The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dried
L. leaves as a phytogenic mixture added to broiler feed on CD4
and CD8
T lymphocyte subpopulations, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antibody ...titres, and the presence of
in faecal samples. The study was conducted on 100 male Ross 308 broilers, divided into four groups of 25 broilers, for a 42-day research period. The groups were housed separately in boxes on a litter of softwood shavings and were fed starter mixture from day 1 to day 21 and finisher mixture from day 22 to day 42. Industrial hemp (
) was grown in the Crkvina area, Croatia (latitude: 45°18'46.8″ N; longitude: 15°31'30″ E). The hemp leaves were manually separated, sun-dried, and ground to a powder. The mixture offered to the control group did not contain cannabis leaves, whereas the three experimental groups received mixtures containing mixed cannabis leaves in a quantity of 10 g/kg, 20 g/kg, or 30 g/kg (E_10, E_20, and E_30, respectively). The mean NDV antibody level was uniform in all study groups until post-vaccination day 14 and increased comparably with time. The percentage of CD4
and CD8
lymphocytes in the peripheral blood subpopulation showed statistically significant differences (
< 0.001) in the E_20 group as compared with the control group and both the E_10 and E_30 groups throughout the study period. As the broiler age increased, the CD4
-to-CD8
ratios also increased and were statistically significant (
< 0.0001) on day 42 in all experimental groups as compared to the control group. Comparing the control group with the experimental groups indicated that the bacterial count was lower in broiler groups having received feed with the addition of 20 g/kg and 30 g/kg
leaves. In conclusion, the
leaves were found to elicit a favourable immunomodulatory effect on cell-mediated and humoral immune responses in broilers via increased CD4
and CD8
lymphocyte subpopulations and higher CD4
:CD8
cell ratios, thus indicating enhanced immune function capacity. In addition,
leaves may have complementary effects on the broiler post-vaccination immune response, increase broilers' resistance to infectious diseases, reduce the effect of stress associated with vaccination, and improve broiler health and welfare.
The primary focus of the current study was to determine the potential benefits of supplementing sheep diet with white button mushrooms (WBM) in terms of growth, health and the kinetics of systemic ...CD4+ CD8+ memory T lymphocytes in lambs. Forty-five female lambs (Lika breed) were divided into three groups: A – the control group fed on a free-range pasture for the 222 days of the experiment, while groups B and C were housed in a separate facility for 42 days and fed either a commercial feed mixture (FM) or a FM supplemented with 15% of freshly prepared WBM, respectively, and ad libitum forage. For the remaining 180 days of the experiment, both groups (B and C) of lambs were kept free-range and fed pasture only. The lambs were monitored daily starting on Day 0 (or 90 days of age) before the treatments, weighed and blood sampled on Days 0, 21, 42 and 222, and were clinically observed for the incidence/severity of diarrhea and/or other signs of disease. In addition to morbidity, mortality was also monitored, and dead lambs were examined for gross pathology changes. The lambs fed FM supplemented with WBM (group C) had significantly higher body weight gain (P<0.05) on Days 42 and 222. They were neither diarrheic nor had any mortality cases throughout the experiment. Also, these lambs had a significantly increased (P<0.05) proportion of CD4+CD8+ T cells on Days 42 and 222. The data obtained supported our assumption of the efficacy of dietary WBM in the immunostimulation of CD4+CD8+ memory T lymphocytes in lambs, resulting in protection against on-farm diarrhea and providing an increased growth rate.
Pregnancy termination is a required procedure in companion animal practice. In healthy bitches with confirmed pregnancy, good results are obtained with the combination of prostaglandin F
2
and ...dopamine agonist, followed by regular sonographic examination until confirmed abortion. The aim of this study was to establish a simple and easily applicable procedure, with different dynamics of application of dinoprost and cabergoline. Dinoprost was administered intramucousally in the vestibule of vagina. Twenty bitches were divided into four equal groups. Group A received dinoprost and cabergoline daily; group B received dinoprost every 48 h and cabergoline daily; group C received dinoprost daily and cabergoline every 48 h, and group D received both cabergoline and dinoprost every 48 h. The treatment lasted until abortion was sonographically confirmed. The pregnancy was successfully terminated in all bitches, and side effects appeared in 90% animals, though they were of strong intensity in only 15% of bitches. Dinoprost administered intramucousally was effective with fewer undesirable, strong, systemic side effects. Drug administration every 48 h also induced abortion, with negligible side effects, but with slightly longer duration of treatment. This combination could be interesting in cases with time-limited owners and in countries where other drugs are unavailable.
