This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the dietary inclusion of commercial toxin binders (CTs) and prebiotics on growth performance, immune responses, intestinal morphology and blood variables of broiler chicks fed with aflatoxin and non-aflatoxin-contaminated diets. Six hundred one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks, initial weight of 42 ± 3 g, were used in 10 treatments with six replications (n = 10 birds). ASRI1 and ASRI2 commercial toxin binders and lactose prebiotic were included in their diets. Experimental diets included: 1) basal diet without aflatoxin and additives (NC); 2) basal diet containing aflatoxin (PC); 3) NC diet containing ARSI1; 4) NC diet containing ARSI2; 5) NC diet containing prebiotics; 6) PC diet containing ARSI1; 7) PC diet containing ARSI2; 8) PC diet containing prebiotics; 9) PC diet containing ARSI1+prebiotics; and 10) PC diet containing ARSI2+prebiotics. Growth performance, humoral and cellular immune responses, jejunal morphology and some blood variables were assessed. Results showed that broiler chicks fed with a PC diet showed a higher feed conversion ratio and lower body weight in the grower and finisher periods. Broiler chicks fed with PC diets showed lower immunoglobulin G and M and also cellular immunities compared to the NC diet. The PC group also showed lower values for villus length, villus width and crypt depth, and higher values for liver enzyme activities compared to the PC diet. However, dietary inclusion of prebiotics and CTs, in single and combined form, improved growth performance in grower and finisher periods, cellular and humoral immunities, intestinal morphology and the serum concentration of triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and liver enzyme activities of broiler chicks fed with aflatoxin.

ABSTRACT Objective: It is proposed that in some conditions such as pregnancy and osteoporosis where the bone turnover rate is high, there is mobilization of various minerals including lead (Pb) from bone to blood. This study aimed to determine if there were any differences in serum Pb levels among elderly osteopaenic patients, elderly osteoporotic persons and healthy controls. Methods: Fifty-four elderly persons (26 men and 28 women) from the Amirkola Health and Ageing Project, Iran, were included in this study. The diagnosis of osteopaenia and osteoporosis was based on spine and femur bone mineral density (BMD) measurements. After blood sampling, serum Pb levels were analysed by the method of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: According to the BMD measurements, 19 persons had normal BMD, while 16 had osteopaenia and 19 suffered from osteoporosis. The differences in body mass index in these three groups were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The patients with osteoporosis had the highest levels of alkaline phosphatase and the highest rate of bone turnover. The mean ± standard deviation of the serum Pb levels in these groups were 236.8 ± 98.0, 270.0 ± 81.5 and 258.3 ± 57.5 μg/L, respectively, and the differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.467). Conclusion: No statistically significant differences in serum Pb levels were observed in healthy controls compared with osteopaenic persons and osteoporotic persons. This suggests that mobilization of Pb from bone to blood in this population of elderly osteopaenic patients and elderly osteoporotic patients was similar to that in the healthy controls.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Se postula que en algunas condiciones como el embarazo y la osteoporosis donde el índice de recambio óseo es alto, hay movilización de varios minerales - incluyendo plomo (Pb) - de los huesos a la sangre. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar si hubo diferencias en los niveles de plomo sérico entre los pacientes osteopénicos mayores de edad, los pacientes osteoporóticos mayores de edad, y los controles sanos. Métodos: Se incluyeron en este estudio 54 personas de edad avanzada (26 hombres y 28 mujeres) del Proyecto Amirkola de Salud y Envejecimiento, Irán. La diagnosis de la osteopenia y la osteoporosis se basó en mediciones de la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) de la espina dorsal y del fémur (DMO). Después del muestreo de sangre, los niveles séricos de Pb fueron analizados por el método de espectrofotometría de absorción atómica. Resultados: Según las mediciones de la DMO, 19 personas tenían DMO normal, mientras que 16 tenían osteopenia y 19 padecían osteoporosis. Las diferencias en el índice de masa corporal en estos tres grupos fueron estadísticamente significativas (p < 0.001). Los pacientes con osteoporosis tenían los niveles más altos de fosfatasa alcalina y el índice más alto de recambio óseo. La media ± desviación estándar de los niveles séricos de Pb en estos grupos fue de 236.8 ± 98.0, 270.0 ± 81.5 y 258.3 ± 57.5 μg/L, respectivamente, y las diferencias no fueron estadísticamente significativas (p = 0.467). Conclusión: No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en los niveles séricos de Pb en los controles sanos en comparación con las personas osteopénicas y las osteoporóticas. Esto sugiere que la movilización de Pb del hueso a la sangre en esta población de pacientes osteopénicos mayores de edad y pacientes osteoporóticos mayores de edad, era similar a la encontrada en los controles sanos.

ABSTRACT Hawthorn extract has been used for ameliorating cardiac disorders and pulmonary hypertension. Flavonoids and oligomeric proanthocyanidins are considered to be responsible for the positive health effects of hawthorn extract. The effect of Hawthorn extract in the water supply on feed intake, growth, carcass traits, internal organ weight, cardiac indices, the concentration of serum proteins and the incidence of pulmonary hypertension syndrome was evaluated in broiler chickens. At one day-of-age, 225 chickens were assigned to one of three experimental groups where 0, 0.1 and 0.2 ML of hawthorn extract was added per one liter of drinking water. Feed intake, live weight gain and carcass weight increased when hawthorn extract was included in the drinking water at a level of 0.1 and 0.2 ML/L (p<0.05). Compared to no extract, the addition of Hawthorn extract in the drinking water (p<0.05) reduced the proportion of the body attributed to abdominal fat, liver and heart (p<0.05), and decreased the percentage of birds that died or showed clinical symptoms of pulmonary hypertension syndrome (p<0.05). Serum protein concentration was (p<0.05) higher in chickens that received the hawthorn extract in the drinking water compared to no addition of extract in the drinking water. Hawthorn extract has shown potential for use as a herbal medicine to aid in the prevention of physiological cardiac disorders and pulmonary hypertension in chickens.

RESUMO O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar o efeito da crocina no dano oxidativo cerebral e nos déficits de memória em um modelo 6-OHDA de doença de Parkinson. Ratos Wistar machos foram submetidos à injeção unilateral de 6-OHDA (16 μg) em MFB e tratados com crocina (30 e 60 mg/kg), durante 6 semanas. Os ratos foram testados quanto ao desempenho da memória 6 semanas após a infusão de 6-OHDA, e, em seguida, foram sacrificados para a estimativa dos parâmetros bioquímicos. O aumento nos níveis de TBARS e de nitrito no hipocampo foram observados em ratos 6-OHDA lesionados, acompanhado por déficits de memória em um teste de esquiva passiva no final da semana 6. Além disso, o tratamento com crocina diminuiu os níveis de nitrito e de TBARS no hipocampo e melhorou a memória aversiva. O presente estudo demonstrou conclusivamente que a crocina age como um antioxidante e um agente anti-inflamatório no hipocampo de ratos parkinsonianos e pode melhorar a memória aversiva através de suas propriedades.

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of crocin on brain oxidative damage and memory deficits in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model of Parkinson’s disease. Male Wistar rats were subjected to unilateral injection of 6-OHDA (16 µg) into the medial forebrain bundle and treated with crocin (30 and 60 mg/kg) for six weeks. The rats were tested for memory performance at six weeks after 6-OHDA infusion, and then were killed for the estimation of biochemical parameters. The increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and nitrite levels in the hippocampus were observed in the 6-OHDA lesioned rats, which was accompanied by memory deficits in a passive avoidance test at the end of week 6. Moreover, treatment with crocin decreased TBARS and nitrite levels in the hippocampus, and improved aversive memory. The present study conclusively demonstrated that crocin acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent in the hippocampus of parkinsonian rats and could improve aversive memory through its properties.

The electroanalytical function of poly-2-mercaptobenzimidazole in cholesterol electrochemical detection was evaluated phenomenologically and mathematically. The corresponding mathematical model was developed and analyzed by linear stability theory and bifurcation analysis. The theoretical data were compared with the experimental data and with theoretical data for analogous systems.

O desempenho de poli-2-mercaptobenzimidazol na detecção eletroquímica de colesterol foi avaliado fenomenológica e matematicamente. O modelo matemático correspondente foi desenvolvido e analisado por meio de teoria de estabilidade lineal e análise de bifurcações. Os dados teóricos foram comparados com os experimentais e com os teóricos para os sistemas análogos.

Abstract An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Withania coagulans (WC) fruit and 1.25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1.25-(OH)2 D3) on bone mineralization, mechanical and histological properties of male broiler chickens at 21 and 42 d of age. A total of six hundred male day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were randomly distributed according to a completely randomized experimental design in a 2×3×2 factorial arrangement with 12 treatments of five replicates of 10 birds each. Treatments consisted of two basal diets (positive control with adequate Ca level and negative control with 30% less Ca), three levels of WC (0, 100, or 200 mg/kg diet), and two levels of 1.25-(OH)2 D3 (0 or 0.5 µg/kg diet). Birds were housed in floor pens. The diets were fed ad libitum from one to 42 days of age. On day 21 and 42, one bird per replicate was sacrificed and its tibiae were removed. Both Ca and P retention increased when dietary Ca level was reduced (p<0.001). The addition of 200 mg WC/kg to positive control diet increased Ca retention (p<0.01). Except for tibia diameter, no significant main effects of experimental treatments were observed on tibia physical characteristics or on bone mineralization. The diet with 30% Ca reduction decreased tibia diameter at 42 days of age (p<0.05). The dietary addition of 1.25-(OH)2 D3 increased tibia fracture energy, width of tibia mineralized zone, and serum Ca at 42 days of age (p<0.05). At 21 days of age, supplementation of 100 mg WC/kg increased cortical thickness (p<0.05). At 42 days of age, supplementation of 100 mg WC/kg increased tibia shear force (p<0.05) and fracture energy (p<0.01). The results of this experiment showed that supplementation of 100 mg/kg hydroalcoholic extract of WC fruit increased tibia cortical thickness, shear force, and fracture energy.

