Effect of floor space allowances on growth performance of finishing pigs marketed at 138 kilograms.

Current floor space allowances were determined in research studies conducted 10 to 20 yr ago using pigs that were marketed at a BW of about 113 kg or less. Currently, pork producers are regularly marketing pigs that weigh over 128 kg. Given this precipitous increase in market weight, we conducted 2 experiments to determine if floor space allowances previously determined apply to pigs marketed at greater than 128 kg. Experiment 1 was conducted at 5 university research stations throughout the Upper Midwest region. In this experiment, we evaluated the growth performance, salivary cortisol concentrations, and lesion scores of pigs weighing between 27 and 138 kg provided 0.71, 0.80, 0.89, 0.98, or 1.07 m/pig of floor space. Within each station, group size (range = 6 to 19 pigs) remained constant across floor space treatments but pen size was altered to achieve the desired space allocations. There were 14 replicate pens for each treatment. Overall, increasing floor space allowance increased final BW (linear, = 0.04) and tended (linear, < 0.06) to increase ADG and ADFI. There were no improvements in final BW or ADG beyond 0.89 m/pig. The G:F was not influenced by increasing floor space allocation. Salivary cortisol concentrations and lesion scores were not affected by floor space allowances. Experiment 2 focused on floor space needs of pigs nearing market weight and was conducted at 4 research stations. Pigs weighing about 130 kg were assigned to pens that provided 0.71, 0.80, 0.89, 0.98, or 1.07 m/pig of floor space. Group size ranged from 4 to 11 pigs per pen but was constant across floor space treatments within station. The study lasted 2 wk and there were 8 replicate pens per treatment. As floor space allowance increased, ADG (0.86, 0.95, 0.95, 1.10, and 1.06 kg; linear, < 0.01), ADFI (3.03, 3.26, 3.22, 3.49, and 3.25 kg; quadratic, < 0.05), and final BW (145.6, 145.7, 146.4, 148.3, and 147.9 kg; linear, < 0.01) increased. Based on the results of these 2 experiments, pigs marketed at about 138 kg require at least 0.89 m/pig to support optimal growth performance. However, heavier pigs (about 148 kg) at the end of the finishing period require 0.98 m/pig.

A cooperative study on the standardized total-tract digestible phosphorus requirement of twenty-kilogram pigs.

A cooperative study comprising growth performance, bone mineralization, and nutrient balance experiments was conducted at 11 stations to determine the standardized total-tract digestible (STTD) P requirement of 20-kg pigs using broken-line regression analysis. Monocalcium phosphate and limestone were added to a corn-soybean meal-based diet at the expense of cornstarch to establish 6 concentrations of STTD P from 1.54 to 5.15 g/kg in increments of 0.62 g/kg at a constant Ca:total P of 1.52:1.0. Diets were fed to 936 pigs (average initial BW of 19 kg) in 240 pens for 20 replicate pens of barrows and 20 replicate pens of gilts per diet. As STTD P increased from 1.54 to 5.15 g/kg of the diet for d 0 to 14, 14 to 28, and 0 to 28, the ADG, ADFI, and G:F increased ( < 0.01). Barrows gained and ate more ( < 0.05) than gilts during d 14 to 28 and 0 to 28. There was no interaction between sex and STTD P concentration for any of the growth performance response criteria. There were both linear and quadratic increases ( < 0.05) in mineral density and content of ash, Ca, and P in the femur expressed as a percentage of dry, fat-free metacarpal as dietary STTD P increased. Furthermore, the maximum load of the femur and mineral density and content and maximum load as well as the Ca and P expressed as a percentage of metacarpal ash linearly increased ( < 0.01) with increasing dietary concentrations of STTD P. There were both linear and quadratic increases ( < 0.01) in apparent digestibility and retention of P with increasing concentrations of STTD P in the diets. Digestibility and retention of Ca linearly ( < 0.01) increased with increasing dietary concentrations of STTD P. Breakpoints determined from nonlinear broken-line regression analyses revealed estimates of 4.20 ± 0.102, 3.20 ± 0.036, or 3.87 ± 0.090 g/kg for ADG during d 0 to 14, 14 to 28, or 0 to 28, respectively. Corresponding estimates using G:F as the response criterion were 4.34 ± 0.146, 3.38 ± 0.139, or 4.08 ± 0.195 g/kg. When mineralization of the femur was used as criteria of response, estimates of STTD P requirement were 4.28, 4.28, or 4.34, g/kg for mineral density, mineral content, or maximum load, respectively. Using mineralization of the metacarpal as criteria of response, estimates of STTD P requirement ranged from 3.5 to 5.0 g/kg depending on the metacarpal response criteria. The study provided empirical estimates of STTD P requirements of 20- to 40-kg pigs.

