Animal Production Systems in Algeria： Transformation and Tendencies in the Setif Area

Algeria registers only 0.25 ha of agricultural surface per capita. This indicates very low agricultural capacities. Otherwise agricultural activities are concentrated in a narrow fringe of the Northern part of the country where the dominant climate is semi-arid with very irregular rainfalls. A majority of farms produces its main part of income from cereal crops--livestock association system. However, the diversity of the climate and the physical environment, on one hand, and the agricultural policies on the other hand, induce major transformations in this system. Transformations are also the result of a significant demographic growth in rural area. In this context, significant issues appear in term of resource＇s uses and systems＇ sustainability. To shed light in the actual situation, this study, based on a survey of 90 owners, shows that： the intensification can constitute a threat on the pastoral resources; the weakness of the farms encourages the generalization of practices characterised by a weak feed autonomy and a bad management of stock fodders; the animal interspecific integration and partial intensification are positive if they follow models which ensure autonomy, performance and optimal pastoral resource management.

Biological function of resveratrol and its application in animal production:a review

With the prohibition of antibiotics in feed,plant functional substances have been widely studied as feed additives.Resveratrol,a natural stilbene,and a non-flavonoid polyphenol found in plants,possesses antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,and metabolic regulatory features.Resveratrol generated intense scientific and public interest,primarily due to its widely reported ability to prevent cancer,delay aging and alleviate related metabolic diseases.Recently,resveratrol has been studied and applied as a feed additive in animal production.This review focuses on the outline of the absorption and metabolism and biological functions of resveratrol and summarizes the application of dietary resveratrol in animal production up to the present,including pigs,poultry,and ruminants.In pigs,dietary resveratrol improved intestinal health,mitochondrial function,meat quality,and more.In poultry,studies have shown that dietary resveratrol improves growth performance and meat and egg quality and alleviates heat stress induced adverse effects.There are few studies on dietary resveratrol in ruminants;however previous studies have indicated that dietary resveratrol increases nutrient digestibility and reduces methane emissions in sheep.It is hoped that this review could provide a specific theoretical basis and research ideas for the research and application of resveratrol.

Utilization of Chinese Herbal Feed Additives in Animal Production

The experimental knowledge on efficacy,possible modes of action and aspects of application of Chinese herbs as feed additives for animal production are reviewed in this article.Chinese herbs commonly contain protein,carbohydrate,fat,vitamins,andmineral which are necessary nutrients to the growth of animal.Polysaccharide,organic acid,alkaloids,and essential oils involved in Chinese herbs can improve the immune function of livestock.Currently,numerous studies have demonstrated anti-oxidative and anti-microbial efficacy and the assumption that Chinese herbs may improve the flavor of meat,which has been confirmed by some observations,but the mode of this action is still unclear.Moreover,several observations support the hypothesis that herbal feed additives may favorably affect gut functions （e.g.,enzyme activity,microbial eubiosis） in vitro.Such effects may explain a considerable number of practical studies with livestock reporting improved production performance after providing herbal feed additives.In summary,available evidence indicates that herbal feed additives may have the potential to add to the set of non-antibiotic growth promoters for use in livestock,such as organic acids and probiotics.However,a systematic approach toward the efficacy,mode of action and safety of herbal compounds used as feed additives for animal production seems to be required in the future.

Gut health benefit and application of postbiotics in animal production

Gut homeostasis is of importance to host health and imbalance of the gut usually leads to disorders or diseases for both human and animal.Postbiotics have been applied in manipulating of gut health,and utilization of postbiotics threads new lights into the host health.Compared with the application of probiotics,the characteristics such as stability and safety of postbiotics make it a potential alternative to probiotics.Studies have reported the beneficial effects of components derived from postbiotics,mainly through the mechanisms including inhibition of pathogens,strengthen gut barrier,and/or regulation of immunity of the host.In this review,we summarized the characteristics of postbiotics,main compounds of postbiotics,potential mechanisms in gut health,and their application in animal production.

