No abstract

In Southern China, distillers' grain is the main feed ingredient for small beef cattle farms. High intake of distillers' grain may lead to abomasum impaction, a disorder caused by the accumulation of solid content within the organ. For treatment, there are non-surgical and surgical options. In this study, we aimed to describe the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of beef cattle with abomasum impaction due to high intake of distillers' grain. Forty-nine Simmental beef cattle from 13 farms in Chongqing, China, were diagnosed with abomasum impaction. Animals were male, aged ≤2 years, and weighed between 200 and 350 kg. In this retrospective study, information on distillers' grain intake and clinical data were collected for 49 beef cattle diagnosed with abomasum impaction. The animals were treated between 2011 and 2019 with either non-surgical therapy or surgery. Animals diagnosed with mild abomasum impaction (n = 14) fully recovered after non-surgical treatment. Among moderate cases (n = 19), 12 cattle recovered after non-surgical treatment (63%), while the remaining seven did not respond well and underwent surgery. Three of those animals were subsequently cured (3/7). Among the severe cases (n = 16), four cattle were cured after non-surgical treatment (25%) (4/16). Of the remaining 12 cattle, six were slaughtered, and six died after surgery. Non-surgical treatment is efficient for mild abomasum impaction caused by a high intake of distillers' grain and may be considered for both moderate and severe cases. However, the treatment success rate for more severe cases decreases as the disease severity worsens.

Replacement heifers are an important part of the herd structure in dairy farms. Raising heifers requires abundant resources (including feed, labour, facilities and time), which account for approximately 25% of the production cost of the dairy farm (Akins, 2016).Nevertheless, heifers present no direct economic benefits to the farms before the first calving (Heinrichs et al., 2017). Farms often optimize feed practices for heifers to improve their postpartum productivity. Roughage is the main dietary form for cows; it helps maintain rumen health and sustainable production. However, lowquality roughage has adverse effects on digestibility and rumen function (Xu et al., 2016). Corn silage is widely used on farms owing to its high digestibility, good palatability and low cost (Akins |

Background: Cefquinome is a new generation of cephalosporins for animals. It has an excellent effect on the treatment of mastitis in animals. We evaluated the associations between the specific pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) of cefquinome and its antibacterial activity against Streptococcus agalactiae in a mouse model of mastitis. After a single dose of intramammary administration of cefquinome[Concentrations: 30, 60, 120, and 240 μg/mammary gland(MG)], the concentration of cefquinome in plasma was analysed via liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS–MS). PK parameters were calculated using a one-compartment first-order absorption model. Antibacterial activity was defined as the maximum change in the S. agalactiae population after each dose. Then, an inhibitory sigmoid Emax model was employed for evaluating the relationships between PK/PD index values and antibacterial effects.Results: The duration for which the concentration of the antibiotic (%T) remained above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was the optimal PK/PD index for assessing antibacterial activity. The values of %T > MIC to reach 0.5-log10 CFU/MG reduction, 1-log10 CFU/MG reduction, and 2-log10 CFU/MG reduction were 31, 47, and 81%, respectively.Conclusions: These findings provide a valuable basis for optimising dosage regimens when using cefquinome to treat S. agalactiae infections.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of yeast peptide supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood metabolites in geese. One-day-old Sichuan white geese (n = 300, 95.16 ± 1.98 g) were randomly assigned to five dietary treatment groups containing either 0 (control), 100, 200, 300, or 400 mg/kg commercial yeast peptide product. Compared with the control, dietary supplemental yeast peptide at 200 mg/kg substantially improved feed conversion ratio, body slope length, half-eviscerated percentage, and the apparent digestibility of phosphorus. With the increase in dietary yeast peptide, breast width, carcass percentage, serum triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein increased linearly. The average daily gain, pelvis width, half-diving depth, low density lipoprotein, and digestibility of gross energy exhibited quadratic responses with the increase in dietary yeast peptide, with the 200 mg/kg or 300 mg/kg feeding level being the most effective. It can be concluded that dietary supplementation of yeast peptides improves growth performance and affects nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites, which were optimized at 200 mg/kg or 300 mg/kg of yeast peptide in the present study.