• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.199-210
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• 2021

A number of management issues can be used as drivers for change in order to improve animal welfare and nursing capacity of the hyperprolific sow. Group housing of sows during gestation is a recommended practice from the perspective of animal welfare. Related health issues include reproductive health and the locomotor system. It appears that management of pregnant sows in groups is challenging for a producer and considerable skill is required. We explored the benefits and challenges of group housing, including feeding issues. Increasing litter size requires additional attention to the mammary gland and its ability to provide sufficient nursing for the growing litter. We discuss the fundamentals of mammary development and the specific challenges related to the hyperprolific sow. We also address challenges with the farrowing environment. It appears that the old-fashioned farrowing crate is not only outdated in terms of welfare from the public's perspective, but also fails to provide the environment that the sow needs to support her physiology of farrowing, nursing, and maternal behaviour. Studies from our group and others indicate that providing the sow with a loose housing system adequate in space and nesting material, along with reasonable chance for isolation, can be considered as fundamental for successful farrowing of the hyperprolific sow. It has also been shown that management strategies, such as split suckling and cross fostering, are necessary to ensure proper colostrum intake for all piglets born alive in a large litter. We thus conclude that welfare and nursing capacity of the sow can be improved by management. However, current megatrends such as the climate change may change sow management and force the industry to rethink goals of breeding and, for instance, breeding for better resilience may need to be included as goals for the future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1709-1717
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• 2009

This review presents a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to assist Asian smallholder dairy farmers in identifying the possible causes for their poor farm performance and profitability. When assessing farm profitability, these indicators can be split into two types, those diagnosing problems with feeding management and those indicating poor herd management. As home grown forage is generally cheaper to source than purchased forage, the more produced on farm, the better. Too many stock on limited land is a common feature on Asian dairy small holdings. Unlike other classes of livestock, milking cows have very high nutrient requirements, therefore high quality forages and concentrates are essential for profitable dairying. Milk income less feed cost is one of the simplest and easy to measure indicators of farm profitability and is also quick to respond to small changes in farm practices. Problems with herd management can be diagnosed using measures such as the proportion of cows actually milking in the herd or their peak yield and persistency of production. There are also simple indicators of herd reproductive performance and of health and growth of young stock that assist in searching for the underlying causes of poor farm profitability.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.57-71
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• 2009

Crop-livestock mixed farming systems depend on the efficiency with which nutrients are conserved and recycled. Home-grown forage is used as animal feed and animal excretions are applied to cultivated crop lands as manure. The objective of this study was to develop a mixed farming system model for dairy cattle in Japan. The model consisted of four sub-models: the nutrient requirement model, based on the Japanese Feeding Standards to determine requirements for energy, crude protein, dry matter intake, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A; the optimum diet formulation model for determining the optimum diets that satisfy nutrient requirements at lowest cost, using linear programming; the herd dynamic model to calculate the numbers of cows in each reproductive cycle; and the whole farm optimization model to evaluate whole farm management from economic and environmental viewpoints and to optimize strategies for the target farm or system. To examine the model' validity, its predictions were compared against best practices for dairy farm management. Sensitivity analyses indicated that higher yielding cows lead to better economic results but higher emvironmental load in dairy cattle systems integrated with forage crop production.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.94 no.5 s.162
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• pp.291-301
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• 2005

Robinia pseudoacacia is one of most widely cultivated exotic species in Bulgaria. The total area of black locust plantations amounts to 2.9% of the total forest area of the country. 15.34% of the plantations are of management afforestations category, where the priority is given to timber production. They have been created on rich and moisture soils, which are the most appropriate for the species in order to achieve its biological potentials of high productivity. The rest of the available plantations in the country are planted on poorer and drier soils up to 600~800 m altitude. The high adaptive ability of the species to unsuitable environmental conditions as well as the high sprout potential was used for their creation. These stands are mainly done with the aim to protect and ameliorate damaged environments and production of small-size timber and fire woods. They are cultivated until 15-20 years and are revived by sprouts. Therefore the management goals searched, 45.69% of those forests are low productive and 38.97% with average productiveness. The present report deals with growth and productivity capacity of black locust plantations; production of sowing materials; production of reproductive and vegetative saplings for afforestation; the technological aspects of afforestation works; the management and use of black locust plantations as well as some more important diseases and pests affecting the species. The report is entirely based on Bulgarian scientific research works and experience with the Robinia preudoacacia. Recommendations for optimizing the use of species are given.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.599-603
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• 2015

