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The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of onion juice through drinking water, on the production, egg quality, hematological and immune parameters in laying hens. A total of 240 Babcock hens (40 weeks old) were divided randomly into 5 groups (48 birds in each) and each group was further subdivided into 8 replicates, containing 6 birds in each subgroup. Onion juice at the rate of 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% was added to the drinking water offered to groups A, B, C, D, and E, respectively for 12 weeks. Egg weight, and mean water consumption was increased significantly (P=0.05) in group C. Moreover, egg mass also increased in group E supplemented with 2% onion juice. Regarding immunity, the 2% Onion juice group produced higher IgG at 6 weeks and 12 weeks of study as compared to control and other supplemented groups in the immunological response of laying hens vaccinated against the Newcastle Disease virus. For serological parameters, at the 6th week, cholesterol, LDL, and calcium significantly (P=0.05) increased in group E however, in the 10th-week only ALT level increased in group B over control. For hematological parameters, only the hemoglobin level was found to be higher in the 1% onion juice group. It is concluded that the addition of 0.5mg/L onion juice in the laying hens via water had meaningfully increased egg weight and water intake while supplementation of 2mg/L onion juice had ominously increased egg mass and immunity concerning an increase in IgG level in laying hens. Though, other production and performance parameters, egg quality traits, hematological parameters, and serological parameters persisted non-significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of Mentha piperita (peppermint) extract and juice on performance and immune parameters were evaluated in laying hens. A total of 252 Babcock laying hens were allocated to seven treatments with four replications of nine hens. The control hens were fed a basal diet without supplementation. Other hens were given diets supplemented with mentha extract (ME) at 50 (50ME), 100 (100ME), and 200 (200ME) mg/kg of feed or with 50 mentha juice (50MJ), 100 (100MJ) and 200 (200MJ) mg/L that was provided in the drinking water. No significant differences were detected among treatments in bodyweight, feed intake, egg mass, egg production, eggshell breaking strength, Haugh unit, and haematological and serological parameters. The ratio of gram feed to gram egg mass (feed conversion) was significantly better in the birds that received 100ME and 200ME compared with the control hens. The yolk colour index was higher in mid trial analysis (28th day). Thus, although the ME supplementation had a positive effect on feed conversion ratio and egg yolk colour at dosage rates up to 200 mg/kg, further research is needed to establish the efficacy of this herbal product and to determine the most appropriate amount to include in diets for laying hens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out of determine the effect of utilization of black cumin (Nigella sativa) and dry parsley (Petroselinum crispum) in the diets on body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, egg production, egg quality (Haugh unit, eggshell thickness and, egg yolk cholesterol values) and hatchability in the laying quails. The experiment lasted 8 weeks and was performed on 210 laying quails: 140 females and 70 males at age of 14 weeks. The quails were randomly allocated with 7 dietary treatments one as the negative control group without any feed additives (C); the others designed as 1.00 % black cumin (G1), 1.00 % parsley (G2), 1.50 % black cumin (G3), 1.50 % parsley (G4), 0.50 % black cumin + 0.50 % parsley (G5) and 0.75% black cumin + 0.75% parsley (G6) respectively. There were not statistically difference in body weight, among the groups, except female body weight (p<0.05). While mean feed intakes values did not differ, feed conversion ratio (FCR) values were different among the groups (p<0.05). There were no differences in egg production (%) egg weight, egg quality parameters (except the yolk colour) and egg yolk cholesterol levels among the groups. Hatchability was found 88.0, 88.0, 68.0, 36.0, 68.0, 56.0, 88.0 %; for C, G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6 respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, the use of black cumin and dry parsley as together in the layer quail rations as feed additives have a synergetic effect on body weight gain, egg production and hatchability. Their usage in combination could be profitable to improvement of performance of laying quail as the natural way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out of determine the effect of utilization of black cumin (Nigella sativa) and dry parsley (Petroselinum crispum) in the diets on body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, egg production, egg quality (Haugh unit, eggshell thickness and, egg yolk cholesterol values) and hatchability in the laying quails. The experiment lasted 8 weeks and was performed on 210 laying quails, 140 females and 70 males at