The nonlinearity of pupil diameter fluctuations in an insight task as criteria for detecting children who solve the problem from those who do not.

Insights, characterized by sudden discoveries following unsuccessful problem-solving attempts, are fascinating phenomena. Dynamic systems perspectives argue that insight arises from self-organizing perceptual and motor processes. Entropy and fractal scaling are potential markers for emerging new and effective solutions. This study investigated whether specific features associated with self-organization in dynamical systems can distinguish between individuals who succeed and those who fail in solving insight tasks. To achieve this, we analyzed pupillary diameter fluctuations of children aged 6 to 12 during the 8-coin task, a well-established insight task. The participants were divided into two groups: successful (n = 24) and unsuccessful (n = 43) task completion. Entropy, determinism, recurrence ratio, and the ß scaling exponent were estimated using Recurrence Quantification and Power Spectrum Density analyses. The results indicated that the solver group exhibited more significant uncertainty and lower predictability in pupillary diameter fluctuations before finding the solution. Recurrence Quantification Analysis revealed changes that went unnoticed by mean and standard deviation measures. However, the ß scaling exponent did not differentiate between the two groups. These findings suggest that entropy and determinism in pupillary diameter fluctuations can identify early differences in problem-solving success. Further research is needed to determine the exclusive role of perceptual and motor activity in generating insights and investigate these results' generalizability to other tasks and populations.

Parliamentary roll-call voting as a complex dynamical system: The case of Chile.

A method is proposed to study the temporal variability of legislative roll-call votes in a parliament from the perspective of complex dynamical systems. We studied the Chilean Chamber of Deputies' by analyzing the agreement ratio and the voting outcome of each vote over the last 19 years with a Recurrence Quantification Analysis and an entropy analysis (Sample Entropy). Two significant changes in the temporal variability were found: one in 2014, where the voting outcome became more recurrent and with less entropy, and another in 2018, where the agreement ratio became less recurrent and with higher entropy. These changes may be directly related to major changes in the Chilean electoral system and the composition of the Chamber of Deputies, given that these changes occurred just after the first parliamentary elections with non-compulsory voting (2013 elections) and the first elections with a proportional system in conjunction with an increase in the number of deputies (2017 elections) were held.

Addition of a protected complex of biofactors and antioxidants to breeder hen diets confers transgenerational protection against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis in progeny chicks.

Addition of vitamins and antioxidants has been long associated with increased immunity and are commonly used in the poultry industry; however, less is known regarding their use in broiler breeder hens. The objective of this study was to determine if feeding a complex of protected biofactors and antioxidants composed of vitamins and fermentation extracts to broiler breeder hens conferred resistance against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) in the progeny chicks. Three-day-old chicks from control- and supplement-fed hens were challenged with S. Enteritidis and necropsied 4- and 11-days postchallenge (dpc) to determine if there were differences in invasion and colonization. Serum and jejunum were evaluated for various cytokine and chemokine production. Fewer (P = 0.002) chicks from supplement-fed hens had detectable S. Enteritidis in the ceca (32.6%) compared to chicks from control-fed hens (64%). By 11 dpc, significantly (P < 0.001) fewer chicks from supplement-fed hens were positive for S. Enteritidis (liver [36%]; ceca [16%]) compared to chicks from the control hens (liver [76%]; ceca [76%]). The recoverable S. Enteritidis in the cecal content was also lower (P = 0.01) at 11 dpc. In additional to the differences in invasion and colonization, cytokine and chemokine production were distinct between the 2 groups of chicks. Chicks from supplement-fed hens had increased production of IL-16, IL-6, MIP-3α, and RANTES in the jejunum while IL-16 and MIP-1ß were higher in the serum of chicks from the control-fed hens. By 11 dpc, production of IFN-γ was decreased in the jejunum of chicks from supplement-fed hens. Collectively, these data demonstrate adding a protected complex of biofactors and antioxidants to the diet of broiler breeder hens offers a measure of transgenerational protection to the progeny against S. Enteritidis infection and reduces colonization that is mediated, in part, by a robust and distinct cytokine and chemokine response locally at the intestine and systemically in the blood.

The Effect of Housing Environment on Commercial Brown Egg Layer Production, USDA Grade and USDA Size Distribution.

