bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A note on the performance and management of calves reared on cold acidified milk replacer fed ad libitum
Authors: Thickett W. S. , Cuthbert N. H. , Brigstocke T. D. A. , Lindeman M. A. , Wilson P. N. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTResults are presented from six trials dealing with aspects of management on the cold ad libitum system of calf rearing using an acidified milk replacer containing over 600 g skim milk powder per kg.Thirty-six calves were housed in pens of six for each trial and were fed through a teat and pipeline from a storage barrel. Acidified milk replacer, pH 5·6, was mixed cold at 125 g/1 and made available ad libitum to 3 weeks. A rationed allowance was given daily, on a reducing scale, over the following 2 weeks with weaning completed at 35 days. A pelleted dry food containing 180 g crude protein per kg, together with water in buckets and barley straw in racks, was available ad libitum throughout. Each trial lasted 8 weeks. Results for the mean of the six cold ad libitum trials involving 216 calves were compared with the mean results of 10 conventional bucket-fed trials carried out separately at the same unit, involving 912 calves. All calves were purchased British Friesian male (bull) calves.Calves on the ad libitum system showed improved live-weight gains of 9·4 kg at 3 weeks, 8·8 kg at 5 weeks and 7·5 kg at 8 weeks, compared with the conventional system. The consumption of milk replacer powder was higher in ad libitum trials at 29·4 kg cf. 12·5 kg by bucket but intake of pelleted dry feed was lower on the ad libitum system at 50·7 kg cf. 71·3 kg to 8 weeks. Calf appearance scores were significantly improved on the ad libitum system which gave the main improvement in performance in the first 3 weeks.
Performance of Friesian cows with high and low breeding indexes 1. Stall feeding and grazing experiments and performance during the whole lactation
Authors: Grainger C. , Davey A. W. F. , Holmes C. W. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTThe performance of 38 Friesian cows with either high or low breeding indexes was measured during the whole lactation and in short-term experiments where the cows were individually given cut pasture in stalls, or grazed on pasture.Cows with high breeding indexes produced more milk fat than did cows with low breeding indexes in the short-term experiments, and during the whole lactation. There was close agreement between the expected differences (predicted from breeding indexes) and the measured differences in milk fat yield. When fresh cut pasture was given ad libitum in stalls the intake per cow was the same between genotypes. However, when intake was expressed per unit of metabolic weight, the mean pasture drymatter intake of the high breeding index cows was 1·05 of that of the low breeding index cows, but the difference was significant in only one of the four indoor feeding experiments.The difference between genotypes in size was not regarded as significant because the differences in mean live weight at calving (high breeding index – low breeding index) of the animals purchased in the 1st and 2nd years were –28 and 9 kg respectively. During the whole lactation, low breeding index cows gained significantly more live weight and lost significantly less body condition than did the high breeding index cows. No significant differences in live-weight and body-condition changes could be detected during the shorter periods (4 to 5 weeks) of the indoor feeding and grazing experiments.It can be calculated that the higher milk production of the high breeding index cows could be explained partly because they eat more (per unit metabolic live weight) and more importantly because they divert a higher proportion of the food they eat to milk production and a lower proportion to live-weight gain than do the low breeding index cows.
A mathematical equation for animal growth from embryo to adult
Authors: Moore A. J. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTAn attempt is made to meet the need for a single standardized growth equation to cover the entire period from conception to adulthood in a wide range of mammalian species. It is suggested that an ideal equation is one which adequately describes the overall shape of a growth curve and, in addition, can be extended or modified to give greater flexibility and higher precision as necessary. The structure of such an equation is discussed and results in the derivation of a logistic relationship between adjustable ‘flexibility’ functions of size and time.Data from eight species are examined and in both its basic and extended forms the equation is found to give acceptable fits to individual species and to provide a useful mean standardized growth curve for mammals.
