Translational Animal Science最新文献

{"title":"Influence of finishing systems on sensory characteristics and the mechanisms regulating tenderness formation in the <i>longissimus lumborum</i> of bison bulls.","authors":"Lydia M O'Sullivan, Clay J Newton, Keith R Underwood, Judson K Grubbs, Christina E Bakker, Thu Dinh, Carter Kruse, Amanda D Blair","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf032","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The objective of this study was to characterize the influence of finishing system on the sensory characteristics and mechanisms of tenderness formation in the <i>longissimus lumborum</i> (striploin) of bison bulls. Bison bulls (n = 196) were randomly assigned to one of two finishing treatments at approximately 25 mo of age: 1) Grain-finished (n = 98; placed in an open lot with ad libitum access to prairie hay, alfalfa hay, and whole shell corn prior to slaughter) or 2) Grass-finished (n = 98; bulls allowed to graze native pasture until slaughter). Bulls were harvested at approximately 30 mo of age and striploins were collected. Ultimate pH was recorded, and striploins were fabricated into steaks for assessment of sensory characteristics by consumer and trained sensory panels (steaks aged 14 d), and analysis of Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF; steaks aged 4, 7, 14 or 21 d). Additional steaks were aged for 14 d for determination of collagen content and sarcomere length. Proteolysis of desmin and troponin-T was evaluated on samples aged for 4, 7, 14, or 21 d. Consumer panel results indicate that grain-finished steaks had higher ratings for overall liking (<i>P</i> = 0.04) and flavor liking (<i>P</i> < 0.01) whereas off-flavor intensity was increased (<i>P </i>< 0.01) for grass-finished steaks compared to grain-finished steaks. Trained panelists indicated that grass-finished bison steaks had increased (<i>P </i>< 0.01) aroma and flavor intensities compared to grain-finished bison steaks and \"ammonia, metallic, and gamey flavors\" were associated with the grass-finished treatment. Warner-Bratzler shear force was affected by the interaction of finishing treatment with aging period (<i>P </i>< 0.01). Steaks from the grain-finished bulls became more tender (<i>P ≤ </i>0.02) as aging time increased from 4 d to 14 d, whereas WBSF of steaks from grass-finished bulls did not differ (<i>P </i>≥ 0.10) during this period. Steaks from grass-finished bulls were more tender (<i>P ≤ </i>0.01) than steaks from grain-finished bulls at 4 d and 7 d but treatments were similar (<i>P </i>≥ 0.61) at 14 and 21 d. Samples from grass-finished bulls had less (<i>P </i>< 0.01) intact desmin compared to grain-finished bulls. This study demonstrates that finishing system influences sensory attributes of steaks from bison bulls and highlights the role of proteolysis as the primary mechanism regulating tenderization of bison.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf032"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11971716/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143796404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent nutritional strategies and feed additives to stimulate proper rumen development in young goats.","authors":"Mahmoud M Abdelsattar, Wei Zhao, Mohamed Diaby, Einar Vargas-Bello-Pérez, Naifeng Zhang","doi":"10.1093/tas/txae164","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txae164","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Domestic goats (<i>Capra aegagrus hircus</i>) are important producers of milk, meat, and hair. The early weaned goats may face fundamental issues related to the incomplete rumen development to deal with the transition from liquid feeds into solid feeds. Therefore, the present review focuses on the nutritional strategies and feeding methods to enhance the proper rumen morphological development, fermentation efficiency and microbiota structure in young goats. The enhanced rumen development caused by these nutritional strategies can have lasting positive effects on their overall growth performance and health status, leading to decreasing mortality rates and susceptibility to disease after weaning. A wide range of areas was summarized including liquid feed management in preweaning goats (colostrum, milk, and milk replacer), solid feed management (concentrate and roughages), endogenous and exogenous volatile fatty acids and ketones, plant extracts, prebiotics and probiotics as well as rumen microbial contents that can be incorporated into the kids as an alternative to antibiotics to avoid pathogens and enhance the proper establishment of microbial community. Such nutritional strategies and current breeding recommendations can be used for the development of young goats' production systems to enhance the long-term digestive function efficiency in goats.