[Marsili syndrome manifested by fever: a case report and literature review].

Objective: To describe the clinical features, genetic characteristics, and diagnosis of Marsili syndrome, an extremely rare disease which should be differentiated from other fever disorders. Methods: The clinical data and diagnostic process of a case with Marsili syndrome, hospitalized in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the Eighth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital in February 2021, were summarized. The exon regions of 20, 000 genes of peripheral blood were detected in the patient and her parents. Using key words of"Marsili syndrome"and"ZFHX2 gene mutation", the related literatures were searched in Wanfang and PubMed databases from January, 2000 to November, 2021. In addition, the literatures of congenital insensitivity to pain and anhidrosis were retrieved in Wanfang domestic database from the same period. Results: A 23-year-old female patient had suffered from recurrent fever for more than two years, accompanied by anhidrosis, insensitive to pain and weakened corneal reflex. The effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for fever was minimal. The ZFHX2 gene mutation was positive in the patient and her mother, while NTRK1 gene mutation specific to congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) was negative. The ZFHX2 gene mutation was negative in her father. A total of 2 literatures of Marsili syndrome were retrieved and a total of 6 cases of Marsili syndrome in one family were reported worldwide up to now. These patients had a group of similar symptoms including fever, little or no sweating, and insensitivity to pain caused by skin burn and bone fracture. However, there was no abnormality in headache and visceral pain, and female patients' childbirth pain as well as tactile sensation in these cases. The corneal reflex was decreased or negative. They had less sensitivity to stimulus of capsaicin. The ZFHX2 gene mutation was positive, but NTRK1 gene was not detected in all patients. A total of 4 literatures were retrieved and a total of 34 cases of CIPA were reported in China. Though Marsili syndrome and CIPA exhibited a number of similar clinical manifestations, they were distinct diseases and had obviously different outcome. Conclusions: Marsili syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic disease. It is extremely rare worldwide. In clinical practice, when a patient presents with unexplained recurrent fever and poor effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, especially with the symptoms of no sweating and insensitivity to pain, the possibility of Marsili syndrome should be considered and the ZFHX2 gene should be determined. Marsili syndrome appears to be a benign disease with a good prognosis. A definitive diagnosis can avoid ineffective treatment and its adverse effects. To our knowledge, there is currently no effective genetic therapy for this disease.

Diverse polarization angle swings from a repeating fast radio burst source.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration radio transients1,2 of unknown origin. Two possible mechanisms that could generate extremely coherent emission from FRBs invoke neutron star magnetospheres3-5 or relativistic shocks far from the central energy source6-8. Detailed polarization observations may help us to understand the emission mechanism. However, the available FRB polarization data have been perplexing, because they show a host of polarimetric properties, including either a constant polarization angle during each burst for some repeaters9,10 or variable polarization angles in some other apparently one-off events11,12. Here we report observations of 15 bursts from FRB 180301 and find various polarization angle swings in seven of them. The diversity of the polarization angle features of these bursts is consistent with a magnetospheric origin of the radio emission, and disfavours the radiation models invoking relativistic shocks.

[The efficacy and safety of tiotropium/olodaterol fixed-dose combination in Chinese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pooled subgroup analysis of TONADO 1+2].

