Beta alanine effects immediately pre- and post hatch on chick quality, carcass yield and meat quality in broilers

First, this study aimed to evaluate the effects on hatchability of in ovo supplementation of beta alanine (βA). Second, it assessed the effects on performance, meat quality and serum constituents of broiler chickens of βA injection in ovo and of supplementation with βA in feed for the first seven days after hatching. For this purpose, 960 fertilized broiler chicken eggs were distributed to hatchery trays in four treatment groups with six replicates on day 17 of incubation. The treatment groups consisted of eggs that were not injected (T1; negative control), injected with sterile solution with 0.9% salt (T2; positive control), injected with in ovo 1% βA solution (T3), and not injected, but with chicks were fed 1% βA for the first seven days after hatching (T4). Upon hatching, chicks from T1, T2, and T3 were fed commercial starter feed. All treatments were assessed with six replicates of 28 birds (14 females and 14 males) throughout the grow-out period. As a result of this study, T3 increased hatchability, yolk-free hatching weight and chick quality, and decreased yolk weight and feed access time at hatch. Both T3 and T4 improved carcass yield and meat quality, and T3 increased serum total antioxidant status at 42 days afer hatching. The results demonstrated that in ovo βA feeding improved hatching characteristics, and βA administration in ovo or in feed improved carcass yield and meat quality without affecting growth performance

Intermediate uveitis associated with MS: Diagnosis, clinical features, pathogenic mechanisms, and recommendations for management

Uveitis is a major cause of visual impairment and blindness among working-age adults, accounting for 10% of legal blindness in the United States. Among people with MS, the prevalence of uveitis is 10 times higher than among the general population, and because MS and uveitis share similar genetic risk factors and immunologic effector pathways, it is not clear whether uveitis is one of the manifestations of MS or a coincident disorder. This uncertainty raises several diagnostic and management issues for clinicians who look after these patients, particularly with regard to recognizing visual symptoms resulting from demyelination, intraocular inflammation, or the visual complications of disease modifying drugs for MS, e.g., fingolimod. Likewise, management decisions regarding patients with uveitis are influenced by the risk of precipitating or exacerbating episodes of demyelination, e.g., following anti-tumor necrosis factor biologic therapy, and other neurologic complications of immunosuppressive treatments for uveitis. In this review, we explore the similarities in the pathophysiology, clinical features, and treatment of patients with uveitis and MS. Based on the latest evidence, we make a set of recommendations to help guide neurologists and ophthalmologists to best manage patients affected by both conditions

E-learning User Interface Acceptance Based on Analysis of User's Style, USAbility and User Benefits

E-learning does not function properly if the system is not in accordance with user needs. This study aims to establish an evaluation model for e-learning user interface according to user acceptance. The model is designed based on three categories: user learning style, USAbility and user benefits. Results of measurements of the three categories will determine the level of user acceptance of the e-learning interface. The data were taken using a questionnaire which was distributed to 125 ELS students from various countries. Then processed using SEM and Lisrel v8.80. This paper presents experimental set up for the general research and some results for technology acceptance theories

Bandit framework for systematic learning in wireless video-based face recognition

Video-based object or face recognition services on mobile devices have recently garnered significant attention, given that video cameras are now ubiquitous in all mobile communication devices. In one of the most typical scenarios for such services, each mobile device captures and transmits video frames over wireless to a remote computing cluster (a.k.a. “cloud” computing infrastructure) that performs the heavy-duty video feature extraction and recognition tasks for a large number of mobile devices. A major challenge of such scenarios stems from the highly-varying contention levels in the wireless transmission, as well as the variation in the task-scheduling congestion in the cloud. In order for each device to adapt the transmission, feature extraction and search parameters and maximize its object or face recognition rate under such contention and congestion variability, we propose a systematic learning framework based on multi-user multi-armed bandits. The performance loss under two instantiations of the proposed framework is characterized by the derivation of upper bounds for the achievable shortterm and long-term loss in the expected recognition rate per face recognition attempt against the “oracle” solution that assumes a-priori knowledge of the system performance under every possible setting. Unlike well-known reinforcement learning techniques that exhibit very slow convergence when operating in highly-dynamic environments, the proposed bandit-based systematic learning quickly approaches the optimal transmission and cloud resource allocation policies based on feedback on the experienced dynamics (contention and congestion levels). To validate our approach, time-constrained simulation results are presented via: (i) contention-based H.264/AVC video streaming over IEEE 802.11 WLANs and (ii) principal-component based face recognition algorithms running under varying congestion levels of a cloud-computing infrastructure. Against state- of-theart reinforcement learning methods, our framework is shown to provide 17:8% 44:5% reduction of the number of video frames that must be processed by the cloud for recognition and 11:5% 36:5% reduction in the video traffic over the WLAN

Complete Break Up of Ortho Positronium (Ps)- Hydrogenic ion System

The dynamics of the complete breakup process in an Ortho Ps - He+ system including electron loss to the continuum (ELC) is studied where both the projectile and the target get ionized. The process is essentially a four body problem and the present model takes account of the two centre effect on the electron ejected from the Ps atom which is crucial for a proper description of the ELC phenomena. The calculations are performed in the framework of Coulomb Distorted Eikonal Approximation. The exchange effect between the target and the projectile electron is taken into account in a consistent manner. The proper asymptotic 3-body boundary condition for this ionization process is also satisfied in the present model. A distinct broad ELC peak is noted in the fully differential cross sections (5DCS) for the Ps electron corroborating qualitatively the experiment for the Ps - He system. Both the dynamics of the ELC from the Ps and the ejected electron from the target He+ in the FDCS are studied using coplanar geometry. Interesting features are noted in the FDCS for both the electrons belonging to the target and the projectile.Comment: 14 pages,7 figure

