Effect of unsaturated fatty acid supplementation on digestion, metabolism and nutrient balance in dairy cows during the transition period and early lactation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of unsaturated fatty acids in diets for dairy cows during the transition period and early lactation on intake, digestion and nutrient balance. Thirty-six multiparous and pregnant Holstein cows were randomly distributed to receive one of the experimental diets in the period from 35 days before the expected date of parturition to 84 days post-partum. Diets were fed as a total mixed ration and were as follows: control (C); soybean oil (SO), based on inclusion of 30 g/kg (DM basis); and calcium salts of unsaturated fatty acids (CS), based on inclusion of 30 g/kg (DM basis). Pre-partum dry matter intakes (DMI) of cows fed C, SO and CS were 11.9, 9.5 and 9.6 kg/d, respectively. Postpartum DMI was affected by experimental diets (18.5, 15.0 and 17.4 kg/d for C, SO and CS, respectively). The energy balance in the transition period of animals fed CS was 4.41 Mcal/d higher than cows fed SO and 1.3 Mcal/d higher than cows fed C. Supplementing cows with unsaturated fatty acid sources is a strategy for dairy cows in the transition perio

Contribution of citrus pulp and soybean hulls for silage quality of brewery waste

Com o objetivo de avaliar a produção da silagem e o uso de aditivos no processo de ensilagem do resíduo úmido de cervejaria, foram realizados 5 tratamentos: controle (C: ensilagem de 100% de resíduo úmido de cervejaria); PC15 (15% de polpa cítrica); PC30 (30% de polpa cítrica); CS15 (15% de casca de soja); CS30 (30% de casca de soja) – com base na matéria fresca do resíduo de cervejaria. As silagens foram confeccionadas em baldes plásticos com 252mm de altura e 245mm de diâmetro (0,06174m³), e amostras foram coletadas para análises bromatológicas, pH, nitrogênio amoniacal, digestão in vitro de matéria seca, ácidos orgânicos e perfil microbiológico. Os resultados foram analisados pelo programa computacional Statistical Analysis System (Statistical..., 1985), sendo verificada a normalidade dos resíduos pelo Teste de Shapiro-Wilk (PROC UNIVARIATE), e as variâncias, pelo Teste de Hartley. Os efeitos dos níveis de adição foram separados por meio de contrastes polinomiais utilizando o nível de significância de 5%. Houve aumento do teor de matéria seca, carboidratos solúveis, ácido lático, digestão in vitro de matéria seca, da população de bactérias ácido láticas e redução do pH, ácido butírico, propiônico e nitrogênio amoniacal a partir das inclusões de polpa cítrica e casca de soja, sendo os melhores resultados encontrados para o tratamento com inclusão de 30% de polpa cítrica (P<0,05). A ensilagem do bagaço de malte por si só é uma alternativa para o produtor rural como suporte alimentar e confecção de silagem de qualidade que pode ser incrementada com o uso de aditivos a serem avaliados de acordo com a relação custo-benefício para eficiência da produçãoIn order to evaluate the production and use of silage additives in ensiling process of brewery residue were distributed in a completely randomized 5 treatments and 4 replicates: control (C: 100% silage brewery residue); PC15 (15% citrus pulp), PC30 (30% citrus pulp), CS15 (15% soybean hulls), CS30 (30% soybean hulls) - based on the fresh matter brewer. The material was ensiled in plastic buckets with 252 mm height and 245mm in diameter (0.06174m³) and samples were collected for chemical analyzes, pH, ammonia nitrogen, digestion "in vitro" dry matter, organic acids and microbial profile. The results were analyzed by the computer program Statistical Analysis System (Statistical…, 1985), and verified the normality of residuals by the Shapiro-Wilk (PROC univariate) and the variances for the Test of Hartley. The effects of addition levels were separated by means of contrasts polynomial using a significance level of 5%. There was an increase in dry matter content, soluble carbohydrates, lactic acid, digestion "in vitro" dry matter, the population of lactic acid bacteria and reduced pH, butyric acid, propionic acid and ammonia nitrogen from the inclusion of citrus pulp and peel soybean, being the best results for the treatment including 30% of citrus pulp (P<0.05). The ensiling of spent grain by itself is an alternative for farmers as food support and making silage quality can be enhanced with the use of additives to be evaluated according to the cost: benefit ratio for production efficienc

