Centennial paper: Proteomics in animal science

Proteomics holds significant promise as a method for advancing animal science research. The use of this technology in animal science is still in its infancy. The ability of proteomics to simultaneously identify and quantify potentially thousands of proteins is unparalleled. In this review, we will discuss basic principles of doing a proteomic experiment. In addition, challenges and limitations of proteomics will be considered, stressing those that are unique to animal sciences. The current proteomic research in animal sciences will be discussed, and the potential uses for this technology will be highlighted.     

Laboratory animal science: a resource to improve the quality of science

The contribution of animal experimentation to biomedical research is of undoubted value, nevertheless the real usefulness of animal models is still being hotly debated. Laboratory Animal Science is a multidisciplinary approach to humane animal experimentation that allows the choice of the correct animal model and the collection of unbiased data. Refinement, Reduction and Replacement, the "3Rs rule", are now widely accepted and have a major influence on animal experimentation procedures. Refinement, namely any decrease in the incidence or severity of inhumane procedures applied to animals, has been today extended to the entire lives of the experimental animals. Reduction of the number of animals used to obtain statistically significant data may be achieved by improving experimental design and statistical analysis of data. Replacement refers to the development of validated alternative methods. A Laboratory Animal Science training program in biomedical degrees can promote the 3Rs and improve the welfare of laboratory animals as well as the quality of science with ethical, scientific and economic advantages complying with the European requirement that "persons who carry out, take part in, or supervise procedures on animals, or take care of animals used in procedures, shall have had appropriate education and training".     

新的地平线——动物微生态科学与技术

现代微生物技术是一体化综合解决动物疫病、食品安全、饲料原料短缺和环境污染问题的重要方法之一,在动物营养与健康等方面能够解决生产上诸多紧迫和重要的问题,表现在对饲料利用效率的改善、动物生长性能和健康水平提高,动物生活环境乃至整个养殖环境得到改善,在生产应用中逐渐获得饲料业和养殖业者的广泛认可。智荟生物提倡让饲料活起来的理念,致力于高效芽孢杆菌等系列微生态制剂产品研发和生产,同时将饲料原料发酵技术应用到饲料厂和养殖场。智荟生物将联合众多国内外专家,与《饲料工业》携手打造微生态制剂专栏,希望把微生态领域的理论、技术信息、研究成果、研发进展向行业汇报,共同探讨,推进微生态领域的健康发展。并且,特约中国农业大学张日俊教授做开篇序言。     

实验动物科学研究进展

实验动物科学是专门研究实验动物的生物学疾病防治、遗传育种、营养、繁殖、饲养管理及应用的科学.作为一门独立的综合性基础学科,它诞生于20世纪50年代,由于其在科学技术领域的重要作用,受到了世界各国的高度重视,因此有了迅猛的发展,所涉及的领域也不局限于生物医学,而是扩展到工农业和许多其它领域,如制药、化工、轻工、食品、农药、国防等,故人们甚至把实验动物的品种、质量和数量作为衡量一个国家科学技术水平的重要标志之一.     

Assessing attitudes toward farm animal welfare: a national survey of animal science faculty members

A survey to measure attitudes toward farm animal welfare was developed. We targeted animal science faculty because of their influence on animal production in the United States. We initially interviewed 34 faculty members from a large Midwestern public university to assist with questionnaire development. After our written survey was developed, we pilot-tested our questionnaire at this same university. Thereafter, we sent an e-mail advance notice, first survey, and follow-up survey/thank-you to the national population of animal science faculty members. With an n = 446 (response rate = 45%), we observed the following: 51% (for layer birds), 58% (for meat birds), 66% (for swine), 84% (for dairy), 86% (for sheep), and 87% (for beef) of our respondents agreed that the predominant methods used to produce various types of animal products provided appropriate levels of animal welfare. Our findings showed that greater than 90% of respondents support general principles of animal welfare, such as keeping animals free from unnecessary fear and distress. However, specific practices that have been shown to elicit distress (e.g., castration without anesthetic) were deemed a concern by only 32% of the respondents. Various industry practices/outcomes were assessed for level of concern and varied from a high of 83% of respondents agreeing that flooring effects on lameness in intensively farmed animals are a concern, to a low of 16% agreeing that early weaning in pigs is a concern. Summed attitude scores showed significant relationships with the demographic variables of gender (P < 0.01) and political ideology (P < 0.01), with women and those holding more liberal political views being more concerned about farm animal welfare issues. Gaining an awareness of various stakeholders' attitudes (e.g., animal scientists, veterinarians, producers, and consumers) toward farm animal welfare will assist animal welfare scientists in knowing which research topics to emphasize and, perhaps, where critical gaps in accessibility of knowledge exist.     

