Search

Broilers commonly experience stressors such as coccidiosis, a parasitic infection that results in intestinal damage, malabsorption, and performance losses. The poultry industry is exploring alternatives to anticoccidials for controlling coccidiosis, especially through the enhancement of gut health. Sodium bisulfate (NaHSO 4 ; SBS), an acid salt, has been used for many years as a litter acidifier to reduce aerial ammonia in poultry housing. More recently, SBS has shown promise as a feed additive that improves growth performance through enhancing gut health in poultry. Two trials of 1,920 broiler chicks each were raised to 42 d in floor pens. Chicks were randomly divided into 1 of 4 treatments (480 chicks/treatment) on d 0 that utilized SBS (0.3 or 0.4% of diet) or control diets using sodium sesquicarbonate (0.2 or 0.3% of diet) as a sodium source. In Trial 2, birds were challenged with a 2 × dose of coccidiosis vaccine on d 0. Growth performance was measured on d 0, 14, 28, and 42. Each trial was analyzed independently to yield results for non-challenged or coccidiosis-challenged conditions. All data were analyzed with means separation using a Duncan's test. SBS and control treatments with equivalent sodium contributions were also directly compared. Significance was accepted at P ≤ 0.05. On d 28, broilers fed 0.4% SBS weighed more (P < 0.05) than broilers from either control, regardless of challenge status. This effect was sustained in the challenged broilers at d 42 but was not different (P > 0.05) in non-challenged broilers. No differences (P > 0.05) in feed intake or mortality were observed in either trial. Birds fed 0.4% SBS had lower feed conversion than both control treatments for d 0-42, regardless of challenge status. Collectively, these results indicate that SBS promoted growth performance with and without a coccidiosis challenge more than that of sodium sesquicarbonate as a supplemental sodium source. Because experimental treatments were balanced for mineral content, it is possible the sulfate content of SBS influenced these results., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Bradley Turner reports financial support was provided by Jones-Hamilton Co. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Proteins are a potential source of health-promoting biomolecules with medical, nutraceutical, and food applications. Nowadays, bioactive peptides production, its isolation, characterization, and strategies for its delivery to target sites are a matter of intensive research. In vitro and in vivo studies regarding the bioactivity of peptides has generated strong evidence of their health benefits. Dairy proteins are considered the richest source of bioactive peptides, however proteins from animal and vegetable origin also have been shown to be important sources. Enzymatic hydrolysis has been the process most commonly used for bioactive peptide production. Most commercial enzymatic preparations frequently used are from animal (e.g., trypsin and pepsin) and microbial (e.g., Alcalase® and Neutrase®) sources. Although the use of plant proteases is still relatively limited to papain and bromelain from papaya and pineapple, respectively, the application of new plant proteases is increasing. This review presents the latest knowledge in the use and diversity of plant proteases for bioactive peptides release from food proteins including both available commercial plant proteases as well as new potential plant sources. Furthermore, the properties of peptides released by plant proteases and health benefits associated in the control of disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cancer are reviewed.

