Logistic Regression Analysis of Factors Influencing Mobile Application Adoption in Smallholder Livestock Farming: A Case Study from Northern Thailand

This study examines the factors affecting the adoption of mobile farming management applications by smallholder livestock farmers in Northern Thailand. Data from 300 farmers were analyzed using binary logistic regression to evaluate 14 independent variables and their influence on application use. Four significant factors were identified: education level, participation in training programs, extension support, and membership in farmer associations. Education and participation in training programs were highly significant (p<0.001), whereas extension support and membership in farmer associations were both significantly associated with mobile application use (p<0.01 and p<0.05). Our findings indicate that educational initiatives, training programs, and strong extension support are crucial in enhancing mobile application adoption. Farmer associations also play a vital role in promoting technology use through peer influence and social networks. These insights highlight the importance of targeted strategies to improve mobile application adoption, thereby contributing to more efficient livestock management practices. To create practical and long-term digital solutions specifically designed to meet smallholder farmers’ requirements, it is essential to gain an in-depth understanding of these elements. The findings highlight the importance of addressing educational gaps, promoting training programs, and enhancing extension services to encourage technology adoption among smallholder farmers. By focusing on these critical factors, farmers can increase their adoption of mobile applications, thereby improving livestock management efficiency and enhancing the adaptability of smallholder farming systems in rural areas

Growth Performance and Hematology of Khao Lamphun Calves with the Implementation of Creep Feeding

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of creep feeding on growth performance and the hematological and biochemical profiles of Khao Lamphun calves. Twenty Khao Lamphun cow-calf pairs were randomly allotted into two treatments: T1, no supplementation of creeping feed (n=10), and T2, with concentrates as creep-feeding (n=10). Production or growth performance was evaluated based on body weight gain (BWG), heart girth (HG), hip height (HH), and body length (BL) throughout the experimentation. By day 120, the final live weight of the creep-fed calves was greater than the non-creep-fed calves, p<0.01). The creep-fed calves also showed a higher average BWG than the non-creep-fed calves. The final body conformation indices, i.e., HG, HH, and BL of the creep-fed calves, were higher than the non-creep-fed p<0.05). The hematological profiles showed no difference in the plasma glucose levels between the two groups. The cholesterol level of the creep-fed calves was higher than the non-creep-fed calves (p<0.05). Similarly, no differences were found in calf's serum biochemical and differential leukocyte profiles between treatment groups. In conclusion, the implementation of creep feeding can lead to improved growth performance and health parameters of Khao Lamphun calves. Therefore, it is recommended as a routine practice to enhance the productivity of Khao Lamphun calves in Thailand and, presumably, in other cattle farms

Successful induction of antisera against rabbit embryos for isolation of the ICM and putative embryonic stem cells

In Expt 1, goat antisera against rabbit blastocysts were induced using spleen cell injection and skin-graft for immunosurgical isolation of ICM cells. Goats received rabbit spleen cell suspension (4 x 10(8) cells/ml) intravenously once a week for three consecutive weeks, plus an additional dose (boost injection) 10 days after the third injection, or a piece of rabbit skin (3 x 3 cm) transplantation. Blood samples were collected starting from the day after the last cell injection for 21 days. Serum was separated, heat inactivated and stored in frozen condition before titre analysis. Results showed that the anti sera/antibodies derived by spleen cell injection reached their peak titre 7 days after the last cell injection, compared with 5 days by the skin-grafted group. In Expt 2, morphologically normal blastocysts were collected for isolating ICMs immunosurgically or for direct culture of zona-free whole blastocysts. In both methods, ICM cells started attaching to the feeder layer and outgrowing from the centre portion of the cells on day 3 after the onset of culture. ICM outgrowths increased in size during days 4-5, and most cells differentiated morphologically after day 6. One colony derived from isolated ICM developed into morphologically ES-like cells expressing alkaline phosphatase activity. Our results indicated that both skin-grafting and spleen cell injection were effective inducing antisera against rabbit embryonic cells. More studies are required to optimize the culture system for rabbit ES cells

Characterization of Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from New Zealand White Rabbit Embryos

The purposes of this study were to examine technical details in deriving and maintaining rabbit embryonic stem (rES) cell lines and to analyze their characteristics. When STO cells were used as feeder cells, no rES cell lines were established using either intact blastocysts or inner cell masses (ICMs). On the mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) feeder, rES cell lines were efficiently (24%) derived. Addition of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) to the cells cultured on the MEF feeders further increased the derivation efficiency (57%) of rES cells. The fact that LIF induced serine-phosphorylation of STAT3 suggested LIF-dependent maintenance of rES cells. Most of the rES cell lines expressed AP, SSEA-4, Oct4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81. Western blot or RT-PCR analysis also confirmed the expression of Oct4, Nanog, and Sox2. When induced to form EBs in vitro or injected to the severe combined immunodeficiency ( SCID) mice, the rES cells generated embryoid bodies (EBs) and teratomas with three germ layers expressing the marker genes including MAP2, Desmin, and GATA4, respectively. In conclusion, rabbit ES cell lines can be efficiently established using our current protocols with LIF supplement. These ES cells express pluripotent stem cell markers and retain their capability to differentiate into different tissue cells. Furthermore, rES cells depend on LIF for self-renewal, likely via the JAK-STAT pathway