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Genomic investigations in animals have begun to reveal the metabolic and physiological functions of genes and protein products. However, a thorough understanding of the genomic roadmaps will require investigative approaches that yield qualitative and quantitative information on the activities, fluxes, and connectivity of pathways involved in nutrient use in farm animals; that is, the metabolic phenotype. Recently, the commercial availability of stable isotope (13C, 15N, 2H)-labeled compounds and highly accurate mass spectrometers has made it possible to probe the details of metabolic pathways involved in macronutrient use. For years, the biological sciences have exploited uniformly 13C-labeled substrates (e.g., glucose, amino acids, nucleic acids) and 13C-mass isotopomer distribution (MID) in their metabolic investigations, whereas their use in the animal sciences is very limited. When [U-13C] substrates are fed, infused, or added to cell incubations, the 13C-skeletons distribute throughout metabolic networks. 13C-Mass isotopomer distribution in intermediates and end products of the pathways provides a signature of the fluxes and activities of pathway enzymes traveled by the precursor molecule. This paper highlights aspects of animal nutrition and metabolism in which [U-13C] substrates and MID can be applied to investigations of amino acid, carbohydrate, and fat metabolism. We will focus on [U-13C] glucose as a tracer in chickens, fish, sheep, and cell cultures to investigate the interconnectivity of the pathways of macronutrient and nucleic acid metabolism, and provide demonstration of the central position of the Krebs cycle in preserving metabolic flexibility via anaplerotic and cataplerotic sequences. Exploitation of this approach in animal sciences offers endless opportunities to provide missing details of the biochemical networks of nutrient use that may prove to be strictly under genomic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal physiology and endocrinology, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Prediction of Reproductive Performance on Large Commercial Dairies," by D. Caraviello and others. Data from Holstein cows in large commercial herds that participated in the Alta Genetics' Advantage progeny testing program were analyzed to explain factors affecting conception at first, second, and third services, pregnancy status at 150 days in milk, and days open. Another paper discussed is "Fatty Acid Composition of the Porcine Conceptus in Response to Maternal Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation," by A. E. Brazle and others. Maternal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is reported to increase litter size in pigs. Therefore we evaluated the hypothesis that omega-3 sources would affect the fatty acid composition of pig concept uses and that the effects would differ with the omega-3 source.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal health, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Lactate Dehydrogenase and N-acetyl-b-D-Glucosaminidase Activities in Bovine Milk As Measures of Clinical Mastitis," by M.G.G. Chagunda, T. Larsen, M. Bjerring and K.L. Ingvartsen. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase and N-acetyl-b-D- glucosaminidase and their relationship to somatic cell count was investigated in normal and mastitic bovine milk. A full dataset, consisting of records from Danish Holstein, Danish Red and Jersey cows on one research farm were utilized in the study. Another paper discussed is "Association Between Local Clinical Signs and Important Outcomes of Clinical Mastitis Episodes in Dairy Cattle," by J. Wenz, R. Ella, K. Whitman and F. Garry. Clinical mastitis is the most common infectious disease of dairy cattle and is responsible for significant economic losses. There are many local clinical signs associated with inflammatory changes of the mammary gland during bacterial infection.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to ruminant nutrition, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Effects of Omnigen-AF on Milk Production and on Lactation Persistence in a Commercial Dairy Setting," by J. Chapman, S. Pintenney, J. Verano and others. The goal of this study was to evaluate effects of feeding OmniGen-AF, a commercially available feed additive, on milk production and persistence of milk yield during a 60-day field trial. Effects of the two treatments on milk production were assessed statistically with a model which included pre-experiment milk production, days in milk, and lactation number as co-variates. Another paper discussed is "Effect of Increasing Oil From Distillers Grains or Corn Oil on Lactation Performance," by C. Leonardi, S. Bertics and L. Armentano. The objective of this study was to evaluate lactation production response of dairy cows fed distillers dried grains with added solubles.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to the nutrition management in animals, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Electronic Identification of Young Lambs With Mini-Bolus and Effects on Intake and Digestibility During Fattening," by J. Ghiradi, G. Caja, C. Flores and D. Garin. Lambs sucked from their mothers until wk 5 or wk 6, and were intensively fattened thereafter. Growth rate, bolus retention and health status were recorded weekly. Retrieval and fore-stomachs location of cylindrical ceramic mini-boluses at slaughter were also recorded. Another paper discussed is "Multivariate Factor Analysis of Electrical Conductivity in Dairy Cattle," by N.P.P. Macciotta, M. Mele, R. Steri and P. Secchiari. Electrical conductivity of milk is an indicator trait for mastitis and it may be considered as a potential breeding goal for genetic programs, even if an accurate detection of affected animals still represents a problem.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to dairy foods' chemistry and products, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Rapid Determination of Swiss Cheese Composition by Infrared Spectroscopy," by N. Koca, W.J. Harper, L. Rodriguez-Saona and V.B. Alvarez. The objective of this research was to develop a simple and rapid screening tool for monitoring Swiss cheese composition by using FT-IR spectroscopy. Swiss cheese samples from eight different manufacturers were evaluated. Direct measurements of Swiss cheese slices were made by using a MIRacle three reflection diamond attenuated total reflectance accessory. Another paper discussed is "The Effect of Calcium Removal From Milk on Casein Micelle Stability and Structure," by H. Grimley, A. Grandison and M. Lewis. In this study calcium was removed from raw skimmed milk at levels of 10, 19, 29,40 and 51% of total calcium using an ion exchange resin.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to the breeding and genetics of animals, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Fine Mapping of a Bovine Twinning Rate QTL," by E.S. Kim. A twinning rate quantitative trait locus (QTL) has been previously detected on chromosome 5 in the North American Holstein dairy cattle population. The objective of the current study was to refine the map location of this QTL. In the previous work the strongest evidence for this QTL was obtained from analysis of an extended, four-generation sire family. Another paper discussed is "X- and Y-Cromosomes Bearing Sperm Ratio in Individual Bull Ejaculation," by J. Schenk, M. Meyers and E. Crichton. Small sample sizes often lead to erroneous conclusions about true sex ratios due to binomial statistical variation. DNA resort reanalysis, PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization can be used to accurately determine sex ratios in a sample of semen.

