The aim of the thesis was to obtain information on the effect of hybrid combination, gender and weight of cold JUT on carcass ratios in final pig hybrids. 1742 pig carcasses of four hybrid pig combinations were included in the carcass monitoring: PIC, Topigs, Danbred and France Hybrides. The average carcass weight was 89 kg with an average muscle mass of 59.5%, represented mostly by quality classes S and E. The higher fat content of pigs versus gilts was shown. With increasing slaughter weight, the proportion of muscle decreased and the proportion of fat increased.

The aim of this work was to find out and to evaluate the care of a mother and the brood of the Quinea pigs within 24 hours. Two groups of shorthaired Quinea pigs of the smooth breed were observed. The groups were composed of three females of the same age, where some of them were having brood. These individuals were filmed with a camera in a breeding facility. The video recordings were subsequently evaluated with using ethograms and after that with a verbal description of the mother's behavior while caring for her young animals. The recording of the different behavior in pre-prepared ethograms took 24-hours with one minute interval. This included also watching the breastfeeding, the coat caring of the brood, the female´s own feeding and drinking, the movements, the caring for their own hair, the rest (including the sleep), the lack of the interest in the young animals, and in one case also watching the interest of a mother in a dead young animal. In total, there were monitored three mothers in two steady groups. Where in the first group there was a mother (with brood) and two extra females. In the second group there were two mothers (with brood) with one extra female. The Guinea pigs belong to the animals that are caring for their brood since their birth. Throughout the observation period, no significant expelling of the young Guinea pigs was recorded. Until the breastfeeding was stopped, the mother looked after the brood with breastfeeding and with taking care of their coat. Even so, it was found out that most of the Quinea pigs are devoted to their own rest, which took them about half a day, 768 minutes (54 %). The breastfeeding took on average 170 minutes (12 %), however this care has ceased in the last observation. Taking care of the coat of the brood, which also has ceased in the last observation, took the females 15 minutes (1 %). Time spent with self feeding and drinking was 122 minutes (9 %). The female movements around the cage took on average of 306 minutes (21 %). The care for their own coat took 36 minutes (2 %). The expelling of the brood took on average 12 minutes (1 %).

The sperm head contains highly compacted genome. This compaction is mediated by protamines. Sperm protamines are replaced by cytoplasmic histones after the sperm entry into the oocyte. Beside the proteins replacement, also some epigenetic remodeling occurs. One of the most studied epigenetic remodeling in early zygotes is DNA demethylation. This phenomenon was observed in some mammals (mouse, rat, monkey) but not in some other mammals (sheep) and what is more, in some of them quite inconsistent data were published (pig, human, goat, rabbit). In our work we were mostly concentrated on porcine zygotes and attempted to explain the reasons of inconsistency in observed data. Three factors were evaluated in our work - the technique of embryo production, sperm factors, and the oocyte quality. In the first part of the study (the technique of embryo production) we compared the zygotes produced by conventional in vitro fertilization and zygotes produced by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The epigenetic remodeling was evaluated by immunolabeling. There were no differences between zygotes produced by the two mentioned techniques. The paternal genome was not demethylated in any of zygotes. The labeling with anti-H3/K9- me2 (anti dimethyl group on lysine 9 of histone 3) showed the positive labeling of both...

