The Effects of Savory (Satureja khuzistanica) Extract on Performance, Organ Weight, Blood Parameters and Immune Function in Heat Stressed Broilers

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of savory (Satureja khuzistanica) extract on the performance, organ weight, immune response and hepatic enzymes in broiler chickens. 320 day-old Ross chickens were assigned to four distinct treatments in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was administered to four replicates of twenty birds. The variables were heat stress (34 ± 2 ˚C for 8 hours) and savory extract (0.4 ml/L) in drinking water. Feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured in successive weeks of the trial. The relative weights of different organs (dressing, breast, thigh, liver, heart, spleen and bursa of Fabricius) determined at 42 days. The serum glucose and blood plasma content of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured by blood sampling at 42 days. Plasma IgG were quantified on days 21, 28, 35 and 42. The savory extract did not affect FCR, or the relative weights of different organs (P>0.05). BW and FI increased with savory oil inclusion (P<0.05). Further, the savory extract reduced plasma glucose, AST and ALT in heat stressed broilers significantly (P0.05). Blood IgG in heat stressed broilers, increased in every case of treatment with savory extract (P<0.05). In conclusion, in conditions of heat stress, 0.4 ml/L of savory extract improves economic proficiency in broiler flocks due to the accumulation of minute advantages in increased WG, FI, improved IG and reduced hepatic enzymes

Effects of different levels of date pits in broilers’ feed contaminated with aflatoxin B1 on broilers’ performance and carcass characteristic

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of date pits (DP) to reduce the deleterious effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in broiler chicks. A total of 216 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were distributed randomly for nine treatments (with four replicates and six birds in each) for 35 days. The experiment included a 3×3 factorial arrangement of treatments involving three levels of DP (0, 2 and 4%) and three levels of AFB1 (0, 150 and 300 ppb) based on a completely randomized design. There was a significant reduction of feed intake with treatment of 300 ppb during fourth and fifth weeks. DP levels were effective in diminishing the adverse effect caused by aflatoxin on feed intake of broilers (P &lt; 0.05). However, 4% date pits had better effect. Mean body weights were not affected weekly, but the main effect of aflatoxin was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) low by feeding 300 ppb aflatoxin in fourth and fifth weeks. Treatments with DP levels did not show any significant change with control group in case of feed conversion ratio; however the main effect of aflatoxin diets containing 300 ppb showed significant reduction in feed conversion ratio only in fourth week (P &lt;0.05). Carcass weight decreased significantly in the main levels of AFB1 while the relative weight of the liver, intestine, gizzard and thigh increased significantly (P ≥ 0.05). Other carcass parts were not affected. It is  suggested that DP might be used for reducing the adverse effects of aflatoxin in the broiler diets.Keywords: Aflatoxin, broiler, date pits, performance, carcass characteristicAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(1), pp. 185-193, 1 January, 201

Epidemiologic assessment of trigeminal neuralgia in patients referred to the Imam clinic of Hamedan city during 2013-2015

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common disease of the fifth cranial nerve. This study aimed at evaluating the epidemiology of patients with the trigeminal neuralgia referred to Imam Clinic in Hamedan City, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 40 patients with trigeminal neuralgia symptoms were studied. Diagnosis of patients was made based on the history, physical examination and paraclinical tests. Results: This study was conducted on 27 (67.5) females and 13 (32.5) males with the mean ages of 43.3&plusmn;16.9 and 51.7&plusmn;21.5 years, respectively (P=0.526).The incidence of this disease was higher among young women than others. The right side involvement was detected in 47.5, left side involvement in 40 and bilateral involvement in 12.5 of the cases. Regarding the engaged nerve branch, simultaneous engagement of maxillary and mandibular nerves was seen in 47.5, mandibular in 27.5, maxillary in 20, and ophthalmic in 5 of the individuals. The primary causes were seen in 42.5 and secondary causes in 57.5 of the cases. Among the secondary causes, face surgery and multiple sclerosis had the highest rate (39.1), followed by tumors (21.7). Also, 65 of the patients had normal MRI and 35 had abnormal one. Conclusion: Due to the similar symptoms of the disease such as dental pain, and also maxillofacial surgery in the elderly as one of the most common secondary causes of this disease, facial surgeons and dentists should know more about this disease to avoid unnecessary surgeries

