Carcass characteristics and serum metabolites of finishing broiler chickens fed 8% crude fibre diets at three energy levels with or without enzyme

This study evaluated the carcass characteristics and serum metabolites of broiler finishers fed 8% CF diets with or without Roxazyme®G2G inclusion at three energy levels maintained at constant, calorie: protein ratio, for 56 days. One hundred and forty-four unsexed Obamarshal day-old broiler chickens were allotted to six dietary treatments at 24 birds per treatment of three replicates. The six treatments diet were produced from three basal diets for each phase at caloric concentrations of 2600, 2800 and 3000 ME (kcal/kg) to which 0 and 200 mg of Roxazyme®G2G were added per kg diet. Each replicate group was provided feed and water ad libitum in the deep litter and battery cage cells during the starter and finisher phases each of 28-day period respectively. Carcass parameters, gut length, organ weights and serum metabolites were measured according to established standard methods. Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance in accordance with 2x3 factorial arrangement and means separated by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at P < 0.05. Results showed that carcass yield of the birds fed 8% CF diet at 2600 ME (kcal/kg) diet with enzyme was comparable to those on 2800 and 3000 ME (kcal/kg) diets with or without enzyme. Gizzard fat, abdominal fat, serum glucose and cholesterol were also minimized in birds fed 2600 ME diet in addition to enzyme. Serum total protein, albumin, urea and creatinine were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by treatment diets. It was therefore, concluded that higher dietary ME levels with or without enzyme increased carcass fat, blood glucose and cholesterol levels which must be considered in broiler chicken production for the health benefit of broiler consumers. Thus, it is recommended to produce broiler chickens on 8% CF diet at 2600 ME (kcal/kg) diet with the supplemental Roxazyme®G2G in order to reduce carcass fat, blood cholesterol and glucose without compromising carcass yield

Connectome Specific Harmonic Wave Analysis of Disordered Brain States

Background: Connectome Harmonics analysis is a novel neuroimaging framework that defines brain states as neural spatial patterns associated with different frequencies emerging within a brain. Frequencies corresponding to specific brain states, or connectome-specific harmonic waves (CSHWs), are estimated to be the building blocks of brain activity, linking cortical oscillations, functional connectivity, and structural connectivity. Using this framework, studies will examine CSHWs of patients to catalog and analyze the spatiotemporal neural dynamics of patients with disordered brain states. Methods: By using MRI (or fMRI) and DTI data extracted from MRI scans of patients, cortical surface anatomy and the underlying neural tracts can be tracked respectively and combined to generate a patient’s connectome. Once the connectome is generated, it is converted into its graphical form where Eigen decompositions of the Laplacian operator are graphed. Application of this function to the connectome’s graph results in a spectrum of harmonic brain modes corresponding to a patient’s brain’s natural resonant frequencies (eigenvalues). Results: The CSHW framework has already been used to examine brains in a variety of ways. Previous research findings show that neocortical organization and development may be shaped by the harmonic modes corresponding to the brain’s functional connectivity, Patients given classical psychedelics (LSD, Psilocybin, and DMT) display an expanded repertoire of brain states, and neuroplasticity may be underpinned by neurons shifting into metastable states that are modulated according to a brain’s CSHWs. Discussion: Common neuroimaging methods like CT scans and PET scans are important in extracting information about regional activation during tasks but fail to contextualize or explain the interconnectedness of brain activity. CSHW analysis utilizes multiple imaging techniques and mathematical functions to derive an alphabet of brain states that can be used to describe our subjective states, from mental disorders to flow states and everyday emotions. Clinical trials here at the UTRGV institute of neuroscience will apply CSHW analysis to patients suffering from bipolar disorder, depression, and alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This research will not only allow us to examine and catalog the spatiotemporal dynamics of these disorders but potentially map out treatment plans tailored to each patient’s connectome harmonics

Foreign Direct Investment and Tax Revenue Performance in Nigeria (1987-2016): Terrorism-Effect

The study argued that terrorism exhibited negative effect on the interaction between   foreign direct investment (FDI) and tax revenue performance in Nigeria from 1987-2016. An econometric model was formulated and hierarchical regression analysis conducted. Jarque-Berra test indicated that the series are normally distributed meaning that the data were robust, appropriate and met goodness of fit standard. The results revealed that the interaction between FDI and Tax revenue performance (-75213.95 and probability 0.000) was negatively moderated by Terrorism with the Adjusted R2 0.9098 and F-stat 95.144. Recommendation was anchored on nationwide security improvement to increase tax returns, tax payment, and foreign investors’ confidence on investment in Nigeria

