The effect of dietary inclusion of meat and bone meal on the performance of laying hens at old age

The effect of the inclusion of meat and bone meal (MBM) in the diet of old laying hens on their egg production and the quality of their eggs was investigated. Meat and bone meal containing a high concentration of ash and a low concentration of crude protein was included at levels of 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0% in the diets and fed for 20 weeks. Forced moulted 84-week old laying hens (Brown-Nick) were divided randomly into four treatment groups of 120 hens each. The inclusion of 2.0% MBM to the layer diet increased hen-day egg production significantly, whereas inclusion in excess of 2.0% MBM had no additional beneficial effect on egg production. However, the inclusion of dietary MBM at all three levels depressed egg weight. There were no significant effects of dietary treatments on egg weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of the hens. The specific gravity of the eggs from hens fed the control diet was significantly lower than from those receiving the diets containing 2.0 and 4.0% MBM. The Haugh Unit value of eggs in the 6.0% MBM treatment was significantly higher than the other treatments. There were no significant effects of MBM inclusion on yolk colour score, yolk height, eggshell thickness, eggshell weight and eggshell strength. However, MBM inclusion in a diet had a significant beneficial effect on eggshell quality. The eggshell ratios of the 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0% MBM treatments were significantly higher than in the control diet, while the cracked/broken egg ratio was significantly lower. In conclusion, inclusion of MBM containing a high ash and low crude protein content to conventional maize-soya bean diet improved egg production performance of laying hens. The dicalcium phosphate level in the diet could also be reduced without any adverse effects on egg production and egg quality. Key Words: Meat and bone meal, Egg production, Egg quality, Laying hens SA Jnl Animal Sci Vol.34(1) 2004: 31-3

Hybrid EEFIT mission to february 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence

The southwestern part of Türkiye was hit on 6 February 2023 by an Mw 7.8 (epicentre:Pazarcık) and then an Mw 7.5 earthquake (epicentre: Elbistan). The event was followed by tensof thousands of aftershocks including the Mw 6.3 event on 20 February (epicentre: Uzunbağ).This paper reports on the preliminary findings of the mission organised by the UK’s EarthquakeEngineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) to the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake sequence ofFebruary 2023. This mission followed a hybrid model, combining field and remote investigationtechniques, to investigate the characteristics of the earthquake sequence, its impact on buildingsand infrastructure, as well as the efficacy of relief, response and recovery operations. The keymessages include that the building stock is hard to categorise which brings along difficulties withdamage assessment, that the recovery and reconstruction require multi-sectoral engagement ofkey stakeholders, and that the auditing and quality control mechanisms within the constructionindustry need revisiting in the way forward for better disaster resilience in Türkiye

The Türki̇ye earthquake sequence of February 2023: A longitudinal study report by EEFIT

On 6 February 2023 at 4:17 am local time, a large area in southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria was hit by an Mw 7.8 earthquake, which was followed by an Mw 7.5 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time, causing the loss of more than 50,000 lives, some 100,000 injuries and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, estimated to be in the range of 84.1 billion USD for Türkiye alone. The largest earthquake in Türkiye since the deadly 1939 Erzincan earthquake with however much larger losses, the sequence immediately attracted the attention of the global post-disaster reconnaissance/engineering communities. This included the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), who, within one week of the event, gathered a team with 30 people from academia and industry in the UK (19), Türkiye (5), New Zealand (1), Hungary (1), Bulgaria (1), Greece (1) and USA (1) with two support members from the UK and the Netherlands, to study the events and their impacts, and also to develop suggestions to reduce the existing vulnerabilities in the future. The team was organised in the form of 6 working groups as shown below, which were (1) strong ground motions and seismotectonics, (2) geotechnics, (3) structures, (4) infrastructure, (5) remote sensing and (6) relief response and recovery

