Effects of artemisinin in broiler chickens following chronic oral intake

Artemisinin has been used for centuries to treat malaria, intestinal tract helminthosis, diarrhea, and used as an antipyretic and sedative agent, but the usage in veterinary medicine is a new field. Recently, it has been used successfully to control experimental poultry coccidiosis. The present study aimed to determine the effects of different doses of artemisinin in broiler chickens with chronic usage. Sixty birds divided into one control and four treatment groups that fed rations mixed with artemisinin at doses of 17, 34, 68, and 136 ppm for 36 days. During the experiment, birds showed no clinical signs except anemia. In microscopic examinations, heart, lung, and spleen had no lesion, but liver, kidney, and brain showed various lesions. Degenerative lesions like intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusions were seen in both kidney and liver but fatty change was seen only in liver. There was no relationship between severity of the liver lesions and drug dosage. Central chromatolysis, scattered neuronal necrosis, and mild spongy changes were observed in five regions of the brain that were chosen for sectioning (motor cortex, cerebellar nuclei, midbrain nuclei, and hindbrain nuclei at two separate levels). Severity of lesions in brain was dose-dependent, and cerebral cortex was the most vulnerable area. Haematologic tests showed lower values for hematocrit and red blood cell count dose-dependently. In conclusion, artemisinin is a promising drug for prevention and control of coccidiosis in broiler chickens and its side effects are not too much serious especially at therapeutic doses.     

饲料用混合油脂中苯并(a)芘测定方法的比较与优化

文中分析比较了三种油脂中苯并(a)芘含量的测定方法,其中GB/T22509—2008《动植物油脂苯并(a)芘的测定》方法安全性高、可行性强。本试验对该方法存在的一些不足之处加以优化后,用以测定饲料用混合油脂中苯并(a)芘的残留。标准品苯并(a)芘在0.5～20μg/l范围内的线性回归方程为:Y=1.445 6X+0.004 1,R2=0.999 5。油脂样品添加苯并(a)芘10μg/kg水平时的平均回收率为102.2%(N=5,RSD=2.3%);添加5μg/kg水平时的平均回收率为95.5%(N=5,RSD=4.2%)。结果表明该方法稳定性好、分析准确度高,非常适合用以评价油脂中苯并(a)芘的残留情况。抽样检测结果表明我国饲料级混合油中苯并(a)芘都有检出而且含量高于美国进口饲料级混合油,具有一定安全隐患。     

Evaluating the impact of excess dietary tryptophan on laying performance and immune function of laying hens reared under hot and humid summer conditions

1. Tryptophan (Trp), besides its role as an essential amino acid in protein synthesis, may also have other important effects on laying hens under summer conditions.

2. Babcock Brown layers (n?=?768), 40 weeks of age, were allocated to 4 treatment groups, each of which included 6 replicates of 32 hens. Each group received the same basal diet, formulated with maize and soybean meal, for 8 weeks. Hens were fed on the basal diet with 0·0, 0·2, 0·4, and 0·8?g/kg L-Trp to achieve dietary concentrations of 1·7, 1·9?g/kg, 2·1?g/kg or 2·5?g/kg of Trp, respectively.

3. Supplementing L-Trp had no affect on laying performance. Adding 0·2 or 0·4?g/kg L-Trp improved egg shell strength compared with those fed on the control diet. Serum albumin concentration increased at 0·4?g/kg compared with those receiving 0·0 or 0·8?g/kg Trp. The addition of Trp at 0·4?g/kg increased serum IgM concentration quadratically. Serum superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) increased linearly and quadratically at 0·4?g/kg.

4. In conclusion, we suggest that 0·2 to 0·4?g/kg Trp may have beneficial effects on laying hens under conditions of high temperature and humidity.     

