Effect of dietary canthaxanthin and iodine on the production performance and egg quality of laying hens.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of canthaxanthin (CX) and iodine (I) on the production of laying hens, on counteracting debilitation of the vitelline membrane, and on inhibiting Salmonella growth in eggs stored at 30°C. Three hundred hens were reared in cages. Birds were divided into six feeding groups (10 hens × 5 repetitions) that were administered 0, 3 or 6 ppm of CX and 1 or 10 ppm of I with their diets. Laying rate, egg weights, and feed conversion ratios were controlled. The quality of fresh eggs was assessed in wks 25-26, 48-50 and 62-63 of hens lives. An additional batch of eggs was incubated at the temperature of 30°C, and egg quality changes were monitored on days 3, 6 and 9 of storage. Additionally, eggs collected from four experimental groups of hens whose diets had been iodated with 1 or 10 ppm of I and supplemented with 0 or 6 ppm of CX were infected under laboratory conditions with Salmonella, and incubated for 5 and 10 d. The laying rate, egg weights, and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved. Dietary inclusion of CX contributed to a higher resistance of the vitelline membrane of egg yolks, but only for fresh eggs. Vitelline membrane degradation during egg storage at 30°C was significantly counteracted by dietary inclusion of I at a dose of 10 ppm. The same I dose resulted in the complete inhibition of Salmonella growth until day 10 of incubation, but exclusively for eggs collected from 40-week-old hens. Dietary supplementation with 10 ppm of I was found to impart high level of resistance to the vitelline membrane against the growth of Salmonella in case of eggs stored at 30°C; therefore, I was found to be more beneficial by ensuring longer preservation than that of CX. However, dietary supplementation with CX was found to increase the resistance of vitelline membrane in fresh eggs.

Effect of different levels of copper nanoparticles and copper sulphate on performance, metabolism and blood biochemical profiles in broiler chicken.

A study was conducted to investigate the influence of copper administration in ovo to chicken embryos and/or supplied in drinking water to growing chickens in the form copper nanoparticles (Cu-NP) or copper sulphate (CuSO4 ). The fertilised eggs were assigned to three groups (n = 50 per group): control (not injected), injected with 50 mg/kg Cu-NP or with 50 mg/kg CuSO4 at day 1 of incubation. Thereafter, 126 one-day-old broiler chickens were randomly assigned to seven post-hatched groups: control not injected and not provided with Cu in the drinking water, injected with 50 mg/kg Cu-NP + 20 mg/kg in water, not injected + 20 mg/kg Cu-NP in water, injected with 50 mg/kg CuSO4  + 20 mg/kg in water, not injected + 20 mg/kg CuSO4 in water, injected with 50 mg/kg Cu-NP and injected with 50 mg/kg CuSO4 . The experiment was carried out from day 1 to 35 post-hatching. The in ovo injection of Cu improved the final body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion ratio in relation to the control group. Conversely, the provision of Cu in the drinking water had less of an effect on growth performance in comparison with the injected groups. A significant improvement was shown in energy and nitrogen utilisation, being better for Cu-NP than CuSO4 . The cholesterol, urea and glucose levels in the blood were reduced by Cu-NP treatment in relation to the other groups. The relative weight of the liver was decreased, while bursa of Fabricius was increased in Cu groups in relation to the control group. Cu excretion was only reduced in chickens injected with 50 mg/kg Cu-NP + 20 mg/kg in water. The immune-related genes were not affected by the treatments. The in ovo injection of Cu-NP might improve broiler performance more efficiently than the injection of CuSO4 or the provision of Cu-NP and/or CuSO4 in drinking water.

[Management of patients with acute manic or mixed episodes and outcome at three months]. / Modalités de prise en charge de l'accès maniaque ou mixte aigu et évolution à trois mois.

METHODS: EMBLEM is a prospective, multicenter observational study on the management of patients with a manic or mixed episode in routine clinical practice (total of 3566 subjects included in 14 European countries). The study consisted of a 12-week acute phase and a 24-month maintenance phase. Subjects were included if they initiated or changed oral medication, according to the decision of the treating psychiatrist, with antipsychotics, anticonvulsants and / or lithium, for the treatment of a manic or mixed episode. The present report describes the acute phase outcomes of the French subgroup. RESULTS: Between December 2002 and June 2004, 126 investigators included a total of 795 subjects as in- or outpatients (450 women, 320 men, mean age: 45.6 years). The episode was most often recurrent (74.7 %) and patients were suffering from either a manic (65.8 %) or a mixed episode (34.2 % vs. EMBLEM Europe, 24 %). The intensity of manic symptoms was elevated (YMRS mean total score: 26.6) and functional impairment of the individuals was high, with 41.9 % experiencing moderate to severe work impairment and 23.6 % being unable to work. The prevalence of suicide attempts was 35.8 % (lifelong), close to the prevalence in the other French cohort EPIMAN (32 %). Abuse / dependence on alcohol and cannabis were present in 10.2 % and 11.1 % of subjects, respectively. At entry, 37.4 % were receiving monotherapy while 27.3 % received a combined therapy. All patients received treatment for their manic / mixed episode, either in combination (59.2 %) or in monotherapy (40.8 %). Atypical antipsychotics were more often prescribed in association (34.0 % of subjects) than in monotherapy (21.1 %). In patients treated in monotherapy, atypical antipsychotics were the most often prescribed drug (51.9 %). Results showed an improvement within both monotherapy and combination therapy in effectiveness measures at week 12. After 12 weeks, 31.3 % were considered recovered and 67.9 % did not relapse. These results confirm current data on co-morbidities and give information on treatment for bipolar patients at three months of follow-up. The long-term evaluation of the French EMBLEM cohort - 12, 24 months and up to five years - is presently ongoing.