Transport of valine across the small intestinal epithelium in pigs fed different valine levels and Bacillus subtilis.

Mutants of Bacillus subtilis overproducing valine (B. subtilis VAL) could be an approach to supply pigs dietary valine (Val). In the study, 18 gilts were fed: (i) negative diet with a standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val:Lys of 0.63:1 (Neg); (ii) Neg added B. subtilis VAL (1.28 × 1011  cfu/kg as-fed) or; (iii) Neg added L-Val to a Val:Lys of 0.69:1. Using the Ussing chamber method, the study aimed to investigate whether (i) the diets affect intestinal transport of additions of 0, 5, 10 or 20 mmol Val/L from the mucosal to the serosal side and (ii) the B. subtilis VAL contributes to a net transport of Val produced in situ. The results showed that the Isc (ΔIscVal ) and release of Val to the serosal side solution (Srel ; µmol cm-2  min-1 ) increased with Val addition (linear and quadratic, p < .0001) but was similar for 5, 10 or 20 mmol Val/L and not affected by diet. No net transport of in situ produced Val by B. subtilis VAL was detected. In conclusion, feeding a Val-deficient diet with or without B. subtilis VAL or a Val sufficient diet did not affect the Val transport across intestinal epithelia. No in situ Val production by B. subtilis VAL was observed in the Ussing chambers.

Distinct composition of bovine milk from Jersey and Holstein-Friesian cows with good, poor, or noncoagulation properties as reflected in protein genetic variants and isoforms.

The objective of this study was to examine variation in overall milk, protein, and mineral composition of bovine milk in relation to rennet-induced coagulation, with the aim of elucidating the underlying causes of milk with impaired coagulation abilities. On the basis of an initial screening of 892 milk samples from 42 herds with Danish Jersey and Holstein-Friesian cows, a subset of 102 samples was selected to represent milk with good, poor, or noncoagulating properties (i.e., samples that within each breed represented the most extremes in regard to coagulation properties). Milk with good coagulation characteristics was defined as milk forming a strong coagulum based on oscillatory rheology, as indicated by high values for maximum coagulum strength (G'(max)) and curd firming rate (CFR) and a short rennet coagulation time. Poorly coagulating milk formed a weak coagulum, with a low G'(max) and CFR and a long rennet coagulation time. Noncoagulating milk was defined as milk that failed to form a coagulum, having G'(max) and CFR values of zero at measurements taken within 1h after addition of rennet. For both breeds, a lower content of total protein, total casein (CN) and κ-CN, and lower levels of minerals (Ca, P, Mg) were identified in poorly coagulating and noncoagulating milk in comparison with milk with good coagulation properties. Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry revealed the presence of a great variety of genetic variants of the major milk proteins, namely, α(S1)-CN (variants B and C), α(S2)-CN (A), ß-CN (A(1), A(2), B, I, and F), κ-CN (A, B, and E), α-lactalbumin (B), and ß-lactoglobulin (A, B, and C). In poorly coagulating and noncoagulating milk samples of both breeds, the predominant composite genotype of α(S1)-, ß-, and κ-CN was BB-A(2)A(2)-AA, which confirmed a genetic contribution to impaired milk coagulation. Interestingly, subtle variations in posttranslational modification of CN were observed between the coagulation classes in both breeds. Poorly coagulating and noncoagulating milk contained a lower fraction of the least phosphorylated α(S1)-CN form, α(S1)-CN 8P, relative to total α(S1)-CN, along with a lower fraction of glycosylated κ-CN relative to total κ-CN. Thus, apparent variation was observed in the milk and protein composition, in the genetic makeup of the major milk proteins, and in the posttranslational modification level of CN between milk samples with either good or impaired coagulation ability, whereas the composition of poorly coagulating and noncoagulating milk was similar.

Effects of quinoa hull meal on piglet performance and intestinal epithelial physiology.

