Common Feeding Research Articles

Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Garlic (Allium Sativum) on Feed Intake, Growth Performance and Feed Conversion Efficiency in Goat Kids

Background: With the ban on the use of antibiotics as feed additives and growth promoters in animal nutrition, livestock scientists are now shifting their attention towards natural and safe products like organic acids, probiotics, prebiotics and herbal growth promoters. Plants containing essential compounds can be a cost-effective means of improving efficiency of nutrient utilization and growth performance of animals. The medicinal properties of garlic may have beneficial effects on nutrient utilization and health of animals. However, very few studies have been reported whereby garlic has been fed to ruminants. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of garlic (Allium sativum) on feed intake, growth performance and feed conversion efficiency in goat kids. Methods: Twelve kids of similar age were randomly allotted to two equal groups (n=6) on basis of body weight. All animals were maintained on common feeding regime consisting of required concentrate mixture and roughage as per requirement given by ICAR (2013). Kids in experimental group were supplemented with garlic @ 250 mg per kg body weight whereas; the control group was remaining unsupplemented. The study was conducted for 90 days. Animals were weighed fortnightly in the morning before offering feed and water. The data on growth rate in terms of body weight, average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency were analysed as per standard procedures. Result: The results indicated that overall mean body weight and average dry matter intake were statistically (P greater than 0.05) similar in both the groups. No significant difference was observed in feed conversion efficiency between the treatment groups. The average daily gain was statistically similar in both the groups, but numerically 5.31 per cent increased ADG was observed in garlic fed group. From the results it can be deduced that the garlic supplementation improves average daily gain by 5.31%. However, it has no effect on feed intake and feed conversion efficiency of goat kids.

Feed resources used for small ruminant nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: a case study of Uganda.

Small ruminants are of great importance to the livelihoods of many people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since they act as a source of meat, income, hides and skins and for cultural identity. Despite their great importance, especially to rural smallholder farmers, their production in Africa is hindered by poor nutrition. The first stage of establishing development strategies to increase feed quality and quantity is to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the feed resources that are currently available, especially in SSA. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the availability and nature of the common feed resources that are used in the feeding of small ruminants in Uganda. This study involved a comprehensive review of various scientific, technical and economic literature that has been published up to date. Our results show that the available feed resources in Uganda can be grouped mainly into:- crop wastes and residues, agro-industrial by-products, conserved feeds, natural pastures and browse. The main feed resources for small ruminants in Uganda have been identified as natural pastures, which are generally characterised by a low nutritive value. However, browses are seen to have a high crude protein content and could be used as a supplement to grass forages and crop residues. It has been noted thatfarmers lack knowledge related to feed processing and management, in addition to a lack of policy governing feed quality. Therefore, there is a need to train farmers on how to process and utilise crop residues, in addition to proper feed management practices like pasture cultivation and conservation. It is also necessary to introduce widely new pasture species with better nutritional values that are suitable for the local production systems.

Heme Oxygenase-1 Is Involved in the Repair of Oxidative Damage Induced by Oxidized Fish Oil in Litopenaeus vannamei by Sulforaphane.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which could be highly induced under the stimulation of oxidative stress, functions in reducing the damage caused by oxidative stress, and sulforaphane (SFN) is an antioxidant. This study aims to investigate whether HO-1 is involved in the repair of oxidative damage induced by oxidized fish oil (OFO) in Litopenaeus vannamei by sulforaphane (SFN). The oxidative stress model of L. vannamei was established by feeding OFO feed (OFO accounts for 6%), and they were divided into the following four groups: control group (injected with dsRNA-EGFP and fed with common feed), dsRNA-HO-1 group (dsRNA-HO-1, common feed), dsRNA-HO-1 + SFN group (dsRNA-HO-1, supplement 50 mg kg-1 SFN feed), and SFN group (dsRNA-EGFP, supplement 50 mg kg-1 SFN feed). The results showed that the expression level of HO-1 in the dsRNA-HO-1 + SFN group was significantly increased compared with the dsRNA-HO-1 group (p < 0.05). The activities of SOD in muscle and GPX in hepatopancreas and serum of the dsRNA-HO-1 group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and MDA content in the dsRNA-HO-1 group was the highest among the four groups. However, SFN treatment increased the activities of GPX and SOD in hepatopancreas, muscle, and serum and significantly reduced the content of MDA (p < 0.05). SFN activated HO-1, upregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes (CAT, SOD, GST, GPX, Trx, HIF-1α, Nrf2, prx 2, Hsp 70), and autophagy genes (ATG 3, ATG 5), and stabilized the expression of apoptosis genes (caspase 2, caspase 3) in the hepatopancreas (p < 0.05). In addition, knocking down HO-1 aggravated the vacuolation of hepatopancreas and increased the apoptosis of hepatopancreas, while the supplement of SFN could repair the vacuolation of hepatopancreas and reduce the apoptosis signal. In summary, HO-1 is involved in the repair of the oxidative damage induced by OFO in L. vannamei by SFN.

