One of the main roles in poultry resistance to infections caused by
is attributed to host immunity and intestinal microbiota. We conducted an experiment that involved challenging Lohmann White laying ...hens with
Enteritidis (SE), feeding them a diet supplemented with an EOs-based phytobiotic Intebio
. At 1 and 7 days post-inoculation, the expression profiles of eight genes related to immunity, transport of nutrients in the intestine, and metabolism were examined. Cecal microbiome composition and blood biochemical/immunological indices were also explored and egg production traits recorded. As a result, the SE challenge of laying hens and Intebio
administration had either a suppressive or activating effect on the expression level of the studied genes (e.g.,
and
), the latter echoing mammalian/human tissue-specific expression. There were also effects of the pathogen challenge and phytobiotic intake on the cecal microbiome profiles and blood biochemical/immunological parameters, including those reflecting the activity of the birds' immune systems (e.g., serum bactericidal activity, β-lysine content, and immunoglobulin levels). Significant differences between control and experimental subgroups in egg performance traits (i.e., egg weight/number/mass) were also found. The phytobiotic administration suggested a positive effect on the welfare and productivity of poultry.
Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate alternative methods for the disinfection of denture-based materials. Material and Methods. Two different denture-based materials were included in the ...study. Before microbial test, the surface roughness of the acrylic resins was evaluated. Then, the specimens were divided into 8 experimental groups (n=10), according to microorganism considered and disinfection methods used. The specimens were contaminated in vitro by standardized suspensions of Candida albicans ATCC#90028 and Candida albicans oral isolate. The following test agents were tested: sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl 1%), microwave (MW) energy, ultraviolet (UV) light, mouthwash containing propolis (MCP), Corega Tabs, 50% and 100% white vinegar. After the disinfection procedure, the number of remaining microbial cells was evaluated in CFU/mL. Kruskal-Wallis, ANOVA, and Dunn’s test were used for multiple comparisons. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare the surface roughness. Results. Statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was found between autopolymerised and heat-cured acrylic resins. The autopolymerised acrylic resin surfaces were rougher than surfaces of heat-cured acrylic resin. The most effective disinfection method was 100% white vinegar for tested microorganisms and both acrylic resins. Conclusion. This study showed that white vinegar 100% was the most effective method for tested microorganisms. This agent is cost-effective and easy to access and thus may be appropriate for household use.
This study investigated drying and vitamin C degradation kinetics in isot (red peppers) at different temperatures (55, 65 and 75degreesC) and conditions (vacuum and hot air drying). The drying ...temperature and method had a significant effect on the loss of vitamin C. Vacuum dried samples at 55degreesC retained the highest quantity of vitamin C, while the samples dried at 75degreesC in a cabinet dryer lost the highest amount of vitamin C. The results showed that vitamin C is especially sensitive to the presence of oxygen and higher temperatures. The Weibull model was found to provide the mathematical equation best describing the ascorbic acid degradation kinetics in red peppers, while the Page model best reflected the drying kinetics. Keywords: drying, ascorbic acid, isot, degradation kinetics, mathematical modeling
The 4He(4He,4He)4He* inelastic scattering was investigated at the MAGNEX facility of INFN - LNS, aiming at shedding light on the characteristics of the isoscalar monopole resonance of 4He which lies ...at an energy slightly higher than the proton emission threshold and slightly lower than the neutron emission threshold. A complementary elastic scattering measurement was also performed to study the initial state interaction and set accurate coupled channel calculations. Here, the experimental setup, the data reduction and the theoretical interpretation strategy are briefly described.
► We have studied the elastic, electronic, and optical properties of ZrPtSi and TiPtSi. ► The present results show that the both compounds are mechanically stable. ► Band structures of ZrPtSi and ...TiPtSi compounds are also compared. ► The linear dielectric tensors of these compounds have three independent components.
The structural, elastic, electronic, and optical properties of orthorhombic ZrPtSi and TiPtSi ternary compounds are investigated using the norm-conserving pseudopotentials within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in the frame of density functional theory. The calculated lattice parameters have been in agreement with the available experimental data. The second-order elastic constants have been calculated, and the other related quantities such as the Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, anisotropy factor, sound velocities, and Debye temperature have also been estimated. The electronic structure of ZrPtSi and TiPtSi compounds are calculated by using the first principles GW and GGA approximations. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function and the optical constants such as the optical dielectric constant and the effective number of electrons per unit cell are also presented.
