Background: Contemporary agricultural vocational education faces challenges from accelerated technological progress, changing market requirements and disconnection between academic content and industry demands. This investigation aimed to evaluate agricultural competency development requirements among students at Narathiwat College of Agriculture and Technology using Priority Needs Index methodology and examine these requirements across various academic levels. 
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Methods: A quantitative research design was employed involving all 274 students from Narathiwat College of Agriculture and Technology. Data collection utilized a dual-response questionnaire measuring existing versus desired competency levels across 11 specialized areas within four primary domains. The Modified Priority Needs Index (PNI) was applied using the formula PNI = (I - D)/D, where I represents desired competency and D represents current competency. One-way ANOVA examined differences across educational levels. 
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Result: Significant disparities existed between students&rsquo; moderate existing competencies and their high aspirational levels. Creativity and Innovation emerged as the highest priority development area (PNI=0.776), followed by Quality and Production Standards (PNI=0.517), Management and Planning (PNI=0.502) and Information Technology (PNI=0.443). Packaging development and branding capabilities ranked highest (PNI=0.923), followed by Smart Farm deployment competencies (PNI=0.893). First-year Vocational Certificate students demonstrated significantly higher development requirements in Quality and Production Standards and Information Technology compared to advanced students. Third-year Vocational Certificate students showed greater needs in Creativity and Innovation than second-year Higher Vocational Certificate students. Future curriculum enhancement should prioritize packaging development and Smart Farm deployment while adapting instructional approaches for different academic levels and establishing agricultural enterprise partnerships.

Core Competency Assessment among Vocational Stream Agricultural Students in Thailand

Background: The livestock industry is a growing field where assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro embryo production (IVEP) enhance production efficiency. However, in vitro embryos show lower developmental competence due to stress and suboptimal culture conditions. Supplementing culture media with growth factor, such as insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) can improve embryo development. This study investigates the effect of IGF-1 on the developmental competence of oocytes and early embryonic development. 
 
Methods: In this study, cattle oocytes were aspirated from 3-8 mm ovarian follicles, washed and matured in maturation media supplemented with different concentrations of IGF-1 (0, 10, 25, 50, 100 ng/ml) for 24 hours at 38.5oC 5% CO2. Frozen-thawed sperm were used for in vitro fertilization of matured oocytes in fertilization media supplemented with IGF-1. Presumptive zygotes were cultured in IGF-1-supplemented mCR2aa media and embryos were monitored for 8 days until the blastocyst stage. The experiment was replicated six times and data were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Duncan Multiple Range Test using SPSS. Results are presented as means&plusmn;standard error with graphs generated by GraphPad Prism. 
 
Result: IGF-1 @ 50 ng/ml significantly enhanced embryo development, with highest cleavage rates at 2-cell (85.35% &plusmn;2.24) and 4-cell (86.10% &plusmn;1.90) stages and improved morula (32.53% &plusmn;5.11) and blastocyst formation (15.81%&plusmn;1.07) and IGF-1 @ 100 ng/ml showed moderate benefits, while at lower concentrations i.e. 0 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml and 25 ng/ml had minimal effects. Overall, @ 50 ng/ml IGF-1 was the most effective in promoting oocyte maturation and early embryonic development.

Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Supplementation and Early Embryonic Developmental Competence of Immature Cattle Oocytes

Maturation and fertilization in vitro and further development to full terms of pre-pubertal mammalian oocytes has been confirmed in several mammalian species. Fetal and postnatal development of female germ cells has been described. Furthermore, oocyte maturation and fertilization processes in addition to further embryonic development were described of mammalian oocytes obtained during pre-pubertal, pubertal, follicular and luteal stages. In addition, the assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) were used for potential exploiting of pre-pubertal oocytes. The ARTs included were maturation and culture conditions, fertilization procedures in addition to reconstruction of artificial oocytes. Therefore, the articles concerning mammalian oocyte growth and development during fetal and postnatal periods in addition to maturation and further embryonic development were used for writing the manuscript and the articles were collected from databases of ScienceDirect, PubMed and google scholar. Maturation occurred for GV oocytes obtained from fetal stage but they were unable to develop further. On the other hand, pre-pubertal oocytes obtained from post-natal stage of different mammalian species were able to mature and develop to full terms after fertilization and culture in vitro. The female age were differed between mammalian species to collect competent pre-pubertal oocytes. The applied assisted reproductive techniques were resulted in significant substantial increase of pre-pubertal oocyte development. It could be concluded that pre-pubertal oocytes could be used to shortening the interval between generations and exploitation of genetically superior animals through assisted reproductive techniques.

Growth and Developmental Competence of Pre-pubertal Mammalian Oocytes: Applications of Assisted Reproductive Techniques

Background: Transvaginal ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up (OPU) and in vitro embryo production (IVEP) techniques are widely used for enhancing reproductive efficiency. The number and quality of embryos have been reported to be influenced by various factors like source of hormones, season, lactation in cattle. 
 
