Contributors

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Library of Estonia organized a Conference on Union Catalogs which took place in Tallinn, in the National Library of Estonia on October 17–19, 2002. The Conference presented and discussed analytical papers dealing with various aspects of designing and implementing union catalogs and shared cataloging systems as revealed through the experiences of Eastern European, Baltic and South African research libraries. Here you can find the texts of the conference papers and the list of contributors and participants.The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Library of Estonia organized a Conference on Union Catalogs which took place in Tallinn, in the National Library of Estonia on October 17–19, 2002. The Conference presented and discussed analytical papers dealing with various aspects of designing and implementing union catalogs and shared cataloging systems as revealed through the experiences of Eastern European, Baltic and South African research libraries. Here you can find the texts of the conference papers and the list of contributors and participants

A vastagbél szerepének áttekintése különböző gazdasági állatoknál

A gasztrointesztinális traktus (GIT) a test és a külső környezet közötti interfészként szolgál. Egy rendkívül speciális szervrendszer, amelynek legfontosabb feladata a szervezet tápanyagigényének kielégítése az emésztésen keresztül. A bélmikroflórát a szervezetre gyakorolt ismert hatása miatt az "elfelejtett szervnek" is nevezik. Valószínűleg a leginkább tanulmányozott szimbiotikus rendszer. A hosszú távú kölcsönhatások révén a gazdaszervezet és a mikroorganizmusok között egymástól való függés jött létre. Jelentősége gazdasági állataink esetében is nagy. A bélben lévő mikroflóra ökoszisztéma jellemzői befolyásolhatják a bél lumenének morfológiáját, metabolikusan módosíthatják a lumenben lévő exogén és endogén tápanyagokat, az immunrendszer működését, aktív szerepet játszhatnak a patogén kontrollban, és befolyásolhatják az állat takarmány igényeit. Ha egy állat mikroflóra ökoszisztémája instabil, a tápanyag forgalom veszélybe kerül. A tanulmány elsődleges célja a vastagbél, valamint a mikroflóra jelentőségének bemutatása

Impacts of Age, Genotype and Feeding Low-Protein Diets on the N-Balance Parameters of Fattening Pigs

The effects of feeding low-protein (LP) diets and the age and genotype of fattening pigs were evaluated in an N-balance trial. Sixty weaned piglets of two genotypes were allotted to three different diets. Besides the control diets for the crossbred Topigs 20 × DanBred Duroc (TD) and Hungarian Large White (HLW) pigs, two LP diets were fed containing 1.5 (T1.5) and 3% (T3) less dietary protein than the control. The LP diets were supplemented with crystalline lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and methionine to equalize their digestible amino acid contents. Starter diets were fed between 20–30, grower I between 30–40, grower II between 40–80 and finisher between 80–110 kg live weights. Pigs were kept in floor pens, with 10 animals per pen. In all phases, six pigs with similar live weight were placed into individual balance cages and in the frame of a seven-day long balance trial, the daily N-intake, fecal and urinary N-excretion were measured. From the data N-digestibility, the total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) and N-retention were calculated. All the investigated main factors, the genotype and age of pigs and the protein content of the diets had significant effects on the N-balance of fattening pigs. The determinacy of the factors depended on the investigated parameter. Fecal N-excretion and N-digestibility were steadier compared with the urinary N-exertion and TAN percentage. N-digestibility increased and the urinary N-excretion decreased when LP diets were fed. The urinary N-decreasing effect of LP diets was not linear. Compared with the control (19.6 gN/day), T1.5 treatment resulted in 14.5, treatment T3 in 12.4 g daily urinary N-excretion. The TAN and the N-retention of HLW pigs were more favorable than those of TD pigs. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the accuracy of the nitrogen and TAN excretion values of pigs, used in the calculation of the national NH3 inventories, could be improved if the genotype, the more detailed age categories and the different protein levels of feeds are considered

New research results on the bacterial communities of the digestive tract in domestic chickens

SUMMARY From the results of metagenomic research studies, we are just beginning to understand the positive and negative effects of the microbiome on the host. Metagenomics is the study of genetic materials from environmental or host-associated microbiota to identify the microbial diversity and its functions. These new sequencing techniques aim at analysing not only the human microbiome, but also that of the most commercial animal species, including poultry. High-throughput sequencing technologies have facilitated studies of the microbiome complex by allowing more comprehensive identification of microbes than traditional culture methods. Poultry digestive tract has significant bacterial activity, which can be seen as a unique complex microbial ecosystem. Microbial com-munity in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) plays an important role in overall health and function of host, be it in human or animals. Newly developed sequencing platforms such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) have allowed the important researches into the diversity and functions of gut microbiota of various livestock animals. Beginning in the chicken crop, starch breakdown, and lactate fermentation are mediated by various Lactobacillus spp. at cell densities up to 109/g. Lactobacillialso dominate the proventriculus, and the gizzard. In the gizzard, where the majority of mechanical and chemical breakdown of feed is performed, the low pH of gastric juices containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin decrease the total number of cells below 108 /g. The small intestine harbours large (108–109 /g) bacterial populations dominated by Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and various Clostridiaceae. The most abundant groups in the chicken caeca were found to be Clostridiaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Lactobacillus and Proteobacteria.In our article, the latest research results on the gastrointestinal microbiome of the domestic chicken are reviewed