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to nonruminant nutrition that were presented during the symposium held on July 24-28, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. In one of the papers titled "Effect of Dietary Mannan-Oligosaccharides and Organic Zinc on Growth Performance and Prevalence of Post-Weaning Diarrhea in Piglets," The efficacy of Mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) and organic zinc (Zn) to enhance performance and prevent diarrhea in early-weaned pigs was evaluated. A total of 128 piglets, weaned at 20±2 days were housed in 32 pens following a complete randomized design. Animals received four dietary treatments: a control diet to which 0.2% of a commercial source of MOS, 0.08% organic Zn or both additives were added. The experiment lasted for 5 weeks including a pre-starter period of two weeks and a starter period of three weeks. Results suggested that the use of MOS or organic Zn can both improve the adaptation of the weaning pig to the dry food, thus reducing the incidence of post-weaning diarrhea, This was also manifested by an increase in the feed efficiency ratio.

Information on several papers discussed at a symposium held on July 11-15, 2010 regarding animal physiology and endocrinology is presented. Topics include the impact of the mammalian oviduct-secreted protein on sperm function, sperm storage in domestic fowl, and how sperm mobility impacts sperm storage in the sperm storage tubules (SST). The symposium featured several animal science workers, including Gary Killian, Murray Bakst, and David Froman.

