A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different plant extracts (common nettle, coriander, dill and thyme) at various dietary levels (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg/L) on growth performance, carcass traits, blood serum parameters, immune response and ileal microflora of 650 male Ross chickens (13 treatment groups; five replicates/treatment group; 10 birds/replicate) in a 42-day trial. Plant extracts were added to drinking water. Supplementation, except for coriander, increased feed intake (p < .05). Thyme extracts at 300 mg/L improved both weight gain and feed efficiency (p < .05). Thyme or dill (300 mg/L) improved carcass and drumsticks yields (p < .05). Pre-slaughtered body weight was increased by supplementation with plant extracts at 300 mg/L (p < .05). Plant extracts positively affected blood serum parameters decreasing concentrations (p < .05) of total protein, albumin, urea and total cholesterol. Dill extract increased IgG against sheep red blood cells at d 28 (p < .05) and d 42 (IgG; tendency p= .0698), whereas coriander extract (450 mg/L) raised immune response against avian influence within 42 d from vaccination (p < .05). Plant extracts reduced coliforms (except dill at 300 mg/L level; p < .05) and aerobic bacteria (except dill; p < .05). Negative gram bacteria were increased by thyme and dill treatments at 150 mg/L (p < .05) whereas lactobacilli bacteria were raised by thyme at 150 mg/L level (p < .05). In conclusion, supplementation with thyme at 300 mg/L level had the greatest benefits on the evaluated parameters.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) powder and vitamin E, as feed additives combined at different levels, on oxidative stability of broiler meat up to 14th day after chilling. A total of 270 1‐day‐old male chicks of Ross 308 strain were randomly assigned to nine dietary groups with three replicates having 10 birds each. Diets were supplemented with 0, 0.5, or 1.0% of rosemary (R) powder and 0, 100, or 200 mg/kg of vitamin E (alpha‐tocopherol acetate; VitE) according to the following treatments: T1 – control basal diet (0R + 0VitE); T2 – 0R + 100VitE; T3 – 0R + 200VitE; T4 – 0.5R + 0VitE; T5 – 0.5R + 100VitE; T6 – 0.5R + 200VitE; T7 – 1.0R + 0VitE; T8 – 1.0R + 100VitE; and T9 – 1.0R + 200VitE. At day 42, two birds of each replicate were slaughtered and the length and weight of cecum was recorded. Carcasses and their economically valuable parts were also weighted and broiler breast refrigerated at 4°C for 14 days. At day 0, 4, 7, and 14 of storage the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of breast meat was evaluated. After 4 days of storage, meat MDA contents of the T5 (0.43 mg/kg) and T9 (0.41 mg/kg) were lower than control group (T1: 0.55 mg/kg; p < .05). On day 7, groups supplemented with rosemary or VitE alone showed similar MDA contents (p > .05) than control. On day 14, lower (p < .05) MDA contents than T1 were observed in all groups except for broilers fed diet supplemented only with vitamin E. No effects were observed between treatments on the relative weight of the several carcass traits, however, VitE influenced (p < .05) the weight and size of cecum. Based on our findings, the combination of rosemary powder and vitamin E at different levels in diet is useful to limit the lipid oxidation of chilled chicken meat.

Ecosystem disturbances, such as wildfires, are driving forces that determine ecology and conservation measures. Species respond differentially to wildfires, having diverse post-fire population evolution. This study reports, for first time, the responses of brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) to wildfires. Hare relative abundance, age ratio, diet quality, body condition, and diseases were studied. Fire influence on vegetation was calculated at a micro-scale level. Hare abundance was lower the first year after wildfires in burned relative to unburned areas. The reverse was found in the second year when hare abundance was higher in burned areas. Hare abundance in burned areas was also higher in the third and fourth years. In the fifth and sixth years after wildfire no significant difference was found in abundance. At a micro-scale level, higher numbers of hare feces were counted in places with greater wildfire influence on vegetation. Age ratio analysis revealed more juveniles in burned areas, but the same number of neonates in burned and unburned areas, indicating lower mortality of juveniles in burned areas. Reduced predation in burned areas provides the most plausible explanation for our findings.

The present research is an attempt to investigate the Greek reality, regarding the social acceptance of biofuels, by identifying those factors on which it depends.A primary quantitative research was conducted, to which a structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was used as the main research tool. The research sample consists of 150 Greek consumers, while 200 questionnaires were distributed giving a 75% correspondence percentage. Convenience sampling was used for the collection of the quantitative research data. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS (v. 23). Social acceptance of biofuels was the dependent variable. Energy factors (incentive and inhibitors), Economical factors (incentive and inhibitors), Environmental awareness and General inhibitors of biofuels consumption were used as independent variables. Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney and Spearman’s correlation tests were conducted. Results showed that the social acceptance of biofuels in Greece depends on both the demographic data and the individual factors of the participants.Biofuel acceptance factors and the factors that frame their energy benefits depend on gender, with men scoring the above factors higher. Encouraging economic and energy factors and biofuel acceptance factors are dependent on employment status, while inhibitory factors depend on the area of residence of the participants. Environmental awareness, encouraging economic and energy factors, and biofuel acceptance factors are age-dependent, while economic factors (encouraging and inhibiting) and the acceptance of biofuels depend on the monthly income of Greek consumers. Finally, acceptance of biofuels, as well as the factors that frame it, depend on the educational level.