ASAS Centennial Paper: animal science teaching: a century of excellence

Teaching has a long and varied history in the life of departments of animal science and the American Society of Animal Science. Some of the earliest reports from meetings of the society have strong indication that planning the curriculum was a prominent feature of the meetings. Teaching symposia were also included almost from the beginning. The society went through a lengthy period from the 1940s through most of the 1960s when teaching was not a prominent focus, but a symposium in 1968 appeared to be a catalyst for change, and, since that date, teaching has again been an important part of the meetings. In recent years, outstanding symposia and contributed papers have made the teaching section a vibrant entry. Departments of animal science have changed considerably since the early days in which "men taught boys" and the primary goal was to produce farmers. More female students, more urban students, interest in a wide variety of animals, and greatly diversified career goals have been emerging during the last few decades. Departments of animal science and the American Society of Animal Science are positioning to be able to respond to change and face the challenge of providing excellence in teaching during the next century.     

多糖在畜牧兽医中的应用

多糖是一种高分子多聚糖。广泛存在于动植物和微生物中．是有机体的重要组成部分。随着近年糖生物学的快速发展，已发现多糖具有促进免疫调节、抗肿瘤、抗病毒、抗辐射、抗衰老，抗寄生虫等多种生物活性，对疾病预防和保健都具有明显的促进和增强作用；同时，多糖为天然产物，具有毒副作用小、无残留、不产生耐药性等优点．因而具有广阔的应用前景。目前．人们对多精及其复合物的研究多集中在人医方面，并已有部分产品商业化生产，如黄芪多糖和香菇多糖等．     

Entrance of behavioral science into animal welfare legislation

In W. Germany came the ethology the first time in a law 1972. The way was no easy work.     

"Concepts in animal welfare": a syllabus in animal welfare science and ethics for veterinary schools

Public attitudes toward animal welfare have improved with growing social affluence, and veterinarians are increasingly expected to be informed about animal welfare in a broader sense than health alone. However, animal welfare has not been a traditional component of the veterinary curriculum. To help address this lack, the World Society for the Protection of Animals(WSPA) and the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science launched the 'Concepts in Animal Welfare' syllabus in 2003. This comprehensive syllabus comprises seven core and 23 elective modules and covers a range of animal welfare issues, including farm and companion animal welfare, wildlife, and the use of animals in experiments. There are also modules on ethics and animal legislation. The syllabus is interactive, promotes critical analysis of issues from different angles, and may be adapted for use in any veterinary curriculum. WSPA provides training and workshops in developing countries and assists with the implementation of the syllabus.     

Animal behavior and well-being symposium: Farm animal welfare assurance: science and application

Public and consumer pressure for assurances that farm animals are raised humanely has led to a range of private and public animal welfare standards, and for methods to assess compliance with these standards. The standards usually claim to be science based, but even though researchers have developed measures of animal welfare and have tested the effects of housing and management variables on welfare within controlled laboratory settings, there are challenges in extending this research to develop on-site animal welfare standards. The standards need to be validated against a definition of welfare that has broad support and which is amenable to scientific investigation. Ensuring that such standards acknowledge scientific uncertainty is also challenging, and balanced input from all scientific disciplines dealing with animal welfare is needed. Agencies providing animal welfare audit services need to integrate these scientific standards and legal requirements into successful programs that effectively measure and objectively report compliance. On-farm assessment of animal welfare requires a combination of animal-based measures to assess the actual state of welfare and resource-based measures to identify risk factors. We illustrate this by referring to a method of assessing welfare in broiler flocks. Compliance with animal welfare standards requires buy-in from all stakeholders, and this will be best achieved by a process of inclusion in the development of pragmatic assessment methods and the development of audit programs verifying the conditions and continuous improvement of farm animal welfare.