The study evaluated the effects of bacteriophage cocktail (BP) and ZnO administered during weaning time for piglets exposed to a non-sanitary environment. The bacteriophages were designed to ...eliminate Escherichia coli (K88, K99 and F41), Salmonella (typhimurium and enteritidis), and Clostridium perfreingens (types A and C). Forty 21-day-old crossbreed piglets were assigned to four treatments, including the PC (sanitary environment), NC (non-sanitary environment), BP (NC plus 10
pfu/kg BP), and ZO (NC plus 2,500 mg/kg ZnO). Piglets in the NC, BP and ZO were kept in a non-sanitary environment for 14 d, which was contaminated with the feces of infected pigs.
Pigs in the BP and ZO treatments had a higher final body weight compared with the NC. The NC treatment showed the highest concentration of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the plasma. The administration of BP and ZO showed lower myeloperoxidase concentrations compared with the NC. The NC treatment showed a lower concentration of superoxide dismutase in serum compared with the PC. Among the treatments in non-sanitary environment, the NC treatment showed a higher concentration of malondialdehyde compared with the ZO. The PC treatment showed a lower concentration of butyric acid in the feces compared with the BP treatment. Among non-sanitary treatments, the villus height in the duodenum was greater in the BP and ZO compared with the NC. The lower abundance of Proteobacteria phylum was observed in the BP and PC treatments compared with the NC. The highest relative abundance of Eubacterium was recorded in the BP treatment. The abundance of Megasphaera and Schwartzia was higher in the NC pigs compared with the BP piglets. The abundance of Desulfovibrio was lower in the supplemented treatments (BP and ZO) compared with non-supplemented (NC and PC). The abundance of Cellulosilyticum genera was higher in the BP and ZO treatments rather than in the NC. The piglets in the NC treatment had the highest abundance of Escherichia-Shigella, followed by the PC and ZO treatments.
In conclusion, these results suggest that the supplementation of bacteriophage cocktail could effectively control Proteobacteria phylum, Clostridium spp. and coliforms population and mitigated the adverse influences of weaning stress in piglets.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of multiple cooling systems
and different drinking water temperatures (DWT) on the performance of sows and
their hair cortisol levels during heat ...stress. In this study, the effect of four
different cooling systems: air conditioner (AC), cooling pad (CP), snout cooling
(SC), and mist spray (MS), and two DWT, namely low water temperature (LWT) and
high water temperature (HWT) on 48 multiparous sows (Landrace ×
Yorkshire; 242.84 ± 2.89 kg) was tested. The experiment is based on the
use of eight replicas during a 21-days test. Different behaviors were recorded
under different cooling treatments in sows. As a result, behaviors such as
drinking, standing, and position change were found to be lower in sows under the
AC and CP treatments than in those under the SC and MS treatments. Lying
behavior increased under the AC and CP systems as compared with that under the
SC and MS, systems. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) in sows and weight at
weaning in piglets was higher under the AC, CP, and LWT treatments than under
the SC, MS and HWT treatments. Sows subjected to SC and MS treatment showed
higher hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate during
lactation than those under AC and CP treatments. Hair cortisol levels, rectal
temperature, and respiratory rate were also higher under the HWT than under the
LWT treatment. As per the results of this study, the LWT has no significant
effect on any of the behavioral factors. Taken together, the use of AC and CP
cooling treatment is highly recommended to improve the behavior and to reduce
the stress levels in lactating sows.
Feeding is the most important behavior that represents the health and welfare of weanling pigs. The early detection of feed refusal is crucial for the control of disease in the initial stages and the ...detection of empty feeders for adding feed in a timely manner. This paper proposes a real-time technique for the detection and recognition of small pigs using a deep-leaning-based method. The proposed model focuses on detecting pigs on a feeder in a feeding position. Conventional methods detect pigs and then classify them into different behavior gestures. In contrast, in the proposed method, these two tasks are combined into a single process to detect only feeding behavior to increase the speed of detection. Considering the significant differences between pig behaviors at different sizes, adaptive adjustments are introduced into a you-only-look-once (YOLO) model, including an angle optimization strategy between the head and body for detecting a head in a feeder. According to experimental results, this method can detect the feeding behavior of pigs and screen non-feeding positions with 95.66%, 94.22%, and 96.56% average precision (AP) at an intersection over union (IoU) threshold of 0.5 for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and an additional layer and with the proposed activation function, respectively. Drinking behavior was detected with 86.86%, 89.16%, and 86.41% AP at a 0.5 IoU threshold for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and the proposed activation function, respectively. In terms of detection and classification, the results of our study demonstrate that the proposed method yields higher precision and recall compared to conventional methods.