Current and future prospects for nanotechnology in animal production

Nanoparticles have been used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents in the human medical field for quite some time, though their application in veterinary medicine and animal production is still relatively new. Recently,production demands on the livestock industry have been centered around the use of antibiotics as growth promoters due to growing concern over microbial antibiotic resistance. With many countries reporting increased incidences of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, laws and regulations are being updated to end in-feed antibiotic use in the animal production industry. This sets the need for suitable alternatives to be established for inclusion in feed.Many reports have shown evidence that nanoparticles may be good candidates for animal growth promotion and antimicrobials. The current status and advancements of nanotechnological applications in animal production will be the focus of this review and the emerging roles of nanoparticles for nutrient delivery, biocidal agents, and tools in veterinary medicine and reproduction will be discussed. Additionally, influences on meat, egg, and milk quality will be reviewed.

Manipulation of Animal Production by Biotechnology

Basal level of Animal Production is maintained with regulation of endocrine to concert genetic potential and environmental conditions. This balance can be moved to dramatical imporvements in rate and efficiency of production as well as composition of the products by biotechnological methods. In this paper, several novel achievements in the last decade are briefly reviewed for refference to further research and application of biotedchnology in animal production.

Effects of Grassland Eco-Protection Compensation and Reward System

Grassland ecological protection compensation and reward policy is the largest-scale investment concerning themost extensive areas since foundation of the PRC. It will be the long-term implementationpolicy for grassland ecological protection. In this study,based on macro-perspective, the policy effects ofgrasslandproductivity, ecological protection, animal husbandryoutput, pastoralists＇ income were ana- lyzed. The resultsshow that, afterimplementation of the policy, naturalgrass production and grasslandtheoretical stocking rateincreased. The averagenatural grasslandlivestockoverloading ratedecreased significantly, comprehensivenationalgrasslandvegetation coverageis increasing. Besides, adult cattleandbeef yield arefluctuated. Sheep head, adult sheep, sheep production, milk productionincreasedin varying degrees. The per capita netincomeof farmers and pastoralists, livestock income, the proportion oflivestockincomewere higher than those beforeimplementation of the policy.

The application of omics technologies for understanding tropical plants-based bioactive compounds in ruminants:a review

Finding out how diet impacts health and metabolism while concentrating on the functional qualities and bioactive components of food is the crucial scientific objective of nutritional research. The complex relationship between metabolism and nutrition could be investigated with cutting-edge "omics" and bioinformatics techniques. This review paper provides an overview of the use of omics technologies in nutritional research, with a particular emphasis on the new applications of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and genomes in functional and biological activity research on ruminant livestock and products in the tropical regions. A wealth of knowledge has been uncovered regarding the regulation and use of numerous physiological and pathological processes by gene, m RNA, protein, and metabolite expressions under various physiological situations and guidelines. In particular, the components of meat and milk were assessed using omics research utilizing the various methods of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and genomes. The goal of this review is to use omics technologies—which have been steadily gaining popularity as technological tools—to develop new nutritional, genetic, and leadership strategies to improve animal products and their quality control. We also present an overview of the new applications of omics technologies in cattle production and employ nutriomics and foodomics technologies to investigate the microbes in the rumen ecology. Thus, the application of state-of-the-art omics technology may aid in our understanding of how species and/or breeds adapt, and the sustainability of tropical animal production, in the long run, is becoming increasingly important as a means of mitigating the consequences of climate change.

Impact of systems modelling on agronomic research and adoption of new practices in smallholder agriculture

An analysis of the impact of simulation modelling in three diverse crop-livestock improvement projects in Agricultural Research for Development（AR4D） reveals benefits across a range of aspects including identification of objectives, design and implementation of experimental programs, effectiveness of participatory research with smallholder farmers, implementation of system change and scaling-out of results.In planning change, farmers must consider complex interactions within both biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of their crop and animal production activities.For this, whole-farm models that include household models of food, workload and financial requirements have the most utility and impact.The analysis also proposes improvements in design and implementation of AR4 D projects to improve the utility of simulation modelling for securing positive agronomic and livestock outcomes and lasting legacies.

