[Research progress of biomaterials in promoting wound vascularization].

Promoting rapid and good vascularization is still a great challenge for the research and development of biomaterials for wound repair. Current studies have shown that wound vascularization is closely related to the pores, components, and channels of biomaterials. Although the research and development of new medical functional materials have made rapid progress in recent years, and gratifying achievements have been made in the reconstruction of skin barrier function, regulation of wound microenvironment, and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, etc., the problem of rapid wound vascularization has not been solved. This paper introduces the process of wound vascularization, the strategy of biomaterials promoting wound vascularization, the construction of biomaterials promoting wound vascularization based on three-dimensional printing technology, and the influence of nanotechnology on wound vascularization, in order to provide new enlightenment for research and development of wound repair materials with rapid vascularization in the future.

[Hospitalization costs of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia in Shanghai].

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology and hospitalization costs of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Shanghai. Methods: A retrospective case summary was conducted on 63 614 hospitalized children with CAP in 59 public hospitals in Shanghai from January 2018 to December 2020. These children's medical records, including their basic information, diagnosis, procedures, and costs, were extracted. According to the medical institutions they were admitted, the patients were divided into the children's hospital group, the tertiary general hospital group and the secondary hospital group; according to the age, they were divided into <1 year old group, 1-<3 years old group, 3-<6 years old group, 6-<12 years old group and 12-18 years old group; according to the CAP severity, they were divided into severe pneumonia group and non-severe pneumonia group; according to whether an operation was conducted, the patients were divided into the operation group and the non-operation group. The epidemiological characteristics and hospitalization costs were compared among the groups. The χ2 test or Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for the comparisons between two groups as appropriate, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was conducted for comparisons among multiple groups. Results: A total of 63 614 hospitalized children with CAP were enrolled, including 34 243 males and 29 371 females. Their visiting age was 4 (2, 6) years. The length of stay was 6 (5, 8) days. There were 17 974 cases(28.3%) in the secondary hospital group, 35 331 cases (55.5%) in the tertiary general hospital group and 10 309 cases (16.2%) in the children's hospital group. Compared with the hospitalizations cases in 2018 (27 943), the cases in 2019 (29 009) increased by 3.8% (1 066/27 943), while sharply declined by 76.2% (21 281/27 943) in 2020 (6 662). There were significant differences in the proportion of patients from other provinces and severe pneumonia cases, and the hospitalization costs among the children's hospital, secondary hospital and tertiary general hospital (7 146 cases(69.3%) vs. 2 202 cases (12.3%) vs. 9 598 cases (27.2%), 6 929 cases (67.2%) vs. 2 270 cases (12.6%) vs. 9 397 cases (26.6%), 8 304 (6 261, 11 219) vs. 1 882 (1 304, 2 796) vs. 3 195 (2 364, 4 352) CNY, χ2=10 462.50, 9 702.26, 28 037.23, all P<0.001). The annual total hospitalization costs of pediatric CAP from 2018 to 2020 were 110 million CNY, 130 million CNY and 40 million CNY, respectively. And the cost for each hospitalization increased year by year, which was 2 940 (1 939, 4 438), 3 215 (2 126, 5 011) and 3 673 (2 274, 6 975) CNY, respectively. There were also significant differences in the hospitalization expenses in the different age groups of <1 year old, 1-<3 years old, 3-<6 years old, 6-<12 years old and 12-18 years old (5 941 (2 787, 9 247) vs. 2 793 (1 803, 4 336) vs. 3 013 (2 070, 4 329) vs. 3 473 (2 400, 5 097) vs. 4 290 (2 837, 7 314) CNY, χ2=3 462.39, P<0.001). The hospitalization cost of severe pneumonia was significantly higher than that of non-severe cases (5 076 (3 250, 8 364) vs. 2 685 (1 780, 3 843) CNY, Z=109.77, P<0.001). The cost of patients who received operation was significantly higher than that of whom did not (10 040 (4 583, 14 308) vs. 3 083 (2 025, 4 747) CNY, Z=44.46, P<0.001). Conclusions: The number of children hospitalized with CAP in Shanghai decreased significantly in 2020 was significantly lower than that in 2018 and 2019.The proportion of patients from other provinces and with severe pneumonia are mainly admitted in children's hospitals. Hospitalization costs are higher in children's hospitals, and also for children younger than 1 year old, severe cases and patients undergoing operations.