Information about several business issues discussed at the Centennial American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Business Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 10, 2008 is presented. Topics include the financial and general status of the organization, membership participation, and the increase in the donations received by the organization. The conference featured several speakers including ASAS president Mike Galyean, executive director Meghan Wulster-Radcliffe, and Jerry Weigel.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal physiology and endocrinology, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Measuring Aseasonality in a Crossbred Pedigree Developed for Mapping QTL," by R.G. Mateescu, M.L. Thonney and others. An experimental crossbred pedigree was created to identify QTL contributing to aseasonality by crossing Dorset ewes with East Friesian rams and breeding F1 rams to Dorset ewes. Aseasonality in 117 yearling backcross ewes was assessed using a blood progesterone profile prior to, during and after the spring 2003 breeding season. Another paper discussed is "Effect of Maternal Undernutrition on Capillary Vascularity of the Bovine Placentome," by K. Vonnahme, L. Reynolds and others. Improper maternal nutrition during pregnancy in ewes greatly impacts the capillary vascularity of placentomes. In the beef cow, the effect of early maternal undernutrition followed by realimentation on placentomal capillary vascular density was determined.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to nonruminant nutrition, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Evaluation of Gender and Lysine During the Nursery Period," by G.M. Hill, S.K. Baidoo and others. Split-gender feeding in the grow-finish period was an innovative technology of the last decade. However, due to various weaning strategies, it has not been adequately evaluated in the nursery. The results demonstrate that increasing lysine concentrations in nursery diets results in improved pig performance of both genders, and there appears to be no benefit in split-gender feeding during the nursery phase. Another paper discussed is "Effect of Replacing Fish Meal With Synthetic Amino Acids in Diets for 8 to 15 kg Pigs," by B.W. Ratliff, A.M. Gaines and others. At a commercial research site with pigs of high health status, three independent experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing fish meal with synthetic amino acids in diets for 8 to 15 kg pigs.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal science, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Diurnal Variation of Blood Metabolites in Response to Time of Feeding and Dietary Forage to Concentrate Ratio in Lactating Dairy Cows," by A. Nikkhah, J.C. Plaizier, C. Furedi and A.D. Kennedy. The effects of the time of providing fresh total mixed ration and the dietary concentrate level on daily averages and diurnal variation of blood metabolites were examined. Diurnal rhythmicity of blood urea was significantly entrained by the interaction between diet and times of feeding. Another paper discussed is "Early weaning up-regulates the capacity of the small intestinal sucrase-isomaltase and maltase-glucoamylase hydrolysis of maltose in the neonatal pig," by D. Lackeyram, D. Pham and others. Sucrase-isomaltase and maltase-glucoamylase are small intestinal brush border membrane enzyme complexes responsible for the hydrolysis of maltose.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal science, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers discussed is "Validation of a New Equation Predicting Digestible Energy of Forage for Sheep," by M. Vachon, J.F. Bernier and others. The aim of this project was to compare the precision of a new multi-component empirical model to predict digestible energy of forages fed to sheep, with the equation actually used in Quebec for grasses. Comparisons were made in two separate trials with 48 lactating and 46 pregnant ewes in a 2x2 factorial arrangement. Another paper presented is "True Phosphorus Digestibility and the Endogenous Phosphorus Losses Associated With Barley for Pigs," by A.M. Hawkins, C.M. Nyachoti and others. The nutritional evaluation of field peas for swine has primarily focused on its energy and protein value. However, the bio-availability of phosphorus in peas for pigs has only been examined to a limited extent.

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to the impact of culling rate on dairy profitability, that were presented during the symposium held on July 25, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers "Historical Examination of Culling of Dairy Cows From Herds in the United States," informs that a recent examination of cow survival in Dairy Herd Improvement herds provided information on culling rate since 1980. Cows were excluded if the herd discontinued testing during their productive period or they were sold for dairy purposes. Survival rates for individual parities were the fraction of cows with an opportunity to calve that did calve. Number of parities by breed and year of first calving was determined to provide an indicator of herd life before culling. Survival rates for second through eighth parities were 73, 50, 32, 19, 10, 5, and 2%, respectively, for Hoisteins. The study indicated that the increase in culling rate and subsequent reduction in mean calving age must be driven by dairy management choices rather than a decline in genetic merit of the population as genetic estimates indicate that substantial genetic improvement is being made in productive life.

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to animal science that were presented during the symposium held on July 25, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers titled "Processing Barley Grain for Midlactation Dairy Cows: Steam-Rolling Versus Grinding," states that economical constraints of replacing conventional grinding with complex steam-processing equipment have faced the dairy industries with a major challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rumen conditions and productivity of dairy cows fed differently processed barley grains. Eight multiparous Holstein cows in their midlactation were used in a double 4 x 4 Latin square design with four 21-d periods. Processing index (Pt), or the ratio of the processed barley grain density to the whole barley grain density expressed as %, was used to measure the processing extent of the rolled grains. Barley grain was included as 25.6% of dietary dry matter. Treatments included 4 total mixed rations containing, ground, steam-rolled, finely dry-rolled and coarsely dry-rolled barley grains.

