Modern methods of selection have contributed greatly to the genetically superior high yielding animals of current animal production systems [1]. While this being the case of the developed world, animal production in the tropics is constrained by the everlasting deficit in feed supply [2]. Therefore, a method based on lower feed intake without affecting mature weight and production will have a g...

Interest in improving feed efficiency in cattle is intensifying. Residual feed intake (RFI), which is the difference between expected intake and that predicted based on energy demands, is now the most commonly used measure of feed efficiency over a given time period. However, RFI, as commonly defined, is independent of growth rate, which may affect its acceptance by industry. Residual BW gain (...

Normality tests have been shown to be powerful tools for detecting radio frequency interference (RFI) in microwave radiometer systems [1]-[4]. These tests are based on the fact that received fields produced by thermal noise are Gaussian (or “normal”) random variables; the presence of any RFI generally disrupts normality. Numerous statistical tests of the normality of a data sample have been des...

Residual feed intake (RFI) is a measure of the efficiency of animals in feed utilization. The accuracies of GEBV for RFI could be improved by increasing the size of the reference population. Combining RFI records of different breeds is a way to do that. The aims of this study were to 1) develop a method for calculating GEBV in a multibreed population and 2) improve the accuracies of GEBV by usi...

The demand for satellite communications has led to large-scale deployments of fixed-satellite service (FSS) systems. Some of the bands allocated for such systems in the X-and K-band regions of the spectrum are either adjacent to, or shared with, those allocated for passive Earth exploration-satellite service (EESS) [1]. While FSS systems are designed such that maximum power is directed towards ...

The aim of this study was to determine the genetic background of longitudinal residual feed intake (RFI) and BW gain in farmed mink using random regression methods considering heterogeneous residual variances. The individual BW was measured every 3 weeks from 63 to 210 days of age for 2139 male+female pairs of juvenile mink during the growing-furring period. Cumulative feed intake was calculate...

Increasing feed costs and the desire to improve environmental stewardship have stimulated renewed interest in improving feed efficiency of livestock, including that of US dairy herds. For instance, USDA cost projections for corn and soybean meal suggest a 20% increase over 2010 pricing for a 16% protein mixed dairy cow ration in 2011, which may lead to a reduction in cow numbers to maintain pro...

Improved feed efficiency is a primary goal in dairy production to reduce feed costs and negative impacts of production on the environment. Estimates for efficiency of feed conversion to milk production based on residual feed intake (RFI) in dairy cattle are limited, primarily due to a lack of individual feed intake measurements for lactating cows. Feed intake was measured in Holstein cows durin...

In France, about 95% of the fatty liver production comes from mule ducks, an infertile hybrid cross between female common ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and Muscovy drakes (Cairina moschata). As a hybrid, genetic improvement of the performance of mule ducks is achieved by selection of the parental populations. Feed represents two-thirds of the total costs of duck production; thus, the breeders' mai...