Consumer demand for retail cage-free eggs is driving the layer industry towards greater use of extensive housing environments. However, there is limited research on how these environments affect egg production characteristics of brown egg layers, as was the focus of this study. Five housing environments were evaluated under typical industry conditions, including conventional cages, enrichable colony cages, enriched colony cages, cage-free and free-range. Three different brown egg laying strains were housed in the different housing environments and managed according to standard husbandry practices and stocking densities. Data collection for the strains began at 17 weeks of age, with a base period of 28 days for feed weigh backs and egg quality assessments. Housing environment had a highly significant (p < 0.0001) effect on all egg production characteristics measured, including egg production rates (% hen-day and % hen-housed), feed consumption (g/bird/day), feed conversion (egg g/feed g), and mortality rate (%) as well as percent grade A, B, and loss. Previous research revealed better egg production metrics for white egg layers in caged environments than extensive environments. In contrast, we observed brown egg layers had optimum production results for the free-range housing environments, and the poorest performance in enrichable colony cages.

Evaluation of Physical Egg Quality Parameters of Commercial Brown Laying Hens Housed in Five Production Systems.

This study evaluates the effect of housing environment on the egg quality characteristics of brown egg layers as many different environments are currently used in the industry. Battery cages, barren colony cages, enriched colony cages, cage-free, and free-range environments were evaluated. Overall, all egg quality measurements were affected by housing environment (p < 0.01) except for vitelline membrane strength, elasticity, and egg solids. Eggshells and yolks were lightest in barren colony cages and darkest from free-range hens (p < 0.0001). Free-range eggs were heavier than eggs from all other environments (p < 0.0001). Cage-free eggs had lower albumen height and Haugh units than other environments (p < 0.0001). Lastly, cage-free and free-range eggs had stronger eggshells than the other environments (p < 0.0001), and free-range eggs had more elastic eggshells than eggs from conventional battery cages and barren colony cages (p < 0.01). Access to the range seemed to give free-range hens different nutritional advantages, which allowed for the darker yolks and shells. Furthermore, eggs from barren colony cages seemed to exhibit more negative characteristics. Simply adding enrichments to colony cages did not improve or detract from egg quality. From this research, it appears that, as the industry moves toward extensive environments, the egg quality of brown egg layers will improve.

Differential proteomics of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection reveals molecular changes potentially involved in immune system evasion by a Brazilian strain of ZIKV.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus that was responsible for multiple outbreaks from 2007 to 2015. It has been linked to cases of microcephaly in Brazil in 2015, among other neurological disorders. Differences among strains might be the reason for different clinical outcomes of infection. To evaluate this hypothesis, we performed a comparative proteomic analysis of Vero cells infected with the African strain MR766 (ZIKVAFR) and the Brazilian strain 17 SM (ZIKVBR). A total of 550 proteins were identified as differentially expressed in ZIKVAFR- or ZIKVBR-infected cells compared to the control. The main findings included upregulation of immune system pathways (neutrophil degranulation and adaptive/innate immune system) and potential activation of immune-system-related pathways by ZIKVAFR (mTOR, JAK-STAT, NF-κB, and others) compared with the ZIKVBR/control. In addition, phagocytosis by macrophages and engulfment of leukocytes were activated in ZIKVAFR infection. An in vivo analysis using an immunocompetent C57BL/6N mouse model identified interstitial pneumonia with neutrophil infiltration in the lungs only in mice infected with ZIKVBR at 48 hours postinfection, with a significant amount of virus detected. Likewise, only animals infected with ZIKVBR had viral material in the cytoplasm of lung macrophages. These results suggest that activation of the immune system by ZIKVAFR infection may lead to faster viral clearance by immune cells.

The effectiveness of a tablet-based video game that stimulates cognitive, emotional, and social skills in developing academic skills among preschoolers: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that children from low-income families begin the preschool stage with less academic and non-academic skills development compared to higher-income families. There are several successful experiences of early stimulation of cognitive and social-emotional skills; however, there is scarce evidence of the effectiveness of a video game that incorporates the stimulation of these skills simultaneously. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a video game in stimulating cognitive, emotional, and social competence skills in developing academic skills in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschool children. METHODS: A cluster-randomized controlled trial design will be used. A tablet-based video game that stimulates cognitive and socio-emotional skills to improve the development of academic skills is compared with a tablet-based game where students draw and paint with no explicit stimulation of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. Eighteen schools and 750 Chilean preschool students will be recruited. The effectiveness of the intervention will be assessed using a direct evaluation of children on literacy learning and pre-calculation skills at baseline, immediately after stimulation, and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-intervention. The mediating effect of working memory, inhibitory control, emotion recognition, and prosocial behaviours will be assessed on the effectiveness of the intervention. DISCUSSION: The proposed study will be the first to test the effectiveness of a tablet-based video game stimulating cognitive and social-emotional skills to improve academic skills in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschool children in Chile, controlling for gender, age (in months), mental health, and baseline conditions of stimulated skills. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05224700. Registered on February 2022.