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txae164"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11969336/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143796408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of two different rates of body weight gain during the first trimester of pregnancy or supplementing vitamins and minerals throughout pregnancy on primiparous beef cow milk production and composition.","authors":"Friederike Baumgaertner, Ana Clara B Menezes, Wellison J S Diniz, Todd E Molden, Jennifer L Hurlbert, Kerri Bochantin-Winders, Kevin K Sedivec, Megan R Wanchuk, James D Kirsch, Sarah R Underdahl, Carl R Dahlen","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf013","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We evaluated the effects of nutrition during pregnancy in beef heifers on colostrum and milk production and composition. For Experiment 1, crossbred Angus heifers were randomly allocated to a low (0.28 kg/d, [<b>LG</b>], <i>n</i> = 23) or a moderate rate of body weight gain (0.79 kg/d, [<b>MG</b>], <i>n</i> = 22) for 84 d after breeding, followed by management on a common diet until parturition. Colostrum samples were collected before first suckling and milk samples were collected by manual stripping of the teats 5 to 6 hours after calf removal on d 62 ± 10 and 103 ± 10 postpartum. At d 103, sampling techniques were compared by collecting a second sample after oxytocin administration and 90 s lag time. Colostrum somatic cell count was greater (<i>P</i> = 0.05) in LG (6,949 ± 797 × 10³ cells/mL) than MG (4,776 ± 797 × 10³ cells/mL) cows. In milk, percent protein was greater (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.01) in MG (3.03 ± 0.05%) than LG (2.87 ± 0.05%) cows. At d 103, oxytocin administration and extended lag time after teat stimulation increased milk fat content (<i>P </i>< 0.01) compared with immediate milk sample collection. For Experiments 2 and 3, crossbred Angus heifers were randomly assigned to receive either 113 g•heifer^-1•d^-1 of a vitamin and mineral supplement (<b>VTM</b>,) or no supplement (<b>CON</b>) from breeding until parturition. For Exp. 2, CON (n = 12) and VTM (n = 17) heifers were managed on a single pasture after parturition. On d 56 of lactation, 24-h milk production and composition were determined via a modified weigh-suckle-weigh technique using a portable milker. Milk yield and components (<i>P </i>≤ 0.91) were similar between treatments. For Exp. 3, twice daily milk yield was recorded for 6 CON and 6 VTM heifers for 78 d following parturition. Milk samples were collected on d 32, 58, and 78 of lactation for component analysis. No differences were observed among treatments in milk yield or composition (<i>P</i> ≥ 0.09). Milk production was affected by day, increasing until d 10 and remaining similar (<i>P </i>≥ 0.27) thereafter; however, protein was greater (<i>P </i>< 0.01) on d 58 compared with d 32 and d 78, and urea was reduced (<i>P</i> < 0.01) on d 78 compared with d 32 and 58. These experiments indicate that nutrition during early pregnancy has a sustained impact on milk protein but no impacts of vitamin/mineral nutrition during pregnancy were observed ion the subsequent lactation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf013"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11969335/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143796370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association of liver abscess with demographic factors, gross pathology, and gastrointestinal histologic morphology in feedyard mortalities.","authors":"Rachel E Champagne, Phillip A Lancaster, Brad J White, Paige H Schmidt, Madeline R Mancke, MaKenna Jensen, Brandon Depenbusch, Cody Nichols, Brandon L Plattner, Laura Carpenter, Katie Long, Kadyn Nuncio","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf031","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Liver abscesses (LA) are a major cause of hepatic condemnation in feedlot cattle (~ 20% beef carcasses) creating concerns surrounding carcass contamination, impaired performance, and antimicrobial stewardship. Due to antemortem limitations in determining LA status, risk factors for LA during the feeding phase are poorly characterized. The objective was to identify factors associated with the presence of LA in feedlot mortalities at necropsy, including demographic factors, and gross and histologic gastrointestinal (GI) morphologic lesions. Systematic necropsies (n = 900) were performed in 6 central U.S. commercial feedyards (June/July 2022 and 2023). Gross morphologic diagnoses were determined by technicians and confirmed by a veterinarian. Formalin-fixed sections of rumen, small intestine (SI), and spiral colon (SC) were collected from LA cases (n = 40) and time-, feedlot-matched controls (CON; no LA; n = 40). Demographic data collected included sex, days on feed at death (DOF), arrival weight, number of disease treatments, and estimated weight at death. Morphologic features were measured in GI tissues using hematoxylin and eosin stain and alcian blue stain was used to evaluate goblet cell area in SI and SC. General and linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate LA association with demographic, gross lesions, and histomorphologic changes identified in LA and CON cases. Steers had greater (<i>P</i> < 0.01) probability of LA than heifers (0.16 vs. 0.06, respectively). Dairy-influenced cases had a greater (<i>P</i> = 0.04) probability of LA than traditional beef breeds (0.30 vs. 0.03, respectively). Cases that were 101 + DOF had a greater (<i>P</i> < 0.01) probability of LA than those <50 DOF (0.20 vs. 