Maintenance Feeding Research Articles

The impact of bull breeding management on reproductive function (review)

Providing the population with quality food products is currently relevant. High-tech production of meat and dairy products requires breeding animals with high genetic potential. The main role is given to bull sires, since they are responsible for the constant reproduction of the breeding stock, which depends on the non-stop renovation of the herd with high breeding value’s calves. Management of growing and breeding of young bulls can directly affect the reproductive function of sires and the physiological health. The article provides analytical data based on literary sources containing research by various authors on this topic, and reviews methods and technologies for keeping breeding bulls on various farms in the Russia and abroad. Currently, there is a many problems of getting high-quality breeding young bulls to an artificial insemination center. Currently, there are problems with obtaining high-quality breeding bulls of the enterprise. There are animals with abnormal development of the musculoskeletal system, joints, hooves, with signs of osteomalacia, etc. Such animals require additional costs for veterinary and breeding services. The quality of the sperm products they produce often does not comply with state normative. The reason is related either to the choice of maintenance technology or feeding technology. It is necessary to competently organize management, breeding and veterinary work in farms that are purposefully engaged in breeding young animals.

Effects of prolonged cold stress on vascular function in guinea pigs with atherosclerosis.

This study explored the effects of long-term cold stress on aortic vascular function in guinea pigs. Research Methods: Hartley guinea pigs (n=32) were divided into following groups: atherosclerosis (AS), cold stress (CS), and menthol-stimulated (M) and control (C). On days 1, 15, 30, 45, and 60, guinea pigs in the AS, CS, and M groups were intraperitoneally injected with bovine serum albumin. The C group was provided with maintenance feed and room-temperature water. The AS group was provided with a high-fat diet and room-temperature water. The CS group was maintained in a refrigerator at 4 °C，while providing a high-fat diet and iced water. The M group was administered menthol solution, and provided with a high-fat diet and room-temperature water. The modeling period lasted for 120 days. On day 121, abdominal aortic sera and aortic samples were obtained after intraperitoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital. Blood rheology tests were conducted to assess blood adhesion, biochemical tests to assess lipid levels, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to detect serum nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β, and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase, NO, and endothelin-1(ET-1) in aortic tissue. Hematoxylin and eosin and Oil Red O staining were used to examine pathologic changes in the aorta, western blotting to detect TRPM8 and PKG protein expression, qPCR was used to measure VCAM-1 mRNA expression level. Research findings: Prolonged exposure to cold stress exacerbated lipid-metabolism disorders in guinea pigs fed a high-fat diet, increased aortic vascular cell adhesion, and exacerbated vascular inflammation, leading to endothelial injury, ultimately worsening pathologic changes associated with aortic atherosclerosis.

