Effects of milk feeding, frequency and concentration on weaning and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calf growth, health and behaviour

Growth, weight at birth and daily weight gain (DWG) on 12 water buffalo calves, starting from 6 days of age until completion of weaning, was investigated in this study. Different feeding regimens were given to two groups of animals with regard to daily milk replacer: (1) group 1 (G1) received a double concentration in single administration; whereas (2) group 2 (G2) received the same amount of milk replacer split twice daily. Blood samples were collected from each calf on days 6, 30, 60 and 90 to evaluate acute phase proteins (haptoglobin), bactericide activity, lysozime, total protein content and biochemical parameters. No differences were observed between the two groups in terms of dry matter intake, feed efficiency and live body weight at the end of the study. Interestingly, a significantly (P?<?0.05) reduced DWG was observed earlier in G1 (day 45) than in G2 (day 60). Gastrointestinal disorders were not recorded throughout the experimental period, and no significant differences were recorded between the two groups for all considered parameters. This study confirms the possibility of utilising one daily administration of milk replacer in water buffalo calf during weaning. This new approach facilitates calves management, without interfering with calves growing performances.     

A Case of Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma in a Mare

A case of pulmonary carcinoma in a 23-year-old Quarterhorse mare is described. On physical examination, depression, poor body condition, tachypnea, bilateral serosanguineous nasal discharge and a wide area of reduced breath sounds in association with the right hemithorax were detected. Laboratory evaluation showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and lymphopenia, hyperfibrinogenemia, hyperprotidemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased beta 2 and gamma globulin fractions, hypoxemia, and normocapnia. Radiography and thoracic ultrasonography revealed a large rounded mass extending from the 9th to the 14th right intercostal space, where neither bronchial nor vascular structures were detectable. Endoscopy showed a large amount of serosanguineous fluid within the tracheal lumen and a mass of reddish soft tissue completely obliterating the right caudal lobar bronchus. Histopathology of the endobronchial mass and of the transthoracic ultrasound-guided biopsy samples was consistent with a primary pulmonary epithelial tumor. Due to worsening of the clinical condition, the mare was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed the presence of a large 30-cm mass located in the right caudal pulmonary lobe, characterized by epithelial cells arranged in papillary projections and alveolar structures, findings consistent with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.     

Effect of storage time and temperature on the total protein concentration and electrophoretic fractions in equine serum

Serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) is a technique that could be considered one of the most useful diagnostic aids available to the clinician. The effect of storage time and temperature on the total proteins and electrophoretic fractions (albumin, α₁-, α₂-, β₁-, β₂-, and γ-globulins) was assessed in 24 healthy horses. All samples, collected by jugular vein puncture, were centrifuged and divided into 4 aliquots. The 1st aliquot was analyzed within 3 h from collection (time 0), the 2nd was refrigerated at +4°C for 24 h, the 3rd was refrigerated at +4°C for 48 h, and the last was frozen at −20°C for 48 h. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect (P < 0.05) of the different storage conditions on the concentrations of all the parameters studied and significant variations in the percentages of albumin, α₁-globulins, α₂-globulins, and γ-globulins. Compared with time 0 the total protein concentration increased significantly after 48 h at −20°C, the albumin percentage decreased after 48 h at −20°C, the α₁-globulin percentage increased after 24 h at +4°C, the α₂-globulin percentage increased after 48 h at +4°C and at −20°C, and the γ-globulin percentage increased after 48 h at −20°C. The results should help veterinary practitioners handle and store equine serum samples appropriately. Further investigations at different storage times and temperatures could be useful.     