High-frequency monitoring of neonicotinoids dynamics in soil-water systems during hydrological processes.

Neonicotinoids pollution poses a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. However, there is currently little knowledge about how neonicotinoids are transferred from the agricultural environment to the aquatic environment. Here, we conducted in situ high-frequency monitoring of neonicotinoids in soil-water systems along the hydrological flow path during rainfall to explore the horizontal and vertical transport mechanisms of neonicotinoids. The collected samples included 240 surface runoff, 128 subsurface runoff, 60 eroded sediment, 120 soil and 144 soil solution, which were used to analyse neonicotinoids concentrations. Surface runoff, subsurface runoff and eroded sediment were the three main paths for the horizontal migration of neonicotinoids. In the CK (citrus orchards without grass cover) and grass-covered citrus orchards, there are 15.89% and 2.29% of the applied neonicotinoids were transported with surface runoff, respectively. While in the CK and grass-covered citrus orchards, there are only 1.23% and 0.19% of the applied neonicotinoids were transported with eroded sediment and subsurface runoff. Although the amount of neonicotinoids lost along with eroded sediment was small, the concentration of neonicotinoids in eroded sediment was two orders of magnitude higher than the concentration of neonicotinoids in sediments of the surface water. Meanwhile, neonicotinoids migrated vertically in soil due to water infiltration. In the CK and grass-covered citrus orchards, there are 57.64% and 24.36% of the applied neonicotinoids were retained in soil and soil solution, respectively, and their concentration decreased as soil depth increased. Another noteworthy phenomenon is that more neonicotinoids migrated to deeper soil layers under grass cover compared with no grass cover because grass roots promoted the formation of cracks and vertical preferential flow. Our results are expected to improve the accuracy of neonicotinoids pollution prediction by considering migration paths, including surface and subsurface runoff and eroded sediment.

Serum sclerostin as a potential novel biomarker for heart valve calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between change in sclerostin level and heart valve calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in stages 3-5, as well as the possible underlying mechanism, which could provide a clinical reference for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: 110 patients were divided into a healthy control group and three groups of patients with CKD stages 3, 4, and 5 according to CKD staging guidelines. Scr, BUN, AKP, TC, TG, HDL, LDL, Ca, Pi, and CRP were measured, and calcium-phosphate product (Ca×Pi) calculated. ELISA was used to measure the sclerostin level, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by MDRD. Heart valve calcification was measured by a physician in the Cardiac Department of our hospital. The correlations between sclerostin-level change and heart valve calcification, as well as each index in CKD patients in stages 3-5, were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy control group, the serum Ca in CKD stage-3, stage-4, and stage-5 groups (p < 0.05) was reduced, and PTH was increased (p < 0.05). Blood Pi and Ca×Pi in the stage-4 and stage-5 groups were increased (p < 0.05). The serum sclerostin level increased with renal hypofunction in stage-3 CKD patients, and was significantly increased compared with that of the control group, reaching the highest level in the terminal stage (p < 0.01). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that serum sclerostin was negatively correlated with eGFR (r = -0.91, p < 0.001) and blood Ca (r= -0.271, p < 0.001), and positively correlated with SCr (r = 0.608, p < 0.001), blood Pi level (r = 0.295, p < 0.001), PTH (r = 0.334, p < 0.001), and Ca×Pi (r = 0.275, p < 0.001). The rate of heart valve calcification in the CKD patients in stage 5 was relatively high (11/30, 36.67%), and significantly higher than that in healthy controls (1/20, 5%; p < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis of heart valve calcification indicated that sclerostin was a risk factor for heart valve calcification in CKD patients in stages 3-5. CONCLUSIONS: The sclerostin level gradually increased with renal hypofunction in CKD patients in stages 3-5, and the increase in serum sclerostin level in the CKD patients occurred earlier than the change in Pi and Ca×Pi. The risk of heart valve calcification in stage-5 CKD patients was significantly increased. Sclerostin is an independent risk factor for heart valve calcification in CKD patients.

