Effects of organic zinc on production performance, meat quality, apparent nutrient digestibility and gut microbiota of broilers fed low-protein diets.

The high cost of feed and nitrogen pollution caused by high-protein diets have become major challenges restricting sustainable development in China's animal husbandry sector. Properly reducing protein levels and improving protein utilization in feed are effective approaches to solving this problem. To determine the optimal dose of methionine hydroxyl analogue chelated zinc (MHA-Zn) in broiler diets with a 1.5% reduction in crude protein (CP), a total of 216 1-day-old broilers were randomly assigned into 4 groups (each group consisted of 3 replications with 18 broilers per replicate), and growth and development indexes were assessed after 42 days. The broilers in control group were fed a basic diet, whereas those in the three test groups were fed diets with a 1.5% reduction in CP. The results showed no significant difference in the edible parts of broilers between low-protein (LP) diet group (90 mg/kg MHA-Zn) and normal diet group (p > 0.05), and adding 90 mg/kg MHA-Zn to LP diet significantly improved ileum morphology and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrient (p < 0.01; p < 0.05). A 16S rRNA sequencing analysis indicated that supplementing the LP diet with 90 mg/kg MHA-Zn was adequate for production performance of broilers and promoted beneficial bacteria in the cecum (Lactobacillus, Butyricoccus, Oscillospira, etc.) (p < 0.01). In summary, adding an optimal dose of organic zinc (90 mg/kg MHA-Zn) in low protein diets led to enhanced production performance of broilers and optimized cecum microbiota. Additionally, the reduction of crude protein consumption in broiler production proved to be a cost-effective measure, while also mitigated nitrogen pollutant emissions in the environment.

Association of vitamin D in individuals with periodontitis: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There are differences in vitamin D levels between periodontitis and healthy individuals, but the effect of vitamin D on periodontitis is controversial. The purpose of this Meta-analysis is twofold: (1) compare vitamin D levels in individuals with or without periodontitis; (2) assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation during scaling and root planing (SRP) on periodontal clinical parameters in individuals with periodontitis. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane library), published from the database inception to 12 September 2022. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of bias (ROB) assessment tool, the risk of bias in non-randomized studies of intervention (ROBINS-I) tool, the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS), and Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) were used to evaluate randomized controlled trial (RCT), non-RCT, case-control study, and cross-sectional study, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0 software, with weighted mean difference (WMD), standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) as the effect measures, and heterogeneity was tested by subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, Meta-regression. RESULTS: A total of 16 articles were included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that periodontitis was associated with lower serum vitamin D levels compared to normal population (SMD = -0.88, 95%CI -1.75 ~ -0.01, P = 0.048), while there was no significant difference in serum or saliva 25(OH)D levels between periodontitis and normal population. Additionally, the Meta-analysis showed that SRP + vitamin D and SRP alone had a statistically significant effect on serum vitamin D levels in individuals with periodontitis (SMD = 23.67, 95%CI 8.05 ~ 32.29, P = 0.003; SMD = 1.57, 95%CI 1.08 ~ 2.06, P < 0.01). And SRP + vitamin D could significantly reduce clinical attachment level compared to SRP alone (WMD = -0.13, 95%CI -0.19 ~ -0.06, P < 0.01), but had no meaningful effect on probing depth, gingival index, bleeding index, respectively. CONCLUSION: The evidence from this Meta-analysis suggests that the serum vitamin D concentration of individuals with periodontitis is lower than that of normal people, and SRP along with vitamin D supplementation has been shown to play a significant role in improving periodontal clinical parameters. Therefore, vitamin D supplementation as an adjuvant to nonsurgical periodontal therapy has a positive impact on the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease in clinical practice.

Vitamin D Supplement for Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with Vitamin D (VD) supplementation has been studied widely, but the results in the literature are very conflicting. THE STUDY QUESTION: Can VD supplementation really prevent AD? STUDY DESIGN: The literature was searched from PubMed, Cochrane library, Web of Science, and EMBASE to identify relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The titles and abstracts were evaluated independently by 2 of the authors. RESULTS: Nine RCTs with 2345 participants were included. In the meta-analysis, we found no significant difference in the Mini-Mental State Examination, verbal fluency, verbal memory, visual ability, and attention scores between the VD intervention group and comparison group [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.51 to 0.41; SMD = -0.01, 95% CI = -0.13 to 0.11; SMD = 0.12, 95% CI = -0.45 to 0.69; SMD = 0.42, 95% CI = -0.15 to 1.00; and SMD = 0.01, 95% CI = -0.24 to 0.27, respectively]. In subgroup analysis, we found that the intervention with only VD or plus calcium, follow-up duration, and baseline 25(OH)D levels did not explain the cause for high heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the current evidence did not support the beneficial effect of VD supplement to prevent AD. High quality RCTs and further studies are needed to clarify the effects of VD supplementation on preventing AD.

Nursing students' knowledge, willingness, and attitudes toward the first aid behavior as bystanders in traffic accident trauma: A cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to investigate the nursing students' levels of the knowledge, willingness, and attitudes toward first aid behavior as bystanders in road traffic accident and the related factors. METHODS: A total of 475 nursing students were recruited by convenience choosing in Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The nursing students' self-efficacy, core self-evaluation, knowledge, willingness and attitudes toward first aid behavior as bystanders in traffic accidents were investigated with a self-designed questionnaire. RESULTS: The scores of knowledge, willingness, and attitudes toward first aid behavior in traffic accident trauma were 7.51 ±â€¯1.93, 15.54 ±â€¯5.03, and 7.73 ±â€¯1.56, respectively. Students who once gained training of first aid showed lower levels of attitude toward first aid behavior than those untrained (t = -2.345, P = 0.019). It was found that self-efficacy was correlated to the knowledge (r = 0.150, P < 0.001), willingness (r = 0.182, P < 0.004) and attitudes toward behavior of the first aid (r = 0.371, P < 0.001) among nursing students. Core self-evaluation was correlated to knowledge (r = 0.193, P < 0.001) and attitudes toward behavior of the first aid (r = 0.199, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The first aid knowledge among nursing students was not satisfactory. The study suggested that an unsustainable short first-aid training program may bring negative effects. Countermeasures should be taken to ensure both quality and continuity of first aid training. Meanwhile, more attention should be paid to improving the self-efficacy and core self-evaluation of the nursing students.