This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of partial and total substitution of lucerne hay with pistachio by-product on nutrient intake, apparent digestibility, rumen fermentation, digesta kinetics, blood metabolites, nitrogen retention and microbial protein synthesis in Baloochi sheep. Six sheep with a bodyweight of 40.1 ± 1.77 kg fitted with ruminal and abomasal cannulae were assigned at random to three diets in a double 3 × 3 Latin-square design. The dietary treatments included a control (basal diet), low pistachio by-product diet (50% of the lucerne hay in the basal diet was replaced by pistachio by-product), and high pistachio by-product diet (all of the lucerne hay in the basal diet was replaced by pistachio by-product). The daily basal diet was 500 g/kg DM lucerne hay, 250 g/kg DM wheat straw, 210 g/kg DM barley grain, 30 g/kg DM cotton seed meal, 8 g/kg DM vitamin–mineral supplement and 2 g/kg DM salt. Faeces and urine were collected for 8 days and used to estimate digestibility, nitrogen retention and microbial protein synthesis. Sheep were dosed ruminally with Cr-EDTA (2.27 g/L) and rumen samples were evaluated for pH, volatile fatty acids, ammonia nitrogen concentrations and digesta kinetics. The intake of neutral detergent fibre, purine derivatives excretion, volatile fatty acid concentrations in the rumen and ammonia nitrogen in the abomasum decreased (P < 0.05). Ether extract intake and ruminal pH was increased at 5 h after feeding (P < 0.05) as the level of pistachio by-product in the diet increased. Total pistachio by-product replacement for lucerne hay increased (P < 0.05) apparent digestibility of nitrogen, ether extract, organic matter and nitrogen retention and decreased (P < 0.05) microbial protein synthesis, efficiency of microbial protein synthesis and ammonia nitrogen in the rumen. The inclusion of pistachio by-product had no effect on blood metabolites and digesta kinetics. Based on these results it was concluded that pistachio by-product can be considered as a useful replacement for lucerne hay in the diet of Baloochi sheep without any negative impacts on their responses. Moreover, pistachio by-product inclusion in diet improved nitrogen metabolism in Baloochi sheep.

No abstract

ECM components include a number of osteoinductive and osteoconductive factors, which are involved in bone fracture healing. In this study, a combination of adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs), cancellous bone graft (CBG), and chitosan hydrogel (CHI) was applied to the non-union bone fracture and healing effects were evaluated for the first time. After creation of animal models with non-union fracture in rats, they were randomly classified into seven groups. Radiography at 0, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery, indicated the positive effects of Ad-MSCs + CBG + CHI and Ad-MSCs + CBG in treatment of bone fractures as early as 2 weeks after the surgery. These data were confirmed with both biomechanical and histological studies. Gene expression analyses of Vegf and Bmp2 showed a positive effect of Ad-MSCs on vascularization and osteogenic differentiation in all groups receiving Ad-MSCs, as shown by real-time PCR. Immunofluorescence analysis and RT-PCR results indicated existence of human Ad-MSCs in the fractured region 8 weeks post-surgery. In conclusion, we suggest that application of Ad-MSCs, CBG, and CHI, could be a suitable combination for osteoinduction and osteoconduction to improve non-union bone fracture healing. Further investigations are required to determine the exact mechanisms involved in this process before moving to clinical studies. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2018.

No abstract

Background: The objectives of this study were to compare the prevalence and quality of life (QOL) of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared with healthy women. Methods: This was a case-control study of 201 women recruited at an infertility clinic in Iran. The control group were healthy women (n = 100) and the comparison group, women with PCOS (n = 101). Data were collected by clinical Rome III criteria to determine the IBS, Bristol scale for stool consistency and IBS QOL. Results: The reporting of IBS symptoms were higher in PCOS (20.7%) than control group (11%) (P = 0.05). The IBS QOL score in the IBS + PCOS group was lower than other groups (IBS+ non PCOS, non IBS + PCOS, non IBS+ non PCOS; scores in food avoidance and worries about health domains were significant (P < 0.01). Conclusions: We conclude that having PCOS and an increased level of LH/FSH tends to cause IBS symptoms. IBS + PCOS women experience significant impaired quality of life scores particularly in relation to worries about health and food avoidance. These results offer further insights into IBS in PCOS women and their functional status and wellbeing.