A new trend on sustainable animal production

A sustainable animal production can improve the efficiency of animal production and recycle of animal waste, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It can be achieved by firstly, properly operation of animal production, such as improvement by animal breeding, synthesis of amino acids, improvement by animal nutrition, good housing design, phase feeding system, liquid feeding system, using left over of one day bakery and biscuit factory, left over of vegetable and fruit market, new methods to plant Leucaena or mulberry to feed goats, grass or fodder plant in hydroponic house for sustainable farming. Secondly, good waste management, such as transferring waste to no contaminant material and even to useful material, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, liquid waste management, and solid waste treatment. All these subjects also need to consider the interaction between knowledge, e.g. breeding and nutrition need to consider about environmental temperature factors; waste management needs to consider about nutrient requirement by vegetable, fruit, etc. A sustainable animal production is a kind of science integrated different knowledge together, then you can achieve some good results.

Effects of Using Farm-Grown Forage as a Component in ad Libitum Liquid Feeding for Pregnant Sows in Group-Housing on Body Condition Development and Performance

When feeding pregnant sows, optimal body condition at birth is sought to avoid the effects of a deviant nutritional condition on health and performance. Various feeding concepts exist but mainly have a restriction in quantity and renunciation of farm-grown forage in common. An ad libitum liquid feeding system based on farm-grown forage in combination with a sow sorting gate (according to body weight—using mechanical scales) was realized on a commercial swine farm. The sorting gate coordinated access to two feeding areas with rations based on whole plant wheat-silage (WPWS) differing in energy content. In this study with a total of 183 pregnant sows, effects of restrictive dry feeding (System I) were compared with ad libitum liquid feeding based on farm-grown forage (System II). Sows were monitored regarding body condition development during pregnancy by measuring body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), and back fat thickness (BFT) on different time points. Sow and piglet health (vaginal injuries of sows, rectal temperature during the peripartal period, vitality of newborn piglets) and performance data regarding litter characteristics were also recorded. Body condition development of the sows was absolutely comparable. Performance indicators and the course of birth were also similar but with significantly higher scores for piglet vitality in System II (p < 0.05). The tested concept offers opportunities for more animal welfare and sustainability but remains to be further investigated regarding the repertoire of possibly applied farm-grown forage and the effects of the concept in the transit phase of sows.

Maternal Supply of Ruminally-Protected Lysine and Methionine During Close-Up Period Enhances Immunity and Growth Rate of Neonatal Calves

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplying ruminally-protected lysine (RPL), methionine (RPM), or the two in combination (RPML) to transition dairy cows on the immunity and performance of their offspring. Eighty heifer calves (n = 20 calves per group) were assigned to four treatments based on their dam diet; basal diet (CON), a basal diet with lysine [RPL, 0.33% of dry matter (DM)], a basal diet with methionine (RPM, 0.16% DM), or with the combination (RPML). Calves were fed colostrum from their dams within 2 h of birth. Calves were then fed milk only (d 2–22), a combination of milk and milk replacer (d 23–25), and milk replacer (d 25–60). Starter feed was fed to the calves twice daily after liquid feeding. Calves blood samples were collected after calving on 0, 12, 24, and 48 h and 5 and 7 d after birth. Data were analyzed by SAS software v9.4. Providing ruminally-protected amino acids (RPAA) to transition cows improved colostrum quality compared to the CON (Brix; P &lt; 0.01). Serum total protein concentrations were higher in calves from supplemented cows than in calves from unsupplemented cows (P &lt; 0.01). Calves born to dams in the RPM, RPL, and RPML groups had higher plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations 0, 12, 24, and 48 h and 7 d after birth than those born to dams in the CON group (P &lt; 0.05). The percentage of calves with adequate passive immunity transfer was increased with RPM and RPL or the two in combination (P &lt; 0.01). However, there was no difference in the percentage of calves with adequate passive immunity transfer between the RPM and RPL groups (P = 0.21). Calves from cows that receive supplemental RPAA have a greater average daily gain (ADG) than those born to cows in the CON group (P &lt; 0.01). These results indicate that maternal supplementation with RPM or RPL or the two in combination during the periparturient period could be an alternative strategy to improve the performance of calves, especially in accelerated growth programs in calves.

Major Challenges and Recent Advances in Characterizing Biomass Thermochemical Reactions

Thermochemical conversions are pathways for the utilization of biomass to produce a variety of value-added energy and chemical products. For the development of novel thermochemical conversion technologies, an accurate understanding of the reaction performance and kinetics is essential. Given the diversity of the thermal analysis techniques, it is necessary to understand the features and limitations of the reactors, ensuring that the selected thermal analysis reactor meets the specific need for reaction characterization. This paper provides a critical overview of the thermal analysis reactors based on the following perspectives: 1) gas flow conditions in the reactor, 2) particle’s external and internal heat and mass transfer limitations, 3) heating rate, 4) temperature distribution, 5) nascent char production and reaction, 6) liquid feeding and atomization, 7) simultaneous sampling and analyzing of bed materials, and 8) reacting atmosphere change. Finally, prospects and future research directions in the development of thermal analysis techniques are proposed.

