All life requires the capacity to recover from challenges that are as inevitable as they are unpredictable. Understanding this resilience is essential for managing the health of humans and their livestock. It has long been difficult to quantify resilience directly, forcing practitioners to rely on indirect static indicators of health. However, measurements from wearable electronics and other sources now allow us to analyze the dynamics of physiology and behavior with unsurpassed resolution. The resulting flood of data coincides with the emergence of novel analytical tools for estimating resilience from the pattern of microrecoveries observed in natural time series. Such dynamic indicators of resilience may be used to monitor the risk of systemic failure across systems ranging from organs to entire organisms. These tools invite a fundamental rethinking of our approach to the adaptive management of health and resilience.

Resistant starch (RS) is highly fermentable by microbiota in the colon, resulting in the production of SCFAs. RS is thought to mediate a large proportion of its health benefits, including increased satiety, through the actions of SCFAs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a diet high in RS on luminal microbiota composition, luminal SCFA concentrations, and the expression of host genes involved in SCFA uptake, SCFA signaling, and satiety regulation in mucosal tissue obtained from small intestine, cecum, and colon. Twenty adult female pigs were either assigned to a digestible starch (DS) diet or a diet high in RS (34%) for a period of 2 wk. After the intervention, luminal content and mucosal scrapings were obtained for detailed molecular analysis. RS was completely degraded in the cecum. In both the cecum and colon, differences in microbiota composition were observed between DS- and RS-fed pigs. In the colon these included the stimulation of the healthy gut-associated butyrate-producing Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, whereas potentially pathogenic members of the Gammaproteobacteria, including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp., were reduced in relative abundance. Cecal and colonic SCFA concentrations were significantly greater in RS-fed pigs, and cecal gene expression of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (SLC16A1) and glucagon (GCG) was induced by RS. In conclusion, our data show that RS modulates microbiota composition, SCFA concentrations, and host gene expression in pig intestine. Combined, our data provide an enhanced understanding of the interaction between diet, microbiota, and host.

No abstract

No abstract

-The pathway for oxidation of energy involves a balanced oxidation of C2 and C3 compounds. During early lactation in dairy cattle this C2/C3 ratio is out of balance, due to a high availability of lipogenic (C2) products and a low availability of glycogenic (C3) products relative of the C2 and C3 products required for milk production. This review compares studies which manipulated dietary energy source and shows that dietary energy source can affect the balance of the C2/C3 ratio, as indicated by plasma NEFA, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) and glucose levels. It is shown that glycogenic nutrients increase glucose and insulin concentrations and decrease NEFA and BHBA plasma levels. Extra lipogenic nutrients elevate NEFA and BHBA and decrease plasma glucose concentrations. Lipogenic nutrients generally increase milk fat percentage and decrease milk protein percentage, suggesting a surplus of C2 compounds. The inverse is the case for feeding extra glycogenic nutrients, implying reduced deamination and oxidation of glycogenic amino acids. Feeding extra glycogenic nutrients improved the energy balance (EB), in contrast to ambiguous results of lipogenic nutrients on EB. Moreover, glycogenic feed may reduce the severity of ketosis and fatty liver, but increased the incidence of (sub)clinical acidosis. Since studies are scarce, it seems difficult to draw conclusions on the effects of dietary energy source on reproduction. However, lipogenic nutrients decrease glucose and increase NEFA and BHBA plasma levels. High plasma NEFA and BHBA and low plasma glucose levels are associated with decreased reproductive performance, which might imply the C2/C3 compound balance to be important for reproductive function.lipogenic nutrients / glycogenic nutrients / reproduction / energy metabolism

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of different eggshell temperature (EST) profiles during incubation on embryo mortality, hatchability, and embryo development. Furthermore, chicks from different EST profiles were reared under low and high housing temperatures to investigate subsequent posthatch growth and rectal temperature. Two batches of eggs were used in this experiment. Hatching eggs were subjected to 36.7 or 37.8 degrees C EST during the first week, to 37.8 degrees C EST during the second week, and to 37.8 or 38.9 degrees C EST during the third week of incubation. Posthatch housing temperature decreased from 35 degrees C at d 1 to 30 degrees C at d 7 (high) or decreased from 30 degrees C at d 1 to 25 degrees C at d 7 (low). The difference between machine temperature and EST (DT) was used to illustrate the effect of EST on heat production during incubation. DT differed per batch, and was smallest when eggs were incubated at 36.7 degrees C instead of 37.8 degrees C during wk 1. High EST during wk 3 of incubation (38.9 degrees C instead of 37.8 degrees C) reduced DT only in batch 2. Embryo development was most retarded in eggs incubated at 36.7 degrees C EST compared with at 37.8 degrees C during the first week of incubation. However, highest hatchability and embryo development were always found when EST was maintained at 37.8 degrees C constantly throughout incubation. Chicks that hatched from eggs incubated at low EST during wk 1 of incubation had lower rectal temperature after hatching, especially under low housing temperatures, and this effect lasted until 7 d posthatch in batch 1. The highest rectal temperatures were always found in chicks incubated at 37.8 degrees C EST constantly throughout incubation. Eggs and chicks from different batches require different environmental conditions for optimal embryo development, hatchability, and posthatch growth. Rearing temperature and incubation conditions affect the ability of young chicks to maintain their rectal temperature during the first week posthatch.

No abstract

The effects of the timing of insemination relative to ovulation on fertilization rate, accessory sperm count and early embryo development were studied in sows. Oestrus