CROP RESIDUE AS OPTIMUM FEED SOURCING FOR LIVESTOCK KEPT UNDER FREE RANGE CONDITIONS WITHIN THE BLUE NILE BASIN OF SUDAN

The present study was initiated show that the best feed sourcing for animal production could crop-livestock under rangeland conditions of arid environment within the Nile basin ecosystem. For crop-livestock production systems, livestock water productivity (LWP) was used to indicate water utilized by the animal converted to useful products. Parameters measured were: biomass availability from rangelands and crop residues, supply versus demand for the different animal species and treated crop residues to improve animal performance. Trends in rangeland productivity, crop residue biomass and animal’s number and herd structure were measured through the years 2014 – 2018 in seven localities of Sennar state. Total biomass in the form of crop residues and biomass from range was calculated to determine the livestock demands during the dry season; this was done by utilizing Tropical livestock unit (TLU) equivalents and basal metabolic rates. Rangeland status was estimated using remote sensing. using multiple sets of Sentinel-2 and Landsat images (in case of cloud cover in the Sentinel-2 image). Crop production was projected for the summer season from the ‘Ministry of Agriculture’, Further available crop residues were calculated as: 1kg sorghum seed gives 3kg sorghum straw, 1kg millet seed gives 3 kg straw, 1kg ground nut pod gives 2kg straw. The biomass demand was calculated based on the data from Arab Organisation for Agricultural Development that annual animal unit demand is 2.4 tons. This was translated to the biomass demand of approximately 6.5 kg per day per animal unit. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) estimation of animal maintenance energy of 11,000 Kcal per LTU per day for grazing cattle in Africa, for maintenance energy, would require about 5 kg per tropical livestock unit per day of feed for maintenance. The amount of evapotranspiration required to produce this feed would be about 1.25 cubic meters per TLU per day or 450 cubic meters per tropical livestock unit per year. This compares with 25–50 liters a day or 9–18 cubic meters per tropical livestock unit per year for drinking water. Hence for each locality biomass demand was calculated as: No. of AU in the locality x 6.5 kg dry matter/day. Animal experimentation utilized 2 dairy goats fed with straws treated with 5% urea and Student t-test was used to obtain the significance between the control and treated animals. The results showed that contribution of crop residue to the biomass was very important and increased over the years for Abu Hougar it was maintained around 90%, for El Dali increased from 3% to 888% in year 2018. For El Dinder, El Souki and Sinnar increased to reach 454%, 775%, 219% respectively in the year 2018. However, Singa showed a decline in crop residue from 526 to 163%. Availability of the biomass showed high variability among the localities. Animal’s number changed slightly over the years. Except for Sharg Sinnar. Sheep population was the highest while camels were the lowest in all localities, but herd structure was not the same where cattle, sheep and goats were comparable at El Souki and Singa. Camels and goats were comparable in El Dinder only. Abu Hougar and El Dali showed lower population of cattle and goats. At Sinnar, goats and cattle population was nearly the same. Sharg Sinnar showed comparable ratios for sheep, cattle and goats. As for animal experimentation where dairy goats were used to test the crop residue treated with urea on food intake and milk yield, it was found that while food intake decreased significantly (P<0.05), milk yield increased significantly (P<0.001). It could be concluded that for crop livestock-water ecological system, crop residues as feed sourcing is considered the optimum biomass supply for animals during the summer season where there is no additional water is required, livestock water productivity (LWP) could be increased with better management of soildegradation, water runoff and rangeland conservation.

#1957 Microbial and metabolomic remodeling by Sichuan dark tea-based formula improves obesity-induced renal lipid metabolism disorder in mice

Abstract Background and Aims The theory of medicine-food homology is long-standing and has been widely applied in traditional Chinese medicine. The Sichuan dark tea-based medicated dietary formula (alternatively referred to as Qing, or clarity in Chinese) is previously used for its lipid-lowering properties in apoE mice. This study further investigated the renoprotective effects of Qing on diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice and explored the specific mechanisms involved. Method Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three groups, a control group, a DIO group, and a Qing treatment group, or the Qing group, with 8 mice in each group. The mice in the control group were given normal maintenance feed and purified water, and the other two groups were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks to establish the DIO model. After that, high-fat diet continued in the DIO group, while the Qing group was given Qing at the same time for 12 weeks, during which period the weight of the mice was monitored and recorded every week. The mice were sacrificed after 12 weeks. Serum samples were collected and the levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and albumin were measured to evaluate liver function. In addition, renal lipids were extracted to determine the levels of TG and TC in the kidney and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and oil red O stainings were performed to evaluate kidney pathological injury. Western blot was performed to determine the phosphorylated AMPK (pAMPK)/AMPK ratio in the kidney tissue. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to determine the expression of proteins related to fatty acid oxidation and key proteins related to lipid synthesis. 16SrRNA and metabolomics were applied to analyze the gut microbiota in the intestinal contents and its metabolites. Results Compared with those of the control group, the levels of liver mass (P=0.0003), serum ALT(P < 0.0001), AST (P=0.0001), TC (P=0.0191) and TG (P=0.0101) in the model group were significantly increased. Qing treatment can effectively reduce liver mass (P=0.0316), and improve AST (P=0.0012), ALT (P=0.0027), TC (P=0.0200), TG (P=0.0499) levels of mice compared to those of the DIO group. Qing treatment inhibited the expression of lipid synthesis related genes (SREBP-1, FASN and SCD1) and promoted the expression of fatty acid oxidation related genes (CPT1A, PGC1α and PPARγ) in kidneys (Fig. 1). Obesity-triggered dysfunction of structure and composition of gut microbiota were improved by Qing (Fig. 2), where the content of short-chain fatty acids, especially isovaleric acid and propionic acid, were also restored (Fig. 3). Conclusion Our data suggested that Sichuan dark tea-based medicated dietary formula may improve renal lipid metabolism by regulating gut microbiota and the levels of intestinal short-chain fatty acids, thereby protecting obesity-related kidney injury. Isovaleric acid and propionic acid may be the metabolites key to its regulation of gut microbiota.

