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In this paper we present the results of some experiments performed on recognizing occluded palmprint images. Usually in the palmprint recognition process the main region involved in classification is the region of interest (ROI). In our experiments, exactly this region is missing. We used shape features, texture features and SURF descriptors to characterize the images. The numerical experiments are computed using two datasets. Depending on the choice of parameters to find keypoints, SURF approach gave better results than shape and texture, but it has the disadvantage of being time consuming. To reduce the computing burden, a two steps method that combines shape or texture features and SURF descriptors is proposed in this paper. Experiments based on this approach lead to very good results with less computing time than the SURF-based approach. This combine procedure can be used with other methods that allow reducing the search space for the keypoint algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Our brain undergoes significant micro- and macroscopic changes throughout its life cycle. It is therefore crucial to understand the effect of aging on the mechanical properties of the brain in order to develop accurate personalized simulations and diagnostic tools. Here we systematically probed the mechanical behavior of n = 439 brain tissue samples in tension and compression, in different anatomical regions, for different axon orientations, across five age groups. We used Bayesian statistics to characterize the relation between brain age and mechanical properties and quantify uncertainties. Our results, based on our experimental data and material parameters for the isotropic Ogden and the anisotropic Gasser-Ogden-Holzapfel models, reveal a non-linear relationship between age and mechanics across the life cycle of the porcine brain. Both tensile and compressive shear moduli reached peak values ranging from 0.4–1.0 kPa in tension to 0.16–0.32 kPa in compression at three years of age. Anisotropy was most pronounced at six months, and then decreased. These results represent an important step in understanding age-dependent changes in the mechanical properties of brain tissue and provide the scientific basis for more accurate and realistic computational brain simulations. In this paper, we investigate the age-dependent mechanical properties of brain tissue based on different deformation modes, anatomical regions, and axon orientations. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling was used to identify isotropic and anisotropic material parameters. The study reveals a nonlinear relationship between shear modulus, degree of anisotropy, and tension-compression asymmetry over the life cycle of the brain. By demonstrating the non-linearity of these relationships, the study fills a significant knowledge gap in current research. This work is a fundamental step in accurately characterizing the complex relationship between brain aging and mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floor space allowance for pigs has substantial effects on pig growth and welfare. Data from 30 papers examining the influence of floor space allowance on the growth of finishing pigs was used in a meta-analysis to develop alternative prediction equations for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and gain : feed ratio (G : F). Treatment means were compiled in a database that contained 30 papers for ADG and 28 papers for ADFI and G : F. The predictor variables evaluated were floor space (m2/pig), k (floor space/final BW0.67), Initial BW, Final BW, feed space (pigs per feeder hole), water space (pigs per waterer), group size (pigs per pen), gender, floor type and study length (d). Multivariable general linear mixed model regression equations were used. Floor space treatments within each experiment were the observational and experimental unit. The optimum equations to predict ADG, ADFI and G : F were: ADG, g=337.57+(16 468×k)−(237 350×k2)−(3.1209×initial BW (kg))+(2.569×final BW (kg))+(71.6918×k×initial BW (kg)); ADFI, g=833.41+(24 785×k)−(388 998×k2)−(3.0027×initial BW (kg))+(11.246×final BW (kg))+(187.61×k×initial BW (kg)); G : F=predicted ADG/predicted ADFI. Overall, the meta-analysis indicates that BW is an important predictor of ADG and ADFI even after computing the constant coefficient k, which utilizes final BW in its calculation. This suggests including initial and final BW improves the prediction over using k as a predictor alone. In addition, the analysis also indicated that G : F of finishing pigs is influenced by floor space allowance, whereas individual studies have concluded variable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, measurements of 2.012 bone remains from four different domestic species (sheep, goats, cattle and pigs) originating from 33 Bronze Age archaeological sites from the Balearic Islands, mainland Iberia, southern France and Sardinia, and spanning about 2500 years (3700-700 cal. BCE) have been compared. The results show that a decrease in animal size occurred in the Balearic Islands during the Bronze Age. It was not a local phenomenon but rather was a general pattern that happened in different territories. Yet it was more marked on the islands. The evidence shows that the four analyzed species were not affected in the same way and it was a nonlinear phenomenon. Indeed, during the Late Bronze Age some archaeological sites from the Balearics had taller caprines compared with the other contemporaneous places, also on the continent. A multi-factor explanation for these fluctuations is proposed in this paper, showing that animal sizes generally decreased during late prehistory -especially cattle- and this process could reflect different factors such as a combination of limited feeding, increased human pressure and endogamy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coupled dynamic mesh method is developed to simulate transient behaviors in pipelines with leaks. • The proposed method has been validated by experimental methods to detect the leaks in pipelines. • The leakage information can be identified from the first spike of transient pressures. Pipelines are the most common way to transport oil and gas due to its convenience. They are facing many threatens such as leakage, which may cause serious pipeline accidents. This paper proposes a leakage detection method coupled with the transient pressure characteristics to recognize leaks in pipeline. A coupled dynamic mesh method was used to achieve the movement of pigging device. The explicit and implicit coupling method has been developed to simulate transient pressures and leak behaviors. Cases has been conducted through the established experimental pipeline system to validate the proposed leakage detection method. The reasonable agreement between the results from these two methods verify that the proposed leakage detection method is accurate enough to simulate transient pressure behaviors in pipelines during the pigging process. Leak volume and location identification methods have been presented and the calculation accuracy is verified in a reasonable range. The proposed leakage detection method in this paper is a supplement to the field of subsea pipeline detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pig industry faces many animal welfare issues. Among these, biting behaviour has a high incidence. It is indicative of an existing problem in biters and is a source of physical damage and psychological stress for the victims. We categorize this behaviour into aggressive and non-aggressive biting, the latter often being directed towards the tail. This review focusses specifically on predisposing factors in early life, comprising the prenatal and postnatal periods up to weaning, for the expression of aggressive and non-aggressive biting later in life. The influence of personality and coping style has been examined in a few studies. It varies according to these studies and, thus, further evaluation is needed. Regarding the effect of environmental factors, the number of scientific papers is low (less than five papers for most factors). No clear influence of prenatal factors has been identified to date. Aggressive biting is reduced by undernutrition, cross-fostering and socialization before weaning. Non-aggressive biting is increased by undernutrition, social stress due to competition and cross-fostering. These latter three factors are highly dependent on litter size at birth. The use of familiar odours may contribute to reducing biting when pigs are moved from one environment to another by alleviating the level of stress associated with novelty. Even though the current environment in which pigs are expressing biting behaviours is of major importance, the pre-weaning environment should be optimized to reduce the likelihood of this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International agreements have been adopted in recent years to disseminate animal welfare standards worldwide, similar to the situation for environmental and social sustainability standards. Scholars who have analyzed such initiatives argue that this calls for contextualized strategies for a successful implementation of international animal welfare standards in specific settings, also emphasizing the relevance of individuals and institutions who function as intermediaries in these complex situations of change. However, previous studies do not provide empirical insights into how different intermediaries work in relation to international animal welfare standards implementation in national contexts. Focusing empirically on the implementation of EU animal welfare directives in Brazilian pig production, this paper aims to connect the standards implementation and intermediation literatures to deepen the understanding of how a network of intermediaries formed and acted as an 'ecology of intermediaries' to facilitate the implementation process for international animal welfare standards. The paper aims to enrich debates on how to develop contextualized strategies that can translate recognized international regulations into practical animal welfare improvements. Our findings provide evidence that collective intermediation efforts are pivotal in addressing demands (such as translation, adaptation, regulation) that emerge from the complex situation of change provoked by the implementation of international animal welfare standards in national contexts. The main implication of our study for theory on standards implementation is that the operationalization of a contextualized strategy linked to international animal welfare standards implementation is composed of a normative dimension and a technological dimension and that, to achieve their desired outcome, contextualized strategies also rely on connected and complementary intermediation actions. • Animal welfare standards implementation requires contextualized strategies. • Intermediation is pivotal in operationalizing animal welfare standards implementation. • Intermediaries formed an ecology that facilitates standards implementation. • Contextualized implementation strategies have normative and technological dimensions. • Contextualized