0.06, respectively). Cases with peritoneal adhesions had a greater (<i>P</i> < 0.01) probability of having LA than cases without peritoneal adhesions. Liver abscess cases had wider (<i>P</i> = 0.03) rumen papillae and thinner (<i>P</i> = 0.05) keratin layer lining papillae in the rumen, and shallower (<i>P</i> = 0.02) crypts and thinner (<i>P</i> = 0.02) propria in the SI than CON cases. A tendency (<i>P</i> = 0.08) for LA cases to have a lower percent area of goblet cells in the SI than CON cases was observed. No differences in SC morphology were observed. Although results are biased to only feedlot mortalities, these findings indicate an association of LA with histomorphologic measures, gross pathology, and demographic factors. Further investigation is required to better understand factors influencing LA formation in feedlot cattle.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf031"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11971717/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143796357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial: Values shared by journals of learned societies, associations and scientific institutions in animal science.","authors":"I Ortigues-Marty, I Louveau, G Bee, J W Oltjen, P J Kononoff, J A A McArt, C Thomas, B D Fairchild, M Kogut, E Huff-Lonergan","doi":"10.1093/tas/txae179","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txae179","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txae179"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11879491/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143558157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behavioral and physiological indicators of stress in horses during an equine-assisted learning program for youth with a history of trauma.","authors":"Sarah K Matlock, Ashley Singh, Temple Grandin, Tamara Merritt, Terry Nett, Sarah Jean Reega, B Caitlin Peters","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf027","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Equine-assisted learning (EAL) is gaining in popularity due to its demonstrated benefits to participants, including increased social-emotional competencies and self-efficacy, and decreased symptoms of depression. Accordingly, EAL is increasingly utilized as a method to build soft skills for people who have a history of trauma and/or who may struggle with emotional regulation. Within the context of equine-assisted services (EAS) broadly, there is some evidence that participants who have trauma and/or emotional dysregulation may cause increased stress to horses when compared to interactions with other types of EAS participants (e.g., participants with cognitive delays, physical disabilities, etc.). It is important to understand the impacts of EAL for individuals with a history of trauma on the well-being of the horse. The purpose of this pilot study was to identify and compare the presence of behavioral and physiological indicators of stress in horses integrated into an EAL program for youth with a history of trauma who struggle with emotional regulation (n = 11) compared to the control condition of an EAL program for young adults with developmental delays (n = 7). Indicators of stress included salivary cortisol, eye temperature, and equine behaviors indicative of stress. We did not find significant differences in the indicators of stress in the horses when interacting with the youth with a history of trauma compared to the control condition (salivary cortisol, p = 0.55; eye temperature, p = 0.39; behavioral indicators of stress, p = 0.81). Contrary to previous findings, we did not find evidence that EAL with youth with a history of trauma increased the stress of the participating horses in comparison to EAL for a different population (young adults with developmental disabilities). Furthermore, we also found that physiological measures of stress were within normal ranges for both the experimental condition and control condition, providing further evidence that EAL does not appear to increase physiological stress in horses beyond normal ranges.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf027"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11971715/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143796368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of increasing levels of mycotoxin-containing corn fines and mitigants on nursery pig growth performance.","authors":"Duncan B Paczosa, Tyler B Chevalier, Sunday A Adedokun, Lan Zheng, Merlin D Lindemann","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf025","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The effects of feeding corn fines (screenings) containing mycotoxin levels greater than the FDA guidance (fumonisins) and advisory (deoxynivalenol) levels were evaluated using 150 crossbred pigs (initial BW: 6.42 ± 0.06 kg; 90 barrows and 60 gilts) in an 8-wk study by adding contaminated corn fines to create six diets. The corn fines used contained prestudy analyzed mycotoxin levels of 20,334 ppb total fumonisin, 1,499 ppb zearalenone, and 5,075 ppb total deoxynivalenol. The corn fines were added into a corn-soybean meal basal diet at 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% corn fines (Diets 1 to 4, respectively). Diet 