Effects of Thymus vulgaris and Mentha pulegium on colour, nutrients and peroxidation of meat in heat-stressed broilers

This study was designed to investigate the effects of Thymus vulgaris (thyme) and Mentha pulegium (mentha) powders on meat colour, nutrient composition and malondialdehyde (MDA) where broiler chickens were under heat stress. Two hundred one-day-old male chicks were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replicates each (10 birds per replication). Treatments were the control diet, 0.5% mentha, 0.5% thyme and 0.5% mixture of the two plants. The results showed no effect of dietary supplements on thigh meat redness and yellowness. Both plant products diminished the thigh lightness significantly compared with the control. No significant differences between treatments were observed for the ash, ether extract and crude protein content of the thigh muscle. Supplementation of thyme and mentha separately or together increased the moisture of the thigh muscle significantly, compared with the control. The combination of the plant products resulted in a higher thigh pH and significantly lower malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the thigh muscle compared with the control. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of thyme and mentha separately or in combination improved the meat quality of broiler chickens under heat stress through decreasing the MDA concentration and increasing the pH and moisture content of the thigh muscl

Učinak različitih biljnih ekstrakata na aktivnost hidrolaze žučnih soli sojeva bakterije Lactobacillus izolirane iz probavnog sustava peradi

The bile salt hydrolysis (BSH) enzyme weakens fat metabolism through bile salt deconjugation and reduces poultry performance, in order to cope with the antibacterial properties of the bile. Therefore, reducing the activity of this enzyme through the use of feed additives is probably a promising alternative to antibiotics for improving poultry performance. Plant extracts have long been used as feed additives for promoting poultry growth. In the current experiment, five Lactobacillus strains including Lactobacillus animalis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus lactis, and Lactobacillus returi were obtained from the poultry hindgut and were used as the probiotic application. A plate test and two-step enzymatic reaction method were used for deconjugation activity determination of the Lactobacillus strains. Further, four plant extracts (i.e., the aerial parts of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Roselle calyx (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Berberis vulgaris root, and Green tea) were examined in terms of BSH enzyme inhibitors using the cell-free extracts as the potential antibiotic alternative. Furthermore, the gallbladders of the broilers were freshly collected from the poultry slaughterhouses, and their contents were extracted. The results showed that all Lactobacillus strains could hydrolyze the taurocholate acid (TCA) and chicken bile salt mixture (CBSM) to unconjugated bile acid. Moreover, ethanolic extracts of B. vulgaris root and Green tea relatively reduced the activity of the BSH enzyme that could potentially be investigated as an appropriate alternative in poultry feed in vivo. In conclusion, all five Lactobacillus strains were resistant to bile salts (i.e. TCA and CBSM) by BSH activity, and the addition of Green tea and B. vulgaris root extracts to the bacterial medium demonstrated inhibitory effects against the BSH enzyme.Enzimi hidrolaze žučnih soli (BSH) oslabljuju metabolizam masti dekonjugacijom žučnih soli što dovodi do smanjenja proizvodnosti u peradi. Smanjenje aktivnosti ovog enzima, upotrebom dodataka prehrani, mogla bi biti obećavajuća alternativa za primjenu određenih antibiotika u peradarstvu. Biljni ekstrakti dugo se upotrebljavaju kao dodaci prehrani za poticanje rasta. U ovom je istraživanju pet sojeva bakterije Lactobacillus, uključujući Lactobacillus animalis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus lactis i Lactobacillus returi, dobiveno iz stražnjeg dijela crijeva peradi te upotrijebljeno kao probiotik. Test na ploči i enzimska reakcija u dva koraka primijenjene su za utvrđivanje aktivnosti dekonjugacije u sojeva Lactobacillus. Nadalje, četiri biljna ekstrakta - nadzemni dijelovi ružmarina (Rosmarinus officinalis), hibiskusa (Hibiscus sabdariffa), korijen obične žutike (Berberis vulgaris) i zeleni čaj - istraživana su s obzirom na inhibitore enzima BSH upotrebom izvanstaničnih ekstrakata kao moguća zamjena antibiotiku. Osim toga, nakon usmrćivanja, prikupljeni su svježi žučni mjehuri brojlera te je izvađen njihov sadržaj. Rezultati su pokazali da svi sojevi bakterije Lactobacillus mogu hidrolizirali tauroholatnu kiselinu i žučne soli pilića (CBSM) u nekonjugiranu žučnu kiselinu. Štoviše, ekstrakti etanola korijena B. vulgaris i zelenog čaja relativno su smanjili aktivnost BSH enzima što bi se moglo istražiti u hranidbi peradi in vivo. Zaključno, svih pet sojeva bakterije Lactobacillus bilo je otporno na žučne soli npr. tauroholičnu kiselinu (TCA) i (CBSM) putem BSH aktivnosti, a dodatak zelenog čaja i ekstrakta korijena B. vulgaris mediju s bakterijama pokazali su inhibitorne učinke protiv BSH enzima