strategies also rely on connected and complementary intermediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene editing (GnEd) involves using a site-directed nuclease to introduce a double-strand break (DSB) at a targeted location in the genome. A literature search was performed on the use of GnEd in animals for agricultural applications. Data was extracted from 212 peer-reviewed articles that described the production of at least one living animal employing GnEd technologies for agricultural purposes. The most common GnEd system reported was CRISPR/Cas9, and the most frequent type of edit was the unguided insertion or deletion resulting from the repair of the targeted DSB leading to a knock-out (KO) mutation. Animal groups included in the reviewed papers were ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, n =63); monogastrics (pigs and rabbits, n =60); avian (chicken, duck, quail, n =17); aquatic (many species, n =65), and insects (honeybee, silkworm, n =7). Yield (32%), followed by reproduction (21%) and disease resistance (17%) were the most commonly targeted traits. Over half of the reviewed papers had Chinese first-authorship. Several countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Japan, have adopted a regulatory policy that considers KO mutations introduced following GnEd DSB repair as akin to natural genetic variation, and therefore treat these GnEd animals analogously to those produced using conventional breeding. This approach has resulted in a non-GMO determination for a small number of GnEd food animal applications, including three species of GnEd KO fast-growing fish, (red sea bream, olive flounder and tiger pufferfish in Japan), KO fish and cattle in Argentina and Brazil, and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus disease-resistant KO pigs in Colombia. • Gene editing (GnEd) can introduce useful genetic alterations in food animals • A total of 212 papers using GnEd in animals for agriculture were identified • Yield, reproduction, and disease resistance were the most commonly targeted traits • CRISPR/Cas9 was by far the most prevalent GnEd system used to edit animal genomes • Three species of GnEd fast-growing finfish have already been commercialized in Japan [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We established primary porcine nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cells that recapitulate the physical and functional properties of the respiratory tract and have the ability to fully differentiate. Trans-well cultures demonstrated increased transepithelial electrical resistance over time the presence of tight junctions as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. The nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cells developed cilia, secreted mucus, and expressed sialic acids on surface glycoproteins, the latter which are required for influenza A virus infection. Swine influenza viruses were shown to replicate efficiently in the primary epithelial cell cultures, supporting the use of these culture models to assess swine influenza and other virus infection. Primary porcine nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cell culture models enable assessment of emerging and novel influenza viruses for pandemic potential as well as mechanistic studies to understand mechanisms of infection, reassortment, and generation of novel virus. As swine are susceptible to infection with multiple viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens, these primary airway cell models may enable study of the cellular response to infection by pathogens associated with Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex. • The paper describes, in detail, the isolation and culture of swine primary respiratory epithelial cells. • This paper demonstrates the differentiation of the primary swine respiratory epithelial cells. • This paper demonstrates the utility of these primary cells to assess infection and replication of swine influenza viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale of pig breeding in China is the largest in the world, and the pollution problem of breeding wastewater is serious. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) process is a clean and efficient treatment technology for breeding wastewater. This paper involved constructing the molecular model of the primary organic components in pig breeding wastewater. The effects of time, temperature and mass concentration, and the interactions of different components on the SCWG characteristics of pig breeding wastewater were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and the decomposition process of lignin and lipid molecules in the SCWG process were analyzed, and the possible intermediates were explored. The results showed that the effect of parameters on carbon gasification efficiency (CE) and H 2 production follows the order of temperature > time > mass concentration. During the gasification of lignin and lipid molecules, the C–O–C bond was broken first, and the gasification rate of lignin molecules was slow due to the benzene ring. Interactions among different organic decompositions hindered the gasification process. This paper will provide theoretical guidance for the selection of operation parameters and the control of products in the actual pig breeding wastewater treatment process. • The MD model of wastewater containing complex organics was established. • The effects of key parameters on SCWG of pig breeding wastewater were studied. • The detailed SCWG mechanisms of pig breeding wastewater were analyzed. • The intermediate products from SCWG of pig breeding wastewater were explored. • The interaction mechanisms of different organics during SCWG were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anatolia witnessed an increase in mobility and interaction during the Iron Age. Peoples from Southeastern Europe and Southwest Asia migrated into and across Anatolia. At the same time, under the influence of expanding and competing polities, trade and military mobility reinforced supra-regional networks across land and sea. Little is known about how animal husbandry practices in Iron Age Anatolia changed in the face of these large-scale movements of people and goods. Especially little understood remains how past mobility and connectivity influenced pig husbandry, as pigs are generally considered rather immobile animals, and Iron Age animal mobility studies tend to focus on pastoralist practices (e.g. Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017). Yet, pig husbandry practices are highly plastic, and may have changed dynamically along with evolving economic and socio-cultural circumstances during the first millennium BC. In addition, palaeogenetic studies provide evidence that durign the Iron Age pigs with European lineages appeared and subsequently spread over Anatolia (Ottoni et al., 2013) suggesting pigs may have been actively incorporated in trade and mobility. Building on these two observations, this paper explores pig husbandry practices over the course of the Anatolian Iron Age (1200–600 BCE) by (1) discussing diachronic change in relative abundance of pigs and mortality patterns over different sites in first millennium BC Anatolia; (2) investigating whether the introduction of European pigs in Anatolia coincided with noticeable phenotypic changes in pig populations by looking at pig biometry using the R package zoolog. Primary data from various key sites are presented (Troy, Klazomenai, Gordion, Kerkenes, Kinet Höyük) alongside a meta-analysis of published zooarchaeological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Standardized ear tag data via transformation and cleaning. • Conducted time series analysis on daily pig data. • Analyzed seasonal trends in pig population data. • Classified ear tag data using six methods. The behavioral and physiological patterns of pigs are key indicators for assessing their health status. This study aims to explore the differences in activity level and body temperature variation patterns between normal and abnormal pigs. In view of the characteristics of pig ear tag data, such as high volatility, unclear features and strong randomness, we adopted various processing and analysis methods. The main work of this paper includes: (1) Preprocessing and integrating pig ear tag data to improve data quality; (2) Performing similarity and time series analysis on the daily data of each pig to identify the change patterns of activity level and body temperature; (3) Performing seasonal feature analysis and trend change analysis on the data of the pig population, finding the gap between abnormal pigs and the population pattern, and classifying abnormal and normal pigs. The main results and conclusions of this paper are as follows: (1) Pigs are most active in two time periods: 5:00 to 10:00 in the morning and 14:00 to 18:00 in the afternoon; (2) The activity duration of lame pigs is significantly lower than that of normal pigs, while the activity duration of pigs under other abnormal conditions is not much different; (3) Although the ear tag temperature data is affected by the pig's behavior, abnormal pigs can be found by the characteristic of low temperature trend within a day. (4) Random forest algorithm can effectively classify normal and abnormal pigs, with an accuracy of 0.879. The research results of this paper have important significance and value for realizing the refined management of pigs, improving the breeding efficiency, and ensuring the health and production safety of pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A spatial dynamic linear model for modeling of pigs' drinking patterns is evaluated. • The model relies on simultaneously monitored water consumption from multiple pens. • Seven model versions are tested with three lengths of time-windows. • The ability to detect events in specific pens and specific sections is tested. • Events are detected in specific pens and sections with high AUC (>0.80). The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the detection performance of a previously developed multivariate spatial dynamic linear model (DLM), which aim to predict outbreaks of either diarrhea or pen fouling amongst growing pigs, and to discuss potential post processing strategies for reducing alarms. The model is applied to sensor based water data from a commercial herd of finisher pigs (30–110 kg) and a research facility herd of weaner pigs (7–30 kg). Performance evaluation is conducted by applying a standardized two-sided Cusum , on the forecast errors generated by the spatial model. For each herd, forecast errors are generated at three spatial levels: Pen level, section level, and herd level. Seven model versions express different temporal correlations in the drinking patterns between pens and sections in a herd, and the performances of each spatial level are evaluated for every model version. The alarms generated by the Cusum are categorized as true positive (TP), false positive (FP), true negative (TN), or false negative (FN) based on time windows of three different lengths. In total, 126 combinations of herds, spatial levels, model versions, and time windows are evaluated, and the performance of each combination is reported