• Open Access close
• Book close
• DK close
• English close
• Theses@asb close

The general goal of this thesis was to provide information useful for the breeding programme of the Royal Dutch Warmblood Studbook (KWPN) in relation with the ongoing specialisation of the population. Data provided by KWPN consisted of records from studbook-first inspection, competition performance on dressage and show-jumping, and pedigree information. Firstly, the effect of specialisation was studied on the connectedness between the subpopulations of dressage and show-jumping horses, using the pedigree information. Results indicated that relatedness between horses in the two subpopulations has been reduced to a low level, while relatedness within both subpopulations has been increasing consistently. A reduction in the number of influential ancestors in both subpopulations was observed. Secondly, it was analysed whether the specialisation for either dressage or show jumping has affected genetic parameters of traits recorded in the two subpopulations. Traits recorded at studbook-entry inspection were defined as a dressage trait or a show-jumping trait according to the type of horse that received the inspection. Bivariate analyses were performed to estimate the genetic correlation between the two traits. Results indicated that the specialisation process has resulted in a difference in mean trait values between dressage and show-jumping horses. However, differences in heritabilities for traits defined as dressage or show-jumping did not differ significantly, and the genetic correlations between them were not different from one considering their posterior standard deviation. Thirdly, the model to analyse performance in competition of dressage and show-jumping was studied. Results showed that performance in competition for dressage and show-jumping is a heritable trait (h2 ~ 0.11-0.13), and that it is important to account for the effect of rider in the genetic analysis. Fourthly, it was estimated the genetic correlation between the performance of horses in dressage and show-jumping competition, and the genetic correlations between traits measured early in life and performance in competition in each of the disciplines. Results showed that the genetic correlation between performance of horses in dressage and show-jumping was slightly unfavourable (-0.12). The genetic correlation between dressage and show-jumping tended to become more unfavourable over time, but this trend was not reflected in changes in the correlations between competition traits and traits recorded in the studbook-entry inspection. From this study it can be concluded that no extra benefit is to be expected from definition of a combined breeding goal. However, entirely separated breeding programmes for both disciplines are therefore not advisable. Constructing separate selection indexes would allow for optimal weighting of information sources such as studbook-entry inspection traits in accordance to the breeding goal of each sports discipline.

Dynamic programming languages are highly popular and widely used. Java-Script is often called the lingua franca of the web and it is the de facto standardfor client-side web programming. On the server-side the PHP, Python andRuby languages are prevalent. What these languages have in common isan expressive power which is not easily captured by any static type system.These, and similar dynamic languages, are often praised for their ease-of-useand flexibility. Unfortunately, this dynamism comes at a great cost: The lack ofa type system implies that most errors are not discovered until run-time. Thus,in the worst-case, these bugs are not uncovered before they are encounteredby real users of the system. A further cost is limited tool support: For instance,integrated development environments with code completion, code navigationand automatic refactorings are widely available for languages with static typesystems, such as Java and C# , but the same features are rarely available fordynamic languages such as JavaScript.The aim of this thesis is to investigate techniques for improving the tool-support for dynamic programming languages without imposing any artificialrestrictions on the behaviour of these languages. A common theme is thereliance on static program analysis to over-approximate the behaviour ofprograms written in these languages. Specifically, the use of whole-programdataflow analysis. The research challenge of this line of work is the adaptionof existing- and invention of new dataflow analysis techniques to tackle thenature of dynamic programming languages.

Linket til højre henviser til rapporten i trykt format til download.This report provides an overview on new technologies for integrate sustainable and resilient management practices in arable ecosystems for advanced farmers, consultants, NGOs and policy makers. By following sustainable soil management strategies, which consider the site- and field-specific parameters and agricultural machinery’s improvements, it is possible to maximize production and income, while reducing negative environmental impacts and human health issues induced by agricultural activities as well as improving food and soil quality in short- and long-terms. This report also illustrates the importance to combine a system approach for plant production by assessing field readiness, managing in-field traffic management, implementing the sitespecific controlled as well as sensor-controlled seedbed preparation, seeding, and weeding. Hence, allowing to estimate future field and crop parameters based on various sensors measurements of previous and current field and crop parameters, which is a required data input in order to optimize agricultural machinery’s performance. Linket til højre henviser til rapporten i trykt format til download.This report provides an overview on new technologies for integrate sustainable and resilient management practices in arable ecosystems for advanced farmers, consultants, NGOs and policy makers. By following sustainable soil management strategies, which consider the site- and field-specific parameters and agricultural machinery’s improvements, it is possible to maximize production and income, while reducing negative environmental impacts and human health issues induced by agricultural activities as well as improving food and soil quality in short- and long-terms. This report also illustrates the importance to combine a system approach for plant production by assessing field readiness, managing in-field traffic management, implementing the sitespecific controlled as well as sensor-controlled seedbed preparation, seeding, and weeding. Hence, allowing to estimate future field and crop parameters based on various sensors measurements of previous and current field and crop parameters, which is a required data input in order to optimize agricultural machinery’s performance.

Our current understanding of the complex digestive system of ruminants is mainly based on a few, but intensively studied livestock species. In comparison, information about the anatomy and function of the gastrointestinal tract of wild ruminants is limited. The aim of this thesis was to provide quantitative data on the digestive morphophysiology of the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) and the Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa marica). Digestive tract anatomy was characterized by dimensions and weights of the different gastrointestinal tract sections, and digesta samples were collected to describe the digestive function, as indirectly evidenced by the physical characteristics of the digesta. Of particular interest was to determine the presence/absence of rumen content stratification. The findings in each species were then evaluated against available data from other ruminant species, classified as either browsing ‘moose-type’ ruminants or grazing ‘cattle-type’ ruminants. The giraffe digestive morphophysiology generally resembled that of ‘moose-types’ ruminants, showing the same anatomical characteristics and having an unstratified rumen content. One exception was the relatively smaller parotid salivary glands found in giraffes compared to other ‘moose-type’ ruminants. Differences in rumen papillation pattern and fecal particle size between wild and captive giraffes indicate that adjustments should be made to the captive feeding programs. A feeding trial with various silage types revealed a potential for using silage as an alternative forage type. For logistical reasons it was not possible to further investigate this potential, as was originally an aim of the project. The blackbuck digestive morphophysiology generally resembled that of other grazing ruminants (‘cattle-types’), showing the same anatomical characteristics and having a stratified rumen content. One exception was the remarkably smaller omasum observed in blackbucks compared to other ‘cattle-type’ ruminants. The sand gazelle digestive morphophysiology showed both ‘moose-type’ and ‘cattle-type’ characteristics; while some of the characteristics were of an intermediate position between the ranges reported for ‘moose-types’ and ‘cattle-types’. This inconsistency is likely evidence of the sand gazelle being adapted to a diet including both grasses and browse. Overall, all three species investigated deviated in some way from the expectations regarding their digestive tract anatomy and function, thus emphasizing the uncertainty in using a single or a few digestive parameters to predict the feeding style or digestive strategy of a species. The suggested converging digestive morphophysiology of browsing and grazing ruminants do reflect reality, but with several species-specific exceptions. It remains to be investigated if such exceptions can serve to improve our understanding of the functional relevance of a given digestive characteristic, or offer insights into the ecological or phylogenetic history of a certain clade, but it certainly underlines the importance of including phylogeny in investigations of morphophysiological characters. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the unique digestive strategy of ruminants.