In humans and animals, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) results from fetal programming responses to poor intrauterine conditions. Chronic fetal hypoxemia elevates circulating catecholamines, which reduces skeletal muscle β2 adrenoceptor content and contributes to growth and metabolic pathologies in IUGR-born offspring. Our objective was to determine whether intermittent maternofetal oxygenation during late gestation would improve neonatal growth and glucose metabolism in IUGR-born lambs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding how β adrenergic agonists influence the physiology of heat stress could lead to mitigation options. We sought to investigate body surface temperatures in feedlot wethers supplemented with ractopamine or zilpaterol and exposed to heat stress for 18 d. Corneal and skin temperatures were assessed via infrared thermography at 1- and 2-m distances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogenic infections increase morbidity and reduce performance in livestock, and thus understanding the comprehensive physiological changes associated with infections can benefit production sustainability. In this study, we sought to investigate such physiological responses to an acute immune challenge in lambs. Polypay wethers received single IV injections of 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditionally, earning a degree in animal science requires many face-to-face, hands-on courses; however, the COVID-19 pandemic created a situation in which traditional delivery of these courses may not be feasible as they provide a health risk to our students, teaching assistants, and instructors alike. This examination of two pedagogically different courses and how each was transitioned to an online format highlights the types of teaching decisions that are required to effectively teach animal science in an online format. The Farm Animal Production Systems lab was an animal handling and production practices lab, and although the transition to online delivery did not allow for students to participate in traditional hands-on development of skills, various resources were utilized that still achieved the development of animal handling concepts that will prepare students for later courses and work with live animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaternal inflammation causes fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), but its impact on fetal metabolism is not known. Thus, our objective was to determine the impact of sustained maternal inflammation in late gestation on fetal inflammation, skeletal muscle glucose metabolism, and insulin secretion. Pregnant ewes were injected every third day from the 100th to 112th day of gestation (term = 150 d) with saline (controls) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce maternal inflammation and IUGR (MI-IUGR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeedlot performance is reduced by heat stress and improved by β adrenergic agonists (βAA). However, the physiological mechanisms underlying these outcomes are not well characterized, and anecdotal reports suggest that βAA may confound the effects of heat stress on wellbeing. Thus, we sought to determine how heat stress and βAA affect growth, metabolic efficiency, and health indicators in lambs on a feedlot diet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is the second leading cause of perinatal mortality and predisposes offspring to metabolic disorders at all stages of life. Muscle-centric fetal adaptations reduce growth and yield metabolic parsimony, beneficial for IUGR fetal survival but detrimental to metabolic health after birth. Epidemiological studies have reported that IUGR-born children experience greater prevalence of insulin resistance and obesity, which progresses to diabetes, hypertension, and other metabolic disorders in adulthood that reduce quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe epidemic of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) continues to be a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality throughout the world. This condition has been linked to the development of metabolic health problems such as obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and type 2 diabetes at all ages. Previous studies have demonstrated that IUGR fetal adaptations impair proper glucose homeostasis in part via changes in insulin responsiveness in key tissues including skeletal muscle and liver, and that these deficits persists into adulthood.
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