Effects of varying wheat levels on growth performance, intestinal barrier, and cecal microbiota of broilers.

Introduction: The study aimed to investigate the potential effects of varying wheat levels in broiler diets on growth performance, intestinal barrier, and cecal microbiota. Methods: Day-old male broilers were fed the same diet until 10 d of age. Then they were randomly assigned to 1) the low-level wheat group, where inclusion of 15.0% and 25.0% wheat in the grower and finisher diet, respectively, 2) the medium-level wheat group with 30.0% and 40.0% of wheat in the grower and finisher periods; and 3) the high-level wheat dietary group, in which the grower and finisher diets contained 55.77% and 62.38% of wheat, respectively. Results: Dietary treatments unaffected the body weight at 39 d, whereas incorporating high wheat in diets significantly increased the feed intake and reduced the feed conversion ratio from 10 to 39 d (p < 0.05). Except for increased phosphorus digestibility in the high wheat group, dietary treatments had no significant effect on the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract. Meanwhile, the broilers that consumed the medium and high content of wheat presented a higher villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth than those fed the low-level wheat birds. Feeding the medium-level wheat enhanced ileal integrity and depressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the ileum. The addition of high levels of wheat reduced the Chao1 index and the abundance of Lactobacillaceae, Bacteroidaceae, and Ruminococcacea in cecal content, which probably decreased the metabolism of histidine, sulfur-containing amino acids, and the biosynthesis of lysine. Discussion: These results support the medium-level wheat diet improved intestinal barrier function and had no deleterious effects on the growth performance of broiler; dietary inclusion of high wheat reduced the feed conversion rate, which might be associated with the disturbed gut microbiota and decreased metabolism of amino acids.

Enhancing aggression in Henan gamecocks via augmentation of serotonergic-dopaminergic signaling and attenuation of neuroimmune response.

Animal aggression is one of the most conserved behaviors. Excessive and inappropriate aggression was a serious social concern across species. After long-term selection under strict stress conditions, Henan gamecock serves as a good model for studying aggressive behavior. In this research, we constructed a Henan game chicken backcross population containing 25% Rhode Island Red (RIR), and conducted brain transcriptomics and serum metabolomics analyses on Henan gamecock (HGR) through its comparison with its female encounters (HGH) and the male backcross birds (BGR). The study revealed that seven differential metabolites in serum and 172 differentially expressed genes in the brain were commonly shared in both HGR vs. HGH and HGR vs. BGR comparisons. They exhibited the same patterns of modulation in Henan gamecocks, following either HGH < HGR > BGR or HGH > HGR < BGR style. Therein, some neurological genes involving in serotonergic and dopaminergic signaling were upregulated, while the levels of many genes related with neuro-immune function were decreased in Henan gamecock. In addition, many unknown genes specifically or highly expressed in the brain of the Henan gamecock were identified. These genes are potentially key candidates for enhancing the bird's aggression. Multi-omics joint analysis revealed that tyrosine metabolism and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction were commonly affected. Overall, our results propose that the aggressiveness of Henan gamecocks can be heightened by the activation of the serotonergic-dopaminergic metabolic process in the brain, which concurrently impairs the neuroimmune system. Further research is needed to identify the function of these unknown genes on the bird's aggressive behavior.

Alteration of growth performance, glycolipid metabolism, and bone characteristics of broiler chickens in response to different inclusion levels of dietary wheat.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of wheat inclusion on growth performance, glycolipid metabolism, and tibial properties of broiler chickens. Methods: A total of 480 1-d-old male broiler chickens were initially fed identical starter diets until d 10. Subsequently, they were divided into 3 treatments consisting of 8 replicates with 20 birds per replicate, i.e., 1) low-level wheat addition group, with wheat ratios of 15% and 25% during the grower and finisher periods, respectively; 2) medium-level wheat inclusion group, incorporating 30% and 40% wheat in the grower and finisher diets, respectively; and 3) high-level wheat addition group, containing 55.8% and 62.4% wheat in the grower and finisher diets, until d 39. Results: When compared to the low- and medium-level wheat diet, the high-level wheat inclusion in the diet increased feed intake and reduced the feed conversion ratio (both p<0.01), which was accompanied by a longer jejunum (p=0.031). Meanwhile, the high-level addition of wheat displayed a decreased abundance of Ruminococcin, Bacteroidetes, and Lactobacillus than the low-wheat group. With the increase of the proportion of wheat treatment, the contents of cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were elevated in serum, whereas the concentration of serum C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen, a bone resorption marker, was decreased. In addition, the diet with medium and high levels of wheat improved the yield load of tibia, along with comparable bone dimension and weight. Conclusion: The medium- and high-level wheat additions increased serum glycolipid deposition and enhanced tibial mechanical properties, whereas the high-level wheat diet compromised the growth performance of broiler chickens, which might be associated with the alteration of gut microbiota.