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety profiles of tiotropium/olodaterol with the mono-components in Chinese and total study population from TONADO trial. Methods: In the replicate, double-blind, parallel-group, active-controlled, randomized, 52-week, Phase Ⅲ TONADO studies (TONADO 1+2), patients received tiotropium/olodaterol, tiotropium, or olodaterol via the Respimat(®) Inhaler (Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany). Primary end points were forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) area under the curve from 0 to 3 hours (AUC(0-3h)) response and trough FEV(1) response, and St George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) total score at 24 weeks. Adverse events were also collected. This subgroup analysis only focused on the efficacy and safety of the drug at the approved dose in China. Results: 548 Chinese patients were randomized, aged 41 to 82 years [mean age, (63±8) years] and most were male (526, 96%), 111 received tiotropium/olodaterol 5/5 µg, and 127 received tiotropium 5 µg and 95 received olodaterol 5 µg. The baseline characteristics of these groups were similar. After 24 weeks, treatment with tiotropium/olodaterol 5/5 µg, tiotropium 5 µg and olodaterol 5 µg resulted in an adjusted mean FEV(1) AUC(0-3h) response of 0.240, 0.157 and 0.079 L, and trough FEV(1) response of 0.117, 0.068 and-0.001 L, respectively. Tiotropium/olodaterol 5/5 µg significantly improved SGRQ scores in Chinese patients compared with olodaterol 5 µg (32.729 and 37.202, respectively). Generally, the safety profile of tiotropium/olodaterol was comparable with mono-components in 52 weeks. Conclusion: Compared with tiotropium or olodaterol, tiotropium/olodaterol in Chinese patients provided significant improvement in lung function and quality of life, and the safety profiles were similar.

Effects of dietary inclusion of Lactobacillus and inulin on growth performance, gut microbiota, nutrient utilization, and immune parameters in broilers.

The effects of dietary Lactobacillus (BCRC 16092) and inulin on growth performance, intestinal microflora, mineral utilization, and tissue mineral contents were evaluated in broilers. The experiment was conducted using 1,152 one-day-old broilers randomly distributed to 9 treatments in a factorial arrangement (3 × 3) using 3 levels of inulin (0, 1, and 2%) and 3 levels of Lactobacillus addition (108, 109, and 1010 CFU/kg). Broilers (1 D of age; 8 replicates per treatments and 16 broilers per replicate) with an initial body weight of 48.36 ± 0.21g were evaluated for 42 D. A 4-D mineral digestibility trial was conducted during the final week of the experiment. The results showed that Lactobacillus supplementation can increase average daily gain and nutrient digestibility and improve feed/gain in broilers (P < 0.05). Moreover, Lactobacillus and inulin supplementation increased the numbers of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, increased serum concentration of IgG and IgA, and decreased the numbers of Escherichia coli and pH in ileum and cecum. The present study demonstrated Lactobacillus and inulin fed to broilers has a positive effect on gut microbiota, growth and nutrient utilization, immune system, and mineral metabolism.

Dual functions of eicosapentaenoic acid-rich microalgae: enrichment of yolk with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and partial replacement for soybean meal in diet of laying hens.

Microalgae (Nannochloropsis sp., NS), with high contents of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and crude protein, may be one of the important n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) sources and potential protein feed ingredient. The purposes of this study were to enrich yolk with n-3 PUFA by dietary EPA-rich NS supplementation and to evaluate whether it is feasible to partly substitute for soybean meal in laying hens diet. A total of 360 37-wk-old healthy Lohmann Brown laying hens, with similar laying rate and body weight, were randomly allotted to 5 groups (6 replicates, 12 birds/replicate) and fed 5 experimental diets (0, 1, 2, 4, and 8% NS) for 4 wk. The hen performance and egg quality (except yolk color) were not affected (P > 0.05) by the NS supplemental diets. Yolk color score was increased as NS supplementation in diets (P < 0.001), and peaked on about the seventh day in all NS supplemental groups. The concentration of total n-3 PUFA was increased (P < 0.001), while total n-6 PUFA and n-6/n-3 ratio were decreased (P < 0.001) in yolk with increasing NS levels in diets. The 8% NS group had highest docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total n-3 PUFA levels, reaching 111.6 mg DHA and 148.6 mg total n-3 PUFA per egg. Maximum DHA, total n-3 PUFA, very long-chain (LC-) n-3 PUFA, and LC-PUFA levels were all observed at day 13 of NS supplementation. In conclusion, dietary NS supplementation enriched yolk with n-3 PUFA (especially DHA) and enhanced yolk color score without adverse effects on performance and egg quality, and indicated the practical feasibility of partial replacement for soybean meal in laying hens diet.

[Analysis on treatment of eight extremely severe burn patients in August 2nd Kunshan factory aluminum dust explosion accident].