Background and Purpose: The ability of polymer-modified coils to promote stable aneurysm occlusion after endovascular treatment is not well-documented. Angiographic aneurysm recurrence is widely used as a surrogate for treatment failure, but studies documenting the correlation of angiographic recurrence with clinical failure are limited. This trial compares the effectiveness of Matrix(2) polyglycolic/polylactic acid biopolymer-modified coils with bare metal coils and correlates the angiographic findings with clinical failure (ie, target aneurysm recurrence), a composite end point that includes any incident of posttreatment aneurysm rupture, retreatment, or unexplained death., Materials and Methods: This was a multicenter randomized noninferiority trial with blinded end point adjudication. We enrolled 626 patients, divided between Matrix(2) and bare metal coil groups. The primary outcome was target aneurysm recurrence at 12 ± 3 months., Results: At 455 days, at least 1 target aneurysm recurrence event had occurred in 14.6% of patients treated with bare metal coils and 13.3% of Matrix(2) (P = .76, log-rank test) patients; 92.8% of target aneurysm recurrence events were re-interventions for aneurysms that had not bled after treatment, and 5.8% of target aneurysm recurrence events resulted from hemorrhage or rehemorrhage, with or without retreatment. Symptomatic re-intervention occurred in only 4 (0.6%) patients. At 455 days, 95.8% of patients with unruptured aneurysms and 90.4% of those with ruptured aneurysms were independent (mRS ≤ 2). Target aneurysm recurrence was associated with incomplete initial angiographic aneurysm obliteration, presentation with rupture, and a larger aneurysmal dome and neck size., Conclusions: Tested Matrix(2) coils were not inferior to bare metal coils. Endovascular coiling of intracranial aneurysms was safe, and the rate of technical success was high. Target aneurysm recurrence is a promising clinical outcome measure that correlates well with established angiographic measurements., (© 2014 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.)

Background: Although immediate/early loading protocols for dental implants have presented encouraging outcomes, immediate loading procedures may cause discomfort to the patient and may increase the possibility of damage to the surgical site during the impression procedures. The aim of this study was to describe an alternative technique to fabricate a mandibular hybrid prosthesis in three or four days without making any final impression and to evaluate the outcomes of this technique., Methods: Seven patients aged 41 to 71 years (mean age, 58 +/- 11) were considered for this study. Each patient received five implants for the reconstruction of the edentulous mandible. These implants were placed in the anterior region of an edentulous mandible and restored with a final mandibular hybrid prosthesis in four days using the Ohio State University (OSU) acrylic frame requiring no final impression procedure. The patients were followed up to 19 months after implant placement., Results: No implants were lost, no technical complications were observed and only minor marginal bone loss was noted after an average 15 months., Conclusions: This clinical study shows that the OSU acrylic frame, which can easily be customized and accommodates variability in arch form, may be an alternative method to restore any edentulous mandible with an early load mandibular hybrid prosthesis.

Objects: The objective of this study is to analyze some of the epidemiological aspects in patients with post-traumatic intracranial hematomas (post-traumatic ICH) in infancy. These patients were treated at the Hospital Infantil Municipal de Córdoba, Argentina, between April 1980 and April 1996., Methods: A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted on the 113 case histories of children with post-traumatic ICH, all of whom required surgical intervention during this period. Relevant information such as age, sex, mechanism of injury causing craniocerebral trauma (CCT), and data on clinical presentation on admission, diagnosis, morbidity and mortality rates were collected., Conclusions: The series revealed a greater incidence of post-traumatic ICH in boys (73.5%), whose average age was 6 years 5 months +/- 4 years 10 months (range 1 day to 15 years). Fifty-three percent of the girls suffered post-traumatic ICH before the age of 3, while 54% of the children were 7 years of age or older (P<0.05). Falls were the most frequent mechanism of injury causing CCT (36.3%), followed by vehicle accidents (33.6%) and unknown causes (15.9%), the latter mainly in children under 3 years old (31%). The most frequent symptoms were vomiting (58.6%), loss of consciousness (47.1%) and headaches (24.1%). Of all these children, 93.8% presented signs and symptoms at the time of hospital admission, alterations in the level of consciousness (66%), vomiting (47.2%) and headaches (26.4%) being among the most frequent. The hemorrhagic complications observed in the 113 patients took the form of extradural hematomas (EDH) in 75 (66.4%), of subdural hematomas (SDH) in 35 (31.0%), of hemorrhagic contusions (Hc) in 19 (16.8%), and of intracerebral hematomas (Ich) in 11 (9.7%). In 13 patients the site of the hematoma was the posterior cranial fossa (11.5%), and 22.1% of patients presented more than one type of hemorrhagic complication. Morbidity rates were 9.7% and mortality rates 17.7%.

