Effect of alfalfa hay and starter feed supplementation on caecal microbiota and fermentation, growth, and health of yak calves.

The caecum is the primary site where microbial fermentation and acidosis occurred. The supplementation of starter feed and alfalfa hay has the potential to influence caecal microbiota and then affect caecal fermentation. This study aims to investigate the effect of starter feed and alfalfa hay supplementation on caecal microbiota, immune homeostasis, and growth of preweaning yaks. Twenty 30-day-old male yak calves were randomly assigned to four groups, which separately fed with milk replacer (CON group), milk replacer with alfalfa hay (A group), milk replacer with starter feed (S group), and milk replacer with starter feed plus alfalfa hay (SA group) throughout the trial. Growth performance and plasma physiological and biochemical indicators were measured every 30 days. Calves were sacrificed at 120 days of age. The caecal contents were collected for measuring pH and contents of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and for characterizing caecal microbiota. The results indicated that individual or simultaneous supplementation with alfalfa hay and starter feed all significantly increased the BW, body height, body length, and chest girth of yak calves. However, supplementation with starter feed significantly increased plasma cortisol, nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ concentrations and the ratio of aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase of yak calves when compared with the control and alfalfa hay feeding groups, while the co-supplementation of starter feed and alfalfa hay could significantly decrease these inflammation-related indices when compared with the starter feeding group. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that starter feed and alfalfa hay separately stimulated the proliferation of starch-decomposing and cellulose- or hemicellulose-decomposing bacteria. This also significantly increased the levels of acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate in the caecal contents. Furthermore, compared with the S and CON groups, the significantly increased genera of Desulfobulbus, Olsenella, Pseudoflavonifractor, and Stomatobaculum in the SA and A groups were beneficial to the immune homeostasis, and the significantly decreased Blautia, Clostridium IV, Bacteroides, Eubacterium, Clostridium XVIII, and Mogibacterium in the SA and A groups were related to the reduced caecal lactate and LPS contents, the decreased inflammatory reaction, and the improved healthy hepatic condition of yak calves. In conclusion, milk replacer supplemented with alfalfa hay and starter feed is recommended during preweaning to improve yak calf health and growth because this regimen promotes the growth and maintains the immune homeostasis of yak calves.

Effect of inorganic phosphate supplementation on egg production in Hy-Line Brown layers fed 2000 FTU/kg phytase.

Phytase has long been used to decrease the inorganic phosphorus (Pi) input in poultry diet. The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of Pi supplementation on laying performance, egg quality and phosphate-calcium metabolism in Hy-Line Brown laying hens fed phytase. Layers (n = 504, 29 weeks old) were randomly assigned to seven treatments with six replicates of 12 birds. The corn-soybean meal-based diet contained 0.12% non-phytate phosphorus (nPP), 3.8% calcium, 2415 IU/kg vitamin D3 and 2000 FTU/kg phytase. Inorganic phosphorus (in the form of mono-dicalcium phosphate) was added into the basal diet to construct seven experimental diets; the final dietary nPP levels were 0.12%, 0.17%, 0.22%, 0.27%, 0.32%, 0.37% and 0.42%. The feeding trial lasted 12 weeks (hens from 29 to 40 weeks of age). Laying performance (housed laying rate, egg weight, egg mass, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio) was weekly calculated. Egg quality (egg shape index, shell strength, shell thickness, albumen height, yolk colour and Haugh units), serum parameters (calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D), tibia quality (breaking strength, and calcium, phosphorus and ash contents), intestinal gene expression (type IIb sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter, NaPi-IIb) and phosphorus excretion were determined at the end of the trial. No differences were observed on laying performance, egg quality, serum parameters and tibia quality. Hens fed 0.17% nPP had increased (P < 0.01) duodenum NaPi-IIb expression compared to all other treatments. Phosphorus excretion linearly increased with an increase in dietary nPP (phosphorus excretion = 1.7916 × nPP + 0.2157; R2 = 0.9609, P = 0.001). In conclusion, corn-soybean meal-based diets containing 0.12% nPP, 3.8% calcium, 2415 IU/kg vitamin D3 and 2000 FTU/kg phytase would meet the requirements for egg production in Hy-Line Brown laying hens (29 to 40 weeks of age).

[Resting-state functional magnetic resonance study of the brain's network of the temporal lobe epilepsy patients with depression].

OBJECTIVE: To study brain networks of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) to investigate whether TLE brain dysfunction have an impact on depression, using resting state functional magnetic resonance (RS-fMRI) detection technology. METHODS: A total of 18 patients with TLE were included in this study. According to Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton's Depression Scale (HAMD)-17 score, we divided them into two groups: depression group 9 cases, non-depression group 9 cases. All patients underwent 3.0T MRI , RS-fMRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) examinations and then the results were analyzed. RESULTS: Disease course of depression group was longer than non-depression group and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). RS-fMRI examination showed that depression group had more active brain areas and more extral temporal active areas than non-depression group (P<0.05). By compared with the non-depression group, we found more strong active brain areas including thalamus, and the default-mode network which involved in prefrontal cortex, precuneus, ventral anterior cingulate and hippocampus. We found the NAA and NAA/Cho+ Cr of the hippocampus which were ipsilateral to the advantage discharge side were decreased in 5/9 cases with depression in MRS and 3/5 cases had hippocampal atrophy, while the non-depression group had no obvious abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The brain default-mode network activity in TLE patients with depression is increased and there is more extral temporal activation than the non-depression group; furthermore abnormal hippocampus structure is more common in depression group, which suggests that epileptic brain dysfunction may affect the development of depression.