The Potential of Whole Soya Bean Meal in Raising Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus, L.) Fingerlings

An eight-week experimental study was undertaken to determine the effect of whole soya bean meal (SBM) with reference to common fish feed ingredients, consisting of Omena (Rastineobola argentea) meal (RAM), Freshwater shrimp (Caridina niloticus) meal (CNM) and commercial fish meal (CFM, control diet) on water quality, growth performance and survival of O. niloticus fingerlings.

A Review and Comparison of Transformer and Static Frequency Converter Traction Supply Architectures for AC Electrified Railways

Electrification of the U.K. railway network will play a critical role in achieving targets of net-zero CO2 emissions while providing major benefits to train operators, passengers, and industry. In the drive to make electrification a more cost-effective prospect, this paper intends to complete a comparison of the common feeding arrangements and the novel Static Frequency Converter for use in AC electrification using PSCAD EMTDC simulations. The findings illustrate the performance of two classic architectures and autotransformer feeding compared to a proposed classic SFC arrangement and provide recommendations for SFC implementation with separations between feeder stations of up to 60 kilometres using a parallel feeding arrangement, along with demonstrating SFCs exhibiting more robust performance in the event of faults.

Effects of dietary forage-to-concentrate ratio and forage type on milk phospholipids and fatty acid composition of polar lipids

The effects of grass silage and red clover silage on milk fatty acid (FA) composition are extensively studied, but little is known of their effects on minor lipid constituents of milk fat globule membrane. We investigated the effects of forage:concentrate (FC) ratio in grass silage-based diets and forage type (grass silage vs. red clover silage) on selected molecular species of milk phospholipids (PL) and the FA composition of PL. Ten multiparous Nordic Red cows were offered following dietary treatments: grass silage-based diets containing 70:30 (HG) or 30:70 (LG) FC ratio or a red clover silage-based diet (RC) comprising 50:50 FC ratio on a dry matter basis. The most abundant molecular species within the phosphatidylcholines was 16:0-18:1 phosphatidylcholine that was increased by 18% in HG compared with LG milk. Dietary treatments did not affect the relative proportion of 18:1-18:1+18:0-18:2 phosphatidylethanolamine that was the most prevalent species (ca. 44%-45%) in that class. We identified the d18:1-22:0 sphingomyelin as the most abundant sphingomyelin species that tended to increase in HG milk compared with LG. The FC ratio did not affect the relative proportions of saturated FA nor monounsaturated FA in PL, but the proportion of cis-9 18:1 was elevated in HG versus LG milk, whereas the proportion of 18:2n-6 was 50% higher in LG versus HG milk. The RC diet increased monounsaturated FA and 18:3n-3 levels in PL compared with grass silage-based diets and decreased the relative proportion of saturated FA. However, the RC diet did not affect the relative proportion of polyunsaturated FA in PL, although red clover silage typically increases the proportion of polyunsaturated FA in milk fat. This study provides valuable knowledge of the minor lipid components in milk on species level in relation to common feeding strategies in high-forage systems.

Survey of the feeding management of giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and tamanduas (Tamandua tetradactyla) in the EAZA ex-situ programme.

