Response of primiparous and multiparous buffaloes to yeast culture supplementation during early and mid-lactation

Strains of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast have exhibited probiotic effects in ruminants. This study investigated the effects of the dietary yeast supplement, S. cerevisiae (Yea-Sacc1026), on primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) Egyptian buffaloes in early to mid-lactation. Lactating buffaloes were fed either a basal total mixed ration (TMR, control; 4 PP and 8 MP) or the basal TMR plus 10 g Yea-Sacc1026 per buffalo cow per day (yeast; 4 PP and 8 MP). The feeds were given from 15 days prepartum to 180 days postpartum. Feed intake, body weight, and milk yields (MY) were recorded, and milk and blood samples were collected for analyses. Feces were collected from days 45 to 47 during early lactation and from days 90 to 92 during mid-lactation to determine apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF). Energy corrected milk yield (ECM), feed conversion, and energy and nitrogen conversion efficiency were calculated. Yeast treated MP buffaloes consumed more DM (P ≤ 0.041) and CP than the untreated control group. Apparent digestibility of DM and OM were significantly greater at mid-lactation for treated versus control group (P = 0.001). Crude fiber digestibility was greater in MP than in PP buffaloes (P = 0.049), and yeast supplemented MP cows had a greater CF digestibility than control MP buffaloes at mid-lactation (P = 0.010). Total blood lipids decreased after yeast supplementation (P = 0.029). Milk yields, ECM, fat and protein yields increased for yeast treated MP buffaloes (P ≤ 0.039). The study concluded that the response to yeast supplementation in buffalo cows is parity dependent. Multiparous buffaloes respond to yeast supplementation with an increased DM intake and CF digestibility without significant weight gains, allowing a greater ECM yield with less fat mobilization. Supplementing buffaloes with yeast culture may increase milk production in early lactation and results in a more persistent milk production during mid-lactation. Feed conversion and energy and nitrogen conversion efficiency may be increased with the use of yeast supplementation in Egyptian buffaloes

An Intersecting Cortical Model Based Framework for Human Face Recognition

This paper introduces a novel method for human face recognition based on a simplified approach for the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN) Algorithm. The face image is introduced to the Intersecting Cortical Model (ICM) to be iterated 200 times, and then the time signals for the faces are compared to make a decision. Experimental results for human face recognition confirm that the proposed method lends itself to higher classification accuracy relative to existing techniques

Effect of dietary supplementation of betaine and organic minerals on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, nutrients digestibility, and growth-related genes in broilers under heat stress

Global warming and climate changes have a detrimental impact on poultry production, causing substantial economic losses. This study investigated the effects of incorporating dietary betaine (BT) and organic minerals (OMs) on broilers’ performance as well as their potential to mitigate the negative impacts of heat stress (HS). Six hundred 1-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated to 12 experimental treatments with 5 replicates of 10 birds each (5 male + 5 female). The birds were provided with diets containing BT (0 and 2,000 ppm) and OMs (0, 250, and 500 ppm), either individually or in combination, under both thermoneutral and HS-inducing temperatures. The HS conditions involved exposing the birds to cyclic periods of elevated temperature (35°C ± 2°C) for 6 h daily, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, starting from d 10 and continuing until d 35. The exposure to HS deteriorated birds’ growth performance; however, dietary BT and OMs inclusion improved the growth performance parameters bringing them close to normal levels. Carcass traits were not affected by dietary supplementation of BT, OMs, HS, or their interaction. Interestingly, while HS led to increased (P < 0.05) levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), these adverse effects were mitigated (P < 0.05) by the addition of BT and OMs. Moreover, dietary BT supplementation led to elevated serum total protein and globulin concentrations. Cyclic HS did not alter Mn, Zn, and Cu contents in the pectoral muscle. However, the incorporation of OMs at both levels increased concentrations of these minerals. Notably, the combination of 500 ppm OMs and 2,000 ppm BT improved Mn, Zn, Cu, and Fe digestibility, which has been compromised under HS conditions. Cyclic HS upregulated gene expression of interleukin-1β, heat shock protein 70, and Toll-like receptor-4 while downregulated the expression of claudin-1, uncoupling protein, growth hormone receptor, superoxide dismutase 1, glutathione peroxidase 1 and insulin-like growth factor 1. The aforementioned gene expressions were reversed by the combination of higher dietary levels of BT and OMs. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of 500 ppm OMs along with 2,000 ppm BT yielded significant improvements in growth performance and mineral digestibility among broiler chickens, regardless of thermal conditions. Moreover, this combination effectively restored the expression of growth-related genes even under heat-stress conditions