The objective of the current pilot study was to evaluate the reproductive performance and health indicators in Dorper, White Dorper, and Tsigai breed ewes managed semi-intensively under European temperate conditions. A total of 544 ewe-year units were observed, with ewes (ranging from 1.5 to 8 years of age) managed under identical rearing conditions for a period of two consecutive production cycles (2012 through 2013 and 2013 through 2014). In general, significant ($p{\leq}0.001$) genotype-related disparities were found in occurrence rates for all health parameters taken into study. Clinical mastitis incidence was significantly lower ($p{\leq}0.05$) in Dorper (9.4%) and White Dorper (10.8%) breeds compared to that of Tsigai ewes (17.4%). Significant differences ($p{\leq}0.05$) for lameness were found between Dorper and Tsigai breeds, with occurrence rates of 8.0% and 2.9%, respectively. Incidence for pneumonia and abortion was not influenced (p>0.05) by the ewes' genotype. Litter size was significantly lower ($p{\leq}0.05$) in White Dorper breed than for Dorper and Tsigai ewes, of 1.21, 1.40, and 1.45, respectively. Conception rates and lambs survival were not affected (p>0.05) by genotype. Results suggest that South African Dorper and White Dorper sheep breeds have adapted well to the specific rearing conditions.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.15-23
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• 1985

Therapy for anovulation represents one of the more gratifying and successful type of infertility management. Despite the introduction of bromocriptine, human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG), and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), clomiphene citrate remains the mainstay of ovulation induction therapy. There is wide variability in reported rates of ovulation induction (57-91%) and conception (25-43%) following clomiphene therapy. Factors contributing to this variability among different reports are the differences in dosage and duration of therapy, different criteria utilized in selecting patients for clomiphene therapy and different luteal phase parameters of presumptive ovulation. A review of recent experience with clomiphene citrate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Seoul National University from January, 1983 to May, 1985 yields the following conclusions: 1. Ovulation rate per total patients treated was, 69.0% 2. Pregnancy rate per total patients treated was 31.7%, and that per total patients ovulated was 45.9%. 3. Ovulation rate at the dosage level up to 150 mg/day (50.3-53.8%) was somewhat higher than that at 200 mg/day or more (33.3-34.6%), and pregnancy rate per total patients treated was comparable at each dosage level. 4. Ovulation rate per total patients ovulated at each dosage level, where ovulation and conception occurred, showed a decreasing tendency as the dosage increased, but pregnancy rate per total patients conceived was comparable except at 200 mg/day. 5. Cumulative pregnancy rate per total patients conceived in each ovulatory cycle was 68.9% in 3 cycles, 88.9% in 4 cycles, and 100% in 6 cycles.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.17-25
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• 1984

Hypothalamic-pituitary function in patients of 6 selected groups of amenorrhea was evaluated by performing premarin test. Selected amenorrheic patients were divided into 6 groups of Turner's syndrome(5), adrenogenital syndrome(3), Sheehan's syndrome(4), moderate hyperprolactinemia(3), severe hyperprolactinemia(9) and functional oligoamenorrhea(9) the diagnoses of which were performed according to modified our own protocol for management of amenorrheic patients. As control 20 normally cycling women in mid follicular phase determined by their symptothermal charts during last 6 months designed by WHO were compared. The premarin test which is one of the tests evaluating the hypothalamic-pituitary function by the principle of negative and positive feed back effect's of estrogen was performed by injecting 20 mg of premarin in volus intravenously. The levels of serum LH before, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours after injection of premarin were measured by double antibody technique radioimmunoassay the reagents of which were supplied by WHO. The results were as follows: 1. Both negative and positive feed back effects by exogenous estrogen were well preserved even in the patients of gonadal dysgenesis although the baseline levels were much higher than normal. 2. In the patients of Sheehan's syndrome one could observe the minimal response of feed back effect in the case with minimal pituitary function. 3, Androgens in adrenogenital syndrome and prolactin in hyperprolactinemia may suppress mainly the positive feed back effect rather than the negative one. The suppressive effect can be abolished by proper treatments which can eliminate those suppressive hormones. 4. This premarin test may be beneficial for predicting the result of clomiphene in ovulation induction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1207-1214
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• 2017

