bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
141 A nutrigenomics approach using RNA sequencing technology to study nutrient-gene interactions in agricultural animals
Authors: Liao Shengfa F , Hasan Shamimul , Feugang Jean M 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Animal life essentially is a set of gene expression processes. Thorough understanding of these processes driven by dietary nutrients and other environmental factors can be regarded as a bottom line of modern advanced animal nutrition research for improving animal growth, development, health, production, and reproduction performance. Nutrigenomics, a genome-wide approach using the knowledge and techniques obtained from the disciplines of genomics (including transcriptomics) and molecular biology, is to study the effects of dietary nutrients on cellular gene expression, cellular metabolic responses and, ultimately, the phenotypic changes of a living organism. Transcriptomics can be applied to investigate animal tissue transcriptome at a defined physiological or nutritional state, which provides a holistic view of the intracellular expression of RNA, especially mRNA. As a novel, promising transcriptomics approach, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology can monitor all-gene expressions simultaneously in response to dietary intervention. The principle and history of RNA-Seq technology will be briefly reviewed, and the three principal steps of this methodology, including the laboratory analysis of tissue samples, the bioinformatics analysis of the generated sequence data, and the subsequent biological interpretation of the data, will be described. The application of RNA-Seq technology in different areas of animal nutrition research, which include maternal nutrition, feeding strategy and gut microbiota, will be summarized. Lastly, the application of RNA-Seq technology in swine science and nutrition research will also be discussed. In short, to further improve animal feeding or production efficiency, RNA-Seq technology holds a great potential to be employed to explore the new insights into better understanding of nutrient-gene interactions in agricultural animals, and it is expected that the application of this cutting-edge technology in animal nutrition research will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. This research was supported in part by a USDA-NIFA Multistate Project (No. 1007691).
372 Dam body condition during lactation influences piglet growth and maturation pre-finishing
Authors: Rempel Lea A , Keel Brittney N , Oliver William T , James Wells , Lents Clay , Rohrer Gary A 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
We previously reported, piglets reared by fat sows, weighed less during lactation, but were heavier by 45 d of age in comparison to piglets reared by thin or moderate sows. The objective of the current study was to evaluate weight and body condition during pre-finishing and age at puberty of gilts in relation to body condition of their dams at weaning. Eight weekly farrowing seasons (parities 1–4, n = 157 litters) were used to evaluate sow body condition (weaning) and piglet growth. Sows were categorized as thin, moderate, or fat by last rib caliper measurement at weaning. Individual pig weights were recorded at approximately 100 and 145 d of age. Additionally at 145 d of age, 10th rib backfat and loin eye were measured on a subset (n = 567) of pigs and first estrus was monitored in gilts reserved for breeding selection (n = 176). Pigs reared by fat sows tended (P &lt; 0.10) to be heavier at 145 d of age (90.6 ± 0.75 kg) when compared to pigs reared by thin or moderate sows (89.0 ± 1.48 kg and 88.5 ± 0.82 kg, respectively). Tenth rib backfat during finishing was not different in pigs reared by fat or thin sows (10.0 ± 0.09 mm and 9.8 ± 0.27 mm, respectively); and tended (P &lt; 0.10) to be less in pigs reared by moderate sows (9.7 ± 0.09 mm) than in pigs from fat sows. Tenth rib loin eye area was similar. Gilts developed in litters from thin sows tended (P &lt; 0.10) to have an early age at puberty in contrast to gilts from moderate or fat sows (182.5 ± 3.82 d vs 189.7 ± 2.49 d and 192.2 ± 1.94 d, respectively). Body condition of sows at weaning did not adversely affect pre-finishing pig growth, however pubertal development was improved in gilts from thin sows.
