Role of live microbial feed supplements with reference to anaerobic fungi in ruminant productivity: A review

To keep the concept of a safe food supply to the consumers, animal feed industries world over are showing an increasing interest in the direct-fed microbials(DFM) for improved animal performance in terms of growth or productivity. This becomes all the more essential in a situation, where a number of the residues of antibiotics and/or other growth stimulants reach in milk and meat with a number of associated potential risks for the consumers. Hence, in the absence of growth stimulants, a positive manipulation of the rumen microbial ecosystem to enhance the feedstuff utilization for improved production efficiency by ruminants has become of much interest to the researchers and entrepreneurs. A few genera of live microbes(i.e., bacteria, fungi and yeasts in different types of formulations from paste to powder) are infrequently used as DFM for the domestic ruminants. These DFM products are live microbial feed supplements containing naturally occurring microbes in the rumen. Among different DFM possibilities, anaerobic rumen fungi(ARF) based additives have been found to improve ruminant productivity consistently during feeding trials. Administration of ARF during the few trials conducted, led to the increased weight gain, milk production, and total tract digestibility of feed components in ruminants. Anaerobic fungi in the rumen display very strong cell-wall degrading cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities through rhizoid development, resulting in the physical disruption of feed structure paving the way for bacterial action. Significant improvements in the fiber digestibility were found to coincide with increases in ARF in the rumen indicating their role. Most of the researches based on DFM have indicated a positive response in nutrient digestion and methane reducing potential during in vivo and/or in vitro supplementation of ARF as DFM. Therefore, DFM especially ARF will gain popularity but it is necessary that all the strains are thoroughly studied for their beneficial properties to have a confirmed ‘generally regarded as safe' status for ruminants.     

Sediment production following severe wildfire and post-fire salvage logging in the Rocky Mountain headwaters of the Oldman River Basin, Alberta

In 2003, the Lost Creek fire burned 21,000 ha of nearly contiguous crown land forests in the headwater regions of the Oldman River Basin, Alberta. Seven small watersheds with various levels of land disturbance (burned, post-fire salvage logged, unburned) were instrumented and monitored for four years to measure stream discharge, sediment concentration, and sediment yields for a range of dominant flow periods characteristic of the region (baseflow, spring melt, and stormflow). Stream discharges reflected runoff regimes consistent with high regional precipitation and the high relief physiographic setting of the study area. Suspended sediment concentrations and yields were significantly higher in both burned and post-fire salvage logged watersheds than in unburned watersheds and were strongly influenced by topographic and hydro-climatic controls. Sediment availability was much higher in both the burned and post-fire salvage logged watersheds but it varied strongly with flow condition, particularly during the snowmelt freshet and high flow events. Because of increases in wildfire frequency and severity over recent decades, understanding the range of impacts from both wildfire and post-disturbance management strategies such as salvage logging is likely to become increasingly important for land managers.     

The response of understory herbaceous plants to nitrogen fertilization in forests of different land-use history

Forests growing on former agricultural land often have reduced frequencies of many native forest herbs compared with forests that were never cleared for agriculture. A leading explanation for this pattern is that many forest herbs are dispersal limited, but environmental conditions may also hinder colonization. We examined the response of six forest herb taxa (Arisaema triphyllum, Cimicifuga racemosa, Disporum lanuginosum, Osmorhiza spp., Polygonatum spp., and Prenanthes altissima) to nitrogen (N) fertilization in forests with and without an agricultural history to investigate how N availability affects plant performance. The study was conducted in the southern Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina, USA. There was a significant interaction between land-use history and N treatment for several species. In A. triphyllum and Osmorhiza spp., N fertilization increased aboveground biomass or leaf area more in the post-agriculture site than in the reference site. However, in the reference site, N fertilization depressed aboveground biomass or leaf area in the same taxa, as well as in C. racemosa. The foliar N concentration of these three taxa was elevated in fertilized plots regardless of land-use history, and there was no indication that the light environment differed among plots. These results suggest that some plants growing in post-agricultural stands may be N limited, whereas undisturbed stands in this region appear to be approaching N saturation. Thus, environmental conditions, and particularly N availability, may be an obstacle to the restoration of forest herb communities.     

Water and oil-repellent coatings of perfluoro-polyacrylate resins on cotton fibers: UV curing in comparison with thermal polymerization

UV curing of perfluoro-alkyl-polyacrylate resins able to impart water as well as oil-repellency to cotton fabrics was studied in comparison with conventional thermal polymerization. The process was assessed through weight gain and gel content measurements while the properties conferred to cotton fabrics were determined in terms of water and oil contact angles, moisture adsorption, and water vapor permeability. The polymerization yields were of the same order (>80 %) of those obtained with thermal curing as well as the high contact angles with water (>127°) and oil (>118°) even at low resin add-on (3 %). UV cured resins yielded oil contact angles mostly higher than 120° denoting super oil-repellent surfaces. Moreover the water and oil-repellency was adequately maintained after washing. The moisture adsorption of finished fabrics was lower than that of untreated cotton, but slightly higher for UV cured than thermally treated fabrics. Water vapor transmission rate showed that the finish treatment, thermal as well as by UV curing, does not reduce the breathability of the original cotton. DSC analysis demonstrated that the fiber pyrolysis is affected by the polymer add-on, while FTIR-ATR spectra of all finished fabrics showed typical peaks of ester and C-F groups. XPS analysis showed small differences between thermal and UV curing coatings with each resin, while coatings with the lowest percentage of fluorine groups did not affect the water and oil-repellency.     

