Association between single nucleotide polymorphism of apoVLDL-II gene with growth and body composition traits in Iranian commercial broiler line

Very low density apolipoprotein-II (apoVLDL-II) is a major polypeptide component of avian VLDL. The function of apoVLDL-II is the transport of neutral lipids (triacylglycerol) in the form of VLDL in the plasma. The apoVLDLII gene is dormant in embryos, chicks and roosters but can be activated by estrogen. The current study was designed to investigate the association of an apoVLDL-II gene polymorphism on chicken growth and body composition traits. Genomic DNAs were extracted from 400chickens from four different commercial broiler lines. Genotyping for the apoVLDL-II gene by using PCR-RFLP method and SfcI restriction endonuclease showed a mutation in 492-bp fragment located on the first intron. Polymorphism in apoVLDL-II gene was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with body weight at 6 week (BW6), carcass weight (CW), breast muscle weight (BMW), drumstick weight (DW) and wing weight (WINW). No significant difference was observed in the back weight (BAKW) and abdominal fat weight (AFW). This research suggests that apoVLDL-II gene could be a candidate gene that can affect some growth traits in chickens

Optic nerve sonography in the diagnostic evaluation of pseudopapilledema and raised intracranial pressure: A cross-sectional study

Introduction. Differentiating pseudopapilledema from papilledema which is optic disk edema and a result of increased ICP (intracranial pressure) is important and can be done with noninvasive methods like orbital ultrasound examination. Method. This was a cross-sectional study in which patients with optic nerve head swelling were referred for LP exam after optic nerve head swelling diagnosis confirmation and having normal brain imaging (CT scan). Before LP (lumbar puncture) exam the patients were referred for optic nerve ultrasound test of both eyes. Results. Considering 5.7 mm as the upper limit for normal ONSD (optic nerve sheath diameter), sensitivity and negative predictive value of optic sonography in diagnosis of pseudopapilledema are 100 for both eyes. Calculated accuracy validity of ONSD measurement in detecting pseudopapilledema is 90 for the right eye and 87 for the left eye. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated a close correlation between optic nerve sheath dilation on ocular ultrasound and evidence of elevated ICP with optic disk swelling. With the aid of noninvasive diagnostic tests we can avoid unnecessary concerns along with expensive and invasive neurological investigations while targeting the correct diagnosis in bilateral optic disk swelling. Our study showed optic nerve sonography as a reliable diagnostic method for further usage. © 2015 Masoud Mehrpour et al

Prophylactic Bacteriophage Administration More Effective than Post-infection Administration in Reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis Shedding in Quail

Infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, often through poultry products, are a serious public health issue. Because of drawbacks associated with antibiotic prophylaxis, alternative treatments are sought. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) may provide an effective alternative, but concerns remain with respect to bacteriophage stability and effectiveness. To this end, we assessed the stability of a novel bacteriophage isolated from poultry excreta, siphovirus PSE, and its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we sought to determine how the timing (prophylactic or therapeutic) and route (oral gavage or vent lip) of PSE administration impacted its effectiveness. Here we report that significant quantities of viable PSE bacteriophages were recovered following exposure to high and low pH, high temperatures, and bile salts, testifying to its ability to survive extreme conditions. In addition, we found that ileal lactic acid bacteria and Streptococcus spp. counts increased, but colibacilli and total aerobe counts decreased, in quail receiving phage PSE through both oral gavage and vent lip routes. In other experiments, we assessed the efficiency of PSE administration, in both prophylactic and therapeutic contexts, via either oral gavage or vent lip administration, on S. Enteritidis colonization of quail cecal tonsils. Our results demonstrate that administration of PSE as a preventive agent could reduce the S. Enteritidis colonization more effectively than post-challenge administration. Furthermore, oral administration of PSE phage is a more effective prophylactic tool for reduction of S. Enteritidis shedding in poultry than is vent lip administration

Solubilities of pyrene in organic solvents: Comparison between chemical potential calculations using a cavity-based method and direct coexistence simulations

In this paper, we benchmark a cavity-based simulation method for calculating the relative solubility of large molecules in explicit solvents. The essence of the procedure is the accounting of the Gibbs energy change associated with an alchemical thermodynamic cycle where, in sequence, a cavity is created in a solvent, a solute is inserted in the cavity and the cavity is annihilated. The Gibbs energy change is equated to the excess chemical potential allowing the comparison of solubilities in different solvents. The results obtained using the cavity-based method are compared to direct large-scale molecular dynamics simulations performed using coarse-grained models for calculating the partition coefficient of pyrene between heptane and toluene. We demonstrate the applicability of this cavity-based technique under high pressure/temperature conditions.The authors gratefully acknowledge the generous funding and technical support for this work from BP Plc through the International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM) which made this research possible

Association of transforming growth factor-ß3 gene polymorphism with growth and body composition traits in Iranian commercial broiler lines

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) polypeptides are members of a large superfamily of growth and differentiation factors that regulate the proliferation and differentiation of a great variety of cell types. The current study was designed to investigate the associations of TGF-β3 gene polymorphism on chicken growth and body composition traits. Genomic DNAs were extracted from 400 chickens from four different commercial broiler lines. Genotyping for the TGF-β3 gene using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and BslI restriction endonuclease showed a mutation in 294-bp fragment located on the fourth intron of chromosome 5. Polymorphism in TGF-β3 gene was significantly (P < 0.1) associated with breast muscle weight (BMW), abdominal fat weight (AFW), wing weight (WINW), percentage of carcass weight (%CW), percentage of drumstick weight (%DW), percentage of breast muscle weight (%BMW), percentage of back weight (%BAKWT) and percentage of wing weight (%WINW). This research suggests that TGF-β3 gene could be a candidate gene that can affect some body composition traits in chicken.Key words: Broiler lines, body composition traits, transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3), PCR-RFLP