This research project addressed pain at parturition in pigs using three different approaches. Firstly, a survey study explored UK pig farmer and veterinarian attitudes to pain and the use of pain relief in order to understand the commercial context behind decisions relating to pain and its management. Secondly, an observational study was conducted to investigate the use of behaviour to assess pain associated with the process of giving birth (or farrowing) in pigs. A final experimental study was used to investigate the administration of a pain relief drug post-farrowing to improve pig welfare and increase productivity. In a questionnaire to farmers and veterinarians, individuals were asked to identify the anti-inflammatory drugs they used or prescribed and how often for selected conditions in pigs. They were also asked to rate the painfulness of different conditions and indicate their level of agreement with statements about pain and the use of pain relief. Results showed anti-inflammatories were widely used, with high agreement that pigs recovered better when given these drugs. Farmers and vets gave similar scores for painful conditions but females and younger respondents scored higher for specific conditions. The results suggest that potential barriers to the increased use of pain relief include a lack of up to date knowledge and communication between farmers and vets about pain and how best to treat it. A preliminary investigation was conducted to identify novel behavioural measures to assess pain in sows over the periparturient period. A set of spontaneous putative pain behaviours were characterised and quantified, using observations of sows before, during and after farrowing. These potential behavioural pain indicators were rare or absent before farrowing and the highest levels were seen during farrowing. For the post-farrowing observations, levels were highest for the immediate post-farrowing period and remained higher than pre-farrowing values up to 24 hours after the last piglet was born. Positive correlations between behavioural variables measured during and after farrowing indicate the individual consistency in the expression of these behaviours. Putative pain behaviours, along with other measures of welfare and productivity were then used to test the benefits of administering the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen, compared with a saline placebo, 1.5 hours post farrowing in primiparous and multiparous sows. No clear treatment differences were observed for the sow welfare measures, including the putative behavioural indicators of pain. For primiparous sows treated with ketoprofen, fewer piglets died, but this could be due to an unexpected treatment difference in piglet birth weight, which is strongly linked with piglet mortality. Further research is needed to validate the spontaneous behaviours used in this study as indicators of pain in periparturient sows.

A carne suína é, dentre as carnes vermelhas, a mais consumida no mundo, com uma média de consumo mundial de 12,43kg por habitante no ano de 2016. No Brasil, a média de consumo é de 11,97kg por habitante por ano, com tendência de crescimento para os próximos anos. O consumo de carne suína ocorre principalmente sob a forma de produtos industrializados, sendo que os que mais se destacam são os embutidos frescais, no qual se encontra a linguiça frescal. Em virtude da importância da produção e consumo dos derivados de carne suína no país, considera-se importante o estudo das preferências e atributos considerados importantes pelo consumidor desses produtos. Sendo assim, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi estudar o comportamento do consumidor de linguiça frescal no município de Rio Claro-SP. Para isso foi aplicado um questionário online, com perguntas estruturadas, obtendo-se 201 respostas. Em relação ao consumo de linguiça frescal, metade dos entrevistados consomem pelo menos uma vez por semana, sendo que a maior parte do consumo é feita na forma em refeições em casa, seguido pelo churrasco. Em relação à composição da linguiça frescal os fatores que mais preocupam os consumidores é a quantidade de conservantes e aditivos, seguido pela quantidade de sódio e de gordura. A compra da linguiça frescal é feita principalmente em supermercados e açougues, e a maioria prefere comprar à granel. O fator mais importante na escolha da linguiça frescal foi o sabor. As linguiças costumam ser preparadas grelhadas na churrasqueira, fritas ou assadas no forno. A linguiça frescal apresentou ser um produto popular e versátil, sendo consumida por toda a diversidade da população. Assim como ocorre com outros produtos, o consumidor busca um produto com qualidade comprovada e diferenciado. Apesar da complexidade do ser humano e da dificuldade em prever seus comportamentos, o estudo de mercado através de questionário online funcionou como uma boa ferramenta para obtenção de informações sobre os hábitos de consumo de linguiça frescal. Os resultados obtidos nessa pesquisa podem ser fortes aliados nas tomadas de decisão pelas empresas do setor. / Pork is one of the most consumed red meat in the world, with an average worldwide consumption of 12.43kg per inhabitant in 2016. In Brazil, the average consumption is 11.97kg per inhabitant per year, with growth trend for the coming years. Pork consumption takes place in the form of processed products and fresh sausages are the most outstanding products. Because the importance of the production and consumption of pork products in the country, it is considered important to study the preferences and attributes considered important by the consumer of these products. