Understanding the demographic profile and previous knowledge base of students enrolled in the introduction to animal science course is critical for developing curriculum to enhance student learning. During the fall 2019 semester, students (n=414 of 519) enrolled in the introduction to animal science course at three universities in the Midwest region were evaluated with the objectives of identifying demographic variables and their relation to pre-course and post-course animal agriculture and livestock perceptions. The findings showed that 68% of respondents were female, 58% were animal science majors, and 55% were from hometowns with less than 20,000 people in the population. Forty-eight percent and 36% indicated to have previous agriculture exposure and involvement through FFA and 4-H, while 43% and 55% had no previous involvement in FFA and 4-H, respectively. Companion animals (e.g. dogs and cats) and beef cattle were nearly 50% of students’ species of interest. Additionally, 34% of students felt they had extensive knowledge of companion animals, while 19% indicated they had extensive knowledge in beef cattle and 17% in equine. Students indicated to have the least amount of knowledge in sheep and exotic animals. In addition to species, students indicated their degree of previous knowledge in animal science disciplines. Students (20%) perceived to have extensive knowledge in welfare and well-being but lacked in breeding and genetics. Majority of students recognized animal agriculture as an important industry in their state and were supportive of the growth and expansion of the livestock industry. When asked to respond to statements pertaining to livestock operations, students (49%) strongly agree the use of captive bolt to stun beef and dairy cattle prior to slaughter is acceptable and it is save for livestock producers to perform castration using banding or surgical procedures. Overall, there were pre-course findings that were statistically significant among the demographic profiles of students and their perceptions of livestock operations in the United States, but few post-course findings demonstrated statistical significance. This research suggests the importance of developing curriculum that meets the desires and needs of current students enrolled in an introduction to animal science course.

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To investigate the physiological action of follistatin in the swine ovary a recombinant porcine follistatin (rpFS) with apparent molecular weights of 39, 46, 48, and 50 kDa was expressed and characterized. The rpFS crossreacted with antibodies against native porcine follistatin and with activin A. One rpFS isotype was purified by monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography (rp-305 a.a. FS). In porcine granulosa cell cultures, rp-305 a.a. FS suppressed estradiol-17<math> <f> <g>b</g></f> </math> accumulation (ED50 = 0.9 <math> <f> <g>m</g></f> </math>g/ml) independent of activin. Gilts were vaccinated against rpFS to determine the effect of follistatin immunoneutralization on litter size or ovulation rate. In Experiment 1, forty-seven gilts were vaccinated four times with rpFS (FS n = 23) or with a control vaccine (CTL n = 24). The naturally matured, cycling gilts were bred and piglet numbers were recorded at farrowing. FS vaccination did not increase total litter size. However, grouping by low (<math> <f> <=</f> </math>1:400 n = 16) or high anti-follistatin antibody titer (>1:400 n = 7) responses showed an increased litter size in gilts with a high titer (total piglets: FS high titer = 13.0 ± 0.8; FS low titer = 10.8 ± 0.6; CTL 11.4 ± 0.5; p = 0.08). In Experiment 2, sixty-nine gilts were vaccinated three times with rpFS (n = 35) or CTL (n = 34) vaccines. The gilts were induced and synchronized into estrus using PG600, <math> <f> <rm>PGF<inf>2<g>a</g></inf></rm></f> </math> and boar exposure; cycling gilts received a fourth vaccination. Reproductive tracts were collected two weeks after the second observed estrus (FS n = 14, CTL n = 15). FS vaccination did not increase the number of corpora lutea (FS = 13.2 ± 0.5, CTL = 14.5 ± 0.7) or corpora albicantia (FS = 12.1 ± 1.9, CTL = 12.3 ± 2.0), but appeared to effect normal ovarian morphology increasing the number of blood-filled follicles and corpora lutea. In conclusion, rp-305 a.a. FS appears to negatively affect estradiol accumulation 'in vitro'. Vaccination against follistatin in naturally cycling gilts enhanced litter size. Follistatin vaccination of pharmacologically induced gilts did not increase ovulation rate, but biological effects were apparent suggesting that pharmacological induction of estrus may have confounded the follistatin vaccination treatment.