Dietary lipid sources and levels for weanling pigs.

Collaborative studies comprising growth performance and metabolism experiments were conducted to reevaluate growth performance and nutrient and energy utilization responses of nursery pigs to dietary lipid sources and levels. Two lipid sources (soybean oil or tallow) were included at the rate of 1%, 3%, or 5% at the expense of cornstarch in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement for 6 diets, and Lys was added to maintain a constant calorie:Lys ratio. A growth performance experiment (d 0 to 7, d 7 to 21, and d 21 to 35 postweaning) involving a total of 822 crossbred pigs was conducted at 9 research stations. Each station contributed 2 to 7 replicate pens with 4 to 6 pigs per pen, resulting in a total of 28 replicate pens per diet. The initial BW ranged from 5.9 to 7.3 kg, and the final BW ranged from 20.9 to 28.9 kg. Diets fed during d 7 to 21 and d 21 to 35 were evaluated with 120 barrows in 2 metabolism experiments with 10 individually fed barrows per diet to determine digestibility and retention of nutrients and energy. Lipid source and the interaction between lipid level and source did not affect growth performance. Lipid did not affect growth performance from d 0 to 7. There was a quadratic decrease (P < 0.05) in ADG with increasing level of added lipid only during d 7 to 21 postweaning. The ADFI was decreased (P < 0.01) both during d 7 to 21 and d 21 to 35 postweaning with increasing level of lipid supplementation. A linear improvement (P < 0.001) in G:F with increasing level of lipid supplementation occurred during both d 21 to 35 and d 0 to 35 postweaning. There was a linear increase in DE, ME, and nitrogen-corrected ME (MEn) of diets fed during d 7 to 21 postweaning with increasing lipid level regardless of lipid source. For diets fed during d 21 to 35 postweaning, there were interactions (P < 0.05) between lipid source and level for digestibility of DM, N, lipid, and energy and for DE, ME, and MEn of diets. The improved feed efficiency was, perhaps, partly attributable to the increase in ME content of the diets with added lipids. There were interactions (P < 0.05) between lipid source and level for efficiency of energy use for BW gain for diets fed during d 21 to 35. The efficiencies of use of DE, ME, and NE for BW gain were not affected in pigs fed diets containing increasing levels of soybean oil; however, there were linear increases in these response criteria for pigs fed diets containing increasing levels of tallow. These results indicate that the energy values of soybean oil from the 2012 NRC study used in formulating these diets were fairly accurate.

Effects of reduced nocturnal temperature on pig performance and energy consumption in swine nursery rooms.

The objective of this investigation was to determine the effect of a reduced nocturnal temperature (RNT) regimen on performance of weaned pigs and energy consumption during the nursery phase of production. The age of weaned pigs assigned to experiments ranged from 16 to 22 d. In Exp. 1, 3 stations conducted 2 trials under a common protocol that provided data from 6 control rooms (CON; 820 pigs) and 6 RNT rooms (818 pigs). Two mirror-image nursery rooms were used at each station. Temperature in the CON room was set to 30°C for the first 7 d, then reduced by 2°C per week through the remainder of the experiment. Room temperature settings were held constant throughout the day and night. The temperature setting in the RNT room was the same as CON during the first 7 d, but beginning on the night of d 7, the room temperature setting was reduced 6°C from the daytime temperature from 1900 to 0700 h. The use of heating fuel and electricity were measured weekly in each room. Overall, ADG (0.43 kg), ADFI (0.62 kg), and G:F (0.69) were identical for CON and RNT rooms. Consumption of heating fuel [9,658 vs. 7,958 British thermal units (Btu)·pig(-1)·d(-1)] and electricity (0.138 vs. 0.125 kilowatt-hour (kWh)·pig(-1)·d(-1)] were not statistically different for CON and RNT rooms, respectively. In Exp. 2, 4 stations conducted at least 2 trials that provided data from 9 CON rooms (2,122 pigs) and 10 RNT rooms (2,176 pigs). Experimental treatments and protocols were the same as Exp. 1, except that the RNT regimen was imposed on the night of d 5 and the targeted nighttime temperature reduction was 8.3°C. Neither final pig BW (21.8 vs. 21.5 kg; SE = 0.64), ADG (0.45 vs. 0.44 kg; SE = 0.016), ADFI (0.61 vs. 0.60 kg; SE = 0.019), nor G:F (0.75 vs. 0.75; SE = 0.012) were different for pigs housed in CON or RNT rooms, respectively. Consumption of heating fuel and electricity was consistently reduced in RNT rooms for all 4 stations. Consumption of heating fuel (10,019 vs. 7,061 Btu·pig(-1)·d(-1); SE = 1,467) and electricity (0.026 vs. 0.021 kWh·pig-1·d-1; SE = 0.004) were lower (P < 0.05) in the RNT rooms compared with CON rooms. This represents a 30% reduction in heating fuel use and a 20% reduction in electrical use with no differences in pig growth performance or health. From these experiments, we conclude that imposing a RNT regimen from 1900 to 0700 h is effective in reducing energy costs in the nursery without compromising pig performance, which will reduce production costs and decrease emissions of greenhouse gases.

