted in comparing the number of biting flies collected within time, between 10 farms protected with LPF and 10 non protected ones. The insects were collected using two types of traps; the monoconical Vavoua trap set outside in between forested areas or rivers and the actual farm, and the BGsentinel trap baited with CO2, placed in proximity of the cattle but outside the stable. Vectors were collected every 15 days for 48 hours from May to October 2018 and kept in vials containing 70% of ethanol. Catches per trap were separately stored and for each trap, insects were classified according to species and sex and then counted. Data on milk parameters were analyzed separately, on data collected within protected farms, before and after the LPF deployment, and on data without protection at all. It was not possible to detect a direct impact of LPF on vector densities but the number of bacteria colonies (CFU) values were reduced. Some corrections/adaption in the methodology used may lead to better impact.