An experiment was conducted to study the effect of turmeric powder on production performance and egg quality characteristics of Rhodo White (RW) layers. Seventy two RW layers were weighed individually and distributed randomly into four turmeric powder supplemented reated experimental diets with three replicates of six layers each and the experimental diet was given for a period of 20 weeks from 26 to 45 weeks age of the birds. There was no significant difference in total egg production, hen day egg production (HDEP) and hen housed egg production (HHEP) among the treatment groups. The feed intake in all treatment groups was almost similar during 26 to 45 weeks of birds. Turmeric powder did not inÀuence the feed intake and feed efficiency in all treatment groups. A non-significant difference was observed in egg quality characteristics. The egg yolk cholesterol was significantly (P<0.01) reduced by 18.59 %, 24.91 % and 33.24 % in 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 % turmeric powder supplemented groups respectively than control. It was concluded that the inclusion of turmeric powder did not inÀuence the production performance & egg quality characteristics and however the egg cholesterol level was significantly reduced at 0.15 % in RW layers

Tissue engineering is one of the most promising alternative therapy for repair of cartilage defects. The large number of cells required for developing cartilage constructs and low cell yield from the cartilage tissue remains the major constraint in cartilage tissue engineering. Hence, an optimised isolation protocol that yields maximum number of viable cells is the first vital step for successful development of cartilage tissue construct. In this study three different isolation protocols using 0.25 % Trypsin-EDTA, 1 % Pronase + 0.4 % Collagenase I and 0.2 % Collagenase II were examined for enzymatic digestion of ovine articular cartilage tissue. Trypan blue staining was used to assess cell yield and viability. Chondrocyte yield per gram was significantly higher (P < 0.05) using collagenase II and exhibited better propagation potential when compared to 0.25 % Trypsin-EDTA and 1% Pronase + 0.4 % Collagenase I. Hence, digestion of ovine cartilage using 0.2% collagenase II yielded highest number of viable cells. Further, the isolated cells expressed chondrocyte phenotype and can be used to produce large number of viable ovine chondrocytes.

Employability refers to a person’s capability to gain employment, maintaining employment and obtain new employment if required in simple words, employability refers to one's capacity to obtain and maintain fulfilling work. The present study was undertaken with the main objective of ascertaining the employability of postgraduates of SVVU. Ex-post-facto research design was followed in the present investigation. Out of the total 479 postgraduate students a sample of 120 respondents were selected from each academic year through proportionate random sampling. In this research, to study and measure the employability of postgraduates, seven indicators based on the opinion of experts and review of literature was collected. The collected data were classified, tabulated, analysed and interpreted in order to make the findings meaningful. The statistical measures such as frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean and co-efficient of correlation were used in the study. It can be concluded that three-fourth (75%) of the postgraduates of SVVU had high to medium level of overall employability.

Two non-descript puppies aged around three months old were presented with a history of erythematous skin and the presence of crusty lesions with intense pruritus around one week. Physical examination revealed generalized erythema and alopecia, crusty and scaly lesions on the forehead, periorbital area, nasal planum, and thorax regions in both puppies. Based on history, clinical signs and skin scraping examination findings, the cases were confirmed as juvenile generalized demodicosis and the puppies were treated with a single dose of oral fluralaner at the dose of 25 mg/kg body weight. The treatment resulted in excellent resolution of clinical signs and the puppies had an uneventful recovery.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of complete feed regimen on the carcass composition and serum profile of Madras Red sheep. Sixteen numbers of Madras Red lambs (90 d old) were dewormed and maintained on a dry fodder based complete feed regimen (14.25 % crude protein and 61.07 % TDN) for a period of 180 days. The animals were provided with ad libitum water and feed at all times. During third month of trial, blood samples were collected from individual animals via jugular vein for serum mineral and enzyme profile. At the end of 270 d the animals were slaughtered and the carcass parameters recorded. The average final body weight was 18.03 ± 0.89 kg and the mean daily body weight gain was 57.58 ± 4.65 g/day. The dry matter intake was 0.93 ± 0.08 kg/day. the carcass traits including those of edible and non edible portions and serum profile of Madras Red sheep maintained under intensive management system fed dry fodder based complete feed were found to be superior to those of Nellore and Garole sheep breeds..

