RESUMEN: La artritis reumatoide (AR) que afecta la articulación sinovial de la rodilla provoca inflamación de la membrana sinovial y daño tisular. La interleucina-17A (IL-17A) y la enzima glucógeno sintasa quinasa-3β (GSK3β) están involucradas en la patogenia de la AR. No se ha estudiadol vínculo entre IL-17A, GSK3β, el estrés oxidativo y el marcador profibrogénico actina de músculo liso alfa (α-SMA) con y sin inhibidor de TDZD-8, GSK3β. En consecuencia, se realizó una inmunización activa de ratas para inducir la AR después de tres semanas usando inyecciones de colágeno tipo II (COII). El grupo tratado recibió una inyección diaria de 1 µg/ kg de TDZD-8 durante 21 días siguiendo el protocolo de inmunización (COII+TDZD-8). Se recogieron muestras de sangre y tejido sinovial al final del experimento. El desarrollo de AR se confirmó como lo corroboró el aumento sustancial en los niveles sanguíneos del autoanticuerpo altamente específico para AR, el anticuerpo antiproteína citrulinada, así como el aumento de los niveles de especies oxidativas reactivas (ROS) medidos como peroxidación lipídica. La inducción de AR también aumentó los niveles de tejido sinovial de IL-17A y el marcador profibrogénico, α-SMA. Todos estos parámetros parecían mejorar significativamente (p<0,0001) con TDZD-8. Además, se observó una correlación significativa entre IL- 17A, ROS y α-SMA y biomarcadores de AR. Por lo tanto, la inducción de AR en la sinovial de la articulación de la rodilla aumentó la artritis mediada por el eje IL-17A/GSK3β/ROS/α-SMA en un modelo de rata de AR, que fue inhibida por TDZD-8.

SUMMARY: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that affects the synovial knee joint causes swelling of the synovial membrane and tissue damage. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) are involved in the pathogenesis of RA. The link between IL-17A, GSK3β, the oxidative stress, and the profibrogenic marker alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) with and without TDZD-8, GSK3β inhibitor has not been studied before. Consequently, active immunization of rats was performed to induce RA after three weeks using collagen type II (COII) injections. The treated group received daily injection of 1 mg/kg TDZD-8 for 21 days following the immunization protocol (COII+TDZD-8). Blood and synovium tissue samples were harvested at the end of the experiment. RA development was confirmed as corroborated by a substantial increase in blood levels of the highly specific autoantibody for RA, anti-citrullinated protein antibody as well as augmentation of reactive oxidative species (ROS) levels measured as lipid peroxidation. RA induction also increased synovium tissue levels of IL-17A and the profibrogenic marker, α-SMA. All these parameters seemed to be significantly (p<0.0001) ameliorated by TDZD-8. Additionally, a significant correlation between IL-17A, ROS, and α-SMA and biomarkers of RA was observed. Thus, knee joint synovium RA induction augmented IL-17A/GSK3β/ROS/α-SMA axis mediated arthritis in a rat model of RA, which was inhibited by TDZD-8.

SUMMARY: Paracetamol (known as acetaminophen, or APAP) poisoning causes acute liver damage that can lead to organ failure and death. We sought to determine that APAP overdose can augment tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)/ nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB)/induced nitic oxide synthase (iNOS) axis-mediated hepatotoxicity in rats, and the anti-inflammatory polyphenolic compounds, quercetin (QUR) plus resveratrol (RES) can ameliorate these parameters. Therefore, we induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats using APAP overdose (2 g/kg, orally) and the protective group of rats were treated with 50 mg/kg QUR plus 30 mg/kg RES for one week before APAP ingestion. Animals were killed at day 8. APAP poisoning caused the induction of hepatic tissue levels of TNF-α, NF-kB, and iNOS, which were significantly (p<0.05) decreased by QUR+RES. QUR+RES, also inhibited liver injury biomarkers, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Additionally, a link between liver injury and TNF-α /NF-kB / iNOS axis mediated hepatotoxicity was observed. Thus, the presented data backing the conclusion that intoxication by paracetamol increases TNF-α / NF-kB / iNOS axis -mediated hepatotoxicity, and is protected by a combination of quercetin and resveratrol.

