Performance and economic consideration of broiler chickens fed enzyme supplemented cassava fibre meal

The search for alternative energy source to substitute for the expensive conventional energy feed resources in broiler chicken diet is the driving force of this study. Thus, the study assessed the performance and economics of the production of broiler chickens fed enzyme supplemented cassava fibre meal (CFM) in a 56-day feeding trial. A batch of three hundred and sixty (360) day-old Arbor acre broiler-chicks was allotted to twelve (12) diets replicated five (5) times of six (6) birds in a complete randomization. Cassava fibre was sun dried for 5 days with constant turning to prevent fermentation, reduce the moisture content and possibly reduce the cyanide content. Proximate composition, phytochemical components and cyanide contents were determined using appropriate standard methods. Cassava fibre meal was substituted for maize at 0, 20, 40, and 60% levels and Roxazyme® G2 supplementation was at 0, 100 and 200 mg/kg. Data collected on feed intake and weight gain were analysed using the General Linear Model (GLM), and differences in means where observed were separated using Duncan option of the SPSS 2006 version 15.0. The Economics of broiler chicken production was determined using economic tools such as gross margin and economic efficiency analyses. Results showed that CFM contained appreciable levels of nutrients that could promote broiler growth when substituted at optimum level as an energy source in broiler chicken diet. Substitution of CFM at 40 and 60% levels for maize led to a decrease (p<0.05) in weight gain and feed conversion of broiler chickens. Feed intake and weight gain were not influenced by dietary substitution of CFM for maize in the broiler starter and broiler finisher stages of growth. The effect of enzyme supplementation was not significant in the birds’ physiological growth at both starter and finisher stages. The effect of interaction was not significant (p>0.05) indicating that birds’ performance were not dependent on the two factors under investigation. Economics of broiler chicken production revealed that total cost was lower in birds fed CFM with or without enzyme supplementation compared with those fed the maizebased diets. Net revenue, economic efficiency and profitability ratio analysis showed better economic viability and profitability in birds fed CFM with or without enzyme supplementation compared with those fed maize-based diets

Mitochondria-targeted Probes for Imaging Protein Sulfenylation

Abstract Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential regulators of cellular signaling, metabolism and epigenetics underlying the pathophysiology of numerous diseases. Despite the critical function of redox regulation in mitochondria, currently there are limited methods available to monitor protein oxidation in this key subcellular organelle. Here, we describe compounds for imaging sulfenylated proteins in mitochondria: DCP-NEt2-Coumarin (DCP-NEt2C) and rhodamine-based DCP-Rho1. Side-by-side comparison studies are presented on the reactivity of DCP-NEt2C and DCP-Rho1 with a model protein sulfenic acid (AhpC-SOH) and mitochondrial localization to identify optimized experimental conditions for labeling and visualization of protein sulfenylation that would be independent of mitochondria membrane potential and would not impact mitochondrial function. These probes are applied to image mitochondrial protein sulfenylation under conditions of serum starvation and in a cell culture model of lung cancer exposed to ionizing radiation and silver nanoparticles, agents serving dual functions as environmental stressors and cancer therapeutics