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This study analyzed the effect of boar semen storage and dilution rate on sperm motility, swimming patterns and kinematics. It used 35 sexually mature, healthy boars, with an average age of 19.0 ± 10.34 months and known fertility. Samples were separated into four treatments according to dilution ratio (1:1, 1:4, 1:8 and 1:16; v:v) with Androstar Plus® and refrigerated at 17°C in the dark for 96 h. Subsamples were analyzed at 12, 24, 28, 72 and 96 h using the ISAS®v1 Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis System (CASA). Total and progressive motility decreased (P < 0.05) as semen storage time increased. The percentage of morphological abnormalities increased after 48 h of semen storage. Samples diluted 1:1 (v:v) had higher values of total motility and faster spermatozoa compared to other dilution rates. It was concluded that sperm motility, swimming patterns and plasma membrane integrity showed a significant downward pattern as semen storage time and dilution rate increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent tracking technology has shown that some birds migrate at extreme altitudes, potentially to avoid predators. Predation risk during migration is a significant factor contributing to high mortality rates among birds. A study tracking Grey Plovers revealed that one bird was killed by a Peregrine Falcon at 3000m above ground, challenging the idea that flying at extreme altitudes can always protect against predators. The research was funded by the Dutch Research Council and conducted by a team of scientists. [Extracted from the article]

This document contains summaries of various research studies related to poultry production. The first study investigated the effects of feeding sprouted barley to hens and found that increased levels of sprouted barley decreased laying rate and feed intake. The second study examined the effects of antioxidant feed stabilizers on broiler performance and meat yield, showing that supplementation improved feed conversion ratio and breast meat yield. The third study explored broiler farmers' perceptions of slow-growing broiler production, finding positive interest but also barriers to adoption. These summaries provide valuable insights for researchers and farmers interested in poultry production. [Extracted from the article]

Simple Summary: This study explores the phylogenetic relationships among Korean native black goats, whose genetic resources are being preserved by the National Institute of Animal Science through the collection of purebred specimens. We analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes of 282 native goats and 82 reference populations. The native population exhibits a haplotype diversity of 0.659 and includes 39 distinct haplotypes. Neighbor-joining tree and median-joining network analyses established that these goats form a unique clade (A') within Haplogroup A, suggesting a shared ancestry with diverse goat populations from around the world. This study explores the phylogeny of Korean native black goats through analysis of their complete mitochondrial DNA. The National Institute of Animal Science has gathered genetic material on purebred goats from isolated regions such as Tongyeong, Dangjin, and Jangsu, and is actively breeding them on a national level. These populations, however, are small and exhibit high inbreeding rates, highlighting the urgent need to preserve genetic diversity. The haplotype diversity within this native group is 0.659, with 39 haplotypes identified. By contrast, including international breeds in the analysis increases the overall haplotype diversity to 0.925 with 203 haplotypes identified, highlighting the limited genetic diversity among native black goats. For phylogenetic assessment, a neighbor-joining tree and median-joining network were constructed using identified haplogroups (A, B, C, D, G, and F) from prior studies. The results pinpoint the native black goats as closely related to, but distinct from, Haplogroup A with a bootstrap value of 98, establishing them as a separate clade (A'). This supports the notion of a shared ancestry with various global populations. This research provides essential data on the origins and evolutionary history of Korean native black goats, supporting conservation and breeding efforts aimed at enhancing genetic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Canada uses a decentralized approach to regulate animal use in science that can weaken protections, create confusion for compliance, and complicate enforcement. We propose a stepwise approach to centralizing animal welfare laws, beginning with an enhancement of the existing 3Rs (Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction) framework by adding two new Rs: Reflection and Responsiveness. The two new Rs encourage the continuous evaluation of research progress, timely action based on new findings, and the publication of all data. We suggest that proactive consideration of all five Rs in research and education would immediately improve the welfare of animals used in science across Canada while restructuring towards a more centralized approach is explored. In this paper, we review the standard-setting tools of different levels of government in Canada for overseeing the care of animals used in science against a landscape of other international efforts. We find regulatory inconsistencies, argue that the related shortcomings are detrimental to the level of care afforded to animals, and offer suggestions for a centralized and proactive approach that could close the existing gaps. Given the resources, cost, and time it would take to transform the current system into a single cohesive one, the proposed approach is a stepwise one, and begins with the addition of two new Rs—Reflection and Responsiveness—to the existing 3Rs framework: Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction. Reflection emphasizes more continuous and specific attention to progress in the research pathway as it applies to animals than is currently required by institutional review and reporting; Responsiveness speaks to the immediate action that researchers can take responsively to that ongoing evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the coming years, major governance changes in the form of policy directives and regulations will catalyse major top-down change with respect to animal health on European farms in an effort to combat the OneHealth threat of antimicrobial resistance. This top-down approach must be met with bottom-up strategies to ensure target actors (namely, farmers and vets) are supported and motivated to change their practices, thus, avoiding unintended consequences of forced change. Although much behavioural research has explored the factors influencing antimicrobial practices on farms, a gap exists translating these findings into evidence-based behaviour change interventions that can be put into practice. The current study aims to fill this gap. It provides insights into identifying, understanding, and changing the behaviours of farmers and veterinarians with respect to the responsible use of antimicrobials in farming. Results Through an inter-disciplinary and multi-actor approach, the study combines scientific