Smenamides A and B,Chlorinated Peptide/Polyketide Hybrids Containing a Dolapyrrolidinone Unit from the Caribbean Sponge Smenospongia aurea. Evaluation of Their Role as Leads in Antitumor Drug Research

An in-depth study of the secondary metabolites contained in the Caribbean sponge Smenospongia aurea led to the isolation of smenamide A (1) and B (2), hybrid peptide/polyketide compounds containing a dolapyrrolidinone unit. Their structures were elucidated using high-resolution ESI-MS/MS and homo- and heteronuclear 2D NMR experiments. Structures of smenamides suggested that they are products of the cyanobacterial metabolism, and 16S rRNA metagenomic analysis detected Synechococcus spongiarum as the only cyanobacterium present in S. aurea. Smenamides showed potent cytotoxic activity at nanomolar levels on lung cancer Calu-1 cells, which for compound 1 is exerted through a clear pro-apoptotic mechanism. This makes smenamides promising leads for antitumor drug design.     

Effects of including bioactive legumes in grass silage on digestion parameters,nitrogen balance and methane emissions in sheep

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of feeding sheep with silage mixtures containing bioactive legumes on intake and digestive parameters. The bioactive legumes used were sainfoin (SF, Onobrychis viciifolia) and red clover (RC, Trifolium pratense), which contain condensed tannins (CT) and polyphenol oxidase respectively. Five treatments were assigned to two groups of sheep according to a replicated 5 × 5 Latin square design. The five types of silages tested were, on a dry matter (DM) basis: pure timothy grass silage (Phleum pratense, control, T), three binary mixtures of T‐SF, T‐RC and RC‐SF (500 g/kg each) and a ternary mixture of T‐RC‐SF (500, 250 and 250 g/kg respectively). The daily voluntary DM intake of silage mixtures containing both SF and RC was greater than for pure T silage, while the presence of SF resulted in lower organic matter digestibility compared to pure T. The rumen disappearance rate measured in situ increased linearly with the presence of SF and RC in silage. The nitrogen (N) digestibility was greater for pure T and T‐RC than for T‐SF, and the amount of N retained daily by the animals was greater for RC‐containing silages than for T and T‐SF. The methane (CH₄) yield was greater for pure T than for the silage mixtures containing SF. We conclude that the presence of RC in silage could boost performances through intake and N retention, while SF‐based mixtures appear to have reduced negative environmental impacts through the reduction of CH₄ emissions.     

Evaluation of the combined effects of enzymatic treatment and aging on lees on the aroma of wine from Bombino bianco grapes

In this study, two different doses of commercial beta-glucanase enzyme preparation were tested to verify their effect on wines aged on lees. These wines were compared with two samples with no enzymatic treatment. The former was aged on lees (control), and the latter was readily filtered off from the yeast cell biomass (standard). Analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), the Tukey test, and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to all of the samples, which were analyzed for aroma composition, along with galacturonic acid, total acidity, pH, and color. Results showed a large number of statistically significant differences among samples. In general, wines treated with beta-glucanase were characterized by higher concentration of many volatile compounds. The presence of lees and even more the exogenous enzymatic action enhanced almost all volatile compounds. Besides the high presence of ethyl esters, it is worth mentioning the behavior of hexanol and trans-3-hexenol, which are strongly enhanced by the presence of lees and by enzymatic treatments.     

Synthesis and phytotoxic activity of ozonides

The [4 + 3] cycloaddition of the proper furans with the oxyallyl cation, generated in situ from 2,4-dibromopentan-3-one, produced a series of 8-oxabicyclo [3.2.1]oct-6-en-3-ones. Exposure of the oxabicycles to ozone afforded the corresponding 8,9,10,11-tetraoxatricyclo[5.2.1.1 (2,6)]undecan-4-ones in variable yields (7-100%). The phytotoxic properties of these ozonides (or 1,2,4-trioxolanes) and their oxabicycle precursors were evaluated as the ability to interfere with the growth of Sorghum bicolor and Cucumis sativus seedlings. Among oxabicycles, the highest inhibitory activity was shown by compounds possessing a alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl moiety. A differential sensitivity of the two crops was evident with ozonides. The most active compounds were also tested against the weed species Ipomoea grandifolia and Brachiaria decumbens. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article describing ozonides as potential herbicides.     

