Condensed tannins fed to dairy goats: Effects on digestibility, milk production, blood parameters, methane emission, and energy and nitrogen balances.

Condensed tannins (CT) are plant polyphenols that can affect feed digestibility and are potentially able to reduce enteric CH4 emissions in ruminants. In this in vivo trial with 8 lactating goats, we investigated the effects of 4 levels of inclusion of a commercial CT extract from quebracho (0%, 2%, 4%, and 6% on dry matter basis; CON, Q2, Q4, and Q6, respectively). The experimental design was a repeated 4 × 4 Latin square with 28-d periods (24 d of diet adaptation and 4 d of sample collection) using metabolic cages and 4 open-circuit respiration chambers. The inclusion of CT in the diets did not affect the dry matter intake (DMI) but caused a linear decrease in diet digestibility, with reductions up to -11% for dry matter, -21% for crude protein (CP), -23% for α-amylase- and sodium sulfite-treated neutral detergent fiber corrected for insoluble ash (aNDFom), and -13% for gross energy, when comparing the Q6 and CON diets. However, ruminal total volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration was not affected by CT, although there were changes in VFA proportions. Milk yield was highest for Q4 (3,371 g/d) and lowest for Q6 (3,066 g/d). In terms of milk composition, CT induced a linear reduction of fat and CP concentrations. The reduction in CP digestibility resulted in a linear reduction in the milk urea level, up to -37% with Q6. Positively, CT linearly reduced the somatic cells count expressed as linear score. The feed efficiency was linearly decreased by CT inclusion. Furthermore, a shift from urinary to fecal nitrogen excretion was observed with CT. The retained nitrogen was always negative (on average -1.93 g/d). The CH4 yield (on average 19.2 g of CH4/kg DMI) was linearly reduced by CT inclusion, up to -18% with Q6. Regarding the CH4 intensity, CT induced a linear reduction when expressed per kilogram of milk, but not per kilogram of fat and protein-corrected milk. Moreover, the CH4 production per kilogram of digestible aNDFom was linearly increased by CT. The metabolizable energy intake (MEI) was not affected by the treatments, but the metabolizability (q = MEI/gross energy intake) was reduced as CT inclusion increased. From the results of the present study, it turned out that CT have a negative impact on feed digestibility and feed use efficiency. Condensed tannins can lower CH4 emissions from ruminants; however, the main mechanism of action is likely the decrease in feed digestibility. Furthermore, CT did not improve the N use efficiency. According to these findings, the positive environmental impacts of CT are only related to the shift from urinary to fecal N excretion.

Milk production, methane emissions, nitrogen, and energy balance of cows fed diets based on different forage systems.

Eight lactating Italian Friesian cows were housed in individual respiration chambers in a repeated Latin square design to determine their dry matter intake (DMI) and their milk and methane production, as well as to collect the total feces and urine to determine the N and energy balances. Four diets, based on the following forages (% of dry matter, DM), were tested: corn silage (CS, 49.3), alfalfa silage (AS, 26.8), wheat silage (WS, 20.0), and a typical hay-based Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production diet (PR, 25.3 of both alfalfa and Italian ryegrass hay). The greatest DMI was observed for cows fed PR (23.4 vs. 20.7 kg/d, the average of the other 3 diets). The DM digestibility was lower for PR (64.5 vs. 71.7%, the average of the other diets). The highest ash-free neutral detergent fiber digestibility values were obtained for CS (50.7%) and AS (47.4%). In the present study, no differences in milk production were observed between diets, although PR showed a higher milk yield trend. The highest milk urea N concentration (mg/dL) was found for the cows fed the WS diet (13.8), and the lowest was observed for the cows fed AS (9.24). The highest milk urea N concentration for the cows fed WS was also correlated with the highest urinary N excretion (g/d), which was found for the cows fed that same diet (189 vs. 147 on average for the other diets). The protein digestibility was higher for the cows fed the CS and WS diets (on average 68.5%) than for the cows fed AS and PR (on average 57.0%); dietary soybean inclusion was higher for CS and WS than for AS and PR. The rumen fermentation pattern was affected by the diet; the cows fed the PR diet showed a higher rumen pH and decreased propionate production than those fed CS, due to the lower nonfiber carbohydrate content and higher ash-free neutral detergent fiber content of the PR diet than the CS diet. Feeding cows with PR diet increased the acetate:propionate ratio in comparison with the CS diet (3.30 vs. 2.44 for PR and CS, respectively). Cows fed the PR diet produced a greater daily amount of methane and had a greater methane energy loss (% of digestible energy intake) than those fed the CS diet (413 vs. 378 g/d and 8.67 vs. 7.70%), but no differences were observed when methane was expressed as grams per kilogram of DMI or grams per kilogram of milk. The PR diet resulted in a smaller net energy for lactation content than the CS diet (1.36 vs. 1.70 Mcal/kg of DM for the PR and CS diets, respectively). Overall, our research suggests that a satisfactory milk production can be attained by including different high-quality forages in balanced diets without any negative effect on milk production or on the methane emissions per kilogram of milk.