The article presents abstracts of various papers related to vitamin nutrition of livestock animals that were presented during the symposium held on July 24-28, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers titled "Enhancing the Vitamin Content of Meat and Eggs: Implications for the Human Diet," states that enhancing the vitamin content of meat and eggs provides an opportunity to increase the level of key nutrients, especially those deemed to be at marginal or insufficient levels in the human diet for optimal health and well-being. In general enhancement efforts have focused on the development of feeding strategies to achieve optimal vitamin levels in meat and eggs. The definition of an optimal strategy however is influenced by such factors as: first, the efficiency of transfer of the vitamin into the final product, second, the impact on animal performance or health, third, the impact on the quality characteristics of the final product, and fourth economic considerations. Vitamins are an extremely diverse class of nutrient, in terms of chemical and physical properties.

Students in Animal Science at the University of MO have less direct experience with production animal agriculture. These future graduates need to have a comprehensive view of the contemporary issues facing animal agriculture. Therefore, a course was developed to address this growing disconnect while meeting a campus-wide general education requirement. According to the General Education Architecture of the University of Missouri, the graduates: must be able to grasp the meaning of problems that go well beyond their academic major; will develop computing and information literacy; and will learn â€oeto reason well, to recognize when the reason and evidence are not enough, to discover the legitimacy of intuition, to subject inert data to the probing analysis of the mind. These general education goals are central to the structure and the purpose of this course. This course is designed to help each student understand the far-reaching nature of issues facing the future of animal agriculture. These issues will impact animal agriculture and all of society during their careers. These issues are often associated with strong emotions of all those engaged in the debate. The goal of this course is to help the students develop a fundamental understanding of key issues presented by both sides that are the foundation of the debate. During this process, the students develop computing and information literacy skills associated with electronic literature searches. The search for diverse sources of information help students gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues. Furthermore, students communicate this understanding through a number of writing assignments. These assignments are formatted to help students continue to develop strong writing skills. A key component is a comprehensive research paper developed individually by each student. The research paper addresses the key components of a societal issue facing animal agriculture. Through review of published scholarly works, in-class discussions and writing, students develop and improve critical thinking skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research papers based on the presentations made at the Nonruminant Nutrition Symposium, “Understanding protein synthesis and degradation and their pathway regulations" held on July 10, 2007 on understanding protein synthetic and degradation pathways. Topics include hormonal and nutritional factors regulating postnatal muscle protein synthesis, challenges and methodological considerations for measuring intracellular protein degradation, and pathways of protein degradation.

Features the winners of the 2004 Midwestern Section Award for the Graduate Student Research Paper Competition on animal science, sponsored by Akey. Michelle Martinez; Robert Peterson; Rebecca Bott.

