Effects of non-antibiotic feed additives on performance, tibial dyschondroplasia incidence and tibia characteristics of broilers fed low-calcium diets.

This experiment was conducted to investigate and compare the efficacy of different feed additives on performance, tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) incidence and tibia characteristics of male broilers fed low-calcium diets. A completely randomized design, with six treatments and five replicates of five chicks per each was used. Experimental treatments were: (i) Basal diet containing recommended level of calcium (0.9%) as control treatment (Ctrl), (ii) low-calcium (0.67%) diet without any additive (LC), (iii) low-calcium diet + probiotic (2g/kg diet), (iv) low-calcium diet + prebiotic (2g/kg diet), (v) low-calcium diet + synbiotic [mix of probiotic and prebiotic (each 2g/kg diet)], (vi) low-calcium diet + organic acid (1.5g/kg diet). Birds were reared in an open-sided house system under natural tropical condition until 21days of age. Feeding with low-calcium diet negatively influenced broiler performance (body weight, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio) and tibia characteristics, whereas dietary inclusion of all feed additives had beneficial effects on above-mentioned parameters and helped the birds to overcome problems related to low-calcium diets. Different treatments had no effect on TD incidence

Neoproterozoic Rosetta Gabbro from northernmost Arabian–Nubian Shield, south Jordan : Geochemistry and petrogenesis

An Ediacaran mafic intrusion of south Jordan is a distinctive appinitic igneous rock with a possibly unique texture, characterized by spherical clots up to 40 mm in diameter composed of amphibole cores from which plagioclase euhedra radiate; we call it the Rosetta Gabbro. It is exposed as a small (ca. 750 m(2)) outcrop in the Neoproterozoic basement of south Jordan. A second outcrop of otherwise similar gabbro is located about 400 m to the north of the Rosetta Gabbro, but it lacks the distinctive texture. The Rosetta Gabbro could represent a magma pipe. It intrudes the Aqaba Complex (similar to 600 Ma) granitoids and metasediments of the Janub Metamorphic Complex (633-617 Ma). The gabbro is an 01- to QZ tholeiite with the following chemical characteristics: SiO2 = 46.2-47.8 wt.%; Al2O3 = 16.4-17.7 wt.%, TiO2 = 1.70-2.82 wt.%, Na2O = 1.27-2.83 wt.%. K2O = 0.82-1.63 wt.%; Mg# 58-63; Sigma REE = 70-117 ppm; La/Yb similar to 6 to 8; and Eu/Eu* = 1.05-1.2. The investigated gabbro has the geochemical features of a continental flood tholeiitic basalt emplaced in a within-plate tectonic setting. Two varieties of amphiboles are found: 1) large, 3-5 mm, brown ferri-titanian-tschermakite K0.09Na0.28) (Na020Ca1.80) (Mn0.04Fe1.13+Mg2.34Fe0.902+Ti029Al0.22)(Al-1.Si-85(6.15))O-22(OH)(1.95) of the calcic amphibole group which is riddled with opaques; and 2) acicular yellowish-light green ferrian-magnesiohomblende (K0.04Na0.153)(Ca1.755Na0245) (Fe(0.66)(3+)Mn(0.01)Fe(1.01)(2+)mg(3.03)Ti(0.06)Al(0.22))(Al1.03Si6.97)O-22(OH)1.95. Scattered flakes of phlogopite also occur. Tabular radiating plagioclase (An(64-79)) are complexly twinned, with broad lamellae that show no zoning. Laser-ablation ICP-MS analyses of amphibole and plagioclase reveal considerable variation in trace element abundance, in spite of more subtle major element variations except for TiO2 in amphibole. The REE in the amphibole shows an order of magnitude variation with a concave-downward pattern and a positive Eu anomaly Eu/Eu* = 0.6-2, though far less pronounced compared to the Eu/Eu* = 5-45 of plagioclase. The 3D dandelion-like texture of the rosettas is broadly similar to "Chrysanthemum Stone", which is a diagenetic growth in sedimentary rock, but we can find no description of similar textures in igneous rocks. The formation of the rosettas is thought to reflect loss of magmatic water resulting in supersaturation of plagioclase, which grew rapidly around amphibole and may havelloated in the magma. This implies magmatic evolution in shallow (10 to 12 km deep) crust where temperatures were nevertheless in the range of ca. 750 to 900 degrees C