Effect of dietary citric acid and microbial phytase on the growth performance of broiler chickens

Feed additives are one of the most essential parts of broiler production. Feed additives such as citric acid and microbial phytase are usually used separately despite the theory that they can work together. In this study, 320 broiler birds were reared and then fed four different treatments. 10 birds were reared per pen and there were 8 replications per treatment. The birds were reared using normal broiler management and health management protocols. The growth parameters and mortalities were recorded after each growth period. Production cost and the market price during the duration of the experiment were used to assess profitability. Out of all the treatments, the combination of the citric acid and microbial phytase gave the highest body weight, weight gain, second-lowest feed intake, best feed conversion ratio, and the highest profitability. Results indicated that there is a synergistic interaction with the combination of 3% citric acid and 500 U/kg microbial phytases. The concurrent supplementation produced a significant increase in the growth parameters and profitability

Benefits of Green Seaweed as Protein Source for Broiler: A Review

Poultry production contributes significantly to the agricultural economy. Nutrition is one important factor in having competent poultry production. Currently, there is a lot of research about natural alternatives or feed additives that are low in cost and can help increase the overall performance and improve poultry health conditions without any adverse effects. Macroalgae such as green seaweeds can meet these parameters. It is easily available and is considered a rich source of proteins, polysaccharides, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, pigments, and antioxidants. Most often, seaweeds are used as feed additives for broiler chickens as they can induce a beneficial impact on production parameters (body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), feed consumption (FC), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) and meat quality. However, there are several challenges in using green seaweed as a protein alternative for broiler chickens such as its toxic and antinutritional components, as well as varying available supply due to seasonal effects, diseases, location, and environmental pollution. Furthermore, the main objective of this review is to evaluate the different research conducted on green seaweed as a potential protein source in broilers

The impact of avian IgY antibodies and probiotics supplementation via drinking water on growth and laying performance of 16-week-old layer pullets

Antibiotics raise an issue concerning the development of antibiotic resistance of some pathogenic bacteria. The use of probiotics and Avian IgY in layer pullet farming is a better way of protecting against pathogenic bacteria and increasing production performance. Supplementation of Avian IgY antibodies and probiotics(Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus faecium, Bifido bacterium longghum, Bacillus thermophilum) were conducted on 5,724 healthy layer pullets to determine its effect on their growth and laying performance. The supplement was in powder form with a dosage of 100 mg per liter of water for 6 hours. The effect of the supplementation was evaluated by measuring production parameters on growth and laying performance of the layer pullets; there were 3 treatment groups, the control group, Treatment 2 which received 5 days initial supplementation for the first week and then twice every week for 9 weeks and Treatment 3 which received 5 days initial supplementation for the first week and then twice every 2 weeks for 9 weeks. Results showed that the supplementation had significant effects in the age in days when 50% of the total population per treatment laid their first eggs, average number of eggs produced, % Hen day production, % Hen house production, total weight of eggs, and feed conversion efficiency. It also showed that the supplementation is economical and yielded higher profit. On the other hand, the supplementation had no significant effect on the average body weight and mortality count of the layer pullets. The supplementation of Avian IgY antibodies and probiotics in water soluble powder via drinking water with 5 days initial supplementation of Avian IgY antibodies and probiotics for the first week; then twice every 2 weeks for 9 weeks has the greatest effects to increase the production performance and profitability of layers.Keywords:  Avian IgY antibodies, Growth performance, Laying performance, Layer pullets, Probiotics  

Modulation of chicken gut microbiota for enhanced productivity and health: A review

Microbiota in the digestive tract has become an interesting topic for researchers in recent years. The profile of chicken digestive tract microbiota and its relationship with health and production efficiency have become basic data for modulating the diversity and abundance of the digestive tract microbiota. This article reviews the techniques used to analyze the diversity, role, and function of the gastrointestinal microbiota and the mechanisms by which they are modulated. The gut microbiota plays an important role in animal production, especially during feed digestion and animal health, because it interacts with the host against pathogens. Feed modulation can be a strategy to modulate gut composition and diversity to increase production efficiency by improving growth conditions

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. © 2021, The Author(s)

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Potensi beta-glukan sebagai pakan imbuhan pada ayam broiler: Reviu

Poultry as an industry was continuously growing worldwide and demands for poultry meats were markedly increasing. However, the limited use of antibiotics as treatments and as growth promoters became a serious problem due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, exploring other alternatives such as using feed additives like beta-glucans were widely studied and used to meet the demands of the consumers. This review focused on the different functions and effects of beta-glucans in poultry. Beta-glucans were known to have immunomodulation effects by upregulating the cytokines and other immune cells to overcome a disease. Aside from its immunomodulation effects, it can also increase the intestinal villi and crypts. Furthermore, an increase in growth performance was also observed. This evidence is promising but further research is required to properly establish the various functions of beta-glucans in poultry.Unggas sebagai industri yang terus berkembang di seluruh dunia dan permintaan daging unggas meningkat tajam setiap tahunnya. Namun, penggunaan antibiotik yang terbatas sebagai pengobatan dan sebagai pemacu pertumbuhan menjadi masalah serius karena munculnya resistensi antibiotik dan tantangan mikroba dalam peternakan unggas komersial yang menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi yang signifikan. Oleh karena itu, eksplorasi alternatif seperti penggunaan feed additive seperti beta-glukan banyak dipelajari dan digunakan untuk memenuhi permintaan konsumen. Beta-glukan dapat ditemukan dalam ragi, jamur, beberapa bakteri, dan sereal seperti gandum, barley, dan jagung. Ulasan ini berfokus pada berbagai fungsi dan efek beta-glukan pada unggas. Beta-glukan diketahui memiliki efek imunomodulasi dengan meningkatkan regulasi sitokin dan sel imun lainnya untuk mengatasi suatu penyakit. Selain efek imunomodulasi, juga dapat meningkatkan vili usus dan kriptus. Selain itu, peningkatan kinerja pertumbuhan juga diamati. Bukti ini menjanjikan tetapi penelitian lebih lanjut diperlukan untuk menetapkan dengan tepat berbagai fungsi beta-glukan pada unggas sebagai alternatif antibiotik, anti-inflamasi, dan sifat anti-oksidatif

Effects of Blended Enzymes, Organic Catalysts, and Probiotics on the Water Quality of Pasig River, Philippines

The study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the blend of enzymes, organic catalysts, and probiotics on the water quality of Pasig River and to determine its sustainability to aquatic life. The effects of varying the dosage of the mixture were also identified. The data observed were compared to the standard for fishery water set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). On-site application results were analyzed using paired t-test. All parameters were normally distributed. Temperature, phosphate, and BOD measures were significantly changed at (p<0.05). Results showed mixture effectiveness on temperature, pH, Chloride, Nitrate, TSS, Oil and Grease, and Surfactant as they passed the DAO 2016-08 Class C Standard. BOD, Phosphate, TSS, and Ammonia concentrations were reduced in Ayala samples. DO, Nitrate and Fecal Coliforms concentrations were reduced in Nagtahan samples. Varying the amount of mixture application yields no significant effect on the water quality. Fishes and aquatic life can still not thrive on this kind of water