Effect of shade on animal welfare, growth performance, and carcass characteristics in large pens of beef cattle fed a beta agonist in a commercial feedlot

Citation: Hagenmaier, J. A., Reinhardt, C. D., Bartle, S. J., & Thomson, D. U. (2016). Effect of shade on animal welfare, growth performance, and carcass characteristics in large pens of beef cattle fed a beta agonist in a commercial feedlot. Journal of Animal Science, 94(12), 5064-5076. doi:10.2527/jas2016-0935Feedlot cattle (n = 1,395; BW = 568 +/- 43 kg) were used to evaluate the effects of shade on animal welfare, growth performance, and carcass quality during the summer of 2013 in a Kansas commercial feedlot. Seven lots of predominately black steers and heifers (4 and 3, respectively) visually determined to be approaching the final mo on feed were identified, randomly gate-sorted, and allocated to pens located across the feed alley from each other to receive 1 of 2 treatments: 1) Shade (mean shade area = 1.5 m(2)/animal) or 2) No shade. Shade was provided using a 13-ounce polyethylene fabric and pens were oriented northwest to southeast. The mean starting date was June 13 and the mean days on feed for lots while on the study was 38 d. Cattle were fed a 77.67% DM steam-flaked corn-based diet and had ad libitum access to water throughout the duration of the trial. Zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZIL) was included in the finishing ration at an inclusion rate of 8.3 mg/kg of DM for the last 20 d on feed with a 3 d withdrawal period. Pen floor temperatures (PFT) were measured using an infrared thermometer and prevalence of cattle open-mouth breathing (OMB) was recorded on a pen basis. In addition to shade treatment, the effect of temperature humidity index (THI) on PFT and OMB was analyzed by classifying days as either "Alert" (THI 79). On the day of slaughter, pens within a replicate were kept separate through all stages of the marketing channel from loading at the feedlot until stunning at the plant. Pen served as the experimental unit for all measurements. There was a THI x shade treatment interaction for PFT and OMB (P 0.05). Heat stress, a significant animal welfare concern and cause of reduced performance in feedlot cattle during the final phase of the feeding period, was alleviated in shaded cattle and illustrates the importance of shade provision as 1 tool to protect the welfare and increase feed consumption in large pens of feedlot cattle during hot summer months

Pathologies of acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle

Citation: Valles, J. A., Apley, M. D., Reinhardt, C. D., Bartle, S. J., & Thomson, D. U. (2016). Pathologies of acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 11(1), 1-7. doi:10.3844/ajavsp.2016.1.7Acute Interstitial Pneumonia (AIP) is a costly issue that affects feedlot cattle. Research has yet to elucidate the etiology of AIP; therefore a case-control study was conducted to evaluate possible management and physiological factors that contribute to AIP in feedlot cattle. The experiment was conducted during the summer of 2011 in a commercial feedyard in Kansas. Animals exhibiting clinical signs of AIP and a control animal from the same pen were selected for ante-mortem examination. Post-mortem AIP cases were also selected for additional examination. Ante-mortem measurements included rumen gas cap hydrogen sulfide and pH, rectal temperature and body weight. Post-mortem examination added histological examination of lung tissue. Rectal temperature was greater in the AIP cattle (40.6±0.16°C) than controls (39.7±0.16°C; p0.10). Post-mortem rumen pH values were 6.3±0.4 and 5.7±0.6 for AIP and control cattle, respectively. Histological evaluation of lung samples showed that bronchiolitis was present in about 90% of the cattle affected with AIP. About 75% of the cattle with AIP also had bronchopneumonia. No relationships between feed intake patterns, or serum amylase or lipase levels were noted between treatments (p>0.20). This study generally confirms that AIP tends to occur more in heifers relative to steers, occurs in cattle at heavier weights or later in the feeding period and tends to be associated pathologically with bronchio’ litis and bronchopneumonia. The lack of differences in rumen measures and the feed intake data between AIP and control cattle suggest that feed intake patterns and rumen fermentation may not impact AIP in feedlot cattle and that it may be more directly related to bronchiolitis/bronchopneumonia due to chronic irritation or infection. © 2016 Jose A. Valles, Michael D. Apley, Chris D. Reinhardt, Steven J. Bartle and Daniel U. Thomson

Cattle handling technique can induce fatigued cattle syndrome in cattle not fed a beta adrenergic agonist