Comparison of the conformity rate of dental age based on Demirjian and Nolla methods with chronological age in 5-16 year old children in Hamedan city

Background: Considering the different results of dental age estimation tests for different populations and lack of sufficient studies on the Iranian race, this study was designed to compare the conformity rate of Demirjian and Nolla methods in dental age estimation. Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 185 panoramic radiographs were assessed using patients' medical documents of pediatric and orthodontic departments. The maturation of each mandible left side permanent teeth except the third molars was categorized as A-H in Demirjian and 0-10 in the Nolla method. Results: The mean age of the participants was 9.6&plusmn;2.8 years. For both genders, the Nolla and Demirjian methods had underestimation and overestimation, respectively, compared to chronological age. Pearson correlation coefficients for chronological age in the Nolla and Demirjian methods were (Pmale=0.982, Pfemale=0.985) and (Pmale=0.987, Pfemale=0.988), respectively. The difference between chronological age and dental age in the Nolla method ranged from -0.02 to 0.77 and -0.1 to 0.70 for boys and girls, respectively and ranged from 0.02 to 0.76 and 0.05 to 0.9 similarly in the Demirjian method. Conclusion: The Demirjian and Nolla methods are always associated with an overestimation and underestimation respectively compared to chronological age. Considering the difference between chronological age and dental age in the two methods, the average of differences in the Nolla method was lower compared to Demirjian. So, the Nolla method has more accurate estimation of chronological age. Therefore, in the present study, the Nolla method is more preferable than the Demirjian method

Epidemiological survey of patients with a carpal tunnel syndrome referred to Sina Hospital in Hamedan during 2014-2016

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common mono-neuropathy with various causes. This study aimed at evaluating the epidemiology of patients with the carpal tunnel syndrome referred to Sina Hospital in Hamedan City, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-cross sectional study, 300 patients (600 hands) suffering from paresthesia, pain and weakness of the first to third finger were studied. Diagnosis and severity of the disease was evaluated according to history, examination and electro-diagnostic studies. Afterall the data were collected. Results: This study was conducted on 230 (76.7) females and 70 (23.3) males with the mean ages of 47.3&plusmn;17.4 and 49.1&plusmn;20.2 years, respectively (P=0.224). Sixteen of them were left-handed and the rest were right-handed. Also, 113 of the patients had risk factors such as diabetes with the prevalence of 18.1 and hypothyroidism with 6.4 as the most common ones. The most common occupations were carpet weaving and milking with prevalence rates of 19.4 and 13.3, respectively. In electro-diagnostic findings, 57 of the patients had moderate involvement and 16.6 had severe involvement. The Phalen and Tinel test was positive in 32.2 of the patients and negative in 32.2 of the cases. There was a relationship between the severity of involvement and probability of a positive Phalen and Tinel test. Conclusion: Considering that 76 of the cases were women and among jobs, after housekeeping, carpet weaving and milking are the most common ones, paying more attention to these people and designing the proper work tools (especially carpet weaving and milking tools) as well as training of the housewives are recommended to prevent this syndrome

Effect of Dietary Sodium Nitrate Consumption on Egg Production, Egg Quality Characteristics and Some Blood Indices in Native Hens of West Azarbaijan Province

