Does gut microbiota regulate brooding in geese?

Domestic geese can reduce the amount of food intake when brooding. Because of the reduction in food intake, the total number of microorganisms in the gut is also reduced. Will this affect the goose’s thinking and make the goose stop brooding and eat food? We hypothesize that gut microbiota affects the brain through a brain–gut peptide and further regulates the breeding behavior of geese. In this study, we evaluated the microbiome related to the goose and transcription groups of brooding and egg production periods. The changes and differences in gut microbiota and gene expression of female geese in different reproduction periods were analyzed, and the possible interaction between them was explored. The results showed that the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium with a growth-promoting effect in the cecum was higher in the egg production group than in the brooding group. Microbial metabolic pathways with significant differences between the two groups were also enriched in the secondary functional groups with different gut microbiota metabolism. The downregulated genes in the egg production group were mainly related to energy metabolism, such as ATP synthesis-related genes. These results suggest that the brooding group’s gut microbiota can make relevant changes according to the reproduction stage of the goose. Since the amount of food taken in is reduced, it can promote the decomposition of the host’s fat. Simultaneously, insulin is also used to deliver messages to the brain; it is necessary to end the brooding behavior at an appropriate time and for eating to start.

A Classification Review on Green Concrete

This paper is a short review of green concrete as claimed per latest related available literature. Green concrete refers to concrete mixture with lower carbon footprint, during its total life cycle, as compared to ordinary concrete mixture. This may be due to its composition of one or more green component (s) such as silica fume or fly ash, or to its capacity, as a building material, to reduce one or more pollutant (s) and/or to any other sustainable concrete procedure such as reduced raw materials depletion. A leading Italian concrete production group claims the provision of a new air scrubbing green concrete combining all of the above techniques. The claimed air scrubbing is based on a photocatalytic principle whereby natural or artificial light activates an oxidation process converting noxious pollutants into harmless compounds. Green concrete promotes sustainability in a creative way; thus, improving global human health.

Characterization of the backyards, in the families of la Concordia, Chiapas, México / Caracterização dos traspatios das famílias de la Concordia, Chiapas, México

From the applied interviews, and selection of variables through factor analysis by principal components and clusters, it was found that 22 variables describe 83.13% of the variability. Six groups of backyards were identified, characterized by animal production, plant production, family size, available backyard area, export of labor power, diversity and animal consumption. Under the previous context, group one, made up of 44 backyards, these scenarios are characterized by family size and the export of labor, as income from labor. Group two, made up of 11 backyards, are scenarios characterized by their low production profile, made up of single-generation nuclear families. Group three, made up of 18 backyards, are scenarios characterized by the size of families, mainly extended, their low productive profile in animal production. Group four, made up of 20 backyards, are scenarios characterized by having a greater plant production, made up of nuclear families of two generations and extended. Group five, made up of 37 backyards, are scenarios characterized by having a greater diversity of animal species and used for family consumption, made up of nuclear families of two generations, likewise, exporting the labor force, as income from the hand of work. Group six, made up of four backyards, are scenarios characterized by having a larger backyard area, dedicated to animal production, mainly pigs. These types of backyards are made up of extended families.

Effect of Phytase Supplementation on the Performance of Babcock-380 Layer Hens

In order to examine the effect of phytase supplementation in the diet of laying hen this experiment was conducted with 30 commercial hybrid Babcock-380 layers of 73 weeks of age. The hens were grouped into 3 treatment groups and given microbial phytase (Rena Phytase 400) at levels 2.5, 1.5 and 0 (control) g/kg feed in addition to their basal diet (110 g commercial pellet/day). Records on egg production/group/day, egg mass weight/day, body weight of hens at the end of experimental period were taken and analysed. Results revealed that hen house egg production (HHEP) and egg weight (EW) varied (p<0.05) among the treatment groups but level of phytase did not affect (p<0.05) body weight of hens. Both HHEP and EW were in order of 2.5>1.5>0 g/kg feed phytase group and all the means were significantly (p<0.05) different from each other within treatment groups. Microbial phytase supplementation in layer ration proved to be beneficial in terms of egg production and egg size even after 72 weeks of age of hens. Layer farms in Malaysia can use this technology to earn more profit.