Saponin-containing feed additives have shown positive effects on pig performance. Quinoa hull has high saponin content and may be of interest as a feed additive. This study aimed to evaluate quinoa hull meal (QHM) as a feed additive in a pig diet. The effects of QHM were assessed for three dosages of South American (SA) origin (100, 300 and 500 mg/kg) and one dosage of Danish (DK) quinoa (300 mg/kg). In addition, the effect of dietary SA-QHM and SA-QHM-extract on jejunal epithelial physiology was studied ex vivo in Ussing chambers. The experiment included 400 piglets weaned at 28 ± 2 days of age and the experimental period was 4 weeks. Piglets were weighed initially and finally and feed intake registered. The ex vivo studies were performed with epithelium from 40 pigs receiving control or SA-QHM. Epithelium from each pig was placed into eight Ussing chambers, where four concentrations of SA-QHM-extract were added. Epithelial permeability, Na(+)-dependent glucose transport and serotonin (5-HT) and theophylline-induced secretion were measured. The results showed that QHM had no influence on piglet's growth (p = 0.41) or feed intake (p = 0.17). In spite of a large difference in saponin content between SA-QHM and DK-QHM (28.7% and 2.0% w/w respectively) the source did not affect pig performance. The ex vivo studies revealed no effect (p > 0.05) of adding QHM-extract into the medium. The permeability and glucose induced absorption were highest (p = 0.003 and p = 0.04 respectively) in epithelium from pigs that consumed 100 or 300 mg/kg SA-QHM. The secretory response to 5-HT was not affected (p = 0.59) by dietary treatments, but the theophylline-induced secretion decreased (p = 0.02) with increasing dietary SA-QHM. The changes in epithelial physiology measured ex vivo did not affect animal performance in vivo in this study.

Composition and effect of blending of noncoagulating, poorly coagulating, and well-coagulating bovine milk from individual Danish Holstein cows.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the underlying causes of noncoagulating (NC) milk. Based on an initial screening in a herd of 53 Danish Holstein-Friesians, 20 individual Holstein-Friesian cows were selected for good and poor chymosin-induced coagulation properties; that is, the 10 cows producing milk with the poorest and best coagulating properties, respectively. These 20 selected cows were followed and resampled on several occasions to evaluate possible changes in coagulation properties. In the follow-up study, we found that among the 10 cows with the poorest coagulating properties, 4 cows consistently produced poorly coagulating (PC) or NC milk, corresponding to a frequency of 7%. Noncoagulating milk was defined as milk that failed to form a coagulum, defined as increase in the storage modulus (G') in oscillatory rheometry, within 45min after addition of chymosin. Poorly coagulating milk was characterized by forming a weak coagulum of low G'. Milk proteomic profiling and contents of different casein variants, ionic contents of Ca, P and Mg, κ-casein (CN) genotypes, casein micelle size, and coagulation properties of the 4 NC or PC samples were compared with milk samples of 4 cows producing milk with good coagulation properties. The studies included determination of production of caseinomacropeptide to ascertain whether noncoagulation could be ascribed to the first or second phase of chymosin-induced coagulation. Caseinomacropeptide was formed in all 8 milk samples after addition of chymosin, indicating that the first step (cleavage of κ-CN) was not the cause of inability to coagulate. Furthermore, the effect of mixing noncoagulating and well-coagulating milk was studied. By gradually blending NC with well-coagulating milk, the coagulation properties of the well-coagulating samples were compromised in a manner similar to titration. Milk samples from cows that consistently produced NC milk were further studied at the udder quarter level. The coagulation properties of the quarter milk samples were not significantly different from those of the composite milk sample, showing that poor coagulation traits and noncoagulation traits of the composite milk were not caused by the milk quality of a single quarter. The milk samples exhibiting PC or NC properties were all of the κ-CN variant AA genotype, and contained casein micelles with a larger mean diameter and a lower fraction of κ-CN relative to total CN than milk with good coagulation properties. Interestingly, the relative proportions of different phosphorylation forms of α-CN differed between well-coagulating milk and PC or NC milk samples. The PC and NC milk samples contained a lower proportion of the 2 less-phosphorylated variants of α-CN (α(S1)-CN-8P and α(S2)-CN-11P) compared with samples of milk that coagulated well.