Automated Detection of Brain Metastases on T1-Weighted MRI Using a Convolutional Neural Network: Impact of Volume Aware Loss and Sampling Strategy.

BACKGROUND: Detection of brain metastases (BM) and segmentation for treatment planning could be optimized with machine learning methods. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are promising, but their trade-offs between sensitivity and precision frequently lead to missing small lesions. HYPOTHESIS: Combining volume aware (VA) loss function and sampling strategy could improve BM detection sensitivity. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: A total of 530 radiation oncology patients (55% women) were split into a training/validation set (433 patients/1460 BM) and an independent test set (97 patients/296 BM). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5 T and 3 T, contrast-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted fast gradient echo sequences. ASSESSMENT: Ground truth masks were based on radiotherapy treatment planning contours reviewed by experts. A U-Net inspired model was trained. Three loss functions (Dice, Dice + boundary, and VA) and two sampling methods (label and VA) were compared. Results were reported with Dice scores, volumetric error, lesion detection sensitivity, and precision. A detected voxel within the ground truth constituted a true positive. STATISTICAL TESTS: McNemar's exact test to compare detected lesions between models. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis to compare volume agreement between predicted and ground truth volumes. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Combining VA loss and VA sampling performed best with an overall sensitivity of 91% and precision of 81%. For BM in the 2.5-6 mm estimated sphere diameter range, VA loss reduced false negatives by 58% and VA sampling reduced it further by 30%. In the same range, the boundary loss achieved the highest precision at 81%, but a low sensitivity (24%) and a 31% Dice loss. DATA CONCLUSION: Considering BM size in the loss and sampling function of CNN may increase the detection sensitivity regarding small BM. Our pipeline relying on a single contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI sequence could reach a detection sensitivity of 91%, with an average of only 0.66 false positives per scan. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Foliculitis pustulosa eosinofílica de la infancia / Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis of infancy

La foliculitis pustulosa eosinofílica (FPE) de la infancia es una enfermedad infrecuente, que se presenta en recién nacidos y lactantes, caracterizada por la aparición de brotes de lesiones papulo-pustulosas muy pruriginosas en cuero cabelludo, con una duración de una a cuatro semanas. El tratamiento es sintomático aunque los corticosteroides tópicos parecen ser eficaces para acelerar la resolución de las lesiones. Presentamos un caso clínico de un escolar de diez años al que se le realizó una biopsia en el Servicio de Dermatología y recibió finalmente este diagnóstico (AU)

Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis of infancy (EPFI) is an uncommon dermatosis of unknown etiology occurring in newborns and infants. EPFI presents with recurrent crops of pruritic, follicular pustules, most commonly on the scalp; and resolving in one to four weeks. Treatment is symptomatic. Topical corticosteroids appear to be effective in hastening the lesions' resolution. We present a clinical case of a 10-year-old schoolboy who, after being biopsied in the dermatology service, finally received this diagnosis. (AU)

Novel infection of pericytes by Andes virus enhances endothelial cell permeability.

Andes Virus (ANDV) non-lytically infects pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMECs) causing a severe capillary leak syndrome termed Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Basolaterally, PMECs are in contact with pericytes which play critical roles in regulating PMEC permeability and immune cell recruitment. We discovered that ANDV persistently infects primary human vascular pericytes for up to 9 days, and that PMEC monolayer permeability was increased by supernatants from ANDV-infected pericytes. Pericyte-directed PMEC permeability was consistent with the high-level secretion of the permeability factor VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) elicited by ANDV-infected pericytes. These findings suggest that ANDV infection of pericytes augments PMEC permeability and reveal a novel mechanism of pericyte-directed vascular barrier dysfunction that contributes to HPS and provides new therapeutic targets.

Screening of Developmental Difficulties during the Transition to Primary School.

