Chitinozoan biozonation and new lithostratigraphical data in the Upper Ordovician of the Fauquez and Asquempont areas (Brabant Massif, Belgium)

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Fate of thymol and its monoglucosides in the gastrointestinal tract of piglets

The monoterpene thymol has been proposed as a valuable alternative to in-feed antibiotics in animal production. However, the effectiveness of the antimicrobial is comprised by its fast absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract. In this work, two glucoconjugates, thymol a-D-glucopyranoside (T alpha G) and thymol beta-D-glucopyranoside (T beta G), were compared with free thymol for their potential to deliver higher concentrations of the active compound to the distal small intestine of supplemented piglets. Additionally, an analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of thymol and its glucoconjugates in different matrices. In stomach contents of pigs fed with 3333 mu mol kg(-1) thymol, T alpha G, or T beta G, total thymol concentrations amounted to 3048, 2357, and 1820 mu mol kg(-1 )dry matter, respectively. In glucoconjugate-fed pigs, over 30% of this concentration was present in the unconjugated form, suggesting partial hydrolysis in the stomach. No quantifiable levels of thymol or glucoconjugates were detected in the small intestine or cecum for any treatment, indicating that conjugation with one glucose unit did not sufficiently protect thymol from early absorption

Assistance in the update of the systematic literature review (SLR): 'Influence of copper on antibiotic resistance of gut microbiota on pigs (including piglets)'

A total of 901 references were examined to assess the influence of copper supplemented diets on copper and antibiotic resistance of gut microbiota in pigs (including piglets). Merely 33 references were found eligible to answer this review question. From these 33 references, eleven references were assigned as experimental field studies, ten references were experimental environmentally controlled studies, and twelve references were assigned as cross-sectional studies. The references assigned as experimental field studies provided the most suitable information for the review question. The other studies gave useful information concerning the mechanism of resistance or prevalence of resistant isolates. The overall methodological quality of the field studies was rather poor. Only three of the eleven field studies had a methodological quality that was considered acceptable for the present review question. Therefore, the restricted number of studies available from the SLR, and the limitations in terms of results and methodological quality do not allow excluding the possibility of a positive correlation between copper supplementation above requirements and development of antibiotic resistance

Een Tjongervindplaats te Meer

Hollevoet, Yan

Chitinozoan biozonation and new lithostratigraphical data in the upper Ordovician of the Fauquez and Aquempont areas (Brabant Massif, Belgium)

A chitinozoan biozonation is established for the Upper Ordovician rocks of the Sennette valley in the Fauquez area and the Asquempont area, revising the existing chitinozoan biozonation of the Brabant Massif. The chitinozoans of five formations (the Ittre, Bornival, Huet, Fauquez and Madot formations) are studied from 70 samples. The chitinozoan biozonation is correlated with Baltoscandia and the Avalonian Upper Ordovician type sections in the U.K. This correlation provides an accurate dating of the studied formations. A megaslumping event, affecting a part of the Ittre and Bornival Formation and causing the overturning of a pile of sediments estimated at minimum 200 m thick, may be placed in the mid Oandu (Cheneyan, middle Caradoc, early Stage 6"?). The volcanic rocks in the Fauquez area, formally thought to be restricted to the Ashgill, are confined to the late Caradoc - early Ashgill timespan. In addition to this, this paper presents new lithostratigraphical data on the Ittre Formation and the lower member of the Bornival Formation