Editorial: Genetics of reproduction for livestock species

Livestock farming provides a major source of animal protein and occupation opportunities for a large proportion of the world's population, and its profitability could be effectively increased by improvement of either feed efficiency (Zamani, 2017) or reproductive performance (Abdoli et al., 2016). Therefore, genetic improvement of reproductive efficiency is an important objective for animal production industries. Reproduction is a complex biological process with low to medium heritability, which indicates significant influences of environmental and non-additive genetic effects on reproductive performance (Zamani and Abdoli, 2019). Because of the low heritability of reproduction traits, classic selection methods are generally inefficient to achieve rapid genetic progression of reproduction performance in livestock species (Abdoli et al., 2019). However, the use of genetic markers may efficiently enhance the selection response of reproduction traits (Abdoli et al., 2016). Regarding the polygenic nature of reproduction traits, the determination of genetic markers and genetic pathways involved in reproduction efficiency needs intensive molecular genetic studies and use of high-throughput technologies, including genome-wide association studies, whole-genome sequencing, and whole transcriptome analysis

Effect of Licorice Extract and Prebiotic on Laying Hen Performance and Egg Quality in the Pre and Early Laying Periods

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of licorice (Glycyrrhizaglabra) extract, Active-mos®prebiotic, and flavomycin antibiotic on performance, egg quality, and body mass status in the pre and early laying periods. A total of 180 Leghorn pullets (Hy-line W-36), were assigned into 6 treatments (5 cages/treatment, 6 pullets/cage) in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included control (feed additive-free- diet), and control supplemented by licorice extract (5 and 10 g/kg of diet; as LIEX5 and LIEX10, respectively), flavomycin antibiotic (400 and 650 mg/kg of diet; as FL400 and FL650, respectively), and Active-mos®prebiotic (1 kg/ton of diet; as ACPR). Birds were raised in a cage-layer facility. Body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were determined weekly. Body mass index was recorded before and after using the treatments. Also, the growth, egg quality, egg cholesterol, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride were tested. During weeks 18 to 19 of age, birds received control, FL650, and ACPR treatments showed greater feed intake compared to LIEX10. The body weight of birds that received FL400 diet was greater than LIEX5 and ACPR treatments at weeks 17 to 19 of age. All treatments, except for ACPR, decreased serum cholesterol compared with the control treatment (P < 0.05). No significant effect on feed conversion ratio, egg production, and body mass index was observed by treatments throughout the study (17-25 wk). Furthermore, there was no significant effect of treatments on the eggs' internal and external quality status, egg cholesterol, and serum triglyceride by treatments. However, more research is needed on the use of licorice extract and prebiotics as antibiotic alternatives and their effects on the body mass index in laying hens during pre- and early-laying periods

Digestible Arginine Requirements in Hy-Line W-36 Laying Hens: Effects on Performance, Egg Characteristics, and Plasma Parameters During 40 to 46 Weeks of Age

This study was conducted to estimate digestible arginine (Arg) requirements for performance and egg quality parameters in Hy-Line W-36 laying hens from 40 to 46 weeks of age. A total of 150 laying hens were arranged in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 5 replicates and 6 hens in each. These treatments included 0.81, 0.86, 0.91, 0.96, and 1.01 % digestible Arg. At the end of experiment, data were obtained in performance, egg quality, and quantity parameters as well as plasma levels of cholesterol, uric acid, globulin, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Results have shown that feed conversion ratio, egg production, and egg mass improved by supplementing 0.86 digestible Arg in the diet compared to other treatments (P < 0.05). Moreover, these items significantly affected by the interaction of treatments and weeks. In the last three weeks of this experiment, the use of 0.86, 0.91, 0.96, and 1.01 % digestible Arg significantly increased egg mass and egg roduction. Plasma concentrations of globulin, cholesterol, and uric acid were not affected by dietary Arg levels. However, a significant increase in plasma IGF-1 was shown by supplementation of % 0.91 Arg (P < 0.05). Based on quadratic equations, the optimum levels of digestible Arg for egg production, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, and IGF-1 were 0.917, 0.917, 0.908, and 0.970%, respectively

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Properties and Application of Polymer Modified and Sulphur Repair Mortars in Aggressive Environments

ABSTRACT One of the most aggressive environments for reinforced concrete is a marine environment such as that in the Persian Gulf region. The high cost involved in repairing of deteriorated concrete structures in this region makes it essential that the repair materials are compatible with parent concrete. This paper presents the engineering and compatibility related properties of ordinary and polymer modified repair concretes containing silica fume and styrene butadiene rubber latex under simulated Gulf condition. An optimum formulated modified sulphur concrete has also been tested to demonstrate the feasibility of its utilization. Mechanical properties and dimensional stability of repair concretes were assessed. The results show that the silica fume and the polymer modified concretes are appropriate materials for repair in the Persian Gulf region. The study of properties of sulphur concrete as a repair material in simulated condition of Persian Gulf assured its appropriate characteristic to be used in this region

Service Function Chaining Based on Grammar in Software Defined Networks

Service Function Chaining is an architecture for orchestrating network services that assign choice to the network. This architecture is essentially a policy structure that should form the proper chain of services. Managing these networks is susceptible to error due to the combination of services with dedicated configurations. Accordingly, solutions will be needed to provide an appropriate ambiance for such a situation. Therefore, before running, the chains must be fully controlled, which requires the definition of chaining rules. Among the issues raised in this architecture are: checking the accuracy of the chains, as well as reducing the number of combinations of service chains. To solve these issues, the grammar is used in this paper. In this way, based on the scenarios in the Internet Engineering Task Force, they first create them and then their grammar is obtained using Regular Expressions and Finite Automaton. Subsequently, using the Cocke–Younger–Kasami algorithm, the grammar evaluation is performed and the number of combinations of services is also shown. The results show that this grammar can be verified by checking the service chain and also significantly reducing the number of combinations of service chains