24-Hour postnatal total serum protein concentration affects the health and growth performance of female Holstein dairy calves.

BACKGROUND: Total serum protein (TSP) within the first few days of life in the neonatal calf has predictive value for subsequent growth and production in calves before and after weaning. INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of TSP concentration 24-h after birth (24-h) on the performance and health of Holstein dairy calves. METHODS: A total of 152 female calves were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected at 24-h, and TSP concentration was measured with a refractometer. Calves based on TSP concentration at 24-h were allocated into three groups: 1 - TSP ≤6.5 g/dL, 2 - TSP between 6.6 and 6.9 g/dL and 3 - TSP ≥7 g/dL. The weighing was done at birth and at days 30 and 60. Starter feed intake was recorded from day 3 to weaning, and body structures were measured at birth and weaning day. RESULTS: Calves with TSP >6.5 g/dL had greater body weight at days 30 and 60 than calves with TSP ≤6.5 g/dL. Average daily gain during 1-30 and 1-60 days of life increased as TSP increased. Furthermore, starter feed intake during the first 60 days of life was greater in calves with TSP ≥7 g/dL than calves with TSP <7 g/dL. The TSP concentration influenced structural growth, and >6.5 g/dL calves had greater heart girth, hip width and body length than ≤6.5 g/dL calves. Moreover, odds ratio for pneumonia decreased as TSP increased, whereas diarrhoea was unaffected. CONCLUSION: The TSP at 24-h is an important contributing factor for the variation in growth performance and health of preweaning calves, and strategies to improve calf immunity and increase TSP lead to better animal health during preweaning period. IMPLICATIONS: These results indicated that TSP ≥6.5 g/dL possibly was associated with greater performance, and this concentration could be considered a baseline for future analyses.

Adjusting for 30-hour undigested neutral detergent fiber in substitution of wheat straw and beet pulp for alfalfa hay and corn silage in the dairy cow diet: Chewing activities, diurnal feed intake, and ruminal fermentation.

This experiment investigated the effects of replacing alfalfa hay (AH) and corn silage (CS) with wheat straw (WS) and beet pulp (BP) in diets with similar forage 30-h undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF30) on chewing behavior and ruminal fermentation of lactating cows. Twelve multiparous Holstein cows (51 ± 3 kg/d of milk; days in milk = 97 ± 13; mean ± standard error) were housed in individual stalls and used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with 28-d periods. Experimental diets were (1) 0% forage uNDF30 from WS (WS0, contained 2% BP); (2) 50% forage uNDF30 from WS (WS50, contained 7.6% BP); and (3) 100% forage uNDF30 from WS (WS100, contained 12.4% BP). From 0 to 2 h after the morning feeding, there was a tendency observed for a quadratic effect on dry matter intake (DMI), with cows fed WS50 consuming the greatest amount of DM (9.19 kg). Later DMI (4 to 6 h and 6 to 24 h postfeeding) decreased as dietary proportion of WS and BP increased. Increasing WS and BP decreased eating behavior, but had no detected effect on rumination time (455 min/d), which resulted in a linear reduction in chewing time (the sum of eating and rumination activities). As WS and BP inclusion increased, the number of meals decreased linearly, whereas time between meals, eating rate, and meal size per kilogram of DM increased linearly. Increased dietary inclusion of WS and BP tended to decrease total ruminal VFA and resulted in a linear decrease in propionate but an increase in acetate proportion and ammonia-N concentration in the rumen. Overall, the substitution had no effect on rumination activity, possibly suggesting that a combination of WS and BP could be used in dairy cow rations as substitutes for high-quality forages when WS was added to maintain the uNDF30 level.

Fermented soybean meal affects the ruminal fermentation and the abundance of selected bacterial species in Holstein calves: a multilevel analysis.

The effect of soybean meal (SBM) replacement with fermented SBM (FSBM) on ruminal fermentation and bacterial abundance in Holstein calves was investigated in this study. Thirty nine calves were randomized to: (1) control: 27% SBM + 0% FSBM (FSBM0, n = 13); (2) 18% SBM + 9% FSBM (FSBM9, n = 13); and (3) 13.5% SBM + 13.5% FSBM (FSBM13, n = 13). SBM contained a greater amount of large peptides containing 3 to 10 amino acids (AAs), while FSBM had a greater amount of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), free AAs, and small peptides containing 2 to 3 AAs. The calves fed FSBM13 had the lowest acetic acid, NH3-N, and the ratio of acetate to propionate, with the greatest concentration of caproic acid, valeric acid and isovaleric acid in ruminal fluid. Compared to those fed FSBM9 or FSBM13, the calves fed FSBM0 had the greatest proportion of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and Ruminococcus albus in rumen fluid. However, the ruminal abundance of Prevotella ruminicola in calves fed FSBM13 was greater than in calves fed FSBM0. Network analysis showed that the abundance of the Ruminococcus albus was associated with large peptides, and butyric acid was correlated with small peptide. Taken together, our findings suggest that FSBM may have the potential to boost calf performance by changing the fermentation products and the relative abundance of some members of the bacterial community in the rumen.

Relationship between ways of coping and quality of life in married women: toward mental health promotion.

BACKGROUND: Adaptive ways of coping with stress are as a major component of mental health and also this is considered as a key element in quality of life. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life and coping mechanisms in married women ages between 18-65 years in order to develop appropriate intervention programs to promote mental health. PATIENTS AND METHODS: THIS STUDY WAS A PART OF INTERVENTIONAL PROJECT TO MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION IN MARRIED WOMEN THAT COMPLETED THROUGH A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDIES USING TWO STANDARD QUESTIONNAIRES: Ways of Coping (WOC) and Quality of Life questionnaire (WHO, QOL-BREF). RESULTS: The most and the least used ways in coping with stress were Planful Problem Solving and Confronting Coping. Considering the quality of life, the most and the least scores were related to social dimension and mental health. Also women who have higher quality of life used more Positive Reappraisal way and less Escape-Avoidance way to deal with stress (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It seems that implementation of an appropriate interventional program related to adaptive ways of coping in order to deal with stress is effective in mental health and quality of life promotion.