Feeding giant anteaters and tamanduas as insectivorous species provides a lot of challenges for zoological institutions. In the last decades an in-house mixture, called 'Dortmund mixture', was the most common feed used in giant anteaters and tamanduas in many countries within the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria ex-situ Programme (EEP). Some nutritional problems occurred due to imbalances in the diets. The more recent nutritional recommendations for both species advise an adapted and balanced complete feed formulated for insectivorous species due to different problems arising with an in-house mixed feed as Dortmund mixture. To objectify the present situation a questionnaire was designed and sent out to 78 institutions of the EEPs for giant anteater(s) and tamandua(s). The questionnaire was divided into different sections and asked for data on husbandry, health status, feeding, especially feed composition, feed supplementation and faecal consistency. It was completed by 45 institutions with data for 130 animals, 89 giant anteaters and 41 tamanduas. The data thus represent 54% and 59% of the EEP populations. For both species, a complete feed is mainly utilised. Especially institutions that have integrated anteaters and tamanduas into their facilities during the last 10 and 20 years, use a complete feed. Regarding the in-house mixtures, there are distinct differences, both in composition and amount of each ingredient used. The evaluation of the feeds used for enrichment, for example, shows a clear species difference. While in tamanduas mainly insects are used for this purpose, in giant anteaters it is mainly fruits and avocado. In contrast to the past, many anteaters today are fed an adapted complete feed. Surprisingly, concerning feeding supplements the use of fat-soluble vitamins and combined vitamin-mineral preparations is still common in both species. More effort needs to be put into enforcing current feeding recommendations, especially for the giant anteaters.

Assessment of Major Sheep Forage Types, Feeding System, and Nutritional Quality Assessment, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to assess the major sheep feed types, feeding system and its nutritional quality evaluation in Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. A total of 100 households (hh) were taken from each district. For laboratory work, feed samples were collected from ten randomly selected farmers from each peasant association and nutrition composition like Dry matte, crude protein, Ash, Neutral detergent fiber, Acid detergent fiber, Acid detergent lignin, In vitro dry matter digestibility, Digestibility of organic dry mater were tested and Metabolizable Energy was calculated. The field survey data were analyzed using SPSS and SAS software used for nutritional composition test. The Pearson Chi-Square and Tukey HSD test was used to determine mean differences at (p &lt; .05). The results of the field survey revealed that, the major feed resources available in both districts comprised of natural pasture (82%) followed by crop residue (25%) and Free grazing is the common feeding system in both districts. The overall mean of, Dry matter, Ash, crude protein, Neutral detergent fiber, Acid detergent fiber, Acid detergent lignin, In vitro dry matter digestibility, Digestibility of organic dry mater and Metabolizable Energy content of natural grasses were 89.5%, 5.9%, 68.5%, 68.5%, 37.1%, 4.9%, 55.5%, 43.8% and 7.4 KJ/kgDM, respectively. The corresponding values for barley straw were also 90.9%, 5.4%, 5.4%, 70.7%, 54.8%, 9.6% and 8.2 KJ/kgDM for Dry matter, Ash, Crude protein, Neutral detergent fiber, Acid detergent fiber, Acid detergent lignin and Metabolizable energy respectively. Significant (p &lt; .05).) difference was seen on Ash and Digestibility of organic dry mater content in natural pasture between two districts and there was no significant difference on other composition It was concluded that, natural pasture and barley straw are the main sheep feed in area. Further studies are needed to see other feed resource and test nutritional composition.

Copper in different forms and tetracycline affect behavior and risk of antibiotic resistome in thermophilic anaerobic digestion of cattle manure.

The metagenomics-based behavior and risk of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were investigated during cattle manure thermophilic anaerobic digestion with tetracycline and copper, namely, bulk-copper oxide, nano-copper oxide, and copper sulfate, which are common feed additives. Although bulk-copper oxide reduced ARGs' diversity, it enriched high-risk ARGs the most than the other two copper species, while copper sulfate could strongly mitigate the ARG risk by decreasing their abundances. Compared to corresponding individual effects, copper and tetracycline combinations may decrease ARGs' co-occurrence potential by 22.0%, and particularly, tetracycline combined separately with copper sulfate and nano-copper oxide reduces the ARGs' risk in abundance (by 7.2%) and human health (by 4.0%). These were mainly driven by bioavailable copper, volatile fatty acids, and pH, as well as the main potential hosts in phyla Firmicutes, Coprothermobacterota, and Euryarchaeota. Notably, the twin risks of pathogenicity and ARGs should be emphasized due to the ARGs' positive correlation with human pathogens of Clostridioides difficile and Arcobacter peruensis. These findings are important for understanding the potential ARGs' risk in treatments of livestock wastes containing feed additives of different sizes and speciation.

AFB1 induced free radicals cause encephalopathy in goat kids via intrinsic pathway of apoptosis: pathological and immunohistochemical confirmation of non-hepatic neuroaflatoxicosis.

