Genomic analysis of mobility measures on 5-month-old gilts associated with structural soundness.

Sow lameness results in premature culling, causing economic loss and well-being issues. A study, utilizing a pressure-sensing mat (GAIT4) and video monitoring system (NUtrack), was conducted to identify objective measurements on gilts that are predictive of future lameness. Gilts (N = 3656) were categorized to describe their lifetime soundness: SOUND, retained for breeding with no detected mobility issues; LAME_SOW, retained for breeding and detected lame as a sow; CULL_STR, not retained due to poor leg structure; LAME_GILT, not retained due to visible signs of lameness; and CULL, not retained due to reasons other than leg structure.

Metagenomic Detection and Genome Assembly of Novel PRRSV-2 Strain Using Oxford Nanopore Flongle Flow Cell.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is the causative agent of a syndrome characterized by reproductive failure and respiratory complications (PRRS). Early detection and classification of PRRSV strains are vital for appropriate management strategies to minimize loss following outbreaks. The most widely used classification method for PRRSV is based on open reading frame 5 (ORF5) sequences.

Identifying Early-Life Behavior to Predict Mothering Ability in Swine Utilizing NU System.

Early indicator traits for swine reproduction and longevity support economical selection decision-making. Activity is a key variable impacting a sow's herd life and productivity. Early-life activities could contribute to farrowing traits including gestation length (GL), number born alive (NBA), and number weaned (NW).

Utilizing NU to Access the Activity Levels in Pigs with Varying Degrees of Genetic Potential for Growth and Feed Intake.

Feed cost accounts for over two-thirds of the variable cost of production. In order to reduce feed costs without sacrificing production numbers, feed efficiency must be improved. Calorie expenditure has been difficult to quantify in the past but is understood to impact residual feed intake (RFI) greatly.

Evaluation of Precision Livestock Technology and Human Scoring of Nursery Pigs in a Controlled Immune Challenge Experiment.

The objectives were to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff values of a visual-based precision livestock technology (NUtrack), and determine the sensitivity and specificity of sickness score data collected with the live observation by trained human observers. At weaning, pigs (n = 192; gilts and barrows) were randomly assigned to one of twelve pens (16/pen) and treatments were randomly assigned to pens. Sham-pen pigs all received subcutaneous saline (3 mL).

Evaluation of a novel computer vision-based livestock monitoring system to identify and track specific behaviors of individual nursery pigs within a group-housed environment.

Animal behavior is indicative of health status and changes in behavior can indicate health issues (i.e., illness, stress, or injury).

Genetic diversity and detection of atypical porcine pestivirus infections.

Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), an RNA virus member of the Flaviviridae family, has been associated with congenital tremor in newborn piglets. Previously reported quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based assays were unable to detect APPV in novel cases of congenital tremor originated from multiple farms from U.S.

Bias in variance component estimation in swine crossbreeding schemes using selective genotyping and phenotyping strategies.

Selective genotyping of crossbred (CB) animals to include in traditionally purebred (PB) dominated genetic evaluations has been shown to provide an increase in the response to selection for CB performance. However, the inclusion of phenotypes from selectively genotyped CB animals, without the phenotypes of their non-genotyped cohorts, could cause bias in estimated variance components (VC) and subsequent estimated breeding values (EBV). The objective of the study was to determine the impact of selective CB genotyping on VC estimates and subsequent bias in EBV when non-genotyped CB animals are not included in genetic evaluations.

Selective genotyping and phenotypic data inclusion strategies of crossbred progeny for combined crossbred and purebred selection in swine breeding.

Inclusion of crossbred (CB) data into traditionally purebred (PB) genetic evaluations has been shown to increase the response in CB performance. Currently, it is unrealistic to collect data on all CB animals in swine production systems, thus, a subset of CB animals must be selected to contribute genomic/phenotypic information. The aim of this study was to evaluate selective genotyping strategies in a simulated 3-way swine crossbreeding scheme.

Impact of inclusion rates of crossbred phenotypes and genotypes in nucleus selection programs.

Numerous methods have been suggested to incorporate crossbred (CB) phenotypes and genotypes into swine selection programs, yet little research has focused on the implicit trade-off decisions between generating data at the nucleus or commercial level. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of altering the proportion of purebred (PB) and CB phenotypes and genotypes in genetic evaluations on the response to selection of CB performance. Assuming CB and PB performance with moderate heritabilities (h2=0.

The effect of varicocele on semen quality in boars exposed to heat stress.

Semen quality has a dramatic impact on reproductive efficiency in the swine industry, influencing both conception rate and litter size. The objective of this study was to assess whether the presence of varicocele hinders semen quality in both thermoneutral and heat stress (HS) conditions. At approximately 6 mo of age, ultrasonography was used to measure left and right pampiniform plexus area in order to detect varicocele in maternal line boars at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Long-Term Tracking of Group-Housed Livestock Using Keypoint Detection and MAP Estimation for Individual Animal Identification.

