Dietary supplementation with nano-composite of copper and carbon on growth performance, immunity, and antioxidant ability of yellow-feathered broilers.

New feed additives as antibiotics substitutes are in urgent need in poultry production. Nano-composite of copper and carbon (NCCC), a novel copper donor with stronger antibacterial properties, is expected to promote broiler growth and diminish the negative effects of excess copper (Cu). Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of NCCC on growth performance, immunity, and antioxidant ability of yellow-feathered broilers. A total of 240 1-d-old male yellow-feathered broilers were selected and randomly divided into four groups, with five replications per group and 12 birds per replication. The CON group was fed corn-soybean basal diets, while the N50, N100, and N200 groups were supplemented with 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of NCCC in basal diets, respectively. The trial lasted for 63 d. The results demonstrated that only 200 mg/kg NCCC addition significantly increased the Cu content in serum and feces, and liver Cu content linearly increased with NCCC dosage increment (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, NCCC supplementation did not alter the growth performance, slaughter performance, immune organ indexes, and liver antioxidant ability of broilers (P > 0.05), but optimized the serum cytokine pattern by elevating the level of serum IL-10 (P < 0.05), and there were linear and quadratic increases in serum IL-4 with NCCC dosage increment (P < 0.05). On the whole, in spite of no impact on growth performance, 50 mg/kg NCCC was optimal to supplement in chicken diets due to the rise of serum IL-10 level and no extra environmental pollution and tissue residues.

Livestock and poultry industries require eco-friendly antibacterial agents and growth promoters due to the ban on antibiotics in the European Union and China. High-dose copper is considered a bactericide and has the advantage of growth promotion in animals, but it also disturbs the absorption of other metal elements and causes heavy metal residues. In this experiment, a nano-composite of copper and carbon (NCCC) was chosen as an alternative copper donor, hoping to not only inherit the growth-promoting merit but also diminish the disadvantage of excess copper. Hence, the effects of NCCC on growth performance, immune function, and antioxidant capacity of yellow-feathered broilers were explored, and we discovered that there were no copper residues in liver, serum, and feces after 50 or 100 mg/kg NCCC treatment. Meanwhile, obvious increases in levels of serum IL-10 and IL-4 were observed with NCCC dosage increment, despite no notable changes in the growth performance, slaughter performance, and liver antioxidant ability of chickens. As a result, NCCC has been found to optimize serum cytokine pattern but not promote the growth of broilers.

Efficacy of tenuigenin and ß-asarone as augmentations for memantine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that has no cure at present. This study was carried out to evaluate whether the combination of ß-asarone and tenuigenin could improve the efficacy of memantine as a monotherapy in the treatment of AD. Patients with AD were recruited and assigned to two groups. Patients in the control group received memantine (5-20 mg/day) and those in the experimental group received memantine (5-20 mg/day), ß-asarone (20 mg/day), and tenuigenin (20 mg/day). The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) scores and drug-related side-effects were assessed. Treatment was continued for 12 weeks. In total, 93 AD patients (45 in the control group and 48 in the experimental group) were recruited. Before treatment, both the groups had similar average MMSE scores, ADL scores, and CDR scores, whereas all the average scores improved significantly after treatment. However, compared with the control group, the experimental group had a significantly higher average MMSE score (P=0.00001) and lower average ADL (P=0.00604) and CDR (P=0.00776) scores after treatment. Moreover, the two groups had similar rates of drug-related side-effects. These results indicated that the combination of ß-asarone and tenuigenin was an effective augmentation for memantine in the treatment of AD and did not cause more drug-related side-effects. This novel method is worthy of further investigation.

A rat model for studying electroacupuncture analgesia on acute visceral hyperalgesia.

The aim of this study was to establish an appropriate rat model to study the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia on acute visceral hyperalgesia. Adult rats received colorectal instillation with different concentrations of acetic acid (AA). Treatment with EA was performed for 30 min at bilateral acupoints of ST-36 and ST-37 in the hind limbs. The visceral sensation of all rats was quantified by scores of abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) and discharges of rectus abdominis electromyogram (EMG) in response to colorectal distension (CRD). Two hours after instillation of saline (no AA), 1%, 2%, and 4% AA, there were no, slight, moderate and severe visceral hyperalgesia, respectively. Application of EA significantly relieved the visceral hyperalgesia induced by 2% but not 4% AA. The results suggest that 2% AA acute visceral hyperalgesia in adult rats responds well to EA treatment. This may offer an appropriate model for the investigation of EA effects.

The Prevalence of Ocular Allergy and Comorbidities in Chinese School Children in Shanghai.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and features of ocular allergy (OA) and comorbidities among school children in Shanghai, China. METHODS: This was a population-based cross-sectional study. Each participant completed an ISAAC-based questionnaire. The prevalence of OA symptoms, allergic rhinitis (AR) asthma, atopic dermatitis (AD), and sensitization to mites, pollen, and food was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 724 and 942 completed questionnaires from the 7-9-year-old (young group) and the 12-14-year-old (teen group) groups were analyzed, respectively. The overall prevalence of OA symptoms was 28%. However, more young students (10.6%) reported mild to severe daily life interference caused by OA than the teens (5.7%). The young group had higher prevalence of diagnosed allergic conjunctivitis (10.2%). The overall prevalence of AR symptom, diagnosed asthma, and diagnosed AD was 40.4%, 11.6%, and 16.7%, respectively. Young children had higher prevalence of diagnosed AR and AD than the teens. There were gender associated differences in the prevalence of AR and asthma among young children, but not among the teens. The comorbidities associated with OA was also analyzed. Sensitization to mites, food, and pollen was associated with higher prevalence of allergic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: OA together with other allergic conditions affected a significant number of children in Shanghai.

Electroacupuncture analgesia with different frequencies is mediated via different opioid pathways in acute visceral hyperalgesia rats.

AIMS: To investigate the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) alleviation of acute visceral hyperalgesia, the frequency dependence of this efficacy, and the difference in endogenous opioid pathways as underlying mechanism explaining the frequency dependence. MAIN METHODS: A visceral hyperalgesia model was established by colorectal instillation of 2% acetic acid (AA) in adult rats. EA treatment at 2Hz, 100Hz, 2/100Hz and sham EA were performed at two bilateral acupoints, ST-36 and ST-37, in the hind-limbs. Naloxone (NLX, 2mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 5min before the application of EA. The visceral sensation was quantified by scores of abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) and values of rectus abdominis electromyograms (EMGs) in response to colorectal distension (CRD). KEY FINDINGS: Acute visceral hyperalgesia was produced by instillation of AA. The hyperalgesia reached the peak at 2h, and maintained steadily for >6h. EA treatment at 2Hz, 100Hz and 2/100Hz attenuated the acute hyperalgesia, and the attenuation lasted for 2.5h, 2h and 3h, respectively. Sham EA produced no such effect. The analgesic potencies of EA treatment at 2Hz, 100Hz and 2/100Hz were completely blocked, almost not affected, and partially blocked by NLX. In the latter two frequencies, the analgesic durations were shortened to 1.5h and 2h, respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: EA can alleviate acute visceral hyperalgesia. Effective EA analgesia at different frequencies are potentially mediated via different endogenous opioid pathways.