@article{merenda_oliveira_lopez-soriano_arruda_robbins_pairis-garcia_2023, title={Dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle euthanasia}, volume={106}, ISSN={["1525-3198"]}, DOI={10.3168/jds.2023-23223}, abstractNote={Implementing timely and humane euthanasia in dairy farms remains a critical concern. One of the possible barriers for the implementation of timely euthanasia on-farm is dairy workers' attitudes toward the act. The objectives of this study were to investigate dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle euthanasia and their association to individuals' demographic characteristics. A total of 81 workers from 30 dairy farms (ranging in size from less than 500 to more than 3,000 cows) participated in the survey and most participants were caretakers (n = 45; 55.6%) or farm managers (n = 16; 19.8%), with an average work experience of 14.8 years. Dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle (empathy affect, empathy attribution, and negative attitudes about cattle), working environment (relying on others, perceived time constraints) and euthanasia decision-making (feeling comfortable with euthanasia, feeling confident, seeking knowledge, using different sources to obtain advice, having negative attitudes about euthanasia, having insufficient knowledge, having trouble deciding when to euthanize and avoiding if possible) were identified and used for cluster analyses. Cluster analyses identified 3 distinct clusters: (1) confident but uncomfortable with euthanasia (n = 40); (2) confident and comfortable with euthanasia (n = 32); and (3) unconfident, lacking knowledge and detached from cattle (n = 9). Dairy workers' demographic characteristics (age, sex, race and ethnicity, dairy experience, role on farm, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience) were used as predictors for the risk factor analyses. The risk analysis demonstrated that there were no predictors for cluster one, but white workers (P = 0.04) and caretakers that had previous euthanasia experience tended to be more likely to be members of cluster 2 (P = 0.07) while respondents that worked in farms with 501-1,000 cows were more likely to be grouped in cluster 3. This study provides vital information about variability in dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy euthanasia as well as its association with race and ethnicity, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience. This information can be used to implement appropriate training and euthanasia protocols to increase both human and dairy cattle welfare on farm.}, number={10}, journal={JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE}, author={Merenda, Victoria R. and Oliveira, Eduardo B. and Lopez-Soriano, Magdiel and Arruda, Andreia G. and Robbins, Ashley and Pairis-Garcia, Monique D.}, year={2023}, month={Oct}, pages={7076–7088} }
 @article{esteves trindade_lopez-soriano_merenda_tomacheuski_pairis-garcia_2023, title={Effects of assessment method (real-time versus video-recorded) on a validated pain-altered behavior scale used in castrated piglets}, volume={13}, ISSN={["2045-2322"]}, DOI={10.1038/s41598-023-45869-8}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={SCIENTIFIC REPORTS}, author={Esteves Trindade, Pedro Henrique and Lopez-Soriano, Magdiel and Merenda, Victoria Rocha and Tomacheuski, Rubia Mitalli and Pairis-Garcia, Monique Danielle}, year={2023}, month={Oct} }
 @article{lopez-soriano_merenda_anderson_trindade_leidig_messenger_ferreira_pairis-garcia_2023, title={Efficacy of inguinal buffered lidocaine and intranasal flunixin meglumine on mitigating physiological and behavioral responses to pain in castrated piglets}, volume={4}, ISSN={["2673-561X"]}, DOI={10.3389/fpain.2023.1156873}, abstractNote={Managing castration pain on US sow farms is hindered by the lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved products for mitigating pain. Previous work assessing flunixin meglumine (FM) efficacy in mitigating castration pain has shown the drug to be effective in pigs, meanwhile, results from previous work evaluating lidocaine efficacy are contradictory. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of inguinal buffered lidocaine (BL) and FM in mitigating castration pain in piglets. This study was divided into Part I (physiological response) and Part II (behavioral response). For part I piglets were randomly assigned to the following treatments: T1: (C) Castration plus physiological saline; T2: (S) Sham plus physiological saline; T3: (CL) Castration plus BL; T4: (SL) Sham plus BL; T5: (CF) Castration plus FM; T6: (SF) Sham plus FM; T7: (CLF) Castration plus BL and FM; T8: (SLF) Sham plus BL and FM. Blood was collected 24 h prior to castration, 1 h, and 24 h post castration for cortisol quantification. For Part II another cohort of piglets was enrolled and randomly assign to the following treatments: T1: (C) Castration plus physiological saline and T7: (CLF) Castration plus BL and FM. Behavior scoring was obtained in real-time by observing each piglet for 4-min continuously using Unesp-Botucatu pig acute pain scale (UPAPS) at the following timepoints: 1 h before castration (−1 h), immediately post-castration (0 h), and 3 h post-castration (+3 h). Average cortisol concentrations did not differ at −24 h (P > 0.05) or at 24 h post-castration (P > 0.05) between treatments. At 1 h post-castration, castrated piglets (C and CL) demonstrated greater cortisol concentrations (P < 0.05). Castrated piglets in the CF and CLF group had lower cortisol concentrations compared to C and CL-treated pigs (P < 0.05). For behavioral response, there were no differences between treatments on total UPAPS scores (C and CLF, P > 0.05). Intranasal FM was able to effectively reduce the physiological piglet's response immediately post-castration. Inguinal buffered lidocaine had no effect on the either physiological or behavioral response to pain. Long-term research should focus on refining injection techniques for inguinal BL and consider administration frequency and dosing of intranasal FM to control pain for a longer period post-castration.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH}, author={Lopez-Soriano, Magdiel and Merenda, Victoria Rocha and Anderson, Stephanie and Trindade, Pedro Henrique Esteves and Leidig, Martin S. and Messenger, Kristen and Ferreira, Juliana Bonin and Pairis-Garcia, Monique Danielle}, year={2023}, month={Jun} }
 @article{merenda_oliveira_lopez-soriano_arruda_robbins_pairis-garcia_2023, title={Interactive euthanasia training program for the dairy industry: Implementation and perceived respondent knowledge change}, volume={106}, ISSN={["1525-3198"]}, DOI={10.3168/jds.2022-22928}, abstractNote={This study described the development of an interactive euthanasia training program and its potential to improve dairy workers' perceived euthanasia decision-making skills and awareness of timely euthanasia by using a survey instrument before and after the program. Training material encompassed euthanasia information over 2 production stages (calves and cows or heifers) and material was delivered on-farm in a case-scenario format (14 cases). During a 3-mo period, 30 different dairy farms were visited and 81 participants were enrolled in this study. Each participant was required to complete a survey pretraining, to complete the case studies from the production stage in which their job responsibility was more closely aligned with (estimated completion time of 1 h), and to complete a survey post-training. Surveys contained 8 statements regarding participants' perceived knowledge of euthanasia practices. The questions were answered on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree, or (5) strongly agree. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were created for each question to investigate the effect of age, sex, dairy experience, farm size, role at the farm, race, previous experience with euthanasia, veterinarian degree, and production stage in the score change, defined by the presence or absence of an increase in the 5-point scale score. Upon completion of the training, respondents were more confident in identifying compromised animals (score change = 0.35), determining when an animal should be euthanized (score change = 0.64), and understanding the importance of timely euthanasia (score change = 0.26). Age and euthanasia experience were significantly associated with the respondents' perceived knowledge; suggesting that younger, less-experienced caretakers on-farm should be prioritized to receive training. The proposed interactive case-based euthanasia training program has proven to be valuable to dairy participants and veterinarians as it provides a means to improve dairy welfare.}, number={8}, journal={JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE}, author={Merenda, Victoria R. and Oliveira, Eduardo B. and Lopez-Soriano, Magdiel and Arruda, Andreia G. and Robbins, Ashley and Pairis-Garcia, Monique D.}, year={2023}, month={Aug}, pages={5659–5671} }