Adaptation to climate change in desertified lands of the marginal regions in Egypt through sustainable crop and livestock diversification systems

Environmental degradation resulting from current climate changes, including prolonged drought, land degradation, desertification, and loss of biodiversity, is presenting enormous challenges to achieve food security and eradication of poverty in the marginal regions （about 90% of the total area） of Egypt. In addition to the natural constraints of high temperature, wind erosion, sand dune movement, and recurrent drought, such regions are subjected to improper land and water management. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge, technologies, and experiences to match with the current severe climatic changes. There is a great need for establishing sustainable integrated ecosystem rehabilitation and management programs to overcome such problems in the marginal areas, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula due to its strategic and social importance. A series of research and development programs have been conducted in 2006 to im- prove the livelihoods of smallholders through enhancing the efficient management and utilization of local resources that can cope with the drastic changes of climate in the Sinai Peninsula. An integrated livestock/salt-tolerant fodder crop system was introduced, in 2010 by the project teamwork of Desert Research center, Egypt, to many smallholders in the South Sinai region, where studies were conducted at both the general research and individual farmer levels. The most important results were： （1） adoption of the most salt-tolerant genotypes of three forage crops： pearl millet （Pennisetum glaucum L.）, sorghum （Sorghum bicolor）, and Sudan grass （Sorghum sudanense （Piper） Stapf.）; two cereal crops （triticale and barley）; and two oil crops： safflower （Carthamus tinctorius） and Brassica （Mustard）. Alfalfa （Medicago sativa L. and Medicago arborium）, cowpeas （Vigna sinensis L.）, fodder beets （Beta vulgaris L.）, clumping desert bunchgrass （Panicum turgedum）, ryegrass （Lolium perenne） Ray grass, forage shrubs （Kochia indica, Atriplex num- mularia, Sesbania sesban L.）, and Acacia cyanophila, Leucaena leucocephala, Porsopis cheilanses, and Prosopis jioflora were also evaluated; （2） active participation of farmers in development of management strategies to improve ir- rigation water use efficiency, forage production, and livestock production; and （3） economic evaluation at the farmer level, which showed that feeding livestock salt-tolerant fodders produced an increase of about 60% in milk production and 80% in meat production, and reduced feed costs by about 40%. Accordingly, a 70% increase of family income was achieved. It is concluded that better utilization of fragile ecosystem resources and growing salt-tolerant fodder crops may contribute to the development of marginal areas and enhance the living standards of local people through providing high-quality livestock feed materials and producing economical animal products.

Application Progress of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi( FLL) in Animal Husbandry

Fructus Ligustri Lucidi （ FLL）, a well-known and commonly used Chinese herbal medicine in clinical practice, is often applied in animal husbandry in the form of monomer or compound. The chemical composition, pharmacological effects of FLL and its application progress in animal husbandry are reviewed.

Teaching Reform and Practice of Animal Products Processing under the Background of Intelligent Agriculture

Effective food professional personnel training strategies are explored and implemented,and interdisciplinary talents of food science and engineering in accordance with the background of intelligent agriculture are cultivated from the aspects of construction of teaching staff,reform of teaching content,upgrading of teaching model,construction of industry-education integration platform,which is of great significance to the modernization development of Chinese animal products processing industry.

Dietary sources and their effects on animal production and environmental sustainability

Animal agriculture has been an important component in the integrated farming systems in developing countries. It serves in a paramount diversified role in producing animal protein food, draft power, farm manure as well as ensuring social status-quo and enriching livelihood. Ruminants are importantly contributable to the well-being and the livelihood of the global population. Ruminant production systems can vary from subsistence to intensive type of farming depending on locality, resource availability,infrastructure accessibility, food demand and market potentials. The growing demand for sustainable animal production is compelling to researchers exploring the potential approaches to reduce greenhouse gases(GHG) emissions from livestock. Global warming has been an issue of concern and importance for all especially those engaged in animal agriculture. Methane(CH_4) is one of the major GHG accounted for at least 14% of the total GHG with a global warming potential 25-fold of carbon dioxide and a 12-year atmospheric lifetime. Agricultural sector has a contribution of 50 to 60% methane emission and ruminants are the major source of methane contribution(15 to 33%). Methane emission by enteric fermentation of ruminants represents a loss of energy intake(5 to 15% of total) and is produced by methanogens(archae) as a result of fermentation end-products. Ruminants' digestive fermentation results in fermentation end-products of volatile fatty acids(VFA), microbial protein and methane production in the rumen. Rumen microorganisms including bacteria, protozoa and fungal zoospores are closely associated with the rumen fermentation efficiency. Besides using feed formulation and feeding management, local feed resources have been used as alternative feed additives for manipulation of rumen ecology with promising results for replacement in ruminant feeding. Those potential feed additive practices are as follows: 1) the use of plant extracts or plants containing secondary compounds(e.g., condensed tannins and saponins) such as mangosteen peel powder, rain tree pod; 2) plants rich in minerals, e.g., banana flower powder; and 3) plant essential oils, e.g., garlic, eucalyptus leaf powder, etc. Implementation of the-feed-system using cash crop and leguminous shrubs or fodder trees are of promising results.

