health of the intestine is one of the main reasons that affects the bird's performance, and thus the economic yield in the poultry sector. various studies have examined how to improve the intestinal health using dietary supplements, including organic acids such as sodium butyrate (sb). the efficacy of the dietary supplementation in poultry is often assessed using an important parameter such as intestinal integrity, which is often assessed as a measure of high villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, or count of goblet cell numbers. in broilers, the villus length and width were increased by the addition of dietary sb. since, at day 21 and 42, the villus length was increased by 55 and 27%, and 39 and 18% for birds fed 0.5 and 1 g/kg, respectively, compared with the control diet. furthermore, sb plays an important role in development of poultry intestinal epithelium. it can be employed by the intestinal epithelial cells as an energy source to stimulate their differentiation and proliferation, and to improve intestinal barrier function. sb is effective against acid intolerant species such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens and E. coli. in addition, use of butyric acid at 0.6% reduced the ph of gastrointestinal segments. for this, sb could be a potential alternative in maintaining the health of gastrointestinal tract and improving the productive performance of poultry. this review refers to the expanding horizons in the research on sb supplementation in poultry health and nutrition.

This study aimed to investigate the potential toxic effects of pure glyphosate or Roundup® on hatchability, serum biochemistry and histopathological observation of the liver and kidney of newly hatched chicks. On day six, a total of 225 fertile eggs were obtained from Huafeng breeder hens. The eggs were randomly divided into three treatments: (a) the control group injected with deionized water, (b) the glyphosate group injected 10 mg pure glyphosate/Kg egg mass and (c) the Roundup group injected 10 mg the active ingredient glyphosate in Roundup®/Kg egg. The results showed a decrease of hatchability rate in chicks treated with Roundup® (66%). In addition, no significant change was observed in body weights, yolk sac weight and relative weight organs except the liver and kidney were significantly increased with groups treated with glyphosate and Roundup® compared to the control group. The results showed that serum protein profiles were linearly significantly increased of serum phosphor, uric acid, aspirate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase in groups treated with Roundup®, as well as the serum concentrations of triglyceride altered after treatment with glyphosate. Furthermore, oxidative stress was observed in the treated chicks, the glyphosate and Roundup® induced changes of the content of malondialdehyde in both the liver and kidney, moreover decrease of glutathione peroxidase, total superoxide dismutase and catalase activity in the kidney tissue and serum. Additionally, changes also happened in the histomorphology of the liver and kidney tissue of the treated chicks. It can be concluded that Roundup® as a probable decrease of hatchability. Exposure to glyphosate alone or Roundup® caused liver and kidney histopathological alterations, serum parameters imbalances and oxidative stress, also induced a variety of liver and kidney biochemical alterations that might impair normal organ functioning in newly hatched chicks.

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This work aimed to investigate the role of some immunostimulants and probiotics in improving the response of overwintered tilapia to Aeromonas hydrophila vaccine. In this study, 15000 Nile tilapia fry (Orechromis niloticus) were collected and divided into five groups. Group 1 was the control, groups 2 to 5 were fed diet supplemented with garlic, Echinacea, Organic Green TM and Vet-Yeast TM respectively for 5 months. Vaccination with A. hydrophila bacteria was done by the end of the feeding experiment. The antibody titer of the vaccinated overwintered tilapia of all groups showed no significant changes during the same sampling time. A significant high value in the antibody titer was recognized in vaccinated overwintered tilapia at the end of 6 th -8 th week post-vaccination (PV) in the control group and between the 4 th -8 th week PV in the immunostimulant supplemented groups (Groups 2-3), and between the 2 nd -10 th week PV in probiotic supplemented groups (Groups 4 and 5). The challenge infection of the vaccinated tilapia showed the highest mortality in Group 1 while the lowest mortality was seen in Group 5. However, maximum protection after challenge was seen at 6 th week PV in other treated groups. The immunostimulants and probiotics under test proved efficient in improving the immune response to vaccination which will improve the resistance of tilapia fry against infection during the winter. The overall results are promising to implement overwintering fry culture program to economically maximize and efficiently use the available aquaculture facilities throughout the year.

Objectives: Left bundle branch block (LBBB) is commonly associated with heart failure. We evaluated the prevalence and impact of LBBB on left ventricular mechanics using 2D strain imaging in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Methods: We included 101 patients with IDCM with mean age 38 ± 18 years: 74% were males and 13.9% of them were in NYHA Class III-IV. LBBB was present in 26 (37%) of included patients. Myocardial mechanics including longitudinal, circumferential strain and rotation and LV synchronization were assessed using two-dimensional strain imaging. Results: LBBB group had higher LV volumes, and PAP compared with non LBBB. Peak LV longitudinal systolic strain (ε sys ) of the septum and global LV SR sys were significantly lower in LBBB compared to non LBBB group (P < 0.01, <0.03). TTP-d was greater in LBBB in comparison to non LBBB group (274.5 ± 116 versus 209.4 ± 139, P < 0.02). The electromechanical delay between septal segments was 35 ± 18 ms and between lateral wall segments: 48 ± 24 ms, between anterior wall segments: 21 ± 11 and between inferior wall segments: 41 ± 12. Consequently, LV mechanical dyssynchrony was more evident in IDCM patients with LBBB. QRS width was correlated inversely with LV longitudinal strain and strain rate and electromechanical delay (P < 0.0001) in non LBBB group. In LBBB QRS width was not related to cardiac mechanics. Using univariate analysis and after a multiple covariate adjustment, the baseline LBBB was associated with a significantly increased LV dysfunction. Conclusion: After correcting for potential confounders, LBBB was found to be associated with more deterioration of LV mechanics and exaggerated LV dyssynchrony in patients with IDCM.

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