Mycotoxin contamination in pig feeds has a negative impact on growth performance,
the immune system, and major body organs. Arginine (Arg) plays an important role
in animals’ body biochemistry and ...physiology. This study aimed to
determine the effect of dietary Arg supplementation on mitigating the negative
effects of mycotoxins in growing pigs. A total of 72 growing pigs (Landrace
× Large white) with initial mean body weight (BW) = 55 ± 2.5 kg
were allotted to four treatment groups with three replicates per group of six
pigs per replicate in a completely randomized design. The treatments included a
non-toxin diet with 1.2% Arg (NT1.2) and mycotoxin-challenged treatments
supplemented with 1.2% Arg (TX1.2), 1.3% Arg (TX1.3), and 1.4% Arg (TX1.4).
Statistical analysis of data included the effects of dietary level of Arg. The
results indicated a significantly higher BW (
p
< 0.05),
average daily gain (
p
< 0.05), and gain-to-feed ratio
(
p
< 0.05) in the NT1.2 group than in the TX1.2,
TX1.3, and TX1.4 groups. The relative weight of the liver was higher
(
p
< 0.05) in the TX1.2 compared to that of the
NT1.2 group, although it was not different from that of TX1.3 and TX1.4. The
level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha was significantly up-regulated
(
p
< 0.05) in the liver tissue of the TX1.2 group
compared to that of the other treatments. Overall, dietary Arg supplementation
remedied liver injury and alleviated the compromised immune system caused by
mycotoxin toxicity.
Feeding is the most important behavior that represents the health and welfare of weanling pigs. The early detection of feed refusal is crucial for the control of disease in the initial stages and the ...detection of empty feeders for adding feed in a timely manner. This paper proposes a real-time technique for the detection and recognition of small pigs using a deep-leaning-based method. The proposed model focuses on detecting pigs on a feeder in a feeding position. Conventional methods detect pigs and then classify them into different behavior gestures. In contrast, in the proposed method, these two tasks are combined into a single process to detect only feeding behavior to increase the speed of detection. Considering the significant differences between pig behaviors at different sizes, adaptive adjustments are introduced into a you-only-look-once (YOLO) model, including an angle optimization strategy between the head and body for detecting a head in a feeder. According to experimental results, this method can detect the feeding behavior of pigs and screen non-feeding positions with 95.66%, 94.22%, and 96.56% average precision (AP) at an intersection over union (IoU) threshold of 0.5 for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and an additional layer and with the proposed activation function, respectively. Drinking behavior was detected with 86.86%, 89.16%, and 86.41% AP at a 0.5 IoU threshold for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and the proposed activation function, respectively. In terms of detection and classification, the results of our study demonstrate that the proposed method yields higher precision and recall compared to conventional methods.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of multiple cooling systems and different drinking water temperatures (DWT) on the performance of sows and their hair cortisol levels during heat ...stress. In this study, the effect of four different cooling systems: air conditioner (AC), cooling pad (CP), snout cooling (SC), and mist spray (MS), and two DWT, namely low water temperature (LWT) and high water temperature (HWT) on 48 multiparous sows (Landrace × Yorkshire; 242.84 ± 2.89 kg) was tested. The experiment is based on the use of eight replicas during a 21-days test. Different behaviors were recorded under different cooling treatments in sows. As a result, behaviors such as drinking, standing, and position change were found to be lower in sows under the AC and CP treatments than in those under the SC and MS treatments. Lying behavior increased under the AC and CP systems as compared with that under the SC and MS, systems. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) in sows and weight at weaning in piglets was higher under the AC, CP, and LWT treatments than under the SC, MS and HWT treatments. Sows subjected to SC and MS treatment showed higher hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate during lactation than those under AC and CP treatments. Hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate were also higher under the HWT than under the LWT treatment. As per the results of this study, the LWT has no significant effect on any of the behavioral factors. Taken together, the use of AC and CP cooling treatment is highly recommended to improve the behavior and to reduce the stress levels in lactating sows.
