POST-WEANING PERFORMANCE OF SPF PIGS REARED IN ISOLATION VS. LITTER MATES REARED WITH NON-SPF PIGS

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
H. T. Fredeen ◽  
A. Reddon

Thirty litters, comprising four pigs each, representing seven SPF herds were raised from weaning to 90 kg live weight at two locations, one a new piggery where the SPF pigs were isolated from other pigs and the other an old piggery shared with litters from non-SPF herds. Each SPF litter was represented at each location. At the conclusion of this test, data were obtained for 53 non-SPF litters tested at the two locations.The SPF pigs reared in isolation grew more rapidly and exhibited fewer health problems than those reared with non-SPF pigs. However, the differences between herds and among litters within herds were very large and in some cases the performance of pigs tested in isolation was inferior to that of their litter mates tested with non-SPF pigs. Further, the performance of non-SPF litters tested in the new location exceeded that of contemporaries tested in the old piggery by approximately the same margin as was observed in the SPF test. It was concluded that isolation from pigs of non-SPF origin was not a requisite for performance-testing of pigs from SPF herds.

Author(s):  
Jiyune Yi ◽  
Seul Gee Kim ◽  
Taegyu Khil ◽  
Minja Shin ◽  
Jin-Hee You ◽  
...  

We developed two distinct forest therapy programs (FTPs) and compared their effects on dementia prevention and related health problems for older adults. One was focused on Qigong practice in the forest (QP) and the other involved active walking in the forest (WP). Both FTPs consisted of twelve 2-h sessions over six weeks and were conducted in an urban forest. We obtained data from 25, 18, and 26 participants aged 65 years or above for the QP, WP, and control groups, respectively. Neuropsychological scores via cognition (MoCA), geriatric depression (GDS) and quality of life (EQ-5D), and electrophysiological variables (electroencephalography, bioimpedance, and heart rate variability) were measured. We analyzed the intervention effects with a generalized linear model. Compared to the control group, the WP group showed benefits in terms of neurocognition (increases in the MoCA score, and alpha and beta band power values in the electroencephalogram), sympathetic nervous activity, and bioimpedance in the lower body. On the other hand, the QP group showed alleviated depression and an increased bioimpedance phase angle in the upper body. In conclusion, both active walking and Qigong in the forest were shown to have distinctive neuropsychological and electrophysiological benefits, and both had beneficial effects in terms of preventing dementia and relieving related health problems for elderly individuals.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1132
Author(s):  
Sarah Schwarzkopf ◽  
Asako Kinoshita ◽  
Jeannette Kluess ◽  
Susanne Kersten ◽  
Ulrich Meyer ◽  
...  

Development of calves depends on prenatal and postnatal conditions. Primiparous cows were still maturing during pregnancy, which can lead to negative intrauterine conditions and affect the calf’s metabolism. It is hypothesized that weaning calves at higher maturity has positive effects due to reduced metabolic stress. We aimed to evaluate effects of mothers’ parity and calves’ weaning age on growth performance and blood metabolites. Fifty-nine female Holstein calves (38.8 ± 5.3 kg birth weight, about 8 days old) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with factors weaning age (7 vs. 17 weeks) and parity of mother (primiparous vs. multiparous cows). Calves were randomly assigned one of these four groups. Live weight, live weight gain and morphometry increased over time and were greater in calves weaned later. Metabolic indicators except total protein were interactively affected by time and weaning age. Leptin remained low in early-weaned calves born to primiparous cows, while it increased in the other groups. The results suggest that weaning more mature calves has a positive effect on body growth, and calves born to primiparous cows particularly benefit from this weaning regimen. It also enables a smooth transition from liquid to solid feed, which might reduce the associated stress of weaning.


1973 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Haycock ◽  
D. A. Stewart

SUMMARYIn three successive years cows from an Aberdeen Angus cross Shorthorn herd were mated to pedigree Charolais, British Friesian and Hereford bulls. A comparison of the progeny of the three breeds of sire under controlled conditions was therefore possible using a random selection of dams for mating, and identical rearing of the calves. Results for live-weight gain of the suckled progeny were analysed and showed superiority of the Charolais breed over the other two when used in this form of beef cattle production.For birth weights and daily live-weight gains, particularly during the grazing period, the Charolais cross progeny showed superiority over the other two. There was a consistent although not always statistically significant tendency for these differences between the breed crosses to occur in the male calves only, the females showing little difference between breeds. The data also showed highly significant relationships between gestation period and birth weight, both within and between breed crosses.