Aflatoxins, particularly AFB1, are the most common feed contaminants worldwide, causing significant economic losses to the livestock sector. The current paper describes an outbreak of aflatoxicosis in a herd of 160 male young goat kids (3-4 months), of which 68 young kids succumbed over a period of 25 days after showing neurological signs of abnormal gait, progressive paralysis and head pressing. The haematobiochemical investigation showed reduced haemoglobin, leucocyte count, PCV level, increased levels of AST, ALT, glucose, BUN, creatinine and reduced level of total protein. Grossly, kids had pale mucous membranes, pale and swollen liver; right apical lobe consolidation, and petechiation of the synovial membrane of the hock joints. The microscopic changes were characterized by multifocal hemorrhages, status spongiosus/ vacuolation, vasculitis, focal to diffuse gliosis, satellitosis, and ischemic apoptotic neurons in different parts of the brain and spinal cord. These changes corresponded well with strong immunoreactivity for AFB1 in neurons, glia cells (oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and ependymal cells) in various anatomical sites of the brain. The higher values of LPO and reduced levels of antioxidant enzymes (Catalase, SOD, GSH) with strong immunoreactivity of 8-OHdG in the brain indicating high level of oxidative stress. Further, the higher immunosignaling of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in the brain points towards the association with intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. The toxicological analysis of feed samples detected high amounts of AFB1 (0.38ppm). These findings suggest that AFB1 in younger goat kids has more of neurotoxic effect mediated through caspase dependent intrinsic pathway.

Invited review: Total solids concentration in milk or milk replacer for dairy calves

Restricting milk or milk replacer (MR) fed to dairy calves to 10% of body weight at 12.5% total solids (TS) concentration is a common feeding strategy that promotes early weaning and lowers total feed costs for raising young calves. However, this strategy has been associated with inferior performance and compromised welfare. Because a restricted liquid nutrition plan limits calf growth due to limited supply of nutrients, research on increased supply of nutrients from liquid has shown improved growth, health, and welfare of calves. Nutrient supply may be increased by feeding larger amounts of milk or MR averaging 12.5% TS, or by increasing TS above the usual 12.5% TS by increasing MR TS concentration alone (TS+), or by increasing TS concentration and volume simultaneously (TSV+). The objective of this review is to discuss liquid nutrition plans with greater TS concentration in MR or in milk diets, considering the effects of such strategies on performance and digestive tract development before weaning and the future performance of dairy calves. This review will focus on liquid nutrition plans that are based on increased TS concentration (i.e., TS+ or TSV+); therefore, enhanced liquid nutrition plans based only on increased volumes will not be the discussed. Improved growth rates have been observed in calves fed TSV+ programs. However, reduced starter intake preweaning can also have negative effects on dry matter intake, average daily gain, and digestibility postweaning. Feeding a TS+ program may reduce impairment of starter intake and therefore have positive effects on performance, nutrient digestibility, and health. When considering an accelerated nutrition plan with TS+ or TSV+, it is important to consider osmolality of the liquid diet. Further studies are necessary to confirm this hypothesis and the cost-benefit of alternative liquid nutrition plans, as well as the optimal TS concentration of milk or MR fed to dairy calves.

Variations in fatty acids, micronutrients and metabolites in discrete milk lines of Danish dairy milk

Highlighting factors driving natural variation in milk composition among different dairy milk lines is important not only to secure uniform products but also for possible exploitation of the inherent variation. The composition of milk is related to genetic and environmental differences, causing variation in the milk delivered to the dairies. This study investigated compositional variations related to management systems, feeding strategies and seasonal periods. Milk samples from 15 Danish dairies, representing 34 unique milk lines, were collected monthly for two years. The study revealed significant compositional differences in fatty acids, micronutrients and metabolites relative to management systems. This is possibly related to differences in feeding and management practices, e.g., periods of outdoor grazing. Data expressed a higher degree of variation in milk samples representing biodynamic and organic milk lines with extensive grass feeding in comparison with conventional and organic milk lines reflecting more common Danish feeding practices.