Strategi Pengembangan Bank Pakan Sapi Dengan Pendekatan Model Bisnis Kanvas

The purpose of this study was to describe and improve the business model of Sepakat feed bank group, Tanggat Village, Monta District, Bima Regency. Data collection procedures through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. Data analysis using business model canvas approach and SWOT analysis to produce a business model prototype. The results of this study show elements that must be improved in the initial mapping of the business model are value proposition, channel, key activities, key resources, key partner and revenue stream. The SWOT analysis illustrates that the strengths possessed are well-mapped customers and abundant raw materials. The weaknesses are low quality of human resources to maintenance feed process equipment, limited land, lack of superior forage varieties, product distribution channels are not varied and limited business capital. Opportunities that can be exploited are the development of new feed product, utilization of information technology and government support. The threats they face are dependence on one feed product and the climate. Improvement strategies carried out include creating new products (value proposition), utilizing various facilities for selling product such as social media and BUMDes (channels), establishing separate business units to manage feed banks (key activities), making superior forage by utilizing Bima Regency government land (key resources), cooperate with financial institutions (key partners) and add variety of feed product as main source of income (revenue stream).

Community Service Strengthening Goat Livestock Group in Catur Village, Kintamani-Bangli District

The province administration of Bali consistently promotes the formation of livestock farming communities, namely in goat farming, using housing and livestock aid initiatives. The "Subak Abian Pebunut" goat farming group in Catur Village, Kintamani District, Bangli, is among the recipients of government aid in goat farming. Despite its relatively short duration of operation, the group above needs support and instruction, particularly in maintenance management and feeding techniques. This is particularly relevant in effectively utilizing a substantial quantity of coffee waste via fermentation. The primary objective of this community service initiative is to modify the behavior of individuals within the group. Specifically, the focus is on enhancing their knowledge, abilities, and attitudes. It is important to note that the delivered content is derived from prior research studies. The approach employed in this community service initiative involves disseminating educational resources, followed by practical instruction on the fermentation of coffee skins. Additionally, trials and evaluations are conducted on goats to assess their growth and gauge their response to the practices above. The implementation of community service has yielded notable outcomes in knowledge acquisition, specifically in the discovery of the potential for fermenting coffee skins to produce animal feed of superior quality. In terms of actual implementation, the active involvement of all group members is ensured to facilitate the subsequent execution of the probiotic component blending and coffee skin fermentation procedures. In the context of trials and assessments, it was seen that the administration of fermented coffee skins to goats yielded notable outcomes in terms of their growth, as opposed to a control group of goats that did not get coffee skins. Based on the findings of this community service initiative, it can be inferred that the participants expressed satisfaction in acquiring knowledge and hands-on experience in producing fermented feed using coffee skins. Additionally, they observed the direct impact of feeding fermented coffee skins to livestock over one month, specifically examining the animals' response to consumption and its influence on the growth of goats.

Sichuan Dark Tea-Based Medicated Dietary Formula Improves Obesity-Induced Renal Lipid Metabolism Disorder in Mice by Remodeling Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Metabolism

