Estimating Apparent Nutrient Digestibility of Diets Containing Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera Leaf Meals for Growing Rabbits by Two Methods

Safwat, A.M.,Sarmiento-Franco, L.,Santos-Ricalde, R.H.,Nieves, D.,Sandoval-Castro, C.A. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.8

This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets with different levels of either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera (MOLM) leaf meals and also to compare total collection and $TiO_2$ marker methods for estimating digestibility. A total of 30 California growing rabbits ($1.81{\pm}0.19kg$ live weight on average) were randomly distributed into five experimental groups of six rabbits each and were housed in individual cages. The groups were control, 30% LLM, 40% LLM, 30% MOLM, and 40% MOLM. All groups received pelleted diets for two weeks; diets also contained 4 g/kg titanium dioxide as dietary marker. Daily feed intake was recorded during the whole experimental period and total feces were collected daily and weighed individually during four days. The results showed that there were no difference (p>0.05) in feed, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), digestible energy, and crude fiber (CF) intake between the control group and the other experimental groups. The apparent digestibility values of DM, OM, CP, CF, acid detergent fiber, and gross energy were the highest for control group (p = 0.001), meanwhile MOLM diets had generally higher nutrient digestibility coefficients than LLM diets. Increasing the inclusion level of leaf meal in the diet from 30% to 40% improved the digestibility of CF from 45.02% to 51.69% for LLM and from 48.11% to 55.89% for MOLM. Similar results for apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were obtained when either total collection or indigestible marker method was used. In conclusion, the digestibility of MOLM containing diets were better than LLM diets, furthermore $TiO_2$ as an external marker could be used as a simple, practical and reliable method to estimate nutrients digestibility in rabbit diets.

Determination of Tropical Forage Preferences Using Two Offering Methods in Rabbits

Safwat, A.M.,Sarmiento-Franco, L.,Santos-Ricalde, R.H.,Nieves, D. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.4

Two methods of feed preference trials were compared to evaluate the acceptability of 5 fresh foliages: Leucaena leucocephala, Moringa oleifera, Portulaca oleracea, Guazuma ulmifolia, and Brosimum alicastrum that was included as control. The evaluation included chemical analyses and forage intake by rabbits. The first method was a cafeteria trial; 12 California growing rabbits aged 8 wk, allocated in individual cages, were offered the five forage plants at the same time inside the cage, while in the second trial 60 California growing rabbits aged 8 wk, allocated individually, were randomly distributed into 5 experimental groups (n = 12/group); for each group just one forage species was offered at a time. The testing period for each method lasted for 7 d, preceded by one week of adaptation. The results showed that B. alicastrum and L. lecocephala were the most preferred forages while on the contrary G. ulmifolia was the least preferred one by rabbits. The results also revealed that the CV% value for the 2nd method (16.32%), which the tested forages were presented separately to rabbits, was lower and methodologically more acceptable than such value for the $1^{st}$ method (34.28%), which all forages were presented together at the same time. It can be concluded that a range of tropical forages were consumed in acceptable quantities by rabbits, suggesting that diets based on such forages with a concentrate supplement could be used successfully for rabbit production. However, growth performance studies are still needed before recommendations could be made on appropriate ration formulations for commercial use.

Effects of dietary inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on growth performance of Muscovy ducklings (Cairina moschata)

Safwat Assem M.,Sarmiento-Franco Luis,El-khalek Enass Abd,Abou-Shehema Bahaa M.,Hassan Osama A.,Elnaggar Asmaa Sh. 아세아·태평양축산학회 2024 Animal Bioscience Vol.37 No.4