Objective: To summarize the measures and experience of treatment in mass extremely severe burn patients. Methods: The clinical data and treatment of 8 extremely severe burn patients in August 2 Kunshan factory aluminum dust explosion accident who were admitted in the 100th Hospital of PLA on August 2nd, 2014, were retrospectively analyzed. There were 4 males and 4 females, aging 22-45 (34±7) years, with total burn area of 55%-98% [(89±15)%] total body surface area (TBSA) and full-thickness burn area of 45%-97% [(80±21)%] TBSA. All the 8 patients were accompanied with severe shock, inhalation injury, and blast injury. According to the requirements of former PLA General Logistics Department and Nanjing Military Command, a treatment team was set up including a special medical unit and a special care unit, with Chai Jiake from the First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital as the team leader, Zheng Qingyi from the 175th Hospital of PLA (the Affiliated Dongnan Hospital of Xiamen University) as the deputy leader, the 100th Hospital of PLA as the treatment base, and burn care, respiratory, nephrology, nursing specialists from the First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, and the burn care experts and nursing staff from the 180th Hospital of PLA, 118th Hospital of PLA, 98th Hospital of PLA, and 175th Hospital of PLA, and nurses from the 85th Hospital of PLA, 455th Hospital of PLA, 101th Hospital of PLA, 113th Hospital of PLA as team members. Treatment strategies were adopted as unified coordination by the superior, unified responsibility of team leader, division of labor and cooperation between team members, and multidisciplinary cooperation led by department of burns. With exception of one patient who received deep vein catheterization before admission, the other 7 patients were treated with deep vein catheterization 0.5 to 3.0 hours after admission to correct hypovolemic shock as soon as possible. Eight patients received tracheotomy, and 7 patients were treated with mechanical ventilation by ventilator in protective ventilation strategy with low tide volume and low volume pressure to assist breathing. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was done one to three times for all the 8 patients to confirm airway injuries and healing status. Escharectomy and Meek dermatoplasty in the extremities of all the 8 patients were performed 3 to 6 days after injury for the first time. Escharectomy, microskin grafting, and covering of large pieces of allogeneic skin on the trunks of 4 patients were performed 11 to 16 days after injury for the second time. The broad-spectrum antibiotics were uniformly used at first time of anti-infective therapy, and then the antibiotics species were adjusted in time. The balance of internal environment was maintained and the visceral functions were protected. One special care unit was on responsibility of only one patient. Psychological intervention was performed on admission. The rehabilitative treatment was started at early stage and in company with the whole treatment. Results: Acute renal injury occurred in 5 patients within 36 hours after injury and their renal function was restored to normal 4 days after injury due to active adjustment of fluid resuscitation program. No pulmonary complications, such as severe pulmonary infection and ventilator-associated pneumonia, occurred in the survived patients. One of the 8 patients died, and the other 7 patients were cured successfully. The wounds were basically healed in 2 patients in 26 or 27 days by 2 or 3 times of operation, and in 5 patients by 4 or 5 times of operation. The basic wound healing time was 26-64 (48±15) days for all the 7 patients. Conclusions: Treatment strategies of unified coordination by the superior, unified responsibility of team leader, division of labor and cooperation between team members, and multidisciplinary cooperation led by department of burns are the bases to successful treatment. Correcting shock as soon as possible is the prerequisite and closing wound as soon as possible is the key to successful treatment. Comprehensive treatment measures, such as maintaining and regulating the function of viscera, improving the body immunity, and preventing and treating the complications, are the important components to successful treatment. It is emphasized that in the treatment of mass extremely severe burn patients, specialist burn treatment should always be in the dominant position, and other related disciplines may play a part in auxiliary function.

Interactions of dietary protein and threonine on growth performance in Pekin ducklings from 1 to 14 days of age.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) on threonine requirements by determining the interactions of dietary CP levels (16.0, 17.5, 19.0, 20.5, and 22.0%) and supplemental threonine levels (0, 0.07, 0.14, 0.21, and 0.28%) on growth performance of Pekin ducks from 1 to 14 days of age. A total of 1,200 one-day-old male Pekin ducks was randomly allotted to 1 of 25 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens of 8 birds per pen for each treatment. The results showed that dietary CP and threonine levels affected the average daily feed intake (ADFI, P < 0.0001), average daily gain (ADG, P < 0.0001), ratio of feed/gain (F/G, P < 0.0001) of Pekin ducks, and had an interactions on the ADFI, ADG, F/G (P < 0.0001). The ADG was increased linearly (P < 0.002) and then reached a plateau as the dietary threonine increased at all CP diets. According to the estimation of broken-line models, the dietary threonine requirements at 16.0, 17.5, 19.0, 20.5, and 22.0% CP diets for optimal ADG of ducks were 0.56, 0.61, 0.60, 0.63, and 0.67% when expressed as percentage of diet, or 44.22, 47.65, 47.50, 48.30, and 50.39% when expressed as percentage of dietary lysine, or 3.45, 3.44, 3.12, 3.27, and 2.98% when expressed as percentage of dietary CP, respectively. Threonine requirements of Pekin ducks from 1 to 14 days of age were affected by dietary CP levels according to the Student t test results, but had no difference among the moderate CP level diets (17.5, 19, and 20.5%) when expressed as a percentage of diet or dietary lysine. It was concluded that dietary CP levels affected the threonine requirements of Pekin ducks from 1 to 14 days of age, but threonine requirements were constant within the limiting CP level range (17.5 to 20.5%) with a good balance of dietary amino acid, and were approximately 0.60 to 0.63% of diet or 47.5 to 48.3% of dietary lysine.

Threonine supplementation reduces dietary protein and improves lipid metabolism in Pekin ducks.

1. This study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of threonine (Thr) supplementation on reducing dietary crude protein (CP) content and the effects of Thr on lipid metabolism in Pekin ducks. The effects of dietary CP concentration (160, 190 and 220 g/kg) and Thr supplemental concentration (0, 0.7, 1.4, 2.1 and 2.8 g/kg) on growth performance, carcass, liver lipid and plasma profiles were determined in Pekin ducks from 1-21 d of age. 2. A total of 720-d-old male Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to 1 of 15 dietary treatments with 6 replicate cages of 8 birds per cage for each treatment according to average body weight. 3. Dietary Thr supplementation improved growth performance and breast muscle percentage at all CP diets, and ducks fed Thr-supplemented diets had higher plasma concentrations of some plasma amino acids. Thr supplementation reduced the concentrations of total lipid, triglyceride, cholesterol in liver, and plasma low density lipoprotein cholesterin concentration at 160 and 190 g/kg CP, whereas it increased triglyceride concentration at 160 g/kg CP. 4. Thr requirements based on quadratic broken-line model estimation were 6.6 and 7.0 g/kg for optimal average daily gain (ADG), and 6.7 and 7.3 g/kg for breast muscle percentage of Pekin ducks from 1-21 d of age at 190 and 220 g/kg CP, respectively. The dietary Thr requirements and estimated ADG (55.18 vs. 55.86 g/d/bird) and breast muscle percentage (2.79% vs. 2.75%) of Pekin ducks did not differ between 190 and 220 g/kg CP according to the t-test results. 5. Dietary CP level could be reduced to 190 g/kg in Pekin ducks from 1-21 d of age with Thr supplementation to balance dietary amino acids, and Thr supplementation prevented excess liver lipid deposition in this instance.

Downregulated long non-coding RNA TRPM2-AS inhibits cisplatin resistance of non-small cell lung cancer cells via activation of p53- p66shc pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as an ordinary malignant tumor, presents with high death rate and poor prognosis. Few literatures have explored the association between NSCLC development and lncRNAs expression. This study focuses on the important role of a novel lncRNA TRPM2-AS in the development of chemo-resistance in NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression level of lncRNA TRPM2-AS was identified by using qRT-PCR assay. The apoptosis rate and the alteration of the cell cycle were detected by the flow cytometric analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK8) was utilized for detecting chemo-sensitivity of the cisplatin-resistant A549/DDP cells. The p53 and p66shc protein levels were detected by Western blotting assay. RESULTS: A549/DDP cells presented remarkably higher expression of lncRNA TRPM2-AS than paired A549 cells. Moreover, re-sensitization to cisplatin was seen in A549/DDP cells after lncRNA TRPM2-AS knockdown. On the contrary, the sensitivity of lncRNA TRPM2-AS-overexpressed A549 cells to cisplatin decreased obviously when compared with the control. Furthermore, downregulated lncRNA TRPM2-AS induced cell apoptosis and altered cell cycle distribution through activating the p53-p66shc pathway. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that lncRNA TRPM2-AS participates in the resistance of NSCLC cells to cisplatin, which may provide a new therapeutic target of NSCLC.

