Milk consumption, dry feed intake, body weight (BW) gain, occurrence of diarrhea, and selected blood metabolites were studied in female Holstein calves fed milk either through conventional or step-down (STEP) methods. In conventional method, the calves (n = 20) were fed colostrum and then milk at the rate of 10% of BW for the entire period of 45 d. In STEP method, the calves (n = 20) were given colostrum and then milk for 25 d at the rate of 20% of BW, which was reduced (between d 26 to 30) to 10% of BW for the remaining 15 d. The calves fed through conventional and STEP methods were weaned gradually by diluting milk with water between d 46 and 50. Feed intake and BW of the calves were monitored until 90 d of age. The STEP calves consumed 92.3, 19.4, and 62.4% more milk than conventionally fed calves during pre-STEP (d 1 to 30), post-STEP (d 31 to 50), and preweaning (d 1 to 50) periods, respectively. Consumption of starter and hay were greater during the pre-STEP period and lesser during the post-STEP and postweaning (d 51 to 90) periods in calves provided milk using conventional method compared with STEP-fed calves. Body weight gain, dry matter intake, and feed efficiency of calves were greater in those on the STEP method than on the conventional method. Lesser blood glucose and greater blood urea nitrogen at weaning (d 50) and postweaning (d 60) possibly indicated a better functioning rumen in calves fed milk through The STEP method than those fed conventionally. Occurrence of diarrhea was higher during wk 3 and 4 of age in calves fed milk through conventional method compared with STEP-fed calves. In conclusion, STEP milk feeding may prevent the problems of depressed solid feed intake associated with ad libitum milk feeding and of poor BW gain with conventional milk feeding in dairy calves.

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Endophytic fungi (EF) are a group of fascinating host-associated fungal communities that colonize the intercellular or intracellular spaces of host tissues, providing beneficial effects to their hosts while gaining advantages. In recent decades, accumulated research on endophytic fungi has revealed their biodiversity, wide-ranging ecological distribution, and multidimensional interactions with host plants and other microbiomes in the symbiotic continuum. In this review, we highlight the role of secondary metabolites (SMs) as effectors in these multidimensional interactions, and the biosynthesis of SMs in symbiosis via complex gene expression regulation mechanisms in the symbiotic continuum and via the mimicry or alteration of phytochemical production in host plants. Alternative biological applications of SMs in modern medicine, agriculture, and industry and their major classes are also discussed. This review recapitulates an introduction to the research background, progress, and prospects of endophytic biology, and discusses problems and substantive challenges that need further study.

In this review, we focused on the origins of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), origin, pathogenesis, immune responses, genes and genetic variations, phylogenetic analyses, and potential therapeutic strategies to summarize approaches for developing broadly effective preventions and vaccines to cope COVID-19. Towards the end of 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has emerged in association with the SARS, later was named COVID-19 caused an environment of chaos worldwide and infected a massive number of lives. Since these epidemics or pandemics had spread to 210 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances with 6,467,229 confirmed cases, including, 382,766 deaths, as of June 03, 2020 (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/), hence the World Health Organization declared it as a global Public Health Emergency. There are no clinically approved vaccines or antiviral drugs available for either of new or old corona infections; thus, the development of effective therapeutic and preventive strategies that can be readily available to cope with these strains.

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