Field Trial of Factors Associated With the Presence of Dead and Non-ambulatory Pigs During Transport Across Three Colombian Slaughterhouses.

Transport by land is an essential component for the commercialization of fattening pigs and can have a negative impact on animal welfare. In slaughterhouses, the presence of dead and non-ambulatory animals is an indicator of poor welfare during transport. The objective of the study was to identify risk factors associated with the frequency of dead and non-ambulatory pigs during transport.

Empathy Levels among Veterinary Medicine Students in Colombia (South America).

Empathy plays an important role in veterinarians' relationships with their patients, clients, and colleagues. Because it relates to greater clinical competence and facilitates the acquisition of information for diagnosing, prescribing therapies, and identifying and treating animal pain, empathy is an essential competence to be strengthened during professional training. The objective of this study was to evaluate the empathy levels of veterinary medicine students toward people and animals and to identify associated factors.

Iceberg Indicators for Animal Welfare in Rural Sheep Farms Using the Five Domains Model Approach.

Animal welfare for sheep in extensive rural farms is difficult to quantify among rural farmers due to several factors, including the lack of technology and the low level of interaction they have with the animals. The purpose of this study was to search for animal-based iceberg indicators using the Five Domains Model approach and study the relationship between sheep reactive behavior (flight distance), sheep handling training and farmers job satisfaction. Thirteen extensive commercial dual-purpose sheep farms ( = 520 animals) were evaluated in Marulanda, Caldas (Colombia, South America).

Dantrolene hinders dengue virus-induced upregulation and translocation of calmodulin to cardiac cell nuclei.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection elevates intracellular Ca concentration ([Ca]), but it is unknown whether Ca and calmodulin (CaM) are involved in DENV infection. We conducted immunofluorescence and western blot experiments and measured [Ca] examining the effects of DENV infection and drugs that alter Ca/CaM functions on CaM translocation, DENV2 infection, protein expression, virus-inducible STAT2 protein abundance, and CREB phosphorylation in H9c2 cells. DENV infection increased CaM expression, its nuclear translocation and NS3 and E viral proteins expression and colocalization in a manner that could be blocked by the ryanodine receptor antagonist dantrolene.

Animal-Based Measurements to Assess the Welfare of Dairy Cull Cows during Pre-Slaughter.

Culling is the departure of cows from the herd as a result of sale, slaughter, health, national regulations, salvage, or death. Cull cows are removed from farms with poor health, production, behavior, or other problems, and during pre-slaughter they are sometimes kept without food and water, which compromises their well-being. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the welfare state of culled dairy cows during pre-slaughter using some animal-based measurements and to identify possible associations between them.

Association between Attitude and Empathy with the Quality of Human-Livestock Interactions.

The human-animal interactions are a key component of human and animal welfare. The quality of this interaction can therefore be assessed by measuring the reaction response of the animals to the handler's behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between attitude and empathy towards the animals with the quality of human-livestock interactions.