Determination of Non-Digestible Parts in Dairy Cattle Feces Using U-NET and F-CRN Architectures.

Deep learning algorithms can now be used to identify, locate, and count items in an image thanks to advancements in image processing technology. The successful application of image processing technology in different fields has attracted much attention in the field of agriculture in recent years. This research was done to ascertain the number of indigestible cereal grains in animal feces using an image processing method. In this study, a regression-based way of object counting was used to predict the number of cereal grains in the feces. For this purpose, we have developed two different neural network architectures based upon Fully Convolutional Regression Networks (FCRN) and U-Net. The images used in the study were obtained from three different dairy cows enterprises operating in Nigde Province. The dataset consists of the 277 distinct dropping images of dairy cows in the farm. According to findings of the study, both models yielded quite acceptable prediction accuracy with U-Net providing slightly better prediction with a MAE value of 16.69 in the best case, compared to 23.65 MAE value of FCRN with the same batch.

Deep Learning Based Egg Fertility Detection.

This study investigates the implementation of deep learning (DL) approaches to the fertile egg-recognition problem, based on incubator images. In this study, we aimed to classify chicken eggs according to both segmentation and fertility status with a Mask R-CNN-based approach. In this manner, images can be handled by a single DL model to successfully perform detection, classification and segmentation of fertile and infertile eggs. Two different test processes were used in this study. In the first test application, a data set containing five fertile eggs was used. In the second, testing was carried out on the data set containing 18 fertile eggs. For evaluating this study, we used AP, one of the most important metrics for evaluating object detection and segmentation models in computer vision. When the results obtained were examined, the optimum threshold value (IoU) value was determined as 0.7. According to the IoU of 0.7, it was observed that all fertile eggs in the incubator were determined correctly on the third day of both test periods. Considering the methods used and the ease of the designed system, it can be said that a very successful system has been designed according to the studies in the literature. In order to increase the segmentation performance, it is necessary to carry out an experimental study to improve the camera and lighting setup prepared for taking the images.

The Role of Selected Lactic Acid Bacteria on Organic Acid Accumulation during Wet and Spray-Dried Fish-based Silages. Contributions to the Winning Combination of Microbial Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability.

Organic acid contents of acidified and fermented fish silages made from gibel carp (Caracius gibelio) and klunzinger's ponyfish (Equulites klunzingeri) fishes, and from fish processing residues or by-products, were determined and studied. The silages were undertaken in wet and spray-dried fish-based raw-materials for 3 weeks at room temperature (ca. 25 °C). Selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of Enterococcus gallinarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus acidilactici, and Streptococcus spp. were employed to produce fermented fish-based silages, while acidified silage was prepared resorting to the addition of formic acid (3%, v/v). Lactic and propionic acids were the dominant produced organic acids, while succinic acid was formed at the smallest amounts in fermented silages. In the acidified silage, lactic and formic acids were produced in amounts higher than 800 and 1000 mg organic acid/100g sample, respectively. Among the fermented fish-based silages, LAB strains unfolded considerable ability to presumptively produce propionic acid in gibel carp silage (>2370 mg organic acid/100g sample). Spray-dried fermented silages displayed significantly higher organic acid content than wet silages. Propionic acid accumulation was found at the highest levels in gibel carp silage fermented with L. plantarum (6335.40 mg propionic acid/100g sample). This research effort pointed out the good capability of various selected lactic acid bacteria strains to produce significant amounts of organic acids-especially lactic, acetic, and propionic acids-during the fermentation of fish-based silages. In terms of food safety and quality, such a production of relatively high amounts of organic acids in wet and spray-dried fish-based silages clearly indicated their suitableness to be used for animal feed.

Determination of the In Vitro Gas Production and Potential Feed Value of Olive, Mulberry and Sour Orange Tree Leaves.

This study was conducted to determine the potential nutritive value and in vitro gas production (IVGP) parameters of Olea europaea L. (Olive = OL), Morus alba L. (Mulberry = ML) and Citrus aurantium L. (Sour orange = SOL) tree leaves. Hohenheim gas test was used to determine the in vitro gas productions of the leaves. The gas production of samples over time was recorded for 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after incubation. Completely Randomized Design was used to compare gas production, and gas production kinetics of samples. The findings of the present study suggested that there were differences among the tree leaves in terms of crude protein, NDF, in vitro gas productions, organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolisable energy (ME), net energy lactation (NEL) and relative feed values (RFV) (P<0.01). ML had the highest condensed tannin contents (P<0.05), in vitro gas production (IVGP), OMD and energy values (P<0.01). SOL had highest RFV values. OL showed the lowest IVGP when compared to SOL and ML. Low NDF and ADF contents of SOL would probably increase the voluntary intake, digestibility and relative feed values of these leaves by ruminants. In conclusion, it was determined that OL, ML and SOL used in the study have low in vitro gas production and can be utilized as alternative roughage feed in ruminants. However, it is recommended that the results obtained from this research should be tested in in vivo studies.