Backfat quality in boars and barrows at 90 kg live weight
Authors: Wood J. D. , Jones R. C. D. , Bayntun J. A. , Dransfield E. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTForty male commercial hybrid pigs, half castrated at 10 days of age, were used in a study to determine whether boars at bacon weight (90 kg live weight) have different fat quality from barrows. Fat quality was defined as the firmness and cohesiveness of subcutaneous fat, both properties being measured using an Instron materials testing instrument. Within each group of boars and barrows, half the pigs were fed a normal commercial diet and half a lower energy diet at a lower level of food intake. The latter diet provided relatively more energy as C18:2 (linoleic acid).Firmness of subcutaneous fat was related to fat thickness and to concentrations of the chemical components in the fat which are affected by fat thickness. The single best predictor of firmness was C18:0 (stearic acid). Cohesiveness was less closely related to fat thickness and was most associated with the concentration of C18:2.On the low energy/high C18:2 diet, all the pigs were judged to have soft fat, the difference between boars and barrows being small and explained by the difference in fat thickness. On the normal commercial diet, some barrows had particularly firm fat but they had thicker fat than any of the boars. Most (0·84) of the pigs in the experiment had P2 values (fat thickness over the m. longissimus at the last rib) between 8 and 15 mm. In this range there was no difference in firmness between boars and barrows. Cohesiveness was also similar between boars and barrows.
The voluntary intake of roughages by steers
Authors: Blaxter K. L. , Wilson R. S. 
Published: September 2010

1. Four roughages were given ad lib. to each of eight steers. The amount consumed and the apparent digestibility of the energy of each roughage were determined together with the weight gains of the steers.2. The mean voluntary intake of dry matter was related to the mean apparent digestibility of the energy of the roughages in the same quantitative way for the steers as had been noted with sheep. Mean weight gains were proportional to the mean number of calories of energy apparently digested.3. Significant differences between individuals occurred in their voluntary food intakes, and those animals which consumed most digested it least efficiently. The variation in intake from individual to individual expressed as a standard deviation was ±7·5% of the mean.4. The quantitative similarity of sheep and cattle as far as the relationship between their voluntary consumption of food of different apparent digestibility is concerned, is contrasted with their dissimilarity with respect to fasting metabolism. It is suggested that sheep are likely to prove more efficient convertors of the energy of roughages to body gain than are cattle.Further work is clearly necessary to explore the extent of these differences.
Growth of bovine tissues 1. Genetic influences on growth patterns of muscle, fat and bone in young bulls
Authors: Berg R. T. , Andersen B. B. , Liboriussen T. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractCarcass composition and growth patterns for muscle, fat and bone were compared among 277 young male progeny of eight sire breeds, serially slaughtered at 300 kg live weight, 12 months and 15 months of age. The sire breeds were Simmental (SIM), Charolais (CHA), Danish Red and White (DRK), Romagnola (ROM), Chianina (CHI), Hereford (HER), Blonde d'Aquitaine (BDA) and Limousin (LIM). Tissue growth patterns among breeds were examined by regression estimates from the allometric growth equation (Y = axb) and compositional differences were estimated from the intercepts. No significant sire breed differences were found in the regression of muscle, fat or bone on various size dimensions. In regressions involving fat, however, the fattest (HER) had higher regressions and the leanest (BDA) fattened more slowly relative to muscle and bone growth. Breeds differed significantly in amount of muscle, fat and bone when compared at standard weights.Sire breed ranking for muscle at common bone weights was LIM, BDA, CHA, SIM, HER, ROM, DRK and CHI, while at common carcass weights the ranking was BDA, CHA, LIM, CHI, ROM, SIM, DRK and HER, reflecting differences in fatness. Minor changes in ranking occurred when comparisons were made at a common live weight reflecting differences in dressing percentage. For fat at standard muscle, carcass or live weight the breeds ranked HER, LIM, DRK, SIM, ROM, CHA, CHI and BDA.
Studies in sow reproduction. 2. The effect of lactation length on the subsequent reproductive performance of the sow
Authors: Cole D. J. A. , Varley M. A. , Hughes P. E. 