Implications of butyrate and its derivatives for gut health and animal production

Butyrate is produced by microbial fermentation in the large intestine of humans and animals.It serves as not only a primary nutrient that provides energy to colonocytes, but also a cellular mediator regulating multiple functions of gut cells and beyond, including gene expression, cell differentiation, gut tissue development, immune modulation, oxidative stress reduction, and diarrhea control.Although there are a large number of studies in human medicine using butyrate to treat intestinal disease, the importance of butyrate in maintaining gut health has also attracted significant research attention to its application for animal production, particularly as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics.Due to the difficulties of using butyrate in practice(i.e., offensive odor and absorption in the upper gut), different forms of butyrate,such as sodium butyrate and butyrate glycerides, have been developed and examined for their effects on gut health and growth performance across different species.Butyrate and its derivatives generally demonstrate positive effects on animal production, including enhancement of gut development, control of enteric pathogens, reduction of inflammation, improvement of growth performance(including carcass composition), and modulation of gut microbiota.These benefits are more evident in young animals, and variations in the results have been reported.The present article has critically reviewed recent findings in animal research on butyrate and its derivatives in regard to their effects and mechanisms behind and discussed the implications of these findings for improving animal gut health and production.In addition, significant findings of medical research in humans that are relevant to animal production have been cited.

Clays as dietary supplements for swine:A review

Clays are crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicate molecules composed of alkali and alkaline earth cations along with small amounts of various other elements. The best-known are montmorillonite, smectite, illite, kaolinite, biotite and clinoptilolite. The molecules in these clays are arranged in three-dimensional structures creating internal voids and channels capable of trapping a wide variety of molecules. As a result of this structure, clay minerals are regarded as a simple and effective tool for the prevention of the negative effects of many toxic compounds. Dietary supplementation with clays has been shown to improve weight gain and feed conversion in pigs. Where improvements in performance have been noted, one of the most likely explanations for the improvement is the fact clays increase nutrient digestibility. Clays reduce the speed of passage of feed along the digestive tract which allows more time for digestion. Feeding clays also causes morphological changes in the intestina mucosa such as an increase in villus height and an increase in the villus height to crypt depth ratio. These changes increase the surface area of the gastrointestinal tract thus increasing nutrient digestibility, Several studies have indicated that feeding clay reduces the incidence, severity and duration of diarrhea in pigs. The mechanism for the reduction in diarrhea is likely due to increases in the numbers of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus and decreases in Clostridia and E. coil in the small intestine of pigs fed clays. In addition, the numbers of pigs born alive and weaned, birth weight and weaning weight have been shown to be higher for sows fed clays. Several studies have indicated that clays can help mitigate the effects of mycotoxins. The aim of the present review is to focus on the various clays which have been given attention in recent research and to discuss their potential to improve pig performance.

Research Advances on Nutritional Physiological Functions and Application of Lysozyme

Lysozyme is an important immune factor of animals and a hydrolase specifically acting on microbial cell wall, which exhibits various functions, such as anti-bacteria, anti-inflammation, antivirus, enhancing immunity of animals and improving gastrointestinal mieroflora. Lysozyme is non-toxic to livestock and poultry without drug residue or side effects, which is a novel green health-care feed additive. In this paper, the types, function mechanisms and physiological functions of lysozyme and its application in livestock industry were summarized, aiming at providing a scientific basis for the application of lysozyme in animal feeds.