The Effect of Different Types of Coating and Packaging on the Physical Properties of Persimmon Fruit under Load

Since persimmon is a pressure-sensitive fruit and it is difficult to store this fruit in warehouses, in this research, an attempt has been made to examine the parameters affecting the reduction of changes in its physical properties. The samples were loaded at 150 and 250 N, three types of foam container packaging with polyolefin film, polyethylene-terephthalate, and ordinary box, and four types of polyamine putrescine coating with concentrations of 1 and 2 mM, distilled water and uncoated. Properties such as Physiological Weight Loss, volume, and the density of persimmon fruit, as well as the firmness of this fruit in the prepost-storage stage were examined. The results showed, the highest firmness was obtained in the treatment of putrescine at a concentration of 1 mM and a foam container with polyethylene film with a value of 6.5 N, which was almost three times the firmness of uncoated fruits. The lowest Physiological Weight Loss, volume, and density were obtained in the same type of coating and packaging. The values of these parameters were 2.458%, 1.82, and 0.833%, respectively, compared to the first day of storage. Overall, the use of polyamine treatment showed a significant effect on changes in the physical properties of persimmon fruit, and foam containers with polyolefin film emerged as the optimal packaging option, resulting in the least amount of change among the different types of packaging used

Synthesis, characterisation and photochemistry of PtIV pyridyl azido acetato complexes

PtII azido complexes [Pt(bpy)(N3)2] (1), [Pt(phen)(N3)2] (2) and trans-[Pt(N3)2(py)2] (3) incorporating the bidentate diimine ligands 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or the monodentate pyridine (py) respectively, have been synthesised from their chlorido precursors and characterised by X-ray crystallography; complex 3 shows significant deviation from square-planar geometry (N3–Pt–N3 angle 146.7°) as a result of steric congestion at the Pt centre. The novel PtIV complexes trans, cis-[Pt(bpy)(OAc)2(N3)2] (4), trans, cis-[Pt(phen)(OAc)2(N3)2] (5), trans, trans, trans-[Pt(OAc)2(N3)2(py)2] (6), were obtained from 1–3via oxidation with H2O2 in acetic acid followed by reaction of the intermediate with acetic anhydride. Complexes 4–6 exhibit interesting structural and photochemical properties that were studied by X-ray, NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy and TD-DFT (time-dependent density functional theory). These PtIV complexes exhibit greater absorption at longer wavelengths (ε = 9756 M−1 cm−1 at 315 nm for 4; ε = 796 M−1 cm−1 at 352 nm for 5; ε = 16900 M−1 cm−1 at 307 nm for 6, in aqueous solution) than previously reported PtIV azide complexes, due to the presence of aromatic amines, and 4–6 undergo photoactivation with both UVA (365 nm) and visible green light (514 nm). The UV-vis spectra of complexes 4–6 were calculated using TD-DFT; the nature of the transitions contributing to the UV-vis bands provide insight into the mechanism of production of the observed photoproducts. The UV-vis spectra of 1–3 were also simulated by computational methods and comparison between PtII and PtIV electronic and structural properties allowed further elucidation of the photochemistry of 4–6

Impact damage characteristics of carbon fibre metal laminates : experiments and simulation

In this work, the impact response of carbon fibre metal laminates (FMLs) was experimentally and numerically studied with an improved design of the fibre composite lay-up for optimal mechanical properties and damage resistance. Two different stacking sequences (Carall 3–3/2–0.5 and Carall 5–3/2–0.5) were designed and characterised. Damage at relatively low energy impact energies (≤30 J) was investigated using Ultrasonic C-scanning and X–ray Computed Tomography (X-RCT). A 3D finite element model was developed to simulate the impact induced damage in both metal and composite layers using Abaqus/Explicit. Cohesive zone elements were introduced to capture delamination occurring between carbon fibre/epoxy plies and debonding at the interfaces between aluminium and the composite layers. Carall 5–3/2–0.5 was found to absorb more energy elastically, which indicates better resistance to damage. A good agreement is obtained between the numerically predicted results and experimental measurements in terms of force and absorbed energy during impact where the damage modes such as delamination was well simulated when compared to non-destructive techniques (NDT)

Genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population

The genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population were estimated by applying the Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method to an animal model. Data from a flock supported by the Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte (GENECOC) were used. The traits studied included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), slaughter weight (SW), yearling weight (YW), weight gain from birth to weaning (GBW), weight gain from weaning to slaughter (GWS), weight gain from weaning to yearling (GWY), age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), gestation length (GL), lambing date (LD - number of days between the start of breeding season and lambing), litter weight at birth (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). The direct heritabilities were 0.35, 0.81, 0.65, 0.49, 0.20, 0.15 and 0.39 for BW, WW, SW, YW, GBW, GWS and GWY, respectively, and 0.04, 0.06, 0.10, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.11 for AFL, LI, GL, LD, LWB and LWW, respectively. Positive genetic correlations were observed among body weights. In contrast, there was a negative genetic correlation between GBW and GWS (-0.49) and GBW and GWY (-0.56). Positive genetic correlations were observed between AFL and LI, LI and GL, and LWB and LWW. These results indicate a strong maternal influence in this herd and the presence of sufficient genetic variation to allow mass selection for growth traits. Additive effects were of little importance for reproductive traits, and other strategies are necessary to improve the performance of these animals