Mycotoxin contamination in pig feeds has a negative impact on growth performance, the immune system, and major body organs. Arginine (Arg) plays an important role in animals' body biochemistry and ...physiology. This study aimed to determine the effect of dietary Arg supplementation on mitigating the negative effects of mycotoxins in growing pigs. A total of 72 growing pigs (Landrace × Large white) with initial mean body weight (BW) = 55 ± 2.5 kg were allotted to four treatment groups with three replicates per group of six pigs per replicate in a completely randomized design. The treatments included a non-toxin diet with 1.2% Arg (NT1.2) and mycotoxin-challenged treatments supplemented with 1.2% Arg (TX1.2), 1.3% Arg (TX1.3), and 1.4% Arg (TX1.4). Statistical analysis of data included the effects of dietary level of Arg. The results indicated a significantly higher BW (p < 0.05), average daily gain (p < 0.05), and gain-to-feed ratio (p < 0.05) in the NT1.2 group than in the TX1.2, TX1.3, and TX1.4 groups. The relative weight of the liver was higher (p < 0.05) in the TX1.2 compared to that of the NT1.2 group, although it was not different from that of TX1.3 and TX1.4. The level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha was significantly up-regulated (p < 0.05) in the liver tissue of the TX1.2 group compared to that of the other treatments. Overall, dietary Arg supplementation remedied liver injury and alleviated the compromised immune system caused by mycotoxin toxicity.
Genomic evaluation has been widely applied to several species using commercial single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping platforms. This study investigated the informative genomic regions and ...the efficiency of genomic prediction by using two Bayesian approaches (BayesB and BayesC) under two moderate-density SNP genotyping panels in Korean Duroc pigs. Growth and production records of 1026 individuals were genotyped using two medium-density, SNP genotyping platforms: Illumina60K and GeneSeek80K. These platforms consisted of 61,565 and 68,528 SNP markers, respectively. The deregressed estimated breeding values (DEBVs) derived from estimated breeding values (EBVs) and their reliabilities were taken as response variables. Two Bayesian approaches were implemented to perform the genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction. Multiple significant regions for days to 90 kg (DAYS), lean muscle area (LMA), and lean percent (PCL) were detected. The most significant SNP marker, located near the MC4R gene, was detected using GeneSeek80K. Accuracy of genomic predictions was higher using the GeneSeek80K SNP panel for DAYS (Δ2%) and LMA (Δ2-3%) with two response variables, with no gains in accuracy by the Bayesian approaches in four growth and production-related traits. Genomic prediction is best derived from DEBVs including parental information as a response variable between two DEBVs regardless of the genotyping platform and the Bayesian method for genomic prediction accuracy in Korean Duroc pig breeding.
Closely correlated expression patterns between ubiquitin specific peptidase
9X-linked (USP9X) and adherens junction formation factor (Afadin) in mouse
testis development suggests that Usp9x regulates ...the deubiquitination of Af-6
(also known as Afadin, AFDN), and subsequently, the cell adhesion dynamics
during gametogenesis. However, this relationship has not yet been tested in
other domestic animals. The study was examined the temporal and spatial
expression patterns of porcine USP9X and AFDN from the pre-pubertal to adult
stages using real time-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we detected
the transcripts of USP9X and AFDN in the testis of 1-, 6- and 12-months old
boar, respectively. USP9X and AFDN were found to have similar expressions
patterns, with basal expression after 1 month followed by a significant
up-regulation from 6 months (puberty) onwards. In addition, neither the AFDN or
USP9X proteins were detected in spermatogenic cells but they were expressed in
the leydig cells and sertoli cells. USP9X was detected around the basal lamina
during pre-puberty, and predominantly expressed in the leydig cells at puberty.
Finally, in adult testis, USP9X was increased at the sertoli cell-cell interface
and the sertoli cell-spermatid interface. In summary, closely correlated
expression patterns between USP9X and AFDN in boar testis supports the previous
findings in mice. Furthermore, the junction connections between the sertoli
cells may be regulated by the ubiquitination process mediated via USP9X.
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of floor space allowance on productivity of sows. A total of 48 sows (Landrace × Yorkshire; 220.64 ± 5.18 kg average initial body weight) were ...randomly assigned to four treatments (floor space allowance of 1.9 m2, 2.1 m2, 2.3 m2, 2.5 m2). Diets were titrated or exceeded the nutrient requirements for sows recommended by Nutrient Requirements of Swine of National Research Council. All sows were moved to floor space allocation six weeks after artificial insemination and transferred to farrowing crates at 107 days of gestation. There were no differences in sow performance, reproductive performance of sows in treatments. However, the total solids (%) and protein (%) of colostrum composition of sows in 2.3 m2 was less than that of sows in 1.9 m2 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the floor space allowance of 1.9 ~ 2.5 m2 (0.2m2 intervals) did not show a difference in sow productivity, and colostrum composition showed a positive effect at 1.9 m2. An experiment to investigate sow productivity by applying a larger area than a space allowance of 2.5 m2 is necessary.
PDF