This study aimed to identify seasonal and age related variability in triglycerides (TRI), paraoxonase (PON), stimulated PON (PON I) and cholesterol (CHOL, HDL, LDL) in extensively reared Lička ...pramenka sheep. The study was conducted 30 randomly chosen non-gravid Lička pramenka sheep on an extensive farm, grouped into three age groups in the Karlovac County, Croatia. Blood was collected by venepuncture of the jugular vein, twice in one year - the first sampling in spring (April) and the second in autumn (October). The results showed that age had no significant effect on any of the investigated indicators, while seasonality significantly affected five out of the six parameters examined. Significantly higher levels of serum lipid components in autumn can be explained by the influence of the traditional way of rearing and feeding Lička pramenka sheep. Furthermore, the results of PON I in all three age groups showed that the sheep are well adapted to the environment and to the rearing system. Future research should be carried out on higher number of farms, and should include more sheep in order to determine objective benchmarks for serum lipids and the enzymes connected to those lipids.
To investigate the impact of synthetic electrospun polyurethane (PU) and polycaprolactone (PCL) nanoscaffolds, before and after hydrolytic surface modification, on viability and differentiation of ...cultured human eye epithelial cells, in comparison with natural scaffolds: fibrin and human amniotic membrane.
Human placenta was taken at elective cesarean delivery. Fibrin scaffolds were prepared from commercial fibrin glue kits. Nanoscaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning. Limbal cells were isolated from surpluses of human cadaveric cornea and seeded on feeder 3T3 cells. The scaffolds used for viability testing and immunofluorescence analysis were amniotic membrane, fibrin, PU, and PCL nanoscaffolds, with or without prior NaOH treatment.
Scanning electron microscope photographs of all tested scaffolds showed good colony spreading of seeded limbal cells. There was a significant difference in viability performance between cells with highest viability cultured on tissue culture plastic and cells cultured on all other scaffolds. On the other hand, electrospun PU, PCL, and electrospun PCL treated with NaOH had more than 80% of limbal cells positive for stem cell marker p63 compared to only 27%of p63 positive cells on fibrin.
Natural scaffolds, fibrin and amniotic membrane, showed better cell viability than electrospun scaffolds. On the contrary, high percentages of p63 positive cells obtained on these scaffolds still makes them good candidates for efficient delivery systems for therapeutic purposes.
Animal hairs are an apt surface for retention of forensic trace epithelial samples. The aim of this study was threefold: to evaluate different methods of sample collection (moistened and dry swabs) ...and DNA extraction (Chelex
100 method, Qiagen EZ1
DNA Investigator Kit), as well as to examine the morphological differences of hair fibres between two species (dog, sheep) and their ultimate impact on sample collection and processing. Our preliminary findings suggest that the use of EZ1
DNA Investigator Kit yields donor DNA profiles of higher quality. The results of different sample collection methods have shown intraspecific variations that require further investigation. The ability of retention and subsequent extraction of trace DNA appears to be similar between the two species, despite significant morphological differences between their coat hairs.
The aim of the research was to qualitatively determine volatile aroma compounds in the M. longissimus dorsi of lambs. The research included a total of 30 lamb carcasses divided into three groups. The ...animals were fed with a regular commercial feed mixture, which was supplemented with chopped dried or fresh common mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) in various proportions. Volatile compounds were determined using headspace solid-phase microextraction, coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The identified compounds are classified into the following chemical groups: aldehydes, esters, alcohols, amino acids, peptides, lactones, ketones, fatty acids, complex organic compounds, ethers and furans. Further research is needed to determine whether the differences between the groups in the volatile compounds identified affect the acceptability of lamb meat to consumers. Key words: lamb meat; dry supplement; Agaricus bisporus; volatile aroma compounds Cilj ovog istrazivanja bio je utvrditi hlapljive aromaticne spojeve u M. longissimus dorsi janjadi hranjene komercijalnom krmnom smjesom, kojoj je dodavan suhi ili nasjeckani svjezi pripravak plemenite pecurke (Agaricus bisporus) u razlicitim omjerima. Istrazivanjem je obuhvaceno ukupno 30 klaonicki obradenih tupova janjadi podijeljeno u tri skupine. Hlapljivi spojevi odredeni su koristenjem mikroekstrakcije u cvrstoj fazi u kombinaciji s plinskom kromatografjom/masenom spektrometrijom. Identifcirani spojevi mogu se razvrstati u sljedece kemijske skupine: aldehidi, esteri, alkoholi, aminokiseline, peptidi, laktoni, ketoni, masne kiseline, slozeni organski spojevi, eteri i furani. Potrebna su daljnja istrazivanja kako bi se utvrdilo utjecu li razlike u identifciranim hlapljivim spojevima izmedu skupina na prihvatljivost janjeceg mesa za potrosace Kljucne rijeci: janjece meso; pripravak plemenite pecurke Agaricus bisporus; hlapljivi spojevi arome
