Plant Extracts, Energy, and Immune Modulation in Broilers

This chapter presents information obtained from experiments involving male Ross 308 broiler chickens on the effects of a standardised combination of plant extracts (PE) including carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsicum oleoresin, on bird performance, hepatic antioxidant concentration and immunomodulation. Birds were reared under industry-recognised environments and were fed one of four diets. There were two control diets based on either wheat or maize, formulated to be iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenic. The other two diets were the control diets supplemented with 100 g per tonne of PE, respectively. Feeding PE improved dietary feed efficiency, dietary net energy and hepatic antioxidant contents of the birds, but did not change dietary metabolisable energy (ME). Overall, feeding PE reduced the mRNA transcript levels of three cytokines (IL-12B, IFN-G, and IL-6) and the marker CD 40 LG in caecal tonsils. Dietary PE may maximise the nutritional value of feed through improving gut health by reducing intestinal inflammation. Their mode of action is associated with improved dietary energy availability, immune status and hepatic antioxidant contents of the birds. However, studies that have focused solely on the effect of PE on ME alone may not have detected their full benefit to improve the efficiency of broiler meat production

Обменна енергия в сушени плодове от облепиха (Hippophaes rhamnoides) за пилета бройлери

The aim of the experiment was to assess the content of N-corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn) in dried Sea buckthorn berries (SB) when fed to Ross 308 broiler chickens. Two experimental diets (basal and basal + 12 g/kg dried and milled SB berries) were fed to an equal number of replicated pens (n=8; two birds in each) from 7 to 21d age, following randomisation. The basal diet was formulated to meet breeder’s recommendations. The inclusion of dried SB berries at 12 g/kg diet, did not significantly (P>0.05) affect broiler chicken growth performance, dietary nutrient availability or AMEn. Using the substitution method, it was found that the AMEn of the dried SB berries was 14.29 MJ/ kg DM. Although relatively high in AMEn, the absence of starch in SB berries, suggests SB berries are not a suitable substitute for cereals in poultry diets, but further research on their health benefits as a minor supplement for poultry diets is warranted.Целта на експеримента е да се оцени съдържанието на N-коригирана видима обменна енергия (AMEn) в сушени плодове от облепиха (SB), при хранене на пилета бройлери Ross 308. Две експериментални диети (базална и базална + 12 g/kg сушени и смлени SB плодове) бяха приложени с равен брой повторения (n=8; по две птици във всяка клетка) от 7 до 21-годишна възраст, след рандомизиране. Основната диета е формулирана следвайки стандартните изисквания. Включването на сушени плодове SB при 12 g/kg диета не повлия значително (P>0,05) върху ефективността на растежа на бройлерите, смилаемостта на хранителни вещества и AMEn. Използвайки метода на заместване, беше установено, че AMEn на изсушените SB плодове е 14,29 MJ/kg DM. Макар и относително високо съдържание на AMEn, отсъствието на скорбяла в плодовете на SB, предполага, че плодовете на SB не са подходящ заместител на зърнените храни в диетите за домашни птици, но са оправдани по-нататъшни изследвания за техните ползи за здравето като незначителна добавка за диети за домашни птици

Changing nurses’ views of the therapeutic environment: randomised controlled trial

Background Although patients value evidence-based therapeutic activities, little is known about nurses’ perceptions. Aims To investigate whether implementing an activities training programme would positively alter staff perceptions of the ward or be detrimental through the increased workload (trial registration: ISRCTN 06545047). Method We conducted a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial involving 16 wards with psychology-led nurse training as the intervention. The main outcome was a staff self-report measure of perceptions of the ward (VOTE) and secondary outcomes measuring potential deterioration were the Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Data were analysed using mixed-effects regression models, with repeated assessments from staff over time. Results There were 1075 valid outcome measurements from 539 nursing staff. VOTE scores did not change over time (standardised effect size 0.04, 95% CI –0.09 to 0.18, P = 0.54), neither did IWS or MBI scores (IWS, standardised effect size 0.02, 95% CI –0.11 to 0.16, P = 0.74; MBI standardised effect size –0.09, 95% CI –0.24 to 0.06, P = 0.24). There was a mean increase of 1.5 activities per ward (95% CI –0.4 to 3.4, P = 0.12) and on average 6.3 more patients attended groups (95% CI –4.1 to 16.6, P = 0.23) following training. Staff feedback on training was positive. Conclusions Our training programme did not change nurses’ perceptions of the ward, job satisfaction or burnout. During the study period many service changes occurred, most having a negative impact through increased pressure on staffing, patient mix and management so it is perhaps unsurprising that we found no benefits or reduction in staff skill

Investigating brain connectivity heritability in a twin study using diffusion imaging data

Heritability of brain anatomical connectivity has been studied with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) mainly by modeling each voxel's diffusion pattern as a tensor (e.g., to compute fractional anisotropy), but this method cannot accurately represent the many crossing connections present in the brain. We hypothesized that different brain networks (i.e., their component fibers) might have different heritability and we investigated brain connectivity using High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) in a cohort of twins comprising 328 subjects that included 70 pairs of monozygotic and 91 pairs of dizygotic twins. Water diffusion was modeled in each voxel with a Fiber Orientation Distribution (FOD) function to study heritability for multiple fiber orientations in each voxel. Precision was estimated in a test-retest experiment on a sub-cohort of 39 subjects. This was taken into account when computing heritability of FOD peaks using an ACE model on the monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Our results confirmed the overall heritability of the major white matter tracts but also identified differences in heritability between connectivity networks. Inter-hemispheric connections tended to be more heritable than intra-hemispheric and cortico-spinal connections. The highly heritable tracts were found to connect particular cortical regions, such as medial frontal cortices, postcentral, paracentral gyri, and the right hippocampus