Effects of Dietary Selenium, Sulphur and Copper Levels on Selenium Concentration in the Serum and Liver of Lamb

Thirty-two lambs were distributed in eight treatments under 2×2×2 factorial experiment to compare the effects of two levels of selenium (0.2 to 5 mg/kg dry matter [DM]), sulphur (0.25% and 0.37%) and copper (8 and 25 mg/kg DM) levels on selenium concentration in liver and serum of lambs. A liver biopsy was done on all animals and blood samples were collected from the jugular vein prior to the beginning of the treatments. The blood was sampled every thirty days and the liver was sampled after 90 days, at the slaughter. Increasing differences were noticed during the data collection period for the serum selenium concentration, and it was found to be 0.667 mg/L in animals fed with 5 mg Se/kg DM and normal sulphur and copper concentrations in their diet. However, a three-way interaction and a reduction of selenium concentration to 0.483 mg/L was verified when increasing copper and sulphur concentration levels to 25 ppm and 0.37% respectively. The liver selenium concentration was also high for diets containing higher selenium concentrations, but the antagonist effect with the increased copper and sulphur levels remained, due to interactions between these minerals. Therefore, for regions where selenium is scarce, increasing its concentration in animal diets can be an interesting option. For regions with higher levels of selenium, the antagonistic effect of interaction between these three minerals should be used by increasing copper and sulphur dietary concentrations, thus preventing possible selenium poisoning

Complex B Vitamin Improves Performance of Mediterranean Buffalo Calves in Artificial Suckling from Birth to Weaning

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ponderal development, blood parameters and hematological from buffalo calves in artificial suckling supplemented with vitamin-mineral additive from birth to weaning. 18 buffalo calves were used and divided into two random groups: 1) control group; 2) group supplemented with vitamin B complex (Metacell ®). To evaluation of the ponderal development, the calves were weighed weekly and measured the thoracic perimeter, height and body length. Blood samples were collected weekly throughout the experimental period by jugular vein puncture. The group of calves supplemented with additives showed the greatest ponderal development in relation to the control group. Similarly the group of calves supplemented with additive has higher concentration of total cholesterol, urea and total protein. However there was no additive effect on the levels of glucose, albumin and beta-hydroxybutyrate. The values of leukocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes increased with the oral use of the additive in relation to the control group. This study supports the definition of reference values for the evaluation of buffalo calves during suckling period. The additive use to buffalo calves improves ponderal performance without significantly alter the metabolic profile

Supplementation of diets for Santa Ines sheep with organic and inorganic zinc sources

This research was conducted with objective to evaluate the effect of different zinc (Zn) sources and doses in the diet for Santa Ines sheep. Forty lambs at weaning, with 18.4 kg of body weight were supplemented with three different sources of zinc (zinc oxide (ZnO), zinc amino acid and zinc proteinate) and three doses of zinc (200, 400 and 600 mg/kg DM) added to the basal diet. At every 28 days, animals were weighted and blood samples were collected for analyses of zinc (Zn), alkaline phosphatase and immunoglobulin G (IgG) and M (IgM). At the end of experiment, liver samples were collected for determination of the hepatic zinc levels. Zinc was analyzed with atomic absorption spectrophotometer, while phosphatase alkaline and immunoglobulins G and M were analyzed using Laborlab and Bioclin kits, respectively. There was no effect of diets on phosphatase alkaline levels and hepatic zinc, but there was difference in the plasmatic zinc levels and IgG and IgM levels. Based on the accumulation of hepatic zinc, the estimate of the zinc bioavailability, through the regression equation, showed that supplementation with organic and inorganic sources of zinc did not differ in the diet of Santa Ines sheep

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio