Influence of age on the febrile response to E. coli and S. typhimurium endotoxins in growing pullets.

1. The effect of bacterial endotoxin injection was studied in growing pullets of different ages. Commercial chicks were divided into 5 groups according to age. Bacterial endotoxins (E. coli and S. typhimurium) were injected intravenously and rectal temperature was measured over a period of 300 min. 2. The results showed no significant effect of age on the febrile response induced by bacterial endotoxins, but a slight tendency towards a reduced fever peak was observed with increasing age. The response latency also increased with age.

AVALIACAO DA REACAO DE MITSUDA EM PACIENTES VIRCHOVIANOS INATIVOS ANTES E APOS IMUNOTERAPIA

In this study the immunopotentiator levamisole as well as a mixture of BCG/Mycobacterium leprae were investigated in inactive lepromatous leprosy patients by using the Mitsuda reaction as a parameter. Twenty lepromatous patients ten years ago classified as histologically negative for Mitsuda's test were divided into three groups: five patients that were only retested with Mitsuda antigen; eight patients that received oral levamisol and seven patients that received a mixture of alive BCG plus autoclaved M. leprae. The results indicated that: 1) the levamisole did not alter the reactivity to lepromin in any of the patients studied; 2) neither the changes in the reactivity to lepromin by using the mixture (3 cases) nor those that occurred spontaneously (3 cases) were clear. They properly reflected the natural variation of patients with some degree of resistance to Mycobacterium leprae.

The antibacterial effects for Salmonella Enteritidis phage type 4 of different chemical disinfectants and cleaning agents tested under different conditions

A selection of commercially available disinfectants, sanitizers and water sanitizers based on iodophor, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and phenolic compounds were tested for their activity against a phage type 4 strain of Salmonella serotype Enteritidis in the presence of a variety of organic materials. In general the phenolic preparations were the most effective followed by the QACs and the iodophors. They were all inactivated to different degrees by chick fluff, chicken faeces, feed and wood shavings. The inactivation was greatest when Salmonella organisms were pre-dried in feed. Under these conditions formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde were still active. There was some evidence that induced resistance to stress conditions including culture at 42°C and anaerobic culture increased resistance to one of the water sanitizers.

Influence of Dietary Lysine Levels and Arginine:Lysine Ratios on Performance of Broilers Exposed to Heat or Cold Stress during the Period of Three to Six Weeks of Age

Four trials of identical experimental design were conducted to determine the effects of temperature, dietary Lys level, and dietary Arg:Lys ratios on performance and carcass yield of male broilers. Birds of a commercial strain were grown from 21 to 42 d of age in wire-floored finishing batteries placed in environmental chambers. The chambers were programmed to provide either a constant thermoneutral temperature (21.1 C), a constant cold temperature (15.5 C), or a cycling hot diurnal temperature (25.5 to 33.3 C). Within each environment there was a factorial arrangement of three Lys levels (1.0, 1.1, and 1.2%) with four Arg:Lys ratios (1.1:1, 1.2:1, 1.3:1, and 1.4:1). Environmental temperature significantly influenced virtually every characteristic examined. Hot cyclic temperatures reduced weight gain, feed intake, and breast meat yield, and increased feed conversion, dressing percentage, leg quarter yield, and abdominal fat content. The cold environment promoted increased feed intake and mortality. Ascites and cardiomyopathy were the leading causes of death under cold exposure and thermoneutral conditions, whereas complications arising from heat exposure were the main cause of death under hot cyclic conditions. Levels of Lys affected leg quarter yield and abdominal fat content over all environments but increased breast meat yield only under cold conditions. Increasing Arg: Lys ratios improved feed conversion and dressing percentage and reduced abdominal fat content; it could not be determined whether these responses were consistent with Arg per se or were due to a nonspecific N response. As increasing Lys levels or Arg:Lys ratios did not improve weight gain, increase breast meat yield, or attenuate adverse effects due to heat or cold exposure, it is concluded that the levels of Lys and Arg suggested for 21 to 42 d by the NRC are adequate for birds of this age under the environmental conditions encountered.

