Feeding Bacillus-based probiotics to gestating and lactating sows is an efficient method for improving immunity, gut functional status and biofilm formation by probiotic bacteria in piglets at weaning

The effects of dietary probiotic supplementation with viable Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spores on sow performance, immunity, gut functional status and biofilm formation by probiotic bacteria in piglets at weaning were investigated. Ninety-six sows reared in a continuous farrowing system for one full cycle were fed gestation diets during the first 90 d of pregnancy and lactation diets until the end of lactation. The sows were fed a basal diet without probiotics (control; n = 48) or a diet supplemented with viable spores (1.1 × 109 CFU/kg of feed) (probiotic; n = 48). At 7 d of age, sucking piglets (n = 12/group) were provided prestarter creep feed until weaning at 28 d of age. The piglets in the probiotic group were supplemented with the same probiotic and dosage as their dams. Blood and colostrum collected from sows and ileal tissues collected from piglets on the day of weaning were used for analyses. Probiotics increased the weight of piglets (P = 0.077), improved the weaning weight (P = 0.039) and increased both the total creep feed consumption (P = 0.027) and litter gain (P = 0.011). Probiotics also improved the faecal score in the second (P = 0.013) week of life. The immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations in sow blood at farrowing and the IgM concentrations in piglet blood at weaning were higher in the probiotic group than in the control group (P = 0.046). The piglets from the probiotic-treated sows showed a higher IgM concentration in the ileal mucosa (P = 0.050) and a lower IgG concentration in the ileal mucosa (P = 0.021) compared with the piglets from control sows. The probiotic-treated piglets had a thicker ileal mucosa (P = 0.012) due to the presence of longer villi and larger Peyer's patches (P < 0.001). B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens were detected in the probiotic-treated piglets but not the control piglets; these bacteria were present in the digesta and villus structures and formed structures resembling biofilms. Overall, Bacillus-based probiotic supplementation improves the health indices of sows and their piglets

Measurement of pion, kaon and proton production in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The measurement of primary $$\pi ^{\pm }$$π±, $$K^{\pm }$$K±, $$p$$p and $${\overline{{p}}}$$p¯ production at mid-rapidity (|y| &lt;|y|&amp;lt; 0.5) in proton–proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}$$s$$=$$= 7 TeV performed with a large ion collider experiment at the large hadron collider (LHC) is reported. Particle identification is performed using the specific ionisation energy-loss and time-of-flight information, the ring-imaging Cherenkov technique and the kink-topology identification of weak decays of charged kaons. Transverse momentum spectra are measured from 0.1 up to 3 GeV/$$c$$c for pions, from 0.2 up to 6 GeV/$$c$$c for kaons and from 0.3 up to 6 GeV/$$c$$c for protons. The measured spectra and particle ratios are compared with quantum chromodynamics-inspired models, tuned to reproduce also the earlier measurements performed at the LHC. Furthermore, the integrated particle yields and ratios as well as the average transverse momenta are compared with results at lower collision energies. © 2015, CERN for the benefit of the ALICE collaboration