This article provides a science-based, data-driven perspective on the relevance of the beef herd in the U.S. to our society and greenhouse gas (GHG) contribution to climate change. Cattle operations are subject to criticism for their environmental burden, often based on incomplete information disseminated about their social, economic, nutritional, and ecological benefits and detriments. The 2019 data published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that U.S. beef cattle emitted 22.6% of the total agricultural emissions, representing about 2.2% of the total anthropogenic emissions of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Simulations from a computer model developed to address global energy and climate challenges, set to use extreme improvements in livestock and crop production systems, indicated a potential reduction in global CO2e emissions of 4.6% but without significant enhancement in the temperature change by 2030. There are many natural and anthropogenic sources of CH4 emissions. Contrary to the increased contribution of peatlands and water reservoirs to atmospheric CO2e, the steady decrease in the U.S. cattle population is estimated to have reduced its methane (CH4) emissions by about 30% from 1975 to 2021. This CH4 emission deacceleration of 2.46 Mt CO2 e/yr2 might be even more significant than reported. Many opportunities exist to mitigate CH4 emissions of beef production, leading to a realistic prospect of a 5% to 15% reduction in the short term after considering the overlapping impacts of combined strategies. Reduction strategies include feeding synthetic chemicals that inactivate the methyl-coenzyme M reductase (the enzyme that catalyzes the last step of methanogenesis in the rumen), red seaweed or algae extracts, ionophore antibiotics, phytochemicals (e.g., condensed tannins and essential oils), and other nutritional manipulations. The proposed net-zero concept might not solve the global warming problem because it will only balance future anthropogenic GHG emissions with anthropogenic removals, leaving global warming on a standby state. Recommendations for consuming red meat products should consider human nutrition, health, and disease and remain independent of controversial evidence of causational relationships with perceived negative environmental impacts of beef production that are not based on scientific data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With most of the student attrition occurring early in undergraduate educational programs (Braunstein et al. 1997) it is necessary to interest and motivate students early on. The demographics of animal science students have shifted to students with minimal background in food producing animals. This presents a unique challenge as the current student population represents a diverse array of backgrounds and prior experiences. As a result, students enroll in undergraduate animal science programs with various expectations for their undergraduate degree and a focus primarily on careers in veterinary medicine. To engage all students, interest and motivation need to be generated. This review will use motivational frameworks as outlined by the self-determination theory, expectancy value theory, and interest, to explain the impact of the proposed solutions. Active learning classroom strategies are linked to increased knowledge compared with traditional, passive classrooms (Wells et al. 2019). Active learning shifts from a traditional teaching model to a student-centered model, which transitions instructors to facilitators of learning. This review summarizes current proposed pedagogies that have been researched in animal science classrooms such as experiential learning, flipped classrooms, hands-on animal experience, undergraduate research experiences, mentorship opportunities, capstone experiences, service-learning experiences, team-based learning, and cooperative learning. The limitations of these proposed pedagogies and the future research needed are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of animal science, and especially animal nutrition, relies heavily on modeling to accomplish its day-to-day objectives. New data streams ("big data") and the exponential increase in computing power have allowed the appearance of "new" modeling methodologies, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence (AI). However, many of these modeling methodologies have been around for decades. According to Gartner, technological innovation follows five distinct phases: technology trigger, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity. The appearance of AI certainly elicited much hype within agriculture leading to overpromised plug-and-play solutions in a field heavily dependent on custom solutions. The threat of failure can become real when advertising a disruptive innovation as sustainable. This does not mean that we need to abandon AI models. What is most necessary is to demystify the field and place a lesser emphasis on the technology and more on business application. As AI becomes increasingly more powerful and applications start to diverge, new research fields are introduced, and opportunities arise to combine "old" and "new" modeling technologies into hybrids. However, sustainable application is still many years away, and companies and universities alike do well to remain at the forefront. This requires investment in hardware, software, and analytical talent. It also requires a strong connection to the outside world to test, that which does, and does not work in practice and a close view of when the field of agriculture is ready to take its next big steps. Other research fields, such as engineering and automotive, have shown that the application power of AI can be far reaching but only if a realistic view of models as whole is maintained. In this review, we share our view on the current and future limitations of modeling and potential next steps for modelers in the animal sciences. First, we discuss the inherent dependencies and limitations of modeling as a human process. Then, we highlight how models, fueled by AI, can play an enhanced sustainable role in the animal sciences ecosystem. Lastly, we provide recommendations for future animal scientists on how to support themselves, the farmers, and their field, considering the opportunities and challenges the technological innovation brings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on the letter to the editor by James R. Males and Michael L. Galyean as a response of the American Society of Animal Science and the Journal of Animal Science on the accusations of scientific misconduct. The accusations involved two papers on swine genetics. It also offers expression of gratitude to the writers of the letter.

The article announces several awards from the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) in 2010 including the Morrison Award to Donald C. Beitz, the Ruminant Nutrition Research Award to Timothy McAllister and the Animal Growth and Development Award to Jack Odle.

The article profiles several notable people involved in the American Society of Animal Science in 2010 including Kenneth L. Esbenshade, Charles V. Maxwell and Gary L. Allee. Esbenshade earned his bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from Delaware Valley College in 1972. Maxwell was engaged in swine teaching and research in the Animal Science Department at Oklahoma State University in 1968. Allee was chair of animal sciences at the University of Missouri from 1987 to 1992.

Information about the minutes of the annual business meeting of the American Society of Animal Science in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 12, 2006 is presented. Editor-in-chief Larry Reynolds reported on the status of the "Journal of Animal Science," including the number of submissions and acceptance rate. The President informed on the success of the national meeting as the association joined the American Dairy Science Association for its centennial celebration.

