Factors contributing to high performance of sows in free farrowing systems.

Background: Pressure to abolish farrowing crates is increasing, and producers are faced with decisions about which alternative system to adopt. For sow welfare, well designed free farrowing systems without close confinement are considered optimal but producers have concerns about increased piglet mortality, particularly crushing by the sow. Reporting accurate performance figures from commercial farms newly operating such systems could inform the transition process.

Piglets' behaviour and performance in relation to sow characteristics.

The importance of maternal care in commercial pig production is largely ignored. The sow has little possibility to interact with her piglets, and piglets are often subjected to early weaning or artificial rearing. This study aimed to investigate aspects of physiological and behavioural maternal provisioning that contribute to offspring outcomes.

Characterizing candidate decompression rates for hypobaric hypoxic stunning of pigs. Part 1: Reflexive behavior and physiological responses.

Alternatives to carbon dioxide (CO) stunning for the commercial slaughter of pigs are urgently needed because there is robust evidence that exposing pigs to hypercapnic environments is associated with pain, fear, and distress. Hypobaric hypoxia (via gradual decompression, also known as Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning or LAPS) has been validated in poultry as a humane option, but its potential to improve the welfare of pigs at slaughter is unknown. We investigated the potential of hypobaric hypoxia to reliably elicit a non-recovery state in anesthetized weaner-grower pigs within a commercially viable timeframe.

Transitioning from crates to free farrowing: A roadmap to navigate key decisions.

There are animal welfare concerns about the continued use of permanent crating systems for farrowing and lactating sows, which is the most prevalent maternity system in global pig production. Greater societal attention in recent years has culminated in changes (or proposed changes) to regulations as well as market-driven initiatives to move away from crated systems. Transitioning from farrowing crates to systems that allow the sow greater freedom of movement and behavioral expression requires a number of key decisions, with various trade-offs apparent when trying to balance the needs of different stakeholders.

Characterizing candidate decompression rates for hypobaric hypoxic stunning of pigs. Part 2: Pathological consequences.

Pigs are commonly stunned pre-slaughter by exposure to carbon dioxide (CO), but this approach is associated with significant welfare concerns. Hypobaric hypoxia, achieved with gradual decompression (also known as Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning or LAPS) may be an alternative, allowing the retention of welfare friendly handling approaches and group stunning. Although validated in poultry, the feasibility and welfare consequences of gradual decompression for pigs are unknown.

Improving young pig welfare on-farm: The Five Domains Model.

Considering welfare through the "neonatal and nursery pig perspective" is an exciting approach and one that resonates with consumers. Overlaying this with the Five Domains Model, as we suggest in this review, points to practical on-farm improvements that provide each pig the opportunity to experience positive mental states. The Five Domains Model is broken into physical and functional states, which include Domain 1: Nutrition, Domain 2: Physical Environment, Domain 3: Health, and Domain 4: Behavioral Interaction, and Domain 5: Mental State.

Applications of Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) in Protein Analysis for Biomedical Research.

Mass Spectrometry (MS) allows the analysis of proteins and peptides through a variety of methods, such as Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS) or Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS). These methods allow identification of the mass of a protein or a peptide as intact molecules or the identification of a protein through peptide-mass fingerprinting generated upon enzymatic digestion. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allows the fragmentation of proteins and peptides to determine the amino acid sequence of proteins (top-down and middle-down proteomics) and peptides (bottom-up proteomics).

Review of Temporary Crating of Farrowing and Lactating Sows.

Temporary crating (TC) provides lactating sows with the opportunity to move more freely after crate opening a few days after parturition. The aim of this paper was to evaluate whether TC gives overall welfare improvement when compared to permanent crating or free farrowing. This review shows that when pens with TC allow the sows to turn during the majority of time in the farrowing unit, it is the pen design and period of confinement in a crate within it that influence the extent to which different functional and motivated behaviors can be fulfilled.

Changes in tail posture detected by a 3D machine vision system are associated with injury from damaging behaviours and ill health on commercial pig farms.

To establish whether pig tail posture is affected by injuries and ill health, a machine vision system using 3D cameras to measure tail angle was used. Camera data from 1692 pigs in 41 production batches of 42.4 (±16.

A Single Dose of Fat-Based Energy Supplement to Light Birth Weight Pigs Shortly After Birth Does Not Increase Their Survival and Growth.

Low birth weight piglets are at high risk of mortality, because of the rapid depletion of their energy reserves after birth. At 3 h postpartum, 405 piglets weighing <1.1 kg were either dosed orally with 2 mL of (1) coconut oil (CO, 74 kJ/2 mL, = 107 piglets), (2) commercial product (CP, 71 kJ/2 mL, = 101 piglets), (3) water (W, 0 kJ/2 mL, = 100 piglets) or (4) were sham-dosed (S, = 97 piglets).

Exploratory study of the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation and neonatal energy supplementation of low birth-weight piglets on their post-weaning cognitive abilities.

The present study investigated the effects of intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR, score 0-3; i.e., "normal" to "severe") level at birth, and the effects of neonatal energy supplementation (dosed with 2 ml of coconut oil, commercial product or water, or sham-dosed), on post-weaning cognitive abilities of low birth-weight piglets (< 1.

Facial expression as a potential measure of both intent and emotion.

Facial expressions convey information on emotion, physical sensations, and intent. The much debated theories that facial expressions can be emotions or signals of intent have largely remained separated in animal studies. Here we integrate these approaches with the aim to 1) investigate whether pigs may use facial expressions as a signal of intent and; 2) quantify differences in facial metrics between different contexts of potentially negative emotional state.

