Effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the egg quality,immune response,zinc retention,and blood parameters of laying hens in the late phase of production

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) on the performance, egg quality, Zn retention, immunity responses, superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), egg malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and serum parameters in laying hens in the late phase of production. A total of 288 laying hens at 64 weeks of age were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicates, and 12 birds within each group. Experimental diets included a corn‐soybean meal‐based diet (without Zn supplementation) and a basal diet supplemented with 80 mg/kg of Zn‐oxide, ZnO‐NPs, and Zn‐methionine. The results indicated that egg production and egg mass were significantly higher in the Zn‐methionine and ZnO‐NPs groups (p < .05). Also, eggshell thickness and shell strength increased in the ZnO‐NPs group as compared with the other groups (p < .05). Moreover, Zn supplementation decreased egg loss (p < .05). There were significant differences among treatments in Zn deposition in tibiotarsus, liver, pancreas, eggs, and excreta (p < .01). Antibody titre, heterophil (%(, and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were significantly higher in birds fed with Zn‐supplemented diets (p < .05). In treatments supplemented with ZnO‐NPs and Zn‐methionine, the SOD activity in the liver, pancreas, and plasma was greater as compared with the other treatments (p < .05). The MDA content in eggs was significantly reduced in groups supplemented with Zn (p < .01). Moreover, dietary Zn supplementation significantly affected serum total protein, albumin, glucose, alkaline phosphatase activity, carbonic anhydrase activity, and Zn level (p < .05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with ZnO‐NPs can improve the performance of laying hens. Therefore, ZnO‐NPs can enhance zinc absorption in the intestine of aged layers and can be a more suitable source of zinc than regular Zn‐oxide in diets.     

Efficacy of essential oils combination on performance,ileal bacterial counts,intestinal histology and immunocompetence of laying hens fed alternative lipid sources

This study was carried out to assess the effects of a blend of herbal essential oils (namely Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus offisinalis and Anethum graveolens) and different dietary lipid sources on the performance, ileal bacterial enumeration, intestinal histological alterations and immune responses in laying hens. For this purpose, a total of 150 laying hens were randomly allocated to six experimental treatments with five replicates of five birds each. Dietary treatments consisted of three levels of a mixture of essential oils (0, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and two sources of lipid (soybean oil and fish oil containing different ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids) fed to the animals during an 80‐days feeding trial. Findings indicated that dietary administration of fish oil not only increased significantly the spleen relative weight (p < 0.01) and the antibody titre against Newcastle virus (p < 0.05) but also led to reductions in liver relative weight (p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mixture of herbal essential oils brought about declines in hepatic relative weight, heterophile to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05) and intestinal pathogen populations (p < 0.01). Mention must also be made of the improvements it made in spleen weight (p < 0.01), antibody titres against SRBC (p < 0.01) and Newcastle virus (p < 0.05), villus height to crypt depth ratio (p < 0.01), goblet cell numbers (p < 0.05), lamina propria lymphatic follicle diameters (p < 0.01) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.06). It may be claimed that the enhancements observed in the performance of laying hens fed fish oil and 200 mg/kg of the blend of essential oils could have potentially been associated with improved intestinal health indices as well as cellular and humoral immune responses.     

低温环境下饲粮核黄素添加水平对蛋鸭激素分泌的影响

本试验旨在研究低温环境下饲粮核黄素添加水平对蛋鸭激素分泌的影响.试验采用两因素有重复完全交叉设计,温度设2个水平[适温(18±1)℃,T1;低温(2±1)℃,T2];核黄素设3个水平,在基础饲粮中分别添加4、16、32 mg/kg 核黄素.选用12周龄健康的金定鸭(母)144只,随机分成6个处理,每个处理6个重复,每个...     

酸化剂对蛋鸡生产性能、蛋品质及肠道相关指标的影响

本试验旨在研究酸化剂对蛋鸡生产性能、蛋品质及肠道相关指标的影响。选取25周龄罗曼褐壳蛋鸡672只，随机分为4个组，每组7个重复，每个重复24只鸡。对照组饲喂基础饲粮，试验组饲喂在基础饲粮中分别添加0.05%、0.10%和0.20%酸化剂的试验饲粮，试验期60 d。结果表明：1)与对照组相比，饲粮添加0.05%酸化剂显著提高了蛋鸡的平均日采食量( P<0.05)；添加0.20%酸化剂显著降低了料蛋比( P<0.05)。2)与对照组相比，饲粮添加酸化剂显著增强了试验第30和60天的蛋壳强度( P<0.05)；添加0.20%酸化剂显著提高了试验第30和60天的蛋白高度( P<0.05)。3)与对照组相比，酸化剂的添加对试验第30和60天消化道pH没有显著影响( P>0.05)，但显著提高了十二指肠食糜中淀粉酶和胰蛋白酶的活性( P<0.05)，并显著降低了消化道大肠杆菌的数量( P<0.05)。4)与对照组相比，饲粮添加酸化剂显著提高了试验第30和60天钙与磷的表观代谢率( P<0.05)。饲粮添加酸化剂可改善产蛋鸡饲料转化效率、鸡蛋品质；提高蛋鸡肠道消化酶活性及钙、磷表观代谢率；改善肠道微生态环境。     