Effect of dietary starch concentration and fish oil supplementation on milk yield and composition, diet digestibility, and methane emissions in lactating dairy cows.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diets with different starch concentrations and fish oil (FO) supplementation on lactation performance, in vivo total-tract nutrient digestibility, N balance, and methane (CH4) emissions in lactating dairy cows. The experiment was conducted as a 4×4 Latin square design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement: 2 concentrations of dietary starch [low vs. high: 23.7 and 27.7% on a dry matter (DM) basis; neutral detergent fiber/starch ratios: 1.47 and 1.12], the presence or absence of FO supplement (0.80% on a DM basis), and their interaction were evaluated. Four Italian Friesian cows were fed 1 of the following 4 diets in 4 consecutive 26-d periods: (1) low starch (LS), (2) low starch plus FO (LSO), (3) high starch (HS), and (4) high starch plus FO (HSO). The diets contained the same amount of forages (corn silage, alfalfa and meadow hays). The starch concentration was balanced using different proportions of corn meal and soybean hulls. The cows were housed in metabolic stalls inside open-circuit respiration chambers to allow measurement of CH4 emission and the collection of separate urine and feces. No differences among treatments were observed for DM intake. We observed a trend for FO to increase milk yield: 29.2 and 27.5kg/d, on average, for diets with and without FO, respectively. Milk fat was affected by the interaction between dietary starch and FO: milk fat decreased only in the HSO diet. Energy-corrected milk (ECM) was affected by the interaction between starch and FO, with a positive effect of FO on the LS diet. Fish oil supplementation decreased the n-6:n-3 ratio of milk polyunsaturated fatty acids. High-starch diets negatively influenced all digestibility parameters measured except starch, whereas FO improved neutral detergent fiber digestibility (41.9 vs. 46.1% for diets without and with FO, respectively, and ether extract digestibility (53.7 vs. 67.1% for diets without and with FO, respectively). We observed a trend for lower CH4 emission (g/d) and intensity (g/kg of milk) with the high-starch diets compared with the low-starch diets: 396 versus 415g/d on average, respectively, and 14.1 versus 14.9g/kg of milk, respectively. Methane intensity per kilogram of ECM was affected by the interaction between starch and FO, with a positive effect of FO for the LS diet: 14.5 versus 13.3g of CH4/kg of ECM for LS and LSO diets, respectively.

Evaluation of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) equations to predict enteric methane emission from lactating cows fed Mediterranean diets.