Use of lytic bacteriophage for control of experimental Escherichia coli septicemia and meningitis in chickens and calves

A lytic bacteriophage, which was previously isolated from sewage and which attaches to the K1 capsular antigen, has been used to prevent septicemia and a meningitis-like infection in chickens caused by a K1+ bacteremic strain of Escherichia coli. Protection was obtained even when administration of the phage was delayed until signs of disease appeared. The phage was able to multiply in the blood. In newly borne colostrum-deprived calves given the E. coli orally, intramuscular inoculation of phage delayed appearance of the bacterium in the blood and lengthened life span. With some provisos there is considerable potential for this approach to bacterial-disease therapy.

Metabolic Disturbances in Male Broilers of Different Strains. 1. Performance, Mortality, and Right Ventricular Hypertrophy

Two trials were carried out to test the susceptibility for metabolic disturbances of different strains of male broilers. In Trial 1, 1,890 male chickens were allotted in a randomized block design with seven treatments (Arbor Acres, Avian Farms, Cobb-500, Hubbard-Peterson, ISA, Naked Neck, and Ross) and six blocks of 45 chickens. Trial 2 involved 2,184 male chickens of six strains (Arbor Acres, Avian Farms, Cobb 500, Hubbard-Peterson, ISA Naked Neck, and Ross) allotted in seven complete blocks of 52 birds. The same management system was adopted for all birds, reared up to 42 d in an open house during late winter (Trial 1) or late autumn (Trial 2). The most marked differences observed among the strains tested was the lower BW and higher feed conversion of Naked Neck broilers. Total percentage mortalities were high among the most productive broilers, being more than 50% due to sudden death (SDS) and ascites syndrome (AS). No Naked Neck birds died as a consequence of these disturbances and the total mortalities were significantly lower (P ≤ 0.05) than the other strains. The ratio of right ventricle weight to total ventricle weight of the dead birds was over 0.25, except for Naked Neck birds, which presented a nonhypertrophic ratio. The two trials confirmed the relationship between high productivity and high incidence of SDS and AS and indicated that Naked Neck male broilers are resistant to these metabolic disturbances.

Intestinal colonization of a human subject by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Objective: To study the ability of two strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium to colonize the human intestine. Methods: A single human subject ingested separately two strains of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolated from a pig and a chicken. The feces were cultured on selective medium. Prior to ingestion no vancomycin-resistant cocci were present in the feces. Ingestion of 10 4-10 5 CFU resulted in either no colonization or isolation only after enrichment. Ingestion of 10 7 CFU of one strain resulted in colonization for a period of nearly 3 weeks, with fecal counts at times in excess of 10 6 CFU/g. Ingestion of similar numbers of the other strain and reingestion of the first strain resulted in excretion in the feces for much shorter periods. When the fecal count of the ingested strains was greater than 10 4-10 5 CFU/g, the strains were isolated from swabs taken from perianal skin. Conclusions: Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strains from pigs and poultry a re able to colonize the human gut and the perianal skin.

Metabolic disturbances in male broilers of different strains. 2. Relationship between the thyroid and somatotropic axes with growth rate and mortality

Seven male broiler strains (Arbor Acres, Avian Farms, Cobb-500, Hubbard-Peterson, ISA, Naked Neck, and Ross) were compared for their growth rate, feed efficiency, and mortality due to sudden death and ascites. In addition, weekly plasma levels of thyroid hormones [3,3′,5-triiodothyronine (T3) thyroxine (T4), T3: T4 ratio, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)] were determined. The highly productive, commercial strains were very similar in their endocrine profiles but differed markedly from the Naked Neck chickens. Naked Neck chickens were characterized by higher plasma T3 and lower T4 levels at similar ages as well as when compared on the same body weight basis. The present findings support the hypothesis that the slightly hypothyroid state of high productive broilers renders them more sensitive to metabolic disorders. Naked Neck chickens also had higher plasma GH levels than those of their age-matched commercial broilers. The coefficient of variation for GH was highest for Naked Neck chickens, which is indicative for an amplified GH burst amplitude. It may be stated that changes in plasma thyroid hormone concentration in indirect response to selection for low feed conversion and fast growth may be causatively linked to susceptibility for metabolic disturbances such as sudden death syndrome and ascites.