2001 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. CARSON ◽  
B. W. MOSS ◽  
L. E. R. DAWSON ◽  
D. J. KILPATRICK

The study investigated the effects of lamb genotype produced from hill flocks on feed efficiency, carcass characteristics and meat quality in animals finished on either a high forage:concentrate ratio diet (HFC) or a low forage:concentrate ratio diet (LFC). Purebred Scottish Blackface (BXB) lambs were compared with Blue-Faced Leicester×Scottish Blackface (BLXB) and Texel×Scottish Blackface (TXB) lambs. Purebred Cheviot (CXC), Suffolk×Cheviot (SXC) and Texel×Cheviot (TXC) lambs were also investigated. Lambs on the LFC diet were offered grass silage and concentrates mixed in the proportion of 0·80 silage and 0·20 concentrates on a dry matter basis. The LFC diet consisted of 0·20 grass silage and 0·80 concentrates on a dry matter basis. Representative lambs were slaughtered at the start of the experiment and on reaching 38 and 46 kg live weight. Averaged over the two slaughter weights, within the Blackface cross lambs, BXB had a lower liveweight gain (P < 0·01) than either BLXB or TXB (138, 207 and 203 (S.E. 11·1) g/day, respectively). Within the Cheviot cross lambs, CXC had a lower liveweight gain (P < 0·05) than SXC (188 v. 220 (S.E. 11·1) g/day), while SXC and TXC (204 g/day) had similar liveweight gains. Lambs on the LFC diet had a higher dressing proportion (P < 0·001) compared with lambs finished on the HFC diet (0·466 v. 0·434 (S.E. 0·0018) kg carcass per kg live weight). Averaged over the two slaughter weights BXB lambs had a lower (P < 0·05) dressing proportion than the other genotypes. Carcass conformation classification (assessed on a five-point scale) was higher (P < 0·001) in lambs finished on the LFC diet (3·0 v. 2·4 (S.E. 0·04)). Conformation classification was higher in lambs produced from Cheviot compared with Blackface ewes (P < 0·05). Within the Blackface cross lambs, BXB and BLXB lambs had a lower conformation classification (P < 0·001) than TXB lambs (2·4, 2·4 and 2·9 (S.E. 0·08) respectively). Within the Cheviot ewes, TXC lambs had a higher (P < 0·001) classification than either CXC or SXC (3·1, 2·7 and 2·7 (S.E. 0·08) respectively). Lambs finished on the LFC diet had a higher fat classification score compared with lambs on the HFC diet (P < 0·001) (3·4 v. 2·8 (S.E. 0·04)). Fat classification was similar across all genotypes. Lambs finished on the LFC diet had a lower ash content in the carcass than lambs finished on a HFC diet (P < 0·01) (44 v. 47 (S.E. 0·8) g/kg). Lamb genotype and dietary forage:concentrate ratio had no significant effect on cooking loss, sarcomere length, Warner–Bratzler shear force and L* values. Ultimate pH (pHU) was not influenced by dietary forage:concentrate ratio, but was significantly (P < 0·01) higher in BXB lambs compared with BLXB, TXB, CXC and TXC lambs. Lambs offered the LFC diet during the finishing period had significantly higher values for a* (P < 0·05), b* (P < 0·001), C* (P < 0·001) and H0 (P < 0·05) than lambs offered a HFC diet. Of these parameters only b* was significantly affected by lamb genotype, with BXB lambs having a lower value (P < 0·05) than the other genotypes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo José Braga ◽  
Carlos Guilherme Silveira Pedreira ◽  
Valdo Rodrigues Herling ◽  
Pedro Henrique de Cerqueira Luz ◽  
César Gonçalves de Lima

In ruminant-forage systems herbage allowance (HAL) has a major impact on grazing intensity and sward structure, affecting animals, plants, and ultimately, pasture yield. Data on HAL responses of tropical cultivated pastures are scarce and this information may be useful in optimizing pasture utilization. The objective of this study was to describe and contrast sward structure and herbage accumulation responses of 'Marandu' palisadegrass [Brachiaria brizantha (A.Rich.) Stapf] pastures to HAL during two grazing seasons (warm-rainy season of 2003 and 2004). Treatments were four daily HAL levels, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kg herbage mass per 100 kg live weight (%) in a rotational stocking system with 35 days of grazing cycle (28-day rest; 7-d grazing). Post-graze swards were shorter (~17 cm) under 5% HAL. For the other HAL levels, postgraze sward height increased throughout the experiment (21 to 50 cm). Changes in sward light interception (LI) were highly associated with height, but differed across HALs in 2004. Early in the 2003 season, HAL increases resulted in linear increase of the daily herbage accumulation rate (HAR; 47, 66, 78, and 98 kg DM ha-1 d-1 for 5, 10, 15 and 20%-HAL, respectively). For the subsequent grazing cycles of 2003 and all through 2004, HAR decreased with increasing HAL. This was associated with the excessive increase in sward height and mean forage mass, caused by lower grazing intensity. The use of lax (high) HAL to maximize animal performance, especially 10, 15 and 20%-HAL, resulted in decreased pasture performance (lower herbage accumulation, HAC) in palisadegrass pastures.


