The School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln is seeking qualified applicants for a 12-month, full-time, tenured position as the Director of the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center.
Monthly Archives: July 2018
Position Announcement: Department Head, Large Animal Clinical Science
The Department of Large Animal Clinical Science in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech seeks a creative and visionary leader for the position of Department Head. The Department of Large Animal Clinical Science has three major missions common to land-grant institutions: deliver excellent professional and graduate veterinary medical education, provide veterinary service to clients and the agricultural industries through exceptional patient care that protects both animal and human health, and advance medical knowledge through research and scholarship.
2018 Podcast Series: Mike Tokach
During the AASV Annual Meeting, 29 veterinary students interviewed conference speakers to gain additional information about their presentation topic. The next of these MP3 audio interviews is now available to members on the AASV website at https://www.aasv.org/podcast/. Student member Bex Weaver interviewed Dr. Mike Tokach who presented “Formulation and feed additive considerations for nursery diets without antibiotics” in the “Antibiotic Alternatives” Pre-Conference Seminar. Watch for additional podcast interviews in the coming weeks!
Doc Tales
Two AASV members were recently overheard extolling the virtues of exercise. One noted, “It’s not exercise until your nose bleeds, you get a headache and it shows up on social media!” It should be noted that, at the time of this discussion, they were standing in line to board a gondola for a ride to the top of the mountain rather than hiking up.
Workshop to Examine Challenges for Economic Analysis of Antibiotic Use in Food Animals
Challenges to changing antibiotic use in food animal production and the associated economics, data and policy issues will be the focus of a workshop Sept. 6-7, 2018, at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. [Source: Farm Foundation, July 23, 2018]
News from Iowa Pork Industry Center at Iowa State University
Iowa Pork Industry Center at Iowa State University continues to work with industry professionals in offering Pork Quality Assurance Plus 3.0 advisor certification opportunities, including a newly scheduled session for Monday, Sept. 10.
Does Intrauterine Crowding Affect Locomotor Development? A Comparative Study of Motor Performance, Neuromotor Maturation and Gait Variability among Piglets that Differ in Birth Weight and Vitality
In polytocous species, such as pigs, the growth of an individual fetus is affected by competition from its littermates and the sow. This intrauterine competition greatly influences postnatal traits such as birth weight and vitality (physical strength). A lowered vitality is most often observed among low birth weight piglets. Since it has been argued that locomotion might be key to unraveling vitality-related differences, we compared gait development in piglets with a low birth weight and low vitality (L piglets) with piglets with a normal birth weight and normal vitality (N piglets) by means of spatio-temporal gait analysis during locomotion at self-selected speed. Video recordings of L and N piglets walking along a corridor at ten time points (between birth and 96 h after birth) were made and the footfalls were digitized. Hence, self-selected speed, spatio-temporal characteristics and gait symmetry were analyzed to compare motor performance, neuromotor maturation (motor task, interlimb and intralimb coordination) and gait variability for L and N piglets. The analysis included both absolute and normalized data (according to the dynamic similarity concept), to distinguish neuromotor maturation from effects caused by growth. Results indicate that intrauterine crowding affects locomotion, mainly by impairing growth in utero, with a lowered motor performance during the first 96 h of age as a consequence. A difference in neuromotor skills was also visible, though only for swing and stance duration, implying a difference in neuromotor development in utero. However, further maturation during the first days after birth does not seem to be affected by intrauterine crowding. We can therefore conclude that L piglets might be considered a smaller and fictitious younger version of N piglets.Vanden Hole C, Aerts P, Prims S, Ayuso M, Van Cruchten S, Van Ginneken C; Does Intrauterine Crowding Affect Locomotor Development? A Comparative Study of Motor Performance, Neuromotor Maturation and Gait Variability among Piglets that Differ in Birth Weight and Vitality; PLoS One. 2018 Apr 24;13(4):e0195961. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195961. eCollection 2018. PMID: 29689084 PMCID: PMC5915318 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195961 Click here to read the full article.
Countries Step Up to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance
Countries are making significant steps in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but serious gaps remain and require urgent action, according to a report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO). [Source: FAO, July 18,2018]
What’s New at Leman?
There are three exciting new additions to the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference program this year.
USDA Assists Farmers Impacted by Unjustified Retaliation
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of the unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods. These programs will assist agricultural producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets. [Source: USDA Press Release, July 24, 2018]