Factors Affecting Rumen Fermentation Using Batch Culture Technique

The method of batch culture has been widely applied to evaluate feed value and screen feed additives. The advantages of using this in vitro technique as compared to in vivo methods are many, including low cost, simplicity, requirement of small quantities of feed or additives and the ability to screen large numbers of samples under similar experimental conditions. However, the number of factors associated with the batch culture could alter fermentation outcomes. This chapter discusses the potential impact of series factors on in vitro fermentation and the considerations on improving application of batch culture in ruminant nutrition. The factors that are discussed include inoculum source, gas-recording methods, substrate particle size, substrate delivery method, ratio of rumen inoculum to buffer in mixture of media and addition of soluble carbohydrate in media. Some recent important results obtained using batch culture technique have been highlighted and discussed. Any particular batch system being accepted as the ‘standard’ procedure seems difficult. However, before any protocol can be adopted, sufficient data need to be developed to reduce the variation and improve the consistence of the measurements

Quality Assessment of Feed Wheat in Ruminant Diets

With adverse growing and harvesting conditions as well as the fluctuation of grain pricing, there have increased supplies of feed wheat used as livestock feed. However, the majority of wheat has been used as feed for poultry and swine, and ruminant producers have been reluctant to use large quantities of wheat because feeding wheat increases the risk of rumen acidosis due to rapid wheat starch digestion in the rumen. To avoid this problem, animal producers often believe that they must limit the amount of wheat in the diet to 50% or less. This chapter summarizes some research findings published in peer reviewed and extension articles on the use of feed wheat in ruminant diets. Substantial variation in physical and chemical composition exists among wheat samples, which are mainly influenced by type of wheat, variety and environmental conditions. Feed values of wheat are largely influenced by its physical properties and nutrient content; however, grain processing as well as its interaction with the physical characteristics is a critical consideration to optimize wheat utilization in ruminant diets. Wheat grain can be fed to animals at higher than typically used in the current livestock industry if proper bunk management and processing are employed

Use of Wheat Distiller Grains in Ruminant Diets

Wheat grain is commonly used to produce ethanol in Canada and Europe. During ethanol production processing, starch in the grain is fermented almost completely, and the remaining protein, fibre, fat, minerals and vitamins increase approximately 3-fold in concentration compared to the original grain. By-product derived from the ethanol production is named distiller grain and primarily used in feeding livestock animals. Wheat-based distiller grain is high in energy, protein and fibre. These properties give wheat distiller grain unique feeding opportunities for various classes of livestock as both energy and protein supplements as well as fibre source. This chapter summarizes some recent research findings published in peer reviewed and extension chapter on the use of wheat distiller grain in ruminant diets. Substantial variation in chemical composition exists among the distiller grain samples, which are mainly influenced by inherent original grain and technology used in ethanol plant. Wheat distiller grain can be used to partly replace grain or forage portion at moderate levels to meet energy and fibre requirements of cattle. A manure management plan needs to be developed that considers the fact that inclusion of wheat distiller grain in the diet will dramatically increase the nitrogen and phosphorus content in manure

Effects of Grain Processing with Focus on Grinding and Steam- Flaking on Dairy Cow Performance

Milk production and milk components are of prime economic importance for dairy farmers. Although milk production depends largely on numerous dietary nutrients, energy and protein are most critical. Feed grains containing starch such as corn, barley, wheat, and sorghum as a primary source of energy are commonly fed to beef and dairy cattle to improve meat or milk productions. Feed grain needs to be processed prior to feed cattle to increase accessibility of the endosperm by microbial population in the rumen and the host enzyme in the intestine. Grain processing is done by the application of various combinations of heat, moisture, time and mechanical actions. This article outlines the effect of grain processing method and degree of processing on rate and extent of grain digestion in the digestive tract of cattle, and consequently on lactation performance and cattle health. Methods of grinding, rolling and steam flaking are particularly discussed on their advantages and disadvantages. The optimal degree of processing can achieve a balance between maximizing the extent and controlling the rate of starch digestion in the rumen to maximize utilization and avoid digestive and metabolic disturbances. A recent developed precision processing technique has been highlighted and discussed as well

Multiscale Global Adaptive Attention Graph Neural Network

Dynamic multiscale graph neural networks have high motion prediction errors due to the low correlation between the internal joints of body parts and the limited perceptual fields. A multiscale global adaptive attention graph neural network for human motion prediction is proposed to reduce motion prediction errors. Firstly, a multi-distance partitioning strategy for dividing skeleton joint is proposed to improve the degree of temporal and spatial correlation of body joint information. Secondly, a global adaptive attention spatial temporal graph convolutional network is designed to dynamically enhance the network??s attention to the spatial temporal joints contributing to a motion in combination with global adaptive attention. Finally, this paper integrates the above two improvements into the graph convolutional neural network gate recurrent unit to enhance the state propagation performance of the decoding network and reduce prediction errors. Experimental results show that the prediction error of the proposed method is decreased on Human 3.6M dataset, CMU Mocap dataset and 3DPW dataset compared with state-of-the-art methods