To investigate the renoprotective effects of a Sichuan dark tea-based medicated dietary formula (alternatively referred to as Qing, or clarity in Chinese) on mice with diet-induced obesity (DIO) and to explore the specific mechanisms involved. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to three groups, a control group, a DIO group, and a Qing treatment group, or the Qing group, with 8 mice in each group. The mice in the control group were given normal maintenance feed and purified water, and the other two groups were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks to establish the DIO model. After that, high-fat diet continued in the DIO group, while the Qing group was given Qing at the same time for 12 weeks, during which period the weight of the mice was monitored and recorded every week. The mice were sacrificed after 12 weeks. Serum samples were collected and the levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and albumin were measured to evaluate liver function. In addition, renal lipids were extracted to determine the levels of TG and TC in the kidney and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and oil red O stainings were performed to evaluate kidney pathological injury. Western blot was performed to determine the phosphorylated AMPK (pAMPK)/AMPK ratio in the kidney tissue. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to determine the expression of proteins related to fatty acid oxidation, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1), carnitine acyltransferase 1 (CTP1), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-1 α (PPAR1α), sterol-regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP-1), and key proteins related to lipid synthesis, including fatty acid synthase (FASN) and stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (stearoyl-CoA desaturase) in the kidney tissue. 16SrRNA and metabolomics were applied to analyze the gut microbiota in the intestinal contents and its metabolites. Compared with those of the control group, the levels of liver mass (P=0.0003), serum ALT (P<0.0001) and AST (P=0.0001), and kidney TC (P=0.0191) and TG (P=0.0101) of the DIO group were significantly increased and there was lipid deposition in the kidney. Compared with those of the DIO group, mice in the Qing group showed effective reduction in liver mass (P=0.0316) and improvements in the abnormal serum levels of AST (P=0.0012) and ALT (P=0.0027) and kidney TC (P=0.0200) and TG (P=0.0499). In addition, mice in the Qing group showed significant improvement in lipid deposition in the kidney. Qing group showed increased pAMPK/AMPK ratio in comparison with that of the DIO group. In comparison with those of the control group, mice in the DIO group had upregulated expression of lipid synthesis-related genes and proteins (SREBP-1, FASN, and SCD1). As for the fatty acid oxidation-related genes and proteins, DIO mice showed upregulated expression of ACC1 and downregulated expression of CPT1A, PPARγ, and PGC1α in comparison with those of the control group. In the Qing goup, improvements in regard to all these changes were observed. The Qing group demonstrated improvement in the disrupted homeostasis of the gut microbiota. Short-chain fatty acids in the cecal contents, especially isovaleric acid and propionic acid, were also restored. Sichuan dark tea-based medicated dietary formula may improve renal lipid metabolism by regulating gut microbiota and the levels of intestinal short-chain fatty acids, thereby protecting obesity-related kidney injury. Isovaleric acid and propionic acid may be the metabolites key to its regulation of gut microbiota.

Effect of mineral-vitamin premix supplementation on behavioral, performance, hormonal, oxidative stress, and serum biochemical profiles on rutting male Camelus dromedarius in Egypt.

The rutting period imposes a stressful condition on male camels, which results in elevated serum cortisol levels and alterations in their sexual behavior. Therefore, the current work was carried out to investigate the effect of mineral-vitamin premix supplementation on behavior, reproductive performance, hormones, serum oxidative stress profile, and other serum biochemical parameters of Camelus dromedarius during the breeding season. Fourteen mature, fertile male Camelus dromedarius were divided into two groups, a control group (n = 7) and a mineral-vitamin premix group (n = 7). The present study lasted for 95 days during the rutting period (1st February to 5th May). Each camel in the premix group received a daily diet of 50 g of mineral-vitamin premix throughout the whole rutting period, during which the frequencies and durations of the following behaviors: maintenance, posture, aggressiveness, and sexual activity were collected every 20 min. At the end of the study, blood samples were collected. Results revealed that the premix group showed higher (P < 0.05) maintenance (feeding and rumination), standing, and overall sexual desire-related behavior frequency, besides more times (P < 0.001) for rumination, standing, walking, and lying while showing lower (P < 0.001) frequencies of overall aggressive behaviors than the control group. The serum concentration of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, cortisol, blood glucose, and urea evidenced a significant decrease in the premix group compared with the control one, while significantly elevated levels of reduced glutathione, testosterone, total antioxidant capacity, triiodothyronine, and thyroxin, total protein, albumin, globulin, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium were recorded in the premix group in comparison with the control. It could be concluded that daily dietary supplementation of 50 g of mineral-vitamin premix to male camels during the breeding season is necessary to overcome the oxidative stress and serum cortisol concentration with a subsequent decrease in aggressive behavior and improvement to testosterone level in blood, body condition score and body weight gain.