Longifolene-Derived Primary Amine Carboxylates for Sustainable Weed Management: Synthesis and Herbicidal Activity.

Twelve novel longifolene-derived primary amine carboxylates were synthesized and evaluated for herbicidal activity. The structures of title compounds were confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The results showed that all the synthesized compounds exhibited higher herbicidal activity than the corresponding carboxylic acids involved in the reaction and the commercial herbicide glyphosate; some of them even possessed inhibition rates of 100% against Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Brassica campestris at low concentrations (0.039-0.313 mmol/L). Moreover, structural factors, including types of carboxylates and carbon chain length, had a great influence on the herbicidal performance. The herbicidal activity of dicarboxylates was similar to or much higher than that of corresponding monocarboxylates and glyphosate. Furthermore, compound 5l was found to be the most active candidate against the root and shoot growth of L. multiflorum Lam. and B. campestris with half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of around 0.010 and 0.023 mmol/L. The present work indicated that those prepared compounds have great potential to serve as high-performance botanical herbicides used at low doses.

Replacement of Corn with Different Levels of Wheat Impacted the Growth Performance, Intestinal Development, and Cecal Microbiota of Broilers.

Replacing corn with different levels of wheat in the iso-energy and -protein diet of broilers and the impacts on growth performance and intestinal homeostasis of broilers under the condition of supplying the multienzyme complex were evaluated in this study. A total of 480 10-day-old male broilers were assigned randomly to the low-level wheat group (15% wheat and 35.18% corn), the medium-level wheat group (30% and 22.27%), and the high-level wheat group (55.77% wheat without corn) until 21 d. The different levels of wheat supplementation did not affect hepatic function, serum glycolipid profile, or bone turnover. The replacement of corn with 55% wheat in the diet of broilers increased the body weight at 21 d and feed intake during 10 to 21 d (both p < 0.05), with a comparable feed conversion ratio. Compared with the low-wheat group, the dietary addition of medium or high wheat levels notably increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the duodenum (p < 0.05) and the ileal villus height (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the supplementation of medium and high wheat in the diet increased the proportion of Bacteroidetes, and a diet with high wheat proportion elevated the content of Firmicutes when compared to the low-level wheat group (both p < 0.05). In addition, the diet containing 30-55% wheat enhanced the anti-inflammatory capability in both the ileum and the serum. These findings suggest that the replacement of corn with 55% wheat in the diet improved the growth performance of 21-day-old broilers, which might be linked to the alteration in intestinal morphology and cecal microbiota.

Carane-3,4-diol Derivatives as Potential Water-Based Herbicides.

Twelve novel carane-3,4-diol derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their herbicidal activities against Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Brassica campestris for the first time. The relationships between the chemical structural factors, including types, the number or the carbon chain length of functional groups, associated with the lipophilicity and the herbicidal activity of the tested compounds were also discussed. The results showed that most of newly synthesized compounds had a dose-dependent, herbicidal activity against the root and shoot growths of Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Brassica campestris. Compared to carane-3,4-diol, most of the target derivatives possessed improved lipophilicity and certain solubilities in representative solvents with different polarities. Particularly, ester derivatives 3a-3b and 3e can be dissolved or dispersed in water, but also displayed higher herbicidal activity against Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Brassica campestris than other ester derivatives. The 50 % inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of compound 3e against shoot growth of Brassica campestris (0.485 mmol/L) was superior to that of commercial herbicide glyphosate (1.14 mmol/L), indicating that the potential application as a water-based herbicide for Brassica campestris control.

Fermented calcium butyrate supplementation in post-peak laying hens improved ovarian function and tibia quality through the "gut-bone" axis.

