Understanding the transfer of polychlorinated dibenzo--dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in farm animals is essential for ensuring food safety, but such information for suckler ewes () has been lacking. This work quantifies the accumulation, tissue distribution, and depuration kinetics of PCDD/Fs in these animals. Six suckler ewes (EXP group) were exposed to PCDD/Fs through contaminated hay (2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dynamics of cattle body chemical composition during growth and fattening periods determine animal performance and beef carcass quality. The aim of this study was to estimate the empty body (EB) and carcass chemical composition of growing beef-on-dairy crossbred bulls (Brown Swiss breed as dam with Angus, Limousin or Simmental as sire) using three-dimensional (3D) imaging. The 3D images of the cattle's external body shape were recorded in vivo on 48 bulls along growth trajectory (75-520 kg BW and 34-306 kg hot carcass weight [HCW]; set 1) and on 70 bulls at target market slaughter weight, including 18 animals from set 1 (average 517 ± 10 kg BW and 289 ± 10 kg HCW; set 2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough cattle are the mammalian species with most global biomass associated with a huge impact on our planet, their immune system remains poorly understood. Notably, the bovine immune system has peculiarities such as an overrepresentation of γδ T cells that requires particular attention, specifically in an infectious context. In line of 3R principles, we developed an ex vivo platform to dissect host-pathogen interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to estimate the chemical composition (water, lipid, protein, mineral, and energy contents) of carcasses measured postmortem using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of cold half-carcass or 11th rib cut. One hundred and twenty beef-on-dairy (dam: Swiss Brown, sire: Angus, Limousin, or Simmental) bulls (n = 66), heifers (n = 42), and steers (n = 12) were included in the study. The reference carcass composition measured after grinding, homogenization, and chemical analyses was estimated from DXA variables using simple or multiple linear regressions with model training on 70% (n = 84) and validation on 30% (n = 36) of the observations.
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