5 was created by adding 40 ppm of boron (as sodium tetraborate decahydrate, 11.34% B) to Diet 4. Diet 6 was created by adding 0.25% Biofix Plus with FUMzyme (BPF; dsm-firmenich, Plainsboro, NJ) to Diet 4. Dietary treatments were fed for 6 wk; after that, all pigs received a common corn-soybean meal basal diet without fines for about 2 wk. The lightest, median, and heaviest pigs in a pen were selected at week 3, and serum was collected from those pigs on weeks 3, 6, and 8. Serum clinical chemistry and sphinganine:sphingosine ratio (SA:SO) were determined at week 6. Increasing fines linearly decreased ADG during weeks 1-6 (<i>P</i> = 0.03). Comparing Diets 4 and 5 to Diet 1 during weeks 1-6, there was a decrease in ADG (<i>P</i> < 0.05); subsequently, the difference in Diets 4 and 5 compared to Diet 1 was no longer significant for weeks 1-8. Comparing Diet 6 to Diets 1 and 4 during weeks 1-6, pigs fed Diet 6 were able to recover 57% of the lost ADG that occurred when corn fines were increased from 0% to 60%. During week 7-8 (all pigs on a common diet), pigs on Diets 5 and 6 had an increase in ADG compared to Diet 1. SA:SO linearly increased as fines in the diet increased (Diets 1 to 4; <i>P</i> = 0.001), but the addition of BPF ameliorated 95% of this increase. In conclusion, as mycotoxins increased, pigs exhibited negative effects in ADG, but the additive Biofix Plus with FUMzyme ameliorated a portion of these effects. Further, the recovery from week 7-8 from all pigs does show the importance of feeding clean corn to optimize ADG, ADFI, and gain/feed ratio.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf025"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11905220/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143624645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Performance, carcass, and pork traits in barrows and gilts slaughtered over 130 kg: insights from a Brazilian perspective.","authors":"Laya Kannan Silva Alves, Bruno Braga Carnino, Bruno Bracco Donatelli Muro, Monique Danielle Pairis-Garcia, Carolina Carvalho Dipold, Fernanda Mariane Dos Santos, José Enrico Monteiro Lo Buono, Pollyana Leite Matioli Garbossa, Fabiano Vaquero Silva Júnior, Cesar Augusto Pospissil Garbossa","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf023","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brazil is a major pork producer, with increasing market demands driving heavier slaughter weights. Sexual condition is a well stablished factor influencing pig performance, carcass composition, and pork quality, with previous studies focusing primarily on lighter pigs. This study compared the performance, carcass characteristics, and pork traits of heavy-slaughtered barrows and gilts. A total of 144 pigs (72 barrows; 72 gilts), with an average weight of 55.68 ± 6.48 kg, were utilized in a randomized complete block design. They were allocated into 48 pens based on sex and body weight. Each pen (three pigs of the same sex) was considered the experimental unit for performance evaluation across the growing, finishing 1, and finishing 2 phases, with ad libitum access to water and feed. After a 63-d trial, one pig per pen (n = 48; 24 barrows, 24 gilts) was slaughtered for carcass and pork trait analysis. Data analysis was conducted using SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC), and the effects of sexual condition were analyzed by ANOVA. Data were presented as least squares means, with differences deemed statistically significant at P < 0.05. Throughout the study, barrows exhibited higher average daily gain (1.306 vs. 1.206 kg, + 8.25%, P = 0.0004) and feed intake (3.378 vs. 2.957 kg, + 14.24%, P < 0.0001), while gilts showed superior feed efficiency (0.409 vs. 0.387, + 5.74%, P = 0.009). However no final weight was observed between barrows and gilts at the end of the trial, where they achieve 153 days of age (P > 0.05). Although hot and chilled carcass weights did not differ (P > 0.05), gilts had greater hot carcass yield (+ 2.83%) and chilled carcass yield (+ 3.08%) than barrows (P < 0.0001). Gilts also exhibited lower initial pH (-3.28%, P = 0.006) and initial temperature (-4.46%, P = 0.01), with no differences in final temperature. No differences were found in L* and a* color indices, but gilts had lower b* (-3.98%, P = 0.004) and Chroma (-4.06%, P = 0.008) values compared to barrows. These results suggest that increasing slaughter weight above 130 kg leads to minimal practical differences between barrows and gilts in performance, carcass traits, and pork quality, reinforcing the suitability of both sexes for heavier slaughter weights in Brazilian production systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf023"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11879026/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143558161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Driving change: exploring cattle transporters' perspectives to improve worker and animal well-being.","authors":"Paxton A Sullivan, Angela Varnum, Libby Bigler, M Caitlin Cramer, I Noa Román-Muñiz, Lily N Edwards-Callaway","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf021","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cattle industry has made considerable