This study was conducted to examine the effects of a combined supplementation of Aspergillus awamori (AA) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in feed on growth and egg quality. Hens (28-week old) were fed on a basal diet as control group; diets supplemented with 0.05% AA, 0.10% LAB, or a combination of AA and LAB (6 birds/group) for 6 weeks. The growth performance of the birds was improved by all the treatments. Synergistic effects of AA and LAB were observed on feed intake, egg production, total egg weight and feed conversion (p < .05). Weights and heights of yolk and albumin was not affected by treatment while, yolk fat, shell weight and thickness were increased (p < .05). On the other hand, egg yolk total cholesterol was decreased and synergistically by the combination of AA and LAB (p < .05). Serum glucose, total cholesterol, ALT and triglyceride were reduced by all the treatment groups. Conversely, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was synergistically increased by the combination. Ca, P and Zn concentration in yolk was increased by AA and LAB and synergistically increased by the combination (p < .05). Interestingly, saturated fatty acids (SFA) were decreased while; unsaturated fatty acids (USFA) were increased in egg yolk in all groups. In conclusion, the combined supplementation of AA and LAB synergistically had no effect on the growth of laying hens. In addition, AA and LAB modify the egg yolk fatty acid profile by increasing unsaturated fatty acid and reducing saturated fatty acid. ARTICLE HISTORY

Cz-Si of several manufacturers and with resistivities ranging from 1 to 13 f&m were processed into solar cells with efficiencies higher than 20 % (AMl.5) using the LBSFiPERL processing sequence. The highest efficiency was 21.7 %. The investigation of high efficiency Cz-Si solar cells was augmented by computer simulation and a study of the carrier lifetime before and after processing. A small degradation of cell performance in the lower resistivity material is discussed. Furthermore, a much simpler processing sequence is presented revealing efficiencies well above 19 % on Cz-silicon and 21 % on FZ-silicon.

Mycobacteriophage DS6A is unique among the more than 8,000 isolated mycobacteriophages due to its ability to form plaques exclusively on mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Speculation surrounding this specificity has led to unsupported assertions in published studies and patents that nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are wholly resistant to DS6A infection. In this study, we identified two independent nonessential regions in the DS6A genome and replaced them with an mVenus-expressing plasmid to generate fluorescent reporter phages ⌽ 2 GFP12 and ⌽ 2 GFP13. We show that even though DS6A is able to form plaques only on MTBC bacteria, infection of various NTM results in mVenus expression in transduced cells. The efficiency of DS6A in delivering DNA varied between NTM species. Additionally, we saw a striking difference in the efficiency of DNA delivery between the closely related members of the Mycobacterium abscessus complex, M. abscessus and Mycobacterium massiliense. We also demonstrated that TM4 and DS6A, two phages that do not form plaques on M. massiliense, differ in their ability to deliver DNA, suggesting that there is a phage-specific restriction between mycobacterial species. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the DS6A genome has a characteristically mosaic structure but provided few insights into the basis for the specificity for MTBC hosts. This study demonstrates that the inability of the MTBC-specific phage DS6A to form plaques on NTM is more complex than previously thought. Moreover, the DS6A-derived fluorophages provide important new tools for the study of mycobacterial biology. IMPORTANCEThe coevolution of bacteria and their infecting phages involves a constant arms race for bacteria to prevent phage infection and phage to overcome these preventions. Although a diverse array of phage defense systems is well characterized in bacteria, very few phage restriction systems are known in mycobacteria. The DS6A mycobacteriophage is unique in the mycobacterial world in that it forms plaques only on members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. However, the novel DS6A reporter phages developed in this work demonstrate that DS6A can infect nontuberculous mycobacteria at various efficiencies. By comparing the abilities of DS6A and another phage, TM4, to infect and form plaques on various mycobacterial species, we can begin to discern new phage restriction systems employed within the genus. The standard treatment for a drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is four drugs (rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol) for 2 months, followed by 4 months of two drugs (rifampin and isoniazid). One of the key aspects of successfully treating tuberculosis is ensuring that the infecting strain is susceptible to each of the antibiotics given; therefore, quickly diagnosing antibiotic resistance is important for successful patient outcome as well as for lowering the incidence of the generation of drug-resistant mutants from improper antibiotic administra...