 @article{robles_luna_trindade_lopez-soriano_merenda_viscardi_tamminga_lou_pairis- garcia_2023, title={Validation of the Unesp-Botucatu pig composite acute pain scale (UPAPS) in piglets undergoing castration}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1932-6203"]}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0284218}, abstractNote={To accurately assess pain and support broadly-based analgesic protocols to mitigate swine pain, it is imperative to develop and validate a species-specific pain scale. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical validity and reliability of an acute pain scale (UPAPS) adapted for newborn piglets undergoing castration. Thirty-nine male piglets (five days of age, 1.62 ± 0.23 kg BW) served as their own control, were enrolled in the study and underwent castration in conjunction with an injectable analgesic administered one-hour post-castration (flunixin meglumine 2.2 mg/kg IM). An additional 10, non-painful female piglets were included to account for the effect of natural behavioral variation by day on pain scale results. Behavior of each piglet was video recorded continuously at four recording periods (24 h pre-castration, 15 min post-castration, 3 and 24 h post-castration). Pre- and post-operative pain was assessed by using a 4-point scale (score 0–3) including the following six behavioral items: posture, interaction and interest in surroundings, activity, attention to the affected area, nursing, and miscellaneous behavior. Behavior was assessed by two trained blinded observers and statistical analysis was performed using R software. Inter-observer agreement was very good (ICC = 0.81). The scale was unidimensional based on the principal component analysis, all items except for nursing were representative (rs ≥ 0.74) and had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.85). The sum of scores were higher in castrated piglets post-procedure compared to pre-procedure, and higher than in non-painful female piglets confirming responsiveness and construct validity, respectively. Scale sensitivity was good when piglets were awake (92.9%) and specificity was moderate (78.6%). The scale had excellent discriminatory ability (area under the curve > 0.92) and the optimal cut-off sum for analgesia was 4 out of 15. The UPAPS scale is a valid and reliable clinical tool to assess acute pain in castrated pre-weaned piglets.}, number={4}, journal={PLOS ONE}, author={Robles, I and Luna, S. P. L. and Trindade, P. H. E. and Lopez-Soriano, M. and Merenda, V. R. and Viscardi, A. V. and Tamminga, E. and Lou, M. E. and Pairis- Garcia, M. D.}, year={2023}, month={Apr} }
 @article{lopez-soriano_merenda_trindade_luna_pairis-garcia_2022, title={Efficacy of transdermal flunixin in mitigating castration pain in piglets}, volume={3}, ISSN={["2673-561X"]}, DOI={10.3389/fpain.2022.1056492}, abstractNote={Castration is a painful procedure performed in swine and to date, there are no approved products available in the US to alleviate this pain. Previous work evaluating the efficacy of flunixin meglumine has shown promise in mitigating pain in swine, but no work to date has evaluated transdermal flunixin efficacy in mitigating castration pain in piglets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transdermal flunixin (TDF) in mitigating castration pain utilizing a previously validated behavioral pain scale. A total of 98 Large White x Duroc cross male piglets from 98 litters were enrolled in this study. Piglets were randomly assigned to the following treatments: (1) TDF plus castration (3.33 mg/kg; CF;n = 24), (2) TDF plus sham castration (3.33 mg/kg; SF;n = 26), (3) topical physiological saline plus sham castration (S;n = 24), or (4) topical physiological saline plus castration (C;n = 24). All treatments were administered 24 h prior to castration. Four-min continuous videos clips were collected 24 h before castration (−24 h), immediately post-castration (0 h), and 24 h post-castration (+24 h). Video clips were then observed and scored by one trained observer using a 4-point pain scale (score 0–3) encompassing the five behavioral domains of the pig acute pain scale (UPAPS). Total pain score averages were analyzed as repeated measures by analysis of variance applying a multilevel model. The UPAPS effectively distinguished varying levels of painful and non-painful states in castrated piglets as observedviadeviations in total pain scores across timepoints (P < 0.0001), treatment (P < 0.001) and treatment*timepoint (P < 0.0001). Immediately post-castration (0 h), piglets in the C and CF group demonstrated greater total average pain scores than piglets in the S (P < 0.03) and SF (P < 0.01) groups and castrated piglets treated with TDF demonstrated lower total pain scores (P < 0.05) and required less analgesic intervention immediately post-castration compared to castrated piglets receiving no treatment (P < 0.0001). For C group 54% required rescue analgesia compared to 29%, 8% and 0% for CF, SF and S piglets respectively. Future work should evaluate implementation of this pain management protocol on a wide scale commercial farm setting.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH}, author={Lopez-Soriano, Magdiel and Merenda, Victoria Rocha and Trindade, Pedro Henrique Esteves and Luna, Stelio Pacca Loureiro and Pairis-Garcia, Monique Danielle}, year={2022}, month={Nov} }