2002 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. R. Dawson ◽  
A. F. Carson ◽  
L. O. W. McClinton

AbstractAn experiment was undertaken to compare the productivity of crossbred ewes, produced by crossing Texel sires with Rouge de l’Ouest (Rouge) dams and Rouge sires with Texel dams, relative to purebred Texel and Rouge ewes. The purebred and crossbred ewes were crossed with Rouge and Texel sires. The proportion of productive ewes was similar in the purebred and crossbred ewes with an average figure of 0·92. Irrespective of crossing sire, Rouge ewes produced 0·48 more lambs per ewe lambed than Texel ewes (P < 0·001). The two crossbred ewe types (Texel ✕ Rouge and Rouge ✕ Texel) each produced similar numbers of lambs (on average 1·92 lambs per ewe lambed). Individual heterosis values for ewe fertility and prolificacy were small and not significant (–1·67 for the proportion of productive ewes and –3·14 for the number of lambs born per ewe lambed). Maternal heterosis values were also not significant but were of larger magnitude (6·26 for ewe fertility and 3·12 for prolificacy). Lamb mortality (number of lambs born dead per ewe lambed) at birth was similar for purebred Rouge (0·44) and Texel (0·30) ewes and was significantly reduced by crossbred matings and mating the crossbred ewes (individual heterosis –30·68, P < 0·10; maternal heterosis –80·23, P < 0·001). Individual and maternal heterosis values for lamb growth rate from birth to six weeks were 8 (P < 0·05) and 4 (P > 0·05) respectively. Lamb growth rate from birth to weaning was significantly lower in lambs from Texel ewes compared with those from the other genotypes (P < 0·05). Individual and maternal heterosis values for live-weight gain from birth to weaning were 5 (P < 0·10) and 5 (P < 0·01). The results of the current study demonstrate the superior performance of purebred Rouge ewes compared with purebred Texel ewes in terms of prolificacy and lamb growth rate from birth to weaning. However, both breeds had high lamb mortality at birth. Crossbreeding led to the production of hybrid ewes which had relatively high prolificacy with low levels of dystocia and lamb mortality.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toly Chen

This paper presents a dynamically optimized fluctuation smoothing rule to improve the performance of scheduling jobs in a wafer fabrication factory. The rule has been modified from the four-factor bi-criteria nonlinear fluctuation smoothing (4f-biNFS) rule, by dynamically adjusting factors. Some properties of the dynamically optimized fluctuation smoothing rule were also discussed theoretically. In addition, production simulation was also applied to generate some test data for evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. According to the experimental results, the proposed methodology was better than some existing approaches to reduce the average cycle time and cycle time standard deviation. The results also showed that it was possible to improve the performance of one without sacrificing the other performance metrics.


Author(s):  
S J Porter ◽  
J P Chadwick ◽  
M G Owen ◽  
S J Page

The application of ultrasonics to the evaluation of live cattle has been carried out in bull performance testing for several years. The machine used for this was the Scanogram. The fact that this machine is no longer being produced and the emergence of several new machines has prompted this trial to evaluate seven ultrasonic machines.A total of 49 bulls, 27 Limousin x Friesian and 22 Charolais x Friesian, were evaluated and slaughtered in four batches of approximately equal size, over four weeks. Each batch was of one breed.Age, live weight at evaluation and subjective assessments of fatness and conformation were recorded together with fat and muscle measurements by the Delphi (Delphi Instruments Ltd, New Zealand), Meritronics (Merit, Lowson and French, England), Scanogram (Ithaco Incorporated, USA), Vetscan (Company no longer in existence), Kaijo Denki (Medata Systems Ltd, England), Velocity of Sound (Prototype developed at IFR-Bristol, England) and Warren (Prototype developed by J Warren) ultrasonic machines.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Yiming Li ◽  
Qin Shi ◽  
Duoyang Qiu

This paper describes a valuable linear yaw-roll tractor-semitrailer (TST) model with five-degree-of-freedom (DOFs) for control algorithm development when steering and braking. The key parameters, roll stiffness, axle cornering stiffness, and fifth-wheel stiffness, are identified by the genetic algorithm (GA) and multistage genetic algorithm (MGA) based on TruckSim outputs to increase the accuracy of the model. Thus, the key parameters of the simplified model can be modified according to the real-time vehicle states by online lookup table and interpolation. The TruckSim vehicle model is built referring to the real tractor (JAC-HFC4251P1K7E33ZTF6×2) and semitrailer (Luyue LHX9406) used in the field test later. The validation of the linear yaw-roll model of a tractor-semitrailer using field test data is presented in this paper. The field test in the performance testing ground is detailed, and the test data of roll angle, roll rate, and yaw rate are compared with the outputs of the model with maps of the key parameters. The results indicate that the error of the tractor’s roll angle and semitrailer’s roll angle between model data and test data is 1.13% and 1.24%, respectively. The roll rate and yaw rate of the tractor and semitrailer are also in good agreement.


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