Performance Of Rams Research Articles

High salt diet decreases reproductive performance in rams and down-regulates gene expression of some components of the renin-angiotensin system in the testis

Although salt-tolerant plants can be used to combat dryland salinity, these plants contain high concentrations of salt (NaCl), which may have deleterious effects if fed to livestock. Twenty-four Merino rams (9 mo of age) with similar body weight were equally allocated to two groups and fed a normal- or high-salt diet (0.5 and 12% NaCl, respectively) for 3 mo. Rams fed the high-salt diet had lower live weight gains, higher water intake, smaller testes (466 ± 48.4 vs 604 ± 51.1 g) and reductions (P <0.05) in spermatogenesis, ejaculate volumes (0.89 ± 0.18 vs 1.24 ± 0.15 mL/ejaculate), sperm concentration (14.3 ± 2.05 vs 22.3 ± 2.33 × 109 sperm/mL) and DNA integrity (DNA fragmentation rate: 5.85 ± 1.09 vs 1.13 ± 0.14%) compared to controls. For in vitro fertilization, although cleavage percentage was not significantly affected, hatching rate was lower (30.8 ± 3.81 vs 52.8 ± 4.08%, P <0.05) for sperm from rams on the high-salt diet. Furthermore, the 12% salt diet decreased plasma concentrations of metabolic (leptin and insulin) and sex (T, FSH and LH) hormones, but did not affect the plasma renin-angiotensin system (RAS) component (REN, Ang II, ACE and ALD). Regarding components of the testicular RAS, the 12% salt diet decreased (P <0.05) expression of REN, Ang II and AT2 mRNA, although ACE and AT1 were unaffected. Furthermore, the 12% salt diet decreased (P <0.05) mRNA expression of key genes for spermatogenesis (Hsp70, c-kit and Cyclin A), and sex hormone receptors (AR, FSHR, LHR, CYP11A1 and CYP17A1), but there were no significant effects on key enzymes (LDH, SDH, AKP and ATPase) in the testis. In conclusion, the high-salt diet reduced ram reproductive performance; we inferred that changes in testis RAS may have had an important role in these reproductive defects.

Performance benchmarking of hypervisors- A Case Study

Objectives: Benchmark the performance of the different hypervisors using standard benchmarking tools considering the different parameters like CPU, RAM, DISK Read-Write, Network Read-Write. We use different types of hypervisors and compare the performance of hypervisors how they behave differently for above mentioned parameters. Methods/ Statistical Analysis: Experiment setup consists of three hypervisors namely Virtual Box 6.0, VMware workstation as a hosted hypervisors and Xen as a Native or bare metal hypervisor. Open source hypervisor considered for the experiment. VMware Workstation 9.0, Virtual Box 5.0 as a hosted hypervisor and Citrix Xen as the native hypervisor were considered. Stress is used as the standard benchmarking tool and Glances tool helps to collect and monitor the traces. Findings: The virtualization is carried out by the software layer called as the Hypervisor or Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). Hypervisor is widely used in cloud datacenters. Bench-mark is the measurement of best practice performance. Bench-marking is very essential term for the discovery of the best performance given by the particular system. Benchmarking can provides you the external references and the best practices on which to base your evaluations and to design your system pro-cesses which can be very useful in finding the gaps in the system to achieve the desired performance. The Bare metal Hypervisors have the direct access to the hardware resource rather than accessing resource via operating system as in hosted hypervisors. Performance analysis of desired work shows the keen differences in performance related to CPU, RAM, DISK Read-Write, and Network Read-Write performance. Results concludes that hosted hypervsors have good performance in N/W, Disk read and write because the architecturally bounded to operating system where interact with base OS while Xen as native hypervisor has a good CPU Performance because Virtual machine has direct access to hardware layer through Virtual machine manager. Improvements: We used single benchmark tool to test all parameters, it has potential to use different benchmarking tools specific to parameters like for Network Read-Write, AIO stress can be used. Further concentrates bench mark comparison of hypervisors and containers, where container adoption has increased in cloud data centers. Keywords: Benchmarking, Cloud, Glances, Hypervisors, VMware, Xen