Review: Feed residues of glyphosate - potential consequences for livestock health and productivity.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in a wide range of herbicides used for weed control, including weed control in genetically modified, glyphosate-insensitive crops. In addition, glyphosate herbicides are used for pre-harvest desiccation of glyphosate-sensitive crops. Together, the use of glyphosate leads to residues in livestock feed. In addition to its herbicidal property, glyphosate has documented antimicrobial and mineral-chelating properties. The aim of the present paper is to address, based on the published literature and own observations, whether dietary glyphosate residues may affect livestock gut microbiota and/or mineral status potentially with derived unfavourable effects on animal health and productivity. However, and as reported, literature on the potential effects of glyphosate on livestock is very scarce and mainly reporting in vitro studies; hence, a solid basis of in vivo studies with livestock in physiological and productive phases, particularly sensitive to disorders in mineral status and in the gut microbiota, is needed for drawing final conclusions.

Serosal zinc attenuate serotonin and vasoactive intestinal peptide induced secretion in piglet small intestinal epithelium in vitro.

This study addressed the mechanisms by which dietary zinc affects diarrhoea and aimed to study possible interactions between zinc status and the presence of zinc in vitro on secretagogue-induced secretion from piglet intestinal epithelium in Ussing chambers. In addition, it was studied from which side of the epithelium zinc would perform an effect and if copper caused similar effects. Twenty-four piglets (28 days of age) were weaned and fed diets containing 100 or 2500 mg zinc/kg (as ZnO) for 5 or 6 days (12 piglets per group). Intestinal epithelium underwent the following 5 treatments: zinc at the mucosal side (M(Zn)), zinc at the serosal side (S(Zn)), zinc at both sides (MS(Zn)), copper at both sides (MS(Cu)) or water at both sides (control). Provoked secretion in terms of short circuit responses to serotonin (5-HT) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were measured. Zinc at the serosal or both sides of the epithelium reduced the 5-HT induced secretion (P<0.001); however, due to interactions (P=0.05) the effect of zinc in vitro was only present in the ZnO(100) group. The secretion caused by VIP was not affected by the diet (P=0.33), but zinc at the serosal side or both sides reduced the response to VIP (P<0.001). Copper reduced the 5-HT and VIP induced secretion to a larger extent than zinc. However, copper also disturbed intestinal barrier function as demonstrated by increased transepithelial conductance and increased short circuit current, which was unaffected by zinc. In conclusion, zinc at the serosal side of piglet small intestinal epithelium attenuated 5-HT and VIP induced secretion in vitro. These in vitro studies indicate that in vivo there will be no positive acute effect of increasing luminal Zn concentration on secretagogue-induced chloride secretion and that zinc status at the serosal side of the epithelium has to be increased to reduce secretagogue-induced chloride secretion and thereby diarrhoea.

Interactions between phosphorus feeding strategies for pigs and dairy cows and separation efficiency of slurry.

Phosphorus (P) in manure is a nutrient source for plants, but surplus P amended to fields represents a risk to the environment. This study examines the interactions between low-P diets for pigs and dairy cows and the separation of animal slurry into a solid P fraction and a liquid fraction. Replacing inorganic phosphates with phytase in pig feed reduced the concentration of P in slurry by 35%, but supplementing concentrates to dairy cows did not affect the P concentration in cattle slurry. Particle-size fractions of the slurry were not affected by these dietary changes. The amount of dry matter (DM) in the < 0.025 mm fraction was greater in pig slurry than in cattle slurry, but the relative amounts of P and nitrogen (N) were larger in the > 0.025 mm fraction. Replacing feed phosphate, in the form of mono-calcium phosphate, with phytase in the pig diet reduced the separation index (efficiency) of P from 80% to 60%.

Associations among gait score, production data, abattoir registrations, and postmortem tibia measurements in broiler chickens.

