Effects of Replacement of Wheat Straw with Corn Stover Based TMR on Growth Performance, Behavioural Characteristics, selected Blood Metabolites and Nutrient Digestibility in Beetal Bucks.

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1068651/v1

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Effects of Replacement of Wheat Straw with Corn Stover Based TMR on Growth Performance, Behavioural Characteristics, selected Blood Metabolites and Nutrient Digestibility in Beetal Bucks.

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1068651/v1

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An experiment was executed to determine the effects of replacing wheat straw with corn stover on growth performance, behavioural characteristics, blood metabolites and nutrient digestibility in Beetal bucks. A total of twenty four Beetal bucks were assigned randomly to one of three treatment groups, having eight animals each, for 15 weeks experimental period. The dietary treatments included conventional (25% wheat straw and 75% concentrate), corn stover 50 (Fifty percent of wheat straw (12.5%) was replaced with corn stover, and corn stover 100 (Wheat straw was completely replaced with corn stover). Dietary replacement of wheat straw with corn stover has resulted in an increased dry matter intake and average daily gain by 10 and 26%, respectively in the bucks. Rumen pH and fecal score, however, remained unaffected by dietary replacement of wheat straw with corn stover in the bucks. The replacement of wheat straw with corn stover has resulted in an increased feeding and rumination time, improved lying time and length and decreased number of bouts in the bucks. Blood glucose, urea, bilirubin and calcium levels were remained unaffected by replacing wheat straw with corn stover. The blood phosphorous level, however, was decreased in bucks fed corn stover based ration. The bucks fed corn stover based ration has resulted in an increased digestibility of nutrients including organic matter, crude protein, neutral and acid detergent fiber compared to those fed wheat straw based total mixed ration.

Animal Science

Crop residues

Feeding behaviour

Growth performance

Blood metabolites

Nutrient digestibility

Bucks

The livestock sector, having a contribution of about 11.5% in national GDP, is an important segment of agriculture in Pakistan. Approximately, 213 million heads of different livestock species including cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat are reportedly present in the country. Among the total livestock population, the share of sheep and goat is about 31 and 80 million, respectively (Pakistan Economics Survey, 2021). These livestock species are resistant to endemic diseases, can survive in harsh environment and efficiently convert low quality forages into milk, meat and hide (Younas and Yaqoob, 2005). There is, however, a dire need of time to increase the production potential of the livestock to fulfil the needs of rapidly growing population (Shahzad et al. 2016).

Inadequate nutrition due to shortage of high quality forage is one among other factors that affects the livestock production in Pakistan. In addition, natural fodder is not sufficiently available to meet the demand of increasing livestock population as its production decrease by 25% in the dry period of the year (Breman and Ridder, 1991). Now a days, the production of crop residues has increased due to sharp rise in crop cultivated area to meet the growing demands of human population (UNDP, 1997). Broadly, there are two types of crop residues including field and industrial residues. The residues most commonly used in diets of small ruminants are field residues (Akram and Firincioglu, 2019).

Crop residues are fibrous by-products that are left in the field after harvesting and include stem, leaves, stover and pods (Owen and Jayasuriya, 1989). These residues are comprised mainly of straw (from fine grains including wheat, rice and oat) and stover (from coarse grains such as corn, sorghum and millet). The crop residues can be preserved for feeding to the animals in times of feed shortage and drought (Gertenbach and Dugmore, 2004). In total, Pakistan produces 43million MT of crop residue annually, in which the share of wheat straw and corn stover is about 16 and 1.5million MT, respectively (Sarwar et al. 2002). Wheat straw and corn stover, among different agricultural by products, are used commonly in the diet of small ruminants.

Wheat straw (WS), a by-product obtained after the removal of grain and chaff, is composed mainly of 32% cellulose, 19% hemicellulose and 5% lignin, and is used in livestock feeding and bedding, medicine and fermentation industry (Yasin et al. 2010). Chemically, WS is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, ash, silica, acid detergent fiber and bioactive compounds (Slavin, 2003). The exact nutritional composition of WS, however, varies depending on climatic conditions, stage of plant growth, application of fertilizer and condition of soil (Safdar et al. 2009). Furthermore, WS has higher neutral detergent fiber contents (NDF), ultimately leading to stabilized ruminal environment (Haddad, 2005).