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the behavior of the consumer of fresh sausage in the city of Rio Claro-SP. For this, an online questionnaire was applied, with structured questions, getting 201 responses. In relation to the consumption of fresh sausage, half of the interviewees consume at least once a week, most of which is consumed in the form of home-made meals, followed as barbecue. Regarding the composition of fresh sausage, the factors that most concern consumers are the amount of preservatives and additives, followed by the amount of sodium and fat. The purchase of fresh sausage is made mainly in supermarkets and butcheries, and most prefer to buy unpacked in bulk. The most important factor in choosing fresh sausage was flavor. Sausages are usually prepared grilled, fried or baked. Fresh sausage appeared to be a popular and versatile product, being consumed by a whole diversity of population. As with other products, the consumer seeks a differentiated product with quality assured. Despite the human complexity and the difficulty in predicting their behavior, the market study through an online questionnaire worked as a good tool to obtain habits of consumption of fresh sausage. The results obtained in this research can be strong support for the companies of the sector decisions.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease leading to disrupted function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) anion channel. CF affects many organ systems including the pancreas, liver, intestine, sweat glands, and gallbladder. The leading cause of morbidity and mortality, however, is lung disease. A porcine model of CF was developed, and over time it develops lung disease that recapitulates many of the characteristics observed in humans with CF including airway remodeling, mucus accumulation, infection, and inflammation. At birth, and despite the absence of inflammation and infection, the CF pig airways exhibit a host of abnormalities including tracheal cartilage ring defects, abnormal appearing smooth muscle bundles, reduced trachea diameter, and reduced mainstem bronchi diameter. The primary objectives of this study were to construct an experimental method that allowed for the attainment of airway size information at multiple inflation pressures, to assess the extent of airway narrowing in the newborn CF porcine lung at 20 cmH2O, to determine the tracheal lobe volume for CF and non-CF, and to perform morphologic assessment of the parenchymal airspaces for CF and non-CF newborn pigs. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was selected as the primary analysis tool. The volumetric, high resolution data sets of micro-CT provided a means to virtually track airways through the three dimensional space of the lung, and to image airways as small as 250 microns in diameter. Due to experimental constraints, only one lobe was analyzed: the tracheal lobe; it is the porcine equivalent of the human right upper lobe. Each excised tracheal lobe was cannulated and micro-CT scanned five times. Each lobe was scanned at multiple inflation pressures ranging from 0 to 20 cmH2O. The airways were segmented with a custom designed, substantially-automated computer algorithm. Quantitative analysis of airway size was done with the Pulmonary Workstation 2 software package. At a pressure of 20 cmH2O, the CF airway narrowing was most pronounced in the large airways of the tracheal lobe, and the percent difference in airway cross sectional area between CF and non-CF lessened for airways of smaller size. The volume of the newborn CF pig tracheal lobe was approximately twenty percent smaller than non-CF, but no differences were observed in tracheal lobe airspace histology between the groups. Airway size deviations at birth imply developmental abnormalities in utero that are dependent upon CFTR function. Additionally, the observation that reduced airway caliber exists only in relatively large airways suggests a time-dependent role of CFTR on airway development, as the large airways develop before the small ones in utero. These findings may provide insight to the early pathogenesis of CF lung disease.

Four non-licking guinea pigs were reinforced with water for successive approximations to licking an operandum feeder. Once all subjects had obtained their total liquid intake for a three-week period by licking, an optimum deprivation schedule was determined. Fixed ratio and variable interval schedules were found to affect licking behavior of the guinea pigs being slightly lower than that of the rat. Precise control over the onset and offset of licking was demonstrated through discrimination training.