667 Zilpaterol hydrochloride improved growth performance and some carcass characteristics in finishing ram lambs in feedlot

Twenty-four Dorper × Pelibuey ram lambs (32.19 ± 0.69 kg initial BW and 5 mo of age) were housed in individual pens during a 31-d feeding period and then slaughtered to determine the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) supplementation on productive performance, carcass characteristics, and wholesale cut yields. Lambs were assigned to 4 treatments (n = 6) under a randomized complete block design, where initial BW was used as the blocking factor. Treatments consisted of offering a basal diet and 3 different daily doses of ZH: 0 (control), 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mg/kg BW. All data collected were analyzed with ANOVA using the GLM procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Means were separated with a PDIFF STDERR statement. Significance was declared at P < 0.05 and tendency when 0.05 < P < 0.10. Final BW (P = 0.02) and ADG (P = 0.04) were greater for lambs that received 0.2 mg/kg BW. Supplemental ZH tended to improve DMI (P = 0.008) and the ADG:DMI ratio (P = 0.078). Water intake was lower (P < 0.01) in lambs supplemented with ZH. Zilpaterol hydrochloride supplementation did not affect carcass characteristics such as hot and cold carcass weight, dressing, KPH, conformation, fat thickness, carcass and leg length, thorax depth, and pH of LM at 45 min; however, cooling loss (P = 0.06) and pH at 45 min (P = 0.06) showed a trend to increase as ZH supplementation increased. Wholesale cut yields were not affected by ZH supplementation. Percentage of head was greater (P = 0.043) in lambs treated with ZH. LD area increased (P = 0.01) with ZH addition. Percentage of blood presented a trend (P = 0.051) of decreasing with ZH supplementation. Also, the liver decreased in size (P < 0.05) for treatments in which ZH was included. In conclusion, using a daily ZH dosage of 0.2 mg/kg of BW produced the best productive performance and carcass characteristics in hair-breed rams.

Optimizing web server RAM performance using birth–death process queuing system: scalable memory issue

Planning a powerful server imposes an enormous cost for providing ideal performance. Given that a server responding for web requests is more likely to consume RAM memory than other resources, it is desirable to provide an appropriate RAM capacity for optimal performance of server in congested situations. This can be done through RAM usage modeling and its performance evaluation. In the literature, modeling of RAM usage is not provided with mathematical modeling. We propose an approach to model RAM usage of such a server, based on birth–death process in this article. The model can be used to figure out an operation research problem of finding minimum RAM capacity covering intended constraints elicited from birth–death queuing system. We show how optimal RAM capacity can be obtained using our approach with an illustrative example.

Effect of feeding range plants with or without Moringa oleifera on growth performance of Sudanese Desert Rams

Twelve growing Sudanese desert rams age between 4 to 5 months with average weight of 12.10 ± 0.5 were used to evaluate the effect of feeding Moringa oleifera on feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio in a fattening study comprising of three experimental diets (mixture of range plants (RP), Moringa oleifera pods, stems and leaves (MPSL), and RP + MPSL). The rams were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments with four rams per treatment in a completely randomized desiged (CRD). The results revealed that animals on diet one (mixture of range plants) recorded the highest mean feed intake of 104.48 g/day as compared to the other treatments. Total body weight ranged from 3.3 kg in animals fed MPSL to 7.1 kg in animals fed mixture of RP + MPSL. Feed conversion ratio ranged from ranged from 0.039 to 0.082. Therefore, animals on diet three (RP + MPSL) were significantly (P<0.01) better when compared to those on RP or MPSL in terms of performance. It was concluded that, diets containing mixture of range plants + Moringa oleifera pods, stems and leaves supported better growth performance signifying that inclusion of MPSL in fattening rams diet significantly (P<0.05) reduced feed intake, improved weight gain and feed conversion ratio.

