You're using an outdated browser. Please upgrade to a modern browser for the best experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
DIetary Magnesium: Human-Animal Nutrition
Magnesium (Mg) is a mineral acting as cofactor of more than 300 enzymes. Mg in farm animals’ is recommended to avoid Mg deficiency, ensure adequate growth and health maintenance. Further, Mg supplementation above the estimated minimum requirements is the best practice to improve farm animals’ performances (fertility and yield) and food products’ quality. In human nutrition, sub-optimal Mg intake has several implications in bone development, muscle function and health maintenance.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Feb 2021
Topic Review
List of Canis Species and Subspecies
Canis, the genus of mammals commonly known as wolves, dingos, dogs, coyotes, and jackals, contains several living species, many divided into numerous subspecies, as well as numerous recently extinct and extinct prehistoric species. Domestic dogs are not usually granted taxonomic variety names below the level of either their species name, or subspecies name so they do not appear here with their popular breed names as individual entries. The New Guinea singing dog and any other varieties of subspecies appear as individual entries here when their taxonomic considerations now suggest that they are varieties of subspecies other than domestic dogs, such as of dingoes. References for taxonomic classification, issues, and current considerations, especially in light of DNA revelations year to year, are found in the articles on individual canids; as this article is only a list, the extensive literature and specifics of these issues for each canid are beyond the scope of reference notes here. Furthermore, articles on the species in this list's section headings, and details of their evolutionary, divergent, interbreeding, geolocational and human-culture mediated shifts contain references on which this list relies when including and positioning its entries. References to this article are thus of two sorts, those pertaining to wholesale sourcing of entries, especially those that do not yet have their own Wikipedia articles, and the far more extensive references in existing Wikipedia articles for each entry, header species, and other relevant taxon.
  • 2.3K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Anisakidae Family
Nematodes of the Anisakidae family have a cosmopolitan distribution, due to their ability to infest a wide variety of aquatic hosts during the development of their larval stages, mainly marine mammals and aquatic birds, such as pelicans; being the hosts where the life cycle is completed. The participation of intermediate hosts such as cephalopods, shrimp, crustaceans and marine fish, are an important part to complete this cycle. However, its importance in human health is due to its zoonotic capacity, which causes the clinical presentation in humans, known as Anisakiasis or Anisakidosis, depending on the species of the infecting parasite.
  • 2.2K
  • 16 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Equine Assisted Interventions
Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) is an umbrella term that include programs with recreational, educative or therapeutic aims. These interventions are goal-oriented and based upon the emotional/physical relationship between the human being and the horse. EAIs are provided by a multidisciplinary team and they are adapted to the needs of the patient/beneficiary involved in a wide range of settings.
  • 2.2K
  • 07 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Red Wood Ants
The consequences of anthropogenic climate change are one of the major concerns of conservation biology. A cascade of negative effects is expected to affect various ecosystems, one of which is Central European coniferous forests and their unique biota. These coniferous forests are the primary habitat of many forest specialist species such as red wood ants. Climate change-induced rising of temperature allows trees to skip winter hibernation, making them more vulnerable to storms that cause wind felling, and in turn, promotes bark beetle infestations that results in unscheduled clear-cuttings. Red wood ants can also be exposed to such habitat changes. We investigated the effects of bark beetle-induced clear-cutting and the absence of coniferous trees on colonies of Formica polyctena, including a mixed-coniferous forest as a reference. Our aim was to investigate how these habitat features affect the nest characteristics and nesting habits of F. polyctena. Our results indicate that, in the absence of conifers, F. polyctena tend to use different alternatives for nest material, colony structure, and food sources. However, the vitality of F. polyctena colonies significantly decreased (smaller nest mound volumes). Our study highlights the ecological flexibility of this forest specialist and its potential to survive under extreme conditions.
  • 2.2K
  • 30 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Probiotics in Poultry Nutrition
Probiotics are live bacteria, fungi, or yeasts that supplement the gastrointestinal flora and help to maintain a healthy digestive system, thereby promoting the growth performance and overall health of poultry.
  • 2.1K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Sicilian Black Pig
In the paper we report, for the first time, an overview  about  a Italian local pig breed with the aim to offer a general overview concerning the Sicilian black pig and to review the recent findings related to genome investigation. The recent use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies in the study of autochthonous breeds genome showed that polymorphism of some candidate genes for productions performance and phenotypic traits represent important information for selection processes.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has expressed concern about the lack of interest in local breeds compared to high-output animals and conservation programs have been implemented by various countries worldwide.  Autochthonous pig breeds represent a valuable genetic reserve to be utilized for typical products linked to italian gastronomic traditions, or for recovering some organoleptic proprieties of pork which have been lost through of severe selective programmes. Furthermore, consumers’ concerns about animal welfare, sensorial meat quality and specificity of meat products have led to increasing demand for foodstuffs obtained from local breeds reared under natural conditions. Considering that the information on the Italian local pigs is limited, it is necessary to increase a suitable activity of research to exploit these breeds and to increase the knowledge of their genetic variability. The present paper could be of great interest to the scientific community; in particular to readers of "Animals", involved in the field of animal breeding and genetics, animal genomics, and involved in local pig productions.
