Effect of Grape Marc Added Diet on Live Weight Gain, Blood Parameters, Nitrogen Excretion, and Behaviour of Sheep.

A 39-day field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of grape marc (GM) feeding on sheep productivity, health, and environmental sustainability. Forty merino sheep were divided into two dietary groups, each having five replications (n = 4 sheep/replication). Experimental diet consisted of: (i) control: 55% lucerne hay + 40% wheat grain + 5% faba bean; (ii) GM treatment: control diet with 20% replaced by GM on a dry matter (DM) basis. The GM treatment contained 2-10% higher phytochemical contents than the control. The DMI from the GM treatment was 15% higher than the control (p < 0.001). No difference was found in sheep live weight gain, behaviour, and quality between groups (p > 0.05). No difference was found in total faecal production, faecal organic matter, and nitrogen contents (p > 0.05) and parasitic egg count. The GM treatment led to higher nitrogen intake (23.1 vs. 27.2 g/d) and faecal nitrogen excretion (6.3 vs. 8.7 g/d) compared to the control. Urinary creatinine, allantoin, and purine derivatives were lower in the GM treatment than control (p < 0.05). However, both groups had similar purine derivatives/DMI (i.e., indicator of rumen microbial protein synthesis efficiency; p > 0.05). Overall, the results showed that GM can replace 20% of the control ration to maintain sheep productivity, health, and environmental sustainability.

The Potential of Deep Roots to Mitigate Impacts of Heatwaves and Declining Rainfall on Pastures in Southeast Australia.

Declines in growing-season rainfall and increases in the frequency of heatwaves in southern Australia necessitate effective adaptation. The Sustainable Grazing Systems Pasture Model (SGS) was used to model the growth of three pasture species differing in root depth and root distribution under three different climate scenarios at two sites. The modelled metabolisable energy intake (in MJ) was used in a partial discounted net cash flow budget. Both the biophysical and economic modelling suggest that deep roots were advantageous in all climate scenarios at the long growing season site but provided no to little advantage at the short growing season site, likely due to the deep-rooted species drying out the soil profile earlier. In scenarios including climate change, the DM production of the deep-rooted species at the long growing season site averaged 386 kg/ha/year more than the more shallow-rooted species, while at the site with a shorter growing season it averaged 205 kg/ha/year less than the shallower-rooted species. The timing of the extra growth and pasture persistence strongly influenced the extent of the benefit. At the short growing season site other adaptation options such as summer dormancy will likely be necessary.

Carbon myopia: The urgent need for integrated social, economic and environmental action in the livestock sector.

Livestock have long been integral to food production systems, often not by choice but by need. While our knowledge of livestock greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation has evolved, the prevailing focus has been-somewhat myopically-on technology applications associated with mitigation. Here, we (1) examine the global distribution of livestock GHG emissions, (2) explore social, economic and environmental co-benefits and trade-offs associated with mitigation interventions and (3) critique approaches for quantifying GHG emissions. This review uncovered many insights. First, while GHG emissions from ruminant livestock are greatest in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC; globally, 66% of emissions are produced by Latin America and the Caribbean, East and southeast Asia and south Asia), the majority of mitigation strategies are designed for developed countries. This serious concern is heightened by the fact that 80% of growth in global meat production over the next decade will occur in LMIC. Second, few studies concurrently assess social, economic and environmental aspects of mitigation. Of the 54 interventions reviewed, only 16 had triple-bottom line benefit with medium-high mitigation potential. Third, while efforts designed to stimulate the adoption of strategies allowing both emissions reduction (ER) and carbon sequestration (CS) would achieve the greatest net emissions mitigation, CS measures have greater potential mitigation and co-benefits. The scientific community must shift attention away from the prevailing myopic lens on carbon, towards more holistic, systems-based, multi-metric approaches that carefully consider the raison d'être for livestock systems. Consequential life cycle assessments and systems-aligned 'socio-economic planetary boundaries' offer useful starting points that may uncover leverage points and cross-scale emergent properties. The derivation of harmonized, globally reconciled sustainability metrics requires iterative dialogue between stakeholders at all levels. Greater emphasis on the simultaneous characterization of multiple sustainability dimensions would help avoid situations where progress made in one area causes maladaptive outcomes in other areas.