449 Late-Breaking: Impact of feeding a propriety yeast-based synbiotic product on fecal shedding of top-7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in feedlot cattle
Authors: Amachawadi Raghavendra , Shi Xiaorong , George LeighAnn , Theurer Miles , Marston Twig , Holder Vaughn , Nagaraja T G 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) belonging to serogroups O26, O45, O111, O103, O121, O145, and O157, called ‘top-7’, are major foodborne pathogens. Cattle are a major reservoir, in which STEC colonize the hindgut and are shed in the feces, which is a major source of contamination of food. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a proprietary yeast-based synbiotic product (prebiotic and probiotic; Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY) on fecal shedding of top-7 STEC in feedlot cattle. Twenty existing pens, housing 40–112 steers per pen, with an estimated 60 to 90 days to slaughter, were randomly assigned to a control group or a treatment group that received 22 g of the synbiotic product per steer per day, as a top dress, in a finishing diet. Twenty pen-floor fecal samples were collected from each pen on days 0, 21, 42, and 54. Fecal samples were enriched and subjected to a multiplex PCR assay targeting serogroup-specific genes for the top-7 STEC and three major virulence genes, stx1 (Shiga toxin 1), stx2 (Shiga toxin 2), and eae (intimin). Bivariate descriptive statistics for the major serogroups and virulence genes were assessed prior to multivariable analysis using mixed effects logistic regression. The overall prevalence of the top-7 serogroups were 44.5% of O26, 41.3% of O157, 15.1% of O103, 13.7% of O45, 7.8% of O121, and 0.6% of O111. The overall prevalence of stx1, stx2, and eae were 43.9%, 70.8%, and 49%, respectively. E. coli O26, O157, and O45 had a significant treatment and sampling day interaction (P &lt; 0.0001). On d 42, fecal samples from treated group had lower prevalence (P &lt; 0.01) of O26, O103, and O45 compared to the control group. In conclusion, the in-feed administration of the synbiotic product appears to reduce fecal shedding of certain top-7 STEC serogroups in the feedlot cattle.
381 Investigation of heat stress on differential gene expression in tolerant and susceptible pigs
Authors: He Yuqing , Maltecca Christian , Tiezzi Francesco , Flowers Billy 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Heat stress adversely affects pig growth and reproduction performance by reducing feed intake, body weight gain, farrowing rate, and litter size. Heat tolerance is an important trait in pigs, allowing them to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on their physiological activities. Yet, genetic variation and signaling pathways associated with the biological processes of pigs tolerant to heat stress are currently not fully understood. This study aimed at identifying differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs of pigs under different heat-stress environments using whole transcriptomic RNA-seq analyses. RNA was isolated from blood samples of boars (n = 12) collected at two time points (late winter and middle summer) and labeled as pre-stress when subjected to no heat-stress, and stress when subjected to heat stress for 2 months. Semen parameters, including sperm count, motility, normal morphology, droplets, and rejected ejaculate rate, were measured for boar classification into either tolerant or susceptible to the heat stress. Genes displayed different expression levels between susceptible and tolerant pigs under pre-stress, and stress period respectively. A total of 692 DE genes (654 down-regulated, 38 up-regulated) were found in susceptible pigs compared to tolerant pigs during the pre-stress period. A total of 724 DE genes (622 down-regulated, 62 up-regulated) were found in susceptible pigs compared to tolerant pigs during the heat stress period. Heat stress showed greater effects in significant transcript expression (FDR &lt; 0.05) among susceptible pigs than tolerant pigs with 88 DE genes (51 down-regulated, 37 up-regulated) and 5 DE genes (1 down-regulated, 4 up-regulated), respectively. This study contributed to the expression profiles of transcripts and the exploration of novel genes in pigs responding to heat stress.
144 A modeling framework to assess the impact of the texas beef cattle water footprint on livestock sustainability
Authors: Menendez Hector M , Turner Benjamin L , Tedeschi Luis O 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Anticipated growth in the demand for beef products driven by increased protein consumption, brings into question the efficiency, sustainability, profitability, and social dimensions of water use for U.S. beef production. Current assessment of U.S. beef production provides a wide range (695 to 14,191 L H2O/kg) of water footprint (WF) measurements of green (rainfed), blue (ground or surface), and grey (waste treatment) water use, but lacks defined region-specific estimates. The objective of this ongoing study is to develop a dynamic mathematical model for Texas beef cattle WF (TXWFB) that allows users to estimate a Texas WF, evaluate assumptions and parameters of current WF methodologies, identify water-use inefficiencies, and provide policy recommendations for a sustainable WF. The TXWFB was developed using Vensim DSS™ and evaluated with the Model Evaluation System™. The TXWFB model correctly replicated the previously published Chapagain and Hoekstra (2003; CH2003) water footprint results for beef cattle with a 36-month lifespan in both grazing [11,915 m3/t (0.4 t)] and industrial beef cattle [9636 m3/t (0.545 t)] systems. Then, parameters (diet composition and water footprints) from the CH2003 model were used as inputs into the TXWFB model to develop baseline scenarios for Texas, using ten climate regions (36-month lifespan; baseline grazing µ = 26,389 m3/t and industrial µ = 24,615 m3/t). The baseline results were then compared to grazing and industrial scenarios with regionalized Texas parameters for pasture, forage, and crop production (evapotranspiration, drought), diet/phase/region (cow-calf, stocker, and feedlot; 24 months). The TXWFB predictions for regional grazing (µ = 7,591 m3/t) and industrial (µ = 5,948 m3/t) results were 71 to 75% less than the baseline scenarios (P &lt; 0.05). We concluded that the TXWFB estimates were considerably smaller than those previously published, suggesting that current WF methodologies can be refined to more adequately assess beef cattle WF in the US.