The study aimed to evaluate Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 (2006 and 2019) to predict enteric CH4 emissions from lactating cows fed Mediterranean diets. The effects of the CH4 conversion factor (Ym; CH4 energy loss as a percentage of gross energy intake) and digestible energy (DE) of the diet were evaluated as model predictors. A data set was created using individual observations derived from 3 in vivo studies on lactating dairy cows housed in respiration chambers and fed diets typical of the Mediterranean region based on silages and hays. Five models using different Ym and DE were evaluated following a Tier 2 approach: (1) average values of Ym (6.5%) and DE (70%) from IPCC (2006); (2) average value of Ym (5.7%) and DE (70.0%) from IPCC (2019; 1YM); (3) Ym = 5.7% and DE measured in vivo (1YMIV); (4) Ym = 5.7 or 6.0%, depending on dietary NDF, and DE = 70% (2YM); and (5) Ym = 5.7 or 6.0%, depending on dietary NDF, and DE measured in vivo (2YMIV). Finally, a Tier 2 model for Mediterranean diets (MED) was derived from the Italian data set (Ym = 5.58%; DE = 69.9% for silage-based diets and 64.8% for hay-based diets) and validated on an independent data set of cows fed Mediterranean diets. The most accurate models tested were 2YMIV, 2YM, and 1YMIV with predictions of 384, 377, and 377 (g of CH4/d), respectively, versus the in vivo value of 381. The most precise model was 1YM (slope bias = 1.88%; r = 0.63). Overall, 1YM showed the highest concordance correlation coefficient value (0.579), followed by 1YMIV (0.569). Cross-validation on an independent data set of cows fed Mediterranean diets (corn silage and alfalfa hay) resulted in concordance correlation coefficient of 0.492 and 0.485 for 1YM and MED, respectively. The prediction of MED (397) was more accurate than 1YM (405) in comparison with the corresponding in vivo value of 396 g of CH4/d. The results of this study showed that the average values proposed by IPCC (2019) can adequately predict CH4 emissions from cows fed typical Mediterranean diets. However, the use of specific factors for the Mediterranean area, such as DE, improved the accuracy of the models.

Milk production, nitrogen balance, and fiber digestibility prediction of corn, whole plant grain sorghum, and forage sorghum silages in the dairy cow.

Total mixed rations containing corn (CS), whole plant grain sorghum (WPGS), or forage sorghum (FS) silages were fed to 6 primiparous Italian Friesian cows to determine the effects on lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, and N balance. Furthermore, the relationship between in vivo total-tract neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (ttNDFD) and the ttNDFD derived by the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) model was assessed. Cows were assigned to 1 of 3 diets in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square with 28-d periods. The experimental treatment was silage type and 3 different silages were included in the diets. The diets were formulated to be iso-NDF. Accordingly, each diet was formulated to contain 41.5% CS silage, 36.7% WPGS silage, or 28.0% FS silage, on a DM basis. Starch content was balanced by adding the appropriate amount of corn meal. Separate collection of total urine and feces was performed. Dietary forages were analyzed for in vitro NDF digestibility (6 and 24h of incubation) to predict fiber digestion rate with 2 NDF pools (digestible and indigestible). Rumen digestibility of the potentially digestible NDF pool was predicted using CNCPS version 6.1, using the in vitro forage fiber digestion rate. The ttNDFD was predicted assuming that intestinal digestibility of the NDF amount escaping rumen digestion was 20%, according to the CNCPS model. Dry matter intake was decreased by approximately 1.8 kg/d in cows fed the FS diet compared with the other diets, probably for the greater particle size of FS diet. Hence, milk yield (kg/d) was lowest for FS (23.6), intermediate for WPGS (24.6), and highest for the CS diet (25.4). Milk urea N (mg/dL) was highest for FS (12.9), intermediate for WPGS (11.9), and lowest for CS (10.7) diet. In vivo ttNDFD (%) was 51.4 (CS), 48.6 (WPGS), and 54.1 (FS); this was probably due to a higher retention time of FS diet in the rumen rather than to a better quality of the FS silage, as confirmed by in situ and in vitro results. Urinary N excretion (% N intake) was highest for FS (31.8), intermediate for WPGS (29.3), and lowest for the CS (27.5) diet. The predicted ttNDFD (37.7, 36.3, and 39.5% for CS, WPGS, and FS, respectively) were lower than the in vivo results. Providing an adequate starch supplementation, whole plant grain sorghum silage can replace corn silage in dairy cows TMR. Forage sorghum silage had rumen NDF digestibility comparable to the other silages; however, it had a negative effect on dry matter intake and milk production, probably due to an inadequate effect of processing.