Estimated genetic parameters for mature cow live weights during lactation in a multi-breed dairy cattle population

ABSTRACT Live weight (LWT) is an important trait for dairy production systems as it influences both maintenance feed requirements and beef revenue from culled cows and from offspring surplus to replacements. The breeding goal for the New Zealand dairy industry includes LWT. This study estimated genetic parameters for LWT during lactation from some animals in the New Zealand multi-breed dairy cattle population. A total of 31,922 LWT records from 11,222 lactating dairy cattle born from 1988 to 2015 were used for the analysis. Estimation of (co)variance components used Gibbs sampling from pedigree-based models. The posterior mean heritability estimates using scale weights were consistently high across six lactations and ranged from 0.57 to 0.64. There were high genetic correlations between the scale weights measured during different lactations (>0.95). We further estimated the posterior mean heritability for subjective liveweight scores recorded from first lactation using trained inspectors and the estimate was 0.36, lower than those heritability estimates from scaled weight. Further, the genetic correlations between subjective liveweight score and scale weights at various lactations ranged from 0.91-0.92. It is recommended that only scale weights be used for national genetic evaluation.

Productivity of pigs under the conditions of introduction of the additive of the mixed ligand complex of Cuprum

The intensification of the pig industry requires the breeding of highly productive young animals capable of providing high-growth energy under good conditions of maintenance and full feeding. Full feeding of suckling piglets in most farms of Ukraine is provided by pre-starter compound feeds of imported production, which leads to an increase in the cost price of pork. In addition, the traditional sources of trace elements in these compound feeds are mineral salts in the form of sulfate and chloride compounds, the bioavailability of which is 12–35 %, which leads to environmental pollution with heavy metals, and the crystallized water contained in sulfate molecules in the premixes destroys vitamins and other biologically active substances. The degree of assimilation of trace elements increases with the use of feed additives with trace elements of organic origin. Representatives of such feed additives are mixed ligand complexes of trace elements (chelates). Taking into account the fact that suckling piglets need Ferrum addition to mother's milk and a sufficient amount of Cuprum on the 4–5th day of life since Cuprum catalyzes the incorporation of Ferrum into the heme structure and is an indispensable activator of hemoglobin synthesis and a stimulator of erythrocyte maturation, the study of the action of this element in the composition of a mixed ligand of the complex in the pre-starter compound feed is relevant. In addition, the study of the economic and economic significance of the use of the mixed ligand complex of Cuprum in the feeding of suckling piglets, the establishment of optimal norms of this supplement taking into account the breed and parent age, has an important scientific and practical significance. The domestic and foreign experience of effective pig farming shows that the realization of the hereditary qualities of modern high-performance pig breeds and obtaining ecologically clean products is possible only under the condition of the development and implementation of perfect technologies for the production of pig farming products, which must be consistent with the biological needs of animals.

Improve Household Income Through Peking Duck Farming

Background: Community service was carried out to increase household income in the Serdang village, Curug district, Tangerang regency, by breeding and rearing Peking ducks. Contribution: Peking duck breeding and rearing farming is considered relatively low in maintenance, attainable ducklings, and affordable feed; while the problem of Peking duck breeding and rearing farming is the lack of capital. Method: The implementation methods consist of: the planning stage, the implementation stage, and the evaluation stage. Results: The result of this community service is the achievement of total 2,597.9 Kg of ready-to-sell Peking ducks, with the sales profit of Rp 17.950.750 per month. From the total of 1,100 heads initial ducklings reared the mortality rate of 91 occurred at the vulnerable age (5-15 days). Conclusion: By the end of the second season of community service, 3 (three) participants become self-suffcient Peking duck breeders

Reducing the Fermentability of Wheat with a Starch Binding Agent Reduces Some of the Negative Effects of Heat Stress in Sheep.