Assessment of yeast supplementation on the onset of laying and subsequent performance of Shika brown layers fed high levels of rice bran during growing period

The study assessed the effect of feeding grower pullets with high levels of rice bran supplemented with or without yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on sexual maturity and subsequent laying performance. The treatment groups were: treatment 1, 0% rice bran without yeast, treatment 2, 45% rice bran without yeast, treatment 3, 50% rice bran without yeast treatment 4, 45% rice bran supplemented with yeast and treatment 5, 50% rice bran supplemented with yeast. These diets were fed from the 9th to 20th week of age. Thereafter, a common layer diet was fed to all treatment groups from 20th - 40th week. Results of the study indicated that feeding rice bran at the growing phase did not affect age at point of lay. Indeed the birds fed rice bran diets without yeast reached point of lay earlier than the control group. Similarly, birds on high rice bran + yeast reached peak production earlier than the control group. However, hen-day egg production was higher for the birds fed control diet. It could be concluded therefore that feeding diets containing up to 50% rice bran with or without yeast supplementation during the growing phase did not adversely affect the onset of laying and subsequent performance of Shika brown pullets.Keywords: Yeast, rice bran, pullets, eg

Performance characteristics and egg quality of Commercial Layers Fed Processed Mango Seed Kernel meal at varying inclusion levels

The effect of dietary inclusion of mango seed kernel meal (MSKM) was investigated in commercial layers using 390 twelve weeks growing pullets. The mango seed kernel was cut opened sliced and divided into four equal parts. First part was soaked in cold water for 24 hours then drained and sundried. Second part was soaked in lye for 24 hours drained and sundried while the third part was parboiled for 20 minutes then sundried and the last part was sundried only. These were then used to formulate twelve experimental diets and one control diet. Birds were fed for a period of 8 and 12 weeks during growing and laying phase respectively. Growth performance, egg production and quality parameter were monitored. A significant (P<0.05) difference was recorded in the final weight, weekly weight gain and feed conversion ratio with 15% parboiled having the overall best performance. Egg production performance took a different dimension, birds placed on 10% lye treated MSKM based diet had the best results in feed intake per 30 eggs and cost of feed per tray of egg. Laying birds placed on 20% sundried MSKM based diet was least performed. All parboiled MSKM based diets proved to be better than the control. Haugh unit and yolk index were influenced significantly (P<0.05) by the utilization of differently processed MSKM. Birds fed 15% lye and 15% cold water treated MSKM based diet produced egg with best and least haugh unit respectively

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AD 20 and Bacillus altitudinis AD 14 Isolated from a Dye Pond Decolorize Synthetic Textile Reactive Dyes

A screen of textile effluents, receiving waterbodies, and waste sites near a textile factory was undertaken to isolate new bacteria strains capable of dye degradation. Out of the 45 isolates, two dye decolorizers, Bacillus altitudinis AD14 and B. amyloliquefaciens AD20, obtained from the sediment samples were identified by cultivation and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Decolorization testing was performed under static aerobic conditions in the laboratory. The two Bacillus species showed dye decolorization capabilities on media containing each of these four commercial textile azo dyes- Reactive Blue 4 Red (RBFR), Cibacron Brilliant Orange 4 Red (COFR), Cibacron Brilliant Yellow 6 Percent Green (CYPGS), and Turquoise Cibacron Green (TCG). At the end of a ten-day incubation period, B. amyloliquefaciens AD20 was more efficient in dye reduction than B. altitudinis AD14 on CYPGS and COFR at a magnitude of four-fold and two-fold, respectively, while B. altitudinis AD14 only outperformed it in the TCG dye media. The isolates performed best on medium containing RBFR; the principal dye used by the textile factory. Genome annotation revealed the absence of plasmids and the presence of putative genes associated with dye decolorization, such as laccase and azoreductases