Tracking individual animals in a group setting is a exigent task for computer vision and animal science researchers. When the objective is months of uninterrupted tracking and the targeted animals lack discernible differences in their physical characteristics, this task introduces significant challenges. To address these challenges, a probabilistic tracking-by-detection method is proposed.

Detection of atypical porcine pestivirus genome in newborn piglets affected by congenital tremor and high preweaning mortality1.

Recently, piglets from a high-health status farm began exhibiting congenital tremors, high preweaning mortality and incidence of splayed legs. Postmortem histological examination identified a small number of scattered white matter vacuoles in the cerebellum and underlying brainstem of affected piglets. Presence of potential viral sources associated with this neurologic condition was initially infirmed using quantitative PCR for atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), porcine teschovirus, and porcine sapelovirus.

A genome-wide association study for gestation length in swine.

Selection for increased litter size in swine has potentially resulted in a correlated increase in preweaning mortality. Additional selection criteria should be considered when selecting for increased litter size to account for associated decreases in piglet quality, specifically piglet survival, initial weight and growth. Traits such as gestation length (GL), which have been associated with piglet performance, could be utilized to improve piglet development and survivability.

Genetic relationships among sperm quality traits of Duroc boars collected during the summer season.

The goals of the study were to estimate the heritability and repeatability of boar sperm quality traits during the summer season, estimate phenotypic and genetic correlations between sperm quality traits, and assess the effect of these traits on total number born (TNB). Semen samples were collected and individually processed from Duroc boars (n = 363) from May through October 2017. Single sire litter information was available for 121 of the boars.

Multi-Pig Part Detection and Association with a Fully-Convolutional Network.

Computer vision systems have the potential to provide automated, non-invasive monitoring of livestock animals, however, the lack of public datasets with well-defined targets and evaluation metrics presents a significant challenge for researchers. Consequently, existing solutions often focus on achieving task-specific objectives using relatively small, private datasets. This work introduces a new dataset and method for instance-level detection of multiple pigs in group-housed environments.

The heritability of pampiniform plexus vessel size and varicocoele in boars.

Ultrasonography was used to capture a coronal-sagittal image of the veins of the pampiniform plexus (PP) and the testicular artery of 327 maternal-line boars at approximately 6 months of age at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Varicocoele was diagnosed by two methods. Method 1 diagnosed varicocoele when the average vessel area on one side of the scrotum was 1.

Objective evaluation of female feet and leg joint conformation at time of selection and post first parity in swine1.

Feet and legs of replacement females were objectively evaluated at selection, i.e., approximately 150 d of age (n = 319) and post first parity, i.

Epidemiological Perspective of National Leprosy Eradication Programme in Maharashtra: Focusing on "Tribal Hot-spot" of Tribal District.

Background: Leprosy or Hansen's disease, a chronic infectious disease caused by is a serious public health concern because of associated case load, morbidity and stigma attached to it. India achieved elimination of leprosy as a public health problem (prevalence rate [PR]<1 case/10,000 population) at the national level on January 1, 2006, still 19% districts in the country report PR more than one. In Maharashtra, it is found that very few districts within the state or very few pockets within the district are actually having leprosy burden.

Genomic investigation of piglet resilience following porcine epidemic diarrhea outbreaks.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) belongs to the Coronaviridae family and causes malabsorptive watery diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration and imbalanced blood electrolytes in pigs. Since the 1970s, PED outbreaks have become a source of problems in pig producing countries all over the world, causing large economic losses for pig producers. Although the infection in adults is not fatal, in naïve suckling piglets mortality is close to 100%.

Genetic and genomic basis of antibody response to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) in gilts and sows.

Background: Our recent research showed that antibody response to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), measured as sample-to-positive (S/P) ratio, is highly heritable and has a high genetic correlation with reproductive performance during a PRRS outbreak. Two major quantitative trait loci (QTL) on Sus scrofa chromosome 7 (SSC7; QTLMHC and QTL130) accounted for ~40 % of the genetic variance for S/P. Objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for PRRS S/P in gilts during acclimation, identify regions associated with S/P, and evaluate the accuracy of genomic prediction of S/P across populations with different prevalences of PRRS and using different single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sets.

Keyboard data entry use among osteopathic medical students and residents.

Context: Candidates taking the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA Level 2-Performance Evaluation (COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE) are currently evaluated on their ability to document clinical findings using a handwritten postencounter note. However, keyboard data entry is increasingly used for medical documentation.

Objective: To determine the use and perception of keyboard data entry among osteopathic medical students and residents in educational and clinical settings.