Extended day length in late winter/early spring, with a return to natural day length of shorter duration, increased plasma testosterone and sexual performance in rams with or without melatonin implants.

Sixteen rams were used to quantify the effects of long days, imposed during late winter/early spring, with or without exogenous melatonin, on plasma testosterone concentrations and ram serving capacity. Rams were assigned to two groups: photoperiod-treated rams (Artificial Photoperiod, AP; n=8), exposed to 2months of long days (16hr of light/day) between 22 December and 22 February, and control rams (Natural Photoperiod, NP; n=8). At the end of the long-day period, AP rams were returned to the natural photoperiod, and each ram in the two groups either did (+M) or did not (-M) receive three subcutaneous melatonin implants. Four groups were created as follows: AP+M (n=4), AP-M (n=4), NP+M (n=4) and NP-M (n=4). Thirty days after of the onset of photoperiodic treatment, AP rams (13.5±2.8ng/ml) had significantly (p<.05) lower testosterone levels than NP rams (36.7±1.0), and similar differences were not apparent at the end of the photoperiod treatment. A month later, AP rams (24.3±7.9) had higher (p<.10) testosterone levels than NP rams (13.1±5.0), with no effect of melatonin treatment. Fifty days after melatonin implantations, rams were exposed for 20min to three oestrous ewes. AP rams (2.50±0.42) exhibited significantly (p<.05) more serves than did NP rams (1.11±0.39), and melatonin treatment had no significant effect; however, the interaction between treatments was significant. Time to first serve was significantly (p<.05) shorter in AP (2.30±1.20min) than it was in NP rams (5.58±0.68min). In conclusion, exposure to 2months of long days in late winter/early spring, with a return to natural day length of shorter duration, increased plasma testosterone concentrations and sexual performance in rams with or without exogenous melatonin. This particular management is an option if a non-hormonal reproductive strategy is scheduled; yet, if the use of exogenous hormones is feasible, melatonin implants increase the mating efficiency of rams.

Growth performance, reproductive traits and offspring survivability of genetically modified rams overexpressing toll-like receptor 4

Genetic modification provides a means to enhancing disease resistance in animals. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a member of the TLR family, is critical for the recognition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/endotoxin from Gram-negative bacteria by host immune cells, which initiates cell activation and subsequently triggers a proinflammatory response to the invading pathogens. In this study, the first generation of genetically modified (GM) sheep overexpressing TLR4 was produced by microinjection for better disease resistance. Compared with wild-type (WT) rams, the GM rams have similar growth performance, basic semen quality and spermatozoon ultrastructure. The offspring birth rates after cervical artificial insemination were also similar between GM (90.32%) and WT (92.38%) rams. Overall, the presence and expression of the TLR4 transgene in the genome did not appear to interfere with normal semen production, reproductive traits and the ability of transgene transmission to offspring. The expression levels of TLR4, tumor necrosis factor and interferon gamma genes in monocyte/macrophages from GM sheep were significantly higher than that from WT sheep at early stages after LPS stimulation. The GM offspring born from the founder transgenic ram inseminated ewes had similar survival rate with WT offspring (88.89% vs 84.86%) at weaning. The TLR4 transgene showed no deleterious effects on growth performance, reproductive traits and offspring survivability of GM rams. Therefore, the GM sheep overexpressing TLR4 provide a powerful experimental model for analyzing function of TLR4 in vivo during infection and inflammation.