Prevention of hepatorenal toxicity with Sonchus asper in gentamicin treated rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Sonchus asper </it>possesses antioxidant capacity and is used in liver and kidney disorders. We have investigated the preventive effect of methanolic extract of <it>Sonchus asper </it>(SAME) on the gentamicin induced alterations in biochemical and morphological parameters in liver and kidneys of Sprague-Dawley male rat.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Acute oral toxicity studies were performed for selecting the therapeutic dose of SAME. 30 Sprague-Dawley male rats were equally divided into five groups with 06 animals in each. Group I received saline (0.5 ml/kg bw; 0.9% NaCl) while Group II administered with gentamicin 0.5 ml (100 mg/kg bw; i.p.) for ten days. Animals of Group III and Group IV received gentamicin and SAME 0.5 ml at a dose of 100 mg/kg bw and 200 mg/kg bw, respectively while Group V received only SAME at a dose of 200 mg/kg bw. Biochemical parameters including aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT), total cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total bilirubin and direct bilirubin were determined in serum collected from various groups. Urinary out puts were measured in each group and also assessed for the level of protein and glucose. Lipid peroxides (TBARS), glutathione (GSH), DNA injuries and activities of antioxidant enzymes; catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined in liver and renal samples. Histopathological studies of liver and kidneys were also carried out.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>On the basis of acute oral toxicity studies, 2000 mg/kg bw did not induce any toxicity in rats, 1/10^thof the dose was selected for preventive treatment. Gentamicin increased the level of serum biomarkers; AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, γ-GT, total cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, creatinine, BUN, total and direct bilirubin; as were the urinary level of protein, glucose, and urinary output. Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and DNA injuries increased while GSH contents and activities of antioxidant enzymes; CAT, POD, SOD decreased with gentamicin in liver and kidney samples. SAME administration, dose dependently, prevented the alteration in biochemical parameters and were supported by low level of tubular and glomerular injuries induced with gentamicin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggested the preventive role of SAME for gentamicin induced toxicity that could be attributed by phytochemicals having antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.</p

Constitutive phosphorylation of the FOXO1 transcription factor in gastric cancer cells correlates with microvessel area and the expressions of angiogenesis-related molecules

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although FOXO transcription factors may have an anti-angiogenic role, little is known about their role in tumor angiogenesis. The present study was performed to investigate the correlation between the constitutive expression of phosphorylated FOXO1 (pFOXO1) and angiogenesis in gastric cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue array slides containing 272 gastric carcinoma specimens, and the correlations between the cytoplasmic pFOXO1 expression in gastric cancer cells and CD34-immunopositive microvessel area (MVA) or the expressions of angiogenesis-related molecules were analyzed. <it>In vitro </it>analyses with Western blotting and semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were performed using the stable SNU-638 gastric cancer cell line transfected with lentivirus-delivered FOXO1 short hairpin RNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cytoplasmic expression of pFOXO1 in tumor cells was observed in 85% of gastric carcinoma cases, and was found to be positively associated with higher MVA (<it>P </it>= 0.048). Moreover, pFOXO1 expression was positively correlated with the expressions of several angiogenesis-related proteins, including hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α, <it>P </it>= 0.003), vessel endothelial growth factor (<it>P </it>= 0.004), phosphorylated protein kinase B (<it>P </it>< 0.001), and nuclear factor-κB (<it>P </it>= 0.040). In contrast, the expression of pFOXO1 was not correlated with that of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 or β-catenin. In addition, cell culture experiments showed that FOXO1 suppression increased the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that pFOXO1 expression in cancer cells plays a role in gastric cancer angiogenesis via mechanisms involving various angiogenesis-related molecules. Animal experiments are needed to confirm the anti-angiogenic role of FOXO1 in human gastric cancer.</p

HIF-1α determines the metastatic potential of gastric cancer cells

Gastric adenocarcinoma is characterised by rapid emergence of systemic metastases, resulting in poor prognosis due to vanished curative treatment options. Better understanding of the molecular basis of gastric cancer spread is needed to design innovative treatments. The transcription factor HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1α) is frequently overexpressed in human gastric cancer, and inhibition of HIF-1α has proven antitumour efficacy in rodent models, whereas the relevance of HIF-1α for the metastatic phenotype of gastric adenocarcinoma remains elusive. Therefore, we have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the role of HIF-1α for pivotal metastasis-associated processes of human gastric cancer. Immunhistochemistry for HIF-1α showed specific staining at the invading tumour edge in 90% of human gastric cancer samples, whereas normal gastric tissue was negative and only a minority of early gastric cancers (T1 tumours) showed specific staining. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α-deficient cells showed a significant reduction of migratory, invasive and adhesive properties in vitro. Furthermore, the HIF-1α-inhibitor 2-methoxy-estradiol significantly reduced metastatic properties of gastric cancer cells. The accentuated expression at the invading edge together with the in vitro requirement of HIF-1α for migration, invasion and adherence argues for a pivotal role of HIF-1α in local invasion and, ultimately, systemic tumour spread. These results warrant the exploration of HIF-1α-inhibiting substances in clinical treatment studies of advanced gastric cancer