Objective: The current experiment was performed to investigate the influence of different dietary levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, immune response, caecal microbiota, and carcass characteristics of Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) during 7 to 63 d of age. Methods: A total of 240 unsexed 7-d-old ducklings were distributed into five (treatment) groups; each one contained six replicates with eight ducklings each. Birds of the first group were fed basal diet without MOLM and served as control, while the other four groups were fed basal diet with 0.25%, 0.50%, 1.0%, and 2.0% MOLM inclusion level, respectively. Results: The obtained results revealed that including MOLM in the diets significantly improved body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and economic efficiency compared with the control group. Among the different MOLM inclusion treatments, increasing MOLM inclusion level decreased (p<0.05) such previous parameters. Decreasing MOLM inclusion levels in duckling diets increased (p>0.05) the digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, and nitrogen free extract, however all MOLM treatments were significantly higher than the control group. Results also revealed that feeding ducks lower MOLM inclusion levels (0.25% or 0.50%) improved blood parameters (p<0.05) compared with the higher inclusion levels (1.0% or 2.0% MOLM) and the control group. Ducks fed different MOLM levels had significantly higher phagocyte index and activity, immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity, and superoxide dismutase activity compared with control group. Conclusion: Despite the beneficial effects of all MOLM treatments on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, physiological status, and immune response of duckling, the increasing MOLM inclusion level in the diet had deleterious effects on such studied traits, consequently 0.25% was the best MOLM inclusion level in duckling diets.

Impact of skeletal divergence on oral health-related quality of life and self-reported jaw function

Joseph Safwat Antoun,William Murray Thomson,Tony Raymond Merriman,Roberto Rongo,Mauro Farella 대한치과교정학회 2017 대한치과교정학회지 Vol.47 No.3

Objective: To investigate the differences in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and self-reported jaw function between patients with hyperdivergent and normodivergent facial types. Methods: Eighty patients with a distinctively hyperdivergent facial type (mandibular plane angle greater than 2 standard deviations, or 42°) and 80 controls were individually matched according to age, sex, ethnicity, and treatment stage. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires such as the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and Jaw Functional Limitation Scale (JFLS-8). Results: The mean age of the patients was 17.2 ± 4.6 years (range, 12–49 years), with most (65.0%) being female and of New Zealand European origin (91.3%). Individuals with hyperdivergent facial types had higher overall and social domain scores on the OHIP-14 (p < 0.05) than did the ones with normodivergent facial types. However, the intergroup differences in JFLS-8 scores were not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Jaw function appears to be similar in individuals with hyperdivergent and normodivergent facial morphologies. However, those with hyperdivergent facial types are more likely to self-report poorer OHRQoL than are those with normal faces, especially in relation to social aspects.

Robust Path Following Controller for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based on Carrot Chasing Guidance Law Using Dynamic Inversion

Ehab Safwat,Weiguo Zhang,Mei Wu,Yongxi Lyu,Qianlei Jia 제어로봇시스템학회 2018 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2018 No.10

This paper focuses on autonomous path-following flight under uncertainty and external disturbances. Integrated UAV waypoints guidance scheme based on carrot chasing guidance law is presented. In order to follow a desired path a Virtual Track Point (VTP) is introduced on the path and make the UAV chase it. The UAV updates its heading direction toward the VTP. As time progresses, the UAV will move toward the path and asymptotically follow the path. Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) awards the flight control system researchers a straight forward method of deriving control laws for nonlinear systems. The control inputs are used to cancel unwanted terms in the equations of motion using negative feedback of these terms. The two-timescale assumption that separates the fast dynamics which are the three angular rates of the aircraft from the slow dynamics which include the angle of attack, side-slip angle, and bank angle is adopted. NDI control law is designed for the fast variables using the deflection of aerodynamic control surfaces as inputs. Next, NDI is applied to the control of the slow states using the outputs of the fast loop as inputs. Simulation results for the nonlinear flight control system are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the technique. The validation of the designed flight system controller is demonstrated through real flight test.

D-Limonene mitigate myocardial injury in rats through MAPK/ ERK/NF-κB pathway inhibition

Nancy Safwat Younis 대한생리학회-대한약리학회 2020 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.24 No.3

