Evaluating Dietary Inclusion of High Oleic Soybean Meal and Oil on Broiler Performance and Lipid Quality

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of high oleic soybean meal and oil on broiler performance and lipid quality.Materials and MethodsMale Ross 308 broiler chicks (n = 160) were sorted by weight and randomly assigned to one of two treatments containing 10 replicate pens with 8 broilers each. Treatment groups consisted of a control corn-soy diet that included commodity soybean meal and oil (CON) and a corn-soy diet containing high oleic soybean meal and oil (HO). Broilers received, ad libitum, a two-phase diet consisting of starter (d0–21) containing 5% oil and grower (d21–42) containing 3% oil. Pen weight (PW) and feed intake (FI) were recorded on Days 0, 21, and 42 and used to calculate feed to gain ratio (F:G). Broilers were slaughtered on d42, after which carcasses were weighed and fabricated. Weights of fabricated parts were recorded for carcass yield. Samples of breast and thigh meat were taken for fatty acid profile analysis, which was conducted using a modified version of methods by Folch et al. (1957) and Morrison and Smith (1964). To measure lipid oxidation, boneless, skinless breast halves chosen randomly from each pen were placed on Styrofoam trays and overwrapped with oxygen permeable, polyvinyl chloride and placed in retail storage (4°C) and used for collection of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) on Day 1, 3, and 5 of storage. Data was analyzed using PROC GLM procedure in SAS, with level of significance set at P < 0.05.ResultsCON pens had a greater (P < 0.002) change in weight (23480.61 g. vs. 21829.39 g.), however, the CON treatment had an increase in FI (P < 0.0003) compared to the HO treatment (29841.74 g. vs. 27405.68 g). Thus, there was no significant difference (P = 0.22) in F:G between treatments. While there was no difference (P = 0.39; P = 0.71) in percent carcass yield or breast yield, the CON treatment had a higher (P = 0.01) percent thigh yield compared to the HO treatment (16.36% vs. 15.86%). Results of lipid oxidation showed there was an effect of day (P < 0.0001), but no treatment or interaction effects were observed. Diet changed (P < 0.0001) the proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in breast and thigh meat. HO treatment increased the proportion of MUFA and decreased the proportion of PUFA and SFA in both breast and thigh meat. Both breast and thigh samples from the HO treatment had increased (P < 0.0001) proportions of oleic acid (C18:1) and decreased proportions of linoleic acid (C18:2) compared to the control. Inclusion of HO soybean meal and oil in broiler diets resulted in increased uptake of MUFA (C18:1) and decreased PUFA (C18:2) in both breast and thigh meat, while having no impact on broiler feed efficiency.ConclusionPull through effect of HO acid seen in fatty acid analysis of broiler meat shows the ability to serve as a mechanism to increase oleic acid inclusion in human diets. Oleic acid needs are potentially related to omega-3 fatty acid needs which are shown to have health benefits related to cardiac health in humans among other things. Studies have shown that increases in oleic acid in diets can lead to an increase in omega-3 fatty acids.

The experiences of Sudanese unaccompanied minors in foster care

Sudanese unaccompanied minors were separated from their parents in childhood and lived apart from their families in refugee camps for close to a decade before being resettled in the United States. This phenomenological study examines the refugees' experiences of living in American foster families after living in peer groups in the camps. Interviews with 18 young adults, 7 years after resettlement, revealed that nearly all of the youth struggled with parental authority initially, and nearly half of them changed placements because of relationship difficulties with their foster parents. Misunderstandings based on cultural differences often exacerbated conflicts. However, 15 of 18 youth currently had a positive relationship with at least 1 foster parent, sometimes with a parent from their second or third placement. Changing foster families is often considered a failure in the child welfare system, but several Sudanese youth reported that having supportive relationships helped them during the acculturation process whether those relationships developed during the first or last placement.

Emotion-based decision-making in healthy subjects: short-term effects of reducing dopamine levels

INTRODUCTION

Converging evidences from animal and human studies suggest that addiction is associated with dopaminergic dysfunction in brain reward circuits. So far, it is unclear what aspects of addictive behaviors are related to a dopaminergic dysfunction.

