The current study investigated the potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) supplementation in ameliorating high stocking density (HSD) stress in broilers. A total of 392 day-old male chicks were divided into seven groups with eight replicates (n = 7): NSD [basal diet (BD) + normal stocking density: 10 bird/m²], HSD [BD + high stocking density: 16 bird/m²], Se–HSD [BD + Selenium (Se) 0.15 mg/kg], MOS–HSD (BD + MOS 5 gm/kg), Se–MOS–HSD (BD + Se 0.15 mg/kg and MOS 5 gm/kg), SeNPs–HSD (BD + SeNPs 0.15 mg/kg) and SeNPs–MOS–HSD (BD + SeNPs 0.15 mg/kg and MOS-5 gm/kg). HSD stress decreased (p < 0.05) weekly body weight and body weight gain and increased (p < 0.05) FCR compared to the NSD group. Supplementation with SeNPs and the SeNPs–MOS combination improved (p < 0.05) the weekly body weight and FCR in HSD-stressed broilers during the 5th and 6th weeks. On day 21, HSD stress decreased (p < 0.05) duodenal villus height (VH) and villus surface area (VSA) and increased (p < 0.05) serum corticosterone and cholesterol compared to the NSD group. Supplementation with the SeNPs–MOS combination increased (p < 0.05) duodenal VH and VH:CD, and jejunal total goblet cell (TGC) density and decreased (p < 0.05) serum corticosterone and cholesterol and ileal intra-epithelial lymphocyte (IEL) density in HSD-stressed broilers. On day 42, HSD stress decreased (p < 0.05) duodenal and jejunal VH, VSA, VH:CD, PCNA positive cell density and TGC density, Ileal VSA and TGC density, and increased (p < 0.05) serum cholesterol and ileal IEL density compared to the NSD group. Supplementation with the SeNPs–MOS combination increased (p < 0.05) spleen and bursa absolute weights, duodenal VH, VSA, VH:CD, PCNA positive cell density and jejunal VH, VH:CD, and decreased (p < 0.05) serum cholesterol and ileal IEL density in HSD-stressed broilers. Our findings signify that HSD is stressful for broilers particularly during the finishing phase. Supplementation with the SeNPs–MOS combination mitigated HSD stress by partially improving the gut microarchitecture, gut barrier function and performance indicators.

In this study, we investigated broiler growth traits, intestinal health and immune aggregates in response to supplementation of Origanum vulgare and Cinnamomum verum, citric acid and malic acid in drinking water at varying levels and durations on broiler. We randomly allocated 140 day-old broilers into four (4) groups, with each group having seven replicates (n = 5). A basal diet and water were provided to all the groups ad libitum in accordance with standard farming practices. Keeping group I as the control, group II was supplemented with 1 mL/3.3 L of water for 1–4 days, 1 mL/4 L from 15–18 days and 1 mL/4 L water from 26–29 days. Group III and IV were supplemented with 1 mL/4 L of water and 1 mL/6 L of water for 35 days, respectively. After the completion of the trial (day 35), two broilers per replicate (14 birds per group) were slaughtered to sample the visceral organs. The results demonstrated that the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body weight gain improved (p ≤ 0.05) during the fourth and fifth week of the trial in group III in comparison to the control group. Although the small intestine villus height and villus-height-to-crypt-depth ratio improved (p ≤ 0.05) in group III, the muscularis externa thickness of the ileum was highest (p ≤ 0.05) in the control group. Similarly, the lymphatic follicular and nodular area of the immune organs improved (p ≤ 0.05) in group III. In all segments of the small intestine (duodenal, jejunal and ileal), the number of acidic and total goblet cells was highest (p ≤ 0.05) in group II. In conclusion, dietary Origanum vulgare, Cinnamomum verum, citric acid and malic acid at the dose of 1 mL/4 L of drinking water (group III) was the most effective in improving the growth performance, gut development and associated immune components in broilers.