knowledge from the behavioural sciences and animal health sciences, coupled with tacit knowledge from a co-design, participatory approach to recommend seven behaviour change interventions that can help to support good practices amongst farmers and vets, with respect to animal health, and reduce the use of antimicrobials on farms. The behaviour change interventions include message framing; OneHealth awareness campaign; specialised communications training; onfarm visual prompts and tools; social support strategies (for both farmers and vets); and antimicrobial use monitoring. The study details each intervention with respect to their evidence base and scientific concept, grounded in behavioural science, along with stakeholder feedback on design and delivery of the interventions. Conclusions These behaviour change interventions can be taken, adapted, and put into practice by the agri-food community to support good animal health practices and responsible antimicrobial use on farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, video monitoring of farrowing and automatic video evaluation using Deep Learning have become increasingly important in farm animal science research and open up new possibilities for addressing specific research questions like the determination of husbandry relevant indicators. A robust detection performance of newborn piglets is essential for reliably monitoring the farrowing process and to access important information about the welfare status of the sow and piglets. Although object detection algorithms are increasingly being used in various scenarios in the field of livestock farming, their usability for detecting newborn piglets has so far been limited. Challenges such as frequent animal occlusions, high overlapping rates or strong heterogeneous animal postures increase the complexity and place new demands on the detection model. Typically, new data is manually annotated to improve model performance, but the annotation effort is expensive and time-consuming. To address this problem, we propose a Noisy Student approach to automatically generate annotation information and train an improved piglet detection model. By using a teacher-student model relationship we transform the image structure and generate pseudo-labels for the object classes piglet and tail. As a result, we improve the initial detection performance of the teacher model from 0.561, 0.838, 0.672 to 0.901, 0.944, 0.922 for the performance metrics Recall, Precision and F1-score, respectively. The results of this study can be used in two ways. Firstly, the results contribute directly to the improvement of piglet detection in the context of birth monitoring systems and the evaluation of the farrowing progress. Secondly, the approach presented can be transferred to other research questions and species, thereby reducing the problem of cost-intensive annotation processes and increase training efficiency. In addition, we provide a unique dataset for the detection and evaluation of newborn piglets and sow body parts to support researchers in the task of monitoring the farrowing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar beets account for 30% of global sugar production each year, and their byproducts are an important source of bioethanol and animal feed. Sugar beet is an important cash crop in Inner Mongolia, China. To achieve high yields and sugar content, it is essential to supply nitrogen fertilizer in accordance with the growth characteristics of sugar beet, thereby enhancing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer utilization. A two-year experiment was carried out in the experimental field of the Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences. The impact of varying ratios of nitrogen-based fertilizer to topdressing on nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen levels in the 20–60 cm soil layer, as well as the activities of protease, urease, catalase, and sucrose in the 20–40 cm soil layer were investigated during the rapid leaf growth period and root and sugar growth period. Results indicated that different ratios of nitrogen-based fertilizer to topdressing significantly influenced the levels of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen, and the activities of protease and urease in the 0–20 cm soil layer, with these effects diminishing as soil depth increased. The activities of catalase and sucrose were minimally impacted. Nitrogen was applied at 150 kg/ha during the growth period of sugar beet, according to the growth characteristics of sugar beet to maximize nitrogen utilization efficiency. Topdressing was completed with irrigation at the rapid growth stage. The nitrogen-based fertilizer to topdressing ratio of 6:4 resulted in optimal crop yield and sugar yield of sugar beet under shallow drip irrigation. Additionally, the activities of protease and urease in different soil treatments were significantly different, and the activities of protease and urease in the 0–40 cm soil layer were identified as useful soil physiological indicators for nitrogen utilization in sugar beet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of ectoparasitic mites on cage-free egg production in the United States and strategies for managing these mites. The transition to cage-free housing has resulted in an increase in mite infestations, which negatively affect the health, behavior, and productivity of hens. The article discusses the genetic variability for mite resistance and the potential use of genomic selection to improve mite resistance in poultry populations. It also provides information on the biology of the northern fowl mite and poultry red mite, as well as various management strategies, including the use of pesticides and biosecurity measures. The authors stress the importance of monitoring and managing mite infestations in egg production and call for further research to develop effective and sustainable strategies for improving hen welfare. They suggest that genomic selection could be a promising approach for breeding mite-resistant poultry strains. [Extracted from the article]

The development of intelligent systems for the tracking of free-range livestock is a challenge to both information and communication technology (ICT) scientists and those in the animal sciences. Cyber-physical systems make it possible to track and control processes involving intelligent objects from the physical and virtual worlds. In the case of free-range grazing, it is necessary to manage processes in two domains - that of the intelligent pasture management and that of the animals. Due to the differences in the conditions of different types of pastures - plain or high land and the characteristics of the cattle breeds, ready-made models cannot be used, but it is necessary to build a specific multi-aspect model for the behaviour and life cycle of cows. Our team organised their research on cows from two different breeds (Rhodope Shorthorn Cattle and Bulgarian Rhodope Cattle) raised in similar technologies, grazed on two different types of pasture. The aim of the study is to develop a comprehensive model for determining cattle behavioural activities on pastures using sensor groups, by incorporating physical observations and appropriate