Exploration of serum sensitive biomarkers of fatty liver in dairy cows

Serum proteins are sensitive with diseases in dairy cows, and some of them could be used as biomarkers for fatty liver. This study aimed to explore serum biomarkers for fatty liver in dairy cows. A total of 28 early lactating dairy cows were chosen from a commercial dairy herds, liver samples were collected for determining concentration of triacylglycerol (TAG), and serum samples were collected for measuring fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21), adiponectin, Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (LP-PLA2), and hemoglobin (Hb). Dairy cows were divided into fatty liver (liver TAG > 5%, wet weight) and control group (liver TAG < 5%, wet weight). Concentration of FGF-21 was greater in fatty liver cows, while the concentration of LP-PLA2 and Hb was less. The concentration of FGF-21 and total Hb had strong correlation with the liver TAG as well as good prediction power (kappa value = 0.79 and 0.58, respectively). These results suggested that the serum concentration of FGF-21 and total Hb could be potentially used as fatty liver biomarkers in lactating dairy cows

Analysis of weighted co-regulatory networks in maize provides insights into new genes and regulatory mechanisms related to inositol phosphate metabolism

Sub-network 1 and 2 of “magenta2”, node annotation. (XLSX 10 kb

Synergism of Cattle and Bison Inoculum on Ruminal Fermentation and Select Bacterial Communities in an Artificial Rumen (Rusitec) Fed a Barley Straw Based Diet

This study evaluated the effect of increasing the proportion of bison relative to cattle inoculum on fermentation and microbial populations within an artificial rumen (Rusitec). The experiment was a completely randomized design with a factorial treatment structure (proportion cattle:bison inoculum; 0:100, 33:67, 67:33 and 100:0) replicated in two Rusitec apparatuses (n=8 fermenters). The experiment was 15 d with 8 d of adaptation and 7 d of sampling. Fermenters were fed a diet of 70:30 barley straw:concentrate (DM basis). True digestibility of DM was determined after 48 h of incubation from d 13-15, and daily ammonia (NH3) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production were measured on d 9-12. Protozoa counts were determined at d 9, 11, 13 and 15 and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) from d 13-15. Select bacterial populations in the PAB were measured using RT-qPCR. Fermenter was considered the experimental unit and day of sampling as a repeated measure. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum resulted in a quadratic effect (P0.05). Increasing bison inoculum linearly increased (P<0.05) concentrate aNDF disappearance, total and concentrate N disappearance as well as total daily VFA and acetate production. A positive quadratic response (P<0.05) was observed for daily NH3-N, propionate, butyrate, valerate, isovalerate and isobutyrate production, as well as the acetate:propionate ratio. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum linearly increased (P<0.05) total protozoa numbers. No effects were observed on pH, total gas and methane production, microbial N synthesis, or copies of 16S rRNA associated with total bacteria, Selenomonas ruminantium or Prevotella bryantii. Increasing bison inoculum had a quadratic effect (P<0.05) on Fibrobacter succinogenes, and tended to linearly (P<0.10) increase Ruminococcus flavefaciens and decrease (P<0.05) Ruminococcus albus copy numbers. In conclusion, bison inoculum increased the degradation of feed protein and fibre. A mixture of cattle and bison rumen inoculum acted synergistically, increasing the DM and aNDF disappearance of barley straw

The jumping mechanism of flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Alticini), its application to bionics and preliminary design for a robotic jumping leg

Flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) are a hyperdiverse group of organisms with approximately 9900 species worldwide. In addition to walking as most insects do, nearly all the species of flea beetles have an ability to jump and this ability is commonly understood as one of the key adaptations responsible for its diversity. Our investigation of flea beetle jumping is based on high-speed filming, micro- CT scans and 3D reconstructions, and provides a mechanical description of the jump. We reveal that the flea beetle jumping mechanism is a catapult in nature and is enabled by a small structure in the hind femur called an ‘elastic plate’ which powers the explosive jump and protects other structures from potential injury. The explosive catapult jump of flea beetles involves a unique ‘high-efficiency mechanism’ and ‘positive feedback mechanism’. As this catapult mechanism could inspire the design of bionic jumping limbs, we provide a preliminary design for a robotic jumping leg, which could be a resource for the bionics industry