1,720,970 research outputs found
Yucca schidigera Extract Mitigates the Oxidative Damages, Inflammation, and Neurochemical Impairments in the Brains of Quails Exposed to Lead
No full textThe present study explored the neurotoxic impacts of lead (Pb) and the potential alleviating effect of Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) in Japanese quails. About 360 adult Japanese quails (8 weeks old) were used. Quails were randomly distributed to six groups with 4 replicates each: the control group (fed basal diet, BD), the BD + YSE1 and BD + YSE2 groups (BD + 100 and 200 mg/kg diet of YSE, respectively), the Pb group (BD + 100 mg/kg Pb), and the Pb + YSE1 and Pb + YSE2 groups (BD + Pb + 100 and 200 mg/kg YSE, respectively). This feeding trial lasted for 8 weeks. The exposure to Pb in the diet induced oxidative damage stress in the brain of exposed quails reflected by the significant increase in the oxidative markers including malonaldehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PC) and the significant reduction in the activities of antioxidants including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the reduced glutathione (GSH). Brain neurochemistry and enzyme activities were also altered following Pb exposure. Pb significantly reduced serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA, Ach, and Na + /K + -ATPase activities. Pb dietary intoxication markedly increased brain inflammatory biomarkers, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), myeloperoxidase, and nitric oxide. Peripherally, Pb toxicity decreased the amino acid neurotransmitters (glutamic acid, glycine, and aspartic acid) in the serum of birds. At the transcriptomic level, Pb exposure upregulated the transcription patterns of CASP3, TNF-alpha, HSP70, and IL-1 beta. The single effect of YSE maintained that all the assessed parameters were not changed compared to the control. Interestingly, the YSE co-supplementation with Pb alleviated the Pb-induced neuro-oxidative damages by lowering the lipid, protein, and DNA damage, and the inflammatory biomarkers
Assessment of bacterial phytase and citric acid concentrations on economic traits, nutrients’ digestibility and protein metabolites of broiler chickens fed diets containing marginal level of nutrients
Full text linkThe aim of the experiment was to study the influence of different concentrations of bacterial phytase and citric acid on growth performance, digestibility, carcase traits, meat quality and blood plasma metabolites of broiler chickens fed diets containing suboptimal level of nutrients (−100 kcal ME/kg diet, −1% CP, −0.1% Ca and −0.1% Avi. phosphorus) during 1–36 days of age in comparison of the Hubbard broiler management guide (2016). A total of 288, one-day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were wing banded and randomly distributed keeping equal initial BW in a straight run experimental design among 8 treatment groups, each containing six replicates of 6 chicks. The treatments were 8: standard diet (positive control, PC), low nutrient density diet (negative control, NC), NC + Escherichia coli phytase-6 (Phyzyme®) supplemented at 500 or 1000 U/Kg diet, NC + citric acid at 2 or 4%, NC + 500 U of phytase + 2 or 4% citric acid. In conclusion, production traits such as growth and feed conversion ratio and production index were significantly improved due to supplementation of 500 U phytase and 2% citric acid and to low nutrient density diet to the level or even better than the standard-density diet (positive control). This suggested that 500 U bacterial phytase plus 2% citric acid could allow a decrease of 0.1% in Ca and avi. P, 100 kcal/kg ME and 1% CP, respectively
Feed form and probiotic supplementation improve egg production and reduce environmental impact in laying hens
No full textContext. Laying hens are influenced by various factors, including diet, which can have a significant impact on egg production and quality, as well as overall animal health. Aims. This study aimed to evaluate egg production and quality, environmental impact, reproductive organs and plasma mineral profiles of laying hens fed diverse forms of feed supplemented or not with a probiotic mixture. Methods. Ninety-six-week old laying hens were randomly distributed among four groups. The hens were housed in 32 cages (three hens/cage, eight replicates per treatment) during 112–127 weeks of age. The first group was fed a mash diet; and the second group was fed a pelleted diet with a diameter of 3 mm. The third and fourth groups were fed the same diets as for Groups 1 and 2 respectively, but supplemented with a mixture of probiotics (PM) Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus subtilis. Key results. The pelleted diet significantly increased egg weight and mass, and feed intake compared with the mash diet. PM supplementation significantly decreased the number of broken eggs and yolk index compared with the unsupplemented control. Fresh eggs showed a significantly higher egg grade, Haugh unit score, yolk color, and percentage albumen weight than did the stored eggs, but the yolk index and percentage were lower. Pelleting the feed significantly decreased excreta dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and nitrogen (N) outputs. Excreta crude fiber was significantly decreased by PM supplementation compared with the unsupplemented control. The PM supplementation increased the true protein in the mash feed while decreasing it in the pelleted feed. Percentage heart and gizzard were significantly decreased because of feeding pelleted feeds compared with mash one to which PM was integrated. Pelleting significantly increased serum calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), and alkaline phosphatase concentrations compared with the mash feed, but decreased serum phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn). Conclusions. Pelleting laying hen diets improved economic traits and yielded stronger effects than did PM supplementation, decreased excreta dry matter, organic matter, and N pollution, and increased serum Ca and Fe concentrations. Implications. These results suggest that pelleted diets could be a more effective strategy to improve production efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of poultry
Use of black pepper oil in growing-quail diets and its impact on growth, carcass measurements, intestinal microbiota, and blood chemistry
Full text link<jats:p>Abstract. Supplements derived from plants are utilized to maintain and promote the growth efficiency of animals. The use of black pepper oil (BPO) has recently generated significant scientific interest, primarily because of its potential beneficial effects on both humans and animals. The goal of the current study was to determine how dietary BPO supplementation affected growth performance, characteristics of growing quails' immunity, antioxidant status, and carcass yield. A total of 240 growing quails (1 week old) were divided into five equal groups, each with 36 birds (four replicates of 12 each). A basal diet containing no BPO (0 g kg−1) was given to the first group, and the second, third, and fourth groups were given a diet that was supplemented with BPO (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 g kg−1, respectively). In comparison to a control group, quails' diets that were supplemented with 0.8 g BPO kg−1 showed improvements in final live body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio of 10.68 %, 12.6 %, and 18.2 %, respectively. During the whole study period (1 to 5 weeks), quails fed diets with 0.8 g BPO consumed less feed than the other groups and control. Due to BPO treatment, there were no statistically significant changes in any of the carcass parameters. BPO-supplemented groups had significantly elevated plasma levels of albumin and globulin than control groups (P &lt; 0.05), but the albumin/globulin ratio was reported to be significantly decreased (P &lt; 0.05) in birds supplemented with diets containing BPO compared to the control group. When compared to the control, the liver enzyme activity (aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT)) in blood plasma was reported to be significantly increased in the quails given 0.4 and 0.8 g BPO kg−1. Glutathione and catalase activities were significantly higher in the group given diets supplemented with BPO (1.2 g kg−1) than they were in the control group. In comparison to the control, the supplementation of BPO in the diets of quail significantly enhanced (P &lt; 0.05) the lipid profile in the plasma, moreover decreasing the caecal content pH (P &lt; 0.05). In comparison to the control, the populations of lactobacilli, coliform, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli in the caecum significantly decreased in the BPO-supplemented groups (P &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, dietary BPO supplementation in Japanese quails' diet can boost growth performance and antioxidant indices, enhance lipid profile and carcass traits, and reduce intestinal infections.
</jats:p>
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Assessment of green tea and/or ginger powder on growth performance, carcass traits, and blood profiles of broilers exposed to heat stress conditions for sustainable broilers farming
No full textDispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
- …