治疗仔猪黄白痢中兽药临床处方筛选

为了筛选出治疗仔猪黄白痢的最佳中药处方，确定其合理用药剂量和适用范围，试验将478头确诊为黄白痢的哺乳仔猪随机分为6组，分别用3种预选处方（处方一、处方二和处方三）、氧氟沙星、诺氟沙星、氧氟沙星与诺氟沙星联合用药进行治疗，比较预选处方与对照药物对仔猪黄白痢的治疗效果，筛选最佳的中药处方；并对每种中药处方按照低、中、高3种剂量进行用药，确定预选处方的合理用药剂量；按照发病特点进行用药。探讨预选处方对不同病症的适用性。结果表明：预选处方对仔猪黄白痢的治疗效果优于对照药物，且复发率显著低于后者；3种中药处方中，处方一的疗效最好，治愈率为82．9％，总有效率可迭84．7％，显著高于其他处方；处方一中剂量组的疗效最好，治愈率为88．9％，总有效率可达91．1％，显著高于其他剂量组，而且治愈后无复发现象。     

Application of imidacloprid controlled-release granules to enhance the utilization rate and control wheat aphid on winter wheat

During winter wheat production, aphids need to be controlled with pesticides for the entire growth period. Controlled-release technology has been regarded as an alternative method for the improvement of pesticide efficiency. This study investigated two types of imidacloprid controlled-release granule (CR-GR): 2% imidacloprid CR-GR and 0.2% imidacloprid pesticide-fertilizer controlled-release granule (PF-CR-GR) when wheat was sown in winter. The release performance, utilization rate, terminal residues in edible parts, control effect on aphids, and achieved winter wheat yield were evaluated for both laboratory experiments and field application. Imidacloprid PF-CR-GR released more quickly in aqueous medium than CR-GR because of its good water solubility. After CR-GR treatments, the concentrations in wheat roots and soil were similar throughout the entire sampling period, and the concentrations in shoots were about 10–20% of those in roots. Imidacloprid was better absorbed when CR-GR was used as root treatment, compared with foliar treatment. Field application showed that imidacloprid CR-GR and PF-CR-GR controlled aphids throughout the entire growth period of winter wheat and improved the wheat yield. These findings identified application of imidacloprid CR-GR and PF-CR-GR on winter wheat as an effective way to enhance the pesticide utilization rate and ensure adequate yield. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the scientific use of pesticides and guides scientific pesticide application.     

Four years validation of decision support optimising herbicide dose in cereals under Spanish conditions

The Danish decision support system Crop Protection Online (CPO) optimises herbicide weed control. CPO recommends specific herbicide solutions to achieve a required level of control. The aim is to apply herbicides as little as possible but as much as necessary. CPOWeeds is a version of CPO adjusted to conditions in North-eastern Spain. The predicted efficacies and the yield obtained with CPOWeeds were validated in winter cereal field trials from 2010 to 2013. All CPOWeeds treatments were related to the efficacies obtained with standard herbicide treatments decided upon by local advisors. The predictions from CPOWeeds were compared to the actually achieved efficacies in the field trials for the nine weed species at different developmental stages and for 84.2% of the comparisons the obtained efficacies were equal to or higher than predicted. The average difference between predicted and observed efficacies was 2.35 percentage points. Yield was measured in three trials and the recommendations from CPOWeeds were maintaining yield. There were two situations where CPOWeeds were performing suboptimal. One is in the early weed growth stages, as the model is not yet prepared to account for water stress on root action herbicides applied at 10-11 BBCH. The second situation was in fields with a prior unidentified population of resistant Alopecurus myosuroides. For key species in winter cereals in Spain, such as Avena sterilis, Lolium rigidum and Papaver rhoeas, CPOWeeds achieved a satisfactory control level. It was concluded that the use of CPOWeeds allowed optimisation of the herbicide application with a very high robustness. The recommendations were satisfactorily for the conditions of the Northeast of Spain and have the potential to decrease the amount of applied herbicides by at least 30%. Therefore, it can be an important tool in Integrated Weed Management.