Effect of different plot coverings on emergence and early development of seven palm species (arecaceae)

The Arecaceae family comprises plants with economical importance in many Brazilian regions, for agricultural exploration or for landscaping. In great portion, species of this family present low germination velocity and percentage. This work meant to evaluate the germination and early development of seven palm species (Archontophoenix alexandrae H. Wendl. et Drude, Copernicia prunifera (Miller) H.E. Moore, Latania commersonii Gmel., Livistona chinensis R. Br., Syagrus campos-portoana Bondar, Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Beccari, Syagrus picrophylla Barb. Rod.), submitted to three kinds of seed bed plot coverings. Three 10 x 2 m seedbeds were built and filled with a mixture of sand, soil and chicken manure (1:3:0.5 proportion), where two lines were sown with each specie. On top of each seedbed, plastic covering and fifty percent screen were set allowing one third of the seedbed to full sunlight exposure. Seedbeds were irrigated by dripping system. All species had the same germination rate, regardless of the covering, by the end of the experiment (146 days after sowing), eventhough, A. alexandrae under plastic covering conditions, L. commersonii at full sunlight exposure and Syagrus campos-portoana under fifty percent shade, had reached that percentage around 51 days after sowing. The remaining species reached the greatest germination percentage earlier with some of the coverings, rather than at full sunlight exposure. For the studied conditions, covering type had no effect in leaf length and width. For leaf number, there was interaction between species x covering type for Livistona chinensis and Copernicia prunifera.

Detection of infectious bronchitis virus in experimentally infected chickens by an antigen-competitive ELISA

An antigen-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ag-C-ELISA) was developed for the detection of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) antigens, M41 strain, in tissues from experimentally infected chickens, or in allantoic fluid harvested from inoculated embryonated eggs. The detection limit of IBV in the Ag-C-ELISA was 104.1 median embryo infective doses (EID50)/well. Tracheal and lung samples from chickens vaccinated with 102.5 EID50 of live attenuated infectious bronchitis (H120) vaccine were negative in the direct detection Ag-C-ELISA. The results indicate that the Ag-C-ELISA has the potential to detect IBV, either directly in tissue samples or when combined with the passage of material in embryonated eggs, thereby constituting an alternative method for the diagnosis of IBV.

Sodium and chloride requirements of young broiler chickens fed corn-soybean diets (one to twenty-one days of age)

Sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) nutritional requirements, dietary electrolyte balance (DEB), and their effects on acid-base balance, litter moisture, and tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) incidence for young broiler chickens were evaluated in two trials. One-day-old Cobb broilers were distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments, five replicates, and 50 birds per experimental unit. Treatments used in both experiments were a basal diet with 0.10% Na+ (Experiment 1) or Cl- (Experiment 2) supplemented to result in diets with Na+ or Cl- levels of 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 ,0.30, or 0.35%, respectively. In Experiment 1, results indicated an optimum Na+ requirement of 0.26%. Sodium levels caused a linear increase in arterial blood gas parameters, indicating an alkalogenic effect of Na+. The hypertrophic area of growth plate in the proximal tibiotarsi decreased with Na+ levels. The TD incidence decreased with increases in dietary Na+. Litter moisture increased linearly with sodium levels. In Experiment 2, the Cl- requirement was estimated as 0.25%. Chloride levels caused a quadratic effect (P ≤ 0.01) on blood gas parameters, with an estimated equilibrium [blood base excess (BE) = 0] at 0.30% of dietary CT-. No Cl- treatment effects (P ≥ 0.05) were observed on litter moisture or TD incidence. The best DEB for maximum performance was 298 to 315 mEq/kg in Experiment 1 and 246 to 264 mEq/kg in Experiment 2. We concluded that the Na+ and Cl- requirements for optimum performance of young broiler chickens were 0.28 and 0.25%, respectively.