Measuring limb joint angles is crucial for understanding horse conformation, performance, injury diagnosis, and prevention. While Thoroughbred horses have been extensively studied, local Pakistani breeds (e.g., Morna racehorse) have not received scientific attention. This study aimed to quantify normal angles of limb joints in the Morna breed. Limb joint angles of standing horses (n = 50) were quantified using a measuring tape, height stick, protractor scale, and goniometer. The mean and standard deviation (Mean ± SD) values for the forelimb joint angles were 123.02 ± 3.46° for elbow, 171.52 ± 2.39° for knee, and 147.68 ± 5.11° for fetlock. The mean ± SD values for the hindlimb joint angles were 128.62 ± 4.08° for stifle, 160.40 ± 3.89° for hock, and 155.48 ± 2.68° for fetlock. There was a non-significant (p > 0.05) correlation between horse joint angles and, age, body weight, and body condition score (BCS). The elbow and stifle joint angles of Morna align well with characteristics associated with optimal racing performance. However, the hock and fetlock angles differ from jumping Thoroughbred and French trotters. We recommend further research to examine the conformation of the Morna breed, particularly by measuring the lengths of limb segments and correlating it with joint angles. This may provide valuable insights into individual variations within the breed.

Cochlear implants (CIs) have successfully restored hearing in more than one million patients with severe to profound hearing loss worldwide. While CIs effectively restore speech perception in quiet environments, sound localization remains challenging for bilateral CI users, particularly their ability to utilize interaural time differences (ITDs). The majority of clinical CI processors use a coding strategy that encodes ITD information only in the envelope of electrical pulse trains rather than their pulse timing, which may contribute to the poorer spatial hearing perception of CI users. We recently demonstrated in a behavioral study on early deafened, bilaterally CI-implanted rats that pulse timing ITDs completely dominate ITD perception, while sensitivity to envelope ITDs is almost negligible in comparison. Building on this, we here investigated the neurophysiological sensitivity of the inferior colliculus (IC) to envelope and pulse timing ITDs at two different pulse rates (900 and 4500 pulses/s) and three different stimulation modulations (5, 20 and 100 Hz) in CI rats with different hearing experiences. Our results indicate that IC neurons exhibit far greater sensitivity to pulse timing ITD than envelope ITD independent of pulse rate, modulation rate or hearing experience. These findings suggest that to improve binaural hearing outcome in bilateral CI users, clinical stimulation strategies should provide informative pulse timing ITDs. Graphical

Cochlear Implants (CI) are an effective neuroprosthesis for humans with profound hearing loss, enabling deaf adults to have phone calls without lipreading and babies to have successful language development. However, CIs have significant limitations in complex hearing situations, motivating the need for further research, including studies in animal models. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of wide field Ca++ imaging in assessing different CI stimulation strategies. One major challenge in electrophysiology in CI animals lies in excluding the CI electric artifacts from the recording, since they are orders of magnitude larger than the amplitude of action potentials. Also, electrophysiology can rarely sample large areas of neuropil at high spatial resolution. To circumvent these problems, we have set up an imaging system allowing us to monitor neural activity in the auditory cortex (AC) of CI supplied rats using the Ca++ sensitive dye OGB. Here we describe an initial experiment with this setup, in which we recorded cortical responses to 4 different stimulation patterns which were delivered across 3 CI channels to the contralateral ear. We then investigated two parameters that have been shown to affect intelligibility in CI users: pulse rate and relative pulse timing across CI channels. While pulse rate had only a very modest effect on the discriminability of the neural responses, the stimulation mode had a major effect, with simultaneous pulse timing, perhaps surprisingly, allowing much better pattern discrimination than interleaved sampling. The result suggests that allowing collisions of pulses on neighboring channels may not always be detrimental, at least if partial overlaps of pulses, in which anodic and cathodic pulse phases might cancel, are avoided.