In the present study we have developed the agar-fill method for the measurement of gastrointestinal-tract capacity (GTC) to replace the in vitro water-fill method. This would estimate GTC without using complex equipment and techniques, and can be applied to the measurement of GTC for small laboratory animals. We attempted to confirm the efficiency of the agar-fill method by investigating the re...

Sixteen Holstein cows in midlactation were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to determine the effect of replacing alfalfa neutral detergent fiber (NDF), with NDF from a combination of whole linted cottonseed, dried distillers grains, and wheat middlings. The four diets were a basal control diet that was low in forage and fiber [(5.9 g of corn silage NDF and 6.1 g of alfalfa NDF/100 g of dry m...

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of physically effective (pe) neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of dairy cow diets containing corn silage as the sole forage type on feed intake, meal patterns, chewing activity, and rumen pH. The experiment was designed as a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square using 6 lactating dairy cows with ruminal cannulas. Diets were chemically similar but var...

Recent research has demonstrated that fall-grown wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack), and oat (Avena sativa L.) forages contain limited lignin and exhibit relatively stable estimates of in vitro true DM disappearance, as well as TDN, across a wide fall-harvest window. These traits suggest that ruminal availability of forage fiber is extensive. Our objectives were ...

Neu differentiation factor (NDF), a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-related peptide family, activates ErbB2 via heterodimerization with the NDF receptors ErbB3 and ErbB4. In a similar fashion, EGF receptor (EGFR) agonists induce heterodimers of EGFR and ErbB2. In this paper, we show that the ErbB2-overexpressing breast tumor cells SKBR3, AU565, and MDA-MB453 are growth inhibited by ...

Six experiments were conducted to evaluate methods for measuring NDF in corn and distillers grains plus solubles. Methods included using sodium sulfite, α-amylase (AMY), amyloglucosidase, heat and steam with an autoclave, grinding methods, and a pre–fat extraction to decrease factors that interfere with measuring NDF accurately. Using sodium sulfite and AMY resulted in decreased (P < 0.01) corn...

Neu differentiation factor (NDF, also called neuregulin) is a potent inducer of epithelial cell proliferation and has been shown to induce mammary carcinomas in transgenic mice. Notwithstanding this proliferative effect, we have shown that a novel isoform of NDF can induce apoptosis when overexpressed. Here we report that this property also extends to other NDF isoforms and that the cytoplasmic...

A previously described mathematical model, that stimulates the metabolic activities of rumen bacteria and protozoa, was used to examine the contribution of protozoa to neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) degradation in the rumen of cattle. Comparisons between predicted and experimentally observed NDF degradation showed general agreement. Further simulations were performed with diets containing variab...

During 2006 and 2007, forages from 3 individual hay harvests were utilized to assess the effects of spontaneous heating on concentrations of fiber components, 48-h neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (NDFD), and in situ disappearance kinetics of NDF for large-round bales of mixed alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.). Over the 3 harvests, 96 large-round b...