Simple SummaryHeat stress is one of the major problems affecting the thermotolerance of livestock in Australia and in many parts of the world. Dietary interventions are considered to be one of the effective strategies to beat the heat. Hence, this study evaluated the benefits of reducing the fermentability of wheat grains (BioprotectTM) in the diet of Merino lambs. These results indicated that Bioprotect supplementation had a positive effect on the respiratory rate and heart rate of heat-stressed lambs.The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of reducing the fermentability of grains on thermoregulatory responses in heat stressed (HS) lambs. To achieve this, wheat grain treated with a commercial starch binding agent, Bioprotect, is compared to maize, which has already demonstrated effects in ameliorating heat stress-induced thermoregulation responses and untreated wheat grains. An initial in vitro experiment was conducted to examine cumulative gas production from the fermentation of wheat grain with different dosages of the commercial starch binding agent, Bioprotect. Based on the in vitro results, an in vivo lamb experiment was conducted using 24 Merino lambs (1 year old; 42.6 ± 3.6 kg BW). The lambs were offered one of three dietary treatments: a wheat-based diet (WD), a Bioprotect treated wheat-based diet (BD), and a maize-based diet (MD). Three successive 1-week experimental periods were conducted with lambs from all dietary groups (P1, P2, and P3). During P1, lambs were exposed to a TN environment and fed a 1.7× Maintenance feed intake (MF) level; in P2, lambs were kept in a HS environment and fed a 1.7× MF level; and in P3, animals were kept in a HS environment and fed a 2× MF level. The in vitro experiment revealed a reduction in cumulative gas production (p < 0.05) from the Bioprotect treated wheat compared to untreated wheat samples. In the in vivo component of the study, the replacement of wheat with maize or 2% Bioprotect-treated wheat reduced the respiration rate (p < 0.001) and heart rate (p ≤ 0.01) of lambs during HS. There was a reduction in the concentration of blood gas variables such as a base excess of blood (BE(b)) and extracellular fluid (BE(ecf)), bicarbonate (CHCO3−), the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), the total concentration of carbon dioxide (ctCO2), and sodium (Na+) (p ≤ 0.001 for all) during the periods of HS compared to the thermoneutral conditions. Moreover, BD- and MD-fed lambs had a higher blood potassium concentration (K+) than the WD-fed lambs (p = 0.008). The results of the present study suggest that Bioprotect can be a viable feed treatment strategy for treating rapidly fermentable grains such as wheat to alleviate the effects of HS. Further, Bioprotect-treated wheat could be an option to replace maize in concentrate rations in jurisdictions where maize is cost-prohibitive or unavailable.

PERANCANGAN DAN PEMBUATAN ALAT KENDALI PEMBERIAN PAKAN IKAN NILA OTOMATIS BERBASIS INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)

Fish farming is a form of animal husbandry that is mostly done by the people of Indonesia, both in ponds, in rivers and in the sea, fish farming in ponds requires maintenance and regular feeding of fish. Pond owners must always monitor fish growth and pond conditions to increase fish yields. By utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) technology and using a microcontroller to assist in feeding then combined with mobile application devices and using Firebase as data storage in real time, to control commands such as feed scheduling, feed conditions and feeding status. This system is expected to facilitate feeding.

Effect of Supplementing Grass Silage-Based Diets with Concentrate Carbohydrate Sources with Different Fermentation Profiles on N Metabolism of Beef Heifers Fed to Maintenance

The synchronous supply of energy and nitrogen (N) substrates to the rumen microbes on grass silage (GS)-based diets can potentially lead to reduced levels of N excreted in the urine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementing GS-based diet with carbohydrate sources differing in rumen fermentation profile on N metabolism of beef heifers. Six Belgian Blue × Holstein Friesian cross beef heifers (487 ± 29 kg BW) were used in a 3 × 3 Latin Square design (n = 6). Dietary treatments were: (RB) GS supplemented with rolled barley; (MM) GS supplemented with maize meal and; (SH) GS supplemented with soya hulls offered at 40:60 forage to concentrate ratio on a dry matter (DM) basis, at maintenance feeding (40 g DM/kg BW0.75). Carbohydrate source had no effect on DM, organic matter, or N intake or total N excretion and the amount of N excreted in the urine (p &gt; 0.05). Animals offered MM excreted a higher percentage of N in the faeces and a lower percentage of N in the urine compared to animals offered RB (p &lt; 0.05). There was a time by interaction for ruminal ammonia (NH3) concentrations (p &lt; 0.01). Ruminal NH3 concentrations peaked at 2 h post-feeding for all treatments. At 3 h post-feeding, ruminal NH3 concentrations for the RB treatment remained higher compared to MM and SH treatments. Molar proportions and total ruminal volatile fatty acids were similar among dietary treatments (p &gt; 0.05). Supplementing GS-based diets with different carbohydrate sources had no impact on the total level of N excreted or the amount of N excreted in the urine. However, there was a higher percentage of N excreted in the faeces and a lower percentage of N excreted in the urine when animals were offered MM compared to those offered RB (p &lt; 0.05).

