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... In this regard, it is also important to ensure that ponds and shaded areas are available, for these are vital for adequate thermoregulation in buffaloes. Handlers must also be made aware of the fact that this species has specific parturition periods characterized by short days, and that the efficient management of this aspect strongly impacts their reproductive performance, welfare and productivity [10,13,56,57]. ...
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Tropical regions of Latin America have been incorporated into development in recent decades, with extensive cattle ranching as one of the main economic activities but without adequate planning, drastically degrading the ecosystem. In recent years, buffalo production has been incorporated into the region, with possibilities for development in profitable and sustainable models. To study this option in depth, a broad bibliographic review was carried out focusing on the ecological characteristics of tropical zones and the physiological and productive characteristics of buffaloes. We also investigated the structure and functioning of dual-purpose systems that have worked in cattle and that can be optimized with this alternative animal species. The possibility of taking sustainable advantage of abundant forage resources in the region was detected through intensive grazing models, as well as agrosilvopastoral systems, due to the gregarious qualities of buffaloes and responding to their thermoregulation needs. In this way, the productive and regenerative capacities of the dual-purpose system could be increased, as well as the quality of meat and milk, which could be marketed as differentiated products, taking advantage of their outstanding nutritional qualities. Integral management of the dual-purpose system is proposed, retaking the bases of the original model of family characters, diversified and with low investments and risks, which with specific innovations can be an effective development option for producers in the region.
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The river buffalo is an emerging production species worldwide; indeed, it is overtaking other cattle as a producer of meat and milk in some countries. Though both species belong to the Bovidae family, they show significant anatomical, physiological, and behavioral differences due to their different phylogenetic positions. The river buffalo is a rustic animal that can benefit from low-quality, fibrous forages due to its digestive system, in contrast to beef cattle or dairy cows. Besides, the buffalo cow’s reproductive apparatus has fewer cervical muscle rings and a shorter vagina and cervix. This species has maintained its seasonal breeding pattern, also in contrast to Bos indicus and Bos taurus. Even though buffaloes have an inefficient thermoregulating system, scarce hair, and a thicker epidermis, they are more resistant to tropical weather conditions if water for wallowing is available than dairy cows, which in turn adapt better to temperate zones. Due to the morphology of the river buffalo’s mammary glands, they produce less milk, while their conical teats with narrower sphincters decrease predisposition to mastitis compared to dairy cows. Thus, the study of the anatomical and physiological differences among river buffalo, Bos Taurus, and Bos Indicus will allow the implementation of strategies to improve the former’s productivity while also increasing welfare levels according to the production system in which they are raised.
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Organisms in hot environments will not be able to passively dissipate metabolically generated heat. Instead, they have to revert to evaporative cooling, a process that is energetically expensive and promotes excessive water loss. To alleviate these costs, birds in captivity let their body temperature increase, thereby entering a state of hyperthermia. Here we explore the use of hyperthermia in wild birds captured during the hot and dry season in central Nigeria. We found pronounced hyperthermia in several species with the highest body temperatures close to predicted lethal levels. Furthermore, birds let their body temperature increase in direct relation to ambient temperatures, increasing body temperature by 0.22°C for each degree of increased ambient temperature. Thus to offset the costs of thermoregulation in ambient temperatures above the upper critical temperature, birds are willing to let their body temperatures increase by up to 5°C above normal temperatures. This flexibility in body temperature may be an important mechanism for birds to adjust to predicted increasing ambient temperatures in the future.
Article
One of the main functions of infrared thermography (IRT) consists in detecting temperature changes in organisms caused by variations in surface blood circulation. IRT is a useful tool that has been used mainly as a diagnostic method for various stress-causing pathologies, though recent suggestions indicate that it can be used to assess the block quality of certain body regions. In the field of anaesthesiology, IRT has been applied to brachial and epidural blocks, while in algology, changes in surface blood circulation associated with sympathetic activity have been investigated. Thermography has also been employed to complement pain level scales based on the facial expressions of patients in critical condition, or after surgery. In addition, it has been used as a tool in research designed to evaluate different surgical procedures in human medicine, as in the case of surgical burrs for placing dental implants, where IRT helps assess the degree of heating associated with bone devascularisation, reduction in vascular perfusion as a consequence of stroke, and changes in the autonomous nervous system, or the degree of vascular changes in flaps applied to burn patients. In veterinary medicine, thermography has brought several benefits for animals in terms of evaluating lesions, diseases, and surgical procedures. The aim of this review is to evaluate how IRT can be used as a tool in surgical procedures, cases of vascular change, and pain monitoring in veterinary medicine with an emphasis on small animals.