Highlights • 200 samples of central Croatia population was typed by Investigator® Argus X-12. • The most informative marker is DXS10135. • The most informative linkage group includes markers ...DXS10148, DXS10135 and DXS8378. • Investigator® Argus X-12 is applicable in forensic analysis for Croatian population.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains expressing F4 and F18 fimbriae are the most common causative agents of post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. The growing global restriction on the use ...of antibiotics in food animals has encouraged research into the development of nutritional and feeding strategies as well as vaccination against PWD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a live oral F4ac+ F18ac+ non-ETEC vaccine candidate (VAC) to stimulate gut and systemic cellular immunity in 4-week old pigs over 5 weeks following immunization. The onset and duration of protective immunity against on-farm occurring PWD, growth performance, diarrhoea scoring and mortality, as well as the phenotypic proportions of immune cells, were determined. Faecal and ileal samples were taken for determining the microbial composition or phenotyping of naïve/memory T cells. Also, the effect of prebiotic supplement mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) in the prevention of small intestinal colonization by ETEC, and its potential adjuvanticity in combination with the vaccine (VAC+MOS) were assessed. The pigs supplemented with MOS or that received VAC had significantly higher body weight (BW) (P<0.05) on Day 14, whereas the VAC+MOS treated pigs had significantly lower BW on Day 35. Treatment with VAC+MOS resulted in considerably reduced clinical PWD, in particular the incidence and severity of diarrhoea and mortality. The total bacterial load in the ileum was much lower in the pigs from all 3 principal groups (MOS, VAC, and VAC+MOS) than in the control (CON) group (19 x 107, 17 x 107 and 12 x 107 vs. 23 x 108 CFU/mL, respectively) on Day 35. The pigs from the principal groups had significantly higher proportions of tested immune cells (P<0.05) on Days 28 and 35. The localization and frequency of naive CD45RA+ and memory CD45RC+ T lymphocytes indicated their different distribution patterns within particular tissue structures, such as the villi, crypts, epithelium, lamina propria and areas (interfollicular follicular and Peyer’s patches) of ileal mucosa. This may indicate their different functions in intestinal immune responses to intraluminal microbes and their products, vaccinal immunogens and/or immunomodulators/adjuvants. To conclude, active mucosal immunity is needed to protect pigs against PWD. Hence, oral vaccination of pigs against both F4 and F18 ETEC, in combination with prebiotic supplementation represents a sustainable, practical and effective approach in PWD control.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary carob wholemeal (Ceratonia siliqua L.) through monitoring the changes in some blood parameters (RBC, LEU, CD45+, CD4+, CD8+, CD21+) on ...the growth and development of weaned pigs (Swedish Landrace and Yorkshire cross-breeds). Thirty pigs were divided into two groups. In the control group the pigs were fed with a standard feed mixture. In the second, the experimental group (EXP), the feed mixture was enriched daily with carob wholemeal in a dose of 40 g/kg diet. Both groups were fed ad libitum. At the end of the 42-day experiment the pigs in the EXP groups were on average 23% heavier. The total sugar content, total phenolic content, flavonoids, anthocyanins, tannins and total antioxidant content of the carob wholemeal was determined. Carob wholemeal contains high carbohydrate content (73%). The total phenolic content value was 9.98 + or - 0.18 mg GAE/g. The total flavonoid value was 6.56 + or - 0.19 mg GAE/g, or 65% of total polyphenols, from which it can be seen that antioxidant activity is correlated to the total phenolic content. The total anthocyanins content was 34.00 + or - 0.07 mg CE/g while the total tannin content was 658.75 + or - 18.75 microg TAE/g. The ABTS method values were 89.50 + or - 0.17 micromol TE/g sample while antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH method was 56.87 + or - 0.66 micromol TE/g sample. Carob supplementation did not affect the amount of red blood cells and leucocytes, but did affect the proportions of the proliferation rate of CD45+ lymphoid cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and CD21+ B cells in peripheral blood. Between days 14 and 42 an increase in the proportions of CD45+, CD4+, CD8+, CD21+ cells (at pless than or equal to0.05 or pless than or equal to0.01, respectively) was observed. Dietary supplementation of weaned piglets with 4% carob wholemeal showed an advantageous or beneficial effect on the immunity and productivity of the weanlings. Key words: carob; diarrhoea; phytocompounds; immunology; pigs
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