statistical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A majority of the current debates in experimental animal science research focus to a large extent on the significance and implementation of the 3Rs principle according to Russell and Burch. In this context, not least due to the EU Directive 2010/63/EU, the concept of a culture of care has become more prevalent. Although animals are essential actors in the field of laboratory science, the discussion around animal agency, as well as the resulting consequences for laboratory animal science, is currently unconsidered. Methods: The purpose of this qualitative survey was to identify the perception and understanding of professional workers in laboratory animal science regarding the culture of care in general and aspects of animal agency in particular. Using a non-standardized qualitative survey method (topic-oriented, guideline-based expert interviews), persons involved in animal experimentation in different groups (management, science, regulation, and care) were interviewed. Results: Overall, the results of the qualitative survey showed that animal agency plays a subordinate role in the question of a culture of care in animal research. Although not all groups explicitly applied the construct of animal agency or comparable terminology for this, there were links to the theoretical construct. Overall, the interviews showed a recognized network between humans and animals and that animals can interact dialogically in research. This is justified, for example, by the transfer of emotions from carers or scientists to animals. Nevertheless, a differentiated reflection of an animal's agency remains disregarded. Conclusion: The present qualitative survey approached the understanding of a culture of care among experts in the field of animal research. Animal agency does occur in the theoretical reception of the culture of care model. However, it is not conclusively established in everyday practice. Rather, the results lead to the assumption that strategies are being implemented to largely fade out animal agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proportion of roughage and concentrate supply to dairy animal is a major challenge in commercial dairying of Bangladesh that directly correlated with quality and quantity of milk. Several studies revealed that, level of milk urea nitrogen (MUN) is an indication of proper feed supply of the animals. Therefore, the study was the attempt to find, the relationship between the level of MUN with metabolic energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) by supplied ratio of roughage, concentrate and effect of altered level MUN with milk quality and quantity in commercial dairy farms of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methods: For the study, feed and milk samples were taken from randomly selected three different farm categories for the period of July 2014 to June 2015 monthly. The herd average milk production was taken from the recorded data. The feed and milk composition were analyzed in the dairy lab of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU). MUN was determined by spectrophotometric method in the Poultry Research and Tanning Laboratory (PRTC) of CVASU, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Observed data was analyzed by using Pearson's correlation methods to find out the correlation among MUN level, supplied source of ME and CP and milk production and composition. Result: The results suggested that there was significant level difference of MUN (P<0.05) irrespective of seasons and farm categories with the sources of ME and CP of supplied feed. Milk yield relate significantly (P<0.05) with MUN level when there was lowest supply of roughage and maximum M.E comes from concentrate feed irrespective of farm categories. So, determination of MUN level will be helpful to commercial dairy farmers when the issues related to milk quality and quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Humanitas: International Journal of Social Sciences / Uluslararasi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Humanitas: International Journal of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The last twenty years have seen increased interest in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activity (AAA). However, there has been little research exploring these interactions as experienced by the animals themselves. In this paper, we bring a "more-than-human" lens to concepts and practices within AAA/T, synthesizing ideas about animal sentience and subjectivity that have emerged within animal geography scholarship and animal welfare science. We draw from empirical work with practitioners involved in donkey-facilitated learning (DFL) to examine the knowledge base of equine facilitators, including their beliefs, opinions, and assumptions about donkeys, their understanding of animal welfare, and their role in DFL. We discuss how knowledge of donkeys is mobilized to ensure more-than-human welfare during DFL; how animals' "choice" to participate is encouraged and centered; how ideas of nonhuman labor create opportunities for considering more-than-human welfare; and how practitioners advocate for animals and embed practices of care for humans and nonhumans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To this date, livestock activity continues to constitute one of the main bastions of the world economy and global food security. Still, just as it is vital for the subsistence of humanity, it also generates environmental and health effects that deserve attention, and that forge the irrevocable need to look for all possible alternatives to guarantee the sustainability of animal production processes. Therefore, this research has been developed under the framework of a review of the scientific literature related to the use of technology to develop sustainable livestock production processes. This review consisted of a bibliometric analysis developed within the Scopus database, delimiting all the documents published between 1987 and 2023, based on the keywords: "Sustainability", "Livestock" and "Technology", from which the data was obtained, using the search equation (TITLE-ABS-KEY ("sustainability") AND TITLE-ABS-KEY ("livestock") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("cattle breeding") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("cattle raising") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY ("cattle") AND TITLE-ABS-KEY ("technology")). A total of 887 papers in all were discovered as a consequence, with journal articles accounting for 59% of them, reviews for 19%, conference articles for 11%, and other formats for the remaining 11%. The scientific output examined between 1987 and 2023 demonstrates an increasing tendency in the study area, with the years 2019 to 2022 exhibiting the biggest publishing peaks (47% of all published papers). The findings indicate that 60% of the papers produced for the study subject were published in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Italy. Furthermore, Sustainability (Switzerland), Animal, Journal of Animal Science, Journal of Cleaner Production and IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, were the journals that published the most on the topic, accounting for 13% of the