Kinetics of transit and degradation of the fiber from guinea grass silages enriched with waste from soybean pre-cleaning

The objective was to study the kinetics of transit and degradation of the fiber from guinea grass and the waste from soybean pre-cleaning (WSPC), ensiled with different proportions of mass (0, 100, 150, and 200 g WSPC/kg total mass). Four crossbred (Gyr × Holstein), fistulated cattle with an average body mass of 400±50 kg were organized in a 4 × 4 Latin square experimental design. The fiber utilized in the study of the transit kinetics was stained with chromium mordant, whereas the in situ technique was adopted for the degradation kinetics. The level of inclusion of WSPC only affected the true digestibility and the mean retention time. The addition of waste from soybean pre-cleaning to the silage of guinea grass is beneficial, in terms of kinetics of digestion and passage, at up to levels close to 100 g/kg, because after this quantity the fiber digestion and passage in and through the reticulo-rumen are impaired and there may be alterations in the ruminal environment that will affect the use of silage by animals

Heterogeneity of the digestible insoluble fiber of selected forages in situ

AbstractLong-term in situ incubations were performed to verify the likelihood of the heterogeneity concept of the potentially digestible fraction of the insoluble fiber (NDFom) by fitting both heterogeneous and homogeneous potentially digestible NDFom versions of a generalized compartmental model of digestion (GCMD). Corn silage and eleven tropical grasses and alfalfa hay were studied. Data were gathered from a study in which forage samples in nylon bags were incubated in rumen cannulated steers so that three profiles per forage were generated. The incubation endpoint was used to form sets of time profiles. The original set consisted of profiles ending at 1440h, and the other two were formed by using 96 and 240h as the incubation endpoints, respectively. The indigestible residue was estimated using nonlinear least squares or by assuming it to be 2.4 times lignin determined by the sulphuric acid method (Lignin (sa)). Therefore, eight different models were evaluated by combining end points of digestion, and the homogeneous and heterogeneous versions of GCMD with the two ways of estimating the indigestible residue. The likelihood of the models was assessed by computing Akaike information criteria. The effects of forage, model, and their interaction were analyzed by taking model as a repeated measurement. Heterogeneity of the potentially degradable fraction for NDFom was detected with long-term incubation trials (up to 1440h) for some forages, and the introduction of the 2.4×Lignin (sa) as a direct measure of the indigestible residue improved the likelihood of the heterogeneous version of GCMD. The forage by model interaction was significant for many comparable parameter estimates, which means that specific and inconsistent results for models within forages were produced depending on the definition of the incubation end-point. The indigestible residue was overestimated with short-term incubation profiles, but the overestimation was lower for the profiles ending at 240h whether compared to profiles ending at 96h. Given the likelihood of the heterogeneous version of GCMD fitted to profiles ending at 1440h and at 240h for some forages, the heterogeneity concept should be investigated whenever the research interest relies on estimating the kinetic attributes of the degradation profiles of the NDFom in situ

Rumen degradation and passage kinetics of silage made from different corn hybrids

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the parameters related to the digestion of the fiber from silages of four corn hybrids (BX1280, SHS4070, 2B433, and DKB390) developed for silage production. Four rumen-cannulated castrated Holstein × Zebu crossbred cattle with approximate initial weight of 400 kg were distributed in a Latin square design. To determine the fiber passage rate and degradability, the techniques of chromium-mordant and in situ incubation of the neutral detergent fiber of the silages in nylon bags were used. The profiles of concentration of the marker in the feces were described by the generalized two-compartment model. Corn hybrid DKB390 is the most indicated for production of better-quality silages, because its fiber is more degradable in the rumen as compared with the other hybrids tested

Particle passage kinetics and neutral detergent fiber degradability of silage of pineapple waste (aerial parts) under different packing densities