153 Creation of a feed composition database: Machine learning techniques for automated classification of corn grain products, preliminary results
Authors: Schlageter-Tello Andres A , Miller Phil S 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Feed composition tables are a commonly used to develop research projects and to develop animal diets. Currently, the National Animal Nutrition Program aims to create a living database containing feed composition information using large datasets provided by commercial laboratories. Using large datasets should ensure representative nutritional values for feeds included in the database; however, managing large datasets requires computer codes to manage and classify feeds correctly. Thus, the objective of this project was to develop 2 models based on supervised machine learning techniques for automated classification of corn grain product samples. The database used in the study contained 88,057 samples of corn grain products resulting from the screening procedure previously described by Tran et al (2016). Two types of supervised machine learning models were developed: decision tree and random forest. Parameters included for feed classification were: dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, ash, fat, and starch. Models were trained and validated using 70 and 30% of the dataset, respectively. The decision tree and random forest correctly classified 98.3 and 98.8% of validation dataset, respectively. For each corn grain product the performance of the decision tree and random forest were: corn germ = 91 and 91%; corn germ meal = 97 and 95%; corn gluten feed, dry = 99 and 100%; corn gluten feed, wet = 100 and 100%; corn gluten meal = 99 and 100%; corn grain, dry = 99 and 99%; corn grain, high moisture = 100 and 100%; corn grain, steam-flaked = 34 and 53%; corn hominy feed = 83 and 88%; and corn screenings = 44 and 60%, respectively. In conclusion, the random forest was superior to the decision tree approach for classifying corn grain products. Further development is required to improve the performance of models for classifying corn grain steam-flaked and corn screenings
150 Administering an appeasing substance to Bos indicus-influenced beef cattle at weaning and feedlot entry
Authors: Millican Allison , Cooke Reinaldo F , Brandão Alice , Schumaher Thiago , Souza Osvaldo , Castro Thais , Cappellozza Bruno 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Bovine appeasing substance (BAS) is expected to have calming effect in cattle experiencing stressful situations, including weaning and feedlot arrival. In Exp. 1, 186 Bos indicus-influenced calves (73 heifers, 133 bulls) were weaned at 211 ± 1 d of age (d 0). Upon weaning, calves were ranked by sex and body weight (BW), and assigned to receive BAS (Nutricorp, Araras, SP, Brazil; n = 94) or water (CON; n = 92). Treatments (5-mL) were topically applied to the forehead of each animal. Calf BW was recorded and samples of blood and tail-switch hair collected on d 0, 15, and 45. Calves that received BAS had greater (P &lt; 0.01) average daily again (ADG) from d 0 to 15, and BW on d 15 compared with CON. Overall ADG and BW on d 45 were also greater (P &lt; 0.05) in BAS vs. CON. Plasma concentrations of haptoglobin were less (P &lt; 0.01) in BAS vs. CON cattle on d 15, whereas cortisol concentrations in plasma and tail-switch hair did not differ between treatments (P &gt; 0.16). In Exp. 2, 140 B. indicus-influenced bulls (~27 mo of age) were transported from a cow-calf ranch to a commercial feedlot (d -1), and maintained on a single pasture for 24 h. On d 0, bulls were ranked by BW and assigned to receive BAS (n = 70) or CON (n = 70) as in Exp. 1. Bulls receiving BAS had greater (P = 0.04) ADG from d 0 to 15, but less (P &lt; 0.01) ADG from d 15 to 45 compared to CON. No other treatment effects were detected (P &gt; 0.18). Therefore, BAS administration to beef cattle at weaning or feedlot entry had immediate benefits to ADG, which were sustained for 45 d in weaned calves but not in feedlot cattle.
147 Changes in body temperature of lot-fed Bos taurus and Bos indicus steers during a heat wave
Authors: Sammes Stephanie L , Lees Angela M , Cawdell-Smith Judy A , Gaughan John B 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Body temperature (BT) is a reliable method for evaluating the thermal status of cattle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the regulation of BT in B. indicus and B. taurus steers during a heat wave event. Thirty-five steers (466.30±10.2kg) of mixed genotypes (B. taurus, n = 18; B. indicus, n = 17) were used in a larger 100-d study. Cattle were housed in six un-shaded pens at a commercial feedlot. Body temperature data for this were obtained at 1 h intervals over a 3-d heat wave event using in situ abdominal data loggers. Data were analysed using a repeated measures model, using residual maximum likelihood estimation. The model included genotype (B. taurus; B. indicus) and animal ID as random effects and hour as a fixed effect. Mean maximum BT occurred at 1500 h for B. taurus (40.52±0.03ºC) and 0400 h for B. indicus (40.48±0.31ºC). The BT of B. indicus decreased between 0400 h and 0700 h, and then increased to 1100 h (+0.10±0.01ºC/h), before decreasing again. The BT of B. taurus decreased between 0500 h and 0600 h, and then slowly increased (+0.04±0.01ºC/h) to 1500 h. Mean minimum BT occurred at 2100 h for B. taurus (40.12±0.11ºC) and 0700 h for B. indicus (40.00±0.22ºC). B. taurus maintained lower BT (40.21±0.05ºC) between 1900 h and 2200 h compared to B. indicus (40.27±0.05ºC) which may be due to disrupted heat loss mechanisms during the day, highlighting the importance of night time cooling. In response to increasing heat load, BT in B. taurus had slower increases but retained heat for longer, whilst B. indicus BT responded by a series of rapid increases and decreases. Developing an understanding of the differences in BT regulation in B. indicus and B. taurus will allow for more effective heat load management strategies during heat waves to be established.
151 Use of an automated computer vision system to predict body weight and average daily gain in beef cattle in different phases of growth development
Authors: Cominotte Alexandre , Fernandes Arthur Francisco Araujo , Dorea João R R , Rosa Guilherme J M , Machado-Neto Otávio 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Frequent measurements of body weight (BW) in livestock production systems are very important because they allow the assessment of growth development of animals. However, monitoring animal growth through traditional weighing scales is laborious and stressful for animals. Thus, the objectives of this study were to: 1) assess the predictive quality of an automated computer vision system used to predict BW and average daily gain (ADG) in beef cattle; and 2) compare different predictive approaches (Multiple Linear Regression: MLR, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator: LASSO, Partial Least Squares: PLS, and Artificial Neutral Networks: ANN). A total of 234 images of Nellore beef cattle were collected during weaning, stocker and feedlot phase. Biometric body measurements from each animal were performed using 3D images captured with the Kinect® sensor, together with their respective BW acquired using an electronic scale. The biometric measurements were used as explanatory variables for each predictive model. Prediction quality was assessed using a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. The ANN approach resulted on higher precision and accuracy for BW prediction compared to the other methods, with Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP) and squared predictive correlation (r2) equal to: RMSEP = 8.6 kg and r2= 0.91 for weaning; RMSEP = 11.4 kg and r2= 0.79 for stocker, and RMSEP = 7.7 kg and r2= 0.92 for beginning of feedlot. The ANN was also superior for prediction of ADG for the weaning to stocker, weaning to beginning of feedlot, weaning to end of feedlot, stocker to beginning of feedlot and beginning to end of feedlot, with RMSEP: 0.02, 0.02, 0.03, 0.10 and 0.09 kg/d, and r2: 0.67, 0.85, 0.80, 0.51 and 0.82, respectively. Overall, results indicate that an automated computer vision system is a potential tool for real-time measurement of BW and ADG in beef cattle.