Additionally, WS contain different types of phytosterols including stigmasterol, ergosterol and cholesterol (Tufail et al. 2021). In contrast, WS has an increased fiber and lignin contents, ultimately resulting in decreased voluntary intake and digestibility and slowed passage rate of digesta in small ruminants (Ganai et al. 2017). Another constraint in proper utilization of WS by sheep and goats is the interlocking of polysaccharides of cell wall with lignin contents. This interlocking prevents the straws from microbial degradation, which in turn, decreases their nutritional value (Mahesh and Mohini, 2014).

Corn stover (CS) is the plant residue left, after the harvest of corn in the field, consists primarily of stalk, leaves, husk and cobs and represents about 40-50% of dry matter of entire maize yield. The CS, with its higher crude protein (CP) contents (6%), is considered as best suitable cereal residue for feeding to the small ruminants (Suttie, 2000). In addition, the intake and organic matter digestibility of stover is better than wheat straw (Walli, 2004). These residues are used to feed low producing animals and in some cases to correct physically effective fiber shortage. Leaf blades of CS has lower NDF and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents and higher phosphorous and calcium contents, whereas ear husk has lowest calcium and phosphorous contents (Li et al. 2014). In contrast, CS has lower metabolizable energy (ME) and mineral contents.

Despite the increased production of crop residues in Pakistan, there are certain limitations regarding its use in small ruminants diet including lack of awareness among farmers and insufficient technical knowledge regarding the composition and nutritional value of these residues. Moreover, there is limited literature available regarding the replacement of WS with CS in the diet of small ruminants. A study was conducted, therefore, to determine the effects of replacing WS with CS as crop residues on growth performance, behavioural characteristics, blood metabolites and nutrient digestibility in Beetal bucks.

Experimental design and animal husbandry

The experimental protocols were according to the guidelines approved by Animal Care and Use Committee, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore. A research trial was conducted at the Small Ruminant Research and Training Center, UVAS, Ravi Campus, Pattoki. In total, twenty four Beetal bucks having similar body weight, procured from the local market, were brought to the experimental facility and dewormed against all types of parasites by using a sub cut injection of Dectomax. Two weeks later, all the Beetal bucks were vaccinated, according to the farm practices, against Clostridium. The animals were then assigned randomly to one of three dietary treatment groups each having eight bucks, after the completion of quarantine procedures. The experimental diets included conventional (25% WS and 75% concentrate), corn stover 50 (Fifty percent of WS (12.5%) was replaced with CS and corn stover 100 (Wheat straw was completely replaced with corn stover) based rations. Diets formulated were isocaloric and isonitrogenous in nature, and were provided to the animals ad libitum. Table 1 represents the dietary ingredients composition as well as analyzed nutrient contents on dry matter (DM) basis. The experimental study lasted for 105 days, which include 14 days of adaptability, 84 days of data collection and the last 7 days for digestibility experiment. All the animals were kept in individual pens, fed twice daily at 6:00 and 18:00 and had free access to clean drinking water throughout the experimental period.

Growth performance

At day 1, the animals were weighed before morning feeding and then weighed on weekly basis with the help of weighing balance. Dry matter intake was calculated on daily basis by collecting orts left after animals stop eating.

Behavioral recording

Behavioral parameters including total feeding time and bouts, extent of each feeding bouts, total lying time and lying bouts, rumination time and rumination bouts during sitting and standing were recorded on daily basis by using video camera installed in the research facility.