[Genotyping of ABO Blood Group in Partial Population of Yunnan Province by SNaPshot Technology].

OBJECTIVES: To detect the genotype of ABO blood group by SNaPshot technology. METHODS: DNA were extracted from the peripheral blood samples with known blood groups （obtained by serology） of 107 unrelated individuals in Yunnan. Six SNP loci of the 261th, 297th, 681th, 703th, 802th, and 803th nucleotide positions were detected by SNaPshot Multiplex kit, and relevant genetics parameters were calculated. RESULTS: In 107 blood samples, the allele frequencies of types A, B, OA, and OG were 0.355 1, 0.168 2, 0.230 0 and 0.247 6, respectively, while that of types AG and cis AB were not detected. The genotyping results of ABO blood group were consistent with that of serologic testing. CONCLUSIONS: SNaPshot technology can be adapted for genotyping of ABO blood group.

Continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure for prediction of postoperative complications of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the value of continuous dynamic monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage to predict early postoperative complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 80 patients treated in our hospital from February 2014 to February 2015 were analyzed. The patients all underwent decompressive craniectomies, and their ICP changes were monitored invasively and continuously for 1 to 7 days after surgery. The average blood loss during surgery for the group of patients was 65.3 ± 12.4 ml and the mean GCS score 8.7 ± 2.4. Cases were divided into three groups according to ICP values to compare early postoperative complications of the groups: a normal and mildly increased group (51 cases), a moderately increased group (19 cases) and a severely increased group (10 cases). RESULTS: To validate the analysis we first showed that comparisons among groups based on gender, age, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, bleeding time, blood loss, operation time, craniectomy localization, and preoperative mannitol dosage yielded no statistically significant differences. In contrast, the following comparisons produced statistically significant differences: the comparison of postoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores showing that the lower intracranial pressure, the higher the GCS score; the postoperative rehemorrhage, cerebral edema and death ratios showing the higher the intracranial pressure, the higher the rehemorrhage ratio; the average ICP and the time to occurrence of rehemorrhage, cerebral edema or cerebral infarction, showing the relationship between the average ICP and the time to a complication. Patients with higher ICP averages suffered a complication of rehemorrhage within the first 9.6 ± 2.5 hours on average. Nevertheless, the comparison of GCS scores in those patients and the others showed no significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, the dynamic monitoring of intracranial pressure can early and sensitively predict postoperative complications of patients with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage, and guide the clinical intervention actively to improve the surgery outcome.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of CIPK genes in diploid cottons.

Calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) plays a key regulatory role in the growth, development, and stress resistance of plants by combining with phosphatase B subunit-like protein. In the present study, CIPK genes were identified in the whole genomes of diploid cottons and their sequences were subjected to bioinformatic analyses. The results demonstrated that the CIPK gene family was unevenly distributed in two diploid cotton genomes. Forty-one CIPKs were identified in the D genome, mainly located on chromosomes 9 and 10, whereas thirty-nine CIPKs were identified in the A genome, mainly located on chromosomes 8 and 11. Based on the gene structures, CIPKs in cotton could be classified into two types: one that is intron-rich and the other that has few introns. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the CIPK gene family members in cotton had close evolutionary relationships with those of the dicotyledonous plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and poplar. The analysis of transcriptome sequence data demonstrated that there were differences in gene expression in different tissues, indicating that the expression of the CIPKs in cotton had spatio-temporal specificity. The expression analysis of CIPKs under abiotic stresses (drought, salt, and low temperature) in different tissues at trefoil stage demonstrated that these stresses induced the expression of CIPKs.

Methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism analysis of Verticillium wilt-stressed cotton (Gossypium).

In this study, a methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism analysis system was used to analyze DNA methylation level in three cotton accessions. Two disease-sensitive near-isogenic lines, PD94042 and IL41, and one disease-resistant Gossypium mustelinum accession were exposed to Verticillium wilt, to investigate molecular disease resistance mechanisms in cotton. We observed multiple different DNA methylation types across the three accessions following Verticillium wilt exposure. These included hypomethylation, hypermethylation, and other patterns. In general, the global DNA methylation level was significantly increased in the disease-resistant accession G. mustelinum following disease exposure. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the disease-sensitive accession PD94042, and a significant decrease was observed in IL41. Our results suggest that disease-resistant cotton might employ a mechanism to increase methylation level in response to disease stress. The differing methylation patterns, together with the increase in global DNA methylation level, might play important roles in tolerance to Verticillium wilt in cotton. Through cloning and analysis of differently methylated DNA sequences, we were also able to identify several genes that may contribute to disease resistance in cotton. Our results revealed the effect of DNA methylation on cotton disease resistance, and also identified genes that played important roles, which may shed light on the future cotton disease-resistant molecular breeding.

AIM2 contributes to the maintenance of intestinal integrity via Akt and protects against Salmonella mucosal infection.

The mechanism regulating the gastrointestinal epithelial barrier remains poorly understood. We herein demonstrate that Absent in melanoma-2 (AIM2) contributes to the maintenance of intestinal barrier integrity and defense against bacterial infection. AIM2-deficient mice displayed an increased susceptibility to mucosal but not systemic infection by Salmonella typhimurium, indicating a protective role for AIM2 in the gastrointestinal tract. In a Salmonella colitis model, compared with wild-type mice, AIM2(-/-) mice exhibited more severe body weight loss, intestinal damage, intestinal inflammation, and disruption of basal and activated epithelial cell turnover. In vivo and in vitro data showed that AIM2 restricted the early epithelial paracellular invasion of Salmonella and decreased epithelial permeability. The decreased epithelial barrier in AIM2(-/-) mice might be attributed to the altered expression of tight junction proteins that contribute to epithelial integrity. AIM2 promoted the expression of tight junction proteins through Akt activation. Together, these results suggest that AIM2 is required for maintaining the integrity of the epithelial barrier.

The association between lysosomal protein glucocerebrosidase and Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, mutations in glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA), which encodes the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase) deficient in Gaucher disease (GD), were found to be the most widespread genetic for the development of Parkinson disease. AIM: In this work, we investigated the possibility of a biological linkage between GCase and alpha-synuclein. MATERIALS AND METHODS: siRNA was used to knockdown the GBA, then the related proteins such as alpha-synuclein were detected, additionally, the mutations of GBA were also detected. We also provide evidence that a mouse model of Gaucher disease (GBAD409H/D409H) to detect the gene types of GBA. RESULTS: The results showed functional knockdown (KD) of GBA in neuroblastoma cells culture causes a significant accumulation of alpha-synuclein and alpha-synuclein-mediated neurotoxicity. Furthermore, KD of GBA in rat primary neurons expressing the A53T mutation of alpha-synuclein, decreases cell viability. In addition, we observed that overexpression of several GBA mutants (N370S, L444P, D409H, D409V) significantly raised human alpha-syn levels of vector control. Glucosylceramide (GlcCer), the GCase substrate, influenced formation of purified a-syn by stabilizing soluble oligomeric intermediates. We also provide evidence that a mouse model of Gaucher disease (GBAD409H/D409H) exhibited alpha-syn aggregates in substantia nigra, cortex and hippocampus regions. ELISA analysis showed a significant rise in membrane-associated α-syn and western blot analysis showed that two forms of alpha-syn oligomers were present in brain homogenates from the hippocampus D409H mice. CONCLUSIONS: These studies support the contention that both WT and mutant GBA can cause Parkinson disease-like alpha-synuclein pathology.