Lameness and impaired walking ability in rapidly growing meat-type broiler chickens are major welfare issues that cause economic losses. This study analyzed the prevalence of impaired walking and its associations with production data, abattoir registrations, and postmortem tibia measurements in Norwegian broiler chickens. Gait score (GS) was used to assess walking ability in 59 different commercial broiler flocks (Ross 308) close to the slaughter d, 5,900 broilers in total, in 3 different geographical regions. In each flock, 100 arbitrary broilers were gait scored and 10 random broilers were culled to harvest tibias. Abattoir registrations on flock level were collected after slaughter. A total of 24.6% of the broilers had moderate to severe gait impairment. The broilers were sampled in 2 stages, first slaughterhouse/region, and then owner/flock. The final models showed that impaired gait is associated with first-week mortality (P < 0.05), region (P < 0.001), height of tibias mid-shaft (P < 0.05), and calcium content in the tibia ash (P < 0.05), and negatively associated with DOA (P < 0.05). The prevalence of impaired gait indicates that this is a common problem in the broiler industry in Norway, although the mean slaughter age is only 31 d and the maximum allowed animal density is relatively low. Impaired walking ability could not be predicted by the welfare indicators footpad lesion score, total on-farm mortality, and decreasing DOA prevalence. Further studies are needed to explore the relationship between first-week mortality and gait score.

Oxidative stability of milk influenced by fatty acids, antioxidants, and copper derived from feed.

Differences in the oxidative stability of milk from cows fed grass-clover silage or hay were examined in relation to fatty acid composition and contents of antioxidants and copper in the milk. The oxidation processes were induced by exposing the milk to fluorescent light. Protein oxidation was measured as an accumulation of dityrosine, whereas lipid oxidation was measured as an accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides as the primary oxidation product, and as the secondary oxidation products, pentanal, hexanal, and heptanal. No differences were found in the protein oxidation of the 2 types of milk measured as accumulation of dityrosine, but there was an increased accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides and hexanal in milk from cows fed grass-clover silage, compared with milk from cows fed hay. The higher degree of lipid oxidation in milk from cows fed grass-clover silage could not be explained from the concentration of alpha-tocopherol, carotenoids, uric acid, and copper in the milk. However, it was thought to be highly influenced by the significantly higher concentration of linolenic acid present in milk from cows fed grass-clover silage. A larger part of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene was transferred from the feed to the milk when cows were fed grass-clover silage than when cows were fed hay as roughage. The significantly higher concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk from cows fed grass-clover silage may be important for the better transfer of alpha-tocopherol from the feed to the milk. Other circumstances, as the different conditions in the rumen may also play a role, due to the different types of roughages and their digestibility, or be related to the mechanisms during milk production for the higher yielding cows fed grass-clover silage.

Evaluation of in situ valine production by Bacillus subtilis in young pigs.

Mutants of Bacillus subtilis can be developed to overproduce Val in vitro. It was hypothesized that addition of Bacillus subtilis mutants to pig diets can be a strategy to supply the animal with Val. The objective was to investigate the effect of Bacillus subtilis mutants on growth performance and blood amino acid (AA) concentrations when fed to piglets. Experiment 1 included 18 pigs (15.0±1.1 kg) fed one of three diets containing either 0.63 or 0.69 standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val : Lys, or 0.63 SID Val : Lys supplemented with a Bacillus subtilis mutant (mutant 1). Blood samples were obtained 0.5 h before feeding and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 h after feeding and analyzed for AAs. In Experiment 2, 80 piglets (9.1±1.1 kg) were fed one of four diets containing 0.63 or 0.67 SID Val : Lys, or 0.63 SID Val : Lys supplemented with another Bacillus subtilis mutant (mutant 2) or its parent wild type. Average daily feed intake, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were measured on days 7, 14 and 21. On day 17, blood samples were taken and analyzed for AAs. On days 24 to 26, six pigs from each dietary treatment were fitted with a permanent jugular vein catheter, and blood samples were taken for AA analysis 0.5 h before feeding and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 h after feeding. In experiment 1, Bacillus subtilis mutant 1 tended (P<0.10) to increase the plasma levels of Val at 2 and 3 h post-feeding, but this was not confirmed in Experiment 2. In Experiment 2, Bacillus subtilis mutant 2 and the wild type did not result in a growth performance different from the negative and positive controls. In conclusion, results obtained with the mutant strains of Bacillus subtilis were not better than results obtained with the wild-type strain, and for both strains, the results were not different than the negative control.