total publications. The remaining publications are distributed among various journals. Considering that 92% of researchers in this subject are temporary, Koziel JA is the author with the most publications with seven. Similarly, Wageningen University and Research, Iowa State University, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa, University of Guelph and Università Degli Studi di Milano were the institutions that conducted the most research on the study's subject, accounting for 11% of the publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated measurement designs (RMDs) are economical and commonly utilized in pharmacology, psychology, and animal science experiments. However, RMDs might have carryover effects, which become the main source of bias in estimation of treatment effects. Carry over effects can economically be controlled with the use of minimal balanced RMDs, strongly balanced RMDs or their generalized classes. No general procedure is available in literature to obtain these important classes of RMDs. An R-Package has been developed in this article to check the given values v and p for the possible existence of minimal circular balanced and strongly balanced RMDs (along with their generalized classes), generate the sets of shifts for possible designs, and to calculate the efficiency of separability and carry over effects for the generated design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to evaluate knowledge gained from training programs conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Barnala of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab. In these scientific fish farming training programs, a total 94 trainees (farmer, farm women and rural youth) have participated during the year 2021 to 2023. Majority of respondents constituting 60.64 percent were from middle age group (31-50 years) followed by rural youth (18-30 years) and old age participants (above 51 years). All the participants were asked to fill pre and post-test questionnaire which included questions related to fisheries such as fishpond maintenance, feeding, freshwater species and other cultural practices. A score of one and zero mark was given to each correct and incorrect answers. Data revealed that in pre-test majority of participants (79.78%) were having less knowledge about the fish farming which scored (0-30%). Whereas, knowledge gained by 72.34 percent of the respondents had scored above 60 percent in the post-test. This is clear indication of knowledge gain and positive impact of training programme conducted by KVK, Barnala. The result of knowledge gained by the participants in fish farming is helpful in upliftment of their socio-economic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main challenge of animal production in Iran is the lack of fodder, and corn is one of the important agricultural crops to provide fodder. The level of cultivation and performance of corn have increased significantly in recent decades, and it is predicted that the demand for corn may double the current demand by 2050. Many factors are involved in the increase or decrease of corn yield, but choosing a superior, compatible, and high-yielding hybrid in each region is one of the main factors in increasing the production and yield of the corn crop. One of the limiting factors is the lack of water resources and the occurrence of droughts in Iran in the last few years. In this regard, it is necessary to better understand the morphological characteristics of the plant, the performance of different hybrids, and their nutritional value in different stages of growth and different cultivars in livestock feeding. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the growth stages of some fodder corn cultivars on chemical compounds, parameters of gas production, and ruminal degradability in four hybrid varieties, namely corn single-cross Simon, single-cross Valbum, single-cross corn BC 678, and single-cross N.S 770 maize variety. Methods: Four varieties of fodder corn were planted in a uniform field with similar crop management in the farm of Behdis Protein Nasr Company, Behshahr, Mazandaran province, Iran, with an area of about one hectare for each variety. After the operation, they were planted in two stages (August 2 and 24 2022). Harvesting and laboratory operations were carried out in the Animal Nutrition Laboratory of the Animal Science Department, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (SANRU). In this research, four fodder corn cultivars were used in a completely randomized design in four treatments with four replications and two harvesting stages. Chemical compounds, including dry and organic matter, crude ash, NDF and ADF, crude protein, crude fat, and non-fibrous carbohydrates, were determined in the cultivars. The potential of gas production, digestibility, metabolizable energy, and volatile fatty acids were assessed in vitro. In addition, rumen degradability and effective parameters of dry matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber in rumen incubation at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, and 96 hours were determined on site using three rumen fistulated Zel sheep. Results: Chemical compounds were affected by cultivars and harvest time. In two stages of harvest, the crude protein content and percentage of dry matter were significantly higher in singlecross NS770 cultivar, and fat, insoluble fiber in acid detergent, and insoluble fiber in neutral detergent rose in the singlecross BC678 cultivar. The effect of corn varieties on the parameters of gas production at harvest times was different. In the first and second harvests, the rate of gas production and gas production in 96 hours, digestibility of organic matter, metabolizable energy, and the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were higher in the singlecross NS770 variety. There was a significant difference in the gas production capacity of Single-Cross-Simon and Single-Cross NS770 cultivars in the first and second stages of harvesting. The gas production rate constant in the second stage of harvest was different between the treatments, with a higher rate in single-cross BC678 and single-cross NS770 than in single-cross-Simon and single-cross-Valbum varieties. The percentage of organic matter digestibility was different between the treatments in the first and second harvests. The organic matter digestibility was higher in Single-Cross-Simon and Single-Cross NS770 in the first harvest, and Single-Cross-Simon contained the highest amount of digestibility in the second harvest. The concentration of SCFAs was also significantly different between the treatments in the first and second harvests, with the highest concentration in Single-Cross-Simon in the first and second harvests. The degradability of dry matter, crude protein, insoluble fiber in neutral detergent, fast degradable, slow degradable, potentially degradable, and effective degradability ractions were higher in the singlecross NS770 silage at 2, 5, and 8% passage rates. The results of the gas test and determination of degradability showed that the Single Cross NS770 variety had gas production capacity, a constant rate of gas production, digestibility of organic matter, the parameters of degradability (dry