Influence of in ovo prebiotic and synbiotic administration on meat quality of broiler chickens

ABSTRACT A trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of in ovo injection of prebiotic and synbiotics on growth performance, meat quality traits (cholesterol content, intramuscular collagen properties, fiber measurements), and the presence of histopathological changes in the pectoral muscle (PS) of broiler chickens. On d 12 of incubation, 480 eggs were randomly divided into 5 experimental groups treated with different bioactives, in ovo injected: C, control with physiological saline; T1 with 1.9 mg of raffinose family oligosaccharides; T2 and T3 with 1.9 mg of raffinose family oligosaccharides enriched with different probiotic bacteria, specifically 1,000 cfu of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis SL1 and Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris IBB SC1, respectively; T4 with commercially available synbiotic Duolac, containing 500 cfu of both Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus faecium with the addition of lactose (0.001 mg/embryo). Among the hatched chickens, 60 males were randomly chosen (12 birds for each group) and were grown to 42 d in collective cages (n = 3 birds in each 4 cages: replications for experimental groups). Broilers were fed ad libitum commercial diets according to age. In ovo prebiotic and synbiotic administration had a low effect on investigated traits, but depend on the kind of bioactives administered. Commercial synbiotic treatment (T4) reduced carcass yield percentage, and the feed conversion ratio was higher in T3 and T4 groups compared with other groups. The abdominal fat, the ultimate pH, and cholesterol of the PS were not affected by treatment. Broiler chickens of the treated groups with both slightly greater PS and fiber diameter had a significantly lower amount of collagen. The greater thickness of muscle fibers (not significant) and the lower fiber density (statistically significant), observed in treated birds in comparison with those of the C group, are not associated with histopathological changes in the PS of broilers. The incidence of histopathological changes in broiler chickens from examined groups was low, which did not affect the deterioration of meat quality obtained from these birds

The techno-ecological practice as the politics of ontological coalitions

The paper focuses on the art projects aimed at visualizing (grasping) the physical or biological phenomena through interfaces and / or installations designed specifically for such purpose. Such works often mirror the post-­digital condition of our time where the digital technologies constitute the common background for everyday activities, no longer having the allure of "new" and "exciting" (Berry, Dieter et al., 2015). In this process, both the networked technologies of wireless communication and the act of crossing the boundaries between the digital and the physical play the crucial role as the post-­digital networked imagery increasingly becomes directly connected to the physical environment. I would like to ponder on the questions of processuality and relationality involved in such instances where the complexity of the hybrid works of art clearly transgresses the paradigm of representationalism (Thrift, 2008;; Anderson and Harrison, 2010;; Kember and Zylinska, 2012). The particular attention is given to the fact that such artworks bond different ontological realms (discursive, physical, digital) and different agents (human and non-­human, carbon-­based and software-­based) forging “ontological coalitions” (Malafouris, 2013). Throughout the article the mutlirealist and relational perspective is offered, inspired by the propositions of Gilbert Simondon and Etienne Souriau. Based on the research project supported by National Science Centre Poland ("The aesthetics of post-­digital imagery: between new materialism and object-­oriented philosophy", 2016/21/B/HS2/00746)

Adaptative Potential of the Lactococcus Lactis IL594 Strain Encoded in Its 7 Plasmids

The extrachromosomal gene pool plays a significant role both in evolution and in the environmental adaptation of bacteria. The L. lactis subsp. lactis IL594 strain contains seven plasmids, named pIL1 to pIL7, and is the parental strain of the plasmid-free L. lactis IL1403, which is one of the best characterized lactococcal strains of LAB. Complete nucleotide sequences of pIL1 (6,382 bp), pIL2 (8,277 bp), pIL3 (19,244 bp), pIL4 (48,979), pIL5 (23,395), pIL6 (28,435 bp) and pIL7 (28,546) were established and deposited in the generally accessible database (GeneBank). Nine highly homologous repB-containing replicons, belonging to the lactococcal theta-type replicons, have been identified on the seven plasmids. Moreover, a putative region involved in conjugative plasmid mobilization was found on four plasmids, through identification of the presence of mob genes and/or oriT sequences. Detailed bioinformatic analysis of the plasmid nucleotide sequences provided new insight into the repertoire of plasmid-encoded functions in L. lactis, and indicated that plasmid genes from IL594 strain can be important for L. lactis adaptation to specific environmental conditions (e.g. genes coding for proteins involved in DNA repair or cold shock response) as well as for technological processes (e.g. genes encoding citrate and lactose utilization, oligopeptide transport, restriction-modification system). Moreover, global gene analysis indicated cooperation between plasmid- and chromosome-encoded metabolic pathways