Keberdayaan Peternak Kambing melalui Aplikasi Teknologi Pakan Fermentasi Berbasis Limbah Pertanian

Animal feed is only obtained from daily grazing without taking into account the needs of livestock. The problems that are often faced by farmers in dairy goat cultivation are the quality of the feed provided is still relatively low and commercial feed is expensive. This is due to fluctuations in the quality and quality of existing feed raw materials, especially from forages and legumes. Alternative feed from agricultural waste is not utilized because the knowledge of farmers regarding feed processing and improving feed nutrition is limited. The limitations of tools such as chopper machines used in chopping. Traditional maintenance and production costs that are not properly monitored, steps need to be taken to improve maintenance management and feed management to improve the welfare of farmers. Based on the results of the proposal team's analysis of the problems experienced by partners, in this year's service activities, the proposer team formulates solutions to overcome partner problems. The solution offered for partner problems is through the Triple Better Program theory by Patrick Boyle; informational through counseling partners about the potential of agricultural waste as fermented feed to increase the quality and quantity of livestock production, institutional through Training Activities for Partners on how to treat waste agriculture into fermented feed according to livestock needs, and training and counseling on group organization and good business management and developmental, namely monitoring the level of partner empowerment from an economic perspective.

A high-carbohydrate diet lowers the rate of adipose tissue mitochondrial respiration

Adipocyte mitochondrial respiration may influence metabolic fuel partitioning into oxidation versus storage, with implications for whole-body energy expenditure. Although insulin has been shown to influence mitochondrial respiration, the effects of dietary macronutrient composition have not been well characterized. The aim of this exploratory study was to test the hypothesis that a high-carbohydrate diet lowers the oxygen flux of adipocyte mitochondria ex vivo. Among participants in a randomized-controlled weight-loss maintenance feeding trial, those consuming a high-carbohydrate diet (60% carbohydrate as a proportion of total energy, n = 10) had lower rates of maximal adipose tissue mitochondrial respiration than those consuming a moderate-carbohydrate diet (40%, n = 8, p = 0.039) or a low-carbohydrate diet (20%, n = 9, p = 0.005) after 10 to 15 weeks. This preliminary finding may provide a mechanism for postulated calorie-independent effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure and fat deposition, potentially through the actions of insulin on fuel partitioning.

Optimizing Food and Feed in Maize–Livestock Systems in Northern Ghana: The Effect of Maize Leaf Stripping on Grain Yield and Leaf Fodder Quality

Access to feed for livestock during the cropping season is a constraint to the smallholder crop–livestock farming system in northern Ghana due to backyard farming. A two-year (2017–2018) study was conducted to determine the effect of leaf stripping on yield and feed quality in maize–livestock farming systems in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions of Ghana. A factorial treatment combination of three maize-maturity types (extra-early: Abontem, early: Omankwa, and medium: Obatanpa) and three leaf stripping methods (control, leaf stripping at 50% tasseling, and leaf stripping at 50% silking of maize) were laid out in a strip-plot design with four replications per region. Stripped leaf biomass, grain yield, stover, cob size, and nutritional quality of stripped maize leaf were measured. The stripped leaf biomass, stover, and cob width of Obatanpa increased significantly relative to the other maize types in the Northern and the Upper West regions. Abontem recorded a higher (p &lt; 0.01) grain yield than that of the other maize types in the Upper East Region. Leaf stripping had no significant effect on the grain yield and the crude protein (CP) content of maize leaf. The CP of the maize leaf (93–100 g/kg) was above the minimum CP requirement of a quality feed for body weight maintenance of ruminants. This suggests that smallholder maize–livestock farmers could strip maize leaves at either tasseling or silking to feed their livestock during the cropping season in northern Ghana and similar agro-ecological zones in West Africa.