Microbiome studies in animal science using 16S rRNA gene sequencing have become increasingly common in recent years as sequencing costs continue to fall and bioinformatic tools become more powerful and user-friendly. The combination of molecular biology, microbiology, microbial ecology, computer science, and bioinformatics—in addition to the traditional considerations when conducting an animal science study—makes microbiome studies sometimes intimidating due to the intersection of different fields. The objective of this review is to serve as a jumping-off point for those animal scientists less familiar with 16S rRNA gene sequencing and analyses and to bring up common issues and concerns that arise when planning an animal microbiome study from design through analysis. This review includes an overview of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, its advantages, and its limitations; experimental design considerations such as study design, sample size, sample pooling, and sample locations; wet lab considerations such as field handing, microbial cell lysis, low biomass samples, library preparation, and sequencing controls; and computational considerations such as identification of contamination, accounting for uneven sequencing depth, constructing diversity metrics, assigning taxonomy, differential abundance testing, and, finally, data availability. In addition to general considerations, we highlight some special considerations by species and sample type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a case study of using an online collaborative tool - Padlet® (www.padlet.com) in two sessions of a course on Animal Rights and Welfare. The animal rights and animal welfare course is divided in two sections: section A (n = 40 students) and section B (n = 42 students). Padlets act as a giant online post-it board allowing participants to post text, audio, image, GIF, video, or URL. Padlet® was used during one class in the semester in which students in both sections were asked to brainstorm on the question "What factor(s) would you consider to be able to use animals for entertainment?" with the learning objective of identifying if students recognized and were able to discuss the use of animals for entertainment. Students had five minutes to post their response to the question. Section A was in a general university classroom and students were not required to write their names on their padlet post. Section B was in a technology enabled active learning classroom and students were asked to write their names on their post. The padlets were analyzed using social-cognitive theory, with an emphasis on content and multimedia use. Observations were recorded in field notes, and student feedback and their perception of social community was collected through surveys. Additionally, the instructor's reflection was recorded on the experience of using Padlet in class. In section A, 6 of a total of 53 posts, and in section B, 17 of a total of 51 posts had multimedia such as image, video, or web URL. Further, all multimedia posts in section B were relevant to the discussion while only half the multimedia posts in section A contributed to the discussion. The use of this free media technology (Padlet®) allowed students to prime their responses simultaneously and thus encouraged discussion with more participants, some of whom do not usually respond in class. Lastly, while no statistical difference was found in student perceptions of social community (Section A = 107.88 ± 18.57, Section B = 109.91 ± 17.81; maximum 133), student feedback provides insight into differences in the overall success of the activity based on the nature of students' engagement in regular discussion, comfort with using technology in class, and availability of convenient device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beef cows using next generation sequencing and demonstrated Cytology on reproductive performance in post-partum beef cows Microbiome in beef cows associated with causal factors such. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including environmental influences on mammary function, lactation in farm animals.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to teaching animal science, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Promotion and Tenure on the Basis of Excellence in Teaching: An Institutional Perspective," by L. Connor and J. Armstrong. Excellence in teaching must be achieved in the prevailing institutional culture. Both faculty and administration must be involved in this quest. Teaching must be placed on the same plane as research extension with no preferential treatment. Another paper discussed is "Promotion and Tenure on the Basis of Excellence in Teaching: A Faculty Perspective," by M. Wattiaux and J. Moore. With a renewed emphasis on their educational role as institutions of learning and teaching, many universities are revising guidelines for tenure and promotion of assistant professors with major teaching appointments.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to cattle growth and development, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Hormone and Growth Factor Regulation of Tissue Remodeling in the Mammary Gland," by D. Flint, G. Allan, J. Beattie and others. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) production increases dramatically during forced involution of the mammary gland in rats, mice and pigs. Growth hormone increases production of the survival factor IGF-I, whilst prolactin enhances the effects of GH by inhibiting IGFBP-5 synthesis which would otherwise prevent the actions of IGFs. Another paper is "Effects of Modified Calf Growth on Mammary Development, Endocrine Physiology, and Performance," by M. Vestergaard, S. Purup and others. The purpose of rearing heifers comprises a utilization of the genetic potential of the animal to achieve the most favorable body and mammary gland development by optimizing feeding and rearing conditions.

This article presents abstracts of various papers related to teaching animal science to undergraduates and graduates, that were presented during the symposium held on July 26, 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers presented is "Determining Graduation Rate of Students Who Initially Enrolled As Animal Science Majors at the University of Missouri During a Consecutive Four-Year Period," by G. Jesse and M. Ellersieck. Data obtained primarily from the University of Missouri's Student Information System were used to determine graduation rate of students who initially enrolled as animal science majors as freshmen or transfer students during the fall semester of 1996, 1997, 1998 or 1999. Another paper discussed is "Perceptions of High School Students Towards Advanced Life Science: Animals, Academic Honors Curricula," by A. Huerta, B. Hains and M. Balschweid. The objective of this study was to evaluate high school students' perceptions, opinions, and perceived benefits gained towards a new academically rigorous animal science curriculum.