Published: September 2010

SUMMARYForty litters were weaned from their Landrace × Landrace × Large White dams at 2-day intervals to give a range of lactation lengths from 4 to 42 days. A significant (P<0·001) negative curvilinear relationship was observed between lactation length and the interval from weaning to first oestrus. This period was increased by 4·2 days with the reduction of lactation from 42 to 4 days. The relationship between lactation length and the interval from farrowing to remating was significant (P<0·001) and positively linear over the whole range of observations. A decrease of 1 day in lactation length reduced this interval by 0·91 days. Very short lactations were associated with reduced litter size at the following farrowing; sows weaned after lactation lengths between 4 and 21 days had an average litter size of 9–6 piglets born per litter in the next parity, whereas sows weaned following lactation lengths between 21 and 42 days had an average of 12·7 piglets born in the next parity (P<0·01).
Effect of lactation length of the sow on plasma progesterone, oestradiol 17-β and embryonic survival
Authors: Varley M. A. , Peaker R. E. , Atkinson T. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTThirty-three Landrace × Large White multiparous sows were allocated randomly to one of three treatment groups, and were weaned after a 10-day (treatment A), 21-day (treatment B) or 42-day lactation (treatment C). All sows were bled regularly from weaning through to day 24 post coitum, at which time the sows were slaughtered and their reproductive tracts recovered and dissected.Ovulation rates were similar for all groups. Embryo survival for treatments A, B and C respectively was 0·638, 0·728 and 0·777 but this difference was not significant. Oestradiol 17-β concentrations were significantly higher in sows weaned after 10-day lactations throughout the whole period from weaning to day 10 post coitum compared with the other two treatment groups (P < 0·001).
A note on a stochastic model to describe the milk yield of a dairy cow
Authors: Goodall E. A. , Sprevak D. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTBy studying the behaviour of the time series of the difference between the observed values of milk yield and the fitted lactation curve, a stochastic model for milk yield is derived. The model is used to improve the fit of the lactation curve, to forecast milk yield and to generate simulated values of milk yield.
Changes in body composition relative to weight and maturity of Australian Dorset Horn rams and wethers. 1. Carcass muscle, fat and bone and body organs
Authors: Butterfield R. M. , Zamora J. , Thompson J. M. , Reddacliff K. J. R. , Griffiths D. A. 
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACTMaturing patterns of carcass muscle, fat and bone and of body organs were established relative to live weight, using data from 20 Dorset Horn rams and 20 Dorset Horn wethers. The sheep were fed a pelleted ration from soon after weaning and individual sheep of both groups slaughtered at 6-kg increments in live weight from 18 kg to maturity at approx. 100 and 96 kg for the rams and wethers, respectively. This small difference in mature weight was mostly due to the weight of the testes and the increased weight of the head in mature rams.As proportions of live weight, the mature rams had more carcass muscle and bone and less carcass fat than the mature wethers. In the mature animals the body organs in general comprised similar proportions of live weight in the two groups. However the head, hide and blood were proportionately heavier in the mature rams. The liver and alimentary tract were heavier in the mature wethers.The maturing patterns for the three carcass tissues were not different for the two groups. However, many of the body organs matured on different patterns in the rams and wethers.As the mature live weights and the maturing patterns for carcass tissues and some body organs were not different for the two groups, comparisons of the proportions of these tissues in rams and wethers would yield similar conclusions on an equal weight basis, as on the basis of the same proportion of maturity. However, comparisons of the proportions comprised by some body organs need to take account of different maturing patterns, as comparisons at different stages of maturity will each give different answers.
Physiological response of swine to cycling environmental conditions
Authors: Bond T. E. , Kelly C. F. , Heitman H. 
