Prevention of enteroxigenic Escherichia coli infections in pigs by dairy-based nutrition

Abstract Postweaning diarrhea (PWD) is a significant enteric disease causing considerable economic losses for the pig industry. Among several aetiological risk factors, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is considered to be a major cause. After being routinely used for several decades to control bacterial disease outbreaks in piglet, the use of antibiotics at subtherapeutic concentrations has been banned in the European Union because of the increasing prevalence of resistance to antibiotics in pigs. The removal of in-feed antibiotics from piglet diets has negative economic consequences as it dramatically increases the rate of morbidity and mortality due to ETEC as well as the use of antibiotics for therapeutic purposes. Other than subtherapeutic antibiotics, zinc oxide (ZnO) had been reported to ameliorate and/or prevent the development of PWD in piglets, but its excretion may have negative impacts on the environment. Thus, other alternatives that control ETEC infections in piglets postweaning will be of great advantage. A number of nutritional strategies have been proposed as alternative means of preventing ETEC infections, of which feeding dairy-based products to piglets could be one of such strategies. It is apparent that colostrums, milk and milk fractions such as whey and casein contain several biologically active compounds with anti-microbial and immunomodulatory properties. Recently, these dairy products and their isolated compounds such as lactoferrin and oligosaccharides have been employed as anti-infective agents against ETEC infections in iglets postweaning. The dairy by-products (e.g. whey or whey permeate) may also be fermented to further improve the anti-infective potential of the products. Overall, the anti-infective activities of dairy-based products against ETEC could be attributed to the improvement of the intestinal barrier functions, microbial ecosystem and immunity of the piglets. Keywords : Dairy-based product; Anti-microbial; Immunomodulation; Anti-infective; Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli; Postweaning diarrhea; Pigle

Web-Based IDE to Create Model and Controller Components for MVC-based Web Applications on CakePHP

A Web-based IDE that allows users to easily manage Model and Controller components of a CakePHP web application was developed. With this IDE, users are able to manage the model and controller components without having to write very much PHP code. They are able to create new model components without having to worry about creating the database tables for the models as the IDE creates them automatically. The IDE offers a simple interface for users to edit the schema of their models. Users can add or delete data from their models without dealing with the SQL insert/delete statements. The IDE also supports adding new controllers to their projects and adding models to be used by the controllers. Constructing find methods (equivalent to SQL statements) is easy because the IDE provides users with a simple interface. Users do not need to deal with the complex SQL select queries. Users can associate the models by using a simple form. The IDE also provides a code-completion feature for users when they edit the controller files. If users want to run their applications on other machines, then they can simply export their applications to a SQL file that they can run on other machines. Finally, the IDE also provides small interactive tutorials on each feature when the users use those features

Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis: Their Nutrient Contents and Bioactive Compounds for Improving Poultry Productivity

Poultry industry are facing many challenges and osbtacles especially on the supply of feed ingredients, medicines, feed supplements and additives. The high price of protein source-feed ingredients has encouraged nutritionists to explore and utilize alternative protein source-feed ingredients for poultry. This review provides an overview of their nutritional and bioactive contents and the use of microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis in poultry feed based on recent literature studies and their potential development and utilization in Indonesia. The microalgae Chlorella vulgaris dan Spirulina platensis have very high protein content that are potential as a protein source in poultry rations. In addition, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis also contain several bioactive compounds that can be used as alternatives to antibiotics growth promoter and synthetic antioxidants for poultry. Indonesia has a great potential for the production of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis, however massive cultivation and economies of scale have not yet been carried out. Such conditions make Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis less profitable as protein sources, but more likely as growth-promoting additives or antioxidants for poultry in Indonesia