The effects of supplemental dietary chitosan on broiler performance and myopathic features of white striping.

White striping (WS) is a common myopathy seen in fast-growing broilers. Studies have demonstrated that chitosan is effective as an antioxidant and has antiobesity and fat-absorption reduction properties. We hypothesized that the dietary supplementation of chitosan would have similar effects when fed to fast-growing broilers and would thus lower WS incidence and improve meat quality. One hundred twenty-six broilers were fed corn-soy diets. The grower and finisher diets contained either 0, 0.2, or 0.4% chitosan. After a 6 wk growth period, birds were euthanized, and then WS and gross pathology scores were assessed. Pectoralis major tissues were collected to evaluate cook loss, drip loss, histopathology scores, and the gene expression of CCR7, LECT2, CD36, PPARG, and PTGS2. There were no significant differences between the broiler weights, thus chitosan did not appear to compromise the overall growth of the broilers. Female broilers fed 0.4% chitosan had the lowest WS incidence, while male broiler fed 0.4% chitosan had the least cook loss. However, gene expression analyses did not offer insight into any grossly or histologically visualized differences in the muscles. Thus, while we can postulate that chitosan could have some positive effect in reducing WS incidence and improving meat quality, further studies are required to better scrutinize the mechanisms by which chitosan affects WS and other such myopathies in fast-growing broilers.

Association Between Child Abuse and Risk of Adult Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This meta-analysis aimed to examine the association of child abuse with adult coronary heart disease risk and separately by abuse subtypes, including emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. METHODS: Data were extracted from studies published up through December 2021 and on the basis of research from PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Studies were selected if they included adults with or without any type of child abuse and measured the risk of any type of coronary heart disease. Statistical analyses were conducted in 2022. The random effects model was used to pool the effect estimates presented by RRs with 95% CIs. Heterogeneity was assessed using Q and I2 statistics. RESULTS: The pooled estimates were synthesized using 24 effect sizes from 10 studies with a sample size of 343,371 adults. Adults with child abuse were associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease than those without (RR=1.52; 95% CI=1.29, 1.79), and the association was similar for myocardial infarction (RR=1.50; 95 % CI=1.08, 2.10) and unspecified coronary heart disease (RR=1.58; 95% CI=1.23, 2.02). Moreover, emotional (RR=1.48; 95% CI=1.29, 1.71), sexual (RR=1.47; 95% CI=1.15, 1.88), and physical (RR=1.48; 95% CI=1.22, 1.79) abuse were associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. DISCUSSION: Child abuse was associated with an increased risk of adult coronary heart disease. Results were generally consistent across abuse subtypes and sex. This study advocates further research on biological mechanisms linking child abuse to coronary heart disease as well as improvement in coronary heart disease risk prediction and targeted prevention approaches.

A dataset of eye gaze images for calibration-free eye tracking augmented reality headset.

Eye tracking is a widely used technique. To enhance eye gaze estimation in different contexts, many eye tracking datasets have been proposed. However, these datasets depend on calibrations in data capture and its applications. We seek to construct a dataset that enables the design of a calibration-free eye tracking device irrespective of users and scenes. To reach this goal, we present ARGaze, a dataset with 1,321,968 pairs of eye gaze images at 32 × 32 pixel resolution and 50 corresponding videos of world views based on a replicable augmented reality headset. The dataset was captured from 25 participants who completed eye gaze tasks for 30 min in both real-world and augmented reality scenes. To validate the dataset, we compared it against state-of-the-art eye gaze datasets in terms of effectiveness and accuracy and report that the ARGaze dataset achieved record low gaze estimation error by 3.70 degrees on average and 1.56 degrees on specific participants without calibrations to the two scenes. Implications for generalising the use of the dataset are discussed.

Changes in oxidative stress biomarkers in Sinonovacula constricta in response to toxic metal accumulation during growth in an aquaculture farm.

Clam farming comprises an important part of China's economy. However, increasing pollution in the ocean caused by toxic metals has led to the bioaccumulation of toxic metals in marine animals, especially the bivalves such as clams, and the consequence of heavy metal-associated toxicity in these animals. Such toxicity can enhance the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the tissues of the animals. In aquatic species, oxidative stress mechanisms have been studied by measuring the antioxidant and oxidative damage index in the tissues. The objectives of this study were to investigate the levels of different toxic metals and the extent of oxidative stress responses in the clam Sinonovacula constricta at different growth periods (from May to October) in an aquaculture farm in Wengyang, an important economic shellfish culture zone in Zhejiang Province, China. Water and sediment samples taken from the farm were subjected to Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr assays. Overall, the levels of these metals in the water and sediment could be considered as light pollution, though the levels of Hg in the water (0.266) and Cd in the sediment (0.813) could be considered as reaching moderate pollution. In addition, the levels of these metals, H2O2, MDA and GSH content, antioxidant enzyme (CAT, SOD, GPx) activities as well as the level of metallothioneins (MT) mRNA in the tissues of S. constricta were also analyzed. The levels of Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr increased with increasing culturing time, and a higher level of these metals was accumulated in the visceral mass than in the foot. The levels of MDA and GSH, as well as the level of SOD activity in the viscera and foot of S. constricta increased with increasing metal accumulation. However, CAT and GPX activities, H2O2 level and the expression of MT initially increased and then decreased. This suggested that S. constricta might have the ability to control oxidative damage by triggering antioxidant defense in coordination with the metal sequestering response. The results also implied that toxic metal pollution should be taken into account when selecting the site to be used as an aquaculture farm. In addition, the visceral mass should be considered to be a good tissue for measuring the level of metal pollutants.