Prevalence of Cannabis Lifetime Use in Iranian High School and College Students: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analyses,and Meta-Regression

Cannabis is the most widely used substance in the world. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of cannabis lifetime use (CLU) in high school and college students of Iran and also to determine factors related to changes in prevalence. A systematic review of literature on cannabis use in Iran was conducted according to MOOSE guideline. Domestic scientific databases, PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar, relevant reference lists, and relevant journals were searched up to April, 2014. Prevalences were calculated using the variance stabilizing double arcsine transformation and confidence intervals (CIs) estimated using the Wilson method. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q statistic and I-2 index and causes of heterogeneity were evaluated using meta-regression model. In electronic database search, 4,000 citations were retrieved, producing a total of 33 studies. CLU was reported with a random effects pooled prevalence of 4.0 (95 CI = 3.0 to 5.0). In subgroups of high school and college students, prevalences were 5.0 (95 CI = 3.0 to -7.0) and 2.0 (95 CI = 2.0 to -3.0), respectively. Meta-regression model indicated that prevalence is higher in college students (beta = 0.089, p < .001), male gender (beta = 0.017, p < .001), and is lower in studies with sampling versus census studies (beta = -0.096, p < .001). This study reported that prevalence of CLU in Iranian students are lower than industrialized countries. In addition, gender, level of education, and methods of sampling are highly associated with changes in the prevalence of CLU across provinces

Effects of the maternal and current social environment on female body mass and reproductive traits in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

The social environment of breeding females can affect their phenotype, with potential adaptive maternal effects on offspring that experience a similar environment. We housed Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) females in two group sizes (pairs versus groups of four) and studied the effects on their offspring under matched and mismatched conditions. We measured F1 body mass, reproduction, and plasma levels of androgens and corticosterone. F1 group housing led to an increase in body mass. In addition, F1 group housing had a positive effect on mass in daughters of pair-housed P0 females only, which were heaviest under mismatched conditions. At the time of egg collection for the F2 generation, F1 group-housed females were heavier, irrespective of the P0 treatment. F1 females in groups laid heavier eggs, with higher hatching success, and produced heavier offspring, most likely a maternal effect of F1 mass. F1 plasma hormones were affected by neither the P0 nor the F1 social environment. These results contrasted with effects in the P0 generation (reported previously), in which plasma hormone levels, but not mass, differed between social environments. This may be due to changes in adult sex ratios as P0 females were housed with males, whereas F1 females encountered males only during mating. Our study demonstrates potentially relevant mismatch effects of the social environment on F1 body mass and maternal effects on F2 offspring, but further study is needed to understand their adaptive significance and physiological mechanisms

Effects of dietary calcium, phytoestrogen rich diets and estrogen on intestinal calcium transport proteins, egg and eggshell quality in maturing layer hens / Ali Asghar Saki.

Corrigenda inserted behind title page.Copies of author's previously published articles inserted at end.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-210).xxii, 210 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm.Investigates whether estrogen modulates the proteins associated with calcium transport (eg calcium binding protein, calbindin D28k) in the intestinal tissue during sexual maturation of laying hens. Studies the temporal and spatial expression of estrogen receptors (ER) and calcium binding protein in jejunal tissue. Findings indicated the potential of estrogen to induce calbindin D28K in the intestinal tissue, from which it can be concluded that estrogen may increase calcium absorption and consequently calcium retention. Shows that the amount of estrogen normally present in the reproductive system is sufficient for the normal capacity of egg and eggshell production. Egg production and shell quality are significantly reduced by phytoestrogen. It is recommended that the concentration of phytoestrogen in poultry diets be investigated in more detail as it may act as an anti-nutritive factor and affect metabolism and productivity.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Science, 199

Effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid and betaine supplementation on performance, blood biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of broilers subjected to cold stress

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) and betaine supplementation on performance, antioxidant status and biochemical parameters of broilers subjected to cold stress. Based on a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, 384-day-old male broiler chicks (Cobb) were randomly distributed between four experimental diets (with 8 replicates and 12 birds per replicate) included basal diet (as control) and the basal diet supplemented with 1200 mg/kg GAA; 600 mg/kg betaine and 1200 mg/kg GAA + 600 mg/kg betaine. No significant dietary effects were seen on performance, haematological and blood biochemical parameters including plasma glucose, uric acid, total antioxidant status, lactate, lactate dehydrogenase, red blood cell, haemoglobin, haematocrit and heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios. However, malondialdehyde (MDA), and the activity of creatine kinase (CK), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were affected by the experimental diets. Compared with the other groups, betaine supplementation decreased liver MDA level and SOD activity while increased activity of liver GPx and serum CK and decreased serum level of MDA were observed in birds fed the GAA-included diet. Overall, based on the results, it seems that dietary GAA and betaine could have beneficial effects on antioxidant status of broilers subjected to cold stress