<p>Forty barrows were used in a 35d experiment to evaluate the effects of supplemental soluble fiber (dextrin) pre- and post-weaning on growth performance, intestinal microbiome, volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, intestinal morphology, and gene expression. Pigs were blocked by litter and BW, and randomly allotted to treatments in a 2x2 factorial design with or without fiber pre-weaning and with or without fiber post-weaning. Dextrin was administered orally through a syringe, after being suspended in chocolate milk from 14d prior to weaning through 3d post-weaning, after which it was included in the diet at 1%. At weaning, pigs were group housed by treatment and allowed ad libitum access to a common starter diet. On d4 post-weaning, pigs were moved to individual pens and fed diets with or without 1% fiber. Weights and feed intake were recorded 14 and 3d prior to weaning, and on d0, 4, 11, and 21 post-weaning. On d0 and d21 post-weaning, pigs were euthanized for collection of tissues and intestinal contents. Ileal, cecal, and colon contents were taken for microbiome analysis, distal large intestine contents were collected for VFA analysis, ileal cross sections were collected for histology, and ileal and cecal mucosal scrapings were collected for intestinal gene expression. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS with pig as the experimental unit for growth performance, VFA production, intestinal morphology, and gene expression. Microbiome data were analyzed using Metastats, to find statistical significance between treatments, and then run through R, using the false discovery rate method, to find a multiple test corrections q-value. Growth performance in general was not affected (<i>P</i>> 0.10) by treatment with the exception of d11-21 feed efficiency was improved (<i>P</i>= 0.018) for pigs receiving supplemental fiber prior to weaning. Pigs that received fiber at any point had increased short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria (<i>q </i>< 0.05) compared to pigs never receiving fiber. Pigs never receiving fiber had increased bacteria associated with intestinal inflammation (<i>q </i>< 0.05) compared to all other treatment groups. A trend for an interaction (<i>P </i>= 0.054) of pre- and post-weaning fiber supplementation<b></b>was observed for total volatile fatty acid concentration in large intestine contents. An interaction (<i>P </i>= 0.007) of pre- and post-weaning treatments was observed on butyrate, with pigs fed fiber only during pre-weaning having the greatest butyrate concentrations. Pigs fed fiber pre-weaning had decreased isobutyrate concentrations (<i>P </i>= 0.050) and percentages (<i>P</i>=0.040) and a trend for decreased isovalerate as a concentration (<i>P</i>= 0.058) and percent of total VFAs (<i>P </i>= 0.051). Pigs fed fiber post-weaning had increased acetate (<i>P </i>= 0.047). An interaction for butyrate percentages was observed with pigs receiving supplemental fiber only prior to weaning having the highest percent of butyrate (<i>P</i>= 0.029). An interaction for valerate concentrations (<i>P </i>= 0.045) occurred with pigs receiving fiber only prior to weaning having the highest amount of valerate. Valerate as a proportion of total VFAs (<i>P </i>= 0.038) was decreased in pigs receiving supplemental fiber post-weaning. Pigs fed fiber prior to weaning tended to have decreased crypt depths (<i>P </i>= 0.097) compared to pigs that did not receive fiber prior to weaning. In the ileum there was an interaction (<i>P </i>= 0.002) for GLP-2 expression, with pigs receiving supplemental fiber solely before or after weaning having the greatest expression. Occludin expression in the ileum tended to increase with fiber supplementation prior to weaning (<i>P</i>= 0.086) but then tended to decrease with fiber supplementation post-weaning (<i>P</i>= 0.053) In the cecum, there was an interaction (<i>P </i>= 0.049) of pre- and post-weaning fiber supplementation<b></b>on GLP-2 expression. Pigs fed supplemental fiber at any point had increased GLP-2 expression, but pigs that had fiber only after weaning had the greatest GLP-2 expression. Cecal HSP-70 expression also increased with fiber supplementation in pigs fed fiber post-weaning (<i>P </i>= 0.012). Soluble fiber supplementation caused alterations in the intestinal microbiome, VFA concentrations, the intestinal morphology, and in the expression of different intestinal genes.</p>