Digestibility

At the end of experimental period, four bucks per treatment were randomly selected and nutrient digestibility was measured by placing the animals in individual digestibility cages. Feed intake and feacal outputs were recorded daily from individual animal, after two days adaptation period, for five days. A small portion of feacal sample, collected from individual animal, was placed in zipper bags and stored in refrigerator at −30^◦C until further analysis. A 500g sample was taken for nutrient analysis from each experimental diet. A composite sample was made, thereafter, by thawing the and dried in hot air oven at 55^◦C for 72 hours. After drying, the samples were ground by using 5mm sieve (Willey mill). Following formula was used to calculate the digestibility of each nutrient (Blanco et al. 2014);

Digestibility (%) = [(dietary intake (of the nutrient) − fecal output)/dietary intake] × 100.

Chemical analysis

The nutrient composition including DM, were analyzed for DM, organic matter (OM), ME and CP of experimental diets, feacal samples and feed refusals was determined by using AOAC procedures (AOAC, 1990). Crude protein contents were determined by calculating nitrogen contents with the help of Kjeldahl apparatus and then multiplying them with 6.25. Filter bag technique devised by Van Soes et al. (1991) was used to determine the NDF and ADF contents of the diet and fecal samples.

Rumen pH

Rumen liquor was collected four hours after morning feeding by using oral tube at 1, 28 and 56^th day of experimental period, filtered with the help of four layered cheese cloth and pH was determined immediately (Starter 3100, OHAUS, Parsippany, NJ, USA). First 200ml of rumen fluid was discarded to prevent saliva contamination.

Fecal score

Fecal scoring was done on daily basis from 1 to 10 weeks by using the system described by Le Jambre et al. (2007). These later authors described 1 to 5 fecal scoring system with 1 labelled as normal pellets, whereas 5 as watery feaces.

Blood metabolites measurements

Blood metabolites were measured by collecting the samples from jugular vein 4 hours after morning feeding in an EDTA coated vacutainer and centrifuging these samples at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes for plasma separation. The plasma harvested was then shifted to duplicate centrifuge tubes for storage at -20^◦C till further analysis. These plasma samples were analyzed, thereafter, for blood urea nitrogen (BUN, 21516© Biosystems, Barcelona, Spain), glucose (GLUCOSE, 23503 © Biosystems, Barcelona, Spain), bilirubin, calcium and phosphorous (Altair™ 240, Lab compare, South San Francisco, CA, USA).

Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA technique using SAS software (version 9.1). Following statistical model was used;

Y i j = μ + ES i + e _{i j}

Where, Y i j = Dependent Variable; μ = Mean of the population; YS i= Effects of different levels of crop residues (wheat straw and corn stover) and e i j = Residual effect.

Growth performance, rumen pH and fecal score

Table 2 represents the effects of different levels of WS and CS as dietary fiber residues on growth performance (DMI, ADG), rumen pH and fecal score in Beetal bucks. The results revealed significant effects of feeding crop residues on DMI and ADG in the bucks. The bucks fed TMR containing CS has resulted in an increased dry matter intake and average daily gain (ADG) by 10 and 26%, respectively compared to those fed WS based ration. Similarly, growth performance (P = 0.03) was improved in the bucks fed ration containing both WS and CS compared to those fed WS alone. Rumen PH (P = 0.08) and fecal score (P = 0.37), however, remain unaffected by feeding either WS or CS based TMR to the bucks.

Behavioral data

The influence of different levels of crop residues including WS and CS on behavioral characteristics of Beetal bucks are presented in Table 3. The bucks fed TMR containing CS as crop residue has resulted in an increased (P = 0.01) feeding time, extent of each feeding bout, ruminating bouts lying and total ruminating time, whereas decreased (P = 0.03) feeding bouts compared to those fed WS based ration. Other behavioral parameters including (P > 0.05) lying time, bouts and length and (P > 0.05) ruminating bouts standing, however, were not affected by feeding either WS or CS based rations.

Blood metabolites

The effects of different levels of WS and CS as crop residues on blood metabolites of Beetal bucks are presented in Table 4. The levels of glucose, calcium, urea and bilirubin in blood were not (P > 0.05) affected by feeding either WS or CS based ration to the bucks. Blood phosphorous level, however, was (P = 0.01) increased in the bucks fed WS based TMR compared to those fed either mixed or CS based ration.