Evolution and diversity of ram-suction feeding in damselfishes (Pomacentridae)

The cerato-mandibular (c-md) ligament is a synapomorphy within Pomacentridae that creates a tight link between the lower jaws and the hyoid bars. However, this morphological trait has been secondarily lost in multiple lineages during evolution. A previous study revealed that the loss of this trait acted as a release of evolutionary constraints, leading to a cascade of morphological changes such elongated buccal jaws and a slender body. Ecomorphological interpretations suggested the loss of the c-md ligament has ultimately led to a new adaptive peak in zooplanktivory through an optimization of the ram feeding mode associated with a specialization in pelagic feeding. Here, we tested these hypotheses by comparing functional and diet diversity between damselfish species with and without the c-md ligament. Although species lacking the c-md ligament presented a conserved kinematic pattern resulting from high ram and low suction performances, our results did not support an optimization of the ram feeding mode. Indeed, some species with the c-md ligament showed the same or exceeded the ram performance of species without the c-md ligament. The species with the c-md ligament had a more diverse kinematic pattern exploring the entire ram-suction functional range in damselfishes. Finally, our results did not show any diet variations associated with the loss of the c-md ligament. Our study furthers the understanding of how a morphological trait has shaped, by its presence or absence, the ecomorpho-functional diversification of Pomacentridae.

Comparison of sexual performance and testicular characteristics of melatonin treated Kivircik and Charollais rams during the non-breeding season

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the effects of melatonin implantation on basic testicular characteristics and reproductive performance of Kivircik and Charollais rams and ewes during the non-breeding season. In this study, 8 Kivircik and 6 Charollais rams were used. Rams were implanted with 54 mg melatonin according to the manufacturer's instructions. At melatonin implantation and at ram introduction the reproductive performance and testicular characteristics were evaluated. Throughout the experimental period, rams were permanently kept outdoors under conditions of natural day length and at ambient temperature. The effects of exogenous melatonin treatments on the reproductive performances of rams and ewes, estrus response, pregnancy rate, litter size and twinning rate of ewes were evaluated in all groups. Libido values were significantly higher in Charollais rams compared to Kivircik rams (P&lt;0.001). Testicular volume (TV) was increased in both ram breeds. Scrotal length (SL) was also increased in both Kivircik and Charollais rams (P&lt;0.01). In conclusion, we showed that the treatment of rams with slow release melatonin implants increased scrotal diameters and testicular volumes in both Kivircik and Charollais rams. Furthermore, melatonin implantation improved the reproductive performances of ewes naturally mated with these melatonin implanted rams during non-breeding season.

A reduction in long-term spatial memory persists after discontinuation of peripubertal GnRH agonist treatment in sheep

Chronic gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) administration is used where suppression of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity is beneficial, such as steroid-dependent cancers, early onset gender dysphoria, central precocious puberty and as a reversible contraceptive in veterinary medicine. GnRH receptors, however, are expressed outside the reproductive axis, e.g. brain areas such as the hippocampus which is crucial for learning and memory processes. Previous work, using an ovine model, has demonstrated that long-term spatial memory is reduced in adult rams (45 weeks of age), following peripubertal blockade of GnRH signaling (GnRHa: goserelin acetate), and this was independent of the associated loss of gonadal steroid signaling. The current study investigated whether this effect is reversed after discontinuation of GnRHa-treatment. The results demonstrate that peripubertal GnRHa-treatment suppressed reproductive function in rams, which was restored after cessation of GnRHa-treatment at 44 weeks of age, as indicated by similar testes size (relative to body weight) in both GnRHa-Recovery and Control rams at 81 weeks of age. Rams in which GnRHa-treatment was discontinued (GnRHa-Recovery) had comparable spatial maze traverse times to Controls, during spatial orientation and learning assessments at 85 and 99 weeks of age. Former GnRHa-treatment altered how quickly the rams progressed beyond a specific point in the spatial maze at 83 and 99 weeks of age, and the direction of this effect depended on gonadal steroid exposure, i.e. GnRHa-Recovery rams progressed quicker during breeding season and slower during non-breeding season, compared to Controls. The long-term spatial memory performance of GnRHa-Recovery rams remained reduced (P<0.05, 1.5-fold slower) after discontinuation of GnRHa, compared to Controls. This result suggests that the time at which puberty normally occurs may represent a critical period of hippocampal plasticity. Perturbing normal hippocampal formation in this peripubertal period may also have long lasting effects on other brain areas and aspects of cognitive function.