Identification of RNA editing sites in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) chloroplasts and editing events that affect secondary and three-dimensional protein structures.

RNA editing can alter individual nucleotides in primary transcripts, which can cause the amino acids encoded by edited RNA to deviate from the ones predicted from the DNA template. We investigated RNA editing sites of protein-coding genes from the chloroplast genome of cotton. Fifty-four editing sites were identified in 27 transcripts, which is the highest editing frequency found until now in angiosperms. All these editing sites were C-to-U conversion, biased toward ndh genes and U_A context. Examining published editotypes in various angiosperms, we found that RNA editing mostly converts amino acid from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and restores evolutionary conserved amino acids. Using bioinformatics to analyze the effect of editing events on protein secondary and three-dimensional structures, we found that 21 editing sites can affect protein secondary structures and seven editing sites can alter three-dimensional protein structures. These results imply that 24 editing sites in cotton chloroplast transcripts may play an important role in their protein structures and functions.

Angular Embedding: A Robust Quadratic Criterion.

Given the size and confidence of pairwise local orderings, angular embedding (AE) finds a global ordering with a near-global optimal eigensolution. As a quadratic criterion in the complex domain, AE is remarkably robust to outliers, unlike its real domain counterpart LS, the least squares embedding. Our comparative study of LS and AE reveals that AE's robustness is due not to the particular choice of the criterion, but to the choice of representation in the complex domain. When the embedding is encoded in the angular space, we not only have a nonconvex error function that delivers robustness, but also have a Hermitian graph Laplacian that completely determines the optimum and delivers efficiency. The high quality of embedding by AE in the presence of outliers can hardly be matched by LS, its corresponding L(1) norm formulation, or their bounded versions. These results suggest that the key to overcoming outliers lies not with additionally imposing constraints on the embedding solution, but with adaptively penalizing inconsistency between measurements themselves. AE thus significantly advances statistical ranking methods by removing the impact of outliers directly without explicit inconsistency characterization, and advances spectral clustering methods by covering the entire size-confidence measurement space and providing an ordered cluster organization.

Functional muscle analysis of the Tcap knockout mouse.

Autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2G (LGMD2G) is an adult-onset myopathy characterized by distal lower limb weakness, calf hypertrophy and progressive decline in ambulation. The disease is caused by mutations in Tcap, a z-disc protein of skeletal muscle, although the precise mechanisms resulting in clinical symptoms are unknown. To provide a model for preclinical trials and for mechanistic studies, we generated knockout (KO) mice carrying a null mutation in the Tcap gene. Here we present the first report of a Tcap KO mouse model for LGMD2G and the results of an investigation into the effects of Tcap deficiency on skeletal muscle function in 4- and 12-month-old mice. Muscle histology of Tcap-null mice revealed abnormal myofiber size variation with central nucleation, similar to findings in the muscles of LGMD2G patients. An analysis of a Tcap binding protein, myostatin, showed that deletion of Tcap was accompanied by increased protein levels of myostatin. Our Tcap-null mice exhibited a decline in the ability to maintain balance on a rotating rod, relative to wild-type controls. No differences were detected in force or fatigue assays of isolated extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus (SOL) muscles. Finally, a mechanical investigation of EDL and SOL indicated an increase in muscle stiffness in KO animals. We are the first to establish a viable KO mouse model of Tcap deficiency and our model mice demonstrate a dystrophic phenotype comparable to humans with LGMD2G.