Automatic early warning of tail biting in pigs: 3D cameras can detect lowered tail posture before an outbreak.

Tail biting is a major welfare and economic problem for indoor pig producers worldwide. Low tail posture is an early warning sign which could reduce tail biting unpredictability. Taking a precision livestock farming approach, we used Time-of-flight 3D cameras, processing data with machine vision algorithms, to automate the measurement of pig tail posture.

A new route to N-aromatic heterocycles from the hydrogenation of diesters in the presence of anilines.

The hydrogenation of dicarboxylic acids and their esters in the presence of anilines provides a new synthesis of heterocycles. [Ru(acac)] and 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane (triphos) gave good to excellent yields of the cyclic amines at 220 °C. When aqueous ammonia was used with dimethyl 1,6-hexadienoic acid, ε-caprolactam was obtained in good yield.

Drug delivery and controlled release from biocompatible metal-organic frameworks using mechanical amorphization.

We have used a family of Zr-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with different functionalized (bromo, nitro and amino) and extended linkers for drug delivery. We loaded the materials with the fluorescent model molecule calcein and the anticancer drug α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (α-CHC), and consequently performed a mechanical amorphization process to attempt to control the delivery of guest molecules. Our analysis revealed that the loading values of both molecules were higher for the MOFs containing unfunctionalized linkers.

Connecting defects and amorphization in UiO-66 and MIL-140 metal–organic frameworks: a combined experimental and computational study.

The mechanism and products of the structural collapse of the metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) UiO-66, MIL-140B and MIL-140C upon ball-milling are investigated through solid state 13C NMR and pair distribution function (PDF) studies, finding amorphization to proceed by the breaking of a fraction of metal–ligand bonding in each case. The amorphous products contain inorganic–organic bonding motifs reminiscent of the crystalline phases. Whilst the inorganic Zr6O4(OH)4 clusters of UiO-66 remain intact upon structural collapse, the ZrO backbone of the MIL-140 frameworks undergoes substantial distortion.

Positive and negative gestational handling influences placental traits and mother-offspring behavior in dairy goats.

Dairy animals are subjected to a number of potential stressors throughout their lives, including daily interactions with humans. The quality of these interactions may have direct consequences for the animal undergoing the experience, but if such events occur during gestation it may also affect the developing fetus. This study examined the effects of differential handling during mid-gestation in 40 twin-bearing Saanen×Toggenburg primiparous goats.

A comparison of the amorphization of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) and aluminosilicate zeolites by ball-milling.

X-ray diffraction has been used to investigate the kinetics of amorphization through ball-milling at 20 Hz, for five zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) - ZIF-8, ZIF-4, ZIF-zni, BIF-1-Li and CdIF-1. We find that the rates of amorphization for the zinc-containing ZIFs increase with increasing solvent accessible volume (SAV) in the sequence ZIF-8 > ZIF-4 > ZIF-zni. The Li-B analogue of the dense ZIF-zni amorphizes more slowly than the corresponding zinc phase, with the behaviour showing a correlation with their relative bulk moduli and SAVs.

Combined experimental and computational NMR study of crystalline and amorphous zeolitic imidazolate frameworks.

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have attracted great interest in recent years due to their high chemical and thermal stability with promising applications in gas storage and separations. We investigate the structures of three different crystalline ZIFs - ZIF-4, ZIF-8, ZIF-zni - and their amorphous counterparts using high field (13)C and (15)N CP MAS NMR. The high field (20 T) allows for the observation of all crystallographically independent carbon and nitrogen atoms in the crystalline ZIFs.

Hybrid glasses from strong and fragile metal-organic framework liquids.

Hybrid glasses connect the emerging field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with the glass formation, amorphization and melting processes of these chemically versatile systems. Though inorganic zeolites collapse around the glass transition and melt at higher temperatures, the relationship between amorphization and melting has so far not been investigated. Here we show how heating MOFs of zeolitic topology first results in a low density 'perfect' glass, similar to those formed in ice, silicon and disaccharides.

Amorphous metal-organic frameworks for drug delivery.

We report the encapsulation of the hydrophilic model molecule calcein in the Zr-based MOF UiO-66, followed by amorphization of the framework by ball-milling. We show controlled release of calcein over more than 30 days, compared with the 2 day release period from crystalline UiO-66.

The weaker sex? The propensity for male-biased piglet mortality.

For the most part solutions to farm animal welfare issues, such as piglet mortality, are likely to lie within the scientific disciplines of environmental design and genetic selection, however understanding the ecological basis of some of the complex dynamics observed between parent and offspring could make a valuable contribution. One interesting, and often discussed, aspect of mortality is the propensity for it to be sex-biased. This study investigated whether known physiological and behavioural indicators of piglet survival differed between the sexes and whether life history strategies (often reported in wild or feral populations) relating to parental investment were being displayed in a domestic population of pigs.

Programming the offspring of the pig by prenatal social stress: neuroendocrine activity and behaviour.

This study provides evidence in the pig that stress experienced during gestation has long-lasting effects on offspring daughters, including their maternal behaviour. Thirty-six primiparous sows were divided into control and two groups that were stressed (by social mixing) during either the second (Mix 2) or third (Mix 3) trimester of pregnancy. We found detrimental effects of mixing on the mothers' growth, body lesions, and cortisol secretion, but did not observe any significant effects on reproductive parameters including birth weight.