Impact of supplementing diets with propolis on productive performance, egg quality traits and some haematological variables of laying hens.

One hundred and twenty eight, 28-weeks-old Lohmann LSL hybrid layers were used in this experiment, which lasted 12 weeks to investigate the effect of propolis supplementation on the productive performance, egg quality traits and haematological variables of laying hens. All hens were randomly classified into four equal experimental groups, eight replicates (4 birds/each). Hens in group 1 were fed on a commercial diet and considered as control group, while those in groups 2, 3 and 4 were fed on the same commercial diet and supplemented with 250, 500 and 1000 mg propolis/kg diet. The obtained results revealed that daily feed consumption/hen increased insignificantly with increasing propolis level than that of the control group. Regarding the means of egg mass and egg production rate, it was observed that the laying hens fed diets containing 250 and 1000 mg propolis/kg significantly (p < 0.05) produced more and heaver egg in comparison with control group. External egg quality traits have not affected with increasing the level of propolis, while eggshell weight was significantly (p < 0.05) increased. The internal egg quality traits except albumen and yolk percentages increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing propolis level for treated hens as compared to those in the control. Concerning the haematological parameters, the results showed that the levels of total protein and globulin increased significantly with increasing propolis level, while cholesterol and liver enzymes were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Heterophils count of hens in the treated groups significantly decreased, whereas the lymphocyte count significantly increased, resulting in a decreased H/L ratio than that of the control group. Thus, it could be concluded that the supplementation of 250 mg propolis/kg diet is highly recommended to improving egg production, blood constituent and haematological parameters of the commercial laying hens.

Melatonin and the enhancement of immune responses in immature male chickens.

Understanding the role of melatonin in affecting different physiological functions, especially immune responses, is becoming increasingly important in the basic and applied sciences. Enhancing the immune response will result in increasing disease resistance and, therefore, improve production efficiency. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of melatonin, administered during the light or dark period, on BW, feed consumption (FC), and immune responses of immature chickens. Eight-week-old Cornell White Leghorn males were used in this study. The doses of melatonin were 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg BW. Melatonin was administered s.c. every 24 h for 7 consecutive d. The chicks were randomly divided into two groups; one group received injection during the middle of the light period, and the other group received injection during the middle of the dark period. All birds received 16 h light and 8 h darkness during a 24-h period. Body weights were measured before and after melatonin treatment, and FC was also measured. After the seven injections, blood samples were collected from the brachial vein, and total white blood cell (WBC) counts, differential cell counts, and activities of T and B lymphocytes were measured. Body weight was not significantly affected by dose of melatonin or time of injection. Furthermore, melatonin did not significantly affect FC; however, FC was significantly lower in the group that was injected in the dark vs. light period. The WBC counts of birds injected with 40 mg melatonin/kg BW were significantly higher than the WBC counts of saline-injected birds. The heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios of birds injected during the light period were significantly higher than those of birds injected during the dark period. T- and B-lymphocyte proliferation were significantly higher in birds injected with 40 mg melatonin/kg BW compared to saline-injected birds. These results indicate that melatonin in vivo is important in enhancing not only circulating WBC but also activities of B and T lymphocytes of immature male chickens without adversely affecting BW.

Lack of evidence for craniofacial dysmorphism in perinatal human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Thirty children perinatally exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and 30 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and race were evaluated for growth, head size, craniofacial dysmorphism, dermatoglyphics, and other physical features. Thirteen patients met the criteria for group IV (constitutional, neurologic, and secondary infectious diseases), 14 for group III (persistent generalized lymphadenopathy or hepatosplenomegaly), and three for group II (asymptomatic infection) of the classification of HIV infection established by the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. Postnatal growth failure and microcephaly, observed in a significant proportion of patients (46.7% and 30%, respectively), could be attributed to chronic illnesses and to progressive central nervous system lesions in HIV-infected patients. There were however, no significant differences between patients and controls with regard to the incidence of craniofacial features and dermatoglyphics, and the incidence of other anomalies was not different from that expected in the population. The patients born to drug-using mothers were not different from those born to non-drug-using mothers in relation to the studied criteria. We could not confirm the presence of characteristic craniofacial dysmorphism in children exposed to perinatal HIV infection.

Patterns of hepatomegaly in Jordanians: a prospective study of 800 cases.

Eight hundred Jordanians with liver enlargement were studied: 369 (46%) were males and 431 (54%) females. Ages ranged between 13 and 85 years, with a mean of 47.4%: 766 cases demonstrated a single pathological process while 34 cases showed two or more processes. The most significant findings were: congestion secondary to cardiac failure in 323 cases (38.5%); inflammatory and parasitic processes in 192 cases (22.9%), including acute hepatitis (81 cases), hydatid cyst (63 cases), chronic hepatitis (27 cases), liver abscess (19 cases), brucellosis (one case) and malaria (one case); malignancy in 164 cases (19.6%); liver cirrhosis in 80 cases (9.5%); fatty metamorphosis in 47 cases (5.6%); metabolic and genetic disease in 11 cases (1.3%); miscellaneous conditions in nine cases (1.1%); and 15 apparently normal individuals (1.8%). Cardiac failure was the most frequent cause of hepatomegaly in this sample of Jordanians. Inflammatory processes were the second major cause, followed by malignancy and cirrhosis of the liver.