Effects of dietary energy and lysine levels on growth performance and carcass yields of Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 days of age.

A 2 × 6 factorial experiment, using 2 dietary apparent metabolizable energy (AME) levels (2,750 and 3,050 Kcal/kg) and 6 supplemental lysine (Lys) levels (0, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, and 0.50%), was conducted to study the effects of dietary energy and lysine levels on growth performance and carcass yields of Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age. A total of 576 one-day-old male White Pekin ducks was randomly allotted to 12 dietary treatments, each containing 6 replicate pens with 8 birds per pen. At 21 d of age, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain were measured, and then 2 ducks selected randomly from each pen were slaughtered to evaluate the yields of abdominal fat, breast meat, and leg meat. As a result, birds that were fed basal diets with no Lys supplementation showed growth depression, and significant positive effects of dietary Lys supplementation on body weight gain (P < 0.001), feed intake (P < 0.001), and feed/gain (P = 0.002) were observed as dietary Lys increased gradually among all the groups. In addition, increasing energy levels did not affect overall body weight gain (P > 0.05), but feed intake (P = 0.001) and feed/gain (P = 0.009) decreased significantly between the groups. Dietary Lys levels influenced the yields of breast (P < 0.001) and leg (P = 0.001) meat among all the groups, but dietary energy levels had a significant positive effect only on abdominal fat yield (P = 0.014). The interaction between dietary energy and Lys influenced body weight gain of ducks significantly (P = 0.004). According to the broken-line regression analysis, Lys requirements of Pekin ducks for weight gain at 2,750 and 3,050 Kcal of AME/kg were 0.94 and 0.98%, respectively. It suggested that Lys requirement was higher at 3,050 Kcal of AME/kg than at 2,750 Kcal of AME/kg. Dietary energy content determined feed intake of the ducks, and high-energy diets will require a higher amino acid concentration to compensate for a lower feed intake.

Effects of low-protein diets on growth performance and carcass yield of growing White Pekin ducks.

A dose-response experiment with 6 analyzed dietary crude protein (CP) levels (13.54, 14.37, 14.71, 16.04, 16.61, and 17.22%) was conducted to investigate the effects of low-protein diets on growth performance and carcass yield of growing White Pekin ducks from 14 to 35 d of age. All diets were formulated to contain a similar dietary energy level and the standardized ileal digestible amino acid profile including lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan, arginine, isoleucine, valine, and glycine. A total of 288 14-day-old male White Pekin ducks were divided into 6 experimental treatments and each treatment contained 8 replicate pens of 6 birds. Ducks were raised in wire-floor pens from 14 to 35 d of age. At 35 d of age, the weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain, and the yield of carcass, breast meat, leg meat, and abdominal fat of ducks from each pen were measured. As dietary CP decreased from 17.22 to 13.54%, weight gain and feed intake were not affected (P > 0.05) but feed/gain increased when dietary CP decreased to 13.54% (P < 0.05). On the other hand, the yield of carcass, leg meat, and breast meat was not influenced by reducing dietary CP (P > 0.05) but the abdominal fat increased when dietary CP was 13.54% (P < 0.05). Based on broken-line regression, the 14.81 and 14.94% were the minimum dietary CP to keep the feed/gain and abdominal fat similar to the ducks fed with 17.22% CP diets, respectively. In summary, with crystalline amino acid supplementation based on a similar standardized ileal digestible amino acid profile, it was possible to formulate the low-protein diets containing about 15% CP for Pekin ducks without adverse effects on their growth performance and carcass yield.