The compromised egg quality and leg abnormality during the end of the laying cycle (after 40 weeks) have been leading to poor animal welfare and substantial economic losses. Therefore, the effects of fermented calcium (Ca) butyrate, produced by fermentation by Clostridium butyricum, on production, eggshell quality, and tibial property of hens were explored. A total of 192 Hy-line brown laying hens at 50-week-old were assigned to a basal diet or the basal diet with 300 mg/kg of the fermented Ca butyrate from 50 to 58 weeks of age. Each treatment had 6 replicates with 16 hens each. The diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg fermented Ca butyrate notably increased egg weight, ovarian follicle number, and eggshell strength (P = 0.072) as compared to the basal diet, which were associated with cytokine secretion, toll-like receptor signaling pathways, and intestinal immunity based on the RNA-seq data from the granulosa. Dietary Ca butyrate inclusion decreased the expression of ileal tumor necrosis factor-alpha and serum pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration, as well as increased the content of serum immunoglobulin A when compared to the basal diet (both P < 0.05). The birds that received fermented Ca butyrate diets exhibited higher villus height (P < 0.05) and upregulated expression of tight junction proteins, whereas it did not alter the composition of cecal microbiota (P > 0.05). In addition, the diet with fermented Ca butyrate reduced the number of osteoclasts in the proximal tibia and the level of C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen, a bone resorption marker (P < 0.05), whereas it tended to increase the concentration of the procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide that reflects bone formation marker in serum. Moreover, the layers fed fermented Ca butyrate diets possessed higher (P < 0.05) bone area and trabecular number of the proximal tibia, yield load, and ultimate load than those that consumed basal diets. Collectively, dietary fermented Ca butyrate supplementation in post-peak layer diets improved the ovarian function and tibia quality, which might be related to enhancing intestinal integrity and consequently decreasing inflammation mediated bone resorption.

The effect of music tempo on movement flow.

There has been much controversy over the effects of music tempo on movement flow. In this study, a single-factor repeated-measurement design was used to explore the effect of music tempo (fast, slow, and no music control) on movement flow by measuring both subjective experiences and objective electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics during brisk walking. In the experiment, 20 college students walked briskly on a treadmill using EEG equipment. Each participant walked for 10 min on three different days. Their brain waves were recorded during brisk walking on a treadmill. After each walk, the participants completed a form of short flow state scale-2 (S FSS-2), which covered nine major aspects of flow. The results showed that music tempo had a significant effect on subjective experiences and objective physiological characteristics; that is, a higher subjective flow level for fast-tempo music in brisk walking and a significant enhancement of mean power values in the subconscious brain waves of the delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands for fast tempo music were observed. A fast tempo facilitated the movement flow. The findings of this study can be instructive for the use of music in exercises to improve sports training outcomes.

Prediction of the mechanical properties of TPMS structures based on Back propagation neural network.

Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) has the characteristics of high porosity, a highly interconnected network, and a smooth surface, making it an ideal candidate for bone tissue engineering applications. However, due to the complex relationship between multiple parameters of the TPMS structure and mechanical properties, it is a challenging task to optimize the properties of TPMS structures with different parameters. In this study, a Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) was utilized to construct the relationship between TPMS parameters. Its mechanical performance and the TPMS structure were optimized using the BPNN. Results indicated that after training the correlation coefficient (R) between the BPNN prediction and the experimental results is 0.955475, it shows that our BPNN model has an adequate accuracy in describing the TPMS structures properties. Result of TPMS structure optimization shows that after optimization the yield strength of Hybridized Gyroid-Diamond Structure (HGDS) is 6.20 MPa, which is increased by 102.61% when compared with the original Hybridized Gyroid-Diamond Structure (3.06 MPa). Result of topological morphology indicates the effective bearing area of the optimized model was increased by 12.92% compared with the original model, which ascribe the increase in yield strength of the optimization model.

Highly Effective and Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Quaternary Ammonium Salts Containing Camphene Structure: Preparation, Surface-Active Properties, and Bioassay.

A series of novel quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) (4a-4n) comprising a camphene moiety were synthesized for the first time. Fourteen examples were prepared from camphene through Prins reaction, halogenation, and quaternarization, successively. The structures of the synthesized QASs were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Surface-active properties, emulsifying abilities, and foaming properties of the investigated compounds were then studied. The antimicrobial activities of these QASs against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae), and fungi species (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Aspergillus niger) were determined by the microdilution method. The results showed that the chemical structural factors, including types of substitutes and alkyl chain length, might be correlated with the lipid-water partition coefficient (cLog P), which played a critical role in the antimicrobial process. Compounds with alkyl chain lengths (N) in the range of 10-14 were relatively more active, while compounds bearing pyridinium, benzyl, methylimidazolium groups, or varied alkyl chain lengths (N < 5 and N > 16) were almost inactive. Compound 4k possessing a dodecyl group exhibited the most effective and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against almost all tested bacteria and fungi with the minimal inhibitory concentration values ranging from 0.24 to 0.98 µg/mL.