Hormone-Sensitive Gene Signatures in the Mammary Epithelial Cells of Lactating Women With Persistent Low Milk Production

Objectives Insulin resistance may contribute to the association between maternal obesity and lactation difficulties. Our objective was to examine differential expression of genes involved in insulin-sensitive and prolactin-sensitive signaling in the mammary glands of women with very low, versus sufficient, milk production. Methods Among a subset of mothers in a study of low milk supply, extracellular mammary epithelial cell mRNA was isolated from fresh milk fat and submitted for RNA-sequencing. Aligned and quantified reads were examined for differentially expressed genes by t-test (DEG, p &lt; 0.05 after false discovery rate adjustment). Insulin signaling and prolactin signaling KEGG pathways, in addition to a hand-curated gene list developed from relevant literature, were used for targeted DEG analysis. Sample size (milk volume range) for the sampled breast was n = 5 for the lowest milk production group [LMP] (0–53 mL/24 h), versus n = 4 for the highest milk production group [HMP] (422–463 mL/24 h). Clinical measures of metabolic health included BMI and fasting insulin and glucose. Results All LMP samples were from mothers with obesity and with significantly elevated markers of insulin resistance versus the HMP group (e.g., HOMA-IR 1.7 versus 1.1, p &lt; 0.05). DEG in the LMP group revealed significantly lower insulin-sensitive signaling, including a 2.3-fold decrease in insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2), versus HMP. There was no differential expression for genes involved in prolactin signaling, such as the prolactin receptor or JAK2. In LMP versus HMP groups, synthesis of beta-casein (CSN2) was 2.1-fold lower; expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2 (ACACB), a gene downstream of insulin signaling that inhibits fatty acid oxidation, was 3.1-fold lower; and expression of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase 2 (UGP2), a rate-limiting gene in lactose synthesis and thus a determinant of milk volume, was 2.7-fold lower. Conclusions Suppressed milk production by obese, LMP mothers is associated with downregulation of insulin-signaling genes but not hallmark prolactin-signaling genes. Overall, gene expression in the LMP group portrays an insulin-resistant signature in the mammary gland, with downregulation of insulin-sensitive anabolic processes and upregulation of catabolic gene expression. Funding Sources NIH.

Transcriptome analysis of ovary tissues from low- and high-yielding Changshun green-shell laying hens

Background Changshun green-shell laying hens are unique to Guizhou Province, China, and have high egg quality. Improving egg production performance has become an important breeding task, and in recent years, the development of high-throughput sequencing technology provides a fast and exact method for genetic selection. Therefore, we aimed to use this technology to analyze the differences between the ovarian mRNA transcriptome of low and high-yield Changshun green-shell layer hens, identify critical pathways and candidate genes involved in controlling the egg production rate, and provide basic data for layer breeding. Results The egg production rates of the low egg production group (LP) and the high egg production group (HP) were 68.00 ± 5.56 % and 93.67 ± 7.09 %, with significant differences between the groups (p < 0.01). Moreover, the egg weight, shell thickness, strength and layer weight of the LP were significantly greater than those of the HP (p < 0.05). More than 41 million clean reads per sample were obtained, and more than 90 % of the clean reads were mapped to the Gallus gallus genome. Further analysis identified 142 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and among them, 55 were upregulated and 87 were downregulated in the ovaries. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis identified 9 significantly enriched pathways, with the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway being the most enriched. GO enrichment analysis indicated that the GO term transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity, and the DEGs identified in this GO term, including PRLR, NRP1, IL15, BANK1, NTRK1, CCK, and HGF may be associated with crucial roles in the regulation of egg production. Conclusions The above-mentioned DEGs may be relevant for the molecular breeding of Changshun green-shell laying hens. Moreover, enrichment analysis indicated that the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway and receptor protein tyrosine kinases may play crucial roles in the regulation of ovarian function and egg production.

