Effects of music stimulus on behavior response,cortisol level,and horizontal immunity of growing pigs

An enriched environment is widely used to improve domestic animals’ welfare and promote their natural behaviors. Music can reduce abnormal behavior in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. However, little is known about the effects of music on pigs. This study aims to explore the effects of repeated music stimulation on the behavior, physiology, and immunity of growing pigs. A total of 72 hybrid piglets (Large White × Duroc × Minpig) were randomly divided into three groups, including music (Mozart K.448, 60 to 70 dB), noise (recorded mechanical noise, 80 to 85 dB), and control (natural background sound, <40 dB), and 6 h sound stimulation was given per day (1000 to 1600 hours) from 40 to 100 d of age. The behavioral activities of the pigs were observed during the music stimulation, and their serum cortisol, salivary cortisol, and serum immune indices were also measured. Compared with the control group, the music group and noise group increased activity but decreased lying of pigs (P < 0.05). A significant increase in tail-wagging, playing, and exploring behaviors of pigs was found in the music group (P < 0.05), and the noise significantly increased the aggressive behavior of the pigs (P < 0.05). Tail-wagging, playing, exploring, manipulating, and aggressive behaviors decreased over time. Short-term (8 d) music stimulus had a lower cortisol level than that of the noise and control groups (P < 0.05), whereas long-term (60 d) music stimulus increased immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels (P < 0.05) and decreased interleukin-4 (IL-4) level (P < 0.05). Long-term noise stimulus significantly reduced the level of IgG (P < 0.05) but did not affect the level of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ levels (P > 0.05). In conclusion, short-term music stimulus (8 d) reduced the stress response, whereas long-term music stimulus (60 d) enhanced the immune responses. In addition, the noise increased the aggressive behavior, and long-term noise reduced the immunity of the growing pigs.     

低风险疾病情境下农村居民健康信息规避行为研究

[目的/意义]本研究旨在揭示低风险疾病情境下农村居民健康信息规避的程度、策略、成因及其关联。[方法/过程]研究采用理论抽样方法和半结构化访谈法收集了江苏省45位农村居民的相关数据。研究采用开放式编码和主轴编码方法对访谈数据进行分析,同时采用社会网络分析软件对规避策略和成因之间的关系进行可视化展示。[结果/结论]（1）农村居民在低风险疾病情境下存在全面型和选择型两种不同程度的健康信息规避。其中,全面型健康信息规避主要发生在信息需求阶段,具体的规避策略为完全不治疗;而选择型信息规避发生在信息获取阶段,具体的规避策略为自己治疗或者拖延治疗。（2）该情境下农村居民健康信息规避的成因主要包括感知风险、对信息源的信任、健康信息素养水平、文化水平、情绪、经济水平、小世界、时间和医疗资源的可及性。（3）农民健康信息规避的成因与规避策略存在特定的关联。文化水平和医疗资源的可及性只对完全不治疗规避策略有影响;情绪因素只对拖延治疗规避策略有影响;健康信息素养水平只对自己治疗规避策略有影响。该研究可为改善农村居民的健康状况提供指导建议。     

鸡皮刺螨实验室饲养与繁殖技术研究进展

鸡皮刺螨是一种吸血性外寄生虫,会引起鸡消瘦、贫血,并导致产蛋下降,造成巨大经济损失。为给科研提供可靠虫源,并对杀螨药物、疫苗以及其他防控手段进行效果评价,国内外学者进行了鸡皮刺螨实验室的人工饲养与繁殖技术研究。文章综述了国内外鸡皮刺螨实验室饲养与繁殖技术的研究进展,将其总结归纳为使用动物饲养繁殖技术与离体饲养繁殖技术两类,同时指出了各项技术在应用过程中存在的问题,为该技术的进一步完善与发展提供相关参考。     