These experiments present original information on the effect of the antibiotic, tylosin, on the digestibility of rations and on the rate of passage of feed residues in early-weaned pigs. New information is presented on comparative responses of rats and pigs to similar treatments. The effect of treatments on digestibility of ration components was somewhat similar in the two species; an increase in the soybean content of the ration resulted in a more rapid rate of passage in rats but had no effect in pigs. [...]

The greatest advances in medicine during the last century have been in the control of infectious diseases. These successes were based fundamentally upon the discoveries of bacteriologists and others of the relation of micro-organisms to disease processes. On the other hand most of the chronic diseases such as, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, cancer and atherosclerosis have not as yet been shown to have any comparable unifying thread to connect them. [...]

Graduates from 1950 to 2010 with a B.S. degree in animal science from the Department of Animal Science of Texas A&M University were sent questionnaires by e-mail to collect information on how graduates of the department were being influenced in their career decisions by their educational experiences in the department and how they perceived selected components of the program. The questionnaire contained questions about their backgrounds and their careers. It also contained 23 statements to which respondents answered using a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to being strongly agree. Approximately 3,000 questionnaires were e-mailed, and 633 with full data were returned. Male respondents were found to have more agricultural experience than females. Almost half of the males reported that they were in careers related to their animal science degree while slightly more than one-fourth of the females indicated animal science-related careers. Participants who were very experienced in agriculture prior to college were more likely to be in a career related to their animal science degree than were those with other levels of experience. Participants responded with their levels of agreement to statements about their experiences in animal science courses. The statements with the highest level of agreement involved practical, hands-on and generic skills and attributes, industry involvement, and current issues in animal science. Graduates agreed that hands-on involvement with animals in courses and involvement with industry leaders were important. Similarly, they agreed that character, integrity, and work ethic were important attributes to develop in students. Communication skills?both oral and written?were highly important, too. On the other hand, graduates believed that the animal science curriculum did not emphasize creativity and did not provide enough flexibility to emphasize specialized areas of animal science such as companion animals. Continual research about animal science graduates, their academic programs, and their careers is important to track the ever-changing demands and needs of the agricultural industry and of students.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Robert Goodband / In 6 experiments, a total of 1,802 pigs were used to determine: 1) effects of increasing crystalline amino acids in sorghum- or corn-based diets on nursery or finishing pig growth performance; 2) effects of different Zn sources on nursery pig performance; and 3) effects of different corn oil sources on nursery pig performance. In the first set of experiments, corn or sorghum-based diets were supplemented with increasing levels of synthetic amino acids up to the 5[superscript]th limiting amino acid. For nursery pigs, there were no main or interactive effects (P>0.05) of grain source or added amino acids which suggests that balancing up to the fifth limiting amino acid is possible in both sorghum- and corn-based diets with the use of crystalline amino acids without detrimental effects on nursery pig growth performance. For finishing pigs, balancing to the 5[superscript]th limiting AA using NRC (2012) suggested amino acid ratios in corn- or sorghum-based diets resulted in decreased ADG and G:F and pigs fed corn-based diets had greater G:F and IV than those fed sorghum. The second set of studies compared two new zinc sources to a diet containing pharmacological levels of ZnO on nursery pig growth performance. These studies demonstrated that increasing Zn up to 3,000 ppm Zn increased ADG and ADFI. Lower levels of the new zinc sources did not elicit similar growth performance as the high level of ZnO. The third set of studies compared increasing levels of different sources of corn oil to diets containing soy oil. In the first study, an oil source × level interaction was observed (P<0.05) for ADG, G:F and caloric efficiency; however in the second study that compared a different corn oil source there were no interactions observed. Overall, increasing the level of oil from either corn- or soy-oil improved feed efficiency similar to expectations. However, the data suggests that differences in performance can be observed between different corn oil sources derived from different locations. These studies show the benefits of adding either corn or soybean oil in late-phase nursery diets to improve performance, and cost and availability should dictate which source to use.

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