Nutrient digestibility

Table 5 represents the influence of different levels of WS and CS on digestibility of nutrients including DM, OM, CP, NDF and ADF in the Beetal bucks. The results revealed significant increase in nutrient digestibility in the bucks fed CS based ration compared to those fed TMR containing either WS or both WS and corn stover. The bucks fed CS based ration has resulted in 4.7% increased DM, 2.84% higher OM, 3.98% improved CP, 2% increased NDF and 1.42% increased ADF digestibility compared to those fed TMR containing wheat straw.

The current study was conducted to determine the effects of replacement of WS with CS as dietary fiber residue on growth performance, behavioral characteristics, blood metabolites and nutrient digestibility in Beetal bucks. A hypothesis was established that the CS may exert more beneficial effects on above mentioned parameters in the bucks. The detected higher DMI and ADG in the bucks fed on CS based ration is in accordance with expectations and is in agreement with previous studies in ruminants (Karim and Rawat, 1997; Baruah et al. 1988; Pathak et al. 1987). These later authors reported an improved growth performance in the bucks fed on CS based ration. Malisetty et al. (2013), similarly reported 13% increased BWG in the small ruminants fed CS based total mixed ration. Growth performance including DMI and ADG in the ruminants is affected mainly by the type of roughage and roughage to concentrate ratio in the ration (Malisetty et al. 2013).

The improved growth performance by feeding CS based ration may be associated with high energy of ration and lowered efficiency of fibrous feed to utilize its metabolizable energy. These two factors, in turn, increase the efficiency resulting in better production performance (Blaxter, 1962). Contrary to the current findings, Rasool et al. (1998) reported an increased FI in the goats fed WS based ration. The ADG, however, in agreement with the current findings, was decreased by feeding TMR containing wheat straw. The low DMI by feeding WS based ration in the current study may be due to decreased passage rate, increased packing density and higher number of branched chain fatty acids (Anbarasu et al. 2002). In agreement with the current findings, Aregheore (1995) reported an increased DMI and ADG in the goats fed CS based ration.

Rumen pH is considered as the most important indicator of observing the status of ruminal fermentation as it indicates the amount of saliva produced and quantity of volatile fatty acids that are synthesized and absorbed (Hoover, 1984). The current findings regarding rumen pH by replacing WS with CS are consistent with those reported by (Sun et al. 2019). These later authors reported no effects on rumen pH in the goats fed CS based ration. In contrast to the current findings, Xie et al. (2018) reported decreased ruminal pH by feeding CS based ration to the bucks. This variation may be due to type of diet and increased sugar contents of corn stover. The normal fecal consistency score throughout the trial period may be due to an increased amount of indigestible components, especially ADF, resulting from the inclusion of crop residues including WS and CS in the ration (Nagadi et al. 2000). A very small proportion of these components is digested, leaving the remaining to pass undigested that, in turn, increase the firmness of excreta.

Feeding behavior is an important parameter that help optimize managemental practices and production performance of livestock species. The increased feeding and rumination time and decreased feeding bouts number and duration by replacing WS with CS in the current study is in line with the findings of (Nasrullah et al. 2020). These later authors reported an increased feeding time in the goats fed CS based ration. Small ruminants has the ability to store the roughage in rumen at the time of intake and then digest it slowly, resulting in an increased rumination time (Nsahlai and Umunna, 1996). The decreased feeding and rumination time by dietary inclusion of WS may possibly be due to increased fiber coarseness and low palatability as the small ruminants have strong capability to differentiate roughages on the basis of their physical structure.

Blood metabolites including glucose and BUN are indicators of nutrition status of the animal. The current findings regarding levels of glucose and BUN are in line with previous studies (Ganai et al. 2017; Jan et al. 2015). These later authors reported no effects of replacing WS with CS on blood sugar and urea levels in the blood of bucks. Protein degradation in the ruminants causes the conversion of unused ammonia to urea. The urea level of blood, in turn, depend on protein and energy of the diet. An increased dietary protein level has resulted in higher BUN, whereas increased energy levels resulted in decreased blood urea nitrogen levels (Hammond and Chase, 1996). In contrast to the present findings, Okeniyi et al. (2020) reported an increased blood calcium level in the goats fed CS based ration.