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary reason of mortality, among which myocardial infarction (MI) is the most dominant and prevalent. This study was considered to examine D-Limonene protective action against isoproterenol (ISO) induced MI. Wister male rats were dispersed into four groups. Normal and D-Limonene control group in which rats administered saline or D-Limonene. ISO control animals were administered saline for 21 days then challenged with ISO (85 mg/kg, subcutaneously) on 20th and 21st day for MI induction. D-Limonene pretreated group in which animals were pretreated with D-Limonene 50 mg/kg orally for 21 days then administered ISO on 20th and 21st day. MI prompted variations were assessed by myocardial infarction area determination, blood pressure (BP) alterations, cardiac injury biomarkers and inflammatory mediators measurements. For more depth investigation, both the apoptotic status was evaluated via measuring mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and Bax as well as mitogen-activated protein kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK-ERK) signal transduction were investigated via Western blotting. MI group revealed significant infarcted area, blood pressure alterations, myocardial injury enzymes intensification together with inflammatory cytokines amplification. MI was associated with activation of MAPK-ERK signal pathway and apoptotic status within the myocardium. On the other hand, pretreated with D-Limonene demonstrated deterred infracted area, reduced myocardial enzymes, improved BP indices, lessened inflammatory levels. Furthermore, D-Limonene pretreatment caused a decline in MAPK proteins pathway and Bax relative mRNA expression, while intensifying Bcl-2 mRNA expression promoting that D-Limonene may constrain MI induced myocardial apoptosis. D-Limonene mitigated MI injury through MAPK/NF-κB pathway inhibition and anti-apoptotic effect.

Estimating Apparent Nutrient Digestibility of Diets Containing Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera Leaf Meals for Growing Rabbits by Two Methods

A.M. Safwat,L. Sarmiento-Franco,R.H. Santos-Ricalde,D. Nieves,C.A. Sandoval-Castro 아세아·태평양축산학회 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.8

This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of growing rabbits fed diets with different levels of either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera (MOLM) leaf meals and also to compare total collection and TiO2 marker methods for estimating digestibility. A total of 30 California growing rabbits (1.81±0.19 kg live weight on average) were randomly distributed into five experimental groups of six rabbits each and were housed in individual cages. The groups were control, 30% LLM, 40% LLM, 30% MOLM, and 40% MOLM. All groups received pelleted diets for two weeks; diets also contained 4 g/kg titanium dioxide as dietary marker. Daily feed intake was recorded during the whole experimental period and total feces were collected daily and weighed individually during four days. The results showed that there were no difference (p>0.05) in feed, dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), digestible energy, and crude fiber (CF) intake between the control group and the other experimental groups. The apparent digestibility values of DM, OM, CP, CF, acid detergent fiber, and gross energy were the highest for control group (p = 0.001), meanwhile MOLM diets had generally higher nutrient digestibility coefficients than LLM diets. Increasing the inclusion level of leaf meal in the diet from 30% to 40% improved the digestibility of CF from 45.02% to 51.69% for LLM and from 48.11% to 55.89% for MOLM. Similar results for apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients were obtained when either total collection or indigestible marker method was used. In conclusion, the digestibility of MOLM containing diets were better than LLM diets, furthermore TiO2 as an external marker could be used as a simple, practical and reliable method to estimate nutrients digestibility in rabbit diets.

Successful Practice of Electroacupuncture Analgesia in Equine Surgery

Eldessouky Sheta,Safwat Ragab,Haithem Farghali,Asmaa EL-Sherif 사단법인약침학회 2015 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.8 No.1

Electroacupuncture analgesia was used for surgery in horses and donkeys. A KWD-808 electrical stimulator was used to incrementally induce a dense, dispersed wave output at frequencies from 20 to 55 Hz, which was maintained at a frequency of 55 Hz, and to change the amplitude of the wave to the best grading number for the suggested operation in each animal. Induction of analgesia lasted for 20–30 minutes, and the effect of analgesia was maintained for 20–45 minutes depending on the type of surgery performed. The exhibited clinical signs, physical examination data, and the responses of all animals were used for evaluating the periods of analgesia. Although the majority of the cases (95%) had no response to strong surgical pain, they experienced significant increases in heart rates and respiratory rates during induction. The lack of pain, relaxed surgical procedures, reduced intraoperative bleeding, and improved healing without complications were all definite benefits of using electroacupuncture analgesia in surgery. Thus, this study has provided surgical evidence supporting the effectiveness of electroacupuncture analgesia, as well as confirming its reliability, in the field of equine anesthesia and surgery.