matter, crude protein, and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent), and higher effective degradability in the first harvest. Conclusion: The test results showed that chemical compounds were affected by cultivars and harvest time. In two stages of harvest, the crude protein content and percentage of dry matter were significantly higher in the single-cross NS770 cultivar, and fat, insoluble fiber in acid detergent, and insoluble fiber in neutral detergent rose in the single-cross BC678 cultivar. The results of the gas test and determination of degradability showed that the Single Cross NS770 variety had gas production capacity, a constant rate of gas production, digestibility of organic matter, a, b, and a + b, Kd as parameters of degradability of dry matter, crude protein, insoluble fibers in neutral detergent, and higher effective degradability in the first harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is an important task to practice ideological and political education and cultivate students' feelings of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" and their responsibility to strengthen agriculture and revitalize agriculture for the construction of new agricultural science. Guided by the requirements of the construction of new agricultural science and the core of the school's "integration of animal husbandry, industry and commerce", for the cultivation goal of professional talents in animal science, an ideological and political curriculum chain was established from three levels of professional basic courses, professional courses and professional practice courses. Meanwhile, the focus and requirements of the ideological and political education of the curriculum chain were clarified, and the case base of the ideological and political education matrix design of the "curriculum chain" was constructed through the design of the ideological and political content and teaching matrix of the curriculum chain. Finally, a four-layer progressive and linkage model of "school-profession-course-classroom" was formed, which realized the same direction of professional education and ideological and political education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated measurements designs (RMDs) are mostly used in animal sciences, pharmacology, medicine, and animal husbandry, etc. But residual effects are often a serious problem in such experiments. In literature, minimal strongly balanced RMDs have been introduced to overcome this problem under low budget constraints, but these designs cannot be constructed for every number of treatments and period sizes. As an alternate, generalized strongly balanced RMDs can be preferred since they yield results close to those of strongly balanced RMDs. Here, some generators are proposed for generalized strongly balanced RMDs which possess the high efficiency of Separability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Italian Association for Laboratory Animal Sciences (AISAL) held its annual meeting in September 2022. The main topic of the meeting was the section 'Quality Control of the Components in the Study' of the PREPARE guidelines. Among the audience, all stakeholders of AISAL were present: animal caretakers, technicians, facility managers, veterinarians, scientists, and animal welfare officers. One session was also dedicated to the round table on education and training, with the aim to discuss the legislative requirements as per Italian Decree 5 August 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principles of three Rs—REPLACEMENT, REDUCTION, and REFINEMENT—govern the protection and use of animals, including fish, for research purposes in the European Union and Norway. In this paper, we discuss some straightforward steps to simplify the delivery of these principles at the idea stage and adapt some of these examples for conducting fish trials related to health and welfare. Although some of the approaches are well established in other animal science arenas, we believe there can be a timely recap of their key facets. We discuss a number of simple strategies to emphasize how a reduction in fish numbers can be achieved from initial project conception to implementation, highlighting not only their advantages but also their limitations. We also highlight the role that funding agencies can play in the implementation of the 3R principles in aquaculture research. These simple points can be used in frameworks to initiate a broader and dynamic intersectoral dialogue among stakeholders of aquaculture research on how to promote ethics and embrace opportunities for this within the tenets of the 3Rs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted during January, 2022 to January, 2023 at the Department of Animal Genetics & Breeding, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Kamdhenu University, Navsari, Gujarat, India to identify polymorphisms in HSP 70 gene. Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) known as molecular chaperones are essential for cells' ability to recover from stress and serve as the primary defence mechanism within cells. They are extremely conserved and essential to the response to heat stress and cellular thermotolerance. Even though there are numerous HSP genes, in livestock species, heat tolerance is primarily associated with HSP 70. This gene polymorphisms have been linked to heat tolerance, milk production, fertility and cattle susceptibility to disease. They can be utilised as genetic markers to help choose animals that are more resilient to climate change, have stronger immune systems and perform better overall. A 220 bp fragment of bovine HSP 70 gene was subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) technique to identify the polymorphism. PCR-SSCP pattern was associated with the thermotolerance traits in Kankrej cattle using the univariate GLM model of SPSS 26. HSP 70 gene (220 bp fragment) was found to be monomorphic documented on SSCP gel which revealed only one genotype (AA) in all Kankrej cattle. It is concluded that genotype and its association with thermotolerance traits were found to be non-significant. However, The HSP 70 polymorphism is expected to strongly predict cattle heat tolerance, aiding in selection for thermotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One primary goal of laboratory animal welfare science is to provide a comprehensive severity assessment of the experimental and husbandry procedures or conditions these animals experience. The severity, or degree of suffering, of these conditions experienced by animals are typically scored based on anthropocentric assumptions. We propose to (a) assess an animal's subjective experience of condition severity, and (b) not only rank but scale different conditions in relation to one another using choice-based preference testing. The Choice-based Severity Scale (CSS) utilizes animals' relative preferences for different conditions, which are compared by how much reward is needed to outweigh the perceived severity of a given condition. Thus, this animal-centric approach provides a common scale for condition severity based on the animal's perspective. To assess and test the CSS concept, we offered three opportunistically selected male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) choices