The pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not fully understood, and experimental models are an alternative to study this issue. We investigated the effects of a simple ...carbohydrate-rich diet on the development of obesity-related NAFLD and the impact of physical training on the metabolic abnormalities associated with this disorder. Sixty Wistar rats were randomly separated into experimental and control groups, which were fed with sucrose-enriched (18% simple carbohydrates) and standard diet, respectively. At the end of each experimental period (5, 10, 20, and 30 weeks), 6 animals from each group were sacrificed for blood tests and liver histology and immunohistochemistry. From weeks 25 to 30, 6 animals from each group underwent physical training. The experimental group animals developed obesity and NAFLD, characterized histopathologically by steatosis and hepatocellular ballooning, clinically by increased thoracic circumference and body mass index associated with hyperleptinemia, and metabolically by hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, increased levels of very low-density lipoprotein- (VLDL-) cholesterol, depletion of the antioxidants liver enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase, and increased hepatic levels of malondialdehyde, an oxidative stress marker. Rats that underwent physical training showed increased high-density lipoprotein- (HDL-) cholesterol levels. In conclusion, a sucrose-rich diet induced obesity, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and NAFLD in rats.
The protein nutrition of dairy cows is of great importance because of its direct influence on milk production, reproductive efficiency, and feeding cost. Eight first-lactation Holstein cows were ...randomly assigned to two contemporary 4 × 4 Latin squares in a 2 × 2 factorial design to evaluate the effects of replacing soybean meal with yeast-derived microbial protein (YMP) as a protein source (0% or 1.5% of dry matter (DM)) and its combination with slow-release urea (SRU; 0% or 0.75% of DM) on DM intake and milk production and composition, as well as blood parameters and nitrogen balance. Each experimental period lasted 28 days, with 21 days of adaptation and 7 days of data collection. The diets were formulated to attend the nutritional recommendations of the National Research Council and consisted of 49% forage (47% corn silage and 2% Tifton hay) and 51% concentrate, with 16.8% CP and 1.6 Mcal net energy for lactation/kg DM. For diets without YMP, the inclusion of SRU decreased DM intake, milk production as well as N intake and balance, but did not affect efficiency of production, milk composition or most of blood parameters. On the contrary, for diets with YMP, DM intake and milk production were increased by inclusion of SRU, while minor effects were observed for milk efficiency and composition, blood parameters as well as N intake, excretion and balance. When diets with SRU were compared, the inclusion of YMP increased DM intake, 4% fat-corrected milk, and N intake and balance (P<0.05), with no differences in milk production (kg/day), milk energy, efficiency of milk production or most of the blood parameters. For diets without SRU, YMP inclusion decreased DM intake, milk production, milk energy, N intake, fecal N and N balance (P<0.05), with no effects on milk efficiency and composition, or most of blood parameters. In conclusion, the use of YMP, SRU or both as partial substitutes of soybean meal in the diet of lactating cows has no negative effects on productivity parameters.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is amongst the leading causes of death worldwide. As inflammatory markers, cytokines can predict outcomes, if interpreted together with clinical data and scoring ...systems such as CURB-65, CRB, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II). The aim of this study was to determine the impact of inflammatory biomarkers on the early mortality of hospitalized CAP patients. Twenty-seven CAP patients needing hospitalization were enrolled for the study and samples of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and homocystein were collected at the time of admission (day 1) as well as on the seventh day of the treatment. There was a significant reduction in the levels of IL-6 between the first and the second collections. Median IL-6 values decreased from 24 pg/mL (day 1) to 8 pg/mL (day 7) (P=0.016). The median levels of TNF-α were higher in patients: i) with acute kidney injury (AKI) (P=0.045), ii) requiring mechanical ventilation (P=0.040), iii) with short hospital stays (P=0.009), iv) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) (P=0.040), v) who died early (P=0.003), and vi) with worse CRB scores (P=0.013). In summary, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were associated with early mortality of CAP patients. Longer admission levels demonstrated greater likelihood of early death and overall mortality, necessity of mechanical ventilation, and AKI.
The aim of this study was to identify candidate genes and genomic regions associated with ultrasound‐derived measurements of the rib‐eye area (REA), backfat thickness (BFT) and rumpfat thickness ...(RFT) in Nellore cattle. Data from 640 Nellore steers and young bulls with genotypes for 290 863 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used for genomewide association mapping. Significant SNP associations were explored to find possible candidate genes related to physiological processes. Several of the significant markers detected were mapped onto functional candidate genes including ARFGAP3, CLSTN2 and DPYD for REA; OSBPL3 and SUDS3 for BFT; and RARRES1 and VEPH1 for RFT. The physiological pathway related to lipid metabolism (CLSTN2, OSBPL3, RARRES1 and VEPH1) was identified. The significant markers within previously reported QTLs reinforce the importance of the genomic regions, and the other loci offer candidate genes that have not been related to carcass traits in previous investigations.
