Effect of pre-fermented juice, Lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus buchneri on the fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability of high dry matter alfalfa bale silage

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of pre-fermented juice (PFJ), Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium (LP), and Lactobacillus buchneri (LB) on the fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability of alfalfa bale silage. The herbage was wilted to 602.3 g/kg dry matter (DM). Treatments of alfalfa silage included (1) control; (2) PFJ: 2.6×105 colony-forming units (cfu/g); (3) LP: 1.0×106 cfu/g Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium (Pioneer 1188, USA) and (4) LB: 1.0×106 cfu/g Lactobacillus buchneri (Pioneer 11A44) and baled, 150 days. At the end of the ensiling period, three bales of each treatment group were opened, chemical and microbiological analyses were made. Consequently, lactic acid bacteria inoculants and PFJ increased the quality of alfalfa silages. In terms of aerobic stability, PFJ and LP used had a positive effect on CO2 concentrations coliform bacteria and yeast. Also, LB inoculant decreased NDF content and increased in vitro organic matter digestibility of silages. A total number of 15 representatives of lactic acid bacterial strains were retained and among them 3 dominant genus were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum (46.66%), Lactobacillus pentosaceus (33.33%) and Lactobacillus collinoides (20%). It can be concluded that PFJ can be used as silage additive alfalfa bale silage in farm condition. © 2017, Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum. All rights reserved

Body mass index and complications following major gastrointestinal surgery: A prospective, international cohort study and meta-analysis

Aim Previous studies reported conflicting evidence on the effects of obesity on outcomes after gastrointestinal surgery. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship of obesity with major postoperative complications in an international cohort and to present a metaanalysis of all available prospective data. Methods This prospective, multicentre study included adults undergoing both elective and emergency gastrointestinal resection, reversal of stoma or formation of stoma. The primary end-point was 30-day major complications (Clavien–Dindo Grades III–V). A systematic search was undertaken for studies assessing the relationship between obesity and major complications after gastrointestinal surgery. Individual patient meta-analysis was used to analyse pooled results. Results This study included 2519 patients across 127 centres, of whom 560 (22.2%) were obese. Unadjusted major complication rates were lower in obese vs normal weight patients (13.0% vs 16.2%, respectively), but this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.863) on multivariate analysis for patients having surgery for either malignant or benign conditions. Individual patient meta-analysis demonstrated that obese patients undergoing surgery formalignancy were at increased risk of major complications (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.49–2.96, P < 0.001), whereas obese patients undergoing surgery for benign indications were at decreased risk (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46–0.75, P < 0.001) compared to normal weight patients. Conclusions In our international data, obesity was not found to be associated with major complications following gastrointestinal surgery. Meta-analysis of available prospective data made a novel finding of obesity being associated with different outcomes depending on whether patients were undergoing surgery for benign or malignant disease