Free-range chicken eggs as a bioindicator of dioxin contamination in Vietnam,including long-term Agent Orange impact

PCDD/Fs contamination of free-range chicken eggs and soils from private Vietnam households was studied.The possibility of using free-range eggs as bio-indicators of dioxin contamination was considered as the soil-chicken-egg exposure pathway is considered to be the most sensitive exposure pathway of dioxins in soils to humans.A large territory from Dong Nai province in the south to Lao Cai province in the north was covered by the research.All analyses were performed by HRGC-HRMS method.PCDD/Fs levels in eggs from the majority of southern households exceeded the EC limit for eggs and egg products(2.5 pg WHO-TEQ2005 g^-1 lipid).Total TEQs ranged from 0.4 to 361 pg WHO-TEQ2005 g^-1 lipid in eggs and from 0.1 to 1272 pg WHO-TEQ2005/g in soil.2,3,7,8-TCDD contribution was statistically significantly higher in both eggs and soils in sprayed with Agent Orange areas,indicating its long-term impact.In order to assess within site variation,a total of 62 individual eggs from 14 private households were analyzed.Mean relative standard deviation of total TEQ values in individual eggs within the separate households was 27%.Rather good correlation of PCDD/Fs concentration in eggs and respective soils was observed for all dioxin congeners and for hexa-and hepta-furans(except for 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF).Higher bioaccumulation for lower chlorinated congeners was confirmed.The current study of using eggs as bioindicators for large POPs contaminated sites may be suggested as a policy approach to evaluate human exposure to dioxin/POPs contaminated sites for known or suspected contaminated areas.

The egg or the chicken?

In this issue of the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, Gao et al.,1 in a report of increased ostial pulmonary vein diameter by multislice CT angiography reported a statistically significant enlargement of the pulmonary veins in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). This finding alone should not be of any surprise as anatomic remodeling and general dilation of the cardiac chambers are well described in patients with CHF.……

Hypertension and psychosocial factors: which came first,the egg or the chicken?

In this issue of the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology,the article of Yu, et al1 presents an intriguing issue in the field of hypertension treatment and pathophysiology.……

Effect of dietary protein sources and storage temperatures on egg internal quality of stored shell eggs

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of various protein sources(soybean meal, SBM; cottonseed protein, CSP; double-zero rapeseed meal, DRM) on the internal quality(Haugh unit, yolk index,albumen pH,yolk hardness and yolk springiness) of eggs when stored at either 4 or 28℃ for 28 d. A total of 288 laying hens(32 wk of age) were randomly allotted to 6 treatment groups(4 replicates per treatment) and fed diets containing SBM, CSP, or DRM individually or in combination with equal crude protein content(SBM-CSP, SBM-DRM, and CSP-DRM) as the protein ingredient(s). A 6 x 2 factorial arrangement was employed with dietary types and storage temperatures(4 and 28℃) as the main effects. After 12 wk of diet feeding, a total of 216 eggs was collected for egg internal quality determination.The results showed as follows: 1) lower egg quality was observed in the DRM group compared with the other groups when stored at 4 and 28℃ for 28 d(P < 0.05), while there was no difference in egg internal quality among the other groups. 2) The CSP diet resulted in higher yolk hardness compared with the other diets when eggs were stored at 4℃ for 28 d(P < 0.05). Lower Haugh unit was observed in the DRM and SBM-DRM groups compared with the other groups when eggs were stored for 28 d at 4℃(P < 0.05).3) Yolk breakage occurred in the DRM group and eggs could not be analyzed for egg internal quality when stored at 28℃ for 28 d. The overall results indicated that CSP or DRM as the sole dietary protein source for laying hens may adversely affect the internal quality of stored eggs as compared with the SBM diet, and half replacement of CSP combined with SBM may maintain similar egg quality to SBM diet alone for eggs stored under refrigerated conditions.

shRNA-triggered RNAi inhibits expression of NDV NP gene in chicken embryo fibroblast

RNA interference(RNAi)technology is a powerful tool for identifying gene functions.Chicken embryo fibroblast(CEF)is an ideal model for studying the interaction between avian viruses and their hosts.To establish a methodological platform for RNAi studies in CEF,three plasmid vectors expressing short hairpin RNAs(shRNAs)targeted against the Newcastle disease virus(NDV)NP gene were constructed.One of them,ndv1,was proven effective on blocking viral replication in CEF and chicken embryos.Four hours prior to infection with NDV,the CEF was transfected with the plasmids by Silent-fect.An unrelated shRNA sequence(HK)was used in mock transfection.The expression of a potent shRNA resulted in up to 2.3,21.1 and 9.8 fold decreases in NP gene expression at 3,6 and 9 h post infection in CEF,respectively.The ndv1 was able to completely inhibit the replication of the virus in CEF within 48 post infection.Furthermore,the pathological changes in CEF caused by NDV were delayed,and the degree of pathological changes was lighter compared with the mock transfection in the presence of ndv1.When the complex of shRNASilent-fect and NDV was co-injected into the allantoic cavity of 10-day-old embryonated eggs with 10^(5) or 10^(6) ELD50 NDV,NDV replication was decreased by 94.14% and 62.15% after 17 h,respectively.These findings suggest that the newly synthesized NP protein is critical for NDV transcription and replication and provide a basis for identifying the functions of viral genes and screening for effective siRNAs against viruses in CEF and chicken embryo by RNAi.

Effect of chicken egg anti-F4 antibodies on performance and diarrhea incidences in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88^+-challenged piglets

The aim was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of spay-dried whole egg containing antiF4 antibodies(SDWE) against recombinantly produced F4 antigens in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88^+(ETEC)-challenged piglets. Twenty-seven 21-d-old and individually housed piglets were randomly allotted to 3 treatments consisting of a wheat-soybean meal basal diet containing either 0(control egg powder; CEP), 0.1%(SDWE1) or 0.4%(SDWE2) SDWE. After a 7-d adaptation period, blood samples were collected from all pigs,and pigs were weighed and orally challenged with an ETEC inoculum. Blood was sampled at 24 and 48 h post-challenge, and diarrhea incidences and scores were recorded. On d 14, all pigs were weighed and then euthanized to obtain intestinal tissue samples for histomorphology measurement. During the pre-challenge period, pigs fed the SDWE showed a linear improvement(P < 0.05)in average daily gain(ADG) and gain to feed ratio(G:F), but there were no differences among treatments in growth performance during the post-challenge period. Diarrhea incidences and scores, fecal shedding of ETEC, plasma urea nitrogen content and intestinal histo morphology were similar among treatments.The results show that 0.4% SDWE supported greater piglet performance before challenge although such benefits were not evident during the post-challenge period at either 0.1% or 0.4% supplementation.