Thesis (M.Sc. (Zoology)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Refer to document

<p>Brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion render the myocardium more resistant to necrosis from a subsequent, otherwise lethal ischemic insult. This phenomenon is called ischemic preconditioning(IP). Today, much is known about the signalling pathways involved in IP; however, the details of the final steps leading to cardioprotection, remain elusive. Adenosine (a catabolite of ATP) plays a major role in the signalling pathways of IP. Following IP there is an unexplained discrepancy between an increased adenosine production (evidenced by increased 5’-nucleotidase activity) and the successively lower adenosine levels observed in the interstitial space. We propose that this discrepancy in adenosine production vs. availability may be due to an increased metabolic utilisation of adenosine by the IP myocardium. According to our hypothesis, IP induces/activates a metabolic pathway involving deamination of adenosine to inosine. Inosine is further catalysed (in presence of Pi) to hypoxanthine and ribose-1-phosphate. Ribose-1-phosphate can be converted to ribose-5-phosphate in a phosphoribomutase reaction. Ribose-5-phosphate is an intermediate of the hexose monophosphate pathway also operative under anaerobic conditions. Hence the ribose moiety of adenosine can be utilised to generate pyruvate and ultimately ATP (via lactate formation) n.b. without any initial ATP investment. Such cost-effective adenosine utilisation may at least partly explain the cardioprotective effect of IP. Objectives & Methods: In the current studies we investigated the role of adenosine metabolism according to the suggested metabolic pathway by addition of adenosine and inhibition of its metabolism during IP as well as by comparing tissue and interstitial levels of key energy-metabolites following different protocols of IP. Furthermore, we studied the importance of the IP protocol with regard to the number of ischemia and reperfusion cycles for the cardioprotective effect of IP. In addition, the validity of the microdialysis technique for experimental in vivo studies of myocardial energy metabolism was evaluated. For these purposes the microdialysis technique, tissue biopsies, and planimetric infarct size estimation in an open chest porcine heart-model was used. Results: Addition of adenosine via microdialysis probes enhanced the interstitial release of inosine, hypoxanthine and lactate in the myocardium of IP-subjects during prolonged ischemia. This finding did not occur in non-preconditioned subjects. Similar addition of deoxyadenosine a non-metabolizable adenosine receptor-agonist, did not evoke the same metabolic response. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is responsible for the conversion of inosine to hypoxanthine being a key enzyme in the above mentioned metabolic pathway. Inclusion of 8' aminoguanosine (a competitive inhibitor of PNP) decreased interstitial hypoxanthine release (as a token of PNP inhibition) and increased the release of taurine (marker of cellular injury) in the ischemic IP myocardium. Addition of inosine (a natural substrate of PNP) reverted these changes. Four IP cycles protected the heart more than one IP cycle as evidenced by morphometric and energy-metabolic data.Proportionally more hypoxanthine was found in the myocardium of IP subjects during prolonged ischemia. The ratio of tissue levels of inosine/hypoxanthine (used as an indicator of PNP activity) was significantly smaller in the IP groups. In addition, myocardial interstitial levels of energy-related metabolites (lactate, adenosine, inosine, and hypoxanthine) obtained by the microdialysis technique correlated with tissue biopsy levels of corresponding metabolites. Conclusions: IP activated a metabolic pathway favouring metabolism of exogenous adenosine to inosine, hypoxanthine and eventually lactate. Inhibition of adenosine metabolism following IP (via inhibition of PNP-activity resulted in enhanced cellular injury.</p><p>PNP-activity is proportionally higher in IP-myocardium. Metabolic utilisation of adenosine in IP-myocardium (as outlined above) may represent a costeffective way to produce ATP and at least partly explain the cardioprotective effect of IP. IP protects the myocardium in a graded fashion. Furthermore, we confirmed the validity of the microdialysis technique (in the current setting) for studying dynamic changes of myocardial energy metabolism.</p>