Effects of low-protein diets on growth performance and carcass yields of growing French meat quails (France coturnix coturnix).

A dose-response experiment with 5 analyzed dietary crude protein (CP) levels (17.61, 19.73, 21.58, 23.24, and 25.32%) was conducted to investigate the effects of low-protein diets on growth performance and carcass yields of French meat quails from 15 to 42 d of age. All diets were formulated to contain a similar dietary energy level and amino acid profile. A total of 400 fifteen-day-old French quails were divided into 5 experimental treatments and each treatment contained 4 replicate pens of 20 birds (10♂+10♀). At 42 d of age, weight gain, feed intake, CP intake, feed/gain, and the yields of breast part with bone, leg part with bone, and liver of quails from each pen were measured. The results showed significant effects of the low-CP diets on CP intake, weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain at different experiment periods except for the sixth wk of age (P < 0.05). In addition, as dietary CP decreased from 25.32 to 17.61%, feed intake and feed/gain were increased linearly (P < 0.05), whereas CP intake showed the opposite trend and decreased gradually. On the other hand, the carcass yields of quail were not influenced by reducing dietary CP at 42 day of age (P > 0.05). Based on broken-line regression, 23.0%, 22.5%, and 20.4% were the minimum dietary CP to keep weight gain similar to the quails fed with 25.32% CP diets during the third, fourth, and fifth wk of age, respectively. In summary, with crystalline amino acid supplementation based on a similar amino acid profile, it was possible to formulate the low-protein diets containing about 22.0% CP for growing meat quails without adverse effects on growth and carcass yields of meat quails.

Effects of Dietary Methionine Levels on Choline Requirements of Starter White Pekin Ducks.

A 2×5 factorial experiment, using 2 dietary methionine levels (0.28% and 0.48%) and 5 dietary choline levels (0, 394, 823, 1,239, and 1,743 mg/kg), was conducted to study the effects of dietary methionine status on choline requirements of starter white Pekin ducks from 7 to 28 days of age. Four hundred eighty 7-d-old male White Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to ten dietary treatments, each containing 6 replicate pens with 8 birds per pen. At 28 d of age, weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain were measured and the legs of all ducks from each pen were examined for incidence of perosis. Perosis and growth depression were observed in choline-deficient ducks and supplementation of choline reduced perosis and significantly increased weight gain and feed intake regardless of dietary methionine levels (p<0.05). In addition, significant positive effects of dietary methionine supplementation on weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain were observed at any choline level (p<0.05). Supplementation of 1,743 mg/kg choline in diets alleviated the depression of weight gain and feed intake caused by methionine deficiency at 0.28% methionine level. The interaction between choline and methionine influenced weight gain and feed intake of ducks (p<0.05). At 0.28% methionine level, 1,743 mg/kg choline group caused 4.92% and 3.23% amount of improvement in weight gain and feed intake compared with 1,239 mg/kg choline group, respectively. According to the broken-line regression, the choline requirements of starter Pekin ducks for weight gain and feed intake were 1,472 and 1,424 mg/kg at 0.28% methionine level and 946 and 907 mg/kg at 0.48% methionine level, respectively. It suggested the choline recommendations of starter Pekin ducks on a semi-purified diet were 1448 mg/kg at 0.28% methionine level and 927 mg/kg at 0.48% methionine level, respectively. Compared with the adequate methionine level, menthionine deficiency markedly increased the choline requirements of ducks.

Effect of feed consumption levels on growth performance and carcass composition during the force-feeding period in foie gras production of male Mule ducks.