β-Adrenergic agonists (β-AA) are non-hormonal growth promoters which promote muscle hypertrophy in supplemented animals. The effects of two β-AA in combination with the immunocastration technique on ...the performance and carcass traits were evaluated using 96 feedlot Nellore males in a randomized complete block design with two sex conditions (immunocastrated (IC) v. non-castrated (NC)) and three treatments: CON (no β-agonists added), RH (300 mg of ractopamine hydrochloride/day, for 33 days) or ZH (80 mg of zilpaterol·hydrochloride animal/day for 30 days, removed 3 days for required withdrawal period). The trial was carried for 100 days where in the first 70 days animals did not receive β-AA (phase 1) and during the last 30 days they were treated with β-AA (phase 2). The performance and ultrasound measurements of longissimus muscle area (LMA), backfat thickness (BFT) and rump fat thickness (RFT) were evaluated in both phases. No sex condition v. treatment interactions were observed for any trait. The NC animals had higher average daily gain (ADG) and final BW than the IC animals, but they did not differ in dry matter intake (DMI) and feed efficiency (gain to feed). The NC animals showed greater LMA (P=0.0001) and hot carcass weight (P=0.0006), and smaller BFT (P=0.0007), RFT (P=0.0039) and percentage of kidney, pelvic and heart fat (P<0.0001) when compared with IC animals. The animals fed ZH showed greater ADG (P=0.0002), G : F (P<0.0001) and dressing per cent (P=0.0136) than those fed RH and CON diets. No differences in BW and DMI were observed. A interaction between treatment and time on feed was observed for LMA and BFT, in which the animals fed ZH diet showed greater LMA (P<0.01) and lower BFT (P<0.01) at 100 days than the animals fed RH and CON diets, whereas RH and CON diets did not differ. Immunocastration decreases muscle development and increases carcass finishing. In contrast, β-AA increases muscle and decreases fat deposition. The ZH has a higher action on the muscle metabolism than animals fed RH diet. However, RH diet achieves a better balance because it has an intermediary performance between non-supplemented and ZH animals and does not decrease the carcass fat.
Immunocastration (ImC) has been proposed as an animal welfare-friendly alternative to reduce sexual and aggressive behavior and to increase carcass fat deposition with positive effects on meat ...quality. The β-adrenergic agonists (β-AA) are known as repartitioning agents that acts increasing lean tissue deposition. The combined use of these technologies can positively affect meat quality and increase retail cuts yield. Thus, this research was conducted to evaluate the combined effects of ImC and β-AA (zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and ractopamine hydrochloride (RH)) on retail cuts, bones, and fat trim of feedlot finished Bos indicus (Nellore) cattle. No interaction was observed between sexual condition and diet for any trait. The ImC decreased cold carcass, hindquarter (HQ), forequarter (FQ) and combined brisket, short ribs and flank (BSF) weights. The ImC also showed smaller weights of retail cuts and bones on the HQ and on the FQ than non-castrated (NoC). Fat trim weights did not differ from ImC and NoC. The most of subprimal cuts were heavier in NoC than in ImC. Feeding β-AA did not affect cold carcass weight; however, animals fed ZH had higher weights of HQ and retail cuts in HQ when compared with RH and control (CO) group, with no differences between RH and CO for both traits. The weights of FQ, BSF, retail cuts in FQ, as well as bones and fat trimmings were not affected by β-AA. In summary, ImC decreases carcass and retail cut weights, whereas ZH supplementation leads to an improvement in carcass lean tissue and retail cuts.
