(1) Background: Nowadays the industry aims to improve lay persistency for extended cycles (100 weeks or longer) to make egg production more sustainable. However, intensive egg production challenges hen health, inducing severe osteoporosis and the incidence of bone fractures. In this study, the relationship between bone quality and egg production, and/or eggshell quality, was evaluated at the end of an extended laying cycle of 100 weeks, comparing groups of hens with different production and eggshell quality parameters; (2) Methods: Quality parameters of egg (as weight, egg white height), eggshell (as thickness, weight, breaking strength, elasticity and microstructure) and tibiae bone (weight, diameter, cortical thickness, ash weight, breaking strength, medullary bone) were determined; (3) Results: Hens from groups with a high egg production and good eggshell quality have poorer bone quality (lower ash weight and lesser amount of medullary bone). However, Pearson’s correlation analysis shows no clear relationship between bone and egg/eggshell parameters. (4) Conclusions: Bone and egg production/eggshell quality are independent and can be improved separately. Medullary bone has an important contribution to bone mechanical properties, being important to accumulate enough bone medullary bone early in life to maintain skeletal integrity and eggshell quality in old hens.

Neutrophils are key cells of the immune system and have a decisive role in fighting foreign pathogens in infectious diseases. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) consist of a mesh of DNA enclosing antimicrobial peptides and histones that are released into extracellular space following neutrophil response to a wide range of stimuli, such as pathogens, host-derived mediators and drugs. Neutrophils can remain functional after NET formation and are important for periodontal homeostasis. Periodontitis is an inflammatory multifactorial disease caused by a dysbiosis state between the gingival microbiome and the immune response of the host. The pathogenesis of periodontitis includes an immune-inflammatory component in which impaired NET formation and/or elimination can be involved, contributing to an exacerbated inflammatory reaction and to the destruction of gingival tissue. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the role of NETs in the pathogenesis of periodontitis.

We have studied in detail the changes that occur in eggshell structure and composition during a production cycle in order to better understand the deterioration of eggshell quality with hen age (at 33, 45, and 67 wk). To study changes in eggshell ultrastructure and microstructure characteristics (mammillary density, palisade layer thickness, size, and orientation of calcite crystals) and the cuticle composition, we used complementary analytical techniques such optical and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectrometry. The marked decrease in eggshell breaking strength from 5.8 Kg at 33 wk to 4.4 Kg at 67 wk (25% reduction) could not be solely explained by the modest reduction in eggshell thickness (6–10% reduction) and seems to be associate to abrupt changes in eggshell ultra- and microstructure characteristics (i.e., decreased mammillary density; increased size of crystal units), occurring in older hens. Particularly, the decrease in mammillary density reduces the attachment points of the eggshell mineral to the membranes and therefore should negatively impact eggshell mechanical properties. Also, the observed increase in the calcite crystal size making the shell could also reduce the cohesion of crystals and eggshell resistance against impacts. Additionally, there was a decrease in the amount of cuticle and internal egg quality parameters (egg albumen height) with hen age that could have a negative impact in egg safety and quality.

Broiler chickens have an extreme physiology (rapid growth rates) that challenges the correct bone mineralization, being an interesting animal model f

There is very recent and strong evidence relating Fusobacterium nucleatum to colorectal cancer. In this narrative review, we update the knowledge about gingival dysbiosis and the characteristics of Fusobacterium nucleatum as one of the main bacteria related to periodontitis. We provide data on microbiome, epidemiology, risk factors, prognosis, and treatment of colorectal cancer, one of the most frequent tumours diagnosed and whose incidence increases every year. We describe, from its recent origin, the relationship between this bacterium and this type of cancer and the knowledge and emerging mechanisms that scientific evidence reveals in an updated way. A diagram provided synthesizes the pathogenic mechanisms of this relationship in a comprehensive manner. Finally, the main questions and further research perspectives are presented.

To determine the visual 50:50% perceptibility and acceptability CIEDE2000 lightness, chroma and hue human gingiva thresholds. A psychophysical experiment based on visual assessments of simulated images of human gingiva on a calibrated display was performed. A 20-obsever panel (dentists and laypersons; n=10) evaluated three subsets of simulated human gingiva: lightness subset (|ΔL^'/ΔE₀₀|≥ 0.98); chroma subset (|ΔC^'/ΔE₀₀|≥ 0.98) and hue subset (|ΔH^'/ΔE₀₀|≥ 0.96) using ΔE₀₀< 5 units. A Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) Fuzzy Approximation model was used as fitting procedure, and 50:50% perceptibility threshold (PT) and acceptability threshold (AT) were calculated. Data was statistically analyzed using t-test (p ≤ 0.05). The 50:50% PT were ΔL' = 0.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39-1.09); ΔC' = 1.10 (95% CI 0.57-1.46); ΔH' = 2.40 (95% CI 1.66->3.85). The 50:50% AT were ΔL' = 2.57 (95% CI 2.00-3.06); ΔC' = 2.70 (95% CI 2.19-3.38). AT ΔH' may be considered no computable. PT values were statistically significant among the three metric differences (p ≤ 0.05). No difference was found between observers for PT values. Statistically differences in perceptual limit were found among hue, lightness and chroma for human gingiva. Thus, the observers seem to show lower sensitivity for changes in hue (ΔH^') than in chroma (ΔC^') and in lightness (ΔL^') in the gingiva color space. PT and AT for lightness, chroma and hue specific for human gingiva should be used when evaluating natural gingiva, pink gingival shade guides or pink materials, since the thresholds of perception and acceptability for teeth are not suitable.