• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4_spc
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• pp.730-741
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• 2024

Pig production is one of the viable enterprises of the livestock sub-sector of agriculture. It contributes significantly to the economy and animal protein supply to enhance food security in Africa and globally. This article explored the present status of pig production in Africa, the challenges, prospects and potentials. The pig population of Africa represents 4.6% of the global pig population. They are widely distributed across Africa except in Northern Africa where pig production is not popular due to religio-cultural reasons. They are mostly reared in rural parts of Africa by smallholder farmers, informing why majority of the pig population in most parts of Africa are indigenous breeds and their crosses. Pig plays important roles in the sustenance of livelihood in the rural communities and have cultural and social significance. The pig production system in Africa is predominantly traditional, but rapidly growing and transforming into the modern system. The annual pork production in Africa has grown from less than a million tonnes in year 2000 to over 2 million tonnes in 2021. Incidence of disease outbreak, especially African swine fever is one of the main constraints affecting pig production in Africa. Others are lack of skills and technical know-how, high ambient temperature, limited access to high-quality breeds, high cost of feed ingredients and veterinary inputs, unfriendly government policies, religious and cultural bias, inadequate processing facilities as well as under-developed value-chain. The projected human population of 2.5 billion in Africa by 2050, increasing urbanization and decreasing farming population are pointers to the need for increased food production. The production systems of pigs in Africa requires developmental research, improvements in housing, feed production and manufacturing, animal health, processing, capacity building and pig friendly policies for improved productivity and facilitation of export.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.158-164
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• 2005

A practical approach was proposed to produce transgenic chimeric chickens using blastodermal cells (BCs). The chicken BCs were mechanically dissociated and transferred into the recipient eggs that had been exposed to 500 rads irradiation of$^{60}Co$ and windowed on the equatorial plane. Chimeric chickens were generated using two models: the crosses (MXL) from Black Minors (ii,EE,b/b) ♂${\times}$Barred Leghorns (ii,ee,B/-) ♀ as donors and White Leghorns (WL, II) as acceptors (Model 1), or the Black Heifengs (BH, ii,EE,bb) as donors and Hua-xing white (HW, II) as recipients (Model 2). The treated eggs were incubated in their original shells in normal conditions until hatching. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was transferred into the BCs derived from MXL and BH via lipofectamine and the pEGFP-C1, and transfection efficiency into the BCs was examined under a fluorescent microscope. Potential transgenic chimeras were selected based on the proposed methods in this study. Using the fresh BCs, the best rate of phenotypic chimeras was 6.7% and 26.0% in model-1 groups, and model-2 groups, respectively. We also described the optimized conditions for transfection. Although 30% of the BCs transfected in vitro emitted green light under an inverted fluorescent microscope, no embryos injected with the transfected BCs expressed foreign GFP gene at 3-4 days.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.879-890
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the use of Megasphaera elsdenii (M. elsdenii) as a probiotic on rumen fermentation, production performance, carcass traits and health of ruminants by integrating data from various related studies using meta-analysis. Methods: A total of 32 studies (consisted of 136 data points) were obtained and integrated into a database. The parameters integrated were fermentation products, rumen microbes, production performance, carcass quality, animal health, blood and urine metabolites. Statistical analysis of the compiled database used a mixed model methodology. Different studies were considered random effects, while M. elsdenii supplementation doses were considered fixed effects. p-values and the Akaike information criterion were employed as model statistics. The model was deemed significant at p<0.05 or had a tendency to be significant when p-value between 0.05<p<0.10. Results: Supplementation with M. elsdenii increased (p<0.05) some proportion of fermented rumen products such as propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, and valerate, and significantly reduced (p<0.05) lactic acid concentration, acetate proportion, total bacterial population and methane emission. Furthermore, the probiotic supplementation enhanced (p<0.05) livestock production performance, especially in the average daily gain and body condition score. Regarding the carcass quality, hot carcass weight and carcass gain were elevated (p< 0.05) due to the M. elsdenii supplementation. Animal health also showed improvement as indicated by the lower (p<0.05) diarrhoea and bloat incidences as well as the liver abscess. However, M. elsdenii supplementation had negligible effects on blood and urine metabolites of ruminants. Conclusion: Supplementation of M. elsdenii is capable of decreasing ruminal lactic acid concentration, enhancing rumen health, elevating some favourable rumen fermentation products, and in turn, increasing production performance of ruminants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.781-784
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• 2000

A study was conducted to examine the influence of maize (Zea mays) and cowpea (Vigna unguniculata) intercropping on fodder biomass production and silage characteristics. Maize fodder was cultivated alone and intercropped with cowpea at seed ratio of 85:15 and 70:30. Fodder was harvested at heading stage (at about 35% dry matter). The data indicated significant increase in biomass and crude protein production of maize intercropped with cowpea at seed ratio 70:30 followed by seed ratio 85:15 as compared to maize alone. However, no (p>0.05) difference was observed in TDN production among the three treatments. Four types of silages from, I) maize alone, II) maize and cowpea (85:15), III) maize and cowpea (70:30) and IV) maize supplemented with 2.5% urea were prepared. After 60 days of ensiling period, silage samples were analysed for proximate composition and fermentation characteristics. Crude protein and lactic acid values of silages I, II, III and IV were 8.52, 9.82, 14.90 and 13.96% and 9.00, 9.38, 10.86 and 7.43%; respectively. In situ dry matter digestibility was maximum in silage III followed by silages II, IV and I. The results suggested that intercropping of maize and cowpea at seed ratio 70:30 increased fodder production and produced quality silage.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1430-1434
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• 2005