between two conditions: performing a cognitive task in a typical neuroscience laboratory setup (laboratory condition) versus the monkey's home environment (cage condition). Our data show a shift in one individual's preference for the cage condition to the laboratory condition when we changed the type of reward provided in the task. Two additional monkeys strongly preferred the cage condition over the laboratory condition, irrespective of reward amount and type. We tested the CSS concept further by showing that monkeys' choices between tasks varying in trial duration can be influenced by the amount of reward provided. Altogether, the CSS concept is built upon laboratory animals' subjective experiences and has the potential to de-anthropomorphize severity assessments, refine experimental protocols, and provide a common framework to assess animal welfare across different domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document contains three separate articles related to dairy cattle research. The first article explores the use of depth imaging as a noninvasive method to measure daily dry matter intake (DMI) in dairy cattle. The researchers found that depth imaging showed promise as a constant measure of DMI on an individual cow basis, potentially providing a more accurate and efficient method for monitoring feed intake. The second article compares different nutrient requirement models and their effects on dairy cattle diets and methane emissions. The study found that using the NASEM (2021) model resulted in lower methane emissions compared to the NRC (2001) model. The third article focuses on optimizing diets for automatic milking systems using mixed-integer, nonlinear programming. The study developed optimized diets that reduced cost and predicted group performance. [Extracted from the article]

Modern poultry production entails a number of important animal welfare issues. However, welfare is often considered to be better in organic than in non-organic production, largely due to the focus on naturalness within the former which has been embedded within the EU regulations on organic production. The aim of this paper was to review the relevant scientific literature to assess (i) how animal welfare science relates to the key features of organic poultry production which originally stem from organic visions and ideological reasons, and (ii) whether there is scientific evidence to show that these key features, as stipulated in current EU regulations, contribute to higher welfare in organic poultry production. We identified seven key features that are intended to improve poultry welfare in organic production: appropriate breeds, no mutilations, outdoor access, natural light, perch space and raised sitting levels, provision of roughage, and lower stocking densities. In general, the animal welfare science available supports the potential for higher animal welfare in organic poultry production, based on the requirements as laid down in the current EU regulations. However, there is still room for improvement, and some aspects that may further improve animal welfare in organic poultry production include the use of alternative laying hen hybrids with the potential for better welfare, even more slow-growing broilers, appropriate management of the free-range areas in practice to ensure that they are used by the birds, additional raised sitting level space allowance for broilers, and the use of "dark brooders" for chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in order to investigate the genetic variability of the PGAM2 gene associated with meat productivity and body weight in rabbits. Blood samples were collected from v. saphena of 60 adult breeding animals from New Zealand White and Californian rabbit breeds (50 does and 10 bucks) from the experimental flocks raised in the rabbit farm part of the Institute of Animal Science - Kostinbrod, Bulgaria. The genetic diversity was determined by means of PCR-RFLP method using a specific set of primers and restriction enzyme Csp6I. As a result, it can be concluded that in the tested group of New Zealand White rabbit breed, polymorphism was not detected in the selected region of the PGAM2 gene. All animals were monomorphic for the investigated region and only genotype CC was presented. In California rabbit breed, the genetic diversity was existed in this gene with the presence of two genotypes - homozygous wild genotype CC and heterozygous genotype CT with frequencies 0.70 and 0.30, respectively. The experimental work will continue with further investigation in association of the live weight and different genotypes of the PGAM2 gene in rabbits from Californian breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sciences related to animal agriculture are threatened by agenda-driven scientists. It can be shown that too many peer-reviewed articles have dubious quality, including high-profile ones. Better training and higher review standards for rigour, reproducibility and transparency should help alleviate the problem. However, they will not solve the challenge posed by 'cargo cult scientists', as characterised by Richard Feynman. Such agenda-driven scientists pursue an a priori mission, whose achievement justifies any means, even if it includes to willfully manipulate and interpretate data, or to violate good practices of integrity in the sciences. This review explores in three prominent case studies in animal-sourced food related sciences where the dividing line might be between science being poorly practiced (which can be remedied), and scientific channels being abused for agendas (which should not be tolerated). So as to guard both as the individual scientist and as the discipline against the intrusion of such agenda-driven science, this article suggests adopting the Popperian stance to generally refrain from the concept of seeking or establishing a 'scientific truth', and instead to restrict oneself to presenting the 'scientific evidence', both in terms of what the evidence shows, and what it does not. Three case studies of high-profile scientific endeavours in animal-related sciences are examined on where there is a dividing line between science being poorly practiced (which can be remedied) or science lacking integrity, as characterised by Richard Feynman's as cargo cult scientists (which should not be tolerated). The cases are the WHO IARC 2015 cancer evaluation on red and processed meats, the Global Burden of Disease 2019 and the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts2024 ASAS Midwest Section Meeting Abstracts American Society of Animal Science Journal of Animal Science Volume 102, Supplement 2 Downloaded from https:// academic. oup. com/ jas/ issue/ 102/ Supplement_ 2 by Jnls Cust Serv on 09 May 2024 [Extracted from the article]

