The legislative procedures regarding wild pigs in the United States are expanding in scope and priority, however, the uniformity of legislation is entropic at best. Each state addresses the issues of wild pigs differently and treatment is based on a priority of resource concerns. An evaluation was conducted at the national level of federal, state, and local policy with regards to wild pig control. Additionally, successful and unsuccessful legislation is evaluated to determine commonalities in the social, economic, and ecological factors contributing to the success or failure of legislation. Information collected provides state legislatures with sample model legislation that can be passed with the support of stakeholders and the citizenry, as well as help guide states into a more uniform system of policy. Furthermore, it provides states without, or with low populations of wild pigs, a proactive suite of legislation to prevent further spread and facilitate eradication of localized populations.

The porcine antral follicle, which consists of an oocyte and surrounding follicular components, including theca, granulosa, and cumulus cells and follicular fluid, is an essential microenvironment for oocyte development and maturation. Investigating cellular and molecular events in the context of the whole follicle will aid in our understanding of interactions between the oocyte and the follicular components. The objective of this dissertation was to develop a novel bioluminescent imaging model to visualize and measure cellular and molecular events in living intact ovarian follicles in vitro. Bioluminescence imaging was employed to facilitate noninvasive, dynamic, and real-time transgene analysis in living intact follicles. The time courses of luciferase-luciferin reactions, effective plasmid DNA and D-luciferin doses and their combinations were determined as the first step toward developing a new real-time bioluminescence imaging model. In addition, the efficient nonviral gene delivery methods: cationic lipid mediated gene transfer (chemical) and electroporation (physical) for the living intact follicles were determined. For the cationic lipid mediated gene transfer method, the 1:3 DNA lipid ratio was optimal. It was also found that the optimal condition of electroporation (4 electric pulses with 100 ms duration at field strength of 100 V/cm) resulted in 15 times higher luciferase activity and increased granulosa cell viability over the cationic lipid mediated gene transfer method. Moreover, increased granulosa cell viability, increased follicular fluid progesterone content, and oocytes with expanded cumulus cells were observed in intact follicles transfected by electroporation at a field strength of 100 V/cm. Finally, bioluminescence imaging was applied to quantify functional and ligand-activated estrogen receptor (ER) activity within living intact follicles. The functional ERs were differentially activated during the different stages of the estrous cycle in the mature sow; the levels of functional ER activity in cultured granulosa cells and intact follicles in vitro were increased from late luteal phase to early follicular phase and then significantly decreased at late follicular phase. The methodology developed herein can be applicable to further our understanding of oocyte and follicle development and oocyte maturation.

No description available.

<p> An experimental evaluation of three desulphurisers for pig iron has been conducted. Sodium vapor, blast furnace slag enriched with cerium oxide and a rare earth alloy named misch metal have been used. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

The objective of this study was to investigate the diet-induced metabolic changes that affect the brain tissue of juvenile pigs with NAFLD. This study explored the liver- brain axis and metabolic markers in the frontal cortex (FC) affected by liver damage. 18 male (M) and 20 female (F) Iberian pigs were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 high-fructose high-fat liquid diets (lard, olive oil, and coconut oil) and fed for 10 consecutive weeks. “Healthy” Iberian pigs were fed a eucaloric diet to establish a physiological baseline. Protein precipitation extraction using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry was performed for primary metabolic and bile acid assays on FC samples. Univariate data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, which included diet as the fixed effect and both replicate and pen nested in the diet as random effects. A more pronounced separation was observed in the PLS-DA between the COC and LAR/OLI diets. LC, C14:0 SM, and kynurenine, all metabolites linked to brain health, showed elevated levels in COC-fed pigs and reduced levels in animals fed OLI. Each of the three diets demonstrated heightened ratios of secondary bile acids to primary bile acids, with OLI-fed pigs showing increased TDCA:CA and TLCA:CA ratios associated with neurodegeneration (MahmoudianDehkordi et al., 2019). In conclusion, results may suggest that LAR could represent a more favorable dietary intervention for promoting brain health in pediatric NAFLD but further research is required.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Ascorbate (Asc) is a key antioxidant in preventing cardiovascular dysfunction during diseases exacerbated by altered shear stress. According to the literature endothelial responses to hypotonic shock share some characteristics with those induced by shear stress. Thus to study the physiological responses of endothelium to shear stress, the characterization of the Asc release by pig coronary artery endothelial cells in response to hypotonic shock was performed. The pig coronary artery endothelial cells that had been loaded with ^14C Asc and ^3H deoxyglucose, were exposed to buffers of varying osmolality for different time periods and the release of ^14C Asc and ^3H deoxyglucose was examined. Based on various parameters like relative release of ^14C Asc and ^3H deoxyglucose, their rate of release and protein loss, it was decided to use buffer of .67 percent osmolality for 2 min for these characterization studies. The Asc release was authentic and not a result of membrane damage. The hypotonic shock induced Asc release was not due to endogenously released ATP. The inhibition of ATP induced release by anion channel inhibitors niflumic acid and NPPB was complete but only partial in case of hypotonic shock induced release. The release was not inhibited under nominally Ca^2+ free conditions. Additive release by hypotonic shock and ATP or hypotonic shock and Ca^2+ ionophore A23187 suggests that there are two independent Asc release pathways. Asc release by two different mechanisms may help endothelial cells deal with stressful conditions efficiently and preserve endothelial function. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