Challenges and opportunities for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions through dairy cattle research in developing countries.

The global dairy sector is facing the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions whilst increasing productivity to feed a growing population. Despite the importance of this challenge, many developing countries do not have the required resources, specifically funding, expertise and facilities, for quantifying GHG emissions from dairy production and research. This paper aims to address this challenge by discussing the magnitude of the issue, potential mitigation approaches and benefits in quantifying GHG emissions in a developing country context. Further, the paper explores the opportunities for developing country dairy scientists to leverage resources from developed countries, such as using existing relevant GHG emission estimation models. It is clear that further research is required to support developing countries to quantify and understand GHG emissions from dairy production, as it brings significant benefits including helping to identify and implement appropriate mitigation strategies for local production systems, trading carbon credits and achieving the nationally determined contribution obligations of the Paris Agreement.

The contributions of focused attention and open monitoring in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for affective disturbances: A 3-armed randomized dismantling trial.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) includes a combination of focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation practices. The aim of this study was to assess both short- and long-term between- and within-group differences in affective disturbance among FA, OM and their combination (MBCT) in the context of a randomized controlled trial. METHOD: One hundred and four participants with mild to severe depression and anxiety were randomized into one of three 8-week interventions: MBCT (n = 32), FA (n = 36) and OM (n = 36). Outcome measures included the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Mixed effects regression models were used to assess differential treatment effects during treatment, post-treatment (8 weeks) and long-term (20 weeks). The Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to translate statistical findings into clinically meaningful improvements or deteriorations. RESULTS: All treatments demonstrated medium to large improvements (ds = 0.42-1.65) for almost all outcomes. While all treatments were largely comparable in their effects at post-treatment (week 8), the treatments showed meaningful differences in rapidity of response and pattern of deteriorations. FA showed the fastest rate of improvement and the fewest deteriorations on stress, anxiety and depression during treatment, but a loss of treatment-related gains and lasting deteriorations in depression at week 20. OM showed the slowest rate of improvement and lost treatment-related gains for anxiety, resulting in higher anxiety in OM at week 20 than MBCT (d = 0.40) and FA (d = 0.36), though these differences did not reach statistical significance after correcting for multiple comparisons (p's = .06). MBCT and OM showed deteriorations in stress, anxiety and depression at multiple timepoints during treatment, with lasting deteriorations in stress and depression. MBCT showed the most favorable pattern for long-term treatment of depression. CONCLUSIONS: FA, OM and MBCT show different patterns of response for different dimensions of affective disturbance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at (v NCT01831362); www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Heat Stress Impacts on Lactating Cows Grazing Australian Summer Pastures on an Automatic Robotic Dairy.

The objective of this study was to measure the impacts of summer heat events on physiological parameters (body temperature, respiratory rate and panting scores), grazing behaviour and production parameters of lactating Holstein Friesian cows managed on an Automated Robotic Dairy during Australian summer. The severity of heat stress was measured using Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) and impacts of different THIs-low (≤72), moderate (73-82) and high (≥83)-on physiological responses and production performance were measured. There was a highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) effect of THI on respiratory rate (66.7, 84.7 and 109.1/min), panting scores (1.4, 1.9 and 2.3) and average body temperature of cows (38.4, 39.4 and 41.5 °C), which increased as THI increased from low to moderate to high over the summer. Average milk production parameters were also significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected by THI, such that daily milk production dropped by 14% from low to high THI, milk temperature and fat% increased by 3%, whilst protein% increased by 2%. The lactation stage of cow had no significant effect on physiological parameters but affected (p ≤ 0.05) average daily milk yield and milk solids. Highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) positive correlations were obtained between THI and milk temperature, fat% and protein% whilst the reverse was observed between THI and milk yield, feed intake and rumination time. Under moderate and high THI, most cows sought shade, spent more time around watering points and showed signs of distress (excessive salivation and open mouth panting). In view of the expected future increase in the frequency and severity of heat events, additional strategies including selection and breeding for thermotolerance and dietary interventions to improve resilience of cows need to be pursued.

