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Context: Concentrate supplementation at high rates represents a method used to improve the productive efficiency of the beef cattle grazing system. Further, the use of additives increases the nutrient-use efficiency of diets. In this sense, it is important to determine the impact of additives in grazing beef cattle fed with high-concentrate supplements to determine the appropriate management practices of the system. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the feeding behaviour of Nellore beef cattle (Bos taurus indicus) in intensive finishing on pasture and fed with different additives. Methods: Twenty-eight Nellore cattle [with initial bodyweight (BW) of 480 ± 5 kg and age of 24 ± 2 months] were finished on Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piatã pastures. The animals were assigned to a completely randomised design with four experimental supplements: U (urea as non-protein nitrogen source), UO (slow-release urea partially replacing urea), UOL (supplement UO + Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast), and UOLP (supplement UOL + multi-strain probiotics). Key results: Supplement intake and idleness time were most affected by the season (P < 0.001). The total dry-matter intake was higher in UOLP (P < 0.004), and this supplement also produced the least effects on feeding behaviour. Conclusion: The beginning of the rains affected the feeding behaviour. The additive combination in intensive finishing on pasture, such as UOL and UOLP, improved the intake and did not affect the feeding behaviour during the day. Implications: These results indicate that the use of additives in intensive finishing on pasture improves productive efficiency and does not change the animal's behaviour, resulting in an important technology to be disseminated and applied by grazing beef cattle producers. High-concentrate supplementation and additives are used to improve the productive efficiency of beef cattle grazing system. In this sense, it is important to determine the effects of additives in supplements for beef cattle in intensive finishing on pasture to determine appropriate management practices. In this trial, the additives can promote changes on intake and affect the feeding behaviour of grazing beef cattle. This knowledge allows us to make decisions about strategies to improve the productive efficiency in an intensive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the fermentation profile, losses and the chemical composition of Piatã palisadegrass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piatã) ensiled with different additives. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replicates per treatment, and five treatments with different additives, as follows: T1 control without additives; T2 - microbial inoculant SiloMax Centurium (Matsuda); T3 - enzyme-bacterial inoculant Sil All C4 (Alltech do Brasil); T4 - corn meal (100 g kg-1 in the fresh matter); and T5 - crude glycerin (100 g kg-1 in the fresh matter), totaling 20 experimental silos. Addition of cornmeal caused an increase in the dry matter (DM) and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) contents and a decrease in the neutral detergent neutral (NDF) content of the silage. The highest loss of total DM (124.7 g kg-1) was observed for the silage without additives, whereas addition of cornmeal provided the lowest loss of total DM (32.2 g kg-1). Lower pH values and higher titratable acidity values were observed in the silages containing cornmeal and crude glycerin, respectively, as well as greater production of lactic acid. It is recommended to include corn meal at 100 g kg-1 in the fresh matter, as it provides a better fermentative profile and nutritive value, in addition to lower losses of DM. In addition, the inclusion of glycerin at 100 g kg-1 of the fresh matter suggested it as a potential additive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses a study on the effects of two corn silage hybrids and two concentrate levels on intake, digestibility and animal performance in crossbred steers. The study used two corn hybrids, the Agromen and Bayer, with similar value of nutrients except for dry matter and non-fiber carbohydrates. The findings of the study suggested that the two corn silage hybrids evaluated have similar effects on animal performance and the choice for the more adequate corn silage hybrid should include agronomic traits.

the article details a study involving four Holstein crossbred steers, conducted from July to September 2002. These steers were fitted with ruminal and abomasal cannulaes through surgery. Various factors were measured during the research, including ruminal pH, microbial protein synthesis and total tract and partial apparent digestibilities of nutrients. They were fed with a mixture of silage and concentrate.