the age of 14 weeks. The quails were randomly allocated with 7 dietary treatments one as the negative control group without any feed additives (C); the others designed as 1.00 % black cumin (G1), 1.00 % parsley (G2), 1.50 % black cumin (G3), 1.50 % parsley (G4), 0.50 % black cumin + 0.50 % parsley (G5) and 0.75% black cumin + 0.75% parsley (G6) respectively. There were not statistically difference in body weight, among the groups, except female body weight (p<0.05). While mean feed intakes values did not differ, feed conversion ratio (FCR) values were different among the groups (p<0.05). There were no differences in egg production (%) egg weight, egg quality parameters (except the yolk color) and egg yolk cholesterol levels among the groups. Hatchability was found 88.0, 88.0, 68.0, 36.0, 68.0, 56.0, 88.0 %; for C, G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6 respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, the use of black cumin and dry parsley as together in the layer quail rations as feed additives have a synergetic effect on body weight gain, egg production and hatchability. Their usage in combination could be profitable to improvement of performance of laying quail as the natural way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thrombocytopenia is the reduction of platelet number to below normal level. It may be due to the decrease in production, increase in destruction, abnormal spreading in the body or the laboratory errors. B12 deficiency is a rarely seen vitamin deficiency in childhood. It presents with megaloblastic anemia and is difficult to diagnose because of various clinical findings. Here we would like to present two cases which were hospitalized to investigate the etiology of anemia and thrombocytopenia. Cases were detected to have vitamin B12 deficiency which is rarely seen in infantile period. A 12-month old male and a 16-month old female admitted with complaints of weakness, bruise and pallor. On physical examination, there was tremor of upper extremities. Anemia, thrombocytopenia and in peripheral blood macrocytes were detected as laboratory findings. B12 vitamins were found to be low. Patients recovered clinically after parenteral vitamin B 12 administration. Laboratory findings also changed into normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, global consumption of energy and environmental resources have been rapidly increasing due to advances in the production and transportation of goods, as well as reduced barriers to global trade markets. This trend raised sustainable consumption issues because of inefficient and wasteful use of resources, especially in resource-rich countries with high purchasing power and subsidized tariffs offered to residents. It is also well-known that resources abundance tends to lower financial development and limit productivity growth and social development. On the other hand, there is a growing acceptance that supply-side policies need to be complemented by demand-side management to support sustainable cleaner production and remedy aforementioned adverse impacts. In this study, we present the results of an investigation on demand-side management (DSM) opportunities and a framework developed for Qatar as a representative of an emerging resource-rich countries and discuss implications for cleaner production. The rationale behind is that Qatar is a commodity-dependent developing country, who, during the last five years, has experienced a population growth of 35%, and an increase in electricity and water demand of 46% and 35%, respectively. Similarly, during the same period, the national vehicle fleet has grown by more than twofold. These figures have ranked Qatar at the top of the per-capita energy, carbon, and water consumption list in the world and increased environmental vulnerability and reduced climate resilience. To that end, the objectives of this study are to: (1) construct a DSM framework tailored to the needs of resource-rich country like Qatar from economic, social, environmental, and technical aspects; (2) present, analyze, and discuss the results of a survey that reveals the perceptions, attitudes, and responses of local residents towards the applicability of DSM policies; and (3) discuss methods and solutions to achieve cleaner energy consumption. The conducted survey covered electricity, water, and transportation sectors and showed that residents have low awareness about their consumption habits, but they have high willingness to reduce their consumption levels. In the last section, we present the survey results and discussions as a reference for policy-makers to promote the most promising DSM options in Qatar. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first survey-based study conducted in the Gulf Cooperation Council region where a significant portion of world's oil and natural gas resources are extracted. Therefore, the results could provide insights to other resource-rich countries with similar characteristics to devise more efficient policies for promoting welfare-enhancing and sustainable consumption behavior. Image 1 • Development of a DSM framework for Qatar as representative of carbon-rich countries. • Field survey of 740 residents on electricity, water, and transportation usage. • Detailed analyses of social, economic, environmental, and technical dimensions. • Results show that there is high willingness but low awareness about usage habits. • Recommendations are made to implement cleaner production policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though Qatar's per capita electricity consumption is one of the highest in the world, little is currently known about behind-the-meter power consumption. The residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity, accounting for approximately 59% of the overall consumption of electricity. As energy subsidies lead to budget deficits and overconsumption of carbon resources, there is a pressing need to examine the residential load profile to better understand consumption patterns and uncover potential solutions for more efficient usage. Residential load profiles are typically influenced by seasonal and socio-economic factors. Furthermore, household load profiles can be used to examine the viability of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. In this study, a total of 10 houses in Qatar were chosen, and their power demand was monitored for over a year using smart energy monitors. This empirical research was conducted to achieve the following goals: (1) creation of the first high-resolution residential load profiles in Qatar and in the Gulf region; (2) analyses of the acquired load profiles and the determining factors that affect energy consumption; and (3) calculation of self-consumption values, analysis of the viability of household rooftop PV systems, and discussing potential use-cases for energy storage systems. Investigation of this topic is particularly important for Qatar as the country is adopting a sizable portion of PV systems (5% by 2021) and promotes sustainable energy options as a part of a national development strategy. Results show that there are significant differences between per-household and per-capita consumption due to factors such as electricity subsidies, household income and size, and air-conditioner type. Moreover, due to high electricity consumption, distributed energy storage units for bill management applications have limited applicability with current pricing tariffs. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first study conducted in Qatar and in the Gulf region where a growing amount of interest is given to measure and improve building energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising global temperatures in the Arabian Peninsula region caused by climate change have increased the demand for air conditioning, resulting in more electricity consumption and CO 2 emissions. This paper treats Qatar as a representative country for understanding the effect of future regional warming on the electricity demand and CO 2 emissions We first develop a model that relates daily electricity demand with temperature. By combining this model with temperature projections from the CMIP6 database (bias adjusted and statistically downscaled) and population and GDP projections from four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), we can calculate Qatar's demand for electricity until the end of the century. The model identifies an average sensitivity of +4.2%/°C for the electricity demand and projects an increase in electricity demand by 5–35% due to warming alone at the end of this century. The model suggests that under SSP1-2.6, warming-induced CO 2 emissions could be offset by carbon intensity improvements. Furthermore, under SSP5-8.5, assuming no carbon intensity improvement, future warming could add 20–35% of CO 2 emissions per year by the end of the century, with half of the electricity demand related to more frequent hot days. We further found that the temperature effect on power demand and CO 2 emissions is small compared to the effects from socioeconomic factors such as population, GDP, and carbon intensity. • Data-based model to predict electricity demand from daily temperature regionally. • Projection of power demand with CMIP6 temperature projections for different SSPs. • Inclusion of the effect of the evolution of the population and the GDP on the demand. • Assumption on the evolution of the carbon intensity to deduce the CO 2 emissions. • Application to Middle East countries and implication for global temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the potential of Pistacia terebinthus (terebinth) seed meal as a dietary supplement for laying hens. One hundred and ninety-two Babcock 30-week-old laying hens were assigned to one of six treatments (n = 32) with four replicates (n = 8). The hens were fed diets containing 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% terebinth seed meal for eight weeks. Weekly egg production, feed consumption, egg weight, and egg mass were recorded. Egg quality was assessed at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Blood sampling was carried out on 12 birds from each treatment. Total antioxidant capacity, total oxidant status and oxidative stress index were determined. Egg production was greater from hens fed 3% and 