Mao pomace meal (MPM) contains condensed tannins and saponins at 92 and 98 g/kg, respectively, and these substances can be used to manipulate ruminal fermentation in ruminant. Four multiparous lactating Holstein cows with 45 ± 5 days in milk were randomly assigned according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design to receive four different levels of MPM supplementation at 0, 100, 200, and 300 g/head/day, respectively. Cows were fed with concentrate diets at 1:1.5 of concentrate to milk yield ratio and urea‐treated (3%) rice straw was fed ad libitum. The results revealed that feed intake, nutrient digestibility, blood urea nitrogen, and hematological parameters were not affected by MPM supplementation (p > 0.05). However, ruminal pH and propionate were increased quadratically (p < 0.05) in cows receiving MPM whereas acetate, acetate to propionate ratio and estimate methane production were decreased (p < 0.05). Supplementation of MPM linearly decreased ruminal ammonia nitrogen and protozoal population at 4 hr postfeeding (p < 0.05). Milk production and milk composition were similar among treatments (p > 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation of MPM at 200 g/head/day could modify ruminal fermentation and reduce methane production without adverse effect on feed intake, digestibility, hematological parameters, and milk production in dairy cows.

Heat stress is becoming a major problem because it limits growth in poultry production, especially in tropical areas. The development of genetic lines of Thai native chickens (TNC) which can tolerate the tropical climate with the least compromise on growth performance is therefore necessary. This research aims to analyze the appropriate growth curve function and to estimate the effect of heat stress on the genetic absolute growth rate (AGR) in TNC and Thai synthetic chickens (TSC). The data comprised 35,355 records for body weight from hatching to slaughtering weight of 7241 TNC and 10,220 records of 2022 TSC. The best-fitting growth curve was investigated from three nonlinear regression models (von Bertalanffy, Gompertz, and logistic) and used to analyze the individual AGR. In addition, a repeatability test-day model on the temperature-humidity index (THI) function was used to estimate the genetic parameters for heat stress. The Gompertz function produced the lowest mean squared error (MSE) and Akaike information criterion (AIC) and highest the pseudo-coefficient of determination (Pseudo-R2) in both chicken breeds. The growth rates in TSC were higher than TNC; the growth rates of males were greater than females, but the age at inflection point in females was lower than in males in both chicken breeds. The THI threshold started at 76. The heritability of the AGR was 0.23 and 0.18 in TNC and TSC, respectively. The additive variance and permanent environmental variance of the heat stress effect increased sharply after the THI of 76. The growth rate decreased more severely in TSC than TNC. In conclusion, the Gompertz function can be applied with the THI to evaluate genetic performance for heat tolerance and increase growth performance in slow-growing chicken.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of breed, sex, age, and body weight on different electrocardiographic parameters in military working dogs (Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd). Materials and Methods: Electrocardiographic recordings (paper speed = 25 mm/s and calibration = 10 mm/mV) were performed to obtain all the standard bipolar limb leads (leads I, II, and III) and unipolar augmented limb leads (leads aVR, aVL, and aVF). A total of 16 Labrador Retrievers and 14 German Shepherds were restrained manually in the right lateral recumbency without any tranquilizer or anesthetic drug. Amplitude and duration of P, QRS, and T wave, PR and QT interval, mean electrical axis, and heart rate were measured in each recording. Results: There was no significant difference in electrocardiographic parameters across breed and sex. However, QRS duration tended to alter by breed (p<0.1) in Labrador Retrievers (0.04±0.005 s), which is lower than German Shepherds (0.05±0.005 s). PR interval was influenced by sex (p<0.1). PR interval was higher in females (0.13±0.005 s) than males (0.11±0.008 s). In addition, electrocardiographic values were not significantly affected by age and body weight, except that the amplitude of R wave was statistically affected by age (p<0.05). A correlation was found between the decrease in R wave amplitude and increase in age of dogs. Conclusion: Different electrocardiographic parameters were within the normal range. A significant effect of age was seen on amplitude of R wave. However, the effect of breed, sex, and body weight was not significant on different electrocardiographic parameters in Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd dogs.