Dietary supplementation with Clostridium butyricum and its ferment substance improves the egg quality and ovarian function in laying hens from 50 to 58 weeks of age.

The current study was conducted to explore the effects of dietary Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) and fermented calcium (Ca) butyrate produced by C. butyricum on the performance and egg quality of post-peak laying. A total of 384 50-week-old hens were fed a basal diet, the basal diet with 300 mg/kg of fermented Ca butyrate or 1 × 109 CFU/kg C. butyricum for 8 weeks. Hens received a C. butyricum exhibited higher yolk properties, albumen height, and Haugh unit. A diet with fermented Ca butyrate or C. butyricum increased the egg mass and the pre-grade yellow follicle number. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data showed that these observations were associated with cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and intestinal immune status. Accordingly, when compared with the basal diet group, Ca butyrate and C. butyricum addition decreased serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and increased the concentration of immunoglobulin A, along with improved intestinal barrier. In addition, dietary C. butyricum inclusion induced a higher abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae at the family level. In summary, dietary fermented Ca butyrate or C. butyricum supplementation improved egg quality and ovarian function, which might be related to the enhanced intestinal barrier and immunity in post-peak laying hens.

Interplay between zinc and cell proliferation and implications for the growth of livestock.

Zinc (Zn) plays a critical role in the growth of livestock, which depends on cell proliferation. In addition to modifying the growth associated with its effects on food intake, mitogenic hormones, signal transduction and gene transcription, Zn also regulates body weight gain through mediating cell proliferation. Zn deficiency in animals leads to growth inhibition, along with an arrest of cell cycle progression at G0/G1 and S phase due to depression in the expression of cyclin D/E and DNA synthesis. Therefore, in the present study, the interplay between Zn and cell proliferation and implications for the growth of livestock were reviewed, in which Zn regulates cell proliferation in several ways, especially cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase DNA synthesis and mitosis. During the cell cycle, the Zn transporters and major Zn binding proteins such as metallothioneins are altered with the requirements of cellular Zn level and nuclear translocation of Zn. In addition, calcium signaling, MAPK pathway and PI3K/Akt cascades are also involved in the process of Zn-interfering cell proliferation. The evidence collected over the last decade highlights the necessity of Zn for normal cell proliferation, which suggests Zn supplementation should be considered for the growth and health of poultry.

Representation of time-varying and time-invariant EMR data and its application in modeling outcome prediction for heart failure patients.

OBJECTIVE: To represent a patient record with both time-invariant and time-varying features as a single vector using an end-to-end deep learning model, and further to predict the kidney failure (KF) status and mortality of heart failure (HF) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The time-invariant EMR data included demographic information and comorbidities, and the time-varying EMR data were lab tests. We used a Transformer encoder module to represent the time-invariant data, and refined a long short-term memory (LSTM) with a Transformer encoder attached to the top to represent the time-varying data, taking the original measured values and their corresponding embedding vectors, masking vectors, and two types of time intervals as inputs. The proposed representations of patients with time-invariant and time-varying data were used to predict KF status (949 out of 5268 HF patients diagnosed with KF) and mortality (463 in-hospital deaths) for HF patients. Comparative experiments were conducted between the proposed model and some representative machine learning models. Ablation experiments were also performed around the time-varying data representation, including replacing the refined LSTM with the standard LSTM, GRU-D and T-LSTM, respectively, and removing the Transformer encoder and the time-varying data representation module, respectively. The visualization of the attention weights of the time-invariant and time-varying features was used to clinically interpret the predictive performance. We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC), and the F1-score to evaluate the predictive performance of the models. RESULTS: The proposed model achieved superior performance, with average AUROCs, AUPRCs and F1-scores of 0.960, 0.610 and 0.759 for KF prediction and 0.937, 0.353 and 0.537 for mortality prediction, respectively. Predictive performance improved with the addition of time-varying data from longer time periods. The proposed model outperformed the comparison and ablation references in both prediction tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Both time-invariant and time-varying EMR data of patients could be efficiently represented by the proposed unified deep learning model, which shows higher performance in clinical prediction tasks. The way to use time-varying data in the current study is hopeful to be used in other kinds of time-varying data and other clinical tasks.

A comparative study to determine the effects of breed and feed restriction on glucose metabolism of chickens.

