Sprouted rough rice as an alternative to corn for growth, health performance and meat quality of broilers.

Sprouted rough rice (SR) is not commly used for poultry diets but it could be a potential replacement ingredient to improve nutritional value of feed. This study aimed to evaluate the growth performance, carcass quality, blood lipids, hepatic enzymes, and fatty acid profiles of broiler meat when corn was replaced with sprouted rough rice in the feed. A completely randomized design was used with four groups and six replicate groups with 10 birds per replicate. The 4 treatment groups were 0, 15, 40 and 45 % sprouted-rice-replacement of corn. Growth performance and carcass quality were highest when corn was replaced with 45 % SR (p < 0.05). In particular, live weight and body weight gain increased linearly with increasing SR inclusion, whereas feed conversion ratio and feed intake linearly decreased with increasing SR (p < 0.05). Carcass, thigh, and breast weights showed the same trend of increase (p < 0.05). In addition, the pH of the thigh meat was significantly higher in diet with 45 % SR than in the other treatment groups. With increasing SR content, the weight of immune organs linearly increased, particularly the thymus and spleen (p < 0.05). Additionally, the fatty acids examined including saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acid, transfat were mostly highest when 30 or 45 % of corn was replaced with SR and linearly increased from 0 to 45 % of SR. There were no significant differences of linear relationships with cooking loss, or blood lipid and hepatic enzyme profiles between treatments (p > 0.05). Replacing 45 % of corn in a broiler diet with SR could improve the growth and meat paramenters of broilers.

Factors affecting highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccination practices at poultry farms in Tra Vinh, Vietnam.

Background: The increased number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as a zoonosis has raised concerns in terms of poultry and human health. Farmers' preventive practices are an effective way of reducing zoonosis. However, this practice may have been affected by many factors, including production behaviors, awareness, and farmers' perceptions of farmers toward zoonosis. Aim: This study was conducted on 166 poultry farms in Tra Vinh Province with 14,894 poultry heads to determine the socioeconomic profiles and production characteristics of poultry farms and analyze the effect of these factors on HPAI vaccination practices. Methods: Respondents were selected from lists provided by government officers. Descriptive statistics were used to describe all variables, and factors affecting HPAI vaccination practices were analyzed using binary regression analysis. Results: The results showed that most farmers raised poultry with other livestock using the free-range method, which is a semi-intensive system. The primary objectives of poultry farming are meat sales and augmenting household consumption, with farmers primarily raising chicks produced on their farms. The implementation of the vaccine was less than 50% on the surveyed farms, with a small number of farmers administering an HPAI booster dose. However, only 6% of the farmers confirmed that their livestock had been exposed to HPAI. In addition, HPAI vaccination and booster dose practices significantly increased when farmers had 4-6 family members and received HPAI prevention training. Moreover, increased poultry numbers have led to increased vaccination rates and the implementation of booster doses for poultry. The study also reported that the vaccination rate decreased when poultry was used for household consumption. Conclusion: Sociodemographic characteristics and production behaviors can affect the implementation of HPAI vaccination on small poultry farms.

Sexual self-disclosure, internalized homophobia and depression symptoms among sexual minority women in Vietnam.

This study used an online survey of a sample of sexual minority Vietnamese women (N = 302, Mean = 21.23) who self-identified as lesbian (48.7%), bisexual (42.2%), and other (8.9%). The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among self-disclosure, internalized homophobia, and symptoms of depression. This topic has never before been studied in Vietnam. Structural equation modeling indicates that a higher level of self-disclosure with friends and coworkers leads to less self-stigmatization and less sexual prejudice. In addition, sexual minority women's self-disclosure affects all three aspects of depression (negative affect, positive affect, and interpersonal relationships).