Improvement in the diagnosis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brucella abortus</Emphasis> infections in naturally infected water buffaloes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bubalus bubalis</Emphasis>) using an ELISA with a Protein-G-based indicator system

Brucellosis caused by Brucella abortus in domestic water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) raised under the traditional system of husbandry in northern India was diagnosed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) with a Protein-G-based indicator system (Protein-G ELISA). A total of 1,551 animals that are positive (N = 61), negative (N = 243), and suspected (N = 1,247) for brucellosis were examined. Rose bengal test (RBT) was used to predict the disease, and accordingly, animals were dichotomized in positive and negative population for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the sensitivity, the specificity, and the performance index of Protein-G ELISA. Taking all animals (N=1551) into account, the ROC curve analysis revealed cut off value of 29.6% positivity (%P) with 98.40% and 94.94%, sensitivity and specificity, respectively. The results were compared with ELISA in which anti-bovine conjugate was used. The cut off in ELISA was 37.9%P and sensitivity and specificity were 96.26% and 97.07%, respectively. The performance indexes of both the assays were almost equal and were 193.34 for Protein-G ELISA and 193.33 for ELISA. The cut off values of both the tests changed, if only known positive (N = 61) and known negative (N=243) animals were used for ROC curve analysis, and accordingly, changes in sensitivity and specificity were observed with significant decrease of performance indexes of both the tests. The high optical density (P<0.0001) background signal with negative serum control and high %P (P<0.0001) in sera from negative population were noticed in ELISA in comparison to Protein-G ELISA.     

In vitro inhibitory effect of trichostatin A on canine grade 3 mast cell tumor

Mast cell tumor (MCT) is one of the most prevalent neoplasms that affect skin and soft tissue in dogs. Because mast cell tumors present a great variety of clinical appearance and behavior, their treatment becomes a challenge. Trichostatin A (TSA), an antifungal antibiotic, has shown inhibitory effects on the proliferation and induction of apoptosis in various types of cancer cells. In order to evaluate the potential of trichostatin A as a therapeutic drug, cells of grade 3 MCT were cultured and treated with concentrations of 1 nM to 400 nM of TSA. MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion assays were performed to estimate cell growth and cell viability, and cell cycle analysis was evaluated. TSA treatment showed a reduction in numbers of viable cells and an increase of cell death by apoptosis. The cell cycle analysis showed an increase of hypodiploid cells and a reduction of G0/G1 and G2/M –phases. According to these results, trichostatin A may be an interesting potential chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of canine MCT.     

Characterization of Doayo and Kapsiki taurine cattle breeds of Cameroon in their natural environment

Data were collected on live weight (LW), heart girth (HG), height-at-withers (HW), trunk length (TL), age, sex, and coat color of 207 taurines cattle—122 of the Doayo (Namchi) breed and 85 of the Kapsiki (Kirdi) breed. The animals, aged 1 to 20 years, were selected from 60 herds randomly selected from villages of Poli of Faro and Mokolo of Tsanga, divisions of the North and Far North Regions of Cameroon. The data were analyzed using the SAS program with a linear model, applying standard tests. Results indicated no breed effect (P > 0.05) in the growth trends of LW, HG, HW, and TL. HG and TL were highly significantly (P < 0.0001) related to LW. The growth pattern for the two breeds was the same since the linear contrast of least square means for the traits at various age groups did not differ (P > 0.05) significantly. The breeds attained maturity as from 4 years. In the absence of breed effect (P > 0.05), a single regression equation was established for the estimation of live weight as thus LW = - 244.42 ( ±22.57 ) kg + 2.49 ( ±0.23 ) HG + 1.04 ( ±0.25 ) TL {\hbox{LW}} = - {244}.{42 }\left( {\pm {22}.{57}} \right){\hbox{ kg}} + {2}.{49 }\left( {\pm 0.{23}} \right){\hbox{ HG}} + {1}.0{4 }\left( {\pm 0.{25}} \right){\hbox{ TL}} , with HG contributing up to 70% of total variation and TL, 2%. This equation could be used to develop a measuring band useful in the rural environment for commercial and clinical veterinary purposes.     

