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Dec
21
Interpretive Summary: Insights into the merits and market potential of yak meat
Yak meat is a source of protein, essential amino acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially n-3 PUFA, and is also low in fat content.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: Effects of high levels of zinc oxide and dietary zinc/copper ratios on the metabolism of iron in weaned pigs
Zinc oxide and copper sulfate are commonly used to prevent diarrhea in weaned piglets as an alternative to antibiotics. However, this strategy has been questioned due to environmental issues and public health concerns related to bacterial resistance. Recently, it was reported that high dietary zinc levels and/or high dietary zinc/copper ratios impair zinc and copper homeostasis and are detrimental to postweaning piglets’ health.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: Effect of Pseudostellaria heterophylla polysaccharide on the growth and liver metabolism of chicks
In order to explore the possibility of Pseudostellaria heterophylla polysaccharide (PHP) as green and healthy feed additive, we evaluated the effects of PHP on the growth, development and liver metabolism of chicks by feeding chicks diets in this study.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: Heritability and variance component estimation for feed and water intake behaviors of feedlot cattle
Feed and water intake are important aspects of cattle production to understand because they impact producer profitability and sustainability. While feed intake and, to a lesser degree, water intake have previously been studied, the associated feeding and drinking behaviors are relatively unknown and lack standardized phenotypes.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: The role of inbreeding depression on productive performance in the Italian Holstein breed
Inbreeding depression is a reduction in performance or health due to the mating of closely related individuals. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the level of inbreeding in the Italian Holstein dairy cow breed and quantify its negative effect on productive performances.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: Associations between polymorphisms in the myostatin gene with calving difficulty and carcass merit in cattle
The objective of the present study was to quantify the association between 21 known myostatin mutations with calving difficulty, carcass fat, carcass conformation, and carcass weight in 12 prominent cattle breeds. Out of all segregating myostatin variants, the nt821 deletion had the greatest observed association with calving difficulty when the homozygous deletion was carried by either the calf or the dam.
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Dec
13
Interpretive Summary: Blood transcriptomic differences in the immune response under stressful environmental according to stocking density in pigs
Animal welfare in the pig industry is a worldwide trend, and appropriate livestock management can improve welfare. Balancing stocking density and productivity is crucial in intensive farming systems. This study used behavioral and physiological parameters to assess welfare levels related to stocking density.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Dietary Betaine improves the intestinal health and growth performance of heat-stressed growing rabbits in summer
Due to the lack of functional sweat glands, rabbits find it difficult to release excess heat under high-temperature conditions, resulting in heat stress. This high-level temperature condition leads to substantial damage to growth performance and intestinal health resulting in significant financial losses for the meat rabbit industry.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Body, carcass, and steak dimensions of straightbred Holstein calves and Angus-sired calves from Holstein, Jersey, and crossbred beef dams
Divergent selection of beef and dairy breeds has caused differences in skeletal size and muscularity. When calves from dairy systems enter the beef supply chain, variability in mature size and carcass composition are introduced. The objective of this study was to characterize morphometric differences in cattle populations with different proportions of beef and dairy genetics.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Timing of maternal nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation influences net umbilical uptake of glucose and amino acids in adolescent sheep
Maternal undernutrition during gestation can lead to decreased fetal growth, decreased uteroplacental blood flow, and changes in nutrient supply to the fetus. However, it is unclear how the timing (mid-gestation vs. late-gestation) and duration (40 d vs. 80 d) of nutrient restriction influence nutrient supply to the fetus during mid- to late-gestation.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Removing maternal heat stress abatement during gestation modulated postnatal physiology and improved performance of Bos indicus-influenced beef offspring
In dairy cattle, heat stress during late gestation negatively impacted offspring postnatal growth and immune function. The use of artificial shade is a management strategy that alleviates heat stress in environments with high temperatures and humidity.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Early- and mid-lactation milk traits are associated with piglet growth during lactation
Early piglet health and growth are reliant upon milk from the mother. Increasing the gain of a piglet by 0.45 kg at weaning has been linked to finished pigs going to market earlier reducing environmental and financial inputs for producers.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: Beef embryos in dairy cows: feedlot performance, mechanistic responses, and carcass characteristics of straightbred Holstein calves and Angus-sired calves from Holstein, Jersey, or crossbred beef dams
Improved reproductive management has allowed dairy cow pregnancies to be optimized for beef production. The objectives of this study were to use an embryo transfer model 1) to investigate the effect of the dairy management system on beef genetics and 2) to directly compare the merit of Holstein and Jersey genetics for feedlot and carcass performance with modern beef genetics.
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Dec
07
Interpretive Summary: A computer vision image differential approach for automatic detection of aggressive behavior in pigs using deep learning
Aggressive behavior in pigs is a major concern for the swine industry that negatively affects animal welfare. This study aims to provide an efficient automatic solution based on computer vision and supervised deep learning models able to distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive behavior of pigs using video recordings.
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Nov
30
Infographic: Enhancing mathematical modeling skills for sustainable livestock production
Mathematical modeling and data analytics are essential to assist in achieving sustainability in livestock production. Educating and training students and researchers in modeling techniques can prepare them for the development of successful mathematical models.
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Nov
30
Interpretive Summary: ASAS-NANP symposium: mathematical modeling in animal nutrition—Making sense of big data and machine learning: how open-source code can advance training of animal scientists
Livestock production is undergoing a new revolution of incorporating advanced technology to inform animal management. As more and more technologies come to market, new challenges arise with developing a workforce trained to handle big datasets generated from these technologies and turning datasets into insight for livestock producers.
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Nov
30
Interpretive Summary: ASAS-NANP symposium: Mathematical Modeling in Animal Nutrition: The power of identifiability analysis for dynamic modeling in animal science: a practitioner approach
When modeling biological systems, one major step of the modeling exercise is connecting the theory (the model) with the reality (the data). Such a connection passes through the resolution of the parameter identification (model calibration) problem, which aims at finding a set of parameters that best fits the variables predicted by the model to the data.
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Nov
30
Interpretive Summary: Effects of ensiling sugarcane tops with bacteria-enzyme inoculants on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and the associated rumen microbiome in beef cattle
Major challenges when ensiling sugarcane tops include fermentation that results in high quantities of alcohol and decrease in nutrient digestibility due to the accumulation of fiber components. Increased efforts to apply bacteria-enzyme inoculants in silage have the potential to improve nutrient digestibility.
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Nov
30
Interpretive Summary: Predicting microbial crude protein synthesis in cattle from intakes of dietary energy and crude protein
The ability to accurately and precisely predict microbial protein synthesis is crucial in predicting the supply of metabolizable protein in beef cattle. We updated a database previously used to predict microbial crude protein (CP) supply in beef cattle.
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Nov
30
Interpretive Summary: Supplementation of palmitoleic acid improved piglet growth and reduced body temperature drop upon cold exposure
Reducing piglet mortality in the early days after birth is a significant challenge in the modern pig industry. The focus on achieving larger litter sizes has had a negative impact on piglets’ birth weight and their intake of colostrum. Additionally, piglets are born without easily oxidizable brown adipose tissue and have limited body reserves, making them more vulnerable to death due to their lower capacity for thermogenesis.
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