Best practice of ordinary national educational testing use in basic education level: a multiple-case study

This research employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the best practices of ordinary national educational testing (O-NET) to improve the quality of basic education. The methodology was divided into four phases, the first of which was a survey and analysis of the current situation at O-NET. The sample group was made up of representatives of the school under the office of the basic education commission (OBEC), primary education, comprising the school administrators and teachers teaching in four subjects. Phase 2, “multiple case study,” is qualitative research by selecting specific case studies for 10 primary schools based on criteria for selection and collecting data through in-depth interviews. A semi-structured interview form was completed by 30 key informants. Phase 3, the synthesis (draft) of best practices, and phase 4, the checking and proposing of best practices by 25 assessors. The results showed the best practices in using the test results of O-NET to improve the quality of basic education were 4 components: i) school management (16 practice guidelines); ii) learning management (10 practice guidelines); iii) student promotion (6 practice guidelines); and iv) parent communications (3 practice guidelines). The best practices were in accuracy, propriety, feasibility, and utilization; all were at the highest level

Genetic analysis of reproductive traits and antibody response in a PRRS outbreak herd

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is the most economically significant disease impacting pig production in North America, Europe, and Asia, causing reproductive losses such as increased rates stillbirth and mummified piglets. The objective of this study was to explore the genetic basis of host response to the PRRS virus (PRRSV) in a commercial multiplier sow herd before and after a PRRS outbreak, using antibody response and reproductive traits. Reproductive data comprising number born alive (NBA), number alive at 24h (NA24), number stillborn (NSB), number born mummified (NBM), proportion born dead (PBD), number born dead (NBD), number weaned (NW), and number mortalities through weaning (MW) of 5,227 litters from 1,967 purebred Landrace sows, were used along with a pedigree comprising 2,995 pigs. The PRRS outbreak date was estimated from rolling averages of farrowing traits and used to split the data in a pre-PRRS phase and a PRRS phase. All 641 sows in the herd during the outbreak were blood sampled 46 days after the estimated outbreak date, and were tested for anti-PRRSV IgG using ELISA (sample-to-positive [S/P] ratio). Genetic parameters of traits were estimated separately for the pre-PRRS and PRRS phase data sets. Sows were genotyped using the PorcineSNP60 BeadChip, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed using method Bayes-B. Heritability estimates for reproductive traits ranged from 0.01 (NBM) to 0.12 (NSB), and from 0.01 (MW) to 0.12 (NBD) for the pre-PRRS and PRRS phases, respectively. S/P ratio had heritability (0.45) and strong genetic correlations with most traits, ranging from -0.72 (NBM) to 0.73 (NBA). In the pre-PRRS phase, regions associated with NSB and PBD explained 1.6% and 3% of the genetic variance, respectively. In the PRRS phase, regions associated with NBD, NSB, and S/P ratio explained 0.8%, 11%, and 50.6% of the genetic variance, respectively. For S/P ratio, two regions on SSC7 separated by 100 Mb explained 40% of the genetic variation, including a region encompassing the Major Histocompatibility Complex, which explained 25% of the genetic variance. These results indicate a significant genomic component associated with PRRSV antibody response and NSB in this dataset. Also, the high heritability and genetic correlation estimates for S/P ratio during the PRRS phase suggest that S/P ratio could be used as an indicator of the impact of PRRS on reproductive traits

Investigation of the effect of heat stress on egg production traits in Thai native chickens (Lueng Hang Kao Kabin) as determined by the temperature-humidity index

Heat stress is a considerable challenge for the poultry industry, impacting even native breeds well-known for their adaptability. This study aimed to examine the effect of heat stress, defined as a temperature-humidity index (THI), on egg production traits in Thai native chickens (Lueng Hang Kao Kabin breed, LHKK). The THI values were calculated using three different equations based on the weather data on the same day (day 0) as the observation and up to seven days (day -7) prior to the observation. The models were preliminarily tested to identify the significant effects on egg production traits based on adjusted R2, residual error variance, and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values. The most impactful day of each THI was determined based on the absolute value of the greatest regression coefficient. These days were then analyzed to identify the THI breakpoint associated with a decline in egg production traits. Heat stress had a significantly negative effect on egg production traits in LHKK chickens. THI values effectively captured the impact of heat stress on these traits, with day -3 and day -1 prior egg laying exhibiting the strongest influence on egg weight at first egg and egg weight, respectively. The THI breakpoints for significant declines in egg weight at first egg were found to be higher than those for egg weight. The current findings suggest that heat stress should be considered as a significant variable in models of egg production traits in native chickens

Genetic parameters for feed intake, litter weight, body condition and rebreeding success in primiparous Norwegian Landrace sows

International audienceThe aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for feed intake recorded as farmers' perception of young sows' appetite for the first 3 weeks of lactation (APP) and feed intake recorded for one day in the 3rd week of lactation (FEED), litter weight (LW) at 3 weeks, sow body condition at weaning (BC) and the following five reproduction traits: weaning-to-service interval of 1 to 7 days (WSI7), weaning-to-service interval of 1 to 50 days (WSI50), delayed service or not (DELAYED), pregnant on first service or not (PREGNANT) and litter size in 2nd parity (NBT2). The analyses included data on 4606 Norwegian Landrace 1st-parity sows and their litters. The Gibbs sampling method was used. The traits DELAYED and PREGNANT were analysed as threshold traits and APP, FEED, LW, BC, WSI7, WSI50 and NBT2 were analysed as linear traits. The heritability estimates for APP and FEED were low (<0.1), whereas the estimates for DELAYED and PREGNANT were rather high (0.4 and 0.3). The heritability estimate for BC was 0.2. The genetic correlations confirmed the complexity of breeding for sow performance; selection for heavy 1st litters may lead to lower body condition at weaning, which in turn leads to lower reproductive performance and smaller litters in 2nd parity. Selection for higher sow feed intake would improve body condition, but the simple way of measuring feed intake tested in this study (APP and FEED) cannot be recommended because of the low heritability obtained for these traits