The five-to-fifteen (FTF) questionnaire is a screening tool completed by parents that is able to distinguish developmental disorders in children aged 5 to 15 years old. The current study aimed to characterize the developmental difficulties by gender and school age (kindergarten and first grade) of children in their transition to primary school, using the Spanish-language version of the FTF questionnaire. The participants were 541 parents of typically developed children from kindergarten and first grade in public schools in Chile. Developmental difficulties were revealed, showing that boys displayed significantly more difficulties in their social skills when compared to girls, and that kindergartners displayed significantly more developmental difficulties than first graders. The children's developmental difficulties in executive functions, social skills, and emotional/behavioral problems exhibited interactions between gender and school age. The findings were discussed in terms of current conceptualizations of both executive functions and self-regulatory processes. These processes and functions are configured early in development, are gradually consolidated over the course of school age, and can be strengthened or weakened by conditions experienced in childhood. Early screening of developmental difficulties from the parents' perspective would facilitate early detection of problems, as early as in kindergarten, and considering the normal adaptable development of children.

The effects of high-oleic peanuts as an alternate feed ingredient on performance, ileal digestibility, apparent metabolizable energy, and histology of the small intestine in laying hens.

We aimed to determine the effects of feeding a high-oleic peanut (HOPN) diet to egg-producing laying hens on egg quality, digestibility, and feed conversion. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric dietary treatments were formulated with 1) Control diet (CON)-a corn-soybean meal conventional diet with 7.8 % added poultry fat, 2) HOPN diet-dietary inclusion of ~20% coarse-ground whole HOPN, and 3) oleic acid (CON-OA) diet-a control diet supplemented with 2.6% oleic fatty acid oil. Ninety-nine 57-wk-old brown Leghorn laying hens were randomly assigned to 33 animals per treatment. Animals were housed individually for 8 wk. Body and feed weights were recorded weekly and feed conversation ratio was calculated. Bi-weekly, shell eggs were analyzed for quality (yolk color, albumen height, and Haugh unit [HU]). Jejunum samples were collected at week 8 for histomorphometric analysis. Analysis of variance was performed on all variables using a general linear mixed model. Laying hens fed the CON-OA diet produced greater number of eggs relative to those fed the HOPN and control diets (P < 0.05). The roche yolk color value was higher (P < 0.001) in eggs from hens fed the HOPN diet. There were no differences in laying hen performance, eggshell color, eggshell strength, eggshell elasticity and egg albumen height, or egg HU, ileal fat digestibility, or villi surface among treatment groups. However, the apparent metabolizable energy (P < 0.01) and ileal protein digestibility (P = 0.02) were greater in laying hens fed the HOPN diet relative to the CON diet. This study suggests that whole unblanched high-oleic peanuts may be an acceptable alternative feed ingredient for laying hens.

Chicken embryo development: metabolic and morphological basis for in ovo feeding technology.

Broiler embryonic development depends on the nutrients that are available in the egg, which includes mostly water, lipids, and proteins. Carbohydrates represent less than 1%, and free glucose only 0.3%, of the total nutrients. Considering that energy requirements increase during incubation and metabolism is shifted toward the use of glycogen stores and gluconeogenesis from amino acids, extensive muscle protein degradation in the end of incubation can compromise chick development in the initial days after hatch. Significant prehatch changes occur in embryonic metabolism to parallel the rapid embryonic development. Oral consumption of the amniotic fluid begins around 17 d of incubation and promotes rapid development of the intestinal mucosa, which is characterized by morphological changes and increased expression and activity of enzymes and transporters. Furthermore, ingested substrates are stored as nutritional reserves to be used during hatching and in the first week after hatch. At hatch, this limited-nutrient store is directed to the functional development of the gastrointestinal tract to enable assimilation of exogenous nutrients. In ovo feeding is an alternative to deliver essential nutrients to chick embryos at this critical and challenging phase. The improved nutritional status and physiological changes triggered by in ovo feeding can resonate throughout the entire rearing period with significant health and economic gains. The present review addresses the main changes in metabolism and intestinal development throughout incubation, and also addresses scientific advances, limitations and future perspectives associated with the use of in ovo feeding that has been regarded as an important technology by the poultry industry.