Nutrient digestibility is a key factor that influence the feed intake in ruminants. The improved digestibility of nutrients including OM, CP, NDF and ADF by replacing WS with CS in the current study is in accordance with the findings of (Aregheore and Perera, 2004). These later reported an increased digestibility of OM, CP and NDF in the goats fed CS based ration. Contrary to the present findings, Macdonald et al. (2021) reported lower nutrient digestibility in the bucks fed CS based total mixed ration. Kanyinji et al. (2017) reported negative effects of inclusion of CS in the ration of goats. In agreement with the current findings, Tuturoong et al. (2020) reported an increased DM, OM, CP and NDF digestibility in the small ruminants fed CS based ration. The decreased nutrient digestibility by dietary inclusion of WS as crop residue may possibly be due to higher lignin contents than corn stover. The lignin, in turn, occupy microfibrils of cellulose and also bind hemicellulose and pectin, resulting in decreased nutrient digestibility (Dryden, 2008).

In conclusion, the replacement of WS with CS as fiber residue in the ration of bucks has resulted in an increased dry matter intake and higher average daily gain, improved behavioral characteristics and higher nutrient digestibility. Rumen pH, fecal score and blood sugar, urea, calcium and bilirubin levels, however, were not affected by replacing WS with CS in the ration of bucks. It is a dire need of time, therefore, to further evaluate the nutritive potential of crop residues including CS, to overcome the nutritional deficiencies and increase the production potential of sheep and goats.

Acknowledgement

It is my utmost pleasure to avail this oppertunity to express deep sence of obligation to prof. dr saima chairperson Department of Animal Nutrition UVAS Ravi campus Pattoki for provision of laboratorical facilities for chemical analysis in a CLC and deparmental nutritional laboratory. I am very thankful to dr Imran Mohsin farm manager small ruminants training and research center, B block,UVAS Ravi campus Pattoki for providing me animals, feed and infra structure during my research period.

Funding: This study was funded by the Department of Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Ravi Campus, Pattoki, Pakistan.

Conflicts of interest/Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval: All the procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan, and approval was granted by the Animal Ethical Review Committee.

Consent to participate: Not applicable

Consent to publication: Not applicable

Availability of data and material: The authors declare that all the data and materials used in this study comply with field standards and available on demand.

Code availability: Not applicable

Authors' contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by SA, MAR, MQS and IM, The first draft of the manuscript was written by FM and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Table 1

Ingredient composition and nutrient analysis of the experimental diets.
	Treatments*
Ingredients %	Wheat straw	Corn stover - 50	Corn stover - 100
Wheat straw	25.0	12.5	-
Corn stover	-	12.5	25
Wheat bran	18.0	18	18
Maize grain	25.0	25	25
Canola meal	8	8.0	8
Soya bean meal	12.0	12.0	12
Molasses	9.50	9.50	9.50
Mineral mixture	2.00	2.00	2.00
NaHco3	0.50	0.50	0.50
Analyzed Nutrient Composition (On DM basis)
DM %( as such)	88.47	88.7	88.9
CP	15.0	14.5	14.96
ME Mcal/kg	2.4	2.4	2.4
NDF	33	33	33
Calcium	0.76	0.59	0.43
Phosphorus	0.52	0.52	0.52

Table 2

Effects of different levels of wheat straw and corn stover on growth performance, rumen pH and fecal score in Beetal bucks.
Parameters	Treatments¹			SEM²	P - value
Parameters	WS	WS+CS	CS	SEM²	P - value
DMI³ (g/day)	944^a	958^ab	1042^a	29.12	0.03
IBW⁴ (g)	24.81	23.28	23.68	1.32	0.49
ADG⁵ (g/day)	102.46^b	95.17^b	129.99^a	9.57	0.01
Rumen pH	6.37	6.31	6.46	0.06	0.08
Fecal score	1.09	1.07	1.06	0.23	0.37
^a−d Means without a common superscript within a column significantly (P < 0.05) differ.
¹WS = Wheat straw, WS+CS = Wheat straw – 50 and corn stover – 50, CS = Corn stover.
²SEM = Standard error mean.
³DMI = Dry matter intake.
⁴IBW = Initial body weight.
⁵ADG = Average daily gain.