RESUMEN: El envenenamiento por paracetamol (conocido como acetaminofeno o APAP) causa daño hepático agudo que puede provocar una insuficiencia orgánica y la muerte. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar si la sobredosis de APAP puede aumentar la hepatotoxicidad mediada por el eje del factor de necrosis tumoral alfa (TNF-α)/factor nuclear kappa B (NF-kB)/óxido nítico sintasa inducida (iNOS) en ratas, y si el polifenólico antiinflamatorio compuesto por quercetina (QUR) más resveratrol (RES) pueden mejorar estos parámetros. Por lo tanto, inducimos hepatotoxicidad aguda en ratas usando una sobredosis de APAP (2 g/kg, por vía oral). El grupo protector de ratas se trató con 50 mg/ kg de QUR más 30 mg/kg de RES durante una semana antes de la ingestión de APAP. Los animales se sacrificaron el día 8. El envenenamiento con APAP en el tejido hepático provocó la inducción de niveles de TNF-α, NF-kB e iNOS, que se redujeron significativamente (p<0,05) con QUR+RES. QUR+RES, también inhibió los biomarcadores de daño hepático, la alanina aminotransferasa (ALT) y el aspartato aminotransferasa (AST). Además, se observó una relación entre la lesión hepática y la hepatotoxicidad mediada por el eje TNF-α /NF-kB/iNOS. Por lo tanto, los datos presentados respaldan la conclusión de que la intoxicación por paracetamol aumenta la hepatotoxicidad mediada por el eje TNF-α /NF-kB / iNOS, y está protegida por una combinación de quercetina y resveratrol.

Resumo Este estudo visou identificar as semelhanças filogenéticas entre os muntjac (Muntiacus spp.). As semelhanças filogenéticas entre sete grandes espécies muntjac foram estudadas comparando a sequência de nucleótidos de 16s rRNA e genoma citocromo b. As sequências de nucleótidos, obtidas a partir de bases de dados NCBI, foram alinhadas utilizando o software DNASTAR. Foi criada uma árvore filogenética para as espécies selecionadas de muntjac utilizando o método de probabilidade máxima no software MEGA7. Os resultados das sequências de nucleótidos (16s rRNA) mostraram semelhanças filogenéticas entre o M. truongsonensis e o M. rooseveltorum tiveram o maior número (99,2%) enquanto as semelhanças mais baixas (96,8%) encontradas entre M. crinifrons e M. putaoensi. Enquanto os resultados das sequências de nucleótidos (Cty-b) apresentaram a maior semelhança (100%) entre M. muntjak e M. truongsonensis e os mais baixos (91,5%) entre M. putaoensis e M. crinifrons. A árvore filogenética das espécies muntjac (gene rRNA 16s) mostra os dois principais aglomerados, o que inclui M. putaoensis, M. truongsonensis, M. rooseveltorum e M. muntjak, e o segundo incluindo M. crinifrons e M. vuquangensis. O M. reevesi existe separadamente na árvore filogenética. A árvore filogenética das espécies muntjac usando genes citocromo b mostra que os M. muntjak e M. truongsonensis estão agrupados no mesmo grupo.