STAT3 imparts BRCAness by impairing homologous recombination repair in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B lymphocytes.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes lymphomas and epithelial cell cancers. Though generally silent in B lymphocytes, this widely prevalent virus can cause endemic Burkitt lymphoma and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders/lymphomas in immunocompromised hosts. By learning how EBV breaches barriers to cell proliferation, we hope to undermine those strategies to treat EBV lymphomas and potentially other cancers. We had previously found that EBV, through activation of cellular STAT3 prevents phosphorylation of Chk1, and thereby, suppresses activation of the intra-S phase cell-cycle checkpoint, a potent barrier to oncogene-driven proliferation. This observation prompted us to examine the consequences on DNA repair since homologous recombination repair, the most error-free form, requires phosphoChk1. We now report that the defect in Chk1 phosphorylation also curtails RAD51 nucleation, and thereby, homologous recombination repair of DNA double strand breaks. The resulting reliance on error-prone microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) repair makes EBV-transformed cells susceptible to PARP inhibition and simultaneous accrual of genome-wide deletions and insertions resulting from synthesis-dependent MMEJ. Analysis of transcriptomic and drug susceptibility data from hundreds of cancer lines reveals a STAT3-dependent gene-set predictive of susceptibility of cancers to synthetic lethal PARP inhibition. These findings i) demonstrate how the tumor virus EBV re-shapes cellular DNA repair, ii) provide the first genome-wide evidence for insertions resulting from MMEJ in human cells, and iii) expand the range of cancers (EBV-related and -unrelated) that are likely to respond to synthetic lethal inhibitors given the high prevalence of cancers with constitutively active STAT3.

The effects of high-oleic peanuts as an alternative feed ingredient on broiler performance, ileal digestibility, apparent metabolizable energy, and histology of the intestine.

Locally grown feed ingredients of high energy and protein content, such as peanuts, maybe economically feasible alternatives to corn and soybean meal in broiler diets. Even though normal-oleic peanuts have been demonstrated to be a viable feed ingredient for poultry, few studies to date have examined the use of high-oleic peanuts (HO PN) as an alternative feed ingredient for broiler chickens. Thus, we aimed to determine the effect of feeding HO PN on broiler performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology. Three isocaloric, isonitrogenous experimental diets were formulated with 1) dietary inclusion of ~10% coarse-ground whole HO PN; 2) a corn-soybean meal control diet with 5.5% added poultry fat; and 3) a control diet supplemented with 5.5% oleic fatty acid oil. Three-hundred Ross 708 broilers were randomly placed in 10 replicate pens per treatment with 10 chicks per pen and raised until 42 d. Body weights (BW) and feed intake were determined weekly, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. Jejunum samples were collected at 42 d for histomorphometric analysis. Analysis of variance was performed on all variables using a general linear mixed model in JMP Pro14. Broilers in the HO PN group had lower (P < 0.05) BW and higher FCR than other treatment groups at weeks 2 and 6. There were no significant differences in the jejunum villi surface area between the treatment groups. However, broilers fed the HO PN diet had greater (P = 0.019) apparent metabolizable energy relative to the other treatment groups, suggesting improved nutrient uptake of dietary fats and/or carbohydrates in the HO PN treatment group. However, additional studies are warranted to further define the nutritional value of HO PN as an alternative poultry feed ingredient.

Rapid genomic and phenotypic change in response to climate warming in a widespread plant invader.

Predicting plant distributions under climate change is constrained by our limited understanding of potential rapid adaptive evolution. In an experimental evolution study with the invasive common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) we subjected replicated populations of the same initial genetic composition to simulated climate warming. Pooled DNA sequencing of parental and offspring populations showed that warming populations experienced greater genetic divergence from their parents, than control populations. In a common environment, offspring from warming populations showed more convergent phenotypes in seven out of nine plant traits, with later flowering and larger biomass, than plants from control populations. For both traits, we also found a significantly higher ratio of phenotypic to genetic differentiation across generations for warming than for control populations, indicating stronger response to selection under warming conditions. As a measure for evolutionary rate, the phenotypic and sequence divergence between generations were assessed using the Haldane metric. Our approach combining comparisons between generations (allochronic) and between treatments (synchronic) in an experimental evolutionary field study, and linking population genomic data with phenotyping analyses provided a powerful test to detect rapid responses to selection. Our findings demonstrate that ragweed populations can rapidly evolve in response to climate change within a single generation. Short-term evolutionary responses to climate change may aggravate the impact of some plant invaders in the future and should be considered when making predictions about future distributions and impacts of plant invaders.

