Purified cellulose, soybean hulls and citrus pulp as a source of fiber for weaned piglets

Dietary fiber is an important component, which has a direct effect on intake, digestion, and absorption of nutrients; and also alters intestinal microbiota and morphology according to solubility. One digestibility trial and one performance experiment were performed to evaluate the effects of sources of fiber in diets for 21 day weaned piglets. The experimental diets used in both trials consisted of a control diet and diets with purified cellulose, soybean hulls or citrus pulp as a main source of dietary fiber. To evaluate the digestibility of nutrients (Assay 1), the total feces and urine collection method was used. The fiber sources did not affect nutrient digestibility, except for soluble fiber, which increased with the inclusion of citrus (Citrus sinensisL.) pulp. To evaluate performance, morphophysiology and microbiology of the digestive tract of weaned piglets, a total of 32 castrated male piglets was used. Slaughter of animals was implemented at 35 and 50 days of age. The use of soybean (Glycine max L.) hulls and citrus pulp in diets increased the number of goblet cells and the density of villi in the jejunum. The viscosities of stomach and cecum contents increased due to the addition of citrus pulp. Soybean hulls and the citrus pulp included in diets reduced the occurrence of E. coli in the small intestines of piglets slaughtered at 35 days of age. Among the fiber sources, purified cellulose in piglet diets promotes better performance of animals, due to the modulation of the small intestine microbiota, with lower E. coli occurrence resulting in higher villus density

Increasing the viscosity of the intestinal contents stimulates proliferation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Brachyspira pilosicoli in weaner pigs

The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of increased viscosity of the intestinal digesta on proliferation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli in weaned pigs. Pigs were fed an experimental diet based on cooked white rice (R), which was supplemented with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC; 40 g/kg diet) to increase digesta viscosity. Thirty-six piglets weaned at 21 d of age were divided into six groups, three of which were fed R and three R + CMC. Addition of CMC increased digesta viscosity in the ileum (P=0.01), caecum (P=0.0007) and colon (P=0.0035), without increasing indices of large intestinal fermentation. Pigs fed R + CMC developed a natural infection with enterotoxigenic E. coli after weaning and had more (P<0.0001) diarrhoea than pigs fed R. Subsequent experimental infection of two groups of pigs with B. pilosicoli resulted in more (P<0.0001) colonisation in pigs fed R + CMC than R. At this time, all pigs fed R + CMC had wetter (P<0.0001) faeces than those fed R, irrespective of whether they were infected with B. pilosicoli, but infected pigs also had an increased (P=0.025) number of days with diarrhoea post-infection irrespective of diet. In pigs fed R + CMC, it was not clear to what extent the increased viscosity associated with CMC, or the concurrent infection with enterotoxigenic E. coli, was responsible for the increased proliferation of B. pilosicoli. In a second experiment, five pigs that were weaned onto an R diet were transferred onto R + CMC 3 weeks later. These pigs did not develop a natural infection with enterotoxigenic E. coli after the diet change, confirming the particular susceptibility of pigs to enterotoxigenic E. coli proliferation immediately post-weaning

Interactions between the intestinal microflora, diet and diarrhoea, and their influences on piglet health in the immediate post-weaning period

The piglet is subjected to many environmental, behavioural and dietary stresses immediately after weaning, and the intestinal microenvironment of the newly weaned pig is particularly precarious. With weaning comes a major change in diet that requires and induces significant changes in the types and numbers of micro-organisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as in the physiology’ and functionality of the tract. Given these circumstances, it is not surprising that the newly weaned pig is highly susceptible to enteric disease. The balance between development of a “healthy intestinal microflora or the establishment of bacterial intestinal disease can he easily tipped toward disease expression (Aumaitre et al, 1995; Nabuurs, 1995). This chapter briefly describes the basic intestinal microflora present during the post-weaning period, specific enteric diseases that can occur at this time, and some potential precipitating dietary factors. Particular emphasis is placed on Escherichia coli and its involvement in the condition known as post weaning colibacillosis (PWC), since this is the most common cause of intestinal disease in the newly-weaned pig. The role of dietary fibre in altering susceptibility to PWC receives special attention

Post-natal development of the porcine microbiota composition and activities

The current study describes the development of the porcine microbiota and its metabolic activities during the neonatal and weaning period. Using 16S rRNA-based approaches, we first analysed the ileal and colonic microbiota of neonatal piglets at days 2, 5 and 12 after birth. To further investigate the effect of weaning at 3 weeks of age, 19-day-old piglets (n = 64) were randomly allocated into two groups. Half of the piglets remained with their sows throughout the study, while the remaining piglets were weaned. As revealed by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, the samples of 2-day-old piglets harboured a consortium of bacteria related to Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Lactobacillus sobrius, Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Moreover, species-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction assays unveiled that L. sobrius and L. reuteri predominated in the ileal samples of the neonatal and unweaned piglets with population levels up to 7 × 108 cells per gram of lumen content. Following weaning, however, these two lactobacilli were detected at significantly lower levels (<103) in the ileal samples. Furthermore, a shift in composition and metabolic activities of the predominant microbiota, and emergence of clostridia and E. coli, were encountered in the intestinal samples of the piglets after the early post-weaning perio

Enhancing Psychosis-Spectrum Nosology Through an International Data Sharing Initiative.

The latent structure of schizotypy and psychosis-spectrum symptoms remains poorly understood. Furthermore, molecular genetic substrates are poorly defined, largely due to the substantial resources required to collect rich phenotypic data across diverse populations. Sample sizes of phenotypic studies are often insufficient for advanced structural equation modeling approaches. In the last 50 years, efforts in both psychiatry and psychological science have moved toward (1) a dimensional model of psychopathology (eg, the current Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology [HiTOP] initiative), (2) an integration of methods and measures across traits and units of analysis (eg, the RDoC initiative), and (3) powerful, impactful study designs maximizing sample size to detect subtle genomic variation relating to complex traits (the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium [PGC]). These movements are important to the future study of the psychosis spectrum, and to resolving heterogeneity with respect to instrument and population. The International Consortium of Schizotypy Research is composed of over 40 laboratories in 12 countries, and to date, members have compiled a body of schizotypy- and psychosis-related phenotype data from more than 30000 individuals. It has become apparent that compiling data into a protected, relational database and crowdsourcing analytic and data science expertise will result in significant enhancement of current research on the structure and biological substrates of the psychosis spectrum. The authors present a data-sharing infrastructure similar to that of the PGC, and a resource-sharing infrastructure similar to that of HiTOP. This report details the rationale and benefits of the phenotypic data collective and presents an open invitation for participation