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Coconut oil has a high content of lauric acid, which has selective antibacterial activity. This study aimed to explore the effect of coconut oil ingestion on the gastrointestinal microbiomes of pigs. A 14-day-long feeding experiment included 19 pigs in two groups (9 on a normal diet and 10 on a diet supplemented with coconut oil). At the start and end of the experiment, a rectal swab sample was taken from each pig in both groups, and total bacterial DNA was extracted. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput amplicon sequencing to evaluate the microbiome changes during the feeding experiment. A total of 446 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected in the whole sample set. Shannon’s indices of bacterial diversity did not change significantly during the experiment. Changes in the bacterial community during the study period and in response to the coconut oil treatment were highly significant (p < 0.001). During the study, an increase in the abundance of Lactobacillus was detected in the group treated with coconut oil. An increase in Alloprevotella, Bifidobacteriales, and Lactobacillales and a decrease in Corynebacterium, Mitsuokella, Psychrobacter, and Pseudomonadales were attributed to the coconut oil treatment. Although the addition of coconut oil to pig feed did not affect Shannon’s index of diversity, it had a positive effect on the abundance of bacterial groups that are considered to be commensal and/or probiotic.

The aim of the study was to analyse the fatty acid profile of wild boar (Sus scrofa) meat. The samples were obtained from the mountain Tríbeč (southwest part of the Slovak Republic). A total of 36 samples in 3 age categories of meat were analysed. The effect of age on the intramuscular (IMF) fat content was analysed. The highest (P < 0.05) IMF content was found in the samples from the youngest animals (18.07%), the lowest (P < 0.05) in the sub-adult animals. Significant (P < 0.05) differences were found in palmitic acid (C16:0). Significant decrease of heptadecanoic acid (C17:0) as an effect of age was analysed in the samples. Of the important fatty acids, the most abundant in all age categories of wild boar were oleic (C18:1 cis 9), palmitic (C16:0), and linolelaidic acid (C18:2 cis n6). Differences in the content of mentioned acids were significant (P < 0.05). In α-linolenic and γ-linoleic acids, non-significant (P > 0.05) differences were detected. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between age categories were found in cis-11-eicosenoic (C20:1 n9) and cis-11,14-eicosadienoic acids (C20:2 n6). Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids), MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids), and SFA (saturated fatty acids) concentrations. The highest PUFA content was typical for the samples from the oldest animals, MUFA from the sub-adults, and SFA from the youngest wild boar. More significant results were observed in the normalized data with the factor component scores. The wild boar fatty acid profile is significantly affected by age.

The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of a blend of phytogenic additive on nutritional and mineral composition of breast, thigh muscles and liver in fattening turkeys. A total 300 female turkeys were monitored in the trial. 1-day old broadbreasted white turkeys hybrid XL were randomly divided into two groups (150 pcs per each). Turkeys in control group were fed by standard diet for fattening and in experimental group from the 1st to the 12th week by complete feed mixture with supplementation of a blend of essential oils from origanum, anise and citrus fruits as well as a prebiotic rich fructooligosaccharides in dosage 1 kg per 1000 kg of feed mixture. Turkeys were housed in group on deep litter. Experiment lasted 18 weeks. Samples of breast and thigh muscles, and liver for nutritional analysis were collected during turkey's dissection (10 samples per each group). After the determination of nutrients, there were found significant (P ˂ 0.05) differences between control and experimental samples of breast muscles in content of crude protein and fat. Statistically significant (P ˂ 0.05) differences in all analyzed nutrients in thigh muscles were observed. The phytoadditive supplementation markedly (P ˂ 0.05) increased content of crude protein in breast (from 91.13 to 93.7% of DM) and thigh muscles (from 79.78 to 85.73% of DM) and ash in thigh muscle (from 4.25 to 4.61% of DM). Tendency of higher (P ˃ 0.05) content of DM and fat was recorded in liver. After analysis the macro and microelements, significant (P ˂ 0.05) differences in all minerals except potassium and manganese were found. Compare to the control group, in the experimental group were detected significantly (P ˂ 0.05) higher amounts of zinc in breast, magnesium and copper in thigh muscle samples. In the 1664 case of liver, there was found higher (P ˃ 0.05) concentrate only in content of manganese in experimental group. Occurrence of manganese was not observed in both muscles. 25Journal of Central European Agriculture, 2016, 17(1), p.25-39 DOI: 10.5513/JCEA01/17.1.Keywords: minerals, muscle, nutrients, phytogenic additive, turkeys Abstrakt Cieľom štúdie bolo analyzovanie vplyvu zmesi fytogenného aditíva na živinové a minerálne zloženie v prsnom svale, stehennom svale a pečeni výkrmových moriek. V pokuse bolo monitorovaných celkovo 300 jedincov samíc moriek. Morky plemena mäsový medzilíniový úžitkový kríženec morka širokoprsá biela, hybrid XL, vo veku 1 deň boli rozdelené do dvoch skupín (150 kusov v každej skupine). Morkám v kontrolnej skupine bola skrmovaná štandardná kompletná kŕmna zmes pre výkrm a v experimentálnej skupine od 1. do 12. týždňa bola skrmovaná kompletná krmná zmes s prídavkom zmesi esenciálnych olejov z oregana, anízu, citrusových plodov a prebioticky obohatená o fruktooligosacharidy v dávke 1 kg na 1000 kg kŕmnej zmesi. Morky boli ustajnené skupinovo na hlbokej podstielke. Pokus trval 18 týždňov. Vzorky prsného svalu, stehenného svalu a pečene, určené na analýzu živín, boli odobrané počas jatočnej rozrábky (10 vzoriek ...

