Background Dietary supplementation of full-fat black soldier fly larvae (BSFL full-fat meal; alone or in combination with multi-probiotics) was tested as an alternative to dietary antibiotics in weaning piglets. We also tested the effects of these diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility coefficients, immune status, oxidative stress, intestinal histomorphology, and rectal microbial modulations in weaned pigs. A total of 80 piglets [(Landrace × Large White) × Duroc] of both sexes (a ratio of gilts and barrows; 1:1), were randomly allotted to four diet groups: positive control (PC) diet supplemented with 0.02% amoxicillin; negative control (NC) diet without supplement addition; BSFL12 diet (NC + 12% BSFL full-fat meal); and BSFL + Pro diet (BSFL full-fat meal + 0.1% multi-probiotics, including Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae). All groups had five replicates, with four piglets per replicate. Results Dietary BSFL + Pro improved the overall average daily gain (P = 0.013), and gain-to-feed ratio (P = 0.032). The BSFL12 and BSFL + Pro diets improved nutrient digestibility and increased the serum levels of immunoglobulin A and glutathione peroxidase, while reducing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The spleen weight was higher and caecal pH was lower in pigs fed the BSFL + Pro diet than in those fed the NC diet (P = 0.011 and P = 0.021, respectively). Pigs fed the BSFL diets had longer duodenal villi, a higher villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (P = 0.004), and shorter crypt depth (P = 0.017) than those fed NC. The BSFL + Pro diet also increased faecal Lactobacillus spp. count (P = 0.008) and reduced Escherichia coli (P = 0.021) counts compared with that seen with PC and NC diets, respectively. Conclusions Dietary supplementation with BSFL or BSFL + multi-probiotics can improve the growth performance and intestinal health of pigs and may be an effective strategy to replace antibiotics for weaned pigs.

Summary Karyological analysis of the rice frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) from Northeast Thailand was conducted. Frog chromosome preparations were obtained by the squash technique from bone marrow and testis. Conventional staining and Ag-NOR banding techniques were applied to stain the chromosome with Giemsa s solution. The results showed that the number of diploid chromosome is 2n = 26, while the fundamental number (NF) is 52 in both males and females. The types of autosome were 4 large metacentric, 6 large submetacentric, 8 small metacentric, 4 small submetacentric and 2 small acrocentric chromosomes. The present study also revealed that the sex chromosome system of F. limnocharis was XY, in which the X and Y were classified as small metacentric and small submetacentric chromosomes, respectively. Nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) are located at the secondary constriction of the short arm near the centromere in submetacentric chromosome pair 6. We found that during metaphase I the homologous chromosomes showed synapsis, which can be defined as the 13 ring bivalents and 13 haploid chromosomes at metaphase II as diploid species. The karyotype formula is as follows: 2n (26) = L 4 m +L 6 sm +S 8 m +S 4 sm +S a 2 +sex-chromosomes (XY)

There are limited published reports regarding the optimal dosage of spent mushroom. This study investigated the effect of various levels of spent mushroom derived from C. militaris as an alternative growth promoter to an in-feed antibiotic on the growth performance, blood profiles, immunoglobulin, inflammation, and microbial count of weaning pigs. A total of 120 pigs (6.63 ± 0.13 kg initial body weight) were blocked by weight and sex in a randomized complete block design. Each treatment had six replicates of four pigs each. The pigs were allotted into five treatments: (1) positive control (PC) with 150 mg/kg colistin; (2) negative control (NC) without antibiotic inclusion; and (3–5) negative control groups with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg of C. militariss pent mushroom (SM), respectively. Blood samples were collected at day 35 for determination of blood-related lipid metabolism and immunity. Fresh fecal samples were collected to examine microbial counts on day 35 postweaning. The results showed that SM at 1.5 g/kg improved the body weight, average daily weight gain, and average daily feed intake of weaning pigs in the overall period (p < 0.05). Moreover, the highest dosage of SM caused improvements in the concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, and immunoglobulin A, along with suppressions of total cholesterol, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, and E. coli (p < 0.05). Therefore, the weaned pigs fed a 1.5 g/kg SM diet showed improved growth performance and displayed greater immunoglobulin secretion and lower inflammation, pathogenic population, and cholesterol concentration.

SummaryThe standardized karyotype and idiogram of the sand goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus) from Chi River in the Maha Sarakham Province of northeastern Thailand were studied. Kidney cell samples were taken from five male and five female fish. The mitotic chromosome preparations were prepared by blood cell culture and directly from kidney cells. Conventional and Ag-NOR staining techniques were applied to stain the chromosomes. The results showed that the diploid chromosome number of O. marmoratus was 2n = 46 and the fundamental number (NF) as 50 in both males and females. The types of chromosomes were 2 large submetacentric, 10 large telocentric, 2 medium metacentric and 32 medium telocentric chromosomes. No strange-sized chromosomes related to sex were observed. The region adjacent to the telomere of chromosome pair 7 showed clearly observable secondary constriction/NORs. The karyotype formula for O. marmoratus could be inferred as: 2n (diploid) 46 = L 2 sm +L t 10 +M 2 m +M t 32

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