[The new magnetic therapy TAMMEF in the treatment of simple shoulder pain]. / Il nuovo sistema di magnetoterapia TAMMEF nel trattamento della spalla dolorosa semplice.

AIMS: Numerous studies have demonstrated the utility of extremely low frequencies (ELF) electromagnetic fields in the treatment of pain. Moreover, the effects of these fields seems to depend on their respective codes (frequency, intensity, waveform). In our study we want to assess the effects of the TAMMEF (Therapeutic Application of a Musically Modulated Electromagnetic Field) system, whose field is piloted by a musical signal and its parameters (frequency, intensity, waveform) are modified in time, randomly varying within the respective ranges, so that all possible codes can occur during a single application. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty subjects, affected by shoulder periarthritis were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into three groups of 20 patients each: A exposed to TAMMEF, B exposed to ELF, C exposed to a simulated field. All subjects underwent a cycle of 15 daily sessions of 30 minutes each and a clinical examination upon enrollment, after 7 days of therapy, at the end of the cycle and at a follow-up 30 days later. RESULTS: All the patients of groups A and B completed the therapy without the appearance of side effects: they presented a significant improvement of the subjective pain and the functional limitation, which remained stable at the follow-up examination. In group C, there was no improvement of the pain symptoms or articular functionality. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the TAMMEF system is efficacious in the control of pain symptoms and in the reduction of functional limitation in patients with shoulder periarthritis. Moreover, the effects of the TAMMEF system cover those produced by the ELF field.

[Preliminary results of the effects of electromagnetic fields ELF and TAMMEF on human lymphocytes: evaluation of some biological parameters]. / Studio preliminare sugli effetti di campi elettromagnetici, ELF e TAMMEF, nei linfociti umani: valutazione di alcuni parametri biologici.

AIMS: The Authors have evaluated the effects of low frequency electromagnetic fields on human peripheral blood lymphocytes metabolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It has been assayed total proteins and the activities of some purine metabolism enzymes after exposure of the cells to sinusoidal ELF fields (100 Hz frequency) or to the new TAMMEF system fields, characterized by variable frequency, intensity and shape of wave. RESULTS: The protein lymphocytes content, increased after both treatments. Instead, the enzyme activities did not vary, with the exception of Myokinase activity, which, respect to the control, increased after ELF field treatment, and slightly decreased after TAMMEF treatment. This preliminary result was interpreted as a variation of the cellular electric charge stability, stimulated by ELF fields, which induce the Myokinase to increase its rate, to rearrange the correct equilibrium, while the TAMMEF field were useless to maintain the cellular electric charge at normal levels. CONCLUSIONS: We interpreted these preliminary results as follow: the ELF fields influence the cellular electric charge stability, so that the cells must increase MK activity to restore the correct equilibrium, while TAMMEF fields are useful to maintain and regulate cellular electric charge. The results obtained by this preliminary study opens interesting prospective to be further investigated.

Effect of chestnut tannin on fermentation quality, proteolysis, and protein rumen degradability of alfalfa silage.

Two experiments were conducted on alfalfa to investigate the effects of the addition of commercial chestnut hydrolyzable tannin at ensiling on 1) silage fermentation quality in lab-scale silos and protein degradation in the rumen, and 2) silage fermentation quality and proteolysis in bale silages. Wilted alfalfa was prepared with 4 tannin levels (0, 2, 4, and 6% on a dry matter (DM) basis; T0, T1, T2, T3, respectively) and ensiled in lab-scale silos. Silages (33% DM) were analyzed for fermentation quality, protein rumen degradability in situ, and organic matter digestibility in vitro through gas production after 120 d of conservation. Wilted alfalfa containing 0 and 4% tannin (T0 and T2) was harvested at 40% DM (wilting level I) and 53% DM (wilting level II) for bale (600 mm diameter) silage. Silages were analyzed for fermentation quality after 78 d of conservation. All the silages were well fermented with no butyric acid. Lab-scale silages showed reductions in ammonia, nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) and DM losses in T2 and T3 treatments, while the fermentation acid profiles were unaffected. In experiment 1, the untreated silage (T0) had the highest protein degradability after being incubated in the rumen. The addition of tannin reduced crude protein ruminal disappearance in a dose-dependent manner. However, the tannin reduced the organic matter digestibility by 5.1% for all of the tannin addition levels. The tannin positively affected the silage quality in the round bale silages, in particular reducing ammonia and NPN in the lowest wilting level. In both experiments, T2 treatment reduced proteolysis without any influence of DM on the binding reaction and reduced the NPN by 15% in comparison to the control.

