Eggshell temperature manipulations during incubation and in ovo injection of thyroxine are associated with a decreased incidence of cold-induced ascites in broiler chickens

A hypothesis was tested that eggshell temperature manipulations during incubation and in ovo injection of thyroxine (T4) would help their progeny chicks to better survive the ascites-inducing condition during the growing period. In experiment 1, a total of 4, 800 hatching eggs was randomly arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial design (8 replicates of 75 eggs per treatment), in which the eggs were incubated at a constant eggshell temperature (EST) of 37.8°C throughout the incubation period (CON) or were exposed to 15°C for one h on d 11, 13, 15, and 17 of incubation (EST manipulations; ESTM), and 4 treatment groups of 3 control groups (no injection; INJN, needle pricked; INJP, and sterilized distilled water injection; INJW) and one T4 treatment group (injected with sterilized distilled water containing 65 ng of T4; INJT4). In experiment 2, 240 one-day-old male broiler chicks from 2 temperature conditions and injection (INJN and INJT4) treatment groups were reared for 42 d in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. To induce ascites, all chicks were exposed to a 15°C room temperature from 14 d onwards. Results from experiment 1 showed that second-grade chicks and yolk sac weight were decreased, and body weight at hatch was increased in the ESTM and INJT4 groups. Also, final body weight was increased in the ESTM group. Ascites mortality rate was decreased in the ESTM and INJT4 groups. In the ESTM and INJT4 groups, the red blood cell (RBC) and the packed cell volume (PCV) count were decreased. In conclusion, the results showed that the ESTM and INJT4 treatments during incubation were associated with improved chick quality, productive performance of broilers, and a decreased incidence of coldinduced ascites in broiler chickens

Unequivocal identification of an underestimated opportunistic yeast species, Cyberlindnera fabianii, and its close relatives using a dual-function PCR and literature review of published cases

Although Cyberlindnera fabinaii is a rare opportunist yeast species, its ability to cause septicemia, produce biofilm, and rapid acquisition of resistance to fluconazole and voriconazole, reinforced the urge for its identification from its closely related species. Widely used biochemical assays mainly identify Cyberlindnera fabinaii as Cyberlindnera jadinii and Wickerhamomyces anomalus, resulting in underestimation of this yeast in clinical settings. Moreover, the urge for a reliable molecular means of identification remains unsolved for 28 years. In order to unequivocally differentiate Cy. fabianii, Cy. mississipiensis, Cy. jadinii, and W. anomalus, we designed a dual-function multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Challenging our dual-function multiplex PCR assay with 30 most clinically important yeast species, proved its specificity. Although conventional PCR could differentiate four target species, the real-time PCR counterpart due to Tm overlap misidentified Cy. mississipiensis as Cy. jadinii. Alongside of presenting a comprehensive literature review of published cases of Cy. fabianii from 1990 to 2018, we collected various clinical isolates from Tehran, Shiraz, and Fasa (July 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017) to find a passive relative distribution of these closely-related species in Iran. Subjecting our Iranian collection of yeast isolates to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) MS and LSU and ITS rDNA sequencng revealed six isolates of Cy. fabianii (central venous catheter n = 2 and vaginal swabs n = 4) and one isolate of Cy. jadinii (vaginal swabs). Due to the use of biochemical assays in global ARTEMIS study, we encourage reidentification of clinical isolates of Cy. jadinii and Cy. jadinii using MALDI-TOF or Sanger sequencing that might lead to correcting the distribution of this fungus