Artificial Intelligence Applied to a Robotic Dairy Farm to Model Milk Productivity and Quality based on Cow Data and Daily Environmental Parameters.

Increased global temperatures and climatic anomalies, such as heatwaves, as a product of climate change, are impacting the heat stress levels of farm animals. These impacts could have detrimental effects on the milk quality and productivity of dairy cows. This research used four years of data from a robotic dairy farm from 36 cows with similar heat tolerance (Model 1), and all 312 cows from the farm (Model 2). These data consisted of programmed concentrate feed and weight combined with weather parameters to develop supervised machine learning fitting models to predict milk yield, fat and protein content, and actual cow concentrate feed intake. Results showed highly accurate models, which were developed for cows with a similar genetic heat tolerance (Model 1: n = 116, 456; R = 0.87; slope = 0.76) and for all cows (Model 2: n = 665, 836; R = 0.86; slope = 0.74). Furthermore, an artificial intelligence (AI) system was proposed to increase or maintain a targeted level of milk quality by reducing heat stress that could be applied to a conventional dairy farm with minimal technology addition.

Using Leaf Temperature to Improve Simulation of Heat and Drought Stresses in a Biophysical Model.

Despite evidence that leaf temperatures can differ by several degrees from the air, crop simulation models are generally parameterised with air temperatures. Leaf energy budget is a process-based approach that can be used to link climate and physiological processes of plants, but this approach has rarely been used in crop modelling studies. In this study, a controlled environment experiment was used to validate the use of the leaf energy budget approach to calculate leaf temperature for perennial pasture species, and a modelling approach was developed utilising leaf temperature instead of air temperature to achieve a better representation of heat stress impacts on pasture growth in a biophysical model. The controlled environment experiment assessed the impact of two combined seven-day heat (control = 25/15 °C, day/night, moderate = 30/20 °C, day/night, and severe = 35/25 °C, day/night) and drought stresses (with seven-day recovery period between stress periods) on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). The leaf temperature of each species was modelled by using leaf energy budget equation and validated with measured data. All species showed limited homeothermy with the slope of 0.88 (P < 0.05) suggesting that pasture plants can buffer temperature variations in their growing environment. The DairyMod biophysical model was used to simulate photosynthesis during each treatment, using both air and leaf temperatures, and the patterns were compared with measured data using a response ratio (effect size compared to the well-watered control). The effect size of moderate heat and well-watered treatment was very similar to the measured values (~0.65) when simulated using T leaf, while T air overestimated the consecutive heat stress impacts (0.4 and 0). These results were used to test the heat stress recovery function (Tsum) of perennial ryegrass in DairyMod, finding that recovery after heat stress was well reproduced when parameterized with T sum = 20, while T sum = 50 simulated a long lag phase. Long term pasture growth rate simulations under irrigated conditions in south eastern Australia using leaf temperatures predicted 6-34% and 14-126% higher pasture growth rates, respectively at Ellinbank and Dookie, during late spring and summer months compared to the simulations using air temperatures. This study demonstrated that the simulation of consecutive heat and/or drought stress impacts on pasture production, using DairyMod, can be improved by using leaf temperatures instead of air temperature.

Genetic Selection for Thermotolerance in Ruminants.