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to animal sciences, that were presented during the symposium held on July 25, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. In one of the papers titled "The Effects of Damaging Ears of Corn in the Field and the Use of Potassium Sorbate on the Fermentation, Aerobic Stability, and Production of Mycotoxins in Corn Silage," researchers studied the effects of damaging ears of corn in the field and the use of potassium sorbate (PS) on silage fermentation and the production of mycotoxins in whole plant corn. Ears of corn were left alone or were slashed, 27 d or 9 d prior to harvest, exposing damaged kernels to the environment. Whole plants were harvested at 36% DM and ensiled in vacuum-sealed bags and 20-L laboratory silos (95 d) in a 2 x 3 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Prolonged damage of ears in the field resulted in the production of mycotoxins. Aerobic deterioration of silage may also lead to production of specific mycotoxins.

The article presents abstracts of various research papers related to animal sciences, that were presented during the symposium held on July 25, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers titled "Use of Formaldehyde-Treated Protein Capsules As a Means to Protect Conjugated Linoleic Acid From Ruminal Biohydrogenation," states that improved technologies for protecting dietary lipids from ruminal biohydrogenation are needed to take advantage of the benefits of unsaturated fatty acids (FA), such as improved reproductive performance or altering milk composition to meet consumer preferences. This study investigates a novel method for protecting FA by their containment within porcine-based protein capsules treated with hydroalcoholic solutions of formaldehyde. The treatment consists of washing capsules in 5% formaldehyde solution, rinsing in ethanol and drying. Protection was assessed by placing capsules in nylon bags, incubating in cultures of mixed ruminal microorganisms for 24 hours, and then analyzing for FA content by gas chromatography.

Graduate education in animal science prepares students to enhance the understanding of biology and to utilize this knowledge to increase animal productivity. The mentor is instrumental in the development of scientists and must be dedicated to success of students. The approach used to guide an inquisitive student into a productive researcher and educator is formulated from the experiences of the mentor. The training program that the mentor was exposed to, as well as experiences to identify activities that are successful, can result in a unique program to nurture and stimulate students. A dedication to a productive research program is essential for mentoring. Participation in research early in a graduate program is important and it helps students realize that their research can be innovative and exciting. Frequent meetings between students and mentors are essential and participation in data collection and analyses by the student and mentor are great teaching events. Students must have knowledge of the basic sciences and the discipline as well as their focused research area. A demanding and comprehensive graduate education is essential to expand the scientific development of the future generation of researchers and educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of animal science research. They include "Design and development of a synchronously-delivered graduate course designed for the evaluation and practice of scholarship in animal sciences," "The value of writing to a real-world audience for animal science students," and "Tracking undergraduate student performance while learning molecular genetics concepts.

Presents information on the recipients of several awards related to animal science in the United States in 2001. Robert P. Wettemann; Walter Roy Burris; Shawn Ramsey.

The article offers information about meetings, new books, calls for papers, position announcements and other items of interest to animal scientist. The 7th International Congress on Comparative Psychology and Biochemistry will be held on August 12-16, 2007 in Brazil. U.S.-based Buckeye Nutrition is looking for a senior equine nutritionist. University of Idaho's Department of Animal and Veterinary Science is searching for meat scientist.

