Growth and slaughter performance, nitrogen balance and ammonia emission from slurry in pigs fed high fibre diets

The aim of the work was to determine digestibility, nitrogen balance and ammonia emission from excreta, in the typical Italian heavy pig during the last phase of growth, when fed diets with a high fibre content. In comparison with a traditional control diet (C), two diets with 12 and 24% wheat bran (WB12 and WB24) and two other diets with 12 and 24% dried beet pulp (BP12 and BP24) were tested. Totally 76 Landrace x Large White fattening barrows, from 45 to 170 kg live weight distributed in 16 pens, were utilized in the trial. Thirty pigs were allocated to 6 metabolic cages in 5 consecutive periods in order to have 6 observations per treatment. For diets C, WB12 and WB24 daily weight gain (DWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and slaughtering performances were also registered, on 20 pigs per dietary treatment. Growing and slaughter performances were similar for pigs fed C and WB12 diets, whilst diet WB24 determined a significant (P<0.05) decrease in performances (growth and feed conversion) in the first period of fattening and a lower dressing percentage at slaughter (85.5, 84.4 and 82.5% for C, WB12 and WB24, respectively). Comparing the diets with the same level of inclusion of the fibrous feeds, WB diets had a lower OM and energy digestibility, while BP diets registered a lower protein but a higher fibre digestibility. Consistently with other experiments, BP diets determined an increase of faecal and a reduction of urinary N, as a percentage of the intake N, as well as a decrease of ammonia emission from the slurries (- 16.6 and -25.3% for BP12 and BP24, in comparison with C diet). For the WB diets the reduction of urinary N and the increase in faecal N were less marked and a reduction of ammonia emissions was not registered

Effect of beet pulp on growing performance, digestibility, N balance, and ammonia emission in the heavy pig

A relevant aspect of pig farm units concerning the environmental impact is the ammonia emission from slurries, which is detrimental for animal (and sometimes also for human) welfare. This emission is co-responsible for acid rains, for the increase of bad smells and is detrimental for the respiratory apparatus (Portejoie et al., 2002)

Genotoxic activity of the Fumonisin B1 mycotoxin in cultures of bovine lymphocytes

The fumonisins, produced by fungi that infest foodstuffs, in particular corn, are responsible for a series of illnesses and toxicosis in various species of animals, including humans. There is still not detailed information about the genotoxic and mutagenic activity of Fumonisin B1 (FB1), but it is clear that it interferes with growth control, differentiation and cellu- lar apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of Fumonisin B1 using in vitrocultures of bovine lymphocytes, through the calculation of the ‘mitotic index’ (MI), the frequency of ‘sister chromatid exchange’ (SCE) and the ‘micronucleus test’ (MN). The bovine lymphocytes were exposed to different concentrations of FB1 (25, 50 and 100 µM) in order to find out which amount is sufficient to cause a reduction in the mitotic potential of the cells, the onset of MN and a higher frequency of SCE. The results obtained show a considerable reduction in the ‘mitotic index’ with a FB1 concentration of 50 µM, an increase in the frequency of MN with a concentration of 50 µM and a significant increase in the SCE with a concentration of 100 µM. In the light of the information we have obtained, compared with that of other Authors, we feel that the genotoxic poten- tial of FB1 has been underestimated until now and should, therefore, be reconsidered

Correlation between mechanical properties and processing conditions in rubber-toughened wood polymer composites

The use of wood fibers is a deeply investigated topic in current scientific research and one of their most common applications is as filler for thermoplastic polymers. The resulting material is a biocomposite, known as a Wood Polymer Composite (WPC). For increasing the sustainability and reducing the cost, it is convenient to increase the wood fiber content as much as possible, so that the polymeric fraction within the composite is thereby reduced. On the other hand, this is often thwarted by a sharp decrease in toughness and processability-a disadvantage that could be overcome by compounding the material with a toughening agent. This work deals with the mechanical properties in tension and impact of polypropylene filled with 50 wt.% wood flour, toughened with different amounts (0%, 10%, and 20%) of a polypropylene-based thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV). Such properties are also investigated as a function of extrusion processing variables, such as the feeding mode (i.e., starve vs. flood feeding) and screw speed. It is found that the mechanical properties do depend on the processing conditions: the best properties are obtained either in starve feeding conditions, or in flood feeding conditions, but at a low screw speed. The toughening effect of TPV is significant when its content reaches 20 wt.%. For this percentage, the processing conditions are less relevant in governing the final properties of the composites in terms of the stiffness and strength

Cocoa husks in diets of Italian heavy pigs

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cocoa husks feeding on liver composition of the Italian heavy pig. Cocoa husks are by-products derived from chocolate production and have a high content of proteins, lipids, and NDF. Cocoa husks are also rich in antioxidants, polyphenols in particular. Eight finishing pigs were divided into 2 groups: control group fed a traditional diet, based on cereals, and treatment group fed a diet obtained by substitution of 10% of the control diet with coarsely ground cocoa husks. The trial was conducted during the hot season and lasted 6 wk, at the end of which all the pigs were slaughtered. Cocoa husks diet reduced dry matter intake (P < 0.01) and energy intake (P < 0.01) but neither body weight nor backfat thickness was affected by cocoa husks diet. Treatment did not influence carcass weight and hot dressing percentage but reduced liver weight (P < 0.05), liver dry matter percentage (P < 0.01), DNA (P = 0.01), and glycogen content (P = 0.01). By contrast, cocoa husks increased liver ether extract (P = 0.05) without affecting cholesterol content. Liver weight loss, reduction of protein synthesis, and a shift toward glycogen use instead of fat oxidation are considered metabolic strategies to reduce heat production under hot conditions. It is possible, therefore, that cocoa husks feeding promoted the process of acclimation because pigs needed less feeding to reach similar body and carcass weight as control pigs