Citation: Frese, D. A., Reinhardt, C. D., Bartle, S. J., Rethorst, D. N., Hutcheson, J. P., Nichols, W. T., . . . Thomson, D. U. (2016). Cattle handling technique can induce fatigued cattle syndrome in cattle not fed a beta adrenergic agonist. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 581-591. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9824Angus crossbred steers (n = 40; 563 +/- 44 kg) were used to examine the effects of handling method and fat thickness on the blood chemistry and physiology of market steers. Steers were blocked by backfat (BF) thickness and were randomly assigned to treatment groups: low-stress handling (LSH) and aggressive handling (AH). Cattle were then ran-domly assigned to one of 5 blocks containing 4 steers from the LSH and AH treatments. Steers in the LSH treatment were walked and AH cattle were run through a course of 1,540 m. Blood samples were obtained via jugular venipuncture before handling (BASE), at 770 m (LAP1), at 1,540 m (LAP2), and at1 h (1H) and 2 h (2H) after finishing the course. Blood samples were analyzed for plasma lactate (LAC), creatinine kinase (CK), base excess (BE), blood pH (pH), serum cortisol (CORT) concentrations, and venous carbon dioxide (PvCO2) and oxygen (PvO2) pressures. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and rectal temperature (TEMP) were measured at the same intervals. Cattle in the AH treatment had greater (P 0.14). Blood pH in AH cattle was decreased compared with that in LSH cattle (P 0.13) at BASE, 1H, or 2H. Heart rate and TEMP were increased in AH cattle compared to LSH (P > 0.01). Serum cortisol was increased (P < 0.05) in AH compared to that in LSH cattle at LAP1 (87.5 vs. 58.9 nmol/ L), LAP2 (144.4 vs. 93.1 nmol/ L), and 1H (113.5 vs. 53.1 nmol/ L). Although RR was not differ-ent between LSH and AH, PvCO2 was decreased in AH compared to that in LSH (P < 0.05) at LAP2 (30.6 vs. 39.3 mmHg) and PvO2 was increased at LAP1 (42.7 vs. 33.5 mmHg) and at LAP2 (51.5 vs. 36.6 mmHg). Lactate was increased in AH cattle in the thicker BF group at 1H (P < 0.05), and blood pH was decreased at LAP1, LAP2, and 1H (P < 0.05) compared to the thinner BF cohorts. Four AH steers became exhausted (EXH) and did not complete the course. Increased CK, decreased PvCO2, and muscle tremors occurred in EXH steers compared to non-exhausted AH cohorts. Results of this study show that AH causes physiologic and blood chemistry changes in steers, which can be potentially detrimental to cattle, emphasizing the need for lowstress handling practices

System-wide approaches to antimicrobial therapy and antimicrobial resistance in the UK: the AMR-X framework

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens human, animal, and environmental health. Acknowledging the urgency of addressing AMR, an opportunity exists to extend AMR action-focused research beyond the confines of an isolated biomedical paradigm. An AMR learning system, AMR-X, envisions a national network of health systems creating and applying optimal use of antimicrobials on the basis of their data collected from the delivery of routine clinical care. AMR-X integrates traditional AMR discovery, experimental research, and applied research with continuous analysis of pathogens, antimicrobial uses, and clinical outcomes that are routinely disseminated to practitioners, policy makers, patients, and the public to drive changes in practice and outcomes. AMR-X uses connected data-to-action systems to underpin an evaluation framework embedded in routine care, continuously driving implementation of improvements in patient and population health, targeting investment, and incentivising innovation. All stakeholders co-create AMR-X, protecting the public from AMR by adapting to continuously evolving AMR threats and generating the information needed for precision patient and population care

Review of Intrinsic Motivation in Simulation-based Game Testing

This paper presents a review of intrinsic motivation in player modeling, with a focus on simulation-based game testing. Modern AI agents can learn to win many games; from a game testing perspective, a remaining research problem is how to model the aspects of human player behavior not explained by purely rational and goal-driven decision making. A major piece of this puzzle is constituted by intrinsic motivations, i.e., psychological needs that drive behavior without extrinsic reinforcement such as game score. We first review the common intrinsic motivations discussed in player psychology research and artificial intelligence, and then proceed to systematically review how the various motivations have been implemented in simulated player agents. Our work reveals that although motivations such as competence and curiosity have been studied in AI, work on utilizing them in simulation-based game testing is sparse, and other motivations such as social relatedness, immersion, and domination appear particularly underexplored

Oil Mallee must look to multi-product industries

Oil mallees are one of the preferred options to combat dryland salinity in the Western Australian wheatbelt, but their economics are uncertain. We compare three scenarios: on-farm mallee oil production, industrial oil and wood-based electricity production, and a combined oil, electricity and activated carbon system. Only the third option has any serious chances of being a profitable venture, with the second being the worst. The first could break even if oil yields increased from 3 to 4%. Results are sensitive to the price volatility of activated carbon and the operations cost of the cogeneration plant