Feasibility evaluation of fermented peanut meal to replace soybean meal in the diet of common carp (Cyprinus carpio): Growth performance, serum biochemistry, intestinal health and microflora composition

The effectiveness of soybean meal (SBM) substitution with fermented peanut meal (FPM) were appraised in common carp juveniles. A diet containing 30 % SBM was perceived as the control diet, then 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 % of SBM was replaced by the FPM (FPM0, FPM25, FPM50, FPM75, FPM100 groups). Each group was fed to three replicate groups of common carp (4.83 ± 0.02 g) for 56 days. Results exhibited that FPM50 group attained the significantly higher mass gain rate and specific growth rate than those of the other groups except for FPM25, higher protein efficiency ratio and lower feed conversion rate than those of the FPM75 and FPM100 groups. The FPM50 group significantly increased the contents of serum total protein and albumin and decreased the content of serum urea nitrogen. The activity of hindgut protease was significantly enhanced in the FPM50 group. Significantly higher and lower intestinal villi height was, respectively, observed in the FPM50 and FPM100 group. The FPM50 group significantly enhanced the gene expression and activities of antioxidant enzymes in the intestine, reversely decreased the content of malonaldehyde. Significant increments in the occludin, myosin light chain kinase and claudin3 gene expressions in the FPM50 group improved the increase of intestinal permeability induced by pro-inflammatory factor related genes interleukin 1β, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α. Staphylococcus and Enterococcus in the intestine abundances were effectively suppressed in the FPM50 group, and Lactococcus became the dominant intestinal bacteria genera. The optimum substitution level was estimated to be 50.93 % and 49.89 % using broken-line regression analyses based on MGR and FCR. Overall, the soybean meal in common carp feed could be substituted up to 50 % by FBM without negative influence on growth, feed utilization and intestinal health.

Child feeding practices of mothers of rural coastal area of Navsari district

Poor feeding habits are one of the most serious barriers to achieving and preserving health of children under the age of five, as they pose a significant challenge to social and economic growth. To know the socio-demographic profile and to study the prevalence of Infant and young child feeding practices of mothers A cross-sectional study in rural areas of Navsari district, Gujarat, included 243 women, who had one child aged 12 to 23 months preceding data collection. Data were analyzed using statistical software Epi Info 6. About 32% of the infants had received pre-lacteals feeds, most common feed was Gripe water (44.9%). The colostrum was fed by 90 % mothers. Half of mothers had initiated breast-feeding within 1 hour after delivery. Only 88 mothers (36.2%) had given exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months. About half of children had received complementary feeding during 6–9 months of age. Most of the mothers (96.7%) were washing their hands before each feeding of the child whereas 61.7 % were cooking special meal for the child. Majority of mothers (93.8%) think that breast-feeding should be continued for 1 to 2 years. Continuing to emphasise nutrition education could go a long way toward empowering mothers to avoid using pre-lacteal feeds, to sustain exclusive breastfeeding for a prescribed period, to incorporate complementary foods at the appropriate time, and to enhance overall child-care through optimum use of community health workers.

Habitat Use, Terrestriality and Feeding Behaviour of Javan Slow Lorises in Urban Areas of a Multi-Use Landscape in Indonesia

Urban areas are rapidly expanding into natural habitats worldwide. When species are threatened with habitat loss, it is vital to understand how they will respond or adapt to the change in their environment. One primate species threatened by habitat loss is the fully arboreal Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus). This non-leaping species not only relies on canopy continuity but is also subject to capture for illegal wildlife trade, especially in anthropogenic landscapes where they are easier to catch. We examine the use of urban areas by Javan slow lorises in terms of habitat use as well as feeding and terrestriality behaviours in the municipality of Cipaganti in West Java, Indonesia. For this study, we observed Javan slow lorises from May 2018 to April 2020 for two dry periods and two wet periods. We combined home ranges and core areas with a land cover classification of the area to understand the composition of the loris habitat. We also included feeding and terrestriality data to determine the ratio of these activities within each land cover class. We found that approximately half of their territory falls into natural areas (bamboo patches: 45–60%), and the other half is in human land use areas (agriculture, shade gardens, urban areas, and fallow land). Urban areas ranged from 0 to 54% of an individual loris’s habitat, with the proportion of urban land cover being higher in some individuals’ core areas than in their home ranges. Only urban areas showed a variation between periods, with p-values of 0.06 and 0.002 for home ranges and core areas, respectively, showing a significant increase usage during dry periods. Of all feeding observations, 4% occurred in urban areas with nectar being the most common feeding item. We recorded thirteen different food species in urban areas with Calliandra calothrysus being the most frequent. We found that 7% of terrestriality events occurred in urban areas. The findings from this study show that human land use areas cover a significant portion of the Javan slow lorises habitat in this region, further emphasising the need to consider the needs of these Critically Endangered primates when developing natural habitats into those of human managed landscapes. The same principles are true for the large number of species that are able to persist in urban areas in a world increasingly dominated by humans.

