Study of possible reduction or withdrawal of vitamin premix during finisher period in floor and battery cage broiler raising systems

The effect of dietary vitamin premix withdrawal or reduction between 29 and 35, 36 and 42, and 29 and 42 days of age on broiler chicken performance and immunocompetence was evaluated. The diets were formulated based on wheat and barley, and the experiment was conducted in floor pens (experiment 1) and battery cage (experiment 2) rearing systems in 7 treatments and 4 replicates for each treatment. The results of experiment 1 showed that vitamin premix reduction and withdrawal at 29 days of age did not impair performance during the final period of broiler chicken (29 to 42 days). The results of experiment 2 showed that there were no significant differences in performance with reduction or withdrawal of vitamin premix from diets in 29 to 35 days, but in 36 to 42 days of age, performance of birds fed with a diet that has no vitamin premix (T1) was significantly lower than other treatments (P < 0.05). The results of the two experiments demonstrated that immunocompetence response was not affected by treatments in the finisher period (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that in the battery cage system, it is possible to reduce dietary vitamin premix during finisher period, but withdrawal can negatively affect performance of broiler chickens, while in the floor system, it is possible to withdraw vitamin supplements in broilers’ finisher diets.Key words: Vitamin premix, reduction, broiler, wheat, immunocompetence

Influence of different levels of n-3 supplemented (fish oil) diet on performance, carcass quality and fat status in broilers

An experiment was conducted to evaluate fish oil as n-3 fatty acids source on some performance, carcass and serum parameters in broilers. One-day old Ross strain male broiler chickens (n = 120) were randomly arranged in four dietary treatments (0, 1.5, 3 and 4.5 percent fish oil), with three replicates for each treatment. Mean live weight and feed intake at the end of starting, growing and finishing periods in fourth treatment was lower than other treatments. All treatments containing fish oil significantlydecreased feed conversion ratio compared to control treatment. There were no significant differences on percent of carcass to live weight and abdominal fat percentage to carcass weight in T2, T3 and T4, but there were significant differences between control diet and the others. Serum triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL-c and VLDL-c concentrations were significantly reduced by fish oil treatments than the control diet, but serum HDL-c concentrations were significantly increased by using of diets containingfish oil. The results of this experiment indicated that dietary  supplementation of fish oil improved feed conversion ratio, carcass quality and HDL-c concentration in serum, but it decreased serum triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL-c and VLDL-c concentrations in serum of broiler chickens

EFFECTS OF DEXAMETHASONE IN PRIMARY INTRACEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE IN THE SOUTH WEST OF IRAN

ABSTRACT Objective: Previous study revealed the value of dexamethasone in the treatment of vasogenic edema associated with brain tumor and abscess. However there are poor documented studies about its usefulness in primary intracerebral hemorrhage. In this study we evaluated dexamethasone effects in primary intracerebral hemorrhage. Methodology: In a double blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial we evaluated 200 intracerebral hemorrhage cases between 40 to 80 years old whom were admitted at Golestan Hospital (Ahwaz, IR) between March 2002 And March 2003. They were divided in two groups; dexamethasone (N=100) and placebo (N=100). Then mortality, GI bleeding, fever, electrolytes disturbances, hypertension and hyperglycemic status were analyzed in two groups. Ethical considerations were employed and subjects were followed by appropriate statistical methods for 21 days to assess the major outcomes. Results: Mortality was much higher in the dexamethasone group; Dexamethasone group (49.3%) and placebo (23.4%) and also fever was higher seen in the dexamethasone group; dexamethasone group (40.2%) and placebo group (24.7%) but there was not any significant statistical difference between two groups as regards other complications. Conclusion: Dexamethasone is widely used for cerebral edema associated conditions but in this study we saw that it's complications in intracerebral hemorrhage such as increasing fever and mortality are significantly higher. Hence it use for treatment of primary intracerebral hemorrhage should be reconsidered