The present investigation was executed at Department of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. I. P. Singh Veterinary Clinical Complex and Trauma Centre, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, G.B.P.U.A. & T, Pantnagar U.S. Nagar, Uttarakhand, India during the period of September, 2021 to April, 2022. The present study aimed to diagnose hepatic dysfunction in dogs presented to Dr. I.P. Singh Veterinary Clinical Complex and Trauma Centre, Pantnagar. Eighteen dogs presented with varied symptoms of hepatic dysfunction such as fever, anorexia, vomition, emaciation, polydipsia, polyuria, dullness, diarrhoea, icterus and nervous signs indicating hepatic affections were selected irrespective of their age breed, sex and were subjected to haematological, biochemical, radiographic and ultrasonographic examination. Alterations in hematobiochemical parameters of dogs with hepatic dysfunction were compared with healthy dogs. Findings of haematological examination revealed significant decrease in Hb, PCV, TEC, platelets, lymphocytes whereas there was significant increase in neutrophils in dogs with hepatic dysfunction as compared to healthy dogs. Findings of biochemical parameter revealed significant increase in total bilirubin ALT, AST, GGT, ALP whereas there was significant decrease in total protein, albumin, A:G ratio, blood glucose of dogs with hepatic dysfunction as compared to healthy dogs. Radiography and ultrasonography were found useful in diagnosis of canine hepatic dysfunction. Ultrasonography offers additional advantages over radiography by allowing for the evaluation of echogenicity, echotexture, size, shape, and margins of the liver. From the study it was concluded that combination of diagnostic test is reliable to diagnose hepatic dysfunction in dogs and single diagnostic test can be misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted during October to January, 2018 at Gir Cattle Farm, College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Navania, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India to evaluate the effect of hydroponic maize fodder with and without supplementation of probiotics on rumen fermentation. A feeding trial of 120 days was conducted on 36 male Gir calves of same age group (6-12 months) and randomly allotted to nine dietary treatments. All the animals were offered basal feed ad lib. The T1 i.e. control group were fed concentrate mixture as per requirement. For calves in T2, T3, T4 and T5 groups, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of crude protein (CP) supplied through concentrate mixture was replaced by hydroponics maize green fodder, respectively. Whereas, in T6, T7, T8, T9 groups, 25% 50%, 75% and 100% of crude protein (CP) supplied through concentrate mixture was replaced by hydroponics maize green fodder along with probiotics, respectively. All the rumen parameters viz. pH, Total protozoal count (105 ml-1), Total Volatile Fatty Acids (meq l-1), Ammonia nitrogen (mg dl-1), Total nitrogen (mg dl-1), TCA-precipitable nitrogen (mg dl-1), and Non protein nitrogen (mg dl-1), were estimated according to treatment and time intervals. There was non-significant effect of treatments on rumen pH but due to time intervals were found to be highly significant (p<0.01). The concentration of Total protozoal count, Total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), Total ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), Total nitrogen, TCA-Precipitable N and Non-protein nitrogen (NPN) were highly significant (p<0.01) effect due to treatments and time intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nellore cattle (Bos taurus indicus) is the main beef cattle breed raised in Brazil. This breed is well adapted to tropical conditions and, more recently, has experienced intensive genetic selection for multiple performance traits. Over the past 43 years, an experimental breeding program has been developed in the Institute of Animal Science (IZ, Sertaozinho, SP, Brazil), which resulted in three differentially-selected lines known as Nellore Control (NeC), Nellore Selection (NeS), and Nellore Traditional (NeT). The primary goal of this selection experiment was to determine the response to selection for yearling weight (YW) and residual feed intake (RFI) on Nellore cattle. The main objectives of this study were to: 1) identify copy number variation (CNVs) in Nellore cattle from three selection lines; 2) identify and characterize CNV regions (CNVR) on these three lines; and 3) perform functional enrichment analyses of the CNVR identified. Results: A total of 14,914 unique CNVs and 1,884 CNVRs were identified when considering all lines as a single population. The CNVRs were non-uniformly distributed across the chromosomes of the three selection lines included in the study. The NeT line had the highest number of CNVRs (n = 1,493), followed by the NeS (n = 823) and NeC (n = 482) lines. The CNVRs covered 23,449,890 bp (0.94%), 40,175,556 bp (1.61%), and 63,212,273 bp (2.54%) of the genome of the NeC, NeS, and NeT lines, respectively. Two CNVRs were commonly identified between the three lines, and six, two, and four exclusive regions were identified for NeC, NeS, and NeT, respectively. All the exclusive regions overlap with important genes, such as SMARCD3, SLC15A1, and MAPK1. Key biological processes associated with the candidate genes were identified, including pathways related to growth and metabolism. Conclusion: This study revealed large variability in CNVs and CNVRs across three Nellore lines differentially selected for YW and RFI. Gene annotation and gene ontology analyses of the exclusive CNVRs to each line revealed specific genes and biological processes involved in the expression of growth and feed efficiency traits. These findings contribute to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying the phenotypic differences among the three Nellore selection lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In the field of veterinary science and animal husbandry, a sow that has given birth more than once is considered "multiparous". Sows are classified as nulliparous from the moment they arrive at the farm until their first farrowing. During this time, they are frequently referred to as "primiparous". Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) plasmid administration had significant effects on serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, birth outcomes, and weaning parameters across different sow categories, indicating its potential for enhancing reproductive performance and postnatal outcomes in sows. Specifically, it affected live births, survival rates, and weaning success without notable effects on birth weight. The effect of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) plasmid treatment on sow reproductive performance was examined. Forty pregnant sows (three-way crossbreed: Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) at 85 days of gestation were included in the study and consisted of twenty primiparous and twenty multiparous sows (third parity). Sows were randomly assigned to the control and treatment groups. The treatment group received 5 mg dose of GHRH plasmid injection via electroporation, whereas the control group received a phosphate buffer solution. Reproductive indicators, including serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentration and weaned piglet data, were assessed. In the GHRH plasmid-treated group, serum IGF-1 concentration significantly increased compared with that in the control group, a trend observed in primiparous and multiparous sows. The key indicator of reproductive performance, litter size, showed that for control primiparous sows (C-PS), it was 10.90 ± 0.99 