Development of a Chemosensor for the In Situ Monitoring of Thallium in the Water Network

Thallium is an emerging contaminant, which can be retained in scale encrustation within the pipeline and then released to drinking water. It is included in the Priority Pollutant List of the U.S. EPA. In this study, a sample from the water pipeline of Pietrasanta (Italy), affected by the contamination of thallium, is characterized by SEM-EDS, TGA, and FT-IR. Fluorescence spectroscopy is then proposed as the optimal technique for the detection of the contaminant. The functionality of a previously reported fluorescent calix[4]arene-based chemosensor is verified first on a standard solution of thallium nitrate and then on the sample under investigation. The quenching of the fluorescence of the sensor during the complexation of thallium is confirmed, identifying an ON-OFF sensor with high sensitivity, able to detect concentrations as low as 10^?6 M and with high potential of development for the in situ and fast monitoring of the pollutant in the water network.     

Controlling yellow jackets with fipronil-based protein baits in urban recreational areas

ABSTRACT

The western yellow jacket, Vespula penyslvanica (Saussare), is a serious seasonal pest of outdoor venues in the western United States. In the spring, queens and low numbers of workers were captured in heptyl-butyrate-baited traps until early July, when the number of foragers dramatically increased. Microsatellite data suggest that 18 colonies were actively foraging within the park in 2012. Foragers from 11 different colonies were collected at one trap site. In 2012 and 2013, sufficient numbers of foragers were not captured until early August when baiting trials were initiated. Baits were prepared with canned chicken mixed with fipronil for a final concentration of 0.025%. In 2012, a single baiting provided >96% reduction of foragers for at least two months. A second baiting late in the season provided >80% reductions. In 2013, one baiting trial resulted in a 74% and a 93% reduction. A bait acceptance study was conducted in 2014 to test a bait consisting of the juices from canned chicken and 0.025% fipronil incorporated into a hydrogel, and provided a much longer lasting bait in the field.     

Anesthetic effects of different volumes of lidocaine for spermatic cord block in cattle

Objective

To evaluate three volumes of lidocaine for spermatic cord block to perform castration in cattle.

Improved control of lettuce drop caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using Contans combined with lignin or a reduced fungicide application

The use of Contans (Coniothyrium minitans) in Belgian commercial lettuce greenhouses has so far not always fulfilled the expectations of growers. With the aim of improving the efficacy of control of lettuce drop (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), Contans applied alone and Contans combined with Radix (Trichoderma asperellum and Trichoderma gamsii), Kraft pine lignin and Rovral was compared in three successive lettuce crops in a naturally infested greenhouse. At harvest of each crop, the effect on disease incidence, and the effect on viability and fungal infection of sclerotia buried prior to each crop was evaluated. Contans applied alone negatively affected the sclerotial viability, but did not reduce lettuce drop symptoms. The combination of Contans with Kraft pine lignin, on the other hand, reduced sclerotial viability and lettuce drop compared with the untreated control in the last crop. Furthermore, when Contans was combined with Kraft pine lignin, a higher number of infected sclerotia was observed compared with Contans applied alone. When Radix was added to the combination, there was no extra benefit for the control of lettuce drop. The combination of one Rovral application and Contans resulted in a significant control of lettuce drop together with a negative effect on sclerotial survival. Two Rovral applications, by contrast, reduced the ability of C. minitans to parasitize and kill the sclerotia. To conclude, integration of Contans with a reduced Rovral application and with Kraft pine lignin has potential to improve the control of lettuce drop in commercial greenhouses.     

The effects of two different light intensities on the production and behavioural traits of Italian heavy pigs

Eighty Italian heavy pigs having an initial body weight of about 75 kg were allotted to two experimental groups: a low light intensity group (LL), in which pigs received the lowest level of illumination mandatory in piggeries (40 lux) and a high light intensity group (HL), in which pigs were exposed to a higher level of illumination (80 lux). For both groups the light phase lasted 12 hours per day. Pigs were slaughtered at about 160 kg body weight. Light intensity showed to have no effects on the growth traits, carcass parameters or neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of heavy. With the exception of drinking (more frequently observed among LL pigs; P < 0.01) and sternal recumbency (more frequently observed among pigs belonging to HL group; P < 0.01), the behavioural observations, carried out on 20 pigs per group, indicated that light intensity did not affect the main behavioural traits of pigs. Agonistic interactions were significantly higher (P < 0.05) among pigs receiving a lower level of illumination (40 lux; LL group) and pigs exposed to the higher level of illumination (80 lux; HL group) showed a tendency (P < 0.1) towards a higher proportion of tactile social interactions. Our results confirm that a proper illumination level can be included among environmental conditions having a positive effect in order to preserve swine welfare.