Summary
The genome‐wide association study (GWAS) results are presented for average daily gain (ADG) in Nellore cattle. Phenotype of 720 male Bos indicus animals with information of ADG in feedlots ...and 354 147 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from a database added by information from Illumina Bovine HD (777 962 SNPs) and Illumina BovineSNP50 (54 609) by imputation were used. After quality control and imputation, 290 620 SNPs remained in the association analysis, using R package Genome‐wide Rapid Association using Mixed Model and Regression method GRAMMAR‐Gamma. A genomic region with six significant SNPs, at Bonferroni‐corrected significance, was found on chromosome 3. The most significant SNP (rs42518459, BTA3: 85849977, p = 9.49 × 10−8) explained 5.62% of the phenotypic variance and had the allele substitution effect of −0.269 kg/day. Important genes such as PDE4B, LEPR, CYP2J2 and FGGY are located near this region, which is overlapped by 12 quantitative trait locus (QTLs) described for several production traits. Other regions with markers with suggestive effects were identified in BTA6 and BTA10. This study showed regions with major effects on ADG in Bos indicus in feedlots. This information may be useful to increase the efficiency of selecting this trait and to understand the physiological processes involved in its regulation.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of flint corn processing method (CPM) and level of NDF from roughage (rNDF) on performance, carcass characteristics, and starch utilization by ...finishing Nellore-based cattle fed high-concentrate, flint corn-based diets. In this study, 112 Nellore type bulls (initial BW 384.07 ± 29.53 kg and 24-36 mo of age) were individually fed using Calan gates or individual pens. The animals were used in a randomized complete block design in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with 2 CPM, high-moisture flint corn (HMC) or finely ground dry flint corn (FGC), with 1 of 4 levels of rNDF, 3, 8, 13, and 18% (DM basis), using sugarcane silage (SS) as roughage. Bulls were adapted to the finishing diet over a 21-d period and fed for a total of 81 d. Fecal starch (FS) concentration was determined on d 46 and 74 of the feeding period. There was a quadratic effect of rNDF on final BW ( < 0.01) and ADG ( = 0.01). Optimal concentrations of rNDF were estimated using the first derivative of second order polynomials, indicating that final BW and ADG were maximized with 13.3 and 13.0% rNDF, respectively. An interaction was observed between CPM and rNDF ( = 0.05) for DMI, with peak DMI occurring at 11.3 and 13.7% rNDF with FGC and HMC, respectively. Cattle fed HMC had 13.9% greater G:F ( < 0.01) compared with those fed FGC (0.172 vs. 0.151, respectively). There were quadratic effects of rNDF on HCW ( = 0.04) and ME intake ( < 0.01); heaviest carcass weights were estimated, in both cases, to be achieved with 12.8% rNDF. A quadratic effect of rNDF for renal, pelvic, and inguinal fat weight ( = 0.04) was observed, with a peak estimated to occur at 12.6% rNDF. An interaction between CPM and rNDF also was observed for FS ( < 0.05). Bulls fed FGC with 3% rNDF had greater FS content, and FS linearly decreased as concentration of rNDF increased. For bulls fed HMC, FS was 3.0% of DM and was unaffected by rNDF in the diet. Lower FS from bulls fed HMC suggests that availability of starch from flint corn was greater than that of FGC. For Nellore-based cattle fed a flint corn-based diet containing SS and 8% whole lint cottonseed, performance was optimized with 12.8% rNDF. In the absence of cottonseed addition to diets, optimal performance would be expected with about 14.5% rNDF.
Abstract
Monensin and functional oils (FO) were supplemented to a high-concentrate diet abruptly fed to 12 ruminally cannulated Zebu steers to study their effects on rumen fermentation, blood ...metabolites, and Streptococcus bovis, Megasphaera elsdenii, and Fibrobacter succinogenes relative population. A randomized complete block design with repeated measures over time within 2 experimental periods of 21 d each was used. Treatments were a control (CTR; with no additives), FO (included at 400 mg/kg), and monensin included at 30 mg/kg (M30) or 40 mg/kg (M40). All steers were fed the same high-concentrate basal diet, which consisted of 92.25% concentrate. The first 60 h after transition showed a treatment and hour interaction for ruminal propionate proportion (P = 0.028), and no change in acetate molar proportion (P = 0.633), rumen pH (P = 0.370), and time the rumen pH remained below 5.6 (P = 0.242) were observed. The acetate:propionate ratio decreased (P = 0.020) when monensin was fed in both concentrations (2.30 for the M30 treatment and 2.32 for the M40 treatment) compared with when the CTR was fed (2.85), without being different when the FO (2.71) treatment was fed. Only the M30 treatment did not show pH below 5.2 (P=0.047) over the 60 h after the abrupt transition. Within the entire period, DMI (P = 0.008) and mean ruminal pH (P = 0.040) as well as molar proportions of propionate (P = 0.034) and valerate (P = 0.031) had significant interactions between treatment and day. Total VFA concentration was greater (P = 0.017) for the M30 (117.36 mM) and CTR treatments (115.77 mM) compared with the M40 treatment (105.02 mM), without being different for the FO treatment (111.55 mM). Treatments did not change feed behavior parameters. Blood HCO3− (P = 0.006) and total carbon dioxide (P = 0.003) were greater for the M30 (27.8 and 29.3 mmol/L, respectively) and FO treatments (28.3 and 29.7 mmol/L, respectively) compared with the CTR treatment (25.7 and 26.9 mmol/L, respectively). Fibrobacter succinogenes (P < 0.0001) and Streptococcus bovis (P < 0.0001) decreased their population throughout days, whereas Megasphaera elsdenii (P = 0.026) increased its population. Independent of ciliated protozoa genera, the greatest (P < 0.0001) protozoa counts were observed for the CTR treatment (52.7 × 104/mL), intermediate for the FO treatment (35.3 x104/mL), and least for steers fed monensin in both concentrations (15 × 104/mL for the M30 treatment and 14 × 104/mL for the M40 treatment). Feed additives had different effects to reduce the subacute acidosis. The use of the FO and M40 treatments did not change most of the rumen fermentation variables, especially in the first week after abrupt transition, when the M30 treatment provided higher protection against acidosis.
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