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary NPN levels on animal performance, diet digestibility, ruminal characteristics, and microbial efficiency. Experiment 1 was conducted with 24 Holstein x Nellore crossbred steers (350 ± 20 kg of BW) distributed in 6 blocks to evaluate intake and digestibility of nutrients and performance. The diets consisted of 70% corn silage and 30% concentrate (DM basis) and were formulated to contain 12.5% CP (DM basis). Treatments consisted of 0, 15.5, 31, and 46.5% of dietary N as NPN. There were no treatment differences in the daily intakes of DM (P = 0.47), OM (P = 0.60), CP (P = 0.24), nonfiber carbohydrates (NFC; P = 0.74), or TDN (P = 0.63); however, NDF intake decreased linearly as NPN increased (P = 0.02). Additionally, no effects of NPN were observed on apparent total tract digestibility of DM (P = 0.50), OM (P = 0.53), NDF (P = 0.63), or NFC (P = 0.44). The apparent total tract digestibility of CP increased linearly (P = 0.01), but ADG (1.14 kg/d) was not influenced (P = 0.96) as NPN increased. In Exp. 2, 4 ruminally and abomasally cannulated steers (300 ± 55 kg of BW) were fed the same diet used in Exp. 1 to evaluate the effects of NPN levels on intake and digestibility of nutrients, ruminal characteristics, and microbial efficiency. There were no differences in the daily intakes of DM (P = 0.22), OM (P = 0.17), CP (P = 0.31), NDF (P = 0.29), or TDN (P = 0.49). However, NFC intake increased linearly (P = 0.02), and there was a quadratic effect (P = 0.01) on intake of ether extract as NPN increased. Ruminal digestibility of CP increased linearly (P = 0.01) with the increase of dietary NPN. There were no differences (P ≥ 0.28) in microbial protein synthesis and microbial efficiency among the treatments. The results of these trials suggest that dietary NPN levels (up to 46.5% of total N) can be fed to crossbred steers receiving corn silage-based diets without affecting their growth performance or ruminal protein synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

True protein supplements are the most expensive ingredients in diets of beef cattle. Therefore, substitution of a true protein supplement with a non-protein N source may significantly reduce the diet costs. Studies have demonstrated that animal performance is not affected by using high levels of urea and/or replacing the true protein source by urea. A trial was conducted with twenty-four crossbred steers (Holstein x Zebu), averaging 350 kg BW, distributed in six randomized blocks to evaluate intake and digestibility of nutrients and performance. Steers were fed with four diets (TRT) containing high levels of urea. Diets consisted of 70% corn silage and 30% concentrate, formulated to be isonitrogenous (12% CP, DM basis). Treatments consisted of 0, 0.65, 1.3, and 1.95% of dietary urea (DM basis), which replaced cottonseed meal in the concentrate mixture. The experiment was conducted for 99 d (15 d for diet adaptation and 3 periods of 28 d). For each animal, the DMI was measured daily and samples of feces were collected to determine the diet digestibility using indigestible ADF as a marker. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the intakes of DM, OM, ether extract (EE), CP, NDF, non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC), and TDN among treatments. Additionally, no effects of levels of urea were observed on apparent total digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, EE, and NFC, which were, on average, 70.1, 71.3, 54.0, 84.3 and 86.8%, respectively. CP apparent digestibility increased linearly (P < 0.05) with increasing levels of urea, but ADG was not influenced (P > 0.05) and averaged 1.14 kg/d. This experiment suggested that levels of urea (up to 1.95% DM) might be fed to crossbreds receiving high forage diets without affecting their growing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: Each author certifies that neither he, nor any member of his immediate family, has funding or commercial associations (consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.

The authors evaluated 20 patients, diagnosed by Research Diagnostic Criteria after 1 week of hospitalization as having schizophrenia, weekly throughout their hospitalization. Four patients developed syndromes of depression after resolution of their psychoses: three manifesting a "minor" and one a "major" postpsychotic depressive syndrome. Four other patients went on to develop syndromes equivalent to major depression at a time when they were still actively psychotic, and their cross-sectional diagnoses were therefore changed to schizoaffective disorder, depressed type. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for diagnosis.