High feed ingredient prices have increased the use of by-products containing a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in pig and chicken feeds. This can increase the oxidation of other feed nutrients as well as causing oxidative stress in animals. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of a dietary antioxidant blend (AOX, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate) in pigs and broiler chickens fed a diet high in oxidants. The objective of the first study was to evaluate the antioxidant blend on growth performance, meat quality, liver function, oxidative status, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid profile in pigs. Crossbred barrows (n = 100, 10.91 ± 0.65 kg, 36 ± 2 d of age, Landrace × Duroc) were allotted to 5 treatments based on body weight (BW, 5 replicate pens per treatment, 4 pigs per pen). Treatments included: 1) HO: high oxidant diet containing 5% oxidized soy oil and 10% PUFA source (containing docosahexaenoic acid, DHA, 3.7% of diet); 2) VE: the HO diet with 11 IU/kg of added vitamin E; 3) AOX: the HO diet with AOX (135 mg/kg); 4) VE+AOX: the HO diet with both vitamin E and AOX; and 5) SC: a standard corn-soy control diet. The trial lasted for 118 d; on d 83, the HO diet pigs were switched to the SC diet because the animals were displaying very poor health. Compared with SC pigs, HO pigs had decreased average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) from d 26 to 82 (P < 0.05). However, after switching the HO pigs to the SC diet, the VE treatment became the most stressed treatment with the poorest performance from d 83 to 118 (P < 0.05). The AOX restored pig performance to a level similar to pigs fed the SC diet (P > 0.05) with greater gain to feed ratio (G:F) for the entire period (P < 0.05). The AOX added treatments also attenuated the enlarged liver symptoms and reduced markers of liver stress including total bilirubin and aspartate transaminase, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and carbonyl concentrations. In addition, the AOX addition in the high oxidant diet restored the lighter carcass weight, less back fat, less lean body mass and smaller loin eye area, decreased dressing percentage and intensive lipofuscin deposition induced by the high oxidant diet. However, the traits of loin muscle redness and belly firmness were not fully corrected by AOX. The second study was to investigate the antioxidant blend and vitamin E on growth performance, oxidative status, meat quality, fatty acid profile, liver function and inflammatory response in broiler chickens. Cobb 500 male broilers (n = 1200, 44.7 ± 0.8 g, d 0) were randomly distributed into 60 floor pens across 6 treatments with 10 replicate pens of 20 chicks each. Treatments included: 1) HO: high oxidant diet with vitamin E at 10 IU/kg, 3% oxidized oil, 3% PUFA source; 2) VE: the HO diet with vitamin E at 200 IU/kg; 3) AOX: the HO diet with AOX at 135 mg/kg, 4) VE+AOX: the HO diet with both vitamin E at 200 IU/kg and AOX at 135 mg/kg, 5) SC: standard control, a corn soy diet with vitamin E at 10 IU/kg, 3% non-oxidized soybean oil, no PUFA source, and 6) PC: positive control, the SC diet with AOX at 135 mg/kg. Compared to the SC birds, the PUFA added treatments (HO, VE, AOX, VE+AOX) groups had greater body weight, ADG and ADFI from d 0 through d 21 (P < 0.05). However, the growth of birds fed the VE treatment fell behind that of other treatments (P < 0.05) during the last 21 d of the trial. Compared to the HO birds, the AOX birds had lower TBARS and greater uric acid concentrations in the plasma, greater gene expression of superoxide dismutase and less drip loss, suggesting enhanced systematic antioxidant capability. In addition, dietary addition of AOX or AOX plus VE moderately improved liver function and reduced inflammation in fat tissue to a level similar to control groups. In both studies, the AOX supplement was effective in preserving PUFA, especially DHA deposition in the back fat of pigs and abdominal fat of chickens. These results suggest that feeding the high oxidant diet caused a series of changes in growth performance, liver function, oxidative status, carcass characteristics and meat quality in pigs, and AOX addition attenuated many of these. The supplementation of AOX also showed some effects on reducing oxidative stress in chickens. However, the effects were not as profound as the pig study. / Ph. D.