In order to avoid excess feed consumption during the force-feeding period in foie gras production, a dose-response experiment with seven feed consumption levels (450, 540, 630, 720, 810, 900, 990 g/day per bird) was conducted to evaluate the effects of feed consumption levels on growth performance and carcass composition of male Mule ducks from 91 to 102 days of age. One-day-old Mule ducklings (sterile and artificial hybrid of male Albatre Muscovy duck and female Pekin duck were fed a two-phase commercial diets for ad libitum intake from hatching to 91 days of age, followed by graded feeding levels of a corn diet by force-feeding from 91 to 102 days of age. Fifty-six 91-day-old male Mule ducks with similar BW were randomly assigned to seven treatments, with eight birds per treatment. Birds were housed in individual pens. At 102 days of age, final BW was measured and BW gain and feed conversion ratio of ducks from each treatment were calculated from day 91 to 102, and then all ducks were slaughtered to evaluate the yields of skin with subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat, breast meat (including pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), leg meat (including thigh and drum stick), and liver. Significant differences in BW gain, total liver weight and liver relative weight were observed among the treatments (P<0.001). According to the broken-line regression analysis, the optimal feed consumption levels of male Mule ducks from 91 to 102 days of age for maximum BW gain, total liver weight and liver relative weight were 217, 227 and 216 g feed/kg BW0.75·per day, respectively.

Choline requirements of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 days of age.

A dose-response experiment with 8 dietary choline levels (302, 496, 778, 990, 1,182, 1,414, 1,625, and 1,832 mg/kg) was conducted with male White Pekin ducks to estimate the choline requirement from hatch to 21 d of age. Three hundred eighty-four 1-d-old male White Pekin ducks were randomly assigned to 8 dietary treatments, each containing 6 replicate pens with 8 birds per pen. At 21 d of age, weight gain, feed intake, and feed/gain from each pen were calculated for feeding period, and 2 ducks selected randomly from each pen were euthanized and the liver was collected to determine total lipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids. In our study, perosis, poor growth, and high liver fat were all observed in choline-deficient ducks and incidence of perosis was zero when dietary choline was 1,182 mg/kg. As dietary choline increased, the weight gain and feed intake increased linearly or quadratically (P < 0.05). On the other hand, as dietary choline increased, the total lipid and triglyceride in liver decreased linearly and liver phospholipid increased linearly (P < 0.05), and the lipotropic activity of choline may be associated with increasing phospholipid at a high dietary choline level. According to broken-line regression, the choline requirements for weight gain and feed intake were 810 and 823 mg/kg, respectively, but higher requirement should be considered to prevent perosis and excess liver lipid deposition completely.

Choline requirements of male White Pekin ducks from 21 to 42 d of age.

1. A dose-response experiment with 6 dietary choline concentrations (0, 342, 779, 1285, 1662 and 1962 mg/kg) was conducted with male White Pekin ducks to estimate the choline requirement from 21 to 42 d of age. 2. Ninety 21-d-old male White Pekin ducks were allotted to 6 dietary treatments, each containing 5 replicate pens with three birds per pen. At 42 d of age, final weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed/gain were measured. Liver was collected to determine total liver lipid, triglyceride and phospholipids. 3. Significant positive effects of dietary choline on final weight, weight gain and feed intake were observed. In addition, dietary choline supplementation significantly decreased liver lipid and triglyceride content and increased liver phospholipids of Pekin ducks. 4. According to broken-line regression analysis, the choline requirements of male White Pekin ducks from 21 to 42 d of age for weight gain, feed intake and total liver lipid were 980, 950 and 1130 mg/kg. Pekin ducks needed more choline to prevent excess liver lipid deposition than to maintain growth.

Effects of stocking density on growth performance, carcass traits, and foot pad lesions of White Pekin ducks.