The glucose metabolism of poultry draws wide attention as they have nearly twice the fasting blood glucose than that of mammals. To define the relationship between glucose metabolism and breed of chicken, the outcomes from different growth rate chickens showed that Arbor Acres (AA) broilers, a well-known fast-growing breed, had a lower fasting blood glucose concentration and glucose clearance rate when compared to Silky chickens, a Chinese traditional medicinal chicken with black skin and a slow growth rate. Moreover, AA broilers had a relatively slow rise in blood glucose in response to oral glucose solution than the Silky chickens on 21 and 42 d (P < 0.05), which is probably attributed to downregulated expression of pancreatic insulin (INS), and upregulated transcription of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy kinase 1 (PCK1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) in the liver of AA broilers (P < 0.05). In response to feeding restriction from 7 to 21 d, both the fasting blood glucose and the response speed of AA broilers to oral glucose were increased on d 21 (P < 0.05), and the serum glucose concentrations after 3 weeks compensatory growth were improved by early feed restriction in AA broilers. Feed restriction could also upregulate the mRNA level of pancreatic INS on d 21 and 42, as well as decrease the expressions of PCK1, glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic (G6PC), and GLUT2 in the liver on d 21 (P < 0.05) when compared to the free feeding group. These results revealed that Silky chickens have a stronger capability to regulate glucose homeostasis than AA broilers, and feed restriction could improve the fasting blood glucose and the response to oral glucose of AA broilers.

The effects of text direction of different text lengths on Chinese reading.

This study investigates the effects of text direction (horizontal and vertical) and length (long and short) on Chinese reading performance. The experiment enrolled 68 university students aged 19-29 years who were asked to read articles. We recorded reading times and measured recall after reading using a memory test and measured task load using the NASA-TLX scale. The results show that horizontal text was read faster than vertical text. When reading long texts, horizontal reading has a better memory effect than vertical reading. When reading short texts, the effect of text direction on memory was not significant. Moreover, the mental, physical, and temporal demands of horizontal text were lower than those of vertical text. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the impact of text direction, provide valuable suggestions for Chinese typography, and help readers obtain better reading outcomes.

Chicken GLUT4 undergoes complex alternative splicing events and its expression in striated muscle changes dramatically during development.

Glucose transporter protein 4 (GLUT4) plays an important role in regulating insulin-mediated glucose homeostasis in mammals. Until now, studies on GLUT4 have focused on mammals mostly, while chicken GLUT4 has been rarely investigated. In this study, chicken GLUT4 mRNA sequences were obtained by combining conventional amplification, 5'- and 3'- rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique (RACE), then bioinformatics analysis on its genomic structure, splicing pattern, subcellular localization prediction and homologous comparisons were carried out. In addition, the distribution of GLUT4 was detected by RT-qPCR in bird's liver and striated muscles (cardiac muscle, pectoralis and leg muscle) at different ages, including embryonic day 14 (E14), E19, 7-day-old (D7), D21 and D49 (n = 3-4). Results showed that chicken GLUT4 gene produced at least 14 transcripts (GenBank accession No: OP491293-OP491306) through alternative splicing and polyadenylation, which predicted encoding 12 types of amino acid (AA) sequences (with length ranged from 65 AA to 519 AA). These proteins contain typical major facilitator superfamily domain of glucose transporters with length variations, sharing a common sequence of 59 AA, and were predicted to have distinct subcellular localization. The dominant transcript (named as T1) consists of 11 exons with an open reading frame being predicted encoding 519 AA. In addition, analyzing on the spatio-temporal expression of chicken GLUT4 showed it dominantly expressed in pectoralis, leg muscles and cardiac muscle, and the mRNA level of chicken GLUT4 dramatically fluctuated with birds' development in cardiac muscle, pectoralis and leg muscles, with the level at D21 significantly higher than that at E14, E19, and D49 (P < 0.05). These data indicated that chicken GLUT4 undergoes complex alternative splicing events, and GLUT4 expression level in striated muscle was subjected to dynamic regulation with birds' development. Results indicate these isoforms may play overlapping and distinct roles in chicken.