as the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The highest performances are obtained at herd level given the longest time window and strongest temporal correlation (AUC = 0.98 (weaners) and 0.94 (finishers)). However, the settings most suitable for implementation in commercial herds, are obtained at section level given the medium-length time window and strongest temporal correlation (AUC = 0.86 (weaners) and 0.87 (finishers)). The combination of a spatial DLM and a two-sided tabular Cusum has high potential for prioritizing high-risk alarms as well as for merging alarms from multiple pens within the same section into a reduced number of alarms communicated to the caretaker. Thus, the spatial detection system described here, and in a previous paper, constitute a new and promising approach to sensor based monitoring tools in livestock production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A spatial dynamic linear model for modeling of pigs' drinking patterns is developed. • The model relies on simultaneously monitored water consumption from multiple pens. • Seven different correlation structures between drinking patterns are defined. • A weaner herd and a finisher herd are modeled separately. • Model fit (MSE) indicate drinking patterns are correlated. The overall objective of this paper is to present the development of a spatial multivariate dynamic linear model (DLM) modeling the water consumption of growing pigs throughout the entire growth periods. The water consumption from multiple pens in multiple sections are monitored simultaneously by flow meters in both a commercial herd of finisher pigs (30–110 kg) and a research facility herd of weaner pigs (7–30 kg). The diurnal drinking patterns are modeled by a multivariate DLM, which is superpositioned by four sub-models describing three harmonic waves and a growth trend. The overall hypothesis of this paper is that pens and sections in a herd of growing pigs are correlated, and that this correlation can be modeled using model parameters defined at different spatial levels. Therefore seven model versions are defined to reflect a variety of temporal correlation structures between the monitored drinking patterns. The model versions were trained on learning data of the two herds, and run on separate test data sets from the herds. Their ability to fit the test data is measured as mean square error (MSE). Results for the finisher herd indicate that drinking patterns from pens within the same section are correlated (MSE = 13.850). For the weaner herd, results indicate an inverse relation between the degree of correlation and the model fit. Thus, the best fit (MSE = 1.446) is found for the model version expressing least correlation in data from pens across the herd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review has been developed as part of the mEATquality project with the main objective to examine the types of extensification practices used in European pig husbandry and their effect on intrinsic meat quality. Literature search has resulted in 679 references in total, from which 53 showed a strict compliance with the goals of this review: 1) the use of local European breeds and their crossbreds (22 papers); 2) addition of forage to diet (9 papers); 3) increased space allowance (3 papers); 4) enrichment of environment (19 papers). The evaluation of selected extensification factors showed that not all of them have a clear impact on meat quality, and are often confounded. The most clear differences were observed when comparing autochthonous with commercial breeds, and systems with access to pastures or woodlands vs. indoor housing. Despite many studies focusing on the extensification of husbandry practices, some of the factors cannot be confirmed to have a direct effect on pork intrinsic quality. • Significant differences of pork meat quality were observed when comparing local with commercial breeds. • Autochthonous breeds have higher pH, IMF, a* and b*, or lower L*, compared to commercial pig breeds and their crossbreeds. • The access to natural forage affects the IMF content and the fatty acid profile of meat. • Pork from pigs kept outdoors often was darker and redder with lower pH and water holding capacity than in pigs kept indoor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • This paper proposed a new method for evaluating BCS based on shape analysis. • This paper provided a highly automatic GUI tool to evaluate the BCS of livestock. • The method in this paper is more general and is applicable to multiple species. • The method in this paper can be extended to other shape related research. Body condition has always been an important indicator reflecting the health status of livestock, and new automated and contactless methods for assessing it have also been continuously proposed. In recent years, with the continuous expansion of research on quantitative analysis of three-dimensional shapes in the field of agriculture, amount of studies has shown that quantitative analysis of shapes can promote the development of smart agriculture. This article proposed a method for quantitatively analyzing the local three-dimensional shape of livestock to evaluate their body conditions. This is a universal method that can be applied to various species. It uses the method of point-to-point correspondence in the three-dimensional shape to finely calculate the difference between shapes, and then maps the difference value to the range of the body condition score. The article analyzed the shape of 198 dairy cows, 100 beef cattle, and 201 pigs using body condition scores as test parameters. The accuracy of body condition evaluation within the range of error of 0.5 for dairy cows, 1 for beef cattle, and 0.5 for pigs are 100%, 87.61%, and 92.09%, respectively. Compared to previous methods for assessing body condition, the method proposed in this paper is more accurate and versatile. The dataset used in this study, along with the code implementation have been made publicly available in https://gitee.com/kznd/lshape-analyser/tree/master/MATLAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in 2018 has had a massive impact on the Chinese hog industry. Finding treatments for the disease has attracted scientists worldwide working on a solution. Using genomics technology could potentially prevent hogs from getting infected with ASF. Many people, however, hold negative attitudes towards genomics technology, even though the Chinese government supports the technology. This paper attempts to determine hog farmers' motivations to adopt genomics for breeding hogs that are more resistant to the disease. In doing so we focus on the impact of their risk preferences and related peer effects that might influence potential adoption. We present a case study using face to face interviews with hog farmers from two locations in China. Results indicate that hog farmers would likely purchase semen produced with genomics technology if the semen was ASF resistant, reducing the probability of ASF by at least 60%. Most hog farmers we surveyed were risk averse. Findings suggest that more risk-averse hog farmers are more likely to delay the adoption of ASF resistant semen as compared to more risk-prone farmers. Results from social network analysis indicate hog farmers' social network status, such as, centrality, does not affect the time frame in which they would adopt genomics technology. However, the genomics adoption time frame of a particular hog farmer is positively correlated with other closely related hog farmers' time frames. This study also finds hog farmers form networks with other farmers similar to them, not only do they share a similar attitude in adopting genomics technology but they also have similar risk preferences. Overall, this case study provides implications for local governments and companies trying to promote new technologies. • Analyzed hog farmers' motivations to adopt genomics. • Tested impact of risk preferences and peer effects. • Risk-averse hog farmers are more likely to delay adoption of genomics. • Hog farmers closer to others are more influential in disseminating information. • Hog farmers form networks with others who are similar to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the trichothecene mycotoxin, a frequent contaminant of pig feed. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a fast and ultrasensitive analytical tool for point-of-need applications to identify molecular fingerprint structures at low concentrations. However, the use of SERS for analyte detection with flexible and robust structures is still challenging. Herein, we have developed core-shell silver nanocubes coated with polydopamine (Ag NCs@PDA) SERS substrate for the quantitative detection of deoxynivalenol in pig feed. The Ag NCs@PDA substrate with ultrathin (1.6 nm) PDA shell thickness enhances the absorption of DON via hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions, as well as improves the stability of the substrate. The results of the SERS showed a high analytical enhancement factor (AEF) of 1.82 × 107 and a detection limit (LOD) as low as femtomolar range (0.82 fM). The LOD of the Ag NCs@PDA substrate for DON detection is 1.8 times lower than the bare Ag NCs. Furthermore, the Ag NCs@PDA substrate is stable which retains 88.24% of the original Raman intensity after storage for three months. The obtained results demonstrate that the Ag NCs@PDA substrates can realize label-free detection of deoxynivalenol mycotoxin with high sensitivity, reproducibility, and stability. Our work proposes a low-cost method for the designing of the SERS sensing device, and has great potential to be applied in food safety, biomedical sciences, and environmental monitoring. Unlabelled Image • Ag NCs@PDA SERS substrate detects deoxynivalenol (DON) ranging from 10−3 to 10−15 M. • Thin PDA shell enhances the absorption of DON through π–π stacking interactions. • Core-shell Ag nanocubes-PDA and filter paper allow flexible and robust detection. • The SERS enhancement factor was estimated as 1.82 × 107. • The limit of detection down to femtomolar range (0.82 × 10−15 M) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive farming may involve the use of diets, environments or management practices that impose physiological and psychological stressors on the animals. In particular, early weaning is nowadays a common practice to increase the productive yield of pig farms. Still, it is considered one of the most critical periods in swine production, where piglet performance can be seriously affected and where they are predisposed to the overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens. Pig producers nowadays face the challenge to overcome this situation in a context of increasing restrictions on the use of antibiotics in animal production. Great efforts are being made to find strategies to help piglets overcome the challenges of early weaning. Among them, a nutritional strategy that has received increasing attention in the last few years is the use of probiotics. It has been extensively documented that probiotics can reduce digestive disorders and improve productive parameters. Still, research in probiotics so far has also been characterized as