Hepatic Health and Humoral Immunological Parameters of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Fed Lactic Acid-supplemented Diets

Background: Organic acids and their salts are known as appropriate substitutes in feed for improving the health, growth, and performance of fish. Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary lactic acid supplementation on immunological factors, hepatic enzyme activity, and plasma proteins in common carp, Cyprinus carpio. The fish were fed the diets mentioned above for 56 days, then their growth performance, humoral immunity, and plasma hepatic enzymes were assessed. Methods: A total of 180 fish (mean weight=25 g) were randomly distributed in twelve tanks (150 L water in each tank) as four treatments, fed diets containing 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 g/kg lactic acid (T0, T1, T2, and T3, respectively). Results: At the end of the feeding trial, T2 showed significantly higher growth performance than T0. Plasma total protein, albumin, and globulin levels of T1-T3 were significantly higher than that of T0. However, plasma protein levels decreased significantly by elevation in dietary lactic acid concentration (10 g/kg). No significant differences were observed in plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity among the treatments, although alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity decreased significantly in fish-fed dietary lactic acid supplementation (T1-T3) compared with the control group (T0). All humoral immunity parameters (lysozyme, complement, immunoglobulin, and bactericidal activity) increased significantly in T1-T3 treatments compared to the T0 group. Conclusion: Overall, dietary lactic acid supplementation improves growth performance, humoral immunological parameters, and hepatic health. According to the results, dietary lactic acid (2.5-5 g/kg) is recommended for preparing common carp feed.

Design of BPF-Integrated SPDT Switch Based on Slotline Resonators Loaded With Diodes

Slotline Stepped-impedance resonators (SIR) loaded with p-i-n diodes are used to develop bandpass filter (BPF) integrated switches in this brief. The loaded diodes are used to switch the resonant conditions of the short-ended slotline resonators. The equations for their resonant conditions under different loads at different locations are derived and discussed. With these derived equations, the switchable filters are designed and synthesized using the classical coupled-resonator filter theory. The design concept is demonstrated by a Cascaded Quadruplet (CQ) BPFintegrated single-pole single-throw (SPST) switch at center frequency f0 = 1 GHz with with 47.7 dB OFF-state suppression (OSS). Finally, two compact BPF-integrated single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches are designed and fabricated. One of them combines source-load (S-L) coupling and introduces two additional zeros outside the desired passband to improve the frequency selectivity. The other on fractal common feeding line is developed to reduce the impact of accumulated residual admittances from OFFstate channels, which shows high roll-off rate of sidebands as well as high port-to-port isolation of 53.1 dB, and its overall circuit size is only 0.051 λg2.

IMPACT OF EMPTY PEA SHELL IN FEED ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF COMMON CARP (CYPRINUS CARPIO)

The present study was intended to assess the potential of a mature empty pea shell (Pisum sativum) as a feed additive to the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) diet. This study was conducted for 90 days with the inclusion of 15 % pea shells into the feed with one control without pea shells in common carp feed. Pea shell was used as an additive to the feed in three experimental groups (T1, T2, T3) and the control group. In the T1 group, inclusion of pea shell partially replaced the fish meal, in the T2 group − partially replaced the fish meal and de-oiled groundnut cake, in the T3 group − partially replaced the deoiled groundnut cake and fully replaced the de-oiled mustard cake. An increase in the average weight gain was observed in the T3 group (11.17 ± 0.08) with respect to the T1 (10.89 ± 0.11) and T2 (11.05 ± 0.11) groups but lower than that of control (11.84 ± 0.09; at p &lt; 0.05). In the T3 group, the specific growth rate (SGR) was significantly lower (1.04 ± 0.01) than the control (1.08 ± 0.02; at p &lt; 0.05) but not significantly different with T1 (1.01 ± 0.03) and T2 (1.03 ± 0.03) groups. In the T3 group, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was comparably higher (1.07 ± 0.01) than control (1.01 ± 0.01) but lower than T1 (1.10 ± 0.01) andT2 (1.09 ± 0.01) groups (p &lt; 0.05). The study revealed that the inclusion of pea shells into fish feed can replace plant-based protein sources (mustard cake and groundnut cake).

Gastrointestinal Microbial Ecology of Weaned Piglets Fed Diets with Different Levels of Glyphosate.