Abstract This study aimed to identify the phylogenetic similarities among the muntjac (Muntiacus spp.). The phylogenetic similarities among seven major muntjac species were studied by comparing the nucleotide sequence of 16s rRNA and cytochrome b genome. Nucleotide sequences, retrieved from NCBI databases were aligned by using DNASTAR software. A phylogenetic tree was created for the selected species of muntjac by using the maximum likelihood method on MEGA7 software. The results of nucleotide sequences (16s rRNA) showed phylogenetic similarities between, the M. truongsonensis and M. rooseveltorum had the highest (99.2%) while the lowest similarities (96.8%) found between M. crinifrons and M. putaoensi. While the results of nucleotide sequences (Cty b) showed the highest similarity (100%) between M. muntjak and M. truongsonensis and the lowest s (91.5%) among M. putaoensis and M. crinifrons. The phylogenetic tree of muntjac species (16s rRNA gene) shows the main two clusters, the one including M. putaoensis, M. truongsonensis, M. rooseveltorum, and M. muntjak, and the second one including M. crinifrons and M. vuquangensis. The M. reevesi exists separately in the phylogenetic tree. The phylogenetic tree of muntjac species using cytochrome b genes shows that the M. muntjak and M. truongsonensis are clustered in the same group.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary onion (Allium cepa) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on growth, carcass quality, antioxidant status, and immune response in broilers under heat stress. A total of 700 day-old Hubbard broiler chicks were weighed and assigned to five treatments and five replicates. Broilers were maintained in a thermoneutral (TN) environment or were exposed to heat stress (HS). For 35 days, HS birds were fed a control diet and three levels of onion and ginger powder as: 5 g/kg ginger + 1.5 g/kg onion (T1), 10 g/kg ginger + 2.5 g/kg onion (T2), and 15 g/kg ginger + 3.5 g/kg onion (T3). Body weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR), dressing percentage, and the weight of immune-related organs improved in T2 compared to the control. Blood concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) were substantially higher in T2 than the control. Similarly, in the same dietary group, the antibody titre against Newcastle disease (ND) and total leucocyte count (TLC) were greater than the control diet. The findings of this research indicate that 10 g of ginger combined with 2.5 g of onion in the diet enhance broiler growth performance, carcass quality, antioxidant status, and immunological response under heat stress conditions.

ABSTRACT The study aimed to explore the effect of dietary supplementation of synbiotics on growth performance, carcass characteristics and nutrient digestibility in broiler chicken. For this purpose, three hundred 1-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks were purchased from the hatchery and randomly distributed into five dietary treatment groups. Each treatment had six replicates, each containing 10 chicks. The experimental diets were supplemented with 0, 700, 1200, 1700 or 2200 g/ton of feed synbiotics and respectively designated as A, B, C, D and E, with A being the control diet. Feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio data were recorded on a weekly basis. At the research trial’s end, two birds from each pen were randomly selected and slaughtered to get data on carcass characteristics. Results showed that group C’s feed intake was reduced (p<0.05) when compared to control. Body weight was similar (p>0.05) among all treatments. However, feed conversion ratio was significantly improved (p<0.05) in group C as compared to other dietary treatments. Nutrient digestibility was improved (p<0.05) in group B and C, as compared to control. Carcass characteristics were not significantly affected and remained the same across all treatments. However, liver weight decreased in birds fed diet C. Meat quality and antibody titer were not affected in any of the dietary treatments. It is concluded that synbiotics can be safely used up to 1200 g/ton of feed, improving bird performance without harmful effects on bird health.

ABSTRACT The poultry nutritionists constantly attempt to identify and alleviate the factors responsible for adverse effects on nutrient utilization and production performance in avian species, which are necessary for successful productivity of poultry. Enhanced feed utilization can reduce levels of some nutrients in the diet with concomitant mitigation in nutrient excretion into the environment, reduction of eutrophication and acidification potentials of excreta. Commercial enzymes have been used to improve feed efficiency and utilization in poultry. Among many anti-nutritional factors, the existence of ß-mannans in poultry feed ingredients including soybean and other leguminous seeds has been associated with negative effects on nutrient digestibility and high intestinal viscosity that adversely affects innate immunity and microbial proliferation in poultry gut. The ß-mannanase (a commercial product named as Hemicell) can hydrolyze ß-mannan, an anti-nutritional fiber present in many poultry feed ingredients. Supplement of ß-mannanase to ß-mannan-rich diets may boost the population of intestinal beneficial bacteria, increase the digestibility of mannans, enhance the immunity, suppresses the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria, enhance the digestion and absorption of nutrients in intestinal tracts and reduce the environmental pollution due to poultry excreta. Supplementation of β-mannanase at the level of 200 and 400 mg/kg in poultry diets has positively improved blood glucose and anabolic hormone homeostasis, FCR, digestible energy, and digestible amino acids. This review describes the promising beneficial effects of β-mannanase, which may be used in the poultry feed industry for economic benefits. Another objective of this review is to explore the underlying mechanisms of ß-mannanase that can influence growth, digestion coefficients of nutrients, health and metabolism of nutrients in poultry birds and also the knowledge regarding the useful application of this feed enzyme in the commercial poultry feed industry.

