Effects of 5'-uridylic acid feeding on postprandial plasma concentrations of metabolites and metabolic hormones in pre-weaning goats

5'-Uridylic acid (UMP), which is present at high concentrations in cow's colostrum, has been shown to cause a reduction in increased plasma levels of insulin and glucose after ingestion of milk replacer in pre-weaning calves. However, the precise mechanisms of UMP action have not been investigated, and its action has not been investigated in other pre-weaning ruminants. In order to demonstrate whether UMP causes changes in postprandial metabolic and hormonal parameters in pre-weaning goats, 11 Saanen kids were given milk replacer (twice a day) without ( n  = 5) or with ( n  = 6) UMP (1 g for each meal, 2 g/day for each head) for 14 days. Analysis of blood samples taken in the morning of day 14 demonstrated that the feeding of milk replacer with UMP abolished the significant changes in postprandial plasma glucose, NEFA, GH and insulin concentrations induced by feeding of milk replacer alone, and demonstrated a tendency to increase IGF-I levels. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups at any sampling time. We conclude that UMP feeding with milk replacer showed a tendency to blunt the postprandial changes in levels of some plasma metabolites and hormones that are induced by replacer alone in pre-weaning goats.     

Effects of central administration of glucagon on feed intake and endocrine responses in sheep

This study was conducted to investigate effects of glucagon intracerebroventricularly administered on feed intake and endocrine changes in sheep. Four male sheep (48–55 kg BW) were used. The animals were acclimatized to be fed alfalfa hay cubes at 12.00 hour. Human glucagon (40 and 80 µg/0.5 mL) was injected into the lateral ventricle at 12.00 hour. Blood samples were taken every 10 min from 30 min before to 180 min after the glucagon injection. Soon after the injection, the animals were given alfalfa hay cubes, and the amounts of the feed eaten within 2 h were measured. Feed intakes were significantly (P < 0.05) suppressed by 80 µg of glucagon. Plasma glucose levels in control animals were gradually decreased after the feeding, whilst those in glucagon‐treated animals were temporarily elevated just after the feeding and then kept higher than control levels. Plasma insulin was abruptly elevated after the feeding and was maintained at higher levels than before the feeding in all treatments. Plasma NEFA concentrations were decreased after the feeding in all treatments. A tendency of increase in plasma cortisol levels occurred in glucagon‐injected animals. The present study provides the first evidence that glucagon directly acts on the brain, then inhibiting feeding behavior and inducing endocrine responses in ruminants.     

A clinical case of single left ventricle in a Holstein calf

A 15-day-old Holstein calf with lethargy and tachypnea presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine for evaluation of suspected congenital heart defect. A Levine grade 6 systolic murmur was noted at right apical site auscultation and phonocardiogram also recorded systolic a murmur. Electrocardiography findings include increased R and S waves, R wave split, and negative T waves without arrhythmia. Echocardiography revealed a single ventricle with a trace of the right ventricular wall, atrioventricular valve regurgitation, and turbulent in a single ventricle. Arterial blood analysis showed a marked decrease in oxygen saturation of 78% and oxygen partial pressure of 44 mmHg. Post-mortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of a single left ventricle.     

Minocycline prevents primary duck neurons from duck Tembusu virus-induced death

Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV), a neurotropic flavivirus, is a causative agent of severe neurological diseases in different birds. No approved vaccines or antiviral therapeutic treatments are available to date. The poultry industry experiences significant economic losses due to DTMUV infections. Minocycline is a second-generation semi-synthetic tetracycline analogue that is commonly used as an antimicrobial treatment. Experimental studies have indicated the successful protective effects of minocycline against neuronal cell death from neurodegenerative diseases and viral encephalitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of minocycline on DTMUV infection in neurons. Primary duck neurons were treated with minocycline, which exhibited neuroprotective effects via anti-apoptotic function rather than through viral replication inhibition. Minocycline might serve as a potential effective drug in DTMUV infection.     

ECG and heart rate determination in fetal cattle using a digital signal processing method

A method of recording the fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart rate (HR) is described. An abdominal lead and a thoracic lead were used to measure the fetal ECG and maternal ECG, respectively. The maternal component in the abdominal lead measurement was estimated by a digital adaptive filter using the thoracic lead measurement as a reference. By suppressing the estimated maternal components in the abdominal lead, the fetal ECG could be detected. The beat‐by‐beat fetal QRS complex peaks were determined by a digital matched filter from the fetal ECG enhanced in this way. The method was trialed in 10 pregnant Holstein cows at gestational periods ranging from 136 to 224 days. The results show that this method can extract the fetal ECG and determine the fetal HR from the raw noisy measurement data. The results suggest that the method would have applicability in monitoring fetal ECG as well as providing a non‐invasive, continuous HR profile during gestation, which will enable better understanding of the development of cattle fetuses before delivery.     

Food organisms and feeding habits of larval and juvenile Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus at Ohama Beach in Hiuchi-Nada, the central Seto Inland Sea, Japan

ABSTRACT:   The abundance of food organisms and feeding habits of larval and juvenile Japanese flounder were examined during the period from May to August in 1999, 2000 and 2001 at the sandy Ohama beach, the central Seto Inland Sea. The food organisms collected with a sledge net consisted of 40 families from 18 orders, dominated by mysids, crangonids and gammarids. The mean densities of mysids, crangonid shrimp ( Crangon spp.), gammarids and fish were 2.74, 6.74, 2.91 and 0.15 individuals/m², respectively. The main prey of the flounder ( n  = 202; range of total length 9.80–75.95 mm) was mysids and small crangonid shrimp (<14 mm in body length). Prey fish availability was low, as the density of fish was low. The small crangonid shrimp was abundant, and the large crangonid shrimp, which could prey on larval flounder, was not abundant. The crangonid shrimp was important not as a predator for the flounder but as prey. The flounder preferred epifaunal mysids, Nipponomysis ornata and Anisomysis ijimai , to sand-burrowing mysids, Iiella oshimai , and avoided crangonid shrimp.     

Influence of dietary phosphorus level on growth performance in chicks given corn-soybean diet supplemented with amylase and acid protease

Two experiments were conducted to determine if dietary amylase and acid protease supplementation improves the nutritive value of corn-soybean diet, and whether the dietary inorganic phosphorus (P) level affects the growth-promoting effect induced by the enzyme supplementation in chicks. In the first experiment, 4-day-old Single Comb White Leghorn male chicks were given a corn-soybean diet supplemented with amylase and acid protease for 10 days. Dietary amylase addition produced a significant improvement in growth and food efficiency, whereas acid protease had no effect on these parameters. Although there was no significant interaction between amylase and acid protease, the combination of the two enzymes produced the greatest improvement in growth performance. In contrast, neither enzyme influenced the metabolizable energy value or nitrogen balance. In the second experiment, chicks were given corn-soybean diets having low, medium and high levels of inorganic P (3.5, 4.3 and 5.1 g/kg, respectively), supplemented with both enzymes. There were significant interactions between the dietary inorganic P level and enzyme supplementation on final bodyweight, bodyweight gain and food intake. Enzyme supplementation significantly improved chick growth at the medium inorganic P level, but not at the low or high levels. Although the thigh bone ash content and serum P concentration were improved as the dietary inorganic P level increased, enzyme supplementation had no influence on these parameters. In conclusion, the present results indicate that dietary amylase and acid protease have beneficial effects on growth performance in chicks given corn-soybean diet. The dietary inorganic P level affects the growth response to dietary amylase and acid protease supplementation.