Variations in climatic variables (temperature, humidity and solar radiation) negatively impact livestock growth, reproduction, and production. Heat stress, for instance, is a source of huge financial loss to livestock production globally. There have been significant advances in physical modifications of animal environment and nutritional interventions as tools of heat stress mitigation. Unfortunately, these are short-term solutions and may be unsustainable, costly, and not applicable to all production systems. Accordingly, there is a need for innovative, practical, and sustainable approaches to overcome the challenges posed by global warming and climate change-induced heat stress. This review highlights attempts to genetically select and breed ruminants for thermotolerance and thereby sustain production in the face of changing climates. One effective way is to incorporate sustainable heat abatement strategies in ruminant production. Improved knowledge of the physiology of ruminant acclimation to harsh environments, the opportunities and tools available for selecting and breeding thermotolerant ruminants, and the matching of animals to appropriate environments should help to minimise the effect of heat stress on sustainable animal genetic resource growth, production, and reproduction to ensure protein food security.

The effect of physiological state, milk production traits and environmental conditions on milk fat globule size in cow's milk.

This research was carried out to quantify the effects of a range of variables on milk fat globule (MFG) size for a herd of Holstein-Friesian cows managed through an automatic milking system with year-round calving. We hypothesised that the overall variation in average MFG size observed between individual animals of the same herd cannot sufficiently be explained by the magnitude of the effects of variables that could be manipulated on-farm. Hence, we aimed to conduct an extensive analysis of possible determinants of MFG size, including physiological characteristics (parity, days in milk, days pregnant, weight, age, rumination minutes, somatic cell count) and milk production traits (number of milkings, milk yield, fat yield, protein and fat content, fat-protein ratio) on the individual animal level; and environmental conditions (diet, weather, season) for the whole herd. Our results show that when analysed in isolation, many of the studied variables have a detectable effect on MFG size. However, analysis of their additive effects identified days in milk, parity and milk yield as the most important variables. In accordance with our hypothesis, the estimated effects of these variables, calculated using a multiple variable linear mixed model, do not sufficiently explain the overall variation between cows, ranging from 2.70 to 5.69 µm in average MFG size. We further show that environmental variables, such as sampling day (across seasons) or the proportion of pasture and silage in the diet, have limited effects on MFG size and that physiological differences outweigh the effects of milk production traits and environmental conditions. This presents further evidence that the selection of individual animals is more important than the adjustment of on-farm variables to control MFG size.

Growth and Physiological Responses of Temperate Pasture Species to Consecutive Heat and Drought Stresses.

Heat and drought are two major limiting factors for perennial pasture production in south eastern Australia. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of prolonged heat and drought stresses on pasture growth and physiology, the effects of short term recurring combined heat and drought stresses and the recovery from them have not been studied in detail. A controlled environment experiment was conducted to investigate the growth and physiological responses of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) plants exposed to two consecutive seven day heat (control = 25/15 °C day/night; moderate = 30/20 °C day/night and severe = 35/30 °C day/night) and/or drought stresses each followed by a seven day recovery period. During the first moderate and severe heat and drought treatments, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), cell membrane permeability and relative leaf water content decreased in chicory and tall fescue compared to perennial ryegrass and cocksfoot. However, during the second moderate heat and drought treatment, all species showed less reduction in the same parameters suggesting that these species acclimated to consecutive moderate heat and drought stresses. Chicory was the only species that was not affected by the second severe heat and drought stress while physiological parameters of all grass species were reduced closer to minimum values. Irrigation mitigated the negative effects of heat stress by cooling the canopies 1-3 °C below air temperatures with the most cooling observed in chicory. All the species exposed to moderate heat and drought were fully recovered and those exposed to severe heat and drought recovered partially at the end of the experiment. These findings suggest that chicory may be a potential species for areas subject to frequent heat and drought stress.

Emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases from livestock in China during 2000-2015: Magnitude, trends and spatiotemporal patterns.

