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The experiment was conducted during April to September, 2024 at C.V.Sc and A.H., CAU, Aizawl, Mizoram, India to determine the effect of feeding Moringa leaf powder (MLP) on antioxidant status of early weaned Large White Yorkshire piglets. For the study, a total of 18 clinically healthy piglets weaned at 28 days were categorized as Control (C), Treatment-I (T1) and Treatment-II (T2) with 6 (six) piglets in each group. The control group was fed basal feed and T1 and T2 groups were fed basal feed with incorporation of MLP @ 1% and 2%, respectively. The trial was carried out for a period of 42 days. Blood was collected on day 28 (i.e day of weaning), day 42, day 56 and day 70 from each piglet of all groups for estimating the major antioxidant parameters. The antioxidants estimated were superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), malanaldehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). The activities of SOD varied from 0.75±0.013 to 2.01±0.005 IU ml-1 amongst the experimental groups, whereas activities of CAT ranged from 1.48±0.02 to 2.32±0.012 IU ml-1. The GPx activities were in the range of 231.93±0.49 to 234.01±0.018 (pg ml-1) and MDA concentration was in the range of 218.47±0.015 to 254.31±0.013 (ng ml-1). The study established that dietary inclusion of Moringa leaf powder improved the antioxidant arsenals of the weaned piglets, which in t0urn led to reduced weaning stress and resulted in their better growth. Further, data obtained in the study pertaining to SOD, CAT, GPx and MDA may be used as reference values for any future investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endotracheal intubation for inhalation anaesthesia in pigs is not considered a good anaesthetic method as it is technically difficult because of oral anatomy and the presence of excess tissues in the oropharyngeal region. Moreover, the major limitation of inhalation anaesthesia is that it requires the use of a cumbersome and costly anaesthetic machine, including a suitable breathing system and vaporizer and is the exposure of operating-room personnel to the pollution in the ambient air. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of propofol, ketamine and their combination 'Ketofol' as a TIVA in pigs. Methods: The study was conducted in eighteen piglets of either sex. The piglets were randomly divided into three groups with six animals in each group. All the three groups were premedicated with Atropine sulphate @ 0.04 mg/kg body weight and Xylazine Hydrochloride @ 1 mg/kg body weight I.M. and Medazolam @ 0.5 mg/kg body weight I.M. with minimum forcible restraint as preanaesthetic. In group-I, propofol @ 5 mg/kg body weight, in group-II, ketamine @ 5 mg/kg body weight and in group-III, ketofol @ 4 mg/kg body weight was administered intravenously for induction after 15 minutes of pre-anaesthetic administration. Surgical anaesthesia was maintained for 90 minutes in all three groups viz. group-I, group-II and group-III with propofol @ 2.5 mg/kg, ketamine @ 2.5 mg/kg and ketofol @ 2 mg/kg body weight respectively by intermittent bolus injection (IBI) technique. Clinical and cardiopulmonary profiles were evaluated before administration of the anaesthetic agent (0 minutes) then at 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes during and after administration of anaesthetic agents to evaluate their anaesthetic effect. Result: The study revealed that induction time (IT), duration of analgesia (DOA), duration of recumbency (DOR) and recovery time (RT) interval showed better result in the combination of ketamine and propofol group as compared to propofol and ketamine-induced individual group. The temperature and respiration rate was significantly decreased in all the groups at 30 minutes during TIVA whereas heart rate was significantly increased in all the groups at 15 minutes. The combination of ketamine and propofol group showed a consistent diastolic pressure and systolic pressure during the entire period of anaesthesia. The SPO2 in the ketamineinduced group showed a significant decrease (P<0.01) as compared to the propofol and ketofol group. It was concluded that the anaesthetic drug combinations resulted in smooth and uneventful induction with mild cardiopulmonary depressions and rapid recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in the Instructional Livestock Farm Complex, College of Veterinary Sciences & A. H. by selecting 36 Large White Yorkshire pigs weaned at 6 weeks of age. Three groups of the pigs were reared in three existing floor type pens and named as control groups (C1, C2 and C3) and remaining three groups were reared in newly designed cage type elevated slated floor pens and named as treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3). All the pigs were reared for 6 weeks after weaning. Data collected from the experiment were analysed using suitable statistical formulae. The Haemato-biochemical parameters such as Blood glucose, Haemoglobin, Total Protein, Serum Albumin, Serum Globulin, Aspertate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were estimated and significance difference were observed only in Blood Glucose level only on 7 days of post-weaning. However, overall health of early weaned pigs during rearing period were better in slatted floor weaner cage compared to solid concrete floor weaner pen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella spp. is the most important bacterial pathogen of poultry and cause a substantial economic loss in poultry industries. Poultry is one of the principal reservoirs of Salmonella and thus these are isolated more frequently from poultry and poultry products. In this study, total of 100 samples (Feed, feces and cloacal swab) including necropsy samples collected from chicken in Mizoram, India were processed. Out of these, 2 samples (2%) were found positive for Salmonella by