Background: Productivity and efficiency of beef production systems should be estimated based on cow size, calf growth rate and cow reproduction rate, which are critical factors for the evaluation of production characteristics of beef cattle of different biological types. One of the ways to measure beef cow productivity is based on the ratio of calf weaning weight to cow weight. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance and reproductive efficiency of primiparous beef cows of three different biotypes and two milk production levels, from calving to weaning, in pasture-raised beef systems. Materials, Methods & Results: Forty-two primiparous Angus cows were classified according to body weight at calving, as follows: Heavy (431 kg); Medium (388 kg); and Light (348 kg). Cow efficiency as a function of biotype was evaluated at two different moments: calving and weaning, based on the ratio of calf weight to cow weight*100 (in kilograms). Calf production efficiency was determined based on the ratio of calf weaning weight (CWW) to cow pregnancy rate (PR), resulting in the calf production index = kg of weaning calves per cow (CWW*PR/100).  The experimental design was a completely randomized factorial 3 x 2 x 2 design (three biotypes x two calf sexes x two milk production levels). The results were subjected to ANOVA and F-test. The Light and Medium cow groups produced more (P < 0.05) kilograms of calf per kilogram of cow (16.0 and 15.1 kg, respectively) than the Heavy group (14.0 kg). Light cows showed lower (P < 0.05) milk production and, as a result, lighter (P < 0.05) calves at weaning (151.9 ± 4.3 kg) than Medium and Heavy groups, 166.0 ± 3.7; 166.5 ± 4.0 kg, respectively. At beginning of the breeding season, cows of the Lower milk production group were on average 27.49 kg heavier than cows in the Higher milk production group. There was an interaction (P < 0.05) between total milk production and calf sex on characteristics of performance in calves and performance efficiencies of the system. Light and Medium cows showed 51 and 25 kg total weight gain from calving to weaning, corresponding to 14.7 and 6.4% of body weight, respectively. The Heavy group, however, showed a 3 kg loss (0.5% of body weight) during the same period. Discussion: A higher growth rate was observed in the pre-weaning period of the calves of heavy cows; as a result, these calves were heavier at weaning. To achieve this result, heavier cows may compensate this higher nutritional requirement using body reserves. This biological adjustment may not be economically efficient, since the subsequent reproduction of these cows could be impaired by increases in milk production. Therefore, the target cow in a pasture-raised beef system is one whose low nutritional requirements enable her to produce milk, resulting in heavier calves, and whose physiological conditions enable her to conceive again during the breed season. Light cows can be considered an efficient group, since their pregnancy rate enabled them to create a positive difference for the group, notwithstanding their lower milk production and lighter calves (P < 0.05) at weaning.  This tendency is expected, since increased growth rates are associated with a decrease in puberty and early finishing age. It is essential to select animals according to their efficiency in order to reduce the cow’s requirements, since this favors the increased productivity of cows of lower maintenance cost in relation to their body weight, leading to higher biological and economic efficiency in the beef production system. In conclusion, because of their lower nutritional requirements, cows of small and moderate biotypes and lower total milk production are more efficient than cows of larger biotypes and higher milk production in pasture-raised beef systems.