being inconsistent and with low reproducibility from farm to farm. Scientific literature related to probiotic effects against gastrointestinal pathogens will be critically examined in this review. Moreover, the actual practical approach when using probiotics in these animals, and potential strategies to increase consistency in probiotic effects, will be discussed. Thus, considering the boost in probiotic research observed in recent years, this paper aims to provide a much-needed, in-depth review of the scientific data published to-date. Furthermore, it aims to be useful to swine nutritionists, researchers and the additive industry to critically consider their approach when developing or using probiotic strategies in weaning piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart hog breeding technologies have been viewed as practical solutions for environmental pollution, pork production inefficiency and food insecurity in rural areas. With difficulty in promoting these technologies, little is known about the role environmental regulation plays. Using 703 household survey data from rural Hubei, China, this paper identifies the impacts of different environmental regulation perceptions (i.e., supervisory, incentive and guiding regulation perceptions) on hog breeding farmers' intentions to adopt smart hog breeding technologies and on the intensity of their adoption intentions. Both multivariate probit model and ordered probit model are employed. Results show that smart hog breeding technologies are strong complementary. Farmers' environmental regulation perceptions greatly promote their intentions to adopt smart hog breeding technologies and their adoption intention intensity. Only the intensity of healthy farmers' adoption intentions is promoted by supervisory regulation perception. Compared to those without village cadres in family, the intensity of village-cadre group's adoption intentions is strengthened more by supervisory and guiding regulation perceptions. The greater incentive regulation perception is, the stronger the intensity of large-scale farmers' adoption intentions would be. The impacts of different environmental regulation perceptions on the intensity of adoption intentions are all partially mediated by value perception of smart agriculture. These findings suggest promoting smart hog breeding technologies jointly and underscore the importance of local environmental regulations in accelerating the diffusion of smart hog breeding technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A lightweight model for pig face recognition was developed using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical method and a hybrid attention module. Subsequent experiments were conducted to evaluate its performance. • The model effectively enhances training and inference efficiency, reduces the number of parameters and memory usage, and improves accuracy in the extraction of pig face information. • Experimental tests show that the model achieves 99.26 % recognition accuracy and has a size of only 1.52 MB, which makes it suitable for deployment on embedded devices. • The heatmap visualization of the model's attention to the region of interest shows that the model pays more attention to the pig face region compared to other models. • The model can provide technical support for the scientific management of pig farms, thus improving the feasibility of deploying lightweight intelligent devices in smart pig farms. Pig face recognition plays a significant role in intelligent pig farming. Accurate and lightweight methods for recognizing pig faces are crucial for precision pig farming. Generally, under the condition of the same computing resources, the lower the image resolution, the faster the model inference speed. Based on the above idea, this paper proposes a lightweight pig face model called RKNet-HAM, based on the fourth-order Runge-Kutta and hybrid attention mechanism. This model exhibits the most prominent focus on the semantic information of low-resolution(64 × 64) pig face images and achieves high accuracy in recognizing similar pig faces with a low error classification rate. A dataset of 21,742 images of 32 pigs was constructed for individual pig recognition. The proposed RKNet-HAM model and several other deep learning models, e.g., RKNet-CBAM, RKNet, ShuffleNetV2.0, DesNet121, and ResNet50. RKNet-HAM has a size of 1.52 Megabytes. Experimental results show that among these models, the proposed model ofachieved the highest accuracy, precision, recall, and specificity, with an accuracy rate of 99.26 %. RKNet-HAM also exhibits good generalization ability. It provides experimental support for mobile and embedded applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (GHRHR) is well documented in organism growth and its alternative splicing may generate multiple functional GHRHR splice variants (SVs). Our previous study has demonstrated the key pituitary miRNAs (let-7e and miR-328-5p) in pig regulated the expression of GHRHR SVs by directly targeting to them. And according to recent reports, the interplay between miRNA-based silencing of mRNAs and alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs is a crucial post-transcriptional mechanism. In this study, SF3B3 and CPSF4 were firstly excavated as the splice factors that involved in the formation of GHRHR SVs mediated by let-7e and miR-328-5p through the comparation of the expression relations of GHRHR SVs, let-7e/miR-328-5p and SF3B3/CPSF4 in pituitary tissues between Landrace pigs and BaMa pigs, as well as the prediction of the target relations of let-7e/miR-328-5p with SF3B3 and/or CPSF4. SF3B3 and CPSF4 targeted by let-7e and miR-328-5p were further verified by performing dual-luciferase reporter assays and detecting the expression of target transcripts. Then the RT-PCR, RT-qPCR and Western blot assays were used to confirm SF3B3 and CPSF4 were involved in the formation of the GHRHR SVs, and in this process, let-7e and miR-328-5p mediated GHRHR SVs by regulating SF3B3 and CPSF4. Finally, the target site of SF3B3 on pre- GHRHR was on the Exon 12 to Exon14, while CPSF4 acted on the other fragments of the pre- GHRHR , which were explored by dual-luciferase reporter system preliminarily. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the miRNAs regulate GHRHR SVs indirectly by splice factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on the effect of microbial phytase on apparent ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients in pigs were transcribed from a total of 28 peer-reviewed papers in order to determine response patterns and overall effects. Transcribing the digestibility responses from the various papers resulted in a database with 925 observations from diets that were principally based on corn, soybean meal, canola meal and various co-products such as ricebran, wheatbran and distillers dried grains and solubles (DDGS). The majority of experiments utilized grower pigs of approximately 30 kg live-weight fitted with ileal cannulas but pigs from 6 to 71 kg in weight were represented as well as studies using post-mortem digesta collection techniques. Most papers were published between 2005 and 2016 but several were published prior to these dates. Phytase doses represented ranged from 250 FYT/kg to 20,000 FYT/kg feed though most observations ranged between 500 and 1000 FYT/kg. The overall effect of microbial phytase inclusion on apparent ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients was +2.8% and this ranged from +0.9% for Met to +4.1% for Pro. Above average responses were noted for Pro > Thr > Gly > Trp > Glu > Ala > Asp and Phe with particularly modest responses for Met, Arg and Cys. Phytase effects on apparent ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients were greater in diets with lower inherent amino acid digestibility. Increasing phytase dose from 250 to 2000 FYT/kg had no significant influence on phytase effect on amino acid digestibility although extending this dose range to 20,000 FYT/kg resulted in a moderate increase in mean response. Pig weight at time of digesta collection had no significant effect on overall phytase efficacy. There was a significant but weak correlation between ileal phosphorus and amino acid digestibility responses to phytase. It may be concluded from the meta-analysis presented herein that phytase can significantly increase apparent ileal amino acid digestibility in pigs at various weights (at least from 6 to 70 kg). The pattern of response by amino acid is different from broilers and therefore a common amino acid matrix for both chickens and pigs is inappropriate. Furthermore, it may be that phytate, while remaining a poorly available source of P (and a potential source of myo-inositol), may not represent as potent an antinutrient (on the protein/amino acid axis) in swine as it does in broilers. Thus, the beneficial effects of phytase on amino acid digestibility in swine may originate more from increased dietary protein digestibility and less from meaningful changes in endogenous amino acid flow, an observation that has implications for the additivity of amino acid matrix values of different enzymes in both species. The present review suggests that different phytases with equivalent effects on phosphorus digestibility should have equivalent amino acid release values assigned and that species-dependent values are not only justified but of critical importance to optimal use of phytase in animal production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The paper reports for the first time Alaria alata mesocercariae in domestic pigs in Serbia. • This is the only reported case in domestic pigs over the past several decades in Europe. • Increasingly popular free-range pig farming may create a risk to animal and public health of alariosis. • The results should influence the growing awareness of alariosis as a potential human disease. • The results may serve as a reason for reconsideration of the appropriate regulations. Abstract Alaria alata (Diplostomidae, Trematoda), a potentially zoonotic pathogen, is the only Alaria species in Europe. In recent years, increasing reports of mesocercariae of A. alata in wild boars have been recorded in European countries; however there have been no described cases in domestic pigs over the past decades. Out of 272 diaphragm samples from wild boars (Sus scrofa) and domestic pigs (Sus scrofa), from Serbia, included in the present investigations, mesocercariae of A. alata were found in six (3%) samples from wild boars and in two (2.77%) samples from domestic pigs. Due to the lack of sensitivity of artificial digestion with a magnetic stirrer which was applied in the study, the true prevalence is estimated to be considerably higher in the area of investigation. Confirming the infection in domestic pigs and a wide distribution in wild boars in the area of investigation, the present paper should influence the growing awareness of alariosis as a potential human disease. The meat from free-range domestic pigs and game meat as a potential source of alariosis should always be adequately thermally treated before consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are 2 main reasons why pig gait is analysed. First, assessment