Methods: Twenty-one multiparous, normal cyclic Sahiwal cows (aged: 6-8 years; lactating: n-11 and non-lactating: n-10) were selected randomly and the experiment was conducted during hot (April to September) and cold (October to March) seasons. All the donor cows were administered 10 &micro;g GnRH at random stage of oestrous cycle followed by FSH (Folltropin-V&trade; or Stimufol) at the rate of 100, 60 and 40 mg after 48, 60 and 72 h of GnRH administration. After 24 hours of coasting period, follicular aspiration was performed by stabilizing the targeted follicles with the help of ultrasonography. The procedures of COCs grading, in vitro maturation, fertilization, followed by culture were performed as per the standard protocols. 
 
Results: The hormonal treatment was effective in improving the oocytes&rsquo; developmental competency and in vitro embryo production; with no statistical differences between the two sources. The follicle size distribution revealed a lower (P&lt;0.05) medium-sized and small-sized follicular proportion during the hot season with a higher average count of dominant (large-sized) follicles. While, good quality (A+B+C) oocytes, matured and fertilized oocytes were significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) in non-lactating donors, especially among cool-season collections.

Effect of Hormones, Season and Lactation on Follicular Size, Oocyte Competency and Embryo Production in Sahiwal Cattle

Background: The developmental competency of in vitro matured oocytes to the blastocyst stage is a big concern in laboratory conditions. This study aims in finding the best combination of growth factors for enhancement of cleavage as well as early embryonic developmental rates in cattle. 
 
Methods: Fresh cattle ovaries were obtained from the nearest slaughterhouse in 0.15 M freshly prepared saline (35-38&deg;C) supplemented with penicillin (400 IU/ml). A total of 924 COCs were aspirated from ovaries and transferred to maturation media for incubation (5% CO2) at 38.5&deg;C with maximum humidity for 24 h. After maturation, the matured oocytes were co-incubated with the capacitated sperms for in vitro fertilization in the FBO medium for 16 h. After fertilization, the cumulus cells were removed from the presumptive zygotes and incubated in the mCR2aa medium for 45-48 h. The cleavage rates of the zygotes were observed and further cultured in the blastocyst medium for 7-10 days. After every 24 h, 80% of culture media was replaced with fresh media. Three different combinations of growth factors (PDGF+IGF, EGF+FGF and T3+T4) used in this study.&nbsp; 
 
Result: Supplementation of growth factors in culture media increased cleavage rate and blastocyst rate significantly (p&lt;0.05). PDGF+IGF @ 10 ng/ml+75 ng/ml, EGF+FGF @ 20 ng/ml+10 ng/ml and T3+T4 @ 100 ng/ml+100 ng/ml showed the best results in terms of cleavage rates and blastocyst development.

Effect of Different Growth Factors on in vitro Developmental Competence and Quality of Cattle Oocytes

<div>Background: Season of the year can affect the reproductive behavior in Holstein cows, altering the competition of the oocytes, reflecting a reduced production of embryos. The objective of this study was to evaluate the average of total oocytes, competition of oocytes and embryos in the in vitro production process at different season of the year in Holstein cows. 
 
Methods: During the four seasons of the year, was performed on each of the oocyte donor cows (winter, n = 957; spring, n = 1571; summer, n = 1776; autumn, n = 1128), by in vivo transvaginal follicular aspiration technique after the collection were subjected to the embryos production in vitro. 
 
Result:&nbsp;The highest number of total embryos were produced in winter and autumn, compared to spring and summer (3.76&plusmn;0.16 and 3.54&plusmn;0.18 vs. 2.73&plusmn;0.11 and 2.45&plusmn;0.10; respectively, P&lt;0.05). During winter, a higher percentage of oocyte competition was observed, followed by autumn and spring and less competition shown in summer (26.03&plusmn;0.39, 19.08&plusmn;0.29, respectively, P&lt;0.05). The quantity and competence of the oocytes collected and in vitro embryo production were drastically reduced during the hottest months of the year in this area of intense heat.</div>

​Effect of Season on Quantity and Competence of Oocytes Recovered Transvaginally from Holstein Cows for In vitro Fertilization

<div style="text-align: justify;">This study aimed to develop a novel culture system for porcine ovarian follicles that yields developmentally competent oocytes. We mechanically isolated ovarian follicles of various sizes (325&ndash;500 mm) and treated them with ovine follicle stimulating hormone (OFSH) at different concentrations (0&ndash;400 mIU). Follicle diameter, antrum formation and cumulus oocyte complex (COC) recovery rate were significantly higher (p &lt; 0.05) under the 0 and 50 mIU OFSH treatments compared with the remaining concentrations (100, 200 and 400 mIU). Additionally, follicles cultured for 3 and 4 d differed significantly (p &lt; 0.05) in follicle diameter, antrum formation rate and COC recovery from those cultured for 5 and 6 d. Follicle characteristics did not differ across diameter: those at 250&ndash;300, 301&ndash;400 and 401&ndash;500 mm in vitro had antrum formation rates of 90%, 92% and 90%, along with COC recovery of 78%, 82% and 85%, respectively. Furthermore, nuclear maturation percentages for oocytes that experienced germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) were 10%, 13% and 14%, depending on the size of the originating follicle (250&ndash;300, 301&ndash;400 and 401&ndash;500 mm). Nuclear maturation for metaphase II (MII) oocytes derived from follicles of those three sizes were 1%, 2% and 1%, respectively. After 3 d of culture, the 250&ndash;300 mm group differed significantly from other size groups in follicle diameter and COC recovery. This study provides insight into establishing effective protocols of ovarian follicle culture, thus improving efforts to preserve large-mammal fertility.&nbsp;</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Optimization of Novel Follicle Culture System to Generate Developmentally Competent Oocytes</div>