The protective effects of Acanthopanax senticosus Harms aqueous extracts against oxidative stress: role of Nrf2 and antioxidant enzymes.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr.et Maxim.) Harms, classified into the family of Araliaceae, is used in a variety of diseases in traditional Chinese system of medicine including hypertension, ischemic heart disease and hepatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different doses (75 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) of aqueous extracts of Acanthopanax senticosus Harms were evaluated for the antioxidant activity against oxidative stress in mice induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) through observating histopathology of the liver and detecting antioxidant enzyme activity, concentration of antioxidant, and related gene and protein expression. RESULTS: Acanthopanax senticosus Harms aqueous extracts (ASE) attenuated the morphological injury of liver induced by t-BHP and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the ratio of GSH/GSSG in serum and liver homogenates. Medium and high doses of ASE also elevated the gene expression of NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), but not CuZnSOD, MnSOD, catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and GCLC. Protein expression results showed that Nrf2 and the antioxidant enzymes were all increased significantly by medium and high doses of ASE. CONCLUSION: The present results indicated that ASE protect against oxidative stress which may be generated via the induction of Nrf2 and related antioxidant enzymes.

Effect of intravenously injected manganese on the gene expression of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase in broilers.

The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of intravenously injected Mn from different Mn sources on tissue Mn concentration, heart Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity and its gene expression in broilers, so as to detect differences in Mn metabolic utilization among Mn sources. On d 22 posthatching, a total of 180 chicks were randomly allotted by BW to 1 of 5 treatments in a completely randomized design. The 5 treatments included a 0.9% NaCl injection solution without Mn addition (the control), a 0.9% NaCl solution with Mn sulfate or one of 3 organic Mn sources with weak, moderate, or strong chelation strengths at a dosage calculated according to the dietary Mn requirement of 120 mg/kg, Mn absorbability of 1.5%, and daily feed intake. Heart and bone samples were collected from broilers on d 10 and 20 after Mn injections for analyses of tissue indices. The results showed that on both d 10 and 20 after Mn injections, the birds injected with Mn-containing solutions had greater (P < 0.01) Mn concentrations in both heart and bone, heart MnSOD activities, and MnSOD mRNA levels than those injected with the control NaCl solution; however, intravenously injected Mn always had a sensitive and consistent effect on heart MnSOD mRNA level of broilers, and the birds injected with a solution containing the organic Mn source with moderate chelation strength always had the greatest heart MnSOD mRNA level. The results indicated that intravenously injected Mn from the organic Mn source with moderate chelation strength was the most utilizable Mn source and functioned in the sensitive target tissue more effectively than Mn from Mn sulfate or other 2 organic Mn sources with weak or strong chelation strength.

Gene expression of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase as a biomarker of manganese bioavailability for manganese sources in broilers.

The goal of this study was to determine whether Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene expression in heart tissue would reflect differences among bioavailabilities of Mn sources earlier than other indices. Broilers were divided into 5 groups and fed a Mn-unsupplemented basal diet (control) or the basal diet supplemented with 120 mg of Mn/kg as Mn sulfate or Mn methionine E (Mn Met E), Mn amino acid B (Mn AA B), or Mn amino acid C (Mn AA C) with weak, moderate, or strong chelation strength, respectively. Heart MnSOD mRNA levels were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR at 7, 14, or 21 d. The results showed that heart MnSOD mRNA level increased as dietary Mn level increased at any age. At 7 d, chicks fed the diet supplemented with Mn AA B had higher MnSOD mRNA levels than those fed the diet supplemented with Mn sulfate and Mn Met E, and the same tendency was observed at 14 or 21 d. The results suggest that MnSOD gene expression, which is regulated by dietary Mn at transcriptional level, could reflect differences among bio-availabilities of organic Mn sources as early as 7 d. Therefore, the estimation of relative bioavailabilities of Mn sources based on heart MnSOD mRNA level could require a shorter experimental period and a smaller number of animals, and thus less cost.