Source apportionment and risk assessment for available occurrence forms of heavy metals in Dongdahe Wetland sediments, southwest of China

Urban wetland ecosystems are easily influenced by heavy metals (HMs) because of their functional properties. In this study, absolute principal component scores-multivariate linear regression (APCS-MLR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor models were applied for the source apportionment of available occurrence forms of heavy metals (AHMs) of surface sediments in a typical urban wetland of Dianchi Lake, southwest of China. The risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential ecological/human health risks of HMs. Results indicated that Zn, Pb, and Cr were the major pollutants affected by anthropogenic activities in sediments and their concentrations were significantly exceeding the background value. Most of the highly AHMs-polluted area was close to the river in wetland, and the concentration distribution of all AHMs were generally low in the southwest and high in the northeast. Both APCS-MLR and PMF models identified three comparable classes of potential sources, namely (1) agricultural fertilizer/insecticide, atmospheric deposition, and traffic emissions; (2) natural transitions; and (3) industrial and sewage wastes. Moreover, the comparison results implied that the PMF model was more feasible for quantifying AHMs sources in wetland sediments since it is capable to analyze one more source, namely plant maintenance and waterfowl feeding, and has higher accuracy in predicting the concentrations of AHMs. In addition, the risk assessment model revealed that all these HMs were within the acceptable ranges of ecological and carcinogenic/non-carcinogenic human health risks. Among these, ingestion was the major exposure pathway of HMs from local areas, followed by dermal exposure and oral or nasal inhalation. However, children were more easily exposed to HMs than adults by ingestion due to their hand-to-mouth behaviors. This study aims to assess the HM pollution status in a plateau urban wetland, and provides a practical case for modeling source apportionment and risk assessment of HMs in wetland sediments.

Coix Seed Diet Ameliorates Immune Function Disorders in Experimental Colitis Mice.

Coix seed is a functional food in the Chinese diet that possesses the ability to alleviate ulcerative colitis clinically. However, the underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of the Coix seed diet on experimental colitis mice. The mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, model group, Coix seed feed group, and positive control group. The maintenance feed of the mice was replaced with Coix seed feed 10 days before orally administering the mice 5% (w/v) dextran sulfate sodium drink. As a result, the Coix seed feed alleviated colitis symptoms, maintained the complete blood count at a normal level, reduced the pathological score, relieved inflammatory cytokine secretion, and alleviated oxidative stress. Network pharmacology analysis was used for further exploration of the targets of Coix seed feed. The results showed that T-cell regulation is one of the targets of Coix seed feed, and the analysis of the T-lymphocyte subset and innate immune cell distribution of the colon tissue supported the network pharmacology results. In conclusion, Coix seed, as a staple food, can alleviate experimental colitis, and the mechanism may be related to the immune regulation effect of Coix seeds.

Diversification through gustatory courtship: an X-ray micro-computed tomography study on dwarf spiders

BackgroundSexual selection has been considered to promote diversification and speciation. Sexually dimorphic species have been used to explore the supposed effect, however, with mixed results. In dwarf spiders (Erigoninae), many species are sexually dimorphic—males possess marked prosomal modifications. These male traits vary from moderate elevations to bizarre shapes in various prosomal regions. Previous studies established that male dwarf spiders produce substances in these prosomal modifications that are taken up by the females. These substances can act as nuptial gifts, which increase the mating probability of males and the oviposition rate in females. Therefore, these dimorphic traits have evolved in the context of sexual selection. Here, we explore the evolutionary lability of this gustatory trait complex with the aim of assessing the role of this trait complex in species divergence by investigating (1) if erigonine modified prosomata are inherently linked to nuptial-gift-producing glands, (2) if the evolution of the glands evolution preceded that of the modified prosomal shapes, and by assessing (3) the occurrence of convergent/divergent evolution and cryptic differentiation.ResultsWe reconstructed the position and extent of the glandular tissue along with the muscular anatomy in the anterior part of the prosoma of 76 erigonine spiders and three outgroup species using X-ray micro-computed tomography. In all but one case, modified prosomata are associated with gustatory glands. We incorporated the location of glands and muscles into an existing matrix of somatic and genitalic morphological traits of these taxa and reanalyzed their phylogenetic relationship. Our analysis supports that the possession of glandular equipment is the ancestral state and that the manifold modifications of the prosomal shape have evolved convergently multiple times. We found differences in gland position between species with both modified and unmodified prosomata, and reported on seven cases of gland loss.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the occurrence of gustatory glands in sexually monomorphic ancestors has set the stage for the evolution of diverse dimorphic external modifications in dwarf spiders. Differences among congeners suggest that the gland position is highly susceptible to evolutionary changes. The multiple incidences might reflect costs of glandular tissue maintenance and nuptial feeding. Our results indicate divergent evolutionary patterns of gustatory-courtship-related traits, and thus a likely facilitating effect of sexual selection on speciation.