How Do Object Shape, Semantic Cues, and Apparent Velocity Affect the Attribution of Intentionality to Figures With Different Types of Movements?

A series of experiments show that attribution of intentionality to figures depends on the interaction between the type of movement -Theory of Mind (ToM), Goal-Directed (GD), Random (R)- with the presence of human attributes, the way these figures are labeled, and their apparent velocity. In addition, the effect of these conditions or their interaction varies when the use of human nouns -present in the participant's responses- is statistically controlled. In Experiment 1, one group of participants observed triangular figures (n = 46) and another observed humanized figures, called Stickman figures (n = 38). In ToM movements, participants attributed more intentionality to triangular figures than to Stickman figures. However, in R movements, the opposite trend was observed. In Experiment 2 (n = 42), triangular figures were presented as if they were people and compared to triangular figures presented in Experiment 1. Here, when the figures were labeled as people the attribution of intentionality only increased in R and GD movements, but not in ToM movements. Finally, in Experiment 3, Stickman figures (n = 45) move at a higher (unnatural) speed with higher frames per second (fps) than the Stickman figures of Experiment 1. This manipulation decreased the attribution of intentionality in R and GD movements but not in ToM movements. In general terms, it was found that the human attributes and labels promote the use of human nouns in participants' responses, while a high apparent speed reduces their use. The use of human nouns was associated to intentionality scores significantly in R movements, but at a lesser extent in GD and ToM movements. We conclude that, although the type of movement is the most important cue in this sort of task, the tendency to attribute intentionality to figures is affected by the interaction between perceptual and semantic cues (figure shape, label, and apparent speed).

Feeding high-oleic peanuts to meat-type broiler chickens enhances the fatty acid profile of the meat produced.

Early feeding trials using peanut meal prepared from normal-oleic peanuts helped to identify peanuts as a suitable alternative feed ingredient for poultry. Yet no studies to date have examined the use of high-oleic peanuts (HO-PN) as a feed ingredient for meat type chickens. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of feeding whole unblanched HO-PN on the fatty acid profile of the meat produced from broilers. At hatch male chicks were randomly placed in raised wire cages, in 10 replicate pens per treatment with 10 chicks per pen, and fed with one of the 3 isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets ad libitum for 42 days: (1) conventional control of soybean meal + corn, (2) 10 to 12% HO-PN and corn diet, or (3) control diet spiked with ≈6.0% oleic acid oil. All body weights (BW) were collected, and broiler selection for processing was determined by individual BW within one-half a standard deviation of the experiment 42-D mean BW, with one bird selected per pen (10 replicate pens per treatment, 3 treatments, 10 birds selected per treatment, yielding a total sample size of 30 birds). Performance was determined weekly and breast samples were analyzed for fatty acid and amino acid profile. All data was analyzed using analysis of variance, with t-test mean comparisons at P < 0.05. BW were similar between broilers fed the HO-PN and control diet, while feed conversion ratio of broilers fed the HO-PN diet was significantly higher at weeks 2, 4, and 6 in comparison to the other treatments (P ≤ 0.03). Broilers fed with HO-PN diet had reduced carcass and pectoralis major weights in comparison to the other treatments. Chicken breast from broilers fed the HO-PN diet had significantly reduced saturated and trans fatty acid content in comparison to the controls (P ≤ 0.0002). Although additional studies must be conducted, this study suggests that feeding whole unblanched HO-PN to broiler chickens may serve as a means to enrich the meat produced with unsaturated fatty acids.

Variación espacio-temporal de la respuesta espectral en manglares de La Habana, Cuba, evaluada con sensores remotos