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a phytogenic additive on blood serum indicator levels and fatty acids profile of breast, leg muscles and liver in fattening turkeys. The experiment was realized in private turkey farm and in the Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. A total of 300 clinically healthy female turkeys (broad-breasted white turkey, hybrid XL) were used in the experiment. Female turkeys were randomly divided into two groups (150 pcs per each). In the control group, turkey were fed with standard complete feed mixtures for fattening, in the experimental group, standard diets from the beginning to 12th week were supplemented with the a blend of essential oils from origanum, anise and citrus fruits as well as a prebiotic rich fructooligosaccharides in dosage 1kg per 1000 kg of feed mixture. Fattening lasted 18 weeks. Blood serum was collected at the end of the experiment, during the slaughter of birds. Samples of breast and leg muscles, and liver for fatty acids composition evaluation were collected during birds dissection (10 samples per each group). After the 12 weeks of phytoadditive supplementation, a tendency of lower activity of serum alanine aminotransferase (53.963 vs. 3.499 U/L) and aspartate aminotransferase (6.238 vs. 1.012 U/L) in experimental group of turkeys was found (P<0.01). The same tendency was analyzed in content of phosphorus (P<0.05). Compare to the control group, in the experimental group have been detected significantly (P<0.01) lower concentration of capric acid in leg muscle, lauric and myristic acid in both evaluated muscles, palmitoleic acid and stearic acid in the liver. Additionally, the phytoadditive supplementation markedly (P< 0.01) increased content of following SFA: lauric, myristic and palmitic acids in the liver, pentadecanoic, heptadecanoic and stearic in both evaluated muscles. In the case of unsaturated fatty acids have been detected that the phytogenic feed additive in breast and leg muscles of birds markedly increase the content of cis-11,14-eicosadienoic acid (0.209 vs 0.276 and 0.242 vs 0.298 % of crude fat, respectively); compare to control group, leg muscle of individuals from experimental group have higher (P>0.01) content of cis-8,11,14-eicosadienoic and arachidonic acids. The phytoadditive supplementation significantly (P<0.01) decreased content of some unsaturated fatty acids in turkeys tissues, as well. In experimental group of turkey have been recorded lower level of elaidic and oleic acids in the breast muscle and cis-11,14-eicosadienoic and arachidonic acids in the liver, compare to birds from control group.Keywords: additives, aromatic plants, blood serum, fatty acids profile, turkey Abstrakt Cieľom práce bolo determinovanie vplyvu fytogénneho aditíva na ukazovatele krvného sera a profil mastných kyselín v prsnom, stehennom svale a pečeni výrkmových moriek. Experiment bol realizovaný na privátnej farme moriek a Katedre výživy zvierat, Fakulta agro...