Microbial phytase addition resulted in a greater increase in phosphorus digestibility in dry-fed compared with liquid-fed non-heat-treated wheat-barley-maize diets for pigs.

The objective was to evaluate the effect of microbial phytase (1250 FTU/kg diet with 88% dry matter (DM)) on apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of phosphorus (P) in pigs fed a dry or soaked diet. Twenty-four pigs (65±3 kg) from six litters were used. Pigs were housed in metabolism crates and fed one of four diets for 12 days; 5 days for adaptation and 7 days for total, but separate collection of feces and urine. The basal diet was composed of wheat, barley, maize, soybean meal and no mineral phosphate. Dietary treatments were: basal dry-fed diet (BDD), BDD with microbial phytase (BDD+phy), BDD soaked for 24 h at 20°C before feeding (BDS) and BDS with microbial phytase (BDS+phy). Supplementation of microbial phytase increased ATTD of DM and crude protein (N×6.25) by 2 and 3 percentage units (P<0.0001; P<0.001), respectively. The ATTD of P was affected by the interaction between microbial phytase and soaking (P=0.02). This was due to a greater increase in ATTD of P by soaking of the diet containing solely plant phytase compared with the diet supplemented with microbial phytase: 35%, 65%, 44% and 68% for BDD, BDD+phy, BSD and BSD+phy, respectively. As such, supplementation of microbial phytase increased ATTD of P in the dry-fed diet, but not in the soaked diet. The higher ATTD of P for BDS compared with BDD resulted from the degradation of 54% of the phytate in BDS by wheat and barley phytases during soaking. On the other hand, soaking of BDS+phy did not increase ATTD of P significantly compared with BDD+phy despite that 76% of the phytate in BDS+phy was degraded before feeding. In conclusion, soaking of BDS containing solely plant phytase provided a great potential for increasing ATTD of P. However, this potential was not present when microbial phytase (1250 FTU/kg diet) was supplemented, most likely because soaking of BDS+phy for 24 h at 20°C did not result in a complete degradation of phytate before feeding.

Requirement of standardized ileal digestible valine to lysine ratio for 8- to 14-kg pigs.

The objective was to define the Val requirement for weaned piglets in the context of reducing the dietary protein content. A dose-response experiment was conducted to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val to Lys ratio required to support the optimum growth of post-weaned piglets. In this study, 96 pigs weighing 8 kg were allotted to one of six dietary treatments (16 pigs for each dietary treatment) and were housed individually. Diets were formulated to provide 0.58, 0.62, 0.66, 0.70, 0.74 and 0.78 SID Val : Lys by adding graded levels of crystalline l-Val to the 0.58 SID Val : Lys diet. Lysine was sub-limiting and supplied 90% of the recommendation (10.95 g SID Lys/kg equal to 11.8 g/kg total Lys). Average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G : F) were determined during a 14-day period of ad libitum feeding. Blood and urine samples were taken at the end of each week (day 7 and 14 of the experiment) 3 h after feeding the experimental diets. The maximum ADFI and ADG were obtained in pigs fed the 0.78 SID Val : Lys diet; it was not different from the results of pigs fed 0.70 SID Val : Lys diet. The highest G : F was obtained in pigs fed 0.70 SID Val : Lys. The plasma concentration of Val increased linearly (P<0.001) as the dietary SID Val : Lys increased. The increasing dietary Val : Lys also resulted in a linear increase in Cys (P<0.001) and a quadratic increase in Arg (P=0.003), Lys (P=0.05) and Phe (P=0.009). The plasma Gly showed a quadratic decrease (P=0.05) as the dietary Val : Lys increased. Neither plasma nor urinary urea to creatinine ratio was affected by treatment. The minimum SID Val : Lys required to maximize ADFI, ADG and G : F was estimated at 0.67 SID Val : Lys by a broken-line model, and at 0.71 SID Val : Lys by a curvilinear plateau model. The Val deficiency caused a reduction in ADFI, and Val supplementation above the requirement did not impair animal performance. In conclusion, 0.70 SID Val : Lys is suggested as the Val requirement for 8 to 14 kg individually housed pigs.

