Measurments of Haptoglobin, Serum Amyloid A, Fibrinogen, And
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Winter 2014 MEASURMENTS OF HAPTOGLOBIN, SERUM AMYLOID A, FIBRINOGEN, AND LEUKOCYTES TO EVALUATE STRESS IN ORGANICALLY MANAGED, PASTURE-FED AND CONVENTIONAL MANAGED, TOTALLY MIXED RATION-FED JERSEY CATTLE. Dorothy Ann Perkins University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Perkins, Dorothy Ann, "MEASURMENTS OF HAPTOGLOBIN, SERUM AMYLOID A, FIBRINOGEN, AND LEUKOCYTES TO EVALUATE STRESS IN ORGANICALLY MANAGED, PASTURE-FED AND CONVENTIONAL MANAGED, TOTALLY MIXED RATION-FED JERSEY CATTLE." (2014). Master's Theses and Capstones. 994. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/994 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MEASURMENTS OF HAPTOGLOBIN, SERUM AMYLOID A, FIBRINOGEN, AND LEUKOCYTES TO EVALUATE STRESS IN ORGANICALLY MANAGED, PASTURE‐FED AND CONVENTIONAL MANAGED, TOTALLY MIXED RATION‐FED JERSEY CATTLE. BY DOROTHY ANN PERKINS Bachelor of Science, University of New Hampshire, 2001 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Animal Science December, 2014 This thesis has been examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Animal Sciences by: Thesis Director, Thomas L. Foxall, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Charles G. Schwab, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Animal and Nutritional Sciences Andre Fonseca de Brito, DVM., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Andrew B. Conroy, Ph.D., Professor, Thompson school of Applied Science On November 7, 2014 Original approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my beloved husband, Ralph K. Perkins Jr. Without him, this work or my wonderful life wouldn’t be. Thank you honey, I’ll keep my promise. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS What do you say to a person who never let’s go of your hand and never loses faith in you? Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. My advisor, Dr. Thomas Foxall, took my hand when no one else could or would. He helped me through so many personal tribulations while I worked on this thesis. He worried about me. He shared his knowledge with me. He was compassionate, understanding, and full of insight. He urged me on even when I wanted to quit. His insistence on excellence and sweating the details, improved my work, writing, and work ethic. His undying encouragement helped me achieve my goals, which will open the doors to my future. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Charles Schwab, Dr. Andre Brito and Dr. Drew Conrad for their support, experience, and input into this thesis. Dr. Schwab you saw in me what I didn’t see in myself. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and help when I wasn’t sure of anything on my life’s path. You are a wonderful and compassionate human being and a talented and passionate researcher. You have made a profound impact on my life, most of which I have yet to discover. Dr. Brito, you solidified my understanding of FA digestion in the ruminant. Your willingness to help, approachability, and warm demeanor helped me feel supported. My work, academic writings, future publications and research projects will benefit from all your advice. Dr. Conroy, your advice about writing this thesis was more valuable than you could have imagined it would be. It helped me slow down to the speed of life, breath through the obstacles, and take it 10 pages at a time. iv In addition, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Megan Seneca for collecting all the samples and the hours she spent helping me with assays and analysis; Dan Gallant for all the work he did with the Fibrinogen assays and WBC counts; Dr. Becky Sideman for all her help with my statistical analysis; Amy Papineau, Shirley Clark, Mary West and Lynn Poire for their computer and formatting help; the staff and employees of both the University of New Hampshire Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center and the University of New Hampshire Burley‐ Demeritt Organic Dairy Research Farm; and last but certainly not least, my wonderful family, colleagues and friends, for their love, support, and encouragement. I could not have prevailed without each and every one of them. I am clearly blessed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ x LIST OF GRAPHS .............................................................................................................................. xi ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 Dietary Evolution of Humans and Cattle ....................................................................... 1 Evolution of the Human Diet .................................................................................... 2 Evolution of the Dairy Cow Diet ................................................................................ 4 Fatty Acids ..................................................................................................................... 9 Essential Fatty Acids and Inflammation .................................................................. 18 Fatty Acids and Disease ........................................................................................... 22 Fatty Acid Digestion and Absorption in Humans and Cows ........................................ 24 Fatty Acid Digestion and Absorption in Humans .................................................... 25 Fatty Acid Digestion and Absorption in Ruminants ................................................ 26 The Inflammation Acute Phase Response ....................................................................... 33 Haptoglobin ............................................................................................................. 35 vi Serum Amyloid A .................................................................................................... 36 Fibrinogen ............................................................................................................... 37 White Blood Cell Counts .................................................................................................. 39 Stress Effects of Heat and Cold on Lactating Dairy Cattle ............................................... 42 II. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................................. 46 Experimental Design .................................................................................................... 46 Objective ...................................................................................................................... 46 Hypothesis and Animal Management ......................................................................... 46 Sample Collection ........................................................................................................ 47 Blood Analysis .............................................................................................................. 48 Statistical Analysis and Weather Data ......................................................................... 49 III. RESULTS ........................................................................................................................... 50 Blood Markers ............................................................................................................. 50 Weather Data .............................................................................................................. 67 IV. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................... 69 Haptoglobin ................................................................................................................. 69 Serum Amyloid A ......................................................................................................... 72 Fibrinogen .................................................................................................................... 74 Total White Blood Cells ............................................................................................... 75 V. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................. 77