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Background and Aim: Improper attachment of the grounding lead is one of the artifacts and causes difficulty in interpretation of ECG. This study aimed to examine the effects of the position of a ground electrode on electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters in horses. Materials and Methods: Sixteen Arabian horses without any cardiac problems were included in this study. The animals were divided into two groups, the base-apex lead method 1 (BA1 method) and the base-apex lead method 2 (BA2 method) with the reposition of the ground limb electrode to the xiphoid. ECG recordings (paper speed=25 mm/s and calibration=10 mm/ mV) were performed to obtain six limb leads (leads I, II, III, aVR, aVL, and aVF). The amplitude and duration of P waves and QRS complexes, PR interval, QT interval, and T duration were analyzed. T wave morphology was observed. Heart rate was evaluated by using R-R interval in each recording. Results: Heart rate, P duration and amplitude, PR interval and T duration, and QRS duration and amplitude were not significantly different between the BA1 and the BA2 method, except that the BA2 method had a significantly higher QT interval than did the BA1 method (p<0.05). A higher significance of the percentage of coefficient of variation was seen on the P wave amplitude and the ORS amplitude in the BA1 method when compared to BA2 method (p<0.05). Conclusion: These data indicated that base-apex lead method with reposition of the ground limb electrode to the xiphoid can decrease variation of ECG configuration and might be useful for routine ECG evaluation and monitoring in horses. The limitation of this study was the evaluation of cardiac morphology and function by echocardiography to exclude cardiac problems. In further, the studies should examine the effect of breed, age, body weight, and sex on electrocardiography parameters in horses.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are transmembrane proteins important for directing immune responses. Their primary role is to recognize pathogens based on single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) characteristics. TLR2 is categorized as a pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that is important for the recognition of pathogens. Nucleotide variation in the coding region determines the conformation of the TLR protein, affecting its protein domain efficiency. This study aimed to identify SNPs in the coding region of TLR2 to enhance available genetic tools for improving health and production in swamp buffalo. A total of 50 buffaloes were randomly sampled from the northeastern part of Thailand for genomic DNA extraction and sequencing. Nucleotide sequences were aligned and compared with cattle and river buffalo based on the database. The results showed, there were 29 SNP locations in swamp buffalo and 14 different locations in both cattle and buffaloes. Haplotype analysis revealed that 27 haplotypes occurred. Swamp buffalo were identified from 13 SNPs based on biallelic analysis, which found eight synonymous and five nonsynonymous SNPs. Nucleotide diversity (π) was 0.16, indicating genetic diversity. Genetic diversity (haplotype diversity; HD) was high at 0.99 ± 0.04. This indicates a high probability that the two sample haplotypes are different. The π and HD values are important indicators of the genetic diversity of the swamp buffalo population. In summary, the Thai swamp buffalo population detected a polymorphism of the coding region of the TRL2 gene. Therefore, further, in-depth study of the relationship between these genes in the immune system and disease resistance should be recommended.

The objective of this study was to compare different testing strategies of pigs involving direct measurement of feed efficiency in pig. Using simulated data software, we collected individual information for FCR and grouped trials into direct and indirect measurement. The direct FCR included measurement of FCR in both sexes (100M-100F), in boars only (100M), in 50% of boars and 50% of gilts (50M-50F), and in only 50% of boars (50M-0F). Direct measures of FCR (0M-0F) in indirect selection were not used. The highest and the lowest genetic regression responses in FCR were observed for 100M-100F and indirect selection scenarios (0M-0F). Among direct selection, the increase in genetic progress was directly related to the percent of pigs tested for FCR. Using FCRs records more than 50% (50M-50F or 100M) can raise response higher than 80%. Meanwhile, 0M-0F showed a loss in genetic gain more than 50% when compared with 100M-100F. These results suggest using direct measurements on at least 50% of all pigs for genetic evaluation in FCR.

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