4% terebinth than those in the other treatments. Egg weight was increased by supplementation with 2% or more terebinth. Feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, eggshell breaking strength, yolk colour, Haugh units, concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total protein, phosphorus and calcium in serum, and total antioxidant capacity, total oxidant status, and the oxidative stress index did not differ across treatments. It is concluded that dietary terebinth seed supplementation generated positive effects on egg production and egg weight without adverse effects on egg quality or the metabolism of the hen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented on a six-year-old girl experiencing balance disturbance, headaches and seizure, whose magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain's showed a lesion in the left cerebellum and was diagnosed with glioblastoma multifome (GBM) and Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1).

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (Lewandowsky-Lutz syndrome) is an uncommon disease characterized by multiple plane warts, pityriasis versicolor-like lesions, defects of cell-mediated immunity, and tendency to develop skin malignancies, primarily on sun-exposed areas. Most commonly it is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer found in patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Human papilloma virus 5, 8, and 47 are found in more than 90% of epidermodysplasia verruciformis skin cancers. Treatment for epidermodysplasia verruciformis consists largely of preventive measures. Photoprotection remains essential for management. In this report, two sister case of epidermodisplasia verruciformis with plane warts, pityriasis versicolor-like lesions, and squamous cell carcinomas on sun-exposed areas of skin was presented for it is a rarely encountered disease and associated with early development of malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to establish prediction equations for subcutaneous adipocyte area and body and tail measurements to estimate carcass composition and fat depots of indigenous Akkaraman lambs. As a major carcass tissue, body fat depots play an important role in deciding the optimum slaughter weight and grading of the carcass and meat quality. In this respect, forty male Akkaraman lambs were slaughtered and dissected to define the partitioning of fat among body depots after recording the body and tail measurements and taking adipose tissue samples. Mean cold carcass weight was 19.8 kg with a composition of 48.9% muscle, 30.3% fat, 19.6% bone and 1.2% waste. The dressing percentage was 48.4 %. Tail fat, subcutaneous fat and intermuscular fat were the major fat depots with overall means of 15.3%, 10.2% and 4.9%, respectively. Heart girth had the highest correlation (r = 0.91) with total body fat, while tail circumference had the highest correlation (r = 0.72) with total body fat among the tail measurements. Correlation coefficients were also high between the adipocyte area and cold carcass (r = 0.84), total body fat (r = 0.84) and carcass fat (r = 0.86) values. The established regression equations showed that tail fat (R2 = 0.81), carcass fat (R2 = 0.89) and total body fat (R² = 0.93) weights could be predicted with a high accuracy. It is concluded that carcass composition and body fat depots could be estimated with a high degree of accuracy by establishing the regression equations based on the adipocyte area and external measurements of the body and tail in Akkaraman lambs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to measure fat thickness, area and depth of the longissimus dorsi muscle using ultrasonography, to estimate carcass composition in live Akkaraman lambs. Fat thickness, area and depth of the longissimus dorsi muscle between the 12th and 13th ribs were measured in vivo and on the carcass after slaughter, using real time ultrasound in 40 Akkaraman lambs. To estimate the carcass composition, one-half of a carcass was dissected into muscle, fat and bone after slaughter. Overall, correlation coefficients between ultrasound and carcass longissimus dorsi muscle area, depth and fat thickness were 0.82, 0.60 and 0.77, respectively. Estimates of carcass composition for Akkaraman lambs based on LW explained 78%, 82%, 74%, 52%, 75%, 36% and 72% of the variations for muscle, total carcass fat, subcutaneous fat, inter-muscular fat, non-carcass fat, tail fat and bone, respectively. The introduction of UFT, ULMA and ULMD as independent variables in addition to LW in the multiple linear regression equations further improved the variations for total muscle (80%), carcass fat (84%) and bone weight (76%) whereas no improvement was observed for subcutaneous, intermuscular, non-carcass and tail fat. The results showed that in vivo ultrasound fat thickness and measurement of area and depth of the longissimus dorsi muscle in association with live weight could be used to estimate muscle, total body fat and bone weight in Akkaraman lambs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A study was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing the diet of