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Sorghum is currently being introduced in the temperate regions of Europe. It is characterized by good digestibility and high biomass yields, which make it a useful crop for anaerobic digestion. In this study, six commercial sorghum varieties comprising four different cultivars of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench and two interspecific sorghum hybrids (Sorghum sudanense L. × S. bicolor L. Moench) were harvested on two different dates during the years 2016 and 2017 at two diverse soil‐climate sites in Germany. The fresh harvested material and silages were analyzed to examine the ensilability of the different varieties with contrasting maturity characteristics. Subsequently, methane production experiments were performed to determine the specific methane yield (SMY) of the samples. The sorghum fresh matter (FM) varied among the sorghum types, including the parameters total solids (TS; 22.69%–46.93%FM), water‐soluble carbohydrates (2.68%–11.38%TS), and nitrates (0%–0.35%TS). The excellent ensiling ability of all the sorghum types analyzed was confirmed by evaluating the fermentation profile (pH range of 3.7–4.6; dominant presence of lactic acid [LA]; acetic acid [AA] in the range of 0.70%–2.38%TS; insignificant amount of butyric acid). The SMY ranged between 231.25 and 321.31 Ln kg−1 VS and tended to decrease with the increasing harvest time and maturity. LA and AA were positively correlated with the SMY, while the neutral detergent fiber content was negatively correlated with it. The SMY—a key parameter reflecting the crop biomass quality for biogas production—was slightly higher for S. bicolor than for the sorghum hybrids. However, the results of this study confirmed that if the final purpose is biomethanation, the ensilability of different sorghum types imposes no restriction. Furthermore, different sorghum types offer a wide harvest window, which can be useful for cropping schemes, ensiling, and methane production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy cows are at a greater risk of disease due to increased energy demand during the transition period. Blood biomarkers including beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) 1 1 BHBA: beta-hydroxy butyric acid. and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) 2 2 NEFA: non-esterified fatty acids are routinely used to identify animals in a state of negative energy balance (NEB) 3 3 NEB: Negative Energy Balance. Recent research demonstrates cattle have varied response to NEB, that requires multiple blood biomarkers to characterize. This research identified five subcategories (cowtypes) of metabolic responses in transition dairy cows: Healthy, Athlete, Clever, Hyperketonemia, and Poor Metabolic Adaptation Syndrome (PMAS) 4 4 PMAS: Poor metabolic adaptation syndrome. The data set used in this study was collected in Germany by VIT - Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. from 2016 to 2020. Health issues with time of diagnostic were included in the dataset. Using previously reported prediction models for blood BHB and blood NEFA and milk Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) 5 5 FTIR: Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data, the cowtypes in our dataset were predicted. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of the cowtypes with the disease-free survival time in dairy cows during early post calving using an accelerated failure time regression model. Additionally, transition probabilities of the population dynamics between cowtypes are studied by means of a Markov chain model. Using Healthy cowtype as reference level, Athlete, Clever, and PMAS cowtypes were found to be significant for the disease-free survival probability (P < 0.01). Conversely, Hyperketonemia cowtype was not significant (P = 0.182). Compared to the Healthy cowtype, all other cowtypes had a negative effect on the survival probabilities, which was higher for PMAS cows. Furthermore, after computing the estimated population transition probabilities among cowtypes, the stationary distribution of the Markov chain, along with bootstrap confidence intervals were computed. The results showed 0.091 (95% CI:0.089,0.092), 0.077 (95 % CI:0.074,0.078), 0.684 (95 % CI:0.067,0.069), 0.138 (95 % CI:0.136,0.139), and 0.009 (95% CI:0.008,0.010) of probability of being in Healthy, Athlete, Clever, Hyperketonemia, and PMAS cowtype, respectively. These estimates represent the proportion of cows belonging to the different cowtypes in a herd; information which may prove useful for herd management. The application of blood biomarker predictions using milk FTIR allows us to investigate differences between predicted cowtype and movements between these states and the association with time to disease. Further research will improve our understanding of the dynamic nature of the transition period. • Subcategories of metabolic responses in transition dairy cows. • Association of metabolic characteristics with the disease-free survival time in dairy cows early post calving. • Markov chain model for transition probabilities between metabolic responses in dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular walnut consumption is associated with better health. We have previously shown that eight weeks of walnut consumption (43 g/day) significantly improves lipids in healthy subjects. In the same study, gut microbiome was evaluated. We included 194 healthy subjects (134 females, 63 ± 7 years, BMI 25.1 ± 4.0 kg/m²) in a randomized, controlled, prospective, cross-over study. Following a nut-free run-in period, subjects were randomized to two diet phases (eight weeks each); 96 subjects first followed a walnut-enriched diet (43 g/day) and then switched to a nut-free diet, while 98 subjects followed the diets in reverse order. While consuming the walnut-enriched diet, subjects were advised to either reduce fat or carbohydrates or both to account for the additional calories. Fecal samples were collected from 135 subjects at the end of the walnut-diet and the control-diet period for microbiome analyses. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing data was clustered with a 97% similarity into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). UniFrac distances were used to determine diversity between groups. Differential abundance was evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. All analyses were performed using Rhea. Generalized UniFrac distance shows that walnut consumption significantly affects microbiome composition and diversity. Multidimensional scaling (metric and non-metric) indicates dissimilarities of approximately 5% between walnut and control ( p = 0.02). The abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Bifidobacteria increased significantly ( p < 0.02) while Clostridium sp. cluster XIVa species ( Blautia ; Anaerostipes ) decreased significantly ( p < 0.05) during walnut consumption. The effect of walnut consumption on the microbiome only marginally depended on whether subjects replaced fat, carbohydrates or both while on walnuts. Daily intake of 43 g walnuts over eight weeks significantly affects the gut microbiome by enhancing probiotic- and butyric acid-producing species in healthy individuals. Further evaluation is required to establish whether these changes are preserved during longer walnut consumption and how these are linked to the observed changes in lipid metabolism., Competing Interests: C.B., A.R., K.L., L.W., E.W., S.F., J.A. and K.H. have nothing to disclose. The research was supported by a grant from the California Walnut Commission (Folsom, CA, USA) to KGP. The Walnut Commission had no role in study performance, data analysis and or manuscript writing.

This report summarises talks given at the 8th International Yakult Symposium, held on 23–24 April 2015 in Berlin. Two presentations explored different aspects of probiotic intervention: the small intestine as a probiotic target and inclusion of probiotics into integrative approaches to gastroenterology. Probiotic recommendations in gastroenterology guidelines and current data on probiotic efficacy in paediatric patients were reviewed. Updates were given on probiotic and gut microbiota research in obesity and obesity-related diseases, the gut–brain axis and development of psychobiotics, and the protective effects of equol-producing strains for prostate cancer. Recent studies were presented on probiotic benefit for antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and people with HIV, as well as protection against the adverse effects of a short-term high-fat diet. Aspects of probiotic mechanisms of activity were discussed, including immunomodulatory mechanisms and metabolite effects, the anti-inflammatory properties of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, the relationship between periodontitis, microbial production of butyrate in the oral cavity and ageing, and the pathogenic mechanisms of Campylobacter. Finally, an insight was given on a recent expert meeting, which re-examined the probiotic definition, advised on the appropriate use and scope of the term and outlined different probiotic categories and the prevalence of different mechanisms of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]