Spatial memory is impaired by peripubertal GnRH agonist treatment and testosterone replacement in sheep

Chronic gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) is used therapeutically to block activity within the reproductive axis through down-regulation of GnRH receptors within the pituitary gland. GnRH receptors are also expressed in non-reproductive tissues, including areas of the brain such as the hippocampus and amygdala. The impact of long-term GnRHa-treatment on hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions, such as spatial orientation, learning and memory, is not well studied, particularly when treatment encompasses a critical window of development such as puberty. The current study used an ovine model to assess spatial maze performance and memory of rams that were untreated (Controls), had both GnRH and testosterone signaling blocked (GnRHa-treated), or specifically had GnRH signaling blocked (GnRHa-treated with testosterone replacement) during the peripubertal period (8, 27 and 41 weeks of age). The results demonstrate that emotional reactivity during spatial tasks was compromised by the blockade of gonadal steroid signaling, as seen by the restorative effects of testosterone replacement, while traverse times remained unchanged during assessment of spatial orientation and learning. The blockade of GnRH signaling alone was associated with impaired retention of long-term spatial memory and this effect was not restored with the replacement of testosterone signaling. These results indicate that GnRH signaling is involved in the retention and recollection of spatial information, potentially via alterations to spatial reference memory, and that therapeutic medical treatments using chronic GnRHa may have effects on this aspect of cognitive function.

English

The hydraulic ram is a device that makes use of the energy of a “water fall” to raise part of the water flow to a higher elevation by merely using the energy of the water hammer. Even though a small water volume is compressed, the device may be a solution for water supply on family farms, for home use, animal drinking troughs and watering of vegetables. Current study evaluated the performance of a hydraulic ram constructed with disposable bottles replacing the conventional air chamber model made of cast iron. Experiment was conducted at the College of Agronomic Sciences in Botucatu SP Brazil. Equipment´s performance was assessed by employing different volumes of air chambers (0.25; 0.6; 1.0 and 2.0 L) at the following pumping pressures: 70, 105, 140, 175, 210 and 245 kPa. Results showed that 0.6 and 1.0 L bottles showed higher pressure flow. Within the conditions given for polyethylene tubes, the effectiveness of the device occurred only at a maximum 1:7 ratio (slope/elevation). Key words: hydraulic ram pump, polyethylene terephthalate, outflow.

Effect of on farm supplementation of dried Sesbaniasesban (L.) leaf on performance of Abergelle rams

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of supplementation of dried Sesbaniasesban (L) leaf on supplement intake, body weight gain and cost benefit analysis of the feeding regimes for Abergellerams under farmer’s management system in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia. The experiment was carried using 21 yearling intact Abergelle rams with an initial body weight of 22.83 + 3.11Kg (mean + standard deviation). The experiment comprised 90 days of feeding trial after 14 days of adaption period. Farmers having each 3 yearling intact Abergellerams with similar body weight were first purposively identified and then from the identified farmers 7 farmers were randomly selected. Randomized complete block design with 4 treatments and 7 replications was applied. The treatments were local feeding practices (T1), local feeding practices + 250 g -1 day dried Sesbaniasesbania leaf (T2) and local feeding practices + 300 g -1 daydried Sesbaniasesbania leaf (T3). The CP of dried Sesbaniasesban leaf was 23.34%. The DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF and ADL intakes from the Sasbaniasesban leaf were significantly higher (p<0.0001) for T3 than T2. The average daily gain of Abergelle rams in T2 and T3 were significantly higher (p<0.0001) than T1 but similar in T2 and T3. The average daily gains were 28.98 g, 67.96 g and 75.71 g for T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Supplementation of dried Sesbaniasesba n leaf for Abergelle rams provide more profit compared to unsupplemented rams. Though T2 and T3 given comparable result in terms of body weight gain, the marginal rate of return suggested that supplementation of dried Sesbaniasesban leaf with 250 g -1 day than 300 g -1 day for Abergelle rams provided better economic gain and therefore, T2 is recommended as biological and economical sufficient supplementary regime for Abergelle rams.