Corn distillers dried grains with solubles in diets for growing-finishing pigs: a cooperative study.

An experiment involving 560 crossbred pigs (28 replications of 4 to 6 pigs per pen) was conducted at 9 research stations to assess the effects of dietary concentrations of corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on pig performance and belly firmness. Fortified corn-soybean meal diets containing 0, 15, 30, or 45% DDGS were fed in 3 phases from 33 to 121 kg of BW. A common source of DDGS containing 90.1% DM, 26.3% CP, 0.96% Lys, 0.18% Trp, 9.4% crude fat, 34.6% NDF, 0.03% Ca, and 0.86% P was used at each station. Diets were formulated to contain 0.83, 0.70, and 0.58% standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys during the 3 phases with diets changed at 60 and 91 kg of BW, respectively. The DDGS replaced corn and soybean meal, and up to 0.172% Lys and 0.041% Trp were added to maintain constant SID concentrations of Lys and Trp in each phase. At each station, 2 pigs from each pen in 2 replications were killed and a midline backfat core was obtained for fatty acid analysis and iodine value. In most instances, there were differences among stations (P < 0.01), but the station × treatment interactions were few. Body weight gain was linearly reduced in pigs fed the greater amounts of DDGS (0 to 45%) during phase I (950, 964, 921, and 920 g/d; P < 0.01) and over the entire experimental period (944, 953, 924, and 915 g/d; P = 0.03), but ADFI (2.73, 2.76, 2.68, and 2.70 kg) and G:F (347, 347, 345, and 341 g/kg) were not affected (P = 0.15 and P = 0.33, respectively) during the entire test. Backfat depth was reduced (linear, P < 0.02) by increasing amounts of DDGS (22.5, 22.7, 21.4, and 21.6 mm), but LM area (47.4, 47.4, 46.1, and 45.4 cm(2)) was not affected (P = 0.16) by treatments. Estimated carcass fat-free lean was 51.9, 52.2, 52.4, and 52.1% for 0 to 45% DDGS, respectively (linear, P = 0.06). Flex measures obtained at 6 stations indicated less firm bellies as dietary DDGS increased (lateral flex: 11.9, 8.6, 8.4, and 6.6 cm; linear, P < 0.001; vertical flex: 26.1, 27.4, 28.2, and 28.7 cm; linear, P < 0.003). Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid concentrations in subcutaneous fat decreased linearly (P < 0.001) and PUFA concentrations increased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing DDGS in the diet. Iodine values in inner (61.1, 68.2, 74.7, and 82.2) and outer (67.9, 73.6, 79.6, and 85.8) backfat increased linearly (P < 0.001) as DDGS in the diet increased. In this study, feeding diets with 30 or 45% DDGS did not have major effects on growth performance, but resulted in softer bellies. Regression analysis indicated that iodine values increased 4.3 units for every 10 percentage unit inclusion of DDGS in the diet.

Effect of graded levels of iron, zinc, and copper supplementation in diets with low-phytate or normal barley on growth performance, bone characteristics, hematocrit volume, and zinc and copper balance of young swine1.

