Featured Articles

  • May
    16
    Interpretive Summary: Beef production and carcass evaluation in Brazil


    This paper aims to explore the main characteristics of beef cattle production and carcass evaluation in Brazil. Livestock production in Brazil continues to expand due to the adoption of new specialized technologies.

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  • May
    16
    Interpretive Summary: Carcass assessment and value in the Australian beef and sheepmeat industry


    Beef and sheepmeat are major high-volume foods produced in Australia for both domestic consumption and export markets. Australian carcass and meat evaluation has evolved from very basic and imprecise carcass assessments to more sophisticated systems over the last 30 years, reflecting changing technologies, market systems, and consumer preferences, with significant investment in eating quality research.

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  • May
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Trace mineral source and chromium propionate supplementation affect performance and carcass characteristics in feedlot steers


    Trace minerals (TM) are supplemented to finishing cattle diets to prevent TM deficiencies. Sources of TM differ in their bioavailability and effect on rumen fermentation. Chromium is a TM required in low concentrations to enhance insulin activity.

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  • May
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of diets supplemented with bioactive peptides on nutrient digestibility, immune cell responsiveness, and fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites of adult cats


    Dietary bioactive peptides (BP) may have positive health effects, but are poorly tested in cats. Our primary objective was to determine the apparent total tract digestibility of BP-containing kibble diets and assess how fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota were affected in adult cats.

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  • May
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Influence of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and digestive enzyme activity in lambs


    This research explored the influence of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), an anti-inflammatory mediator, in lambs fed a high-concentrate finishing diet on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and digestive enzyme activity. Wether lambs were fed a whole corn grain-based diet containing no added forage and randomly assigned to either the VIP or control group.

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  • May
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Gene expression of free fatty acids-sensing G protein-coupled receptors in beef cattle


    Free fatty acids (FFA) are key modulators of bovine physiology. Recently, it has been discovered that some G protein-coupled receptors, termed free fatty acid receptors (FFARs), may help mediate the action of FFA at the cellular level.

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  • May
    09
    Interpretive Summary: Antimicrobial Metaphylaxis and its Impact on Health, Performance, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Contextual Antimicrobial Use in High-Risk Beef Stocker Calves


    In this study, we investigated the impact of metaphyactic antimicrobial administration on health, performance, and antimicrobial use in high-risk beef stocker calves. Our findings demonstrated that metaphylaxis improves performance and has positive effects on animal health and well-being but increases total antimicrobial use.

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  • May
    02
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of heating soybeans on postruminal amino acid bioavailability, performance, and ruminal fermentation in lactating cows


    Soybeans contain antinutritional factors that may influence amino acid (AA) bioavailability to cattle. Holstein cows were used to evaluate if roasting whole soybeans influenced bioavailability of AA in diets containing soybeans.

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  • May
    02
    Interpretive Summary: Temporal dynamics of genetic parameters and SNP effects for performance and disorder traits in poultry undergoing genomic selection


    Genetic parameters are used to predict breeding values for individuals in breeding programs undergoing selection. However, inaccurate genetic parameters can cause breeding values to be biased, and genetic parameters can change over time due to multiple factors.

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  • May
    02
    Interpretive Summary: Heat stress alters the ovarian proteome in prepubertal gilts


    Heat stress impairs female fertility, yet the mechanisms underlying reduced fecundity remain unclear. This study investigated the ovarian proteomic changes resultant from heat stress in prepubertal gilts and discovered changes related to several important biological processes that could be responsible for reduced female fertility.

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  • May
    02
    Interpretive Summary: Sow serenity: automatic long-term measurement of lying behavior in crates and free-farrowing pens using 3D accelerometers


    We analyzed lying behavior of sows using sensors, focusing on crated versus free-farrowing sows from pre-parturition to weaning. Lying behavior varies in this time following the needs of the sow and her litter. In a natural environment, sows increase activity 14 d post parturition, which we expected to be also evident in housed sows when they are allowed to move freely.

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  • May
    02
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary iron supplementation on reproductive performance of sows and growth performance of piglets


    Sows need more iron to meet the requirements for their and offspring’s growth during pregnancy and lactation. Exogenous iron supplementation may improve the reproductive performance of sows and the growth performance of piglets, but different sources of iron have different effects.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Optimal protein concentration in diets for sows during the transition period


    In late gestation, the protein requirement of sows increases rapidly due to growth of the fetuses and mammary glands, whereas their energy requirement only is slightly increasing. Recent studies show that a feed supply of 4.1 kg/d in the last week of gestation is beneficial for the farrowing process and subsequent lactation performance.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Diagnostic survey of analytical methods used to determine bone mineralization in pigs


    There is little literature or data comparing bone diagnostic results for healthy, lame, and unhealthy pigs. Typically, diagnosticians assessing clinical lameness cases in pigs will measure bone mineralization along with histopathological evaluation to diagnose and assess the severity of metabolic bone disease.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Magnitude and persistence of higher estrus-associated temperatures in beef heifers and suckled cows


    When striving for a pregnancy, estrus is a critically important event. Higher estrus-associated temperatures (HEAT) are a hallmark feature in sexually active females. The importance of HEAT for pregnancy, however, remains unclear.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Effects of different supplemental levels of protease DE200 on the production performance, egg quality, and cecum microflora of laying hens


    In the production of laying hens, improving the efficiency of dietary protein utilization is important. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the protease DE200 on the performance, egg quality and cecal microflora of Hyline white laying hens.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Impacts of preweaning colostrum feeding practices and health measures on dairy cow production, while accounting for genetic potential


    The impact of calf management and health events have been predominately investigated during the preweaning period. However, calfhood events could also impact the animal’s health and productivity as an adult.

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  • Apr
    25
    Interpretive Summary: Functional properties of Ganoderma lucidum supplementation in canine nutrition


    Ganoderma lucidum (GL) is a fungus from which products have become popular in the human food and health industry over the past decade. Due to this, a growing interest in using GL extracts in animal products has also developed.

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  • Apr
    18
    Interpretive Summary: 5-hydroxytryphophan mitigates ergot alkaloid-induced suppression of serotonin and feed intake in cattle


    Some grass species have a symbiotic relationship with an endophytic fungus that produces toxic ergot alkaloids which have detrimental impacts on herbivores. Ergot alkaloids have a significant impact on livestock production causing annual loss to the livestock industry that likely exceeds $1 billion.

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  • Apr
    18
    Interpretive Summary: Improving feed intake and rumen fermentation in lambs using mixed-dimensional attapulgite clay to adsorb naturally occurring mycotoxins


    The issue of mycotoxin-contaminated animal feed has consistently presented a significant challenge in relation to animal health and production. The mixed-dimensional attapulgite clay (MDA) has been proven effective in binding polar mycotoxins such as aflatoxin, while also effectively adsorbing hydrophobic or weakly polar mycotoxins such as zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin.

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