  • 2.1K
  • 28 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Entompathogen Wasps
Parasitoid wasps inject eggs into the host insect along with several factors that modulate the immune response, in addition these molecular structures and compounds, present at the surface of the gamete, contribute to the evasive and depressive strategies of the parasitoid by facilitating the development of eggs and larvae within the host body.
  • 2.0K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Ensiling Process of Horticultural By-Products
Commercial round bale silos is made by wastes from artichoke and broccoli crops and cannery whose industries represent an environmental problem. A viable option to this problem is ensiling them for use as ruminants feed. Twenty-one commercial round bale silos (300 kg and 0.64 m3) of each by-product were made. Samples were analysed at days 0, 7, 15, 30, 60, and 200 to determine microbial populations, fermentation metabolites, nutritional components, and phytosanitary residues. Feedstuffs showed good suitability for ensiling, and stabilisation was achieved on day 30. The variables with the greatest significant differences among sampling times were microbial populations and fermentative components. There were no important dry matter losses, and some significant differences were observed in the nutritional composition, especially in crude protein and fibrous fractions, but they were not relevant for the loss of nutritional quality of silages. The phytosanitary residues determined on day 200 were below the maximum residue limits set by European legislation. So, ensiling these by-products in commercial round bale silos is a suitable and profitable technique that allows their preservation for a long time (200 days).
  • 2.0K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Animal Resilience
Resilience is conceived as a dynamic developmental process involving the achievement of positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity. Resilience is not a unique ability but rather a set of capacities of a system put in place to absorb a disturbance and to reorganize while trying to retain the same function, structure, and identity. This study describes the characteristics and the molecular mechanisms of resilience to understand the core elements of resilience and its indicators.
  • 2.0K
  • 08 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Aluminum Toxicity
Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major environmental stress that inhibits plant growth and development in acidic soils. 
  • 2.0K
  • 13 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Biological Medicinal Products
Definitions of biological medicinal products (BMPs) vary depending on the source. BMPs are manufactured using complex biological/biotechnological processes involving living cell lines, tissues and organisms such as microorganisms, plants, humans and even animals.
  • 1.9K
  • 25 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Froth Nesting
This entry provides information regarding the proposed functions of the anuran froth nest as a mucous-based solution to the environmental challenges offspring face during development, with consideration of the functions of froth nest breakdown and communal froth nesting, as well. The adults of several anuran amphibian species deposit their eggs externally in mucus secretions that are purposely aerated to produce a froth nest. This type of clutch structure has evolved independently several times in this group and has been proposed to serve a variety and often simultaneous adaptive functions associated with protecting offspring from sub-optimal conditions during embryogenesis and later stages after hatching has occurred. These functions range from buffering offspring from sub-optimal temperatures and desiccation, to defending against predation and improving oxygenation. This versatility has likely helped facilitate the reduced reliance of egg development on water and thus the penetration of anurans into environments where permanent aquatic systems are not always available.
  • 1.9K
  • 03 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Poultry Litter
Poultry litter is a combination of aviary excreta and bedding materials such as wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, or other dry, absorbent, uneaten feed, broken eggs, dead birds, bird feathers and low-cost organic material [1].
  • 1.9K
  • 27 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Peptides in Farm Animals
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are the arsenals of the innate host defense system, exhibiting evolutionarily conserved characteristics that are present in practically all forms of life. Recent years have witnessed the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria compounded with a slow discovery rate for new antibiotics that have necessitated scientific efforts to search for alternatives to antibiotics. Research on the identification of AMPs has generated very encouraging evidence that they curb infectious pathologies and are also useful as novel biologics to function as immunotherapeutic agents. Being innate, they exhibit the least cytotoxicity to the host and exerts a wide spectrum of biological activity including low resistance among microbes and increased wound healing actions. Notably, in veterinary science, the constant practice of massive doses of antibiotics with inappropriate withdrawal programs led to a high risk of livestock-associated antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, the world faces tremendous pressure for designing and devising strategies to mitigate the use of antibiotics in animals and keep it safe for posterity.
  • 1.9K
  • 07 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Tannins
There are diverse challenges in the poultry production industry that decrease the productivity and efficiency of poultry production, impair animal welfare, and pose issues to public health. Furthermore, the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in feed, which have been used to improve the growth performance and gut health of chickens, has been restricted in many countries. Tannins, polyphenolic compounds that precipitate proteins, are considered as alternatives for AGP in feed and provide solutions to mitigate challenges in poultry production due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and gut health promoting effects. However, because high dosages of tannins have antinutritional effects when fed to poultry, determining appropriate dosages of supplemental tannins is critical for their potential implementation as a solution for the challenges faced in poultry production.