Published: September 2010

Rectal and surface temperatures, and respiration and pulse rates, were obtained for groups of Duroc pigs that were exposed to air temperatures that varied sinusoidally over a 24-hour period. Two groups averaging 37 and 108 kg were exposed to a constant temperature of 21·1°C and then to temperatures that cycled about a mean of 21·1°C (15·6–26·7°C, 10·0–32·2°C, and 4·4–37·8°C). For a third group averaging 53 kg, the minimum was always near 21·1°C, and the maximum air temperature of the cycle was 33·2, 42·5 or 48·8°C.The response of rectal and surface temperatures, and pulse and respiration rates, to the various 24-hour cycling air temperatures are discussed and com-pared with inherent daily fluctuations in these responses that are present even when there is no variation in air temperature.
The performance of Finnish Landrace sheep in Britain
Authors: Donald H. P. , Read J. L. 
Published: September 2010

A group often female and five male Finnish Landrace sheep were taken to Scotland in 1962. In subsequent purebreeding for four years they and their offspring have shown average litter sizes (at birth) of 2·0, 3·0 and 3·4 for ewes aged one, two and three or more years respectively.Body weights of breeding ewes prior to mating were on average 72, 106 and 128 lb for ewes of the three age groups.Mean ewe fleece weights were 4·5 lb with the wide range of 1·7 to 7·1 lb due in part to some shedding of fleece wool in spring. The quality of the true wool in the undercoat was estimated at 54–56's.
The effect of jute coats on the heat losses of two breeds of sheep exposed to different environments
Authors: Webster A. J. F. , Park C. 
Published: September 2010

Experiments were carried out to measure the effects of wearing jute coats on the heat production and external insulation of Blackface and Cheviot sheep during exposure to different types of cold environment. The results showed that wearing coats did not appreciably increase external insulation in cold conditions at wind speeds up to 10 mph when the fleece was dry. In cold, wet and windy conditions, wearing coats prevented moisture from penetrating the fleece of the sheep so that external insulation was 25–27 units when the sheep were wearing coats, but only 15–18 units when they were not.It has been shown that few environments likely to occur in Britain constitute a cold stress for grazing sheep if their external insulation is above 25 units. Wind and rain reduced the external insulation of sheep with full winter fleeces below this value only when they were not wearing coats. It is concluded, therefore, that jute coats have a considerable value in ameliorating the effects of cold stresses of the type likely to be encountered by hill sheep wintered out of doors in the British Isles.
Antiquarian Attitudes: Crossed Legs, Crusaders and the Evolution of an Idea
Authors: Harris Oliver D 
Published: September 2010

AbstractSince the sixteenth century, both scholarly and popular readings of tomb monuments have assigned a series of interpretations to medieval effigies with crossed legs. These have included the beliefs that the effigies dated from before the Norman Conquest; that they commemorated crusaders, or those who had taken crusading vows; and that they commemorated Knights Templar. The ‘crusader’ theory has proved particularly tenacious, and, although largely discredited by scholars, continues to flourish in folk wisdom. This paper charts the emergence and dissemination of these several ideas and the debates they engendered. It argues that the early modern identification of the cross-legged attitude as a noteworthy feature was, despite its mistaken associations, a landmark in the story of the formulation of techniques for the typological diagnosis of antiquities.
Gildas and the Schools of Cirencester
Authors: Breeze Andrew 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThe life of Gildas by an eleventh-century Breton monk mentions his education at ‘Iren’. Though often taken to mean ‘Ireland’, this is more probably a corruption of ‘Cerin’, the Old Welsh name of ‘Corinium’ or Cirencester. If so, it implies the survival in sixth-century Britain of traditional Roman schools.
What can the absence of anarchism tell us about the history and purpose of International Relations?
Authors: PRICHARD ALEX 
Published: September 2010

AbstractAnarchism does not feature in contemporary international relations (IR) as a discreet approach to world politics because until very recently it was antithetical to the traditional use-value of a discipline largely structured around the needs and intellectual demands of providing for the world's Foreign Offices and State Departments. This article tells part of the story of how this came to be so by revisiting the historiography of the discipline and an early debate between Harold Laski and Hans Morgenthau. What I will show here is that Morgenthau's Schmittian-informed theory of the nation state was diametrically opposed to Laski's Proudhon-informed pluralist state theory. Morgenthau's success and the triumph of Realism structured the subsequent evolution of the discipline. What was to characterise the early stages of this evolution was IR's professional and intellectual statism. The subsequent historiography of the discipline has also played a part in retrospectively keeping anarchism out. This article demonstrates how a return to this early debate and the historiography of the discipline opens up a little more room for anarchism in contemporary IR and suggests further avenues for research.