Microbiome dysbiosis regulates the level of energy production under anaerobic condition

The microbiome of the anaerobic digester (AD) regulates the level of energy production. To assess the microbiome dysbiosis in different stages of anaerobic digestion, we analyzed 16 samples dividing into four groups (Group-I = 2; Group-II = 5; Group-III = 5 and Group-IV = 4) through whole metagenome sequencing (WMS). The physicochemical analysis revealed that highest CH 4 production (74.1%, on Day 35 of digestion) was associated with decreased amount of non-metal (phosphorus and sulfur) and heavy metals (chromium, lead and nickel). The WMS generated 380.04 million reads mapped to ~ 2800 distinct bacterial, archaeal and viral genomes through PathoScope (PS) and MG-RAST (MR) analyses. The PS analysis detected 768, 1421, 1819 and 1774 bacterial strains in Group-I, Group-II, Group-III and Group-IV, respectively which were represented by Firmicutes , Bacteroidetes , Proteobacteria , Actinobacteria , Spirochaetes and Fibrobacteres (> 93.0% of the total abundances). The archaeal fraction of the AD microbiomes was represented by 343 strains, of which 95.90% strains shared across these metagenomes. The indicator species analysis showed that Methanosarcina vacuolate , Dehalococcoides mccartyi , Methanosarcina sp. Kolksee and Methanosarcina barkeri were the highly specific for energy production in Group-III and Group-IV. However, most of the indicator phylotypes displayed reduced abundance in the initial stage of biogas production (Group-I and Group-II) compared to their increased relative abundances in Group-IV (Day 35). The correlation network analysis showed that different strains of Euryarcheota and Firmicutes phyla were associated with highest level (74.1%) of energy production (Group-IV). In addition to taxonomic dysbiosis, top CH 4 producing microbiomes showed increased genomic functional activities related to one carbon and biotin metabolism, oxidative stress, proteolytic pathways, MT1-MMP pericellular network, acetyl-CoA production, motility and chemotaxis. This study reveals distinct changes in composition and diversity of the AD microbiomes including different indicator species, and their genomic features that are highly specific for energy production.

The effects of noise exposure and work-related fatigue on the acceptable noise level test in normal-hearing people

Background and Aim: The acceptable noise level (ANL) assesses the noise that a person can tolerate during a running speech. Although it is a strong test, it has not yet become popular in clinical practice. One of the reasons is its contradictory results. Since it is a psychoacoustic test, psychological factors can affect its output. Investigation of these factors can provide more accurate results. This study aims to investigate the effects of noise and work-related fatigue on the ANL in normal-hearing people. Methods: Participants were the male workers in the administration (n = 26) and production (n = 26) departments of an automotive manufacturing industry in Iran. They were evaluated before and after leaving the workplace in order to determine the effects of noise exposure, fatigue as well as their simultaneous effects on the ANL. Results: In both groups, the ANL showed a significant increase after work compared to its level before work, and the background noise level (BNL) was significantly decreased. There was no significant difference in the BNL between administration and production groups before work. The most comfortable level (MCL) showed no significant increase. Moreover, the MCL changes were not significantly different in the production group compared to administration group, but the BNL and ANL changes were significantly higher. Conclusion: Noise exposure and work-related fatigue affect the ANL. During the ANL test, earlier exposure to noise and the amount of fatigue should be controlled. Keywords: Exposure to noise; fatigue; acceptable noise level

Application of system analysis and preventive maintenance on cigarette packer line

The use of system analysis and preventive maintenance in today’s industry becomes a necessity as it increases equipment availability. These methods reduce the frequency of failures. The objective of this article is to present a case study for improving the reliability and availability of a production group in an industrial enterprise. Next, we present an improvement in maintenance. Finally, we present and discuss the application of preventive maintenance. Through an industrial manufacturing model, we will combine three tools; SADT modelling, the FMECA analysis and the Pareto diagram to arrive at an optimal maintenance approach that will be a decision support tool in order to minimize the repair costs and the downtime of the system.

The Distinctive Role of Chemical Composition in Archaeometry. The Case of Apulian Red Figure Pottery

Correlation of the scientific approach to the archaeological investigation and vice versa is considered, for at least the past 30 years, as the best strategy to answer questions in cultural heritage. Many archaeological queries have merged archaeological and scientific studies and have been carried out with a multidisciplinary approach that uses complementary analytical techniques. Here, we focused our efforts on outlining the strong relevance of elemental composition in chemistry and mineralogical investigations to answer important archaeological questions in the case of Apulian red figure pottery. This ceramic class is the most important quantitative handcraft production group of figured pottery in Magna Grecia and the most widespread and commercialized production from the third quarter of the fifth century to the end of the next century. The results obtained indicate that, by exploring chemical elements in the ceramic mixture, it is possible to extract information about provenance, manufacturing processes, originality and restoration techniques.