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The importance of a Culture of Care is increasingly referred to in the literature surrounding laboratory animal science, with good care viewed as essential to the competent management of animal facilities. Yet 'culture of care' is poorly defined, with care often being seen as synonymous with an attention to animal welfare. This paper draws on data from focus groups with researchers and animal technologists working in UK animal research facilities to identify practices that support or negate a culture of care. Tronto's ethic of care is used as a framework to consider how caring cultures are shaped within laboratory animal facilities, revealing practices which support or limit care. I suggest that closer attention human–human as well as human–animal relations is central to more expansive understanding of a culture of care, one which values care labour, recognises the need for both practical and emotional support, and provides opportunities for technologists and researchers to develop attentiveness to one another's work. The paper also recognises key obstacles to developing a more expansive culture of care including institutional hierarchies, the need to realise scientific outcomes, and the preconceptions held by individuals who work in animal facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of 8,339 articles published in 1980–2014 in the journals of meat science and the related fields from which meat science arose, such as the animal, poultry, food, and veterinary sciences, disclosed several important patterns. First, the principal institutional contributors to the meat science literature are national agricultural laboratory networks and university meat scientists who are most often a part of animal science faculties in the United States and veterinary school faculty in Europe. Second, meat science continues to discuss even long-familiar, primary cuts of meat, since their quality and consumer acceptance can be significantly impacted by the fluctuating circumstances under which the livestock that provided them are raised. They also continue to develop new or improved further processed meat products because of market share competition and changing tastes among consumers. While the United States and its universities are major contributors to the meat science of virtually all animals, they truly dominate worldwide beef and poultry meat science. Nonetheless, Denmark (the University of Copenhagen) is an important leader in pork, as Australia (the University of New England) is in lamb. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This document contains summaries of various research studies related to poultry production. The first study investigated the effects of feeding sprouted barley to hens and found that increased levels of sprouted barley decreased laying rate and feed intake. The second study examined the effects of antioxidant feed stabilizers on broiler performance and meat yield, showing that supplementation improved feed conversion ratio and breast meat yield. The third study explored broiler farmers' perceptions of slow-growing broiler production, finding positive interest but also barriers to adoption. These summaries provide valuable insights for researchers and farmers interested in poultry production. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Animal; challenge; science; pasture; technology EN Animal challenge science pasture technology 111 113 3 04/07/22 20220401 NES 220401 Animal production systems are seeing increasing economic, environmental, cultural and social challenges. Animal, challenge, science, pasture, technology The review also highlighted the disadvantages of pasture for animal production including, the seasonality of feed supply and animal health issues such as internal parasites. [Extracted from the article]

The 8th International Feed Conference 'Present and Future Challenges' took place in Milan, Italy, in October 2023, marking the first time the event was held in Italy. The conference highlighted the importance of animal feed in sustainable food production systems, addressing the increasing global demand for animal proteins. Key topics discussed included circular feed and additives, feed quality, safety, authentication, and traceability. The conference aimed to bring together experts from various fields to share knowledge and discuss innovative solutions for the challenges facing the feed industry. [Extracted from the article]

A designed segment of multidisciplinary co-teaching was used to activate a process of professional decision-making and study undergraduate students' perception of this skill development. A questionnaire was constructed to analyse students' perception of the process of decision-making and to reflect on the contribution of designed teaching to development of this competence. Students in our study had difficulties in perceiving, analysing, and monitoring the decision-making process. They had positive reactions, recognised contributions to their personal and professional development and perceived lack of classes for practicing complex competencies, during bachelor studies. To be able to expect some lasting effects, it is necessary for the development of these competencies to become a regular part of the curriculum and teaching practice, but also assessment of student achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veterinary medicine and animal science (VMAS) students coexist in asocial, geographic, and economic context that influences personal and career decisions. The goal of this study was to analyze students' perceptions of Animal Welfare (AW) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) topics by gender, religion, and stage of study at the school of veterinary medicine in the northeastern Mexican border area. Survey response rate was 60% of VMAS student enrollment, which was divided in basic, intermediate, and advanced academic levels. Student respondents reported animal production followed by animals for companionship and wildlife appreciation as their job placement expectations after graduation. Students in the basic training stage rated AW in general practice to be more important compared with those in intermediate and advanced training (p < 0.005). Compared with intermediate and advanced level students, students at the basic level considered bioethics, sustainable food production, and OIE animal welfare topics more important (p < 0.05). Regarding gender differences, compared with male students, their female counterparts rated AW more important, depending on areas of work practice and OIE topics (p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal research has always been debated on moral and ethical grounds. Non-governmental organisations repeatedly critique the lack of openness and transparency around the use of animals in science. In response to this critique, openness and transparency have, in the most recent decade, been integrated in new ways in systems and practices of licensing animal research in the EU, materialised