The effect of serine protease on broiler growth and carcass quality

DOI: 10.15414/afz.2014.17.03.87–89Received 22. May 2014 ǀ Accepted 9. June 2014 ǀ Available online 27. August 2014The experiment was performed to compare the influence of commercial serine protease in broiler grower diets with standard crude protein (CP) and lower CP level on growth parameters and carcass quality. One thousand three hundred twenty 1-d-old Ross 308 broiler chicks of both sexes were randomly allocated into 4 dietary treatments each with three replicates (4x3x110). Diets with two levels of CP (21.1 and 20.4%) with and without protease were used. At the end of the experiment 36 birds from each treatment were randomly chosen for carcass quality measurement. Results of the experiment showed that supplement of serine protease to the diets did not have (P>0.05) significant effect on growth performance, but in lower CP diets improved both final body weight (1837.8 g vs. 1854.9 g) and FCR (1800.7 g/kg vs. 1785.2 g/kg). The supplement of protease to the diet with lower CP had positive significant effect (P<0.05) on carcass yield (71.9 vs. 73.0%). Serine protease supplementation had positive but not significant effect mainly on live weight and FCR in the diets with lower CP level.Keywords: crude protein, chicken, carcass yield

Variation in honey bee gut microbial diversity affected by ontogenetic stage, age and geographic location

Social honey bees, Apis mellifera, host a set of distinct microbiota, which is similar across the continents and various honey bee species. Some of these bacteria, such as lactobacilli, have been linked to immunity and defence against pathogens. Pathogen defence is crucial, particularly in larval stages, as many pathogens affect the brood. However, information on larval microbiota is conflicting. Seven developmental stages and drones were sampled from 3 colonies at each of the 4 geographic locations of A. mellifera carnica, and the samples were maintained separately for analysis. We analysed the variation and abundance of important bacterial groups and taxa in the collected bees. Major bacterial groups were evaluated over the entire life of honey bee individuals, where digestive tracts of same aged bees were sampled in the course of time. The results showed that the microbial tract of 6-day-old 5th instar larvae were nearly equally rich in total microbial counts per total digestive tract weight as foraging bees, showing a high percentage of various lactobacilli (Firmicutes) and Gilliamella apicola (Gammaproteobacteria 1). However, during pupation, microbial counts were significantly reduced but recovered quickly by 6 days post-emergence. Between emergence and day 6, imago reached the highest counts of Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria, which then gradually declined with bee age. Redundancy analysis conducted using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis identified bacterial species that were characteristic of each developmental stage. The results suggest that 3-day 4th instar larvae contain low microbial counts that increase 2-fold by day 6 and then decrease during pupation. Microbial succession of the imago begins soon after emergence. We found that bacterial counts do not show only yearly cycles within a colony, but vary on the individual level. Sampling and pooling adult bees or 6th day larvae may lead to high errors and variability, as both of these stages may be undergoing dynamic succession

Influence of human milk oligosaccharides on adherence of bifidobacteria and clostridia to cell lines

Adhesion of gut bacteria to the intestinal epithelium is the first step in their colonization of the neonatal immature gut. Bacterial colonization of the infant gut is influenced by several factors, of which the most important are the mode of delivery and breast-feeding. Breast-fed infants ingest several grams of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) per day, which can become receptor decoys for intestinal bacteria. The most abundant intestinal bacteria in vaginally delivered infants are bifidobacteria, whereas infants born by cesarean section are colonized by clostridia. The influence of HMOs on the adhesion of five strains of intestinal bacteria (three bifidobacterial strains and two clostridial strains) to mucus-secreting and non-mucus-secreting human epithelial cells was investigated. Bifidobacterium bifidum 1 and Bifidobacterium longum displayed almost the same level of adhesion in the presence and absence of HMOs. By contrast, adhesion of Clostridium butyricum 1 and 2 decreased from 14.41% to 6.72% and from 41.54% to 30.91%, respectively, in the presence of HMOs. The results of this study indicate that HMOs affect bacterial adhesion and are an important factor influencing bacterial colonization of the gut. Adhesion of the tested bacteria correlates with their ability to autoaggregate