of a pig's health and welfare is major reason for gait analysis. Also, the pig, as a large animal model, has become important in biomedical research, especially in preclinical testing of therapeutics. Gait is an essential part of pig movement and its analysis is of great interest, especially when following the phenotype and the effectivity of treatment in pig models for movement and neurological disorders. The aim of this state-of-the-art review is 3-fold: (1) to present and summarize the current instrument base used in pig gait assessment, (2) to point out promising technologies for pig gait analysis, and (3) to outline the suitability of technology for pig gait analysis. The review encompasses 27 studies in total. We included papers published since 2010 and classified them according to which type of measurement instrument was used: 2D camera systems, 3D camera systems, force plates and pressure sensitive mats. In each category we reviewed the data acquisition systems, utilized signals and gait parameters used. An analysis of the literature showed that video-based systems and pressure sensitive mats were the most frequently used. The utilization of 3D camera systems was less common. Force plates were only used occasionally. In conclusion, despite growing interest in using inertial sensor units in movement analysis, they were missing in pig gait analysis. Along with the progress in instrumentation and its ability to produce a huge amount of information, simpler and more user-friendly tools should be developed to provide easy interpretation of the data captured by pig practitioners in the pig industry, or by scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's increasingly complex traffic environment, pedestrian detection has become increasingly important. The Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) algorithm has been proven to be highly efficient in pedestrian detection. This paper proposes a low-resource consumption, high-speed hardware implementation for HOG algorithm. In the case of a slight sacrifice in accuracy, it increases computational speed and reduces resource consumption. Experimental results demonstrate that the implementation achieves a speed of 0.933 pixels per clock cycle and consumes 4117 look-up tables and 4.5 Kbits of block RAMs while its accuracy decreases by 1.2% on the INRIA dataset and by 0.11% on the MIT dataset. • The design determines the bin number by comparison to avoid complex calculations. • The design calculates the magnitude by approximation to avoid complex calculations. • This design improves computational speed and reduces resource consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave hydrothermal treatment is a promising technology for the environmentally friendly disposal and resource utilization of dead pigs. However, the hydrothermal transformation mechanism of animal-based biomass is unclear, impeding the regulated conversion of target products. To address this, bovine serum albumin, glycerol-oleic acid, and glucose were selected as model compounds for protein (P), lipid (L), and carbohydrate (C), respectively. In this paper, the product distribution and related properties of single, binary, and ternary model compounds at different microwave hydrothermal temperatures (120–240 °C) were investigated, and the essential reaction pathway of the dead pig model compounds during microwave hydrothermal treatment was proposed. The results showed that lipids dominated the formation of bio-oil. L&C and L&P showed a slight synergistic effect on bio-oil yield at 240 ℃, while exhibited antagonistic effects at other temperatures. L&P&C showed antagonistic effects on bio-oil yield at all temperatures. The participation of glucose was more conducive to the formation of carbonized solid products. The model compounds of dead pigs underwent a series of reactions such as dehydration, decarboxylation, deamination and condensation during microwave hydrothermal treatment. To a certain extent, lipids promoted the Maillard reaction of protein and carbohydrate, while glucose promoted the esterification reaction of fatty acids. [Display omitted] • The microwave hydrothermal was selected to transform typical animal-based biomass. • The model compounds were used for learning the conversion mechanism of dead pig. • The interactions of model compounds for product distribution were investigated. • Exploration of reaction pathways of dead pig during microwave hydrothermal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature (2012-4) describing experimental pig surgery was reviewed to estimate the extent to which neuromuscular block (NMB) is used, to examine methods for ensuring unconsciousness, and to identify the rationale for use of NMB and establish the anaesthetist's training. In the first stage of a two-stage review, NMB use was estimated using Web of Knowledge to identify articles describing NMB during pig surgeries. In the second stage, PubMed and Google Scholar were used to increase the number of articles for determining measures taken to prevent accidental awareness during general anaesthesia (AAGA). The corresponding authors of screened articles were emailed four times to establish the reason for using NMB and the anaesthetists' backgrounds (medical, veterinary, or technical). The first search revealed NMB use in 80 of 411 (20%) studies. Of the 153 articles analysed in the second stage, two described strategies to reduce AAGA. Some (6%) papers did not provide information on anaesthetic doses; citations supporting anaesthetic efficacy were found in only 13. Five of 69 papers using inhalation agents measured end-tidal anaesthetic concentrations based on human, not porcine, minimal alveolar concentrations. The methods in 13% of articles reporting anaesthetic depth assessment were incomplete or questionable, or both; four described using somatic motor reflexes. Corresponding authors of 121 articles reported that the principal reason for NMB was improved 'surgical visualization' (26%). Medical or veterinary anaesthetists supervised anaesthesia in 70% of studies; non-anaesthetists provided NMB, unsupervised, in 23. Nine respondents prioritized experimental expediency over pig welfare. In laboratory pig studies, AAGA may be prevalent; reported details of its attempted prevention are woefully inadequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blockage accident is a knotty problem for the pigs employed in pipeline inspection and dewatering operations. Compared with the onshore pipeline, the rescue operation of the blocked pig in the submarine pipeline is extremely difficult and needs enormous costs. It is important to evaluate the blockage risk of the pig when passing through the elbow, which is beneficial for ensuring the security of the pipeline and the pig. However, the blockage risk assessment in current engineering practice mainly relies on the structure size examination and experience judgment. In this paper, a novel dynamic analysis model which describes the traveling attitude and force state of the pig in the elbow is derived based on the modified Burgers-Frenkel (MB-F) model. Four typical blockage forms were introduced on the basis of a quantitative index system established according to the pig frictional contact characteristics after a series of calculations. In addition, a quantitative assessment method for predicting the blockage risk of the bi-directional pig was presented through the weighting approach of subjective and objective evaluation using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy combinational method. Then, the sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the importance and the influence rules of the different factors. • This paper simulated the running process of the bi-directional pig in the elbow using an FSI model with the CEL method. • A dynamic analytical model was built to describe the mechanical behaviors of the pig in the elbow based on the MB-F model. • A novel method was introduced to assess the blockage risk of the pig in the elbow based on the AHP-entropy method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper, a novel PIG is reported, and in this paper, more elements are given and a Deep-learning technology-based pigging scheme is proposed. The PIG mainly consists of a speed-control unit and a wax-removal unit which are connected by a couple of Hook joints. It differentiates itself from the previous proposal by outstanding features including measuring arms, turbine generator, etc. The realization of jetting, cutting, and bypass valve-based motion control mechanism is elaborated. To overcome the disadvantages of traditional wax-removal methods and improve the processing efficiency, a new intelligent wax-removal algorithm based on Convolution Neural Network is proposed to realize a real-time identification of different wax layer thickness. In addition, the training results of the Convolution Neural Network method are compared with some other traditional machine-learning algorithms to prove its superiority, and it lays a foundation for the practical pigging application in the future. [Display omitted] • A novel wax-removal PIG based on cutting bit and jetting. • A bypass valve based speed control of the PIG. • An intelligent pigging scheme based on Deep-learning technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of a marine oil-based n-3 LCPUFA supplement (mLCPUFA) fed from weaning until the end of the next lactation to sows with a predicted low litter birth weight (LBW) phenotype on growth performance and carcass quality of litters born to these sows were studied, based on the hypothesis that LBW litters would benefit most from mLCPUFA supplementation. Sows were allocated to be fed either standard corn/soybean meal-based gestation and lactation diets (CON), or the same diets enriched with 0.5% of the mLCPUFA supplement at the expense of corn. The growth performance from birth until slaughter of the litters with the lowest average birth weight in each treatment (n=24 per treatment) is reported in this paper. At weaning, each litter was split between two nursery pens with three to six pigs per pen. At the end of the 5-week nursery period, two barrows and two gilts from each litter that had individual birth weights closest to their litter average birth weight, were moved to experimental grow–finish pens (barn A), where they were housed as two pigs per pen, sorted by sex within litter. Remaining pigs in each litter were moved to another grow–finish barn (barn B) and kept in mixed-sex pens of up to 10 littermates. After 8 weeks, one of the two pigs in each pen in barn A was relocated to the pens holding their respective littermates in barn B. The remaining barrows and gilts were individually housed in the pens in barn A until slaughter. Maternal mLCPUFA supplementation increased docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration in the brain, liver and Semitendinosus muscle of stillborn pigs (P<0.01), did not affect eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA concentrations in sow serum at the end of lactation, and did not affect average daily gain, average daily feed intake or feed utilization efficiency of the offspring. BW was higher (P<0.01) in the