Economy of forage-based cattle beef and milk production

For nokre av driftsystema vi granska i SusCatt-prosjektet undersøkte vi nærmare korleis ein overgang til meir grovfôrbasert fôring kan ha å seie for lønnsemda. Fem SusCatt-system blei vurdert, inkludert arbeidet i Sverige der en samanlikna effekt av rase og fôrstyrke på storfekjøttproduksjon av både oksar og kastratar frå mjølkekyr, og i Storbritannia med rein grovfôrbasert storfekjøttproduksjon frå ammekyr. I mjølkeproduksjonen, blei effekt av kraftfôrnivå på lønnsemd studert ved bruk av husdyrkontrolldata i Noreg og for italienske gardar effekten av å redusere mengde maissurfôr i rasjonen...publishedVersio

The Use of the General Animal-Based Measures Codified Terms in the Scientific Literature on Farm Animal Welfare

Background: The approach to farm animal welfare evaluation has changed and animal-based measures (ABM), defined as the responses of an animal or effects on an animal, were introduced to assess animal welfare. Animal-based measures can be taken directly on the animal or indirectly and include the use of animal records. They can result from a specific event or be the cumulative outcome of many days, weeks, or months. The objective of the current study was to analyze the use of general ABM codified terms in the scientific literature, the presence of their definitions, and the gap mapping of their use across animal species, categories, years of publication, and geographical areas of the corresponding author's institution. The ultimate aim was to propose a common standard terminology to improve communication among stakeholders. In this study, data models were populated by collecting information coming from scientific papers extracted through a transparent and reproducible protocol using Web of Science(TM) and filtering for the general ABM codified terms (or synonyms/equivalents). A total of 199 papers were retained, and their full texts were assessed. The frequency of general codified ABM terms was analyzed according to the classification factors listed in the objectives. These papers were prevalently European (159 documents), and the most represented species was cattle. Fifty percent of the papers did not provide a definition of the general ABM terms, and 54% cited other sources as reference for their definition. The results of the study showed a very low penetration of the general codified ABM term in the literature on farm animal welfare, with only 1.5% of the papers including the term ABM. This does not mean that specific ABM are not studied, but rather that these specific ABM are not defined as such under a common umbrella, and there is no consensus on the use of terminology, not even among scientists. Thus, we cannot expect the stakeholders to use a common language and a standardized terminology. The recognition and the inclusion of ABM in the lists of commonly accepted abbreviations of scientific journals could be a first step to harmonize the terminology in the scientific literature

SusCatt Synthesis report : Productivity, resource efficiency and product quality of forage and grazing based cattle production systems

SusCatt considered a wide range of innovations or system comparisons in the 6 countries, all aimed to improve sustainability within European cattle farming. On the whole, these involved reducing production intensity, making greater use of home-grown grass and other forage crops on farms – generally with promising results for beef and dairy production when we considered their potential impact across the 3 pillars of sustainability...publishedVersio

Economy of forage-based cattle beef and milk production

For nokre av driftsystema vi granska i SusCatt-prosjektet undersøkte vi nærmare korleis ein overgang til meir grovfôrbasert fôring kan ha å seie for lønnsemda. Fem SusCatt-system blei vurdert, inkludert arbeidet i Sverige der en samanlikna effekt av rase og fôrstyrke på storfekjøttproduksjon av både oksar og kastratar frå mjølkekyr, og i Storbritannia med rein grovfôrbasert storfekjøttproduksjon frå ammekyr. I mjølkeproduksjonen, blei effekt av kraftfôrnivå på lønnsemd studert ved bruk av husdyrkontrolldata i Noreg og for italienske gardar effekten av å redusere mengde maissurfôr i rasjonen..

