1,721,015 research outputs found
Pig production systems and related effects on pre-slaughter animal welfare and meat quality
Get PDFPreslaughter handling practices, such as fasting, transport, mixing and human interventions affect the welfare of pigs and carcass and meat quality individually and cumulatively. Behavioral and physiological studies conducted during the preslaughter period revealed that producer-controlled factors at the farm, such as housing system, previous handling experience, genetics, gender, nutrition and slaughter weight can have an impact on pigs’ ease of handling and sensitivity to stress, which result in loss of profits for the pork chain due to transport losses, reduced carcass value due to lesions and bruises and meat quality defects. Research has shown that pigs originating from enriched housing conditions, not over-selected for lean deposition and trained to be handled are easier to handle and more resilient to the effects of physical stress prior to slaughter. However, the effects on meat quality are not clear. The production of entire males and immunocastrates can be a valid alternative to surgical castration, provided specific practices are applied to limit aggressiveness in mixed group situations and the risk of bruised carcasses. Recommendations for the transport and handling of heavier slaughter pigs must be adapted to improve ease of handling and reduce transport losses, aggressiveness and fatigue-related meat quality defects. The response of pigs to preslaughter physical stress and feed deprivation can be affected by ractopamine dietary supplementation, feed composition and feeding regime. The objective of this paper is to overview the effects of on-farm producer-controlled factors on pigs’ response to preslaughter handling and meat quality, and environmental, social and economical sustainability
Road Transport: A Review of Its Effects on the Welfare of Piglets
Get PDFThe purpose of this review is to present the best available scientific knowledge on key effects of pre-transport and transport factors influencing the response of piglets to transport stress and post-transport recovery. To date, research on piglet transportation particularly focused on the effects of season (i.e., heat and cold stress), vehicle design features (ventilation type and deck/compartment location), space allowance and transport duration, and piglet genetics. More specifically, in this review the effect of transport duration has been dealt with through its impact on death rate, behaviour and physiological response, and feeling of hunger and thirst. Based on the available literature, clear conclusions can be drawn on the vulnerability of piglets to heat stress during transport. Both short and long transportation have an effect on piglet welfare, with effects being biased by the genetic background, ambient conditions and vehicle design. Further studies investigating the impact of factors such as vehicle design, truck stocking density and environment, piglet genetic background, and weaning age are needed
Which genes are best indicators for lesion age determination on the pig carcass? A preliminary study.
No full textAssessing the age of lesions on the carcass may help determine the time of their infliction and identify the causes. This study aimed at identifying which genes are the best indicators of lesion age on the pig carcass. Five identical lesions were inflicted at the same time on the shoulders of 10 pigs (100± 20 kg) using a piglet’s lower jaw. Five biopsies on each pig were performed at 1, 4, 8, 24 and 48h after injury (1 biopsy per lesion). Intact skin was the control. Local anaesthetic and analgesics were used to reduce pain. To assess the effect of slaughter and carcass treatment on gene expression, 5 of the 10 pigs were slaughtered 24h after the infliction of two lesions in the hams. Biopsies were taken before and after slaughter (BS and AS, respectively), and after carcass singeing. The qPCR method was used to quantify the expression of 98 genes involved in wound healing, using the 2^(-CT) method. Since carcass handling induced a degradation of the RNA, only samples taken before carcass dehairing were used. Genes that were not differently expressed between BS and AS were first tested on 5 pigs in all lesion age categories. Fourteen selected genes were then tested on all pigs. Statistical analyses were performed using the PROCMIXED procedure of SAS. Eight genes (CCL2, COX2, IL2, IL6, IL8, MMP1, SERPINE1, TIMP1) presented different expression patterns by the age of the lesion (P<0.05). In particular, COX2 appears to be a useful indicator of lesions of 1h (1h=6.2 [3.2-12.1], 4h=1.4 [0.7-2.6], 8h=1.7 [0.9-3.4], 24h=1.6 [0.8-3.1], 48h=1.1 [0.6-2.2]; P<0.01), and MMP1 of 4-8h (1h=1.9 [0.7-5.5], 4h=35.6 [12.4-102.3],8h=19.2 [6.7-55.3], 24h=4.0 [1.4-11.4], 48h=1.3 [0.4-3.6]; P<0.001). Based on their different expression by age of lesion, the identified genes may be used in larger-scale studies to validate on-field methods for this assessment
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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