Article
Rapid cooling after acute hyperthermia may cause a sustained increase in body temperature and exacerbate intestinal damage in pigs. Therefore, the study objective was to evaluate the temporal effects of rapid and gradual cooling on body temperature response and intestinal integrity after acute hyperthermia in pigs. In three repetitions, 54 pigs [83.3 ± 6.7 kg initial body weight (BW)], balanced by sex were exposed to thermoneutral conditions for 6h (TN; n = 6 pigs/repetition; 21.1 ± 2.0°C), or heat stress conditions (HS; 39.3 ± 1.6°C) for 3h, followed by a 3h recovery period of gradual cooling [HSGC; n = 6 pigs/repetition; gradual decrease from HS to TN conditions] or rapid cooling [HSRC; n = 6 pigs/repetition; rapid TN exposure and cold water (4.0°C) dousing every 30 min for 1.5h]. Feed was withheld throughout the entire 6h period, but water was provided ad libitum. Gastrointestinal (TGI) and rectal (TR) temperatures were recorded every 15 min during the HS and recovery periods. Six pigs per repetition (n = 2/treatment) were euthanized and jejunal and ileal samples were collected for histology immediately after (d0), 2d after, and 4d after the recovery period. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS 9.4. Overall, rapid cooling reduced TR and TGI (P < 0.01; 0.95°C and 0.74°C, respectively) compared to gradual cooling. Jejunal villus height was reduced overall (P = 0.02; 14.01%) in HSGC compared to HSRC and TN pigs. Jejunal villus height-to-crypt depth ratio was reduced overall (P = 0.05; 16.76%) in HSGC compared to TN pigs. Ileal villus height was reduced overall (P < 0.01; 16.95%) in HSGC compared to HSRC and TN pigs. No other intestinal morphology differences were detected. In summary, HSRC did not cause a sustained increase in body temperature and did not negatively impact biomarkers of intestinal integrity in pigs.
Chapter
In humans, sweating is the most powerful autonomic thermoeffector. The evaporation of sweat provides by far the greatest potential for heat loss and it represents the only means of heat loss when air temperature exceeds skin temperature. Sweat production results from the integration of afferent neural information from peripheral and central thermoreceptors which leads to an increase in skin sympathetic nerve activity. At the neuroglandular junction, acetylcholine is released and binds to muscarinic receptors which stimulate the secretion of a primary fluid by the secretory coil of eccrine glands. The primary fluid subsequently travels through a duct where ions are reabsorbed. The end result is the expulsion of hypotonic sweat on to the skin surface. Sweating increases in proportion with the intensity of the thermal challenge in an attempt of the body to attain heat balance and maintain a stable internal body temperature. The control of sweating can be modified by biophysical factors, heat acclimation, dehydration, and nonthermal factors. The purpose of this article is to review the role of sweating as a heat loss thermoeffector in humans.
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The regulation of body temperature is one of the most critical functions of the nervous system. Here we review our current understanding of thermoregulation in mammals. We outline the molecules and cells that measure body temperature in the periphery, the neural pathways that communicate this information to the brain, and the central circuits that coordinate the homeostatic response. We also discuss some of the key unresolved issues in this field, including the following: the role of temperature sensing in the brain, the molecular identity of the warm sensor, the central representation of the labeled line for cold, and the neural substrates of thermoregulatory behavior. We suggest that approaches for molecularly defined circuit analysis will provide new insight into these topics in the near future.
Article
Secreting tubules, nerves fibers, and blood vessels in human sweat glands (SGs) were fluorescently stained by immunohistochemical and lectin methods for examination with a laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). Using these techniques, the three-dimensional distribution of up to three substances within a single specimen was investigated by collecting a series of optical sections for each of three fluorophores. Each SG received several nerve fibers. These branched into delicate bands of one or more axons that ran longitudinal to the sweat tubule then encircled the tubule. A heavy complement of capillaries was interwoven among the sweat tubules. Sweat ducts were accompanied from the SG toward the skin surface by one or two longitudinally oriented nerve fibers and capillaries. Immunoreactive staining of nerves was heaviest with protein gene product 9.5 antibody, but triple labeling showed that immunoreactivity to calcitonin gene- related peptide, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and synaptophysin was also present in the same axons. Substance P-immunoreactive axons were sparse in SGs but were present in other areas of the skin. The techniques used have considerable potential in examination of human skin biopsies for diagnosis of disorders affecting the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.