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We evaluated the efficacy of yeast glucomannan (Mycosorb), incorporated into the diet at 0.5 and 1 g/kg, in reducing the detrimental effects of 2 mg aflatoxin/kg diet on growing broiler chicks from 1 to 21 d of age. A total of 240 male broiler chicks (Ross-308) was divided into 6 treatment groups [Control, Aflatoxin (AF), Yeast glucomannan (YG; 0.5 g/kg), AF plus YG (0.5 g/kg), YG (1 g/kg), and AF plus YG (1 g/kg)]. Ten chicks from each of the 6 groups were slaughtered and pathological examinations were performed on the liver, bursa of Fabricius, thymus, spleen and kidney. The aflatoxin treatment caused moderate to severe hydropic/fatty degeneration in the hepatocytes of the liver and the tubular epithelium of the kidneys, and follicular depletion in the bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen. Yeast glucomannan added to the aflatoxin-containing diet at 0.5 and 1 g/kg diminished the severity of pathological changes, slightly and moderately, respectively. The number of affected organs was also reduced in the group given 1 g/kg yeast glucomannan, compared to the aflatoxin group. These results show that yeast glucomannan effectively diminished the adverse effects of aflatoxin on the pathological changes and that the higher concentration of yeast glucomannan (1 g/kg) was more effective than the lower concentration (0.5 g/kg) and itself had no adverse effect.

We investigated the regulation of antioxidant system under acetaminophen (AAP) toxicity. Twelve male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups with the following treatments: Group 1 animals were intraperitoneally injected with single saline (control). Group 2 animals were treated with intraperitoneal injection of AAP at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight. Four hours following the treatments, blood samples were collected and the rabbits were sacrificed to collect liver samples. Hepatocellular damage was evaluated by aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as well as histopathological examinations and immunohistochemical analysis. Tissue-reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO(.)), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also measured. mRNA expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. It was found that liver GSH was reduced significantly in AAP-treated rabbits (P < 0.05), while MDA and NO(.) levels were increased when they were compared to control (P < 0.05). Blood AST and ALT levels were also increased following AAP treatment (P < 0.05). Hepatocellular degeneration and severe necrosis were detected in histopathological examinations. Increased immunostaining was observed for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and nitrotyrosine in the liver. There were no changes in mRNA expression levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px after AAP treatment compared to control group. These results suggest that the expression of these enzymes, which are involved in the antioxidant system, may not be altered after AAP toxicity, although classical toxic changes such as depletion of GSH, hepatocellular necrosis, and increased immunostaining for iNOS and nitrotyrosine were detected.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of bedside lung ultrasound (BUS) in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients with dyspnoea presenting to the emergency department (ED) and to analyse the characteristic sonographic findings of CAP. Methods After a six-hour training program, BUS procedures were performed between October 2011 and February 2012 to prospectively evaluate patients presenting to the ED with dyspnoea. Chest X-ray (CXR) or computerised tomography (CT) were ordered, depending on the presence of consolidation signs on CXR. The outcome was determined by consolidation findings on CXR or CT. BUS results were compared using Chi-squared testing. Results Of the 112 enrolled patients with dyspnoea, 40 patients were excluded and 72 were included in the study. Thirty-four patients were BUS positive. Of these, CXR or CT findings agreed with the BUS findings in 27 patients. In 38 cases, BUS was negative, and one patient was diagnosed with pneumonia based on the CT report. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and the positive and negative likelihood ratios for BUS were 96.4%, 84.1%, 79.4%, 97.4%, 6.1 and 0.042, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of BUS was 89%. The presence of consolidation signs, either shred or hepatisation, were the most frequent sonographic findings in our study. Conclusions Acute alveolar consolidation can be diagnosed easily by performing BUS with high degree of accuracy in EDs.

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