Efeito da restrição alimentar inicial e da temperatura ambiente sobre o desenvolvimento de vísceras e ganho compensatório em frangos de corte

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Extra̧ão de Macro e Micronutrientes Pela Parte Aérea de Erva-Doce EM Fuņão de Calagem e Aduba̧ão com Esterco de Cama de Frango

A greenhouse experiment was conducted in the Soil Science Department of the Botucatu College of Agricultural Sciences (UNESP), Brazil, using a Dark Red Latosol in 25 L pots. The soil was limed to 50 and 70% of base saturation; and doses 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 t ha-1 of chicken manure were applied, in December of 1999. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks with a factorial arrangement 5x2, 10 treatments and three replications. This work was carried to evaluate leaf number, height plants, fresh and dry weight by aerial part of sweet fennel, and macronutrients and micronutrients removal. The organic fertilization affected the accumulation of N, P, K, S, B and Mn; liming affected the nutrient uptake, except for the Ca, Mg, S and Fe; the interaction of factors affected K, Mg and Mn.

IL-12 and neutralization of endogenous IL-10 revert the in vitro antigen-specific cellular immunosuppression of paracoccidioidomycosis patients

Treatment of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis is still a challenge. Patients present defective lymphoproliferation and IFN-γ responses to the main Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigen (gp43), which correlates with disease severity. Here, we demonstrated that the patients show also a defective synthesis of interleukin (IL)-12. Therefore, we attempted to revert this immune disfunction by adding IL-12 and neutralizing anti-IL-10 antibody to gp-43-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures. Both treatments increased IFN-γ secretion to levels observed with healthy sensitized individuals, but affected proliferation only modestly. When combined, the treatments further increased IFN-γ synthesis and cell proliferation. The addition of suboptimal concentrations of IL-2 also further increased the IL-12-mediated secretion of IFN-γ. Interestingly, the immune modulation was mostly antigen-specific, since the responses to Candida albicans' antigen were not affected. These results suggest that appropriate immune intervention with cytokines and/or anti-cytokines may help in the treatment of PCM. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organophosphate induced delayed neuropathy in genetically dissimilar chickens: Studies with tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) and trichlorfon

Measurements of plasma cholinesterase (pl.ChE), brain cholinesterase (Br.ChE) and brain Neuropathy Target Esterase (Br.NTE) were made in three different lineages of chickens. All birds received toxicants through gavage in a single oral dose between 08:00 and 09:00 h, after overnight fast. Babcock chickens were treated with 800 mg/kg tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) or 80 mg/kg trichlorfon. The TOCP group had 82% Br.NTE inhibition, when compared to the control group, and no birds displayed symptoms of clinical organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN). Hy-line w36 lineage chickens were given 1600 mg/kg TOCP and despite this higher dose, Br.NTE inhibition was similar that presented by Babcock chickens. Isabrown chickens were given 1600 mg/kg TOCP or 80 mg/kg trichlorfon. At 36 h all trichlorfon treated birds had from 80 to 90% inhibition of Pl.ChE and Br.ChE, when compared to controls. However, Br.NTE was inhibited less than 20%, and there were no clinical signs of OPIDN. All TOCP treated isabrown chickens had more than 80% Br.NTE inhibition while one of them exhibited just light signs of OPIDN, two chickens became totally paralyzed. This finding suggested that chicken strain was important in the appearance of OPIDN. In addition, 70-80% of NTE inhibition was necessary but was not sufficient to produce OPIDN in chickens, since babcock and hy-line w36 chickens exhibited NTE inhibition in the range of 70-80% without clinical signs of OPIDN. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.