Characterization of the village goat production systems in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape,KwaZulu-Natal,Limpopo and North West Provinces of South Africa

Expansion of goat improvement programs requires exploration of the factors that influence the production system and breeding initiatives. Characterization of goat breeds or populations is crucial in providing information on prevalent goat types and their attributes and may suffice as a guideline on conservation, development, and selection for improved productivity. This study investigated the existing village goat production system and phenotypic diversity of the different village populations from four South African provinces. The study further investigated the use of phenotypic attributes to classify goats to breeds or populations. Data was collected from 142 households in 26 villages of the Eastern Cape (n?=?2 villages), KwaZulu-Natal (n?=?6 villages), Limpopo (n?=?13 villages), and North West (n?=?5 villages) provinces through a survey. Individual interviews and focus group discussions revealed that the mean goat herd size per household was least in Limpopo at 13.2?±?12.40 and highest in Eastern Cape (34.18?±?28.36). Flocks had more (p?<?0.05) adults than kids, and the distribution of breeding animals was biased towards does and less bucks. Goats were kept mainly for meat, for selling, and for ritual ceremonies. The goat production system was mainly scavenging. Goat health was a major challenge across households and villages. Qualitative traits such coat, horn, ears, and wattle characteristics were recorded for populations of village goats (n?=?319) and a feral Tankwa breed (n?=?50). The dominant coat pattern was plain (74.53%) with black as the most common coat color (31.98%). Across breeds, a majority (88.08%) of the goats had horns, and 7.59% had wattles while 56.64% had beard. Adult goats (<3 years; n?=?398) were further analyzed for five quantitative traits of chest girth, height, length, and pin bone and there were significant (p?<?0.05) breed differences in all. A stepwise discriminatory procedure was used to rank the quantitative traits according to their discriminatory power to separate breeds or populations. Significant traits were then subjected to canonical discriminant analysis for principle component analysis. Based on the quantitative traits, the Tankwa, Xhosa, and Tswana goats formed their own cluster separated from commercial meat type breeds and the Venda and Zulu ecotypes. The discriminant function analysis correctly classified 90.41% of the Zulu goats and 82.93% of the Xhosa village populations. None of the Savanna goats were correctly classified. The study demonstrated diversity in village goat populations and production systems, which would allow for within population selection in genetic improvement programs. The heterogeneity in the phenotypic traits in the village goats is reflective of the role of village production systems in the maintenance of animal diversity in local populations.     

Limited awareness of animal influenza prevention and control among Dai Lue smallholder farmers in Southwest China

Awareness of animal influenza and its prevention and control is important for ensuring livestock health, production and welfare. In China, a country stereotyped as a major source of emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, research on the public understanding of animal influenza is limited to the Han, the main ethnic group. The present qualitative study in Southwest China investigated awareness of animal influenza among the Dai, an ethnic minority. The participants (15 men and 10 women, ages 18–83) were smallholder farmers of pigs and poultry in rural areas of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. A mixture of interviews and group discussions took place in homes and villages. The participants were asked about their knowledge of avian influenza (H7N9), swine influenza (H1N1), precautions taken to protect against influenza, procedures when animals were sick and perceived risk of animal influenza. The data were analysed following coding and thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated a limited understanding of animal health and welfare among participants. Specifically, they were largely unaware of animal influenza (H7N9, H1N1) including its causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment. The farmers were also uninformed of the risks they faced and unknowingly engaged in behaviours which increased direct or indirect exposure to infected animals, a risk factor for human infection. They also reported poor usage of veterinary services. In order to guarantee the health, welfare and production of their livestock, immediate action is needed to enable Dai smallholder farmers to prevent and respond to animal influenza effectively and timely.     

全球鸡蛋消费呈增长趋势

全球范围内鸡蛋消费量持续增长,其中大部分需求量增长来自亚洲的6个国家. 据世界蛋品协会统计分析师Windhorst教授称,截至2015年,世界鸡蛋需求量将比2005年增长1 200万t,从而达到7 090万t(表1).     

Temporal-spatial epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Mongolia, 2000 – 2002

Prior to 2000, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) had not been observed in Mongolia since 1973; however, between April 2000 and July 2002, Mongolia reported 44 FMD outbreaks that affected cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The objectives of this study were to describe the distributions of the 44 reported FMD outbreaks in Mongolia and to assess their spatial clustering and directions of movement. Official reports were collected to obtain the number and species of animals both affected and at risk, and the date and geographical coordinates of each outbreak. Significant global and local spatial clusters of reported FMD outbreaks were identified. Disease spread during the second epidemic moved 76° northeast and the spread of the disease during the third epidemic moved 110° northwest. FMD outbreaks were clustered intensely close to other FMD-positive counties. These findings can be used in the future to help plan prevention and control measures in high risk areas.     