饲养系统和日粮对羔羊屠宰性能和肌肉矿物质含量的影响

文章旨在探讨不同饲养系统和日粮对羔羊生长、屠宰性能及肌肉矿物质含量的影响。试验将平均体重为（13.97±0.55）kg的120只羔羊随机分为3组，每组4个重复，每个重复10只。T1组在室内饲喂基础浓缩料，每天补充100 g稻草，T2组在室内饲喂基础浓缩料，每天补充100 g稻草和锌硒复合矿物质（0.2 mg/d硒，50 mg/d锌），T3组在室外放牧，除了采食苜蓿草外，每天额外补充100 g稻草和100 g燕麦。试验时间为9周。结果：T1和T2组羔羊的末重、日增重、半胴体重、下肢深度、下肢重量、眼肌面积、颈、胸肌、肾重量均显著高于T3组（P＜0.05），但骨盆骨重量显著低于T3组（P＜0.05）。各处理组羔羊的可食用部分和骨盆肌肉重量无显著差异（P＞0.05）。T2组63 d羔羊血液硒含量较T1和T3组分别显著提高了19.83%和25.0%（P＜0.05），血液锌含量较T1和T3组分别显著提高了31.71%和45.91%（P＜0.05）。T3组羔羊肌肉钙含量较T1和T2组分别显著提高了8.79%和5.37%（P＜0.05）。T2羔羊肌肉硒和锌含量较T1和T3组分别显著提高了41.18%、65.52%和38.19%、46.15%（P＜0.05），T2和T3组羔羊肌肉钾含量较T1组分别显著提高了3.27%和4.28%（P＜0.05）。结论：在本试验条件下，放牧羔羊胴体的脂肪含量低于室内饲养的羔羊，室外放牧可以提高肌肉钙和钾含量，但肌肉硒含量降低。 [关键词]饲养系统|羔羊|屠宰性能|矿物质     

设施畜牧业关键技术研究态势分析

[目的/意义]目前中国畜牧业正处于加快转型的重要时期,了解相关技术的发展态势对于畜牧业的发展具有一定的借鉴意义。[方法/过程]本文以设施畜牧业领域技术研发的3个主要方向：笼舍技术、饲喂饮水技术和环境控制技术的相关专利为研究对象,利用专利计量的方法对其发展趋势、技术分支、申请人、各阶段重点专利等进行了分析。[结果/结论]笼舍、饲喂饮水和环境控制技术发展同步经历了萌芽期、波动发展期、快速发展期3个阶段,当前申请量呈现直线上升的态势;技术研发主体以企业为主,各研发单位之间技术布局差异性明显;近些年重点专利中的国内专利明显增多;笼舍技术方面装置研发均侧重于粪尿清除、垫板等技术;饲喂饮水技术方面饲喂技术的研究多于饮水技术,且均侧重于研发自动化设备;环境控制技术侧重于废弃物处理技术、空气调节技术和房舍清洁刷洗技术。     

饥饿情况下蠋蝽种内互残行为发生时期及影响

为明确饥饿情况下蠋蝽种内残杀行为的发生时期和影响因素，指导蠋蝽规模化繁育和释放，本文研究了不同发育时期和密度下的蠋蝽种内残杀行为。研究发现：蠋蝽对卵粒的种内互残行为主要发生在饥饿24 h以内，雌性蠋蝽对卵粒的取食行为显著强于雄性蠋蝽，取食比例是雄性的2.80～3.25倍、取食量是雄性的18.75～21.20倍，雌性取食下的卵粒羽化率为70.66%，显著低于雄性和对照的86.59%和87.88%。发育时期和饲养密度均显著影响蠋蝽的种内残杀行为，主要发生在饥饿后的19.63～36.00 h，并且1、2、3龄若虫没有表现出种内残杀行为，4龄以后种内残杀行为显著；低密度下蠋蝽种内互残行为不显著，但高密度会增强种内互残行为，且随密度的增加，种内互残行为显著增强。     

A releaser pheromone that attracts methyltestosterone- treated immature fish in the urine of ovulated female rainbow trout

SUMMARY: Behavioral experiments concerning a releaser pheromone in the urine of female rainbow trout were performed using immature fish administered orally with 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) during the non-spawning season. The urine was collected by catheter. The frequency of entries of test fish was recorded in each channel scented by test and control solutions in a Y-maze trough. The behavior of both MT-treated and control fish demonstrated that they could not discriminate the differences between distilled and environmental water as control solutions. There was also no difference between MT-treated and control fish when distilled and environmental water were introduced. The MT-treated immature fish were attracted to the channel scented by ovulated female urine. Neither coelomic fluid nor the immature female urine had any effect on the behavioral responses of MT-treated fish, while immature control fish had no preference for the urine of ovulated females. These results suggest in rainbow trout that ovulated female urine contains a releaser pheromone to attract mature males, and that androgens are involved in the sensory mechanisms detecting the releaser pheromone in fish.