Featured Articles

  • Jul
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Dietary supplementation with dihydroartemisinin improves intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets with intrauterine growth retardation by modulating the gut microbiota


    Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is defined as the restricted development of the mammalian fetus or its organs during pregnancy, which has high morbidity and mortality during the perinatal period and improves the risk of metabolic diseases in the long term. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a derivative of artemisinin that possesses anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects.

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  • Jul
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Protein quality of a small mammal prey and its body organs for felids


    As obligate carnivores, free-ranging felids consume prey and rely on nutrients from animal organs. Studies in adult carnivores such as domestic cats have demonstrated the importance of the dietary amino acid profile. Therefore, this research used rats as a small prey model to analyze the amino acid composition and digestibility of whole prey and its body organs through in vitro digestion methods.

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  • Jul
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Pregnancy risk in beef and dairy cows after supplementing semen with transforming growth factor beta-1 at the time of artificial insemination


    Seminal plasma is the fluid portion of the ejaculate that is routinely removed or significantly diluted when preparing semen for artificial insemination. Seminal plasma has been shown to elicit changes to the tissues of the uterus at the time of insemination that improves pregnancy outcomes in rodents and swine.

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  • Jul
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Milk microbiome in the first month of lactation and at weaning from ewes supplemented with zinc pre- and postpartum


    Mastitis is an important disease with economic and welfare implications in both clinical and subclinical states. This research described the microbial diversity and taxonomy of milk collected from clinically healthy Rambouillet (WF; n = 9) and Hampshire (BF; n = 5) primiparous ewes in a longitudinal study involving differing dietary zinc concentrations

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  • Jul
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Acceptance and forage utilization responses of steers consuming low-quality forage and supplemented black soldier fly larvae as a novel feed


    The insect-rearing industry, which involves the large-scale commercial growth of insects, is growing in developed nations, including the United States, to meet human food and animal feed demands. As the industry grows, there is increased interest in using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) as a sustainable protein source for livestock feed.

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  • Jul
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Utilizing gas flux from automated head chamber systems to estimate dietary energy values for beef cattle fed a finishing diet


    Automated head chamber systems (AHCS) implemented into beef cattle research allow estimation of gas flux, heat production (HP), and calculated gas-adjusted dietary net energy for maintenance (gaNEm) and gain (gaNEg) values when paired with recovered energy. However, a comparison between AHCS-derived values and performance-adjusted NEm (paNEm) and NEg (paNEg) from either live performance (live paNEm and paNEg) or carcass data (carcass paNEm and paNEg) has not been conducted.

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  • Jul
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Analysis of ddRAD-seq data provides new insights into the genomic structure and patterns of diversity in Italian donkey populations


    Donkeys assume relevant economic importance in several countries worldwide. However, the genetic structure of these populations is less investigated compared to other species. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic background of nine different Italian donkey populations.

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  • Jul
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Zearalenone exposure differentially affects the ovarian proteome in pre-pubertal gilts during thermal neutral and heat stress conditions


    Zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogenic mycotoxin that impairs fertility in swine. This study was designed to identify the ovarian molecular impacts of ZEN exposure in thermal neutral (TN) pre-pubertal pigs. Additionally, whether heat stress (HS) would affect the ovarian ZEN response was also queried.

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  • Jul
    11
    Interpretive Summary: Evaluation of long-term supplementation of a Bacillus subtilis direct-fed microbial and enzymatically hydrolyzed yeast cell culture product used alone or in combination...


    The objective of this research was to determine the influence of long-term supplementation (258 d) of a direct-fed microbial (DFM) and/or yeast cell wall (YCW) product on bacterial populations in beef steers. Collectively, there were no appreciable treatment influences on bacterial populations.