[On statistical evaluation of efficacy for dichotomous test result]. / Sulla valutazione statistica dell'efficacia di un test diagnostico a risultato dicotomico.

Today in our country multivariate statistical analysis in health science are not very widespread, they are used only in few selected health center. So I will try to elucidate some multidimensional procedure to evaluate dichotomous results in diagnostic test. Anyway, someone can take a further advantage to apply these techniques to complex therapeutic treatments. New technologies make possible everyone to process data by means of the multivariate methodology, so I propose tested techniques like logistic regression combined with area under the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve.

Blood parameters in fattening pigs fed whole-ear corn silage and housed in group pens or in metabolic cages.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of whole-ear corn silage (WECS) in diets for advanced fattening heavy pigs (substitution for part of the dry corn and wheat bran) allocated or not in metabolic cages on the main blood parameters. The high-moisture shelled corn is largely used in pig feeding while WECS is less often used despite the fact that it increases the DM crop yield. Three experimental diets were fed to 27 barrows (Italian Large White × Italian Duroc), with an average BW of 98.2 (±5.6) kg at the start of the trial, and randomly allotted to 3 experimental groups including a control diet (CON) containing cereal meals (corn, barley, and wheat, 80.2% DM in total), soybean meal (9% DM), wheat bran (8% DM), minerals and supplements (2.8% DM), and 2 diets containing WECS (15 or 30% DM referred to as 15WECS and 30WECS, respectively) in partial or complete substitution for wheat bran and corn meal. The pigs were randomly housed in 9 pens with 3 animals per pen and 3 pens per dietary treatment. Six pigs per each of the 3 treatments were moved from the pens to individual metabolic cages for 3 consecutive periods (2 pigs per treatment per period). Each period lasted 14 d, and blood was collected at the start and at the end of the periods. Blood was drawn from the jugular vein before feed distribution in the morning, at 14 d intervals, and analyzed for hematological, metabolic, and serum protein profiles. The effect of the metabolic cage housing was included in the statistical model to compare the results obtained in the 2 different environments of restrained and group-housed barrows. The WECS affected the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. The main diet effect on plasma metabolites was recorded for plasma NEFA, with higher values in WECS diets compared with the CON. The metabolic cage housing affected both hematological (red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit) and metabolic (protein and its fractions) items, which can be markers of hemodilution. These results indicate the possibility to use this feed in the diet of heavy pigs without negative effects on physiology. The absolute values from metabolic profile of pigs in metabolic cages must be considered with caution for possible comparisons with values obtained on-field in group pens, particularly because a different hemodilution may affect the results.

Peripheral neuropathy in multiple system atrophy with autonomic failure.

Two patients with multiple system atrophy, autonomic failure, and peripheral neuropathy are reported. EMG conduction study in both muscle and sural nerve histology in one patient documented the involvement of the neuromuscular system. Morphologic study of the biopsied nerve showed marked reduction of large myelinated fibers, whereas the unmyelinated axons were totally spared. The latter finding provides evidence that the syspathetic nervous system contributes few, if any, axons to the total population of unmyelinated fibers in the human sural nerve. Peripheral nerve damage may be common in the Shy-Drager syndrome.

Electrophysiologic study of experimental demyelination induced by serum of patients with IgM M proteins and neuropathy.

