Altrenogest during early pregnancy modulates uterine glandular epithelium and endometrial growth factor expression at the time implantation in pigs

This study evaluated the effects of supplying altrenogest from day 6-12 of pregnancy on the endometrial glandular epithelium, corpora lutea (CL) morphology, and endometrial and CL gene expression. A total of 12 crossbred females (Landrace × Large White) were used. The females were assigned to 4 treatments according to a random design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with two categories (sow or gilt) and two treatments (non-treated and treated with altrenogest). On day 6 of pregnancy, animals were allocated to one of the following groups: non-treated (NT, n = 6; 3 sows and 3 gilts), and (T, n = 6; 3 sows and 3 gilts) treated daily with 20 mg of altrenogest, from day 6-12 of pregnancy. All animals were euthanized on day 13 of pregnancy. All CLs were individually weighed, and their volume were determined. The endometrial glandular density (GD), mean glandular area (MGA), and vascular density (VD) were determined by histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analyses. Endometrium samples were collected and analyzed by qRT-PCR to evaluate the abundance of transcripts for VEGF and IGF-I. Females in the T group had higher MGA (P < 0.05) compared to the NT group. There was no effect of treatment on GD or VD for both experimental groups. Sows in the T group had augmented expression of IGF-I (P < 0.05). Progestagen had no detrimental effect on CL morphology. In conclusion, altrenogest improves the uterine environment during the peri-implantation period in pigs without compromising corpora lutea development

Level of inclusion of barley baggage in the diet of weaned piglets on performance and intestinal health

Devido à falta de maturidade do sistema digestório frente à dieta sólida, os leitões recém- desmamados apresentam reduzida digestibilidade de nutrientes, levando à redução na absorção deles, e consequentemente a diarreia e a queda no desempenho. Na alimentação de animais não ruminantes, a suplementação de fibras dietéticas se torna cada vez mais atrativa pelo potencial em reduzir o custo da dieta e modular a microbiota intestinal. Dentre as diversas fontes de fibras advindas dos coprodutos de processos industriais, tem sido observado resultados interessantes com o uso do bagaço de cevada. O presente estudo objetivou determinar o nível de inclusão de bagaço de cevada na dieta de leitões recém-desmamados sobre o desempenho, a incidência de diarreia e a frequência fecal de Escherichia. Coli enterotoxigênica fimbrias F18 e K88 e Lawsonia intracellularis. Cento e quarenta leitões desmamados aos 21 dias de idade foram blocados pelo peso e pela sala e, divididos em quatro tratamentos, com sete repetições por tratamento. Os tratamentos consistiram em quatro níveis (0, 3, 6 e 9%) de inclusão de bagaço de cevada na dieta. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância (PROC MIXED), empregando-se o programa SAS (v. 9.3). A frequência da bactéria Lawsonia intracellularis nas fezes foi analisada usando o teste exato de Fisher. Os efeitos de tratamento foram analisados por regressão e o efeito de dias pelo teste de Tukey-Krammer, e o nível de significância considerado foi de 5%. Os leitões apresentaram desempenho, incidência de diarreia e frequência fecal de Escherichia. coli enterotoxigênica fimbrias F18 e K88 e Lawsonia intracellularis semelhantes entre os tratamentos (P&gt;0,05), apenas com diferenças entre as idades avaliadas (P&lt;0,05). Deste modo, a inclusão de bagaço de cevada em 9% na dieta de leitões recém-desmamados mostra-se viável e como uma fonte alternativa às fontes de fibras comumente utilizadas na dieta de suínos, com potencial para redução do custo de produção.Due to the lack of maturity of the digestive system when faced with to the solid diet, the weaned piglets have reduced digestibility of nutrients, leading to a reduction in their absorption, and, therefore, to diarrhea and a decrease in performance. In the feeding of non-ruminant animals, supplementation of dietary fibers becomes increasingly attractive due to its potential to reduce the cost of the diet and modulate the intestinal microbiota. Among the various sources of fibers derived from industrial process by-products, interesting results have been observed with the use of barley bagasse. The present study aimed to determine the level of barley bagasse inclusion in the diet for weaned piglets on performance, the incidence of diarrhea and the fecal frequency of Escherichia. coli enterotoxigenic fimbriae F18 and K88 and Lawsonia intracellularis. One hundred and forty piglets weaned at 21 days of age were blocked by weight and room and, divided into four treatments, with seven repetitions per treatment. The treatments consisted of four levels (0, 3, 6 and 9%) of barley bagasse inclusion in the diet. The data were submitted to analysis of variance (PROC MIXED), using the SAS program (v. 9.3). The frequency of Lawsonia intracellularis in feces was analyzed using Fisher\'s exact test. The treatment effects were analyzed by regression and the effect of days by the Tukey-Krammer test, and the level of significance considered was 5%. Piglets showed performance, incidence of diarrhea and fecal frequency of Escherichia. Coli enterotoxygenic fimbriae F18 and K88 and Lawsonia intracellularis similar between treatments (P&gt; 0.05), with only differences between the ages evaluated (P &lt;0.05). Thus, 9% of barley bagasse inclusion in the diet of newly weaned piglets proves to be viable and an alternative fiber sources to the commonly used ones in the pig diet, with the potential to reduce production costs