Pre-conception nutrition estimated from milk composition characterises the sex ratio of offspring in cattle.

In livestock breeding, offspring of a particular sex are often favoured. Various biological mechanisms influence the offspring sex ratio (OSR). It has been hypothesised that maternal body condition/nutritional status influence OSR.

Enrichments Adjusted to the Number of Litters: Simple Approach to Improve the Welfare of Weaned Piglets under Farm Conditions.

Environmental enrichment is one of the methods used to reduce conflicts at weaning, which erupt when mixing unknown litters and are known to negatively affect growth and welfare of piglets. Here we aimed to test a simple approach of increasing the amount of existing enrichment objects to mitigate post-weaning aggression. The experiment comprised ten groups of piglets (five controls, five tests) with 3-4 litters weaned in each of them.

Specific Lactobacillus probiotic strains decrease transepithelial glucose transport through GLUT2 downregulation in intestinal epithelial cell models.

Although human clinical studies have suggested probiotic effects on blood glucose levels, knowledge about molecular mechanisms is still scarce. To test the hypothesis that selected Lactobacillus probiotic bacteria could regulate the activity of enterocyte glucose transporters, we aimed to measure in vitro effects of selected Lactobacillus probiotic bacteria on transcription and translation of intestinal glucose transporters sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) as well as transepithelial glucose transport. Lactobacillus plantarum strains (PCS20 and PCS26), Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) (ATCC 53103) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (L acidophilus) (ATCC 4356) were co-cultivated with noncarcinogenic porcine enterocytes (CLAB) and human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) (ATCC HTB-37).

Effect of Hydrolyzable Tannins on Glucose-Transporter Expression and Their Bioavailability in Pig Small-Intestinal 3D Cell Model.

Intestinal transepithelial transport of glucose is mediated by glucose transporters, and affects postprandial blood-glucose levels. This study investigates the effect of wood extracts rich in hydrolyzable tannins (HTs) that originated from sweet chestnut ( Mill.) and oak () on the expression of glucose transporter genes and the uptake of glucose and HT constituents in a 3D porcine-small-intestine epithelial-cell model.

Effect of hydrolysable tannins on intestinal morphology, proliferation and apoptosis in entire male pigs.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of hydrolysable tannin supplementation on morphology, cell proliferation and apoptosis in the intestine and liver of fattening boars. A total of 24 boars (Landrace × Large white) were assigned to four treatment groups: Control (fed commercial feed mixture) and three experimental groups fed the same diet supplemented with 1%, 2% and 3% of hydrolysable tannin-rich extract. Animals were housed individually with ad libitum access to feed and then slaughtered at 193 d of age and 122 ± 10 kg body weight.

Tissue-specific regulation of CYP3A by hydrolysable tannins in male pigs.

1. Little is known about the activities and regulation of cytochrome P4503A (CYP3A) enzymes in porcine colon in response to specific feeding components. 2.

Improvement of lipid profile by probiotic/protective cultures: study in a non-carcinogenic small intestinal cell model.

Plasma lipid levels are important risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Previous findings have shown that probiotic bacteria exert positive effects on hypercholesterolemia by lowering serum cholesterol and improving lipid profile that, in turn, leads to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. Most of these studies were carried out with tumoral cell lines that have a metabolism quite different from that of normal cells and may thus respond differently to various stimuli.

Accuracy of near infrared spectroscopy for prediction of chemical composition, salt content and free amino acids in dry-cured ham.

The capability of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was examined for the purposes of quality control of the traditional Slovenian dry-cured ham "Kraški pršut." Predictive models were developed for moisture, salt, protein, non-protein nitrogen, intramuscular fat and free amino acids in biceps femoris muscle (n = 135). The models' quality was assessed using statistical parameters: coefficient of determination (R(2)) and standard error (se) of cross-validation (CV) and external validation (EV).

An attempt to predict pork drip loss from pH and colour measurements or near infrared spectra using artificial neural networks.

The ability to predict meat drip loss by using either near infrared spectra (SPECTRA) or different meat quality (MQ) measurements, such as pH(24), Minolta L(∗), a(∗), b(∗), along with different chemometric approach, was investigated. Back propagation (BP) and counter propagation (CP) artificial neural networks (ANN) were used and compared to PLS (partial least squares) regression. Prediction models were created either by using MQ measurements or by using NIR spectral data as independent predictive variables.

Partial fast-to-slow conversion of regenerating rat fast-twitch muscle by chronic low-frequency stimulation.

Chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS) of rat fast-twitch muscles induces sequential transitions in myosin heavy chain (MHC) expression from MHCIIb --> MHCIId/x --> MHCIIa. However, the 'final' step of the fast-to-slow transition, i.e.