Effect of manganese supplementation and source on carcass traits, meat quality, and lipid oxidation in broilers.

An experiment was conducted using a total of 336 one-day-old, Arbor Acres commercial male broilers to investigate the effect of dietary Mn supplementation on carcass traits, meat quality, lipid oxidation, relative enzyme activities in abdominal fat and meat, and Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) mRNA level in meat. Broilers were randomly allotted by BW to 1 of 8 replicate cages (6 chicks per cage) for each of 7 treatments in a completely randomized design involving a 2 x 3 factorial + 1 arrangement of treatments. Dietary treatments included the corn-soybean meal-based diet (control) and the basal diet supplemented with 100 or 200 mg of Mn/kg as MnSO(4) x H(2)O, Mn AA A with a chelation strength of 26.3 formation quotient (8.34% Mn), or Mn AA B with a chelation strength of 45.3 formation quotient (6.48% Mn). Birds fed supplemental Mn had lower (P < 0.10) percentages of abdominal fat, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and malate dehydrogenase activities and greater (P < 0.07) hormone-sensitive lipase activities in abdominal fat than birds fed a control diet. Birds fed supplemental Mn from Mn AA A or Mn AA B had lower (P < 0.05) LPL activities in abdominal fat than those fed supplemental MnSO(4) x H(2)O. Birds fed supplemental Mn had lower (P < 0.03) malondialdehyde content in leg muscle and greater (P < 0.02) MnSOD activities and MnSOD mRNA level in breast or leg muscle than those fed the control diet. Birds fed supplemental Mn from Mn AA A had a greater (P < 0.02) MnSOD mRNA level in leg muscle than those fed supplemental MnSO(4) x H(2)O. Results from this study indicated that organic Mn was more available than inorganic Mn for decreasing LPL activity in abdominal fat of broilers, and dietary Mn might reduce abdominal adipose deposition by decreasing LPL and malate dehydrogenase activities or increasing hormone-sensitive lipase activity in abdominal adipose tissue. The results also indicated that dietary Mn upregulated muscle MnSOD gene expression pretranslationally in association with increased MnSOD activity, which might explain the decrease of malondialdehyde content in leg muscle.

Effect of manganese source on manganese absorption by the intestine of broilers.

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of Mn source on Mn absorption by the intestine of broilers. In Experiment 1, the effect of Mn source, including MnSO(4), 2 Mn-amino acid chelates (Mn-Gly and Mn-Met) synthesized in our laboratory, 3 Mn-amino acid complexes with different complex strengths (Mn-Met E, Mn-AA A, and Mn-AA B), and 2 mixtures of MnSO(4) with Gly or Met, on Mn absorption was assessed with ligated loops of different small intestinal segments of broilers. In Experiment 2, the absorption of Mn from MnSO(4), Mn-AA A, and Mn-AA B was compared with intact broilers fed ad libitum. The criterion used for comparison was the Mn content of hepatic portal vein plasma. The absorption of Mn was higher (P < 0.0002) by ligated ileal loops than by duodenal and jejunal ones. Met supplementation increased (P < 0.03) the absorption of Mn as MnSO(4). The absorption of Mn as Mn-AA A and Mn-AA B with moderate and strong complex strengths, respectively, were higher (P < 0.05) than those of Mn as MnSO(4) and Mn-Met E with weak complex strength. On d 7 and 9 of Experiment 2, the Mn content of portal vein plasma was higher (P < 0.03) for Mn-AA B with strong complex strength than for MnSO(4). On d 9, Mn content in plasma was higher (P < 0.01) for Mn-AA B with strong complex strength than for Mn-AA A with a moderate one. The results from this study confirm that the ileum was the main site of Mn absorption for broilers, and Met was more effective in facilitating Mn absorption than Gly as a ligand. Organic Mn was more efficiently absorbed than inorganic Mn (MnSO(4)); the absorption of organic Mn with moderate and strong complex strengths was greater than that of the organic Mn, which was weak, and the absorption of organic Mn with strong complex strength was greater than that of the organic Mn with a moderate strength.