Rumen development and growth of Balouchi lambs offered alfalfa hay pre- and post-weaning

The consumption of solid feed is essential for successful transition from a pre-ruminant to a functional digestive tract. Lambs fed starter rations containing highly fermentable carbohydrates often experience dramatic changes in concentrations of rumen and blood metabolites. The optimal amount of roughage required in the diet of pre-ruminant animals is still unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding alfalfa hay on performance and rumen development in young Balouchi lambs. In a completely randomized design, 30 lambs were fed one of three experimental diets consisting of a control, without alfalfa hay (C), a diet containing 7.5% alfalfa hay (A1), and a diet containing 15% alfalfa hay (A2). Lambs fed A1 and A2 diets had lower dry matter intake during the pre-weaning period (P?P?=?0.02), but feed conversion ratio and average daily gain were not affected by feeding alfalfa hay. Concentration of beta-hydroxybutyric acid was higher in C compared with the A1 and A2 groups (P?P?=?0.04) and increased thickness of muscular layer (P?=?0.05). We concluded that including 15% alfalfa hay in the starter diet could reduce thickness of the keratinization layer and increase muscularity of rumen wall without adverse effects on growth and performance of newborn lambs.     

结缕草与草地早熟禾的弹性与耐磨性对比研究

重压与摩擦试验表明，结缕草的弹性和耐磨性明显高于早熟禾，与早熟禾相比，结缕草抗践踏、弹性好的解剖学机理是：结缕草叶片的角度层发达，维管束丰富，叶内组织排列紧密，机械组织发达，结缕草叶鞘的角质层发达，叶肉厚而结构紧实。     

单播与混播下紫花苜蓿与无芒雀麦生物量对氮肥的响应

禾本科与豆科牧草的混播,是人工草地建植的最主要方式之一,研究氮肥对豆禾混播草地影响对维持混播草地的持续稳定生产具有重要意义。试验在温室栽培条件下研究了3个氮肥梯度(0,75,150 kg N/hm²,记作N₀,N₇₅,N₁₅₀)对无芒雀麦单播,紫花苜蓿单播以及它们混播(分别记作G-G,L-L,G-L)生物量的影响。研究结果表明,1)在单播时,无芒雀麦对氮肥的响应较敏感,施入氮肥显著地提高无芒雀麦的生物量(P<0.05),而对紫花苜蓿的生物量无显著影响(P>0.05)。在混播时,无芒雀麦对有效氮的竞争胜过紫花苜蓿,施氮能显著地增加混播中无芒雀麦牧草的生物量(P<0.05),间接地抑制了紫花苜蓿生物量的发展。2)无芒雀麦和紫花苜蓿混播的总生物量介于它们单播时生物量之间,却高于它们单播时生物量的平均值。3)无芒雀麦单株地上生物量在混播时显著高于单播(P<0.05)。相反,紫花苜蓿的单株地上生物量单播显著高于混播(P<0.05)。这说明在混播系统中,无芒雀麦混播效应表现为积极的促进作用,紫花苜蓿混播效应表现为消极的抑制作用。4)在无芒雀麦和紫花苜蓿的混播中,无芒雀麦和紫花苜蓿的生长处于动态的消长中,这种变化通过土壤无机氮的水平来调控。     

饲粮蛋白质水平对早期断奶仔猪氮代谢的影响

选择30头28日龄断奶仔猪（平均体重4．5kg），研究饲粮粗蛋白质（CP）水平对早期断奶仔猪氮代谢的影响。结果显示：（1）饲粮CP水平分别与CP摄入量、CP表现消化率、可消化CP摄入量、未消化CP摄入量存在显著（P＜0．05）或极显著（P＜0．01）的正相关；（2）CP真消化率不受饲粮CP水平的影响，两者的相关关系不显著（P＞0．05）；（3）仔猪内源粪氮排泄量为0．22g／日，内源粪氮占干物质摄入量的比值为2．6g／kg；（4）饲粮CP水平分别与盲肠内容物中挥发性盐基氮（VBN）和氨氮（AN）含量的相关关系不显著（P＞0．05），但饲粮CP水平分别与结肠内容物中VBN和AN含量存在显著（P＜0．05）的正相关；（5）饲粮CP水平分别与血浆VBN和尿素氮含量存在显著（P＜0．05）和极显著（P＜0．01）的正相关，但血浆AN含量则不受饲粮CP水平的影响，两者的相关关系不显著（P＞0．05）。结果表明，随着饲粮CP水平升高，CP的真消化率不变，进入大肠的蛋白质量增加，结肠内蛋白质的腐败作用增强，血中含氮代谢产物增多。