The optimum ratio of standardized ileal digestible leucine to lysine for 8 to 12 kg female pigs.

The objective of the study was to estimate Leu requirement for weaned piglets to balance indispensable AA in reduced CP diets. A dose-response experiment was conducted to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Leu to Lys ratio required for the maximum growth of young pigs after weaning. In this study, 96 female pigs (initial BW of 8 kg) were allotted to 1 of 6 dietary treatments with 16 individually penned pigs per treatment. Graded levels of crystalline L-Leu were added to a basal diet to provide diets containing 0.70, 0.80, 0.90, 1.00, 1.10, and 1.20 SID Leu:Lys. Lysine was limiting and fulfilled 90% of the current recommendations. The ADFI, ADG, and G:F were determined during a 2 wk experimental period. Blood and urine samples were taken at the end of each wk. The ADFI increased linearly (P < 0.001) from 0.70 to 0.80 SID Leu:Lys and then remained constant from 0.90 to 1.20 SID Leu:Lys. The ADG showed a quadratic increase ( P= 0.02), as the SID Leu:Lys level increased from 0.70 to 0.90 SID Leu:Lys and did not change further from 0.90 to 1.20 SID Leu:Lys. The G:F increased quadratically (P < 0.001) with increasing SID Leu:Lys level, and the greatest G:F was achieved with pigs receiving the diet with 0.80 SID Leu:Lys. Increasing the dietary SID Leu:Lys resulted in a linear increase in plasma Leu concentration (P < 0.001) and quadratic increases (P < 0.001) in plasma Cys concentration. The plasma concentration of most of the other AA was lowest in pigs receiving the diets with 0.90 to 1.00 SID Leu:Lys. The plasma urea nitrogen concentration tended (P = 0.08) to be lowest in pigs receiving 1.00 SID Leu:Lys, suggesting a more balanced AA profile at this level. Using a curvilinear-plateau model, the SID Leu:Lys requirement was estimated at 0.93 to maximize growth in female pigs weighing 8 to 12 kg.

Excessive dietary selenium to primiparous sows and their offspring. I. Influence on reproduction and growth.

The effect of high dietary selenium (Se) on the reproductive performance, growth and health in pigs was examined. Addition of 0 to 16 mg Se per kg feed to sows and their piglets up to nine weeks of age did not cause any manifest toxic effect. None of the sows died due to the Se treatment. The piglets were all fullborn and showed no macroscopic abnormalities. The treatment did not influence neither the number of liveborn and stillborn piglets in the litter, nor the survival of the piglets until 9 weeks of age. The weight of the whole litter at birth was unaffected by the Se supplementation, while there was a significant difference in body weight of the piglets at 9 weeks of age. The weaned pigs receiving 8 or 16 mg Se per kg feed had a reduced feed intake. As the feed utilization was unaffected by treatment, these pigs had a significantly lower weight at 9 weeks of age.

[Validation of data on commitments to mental hospitals. How many persons were committed annually?]. / Validering af data om tvangsindlaeggelse. Hvor mange tvangsindlaegges om året?

The purpose was to validate data on commitments from the Danish Psychiatric Case Register and police statistics. From 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1996, 25.8% (437 commitments) of all commitments in Denmark were investigated. In 347 (79.4%) cases the commitment was recorded as such both in the register and police statistics. Thirty (6.9%) commitments could not be found in the register. Sixty (13.7%) admissions were recorded as involuntary by the police but as voluntary in the register. Medical records were available in 53 of these 60 cases and showed that in 46 cases the police record was correct, i.e. the patient had been committed, and in seven cases the register was correct, i.e. the patient had been admitted voluntarily. This difference in correct registration was statistically significant (p < 0.02). The study concludes that police statistics seem more correct than the Psychiatric Case Register. This is mainly due to insufficient reporting by the psychiatric departments to te register. For register data to be used in administration, planning and research, this must be improved.

