Effects of chemical treatments of barley straw on leaching, and digestibility by rumen fluid and cellulolytic bacteria

Effects of chemical treatments on in sacco and in vitro digestibility of barley straw by rumen fluid and pure cultures of celluloytic bacteria were studied to evaluate the pretreatment and to improve the poor quality feed. Chemicals were applied by dissolving them in water equivalent to 40% of the weight of the straw (dry matter basis). Pretreatment with 5% NaOH yielded the largest increase in sacco digestion followed by pretreatment with 2% (NH4)2SO3, 2.6% NH4OH, 1.6% NaHSO3 and untreated straw (control). In sacco dry matter digestibility of straw treated with NaOH and (NH4)2SO3 continued to increase as the concentration of chemical increased (1 to 7.5%), as it was the in vitro dry matter loss by leaching. Treatment of barley straw with 5% NaOH enhanced significantly (p<0.01) in vitro digestibility by rumen fluid, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus albus though the fermentation products by celluloytic bacteria were low, whereas the treatment with 5% (NH4)2SO3 inhibited in vitro digestibility by F. succinogenes and R. albus together with lower fermentation products. Dry matter loss by leaching and bacterial digestion from barley straw treated with NaOH and (NH4)2SO3 suggested the effect of pretreatment with these chemicals were based on leaching, and the celluloytic bacteria had little to do with digestion

Effects of Isotricha, Dasytricha, Entodinium, and total fauna on ruminal fermentation and duodenal flow in wethers fed different diets

The objective was to measure rumen fermentation and duodenal flow of amino acids and nonammonia N components in five groups of five ruminally and duodenally cannulated wethers that were fauna-free, or inoculated with the ciliate protozoa genera of Isotricha, Dasytricha, Entodinium, or a normal population (total) of fauna. They were used in two 25-d periods and fed a haycrop-based diet in the first period and a corn silage-based diet in the second period. Feces, duodenal digesta, and rumen contents were sampled in each period and analyzed. The number of Entodinium in wethers containing the Entodinium monofauna was higher than the total protozoa numbers, including Entodinium, in wethers containing total fauna population. The type of diet or fauna did not affect total volatile fatty acid concentrations in rumen fluid. The ammonia N concentration in rumen fluid was higher in wethers containing total fauna (25 mg/100 ml) than in fauna-free wethers fed the two diets (18 and 12 mg/100 ml). In comparison with the respective fauna-free wethers, the concentration of ammonia in wethers containing Entodinium was higher when fed the corn silage diet, but not different when fed the haycrop diet. Ruminal presence of total fauna or Entodinium decreased the nonammonia N by 16 and 17%, and total amino acid flows from the stomach by 20 and 19%, respectively. Flow of bacteria Nwas decreased in wethers fed the two diets when Entodinium or total fauna were present in the rumen. The presence of Isotricha resulted in higher flow of bacteria N in wethers fed the haycrop diet, but the presence of Dasytricha resulted in higher bacteria N flow in wethers fed the corn silage diet. Entodinium was the most detrimental of ciliate protozoa species concerning protein nutrition of the host ruminant

Robotic neurorehabilitation: a computational motor learning perspective

Conventional neurorehabilitation appears to have little impact on impairment over and above that of spontaneous biological recovery. Robotic neurorehabilitation has the potential for a greater impact on impairment due to easy deployment, its applicability across of a wide range of motor impairment, its high measurement reliability, and the capacity to deliver high dosage and high intensity training protocols

Comparison of the ruminal metabolism of nitrogen from 15N-labeled alfalfa preserved as hay or as silage

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