Effect of Education on Myopia: Evidence from the United Kingdom ROSLA 1972 Reform

YesCross-sectional and longitudinal studies have consistently reported an association between education and myopia. However, conventional observational studies are at risk of bias due to confounding by factors such as socioeconomic position and parental educational attainment. The current study aimed to estimate the causal effect of education on refractive error using regression discontinuity analysis. Methods: Regression discontinuity analysis was applied to assess the influence on refractive error of the raising of the school leaving age (ROSLA) from 15 to 16 years introduced in England and Wales in 1972. For comparison, a conventional ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis was performed. The analysis sample comprised 21,548 UK Biobank participants born in a nine-year interval centered on September 1957, the date of birth of those first affected by ROSLA. Results: In OLS analysis, the ROSLA 1972 reform was associated with a −0.29 D (95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.36 to −0.21, P < 0.001) more negative refractive error. In other words, the refractive error of the study sample became more negative by −0.29 D during the transition from a minimum school leaving age of 15 to 16 years of age. Regression discontinuity analysis estimated the causal effect of the ROSLA 1972 reform on refractive error as −0.77 D (95% CI: −1.53 to −0.02, P = 0.04). Conclusions: Additional compulsory schooling due to the ROSLA 1972 reform was associated with a more negative refractive error, providing additional support for a causal relationship between education and myopia.Global Education program of the Russian Federation government (DP) and an NIHR Senior Research Fellowship award SRF-2015-08-005 (CW), The Department for Health through an award made by the NIHR to the Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom (grant no. BRC2_009). Additional support was provided by The Special Trustees of Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom (grant no. ST 12 09

Relationships between retinal layer thickness and brain volumes in the UK Biobank cohort

BACKGROUND: Current methods to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases are costly and invasive. Retinal neuroanatomy may be a biomarker for more neurodegenerative processes and can be quantified in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is inexpensive and noninvasive. We examined the association of neuroretinal morphology with brain MRI image derived phenotypes (IDPs) in a large cohort of healthy older people. METHODS: UK Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 years old underwent comprehensive examinations including ophthalmic and brain imaging assessments. Macular retinal nerve fibre layer (mRNFL), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL), ganglion cell complex (mGCC) and total macular thicknesses were obtained from OCT. MRI IDPs assessed included total brain, grey-matter, white-matter and hippocampal volume. Multivariable linear regression models were used to evaluate associations between retinal layers thickness and brain MRI IDPs, adjusting for demographic factors and vascular risk factors. RESULTS: A total of 2,131 participants (mean age 55 years; 51% women) with both gradable OCT images and brain imaging assessments were included. In multivariable regression analysis, thinner mGCIPL, mGCC, and total macular thickness were all significantly associated with smaller total brain (p<0.001), grey-matter and white-matter volumes (p<0.01), and grey-matter volume in the occipital pole (p<0.05). Thinner mGCC and total macular thicknesses were associated with smaller hippocampal volume (p<0.02). No association was found between mRNFL and the MRI IDPs. CONCLUSION: Markers of retinal neurodegeneration are associated with smaller brain volumes. Our findings suggest that retinal structures may be a biomarker providing information about important brain structures in healthy, older adults

Obesity, diabetes and zinc: A workshop promoting knowledge and collaboration between the UK and Israel, November 28–30, 2016 – Israel

Sponsored by the Friends of Israel Educational Foundation (FIEF) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and supported by the EU COST action Zinc-Net (COST TD1304), a three-day collaborative UK-Israel workshop was organized by Drs Assaf Rudich, Imre Lengyel and Arie Moran. Participants from the UK and Israel met at the Desert Iris Hotel, Yeruham, Israel between the 28-30th of November 2016 for in-depth discussions, rather than a lecture series, to set the stage for future collaborative grants and projects on diabetes and zinc. Two days of formal scientific sessions with dynamic and wide-ranging discussions was followed by a day of touring and informal networking in the Negev area. This format was previously recognized by our sponsors as both effective and enjoyable and all participants agreed at the end of the meeting that the 3-days provided an excellent basis for future scientific collaboration. The discussions were centered on diabetes and obesity, already at pandemic levels, and zinc homeostasis which is related to the clinical issues and themes of the meeting. The free-flowing discussions were based on short presentations setting the scene for the six main topics: ‘Diabetes and zinc transporters’, ‘Nutrition related factors’, ‘Biomarkers’, ‘Clinical epidemiology’, ‘the Microbiome and diabetes’, and ‘Related diseases’. The abstract style summary of the sessions is followed by the major discussion points raised by the Authors and other participants (UK: Patrik Rorsman, Oxford University; Alan Stewart, University of St Andrews and Israel: Assaf Rudich, Idit Liberty, Rahel Gol, Guy Las and Amos Katz, Ben-Gurion University; Sarah Zangen, Haddassa University). We hope that readers will find this discourse stimulating and some of the ideas might make their way into their research efforts