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of stocking density on growth performance, carcass yield, and foot pad lesions of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 14 d of age (experiment 1) and from 14 to 42 d of age (experiment 2), respectively. All ducks were reared in raised plastic wire-floor pens with a pen size of 30 m(2), and males and females were mixed at a ratio of 1:1 in each pen of both experiments. In experiment 1, a total of 10,200 ducks that were 1 d old were allotted to 20 pens according to the stocking densities of 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 birds/m(2) (or 8.4, 9.7, 10.9, 11.9, and 13.0 kg of actually achieved BW/m(2)), respectively, with 4 replicates per treatment. In experiment 2, a total of 3,150 ducks that were 14 d old were allotted to 15 pens according to the stocking densities of 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 birds/m(2) (or 17.0, 20.3, 23.6, 26.9, and 29.9 kg of actually achieved BW/m(2)), respectively, with 3 replicates per treatment. The stocking density had significant effects on final BW and weight gain of starter and growing ducks (P < 0.05), but not on feed/gain and mortality in both periods (P > 0.05). The final BW and weight gain of starter and growing ducks all decreased with increasing density (P < 0.05). Final BW and weight gain of starter ducks were reduced significantly as stocking density increased from 17 to 21 birds/m(2) (P < 0.05). In addition, final BW and weight gain of growing ducks decreased significantly when stocking density was 9 birds/m(2) (P < 0.05). On the other hand, increasing stocking density did not markedly influence the carcass, breast meat, leg meat, abdominal fat, and foot pad lesions of growing ducks (P > 0.05).

Threonine requirement of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age.

1. A dose-response experiment with 5 dietary threonine concentrations (5.0, 5.8, 6.6, 7.4 and 8.2 g/kg) was conducted to estimate the threonine requirement of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age. 2. A total of 240 one-d-old male White Pekin ducks were allotted to 5 experimental treatments and each treatment contained 6 replicate pens with 8 ducks per pen. Ducks were reared in raised wire-floor pens from hatch to 21 d of age. At 21 d of age, growth performance and intestinal morphology were determined. 3. The weight gain and feed intake of Pekin ducks increased and feed/gain of these birds decreased linearly or quadratically as dietary threonine increased from 5.0 to 8.2 g threonine/kg. Compared to ducks fed on diets containing 5.0 g threonine/kg, ducks given diets containing 7.4 g threonine/kg had higher villus height in duodenum, jejunum and ileum. 4. The threonine requirements for weight gain of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age was estimated to be 6.72 g/kg when dietary crude protein concentration was 189.8 g/kg and threonine supply was critical for maintaining intestinal structure of these birds.

Riboflavin requirements of white Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age.

1. A 2 × 8 factorial experiment containing different sexes (female and male) and 8 dietary riboflavin concentrations (1.2, 3.2, 5.2, 7.2, 9.2, 11.2, 13.2 and 15.2 mg/kg) was conducted to evaluate the riboflavin requirements of male and female White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age. 2. A total of 640 1-d-old Pekin ducks including 320 male and 320 female birds were randomly distributed into 80 wire-floor pens of 8 birds, sexed separately and with each treatment group containing 5 replicate pens. The birds were raised from hatch to 21 d of age. At 21 d of age, the weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and plasma and liver riboflavin were measured. 3. Growth depression, high mortality and low plasma and liver riboflavin were observed in riboflavin-deficient ducks, and these ill effects could be reduced by increasing dietary riboflavin concentrations. Weight gain, feed intake and riboflavin concentration in plasma and liver increased as dietary riboflavin increased. 4. According to broken-line regression analysis, the riboflavin requirements of modern breed of White Pekin ducks from hatch to 21 d of age for weight gain, feed conversion ratio, plasma riboflavin and liver riboflavin were 3.31, 5.20, 3.85 and 3.91 mg/kg for male and 3.27, 3.33, 3.84 and 3.28 mg/kg for female, respectively. Compared with female birds, more riboflavin was needed by male ducks, which may be because of significantly greater weight gain and liver riboflavin content of male ducks.

[Observation on red cell deformability in patients with cor pulmonale].

The measurement of red cell deformability index (RCDI) was made in 29 patients with cor pulmonale and 31 persons of normal controls, at the same time blood gas values and plasma osmolarity were also measured. The results were as follows: (1) The RCDI of patients with acute respiratory and cardiac failure especially with respiratory encephalopathy was significantly lower than that of patient in stable conditions and normal controls. There was no significant difference in RCDI between patients in stable conditions and controls. (2) The PaO2 and pH (in a range of 7.31-7.39) were positively correlated with RCDI. There was no significant difference in RCDI between patients with normal plasma osmolarity and those with abnormal one. We suggested that this might contribute to the increase in pulmonary arterial pressure; and that the hypoxemia and acidosis might play an important role in decrease of RCDI.