Table 3

Effects of different levels of wheat straw and corn stover on behavioral characteristics in Beetal bucks.
Parameters¹	Treatments²			SEM³	P - value
Parameters¹	WS	WS+CS	CS	SEM³	P - value
FT (minutes/day)	184.1^a	142.5^b	206.9^a	10.7	0.01
FB (number/day)	8.041^a	7.083^ab	6.625^b	0.37	0.03
EEFB (minutes/bout)	13.54^b	11.16^b	18.29^a	1.22	0.01
LT (minutes/day)	670.7	673.1	733.5	48.3	0.34
LL (minutes/day)	66.58	60.87	66.58	5.95	0.54
LB (number/day)	5.70	5.83	5.95	0.60	0.91
RBS (minutes/day)	2.08	1.83	1.87	0.26	0.61
RBL (minutes/day)	4.04^b	4.41^ab	5.95^a	0.67	0.01
TRT (minutes/day)	5.95^b	6.04^b	7.66^a	0.65	0.01
^a−d Means without a common superscript within a column significantly (P < 0.05) differ.
¹FT = Feeding time, FB = Feeding bouts, EEFB = Extent of each feeding bout, LT = Lying time, LL = Lying length, LB = Lying bouts, RBS = Rumination bouts standing, RBL = Ruminating bouts lying, TRT = Total ruminating time.
²WS = Wheat straw, WS+CS = Wheat straw – 50 and corn stover – 50, CS = Corn stover.
³SEM = Standard error mean.

Table 4

Effects of different levels of wheat straw and corn stover on blood metabolites in Beetal bucks.
parameters	Treatments¹			SEM²	P - value
parameters	WS	WS+CS	CS	SEM²	P - value
Glucose (mg/dl)	53.50	52.87	50.50	2.47	0.44
Calcium	9.50	9.26	9.30	0.31	0.71
Phosphorous	13.13^b	16.19^a	12.09^b	1.23	0.01
Urea (mg/dl)	49.70	46.76	46.75	2.81	0.48
Bilirubin (mg/dl)	0.40	0.42	0.39	0.18	0.18
^a−d Means without a common superscript within a column significantly (P < 0.05) differ.
¹WS = Wheat straw, WS+CS = Wheat straw – 50 and corn stover – 50, CS = Corn stover.
²SEM = Standard error mean.

Table 5

Effects of different levels of wheat straw and corn stover on nutrient digestibility in Beetal bucks.
Parameters¹	Treatments²			SEM³	P - value
Parameters¹	WS	WS+CS	CS	SEM³	P - value
DM (%)	65.25^c	67.17^b	70.02^a	0.21	0.01
OM (%)	68.39^c	69.47^b	71.23^a	0.26	0.01
CP (%)	62.44^c	64.09^b	66.42^a	0.38	0.01
NDF (%)	58.25^b	59.49^a	60.25^a	0.28	0.01
ADF (%)	54.63^b	55.16^ab	56.05^a	0.41	0.02
^a−d Means without a common superscript within a column significantly (P < 0.05) differ.
¹DM = Dry matter, OM = Organic matter, CP = Crude protein, NDF = Neutral detergent fiber, ADF = Acid detergent fiber.
²WS = Wheat straw, WS+CS = Wheat straw – 50 and corn stover – 50, CS = Corn stover.
³SEM = Standard error mean.

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Reviews received at journal
29 Nov, 2021
Reviewers invited by journal
25 Nov, 2021
Editor assigned by journal
16 Nov, 2021
First submitted to journal
10 Nov, 2021

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Effects of Replacement of Wheat Straw with Corn Stover Based TMR on Growth Performance, Behavioural Characteristics, selected Blood Metabolites and Nutrient Digestibility in Beetal Bucks.

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Abstract

Introduction

Materials And Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Declarations

References

Tables

Status:

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