We conducted two experiments to assess the effect of transfer from housing to grazing on stress hormone secretion in cattle using urine samples. In a preliminary experiment, urine samples were collected following an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge, and cortisol levels in urine were compared with the levels in plasma. In a second experiment, urinary cortisol was measured before and after the start of a grazing season in 6 Japanese Shorthorn cows, all of which had experienced grazing before. In experiment 1, urinary cortisol showed a pattern of changes similar to that of plasma with a 0.5-h temporal lag time, and the peak levels were 4 to 10 times higher than the basal levels. In experiment 2, the urinary cortisol levels in cows did not change after the cows were let out to pasture, with no decreases in body weight. This study suggests that the transfer from housing to grazing did not affect physiological responses to cause high excretion of urinary cortisol in grazing-experienced cattle using a non-invasive sampling method.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.605-614
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• 2007

Feeding pigs used to be a means of managing domestic resources that may otherwise have been wasted into valuable animal protein. Feeding pigs thus was a form of husbandry. Following recent rapid industrial development, pig rearing has changed from extensive to intensive, but this transformation has been associated with major concerns. The concentration of large amounts of pig manure in small arrears is environmentally hazardous. Moreover, high densities of animals in intensive production systems also impose a health threat for both animals and humans. Furthermore, the use of growth promoters and preventive medicines for higher production efficiencies, such as in-feed antibiotics, also induces microbial resistance thus affects human therapeutics. In addition, consumers are questioning the ethics of treating animals in intensive production systems. Animal welfare, environmental and bio-safe issues are re-shaping the nature of pig production systems. Feeding pigs thus involves not only the consideration of economic traits, but also welfare traits and environmental traits. Thus, a focus on technological feasibility, environmental sustainability and social desirability is essential for successful feeding operations. Feeding pigs now involves multiple projects with different sustainability goals, but goal conflicts exist since no pattern or scenario can fulfill all sustainability goals and the disagreements are complicated by reduced or even no use of in-feed antibiotics. Thus it is difficult to feed pigs in a manner that meets all goals of high quality, safe product, eco- and bio-sustainability, animal welfare and profit. A sustainable pig production system thus requires a prioritization of goals based on understanding among consumers, society and producers and needs to view from both a local and global perspective.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.890-894
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• 2002

The accuracy of the gamma function to describe lactation curve of Yankasa ewes was investigated using milk production data obtained from 168 ewes with either complete or incomplete 84 day lactation records. Ewes were daily hand milked after over-night separation from lamb and thorough disinfection of the udder. The daily milk yield on the average was estimated from the weekly total yield. The effect of type of birth, parity, season of birth and lactation length on the components of lactation curve (a, b, c and s) were analysed by least-square procedures. All factors except parity significantly (p<0.01) influenced the curve parameters. The goodness of fit of the function did not differ between the two classes of varying duration of lactation; incomplete lactation however, showed a lower persistency and as expected lower level of production. Correlations ($r_p$) between lamb weight gain and milk yield using the weight records from lamb weighed at weekly intervals indicated a high and positive relationship in the early lactation that decreased in intensity as the lactation advanced.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.1159-1168
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• 2021

Ovotransferrin (OTF), an egg protein known as transferrin family protein, possess strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. This is because OTF has two iron binding sites, so it has a strong metal chelating ability. The present study aimed to evaluate the improved immune-enhancing activities of OTF hydrolysates produced using bromelain, pancreatin, and papain. The effects of OTF hydrolysates on the production and secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 macrophages were confirmed. The production of nitric oxide (NO) was evaluated using Griess reagent and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). And the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α and interleukin [IL]-6) and the phagocytic activity of macrophages were evaluated using an ELISA assay and neutral red uptake assay, respectively. All OTF hydrolysates enhanced NO production by increasing iNOS mRNA expression. Treating RAW 264.7 macrophages with OTF hydrolysates increased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the phagocytic activity. The production of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by OTF hydrolysates was inhibited by the addition of specific mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors. In conclusion, results indicated that all OTF hydrolysates activated RAW 264.7 macrophages by activating MAPK signaling pathway.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.20-20
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• 2003

Phenotypic characteristics and genetic markers in livestock have been utilized for improvement of the economic traits including egg productivity. Korean Native Ogol Chicken (KNOC) has low egg productivity compared to White Leghorn. Therefore, in this study, serum IGF-I concentration and number of egg production were used as selection markers to improve egg productivity. KNOCs were divided into three groups showing high IGF-I concentration (IGF-I high), high egg production (EP high), and IGF-I/EP high groups. Blood was collected every 10 weeks, and serum concentrations of IGF-I, estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P4) were measured by radioimmunoassay. In comparison of three groups in each generation, the highest increment of egg production was detected in the IGF-I/EP high group from 20 weeks till 40 weeks, and the IGF-I high group also showed the significant increment of egg production after 50 weeks. Interestingly, there were the increase of egg production and decrease of periods in sexual maturity in the second and third generation selected by serum IGF-I concentration, while egg weight and body weight decreased during experimental period. In conclusion, the present study suggest the possibility of IGF-I as a selection marker to improve the egg productivity of KNOC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.70-74
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• 1997

Data on 2,571 lactation records of Nili-Ravi buffaloes from four institutional herds and four field recording centers were analyzed under an animal model to see the effect of season definition on the error variance of the fitted model. Herd-year-season(HYS) was the main fixed effect along with permanent environment, breeding value and residuals as the random effects. All known relationships among the animals were considered. The error variance differed for various HYS combinations. It was minimum when then months were not grouped into seasons. The four or Five season scenarios were better than the two season scenarios. The average number of lactations represented in a HYS combination varied widely from 6 to 28. Very few subclasses for a given HYS combination warrants the use of fewer seasons for animal model evaluation of buffaloes.