kg, while for control multiparous sows (C-MS), it was 14.00 ± 0.67 kg. Furthermore, for primiparous sows treated with GHRH plasmid (G-PS), the litter size was 11.60 ± 0.97 kg, and for multiparous sows treated with GHRH plasmid (G-MS), it was 14.00 ± 0.82 kg. The GHRH plasmid-treated group also exhibited a higher number of total births and surviving piglet numbers, along with a decrease in stillborn piglets; however, there was no significant difference in birth weight. The results suggest that GHRH plasmid treatment can enhance the reproductive performance of sows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melatonin is an intracellular antioxidant of sperm membrane that protects the cells from lipid peroxidation. Yet, its role as an antioxidant on semen quality of buffalo bulls is still obscure. The present study was undertaken to assess the effect of exogenous melatonin implant (18 mg/50 kg bodyweight) on post-thaw sperm characteristics, oxidative stress, endocrinological profiles and fertility of buffalo bulls. Six apparently healthy breeding Murrah buffalo bulls were randomly selected at bull farm, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University for the present study and divided into two groups viz. control (n = 3) and melatonin implanted group (n = 3). A total of 120 ejaculates were collected from bulls of both groups (n = 60 each) throughout the study period. Most beneficial effects of melatonin implants were observed during post-implantation period. The percentages of post-thaw sperm total and progressive motility, viability and mitochondrial membrane potential were higher (p < .05) in melatonin implanted buffalo bulls compared to controls during post-implantation period. Following melatonin implantation, MDA production in post-thaw semen was lower (p < .05) in melatonin implanted group than in control group. Plasma melatonin and testosterone concentrations were higher (p < .05) in buffalo bulls implanted with melatonin as compared to their control counterparts. No differences (p > .05) in plasma LH concentrations were observed in both groups. First service pregnancy rate was 43.3% using semen of melatonin implanted bulls and 30.0% with semen of controls (p > .05). Thus, melatonin was able to protect sperm membrane against oxidative damage and improve post-thaw semen quality, thereby resulting in higher fertilizing potential of spermatozoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article provides a comprehensive overview of beef production and the beef evaluation system in Chile. It emphasizes the importance of low-technology pastoral systems in the majority of beef production in Chile and highlights the health benefits of Chilean beef, which is rich in conjugated linoleic acid, omega-3, and phytochemicals. The classification system for cattle and beef in Chile focuses on carcass quality rather than beef quality. The article discusses the factors contributing to the decline in beef production in Chile, such as climate change, land use opportunities, public policies, regulations, and the unrestricted entry of beef from other countries. It also examines the productive cycle of beef production and the categories used for cattle classification in Chile. The text raises concerns about the lack of economic incentives for higher beef quality and the confusion among consumers. It concludes by discussing the need for modifications to the law, particularly regarding imported beef, and the asymmetry between beef and other meats in terms of labeling and trade requirements. The article also highlights the effects of different feeding systems on the quality of beef produced in Chile, with grass-fed systems showing lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratios and higher levels of beneficial fatty acids compared to concentrate-fed systems. However, it notes the absence of a national policy to promote and educate consumers about the quality of beef produced in Chile. [Extracted from the article]

Although best known for its established role in mediating parturition and lactation, the highly-conserved neuropeptide hormone oxytocin also mediates a range of social and stress-buffering processes across mammalian species. Measurements of peripheral oxytocin in plasma have long been considered the gold standard, but there is increasing interest in developing methods to detect oxytocin non-invasively in saliva. Here we present an analytical and biological validation of a novel method to measure salivary oxytocin (sOXT) in an understudied research group: farm animals. Given their similarities with humans in physiology and brain, methods that can identify valued social contexts and social relationships for farm animals and investigate their function have implications for clinical research as well as for animal welfare science. However, current methods to measure sOXT vary greatly in terms of sample collection, pre-measurement processing and measurement and more rigorous standardization and validation of methods is critical to determine the utility of sOXT as a biomarker of salient social events and related emotions. We optimized a method for extracting sOXT in pigs and horses and measured sOXT in extracted samples using a commercially available enzyme-immunoassay. Extracted samples were within acceptable ranges for precision (CVs < 15.2%), parallelism and recovery (94%-99%) in both species. Salivary oxytocin increased in samples collected during birth in pigs (Friedmans, p = 0.02) and horses (Wilcoxon, p = 0.02). Salivary oxytocin tended to decrease in sows after a 90-min separation from their piglets (Wilcoxon, p = 0.08). We conclude that sOXT can be reliably linked to physiological events that are mediated by the oxytocinergic system in farm animals, but that more research is needed to determine whether sOXT is a reliable trait marker for more general oxytocin system activation in response to salient social events. Future research should characterize how individual attributes and salivary parameters influence sOXT measurement and should emphasize reporting of analytical and biological validations to increase acceptance of non-invasive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a corrigendum for an article titled "Genetic association of wool quality characteristics in United States Rambouillet sheep." The corrigendum addresses errors in the results, discussion, Table 5, and Figure 6 of the original article. The corrections include changes to sentences and the inclusion or removal of transcription factors in the analysis. The authors apologize for the errors but state that they do not affect the scientific conclusions of the article. [Extracted from the article]

This article is a case report on intussusception in a goat kid. The necropsy revealed the telescoping of the ileum into the cecum, which may have been caused by hyper-motility of the intestine due to diarrhea and intestinal worms. Intussusception is a severe obstructive intestinal condition that can be caused by various factors such as strong peristalsis, intestinal tumors, and enteritis. The authors highlight the importance of customized management protocols for deworming, dietary fiber, and prompt medical attention to identify and treat intussusception. [Extracted from the article]