second half of the grow–finish phase in pigs from mLCPUFA sows compared with controls in barn A, where space and competition for feed was minimal, but not barn B. Carcass quality was not affected by treatment for pigs from barn A, but maternal mLCPUFA supplementation negatively affected carcass quality in pigs from barn B. Collectively, these results suggest that nutritional supplementation of sows can have lasting effects on litter development, but that feeding mLCPUFA to sows during gestation and lactation was not effective in improving growth rates or carcass quality of LBW litters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The use of an anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine for immunocastration of male pigs has been recently approved in the European Union. This technique is potentially useful for avoiding both castration-associated pain for the animal and boar taint in pork. However, some animals may escape immunocastration and be slaughtered as entire males, potentially exhibiting boar taint. Therefore, it is important to check the efficacy of immunocastration on the slaughter line. To achieve that, the currently proposed method, based on testis weight, is not fully reliable because there is some overlap in the distributions of testis weight between immunocastrates and entire males. On the basis of literature data on the effect of immunocastration on the development of accessory sex glands, this paper provides evidence that the weight of seminal vesicles might be a much better criterion for checking the efficacy of immunocastration, because their size decreases more rapidly, and to a greater extent, than that of the testis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the flexural performance of a prefabricated steel–ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) composite deck (PSUCD) consisting of an orthotropic steel deck (OSD) and a reinforced UHPC layer under transverse hogging moment. Ten full-scale steel–UHPC composite slab specimens were subjected to four-point flexural tests, which varied shear connectors, steel reinforcement, and wet joint interfaces. The results showed that all specimens exhibited typical flexural failure with excessive opening of critical cracks in the UHPC layer. The specimens utilizing notched perfobond strip connectors (NPBLs) with perforating rebars had higher nominal cracking strength (maximum crack width of 0.05 mm) and ultimate capacity by 15% and 27%, respectively, compared to those using studs. The perforating rebars in NPBLs improved post-cracking performance, increasing nominal cracking strength and ultimate capacity by 14% and 16%, respectively. The lateral interfaces of rectangular-tooth-shaped wet joints resulted in a local weak link in PSUCDs, leading to a 17% decrease in nominal cracking strength, and as much as 26% if interfacial roughening was omitted. Increasing the diameter of surficial reinforcement from 10 mm to 12 mm improved nominal cracking strength and ultimate capacity by 20% and 17%, respectively. Considering the influence of wet joint interfaces, prediction models for maximum crack width, nominal cracking strength, and ultimate capacity were developed and validated for the performance design of PSUCDs under transverse hogging moment. • Flexural tests were performed on ten local full-scale composite slab specimens to elaborate the flexural behavior of a prefabricated steel–UHPC composite deck under transverse hogging moment. • The influences of shear connector types, presence of wet joint interfaces, and distributed reinforcement diameter on the flexural performance were experimentally identified. • Considering the impact of wet joint interfaces, simplified prediction equations for tensioned reinforcement stress, maximum surficial crack width, nominal cracking strength, and ultimate capacity were developed and verified by the test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi), which is one of the most common microsporidia, has been identified as an important obligate intracellular pathogen that commonly colonizes in a variety of animal species and humans worldwide, including humans. In this study, the statistical analyses of E. bieneusi infection and prevalence were performed to clarify the relationship between different genotypes in different countries. The databases Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Chinese Journal Database, Wanfang Data, PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect were used for data collection. The research data were subjected to subgroup, univariate regression, and correlation, to reveal factors related to the high prevalence of E. bieneusi. A total of, 34 of the 498 articles published before April 2022 met the inclusion criteria. The global prevalence of E. bieneusi in pigs was 37.69% (5175/12672). The prevalence of E. bieneusi in nursery pigs was 58.87% (588/946). In developing countries and Asia, the highest prevalence of E. bieneusi in pigs were 37.62% (4752/11645) and 40.14% (4715/11345), respectively. Moreover, humans and pigs have been found to be infected with the same genotype of E. bieneusi in some cases, as evidenced by the consolidation of genotype information. The results showed that pigs are susceptible to E. bieneusi during the nursery period. The prevalence of E. bieneusi is high in developing countries, and its genotype prevalence varies in each country. Thus, it is essential to strengthen the health inspection of vulnerable groups and customs quarantine inspection. • A total of 34 papers containing 12672 pigs from 12 countries were analyzed, and the prevalence was 37.69%. • The prevalence of E. bieneusi pigs in developing countries is higher than that in developed countries. • Higher positive rates were observed in pigs raised in scale farms. • A total of 265 ITS genotypes of E. bieneusi were found in investigated pigs • Pig is one of the important potential sources of E. bieneusi infection in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the structural behaviour of timber precast concrete composite (TCC) beam-to-column subassemblies subjected to hogging bending moments is investigated. Full-scale testing and analytical modelling are undertaken on timber precast concrete composite joints and beams. The composite actions were transferred via coach (lag) screw shear connectors embedded in the small grout pockets. The laboratory tests were designed to determine the influence of the size and type of timber beams (i.e., laminated veneer lumber (LVL) or glued laminated timber (GLT)), size of screw shear connectors and amount of reinforcement (in the slabs) on the structural behaviour (i.e., load-displacement, stiffness, capacity, and ductility) of the TCC beam-to-column connections. The hogging moment capacity and stiffness of the TCC floors with nominal slab thickness of 80 mm and reinforcing ratio (in the range of 0.9–1.8%) were up to 24% and 17% higher than that of the bare timber beam, respectively. The size of coach screw shear connectors (in the range of 8–16 mm) had less than 13% effect on the capacity and stiffness. An analytical model for calculating the peak load and stiffness of the TCC beams under hogging bending moment is developed. The model is shown to perform well when compared to the collected test data. • Behaviour of TCC beam-to-column connections under hogging moment is studied. • Slab reinforcing ratio had less than 24% effect on the hogging moment capacity. • Slab reinforcing ratio had less than 17% effect on the stiffness of the TCC beam. • A model for estimating stiffness & strength of TCC under hogging moment is proposed. • Full composite action increased the capacity & stiffness of the TCC by 56% and 38%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper studies the influence of point cloud-based pig's standard and non-standard posture on the accuracy of body size automatic measurement. • This paper proposed a point cloud-based pig posture quantization algorithm, which based on the median skeleton extraction gets 22 key points of the pig's skeleton and calculates all joint point vector eigenvalue set. • Both linear and nonlinear regression can effectively adjust the non-standard body length to the standard posture results. Automatic body size measurement of livestock using 3D vision technology is one of the current research focuses. Point clouds obtained from freely walking livestock involve a variety of postures. However, measuring livestock body sizes requires their upright and straight standard postures, and non-standard measurement postures such as bending their body or lowering their head lead to inaccuracy in body size estimation. In this paper, we analyze 207 groups of point cloud data collected from 25 landrace pigs, and propose a standard posture classification algorithm. By using the algorithm based on the median skeleton extraction, 22 key points of the pig's skeleton were obtained and all joint point vector eigenvalue sets were calculated. Then Bagging-SVM Posture Classifier was constructed, and by three experts' votes, comparisons were made between the automatic classification results and the manual classification results based on standard and non-standard postures of pigs. According to the automatic calculation of four parameters including body length, body height, body width and abdominal girth in standard and non-standard postures, the experimental data showed that the body size measurement results in standard postures presented high stability and consistency, while the results in non-standard postures fluctuated considerably, which significantly affected the accuracy and stability. The experiment showed that the ratio of standard postures to non-standard postures was 1:3. Finally, based on joint point vectors eigenvalues, the regression models were applied to adjust body length, body height, body width and abdominal girth in non-standard postures. The linear regression and nonlinear regression methods such as BP regression and SVR support vector regression were used for comparison. The experimental results indicated that various regression methods can significantly improve the accuracy of automatic measurement by correcting the pig's body size measurement results in non-standard postures. Therefore, it is essential to classify and adjust the livestock point cloud postures to improve the accuracy of three-dimensional measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tail biting in pigs is a multi-factorial problem, and the early rearing environment has been proposed as a potential previously unidentified factor. The aim of this study was to test whether access to chewable material from birth to weaning reduces later tail biting. Undocked litters of 59 sows were allocated to two treatments. In the rope-and-paper treatment (N=30), the farrowing pens were furnished from birth to weaning with 10 pieces of sisal rope and one plastic ball suspended on the wall, and the piglets were given newspaper and wood shavings twice a day. In the control treatment (N=29), plastic ball and wood shavings were provided. The average group size was 11 piglets per pen. The piglets were weaned during week 4 after birth and transferred to growing pens, combining two or three litters