Background: Reproductive efficiency is one of the most important factors affecting the performance dairy cattle, and fixedtime artificial insemination (TAI) is an important biotechnology factor employed in bovine livestock. The achievement of satisfactory results in TAI protocols depends of several factors, such as health and body condition, milk yield, environmental temperatures, ovulation time, semen manipulation, as well as semen quality. The goal of this study was to evaluate the conception rate of heifers and multiparous cows based on different Holstein bulls used for artificial insemination (AI). The effects of the type of management AI, animal category, and season of the year were also examined.Materials, Methods & Results: A three-year database on the reproductive management of a dairy farm was formed. All the cows and heifers were of the Holstein breed, in semi-intensive nutritional management, milked twice a day, and received a total mix ration. After 45 days in milk, when cows were observed twice daily with estrus signs, posterior artificial insemination occurred 12 h after estrus visualization was made. However, cows that were not observed in estrus were submitted to a timed artificial insemination (TAI). In this study, these fixed factors were considered: bulls utilized for the AI (totalizing 10 animals with at least 100 inseminations in each season, denoted by the letter B and a number - B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10); the season of the insemination (spring/summer being from November to April and autumn/winter from May to October), category animal (heifers, animals that never have been calved, or multiparous, animals that have already given birth more than once), and the type of AI (which included TAI using a protocol for synchronization, but cows having not necessarily shown estrus signs at the AI; ETAI: using protocol of synchronization, cows showing estrus signs at the AI; and AI with estrus visualization, without protocol of synchronization when animals were observed in estrus and were inseminated 12 h later. The fertility parameter of the bulls and reproductive performance in AI was based on conception rate. There was a statistical difference among different bulls in the same season (P ≤ 0.05). There was also a difference in reproductive performance of the same bulls between seasons, autumn/winter and spring/summer; B8 37.8% vs. 32.0% (P = 0.05) and B10 35.1% vs. 20.7% (P = 0.003). Regarding the individual animal category, only one bull (B6) demonstrated higher reproductive performance when utilized in the AI of heifers than multiparous 39.2% vs. 27.2% (P = 0.01). Similarly, regarding the effect of the type of AI, only one bull (B8) exhibited different results, obtaining better results for conception rate when utilized in fixed TAI with estrus visualization (35.5%) and in the AI with estrus visualization (39.0%) compared with that of TAI (19.9%) (P < 0.05).Discussion: From these results, it was observed that some bulls exhibited better performance in situations of greater challenge. In addition, some animals presented variation in efficiency with the demonstration of estrus or not. Therefore, bulls that present semen with higher fertility in certain types of AI could be utilized on a larger scale for to increase the reproductive rates in artificial insemination. The results of this study indicate that despite the tests indicating the semen that is submitted is adequate, there are still variations in quality and the reproductive efficiency of each bull. With the effects varying based on fertility and on different environmental and management situations.

Calves are extremely dependent on colostrum intake for the acquisition of passive immunity. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of diarrhea and respiratory diseases and the impact of Failure of Passive Immune Transfer (FPIT) on the health and zootechnical performance of Holstein dairy calves in individual management. This study has been carried out in five commercial farms in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, from March 2017 to January 2018. In this study, 131 calves were followed from birth to 60 days of age. Total Plasmatic Protein (TPP) has been performed to determine passive immune transfer quality in 53 calves (53/131). A daily clinical follow-up has been accomplished aiming at diagnosing diseases and their incidences, and zootechnical measures such as withers height, width of the croup and weight have been evaluated. FPIT rate was 32.07%, diarrhea occurrence and respiratory diseases were 77.9% and 49.6%, respectively. FPIT increased the chances of calves presenting diarrhea and developing respiratory diseases, but no differences on zootechnical performance were found. The frequency of FPIT is still high and is a factor that corroborated the increased risk for diarrhea and respiratory disease but did not influence the performance of calves in the preweaning phase.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência da condição corporal de 3 e 3,5 e do impacto do desempenho de touros na taxa de prenhez de vacas da raça Braford lactantes criadas em campo nativo submetidas a inseminação artificial em tempo fixo (IATF). Para isso, foram selecionas de um rebanho comercial 216 vacas da raça Braford, multíparas e lactantes com escore de condição corporal (ECC) de 3,0 e 3,5, as quais foram submetidas ao mesmo protocolo de IATF. As vacas foram aleatoriamente designadas à inseminação com um dos dois touros (A e B) em avaliação no presente estudo. O diagnóstico de gestação de 30 dias após a inseminação artificial foi realizado através de exame ultrassonográfico. Não foi observado qualquer efeito, tanto do touro quanto do ECC, sob a taxa de prenhez das vacas, porém, foi possível observar que a porcentagem de animais vazios foi relativamente alta (ECC 3,0 = 71,6%; ECC 3,5= 72%). Não foi observado efeito do ECC e do touro sobre a taxa de prenhez de vacas Braford submetidas à IATF.