Stimulation of Bladder Acupoints by Cloprostenol for Treating Back Soreness in Athletic Horses

Eldessouky Sheta,Haithem Farghali,Safwat Ragab,Nagwa Hassan,Asmaa EL-Sherif 사단법인약침학회 2019 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.12 No.5

Twenty-five Thoroughbred jumper geldings suffered back soreness with poor performance, and 5 control horses were assessed by archived computer data, clinical examination, and laboratory analyses of complete blood picture, serum enzymes, and cortisol level, before and after cloprostenol-pharmacopuncture. The 25 diseased horses before therapy showed significant increases in aspartate aminotransferase and creatine phosphokinase with clinical pains scored mild in 15 horses, moderate in 9 horses, and severe in one horse, without changes in the hormonal and hematological data. After therapy, they responded by an increase of heart rate (57.8 Æ 4.3 bpm), body temperature (38.5 Æ 0.7 C), respiration rate (28.3 Æ 2.1 bpm), and capillary refilling time (CRT) (1.0 Æ 0.0). On the 2 nd day, a significant decrease in the mean levels of aspartate aminotransferase and creatine phosphokinase (P Z 0.001) was detected, while on the 4 th day, they mimed the level of the 5 controls, and on the 6 th day, they showed a significant decrease (P Z 0.002). The serum cortisol level showed a significant increase on the 6 th day of treatment (P Z 0.013). The blood picture showed significant increases in red blood cells, mean corpuscular volume, platelets, white blood cells, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, lymphocytes, plateletcrit, and large platelet concentration ratio (P < 0.05) and nonsignificant changes in hematocrit, granulocytes, and midocytes. The improved blood parameters, enzymes, hormones, and performance progress after cloprostenol-pharmacopuncture proved its effectiveness in treating back soreness in athletic horses.

The Therapeutic Potential of Amniotic Fluid-Derived Stem Cells on Busulfan-Induced Azoospermia in Adult Rats

Ibrahim Heba F.,Safwat Safinaz H.,Zeitoun Teshreen M.,El Mulla Khaled F.,Medwar Amira Y. 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2021 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.18 No.2

BACKGROUND: Busulfan is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent that is routinely prescribed for leukemic patients to induce myelo-ablation. However, it also results in azoospermia and infertility in cancer survivors. This research was constructed to explore the possible therapeutic role of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSCs) in improving busulfan-induced azoospermia in adult rats. METHODS: Forty two adult male albino rats were randomized into: (1) control group, (2) azoospermia group, (3) spontaneous recovery group, and (4) AFSCs-treated group, in which AFSCs were transplanted through their injection into the testicular efferent ducts. The assessment included a histo-pathological examination of the seminiferous tubules by the light and transmission electron microscopes. Additionally, the confocal laser scanning microscope was used for confirmation of homing of the implanted cells. Moreover, we conducted an immuno-fluorescence study for detection of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the spermatogenic cells, epididymal sperm count, and a histo-morphometric study. RESULTS: AFSCs successfully homed over the basement membrane of the injured seminiferous tubules. They greatly attenuated busulfan-induced degenerative and oxidative changes. They also caused a re-expression of PCNA in the germ cells, leading to resumption of spermatogenesis and re-appearance of spermatozoa. CONCLUSION: AFSCs could be a promising treatment modality for male infertility induced by chemotherapy, as they possess prominent regenerative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory potentials. BACKGROUND: Busulfan is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent that is routinely prescribed for leukemic patients to induce myelo-ablation. However, it also results in azoospermia and infertility in cancer survivors. This research was constructed to explore the possible therapeutic role of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSCs) in improving busulfan-induced azoospermia in adult rats. METHODS: Forty two adult male albino rats were randomized into: (1) control group, (2) azoospermia group, (3) spontaneous recovery group, and (4) AFSCs-treated group, in which AFSCs were transplanted through their injection into the testicular efferent ducts. The assessment included a histo-pathological examination of the seminiferous tubules by the light and transmission electron microscopes. Additionally, the confocal laser scanning microscope was used for confirmation of homing of the implanted cells. Moreover, we conducted an immuno-fluorescence study for detection of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the spermatogenic cells, epididymal sperm count, and a histo-morphometric study. RESULTS: AFSCs successfully homed over the basement membrane of the injured seminiferous tubules. They greatly attenuated busulfan-induced degenerative and oxidative changes. They also caused a re-expression of PCNA in the germ cells, leading to resumption of spermatogenesis and re-appearance of spermatozoa. CONCLUSION: AFSCs could be a promising treatment modality for male infertility induced by chemotherapy, as they possess prominent regenerative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory potentials.