Mucosal intestinal lymphocytes form the first immune-cell line of defense in the intestine. Several methodologies, most of them cumbersome and time consuming, have been used to obtain T-cell clones to unveil their physiological role. In the present work we take advantage of the recently described technique of transformation of T lymphocytes using Herpesvirus saimiri to show that it is possible to immortalize intestinal T-cell lines derived from healthy and diseased colonic samples and thence easily obtain in vitro intestinal T-cell lines as a model for physiopathological studies. Intestinal samples were obtained by colonoscopy and digested with dispase and collagenase. Mucosal lymphocytes (assessed by the expression of the CD3 and CD103 markers) were isolated using a Percoll gradient centrifugation and transformed with Herpesvirus saimiri. Sustained growth was observed 3 months later, showing that the cells were successfully transformed, a finding further confirmed by PCR. All cell lines were CD8+TcRalphabeta+ and HLA-DR+. CD25 was expressed on 1% of Crohn's disease-derived cells and on 25% of cells derived from patients with ulcerative colitis. CD80 expression was found on 80-90% of the cells. These immortal cell lines of intestinal origin may be useful in future experiments aimed at elucidating the role of mucosal lymphocytes in health and disease.

A study of the hypoglycemic activity of several extracts of Lythrum salicaria was made in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic rabbits. Circulating insulin variations were studied as well. The results of this study prove a hypoglycemic activity of the plant.

Unlabelled: The therapeutic criteria according to tomographic findings are reviewed. 10 children, 6 male and 4 female, with porencephalic congenital cysts were studied. Early symptoms began within the first 6 months of life in 9 cases, and at the age of 5 years in 1. The most frequent symptoms were: seizures in 3; motor deficit in 5; retarded psychomotor development in 7; endocranial hypertension syndrome in 7; symmetric macrocrania in 7; paresis of the motor ocular nerves in 4. Preoperative studies: X-ray films-1 each patient-showed diastasis of sutures in 6 and cranial asymmetry in 2. Electroencephalograms-6 patients-were abnormal and diffuse in 3, hipsarrhythmic in 2, and focal in 1. CT-1 each patient-showed porencephalic cysts in all the patients; ventricular dilatation in 9; a single ventricle in 1, and a shift of the midline in 5. Postoperative studies: EEG, 1 each patient; CT, 1 each patient., Surgical Treatment: 8 patients underwent peritoneal shunts and 2 atrial shunts. Plastic surgery of the dysraphy was also performed. Postsurgical treatment: Rehabilitation and anti-convulsive treatment-4 patients. There were no deaths among the patients. The morbidity improved.

Atriopulmonary anastomosis (APA) has been performed in 29 patients, 3 to 22 years of age, since 1971. The diagnoses were tricuspid atresia in 21, single ventricle with low pulmonary vascular resistance in seven, and one case of dextro-transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. Four different techniques were used: Technique I (anterior end-to-end APA with a homograft or Dacron tube); Technique II (anterior end-to-end APA with the patient's own pulmonary artery); Technique III (nonvalved anterior anastomosis between the right atrium and the right ventricle); and Technique IV (largest, posterior, nonvalved direct APA between the right atrium and the main pulmonary artery and its right branch). Since the right atrium does not function as a pump, caval valves were never used. The total hospital mortality was 17.2%. Proper patient selection and the development of Technique IV reduced the mortality to 9%. Low end-diastolic ventricular pressure and a nonrestrictive APA are mandatory to obtain a good clinical result without pleural effusion. Twenty-one survivors are in Functional Class I, 17 of them without medication. Twelve of the 24 survivors were recatheterized. The best clinical and hemodynamic results were achieved in patients with low right atrial pressure and low end-diastolic ventricular pressure. The follow-up demonstrated a consistent superiority of the posterior nonvalved APA (Technique IV) in comparison with other techniques described. Therefore, this technique is proposed as the procedure of choice for the performance of an APA, irrespective of the precise diagnosis (tricuspid atresia or single ventricle) and irrespective of the type of great arterial relationship.