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<div style="text-align: left;">Background: Embryo production in vitro requires three steps: in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in vitro culture (IVC). The first step in the in vitro maturation of oocytes is germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), followed by completion of the 1st meiotic division and formation of the 1st polar body. These parameters are critical during ovary and oocyte selection. This study aimed to evaluate bovine ovary and oocyte collection for IVM.</div>

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Methods: Ovaries collected from cows in a 0.9% NaCl saline solution at the central slaughterhouse were divided into two normal and abnormal ovaries according to their morphological appearance. The morphometric dimensions of bovine ovaries, such as weight and deamination (length, width and volume), were recorded. The oocyte was extruded and its deamination occurred before and after culture in maturation medium.</div>

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Result: The mean ovary weight, volume, length and width were not significantly different between the two ovary types. Additionally, the dominant and subordinate follicle diameters in both ovary types showed no significant differences. Furthermore, the oocyte number per ovary of the normal and abnormal oocytes showed no significant differences. The mean cumulus oocyte complex before maturation showed no significant difference (52.73&plusmn;7.23 mm for the normal ovary vs. 43.015&plusmn;5.41 mm for the abnormal ovary). However, after maturation, a highly significant difference was found (P&lt;0.001) between the normal ovaries before and after maturation (178.10&plusmn;15.36 &micro;m) and abnormal ovaries (10.45&plusmn;7.99 &micro;m). Additionally, data analysis of oocytes with or without 1st polar bodies revealed a highly significant difference (P&lt;0.001) between oocytes of the normal ovary with (32.15&plusmn;4.19) and without (10.95&plusmn;1.59) 1st polar bodies and oocytes of the abnormal ovary with (7.0&plusmn;078) and without 1st polar bodies (3.3&plusmn;0.32). Thus, the critical point at which the normal ovary produces better in vitro matured follicles with good oocyte quality and produces the 1st polar body determines developmental competence. Therefore, the best selection of normal ovaries will enhance in vitro maturation for subsequent experiments, such as in vitro fertilization or cloning and in vitro embryo development.</div>
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Morphometric Assessment of the Bovine Ovary for in vitro Matured Oocyte Quality to Determine Developmental Competence

<div>The aim of this research was to assess training need of teaching, research, extension and administrative competencies of assistant/associate professors from four veterinary colleges namely Bengaluru, Bidar, Hassan and Shimoga. An exploratory research design was adopted for the study. A total of 60 respondents were selected, fifteen each from four colleges. The result from the study revealed that majority of the respondents are in need of training on design of web-based learning materials (85.00%) in teaching component, in research component majority are in need on skills in formulation of research proposals (88.33%), majority are in need on training of skills in transfer of technology (70.00%) in extension component and in administrative component majority are in need on skills in management of organizational resources (83.33%). Need based training on different component has to be organized by the university. The university should consider the most preferred training methods identified in this study while developing training strategies and while training the professionals of the university. Short duration programmes, repetition of the existing programmes and conducting the training during vacations will help the staff to attend the programmes without affecting their regular works.</div>

<div>Training Need Assessment of Teaching, Research, Extension and Administrative Competencies of Assistant/Associate Professors of Veterinary Colleges of KVAFSU</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Background: The ovarian follicle is the fundamental functional tissue unit that consists of mammalian ovary. In humans, it has been known that females are born with a maximum number of follicles or oocytes that are not only non-renewable, but also undergoing degeneration with time with a sharply decreased oocyte quality after the age of 35.&nbsp; Methods: Here, we demonstrate that successful isolation of primary, early secondary and late secondary follicles from the ovaries of CD-1 outbred female mice and in vitro culture system to successfully induce the development of MII oocytes.&nbsp; Result: The 9 days of in vitro culture of early secondary follicles showed significant higher rates in growth and maturation displaying higher numbers of antral follicles and MII oocytes developed from early secondary follicles compared to those cultured for 11 days. However, there was no visible difference induced by the size of initial follicles in the rates of growth and maturation. MII oocytes derived from in vitro culture of early secondary follicles following in vitro fertilization developed into two-cell embryos. These observations demonstrate that developmentally competent MII oocytes can be obtained by in vitro culture of preantral follicles derived from the ovaries of CD-1 mice and reveal a crucial role for CD-1 mice as a novel model for research on human ovarian follicles. Furthermore, this study proposes an in vitro culture system using preantral follicle as a therapeutic strategy for fertility preservation of humans for assisted reproductive medicine.&nbsp;</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">In vitro Culture of Early Secondary Preantral Follicles to Obtain MII Oocyte Developmental Competence from CD-1 Outbred Mice</div>