Effects of hybrid and bacterial inoculation on fermentation quality and fatty acid profile of barley silage

This study estimated the effects of hybrid and bacterial inoculant on fermentation quality and fatty acid profile of barley silages. Yuyeon (Silkless) and Youngyang (Silking) barley hybrids were harvested at 24.9 and 27.1% dry matter, respectively, and chopped to 10 cm lengths. Each hybrid was treated with or without an inoculant (2 × 10⁴ colony‐forming units/g of Lactobacillus plantarum). A total of 48 silos were prepared in an experiment with a 2 × 2 (hybrid × inoculant) treatment arrangement with four replications and three ensiling durations (2, 7 and 100 days). After 100 days of ensiling, Yuyeon silage had higher (P < 0.05) in vitro dry matter digestibility and C18:3n‐3 than Youngyang silage. Youngyang silage had higher (P < 0.05) acetic acid and C18:2n‐6 than Yuyeon silage. Inoculation reduced the C18:3n‐3 concentration of both hybrids and increased (P < 0.05) the C18:2n‐6 of Youngyang. However, fermentation quality was not improved by the inoculant. These results indicate that Yuyeon hybrid might have better potential benefits on animal performances due to its smooth awn and silkless nature, and higher in vitro dry matter digestibility. Its higher C18:3n‐3 would be better for improving fatty acid profile of meat or milk than Youngyang hybrid.     

The use of traits to interpret responses to large scale - edge effects: a study of epigaeic beetle assemblages across a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus</Emphasis> forest and pine plantation edge

Context

Edge effects due to habitat loss and fragmentation have pervasive impacts on many natural ecosystems worldwide.

Objective

We aimed to explore whether, in tandem with the resource-based model of edge effects, species feeding-guild and flight-capacity can help explain species responses to an edge.

Methods

We used a two-sided edge gradient that extended from 1000 m into native Eucalyptus forest to 316 m into an exotic pine plantation. We used generalised additive models to examine the continuous responses of beetle species, feeding-guild species richness and flight-capable group species richness to the edge gradient and environmental covariates.

Results

Phytophagous species richness was directly related to variation in vegetation along the edge gradient. There were more flight-capable species in Eucalyptus forest and more flightless species in exotic pine plantation. Many individual species exhibited multiple-peaked edge-profiles.

Conclusions

The resource based model for edge effects can be used in tandem with traits such as feeding-guild and flight-capacity to understand drivers of large scale edge responses. Some trait-groups can show generalisable responses that can be linked with drivers such as vegetation richness and habitat structure. Many trait-group responses, however, are less generalisable and not explained by easily measured habitat variables. Difficulties in linking traits with resources along the edge could be due to unmeasured variation and indirect effects. Some species’ responses reached the limits of the edge gradient demonstrating the need to examine edge effects at large scales, such as kilometres.

     

Comparative evaluation of immunoelectrophoresis,counterimmunoelectrophoresis and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of Taenia Saginata cysticercosis

The ante-mortem diagnosis of Taenia saginata cysticercosis remaining largely unresolved, the efficiency of immunoelectrophoresis (IEP), counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) and the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), has been compared. Of 32 experimentally infected cattle, these procedures could detect, respectively, 28, 30 and 31 of them. IEP and ELISA gave quite specific results whereas CIEP was relatively less specific.When applied on 24 proven cases of natural cysticercosis in conventionally raised cattle, harbouring relating light infections, IEP, CIEP and ELISA could detect, respectively, only 25, 54.2 and 37.5 per cent of the animals.On 100 slaughtered cattle, which were declared free of cysticercosis by the abattoir authorities, 3, 8 and 6 per cent of the animals showed flase positive reactions by the respective procedures. Evidence is presented that at least 2 of these false positive reactions were due to T. saginata metacestodes, which escaped detection by the abattoir authorities.These data show that noe of the serological tests discussed above are sufficiently reliable to make a diagnosis on an individual basis although these can be useful for a diagnosis on a herd basis.     

Evaluation of On-Arrival versus Prompted Metaphylaxis Regimes Using Ceftiofur Crystalline Free Acid for Feedlot Heifers at Risk of Developing Bovine Respiratory Disease

This study was designed to compare morbidity and mortality due to bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in 1,400 ranch-fresh, northern US calves that received either no metaphylaxis (MTX) (Group 1), MTX prompted by pen morbidity (Group 2), MTX prompted by a decline in feed intake (Group 3), or on-arrival MTX (Group 4). Ceftiofur crystalline free acid (6.6 mg/kg) was the MTX antimicrobial used. Decreased feed intake did not meet the study threshold, so Groups 1 and 3 were combined into a single control group. The percentage of calves not treated for BRD was 14% to 15% higher in Groups 4 and 2 (72.7% and 73.4%, respectively) compared with the controls (58.2%; P less than or equal to .02). Mortality was numerically higher in Group 2 (3.4%) compared with Groups 4 and 1 (0.9% and 1.6%, respectively). There were no differences in average daily gain or feed consumption. In northern, ranch-fresh calves, MTX as a health management practice reduces the incidence of BRD and has better utility when performed on-arrival versus relying on morbidity as a signal for timing antimicrobial administration.     

Age-related changes in calretinin-immunoreactive periglomerular cells in the rat main olfactory bulb

The changes of calretinin (CR)-immunoreactive periglomerular cells in the glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb (MOB) were investigated in rats differing ages from postnatal month 1 (PM 1) to PM 24. The number of cresyl violet-positive periglomerular cells was similar between PM 1 and PM 12, but they decreased slightly in the PM 24 group. The size of CR-immunoreactive periglomerular cells in the glomerular layer increased with age, while their numbers did not change significantly in the PM 6-PM 24 groups. In the PM 24 group, numbers of CR-positive periglomerular cell bodies and their processes decreased, while the size of CR-positive cell bodies in the glomeruli was larger than that of the previous groups. These results suggest that CR-immunoreactive periglomerular cells in the rat MOB are well-developed in the PM 6 group, and that periglomerular cells in the PM 24 group show poor CR-immunoreactivity compared to those in the PM 6 group.     

Population structure of the rice sheath blight pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizoctonia solani</Emphasis> AG-1 IA from India

The population structure of Rhizoctonia solani AG-1 IA causing rice sheath blight from India was evaluated for 96 isolates using seven RFLP loci. Nineteen of the isolates did not hybridise to R. solani AG-1 IA RFLP probes and rDNA analyses subsequently confirmed that they were either Ceratobasidium oryzae-sativae isolates or another Rhizoctonia sp. The population structure of the remaining 77 R. solani AG-1 IA Indian isolates was similar to that of a previously characterized Texas population. Clonal dispersal of R. solani AG-1 IA in India was moderate within fields and no clones were shared among field populations. Low levels of population subdivision and small genetic distances among populations were consistent with high levels of gene flow. Frequent sexual reproduction was indicated by the fact that most populations were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The two loci (R68 and R111) that deviated significantly from HWE showed an excess of heterozygosity. Although Texas and Indian populations were geographically very distant, they exhibited only moderate population subdivision, with an F_ST value of 0.193.