This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementation with canthaxanthin (Cx) and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) on the production performance, egg quality, bone mineral content, blood ...biochemical parameters, and antioxidant status of European quail breeders. Two hundred and forty quail breeders were distributed in a completely randomized design with 5 diets and 8 replicates of 4 females and 2 males were used. All quail breeders received one of 5 diets: basal diet (containing 2,000 IU vitamin D3) or the same diet supplemented with 3 ppm Cx and 34.5 μg 25-OH-D3, 6 ppm Cx and 69 μg 25-OH-D3, 9 ppm Cx and 103.5 μg 25-OH-D3, or 12 ppm Cx and 138 μg 25-OH-D3. Production performance and internal and external egg quality parameters were not influenced by diet. Eggshell dry weight decreased linearly with increasing supplementation levels, and eggshell ash and calcium content increased quadratically. Plasma phosphorus, calcium, and ionic calcium levels in females and plasma ionic calcium levels in males showed a positive quadratic response to dietary supplementation. Femoral and tibiotarsal dry weight and calcium content were influenced by diet. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity in the liver of males and females and in the serum of females showed a positive quadratic relationship with Cx and 25-OH-D3 levels, whereas the malonaldehyde concentration showed a negative quadratic relationship. DPPH scavenging activity in the serum of male quail increased linearly with supplementation. There was a positive quadratic effect on superoxide dismutase gene expression and a positive linear effect on glutathione peroxidase 7 gene expression, suggesting that dietary enrichment with Cx and 25-OH-D3 might help protect spermatozoa against oxidative damage. The dietary supplement was pro-oxidative at high concentrations (above 9 ppm Cx). The results indicate that diets with adequate levels of Cx and 25-OH-D3 have a beneficial effect on calcium and phosphorus metabolism as well as on the antioxidant defense system. We recommend supplementing European quail breeders in the laying period with 6 ppm Cx and 69 μg 25-OH-D3.
This study assessed the effects of combined supplementation with canthaxanthin (Cx) and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) on incubation performance, fertility, and chick quality in European quail ...breeders. A total of 240 birds were distributed in a completely randomized design with 5 diets and 8 replicates. The animals were fed a basal diet containing 50 µg of vitamin D3 or the basal diet supplemented with 3 ppm Cx and 34.5 µg 25-OH-D3, 6 ppm Cx, and 69 µg 25-OH-D3, 9 ppm Cx and 103.5 µg 25-OH-D3, or 12 ppm Cx and 138 µg 25-OH-D3. Incubation performance was analyzed in 2 periods (32 and 38 wk). Breeders aged 32 wk produced eggs with higher hatchability (P = 0.024), hatchability of fertile eggs (P = 0.026) and lower initial plus mid embryonic mortality (P = 0.021), whereas 38-week-old breeders generated chicks with a higher length at hatching (P < 0.001) and lower final plus pipped embryonic mortality (P = 0.021). In both age groups, Cx + 25-OH-D3 levels had a quadratic effect on egg fertility (P < 0.001), hatchability of total (P < 0.001), and fertile eggs (P < 0.001). The fertility and the number of sperm cells in the perivitelline membrane was analyzed in two periods (26 and 40 wk). A quadratic effect of diet and days after mating on both parameters (P < 0.05) was observed. Eggs from supplementing breeders showed a high fertility (P < 0.001) and sperm cell counts (P < 0.001) for up to 7 and 3 d after mating, respectively, then the control group. Moreover, the supplementation of quail breeder diets with 6 ppm Cx + 69 µg 25-OH-D3 enhances sperm cell longevity in sperm storage tubules, hatchability of total and fertile eggs, fertility, and chick quality, especially in older quail's breeders and reduces embryonic mortality.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the development and growth of the digestive system organs, from the 11th day of incubation until the 14 d post-hatch in European and Japanese ...quail. On days 11, 13 and 15 of incubation at hatch and at 4, 7, 10 and 14 d post-hatch, embryos or chicks of European and Japanese quail were analyzed. After 15 d of incubation, samples from stomach and small intestine were analyzed by microscopy. European quail had significantly heavier body weight at 15 d of incubation and after 4 d post-hatch. The digestive system weight progressively increased with age and was similar between European and Japanese quail at 11, 13, and 15 d of incubation and 10 d post-hatch, while relative weight of digestive system was similar between quail type with great values at 4 d post-hatch. For relative weight of the small intestine + pancreas, the weight of the proventriculus and of the gastric ventricle increased significant by among ages analyzed in both types of quail. At hatch, proventriculus had functional secretory cells and mucosa of gastric ventricle had a thin coilin membrane. In small intestine segments, at 15 d of incubation the height of the villi was similar among duodenum, jejunum, and ileum (80 μm). Villi had elongated shape towards the intestinal lumen, covered by enterocytes and dispersed goblet cells with PAS+ and AB+ contend in all segments. The number of goblet cell/villi increased in segments until 7 to 10 d post-hatch. Duodenum increases the villi up to 14 d, while the jejunum and ileum up to 10 and 4 d, respectively. Based on our data in digestive system growth, a shorter period of post-hatch fast and specific diets to quail during first days of growth is recommended to both quail types. It is concluded that the development and growth of different organs of the digestive system up to 14 d of age was similar between European and Japanese quail.
Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is a widely accepted treatment for early gastric cancer; however, incomplete resection with residual local disease and recurrences continues to be a difficult ...problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for residual/local recurrent early gastric cancer lesions after EMR.
The en bloc resection rate, histologically complete resection rate, complications, and local recurrence were assessed in 15 patients who underwent ESD for residual/local recurrent early gastric cancer lesions after EMR.
The nonlifting sign after injection of a glycerin solution was positive due to scar formation in all cases. En bloc resection was attempted in all cases, with a complete resection rate of 93.3 % (14 of 15). The lesion was completely resected with histologically adequate margins in the 14 patients who received complete en bloc resection. The average operation time was 85.4 +/- 52.9 min, and the mean follow-up period for all patients was 18.1 +/- 7.4 months. Major bleeding during the procedure in one case was the only complication (one of 15, 6.7 %). None of the patients experienced recurrence of early gastric cancer after ESD.
ESD appears to be a safe and effective treatment for residual/local recurrent early gastric cancer lesions after EMR, and it is useful for histological confirmation of successful treatment.
It is unclear how and when insoluble beta-amyloid in senile plaques exerts degenerative effects on distant hippocampal neurons in Alzheimer's disease. Racemization of Ser and Asp residues of ...insoluble beta-amyloid is a typical age-dependent process. In this study, we investigated the fibril formation activity and cytotoxic activity of beta-amyloid 1-40 racemized at the Asp or Ser residue. In contrast to beta-amyloid 1-40 and its derivative substituted with the D-Asp(1, 7 or 23) or D-Ser(8) residue, D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40 was non-toxic to PC12 cells, and did not exhibit significant fibril formation activity making it soluble. However, D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40, but not beta-amyloid 1-40, was converted in vitro to a potent neurotoxic and truncated peptide, D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 25-35 or D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 25-40, by chymotrypsin-like enzymes and aminopeptidase M. Soluble D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40 was injected into rat hippocampus with a non-toxic dose of ibotenic acid, an excitatory amino acid. Nissl staining and microtubule-associated protein-2 immunostaining revealed that D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40, as well as D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 25-35, produced a drastic degeneration of the CA1 neurons with ibotenic acid although D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40 alone or ibotenic acid alone did not exert neuronal damage. This suggests the in vivo conversion of non-toxic D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40 to the toxic and truncated peptides which enhance the susceptibility of neurons to the excitatory amino acid.These results and the presence of D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 25-35-like antigens in Alzheimer's disease brains suggest that soluble D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 1-40, possibly formed during the aging process, is released from senile plaques, and converted by brain proteinases to truncated D-Ser(26)beta-amyloid 25-35(40)-like peptides, which degenerate hippocampal neurons by enhancing the susceptibility to excitatory amino acids in Alzheimer's disease brains. These findings may provide the basis for a new therapeutic approach to prevent the neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
Mating-type (MAT) loci were cloned from two asexual (mitosporic) phytopathogenic ascomycetes, Fusarium oxysporum (a pyrenomycete) and Alternaria alternata (a loculoascomycete), by a polymerase chain ...reaction (PCR)-based strategy. The conserved high mobility group (HMG) box domain found in the MAT1-2-1 protein was used as a starting point for cloning and sequencing the entire MAT1-2 idiomorph plus flanking regions. Primer pairs designed to both flanking regions were used to amplify the opposite MAT1-1 idiomorph. The MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs were approximately 4.6 and 3.8 kb in F. oxysporum and approximately 1.9 and 2.2 kb in A. alternata, respectively. In both species, the MAT1-1 idiomorph contains at least one gene that encodes a protein with a putative alpha box domain and the MAT1-2 idiomorph contains one gene that encodes a protein with a putative HMG box domain. MAT-specific primers were used to assess the mating type of F. oxysporum and A. alternata field isolates by PCR. MAT genes from A. alternata were expressed. The A. alternata genes were confirmed to be functional in a close sexual relative, Cochliobolus heterostrophus, by heterologous expression.