Glyphosate possesses antimicrobial properties, and the present study investigated potential effects of feed glyphosate on piglet gastrointestinal microbial ecology. Weaned piglets were allocated to four diets (glyphosate contents [mg/kg feed]: 0 mg/kg control [CON; i.e., basal diet with no glyphosate added], 20 mg/kg as Glyphomax commercial herbicide [GM20], and 20 mg/kg [IPA20] and 200 mg/kg [IPA200] as glyphosate isopropylamine [IPA] salt). Piglets were sacrificed after 9 and 35 days of treatment, and stomach, small intestine, cecum, and colon digesta were analyzed for glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), organic acids, pH, dry matter content, and microbiota composition. Digesta glyphosate contents reflected dietary levels (on day 35, 0.17, 16.2, 20.5, and 207.5 mg/kg colon digesta, respectively). Overall, we observed no significant glyphosate-associated effects on digesta pH, dry matter content, and-with few exceptions-organic acid levels. On day 9, only minor gut microbiota changes were observed. On day 35, we observed a significant glyphosate-associated decrease in species richness (CON, 462; IPA200, 417) and in the relative abundance of certain Bacteroidetes genera: CF231 (CON, 3.71%; IPA20, 2.33%; IPA200, 2.07%) and g_0.24 (CON, 3.69%; IPA20, 2.07%; IPA200, 1.75%) in cecum. No significant changes were observed at the phylum level. In the colon, we observed a significant glyphosate-associated increase in the relative abundance of Firmicutes (CON, 57.7%; IPA20, 69.4%; IPA200, 66.1%) and a decrease in Bacteroidetes (CON, 32.6%; IPA20, 23.5%). Significant changes were only observed for few genera, e.g., g_0.24 (CON, 7.12%; IPA20, 4.59%; IPA200, 4.00%). In conclusion, exposing weaned piglets to glyphosate-amended feed did not affect gastrointestinal microbial ecology to a degree that was considered actual dysbiosis, e.g., no potential pathogen bloom was observed. IMPORTANCE Glyphosate residues can be found in feed made from genetically modified glyphosate-resistant crops treated with glyphosate or from conventional crops, desiccated with glyphosate before harvest. If these residues affect the gut microbiota to an extent that is unfavorable to livestock health and productivity, the widespread use of glyphosate on feed crops may need to be reconsidered. Few in vivo studies have been conducted to investigate potential impact of glyphosate on the gut microbial ecology and derived health issues of animals, in particular livestock, when exposed to dietary glyphosate residues. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate potential effects on the gastrointestinal microbial ecology of newly weaned piglets fed glyphosate-amended diets. Piglets did not develop actual gut dysbiosis when fed diets, containing a commercial herbicide formulation or a glyphosate salt at the maximum residue level, defined by the European Union for common feed crops, or at a 10-fold-higher level.

Effects of Dietary Lactic Acid Supplementation on the Activity of Digestive and Antioxidant Enzymes, Gene Expressions, and Bacterial Communities in the Intestine of Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio

The present study investigated the effects of dietary lactic acid (LA) supplementation on the growth performance, intestinal digestive/antioxidant enzymes’ activities, gene expression, and bacterial communities in common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Four diets were formulated to contain 0 g/kg LA (control), at 2.5 g/kg LA (2.5LAC), 5 g/kg LA (5LAC), and 10 g/kg LA (10LAC) and offered to the fish over a period of 56 days. The results showed that dietary 5 g/kg LA supplementation improved growth performance and feed efficiency in the fish. All LA treatments exhibited significant elevations in the intestinal trypsin and chymotrypsin activities, whereas the intestinal lipase, amylase, and alkaline phosphatase activities exhibited significant elevations in the 5LAC and 10LAC treatments. All LA treatments exhibited significant elevations in the intestinal heat shock protein 70, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, and defensin gene expressions, and the highest expression was observed in the 5LAC treatment. Additionally, dietary LA treatment significantly increased the lysozyme expression and Lactobacillus sp. population in the intestine of the fish, and the highest values were observed in the 5LAC and 10LAC treatments. Aeromonas sp. and Vibrio sp. populations decreased in the LA treatments, and the lowest Aeromonas sp. population was observed in the 10LAC treatment. The intestinal mucin2 and mucin5 expressions, and the hepatic reduced glutathione content, significantly increased, whereas hepatic glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and malondialdehyde significantly decreased in the 5LAC and 10LAC treatments. In conclusion, dietary 5 g/kg LA is recommended for common carp feeding to improve growth rate, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health.