The study of single-nucleon transfer reactions for the 18O+48Ti system was pursued at the energy of 275 MeV as part of a more systematic study which is undertaken within the NUMEN and NURE ...experimental campaigns. The aim is to measure the complete set of available reaction network which are characterized by the same initial and final-state wavefunctions as the more suppressed double charge exchange reactions. Understanding the degree of competition between successive nucleon transfer and double charge exchange reactions is crucial for the description of the meson-exchange mechanism. In this respect, angular distribution measurements for one- and twonucleon transfer reactions for the 18O+48Ti system were carried out at theMAGNEX facility of INFN-LNS in Catania. An overview of the data analysis for the 48Ti(18O,19F)47Sc and 48Ti(18O,17O)49Ti reactions will be presented.
In this paper, we obtain the approximate solutions for optimal control of linear systems, which have a quadratic performance index. The differential transform method (DTM) is applied for solving the ...extreme conditions obtained from the Pontryagin’s maximum principle. The differential transform method is one of the approximate methods, which can be easily applied to many linear and nonlinear problems and is capable of reducing the size of computational work. Applying DTM, we construct an optimal feedback control law. The results reveal that the proposed method are very effective and simple. Comparisons are made between the results of the proposed methods, homotopy perturbation method, Adomian decomposition method and exact solutions.
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is one of the most common congenital heart diseases in adults. We prospectively evaluated early and mid-term effects of the percutaneous closure of secundum ASD on atrial ...electromechanical delay (AEMD) and left atrial (LA) mechanical functions at the first day and sixth month in patients undergoing percutaneous closure.
Forty-one patients were included in this study. Twenty-six (63.4%) of the 41 patients were female and the mean age was 41 ± 13 years. All the patients had echocardiographic examination before the procedure and at the first day and sixth month after the procedure. LA volumes (maximal, minimal, and presystolic) and EMD (lateral, septal, and tricuspid) were measured. Left and right intra- and inter-AEMD were not changed at the first day but both were significantly shorter at the sixth month. There was no change in the total emptying volume and fraction before and after the procedure. LA maximal, minimal, and pre-systolic volumes, active emptying volume, and fractions were decreased at the first day and at the sixth month compared with pre-procedural volumes. LA passive emptying volume, passive emptying fraction, and conduit volume were increased at the first day and at the sixth month compared with pre-procedural volumes.
Our results revealed that there was no change in the LA mechanical reservoir functions, but improved conduit function and impaired contractility functions early and in the mid-term after percutaneous closure of ASD and decreased AEMD only in the mid-term.
In this work, the Hamiltonian approach is applied to obtain the natural frequency of the Duffing oscillator, the nonlinear oscillator with discontinuity and the quintic nonlinear oscillator. The ...Hamiltonian approach is then extended to the second and third orders to find more precise results. The accuracy of the results obtained is examined through time histories and error analyses for different values for the initial conditions. Excellent agreement of the approximate frequencies and the exact solution is demonstrated. It is shown that this method is powerful and accurate for solving nonlinear conservative oscillatory systems.
The lung epithelia facilitate wound closure by secretion of various cytokines and growth factors. Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been well described in airway inflammation; however, its likely role in ...lung repair has not been examined thus far. To investigate the repair function of NGF, experiments were performed in vitro using cultured alveolar epithelial cells and in vivo using a naphthalene-induced model of Clara epithelial cell injury. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed airway epithelial cell proliferation following injury to be dependent on NGF and the expression of its receptor, tropomyosin-receptor-kinase A. Additionally, NGF also augmented in vitro migration of alveolar type II cells. In vivo, transgenic mice over-expressing NGF in Clara cells (NGFtg) did not reveal any proliferation or alteration in Clara cell phenotype. However, following Clara cell specific injury, proliferation was increased in NGFtg and impaired upon inhibition of NGF. Furthermore, NGF also promoted the expression of collagen I and fibronectin in vitro and in vivo during repair, where significantly higher levels were measured in re-epithelialising NGFtg mice. Our study demonstrates that NGF promotes the proliferation of lung epithelium in vitro and the renewal of Clara cells following lung injury in vivo.
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