Effects of dietary yeast extract on turkey stress response and heterophil oxidative burst activity

1. Effective nutritional approaches to counteract the negative effects of stress may provide food animal producers with useful alternatives to antibiotics. In this study, turkeys were fed on a standard diet, or the same diet supplemented with yeast extract (YE), to determine if YE would improve disease resistance in a stress model.

2. At 16 weeks of age, half of the birds were exposed to a bacterial challenge using a coarse spray of the pen environment. A subset of control and challenged birds was also treated with dexamethasone (Dex) prior to challenge (Dex/challenge). At 18 weeks, another subset was subjected to a 12?h transport stress protocol (Challenge/transport). All birds were bled and necropsied the morning after transport. The numbers and proportions of blood cells and the heterophil oxidative burst activity (OBA) were determined. Serum corticosterone (Cort) levels of male birds were measured using a commercial ELISA kit. Body weight and gain were increased by YE during week 1.

3. YE decreased mortality and bacterial isolation following Dex/challenge only in females. Cort levels in male turkeys were decreased by YE and Dex treatment. OBA was higher in males and in birds given YE and was reduced by challenge and transport.

4. These results suggest there may be gender differences in the turkey stress response and that dietary YE has potential for modulating the impact of stress on innate immunity of turkeys.     

Evaluation of the dose–response relationship of oral robenacoxib in urate crystal‐induced acute stifle synovitis in dogs

The objective of the study was to establish the dose–response relationship for robenacoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 inhibitor, in a urate crystal model of acute synovitis. In a randomized partial Latin square design trial, 12 beagle dogs were administered orally single doses of robenacoxib (0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mg/kg), placebo and the positive control meloxicam (0.1 mg/kg), 3 h after injection of sodium urate crystals into a stifle joint. Dogs were assessed for weight bearing on a force plate and by subjective clinical orthopaedic observations. Robenacoxib produced dose‐dependent improvement in weight bearing, and decreased pain on palpation and joint swelling, over the dose range 0.5–2 mg/kg with no further increase in effect over the range 2–8 mg/kg. For weight bearing on the force plate, the ED₅₀ of robenacoxib was 0.6–0.8 mg/kg. The onset of action and time to peak effect of robenacoxib were faster (respectively, 2–2.5 h and 3–5 h) than for meloxicam (respectively, 3 h and 6 h). Robenacoxib significantly inhibited COX‐2 at all doses, with dose‐related activity. Robenacoxib did not inhibit COX‐1 over the dose range 0.5–4 mg/kg, but produced transient inhibition at 8 mg/kg. In conclusion, oral administration of robenacoxib over the dose range 0.5–8 mg/kg demonstrated significant analgesic and anti‐inflammatory efficacy in dogs.     

Site of protein digestion in steers: predictability

The nature and predictability of protein digestion in steers were examined in a series of experiments. Bypass and intestinal digestion of supplemental proteins were measured with Angus steers (203 to 254 kg) fitted with dual reentrant intestinal cannulas. Daily feed intakes were 1.8 to 1.9% of body weight. Two trials were conducted with soybean meal, cottonseed meal, a hardened casein, meat meal and two different sources of dehydrated alfalfa meal fed with an 80% concentrate diet. In the third trial, digestion of soybean meal and cottonseed meal were measured with a 60% prairie hay diet. Estimates of ruminal escape or bypass were 43, 50, 36, 76, 57, 62, 24 and 43%, respectively. Results suggest that roughage level alters bypass. A standard reference system for predicting bypass based on measurements of N solubility and in situ disappearance rates was compared with measured bypass. The correlation between observed bypass to the small intestine and bypass predicted by this system was high (r = .91, P less than .01). Combining pepsin solubility, an indicator of true intestinal digestibility, with bypass estimated by the standard reference system, allowed us to predict N disappearance from the small intestine. Predicted and measured N disappearance of fed N from the small intestine were very close.     

Expression of lactate and malate dehydrogenases in tumors induced by SV40 and 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene

Isozyme patterns of lactate and malate dehydrogenases were studied in tumors induced by SV40 and 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and in established cultures of cells from these tumors. The expression of B polypeptide subunits of lactate dehydrogenase is suppressed similarly by both agents. This may be due to inactivation of the gene at the locus determining the B polypeptide subunit. Malate dehydrogenase isozyme patterns are not changed significantly by the virus or the carcinogen.     