ABSTRACT The aim of this project was to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on nutrient digestibility and immune response of caged layers during summer when the temperature exceeds 40 ˚C. For immune response trial, White Leghorn layers (n=160; 24 weeks old) were purchased from a poultry farm and were divided into five treatment/diets groups (4 replicate/treatment). Diet A, was without NaHCO3 and served as control whereas, diets B, C, D, and E contained 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% NaHCO3, respectively. All these birds were vaccinated against Newcastle disease (ND) virus at the start of the experiment and thereafter with one-month intervals. Blood samples were collected from two birds/replicate at 10 days post vaccination each time to check antibody titer against ND virus. For digestibility trial, fecal samples were collected (6 layers/treatment group) at the start of the 37th week of age for two days, at 3 hours interval. Results revealed that immune response against ND virus 10 days post vaccination after 1st, 2nd and 3rd month was significantly (p<0.05) higher in layer birds fed diets containing NaHCO3. Digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE) and absorption of minerals were also found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher in groups treated with NaHCO3 and the birds fed diet containing 1% NaHCO3 showed the best results. In general, results revealed that 1% supplementation of NaHCO3 in layers’ diet have a beneficial impact in terms of immunity and diet digestibility.

The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of a phytogenic mixture in the diet on broiler production. A total of 400 day-old unsexed Cobb broiler chicks were randomly allotted to four treatment groups of 10 replications in a randomised design experiment. The phytogenic feed mixture (BMC) contained equal ratios of black cumin, Moringa oleifera and chicory seeds. The treatment groups were as follows: T1 was fed the basal diet, while T2, T3 and T4 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.2%, 0.4% or 0.6% of three BMC mixture, respectively. Results showed that increasing the dietary BMC level could be associated with a gradual but significant increase in body weight and improvement in the feed conversion ratio when compared with the control group. Broiler diets enriched with 0.4% to 0.6% of the BMC mixture reduced gut microbial count of coliforms, E. coli and C. perfringens as well as gut pH, compared to the control group. Increasing the dietary BMC mixture level was associated with gradual but significant decrease in serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein concentrations and liver enzymes concentrations. However, there was an increase in the high density lipoprotein concentration, and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity in serum. In conclusion, the BMC mixture could be deemed an effective growth promoter, but further research is needed to evaluate it as a viable alternative to antibiotics.

Semantic Web refers to a Web of linked data in which data can be shared and reused, allowing more uses than the traditional 'Web of documents'. However, most of the information on the Web is stored in relational databases and such databases cannot be used by the Semantic Web. Relational databases can, however, be used to construct an ontology as the core of the Semantic Web. We propose a new approach which enables Semantic Web applications to access data actually stored in relational databases using a corresponding ontology. In our approach, domain ontologies can be used to formulate relational database queries in order to simplify the data access of the underlying data sources. The method we propose involves two main phases: the construction of a local ontology from a relational database and a semantic query in a relational database using relational database query language (RDQL). In the first phase, we construct a Web ontology language ontology from data in a relational database. In the second phase, we propose a technique to automatically extract the semantics of relational databases and transform this information into a representation that can be processed and understood by a machine. The method proposed is simulated and implemented using Jena and the simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Therefore, we propose RDQL as a real alternative to the commonly used structured query language access to relational databases.