Role of cyclic AMP in the maturation ofCiona intestinalisoocytes
Authors: Silvestre Francesco , Gallo Alessandra , Cuomo Annunziata , Covino Tiziana , Tosti Elisabetta 
Published: September 2010

SummaryImmature oocytes are arrested at prophase I of the meiotic process and maturation onset is indicated by oocyte nuclear disassembly (germinal vesicle breakdown or GVBD). Signaling pathways that elevate intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) may either prevent or induce oocyte maturation depending on the species. In some marine invertebrates and, in particular, in ascidian oocytes, cAMP triggers GVBD rather than blocking it. In this paper, we tested different cAMP elevators in fully grown oocytes at the germinal vesicle stage (GV) of the ascidianCiona intestinalis. We demonstrated that through the activation of adenylate cyclase or the inhibition and phosphodiesterases the oocyte remained at the GV stage. This effect was reversible as the GV-arrested oocytes, rinsed and incubated in sea water, are able to undergo spontaneous maturation and extrusion of follicle cells. In addition, oocytes acquire the ability to be fertilized and start early development. However, morphology of follicle cells, embryos and larvae fromin vitromatured oocytes showed different morphology from those derived fromin vivomature oocytes. The role and the transduction mechanism of cAMP in the regulation of oocyte maturation were discussed. Finally, we indicated a variation of biological mechanisms present in the ascidian species; moreover, we sustain evidence proving that tunicates share some biological mechanisms with vertebrates. This information provided new hints on the importance of ascidians in the evolution of chordates.
Reproductive performance of pigs selected for components of efficient lean growth
Authors: Kerr J. C. , Cameron N. D. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractCorrelated responses in reproductive performance to five generations of divergent selection for daily food intake (DFI), lean food conversion (LFC), lean growth rate on ad–libitum feeding (LGA), and lean growth rate on scale feeding (LGS) were studied. Litter traits were measured on 1220 Large White gilts. Mean litter weights at birth and weaning were 12·9 kg and 63·5 kg, with average litter sizes of 10·3 and 7·9. Responses to selection in the high and low lines for litter size in the DFI and LFC selection groups were 1·9 and –1·5 (s.e.d. VI) at birth and 0·9 and –1·8 (s.e.d. 1·2) at weaning. Responses in litter birth weights were respectively positive and negative for DFI and LFC (3·0 and –2·8 (s.e.d. 1·4) kg) and the response in LGS (3 kg) was greater than in LGA (–0·1 kg). Selection line differences in litter weaning weight followed a similar pattern to birth weight for DFI and LFC (17·5 and –17·3 (s.e.d. 10·1) kg). Responses in litter weights were a result of selection line differences in both litter sizes and piglet weights. The relationships between litter size, litter weights and piglet weights at birth and weaning were essentially linear. An extra piglet at birth and weaning corresponded to an increase of 1·0 (s.e. 0·02) kg and 6·9 (s.e. 0·1) kg in litter weights. Piglet birth and weaning weights were decreased by 0·03 (s.e. 0·003) kg and 0·19 (s.e. 0·02) kg. A uterine constraint on piglet growth was implied, but there was no evidence for a limit to uterine capacity. Heritabilities for litter size, weight and piglet weight at birth of 0·06, 0·11 (s.e. 0·04) and 0·16 (s.e. 0·02) respectively were similar to those at weaning. Common environmental effects on piglet weights at birth and weaning were substantially higher than the heritabilities (0·38 and 0·45, s.e. 0·01). The study indicated that selection for lean growth on either an ad–libitum or restricted feeding regime did not significantly affect reproductive performance, but the high lean food conversion ratio and low daily food intake selection lines had impaired reproductive performance.