ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of dietary supplemented propolis in two growing rabbit breeds on growth performance, immune response, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and cecal microflora composition. METHODS: A total of 90 growing rabbits aged 6 weeks from two breeds (V-line and Jabali) were randomly allocated to 3 dietary propolis experimental treatments. The experimental treatments consisted of a 2×3 factorial arrangement with two rabbit breeds and three levels of dietary propolis supplementation (0, 250 mg/kg, and 500 mg/kg). Each sub-treatment has 15 rabbits. The experimental period lasted six weeks. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in growth performance and carcass characteristics due to propolis administration. Propolis supplementation at a high level significantly increased (linear; p<0.05) cellular-mediated immunity compared with the unsupplemented group. Furthermore, the rabbits receiving propolis exhibited a significant increase (linear and quadratic; p<0.03) in IgM immunoglobulins compared to the control. The current study provides further evidence that the dietary inclusion of propolis can significantly reduce pathogenic bacterial colonization in growing rabbits. The total count of microflora, E. coli, and Salmonella spp. was significantly lower (linear; p<0.01) in supplemented rabbit groups compared to the control group according to the microbiological analysis of cecal digesta. Based on breed effect, the results indicated that Jabali rabbits (local) performed better than V-line rabbits (foreign) in the majority of the studied traits. CONCLUSION: Dietary propolis is promising for further investigation into improving intestinal health and enhancing immunity in growing rabbits.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Plastibell device is a satisfactory method of circumcision in infants. However the most common post-operative complication was bleeding (especially from the frenulum site). As a result, we introduce a novel modification of the device to prevent this complication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective comparative study of Plastibell circumcision in infants up to the age of 12 months was conducted, using conventional Plastibell device and modified Plastibell device circumcision. In The first group (1000 infants), circumcision was performed with conventional Plastibell device while in the second group (4500 infants), circumcision was done with modified Plastibell device. RESULTS: The mean age was 8 weeks. The mean operating time were 8.5 min and 5.9 min for conventional Plastibell ring and modified Plastibell device circumcision respectively. The most common postoperative complication in first groups was bleeding. CONCLUSION: This modified Plastibell device, prevents the most series complication of bleeding. It is fast and ensures excellent cosmoses compared with the standard Plastibell template circumcision. Also it is easy to perform and allows the paediatric surgeon to achieve consistently excellent cosmetic results. Moreover, the shorter operating time makes circumcision by the modified Plastibell device a more practical method. The technique will be described in detail.