A subchronic oral toxicity study was conducted to evaluate the safety of l-serine in Sprague–Dawley rats. The test article was administered once daily by gavage in male and female rats at dose levels ...of 0, 500, 1500, and 3000mg/kg body weight/day for 13weeks. Daily clinical signs, body weight, and food consumption were not affected by ingestion of the test article. There were no treatment-related adverse effects on urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry, organ weights, gross and histopathological examination. It was concluded that the no-observed-effect level (NOEL) for l-serine was 3000mg/kgbw/day for both genders.
Raw vegetables cut for salad, cooked salad, cooked rice, boiled noodles, bean curd, and cooked Japanese foods were purchased in 27 retail shops in Tokyo. Intact vegetables before being processed and ...ready-to-eat fresh salad products were obtained from two food factories located in the suburbs of Tokyo. Two hundred thirty-eight retail samples, 137 samples of intact vegetables, and 159 samples of fresh products were examined for aerobic plate count (APC), coliforms, Escherichia coli, Listeria spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. The APC of retail foods were 2.1 to 5.7 log CFU/g, and the range for the coliforms was 0.1 to 2.3 log CFU/g. The APC and coliform values showed that the raw vegetables cut for salad were the most heavily contaminated among the six kinds of ready-to-eat foods examined. Although L. monocytogenes was not detected, two samples of raw vegetables and five kinds of cooked foods yielded Listeria spp. S. aureus was detected in one sample of Japanese cooked food. The APC of the intact vegetables were 2.9 to 7.3 log CFU/g upon arrival and 2.2 to 7.2 log CFU/g after 3 days storage at 10 degrees C. The APC of the fresh products were 3.4 to 7.6 log CFU/g upon arrival and 4.7 to 8.7 log CFU/g after 3 days storage at 10 degrees C. The isolation rates for coliforms were 6.1 to 50% for intact vegetables and 50 to 66.7% for fresh products. E. coli was detected only in the fresh products. B. cereus was isolated from 20.1% (17 of 81) of the intact vegetables and 9.2% (8 of 87) of the fresh products.
In this paper, we demonstrated the use of a photodiode (PD) packaging technique that employs a catadioptric system. This optical system consisted of two components: a BK7 ball lens with a diameter of ...1.5 mm that was soldered with glass on a hermetic cap and a plastic-molded offset parabolic mirror with a radius of 550 mu m and an offset of 550 mu m. The offset parabolic mirror was mounted above a surface-illuminated InGaAs pin PD with a detective area of diameter 20 mum. When an incident pencil of rays were passed through the ball lens and then perpendicularly reflected by the mirror and impinged upon the PD, compact planar assembling became possible for numerous electrical parts on a can-type header for minimizing parasitic impedance due to wire bonds. The optical system provided a high coupling efficiency of 98% between a single-mode fiber and the PD.
Senile plaques are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The major component of senile plaques is
β-amyloid which consists of approximately 4000 mol. wt of peptide. Accumulating evidence ...suggests that
β-amyloid may represent the underlying cause of Alzheimer's disease.
In vitro,
β-amyloid has been shown either to be directly neurotoxic or to potentiate neurotoxic effects of excitatory amino acids. However,
β-amyloid toxicity
in vivo has not always been reproducible. In this study, we injected
β-amyloid fragment 1–40 or 25–35 alone or in combination with a small amount of ibotenic acid, an excitatory amino acid, into rat hippocampus, and examined the histological and immunohistochemical changes two weeks after injection. Although
β-amyloid alone or ibotenic acid alone exerted only minimal degenerating effects on neurons just around the injection site, the co-injection of
β-amyloid 1–40 or
β-amyloid 25–35 with ibotenic acid produced drastic neuronal loss; the haematoxylin–eosin staining revealed that most neurons not only around the injection site but also in distant areas including CA1, CA4 and dentate gyrus were depleted. The neuronal loss occurred in a dose-dependent manner with respect to ibotenic acid. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that
β-amyloid with ibotenic acid induced great depletion of microtubule-associated protein-2 immunoreactivity and infiltration of astrocytes and microglia on neuronal loss. In addition, some apoptotic neuronal death indicated by DNA fragmentation and nucleic condensation was observed.
β-amyloid depositions detected by two different types of anti-human
β-amyloid antibodies were limited to the injection site. Dizocilpine maleate (MK-801), an antagonist for an excitatory amino acid receptor, completely inhibited the neuronal death in rat hippocampus.
These results suggest that the co-injection of
β-amyloid with a small amount of ibotenic acid provides a useful model for investigation of the pathogenetic mechanisms leading to Alzheimer's disease.
PDF