conventional isolation and identification methods. Both the isolates recovered were found to be Salmonella Typhimurium, the serotype most commonly identified in chickens. Then simple PCR was used to confirm inv A and spi C virulent genes as representatives of Salmonella Pathogenicity Island I and Salmonella Pathogenicity Island II respectively in both the isolates using specific primers which produced desired product of 284 bp and 165 bp, respectively. The study represents the first report in Mizoram of detecting both the virulent genes i.e inv A and spi C in Salmonella Typhimurium isolated from chicken samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of lactation stages on compositional quality of milk was evaluated in 18 clinically healthy lactating Mehsani buffaloes, which were divided into three equal groups based on their lactation length: group I (early stage), group II (mid stage) and group III (late stage).The urea and total solid content was significantly higher in the milk of late lactation than those of early and mid-stage. Whereas, the fat content increased significantly with the advancing lactation. Milk protein and casein content varied numerically, but variation was non- significant over the stages of lactation. Lactose content decreased non-significantly towards the end of lactation. Ash, SNF and NPN were the least variable content throughout the entire lactation period. It may be concluded that a substantial variation exists in milk components throughout the lactation stages and the trend in variation of major milk constituents in Mehsani buffaloes was comparable with cows. Data on levels of milk constituents varying over the lactation stages are important phenotype indices for developing genomic selection programme in buffaloes. It may be also helpful in phenotypic characterization of this important native breed of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was done on the dried skull of 9 (nine) non-descript domesticated pigs of Mizoram. Skull from adult animals with no apparent physical deformities were only selected for the study. Here a total of 59 (fifty nine) parameters were recorded. The recorded data were subjected to statistical analysis to derive a meaning full craniometrical data. Most of the recorded parameters showed very less to intermediate coefficient of variance. The 10 (ten) indices, which were calculated to neutralize the variations in the skull size were found to be in accordance to available literatures. The correlation coefficients for most of the selected parameters were highly significant except the basicranial axis and viscerocranial length. Similarly the prediction equation for most of the selected parameters were highly accurate as their degree of determination was high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study reports seasonal variation in concentrations of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in different production groups of lactating Kankrej cows. The concentrations of Cu was significantly higher (p<0.05) in all the groups during summer season; while, Zn concentration was found to be significantly higher in winter as compared to rainy and summer seasons. Similarly, Fe concentrations in all the production groups were apparently lower in summer as compared to rainy and winter seasons. However, there was no definite pattern of variation in serum Mn concentration amongst the experimental groups. A comprehensive study is warranted on this aspect to evolve the correlations between blood concentrations of these microelements and productive performance of the breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of seasons on vital biochemical parameters of Kankrej cattle at different level of their milk yielding ability. Blood samples were collected in all three seasons of the year viz. winter, summer and monsoon from the three experimental groups i.e. group-I (low yielder), group II (medium yielder) and group III (high yielder). There was nonsignificant variation in glucose level amongst the groups except it was significantly higher in group III during monsoon. Similarly, significantly higher values of total protein were recorded in group III and group II during summer. Conversely, BUN level did not vary significantly amongst the groups throughout the year. However, there was non-significant but progressive increase in calcium level from winter to monsoon. The seasonal trend in phosphorus level was fairly definite and variations between seasons and groups were significant. The magnesium level decreased non-significantly from monsoon to summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cathelicidins represent a diverse family of endogenous cationic antibiotic peptide present in all mammalian species. In the present study, a novel cathelicidin cDNA was identified and characterized from bone marrow cells of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) using RT-PCR based approach. The cDNA encodes a propeptide of 1.18 kDa with net positive charge at neutral pH. The precursor peptide possesses a signal peptide of 29 amino acids and a biologically active peptide of 34 residues. Comparison of sequences indicates only 66.1 and 64.1% identity at nucleotides and amino acids level respectively, with the already reported cathelicidin congener from the same species. However, high degree of similarity (92.8% nucleotides and 81.9% amino acids) was noticed with cathelicidin 7 sequence of Bos taurus suggesting interspecies conservation of cathelicidin peptides rather than intra-species within bovidae family. Phylogenetic trees analyses also support these data. Our findings, further justify the cloned cDNA as a unique cathelicidin member of B. bubalis, and may reasonably considered to be another example of structural diversity exhibited by cathelicidin-derived peptides as reported from other mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]