Livestock production, an important source for non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs) including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in China, has changed remarkably over the past decades due to economic development and demand for livestock product. However, the variation of non-CO2 GHGs from China's livestock have not received sufficient attention in existing literature. Here, we examine the spatiotemporal patterns of emissions of CH4 and N2O from main livestock in China as well as their long-term trends during the period 2000-2015. Results suggest that the livestock sourced emissions of non-CO2 GHGs in China experienced three phases: a rapid increase from 2000 to 2006, followed by a sharp drop in 2007 and then a slow increase at a lower level from 2008 to 2015. The 2007 drop reflects the impact of macro-control policies on livestock development and extensive measures taken on livestock to control the flu outbreak that year, and the slower increase from 2008 to 2015 with respect to the period 2000-2006 reflects the changes in livestock categories and a general improvement in production efficiency. Spatiotemporal patterns demonstrate that traditional livestock provinces including Henan, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Yunnan and Hunan stood out as top six provinces in emission of non-CO2 GHGs in 2015. On the other hand, provinces like Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Xinjiang, identified as the emerging provinces, demonstrate the highest growth rates over the last decades. We find that different livestock categories dominated the difference in pattern of non-CO2 GHG emissions in both provinces with high emissions and those with high growth rates. Mitigation measures and policies suggestions should not only focus on high non-CO2 GHG emissions provinces, but also pay attention to the emerging new sources.

Effects of testosterone dose on spatial memory among castrated adult male rats.

Previous research on the activational effects of testosterone on spatial memory has produced mixed results, possibly because such effects are dose-dependent. We tested a wide range of testosterone doses using two spatial memory tasks: a working-reference memory version of the radial-arm maze (RAM) and an object location memory task (OLMT). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were castrated or sham-castrated and given daily injections of drug vehicle (Oil Sham and Oil GDX) or one of four doses of testosterone propionate (0.125, 0.250, 0.500, and 1.000 mg T) beginning seven days before the first day of behavioral tests and continuing throughout testing. For the RAM, four arms of the maze were consistently baited on each day of testing. Testosterone had a significant effect on working memory on the RAM, with the Oil Sham, 0.125 mg T, and 0.500 mg T groups performing better than the Oil GDX group. In contrast, there was no significant effect of testosterone on spatial reference memory on the RAM. For the OLMT, we tested long-term memory using a 2 h inter-trial interval between first exposure to two identical objects and re-exposure after one object had been moved. Only the 0.125 and 0.500 mg T groups showed a significant increase in exploration of the moved object during the testing trials, indicating better memory than all other groups. Testosterone replacement restored spatial memory among castrated male rats on both behavioral tasks, but there was a complex dose-response relationship; therefore, the therapeutic value of testosterone is likely sensitive to dose.

Dismantling Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Creation and validation of 8-week focused attention and open monitoring interventions within a 3-armed randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) employ two distinct practices, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), the integrated delivery of these practices in MBIs precludes understanding of their practice-specific effects or mechanisms of action. The purpose of this study is to isolate hypothesized active ingredients and practice-specific mechanistic target engagement by creating structurally equivalent interventions that differ only by the active ingredient (meditation practice) offered and to test whether the hypothesized components differentially engage the mechanistic targets that they are purported to engage. METHODS: Participants were intended to be representative of American meditators and had mild to severe affective disturbances. Measures of structural equivalence included participant-level (sample characteristics), treatment-level (program structure and duration, program materials, class size, attendance, homework compliance, etc.), and instructor-level variables (training, ratings and adherence/fidelity). Measures of differential validity included analysis of program materials and verification of differential mechanistic target engagement (cognitive and affective skills and beliefs about meditation acquired by participants after the 8-week training). RESULTS: The results indicate successful creation of structurally equivalent FA and OM programs that were matched on participant-level, treatment-level, and instructor-level variables. The interventions also differed as expected with respect to program materials as well as mechanistic targets engaged (skills and beliefs acquired). CONCLUSIONS: These validated 8-week FA and OM training programs can be applied in future research to assess practice-specific effects of meditation.

Perceptual and Social Attributes Underlining Age-Related Preferences for Faces.