and conceptualised by a harm-benefit framework. In the licensing system in Norway–this article's empirical site–articulating and balancing between 'harms' and 'benefits' are core activities to foster a 'culture of care' that responds to a diverse set of care relations: those between science and society, science and policy, and humans and animals. Harm-benefit analysis is, however, plagued by tensions that can be traced into licensing procedures. Performing harm-benefit analysis in this context can be called 'procedural care'. While procedural care is meant to manage conflicting cares in animal research, it also tends to conceal tensions that emerge in practice. Yet, procedural care is a genre promises to bring together types of care and more openly engage with the relationship among them. Conceptually and methodologically, procedural care calls for the study of care in the administrative and legal domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment option for allergic rhinitis (AR) patients with persistent moderate-severe AR for whom traditional pharmacotherapies are ineffective. The nasal allergen challenge (NAC) and allergen exposure chamber (AEC) are two translational models of AR that can be used to investigate the properties, safety, and efficacy of AIT. Peer-reviewed, human-centered articles utilizing AEC or NAC models to investigate AIT between 2010 and 2020 were curated from PubMed, EMBASE, and OVID Medline databases. AECs have been used to evaluate traditional subcutaneous and sublingual administrations of AIT, including cross-protective effects and different dosing regimens. More recently, the effectiveness of novel AIT formulations has been evaluated. NACs are another model used to study AIT, including using novel intralymphatic routes of administration. It is an especially powerful and versatile tool to determine if basic science and animal model findings are clinically translatable. The AEC and NAC models both produce clinically relevant and reproducible results. AECs are more effective for studying many participants but are limited because they require a specialized facility. As more AIT therapies and new formulations are developed over time, the versatility of the NAC will be especially useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to study to what extent body condition and skin soiling in cattle are rated differently depending on the profession, education and professional experience of assessors. Data were collected at 15 group-training sessions in the years 2009–2016. Totally, 569 persons; Swedish animal welfare inspectors, veterinarians/advisers, animal welfare scientists, other animal professionals as well as undergraduate students in animal science rated a set of 6–40 photos with respect to animal body condition, animal skin soiling, and recommended corrective action in response to perceived animal soiling. The more extensive animal science education, the less prone animal welfare inspectors were to give higher body condition scores. Students had a higher overall probability of rating the degree of soiling higher than the animal welfare inspectors and veterinarians/advisers. Students also recommended stricter corrective actions than did welfare inspectors and veterinarians/advisers, and veterinarians/advisers recommended less strict actions than animal welfare inspectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic mobility and cultural diversity have continuously increased in higher education in recent years. Consequently, the language barrier has become an important issue in the learning process, mainly in Europe where there are 24 official languages. In animal and veterinary sciences, the complexity of vocabulary used during the learning process exacerbates this problem. To overcome this problem, lecturers must create an interactive and engaging classroom atmosphere, provide a reduced and concise lecture and promote interaction between students through the promotion of discussion. The use of e-tools also contributes to student interaction. When teaching animal biological processes, hands-on laboratory exercises and case-based activities also help overcome language barriers between students and lecturers. Lecturers need to create an interactive classroom through the use of direct and concise language and new technologies to promote learning in international classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey regarding crop enterprise management, forages cost of production, dairy cattle management including reproductive management, housing, heat abatement, body condition scoring, nutrition, grouping strategies, and income over feed cost performance, was carried out from December 2016 to January 2018 on 50 dairy farms by the Department of Animal Science, Food and Nutrition of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Piacenza, Italy). A total of 41 herds (82%) completed the survey. Average herd size was 327 ± 162 lactating cows with the average land size of 160 ± 94 ha per farm. Herds were located in the provinces of Cremona (17), Brescia (8), Mantova (7), Piacenza (5), Cuneo (4), Bergamo (3), Lodi (3), Torino (2), and Venezia (1). These farms sold 32.8 ± 2.01 kg of milk/day per cow, had an annual culling rate of 34.0 ± 4.00%, a calving interval of 14.16 ± 0.58 months., and a 21-days pregnancy rate of 17.05 ± 2.58%. Implementing effective management strategies to contrast the damage caused by Ostrinia nubilalis, Diabrotica spp. and Myocastor coypus were identified as the main crop enterprise challenges. Main forages cultivated were alfalfa and corn silage second seeding with a total cost of production of (€/ha) 1968 ± 362 and 2,581 ± 221, with an average yield of 9.61 ± 1.24 and 17.22 ± 2.46 ton of DM per hectare, respectively. Results of this study can provide useful benchmark or reference for dairy management practices, crops and dairy performances, forages production costs on very well-managed North Italian dairy farms at the present time. benchmarks for dairy farms management practices, economic and reproductive performance cost of production of forages in northern Italy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a web-based questionnaire was used with the aim to investigate perceived relevance of 14 behavioural traits in horses regarding quality of match between horse and rider. The responses of approximately 2800 participants indicate a high interest in the topic. All traits were considered relevant by at least 50% of the respondents. ‘Easy to bring to new environments’ was the trait indicated as relevant by the highest proportion (85%) of respondents, followed by ‘spirited and forward’ (84%) and ‘tolerant towards humans’ (80%). Respondents’ age as well as preferred equitation discipline was shown to have a profound influence on perception of relevance (P< 0.05). The results suggest a need for methods to objectively evaluate individual differences in behavioural traits to enable selection of horses to optimize horse–rider match. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]