Guinea Pig Model of Uterine Leiomyoma Established by Intragastric Administration of Estrogen

[Objective] The paper was to establish the guinea pig model of uterine leiomyoma by intragastric administration of estrogen and to dis-cuss the effect of different doses and administration cycles on formation of uterine leiomyoma. [Method] Mature female guinea pigs were divided into short term model group and long term model group, and intragastrically administrated with estradiol valerate at the dose of 0.1 mg/100 g body weight twice a week for 6 and 8 weeks respectively. Guinea pigs intragastrically administrated with equal volume of normal saline were set as con-trol. After 6 or 8 weeks, the guinea pigs were sacrificed. The serum levels of estrogen and progesterone were measured by ELISA and the leiomyoma formation rate was measured. Histological changes were compared between treatment group and control group with HE staining. [Results] The leiomyoma formation rate was 30% in short term model group and 40% in long term model group. The overall leiomyoma formation rate was 35%.The serum level of estrogen in model animals increased significantly and the progesterone level decreased in long term model group. Histopathologi-cal examination confirmed that the guinea pig model of uterine leiomyoma was established successfully. [Conclusions] Intragastric administration of estrogen is a simple and effective method for establishing guinea pigs model of uterine leiomyoma.     

The 2009 pandemic (H1N1) viruses isolated from pigs show enhanced pathogenicity in mice

Since the emergence of the 2009 pandemic (H1N1) virus (2009/H1N1) in April 2009, cases of transmission from humans to pigs have been reported frequently. In our previous studies, four 2009/H1N1 variants were isolated from pigs. To better understand the phenotypic differences of the pig isolates compared with the human isolate, in this study mice were inoculated intranasally with different 2009/H1N1 viruses, and monitored for morbidity, mortality, and viral replication, cytokine production and pathological changes in the lungs. The results show that all isolates show effective replication in lungs, but varying in their ability to cause morbidity. In particular, the strains of A/swine/Nanchang/3/2010 (H1N1) and A/swine/Nanchang/F9/2010 (H1N1) show the greatest virulence with a persisting replication in lungs and high lethality for mice, compared with the human isolate A/Liaoning /14/2009 (H1N1), which shows low virulence in mice. Furthermore, the lethal strains could induce more severe lung pathological changes and higher production of cytokines than that of other strains at an early stage. Amino acid sequence analysis illustrates prominent differences in viral surface glycoproteins and polymerase subunits between pig isolates and human strains that might correlate with their phenotypic differences. These studies demonstrate that the 2009/H1N1 pig isolates exhibit heterogeneous infectivity and pathogencity in mice, and some strains possess an enhanced pathogenicity compared with the human isolate.     

酶制剂在饲料加工和贮存中的稳定性研究

研究不同调质时间（２０ｓ、３０ｓ和４０ｓ）的制粒和饲料贮存过程中,酸性蛋白酶和果胶酶的活性损失。结果：制粒后,酸性蛋白酶的活性分别是原来的８６．１％、８２．１％和７２．１％;果胶酶的活性分别是原来的９１．４％、９０．９％和８４．７％。经夏季高温贮存后,酸性蛋白酶的活性分别是制粒后的６０．８％、５８．９％和５３．８％;果胶酶的活性分别为６６．８％、６８．４％和７５．４％。总的酶活损失,酸性蛋白酶为４     

近年全球禽业发展趋势概述（1）

1全球禽肉产量增长降至3％以下随着养殖业对能源依赖性的日益提高．以及饲料成本的快速上涨．油价的上涨越来越受到关注。然而．根据经济合作与发展组织（OECD）和联合国世界粮农组织（FAO）的最新报告显示．粮食的供应最终会超过食品、饲料以及工业用粮（主要是生物燃料）的需求。因此,饲料价格预计将从当前的最高点回落．但仍会比平均值高。     

贵州天然豆科牧草——窄叶野豌豆的引种与驯化

对采自贵州省册亨县、三都县的窄叶野豌豆野生种进行了引种驯化。结果表明：其产草量中等，鲜草３７．５～４５ｔ／ｈｍ２，草质优良；生育期短，早熟；种子产量高，收纯净种子５００～６００ｋｇ／ｈｍ２。适合在我国南方中亚热带地区同水稻、玉米轮作，也可作为农田填闲作物栽培