Blood parameters in fattening pigs fed whole-ear corn silage and housed in group pens or in metabolic cages

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of whole-ear corn silage (WECS) in diets for advanced fattening heavy pigs (substitution for part of the dry corn and wheat bran) allocated or not in metabolic cages on the main blood parameters. The high-moisture shelled corn is largely used in pig feeding while WECS is less often used despite the fact that it increases the DM crop yield. Three experimental diets were fed to 27 barrows (Italian Large White 7 Italian Duroc), with an average BW of 98.2 (\ub15.6) kg at the start of the trial, and randomly allotted to 3 experimental groups including a control diet (CON) containing cereal meals (corn, barley, and wheat, 80.2% DM in total), soybean meal (9% DM), wheat bran (8% DM), minerals and supplements (2.8% DM), and 2 diets containing WECS (15 or 30% DM referred to as 15WECS and 30WECS, respectively) in partial or complete substitution for wheat bran and corn meal. The pigs were randomly housed in 9 pens with 3 animals per pen and 3 pens per dietary treatment. Six pigs per each of the 3 treatments were moved from the pens to individual metabolic cages for 3 consecutive periods (2 pigs per treatment per period). Each period lasted 14 d, and blood was collected at the start and at the end of the periods. Blood was drawn from the jugular vein before feed distribution in the morning, at 14 d intervals, and analyzed for hematological, metabolic, and serum protein profiles. The effect of the metabolic cage housing was included in the statistical model to compare the results obtained in the 2 different environments of restrained and group-housed barrows. The WECS affected the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. The main diet effect on plasma metabolites was recorded for plasma NEFA, with higher values in WECS diets compared with the CON. The metabolic cage housing affected both hematological (red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit) and metabolic (protein and its fractions) items, which can be markers of hemodilution. These results indicate the possibility to use this feed in the diet of heavy pigs without negative effects on physiology. The absolute values from metabolic profile of pigs in metabolic cages must be considered with caution for possible comparisons with values obtained on-field in group pens, particularly because a different hemodilution may affect the results

Evaluating inhibition conditions in high-solids anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste

High-solids anaerobic digestion (HSAD) processes, when applied to different types of organic fractions of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), may easily be subjected to inhibition due to organic overloading. In this study, a new approach for predicting these phenomena was proposed based on the estimation of the putrescibility (oxygen consumption in 20 h biodegradation, OD20) of the organic mixtures undergoing the HSAD process. Different wastes exhibiting different putrescibility were subjected to lab-scale batch-HSAD. Measuring the organic loading (OL) as volatile solids (VS) was found unsuitable for predicting overload inhibition, because similar VS contents corresponded to both inhibited and successful trials. Instead, the OL calculated as OD20 was a very good indicator of the inhibiting conditions (inhibition started for OD20 > 17\u201318 g O2 kg^(-1)). This new method of predicting inhibition in the HSAD process of diverse OFMSW may be useful for developing a correct approach to the technology in very different contexts

Digestibility and metabolic utilization of diets containing whole-ear corn silage and their effects on growth and slaughter traits of heavy pigs

The aim was to evaluate 2 levels of dietary inclusion of chopped whole-ear corn silage (WECS) on energy and nutrient utilization, growth, and slaughter performances of heavy pigs. Two in vivo experiments were conducted to determine digestibility and metabolic utilization of WECS using 18 barrows weighing 118 +/- 8 kg BW on average, metabolic cages and respiration chambers (Exp. 1), and the effect of WECS on the growth performance and carcass traits on 42 barrows from 90 to 170 kg BW (Exp. 2). In both experiments, pigs were fed 3 experimental diets: a control diet (CON) containing cereal meals, extracted soybean meal, and wheat bran (80%, 9%, and 8% of DM, respectively) and 2 diets containing 15% (15WECS) or 30% WECS (30WECS) on a DM basis in place of wheat bran and corn meal. The diets were prepared daily by mixing the WECS to a suitable compound feed. Feed intake was always restricted to allow a daily DMI of 7.2% BW0.75 in Exp. 1 and from 8.0% to 6.5% BW0.75 in Exp. 2. Diets had similar NDF contents (15.2% to 15.8% of DM), and WECS inclusion resulted in a slight reduction in CP content (from 14.0% to 13.6% of DM) and a considerable decrease in P content (from 0.47% to 0.30% of DM). Digestibility of OM, CP, and fat was similar among diets, whereas P digestibility was lower (P < 0.05) for the 30WECS diet (33.5%) in comparison with the CON and 15WECS diets (45.5% and 44.1%, respectively). Nitrogen lost in feces and urine and N retained were not different among diets, whereas P retained decreased with the increase of WECS (5.4, 3.7, and 2.2 g/d for the CON, 15WECS, and 30WECS diets, respectively; P < 0.05). No difference among diets was observed for energy balance. The WECS contained 13.48 MJ ME and 9.39 MJ NE/kg DM. In Exp. 2, feed intake was not depressed by WECS inclusion, and the ADG for the whole experiment was not different among dietary treatments (from 737 to 774 g/d). Fecal pH was lower (P < 0.05) for the WECS diets than the control diet (7.10 and 7.00 vs. 7.40) and for the sampling at 150 kg BW than that at 130 and 110 kg BW (6.96 vs. 7.29 and 7.24). At slaughter, lean percentage in the carcass was lower in the 30WECS diet than those of the other 2 diets (46.8% vs. 48.3% and 48.6%, P = 0.05). The overall experimental data obtained in both trials indicate that substitution of wheat bran and corn meal for WECS (up to 30% of DM) does not affect, with the exception of P utilization and carcass leanness, energy and nutrient utilization and performance of heavy pigs in the last phase of growing