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  • Jun
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Multiple administrations of bovine-appeasing substance during a 42-d preconditioning program followed by feedlot receiving and its effects on physiologic, health, and performance responses of feeder cattle


    To mitigate stress caused by inevitable management practices and to enhance cattle health, a preconditioning program is recommended from weaning to feedlot entry. This experiment evaluated the effects of multiple bovine-appeasing substance (BAS) administrations during a preconditioning program followed by feedlot receiving on productivity and health.

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  • Jun
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Influence of steroidal implants and zinc sulfate supplementation on growth performance, trace mineral status, circulating metabolites, and transcriptional changes in skeletal muscle of feedlot steers


    Steroidal implants are a commonly used growth-enhancing technology that improves the efficiency of beef production. Steroidal implants increase muscle growth via increased net protein synthesis and skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Various trace minerals (TM) are important in supporting growth and development.

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  • Jun
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of a manganese complex with lysine and glutamic acid on growth performance, manganese deposition, and emission, antioxidant capacity and metacarpal strength in weaned piglets


    This research explored the effects of a manganese complex containing lysine and glutamic acid (Mn-LG) on various health parameters in weaned piglets. Utilizing samples of 288 piglets, the study investigated how Mn-LG supplementation influences growth performance, Mn deposition and emission, antioxidant capacity, and metacarpal strength.

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  • Jun
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of genotyping density on the detection of runs of homozygosity and heterozygosity in cattle


    Runs of homozygosity (ROHom), continuous stretches of homozygous loci, and runs of heterozygosity (ROHet), continuous stretches of heterozygous loci, may be due to directional (ROHom) or balancing selection (ROHet) and are interesting to analyze those shared among animals within a population and the genes they harbor. The detection of both types of genomic regions is influenced by genotyping density and involved parameters.

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  • Jun
    27
    Interpretive Summary: Unlocking insights: text mining analysis on the health, welfare, and behavior of cows in automated milking systems


    Milking robots have revolutionized the cow milking, reducing dependence on human labor and increasing milk yield per cow. However, addressing concerns about farmed animal welfare and overall sustainability is crucial. This paper presents a text-mining analysis of the scientific literature to explore the effects of robotic milking on cow health, welfare, and behavior.

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  • Jun
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Effect of dietary antioxidants on free radical damage in dogs and cats


    Animals have an impressive array of defenses to excessive reactive oxygen species in the body. The antioxidant defense system is complex and sophisticated. vitamin E, vitamin C, and β-carotene are known to scavenge free radicals that are created during times of oxidative stress.

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  • Jun
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Disrupted one-carbon metabolism in heifers negatively affects their health and physiology


    The feeding of one-carbon metabolites (including methionine and B vitamins) has been shown to improve fetal growth and milk production in species such as mice, sheep, and dairy cattle. Extending this to beef cattle around the time of breeding is a growing area of research.

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  • Jun
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Vitamin and mineral supplementation to beef heifers during gestation...


    Vitamins and minerals are essential for the reproduction, performance, skeletal support, and overall health of beef cattle. During pregnancy, vitamins and minerals are critical for proper fetal growth, development, and establishment of postnatal micronutrient reserves.

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  • Jun
    20
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary multienzymes on the growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility, excreta noxious gas emission, and nutrient transporter gene expression in white feather broilers


    Multienzyme additives are increasingly used in animal feed, primarily to enhance growth performance and nutrient digestibility. This study focused on the effects of multienzyme additives on various aspects of broilers, including growth performance, carcass characteristics, digestive enzyme activities, apparent nutrient digestibility, excreta noxious gas emission, and intestinal nutrient transporter gene expression.

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  • Jun
    20
    Interpretive Summary: The art of establishing mineral tolerances of dogs and cats


    Dogs and cats are living longer and healthier lives due, in part, to the scientific development of nutritional information. This information has allowed the building of many new types of foods, treats, and supplements that promote life, health, and enjoyment by the pet.

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  • Jun
    19
    The Giving Herd - ASAS Foundation Newsletter - June 2024


    The June Edition of The Giving Herd, an ASAS Foundation Newsletter.

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