Resumo-O objetivo deste trabalho é demonstrar o processo de captação de sinais corporais como expressões faciais, batimentos cardíacos e ondas cerebrais para compreender a relação dos mesmos com as emoções e a aprendizagem, durante experimentos realizados em instituições de ensino, guiados por um processo de seis passos apoiados por ferramentas tecnológicas. A metodologia é de natureza qualitativa e quantitativa. Os resultados mostram que o estado emocional dos participantes durante a realização das atividades pode ser percebido através do monitoramento dos sinais corporais, e conclui-se que, analisando o conjunto de batimentos cardíacos, métricas de performance através das ondas cerebrais e estado emocional por expressões faciais, uma mesma atividade pode produzir reações diferentes nos participantes, de acordo com a metodologia adotada e o estilo de aprendizagem de cada aluno. Com relação aos trabalhos futuros, o objetivo é expandir o número de experimentos a fim de comparar os dados, ajustar e validar o processo metodológico adotado.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a vitamin and mineral complex, associated with the application of an efficient anthelmintic, in parasitized lambs, with characteristic signs of gastrointestinal nematode infection, on hematological clinical parameters of clinical improvementand weight gain. 60 lambs Australian Merino breed, with 8 and 9 months of age, were segregated in four groups: control (no supplemetation); formula 1 (Iron Dextran, Organic Phosphorus, Cyanocobalamin and Vitamin k); formula 2 (Iron Dextran, Organic Phosphorus and Cyanocobalamin); and formula 3 (Vitamin k). Hematocrit, prothrombin time, total plasma proteins, color of the conjunctiva and weight gain were analyzed. The results were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA) through the repeated measures test. There was no statistical difference between treatments for the variables of hematocrit (P = 0.564), prothrombin time (P = 0.911) and plasma proteins (P = 0.6), for the conjunctiva color variable there was a difference (P = 0.052 ), with greater results for the groups supplemented with Vitamin K, Butafosfan, Cyanocobalamin and Iron (groups F1 and F3), as well as those same groups reached higher body weight at D35 (P = 0.023). It can be concluded that the administration of vitamin and mineral complex, associated with efficient anthelmintic, promoted a better performance in parasitized lambs.

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar estratégias terapêuticas para o tratamento de infecções broncopulmonares, utilizando a enrofloxacina de ação rápida e sua associação com suporte e fluidoterapia endovenosa ou suporte e solução oral energética e eletrolítica, por meio da mensuração de parâmetros clínicos, hematológicos, bioquímicos e desenvolvimento corporal de neonatos bovinos. Foram utilizadas 35 bezerras da raça Holandesa, monitoradas desde o nascimento até a sexta semana de vida, divididas aleatoriamente nos grupos: grupo CONTROLE; grupo antibiótico; grupo antibiótico + suporte + fluidoterapia endovenosa; grupo antibiótico + suporte + solução oral; e grupo SUPORTE. Os parâmetros zootécnicos foram avaliados do nascimento até a sexta semana de vida, e os parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos foram avaliados zero, 24, 72 e 120 horas após diagnóstico da broncopneumonia. Os animais do grupo antibiótico + suporte + solução oral apresentaram menores níveis de eosinófilos e maiores níveis de neutrófilos segmentados em comparação aos animais dos demais grupos. Não houve diferença nos parâmetros zootécnicos avaliados. Neste estudo, o tratamento com antibiótico e solução oral ofereceu aos animais melhor aporte para combater a broncopneumonia, favorecendo o organismo a desenvolver uma resposta imune efetiva diante da infecção.

O objetivo deste estudo foi demonstrar a eficácia do Toltrazuril 5% no tratamento da coccidiose subclínica, através da avaliação da excreção de oocistos nas fezes e do ganho de peso de bezerras leiteiras naturalmente infectadas por Eimeria spp. durante as três primeiras semanas de vida. Foram selecionadas 22 bezerras, com 20 e 35 dias de idade, mantidas nas mesmas condições de criação e com presença confirmada de oocistos nas fezes (dia -7 do estudo). As bezerras foram divididas aleatoriamente nos seguintes grupos experimentais: Tratamento (n=13), que receberam uma dose oral de 3 mL/10 kg de peso vivo (15 mg/kg) de Toltrazuril 5% no dia 0, uma semana após a confirmação da eliminação de oocistos (dia -7); e grupo Controle (n=9), que receberam uma dose oral de 3 mL/10 kg de peso vivo de solução de NaCl 0,9%, como placebo. As coletas de fezes para avaliação da eliminação de oocistos foram realizadas nos dias -7, 0 e 14, enquanto que a avaliação do peso corporal foi realizada nos dias 0, 14 e 32. O tratamento com Toltrazuril 5% reduziu a eliminação de oocistos e o percentual de bezerras infectadas, além de ter proporcionado um maior peso final para as que receberam o tratamento. Dessa forma, o Toltrazuril 5% se apresenta como uma alternativa viável para minimizar os efeitos deletérios da coccidiose subclínica e evitar o aparecimento da forma clínica da doença, evitando assim o retardo no desenvolvimento durante a fase inicial de criação.