Undergraduate research involves experiential learning methods that helps animal science students gain critical thinking skills. There is high demand for these opportunities. For example, 77.9% of incoming freshmen in the Department of Animal Sciences & Industry at Kansas State University in Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 planned to conduct research sometime during their undergraduate career (422 of 542 students). Conventional, one-on-one mentoring methods in the department were only serving 1.7% of the undergraduate population (21 of 1,212 students). This creates a unique challenge of increasing the number of undergraduate research opportunities, while maintaining the impact of individualized experiential learning. One method to address this challenge is the incorporation of a course-based research program. In this model, research projects are conducted during a conventional semester during scheduled classroom hours, with project components divided into 3 sections: (1) research preparation, including compliance requirements, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and protocol development; (2) data collection; and (3) data interpretation and dissemination. Students collect data as a team, but individually develop their own research abstract and poster to maintain a high level of experiential learning. By teaching multiple sections of this course per semester and incorporating the concepts into existing laboratories, 13.5% of students in the department completed undergraduate research in the 2018–2019 academic year (162 of 1,197 students). To monitor the quality of these experiences, student critical thinking ability was assessed using the online Critical Thinking Basic Concepts & Understanding Test (Foundation for Critical Thinking, Tomales, CA). Undergraduate research experiences increased (P = 0.028) the growth in student critical thinking score, but the type of research experience did not influence assessed skills (P > 0.281). Thus, course-based undergraduate research experiences may be an option for growing the quantity and quality of undergraduate research experience in animal science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of animal science undergraduates have limited livestock handling experience when they come to college. To address this issue, a course based on livestock handling, safety, and welfare was implemented in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. This study aimed to (i) determine whether the course was effective at improving the comfort level of a student while handling livestock and (ii) identify demographic factors that contributed to student performance in the course. The course was delivered as an 8-wk, lecture-laboratory format. Each semester, a precourse survey and precourse exam were administered during the first class period (N = 87). The survey collected self-reported demographic information, prior livestock handling experience, and comfort level by specie. The exam tested the prior knowledge of each student. At the semester conclusion, a postcourse survey and postcourse exam were given to determine whether the course was effective at improving comfort and knowledge levels of each student, respectively (N = 75). Students from farm backgrounds outscored urban students by 5.56 ± 2.96% on the precourse exam (P = 0.06). Cumulative grade point average at the time of the course (GPA) had a role in the preexam score (P = 0.003) while gender, semester, involvement in 4H (cooperative extension program) or Future Farmers of America (FFA), and high school or collegiate judging were not factors in the preexam score (P > 0.10). Background and student rank did not have an effect on the postcourse exam score (P = 0.96 and P = 0.58, respectively). As expected, GPA was significant when fit as a covariate (P < 0.001) in the postcourse exam model. Upon course completion, students reported that their comfort level while handling livestock had increased for all livestock species. The largest increases were observed with poultry (37.8% to 66.9%) and dairy (49.3% to 84.3%). Of the 75 students polled, 96% felt that the hands-on approach was beneficial at reinforcing lecture material, and 100% reported that they were more likely to voluntarily interact with livestock inside or outside of the classroom setting after course completion. In conclusion, some demographic attributes play a role in student performance at the beginning of the course, but these factors are no longer significant after completion of the course. In addition, the level of comfort with and knowledge of livestock handling, safety, and welfare all improved, which shows that the course was successful at achieving the intended learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rutgers farm was established in 1861, and George H. Cook issued the first dairy cattle feeding publications in 1881. Legislation in 1875 required inspection of dairy farms and plants, specified that the Experiment Station was responsible for official analyses of milk products, and stimulated investigations into factors that affected milk production and composition. Feeds and nutrition were one focus of early research by Edward Voorhees beginning in1883. Clarence Lane, Rutgers' first Dairy Husbandman, pioneered (1896-1902) investigations of alfalfa for dairy cattle. Silage and silos have been a continuous focus of Rutgers research since 1881. The first silo was erected in 1883, and a round barn constructed in 1948 had a self-feeding central silo. In addition to the alfalfa trials, Carl Bender and his colleagues published (1921-1940) numerous articles on several grasses and grains for silage, some together with legumes. William Regan initiated pioneering inbreeding studies with the Rutgers Jersey herd, and transferred 33 with him when he joined the University of California in 1923. John Bartlett used inbreeding to improve both milk and butter production in the Rutgers Holsteins. Based upon his observations of the industry in Demark in 1937, Enos Perry organized the first US artificial insemination cooperative near Clinton, NJ, on May 17, 1938. The first calf from AI in the US was born (February 15, 1939) on the Richard Schomp farm near Stanton, NJ. Joe Evans was one of the first to explore replacing ration protein with urea, Jim Wohlt demonstrated that yeast increased intake of corn silage rations, and Ralph Reece pioneered hormone research in dairy cattle. He also exemplified training at Rutgers; his student H. Allen Tucker published over 250 peer-reviewed papers, and in 2004 had over 70 of his own scientific successors. The Animal Science Image Gallery (www.anscigallery.nal.usda.gov) is led by Rutgers, and Rutgers' modern heifer facilities accommodate replacements for a single herd shared with the University of Delaware, as well as replacements for the University of Pennsylvania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]