Storytelling Architecture

POLIS University publishes the “Forum A+P” – Interdisciplinary Journal of Architecture and Built Sciences”, the only scientific and cultural magazine in the Albanian –speaking countries for the fields of architecture and territory planning. This magazine is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Academic Degrees Evaluation Committee and has an ISSN international registration code in France. The magazine is published in Albanian and English language and contains a package of scientific, informative articles and analysis

Dietary purines in vegetarian meat analogues

BACKGROUND: The meat alternatives market offers a wide range of products resembling meat in taste, flavour or texture but based on vegetable protein sources. These high protein–low purine foods may find application in a low purine or purine-free diet, which is sometimes suggested for subjects with increased serum urate levels, i.e. hyperuricaemia. RESULTS: We determined purine content (uric acid, adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, xanthine) in 39 commercially available meat substitutes and evaluated them in relation to their protein content. Some of the products contained a comparable sum of adenine and hypoxanthine per protein as meat. Analysis of variance showed an influence of protein source used. Mycoprotein-based products had significantly higher contents (2264 mg kg−1) of adenine and hypoxanthine per kg of 100% protein than soybean-based products (1648 mg kg−1) or mixtures consisting of soybean protein and wheat protein (1239 mg kg−1). CONCLUSION: Protein-rich vegetable-based meat substitutes might be generally accepted as meat alternatives for individuals on special diets. The type of protein used to manufacture these products determines the total content of purines, which is relatively higher in the case of mycoprotein or soybean protein, while appearing lower in wheat protein and egg white-based products. These are therefore more suitable for dietary considerations in a low-purine diet for hyperuricaemic subjects

In Vitro. antimicrobial activity of some Libyan medicinal plant extracts

In vitro. antimicrobial activity of 32 extracts (ethanol, hexane, chloroform, and methanol) from eight different Libyan medicinal plants, namely Artemisia herba-alba. Asso (Compositae), Globularia alypum. L. (Globulariaceae), Helichrysum stoechas., DC. (Compositae), Peganum harmala. L. (Zygophyllaceae), Polygonum equisetiforme. Sibth. &amp; Sm. (Polygonaceae), Pulicaria crispa. (Forssk.) Oliv. (Compositae), Rosmarinus officinalis. L. (Labiatae), and Thymus capitatus. Hoffmanns &amp; Link. (Labiatae), was determined against seven bacteria and one yeast strain using the broth microdilution method. The results show that all plants tested possessed antimicrobial activity against at least one of the examined strains at a concentration ≤8 mg/ml. The extracts from H. stoechas., P. equisetiforme., P. crispa., R. officinalis., and T. capitatus. exhibited strongest activity against Gram-positive bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 0.5 to 8 mg/ml. Only a few extracts showed inhibitory activity against Gram-negative strains in this test, whereas those of the H. stoechas. and P. harmala. were among the strongest ones (MICs range 4–8 mg/ml). High anticandidal activity was observed for P. harmala., P. crispa., and T. capitatus., with MICs ranging from 0.25 to 1 mg/ml

In vitro growth-inhibitory effect of plant-derived extracts and compounds against Paenibacillus larvae and their acute oral toxicity to adult honey bees

In total, 26 natural compounds of various chemical classes (flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids) and 19 crude extracts from selected plants were tested in vitro for antibacterial activity against three strains of P. larvae, the causal agent of American Foulbrood Disease of honey bees (AFB) by the broth microdilution method. Among the individual substances, sanguinarine (MIC 4 μg/ml), followed by thymoquinone, capsaicin, trans-2-hexenal and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (MIC 4–32 μg/ml) possessed the strongest antibacterial effect. In case of extracts, common hop (Humulus lupulus L.) and myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) methanolic-dichloromethane extracts exhibited the highest growth-inhibitory effect with MICs ranging from 2 to 8 μg/ml. Acute oral toxicity of the most active natural products was determined on adult honey bees, showing them as non-toxic at concentrations as high as 100 μg peer bee. Our study leads to identification of highly potent natural products effective against AFB in vitro with very low MICs compared to those reported in literature, low toxicity to adult honey bees and commercial availability suggesting them as perspective, low cost and consumer-acceptable agents for control of AFB