Interactions of three s-triazines with humic acids of different structure

The adsorption of three s-triazines (atrazine, terbutylazine, and simazine) on three different humic acids (HAs), before and after acidic hydrolysis, was studied at four diverse pH values from 3 to 4.5. The Freundlich sorption affinity (K(f)) and intensity (1/n) of s-triazines were related to the chemical and structural composition of HA and used in a multivariate statistical analysis. At low pH, the sorption values for s-triazines were not directly justified by the content of carboxyl groups in original HA, while only an increase of phenolic carbons in hydrolyzed HA supported the increased s-triazine adsorption. The structural composition of both s-triazines and humic samples explained 86% of the significance in multivariate analyses, whereas the role of pH remained hidden in only 14% of the statistical significance. Adsorption of s-triazines was mainly related to carbon content, hydrophobicity, and aromaticity of HA, thereby implying a predominant binding role of weak dispersive forces. Steric properties explained the larger adsorption affinity of atrazine and terbutylazine with respect to simazine. The occurrence of charge-transfer interactions between atrazine and mainly hydrolyzed HA was further suggested by the increased number of free radicals detected in atrazine-HA complexes at different pH values. Charge-transfer interactions were postulated to occur when HA conformations became progressively controlled by aromatic components. This work indicates that humic matter rich in hydrophobic and aromatic constituents is more likely to adsorb s-triazines and reduce their environmental mobility.     

Optimization of solid-liquid extraction of resveratrol and other phenolic compounds from milled grape canes (Vitis vinifera)

Optimization of the solid-liquid extraction conditions for trans-resveratrol, trans--viniferin, ferulic acid, and total phenolics from milled grape canes has been investigated. The temperature and ethanol concentration were found to be major process variables for all responses, whereas the solvent to solid ratio was found not to be significant for any of the responses studied. The yields of trans-resveratrol, trans--viniferin, and total phenolics increased with increasing temperature. Maximum yields of trans-resveratrol (4.25 mg/g dw), trans--viniferin (2.03 mg/g), and total phenolics (9.28 mg/g dw) were predicted from the combination of a moderate ethanol concentration (50-70%) and the highest temperature (83.6 degrees C), whereas an ethanol concentration of 35% at the lowest temperature studied (16.4 degrees C) was optimal for the extraction of ferulic acid (1.05 mg/g dw). Effective diffusivity values of resveratrol in the solid phase, D eff for different extraction conditions, were calculated by fitting the experimental results to a model derived from the Fick's second law. Effective diffusivity of resveratrol in the solid phase varied from 3.1 x 10 (-13) to 26.6 x 10 (-13) m (2) s (-1) with changing extraction conditions. The increase in effective diffusivity of resveratrol was observed with increasing temperature, and the highest predicted level was obtained when using 54% ethanol/water mixture at 83.6 degrees C. The increase in ethanol concentration exhibited the favorable effect up to 50-55%, thereafter effective diffusivity decreased with a further increase in concentration.     

Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on in vivo organic matter digestibility and milk yield in buffalo cows

The influence of a dietary supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) during the first and the second phase of lactation on dry matter (DM) intake, organic matter digestibility, milk yield and quality and haematological profile was evaluated in buffalo cows. Lactating buffaloes (n = 190), 118.7 days in milk (DIM), were randomly divided into Group C (control, n = 95) and Group T (fed diet supplemented with 98 billion CFU of S. cerevisiae, n = 95). Eight buffaloes for each group (Groups T1 and C1), 85.4 DIM, were used to study the in vivo digestibility and the haematological profile. No differences were found for DM intake (16.5 kg·day^− 1) and haematological profile. The SC supplementation increased milk yield (7.9 ± 0.2 vs. 7.4 ± 0.2; P < 0.01) but did not affect milk fat and protein. SC supplementation increased OM digestibility, mainly, in the first phase of lactation (< 135 days), thus allowing a higher energy availability for milk yield and reduced fat mobilization.