Synergistic sulfonamides plus clindamycin as an alternative therapeutic regimen for HIV-associated Toxoplasma encephalitis: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The preferred therapeutic regimen for Toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) is a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) plus azithromycin is the widespread alternative therapeutic regimen. The synergistic sulfonamides tablet contains TMP, sulfadiazine, and SMX and hypothetically could be used for TE treatment. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of synergistic sulfonamides plus clindamycin (regimen B) with TMP-SMX plus azithromycin (regimen A) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated TE. METHODS: This was an open-labeled, multi-center randomized controlled trial recruited from 11 centers. Each recruited patient was randomly assigned to receive regimen A or regimen B for at least 6 weeks. The overall response was evaluated by assessment of the clinical response of TE-associated clinical features and the radiological response of TE-associated radiological findings. The overall response rate, clinical response rate, radiological response rate, and adverse events were assessed at 2, 6, and 12 weeks. Death events were compared between the two regimens at 6, 12, and 24 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 91 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/TE patients were included in the final analysis (44 in regimen A vs . 47 in regimen B). The overall response rate, which refers to the combined clinical and radiological response, was 18.2% (8/44) for regimen A and 21.3% (10/47) for regimen B at week 6. The results of clinical response showed that, in comparison with regimen A, regimen B may perform better with regards to its effect on the relief of clinical manifestations (50.0% [22/44] vs . 70.2% [33/47], P = 0.049). However, no significant differences in radiological response, mortality events, and adverse events were found between the two regimens at week 6. CONCLUSIONS: Synergistic sulfonamides plus clindamycin, as a novel treatment regimen, showed no significantly different efficacy and comparable safety in comparison with the TMP-SMX plus azithromycin regimen. In addition, the regimen containing synergistic sulfonamides may exhibit advantages in terms of clinical symptom alleviation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR.org.cn, ChiCTR1900021195.

Dietary cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol improves the egg quality and intestinal health independent of gut microbiota in post-peak laying hens.

Essential oils have been proven to exert multiple effects on growth performance, production quality, and health status in poultry nutrition, which is dependent on the component and/or dose of essential oils. Diets with the optimal combination of essential oils might be able to improve the performance traits and welfare of laying hens. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary essential oils, which are composed of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, on performance, egg quality, and intestinal health in post-peak laying hens. A total of 384, 50-week-old Hy-line brown laying hens were randomly divided into three groups with 8 replicates of 16 birds each: (1) a basal diet (Ctrl), (2) a basal diet with 100 mg/kg of essential oils consisting of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% carvacrol (CAR+CIN), and (3) a basal diet containing 100 mg/kg of essential oils composed of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% thymol (THY+CIN). The CAR+CIN diet increased the feed consumption from 52 to 55 weeks more than the Ctrl and the THY+CIN diet. Compared with the Ctrl group, the addition of essential oils decreased the dirty egg rate (P = 0.07) in the whole trial period. Regarding egg quality, the birds that received the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets increased the eggshell strength (P = 0.099) or Haugh unit (HU, p = 0.03) at 54 weeks, respectively. Supplementation of both CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets significantly increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the duodenum through increasing villus height and decreasing crypt depth as well as upregulated the mRNA abundances of duodenal occluding and cadherin (P < 0.05). However, the treatment with dietary essential oils did not notably change the proportion of cecal microbiota and bacterial diversity. This study suggested that dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, the active components of essential oils, could promote egg quality in post-peak laying hens, which might be associated with improved intestinal development and barrier.

Combination of Cinnamaldehyde with Carvacrol or Thymol Improves the Mechanical Properties of Tibia in Post-Peak Laying Hens.

Roles of plant-derived cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, and thymol in the gut and bone health of laying hens was evaluated in the present study. After acclimation for 2 weeks, a total 384 of 52-week-old laying hens were allocated into three groups for 6 weeks: (1) basal diet group (Ctrl), (2) combination of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol group (CAR+CIN), and (3) blend of cinnamaldehyde with thymol (THY+CIN). The dietary essential oil level was 100 mg/kg. Each treatment group had eight replicate pens (16 birds/pen). The stiffness and ultimate load of the tibiae from both the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN groups were higher than that of the Ctrl group (p < 0.05), along with comparable tibia ash, calcium, and phosphorus content among groups. At the same time, the manipulation of essential oils upregulated the transcription abundances of intestinal barrier proteins to varying degrees, whereas the experimental treatment failed to affect the composition in phyla of cecal microbiota. When compared to the Ctrl group, birds fed the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diet displayed decreased bone resorption markers, reduced interleukin-1 concentrations, and increased transforming growth factor beta levels in serum. These findings suggest that cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol in feed of hens could enhance intestinal barrier and improve the mechanical properties of tibiae through structural modelling but not increase the mineral density, which might be involved in suppressing inflammation-mediated bone resorption.