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The company says that in fattening pigs, it is suitable for the treatment and metaphylaxis of post-weaning diarrhoea caused by beta-haemolytic K88-positive, K99-positive or 987P Escherichia coli strains susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

BackgroundRotors are thought to be critical in sustaining ventricular fibrillation (VF). Myocardial fibrosis may promote and stabilise rotational activity. Yet, due to ethical, practical and technical challenges of VF mapping, little evidence from whole heart in-vivo studies is available linking rotational activity in sustained VF to myocardial scarObjectiveCombine global epicardial contact mapping during long duration VF with high-resolution MRI imaging data to characterise rotational activity and its spatial correlation to post-infarct scar in an in-vivo porcine model.MethodologyAn infarct model was created in danish landrace pigs via mid-LAD balloon-occlusion followed by 5–6 weeks recovery for infarct maturation. Placement of an epicardial 256-electrode sock was followed by VT induction with degeneration to VF. VF traces were sampled at 1kHz & low pass filtered at 40Hz. Epicardial phase was calculated at each electrode with Hilbert transform. Signals were linearly interpolated from the electrodes onto a fine regular grid. Persistent rotors were defined as continuous PS (tracked at a resolution of 1ms) with a lifetime > 1000ms. Number, lifetime, co-existence, location and mobility for all rotors were assessed. Mobility was evaluated by identifying the median coordinates of each rotor and if the rotor was >50% of its lifetime within ±3.6mm of the median coordinates, it was considered stationary, if <50% it was classified as mobile.Post-VF recording, hearts were explanted, sock electrodes tagged with MRI markers & ex-vivo DE-MRIs acquired for scar delineation. DE-MRI models were reconstructed and co-registered based on the MRI markers. Sock electrodes were allocated to core-scar, border zone or normal myocardium; rotors were assigned to the spatially closest electrode based on their median coordinates.ResultsVF was recorded for 26±3.5min in 8 pigs with established LAD infarct. On average 88 (IQR 118) persistent epicardial rotors were detected per pig. 52.8% were spatially associated with the scar (13.6%) and/or its border zone (39.2%). In the late stages of VF (>10min) the proportion of rotors associated with scar increased to 59.8%. Scar-related persistent rotors trended to be more often stationary than non-scar rotors (64 vs 59.4%, p 0.091), but there was no significant difference in rotor lifetime (1192±353 vs 1229±375ms, p ns). Co-existence of persistent rotors occurred in 35.4% of all epochs with on average 2 (IQR3) rotors overlapping by 864±507ms. In all pigs repeated periods with no persistent rotational activity were recorded indicating that other processes also play a role in maintaining VF.ConclusionThis is the first study employing both high resolution mapping and imaging in a large in vivo animal model linking structural alterations directly to long duration VF dynamics. Persistent rotational activity is an important mechanism in sustained VF and preferentially manifests around the border zone of post infarct scar, particularly in the later stages of VF.

Abstract Introduction Diurnal variations in immune cell number and function are regarded important for immune competence and are thought to be mediated by rest-activity rhythms and hormones. Moreover, the photoperiod is also known to modulate the immune system and considered to affect seasonal disease susceptibility. Whereas few studies investigated seasonal effects, the present study is the first investigating the specific effect of the photoperiod on diurnal rhythms in cell numbers of peripheral leukocyte types in any species. Methods Domestic pigs were held either under long day (LD, 16L:8D, lights-on 07:00-23:00, n=9) or short day conditions (SD, 8L:16D, lights-on 07:00-15:00, n=11) and fed concentrate at 07:30 + 14:00 (ad libitum hay/water). Blood samples were taken every 2 h over periods of 50 h via indwelling vein catheters. Rest-activity behavior of the pigs was analyzed using continuous camera recordings. Results Cosinor analyses (p<.05) revealed photoperiodic differences in diurnal rhythms of cell numbers of various peripheral leukocyte subtypes, rest-activity behavior, and cortisol concentration. Cell numbers of total leukocytes, NK cells, T cells, and eosinophils in blood, rest-activity behavior, and cortisol concentration peaked earlier relative to lights-on under SD (p<.05). Relative amplitudes in rest-activity behavior and cell counts of total leukocytes, NK cells, T cells, and monocytes were higher under SD (p<.05). However, there was no photoperiodic effect on diurnal rhythms in neutrophil counts and mesor in any leukocyte type. Generalized linear mixed models revealed associations of leukocyte counts with rest-activity behavior and cortisol concentration in most cell types (p<.05). Moreover, the found photoperiodic effects on diurnal rhythms in rest-activity behavior and cortisol concentration are in agreement with research in humans and primates. Conclusion The present study revealed photoperiodic effects on diurnal rhythms in the immune system, rest-activity behavior, and cortisol concentration in pigs and strengthens the importance of the domestic pig as suitable model for chronoimmunology. Support German Research Foundation DFG (grant provided to SS, grant number SCHM3162/1-1), Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (grant number 01PL16003), Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Hohenheim (scholarship provided to LE).

While relatively little is known about the psychology of domestic pigs, what is known suggests that pigs are cognitively complex and share many traits with animals whom we consider intelligent. This paper reviews the scientific evidence for cognitive complexity in domestic pigs and, when appropriate, compares this literature with similar findings in other animals, focusing on some of the more compelling and cutting-edge research results. The goals of this paper are to: 1) frame pig cognition and psychology in a basic comparative context independent of the livestock production and management setting; and 2) identify areas of research with pigs that are particularly compelling and in need of further investigation. We summarize and discuss several areas of comparative psychology, including nonsocial and social cognition, self-awareness, emotion, and personality. We conclude that there are several areas of research in which the findings are suggestive of complex psychology in pigs. We conclude by calling for more noninvasive cognitive and behavioral research with domestic pigs in non-laboratory settings that allow them to express their natural abilities.

All inventory and pig crop estimates for March 2022 through December 2022 were reviewed using final pig crop, official slaughter, death loss and updated import and export data. United States hog producers intend to have 2.93 million sows farrow during the March-May 2023 quarter, a 1% reduction from actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and a 3% decline from the same period two years earlier. To obtain an accurate measurement of the U.S. swine industry, NASS surveyed roughly 4,500 operators across the nation during the first half of March.

He was a trailblazer of the profession with a special interest in pigs. Thought provoking, articulate, thoughtful, genuine, trusting, generous and kind, he could also be challenging, provocative and feisty.