[The use of involuntary commitment and other compulsory treatment in psychiatry. A study of registered compulsory treatment, physical restraint and the use of physical force]. / Lov om frihedsberøvelse og anden tvang i psykiatrien. En undersøgelse af registrering af tvangsbehandling, tvangsfiksering og anvendelse af fysisk magt.

The study covers nine psychiatric hospitals in Denmark that together account for 20% of all admissions to mental hospitals in the country. The period of investigation was from 1. January 1990 to 31. December 1991. Compulsory treatment, mechanical restraint and physical coercion were investigated. The number of patients that are submitted to compulsory treatment is relatively small compared to the total number of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals. The use of the different kinds of coercion may among other factors depend upon the severity of the patient's disease, the bed occupancy and the amount of staff available including the number of doctors. The study shows differences among the participating departments in the use of mechanical restraint with wrist and/or ankle cuffs but not with a waist-belt. This may depend more upon different traditions on the wards than upon demographic differences. According to Danish law a doctor must attend a patient experiencing mechanical restraint. In an emergency situation the staff are permitted to effectuate the restraint without the doctor being present but a doctor must see the patient immediately afterwards and sign a protocol. This was the case in only about one third of all cases.

[The law on involuntary commitment and other detaintment in psychiatry. A study of registered involuntary commitments]. / Lov om frihedsberøvelse og anden tvang i psykiatrien. En undersøgelse af registrering af frihedsberøvelser.

The hospitals included in this study receive about 20% of all commitments to mental hospitals in Denmark. The investigation showed that 4% of the commitments were involuntary. The median time for involuntary detainment was 12 days. More than half of the patients who were committed on an involuntary basis experienced involuntary detainment. But 70% of all involuntary detainments were experienced by patients who were committed on a voluntary basis. The study suggests that a high bed occupancy rate together with poor out-hospital treatment of the patients might lead to a higher number of compulsory admissions. Other factors may be of importance but were not considered in this study. According to Danish law all compulsory admissions and detainments must be reviewed according to certain rules. The investigation showed that there were some irregularities concerning such reviewing. The number of staff members including doctors has not increased despite the fact that reviewing commitments and detainments takes a lot of time for the staff involved.

Effect of particle size and microbial phytase on phytate degradation in incubated maize and soybean meal.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of screen size (1, 2 and 3 mm) and microbial phytase (0 and 1000 FTU/kg as-fed) on phytate degradation in maize (100% maize), soybean meal (100% SBM) and maize-SBM (75% maize and 25% SBM) incubated in water for 0, 2, 4, 8 and 24 h at 38°C. Samples were analysed for pH, dry matter and phytate phosphorus (P). Particle size distribution (PSD) and average particle size (APS) of samples were measured by the Laser Diffraction and Bygholm method. PSD differed between the two methods, whereas APS was similar. Decreasing screen size from 3 to 1 mm reduced APS by 48% in maize, 30% in SBM and 26% in maize-SBM. No interaction between screen size and microbial phytase on phytate degradation was observed, but the interaction between microbial phytase and incubation time was significant ( P<0.001). This was because microbial phytase reduced phytate P by 88% in maize, 84% in maize-SBM and 75% in SBM after 2 h of incubation ( P<0.05), whereas the reduction of phytate P was limited (<50%) in the feeds, even after 24 h when no microbial phytase was added. The exponential decay model was fitted to the feeds with microbial phytase to analyse the effect of screen size and feed on microbial phytase efficacy on phytate degradation. The interaction between screen size and feed affected the relative phytate degradation rate ( Rd) of microbial phytase as well as the time to decrease 50% of the phytate P ( t1 =2) ( P<0.001). Thus, changing from 3 to 1 mm screen size increased Rd by 22 and 10%/h and shortened t1 =2 by 0.4 and 0.2 h in maize and maize-SBM, respectively ( P<0.05), but not in SBM. Moreover, the screen size effect was more pronounced in maize and maize-SBM compared with SBM as a higher phytate degradation rate constant (Kd) and Rd, and a shorter t1 =2 was observed in maize compared with SBM in all screen sizes ( P<0.05). However, a higher amount of degraded phytate was achieved in SBM than in maize because of the higher initial phytate P content in SBM. In conclusion, reducing screen size from 3 to 1 mm increased Kd and Rd and decreased t1 =2 in maize and maize-SBM with microbial phytase. The positive effect of grinding on improving microbial phytase efficacy, which was expressed as Kd, Rd and t1/2, was greater in maize than in SBM.

