Chapters authored
Pursuing Alternative Strategies for Healthier Medical Contraception in Dogs By Rita Payan-Carreira, Paulo Borges and Alain Fontbonne
Although extensively used in the control of the reproductive cycles in either the domestic or feral dogs as well as in wild carnivores, medical progestin-based contraception still raises concerns to the veterinary practitioner and owners on its safety and efficiency. These concerns endorsed, in last decades, the research in the development of new alternatives for effective, reversible, and safe contraceptive methods for carnivores, mainly pursuing a larger-scale control of canine reproduction and the development of products with few side effects. Nowadays, the medical contraceptives often intend to master, in a reversible way, the reproductive cycle in genetically valuable dogs, which presumes that they would be active for short periods of time and ought to safeguard the animal fertility. However, hormonal contraceptives are also used worldwide to control the reproductive activity in either domestic or feral cats, for long-term treatments, because of a pretended short-term economic interest. Progestogens are the most frequently used hormonal contraceptive in carnivores. They are rather easy to obtain across the globe and relatively cheap; they have diverse drug presentations, allowing their use independently of the veterinary assistance, and are effective in preventing pregnancy. Still a significant number of undesirable health side effects are attributed to progestins when employed with some chronicity, when applied in older animals or even when misused. In the past two decades, several new approaches to managing dog reproduction were proposed to avoid progestins. However, their efficiency and cost are still to be proven as a viable alternative around the world. This chapter aims to review the medical methods available as alternative to the progestins in canine contraception, addressing particularly the future perspectives, opportunities, and limitations linked to currently available substitutes, based on our practice. This information can be of utmost interest to students, clinicians or colonies' technicians.
Part of the book: Canine Medicine
Calf-Sex Influence in Bovine Milk Production By Miguel Quaresma and R. Payan-Carreira
The main source of incomes in a dairy farm is milk sales, and any factor altering the production affects the farmers’ income significantly. According to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis, if the cows’ systems are generally good and offer competitive conditions, they produce more milk for bull calves. They also suggest that cows in a worse condition or of a genetically diverging strain invest more milk in heifer calves. The existence of a sex-bias in cows’ milk production remains controversial even if it would open new insights on the economic impacts of using sex-sorted semen to enhance farm productivity. Sex-biased milk production in cows can vary, favoring one sex or the other and, sometimes, none. It seems to favor females in intensive production systems, while in other less intensive systems, this effect seems to disappear. This chapter intends to address available evidence on the sex-biased cows’ milk production and discuss why further research forecasting this issue is needed, including other cattle populations and correlating the investment strategy with an animal welfare index. Besides, other factors, such as different housing and feedings, can impact the calf-sex milk production bias through pathways still to be understood.
Part of the book: Animal Reproduction in Veterinary Medicine
Perspective Chapter: Active Learning Strategies in the Veterinary Medicine Programme under the Think4Jobs Project By Rita Payan-Carreira, Hugo Rebelo and Luís Sebastião
Active learning has been introduced in the Universities to reinforce the students’ skills development and increase their motivation and engagement while also fostering the transferability of knowledge into the profession, contrasting with a classical approach, where passive knowledge transfer occurs, and students act as sponges for information. Albeit not completely conceptualized, active learning demands the student’s involvement with the learning activities, the analysis and ability to respond to specific situations, and a critical reflection on the learning process. In Health Sciences, case-based and cooperative learning are among the most used active learning strategies. They present multiple configurations and vary greatly in terms of implementation. Students’ adherence to active learning depends on the perceived utility, level of effort requested by the activities, and self-confidence in the quality of achieved learning. Under the Think4Jobs, an Erasmus+ project, a University-Business collaboration was implemented to design work-based activities for pilot courses of the Veterinary Medicine program aiming to increase the students’ adherence to active learning strategies while reducing any mismatch in students’ competencies at graduation. In this chapter, we propose discussing how the collaboration was conceptualized and implemented. We also present some activities jointly designed to foster students’ clinical reasoning/critical thinking and decision-making.
Part of the book: Active Learning
Immunocastration as Welfare Improvement in Outdoor Pig Production Systems By Sofia Botelho-Fontela, Gustavo Paixão, Rita Payan-Carreira and Alexandra Esteves
Renowned for their high-quality meat from autochthonous breeds like the Iberian and Bísaro pigs, extensive pig farms prioritize animals’ welfare as a crucial factor in maintaining meat quality. In these systems, pig welfare results from the importance of providing abundant space, allowing for the full expression of the species’ behavior, and proper care. Immunocastration is a tool that might positively contribute to enhancing pig welfare and also provide a practical solution for managing male pig reproduction in extensive production systems. Immunocastration eliminates the need for surgical castration, such as avoiding the need for pain control, reducing potential post-surgical complications, and mitigating stress-related issues. Immunocastrated pigs exhibit improved behavior and feed efficiency. The desirable meat quality attributes of entire males are kept, while avoiding the boar taint issues, enhancing consumer acceptance and marketability. Through the application of immunocastration, extensive pig producers can achieve improved production efficiency and profitability while simultaneously addressing animal welfare concerns and meeting consumer preferences. In addition, immunocastration helps minimize the environmental impact of pig farming by decreasing nutrient runoff and waste pollution, promoting sustainable and ethical farming practices. This chapter intends to discuss the contribution of immunocastration to welfare improvement in non-industrial long-cycle extensive pig systems.
Part of the book: From Zoo to Farm
Advancing Clinical Excellence: Cultivating Critical Thinking and Clinical Reasoning in Medical Education By Rita Payan-Carreira
Critical thinking (CrT) and clinical reasoning (CR) are crucial skills for medical professionals. They serve as cornerstones for diagnostic excellence and patient safety, while significantly contributing to patients’ sense of well-being. As the healthcare landscape becomes increasingly complex, the ability to think critically and reason clinically has never been more important. This chapter explores the interplay between CrT and CR in medical education, addressing the significant challenges in teaching these complex competencies that extend beyond mere knowledge acquisition. It examines how students must simultaneously master core medical knowledge while developing reasoning abilities in uncertain clinical situations. This narrative review identifies effective educational approaches—including case-based, problem-based, and simulation-based learning—while acknowledging curriculum constraints and assessment difficulties. It highlights how variations in teaching methods and faculty expertise impact learning outcomes, and addresses the gap between classroom instruction and clinical application. The discussion emphasizes the crucial role of faculty development in teaching these competencies effectively, noting how variations in educator expertise significantly impact CR training outcomes. By proposing solutions to face these implementation challenges, this chapter offers recommendations for curriculum revision, enhanced faculty training, and the development of standardized assessment methods. It advocates for fostering a culture of inquiry, reflection, and evidence-based practice throughout medical training, while highlighting the need for future research to develop reliable evaluation tools and quantify the long-term impact of these educational strategies. This exploration provides educators and institutions with insights to cultivate these critical competencies in future medical professionals, ensuring clinical excellence in an evolving healthcare landscape.
Part of the book: Development and Trends of Contemporary Higher Education
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