  • 1.9K
  • 11 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Hydrogen Sulfide in Rumen
Hydrogen sulfide is a Janus-faced molecule with many beneficial and toxic effects on the animal health. In ruminants, rumen fermentation plays a vital role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. During rumen fermentation, the production of hydrogen sulfide can occur, and it can be rapidly absorbed into the body of the animals through the intestinal wall. If the production of hydrogen sulfide concentration is higher in the rumen, it can cause a toxic effect on ruminants known as poliomyelitis. The production of hydrogen sulfide depends on the population of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the rumen. In rodents, H2S maintains the normal physiology of the gastrointestinal tract and also improves the healing of the chronic gastric ulcer. In the gut, H2S regulates physiological functions such as inflammation, ischemia–reperfusion injury and motility. In this review article, we summarize the toxicity occurrence in the body of animals due to high levels of hydrogen sulfide production and also recent progress in the studies of physiological function of H2S in the gut, with a special emphasis on bacteria-derived H2S is discussed in this review.
  • 1.9K
  • 28 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Dietary Polyphenol Supplementation in Animals
Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites mainly known for their antioxidant properties. Their use as feed additives in the nutrition of farm animals is becoming increasingly popular as they are particularly exposed to oxidative stress which is reflected in a lipoperoxidation of the final product. For this reason, it is essential to preserve the quality and the safety of meat and milk products by attenuating oxidative deterioration. Moreover, polyphenols present the advantage of being more acceptable to the consumers than synthetic counterparts, as they are considered to be “non-toxic”.
  • 1.9K
  • 11 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Enterococcus faecium EF2019
Weaning is the most important and critical period in rabbits breeding, when only small dietary and/or environmental changes can disturb the stable microbial population/fermentation and gut health, leading to digestive dysbiosis, increased morbidity/mortality and big economic losses. Control of the microbiota, prevention of digestive disturbances and improving gut health and immunity can be achieved through the natural substances application in rabbit nutrition. Probiotics are frequently used in rabbits farms, however, the most of them are non-autochtonous (have a different origin than the rabbits ecosystem), while the “in vivo” administration of bacteriocins (antimicrobial substances produced by bacteria, which usually possess also probiotic properties) in these animals are often limited and has become an area of research activity. Therefore, we focused on improving rabbits health using the autochtonous strain Enterococcus faecium EF2019(CCM7420; fresh culture, lyophilized form) and its enterocin (Ent7420) in broiler rabbits. During these experiments, the following effects of the strain and its enterocin were observed: improved average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, good colonization ability of the tested strain (maximum counts in first 2-3 weeks of application), increased lactic acid bacteria and reduced coagulase-positive staphylococi including S. aureus, coliforms and clostridia population as well as the Eimeria sp. oocysts counts in the rabbits gut. Both additives showed a tendency to modulate the serum biochemistry parameters (increased level of total proteins, glucose, triglycerids) and to stimulate the blood phagocytic activity and improved jejunal morphology (enlargement of the absorption surface in jejunum, higher villi height:crypt depth (VH:CD) ratio). The physico-chemical properties of rabbit meat was not negatively affected by the CCM7420 strain, while the meat iron content significantly increased during its application, which improves the rabbit meat quality. It could be also emphasized that knowing the probiotic properties and the ability of Enterococcus faecium CCM7420 to produce enterocin Ent7420 with antimicrobial effect is of great interest mainly in the case of several disease/pathologies, such as Epizootic Rabbit Enteropathy, which are difficult to prevent and combat because their etiology is not known and there are no vaccine. This strain is the main component of the Prorabbit probiotic preparation, which is often used in Slovak rabbit farms (at dosage 1-2 g/animal/day for 21 days as prevention and 3 g/animal/day with therapeutic effect; resolved in water or mixed into feed).
  • 1.9K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Milk Thistle Seed and Hempseed
In accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the use of antibiotics as stimulators of animal growth and performance has been banned in all European Union countries since 2006 (due to the elimination of antibiotic residues from the human food chain). Due to this ban, many scientists are studying alternative approaches to the use of various biologically active substances with a growth-promoting e ect. A promising direction is the use of alternative feeds containing bioactive compounds or mixtures of natural origin, or the use of phytoadditives or plant extracts, probiotics, prebiotics, symbiotics or oilseed by-products, such as hempseed cakes and milk thistle seed cakes in animal nutrition.
  • 1.9K
  • 29 Oct 2020
  • Page
  • of
  • 9
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Academic Video Service
Feedback