Use of data mining algorithms in prediction of eggshell thickness from egg quality traits of Potchefstroom Koekoek layers.

Egg quality is affected by lot of factors. Study was conducted to compare performance of data mining algorithms; Classification and regression tree (CART), Chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID), Exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detection (Ex-CHAID) and Multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) in prediction of Potchefstroom Koekoek's eggshell thickness from egg quality traits. 350 eggs were collected at 31st to 39th week to examine the egg quality traits.

Relationships Among Growth, Carcass Characteristics, and , and Genes Expression Level in Saanen Male Kids with Varying Slaughter Weights.

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the MRF gene family members and slaughter characteristics in Saanen kids with varying slaughter weights. Twenty male kids of the Turkish Saanen breed were individually fattened for 60 days after weaning under an intensive management system. The kids were divided into two groups: low slaughter weight (L; = 11; ≤29 kg) and high slaughter weight (H; = 13; >29) at the end of the fattening.

Phenotypic characterization of Nguni goats in four agro-ecological zones of Limpopo province, South Africa.

The study was conducted to phenotypically characterize Nguni goats from four agro-ecological zones of Limpopo province, South Africa. A total of 426 goats were sampled from four agro-ecological zones. The quantitative traits that were studied for phenotypic characterization using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were heart girth (HG), body length (BL), withers height (WH), sternum height (SH), rump height (RH), rump length (RL), rump width (RW), cannon circumference (CC), testicular length (TL) and scrotal circumference (SC) while qualitative traits were coat colour pattern and type, back profile, ear orientation, presence of horn, horn shape and orientation.

Zambian indigenous chicken genetic resources: phenotypic characteristics and their production systems among small-scale farmers.

Introduction: Indigenous chickens are very important to households for income and protein. However, their performance is usually poor, especially under small-scale farmer management, despite their potential to perform better. The performance of these chickens can be improved by selective breeding.

Effect of dietary methionine to crude protein ratio on performance of Ross 308 broiler chickens aged 22 to 42 days.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary methionine to crude protein (CP) ratio on the performance of male Ross 308 broiler chickens aged 22 to 42 days. The diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous but with different methionine-to-CP ratios. The diets, based on methionine to crude protein ratios, were M (0.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms of growth hormone gene in cattle and their association with growth traits: a systematic review.

Growth traits in livestock animals are quantitative parameters, which are often controlled by many genes including growth hormone (GH) gene. However, the evidence of effect of GH gene on growth traits of cattle is poorly understood. Hence, the objective of the study was to systematically investigate the literature on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GH gene and their association with growth traits in cattle from four databases Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science.

A systematic review of estimation of growth curve in goats.

Growth is an economically important trait in animal production industry and is one of the subjects that can be justified mathematically. The literature recommends different non-linear model to estimate the growth of goats. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature published on estimation of growth using non-linear models in goats.

Using fat thickness and longissimus thoracis traits real-time ultrasound measurements in Black Belly ewe lambs to predict carcass tissue composition through multiresponse multivariate adaptive regression splines algorithm.

The main idea of the current study was to estimate carcass tissue composition using fat thickness and longissimus thoracis (LT) traits real-time ultrasound measurements (USM) in Black Belly ewe lambs through multiresponse multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) algorithms. Twenty-four hours before slaughter, subcutaneous (SFT) and kidney-fat thickness (KFT), LT depth (LTD), width (LTA, cm) and area (LTMA) were measured in 60 lambs (BW of 26.40 ± 7.

Morphological characterization of Sussex cattle at Huntersvlei farm, Free State Province, South Africa.

Sussex cattle breed is characterized by their distinctive solid red coat colour and white tail switch. Sussex cattle are known for being easy to handle and manage, making them an ideal choice for cattle farmers. The phenotypic characterization of this cattle breed in South Africa is unknown.

Comparison of the data mining and machine learning algorithms for predicting the final body weight for Romane sheep breed.

The current study aimed to predict final body weight (weight of fourth months of age to select the future reproducers) by using birth weight, birth type, sex, suckling weight, age at suckling weight, weaning weight, age at weaning weight, and age of final body weight for the Romane sheep breed. For this purpose, classification and regression tree (CART), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and support vector machine regression (SVR) algorithms were used for training (80%) and testing (20%) sets. Different data mining and machine learning algorithms were used to predict final body weight of 393 Romane sheep (238 female and 155 male animals) were used with different artificial intelligence algorithms.

Predicting live weight using body volume formula in lactating water buffalo.

Live weight (LW) is an important piece of information within production systems, as it is related to several other economic characteristics. However, in the main buffalo-producing regions in the world, it is not common to periodically weigh the animals. We develop and evaluate linear, quadratic, and allometric mathematical models to predict LW using the body volume (BV) formula in lactating water buffalo () reared in southeastern Mexico.

Using Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines to Estimate the Body Weight of Savanna Goats.

The Savanna goat breed is an indigenous goat breed in South Africa that is reared for meat production. Live body weight is an important tool for livestock management, selection and feeding. The use of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) to predict the live body weight of Savanna goats remains poorly understood.

Estimation of body weight using body measurements in female water buffaloes reared in southeastern Mexico.

Buffalo farming is an important livestock activity in Mexico. However, the low technological level of the farms makes it difficult to monitor the growth rates of the animals. The objectives of this study were to analyse the body measurements of 107 adult female Murrah buffaloes, to estimate the interrelationships between those measurements and body weight, and to develop equations to predict body weight (BW) using body measurements including withers at height (WH), rump height (RH), body height (BH), heart girth (HG), abdominal girth (AG), pelvic girth (PG), body length (BL), girth circumference (GC), diagonal body length (DBL), pelvic circumference (PC), and abdomen circumference (AC).

Evaluation of breeding practices and morphological characterization of donkeys in Blouberg Local Municipality, Limpopo province: Implication for the design of community-based breeding programme.

Identification of livestock farmers' breeding practices and morphological characterization of livestock are the important first steps to the successful implementation of any breeding programme. Community-based breeding programme (CBBP) has gained attention as a promising method for the genetic improvement of livestock but lacks information on donkey breeding. The study was conducted to identify donkey farmers' breeding practices and donkey morphological characterization in three purposely selected villages (Thorne, Archibalt and Genau) located in Blouberg Local Municipality, Limpopo province of South Africa.

Predicting body weight of Kalahari Red goats from linear body measurements using data mining algorithms.

Background And Aim: The Kalahari Red goat breed is the finest meat-producing species in South Africa, and its coat color ranges from light to dark red-brown. A practical approach to estimating their body weight (BW) using linear body measurements is still scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the best data mining technique among classification and regression trees (CART), Chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID), and exhaustive CHAID (Ex-CHAID) for predicting the BW of Kalahari Red goats.

A community-based intervention approach to control disease outbreaks and climate-related deaths in communally raised goat kids in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

A community-based intervention project was conducted, from April 2017 to March 2019, on 512 kids born from flocks of 30 purposively selected households located in ten villages within Alice district of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of combined efforts from the research team and farmers to control disease outbreaks and climate change-related deaths. A systematic dosing and fortnight dipping schedule was part of the intervention efforts made by the research team as well as supplying feed to pregnant and lactating does.

Prediction of body weight from morphological traits of South African non-descript indigenous goats of Lepelle-Nkumbi Local Municipality using different data mining algorithm.

Body weight is a vital trait which can assist farmers on selecting animals to use during breeding season. Therefore, the study was conducted to develop the best model to predict body weight from morphological traits through classification and regression tree (CART) and chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) and to determine the relationship between body weight and some morphological traits. A total of 700 South African non-descript indigenous goats (female = 417 and male = 283) between the age of 1 and 5 years old were used in the study.

Breeding practices and trait preferences of goat keepers at Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality, South Africa: implication for the design of breeding programmes.

Identification of breeding practices and trait preferences by livestock keepers for the selection of breeding animals to be parents of the next generations is the crucial step to the successful implementation of community-based breeding program (CBBPs). The study aimed to detect breeding practices and trait preferences by farmers at Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality, South Africa to determine their relevance in establishing a CBBP. A well-structured questionnaire was designed and administered to 183 randomly selected goat keepers from four villages.

Classification and regression tree analysis to predict calving ease in Sussex heifers using pelvic area dimensions and morphological traits.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between pelvic measurements, namely pelvic height (PH), pelvic area (PA), and pelvic width, and linear body measurement traits, such as hindquarters width, rump length (RL), hip height (HH), body weight (BW), shoulder height, chest depth (CD), body length, and also calve birth weight (CBW) under different calving ease scores, namely no assistance, gently pull, and hard pull.

Material And Methods: A total of 51 first calf Sussex heifers at 24 months old, weighing approximately 440 ± 40.26 kg, were used for this study.

Comparison of tree-based regression tree methods for predicting live body weight from morphological traits in Hy-line silver brown commercial layer and indigenous Potchefstroom Koekoek breeds raised in South Africa.

In animal breeding, more considerable attention is drawn to reveal the relationship between live body weight and morphological traits in identifying breed and species standards. The aim of this study was to predict live body weight from morphological characteristics in the Hy-line silver brown commercial layer and indigenous Potchefstroom Koekoek breed, native to South African. In the prediction of live body weight, eleven morphological measurements, i.

Effects of RAC1 on Proliferation of Hen Ovarian Prehierarchical Follicle Granulosa Cells.

RAC1 belongs to the small G protein Rho subfamily and is implicated in regulating gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation in mammals and humans; nevertheless, the function of RAC1 in growth and development of hen ovarian follicles is still unclear. This study sought to understand the biological effects of RAC1 on granulosa cell (GC) proliferation and differentiation of hen ovarian prehierarchical follicles. Firstly, our results showed expression levels of mRNA in the follicles with diameters of 7.

Effect of Dietary Fiber Sources on In-Vitro Fermentation and Microbiota in Monogastrics.

Feed fiber composition is usually considered as one of the factors that have an impact on digestive tract microbiota composition. The investigations on the level of fermentation and in-vitro digestibility of different fibers are not well understood. The aim of the current study is to determine the effect of different fiber sources on intestinal nutrient digestibility, hindgut fermentation, and microbial community composition under in vitro conditions using pigs' hindgut as a model.

Determination of the roles of GREM1 gene in granulosa cell proliferation and steroidogenesis of hen ovarian prehierarchical follicles.

Gremlin genes are known members of the DAN family of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonists, but their functions and regulatory mechanisms in ovarian follicular development of chicken remain unknown. The current study was designed to investigate the mRNA expression patterns of gremlin1 gene (GREM1) and its protein location in the follicles sampled, and to explore the biological effect of GREM1 on the prehierarchical follicular development. This work revealed that chicken GREM1 mRNA exhibits a constant expression level across all the prehierarchical follicles (PFs) from 1-4 mm to 7-8 mm in diameter, and the preovulatory follicles (from F6 to F1) by using RT-qPCR (P > 0.

Correlation and path analysis of body weight and biometric traits of Nguni cattle breed.

Objective: This work was conducted to examine the association between body weight (BW) and biometric traits viz. head width (HW), head length (HL), ear length (EL), body length (BL), rump height (RH), withers height (WH), sternum height (SH), rump width (RW), and heart girth (HG) and to determine the direct and indirect effects of biometric traits on BW.

Materials And Methods: Sixty female and twenty male Nguni cattle between the ages of one to four years were used.