We induced progressive conduction block in feline sciatic nerve by endoneurial injection of serum from 2 patients with demyelinating neuropathy and an anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) IgM M protein. The block was longlasting (up to 4 days) and affected about half the motor nerve fibers. Control serum from patients with an IgM M protein that did not react with MAG produced a transient block (less than 48 hours) that affected an average of 25% of motor fibers. Nerves with sustained block showed widespread demyelination of many nerve fibers, exceeding controls. The findings support the view that chronic demyelinating neuropathy in these patients is caused by the anti-MAG M protein.

Symmetric sarcoid polyneuropathy: analysis of a sural nerve biopsy.

A 20-year-old woman with sarcoidosis had uveitis, subacute symmetric sensorimotor neuropathy, and noncaseous granulomas in biopsies of gastrocnemius muscle and sural nerve. Morphologic studies of the nerve confirmed the electrodiagnostic impression of an acute axonal and demyelinating neuropathy. Of 100 teased myelinated nerve fibers, 15% contained myelin ovoids and 24% demonstrated segmental demyelination. Quantitative analysis showed a reduction in the numerical density of myelinated fibers. By electronmicroscopy, unmyelinated fibers were largely spared. The exact mechanism of nerve fiber damage was not determined, but a local effect of the granuloma seemed likely, because most lesions were found in the endoneurium.

Monoclonal IgM kappa antibody precipitating with chondroitin sulfate C from patients with axonal polyneuropathy and epidermolysis.

We studied two patients with an axonal type of polyneuropathy, epidermolysis, and IgM kappa plasma cell dyscrasia. The IgM kappa was deposited in the dermis, was absorbed from the serum by axonal micelle preparations, and was precipitated with chondroitin sulfate in highly purified agarose in 0.15 M NaCl with 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.8. In contrast, we found none of these abnormalities in three patients with IgM plasma cell dyscrasia and demyelinating neuropathy. Of 78 other macroglobulinemic serum samples from patients without neuropathy, 7 precipitated with a sulfated polysaccharide. This reaction occurred at low ionic strength, 0.05 M barbital buffer, pH 8.1, but did not occur in the higher ionic strength of 0.01 M phosphate with 0.15 M NaCl (PBS). The interaction of the IgM with chondroitin sulfate at relatively high ionic strength could cause both the axonal polyneuropathy and the epidermolysis.

In vitro reconstructed dermis implanted in human wounds: degradation studies of the HA-based supporting scaffold.

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a dermal replacement for cutaneous wounds of diverse origin. Autologous fibroblasts were cultured in fleece scaffolds made from benzyl esters of hyaluronic acid and applied onto cutaneous lesions. The cases presented are (1) skin removal for multiple epithelioma and (2) chronic deep decubitus ulcer. Dermal-like tissue applied by the surgeon elicited no adverse reactions, and was fully integrated and well-vascularized by 1-3 weeks. In Case 1, the material was fully integrated after 1 week, and after 3 weeks an epidermal autograft was overlaid which showed good take with excellent integration observed after 4 weeks. At 12 months, skin demonstrated visual normo-elastic properties and no signs of excessive scarring. In Case 2, 2-3 weeks after the dermal implant was applied, the wound was invaded with granulation tissue and healing occurred by secondary intention. The ulcer was healed by 8 weeks, with the biomaterial completely resorbed and a complete re-epithelialization over the dermal-like tissue. These results suggest that autologous fibroblast culture in hyaluronan-derived scaffolds may be successfully grafted in diverse cutaneous pathologies and constitute a suitable bed for further epidermal implantation.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis presenting as progressive multineuritis: clinical, pathologic, and MRI study.

Two patients developed a persistent illness characterized clinically and electrophysiologically by asymmetric involvement of spinal roots, of cranial and peripheral nerves. In the first case the disease was not discovered clinically but only after autopsy. The primary neoplasm remained undetected at autopsy. There was profound infiltration of the leptomeninges by tumor cells with features of metastatic adenocarcinoma. In the second patient onset of neurological symptoms occurred 16 years after surgery for breast cancer, which may be reasonably considered the primary malignancy-CSF cytology was positive only in the second patient in whom Gd-DTPA MRI supported the diagnosis. Our cases demonstrate that diagnosis in leptomeningeal carcinomatosis may be a challenging clinical problem.