The Rural Women Participation in Small Scale Livestock Management Decisions

In the Turkish society, family is accepted as the basic element of social structure. However, the role and importance ofwomen in the family is mostly neglected. Thirty-three percent of women state that their primary duties are child care and domestictask. Besides duties of women in the house, the participation of women to both agricultural production and activities outside thehouse is quite high. On the other hand, only 5% of women accept income generating activities as the main duty of women. Thepercentage of women who accept all above-mentioned responsibilities as women’s duty is 60%. This high ratio shows that agreat deal of women can participate indoor or outdoor activities depending on the family needs, however, their responsibilitiesstemming from being a mother or wife always have thepriority. However, in rural areas women are involved in agriculturalproduction activities as a labor, in adition to housework, care for children and the elderly. In small and medium-sized enterprises,labor-intensive work is mostly undertaken by women, and workloads are often higher than men. In this study, face-to-face surveyswith 84 women in small-scale livestock farming in villages in the central province of Diyarbakır yielded results. It has beenunderstood that women do not make decisions on domestic affairs in their own family, that they can not decide on their own behalf,they give more opinions on decisions taken, and even some families do not even report opinions on decisions. It may be possible toimprove and increase the living standards and social and economic structures of women living in rural areas by increasing theirknowledge of animal care.

Antimicrobial use in food animal production:situation analysis and contributing factors

By measuring the quantity and ways in which antimicrobials are used, and reviewing different technical and socioeconomic factors influencing antimicrobial use at farm level, this study discusses the main knowledge gaps in antimicrobial use in food animal production and provides recommendations for future research and policy development. The review reveals that antimicrobial use in food animals exhibit strong regional and species differences, and there are still large information gaps concerning the current state of antimicrobial use. Factors associated with animal health(including antimicrobial resistance),animal health improvement, economic costs and benefits relevant to animal diseases, and potential technological alternatives or alternative systems all have an impact on antimicrobial use on the farm. There is a clear need to resolve the data gap by monitoring antimicrobial use and developing an analytical framework to better understand farmer behaviors under different technical, economic and environmental circumstances.

Public Health Significance of <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i>

Campylobacter jejuni is a prominent bacterial cause of human gastroenteritis. Campylobacteriosis outbreaks reported were related to the ingestion of the contaminated food. Meat are reported to be frequently infected with C. jejuni. It is well recognized that C. jejuni is one of the main causes of gastroenteritis in humans, and poultry meat is reported to be the main source. A number of studies in several countries have shown the occurrence of C. jejuni in animal farms, slaughterhouses, and meat. This review simply describes the occurrence, spreading, and public health significance of C. jejuni.

Effects of high-pressure activated slightly acidic electrolyzed water on cleaning and sterilization of pig transfer vehicles

The establishment of biosafety system is of enormous importance to the livestock and poultry production in terms of mitigating the transmission of diseases and implementing regional prevention and control measures.However,the current sterilization technology presents several drawbacks,including time-consuming procedures,chemical residues,and challenges in treating the sewage after rinsing.In this study,a novel cleaning and sterilization method that combines slightly acidic electrolyzed water and high pressure water-jet was developed.An orthogonal test was conducted to examine the correlation between high-pressure conditions and the various non-structural parameters on the efficacy of sterilization rate.In a field test,the effectiveness of the technology in cleaning pig transfer vehicles was evaluated by the total plate count and variations of community composition.The findings revealed that the combination of process parameters,including an available chlorine concentration of 200 mg/L,rinsing pressure of 170 bar,rinsing duration of 10 s,and residence time of 15 min,resulted in a removal rate of colony concentration on the surface of pig transfer vehicles of(96.50±0.91)%.Moreover,it was demonstrated to effectively inhibit a variety of pathogenic bacteria.The innovative cleaning system has the potential to replace traditional methods and reduces pollution while saving time and labor.It introduces a novel approach for sterilization of transportation in livestock and poultry farms as well as the biosafety construction of the animal husbandry.