breeder hens with a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) premix, containing 509 g fatty acid salts/kg of which 285 g were calcium butyrate, on their eggshell characteristics and the hatching percentage of the eggs. One thousand six hundred 66-week old White Bovans laying breeder hens were used in this experiment. They were housed in eight identical pens, each containing 200 birds, and four pens were used per treatment. The SCFA premix was included at 1000 mg/kg in the treatment diet, and fed for a period of nine weeks. Responses were compared with an unsupplemented treatment. Supplementation started when the hens were 66 weeks old. From day 75 eggs were collected for the next seven weeks and the occurrence of cracked, dirty and misshapen eggs was recorded, and the hatching percentage of the eggs was determined. Eggshell strength was lower in eggs from the control (1.76 ± 0.05) than from the treatment group (2.07 ± 0.03). The percentage of eggs produced by the control group (68.6 ± 0.08) was significantly lower than that by the supplemented group (71.5 ± 0.15). Percentage of dirty, cracked and misshapen eggs, and the hatchability percentage of the control group (1.15 ± 0.03, 3.44 ± 0.05, 6.27 ± 0.03 and 88.93 ± 0.06, respectively) were also significantly lower than in the group receiving SCFA (0.47 ± 0.03, 2.21 ± 0.03, 3.81 ± 0.03 and 93.36 ± 0.05, respectively). It was concluded that dietary supplementation of SCFA to layer breeder hens from 66 weeks of age onwards improved eggshell strength, reduced the percentage of dirty, cracked and misshapen eggs and increased the hatching percentage of the eggs. The positive responses were suggested to be largely due to the butyrate in the SCFA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy plays a major role in decarbonisation of the electricity sector and supports achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Over the last decade, the wind energy deployments have grown steadily, accounting for more than one fourth of the annual electricity generation in countries like the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Germany. However, as the share of wind energy increases, system operators face challenges in managing excessive wind generation due to its nondispatchable nature. Currently, the most common practice is wind energy curtailment in which wind farm operators receive constraint payments to reduce their renewable energy production. This practice not only leads to wastage of large volumes of renewable energy, but also the associated financial cost is reflected to rate payers in the form of increased electricity bills. On-site energy storage technologies come to the forefront as a technology option to minimise wind energy curtailment and to harness wind energy in a more efficient way. To that end, this paper, first, systematically evaluates different energy storage options for wind energy farms. Second, a depth analysis of curtailment and constraint payments of major wind energy farms in Scotland are presented. Third, using actual wind and market datasets, a techno-economic analysis is conducted to examine the relationship between on-site energy storage size and the amount of curtailment. The results show that, similar to recent deployments, lithium-ion technology is best suited for on-site storage. As case studies, Whitelee and Gordon bush wind farms in Scotland are chosen. The most suitable storage capacities for 20 years payback period is calculated as follows: (i) the storage size for the Gordonbush wind farm is 100 MWh and almost 19% of total curtailment can be avoided and (ii) the storage size for the Whitlee farm is 125 MWh which can reduce the curtailment by 20.2%. The outcomes of this study will shed light into analysing curtailment reduction potential of future wind farms including floating islands, seaports, and other floating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignancy in a chronic pressure sore is rare among Marjolin’s ulcers. Carcinomas arising in pressure sores are highly aggressive and usually fatal. Although carcinomas in pressure sores are generally well-differentiated squamous carcinomas, they can show quite an aggressive course and do not respond either to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The mortality rate is high despite wide surgical resection. It must be kept in mind that carcinomas may arise in pressure sores and treatment must be early and aggressive. We report a squamous carcinoma arising in a pressure sore that had a very short latency period. The related literature was reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatoprotective activity of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) essential oil (FEO) was studied using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver injury model in rats. The hepatotoxicity produced by acute CCl4 administration was found to be inhibited by FEO with evidence of decreased levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin. The results of this study indicate that FEO has a potent hepatoprotective action against CCl4-induced hepatic damage in rats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]