DISCUSSION

We hypothesize that a decrease in dopaminergic activity impairs emotion-based decision-making. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of a decrease in dopaminergic activity on the performance of an emotion-based decision-making task, the Iowa gambling task (IGT), in 11 healthy human subjects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design to examine the effect of a mixture containing the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) valine, isoleucine and leucine on prolactin, IGT performance, perceptual competency and visual aspects of visuospatial working memory, visual attention and working memory, and verbal memory. The expectancy-valence model was used to determine the relative contributions of distinct IGT components (attention to past outcomes, relative weight of wins and losses, and choice strategies) in the decision-making process.

OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS

Compared to placebo, the BCAA mixture increased prolactin levels and impaired IGT performance. BCAA administration interfered with a particular component process of decision-making related to attention to more recent events as compared to more distant events. There were no differences between placebo and BCAA conditions for other aspects of cognition. Our results suggest a direct link between a reduced dopaminergic activity and poor emotion-based decision-making characterized by shortsightedness, and thus difficulties resisting short-term reward, despite long-term negative consequences. These findings have implications for behavioral and pharmacological interventions targeting impaired emotion-based decision-making in addictive disorders.

Definition of the extended substrate specificity determinants for beta-tryptases I and II

Tryptases betaI and betaII were heterologously expressed and purified in yeast to functionally characterize the substrate specificity of each enzyme. Three positional scanning combinatorial tetrapeptide substrate libraries were used to determine the primary and extended substrate specificity of the proteases. Both enzymes have a strict primary preference for cleavage after the basic amino acids, lysine and arginine, with only a slight preference for lysine over arginine. betaI and betaII tryptase share similar extended substrate specificity, with preference for proline at P4, preference for arginine or lysine at P3, and P2 showing a slight preference for asparagine. Measurement of kinetic constants with multiple substrates designed for beta-tryptases reveal that selectivity is highly dependent on ground state substrate binding. Coupled with the functional determinants, structural determinants of tryptase substrate specificity were identified. Molecular docking of the preferred substrate sequence to the three-dimensional tetrameric tryptase structure reveals a novel extended substrate binding mode that involves interactions from two adjacent protomers, including P4 Thr-96', P3 Asp-60B' and Glu-217, and P1 Asp-189. Based on the determined substrate information, a mechanism-based tetrapeptide-chloromethylketone inhibitor was designed and shown to be a potent tryptase inhibitor. Finally, the cleavage sites of several physiologically relevant substrates of beta-tryptases show consistency with the specificity data presented here.

Antisense mapping of opioid receptor clones: effects upon 2-deoxy-D-glucose-induced hyperphagia

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS ODNs) directed against exons 1 and 2 of the MOR-1 clone significantly and markedly reduced (81-93%) hyperphagia induced by the anti-metabolic glucose analogue, 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG) across a 4 h time course. AS ODNs directed against exons 3 or 4 of the MOR-1 clone had a more limited (1-2 h) duration of action upon 2DG-induced hyperphagia. 2DG-induced hyperphagia was significantly reduced by AS ODNs directed against exon 2 (44-51%), but not exons 1 or 3 of the KOR-1 clone across a 4 h time course. Whereas an AS ODN probe directed against the KOR3/ORL-1 clone produced small (36%), but significant reductions in 2DG-induced hyperphagia, an AS ODN probe directed against the DOR-1 clone was ineffective. These data provide further converging evidence for the roles of primarily mu, but also kappa1 and kappa3 opioid receptors in mediating the hyperphagic effects of glucoprivation.

Predicting perceptual defense

Perceptual defense as a phenomenon was proposed by McGinnies in 1949. His findings were, in main, replicated by York, et al. in 1984 and extended by Perroncel, et al. in 1990. The present purpose was to assess whether four independent variables, one related to emotional arousal (GSR) and three, related to connotative word meaning (Evaluative, Potency, and Activity scores from Semantic Differential words used in the Perroncel, et al. study), could predict the perceptual defense phenomenon. The multiple correlation coefficient (R) was .19; however, the percent variance accounted for by the four independent variables was 3%. Clearly, further research is necessary to specify what factors predict the perceptual defense effect.