The oldest Cambrian trilobites from the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland : taxonomic, stratigraphic and biogeographic reappraisal

Authorship issues are clarified, new photographic documentation is provided and emended systematic descriptions are presented for the oldest Cambrian trilobite taxa from the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland). Biostratigraphic analysis of the fauna allows correlation with the traditional Holmia kjerulfi-group Zone of Scandinavia, the Callavia Zone of Britain and Newfoundland, the lower and middle part of the Sectigena Zone of Morocco and the Marianian Stage of Spain. The trilobites display a strong biogeographic signal linked with West Gondwana and Avalonia and a suggestion is made that the TESZ margin of Baltica with the Malopolska Massif was liable to currents from those areas that distributed planktonic trilobite larvae

Chronostratigraphic standard for the Cambrian - review of the latest activities of the International Subcommission on the Cambrian System

The latest data on the chronostratigraphic standard for the Cambrian System, being the effect of the activities of the International Subcommission on the Cambrian System in the recent years, are presented. The most important change in the Cambrian stratigraphic scheme is its sub-division into four series and corresponding epochs of comparable duration. Difficulties that appear in the definition and selection of the stratotypes of particular Cambrian stages are also discussed

Evolution of trilobite assemblages from the Cambrian Series 2 and 3 of the Holy Cross Mountains and their biogeographic significance

Deposits of the Cambrian Series 2 and 3 of the Holy Cross Mountains, comprising sandstones, and silty and clayey mudstones, are located on the Małopolska Block which is part of the Trans-European Suture Zone. Most recent geophysical data point to the proximal nature of this structural element with regard to the Baltica palaeocontinent. The trilobite assemblages are dominated by Ellipsocephalidae, generally accompanied by Holmiidae in the lower part, and by Paradoxididae in the upper part of the studied interval. They display a significant evolutionary trend, correlatable with the development of contemporary assemblages in Avalonia and Gondwana rather than those of Baltica. Discrepancies between the basement affinity and the dominant trilobites may be explained by the influence of strong larva-carrying currents from Avalonia and Gondwana

Lower Cambrian trace fossils from the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland

Additional data on the Lower Cambrian ichnotaxa from the Holy Cross Mountains are presented. Nine ichnotaxa are described for the first time from the area, additional descriptions of three known ichnotaxa are supplied, and two ichnotaxa are shown to have extended stratigraphic ranges. Most Lower Cambrian trace fossils belong to the Cruziana ichnofacies. The high taxonomic diversity of the Early Cambrian trace fossil assemblages from the Holy Cross Mountains in comparison to the trace fossil assemblages of the Mid- and Late Cambrian of the area is confirmed

The oldest rocks of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland – biostratigraphy of the Cambrian Czarna Shale Formation in the vicinity of Kotuszów

Three lower Cambrian acritarch assemblages recognized in four outcrops in the vicinity of Kotuszów in the southernmost part of the Palaeozoic inlier of the Holy Cross Mountains span a stratigraphic interval from the uppermost part of the Asteridium tornatum–Comasphaeridium velvetum Assemblage Zone to the Skiagia ornata–Fimbriaglomerella membranacea Assemblage Zone (most probably its lower part). According to current views (Moczydłowska and Yin 2012), this interval corresponds to the upper part of the Fortunian and to Stage 2 of the Terreneuvian Series. The strata yielding the oldest assemblage are thus the oldest precisely documented rocks in the Palaeozoic succession of the Holy Cross Mountains, and the oldest Cambrian rocks exposed on the surface in Poland. The current biostratigraphic scheme for the pre-trilobitic part of the Cambrian System in the Holy Cross Mountains should be modified so that it is based on local acritarch interval subzones