Xanthine oxidase inhibitory properties of Czech medicinal plants

Aim of the study: To investigate in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory properties of plants traditionally used in Czech Republic and Central-East Europe region for gout, arthritis or rheumatism treatment. Materials and methods: Methylene chloride–methanolic and two ethanolic extracts of 27 plant species were screened for in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity using a spectrophotometric method. Results: Around 50% of the species exhibited some degree of xanthine oxidase inhibitory properties at 200 μg/mL, showing a moderate correlation (r = 0.59) with total phenol content. The most active were methylene chloride–methanolic extracts of Populus nigra and Betula pendula, with IC50 of 8.3 and 25.9 μg/mL, respectively, followed by 80% ethanolic extract of Caryophyllus aromaticus and Hypericum perforatum, both under 50 μg/mL. Conclusions: Populus nigra and Betula pendula were identified as species with the highest xanthine oxidase inhibitory potential in our study. This correlates with the ethnobotanical data on their use in Central European folklore and provides the basis for further investigation on these plants

In vitro immunomodulatory activity, cytotoxicity and chemistry of some central European polypores

Context: Some mushrooms of the order Polyporales are known for their immunomodulatory actions. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the in vitro phagocytic and cytotoxic effects of extracts from polyporales native to Central Europe. Materials and methods: The effects of ethanol extracts from 27 polypore species on opsonized zymosan-induced phagocytosis of isolated human neutrophils were tested by a chemiluminescence method. Colon epithelial cell lines, Caco-2 and HT-29, were used for cytotoxicity assays, and extracts were chemically characterized in terms of total phenolic and β-glucan content. Results: We observed phagocytosis or respiratory burst enhancing activity in 17 extracts, of which five species, namely Aurantiporus fissilis (Berk. &#38; M.A. Curtis) H. Jahn ex Ryvarden, Trametes gibbosa (Pers.) Fr., Piptoporus betulinus (Bull.) P. Karst, Neolentinus lepideus (Fr.) Redhead &#38; Ginns, Polyporus squamosus (Huds.) Fr., significantly increased phagocytosis in granulocytes by 205, 181, 158, 155 and 141%, respectively. The β-glucan content of the three most potent extracts was 58, 42 and 74 mg/g, respectively, and the polyphenol content was 155.6, 133.5 and 155.2 μmol of gallic acid equivalent/g, respectively. Some extracts showed cytotoxic activity, with higher cytotoxicity in Caco-2 than in HT-29 cells. Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (Jacq.) P. Karst. extract was cytotoxic to both cell lines, with IC50 values of 81 and 31 μg/mL, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: The most promising extracts were from N. lepideus and Polyporus squamosus, which are edible species and may be considered safe. Our findings support their use as culinary preparations or food supplements for various immunological gut disorders

Cone-shaped HIV-1 capsids are transported through intact nuclear pores

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) remains a major health threat. Viral capsid uncoating and nuclear import of the viral genome are critical for productive infection. The size of the HIV-1 capsid is generally believed to exceed the diameter of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), indicating that capsid uncoating has to occur prior to nuclear import. Here, we combined correlative light and electron microscopy with subtomogram averaging to capture the structural status of reverse transcription-competent HIV-1 complexes in infected T cells. We demonstrated that the diameter of the NPC in cellulo is sufficient for the import of apparently intact, cone-shaped capsids. Subsequent to nuclear import, we detected disrupted and empty capsid fragments, indicating that uncoating of the replication complex occurs by breaking the capsid open, and not by disassembly into individual subunits. Our data directly visualize a key step in HIV-1 replication and enhance our mechanistic understanding of the viral life cycle.ISSN:0092-8674ISSN:1097-417