A full term pregnant pluriparous Jersey crossbred cow was presented with the history of difficulty in parturition, bloody vaginal discharge and straining with distended left ventral abdominal wall and the cow was recumbent. Based on the clinical examination, the case was diagnosed as dystocia due to ventral abdominal hernia with hysterocoele and its successful per-vaginal delivery was reported in this communication.

Growth factors synthesized from mammalian oocytes popularly known as Oocyte Secreted Factors (OSFs) play numerous role in ovarian folliculogenesis. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF- 9) produced within the ovary plays an essential role during follicle maturation through their actions on granulosa cells, but their expression in follicular fluid has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to detect the temporal expression pattern of GDF-9 from the follicular fluid of buffalo ovary, which may be correlated with the oocytes and embryo quality. The sensitive messenger ribonucleic acid detection of GDF-9 from follicular fluid was determined by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction using bovine oligonucleotide primers. Our finding showed the qualitative detection of GDF-9 mRNA transcripts from follicular fluid of buffalo ovary.

The study was aimed at providing a complete picture of milk yield and composition during different stages of lactation in Tellicherry does. A total of 40 Tellicherry does aged between 2 – 2 ½ years in 2nd parity were selected for the study. The lactation period wasdivided into three stages namely early, mid and late lactation stages and data on milk yield, and milk composition such as milk fat, SNF and specific gravity of milk during lactation were collected. The milk yield did not vary with lactation stages. The total lactation milkyield was 33.29±0.45 kg and the milk yield/doe/day was 0.36±0.04 kg. The average fat, SNF and specific gravity during lactation were 3.47±0.17%, 8.74±0.11% and 1.032±0.00 respectively. The fat percentage was significantly (P<0.01) higher during mid (3.61±0.19%)and late lactation (4.21±0.22%) than that of early lactation (2.60±0.12%). The SNF percentage and specific gravity were found to be significantly (P<0.01) higher during early lactation (9.24±0.17%; 1.035±0.00) followed by mid (8.76±0.06%; 1.031±0.00) and late lactation (8.23±0.06%; 1.029±0.00).

Data on production and reproduction performances of 373 Jersey cows born and reared at the Exotic Cattle Breeding Farm, Eachenkottai, Tamil Nadu, India, pertaining to 27 years were collected. They were analysed to study the effects of various non-genetic factors on milk production and reproduction traits. The least-squares means (± SE) for 305-day and total lactation milk yields for all the parities were 1491.6 ± 25.9 and 1560.9 ± 29.9 kg respectively. The averages for lactation length, service period, calving interval and dry period for all lactations were 303.1 ± 4.0, 177.0 ± 10.0, 461.0 ± 9.7 and 160.2 ± 9.7 days respectively. Years grouped into five periods had significant (P<0.01) influence on all the traits studied. Season of calving showed a significant (P<0.01) source of variation in milk yield traits and calving interval. Parity was found to influence 305-day milk yield, service period, dry period and calving interval significantly (P<0.01). The study revealed that the performance of the Jersey cattle was much lower than those maintained under high altitude conditions in Tamil Nadu and other places in India.

The present study was carried out to determine the specific energy consumption pattern in the manufacturing of different type of broiler feeds with different process conditions and thereby analyze the gaps between the benchmarking and actual energy usage pattern. The study was conducted in three commercial feed plants located at different locations. This was achieved by conducting energy analysis for the specific energy consumption for different type of the broiler feeds. The actual consumption was recorded from the electricity board department’s energy meter readings. The results indicated that the gap between actual consumption and bench marking was lesser at one plant whilst, it was considerably higher at other two plants. The gap was observed to be higher in the pre-starter feed and lesser in the finisher pellet feed. The gap between actual power consumption and benchmarking observed for pre-starter feeds at different locations viz., Muzaffarpur, Kanpur and Ambala was 2.70, 2.43 and 0.85 kwh units respectively. The gap analysis for starter feed was 1.71, 1.46 and 0.59 kwh units and for finisher feed 1.37, 1.81 and 0.92 kwh units respectively. The cost saving per metric tonne of feed ranged from Rs. 16.00 to Rs. 22.00. Among the three feed manufacturing plants, the gap between bench marking and actual power consumption was very minimal at Ambala plant due to better production efficiency. From the boiler’s fuel cost point of view, coal was found to be cheaper than wood due to its high calorific value and hence it was suggested to replace fire wood with coal at Ambala plant for further improvement of fuel efficiency. The present findings also revealed that the timely replacement of press roller of pellet mill and reduction in pellet fines recycling leads to better efficiency and cost control.