from the same treatment to each pen, on average 18 pigs per pen. The growing pens were identical for both treatment groups: each had three pieces of sisal rope and a plastic chewing toy. Wood shavings were given twice a day. Behaviour was recorded on video during weeks 2, 3 and 9 after birth. Tail damage was scored during week 9. During weeks 2 and 3 after birth, oral-nasal manipulation of other piglets was less frequent in the rope-and-paper pens than in the controls (P<0.001), while oral-nasal manipulation of objects was more frequent in the rope-and-paper pens (P<0.001). Newspaper and sisal rope elicited more activity than the commercial pig ball (P=0.001). During week 9, when both treatment groups had spent five weeks in identical post-weaning environments, oral-nasal manipulation of pen mates and objects no longer differed significantly between the treatment groups (P>0.1), but there was a significant difference in tail damage. Severe tail damage (part of tail missing, or wounds with inflammation) had a mean prevalence of 9.8% in the pigs that had paper and ropes before weaning, and 32.1% in the controls (P<0.001). Mild tail damage (healed or mild lesions) had a mean prevalence of 59.2% in the pigs with early experience of paper and ropes, and 44.7% in the controls (P=0.002). In undamaged tails, there was no significant difference between the treatment groups (P>0.1). It is concluded that providing chewable materials in early life has promising potential for reducing the severity of later tail biting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Monitoring scheme for individual growing-finishing pigs in pigsty. • Monitoring scheme employing a monitoring system and an area-determination algorithm. • Monitoring system mainly consisting of BLE tags and WBLCX antennas. • Area-determination algorithm estimating pigs' locations and movements. Recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have been applied to pig monitoring. Among these, electronic tags help identify individual growing-finishing pigs. Nevertheless, the tags are insufficient to achieve accurate and reliable monitoring in pigsties. Instead, advanced processing data for individual behaviors, such as visit times in the feeding and resting areas and the number of movements between these areas, are required. Numerically measuring the movements of individual pigs in the pigsty is a precondition for obtaining these data. This paper proposes a monitoring scheme of a large herd of pigs for individual identification and counting. As a technical solution, a monitoring system is developed using Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) tags and wireless broadband leaky coaxial cable (WBLCX) antennas. The monitoring system collects access data transmitted from the BLE tags attached to individual pigs. Then the monitoring scheme estimates the location and movement of each pig by computing the collected data. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the detection characteristics between the BLE tags and the WBLCX antennas and to show their performances. In addition, the effectiveness for the proposed area-determination algorithm and the monitoring system was verified by field experiments on a pig farm in Japan. Our experimental results are summarized as follows. First, data comparisons between the area-determination algorithm and visual inspections confirmed the validity of the proposed monitoring scheme. Secondly, by the monitoring scheme, the area movements and the dwell times of pigs in a pigsty could be investigated. From the experimental results, the use of the proposed monitoring is expected to be able to observe the locations and movements for large herds of pigs in the pigsty. This paper proposes a monitoring scheme based on identifying and counting of individual pigs, explains the details of the monitoring scheme on the basis of hardware configurations, and verifies its effectiveness and feasibility via experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matching of sketch and photo is very important in police verification and intelligence as it is used to track the criminals or some person. Therefore, it should be accurate so that mismatching of the sketch with photo can be avoided. For this, feature based matching method is introduced through this paper. Feature based matching includes a feature vector which contains features of the face image (either it is a sketch or a photo) in terms of histogram of oriented gradients (HoG) features and gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features. Computing the features, first, increases the chances of correct matches. It can be depicted from the results as well that, comparing with other state-of-art approaches, proposed method is more accurate in matching the sketches with photos of the same person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) is an imaging modality used for noninvasive, quantitative evaluation of tissue mechanical properties. SWE uses an acoustic radiation force to produce laterally propagating shear waves that can be tracked in spatial and temporal domains in order to obtain the wave velocity. One of the ways to study the viscoelasticity is through examining the shear wave velocity dispersion curves. In this paper, we present an alternative method to two-dimensional Fourier transform (2D-FT). Our unique approach (2P-CWT) considers shear wave propagation measured in two lateral locations only and uses wavelet transformation analysis. We used the complex Morlet wavelet function as the mother wavelet to filter two shear waves at different locations. We examined how the first signal position and the distance between the two locations affect the shear wave velocity dispersion estimation in 2P-CWT. We tested this new method on a digital phantom data created using the local interaction simulation approach (LISA) in viscoelastic media with and without added white Gaussian noise to the wave motion. Moreover, we tested data acquired from custom made tissue mimicking viscoelastic phantom experiments and ex vivo porcine liver measurements. We compared results from 2P-CWT with the 2D-FT technique. 2P-CWT provided dispersion curves estimation with lower errors over a wider frequency band in comparison to 2D-FT. Tests conducted showed that the two-point technique gives results with better accuracy in simulation results and can be used to measure phase velocity of viscoelastic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study demonstrated in economic terms that the elimination of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is economically viable in a few months. • The Mhyo-elimination protocols described in this paper have great success rate, and economic benefit is a likely outcome. • Even if the farm stayed negative only a year, the economic benefits downstream are worth it. • This information may be helpful for producers and veterinarians on decision-making process to conduct a Mhyo elimination protocol. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhyo) is generally accepted to be the most common porcine respiratory pathogen worldwide causing big economical losses in swine production by affecting pig's downstream performance. The objective of this study was to develop a partial budget model to determine the payback period and economic value of two Mhyo elimination protocols. Retrospective data recorded from 2004 to 2017 from 70 breeding herds that implemented herd closure or whole-herd medication protocol targeting Mhyo elimination. Close out data was used to estimate differences in downstream performance between Mhyo-negative and positive flows. Assuming a 5000 sows breed-to-finish operation producing 135,870 weaned pigs and 125,000 finishing pigs/year, the total cost for implementing Mhyo elimination was $112,100 using the herd closure protocol, and $185,700 for the medication protocol. Statistically differences (p < 0.05) in downstream performance were observed for ADG and mortality, but not for feed conversion rate. The parameters that accounts for the greatest benefits were related to the improvement in ADG, savings in antibiotic medication in growing pigs and improvement in feed conversion rate. The benefit of Mhyo elimination was $877,375 per farm per year, or $7.00 per pig marketed. The estimated project value after 1 year was $616,121 for the herd closure considering a probability of success of 83%, and $323,177 for the medication protocol for 58% chance of success. The project value reached the break-even point when the cost per sow was $145.64 for the herd closure and $101.78 for the medication protocol. The payback period was 2 months after the start of marketing Mhyo-negative pigs for the herd closure, and 7 months for the medication protocol adjusted for the probability of success for each protocol. The protocols described here can be easily applied with a good success rate and showing that the benefits obtained are greater than the costs of project failure. Even if the farm stayed negative only a year, the economic benefits downstream are worth the investment. This information may help producers and veterinarians on decision-making process to conduct a Mhyo elimination protocol in their herds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First model multi farm, multi stage and multi period to optimize a Pig Supply Chain. • Fattening planning under all-in-all-out management in a multi farm environment. • Collaborative research supported by a Spanish pig company. This paper presents a production planning model for managing the pig herd production system operating as a Pig Supply Chain (PSC). The model is formulated as a multiperiod mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). The production system may represent a large farmer, a private company or a cooperative managing several farms operating according to the so-called three site system (sow, rearing and fattening farms; the latter under all-in-all-out management). The model is intended for practical use and illustrated with a case study based on a real instance in Catalonia (Spain). The model helps PSC managers when making decisions by providing an overall view for planning production over time. The objective is to maximize the total revenue calculated by the total amount of sales to the abattoir minus production costs. The latter depend on the feeding system, veterinary and medical care, labor and transportation. Practical results include a schedule of animal transfers between farms, batch management and deliveries to the abattoir from fattening farms, number of trips and the occupancy rate of all facilities. Bottlenecks in the production process regarding flow of animals, throughput and capacities along the PSC were detected beforehand allowing the company to react accordingly. Then, as three fattening farms were found to be redundant, farm occupation rate could be improved by 22% purchasing additional piglets. We estimated a maximum purchase price of 70.15 Euros per piglet beneficial for the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract β-Lactamase (extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)/AmpC/carbapenemase)-encoding genes, primarily discovered in clinical settings, are increasingly recovering from the environment, thus posing potential threats to public health. This paper addresses the occurrence of high-risk β-lactamase genes (bla genes) in Chinese swine farm and its surrounding farmland, and investigated their seasonal variation and fate in piggery wastewater treatment system (PWWTS) using real-time quantitative PCR. It is observed that bla TEM-1 , bla GES-1, bla OXA-1 and bla AmpC were the dominant bla genes in swine farms, which were present in all pig feces, and prevailed through each treatment stage of PWWTSs. Furthermore, bla genes were more abundant in winter than that in summer, with 0.01–1.65 logs variation in swine wastewater. Troublesomely, significant bla gene levels were still discharged via the final effluents (up to 106 copies/mL) into farmland, resulting in the increase of bla gene abundance in soil (approximately 1–3 orders of magnitude). The discharge of bla genes in wastewater from swine farm highlights the need to mitigate the persistence and spreading of these elevated bla genes in agricultural systems. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • We report high prevalence of bla genes in swine farm in northern China. • Bla TEM-1 , bla GES-1 , bla OXA-1 and bla AmpC were the dominant bla genes in swine farm. • The bla gene of piggery wastewater in winter was more abundant than in summer. • Piggery wastewater utilization increased the bla gene abundance in farmland soil. • Wastewater irrigation is a significant pathway of bla gene propagation to farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The problem of face classification is to classify faces based on their visual appearance of the faces. In this paper, we investigate this issue by means Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) combined with both descriptors, which are the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and the Histograms of Oriented Gradient (HOG). In the first case, the BPNN is used individually for feature extraction and classification, in the second case, the DCT and HOG descriptors are used to extract features of each image, then, these extracted features are utilized as the input of BPNN to classify faces and non-faces. We perform an experimental evaluation of two facial databases, BOSS, and MIT. Our proposed approach which is (HOG, BPNN) has a significant improvement on classification rate compared to other used methods getting 99.4% and 98.03% in terms of accuracy on BOSS and MIT databases respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic selection and better control of the environment of the pigs have resulted in increased production levels concerning both reproduction and growth. Such high performances imply high physiological demands that may deteriorate health and welfare. The aims of this paper are to review the physiological challenges that pigs are facing, to identify possible consequences on health and welfare, to propose ways of detecting and correcting problems whenever possible. At weaning, piglets are submitted to abrupt changes in food supply, housing and social environment. Behavioural changes and efficient adaptations of the digestive tract are critical for their health and welfare. Physiological demands to support these adaptations and risks of failure are inversely related to the age of the pigs. During fattening, modern pigs have high daily weight gain especially of lean tissue as well as elevated feed conversion rate. These high growth performances are suspected to favour stress and disease susceptibility, undesirable behaviours as well as leg weakness, but further experimental data are necessary to validate these effects and find their origin. In reproductive females, high prolificacy generates elevated foetal demands for nutrients and space that are not fully met as shown by an increased number of light piglets having difficulties to adapt successfully to the neonatal life. During lactation, sows with high milk production have high nutrient requirements leading to intense catabolism that may affect their health, welfare and future reproductive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Slow pyrolysis or carbonization promotes the conversion of animal manures such as swine manure into charcoal. In this paper, the carbonizing kinetics of swine solids taken from different treatment stages were investigated with a thermogravimetric analyzer. Compared to their biologically stabilized counterpart (lagoon sludge) with an activation energy of 160kJmol−1, the activation energies for fresh swine solid samples such as homogenized flushed manure and dewatered solids were much lower between 92 and 95kJmol−1. Compared to the kinetics of first order decomposition of cellulose, the pyrolytic decomposition of the swine manures were more complex with the reaction orders varying at 3.7 and 5.0. The two different mathematical methods employed in this paper yielded the similar values of activation energy (E) and pre-exponential factor (A), confirming the validity of these methods. The results of this study provide useful information for development of farm-scale swine solid carbonization process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper constitutes an updated review of the production and meat quality aspects of rearing entire male pigs. Since a major obstacle in rearing entire males is the incidence of boar taint, possible methods for detection are also summarised. Safe and fast methods for detection of boar taint would be valuable in avoiding complaints from consumers. Pig meat quality is determined by many aspects, among which odour and taste are the most important attributes. Odour may be negatively affected by the presence of a pheromonal steroid, androstenone, and a fermentation product of L-tryptophan, skatole. Male pigs are surgically castrated in many countries to minimise the risk of accumulation of high levels of androstenone and skatole. Raising entire male pigs is more profitable because they have superior production characteristics and improved meat quality due to leaner carcasses and higher protein content, as compared to castrated pigs. Furthermore, surgical castration is negative from an animal welfare point of view. In most studies, no differences in sensory quality have been found between lean meat from entire male pigs with low levels of androstenone and skatole and pork from castrates and females. The question that remains is: which substances are responsible for boar taint besides androstenone and skatole and whether they need to be considered? The threshold values used for androstenone and skatole might also be too high for highly sensitive persons. Recent research shows that a human odorant receptor, ORD7D4, is involved in sensitivity to androstenone. If the ORD7D4 genotypes of consumer and expert panels are known, this might facilitate consumer studies in the future. There is still a great need for rapid on/at-line detection methods in abattoirs for identifying carcasses with unacceptable levels of boar taint compounds. Several emerging rapid technologies with a potential for boar taint detection have been investigated. They represent various measurement principles such as chemical sensor arrays (electronic noses), mass-spectrometry fingerprinting, ultra-fast gas chromatography, gas-phase spectrometry and biosensors. An industrial detection method should allow 100% correct classification of both acceptable and not-acceptable samples with regard to boar taint sorting criteria. There are, however, still too high a percentage of false negatives ranging from 5% to 20%. In addition, these methods do not yet seem to fulfil the industrial specifications with regard to cost efficiency, simplicity and analysis time. There is still no dedicated measurement technology available for on/at-line detection of boar-tainted carcasses that measures both androstenone and skatole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the evidence for host genetic variation in resistance to infectious diseases for a wide variety of diseases of economic importance in poultry, cattle, pig, sheep and Atlantic salmon. Further, it develops a method of ranking each disease in terms of its overall impact, and combines this ranking with published evidence for host genetic variation and information on the current state of genomic tools in each host species. The outcome is an overall ranking of the amenability of each disease to genomic studies that dissect host genetic variation in resistance. Six disease-based assessment criteria were defined: industry concern, economic impact, public concern, threat to food safety or zoonotic potential, impact on animal welfare and threat to international trade barriers. For each category, a subjective score was assigned to each disease according to the relative strength of evidence, impact, concern or threat posed by that particular disease, and the scores were summed across categories. Evidence for host genetic variation in resistance was determined from available published data, including breed comparison, heritability studies, quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies, evidence of candidate genes with significant effects, data on pathogen sequence and on host gene expression analyses. In total, 16 poultry diseases, 13 cattle diseases, nine pig diseases, 11 sheep diseases and three Atlantic salmon diseases were assessed. The top-ranking diseases or pathogens, i.e. those most amenable to studies dissecting host genetic variation, were Salmonella in poultry, bovine mastitis, Marek's disease and coccidiosis, both in poultry. The top-ranking diseases or pathogens in pigs, sheep and Atlantic salmon were Escherichia coli, mastitis and infectious pancreatic necrosis, respectively. These rankings summarise the current state of knowledge for each disease and broadly, although not entirely, reflect current international research efforts. They will alter as more information becomes available and as genome tools become more sophisticated for each species. It is suggested that this approach could be used to rank diseases from other perspectives as well, e.g. in terms of disease control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three different stages of pig antral follicles have been studied in a granulosa-cell transcriptome analysis on nylon microarrays (1152 clones). The data have been generated from seven RNA follicle pools and several technical replicates were made. The objective of this paper was to state the feasibility of a transcriptomic protocol for the study of folliculogenesis in the pig. A statistical analysis was chosen, relying on the linear mixed model (LMM) paradigm. Low variability within technical replicates was hence checked with a LMM. Relevant genes that might be involved in the studied process were then selected. For the most significant genes, statistical methods such as principal component analysis and unsupervised hierarchical clustering were applied to assess their relevance, and a random forest analysis proved their predictive value. The selection of genes was consistent with previous studies and also allowed the identification of new genes whose role in pig folliculogenesis will be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]