Although aesthetic preferences are known to be important in person perception and can play a significant role in everyday social decisions, the effect of the age of the observer on aesthetic preferences for faces of different ages has not yet been fully investigated. In the present study we investigated whether aesthetic preferences change with aging, with an age-related bias in favoring faces from one's own age group. In addition, we examined the role of age on both the perceptual qualities and the social attributes of faces that may influence these aesthetic judgements. Both younger and older adult observers provided ratings to images of younger, middle-aged and older unfamiliar faces. As well as attractiveness, the rating dimensions included other perceptual (distinctiveness, familiarity) and social (competence, trustworthiness and dominance) factors. The results suggested a consistent aesthetic preference for youthful faces across all ages of the observers but, surprisingly, no evidence for an age-related bias in attractiveness ratings. Older adults tended to provide higher ratings of attractiveness, competence and trustworthiness to the unfamiliar faces, consistent with the positivity effect previously reported. We also tested whether perceptual factors such as face familiarity or distinctiveness affected aesthetic ratings. Only ratings of familiarity, but not distinctiveness, were positively associated with the attractiveness of the faces. Moreover, ratings of familiarity decreased with increasing age of the face. With regard to the social characteristics of the faces, we found that the age of the face negatively correlated with ratings of trustworthiness provided by all observers, but with the competence ratings of older observers only. Interestingly, older adults provided higher ratings of perceived competence and trustworthiness to younger than older faces. However, our results also suggest that higher attractiveness ratings, together with older aged faces, led to more positive evaluations of competence. The results are discussed within the context of an age-related decline in the differentiation of faces in memory. Our findings have important implications for a better understanding of age-related perceptual factors and cognitive determinants of social interactions with unfamiliar others across the adult lifespan.

The Influence of Climate, Soil and Pasture Type on Productivity and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity of Modeled Beef Cow-Calf Grazing Systems in Southern Australia.

A biophysical whole farm system model was used to simulate the interaction between the historical climate, soil and pasture type at sites in southern Australia and assess the balance between productivity and greenhouse gas emissions (expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2-eq.) intensity of beef cow-calf grazing systems. Four sites were chosen to represent a range of climatic zones, soil and pasture types. Poorer feed quality and supply limited the annual carrying capacity of the kikuyu pasture compared to phalaris pastures, with an average long-term carrying capacity across sites estimated to be 0.6 to 0.9 cows/ha. A relative reduction in level of feed intake to productivity of calf live weight/ha at weaning by feeding supplementary feed reduced the average CO2-eq. emissions/kg calf live weight at weaning of cows on the kikuyu pasture (18.4 and 18.9 kg/kg with and without supplementation, respectively), whereas at the other sites studied an increase in intake level to productivity and emission intensity was seen (between 10.4 to 12.5 kg/kg without and with supplementary feed, respectively). Enteric fermentation and nitrous oxide emissions from denitrification were the main sources of annual variability in emissions intensity, particularly at the lower rainfall sites. Emissions per unit product of low input systems can be minimized by efficient utilization of pasture to maximize the annual turnoff of weaned calves and diluting resource input per unit product.

Carbon resource sharing and rhizome expansion of Phalaris aquatica plants in grazed pastures.

The patterns of carbon (C) resource sharing and new rhizome development in phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L. cv. Australian) were examined in grazed pastures in western Victoria. The seasonal pattern of new rhizome growth was similar under the four grazing systems tested. New rhizome production was infrequent but concentrated in winter. The phalaris plants maintained more than 1600 kg DW ha-1 of non-assimilating material beneath the soil surface (0-5 cm). Gaseous 14C was fed into plants in the field to determine if these below ground structures continued to be supported by the C assimilating tillers. The results indicated that the primary tiller does provide C to support the growth of secondary and tertiary tillers derived from its axillary buds. There was some evidence that C was exported from the fed tiller to non-assimilating plant structures. The old reproductive tiller bases (from which the assimilating tillers originate) received some C support, suggesting that this was maintained because it had deep roots attached. C export to older plant parts declined, which may lead to plant fragmentation.