The distribution of corneal thickness in rural population

To determine the distribution of corneal thickness and its associated factors in the over 5-year-old population in the north and south rural areas in Iran. In this study, samples were selected using multi -stage cluster sampling. After vision and refraction tests and the slit lamp exam, the central corneal thickness (CCT), apical corneal thickness (ACT), and the thickness at four peripheral areas of the cornea were measured using Pentacam. Of the 3851 selected samples, after applying the exclusion criteria, the analysis was done on data from 2681 people. The mean age of the participants was 36.03±18.51 years, ranging from 6 to 90 years, and 58.1 of them were female. Mean CCT and ACT were 533.87 μm (95CI: 532.05 -535.69) and 536.72 μm (95CI: 534.9 -538.54), respectively. Mean peripheral corneal thickness was 637.46 μm (95CI: 635.09 -639.83) in the superior quadrant, and 594.34 μm (95CI: 592.2 -596.47), 620.81 μm (95CI: 618.66 -622.97), and 584.55 μm (95CI: 582.18 -586.93) in the inferior, nasal, and temporal quadrants, respectively. Linear regression analysis showed significant associations between CCT and gender (P=0.001), age (P<0.001), geographical location of residence (P<0.001), the radius of corneal curvature (P<0.001), anterior chamber depth (P<0.001), and corneal volume (P<0.001). This study is one of the few studies describing the distribution of the corneal thickness in a population of over 5-year-olds using Pentacam. Gender, anterior chamber depth, and corneal radius of curvature are some of the factors associated with CCT. © 2018 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

The COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Seasonality, With Increasing Cases of New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes in Children, From the Worldwide SWEET Registry

Objective: To analyze whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the number of cases or impacted seasonality of new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in large pediatric diabetes centers globally. Research design and methods: We analyzed data on 17,280 cases of T1D diagnosed during 2018-2021 from 92 worldwide centers participating in the SWEET registry using hierarchic linear regression models. Results: The average number of new-onset T1D cases per center adjusted for the total number of patients treated at the center per year and stratified by age-groups increased from 11.2 (95% CI 10.1-12.2) in 2018 to 21.7 (20.6-22.8) in 2021 for the youngest age-group, <6 years; from 13.1 (12.2-14.0) in 2018 to 26.7 (25.7-27.7) in 2021 for children ages 6 to <12 years; and from 12.2 (11.5-12.9) to 24.7 (24.0-25.5) for adolescents ages 12-18 years (all P < 0.001). These increases remained within the expected increase with the 95% CI of the regression line. However, in Europe and North America following the lockdown early in 2020, the typical seasonality of more cases during winter season was delayed, with a peak during the summer and autumn months. While the seasonal pattern in Europe returned to prepandemic times in 2021, this was not the case in North America. Compared with 2018-2019 (HbA1c 7.7%), higher average HbA1c levels (2020, 8.1%; 2021, 8.6%; P < 0.001) were present within the first year of T1D during the pandemic. Conclusions: The slope of the rise in pediatric new-onset T1D in SWEET centers remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a change in the seasonality at onset became apparent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A structurally distinct TGF-β mimic from an intestinal helminth parasite potently induces regulatory T cells.

Helminth parasites defy immune exclusion through sophisticated evasion mechanisms, including activation of host immunosuppressive regulatory T (Treg) cells. The mouse parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus can expand the host Treg population by secreting products that activate TGF-β signalling, but the identity of the active molecule is unknown. Here we identify an H. polygyrus TGF-β mimic (Hp-TGM) that replicates the biological and functional properties of TGF-β, including binding to mammalian TGF-β receptors and inducing mouse and human Foxp3+ Treg cells. Hp-TGM has no homology with mammalian TGF-β or other members of the TGF-β family, but is a member of the complement control protein superfamily. Thus, our data indicate that through convergent evolution, the parasite has acquired a protein with cytokine-like function that is able to exploit an endogenous pathway of immunoregulation in the host