The Antifungal Effect of Propolis Endodontic Irrigant with Three Other Irrigation Solutions in Presence and Absence of Smear Layer: An In Vitro Study

Introduction: the aim of this in vitro study was to compare the antifungal effect of propolis as an endodontic irrigant agent with a mixture of doxycycline, citric acid, and a detergent (MTAD), 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) and 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) against Candida albicans in presence and absence of smear layer. Methods and Materials: Extracted teeth with single canals (n=104) were prepared and randomly distributed into four experimental groups; 30% propolis, MTAD, 2% CHX and 3% NaOCl. Each group had two subgroups; with and without smear layer. The antifungal effectiveness was evaluated. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare the overall effectiveness of different treatments at significance level of 0.05. Results: Propolis, CHX and NaOCl had similar levels of effectiveness to each other against C. albicans, and these levels were not affected by the presence or absence of the smear layer. Each irrigant was significantly more effective than MTAD or saline solution. MTAD was less effective in the presence of the smear layer than in its absence. Conclusions: Propolis irrigation can produce root canals that are free of C. albicans, even in the presence of the smear layer. Keywords: Candida albicans; Chlorhexidine; Irrigating Solution; Propolis; Smear Layer; Sodium Hypochlorit

Cluster Analysis of Musical Attributes for Top Trending Songs

Music streaming services like Spotify have changed the way consumers listen to music. Understanding what attributes make certain songs trendy can help services to create a better customer experience as well as more effective marketing efforts. We performed cluster analysis on Top 100 Trending Spotify Song of 2017, with ten attributes, including danceability, energy, loudness, speechiness, acousticness, instrumentalness, Liveness, valence, tempo, and duration. The results show that music structures with high danceability and low instrumentalness increase the popularity of a song and lead them to chart-topping success

What Makes a Song Trend? Cluster Analysis of Musical Attributes for Spotify Top Trending Songs

Music streaming services like Spotify have changed the way consumers listen to music. Understanding what attributes make certain songs trendy can help services to create a better customer experience as well as more effective marketing efforts. We performed cluster analysis on Top 100 Trending Spotify Song of 2017 and 2018, using nine musical attributes, including danceability, energy, loudness, speechiness, acousticness, instrumentalness, liveness, valence, and tempo. The results show that music structures with high danceability and low instrumentalness increase the popularity of a song and lead them to chart-topping success

The Effect of Feeding of Crushed Thyme (Thymus valgaris L) on Growth, Blood Constituents, Gastrointestinal Tract and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

The effect of feeding of different levels of thyme (Thymus valgaris L) on performance, blood constituents, gastrointestinal tract and carcass characteristics was studied in broiler chickens. An experiment of five dietary treatment groups with different levels of thyme was conducted in broiler chickens from 1 to 42 days of age. Dietary thyme significantly increased body weight and body weight gain, and improved feed conversion ratio. The serum levels of glucose, total protein, and globulin were significantly increased by the addition of thyme. The serum levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were significantly decreased. The lengths of gastrointestinal tract segments were decreased by feeding 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% thyme. The same levels of thyme improved dressing and breast percentage of female broilers, and 1.5% and 2.0% thyme feedings improved significantly the leg and wing percentage. Same trends were observed in male broilers. These findings suggest that thyme can be used as a natural growth promoter in broiler rations particularly at 1.5% and 2.0% level

Effect of adding crushed Pimpinella anisum, Nigella sativa seeds and Thymus vulgaris mixture to antibiotics-free rations of vaccinated and non-vaccinated male broilers on growth performance, antibody titer and haematological profile

This research explores an experimental study conducted to investigate the effect of crushed Pimpinella anisum (PA), Nigella sativa (NS) seeds and Thymus vulgaris (TV) mixture as a feed additive on growth performance and mortality rate (MR), selected antibodies titer (Ab’s) and blood hematological profile of vaccinated and non-vaccinated Lohman male broiler chicks fed free-antibiotics ration. A total of 400 one-day old chicks were distributed into 16 groups (4 treatment x 4 replicates x 25chicks). The experiment lasted from one to 42 days of age. The statistical findings of this experiment prove that the use of medicinal plants mixture improves live body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and MR of vaccinated male broilers at 21 and 42 days of age. antibodies titer against infectious bronchitis and infectious bursal disease of non-vaccinated and vaccinated male broilers were significantly improved at 21 and 42 days as a result of the addition of medicinal plant mixture to the basal ration. Concerning Newcastle disease, the use of PA, NS and TV mixture did not reflect in any additional improvement of Ab's than vaccines did. The addition of medicinal plants mixture increases WBC's, RBC's, thrombocytes count and Hb concentration of vaccinated and non-vaccinated male broilers at 21 days of age. Meanwhile, heterophils, lymphocytes and monocytes of vaccinated male broilers (VMB) were significantly improved by adding medicinal plant mixture to their basal diet. Moreover, at 42 days of age the use of PA, NS seeds and TV mixture indicate significant increase in total WBC’s, lymphocytes and monocytes and monocytes count of VMB and non-vaccinated male broiler (NVMB). No significant differences were noticed in RBC’s and Hct as a result of feeding crushed medicinal plants mixture

The effect of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) fruit residues on performance and egg quality of laying hens

The experiment was conducted on Isa Brown laying hens to study the effects of sea buckthorn fruit residues on hen performance and quality of eggs. The total number of 1440 eighteen-week-old pullets Isa Brown was divided into two groups (720 each) including 24 subgroups (30 hens). The experimental group was fed diets in which 5% of the wheat was replaced by sea buckthorn fruit residues. The control group was fed diets without any colour additives. Egg production and intensity of laying hens were evaluated in seven periods, from 127 to 322 days of age. In our study, a significant effect (P ≤ .05) of sea buckthorn fruit residues on total number of laid eggs and egg yolk colour was detected. However, a non-significant effect of sea buckthorn was found on hen performance or egg quality including egg weight, yolk weight, eggshell strength, shape index of egg, eggshell thickness, Haugh units, eggshell colour and blood spot, albumen weight, proportion and Haugh units. Results of our study showed the beneficial effect of feeding sea buckthorn fruit residues on total number of laid eggs and egg yolk colour which is a great concern for egg consumers

Growth Performance, Carcass and Meat Quality Characteristics of Different Commercial Crosses of Broiler Strains of Chicken

A total of 840 male and female birds of Lohman, Hubbard JV, Hubbard classic, and Ross strains were reared from day 1 to 43 to evaluate growth performance, carcass and meat quality traits as influenced by strain, gender, and age at slaughter. All birds were randomly distributed into three pens (35 chicks/pen) for each strain×gender group. At 8, 22, 36, and 43 days of age, 5 birds from each pen were randomly selected and slaughtered. Results showed that Hubbard classic birds had higher (P<0.05) final body weight, overall average daily gain, and most efficient overall feed conversion ratio. Males had higher (P<0.05) overall body weight, average daily gain, and feed intake when compared to females. Female birds had higher (P<0.05) breast cut percentage at 8, 22, and 36 days, and lower leg cut percentage at 22 and 36 days compared to males. Genotype influenced (P<0.05) abdominal fat percentage where Lohman strain had the highest percentage at all slaughter ages. Cooking loss percentage was higher (P=0.0524) for males than females and shear force values were influenced (P<0.05) by strain where meat from Ross was tougher than meat from any other strain, yet generally meat from all strains was considered to be tender. In conclusion, Hubbard classic birds are the most economic of the four strains investigated in this study by having higher growth performance than the other strains tested. However, dressing percentage and meat quality parameters were comparable among the four strains investigated