Targeting RAGE prevents muscle wasting and prolongs survival in cancer cachexia

Abstract Background Cachexia, a multifactorial syndrome affecting more than 50% of patients with advanced cancer and responsible for ~20% of cancer‐associated deaths, is still a poorly understood process without a standard cure available. Skeletal muscle atrophy caused by systemic inflammation is a major clinical feature of cachexia, leading to weight loss, dampening patients' quality of life, and reducing patients' response to anticancer therapy. RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end‐products) is a multiligand receptor of the immunoglobulin superfamily and a mediator of muscle regeneration, inflammation, and cancer. Methods By using murine models consisting in the injection of colon 26 murine adenocarcinoma (C26‐ADK) or Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells in BALB/c and C57BL/6 or Ager−/− (RAGE‐null) mice, respectively, we investigated the involvement of RAGE signalling in the main features of cancer cachexia, including the inflammatory state. In vitro experiments were performed using myotubes derived from C2C12 myoblasts or primary myoblasts isolated from C57BL/6 wild type and Ager−/− mice treated with the RAGE ligand, S100B (S100 calcium‐binding protein B), TNF (tumor necrosis factor)α±IFN (interferon) γ, and tumour cell‐ or masses‐conditioned media to analyse hallmarks of muscle atrophy. Finally, muscles of wild type and Ager−/− mice were injected with TNFα/IFNγ or S100B in a tumour‐free environment. Results We demonstrate that RAGE is determinant to activate signalling pathways leading to muscle protein degradation in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines and/or tumour‐derived cachexia‐inducing factors. We identify the RAGE ligand, S100B, as a novel factor able to induce muscle atrophy per se via a p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase)/myogenin axis and STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3)‐dependent MyoD (myoblast determination protein 1) degradation. Lastly, we found that in cancer conditions, an increase in serum levels of tumour‐derived S100B and HMGB1 (high mobility group box 1) occurs leading to chronic activation/overexpression of RAGE, which induces hallmarks of cancer cachexia (i.e. muscle wasting, systemic inflammation, and release of tumour‐derived pro‐cachectic factors). Absence of RAGE in mice translates into reduced serum levels of cachexia‐inducing factors, delayed loss of muscle mass and strength, reduced tumour progression, and increased survival. Conclusions RAGE is a molecular determinant in inducing the hallmarks of cancer cachexia, and molecular targeting of RAGE might represent a therapeutic strategy to prevent or counteract the cachectic syndrome

Seasonal Variation in Raw Milk VOC Profile within Intensive Feeding Systems

The study aimed to assess the seasonal variation in raw milk volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from three indoor feeding systems based on maize silage (n = 31), silages/hay (n = 19) or hay (n = 16). After headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), VOC profiles were determined by gas chromatography (GC). Chemical and VOC (log10 transformations of the peak areas) data were submitted to a two-way ANOVA to assess the feeding system (FS) and season (S) effects; an interactive principal component analysis (iPCA) was also performed. The interaction FS × S was never significant. The FS showed the highest (p p p < 0.05) in urea and 2-pentanol and methyl aldehydes. The iPCA confirmed a seasonal spatial separation. Carboxylic acids might generate from incomplete esterification in the mammary gland and/or milk lipolytic activity, while aldehydes seemed to be correlated with endogenous lipid or amino acid oxidation and/or feed transfer. The outcomes suggested that VOCs could be an operative support to trace raw milk for further mild processing

A Scoping Review on GIS Technologies Applied to Farmed Fish Health Management

Finfish aquaculture, one of the fastest growing intensive sectors worldwide, is threatened by numerous transmissible diseases that may have devastating impacts on its economic sustainability. This review (2010–2022) used a PRISMA extension for scoping reviews and a text mining approach to explore the extent to which geographical information systems (GIS) are used in farmed fish health management and to unveil the main GIS technologies, databases, and functions used to update the spatiotemporal data underpinning risk and predictive models in aquatic surveillance programmes. After filtering for eligibility criteria, the literature search provided 54 records, highlighting the limited use of GIS technologies for disease prevention and control, as well as the prevalence of GIS application in marine salmonid farming, especially for viruses and parasitic diseases typically associated with these species. The text mining generated five main research areas, underlining a limited range of investigated species, rearing environments, and diseases, as well as highlighting the lack of GIS-based methodologies at the core of such publications. This scoping review provides a source of information for future more detailed literature analyses and outcomes to support the development of geospatial disease spread models and expand in-field GIS technologies for the prevention and mitigation of fish disease epidemics

SusCatt Synthesis report : Productivity, resource efficiency and product quality of forage and grazing based cattle production systems

SusCatt considered a wide range of innovations or system comparisons in the 6 countries, all aimed to improve sustainability within European cattle farming. On the whole, these involved reducing production intensity, making greater use of home-grown grass and other forage crops on farms – generally with promising results for beef and dairy production when we considered their potential impact across the 3 pillars of sustainability..