Arterial vascularization of the pineal gland in the fetus of Zavot-bred cattle

This study aimed at revealing arterial vascularization of the pineal gland of the Zavot-bred foetus. Twenty foetuses, regardless of their sex, at the age of 2-7 months were used. Coloured-latex was injected by way of both the right and left common carotid arteries. Then, dissection was performed and vessels nourishing the pineal gland were documented. The pineal gland is vascularized by a number of 2-5 central rami. A small vessel arising from each of the central rami in two foetuses (10%) was shown anastomosing with a branch of the cranial cerebral artery, which advances in cranio-caudal direction in the callosal groove. Hence, anastomoses were observed between several sub-branches of each caudal cerebral and cranial cerebellar arteries.     

Immunohistochemical studies on the splenic lobe of the pancreas in young Japanese quails (Coturnix c. japonica)

The splenic lobe (Lobus splenicus) of the pancreas of young meat-type quails (Coturnix c. japonica) was examined by immunohistochemical and light microscopic methods. The endocrine cells are mainly grouped as alpha, beta and mixed islets. A large region consisting of alpha cells is located in the central region of the splenic lobe whereas numerous beta islets are detected in the periphery of the splenic lobe. Alpha islets are in the majority composed of toluidine blue positive A cells and a few toluidine blue negative D and / or avian pancreatic polypeptide (APP) endocrine cells. Beta islets contain only a few toluidine blue negative B and a few D cells. Immunohistochemical staining of the splenic lobe reveal in the centre of beta islets numerous insulin immunoreactive cells and scarcely in alpha islets, exocrine tissue and / or among acinar cells. Somatostatin immune-reactive cells form a circular layer in the periphery of beta islets whereas these cells are uniformly distributed throughout the alpha islet parenchyma and exocrine tissue. In conclusion, the morphology but also the endo- and exocrine functions of the splenic lobe of quails are similar to observations in other avian species such as chicken, duck, goose and pigeon.     

Evaluation of pea proteins and poultry protein as fish meal alternatives in the diets for juvenile black sea bream,Acanthopagrus schlegelii

The potential of three different protein resources (pea protein isolate, PPI; pea protein concentrate, PPC; enzyme treated poultry protein, ETPP) as fish meal (FM) alternative protein in diets for juvenile black sea bream, Acanthopagrus schlegelii. (initial average weight 7.90 ± 0.13 g) was evaluated. Seven isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were formulated to replace FM at 0% (T0, control diet), 8% (designated as T1‐T3) and 16% (designated as T4‐T6) using PPI, PPC and ETPP respectively. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 25 juvenile fish for 8 weeks. At the end of the feeding period, survival rate was not significantly affected by dietary treatments. Growth performance in T6 (16% ETPP) group was significantly inferior to T0 group, however, weight gain and specific growth rate in other treatments showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). Mean feed intake, feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio were also poorer in fish fed in T6 than those of fish fed with the control diet respectively. Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter and crude protein for fish fed ETPP diets were significant lower than those of fish fed with the control diet, whereas ADCs of lipid were unaffected by dietary treatments. ADC's of dietary Leu, Ile, His and Lys was also significantly influenced. There were no marked variations in proximate compositions of dorsal muscle. With regard to plasma characteristics, significant difference was observed in triacylglycerol content. Ammonia concentration in plasma tended to increase in alternative protein diets as substitution level increased. There were significant differences in aspartate aminotransferase activities among groups, but alanine aminotransferase levels were unaffected by treatments. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that PPI and PPC were potential protein sources for using in juvenile black sea bream diet. However, the substitution level of FM by ETPP should be limited within 16%.     

枸杞岛海藻场两种大型海藻碎屑分解和沉降特征

岛礁水域海藻场是近岸海域典型的生态系统,大型海藻分解产生的碎屑是海藻场生态功能的重要基础。为探究大型海藻碎屑对海藻场生态功能潜在规模的贡献,本研究以枸杞岛海藻场孔石莼和舌状蜈蚣藻为对象,通过现场挂袋实验和室内静水沉降测试,分析了两种海藻碎屑的组分、粒径和沉降特征。结果显示,分解过程中舌状蜈蚣藻和孔石莼的碎屑密度均逐渐减小,且各自在不同分解时期无显著差异。舌状蜈蚣藻碎屑中有机C含量和有机N含量对密度变化影响不显著,孔石莼碎屑中有机C含量对密度没有显著影响,而有机N含量对密度有显著影响。孔石莼碎屑的δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N对其密度有显著影响,舌状蜈蚣藻碎屑的密度只受δ¹³C影响。两种海藻碎屑的密度都受木质素含量的显著影响,受纤维素含量的影响不显著。粒径是两种海藻碎屑沉降速度的决定性要素之一,研究表明,舌状蜈蚣藻大型碎屑(粒径>0.830 mm)、中型碎屑(0.380～0.830 mm)和小型碎屑(0.180～0.380mm)的沉降速度分别为0.016～0.023、0.008～0.015和0.004～0.005 m/s,孔石莼...