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BACKGROUND: Silages produced with grass and legume mixtures may have positive associative effects on silage quality and animal performance when ruminants are fed the silages. The present study aimed to determine the preservation characteristics, in vitro rumen fermentation profile and microbial abundance of silages, produced with mixtures of sweet sorghum (SS) and alfalfa (AF) in different ratios: 100:0 (Control), 75:25 (SA25), 50:50 (SA50), 25:75 (SA75) and 0:100 (SA100) on a fresh weight basis. RESULTS: As the proportion of AF increased in the silages, pH, acetic acid, ammonia nitrogen and crude protein (CP) concentrations, and aerobic stability increased (P < 0.05), whereas lactic acid and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) concentrations decreased (P < 0.05). Increasing the proportion of AF in the silages, increased (P < 0.05) the in vitro degradability of dry matter and CP, as well as the proportions of genus Prevotella, but decreased (P < 0.05) the in vitro degradability of NDF (IVNDFD) and ADF (IVADFD) and proportions of Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens. Compared to the Control silage, SA25 silage had greater (P < 0.05) proportions of Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus flavefaciens, IVNDFD, IVADFD, ruminal short chain fatty acids and microbial protein concentrations, as well as lower (P < 0.05) methane production. CONCLUSION: The silage produced with the SS to AF ratio of 75:25 was the most suitable for ruminants use as a result of the optimal balance of fermentation quality, feed-nutritional value and aerobic stability.

Our previous studies demonstrated that depletion of tubulin polymerization promoting protein family member 3 (TPPP3) inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of HeLa cells. However, the expression and roles of TPPP3 in cancers remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression of TPPP3 in clinicopathological correlations in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) samples by immunohistochemistry. TPPP3 expression was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues, and high TPPP3 expression was positively associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, and poor survival. Furthermore, knockdown of TPPP3 by shRNA significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in vitro. In addition, depletion of TPPP3 inhibited lung cancer growth in vivo in the xenografts of H1299 cells; this effect was accompanied by the suppression of Ki67 expression. Our data suggested that TPPP3 might act as an oncogene in NSCLC. TPPP3 warrants consideration as a therapeutic candidate with anti-tumor potential.

Objective This study was to evaluate the fermentation dynamics, structural and nonstructural carbohydrate composition and in vitro gas production of rice straw ensiled with lactic acid bacteria and molasses. Methods Fresh rice straw was ensiled in 1-L laboratory silos with no additive control (C), Lactobacillus plantarum (L), molasses (M) and molasses+ Lactobacillus plantarum (ML) for 6, 15, 30, and 60 days. After storage, the silages were subjected to microbial and chemical analyses as well as the further in vitro fermentation trial. Results All additives increased lactic acid concentration, and reduced pH, dry matter (DM) loss and structural carbohydrate content relative to the control (p<0.05). The highest organic acid and residual sugar contents and lignocellulose reduction were observed in ML silage. L silage had the highest V-score with 88.10 followed by ML silage. L and ML silage improved in vitro DM digestibility as compared with other treatments, while in vitro neutral detergent fibre degradability (IVNDFD) was increased in M and ML silage (p<0.05). M silage significantly (p<0.05) increased propionic acid (PA) content and decreased butyric acid content and acetic acid/PA as well as 72-h cumulative gas production. Conclusion The application of ML was effective for improving both the fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility of rice straw silage. Inclusion with molasses to rice straw could reduce in vitro ruminal gas production.

Objective: To explore feed resources capable of replacing regular poor-quality fodder, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of additives on the fermentation quality, <i>in vitro</i> digestibility and aerobic stability of mulberry leaves silage.Methods: The mulberry leaves were ensiled either untreated (control) or treated with 1×10⁶ cfu/g fresh matter <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> (L), 1% glucose (G), 3% molasses (M), a combination of 1% glucose and <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> (L+G), and a combination of 3% molasses and <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> (L+M). The fermentation quality and chemical composition were analyzed after 7, 14, 30, and 60 d, respectively. The 60-d silages were subjected to an aerobic stability test and fermented with buffered rumen fluid to measure the digestibility.Results: Inoculating lactic acid bacteria (LAB) resulted in more rapid increase in lactic acid concentrations and decline in pH of mulberry leaves silage as compared control. Higher acetic acid and lower ethanol and ammonia nitrogen concentrations (p<0.05) were observed in the LAB-inoculated silages as opposed to control during ensiling. The LAB-inoculated silages contained lower water-soluble carbohydrates compared with control during the first 14 d of ensiling, and lower neutral detergent fibre (p<0.05) concentrations as compared with non-LAB inoculated silages. Adding molasses alone increased (p<0.05) the digestibility of dry matter (DM). The aerobic stability of mulberry leaves silage was increased by LAB inoculation, whereas decreased by adding glucose or molasses.Conclusion: The LAB inoculation improved fermentation quality and aerobic stability of mulberry leaves silage, while adding glucose or molasses failed to affect the fermentation and impaired the aerobic stability. Inoculating LAB alone is recommended for mulberry leaves especially when ensiled at a relatively high DM.