ABSTRACT Objective: The occurrence of osteopenia and osteoporosis is a major problem of ageing. For assessing the severity of bone loss, bone mineral density (BMD) measurement is the gold standard. Because of the limitations of BMD, use of simpler serum-based tests to classify osteoporosis/osteopenia patients is gaining interest. In this preliminary work, we aimed to discriminate between healthy individuals and osteoporosis/osteopenia patients through a simple serum-based equation. Methods: In this study, blood from 84 elderly persons were collected and levels of vitamin D, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), copper (Cu) and strontium (Sr) were analysed. Additionally, all persons included in the study underwent BMD measurement. Results: Bone mineral density showed that 28 persons had osteoporosis, 28 persons suffered from osteopenia and 28 persons were classified as normal. Using the above-mentioned parameters and major determinants of bone loss disorders, ie age and body mass index (BMI), we suggested various equations. The “Osteo-Pars” equation that is derived from the formula [(Sr × Age)/BMI] showed the best diagnostic accuracy in receiver operating characteristic analysis. Conclusion: The suggested equation is a simple model that obtains reasonable results in discriminating healthy individuals from patients with osteopenia/osteoporosis. More study is needed to reach an exact, conclusive statement about the potential clinical application of this equation in the assessment of bone loss severity.

RESUMEN Objetivo: La aparición de osteopenia y osteoporosis es un grave problema de envejecimiento. Para evaluar la severidad de la pérdida de masa ósea, la medición de la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) es el estándar de oro. Debido a las limitaciones de la DMO, el uso de pruebas más simples basadas en el suero para clasificar a los pacientes de osteoporosis/osteopenia está ganando interés. En este trabajo preliminar, nos propusimos discriminar entre individuos sanos y pacientes de osteoporosis/osteopenia a través de una sencilla ecuación basada en suero. Métodos: En este estudio, se recogieron muestras de sangre de 84 personas mayores, y se analizaron los niveles de vitamina D, calcio (Ca), fósforo (P), cobre (Cu) y estroncio (Sr). Además, a todas las personas incluidas en el estudio se les practicó una medición de DMO. Resultados: La densidad mineral ósea demostró que 28 personas tenían osteoporosis, 28 personas sufrían de osteopenia, y 28 personas fueron clasificadas como normales. Usando los parámetros antes mencionados y los principales determinantes de los trastornos de pérdida de hueso, es decir la edad y el índice de masa corporal (IMC), sugerimos diversas ecuaciones. La ecuación “Osteo-Pars” que se deriva de la fórmula [(Sr × Edad)/IMC] mostró poseer la mejor exactitud diagnóstica en el análisis de las características operativas del receptor. Conclusión: La ecuación sugerida es un modelo simple que obtiene resultados razonables a la hora de diferenciar los individuos sanos de los pacientes con osteopenia/osteoporosis. Se necesitan más estudios para llegar a un planteamiento concluyente y exacto acerca de la potencial aplicación clínica de esta ecuación en la evaluación de la severidad de la pérdida ósea.

In this work, a nickel-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was prepared using a potentiostatic method in 0.1 M acetate buffer solution at pH 4.0 containing 1.0 mM nickel nitrate. Nickel hydroxide nanoparticles were prepared using consecutive potential scanning in 0.1 M NaOH solution. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical methods. Electrochemical characterization exhibited stable redox behaviour of the Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple. Cyclic voltammetric experiments showed that electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol can occur at the modified electrode, whereas it is not observed at a bare GCE. The effect of potential sweep rates and methanol concentration on its electrochemical behaviour was studied. The rate constant (k) for the chemical reaction between methanol and catalytic centres has been evaluated by chronoamperometry. In addition, long-term stability of the modified electrode was investigated by electrochemical methods.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different levels of methionine, protein and tallow on productive performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late phase of production. A completely randomized design with a 3×2×2 factorial arrangement, with three levels (0.34, 0.31, and 0.27%) of methionine (MET), two levels (12.8 and 14.7%) of protein (PRO) and two levels (1 and 3%) of tallow (TAL) with constant level of linoleic acid (1.55 ± 0.02%), was used. A number of 144 Hi-Line W-36 layers from 70 to 76 wk of age was randomly distributed into 12 treatment groups with 4 replicates of 3 hens each. Egg production and egg weight were daily recorded and feed intake and egg quality traits were recorded every 2 wk. There was a significant interaction between PRO levels and TAL for egg weight. Low levels of TAL and PRO decreased egg weight throughout the experiment. High levels of MET and TAL with concomitant reduced PRO, increased eggshell thickness, and a significant interaction between levels of MET, PRO and TAL was observed during the experiment (70 to 76 wk). Low level of protein (12.8%) significantly decreased albumen weight in the third 2-wk period. Yolk color increased when hens were fed low levels of PRO and TAL. Results of this experiment indicated that the simultaneous reduction of dietary PRO and MET in diets of Hi-Line W-36 laying hens in the late phase of production, reduced egg weight (P<0.05). Productive performance and egg quality were not affected by 12 and 20% reduction of PRO and MET, respectively. It seems that decreasing the levels of MET and PRO to lower than the recommended values can decrease egg weight without negative effects on productive performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late phase of production.