Multi-Modal Exercise Training and Protein-Pacing Enhances Physical Performance Adaptations Independent of Growth Hormone and BDNF but May Be Dependent on IGF-1 in Exercise-Trained Men

OBJECTIVE: Protein-pacing (P; 5-6meals/day @ 2.0g/kgBW/day) and multi-mode exercise (RISE; resistance, interval, stretching, endurance) training (PRISE) improves muscular endurance, strength, power and arterial health in exercise-trained women. The current study extends these findings by examining PRISE on fitness, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) response, cardiometabolic health, and body composition in exercise-trained men. DESIGN: Twenty active males (\u3e4daysexercise/week) completed either: PRISE (n=11) or RISE (5-6meals/day @ 1.0g/kgBW/day; n=9) for 12weeks. Muscular strength (1-repetition maximum bench and leg press, 1-RM BP, and 1-RM LP), endurance (sit-ups, SU; push-ups, PU), power (squat jump, SJ, and bench throw, BT), flexibility (sit-and-reach, SR), aerobic performance (5km cycling time-trial, TT), GH, IGF-1, BDNF, augmentation index, (AIx), and body composition, were assessed at weeks 0 (pre) and 13 (post). RESULTS:At baseline, no differences existed between groups except for GH (RISE, 230±13 vs. PRISE, 382±59pg/ml, p CONCLUSIONS: Exercise-trained men consuming a P diet combined with multi-component exercise training (PRISE) enhance muscular power, strength, aerobic performance, and flexibility which are not likely related to GH or BDNF but possibly to IGF-1 response

Does public support help democracy survive?

It is widely believed that democracy requires public support to survive. The empirical evidence for this hypothesis is weak, however, with existing tests resting on small cross‐sectional samples and producing contradictory results. The underlying problem is that survey measures of support for democracy are fragmented across time, space, and different survey questions. In response, this article uses a Bayesian latent variable model to estimate a smooth country‐year panel of democratic support for 135 countries and up to 29 years. The article then demonstrates a positive effect of support on subsequent democratic change, while adjusting for the possible confounding effects of prior levels of democracy and unobservable time‐invariant factors. Support is, moreover, more robustly linked with the endurance of democracy than its emergence in the first place. As Lipset (1959) and Easton (1965) hypothesized over 50 years ago, public support does indeed help democracy survive

Narrow optical linewidths in erbium implanted in TiO2_2

Atomic and atom-like defects in the solid-state are widely explored for quantum computers, networks and sensors. Rare earth ions are an attractive class of atomic defects that feature narrow spin and optical transitions that are isolated from the host crystal, allowing incorporation into a wide range of materials. However, the realization of long electronic spin coherence times is hampered by magnetic noise from abundant nuclear spins in the most widely studied host crystals. Here, we demonstrate that Er$^{3+}$ ions can be introduced via ion implantation into TiO$_2$, a host crystal that has not been studied extensively for rare earth ions and has a low natural abundance of nuclear spins. We observe efficient incorporation of the implanted Er$^{3+}$ into the Ti$^{4+}$ site (40% yield), and measure narrow inhomogeneous spin and optical linewidths (20 and 460 MHz, respectively) that are comparable to bulk-doped crystalline hosts for Er$^{3+}$. This work demonstrates that ion implantation is a viable path to studying rare earth ions in new hosts, and is a significant step towards realizing individually addressed rare earth ions with long spin coherence times for quantum technologies

Increasing feasibility and utility of 18F-FDOPA PET for the management of glioma

Introduction: Despite radical treatment therapies, glioma continues to carry with it a uniformly poor prognosis. Patients diagnosed with WHO Grade IV glioma (glioblastomas; GBM) generally succumb within two years, even those with WHO Grade III anaplastic gliomas and WHO Grade II gliomas carry prognoses of 2-5 and 2 years, respectively. PET imaging with F-18-FDOPA allows in vivo assessment of the metabolism of glioma relative to surrounding tissues. The high sensitivity of F-18-DOPA imaging grants utility for a number of clinical applications

Issues Related to the Frequency of Exploratory Analyses by Evidence Review Groups in the NICE Single Technology Appraisal Process

BACKGROUND: Evidence Review Groups (ERGs) critically appraise company submissions as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Single Technology Appraisal (STA) process. As part of their critique of the evidence submitted by companies, the ERGs undertake exploratory analyses to explore uncertainties in the company's model. The aim of this study was to explore pre-defined factors that might influence or predict the extent of ERG exploratory analyses. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore predefined factors that might influence or predict the extent of ERG exploratory analyses. METHODS: We undertook content analysis of over 400 documents, including ERG reports and related documentation for the 100 most recent STAs (2009-2014) for which guidance has been published. Relevant data were extracted from the documents and narrative synthesis was used to summarise the extracted data. All data were extracted and checked by two researchers. RESULTS: Forty different companies submitted documents as part of the NICE STA process. The most common disease area covered by the STAs was cancer (44%), and most ERG reports (n = 93) contained at least one exploratory analysis. The incidence and frequency of ERG exploratory analyses does not appear to be related to any developments in the appraisal process, the disease area covered by the STA, or the company's base-case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). However, there does appear to be a pattern in the mean number of analyses conducted by particular ERGs, but the reasons for this are unclear and potentially complex. CONCLUSIONS: No clear patterns were identified regarding the presence or frequency of exploratory analyses, apart from the mean number conducted by individual ERGs. More research is needed to understand this relationship