Since the industrialization of swine production in the late 1900s, swine farms in the United States, as well as in Europe, have largely become consolidated. Pig farms became larger in size but fewer in number, with 91% of market pigs being produced by large operations with 5,000 or more pigs on-site in the US, and only 3% of the total utilized agricultural land representing organic farming. Such change in the market made it difficult for small farmers to stay competitive, forcing them to find alternative ways to reduce the cost of production and increase profit using the outdoor production system. In contrast to the indoor confinement system, outdoor production system uses pasture-based units and/or deep-bedded hoop structures that promote animal welfare and environmental sustainability with a lower capital investment. In accord with the growing concern for animal and environmental welfare and food safety by the consumers, small farmers practicing an outdoor production system are seeing increased opportunities for marketing their products in the pork niche market. Unlike the general belief that the reproductive and growth performance measures of the outdoor sows and piglets are poorer in comparison with the animals reared indoors, studies showed that there was no significant difference in the performance measures, and some traits were even better in outdoor animals. Improved reproductive and production traits can increase the sustainability of outdoor farming. Present study reviewed the recent studies comparing the performance measures, meat quality and health of indoor and outdoor animals, as well as the efforts to improve the outdoor production system through changes in management such as hut types and breed of animals.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.161-165
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• 2012

Objective: To evaluate the effect of hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyCoSy) on natural conception in the infertile patient. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study recruiting 180 patients admitted to Infertility Center of Ferrara University from January 2010 to February 2012. The essential inclusion criteria was the couple's desire to perform only diagnostic evaluation on infertility causes and to wait for natural conception before proceeding with further management. Couples were investigated with hormonal profile, semen analysis and HyCoSy. Expected time for spontaneous pregnancy was 180 days from HyCoSy. First datation sonography of pregnancy was used calculating time elapsed from HyCoSy at conception. Results: Forty patients (22.2%) obtained spontaneous pregnancy within 6 months after HyCoSy. The mean of "conception time" was 75 days. The pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the first 30 days (45%) compared to other the months of observation (p<0.0005). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that maternal age and sterility duration proved independent variables in detecting the "conception time" after HyCoSy (t=3.742, p=0.001, t=2.371, p=0.02, respectively). Conclusion: A possible beneficial effect of HyCoSy is feasible especially in the days following its execution. This temporal correlation supports its therapeutic use.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.381-388
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• 1999

These investigations were performed to determine the causes of the reproductive disorders of the sows in a pig farm which was located at the distance 36m away from the detonation spot. The reproductive problems of the sows such as abortion and infertility occurred after consecutive detonation and use of heavy equipments to build 6 piers of the bridge for the expressway between Jinju and Taeieon during the period from July 1997 to October 1998. 1. The management condition of the farm, microorganism in the feed, inbreeding, hematological conditions, and viral agent causing abortion were not proved as the factors of the occurrence of abortion and infertility in the pig farm. 2. Theoretical concussion values according to the average amount of explosive per detonation were 1.16 kine for minimum amount (3.6 kg) and 3.45 kine for maximum amount(12.5 kg) of explosive, and the theoretical sound values were accordingly 92.29 decibel for minimum amount and 101.76 decibel for maximum amount of explosive, respectively, in the case of 36m distance between the detonation spot and pig farm. The frequency of detonation in a day was 7 times with interval of 15 minutes. 3. The occurence of infertility in the farm was 57.3% during the period of construction from July 1997 to August 1998. 4. In comparison of body weight of piglets between the damaged and not damaged farms, growth of piglets at the damaged farm was shown to be delayed over 30 days than those of not-damaged farm. In conclusion, abortion of 40 sows, delivery of whole still births of 22 sows, and infertility of 122 sows in the pig farm were assumed to be caused by the concussion or sound stress after consecutive detonation and use of heavy equipments.