On the Role of Stirring on Microstructure and Ductility of Rheocast Al Alloys

Two alloys containing different Mg contents have been used to study the combined effect of stirring and oxidation on microstructure and ductility. The results show that intensive stirring can sufficiently disperse the α-Al particles and enable better liquid feeding during solidification and consequently reduce the porosity. The morphology of the oxides is determined by the amount of both Mg and stirring. With lower Mg content, the oxides present as oxide films, which can be broken up during stirring. In alloy with higher Mg content, the oxides exist as particles with numerous cracks, and the particle size increases slightly after stirring. In the Magsimal 59 alloy, due to the presence of large clusters of pores in the fracture surface, the influence of the small oxide particles on the ductility is negligible. In contrast, in the 42000 alloy, large oxide films on the fracture surface are correlated with the ductility.

Simulation of Onset of the Capillary Surface Wave in the Ultrasonic Atomizer

The novel drug delivery system refers to the formulations and technologies for transporting a pharmaceutical compound in the body as it is needed to safely achieve its desired therapeutic effects. In this study, the onset vibrational amplitude of capillary surface waves for ultrasonic atomization spray is explained based on Faraday instability. Using ultrasonic frequency, the vibrational amplitude approached a critical point, and the liquid surface broke up into tiny drops. The micro-droplets were are steadily and continuously formed after the liquid feeding rate was optimized. The simulation study reported a minimum vibrational amplitude or onset value of 0.38 μm at 500 kHz frequency. The required minimum energy to atomize the drops was simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics simulation software. The simulation result agreed well with the numerical results of a subharmonic vibrational model that ocurred at 250 kHz frequency on the liquid surface. This newly designed single frequency ultrasonic atomizer showed its true physical characteristic of resonance on the fluid surface plane. Hence, this research will contribute to the future development of a single-frequency ultrasonic nebulizer and mechatronics for the generation of uniform atomized droplets.

The Dietary Risk Factors of Gastric Ulcers in Finishing Pigs from 16 Polish Farms

Sudden death caused by the acute form of gastric ulceration has developed into a widely recognised health and welfare problem. The importance of different triggering factors is poorly understood. The study was carried out on finishers slaughtered in Poland. The collected animal-level data were transformed to a herd-level dataset, which included 27 predictor variables. From a total of 32,264 pig stomachs examined, 23,188 (71.9%) had gastric lesions. Total of 17,703 organs (54.9%) had ulcers. Scores 1 (hyperkeratotic) and 2 (erosions) were observed in 2958 (9.2%) and 2527 (7.8%), respectively. A significant (p < 0.05) association of the ulcer prevalence was found for a number of variables. Raising the level of protein significantly (p = 0.04) increased (ρ = 0.22) the occurrence of gastric ulcers. The addition of wheat bran (p = 0.02) and its growing share in feed composition had the contrary effect (ρ = −0.27). Feeding pelleted feed was significantly associated (p = 0.001) with the higher prevalence of the disease, opposite to liquid feeding (p = 0.0002) and supplementation of a mycotoxin deactivator (p = 0.0008). Although, the immediate transition from one feeding system to another in most of the farms is impossible, the addition of materials such as wheat bran, and routine supplementation with mycotoxin deactivators may be a practical and relatively low-cost solution.

Fermented Diet Liquid Feeding Improves Growth Performance and Intestinal Function of Pigs

Accumulating evidences demonstrate that fermented feed and liquid feeding exerted a great beneficial influence on growth performance and health in the pig industry. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of fermented liquid feeding on the growth performance and intestinal function of pigs. Two hundred and eighty-eight 27-day-old weaned piglets (8.21 ± 0.27 kg) were randomly allocated to a control group (basal diet (CON)), an antibiotic group (basal diet supplemented with antibiotics (AB)) and a fermented liquid feeding group (basal diet with fermented liquid feeding (FLF)), with 6 replicates per treatment and 16 weaned piglets per replicate. The experiment lasted for 160 days. Fresh fecal samples were collected to evaluate the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients from the last 4 days of each stage. The results are shown as follows: (1) Compared with the CON group, in the whole stage, the FLF diet significantly increased the final body weight (BW) and ADG of pigs (P < 0.05), and had a tendency to increase ADFI (P = 0.086), but had no effect on F/G. (2) The ATTD of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude ash (CA), crude fiber (CF), gross energy (GE), calcium (Ca) and total phosphorus (TP) in the FLF group was significantly elevated compared with those of the CON group at 8–20 kg stage (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the ATTD of EE in the FLF group was significantly increased compared with that of the CON group at the 50–75 kg and 100–125 kg stages (P < 0.05), and the ATTD of Ca was higher than that of CON group at the 100–125 kg stage (P < 0.05). (3) Compared with that of the CON group, the level of serum leptin in the FLF group had a tendency to decrease (P = 0.054), the level of serum ghrelin in the FLF group was significantly elevated (P < 0.05) and the level of serum peptide YY in the FLF group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). (4) The abundance of Lactobacillus in cecal and colonic digesta was observably enhanced in FLF group. Meanwhile, the abundance of Escherichia coli in cecal and colonic digesta were dramatically reduced in the FLF group compared with that in the CON and AB groups (P < 0.05). (5) The levels of acetic acid in colonic digesta were significantly increased in the FLF group (P < 0.05), and an increasing trend was observed in total VFA in colonic digesta compared with CON (P < 0.1). The levels of acetic acid in colonic digesta were significantly promoted in the FLF group compared with that of the AB group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these results indicate that fermented liquid feeding improved the growth performance of pigs, which might be associated with gastrointestinal hormone and intestinal functions.