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of sodium nitrate consumption on egg quality and quantity, and some blood parameters of native breeder hens of West Azerbaijan province. One hundred native hens were used from wk 25 to 32 of age. These birds were divided into two groups. One group was fed the control diet (CD) but the other fed the same diet supplemented with 4.2 g/kg sodium nitrate (ND). After 2 wks of adaptation, eggs were collected daily and egg mass and egg production were measured weekly for five weeks. To assess the egg quality parameters, two eggs from each replicate pen were collected for three consecutive days each week. At the end of experimental period (wk 32 of age), blood samples of 5 birds per replicate were collected from the wing vein into anticoagulant tubes. Dietary sodium nitrate didn’t affect the egg production, shell stiffness, shell thickness and Haugh unit (p>0.05) but it decreased the both egg production and egg mass during the last three weeks (wks 30, 31 and 32) (p0.05). No effect of time or treatment×time were observed for shell stiffness (p>0.05). Over time, shell thickness was decreased while Haugh unit increased (p0.05). Sodium nitrite decreased both the TAC and TC at wk 32 of age (p<0.001). It was concluded that the lower body antioxidant capacity of nitrate fed birds resulted in the lower performance (egg weight, egg production and egg mass)

Acute Subclavian Artery Thrombosis Secondary to Oral Contraceptive Agent Consumption: A Case Report

Subclavian artery thrombosis is an uncommon cause of limb ischemia in females without a history of vasculopathy. This condition usually occurs secondary to atherosclerotic changes and hypercoagulable states, which are generally asymptomatic. However, it can manifest with such symptoms as coldness, pain, and pulselessness in the upper extremity. Herein, we presented a 40-year-old female admitted to our hospital with three days history of right-side hemiparesis and complaints of imbalance and vertigo. The patient had a history of 2-month consumption of high-dose oral contraceptive (OCP) agents for birth control purposes. Cervical magnetic resonance angiography showed a significant occlusion in the proximal part of the left subclavian artery, leading to the diagnosis of subclavian artery thrombosis secondary to the use of long-term high-dose OCP. Our diagnosis was confirmed with the Doppler color sonography. This case demonstrated the importance of a full assessment regardless of the patient’s chief complaints. This kind of assessment allows for a faster and more effective management, thereby reducing the associated costs. Therefore, any suggestive signs or symptoms of arterial thrombosis should be followed up even in low-risk patients. Accordingly, in case the achievement of confirmatory findings regarding the diagnosis of arterial thrombosis, the patient should be immediately subjected to proper medical and surgical interventions

The effect of metformin along with high-intensity interval training on gene expression of FoxO1 and Atrogin-1 in type 2 diabetic mice

Background and aims: Muscle atrophy is a complication of type 2 diabetes, in which the expression of atrophy-related genes is increased. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and metformin on gene expression of two atrophy-related genes (i.e., FoxO1 and Atrogin-1) in the skeletal muscle of diabetic mice. Methods: A total of 30 mice (C57BL/6) were assigned to two groups: control (n=6), and high-fat diet (HFD) (n=24). The mice in the HFD group were fed a HDF for 16 weeks. Then, diabetes was induced in mice by HFD. Then, they were divided into 4 groups as follows: (i) diabetic control, (ii) diabetes + metformin (DM), (iii) diabetes + HIIT (DH), and (iv) diabetes + metformin + HIIT (DMH). The DM group took metformin, the HIIT group performed a HIIT program, and the DMH group had both HIIT and metformin. The real-time PCR methods were used to measure the mRNA expression of FoxO1 and Atrogin-1. Results: The findings showed that HFD-induced diabetes caused increases in the expression of FoxO1 (P=0.0006) and Atrogin-1 (P=0.0008), and HIIT could restrain these increments (P=0.086, P=0.041). However, the decreasing effect of metformin on the expression of these genes was not significant (P=0.15) and the combined effect of HIIT and metformin on the expression of these genes was not greater than the individual effect of HIIT (P=0.64). Conclusion: These results indicated that HIIT (but not metformin) may prevent type 2 diabetes-induced downregulation of FoxO1 and Atrogin-1 in skeletal muscle, and metformin could not affect the impact of the training on these atrophy-related genes