Production performance and egg quality were compared between 4 strains of beak-trimmed layers: 3 commercial strains-Lohmann White (LW), H&N White (HN), Lohmann Brown (LB)-and a noncommercial cross between Rhode Island Red (male) and Barred Plymouth Rock (female) in conventional cages and in floor pens. All chicks were reared and 857 pullets were housed at 18 wk of age in their respective environments. Body weight, hen-day egg production, feed consumption and efficiency, and egg quality were measured at wk 20, 30, 40, and 50. In floor pens, the location of eggs was recorded for 4 consecutive days at 4-wk intervals between 20 and 50 wk of age. Eggs from cages, nest-boxes, and the floor were tested for Escherichia coli and coliform contamination at 38 and 42 wk of age. Mortality was recorded during the rearing and laying periods. Housing systems significantly influenced BW and mortality but not feed consumption or feed efficiency. The interaction between environment and strain was significant for hen-day egg production at wk 20 to 30 and for BW at wk 30, 40, and 50. Hens in floor pens had greater BW, egg and yolk weights, and yolk color than those in cages. Commercial hens produced more eggs than the cross hens. Overall, HN hens had the best production performance, whereas cross hens had better egg quality. In floor pens, LW and HN hens laid most of their eggs in nest boxes, whereas LB and cross hens laid half of their eggs on the floor. Eggs from cages had lower E. coli and coliform contamination than those from nest-boxes and the floor, and E. coli contamination was greater for LB eggs than for LW eggs. Significant strain differences were found for the use of nest-boxes, with a high percentage of floor eggs for brown egg strains. This study suggests that genotype x environment interactions should be considered when alternative housing systems are proposed.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has recently gained considerable attention for use in electrochemical biosensing applications due to its outstanding conducting properties and large surface area. This report presents a novel microfluidic chip integrated with an RGO-based electrochemical immunosensor for label-free detection of an influenza virus, H1N1. Three microelectrodes were fabricated on a glass substrate using the photolithographic technique, and the working electrode was functionalized using RGO and monoclonal antibodies specific to the virus. These chips were integrated with polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. Structural and morphological characterizations were performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Electrochemical studies revealed good selectivity and an enhanced detection limit of 0.5 PFU mL−1, where the chronoamperometric current increased linearly with H1N1 virus concentration within the range of 1 to 104 PFU mL−1 (R2 = 0.99). This microfluidic immunosensor can provide a promising platform for effective detection of biomolecules using minute samples.

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Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have found a wide range of biomedical and environmental monitoring applications (viz. drug delivery, diagnostics, biosensing, bio-imaging, theranostics, and hazardous chemical sensing) due to their excellent optoelectronic and enhanced physico-chemical properties. The modulation of these properties is done by functionalizing them with the synthesized AuNPs with polymers, surfactants, ligands, drugs, proteins, peptides, or oligonucleotides for attaining the target specificity, selectivity and sensitivity for their various applications in diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics. This review intends to highlight the contribution of such AuNPs in state-of-the-art ventures of diverse biomedical applications. Therefore, a brief discussion on the synthesis of AuNPs has been summarized prior to comprehensive detailing of their surface modification strategies and the applications. Here in, we have discussed various ways of AuNPs functionalization including thiol, phosphene, amine, polymer and silica mediated passivation strategies. Thereafter, the implications of these passivated AuNPs in sensing, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), bioimaging, drug delivery, and theranostics have been extensively discussed with the a number of illustrations.

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The influenza virus has received extensive attention due to the recent H1N1 pandemics originating from swine. This study reports a label-free, highly sensitive, and selective electrical immunosensor for the detection of influenza virus H1N1 based on dielectrophoretically deposited single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). COOH-functionalized SWCNTs were deposited on a self-assembled monolayer of polyelectrolyte polydiallyldimethyl-ammonium chloride (PDDA) between two gold electrodes by dielectrophoretic and electrostatic forces, which resulted in reproducible, uniform, aligned, and aggregation-free SWCNT channels (2-10 μm in length). Avidin was immobilized onto the PDDA-SWCNT channels, and viral antibodies were immobilized using biotin-avidin coupling. The resistance of the channels increased with the binding of the influenza viruses to the antibodies. These immunosensors showed linear behavior as the virus concentration was varied from 1 to 10(4) PFU ml(-1) along with a detection time of 30 min. The immunosensors with a 2 μm channel length detected 1 PFU ml(-1) of the influenza virus accurately (R(2) = 0.99) and selectively from MS2 bacteriophages. These immunosensors have the potential to become an important component of a point-of-care test kit that will enable a rapid clinical diagnosis.

The technological advances in the processing and preservation of quail eggs and meat, evaluation of their nutritive values and development of further processed products therefrom are reviewed. The review of egg and egg products covers the physical and chemical composition of eggs, the influence of age and season on egg quality, storage stability of shell eggs and further processed products including pickled and brined eggs. Aspects concerning optimal slaughter age of quails and their processing, yields of carcass and meat, abdominal fat, nutrient composition, preservation and further processed meat products like pickled, tandoori (roasted), fried and smoked quail are also highlighted in this paper.

A 20-mer thiolated oligonucleotide probe (th-ssDNA) specific to Neisseria gonorrhoeae immobilized onto a sol-gel derived nano-structured zinc oxide (ZnO) film dip-coated onto an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass substrate has been used for the fabrication of a DNA biosensor for sexually transmitted disease (gonorrhoea) detection using hybridization technique. The results of characterization studies carried out on this th-ssDNA-ZnO/ITO bioelectrode using X-ray diffraction, UV-Visible, Fourier-transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical techniques reveal the linearity as 0.000524 fmol-0.524 nmol, with a detection limit of 0.000704 fmol within 60 s.