Effects of manganese source and calcium on manganese uptake by in vitro everted gut sacs of broilers' intestinal segments.

Three experiments were conducted with everted gut sacs to investigate the effects of Mn source and Ca on Mn absorption in different intestinal segments of broilers. In Experiment 1, the Mn uptake by everted sacs of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum after different incubation times was compared to determine an optimum incubation time. In Experiment 2, 8 different Mn sources, including MnSO4, organic Mn sources (Mn-amino acid chelates, Mn-amino acids complexes with different complex strength), and mixtures of MnSO4 with Gly or Met were used to assess the effect of Mn source on Mn uptake. In Experiment 3, the effect of Ca in media on the uptake of Mn from MnSO4 and Mn-amino acids complexes was investigated. The uptake percentages of Mn by everted ileal sacs were significantly higher than those by duodenal and jejunal sacs. The uptake of Mn as Mn-Met chelate was significantly higher than that of Mn as Mn-Gly chelate. The uptake percentages of Mn as Mn-amino acid complex with moderate complex strength (Mn-AA A) and Mn-amino acid complex with strong complex strength (Mn-AA B) were significantly higher than that of Mn as MnSO4. The uptake of Mn as Mn-AA B by jejunal sacs was significantly higher than that of Mn as Mn-AA A in media containing high level of Ca. The uptake percentages of Mn at high Ca level were significantly higher than those at normal level. The results indicate that when incubated in vitro, ileum was the main site of Mn absorption for broilers. The absorption of Mn as organic sources were higher than that of Mn as inorganic Mn. The absorption of Mn as Mn-AA B with strong complex strength by jejunal sacs was higher than that of Mn as Mn-AA A with moderate complex strength in media containing high level of Ca. As a ligand, Met was more effective in facilitating Mn absorption than Gly. Furthermore, the transportation of Mn through intestinal cells was enhanced by adding Ca as CaCl2 to the buffer solutions.

Effects of dietary supplementation with copper sulfate or tribasic copper chloride on broiler performance, relative copper bioavailability, and oxidation stability of vitamin E in feed.

An experiment was conducted using a total of 420, 1-d-old, Arbor Acres commercial male chicks to compare copper sulfate and tribasic copper chloride (TBCC) as sources of supplemental copper for broilers. Chicks were randomly allotted to 1 of 7 treatments for 6 replicates of 10 birds each and were fed a basal corn-soybean meal diet (11.45 mg/kg copper) supplemented with 0, 150, 300, or 450 mg/kg copper from copper sulfate or TBCC for 21 d. Chicks fed 450 mg/kg copper as copper sulfate had lower (P < 0.01) average daily feed intake and average daily gain than those consuming other diets. Feeding supplemental copper increased linearly (P < 0.0001) liver copper concentrations regardless of copper source. The slopes of regressions of log10 liver copper on different independent variables used in regressions differ (P < 0.05) between the 2 copper sources. Linear regression over nonzero dietary levels of log10 transformed liver copper concentration on added copper intake resulted in a slope ratio estimate of 109.0 +/- 3.4% (with a 95% confidence interval from 102.2 to 115.8) for bioavailability of copper from TBCC compared with 100 for that in copper sulfate. When the feeds were stored at room temperature for 10 or 21 d, the vitamin E content in the feed fortified with 300 mg/kg copper as TBCC was higher (P < 0.01) than that in the feed added with 300 mg/kg copper as CuSO4. The vitamin E contents in liver and plasma of broilers given TBCC were also higher (P < 0.01) than those of birds fed copper sulfate. The results from this study indicate that TBCC is a safer product and more available to broilers than copper sulfate, and it is chemically less active than copper sulfate in promoting the oxidation of vitamin E in feed.