155 Impacts of post-weaning growth rate on reproductive development and maternal productivity of replacement beef heifers
Authors: Schubach Kelsey , Cooke Reinaldo F , Brandão Alice , Marques Rodrigo , Bohnert David 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
The objective of this study was to compare growth, reproductive development, and productivity as primiparous in replacement beef heifers receiving diets to yield low (LGAIN), medium (MGAIN), and high (HGAIN) growth rates from weaning until their first breeding season. Seventy-two Angus × Hereford heifers weaned at 7 months of age were managed as a single group on pasture, and individually received supplements to achieve the desired average daily gain (ADG) until breeding (d 183). Accordingly, ADG was greater (P &lt; 0.01) in HGAIN vs. MGAIN and LGAIN (0.85, 0.65, and 0.40 kg/d, respectively), and greater (P &lt; 0.01) in MGAIN vs. LGAIN heifers. Puberty attainment until the breeding season was also greater in HGAIN vs. MGAIN and LGAIN (87, 65, and 56% pubertal heifers, respectively), but similar (P = 0.35) between MGAIN vs. LGAIN heifers. No differences were detected for pregnancy and final calving rate between treatments (P &gt; 0.22), whereas HGAIN and MGAIN heifers were heavier (P = 0.05) at calving compared with LGAIN. Approximately 45 days after calving, milk production was estimated via weight-suckle-weight and milk samples collected from a subset of 10 heifers/treatment. Milk yield was less (P &lt; 0.05) in LGAIN vs. MGAIN and HGAIN (5.0, 6.3, and 6.2 kg/d, respectively), and similar (P = 0.72) between MGAIN and HGAIN heifers. Expression of GLUT1 and GLUT9 in milk fat cells tended to be less (P &lt; 0.09) in LGAIN vs. MGAIN and HGAIN, and similar (P = 0.33) between MGAIN and HGAIN heifers. At weaning, HGAIN and MGAIN heifers had heavier (P &lt; 0.05) calves compared with LGAIN heifers (220, 214, and 206 kg, respectively), despite similar (P = 0.52) calf weaning age among treatments. Therefore, exposing replacement heifers to HGAIN hastened their reproductive development, without impairing milk productivity and calf weaning weight as primiparous cows.
401 Effect of zinc source and ractopamine hydrochloride on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of steers fed in confinement to harvest
Authors: Wagner John , Nelson William T , Engle Terry , Spears Jerry , Heldt Jeff , Laudert Scott 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Four hundred and thirty-two beef steers (346.3 ± 63.7 kg BW) were used to determine the effects of Zn source on feedlot cattle fed ractopamine hydrochloride. Cattle were blocked in groups of 54 by BW and housed in 48 pens containing 9 steers per pen. Pens within a weight block were randomly assigned to treatments in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement, with factors being: 1) 0 or 30.1 mg of ractopamine HCl/kg DM fed during the final 29 days on feed; and 2) Zn source: 90 mg of supplemental Zn/kg DM from ZnSO4; Zn sulfate (67%) + Zn methionine (33%); and Zn from Zn hydroxychloride, fed through the entire feeding period. Cattle were fed a high concentrate finishing diet for 154 d and slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Average daily gain, DMI, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics were determined after slaughter. Zinc source had no impact on live animal performance. Cattle fed ractopamine HCl had greater (P &lt; 0.01) final BW, greater (P &lt; 0.001) ADG, improved (P &lt; 0.001) G:F, heavier (P &lt; 0.01) HCW, and larger (P &lt; 0.05) longissimus muscle compared to non-ractopamine supplemented steers. There was a Zn source by ractopamine interaction (P &lt; 0.01) for dressing percentage. Cattle receiving ractopamine HCl with Zn hydroxychloride had a greater dressing percentage (P &lt; 0.05) when compared to ractopamine HCl cattle fed other Zn sources. Cattle receiving ractopamine HCl with Zn sulfate had a lesser dressing percentage (P &lt; 0.05) when compared to ractopamine HCl cattle fed other Zn sources. Additional Zn source by ractopamine HCl interactions were not significant. These data indicate that Zn source has minimal impacts on feedlot steer performance and carcass characteristics when supplemented to cattle receiving 0.0 or 30.1 mg of ractopamine HCl/kg DM.