Modulation of Lipopolysaccharide Induced Interleukin-17F and Cyclooxygenase-2 Gene Expression by Echinacea purpurea in Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Echinacea purpurea on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-17F (IL-17F) in seven-day-old broiler chickens. Four groups were fed with concentration of 0 g/kg, 5 g/kg, 10 g/kg and 20 g/kg from the root of E. purpurea in the basal diet and two other groups were only fed with the basal diet for 21 days. At the 28th day, lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 mg/kg diet) was injected in four groups and the basal diet group was injected by saline as control. The chickens’ spleen RNA expression was measured for the COX-2 and IL-17F genes by Real-Time PCR. The results have shown that chickens which were fed E. purpurea had a lower COX-2 and IL-17F mRNA expression. The chickens who have received LPS only, lymphocyte was lower than other treatments. Vital organ weights were not significantly different, but body weight loss was recovered by dietary herbs inclusion. The results of this study have shown the positive effect of an anti-inflammatory herb to prevent the undesirable effect of inflammation

Evaluation of biochemical parameters and productive performance of japanese quail in response to the replacement of soybean meal with canola meal

The present study was conducted to evaluation the different levels canola meal (CM) replacement by soybean meal (SBM) in Japanese quails diets on productive performance, egg quality trails and blood parameters including blood protein, minerals concentration, liver enzymes and thyroid hormones. In this study, 160 of Japanese quails in second laying phase from 46 to 56 weeks of age were divided in four treatments with four replicates and 10 quail in each per replicate, on a completely randomized design (CRD).Treatments consisted:T1) control (without CM), T2, T3 and T4) replacing 30, 60 and 90% of SBM with CM respectively. The results were shown no significant variation in body weight between treatments in initial and end of the experiment (p > 0.05). There was significant decrease in feed intake by increasing level of CM (p 0.05). However, the egg shell thickness showed significantly decreased with increasing levels of canola meal in the diet  (p < 0.05). According to this study results, 30% replacement of SBM by CM in the diet (contained 10% CM) has no adverse effect on quail’s performance.

Intestinal carbohydrase activity and sodium-glucose transporter expression in layers fed diets containing wheat and rice brans supplemented with phytase

The effect of diets containing wheat and rice brans with or without phytase supplementation on performance, intestinal carbohydrase activities and mRNA expression of sodium-glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1) in layers was studied. A total of 96 23-wk-old Hy-line W-36 were allocated in a completely randomized experimental design at random with 6 treatments and 4 replicate cages of 4 birds each. A control diet was used in this experiment and then it was formulated to contain 10% wheat bran and 15% rice bran. Then phytase (2 g kg-1; 1000 FTU kg-1) was added to each diet. Feed intake, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, shell weight, shell thickness and Haugh units were not influenced by brans or phytase supplementation (p > 0.05). But egg production decreased in rice bran treatments (p < 0.05). In the jejunum, adding of phytase to control and diet containing wheat bran increased the concentration of sucrase (p ≤ 0.01). Also, addition of phytase to control diet increased (p ≤ 0.001) the mRNA expression of SGLT-1 in the duodenum. It was concluded that feeding layers with diets containing 10% wheat bran were practically feasible without compromising production performance, egg shell quality, and endogenous carbohydrase activity.

The effects of protein, amino acid, and dietary electrolyte balance on broiler chicken performance and blood parameters under heat stress

ABSTRACT The effect of crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA), and dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) were evaluated on blood parameters, carcass traits, and broiler performance under heat stress (29-34°C). A total of 540 male chickens (Ross 308) were allocated to 12 diets with factorial arrangement 2 × 2 × 3, using a completely randomized design with three replicates of 15 chickens in grower (13 to 26 days) and finisher (27 to 42 days) periods. and 120, 220, and 320 mEq kg-1 DEB. The level of 21% CP increased body weight gain (BWG) and decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) at grower period (p < 0.05). In contrast, 20% CP level decreased BWG and increased FCR at finisher period (p < 0.05). Further, 20% CP level reduced blood sodium and blood electrolyte balance (p < 0.05). The highest blood electrolyte balance was achieved by DEB 320 mEq kg-1 diet (p < 0.05). Broiler response to DEB in heat stress depended on the age of bird, length of exposure to high temperature and CP level of the diet. Under heat stress (29-34°C), the 21% CP level at grower period and 17% CP level at finisher period improved broiler BWG and FCR