Supplemental effects of different production methods of pine needle additives on growth performance, intestinal environment, meat quality and serum of broiler chickens.

OBJECTIVE: Pine needles are rich in many nutrients and exhibit antibacterial and antioxidant biological activities; however, the effects of different production methods of pine needle additives on the growth performance and intestinal flora of broiler chickens are not known. METHODS: Normal diets were supplemented with pine needle fermentation juice (PNF), pine needle soaking juice (PNS), or pine needle powder (PNP), and the associated effects on growth performance, relative organ weights, intestinal development, intestinal histological morphology, intestinal flora, meat quality, and serum indicators in broiler chickens were observed. RESULTS: The results showed that PNF, PNS, and PNP all significantly improved feed utilisation and promoted the growth and development of broilers. All three additives also significantly improved the structure of the intestinal flora, specifically increasing the diversity of bacteria; increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Faecalibacterium, Rikenella, and Blautia; and decreasing the abundance of harmful bacteria, such as Staphylococcus. The antioxidant properties of pine needles were also found to intensify lipid metabolic reactions in the blood, thus leading to lower triglycerides and total cholesterol. Meanwhile, high doses of PNF reduced jejunum and ileum weights and also increased meat yellowness. Lastly, none of PNF, PNS, or PNP had an effect on relative organ weights or intestinal histological morphology. CONCLUSION: The addition of pine needles to the diet of broiler chickens can effectively promote their growth performance as well as improve their intestinal flora and serum status without side effects; in particular, the dose of 0.2% of either PNF and PNS is expected to have the capacity to replace growth-promoting antibiotics as diet additives.

In Situ Spectroscopic and Computational Studies on a MnO2-CuO Catalyst for Use in Volatile Organic Compound Decomposition.

In situ near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations were conducted to demonstrate the decomposition mechanism of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) on a MnO2-CuO catalyst. The catalytic activity of MnO2-CuO was higher than that of MnO2 at low temperatures, although the pore properties of MnO2 were similar to those of MnO2-CuO. In addition, whereas the chemical state of MnO2 remained constant following PGMEA dosing at 150 °C, MnO2-CuO was reduced under identical conditions, as confirmed by in situ NEXAFS spectroscopy. These results indicate that the presence of Cu in the MnO2-CuO catalyst enables the release of oxygen at lower temperatures. More specifically, the released oxygen originated from the Mn-O-Cu moiety on the top layer of the MnO2-CuO structure, as confirmed by calculation of the oxygen release energies in various oxygen positions of MnO2-CuO. Furthermore, the spectral changes in the in situ NEXAFS spectrum of MnO2-CuO following the catalytic reaction at 150 °C corresponded well with those of the simulated NEXAFS spectrum following oxygen release from Mn-O-Cu. Finally, after the completion of the catalytic reaction, the quantities of lactone and ether functionalities in PGMEA decreased, whereas the formation of C=C bonds was observed.

Unusual perirenal location of a tailgut cyst.

The authors describe a case in which a tailgut cyst occurred at an unusual location in a 22-year-old woman referred for abdominal discomfort and urinary frequency. The left abdomen contained a palpable mass, found at imaging studies to be a homogeneous, unilocular and cystic, and anterior to the left kidney. After surgical excision, it was shown to be a tailgut cyst.