efforts to adopt more sustainable beef production practices. Still, the social pillar of sustainability-especially workforce well-being-often receives less attention than the environmental and economic pillars. There is also limited information about the perspectives of U.S. cattle transporters, who play a critical role in ensuring animal welfare during the final stages of the beef supply chain. This study explored cattle transporters' perspectives on management practices related to cattle care and well-being, training, work environment, and community. Cattle transporters (N = 74) from three trucking companies operating in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas participated in focus group discussions and completed a short, written survey. In total, 12 focus groups were conducted. In the written survey, 98.7% (<i>n</i> = 73) of survey respondents agreed with the statement <i>\"I have pride in the job I do,\"</i> and 97.3% (<i>n</i> = 72) agreed with the statement <i>\"Animal well-being is a critical component of my job.\"</i> Additionally, 96% (<i>n</i> = 71) of respondents agreed with the statement, <i>\"The training I have received at this job has prepared me well for transporting cattle,\"</i> highlighting the success of current education and training programs. Thematic analysis of focus group transcripts identified ten themes, including (1) Animal Welfare and Safety; (2) Feelings; (3) Human Welfare and Safety; (4) Learning and Training; (5) Money; (6) Opportunities for Improvement Throughout the Supply Chain; (7) Pride, Responsibility, and Care in Job; (8) Specialized Knowledge, Skills, and Commitment; (9) Unique, Positive Characteristics of the Job; and (10) Work Environment. Transporters expressed a strong sense of pride and responsibility in their work and viewed their role as essential to ensuring the well-being of cattle during transportation. However, they also identified several challenges, including ensuring human and animal safety, dealing with inadequate facilities, and a lack of cohesion among different supply chain sectors. As vital links between supply chain sectors, transporters offer unique insights. Listening to their daily observations could lead to improvements in operational efficiency and cattle welfare.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf021"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11905222/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143626161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heart rate variability responses of horses and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to ground-based adaptive horsemanship lessons: a pilot study.","authors":"Ellen M Rankins, Boluwatife E Faremi, Kyle Hartmann, Andrea Quinn, Hugo F Posada-Quintero, Kenneth H McKeever, Karyn Malinowski","doi":"10.1093/tas/txaf019","DOIUrl":"10.1093/tas/txaf019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heart rate variability (HRV) can be measured as an indicator of autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance and thus, stress and affective arousal. Mixed results have been reported in the limited literature addressing the effects of equine-assisted services (EAS) on HRV in the human and horse participants. The aims of the present study were to determine the effects of ground-based adaptive horsemanship (AH) lessons on veterans' and horses' HRV during weekly lessons as well as veterans' resting HRV outside of lessons. Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomly assigned to 8 wk of AH or control (CON, no changes in treatments or activities) conditions. Horses were assigned to AH or control (CON, stall in arena) conditions based on previous experience (EAS or recreational riding). Electrocardiogram traces from the veteran and AH and CON horses were recorded during the 30-min lessons. Traces were recorded during resting conditions before (PRE) and after (POST) the 8-wk period from AH and CON veterans and healthy, non-veterans. Heart rate (HR), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and low frequency to high frequency ratios (LF/HF) were calculated after identification of peaks with the Pan-Tompkins algorithm and manual correction during 5-min epochs. Data were analyzed with repeated measures, mixed model ANOVAs (SAS v9.4). HR was lowest (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.0323) in the horses and veterans during the first 10 min of the lessons. Veterans' RMSSD was higher (<i>p </i>≤ 0.0496) in weeks 4 and 6 than week 2. LF/HF was greater in veterans with PTSD than healthy, non-veterans across PRE and POST time points. Increased HR later in the lessons is likely a result of increased movement in the horses and veterans. An interval of decreased stress and increased resiliency might be present in veterans participating in multi-day AH sessions. Increased sympathetic arousal measured via LF/HF was not mitigated by 8 wk of AH. Horses appeared unstressed by the interactions as no changes in HRV were observed.</p>","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":"9 ","pages":"txaf019"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11926800/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143693392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}