Isoleucine requirement of pigs weighing 8 to 18 kg fed blood cell-free diets.

The aim of the present study was to determine the minimum requirement of Ile in young pigs, enabling feeding of balanced low-CP diets. Most previous studies have used experimental diets that included blood cells, which are particularly high in Leu and known to antagonize the use of Ile. One week after weaning at d 28, 100 crossbred female pigs weighing 7.9 ± 0.7 kg were allocated to 1 of 5 dietary treatments. Diets were formulated to contain 1.15 g standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys/MJ NE and were free of blood cells. The SID Ile was 0.42, 0.47, 0.53, 0.58, and 0.62 relative to Lys. The other indispensable AA were supplied according to requirements. Representative samples from the 5 diets were analyzed in 4 replicates at 3 different laboratories. The pigs were fed ad libitum and individually housed in 7 identical rooms during a 21-d period. At d 0, 7, 14, and 21, the pigs were weighed, and feed intake was determined. At d 15, blood samples were collected from the jugular vein to determine the plasma urea and free AA content. There were differences among the 3 laboratories in the analyzed content of several AA, and also Ile and Lys showed a large variation within the diets, which may cause variation in published requirement estimates. The concentration of Ile in plasma increased linearly (P < 0.01), and Lys in plasma decreased linearly (P = 0.02) with increasing SID Ile:Lys. A tendency for a linear decrease in plasma concentration was found for Thr (P = 0.10). Both ADFI and ADG were reduced when Ile was supplied above the Ile requirement estimate. Quadratic regression curves on ADFI, ADG, and G:F all showed the maximum at 0.52 SID Ile:Lys. Modeling with 2-sloped quadratic broken-line curves showed the maximum at 0.50, 0.53, and 0.54 SID Ile:Lys for ADFI, ADG, and G:F, respectively. In conclusion, the average estimation of requirement in this dose-response study using blood cell-free diets was 0.52 SID Ile:Lys during a 21-d experimental period from 8 kg BW.

Effect of microbial phytase on phosphorus digestibility in non-heat-treated and heat-treated wheat-barley pig diets.

The objective was to evaluate effects of microbial phytase on apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of P in a non-heat-treated and a heat-treated wheat (Triticum aestivum)-barley (Hordeum vulgare) diet fed without inorganic P in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. The basal diet was ground and half of the batch was steam pelleted at 81°C and crumbled. Phytase was added at 0, 250, and 500 phytase units (FTU)/kg as-fed (Aspergillus niger). The study comprised 36 pigs from 6 litters. Pigs were housed in metabolism crates and fed 1 of 6 diets for 12 d: 5 d for adaptation and 7 d for total collection of feces. The ATTD of P was highest (P < 0.01) for the non-heat-treated diets and highest (P < 0.01) for the phytase-supplemented diets. Heat treatment reduced plant phytase activity by 25% whereby the ATTD of P decreased (P < 0.01) from 57 to 49%. Microbial phytase increased the ATTD of P to a maximum of 64 and 61% in the non-heat-treated and heat-treated diets corresponding to an increase of 7 and 12%-units. Responses for ATTD of P did not differ between 250 vs. 500 FTU/kg as-fed. In conclusion, processing of feed (meal or pellets) containing plant phytase should be considered to avoid over- or underestimation of effects of microbial phytase.