Introducción: Los manglares son una de las formaciones vegetales de mayor relevancia global por los servicios ecosistémicos y roles ecológicos que desempeñan, y representan el 5 % de la superficie emergida de Cuba. No existen estudios previos que describan las variaciones en los índices espectrales de vegetación por sensores remotos en los manglares cubanos, pero con este tipo de variable se pueden constituir indicadores del estado de estos ecosistemas y emplearse en evaluaciones a nivel nacional. Objetivo: En el presente trabajo se evalúa la variabilidad espacial y temporal de dos índices espectrales de vegetación en cuatro manglares periurbanos de la ciudad de La Habana y se comparan con un sitio natural como control. Métodos: El estudio se desarrolló en las localidades de Bajo de Santa Ana, Cojímar, Rincón de Guanabo y la laguna El Cobre - Itabo y el control fue tomado en la ciénaga de Zapata. A través de la plataforma Climate Engine se extrajeron, de 2 460 imágenes satelitales LandSat, los valores promedio de los índices espectrales NDVI y EVI en 5 parcelas por cada localidad de estudio, entre 1984 y 2019. Las variables se compararon estadísticamente entre localidades y se describió su tendencia a lo largo del periodo de estudio. Resultados: Se detectaron diferencias geográficas en los índices, que pueden correlacionarse con las propiedades estructurales y grado de conservación de cada localidad. La tendencia global de los índices fue a un aumento, pero difirió entre localidades. Los menores cambios se produjeron en el sitio control y, entre los humedales periurbanos, en el Rincón de Guanabo y en Cojímar. El ordenamiento de las localidades a partir de variables espectrales fue consistente con el de grado de conservación general. Conclusiones: La respuesta espectral permitió caracterizar cada manglar de manera individualizada, mostrando relación aparente con las características ecológicas y de conservación de cada lugar. Es necesario continuar promoviendo estudios con sensores remotos de estas formaciones boscosas y generar indicadores sólidos que sustenten su uso en futuras investigaciones y monitoreos en manglares del Caribe.

Introduction: Mangroves are one of the most important forest types because of their ecosystem services and ecological roles. They represent 5 % of the emerged land of Cuba. No previous studies are describing spectral vegetation indexes variations by remote sensing in Cuban mangroves, but these variables can be used as indicators of the conservation status of the ecosystem and sustain national wide assessments. Objective: In the current paper we describe spatial and temporal variations in two spectral vegetation indexes in four near-city mangroves at Havana, Cuba and compare them to a natural control site. Methods: Study was conducted in localities named: Bajo de Santa Ana, Cojímar, Rincón de Guanabo, and El Cobre - Itabo lagoon and as control site was selected northern Zapata swamp. By using Climate Engineplatform we extract, from 2 460 Landsat satellite images, mean values of spectral indexes NDVI and EVI in 5 parcels per locality, from 1984 to 2019. Variables were statistically compared among localities and the global trend was described. Results: We detect geographic differences in both indexes, which can be related to structural properties and conservation degree of mangroves in each locality. Global trend of indexes was to increase, but differently among localities. Slighter changes appear in the control site and, among near city mangroves, in Rincón de Guanabo and Cojímar. The ordering of localities from spectral variables was consistent with the ranking in general conservation degree. Conclusions: Spectral responses describe uniquely each mangrove forest, in concordance to each ecological and conservation characteristics. There is a need for promoting studies using remote sensors at these forest types and to generate strong and reliable indicators that can sustain future researches and monitoring schemes in Caribbean mangroves.

Potential Transfer of Peanut and/or Soy Proteins from Poultry Feed to the Meat and/or Eggs Produced.

Previous studies have demonstrated that allergenic feed proteins from peanuts in the diets of layer hens are not detected in the eggs produced. Hence, in this study, we aimed to determine if soy and/or peanut proteins in poultry feed rations of broiler chickens or layer hens would be transferred or detectable in the meat or eggs produced. To meet this objective, 99 layer hens and 300 broiler chickens were equally divided into treatment groups and fed one of three experimental diets: control soybean meal and corn diet, whole unblanched high-oleic peanut and corn diet (HO PN), or a control diet spiked supplemented with oleic acid (OA) oil. At termination, broiler chickens were processed, and chicken breast samples of the left pectoralis muscle were collected, and eggs were collected from layers. Total protein extracts from pooled egg samples and chicken breast samples were subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods and immunoblotting analysis with rabbit antipeanut agglutinin antibodies and rabbit antisoy antibodies for the detection of peanut and soy proteins. Peanut and soy proteins were undetected in all pooled egg samples and individual chicken breast meat samples using immunoblotting techniques with rabbit antipeanut agglutinin and rabbit antisoy antibodies. Moreover, quantitative ELISA allergen detection methods determined all pooled egg samples and individual meat samples as "not containing" peanut or soy allergens. Therefore, this study helps to evaluate the risk associated with the potential transfer of allergenic proteins from animal feed to the products produced for human consumption.