Decreased levels of serum glutathione peroxidase 3 are associated with papillary serous ovarian cancer and disease progression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3) is a selenocysteine-containing antioxidant enzyme that reacts with hydrogen peroxide and soluble fatty acid hydroperoxides, thereby helping to maintain redox balance within cells. Serum levels of GPX3 have been found to be reduced in various cancers including prostrate, thyroid, colorectal, breast and gastric cancers. Intriguingly, GPX3 has been reported to be upregulated in clear cell ovarian cancer tissues and thus may have implications in chemotherapeutic resistance. Since clear cell and serous subtypes of ovarian cancer represent two distinct disease entities, the aim of this study was to determine GPX3 levels in serous ovarian cancer patients and establish its potential as a biomarker for detection and/or surveillance of papillary serous ovarian cancer, the most frequent form of ovarian tumors in women.</p> <p>Patients and Methods</p> <p>Serum was obtained from 66 patients (median age: 62 years, range: 22-89) prior to surgery and 65 controls with a comparable age-range (median age: 53 years, range: 25-83). ELISA was used to determine the levels of serum GPX3. The Mann Whitney <it>U </it>test was performed to determine statistical significance between the levels of serum GPX3 in patients and controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum levels of GPX3 were found to be significantly lower in patients than controls (p = 1 × 10^-2). Furthermore, this was found to be dependent on the stage of disease. While levels in early stage (I/II) patients showed no significant difference when compared to controls, there was a significant reduction in late stage (III/IV, p = 9 × 10^-4) and recurrent (p = 1 × 10^-2) patients. There was a statistically significant reduction in levels of GPX3 between early and late stage (p = 5 × 10^-4) as well as early and recurrent (p = 1 × 10^-2) patients. Comparison of women and controls stratified to include only women at or above 50 years of age shows that the same trends were maintained and the differences became more statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum GPX3 levels are decreased in women with papillary serous ovarian cancer in a stage-dependent manner and also decreased in women with disease recurrence. Whether this decrease represents a general feature in response to the disease or a link to the progression of the cancer is unknown. Understanding this relationship may have clinical and therapeutic consequences for women with papillary serous adenocarcinoma.</p

Immunoinformatics: Predicting Peptide–MHC Binding

Immunoinformatics is a discipline that applies methods of computer science to study and model the immune system. A fundamental question addressed by immunoinformatics is how to understand the rules of antigen presentation by MHC molecules to T cells, a process that is central to adaptive immune responses to infections and cancer. In the modern era of personalized medicine, the ability to model and predict which antigens can be presented by MHC is key to manipulating the immune system and designing strategies for therapeutic intervention. Since the MHC is both polygenic and extremely polymorphic, each individual possesses a personalized set of MHC molecules with different peptide-binding specificities, and collectively they present a unique individualized peptide imprint of the ongoing protein metabolism. Mapping all MHC allotypes is an enormous undertaking that cannot be achieved without a strong bioinformatics component. Computational tools for the prediction of peptide?MHC binding have thus become essential in most pipelines for T cell epitope discovery and an inescapable component of vaccine and cancer research. Here, we describe the development of several such tools, from pioneering efforts to the current state-of-the-art methods, that have allowed for accurate predictions of peptide binding of all MHC molecules, even including those that have not yet been characterized experimentally.Fil: Nielsen, Morten. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; Argentina. Technical University of Denmark; DinamarcaFil: Andreatta, Massimo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Peters, Bjoern. La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology; Estados UnidosFil: Buus, Søren. Universidad de Copenhagen; Dinamarc

Study protocol for THINK : a multinational open-label phase I study to assess the safety and clinical activity of multiple administrations of NKR-2 in patients with different metastatic tumour types

Introduction: NKR-2 are autologous T cells genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) comprising a fusion of the natural killer group 2D (NKG2D) receptor with the CD3 zeta signalling domain, which associates with the adaptor molecule DNAX-activating protein of 10 kDa (DAP10) to provide co-stimulatory signal upon ligand binding. NKG2D binds eight different ligands expressed on the cell surface of many tumour cells and which are normally absent on non-neoplastic cells. In preclinical studies, NKR-2 demonstrated long-term antitumour activity towards a breadth of tumour indications, with maximum efficacy observed after multiple NKR-2 administrations. Importantly, NKR-2 targeted tumour cells and tumour neovasculature and the local tumour immunosuppressive microenvironment and this mechanism of action of NKR-2 was established in the absence of preconditioning. Methods and analysis: This open-label phase I study will assess the safety and clinical activity of NKR-2 treatment administered three times, with a 2-week interval between each administration in different tumour types. The study will contain two consecutive segments: a dose escalation phase followed by an expansion phase. The dose escalation study involves two arms, one in solid tumours (five specific indications) and one in haematological tumours (two specific indications) and will include three dose levels in each arm: 3x10(8), 1x10(9) and 3x10(9) NKR-2 per injection. On the identification of the recommended dose in the first segment, based on dose-limiting toxicity occurrences, the study will expand to seven different cohorts examining the seven different tumour types separately. Clinical responses will be determined according to standard Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria for solid tumours or international working group response criteria in haematological tumours. Ethics approval and dissemination: Ethical approval has been obtained at all sites. Written informed consent will be taken from all participants. The results of this study will be disseminated through presentation at international scientific conferences and reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals