Mixed crude glycerin in laying hen diets: live performance and egg quality and fatty acid profile

This study evaluated the performance and the quality and fatty acid profile of eggs from laying hens fed diets containing mixed crude glycerin (MCG; 80% vegetable fat + 20% animal fat). A total of 240 39-week-old Hy-Line W36 laying hens were distributed according to a completely randomized experimental design into six treatments consisting of graded MCG dietary inclusion levels (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, and 7.5%), with five replicates of eight birds each. Feed intake linearly decreased (p<0.05) with increasing MCG inclusion levels. The percentages of myristic, palmitic, and &#945;-linolenic acids in the eggs linearly decreased as MCG dietary levels increased (p<0.05), while &#945;-linoleic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and &#969;-6/&#969;-3 ratio linearly increased. Excreta moisture linearly increased with increasing levels of MCG inclusion (p<0.05). MCG may be included in up to 7.5% in layer feeds without impairing performance or egg quality, but levels up to 5.54% reduce SFA egg content. However, the inclusion of MCG in layer diets increases &#969;-6/&#969;-3 ratio in the eggs

DIGESTIBLE VALINE REQUIREMENTS IN LOW-PROTEIN DIETS FOR BROILERS CHICKS

ABSTRACT Three experiments were carried out to evaluate the levels of digestible valine in diets with reduced crude protein on the performance, carcass yield and muscle fiber diameter of male broilers during the pre-starter (1 to 8 d of age), starter (9 to 21 d of age) and grower phases (21 to 42 d of age). A total of 1,080 chickens in the pre-starter phase, 900 in the starter phase and 864 in the grower phase were distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments, consisting of a control positive diet (C+) and diets with 2 percentage points (p.p.) reduction of crude protein level and five graded levels of digestible valine (Val), with six replicates of 30, 25 and 24 birds per experimental unit, respectively. The recommended level of TID Val in the low-protein diets for broilers in the pre-starter, starter and grower stages were 1.028; 0.905 and 0.789%, respectively. The reduction of 2 percentage points of the crude protein level in diets based on corn and soybean meal impaired (p ≤0.05) the feed conversion ratio in the starter and grower stages. Likewise, the reduced-protein diets decreased (p ≤0.05) muscle fiber diameter, but did not affect (p> 0.05) carcass and parts yields, or abdominal fat percentage at 42 days

The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children: Cross-Cultural Assessment with a New Self-Report Measure

This study describes a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses that were conducted with the 44-item Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children- 4th version (SAQ-CIV) to identify a reduced set of items that might be used to construct a new abbreviated instrument for measuring social anxiety in children and adolescents. The fourth version of the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (SAQ-CIV) was administered to 12,801 non-clinical participants (ages 9 to 15 years) from 12 Latin American countries and Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 6-factor structure of social anxiety in children, replicating a similar structure to that of adults (Caballo et al. in Behavioral Psychology/Psicología Conductual, 18(1), 5–34, 2010; Caballo et al. in Behavior Therapy, 43(2), 313–328, 2012): 1) Interactions with the opposite sex, 2) Criticism and embarrassment, 3) Speaking in public/Talking to teachers, 4) Assertive expression of annoyance and disgust, 5) Performing in public, and 6) Interactions with strangers. Each of the factors contains 4 items, yielding an abbreviated 24-item instrument, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (SAQ-C). The present results suggest this is a reliable, valid, and culturally sensitive instrument to assess social anxiety in youth