The objective of this study was to determine the kinetics of in situ degradability parameters of the dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and the passage of materials originating from the ensilage of the waste from pineapple cultivation (aerial parts). The four treatments utilized were silage of pineapple waste compacted at 600, 700, 900 and 1000 kg/m³. After ensiling the material from the pineapple cultivation, the particle-transit and rumen-degradation kinetics were analyzed. For the analysis of particle transit, chromium was utilized as a marker to mark the fiber. Passage rates were determined by retrieving the markers in the feces of the animals. In the degradation assay, samples were incubated in nylon bags for 0, 6, 18, 48 and 96 hours. The behavior observed in the regression curves of the variables analyzed describes high correlation between them, i.e., the time during which the silage is retained in the rumen influences its digestibility and its degradation rate. Although the silage compacted at 900 kg/m³ shows a larger potentially digestible fraction, it is recommended that it be ensiled at a compaction density of approximately 750 kg/m³ due to the lower cost and shorter mean retention time in the rumen-reticulum and rumen fill, thereby increasing the ruminal degradation and passage dynamics

Thoracic limb bone development in Sotalia guianensis (Van Beneden 1864) along the coastline of Espírito Santo, Brazil

The skeleton is often the only remaining structure of the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis, after decomposition of carcasses. This study investigates the bone development of Guiana dolphins beached on the coastline of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. External measurements of 43 thoracic limbs were obtained. Internal structures (radius, ulna, and humerus) were also measured. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to evaluate bone mass. The variables concerning the thoracic limb were tested using the Akaike information criterion to scale the best growth model when correlated with age and by the allometric model when they were correlated with total body length. The efficacy of DXA was also tested. The Brody growth model (best fit) showed that the thoracic limb stopped growing around the age of 2, while total body length ceased to grow at the age of 5.5. The thoracic limb presented early growth (negative allometry) compared with total body length. The methodology used to measure bone mass was efficient when considering ash weight. No difference in bone density was observed between the right and the left forelimb (P > 0.05), male and female (P > 0.05), or between dolphins found in the 3 sites we monitored. The deposition of bone mass was high in the early stages of life, and stabilization occurred at around the age of 13.O esqueleto muitas vezes é a estrutura que resta da espécie Sotalia guianensis, boto-cinza, devido ao processo de decomposição em que as carcaças são encontradas. O objetivo do presente estudo é entender o desenvolvimento ósseo dos animais encontrados encalhados no litoral do Espírito Santo. Para isso, 43 pares de nadadeiras peitorais foram submetidos às mensurações externas e de estruturas ósseas internas (rádio, ulna e úmero) e à técnica de absorciometria de raio-x de dupla energia (DEXA) para massa óssea. As variáveis das nadadeiras foram testadas pelo critério de Akaike para escalonamento do melhor modelo de crescimento quando correlacionadas com a idade, e para o modelo alométrico quando correlacionadas com o comprimento total (CT). Foi testada a eficácia da DEXA. através do modelo de crescimento de Brody (melhor ajuste) e pode-se observar que as nadadeiras param de crescer por volta dos 2 anos de idade e o comprimento total do corpo aos 5.5 anos, apresentando essas estruturas crescimento precoce (alometria negativa) em relação ao CT. A metodologia aplicada para mensuração da massa óssea mostrou-se eficaz quando correlacionada com peso das cinzas. Não houve diferença de densidade óssea entre nadadeira direita e esquerda (P > 0.05), macho e fêmea (P > 0.05) e nem entre os animais dos três diferentes locais de ocorrência, pois todos estavam dentro do mesmo intervalo de confiança. A deposição da massa óssea é acentuada no início da vida com posterior estabilização por volta dos13 anos de idade

Yield and quality of silage of maize hybrids

The objective of this research was to identify the potential of maize hybrids for the production of silage. Hybrids 1671B, 2B433, 20A78, SHS4070, BX1280 and DKB390 were tested in a randomized block design with three replications. The hybrids yields were evaluated (average plant height, height of ear insertion, number of broken and lodged plants/ha, leaf:stem and ear:plant ratio and production of of DM, CP and TDN/ha). There was no difference between hybrids for the variables studied, except for the height of ear insertion. With respect to chemical characteristics, N-NH3/NT organic acids, and pH, there was also no difference between cultivars and hybrid silages are rated as of very good quality