Równania korelacyjne wydajności tarana wodnego

Równania korelacyjne wydajności tarana wodnego

A Review of NBTI Degradation and its Impact on the Performance of SRAM

Temporal degradation of VLSI design is a major reliability concern for highly scaled silicon IC technology. Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) in particular is a serious threat affecting the performance of both digital and analog circuits with time. This paper presents a review of NBTI degradation, its mechanism and various factors that affect the degradation caused by NBTI. Reaction Diffusion (RD) model based analytical expressions developed by various researchers are also discussed along with their features and underlying assumptions. Degradation in the Static RAM (SRAM) performance caused by NBTI is also discussed in detail along with the strategies that are employed to combat the effect of NBTI degradation in SRAM. Results of the review done for SRAM cell under NBTI degradation suggests that these design strategies are effective in improving the SRAM cell performance.

On RAM performance of production facilities operating under the Barents Sea harsh environmental conditions

Oil and gas (O&G) industry is expanding its activities into Arctic offshore, where is characterised with severe operating conditions and less-developed infrastructure. Such conditions affect the reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) of offshore O&G plants, operations, and activities through different scenarios. Plant RAM analysis provides key information for decision-making on, for instance, life-cycle cost management, inventory management, future investments, establishing maintenance policies, and safety-barrier management. Such decisions are of crucial value in Arctic offshore applications due to higher initial and operation costs. Therefore, a thorough evaluation and quantification of the effects of operating conditions on plant RAM performance play a significant role in such decision-making processes. In this regard, the aim of this paper is to broadly review and discuss different elements of Arctic offshore operating conditions specific to the Barents Sea, and further investigate various effects of such conditions on plant RAM. The present study provides fundamental information to academic and industrial sectors involved in the research and development of Arctic offshore O&G facilities and operations.

EFFECT OF MICROBIOLOGICAL TREATMENT ON THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF CORN SILAGE

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of microbiological treatment on improving the nutritive value of corn silage as animal feed. Dried whole corn plants were prepared and two ground silos (0.5 ton each) wereused for ensiling whole corn silage and inoculated by bacterial inoculant (containing Lactobacillus plantarum and Entrococcus faecium) at the recommended rate of 1/2g bacterial inoculants/liter of water/ton of fresh whole corn silage. The ensiling period lasted for 50 days. The criteria of response were determined by: the quality of treated corn silage, chemical characteristics and performance of rams, nutrients digestibility and nitrogen balance. Results for treated and untreated silage, respectively, showed that the silage had pH 3.71 and 3.69, Total Volatile Fatty Acids (TVFA) were 2.48 and 1.98 mmol/100ml, and NH3-N values were 6.1% and 6.41% (on dry matter basis). The values of organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE), nitrogen free extract (NFE) and ash content on dry matter basis, however, were very close in the two rations. There were no significant differences between the two rations for the dry matter (DM). The value of CF digestibility was not significantly different from that in treated corn silage, while ration contents of treated corn silage were significantly higher in OM, CP, NFE and EE digestibility than the untreated corn silage. Recorded values for total digestible nutrients (TDN) and starch value (SV) of rations of treated corn silage were significantly higher than those of untreated corn silage being 52.64 and 63.37 vs. 43.53 and 56.09%, respectively. The digestible crude protein (DCP) values were (7.43%) for ration of treated corn silage by 5.96% for the ration of untreated corn silage.

Cognitive Enhancing Effect ofMurraya koengiiLeaves by Radial Arm Maze Test in Rats

The study was designed to assess the cognitive enhancing potential of Murraya koengii leaves by using radial arm maze test in albino rats. The radial arm maze test consists of a total 7 days session. During first 6 days training session (habituation phase) rats were placed individually in the central hub and were allowed to choose the arm containing the food freely for a period of 5 minutes. The time taken by each rat to find the food was considered to assess RAM performance. Latency to find the food was noted as an index of memory. The same procedure was repeated with test and standard treated rats after one hour of administration of murraya koengii chloroform extract 100 mg/kg and Piracetam 200 mg/kg. After 6 days training session, 7th day session includes induction of short term memory loss in control rats by administration of propofol 0.5 ml/200g (amnesia inducer) followed by latency to find the food is noted for a period of 5 minutes for each rat. Repeat the same propofol treatment on 7th day for test and standard treated rats after 1 hr of administration of extract (Murraya koenigii 100mg/kg) and piracetam (200mg/kg) and the latency to find was recorded for 5 minutes. It was found that the latency to find food on 7th day of radial arm maze test in control rats after administration of propofol is 2.59 seconds, whereas latency to find food with test extract treated rats on 7th day was found to be 2.20 seconds. This suggests that decrease in the latency for food (sec) with Murraya koengii leaves extract has significantly increased the memorizing ability of rats to find food. Hence it indicates that Murraya koenigii leaves at a dose of 100mg/kg produces significant cognitive enhancing potential in albino rats. However the memory enhancing potential of Murraya koenigii leaves was found to be lesser that standard drug piracetam (latency for food 2.05 seconds) in Radial arm maze test.

Effect of plant extract of Tribulus terrestris and probiotics on the reproductive performance, total cholesterol and testosterone hormone levels of rams

Effect of plant extract of Tribulus terrestris and probiotics on the reproductive performance, total cholesterol and testosterone hormone levels of rams

Growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of West African dwarf rams fed diets supplemented with water-washed neem fruit and/or yeast

This study was conducted to determine the growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of rams fed diets containing water-washed neem (Azadirachta indica) fruits with or without baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplementation. Twelve West African Dwarf (WAD) rams (19.88±3.37kg) were assigned to one of three dietary groups with 4 animals per group in a complete randomized design. Each group received a total mixed ration with one of the following: YS: (5.0g of yeast per animal per day); NF: (5.0% water-washed neem fruit inclusion in the diet) and YS/NF: (5.0% water-washed neem fruit inclusion in the diet and 5.0g of yeast per animal per day). The animals were fed at 5% of their body weight. At the end of the 56 days feeding trial, three animals per treatment were slaughtered after being starved for 16 hours and evaluated for carcass characteristics and meat quality. Average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake and feed efficiency were significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher in YS/NF compared to other treatments. Ribeye area was higher (P&lt;0.05) in NF than YS. The dressing percentage, percentage of neck, brisket, leg and meat were not significantly (P&gt;0.05) affected by the treatments. Water-washed neem fruits significantly (P&lt;0.05) increased the percentage of flank and rack. The proportion of bone was similar in YS and YS/NF but significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher than NF. Meat-bone ratio was similar in YS and YS/NF but significantly (P&lt;0.05) lower than NF. Significant (P&lt;0.05) reduction was observed in the proportion of fat. No significant (P&gt;0.05) difference was observed in the proportion of meat in all the treatments. There were no significant (P&lt;0.05) differences in meat marbling, cold loss and thermal shortening across the treatments except thermal loss which was lowest in NF. Cold shortening was similar in NF and YS/NF but higher (P&lt;0.05) than YS. Water holding capacity was similar in YS and YS/NF but higher than NF. NF, though similar to YS was on the overall more acceptable (P&lt;0.05) than YS/NF. The treatments did not significantly (P&gt;0.05) affect the DM, CP and ash content of the meat. However, ether extract and cholesterol components were similar in NF and YS/NF but significantly lower (P&lt;0.05) than YS. These results showed that the inclusion of water-washed neem fruit and baker’s yeast in the diet of WAD rams impacted positively on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of rams without any negative effect except for low water holding capacity which may influence the type of meat product such meat can be used for.Key words: Yeast, water-washed neem fruit, performance, carcass characteristics, meat qualities, West African Dwarf ram.