[Average weight and temperature rhythms of fasting chickens from hatching to death]. / Peso medio e oscillazioni della temperature di pulcini di pollo dalla schiusa fino alla morte per digiuno.

We have compared the weight and the bodily temperature of some chicks during fasting from hatching till death with the values obtained from regularly nourished chicks at the environment temperature of 34 degrees. The medium period of survival during fasting is 7,4 d while the chicks of 7 d generally survive 3,9 d. The reserve of the vitelline sac (17,8%) is not sufficient to cover the basal metabolism of the chick. Its net weight generally diminishes of 33,6%. Nourished chicks lose weight on the 1st d and then regularly grow up. The chicken temperature from the 14th day on is about 41,8 degrees in the morning and increases in the evening. The temperature during fasting is lower than normal temperature of nourished chicks progressively increases and after 3 d is higher in the evening than in the morning, as it is for the grown-up ones. We are trying to found out the factors which determine the modifications of thermic oscillations during fasting, which are not a circadian rhythm.

Biometabolic effects of different nutrients on embryonal cultures.

It has been valued the effects of different nutrients (glucose, phospholipids and ethanol) on the growth and morphology of chicken embryo cells, cultured in vitro by "pendent drop". Considering that the basal nourishing substratum used in these studies is the best medium that may be supplied to the cultures for the growth of this kind of tissues, the entity of damage induced by different nutrients has been shown. It may be said that the less negative effect is induced by 2.5% ethanol and by the association: "glucose + 2.5% ethanol", that the damage induced by only glucose seems to improve in presence of 2.5% ethanol, that in presence of phospholipids the cells appear all full of big lipid drops (especially in the condition: "phospholipid + ethanol") and that 5% ethanol deeply appears to impair and alter the cultures, as it was been observed in our previous experiences.

[Weight increase in chickens subjected to hypoalimentation]. / Accrescimento corporeo di pulcini sottoposti ad ipoalimentazione.

14 days old chickens receive during 26 days a reduced nourishing share so that their growing up is stopped. At the end of this hypo-nourishment their weight is generally corresponding to 25.2% of the weight of normal chickens. When the nourishment is again as much as they wish, they swallow every day more food than during checking of the same weight and the speed in growing up found out is higher both than during checkings when the weight was the same and than the one of the checkings when age was the same. Comparing the recovery speed between hypo-nourished chickens and chickens submitted to repeated periods of non-eating, recovery in weight in comparison with checkings reaches 80% approx., however recovery speed is much lower in hypo-nourished chickens. The reasons for this difference are discussed.

[Thermoregulation in chickens subjected to hypoalimentation]. / La termoregolazione in pulcini sottoposti ad ipoalimentazione.

Calculation of the body temperature of 4 chickens, 14 days old, submitted during 26 days to a reduced nourishment so that their growing up was stopped. Morning temperature diminished, in comparison with checkings, of 0,78 degrees in the first week, of 1,57 degrees in the second week and of 1,80 degrees in the last days. After 1 and 2 hours of reduced meal, the temperature generally increases 0,76 degrees and 1,39 degrees respectively when chickens are hypo-nourished, while in the checkins it is almost unchanged, +0,02 degrees and +0,07 degrees. 5 hours after the meal, the temperature of hypo-nourished chickens increases 0,24 degrees, in checkings 0,30 degrees. AA thinks that hypotalamic thermoregulating centers always work and that the thermic differences between hypo-nourished and checkings are caused by percentage variations of metabolic substances put in circulation during digestion.

[Average normal temperature of the chicken in the morning and after 1-2 days of fasting]. / Temperatura media normale del pollo al mattino e dopo 1-2 giorni di digiuno.

On the morning the average temperature of the growing chicken. It is found at 41.8 degrees C +/- 0.18 degrees. After one day without having eaten, the bodily temperature diminishes to 40.41 degrees +/- 0.97 degrees (-1.39 degrees). After two days without having eaten the temperature diminishes to 39.68 degrees C +/- 0.89 degrees (-2.12 degrees). After the first day of re-feeding the average temperature is 41.28 degrees C +/- 0.52 degrees C. During the period of no feeding the reduction in bodily temperature depends on the metabolic material availability. We can assume that the thermoregulator mechanisms are not modified by non-feeding and that the reduction in temperature is caused by the non efficiency of their normal efferents.

Influence of phospholipids on the respiratory activity of embryonal heart cells cultured in vitro in presence of different ethanol concentrations.

The influence of phospholipids on respiratory activity of embryonal heart cells, trated with certainly harmful concentrations of ethanol, has been discussed. It has been concluded that when the cell is deeply impaired the administration of phospholipids does not seem to have positive effects. In this condition an irreversible morphological alteration has been induced.

Effect of ethanol on respiratory activity of embryonal tissues.

By estimating the respiratory activity of various chicken embryonal organs we have noted that it was the highest for the kidney tissues and lower and lower for liver, brain and heart tissues. After the addition of ethanol to the culture medium we may conclude that ethanol 2,5% does not substantially alter the cellular respiratory activity, whereas ethanol 5% remarkably appears to inhibit it. In fact for this last condition the heart and kidney fragments, when are transplanted after 48 hours in "pendent drop", result rarely surviving.

[Balance of the material exchange in chiks during the day and the night]. / Bilancio del ricambio materiale in pulcini di pollo durante il giorno e la notte.

Chicks of Gallus domesticus, between 8-16 days of age, eat daily an amount of dry food equal to 14.79 % of their weight. Of ingested poultry feed 42.59 % become assimilated, that then divide into 11.67 % destined to growth, and 30.97 % destined for energetic consumption.--The medial daily percentual growth is 8.19 %.--Of the ingested nourishment 70.82 % become digested during the day and the 29.18 % (contained at night in the goiter) becomes digested at night.

[Weight recovery in baby chicken after fast]. / Recupero ponderale dei pulcini di pollo dopo il digiuno.

From the determination of the net and gross weight performed in the morning and at night the AA deduces that the normal growth of the chickens at night is inferior to that of the day time or directly negative. After fast the ingestion of food increases, therefore even night bodily growth is positive.--The fundamental factor of this recovery is due to hunger which is regulates by the hypothalamic centers.

Effect of organ phospholipids on the growth of embryonal tissues cultured in vitro.

With regard to a set of studies about cellular nutrition, the effect of different amounts of phospholipids, extracted from various organs of calf (diencephalon, retina, cerebral cortex and heart), on normal embryonal chicken myocardium cultures has been tested. From the numerous observations we have made it is resulted that phospholipids, particularly at the highest levels, constantly decrease the culture migration velocity and this reduction is remarkably more accentuated in presence of 1.25%(0) heart phospholipids. Moreover in this condition the cells show a change in their morphology and appear all full of big lipid drops, perhaps in consequence of an alteration of the chemical-physical plasmalemma characteristics and a change in the membrane enzyme activities involving lipid metabolism too.

Effects of carmine and carminic acid on embryonic tissue cell cultures.

The biological reaction to carmine and carminic acid at cellular level on 'in vitro' cultures was tested and significant variables were controlled. Results suggested that proliferation and metabolism of these cultures were not affected by the 2 stains.