A study on β-defensin-2 and histatin-5 as a diagnostic marker of early childhood caries progression

BACKGROUND: Recently, a continuous growth of interest has been observed in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the light of an alarming increase in resistance of bacteria and fungi against antibiotics. AMPs are used as biomarkers in diagnosis and monitoring of oral cavity pathologies. Therefore, the determination of specific protein profiles in children diagnosed with early childhood caries (ECC) might be a basis for effective screening tests and specialized examinations which may enable progression of disease METHODS: The objective of the studies was to determine the role of histatin-5 and β-defensing-2 as a diagnostic marker of early childhood caries progression. In this work, results of concentration determination of two salivary proteins (histatin-5 and β-defensin-2) were presented. In addition, bacterial profiles from dental plaque in various stages of ECC and control were marked. The assessment of alteration in the concentration of these two proteins in a study group of children with various stages of ECC and a control group consisting of children with no symptoms was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed a significant increase in the concentration of histatin-5 and β-defensin-2 in the study group compared to the control group and correlated with the progression of the disease CONCLUSIONS: The confirmation of concentration changes in these proteins during the progression of dental caries may discover valuable disease progression biomarker

Successful Identification of Duck Genome Region Determining Desirable Uniformity of Meat Performance Traits

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to identify genome regions determining duck meat performance traits with possible small variation. In total, 368 crossbred ducks of F2 generation obtained from two parental lines: Pekin-type ducks of Polish origin (A55) and Pekin-type ducks of French origin (GL-30) were recorded. The following seven traits were analyzed: body weight, breast muscle weight, leg muscle weight, water holding capacity in the breast and leg muscles, and color lightness L* of the breast and leg muscles. All birds (including parental and F1 generations) were genotyped (29 microsatellite markers). Means and coefficients of variation (CV) were calculated for 28 full-sibs (four sires by six dams and one sire by four dams). Number of progeny per full-sib group ranged from 7 to 17. The multivariate cluster analysis using grouping by k-means algorithm was used on transformed data. The multivariate cluster analysis gave two clusters: first group with 10 full-sibs and second one with 18 families. Differences among half-sibs in the CV of the recorded traits were determined. It should be noted that one out of five sire groups showed statistically significant differences from the other ones. Moreover, the CVs in this group were smaller. The analysis of microsatellite markers indicated three alleles from three loci were present only in the “superior” sire group. The obtained results indicate a promising opportunity of effective selection for improving carcass technological quality using molecular markers

Meat quality characteristics of chickens raised organically and intensively

Celem podjętych badań była ocena wybranych cech fizycznych i chemicznych mięśni piersiowych kurcząt rzeźnych z chowu ekologicznego i intensywnego. Oceniano te parametry, które mają istotne znaczenie dla konsumentów przy szacowaniu jakości mięsa. Materiał doświadczalny stanowiły mieszańce pochodzące z krzyżowania koguta mięsnego biało opierzonego stada rodzicielskiego Ross 308 i kury ogólnoużytkowej o brązowym upierzeniu rhode island red R-66 (grupa E) oraz mieszańce towarowe kur mięsnych Ross 308 (grupa K). Kurczęta grupy E odchowywano 84 dni zgodnie z wymogami rolnictwa ekologicznego, a grupy K – konwencjonalnie w okresie 42 dni. Uzyskane wyniki świadczą o odmiennym przebiegu zmian post mortem w mięśniach piersiowych kurcząt rzeźnych z chowu ekologicznego i intensywnego. Przeprowadzone badania wskazują, że mięśnie kurcząt rzeźnych z chowu ekologicznego cechują się dobrą wartością odżywczą (więcej białka o 1,73 p.p., mniej tłuszczu o 0,46 p.p.) i są ciemniejszej barwy (L* 49,65), co może być cechą pożądaną przez wielu konsumentów. Jednak wysokie pH24 mięśni piersiowych kurcząt z chowu ekologicznego wskazuje, że mięso to może być podatne na zakażenia mikrobiologiczne i może być tylko krótko przechowywane. Ponadto wymaga ono większej siły niezbędnej do przecięcia (54,12 N – surowe i 46,66 N – gotowane), co może wskazywać, że mięso to należy poddawać dłuższej obróbce termicznej.The aim of the study was to evaluate selected physical and chemical characteristics of the breast muscles of organically and intensively raised chickens. The parameters determined are important to consumers in assessing meat quality. The experimental material consisted of crossbred chickens obtained from crossing a white broiler cock from Ross 308 parent stock with a brown dual-purpose Rhode Island Red R-66 hen (group E) and Ross 308 commercial crossbred broiler hens (group K). Chickens from group E were reared over 84 days in accordance with the requirements of organic farming, while the group K chickens were reared conventionally over 42 days. The results indicate differences in post mortem changes in the breast muscles of the organically and intensively raised chickens. The muscles of broiler chickens from organic farming were characterized by good nutritional value (1.73 pp more protein and 0.46 pp less fat) and a darker colour (L* 49.65), which may be a desirable feature for many consumers. However, the high pH24 level of the breast muscles of organic chickens indicates that the meat may be susceptible to microbiological contamination and can only be stored for a short period. Furthermore, it requires a greater shear force (54.12 N raw and 46.66 N cooked), which may indicate that the meat needs to be cooked longer