Effects of phytogenic feed additives, probiotic and mannan-oligosaccharides on performance, blood metabolites, meat quality, intestinal morphology, and microbial population of Japanese quail.

1. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) and dill (Anethum graveolens) essential oils (AEO and DEO, respectively), probiotic (PRO) and mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) on the growth performance, serum metabolites, meat quality, intestinal morphology and microbial populations of Japanese quail.2. A total of 375 one-day-old Japanese quail were randomly allocated into five treatment groups with five replicates of 15 birds each for a 42 d feeding experiment. The dietary treatments were a basal diet (control) or the same diet supplemented with PRO (0.15 g/kg feed), MOS (2 g/kg feed), AEO (0.25 g/kg feed) or DEO (0.25 g/kg feed).3. AEO, MOS, and PRO supplementation increased weight gain, while diets supplemented with AEO decreased feed intake (FI), and improved feed conversion ratio from d 1 to 21 (P < 0.05). The relative weight of the gizzard was higher in birds supplemented with AEO compared to control group, while the birds fed MOS diet had the longest intestine (P < 0.05). Ceca length was greater in control, MOS and PRO groups (P < 0.05). Both essential oils decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of breast meat and percentage of cooking loss in quail (P < 0.05). The villus length (VL) was greater in birds fed diet supplemented with MOS, AEO, and DEO (P < 0.05).The population of E.coli decreased in Japanese quail fed MOS, while Lactobacilli spp. count was increased in the MOS group (P < 0.05).4. In conclusion, AEO, MOS, and PRO supplementation exhibited a positive effect on growth performance, while lipid peroxidation of the meat decreased in birds fed AEO and DEO diets. The intestinal morphometric indices increased in quail fed the AEO, MOS, and DEO diets. Supplementation with MOS modulated intestinal microbial populations of the Japanese quail.

Validation of subjective rating scales for assessment of surgical workspace during laparoscopy.

BACKGROUND: Recently, studies have focused on how to optimize laparoscopic surgical workspace by changes in intra-abdominal pressure, level of muscle relaxation or body position, typically evaluated by surgeons using subjective rating scales. We aimed to validate two rating scales by having surgeons assess surgical workspace in video sequences recorded during laparoscopic surgery. METHOD: Video sequences were obtained from laparoscopic procedures. Eight experienced surgeons assessed the video sequences on a categorical 5-point scale and a numerical 10-point rating scale. Intraclass correlations coefficients (ICC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for intra- and inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: The 5-point rating scale had an intra-rater ICC of 0.76 (0.69; 0.83) and an inter-rater ICC of 0.57 (0.45; 0.68), corresponding to excellent and fair reliability, respectively. The 10-point scale had an intra-rater ICC of 0.86 (0.82; 0.89) and an inter-rater ICC of 0.54 (0.39; 0.68), corresponding to excellent and fair as well. All surgeons used the full range of the 5-point scale, but only one surgeon used the full range of the 10-point scale. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, both scales showed excellent intra-rater and fair inter-rater reliability for assessing surgical workspace in laparoscopy. The 5-point surgical rating scale had all categories employed by all surgeons.

Calcium-vitamin D-fortified milk is as effective on circulating bone biomarkers as fortified juice and supplement but has less acceptance: a randomised controlled school-based trial.

BACKGROUND: Hypovitaminosis D, especially during cold seasons, is quite prevalent among primary school children in Tehran. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of calcium-vitamin D-fortified-milk, -orange juice and supplement in primary school children. METHODS: Children aged 9-12 years from both sexes were randomly assigned to one of six groups to receive plain milk, fortified milk, plain orange juice, fortified orange juice, supplement or placebo. Both fortified-milk and -juice contained 100 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of calcium per 200 mL package, whereas supplement contained 200 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of calcium. The duration of intervention was 12 weeks, from November 2008 to March 2009. RESULTS: A total of 410 children completed the study. Regression analysis with adjustment for both sex and initial values of 25(OH)D revealed that consumption of either supplement, fortified orange juice or fortified milk resulted in a 20.8 nm [confidence interval (CI) = 17.4-23.9], 9.9 nm (CI = 7.4-12.3) or 6.9 nm (CI = 3.3-10.5) increase in circulating 25(OH)D compared to the related control groups. However, changes in serum osteocalcin and intact parathyroid hormone in the supplement group did not differ from those of fortified milk or plain milk. The increment of osteocalcin in both plain milk and fortified milk was more than in fortified orange juice, although the difference was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having double amount of vitamin D and being more effective in raising serum 25(OH)D, supplementation did not confer additional benefit in terms of osteocalcin and intact parathyroid hormone compared to either fortified or plain milk.