Fifty crossbred barrows with an average initial age of 31 d and BW of 9.94 kg were used in a 28-d experiment to evaluate the effect of a low-phytic acid (LPA) barley mutant (M) M955, a near-isogenic progeny of the normal barley (NB) cultivar Harrington with about 90% less phytate than NB, to increase the utilization of Fe, Zn, and Cu compared with diets containing NB. The response criteria were growth performance, hematocrit volume, metacarpal bone characteristics, and the apparent absorption, retention, and excretion of Zn and Cu. The 2 barley cultivars (NB and M955) and the 5 trace mineral (TM) treatment concentrations of Fe and Zn (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of the requirement as FeSO(4) and ZnSO(4)) and Cu (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160% of the requirement as CuSO(4)) made 10 treatments in a factorial arrangement. Available P was equalized at 0.33% in all diets by adding monosodium phosphate to the basal diet containing NB, and all diets contained 0.65% Ca. Diets were adequate in all other nutrients. Barley and soybean meal were the only sources of phytate in the practical diets that also contained spray-dried whey. The barrows were fed the diets to appetite in meal form twice daily in individual metabolism crates. There were no barley cultivar x TM treatment interactions, and there were no differences between the NB and M955 barley cultivars for any of the response criteria measured. However, for the TM treatments, there were linear increases (P < or = 0.05) in ADFI, ADG, hematocrit volume, metacarpal bone breaking strength and ash weight, and the apparent absorption, retention, and excretion (mg/d) of Zn and Cu. In conclusion, the LPA barley had no effect on the response criteria in this experiment, apparently because of the small increase in the availability of the endogenous trace minerals in the practical diets containing M955 compared with NB. However, increasing the supplementation of Fe and Zn from 0 to 100% (160% for Cu) of the requirement resulted in linear increases in growth performance, hematocrit volume, metacarpal bone strength and ash weight, and the apparent absorption, retention, and excretion of Zn and Cu. Therefore, these results indicate that the inorganic trace mineral supplementation of practical diets for young pigs should not be less than the National Research Council requirements for swine.

Evaluation of Atriplex lines for selenium accumulation, salt tolerance and suitability for a key agricultural insect pest.

Thirty Atriplex lines were examined for potential habitat improvement and phytoremediation of selenium (Se) contaminated sites. Studies were conducted to determine the biomass production, Se accumulation, and resistance of each line to the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, an agriculturally important insect. Plants were tested using three salinity treatments: (1) control, no Se; (2) NaCl and CaCl2 salts and 1 mg l(-1) Se (12.7 microM) added as sodium selenate; and (3) iso-osmotic to treatment 2 containing high concentrations of sulfate and I mg l(-1) Se added as sodium selenate. Insect bioassays measured survival, growth, and development. Atriplex patula. A. spongiosa 415862, A. hortensis, A. hortensis 379088 and A. hortensis 379092 were among the top biomass producers and Se accumulators, yet they exhibited significantly reduced insect growth, development, and survival. High background sulfate strongly reduced Se accumulation, suggesting that phytoremediation potential is greatest in saline areas having low to moderate sulfate levels. However, these lines grew well in high salinity soils, indicating possible use as a self-seeding cover crop to improve habitat. All plant lines grown in control and high sulfate salinity treatments are acceptable oviposition sites for S. exigua, indicating that these plants would help reduce populations of this key agricultural pest.

Ion partitioning among soil and plant components under drip, furrow, and sprinkler irrigation regimes: field and modeling assessments.

Soil and water resources can be severely degraded by salinity when total salt input exceeds output in irrigated agriculture. This study was conducted to examine partitioning of Ca2+, Na+, and Cl- between soil and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] plants under different irrigation regimes with both field and modeling assessments. In drip and sprinkler treatments, the irrigation water was salinized with NaCl and CaCl2 salts to simulate a Cl- and Na+ dominant saline drainage water. In the furrow irrigation treatment, the soil was salinized, prior to planting, with NaCl and CaCl2 salts to simulate a Cl- and Na+ dominant saline soil. A total of 756 soil and 864 plant samples were collected and analyzed for the salt ions to obtain ion partitioning and mass balance assessments. Modeling of salt ion uptake by plants and distribution in the soil profile was performed with a two-dimensional solute transport model for the three irrigation regimes. Results indicated that about 20% of the applied Ca2+ was recovered in harvested soybean biomass in all treatments. Plant uptake of either Na+ or Cl- was less than 0.5% in the drip and furrow, and about 2% in the sprinkler irrigation treatment. Significant increases in soil salinity were found in the sprinkler plot that received the highest cumulative amount of salts. Simulated ion distributions in the soil were comparable with the measurements. Compared with the total seasonal salt input, mass balances between 65 and 108% were obtained. Most salt inputs accumulate in the soil, and need to be removed periodically to prevent soil salinization.

A multifactorial approach to understanding anesthesia selection.

A full hospital cost accounting model to track the total costs of surgery and anesthesia for inpatients, from the perspective of a hospital CFO, utilizing time-allocation methodology is presented. This model was tested in a prospective multicenter economic clinical trial in three settings.

Electrostatic Changes in Lycopersicon esculentum Root Plasma Membrane Resulting from Salt Stress.

