Variation in quality of newly hatched chicks from Japanese breeder quail fed guava extract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of guava extract as a dietary supplement for Japanese quail hens on incubation parameters, intestinal development, and the quality of newly hatched chicks. Six hundred and forty-eight eggs were collected from Japanese quail hens fed diets with 0.0, 3.0, 6.0, and 9.0 g/kg of guava extract. The study consisted of four treatments, six replicates, and 27 eggs per replicate. The guava extract contained 2% ellagic acid. The eggs were incubated at 37.5 °C and 65% relative air humidity. The hatch window, hatchability, embryo development in unhatched eggs, quality of newly hatched quails, and intestinal histomorphometry of a duodenum segment were evaluated. Differences among the treatments in hatchability and the hatch window were not significant. The guava extract did not affect mortality rate, live pecking, dead pecking, and contaminated and inverted eggs. The number of infertile eggs was lower in the groups that received 3.0 and 9.0 g/kg of extract in their diets. Use of up to 3.0 g/kg of guava extract in the diet increased the weight of both eggs and newly hatched chicks. The quality score of newly hatched quail was similar across treatments. The inclusion of 3.0 g/kg of guava extract in the diet of Japanese quail breeder hens increased the hatchling weight of the chicks and improved the villus to crypt ratio of their duodenum. Keywords: embryology, embryo metabolism, hatchery, incubation, breeder nutritio

Polyesters with main and side chain phosphoesters as structural motives for biocompatible electrospun fibres

Phosphoester containing polymers are promising materials in biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Utilising thiol-ene chemistry, the synthesis of two novel structural polymer motives combining polyesters and phophoester groups was explored. The first polymer was obtained by coupling ene-functional poly(thioether-phosphoester) with thiol functional poly(pentadecalactone). While the coupling reaction was successful, yields remained low presumably due to inadequate endgroup stoichiometry. The second polymer comprised phosphoester side groups conjugated to unsaturated poly(globalide). Double bond conversions up to 84% were achieved depending of the type of phosphoester thiol and relative reactant ratios. The resulting polymers transitioned from solid semicrystaline to liquid amorphous with increasing degree of phosphoester conjugation. Electrospun fibres from polymers with 14% phosphoester conjugation allowed attachment and survival of human dermal fibroblasts, indicating their biocompatibility. These polymers represent a new class of easily accessible biocompatible polyester-phosphoester hybrid materials as potential building blocks for tunable biomaterials

Diagnostic plasma miRNA-profiles for ovarian cancer in patients with pelvic mass

BackgroundOvarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women worldwide. Moreover, there are no reliable minimal invasive tests to secure the diagnosis of malignant pelvic masses. Cell-free, circulating microRNAs have the potential as diagnostic biomarkers in cancer. Here, we performed and validated a miRNA panel with the potential to distinguish OC from benign pelvic masses.MethodsThe profile of plasma microRNA was determined with a panel of 46 candidates in a discovery group and a validation group, each consisting of 190 pre-surgery plasma samples from age-matched patients with malignant (n = 95) and benign pelvic mass (n = 95), by real time RT-qPCR.ResultsFour up-regulated (miR-200c-3p, miR-221-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-484) and two down-regulated (miR-195-5p and miR-451a) microRNAs were discovered. From those, miR-200c-3p and miR-221-3p were further confirmed in a validation cohort. A combination of these 2 microRNAs together with CA-125 yielded an overall diagnostic accuracy of AUC = 0.96.ConclusionsWe showed consistent plasma microRNA profiles that provide independent diagnostic information of late stage OC

Intersection local times of independent fractional Brownian motions as generalized white noise functionals

In this work we present expansions of intersection local times of fractional Brownian motions in $\R^d$, for any dimension $d\geq 1$, with arbitrary Hurst coefficients in $(0,1)^d$. The expansions are in terms of Wick powers of white noises (corresponding to multiple Wiener integrals), being well-defined in the sense of generalized white noise functionals. As an application of our approach, a sufficient condition on $d$ for the existence of intersection local times in $L^2$ is derived, extending the results of D. Nualart and S. Ortiz-Latorre in "Intersection Local Time for Two Independent Fractional Brownian Motions" (J. Theoret. Probab.,20(4)(2007), 759-767) to different and more general Hurst coefficients.Comment: 28 page

Dermatophylosis in Santa Inês sheep from Distrito Federal

Relataram-se quatro casos de dermatofilose em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, no período de um ano. Microscopicamente observaram-se filamentos na forma de "trilho de bonde" e zoósporos nos quatro casos. A tentativa do isolamento do microrganismo foi realizada por meio do método de Haalstra e em apenas um caso obteve-se sucesso, observando-se colônias de aparência lisa, formato circular, cor amarelada e hemolítica em ágar sangue. O exame direto com coloração de Gram mostrou-se um método bastante eficiente na confirmação da presença do microrganismo afetando a epiderme em razão da morfologia típica do agente.Four cases of dermatophylosis were reported in Santa Inês sheep in a study period of one year. Microscopically, septate filaments and coccoid forms zoospores were observed. Attempts to isolate the microorganisms were accomplished using Haastra's method and it was successful in only one case. Dermatophilus congolensis samples have grown on blood agar, colonies where hemolytic, small, round and pigmentation vary from yellow to orange. The gram staining method was efficient to confirm the presence of the microorganism affecting the epidermis due to typical morphology of the agent

Quantum Black Holes as Holograms in AdS Braneworlds

We propose a new approach for using the AdS/CFT correspondence to study quantum black hole physics. The black holes on a brane in an AdS$_{D+1}$ braneworld that solve the classical bulk equations are interpreted as duals of {\it quantum-corrected} $D$-dimensional black holes, rather than classical ones, of a conformal field theory coupled to gravity. We check this explicitly in D=3 and D=4. In D=3 we reinterpret the existing exact solutions on a flat membrane as states of the dual 2+1 CFT. We show that states with a sufficiently large mass really are 2+1 black holes where the quantum corrections dress the classical conical singularity with a horizon and censor it from the outside. On a negatively curved membrane, we reinterpret the classical bulk solutions as quantum-corrected BTZ black holes. In D=4 we argue that the bulk solution for the brane black hole should include a radiation component in order to describe a quantum-corrected black hole in the 3+1 dual. Hawking radiation of the conformal field is then dual to classical gravitational bremsstrahlung in the AdS$_5$ bulk.Comment: 28 pages, JHEP latex, 1 .eps figure, v2: references and comments added, v3: comments and acknowledgements added to match the published pape