Salinity-induced alterations in tomato (Lypersicon esculentum Mill. cv Heinz 1350) root plasma membrane properties were studied and characterized using a membrane vesicle system. Equivalent rates of MgATP-dependent H(+)-transport activity were measured by quinacrine fluorescence (DeltapH) in plasma membrane vesicles isolated from control or salt-stressed (75 millimolar salt) tomato roots. However, when bis-[3-phenyl-5-oxoisoxazol-4-yl] pentamethine was used to measure MgATP-dependent membrane potential (DeltaPsi) formation, salt-stressed vesicles displayed a 50% greater initial quench rate and a 30% greater steady state quench than control vesicles. This differential probe response suggested a difference in surface properties between control and salt-stressed membranes. Fluorescence titration of vesicles with the surface potential probe, 8-anilino-1-napthalenesulphonic acid (ANS) provided dissociation constants (K(d)) of 120 and 76 micromolar for dye binding to control and salt-stressed vesicles, respectively. Membrane surface potentials (Psi(o)) of-26.0 and -13.7 millivolts were calculated for control and salt-stressed membrane vesicles from the measured K(d) values and the calculated intrinsic affinity constant, K(i). The concentration of cations and anions at the surface of control and salt-stressed membranes was estimated using Psi(o) values and the Boltzmann equation. The observed difference in membrane surface electrostatic properties was consistent with the measured differences in K(+)-stimulated kinetics of ATPase activity between control and salt-stressed vesicles and by the differential ability of Cl(-) ions to stimulate H(+)-transport activity. Salinity-induced changes in plasma membrane electrostatic properties may influence ion transport across the plasma membrane.

A descriptive analysis of pharmacy continuing education offerings in 1985.

This study reports the results of a national survey of ACPE-approved provider continuing education offerings during 1985. The study was designed to identify frequently-presented topics, characterize types of programs offered, describe the providers offering programs and detail continuing education activities on a regional basis. Data were requested through the mail and the ACPE "program description form" was used as the source of the study data. Two hundred and one (84.1%) ACPE-approved providers from eight regions of the country and Puerto Rico participated and data from 2,461 programs were analyzed. Differences and similarities among programs offered and characteristics of providers were reported. Additional information was generated on when programs were offered, methods of presentation, average tuition charged and average credit hours offered. Significant differences were noted. Comparisons with previous national studies were made where possible. Among the findings was: an impact by mandatory continuing education requirements on the number of programs available; an increase in average program tuition charges; a decrease in the average number of credit hours per program; and an increase in competition among providers. Programs provided a rich variety of offerings, required a moderate tuition charge, were offered in every month, and used many different formats and delivery methods.

A behavioral technique for recovery from the psychological trauma of hysterectomy.

Three groups of women (ns = 10) undergoing hysterectomy were subjects in an evaluation of biofeedback and relaxation techniques applied to recovery from psychological trauma of hysterectomy. Dependent measures included requests of pain medications, anxiety levels, finger-tip temperature, subjective units of discomfort, and number of days post-operative care. Although the results were mixed on most variables, the number of days post-operative care was significantly less in the relaxation/biofeedback group.

Budgetary considerations in planning pharmacy continuing education programs.

This article presents three years of financial data on pharmacy continuing education programs offered by a college of pharmacy. Forty-one programs were offered resulting in the generation of 35,702 instructional units of activity and 3028.8 CEUs. Total costs were $295,797.00 of which $125,822.00 was for direct costs. Income totaled $127,754.00. Costs and income per registrant, instructional unit, and program are presented, as are comparative data by program type for the three-year period. The total cost of one hour of programming for one participant was $8.29. Some thoughts on who should pay for the costs of CE for professionals are presented. Figures are discussed in light of situational factors influencing program delivery. Staff productivity was determined to be 11.7 programs per FTE or 13.7 programs per year. This last figure translated to serving 2,654 participants per year. Total income accounted for only 43.2 percent of total expenses. Increase in registration fees was suggested as one way to offset all expenses.

Histones and histone-DNA ratios in diploid and polyploid cottons.

Histones are nuclear proteins which repress gene transcription and modify chromosome structure. They are remarkably conservative in structure throughout a wide evolutionary array of plants and animals; however, quantitative histone differences have been detected by cytological means in species having extra chromosomes. The purpose of this study was to: 1) isolate and characterize the histones of several Gossypium species and 2) relate differences to known differences in vigor, ploidy level, and genome constitution or size. Histones extracted from isolated nuclei of leaf tissues were characterized by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels into 14 subfractions of the five major histone classes. The subfractions were identified by various means including co-electrophoresis with known histone standards. Densitometric analysis revealed only slight quantitative differences in subfraction ratios between species. Histone-DNA ratios were significantly higher in the pentaploid species. This observed increase is considered a result of genome imbalance. These data support the premise that histones may function as generalized gene deactivators in plant species having multiple genomes.