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Introduction: The cost of poultry feed directly impacts production yield. The search for feed formulations based on less expensive products is, therefore, an alternative to improve the profits of producers. This study was conducted in Maradi at the Regional Center for Agronomic Research of the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Niger to assess the effect of roasted Faidherbia albida pods on the zootechnical performance of Isa Brown laying chickens. Materials and methods: A total of 200 Isa Brown laying chickens, aged 21 weeks, were randomly assigned to four feeding groups with five replicates each. The chickens were housed in a 5 m × 10 m building, with 10 chickens per replicate in blocks of 1.71 m². The building featured ventilation, natural lighting, and bedding made from peanut shells. Apart from the control feed (F0), the experimental feeds contained 5% (F5), 10% (F10), and 15% (F15) crushed pods of Faidherbia albida roasted at 110°C. Millet and wheat bran were the main energy sources, while fishmeal and groundnut cake provided protein. Water was provided ad libitum to all chickens. The feed was distributed over 2 months. Results: The results showed that feed ingestion increased significantly with F10 compared to the control, while consumption remained comparable among the control, F15, and F5 groups. The incorporation of roasted Faidherbia albida pods led to a significant decrease in the feed conversion ratio, with a significant difference among the treatments. The best feed conversion ratio was obtained with the F5, followed by the control. Conclusion: The inclusion of Faidherbia albida in the chicken diet is beneficial for egg production. The optimal incorporation rate for roasted pods of Faidherbia albida was determined to be 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute malnutrition is the world-leading cause of children under-five's death. Recent metagenomics studies have established a link between gut microbiota and severe acute malnutrition, describing an immaturity with a striking depletion in oxygen-sensitive prokaryotes. Amoxicillin and therapeutic diet cure most of the children with severe acute malnutrition but an irreversible disruption of the gut microbiota is suspected in the refractory and most severe cases. In these cases, therapeutic diet may be unable to reverse the microbiota alteration leading to persistent impaired development or death. In addition, as enteric sepsis is a major cause of death in this context, identification of missing gut microbes to be tested as probiotics (live bacteria that confer a benefit to the host) to restore rapidly the healthy gut microbiota and prevent the gut pathogenic invasion is of foremost importance. In this study, stool samples of malnourished patients with kwashiorkor and healthy children were collected from Niger and Senegal and analyzed by culturomics and metagenomics. We found a globally decreased diversity, a decrease in the hitherto unknown diversity (new species isolation), a depletion in oxygen-sensitive prokaryotes including Methanobrevibacter smithii and an enrichment in potentially pathogenic Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria and Streptococcus gallolyticus. A complex of 12 species identified only in healthy children using culturomics and metagenomics were identified as probiotics candidates, providing a possible, defined, reproducible, safe, and convenient alternative to fecal transplantation to restore a healthy gut microbiota in malnourished children. Microbiotherapy based on selected strains has the potential to improve the current treatment of severe acute malnutrition and prevent relapse and death by reestablishing a healthy gut microbiota.

Introduction: Recent advances in long-acting antiretroviral therapy (LA-ART) could provide new options for HIV treatment and reduce adherence barriers, if regimens are acceptable to patients. We elicited preferences for key attributes of potential LA-ART regimens among people with HIV (PWH) in the United States, focusing on four treatment modes (oral tablets, subcutaneous injections, intramuscular injections, and implants), product characteristics and location of administration. Methods: A discrete choice experiment was conducted among PWH aged ≥18 years recruited from HIV clinics in Washington State and Atlanta, Georgia from March 2021 to June 2022. Participants responded to 17 choice scenarios, each with three options: two systematically generated hypothetical LA-ART regimens and a constant opt-out (their current daily oral treatment). LA-ART regimen descriptions included treatment mode, pain, dosing frequency, location, pre-treatment time with undetectable viral load, pre-treatment negative reaction testing and "late-dose leeway" (i.e. flexibility or forgiveness in timing the next dose). We used conditional logistic regression, with an interaction between treatment mode and pain, to estimate preference weights for all attribute levels. Results: Seven hundred participants (350 at each site) enrolled, with median age 51 years (range 18-73); 70% identified as cisgender male, 24% as cisgender female and 6% as non-binary or transgender. LA oral tablets were the only mode preferred over current daily oral treatment, with annual implants and injections the next most preferred LA-ART option. Longer time between doses was preferred, and administration at home was preferred to clinics, which were preferred to pharmacies. Attributes with less impact on preferences included oral lead-in treatment to achieve viral suppression or test for negative reactions and late-dose leeway around the prescribed dosing interval. Participants in Atlanta were more likely to prefer their current daily oral ART than participants from Seattle. Conclusions: PWH in the United States may soon have several options for LA-ART. Our results suggest that LA oral tablets will be preferred by many patients over their current daily oral treatment, while implants and injections with longer duration may be acceptable to some. Future research should investigate sources of preference heterogeneity and actual uptake of and adherence to LA-ART products, when available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of diets with corn, sorghum, or pearl millet on growth performance and egg production and quality in poultry were determined on pullets (120), 19-week-old (with a mean of 1,050±11 g) in a 3-month experiment. The control diet was corn-based with fishmeal and peanut meal as the primary protein supplements. Sorghum and millet were used to replace the corn on a wt/wt basis so that treatments are: (i) a corn-based control; (ii) 50% corn + 50% millet; (iii) 50% corn+50% sorghum; (iv) pearl millet; and (v) sorghum. Ingredients samples were collected and analyzed through proximate analysis. Performance response criteria were egg production rate, average daily feed intake (ADFI), egg weight, feed conversion c g of feed/dozen eggs), egg yolk colour and feed cost. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design. Results indicated that layers fed corn versus those fed 50% corn + 50% sorghum, 50% corn + 50% millet, sorghum or millet had similar egg production rate. Feed cost was higher for layer fed corn or sorghum based diets and egg pigmentation was poor in sorghum and millet based diets. Therefore, it is recommended that in Niger, the poultry producers could replace corn up to 50% by millet or sorghum in layer diets.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) discriminate microbial pathogens and induce T-cell responses of appropriate effector phenotype accordingly. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), in part, mediate this microbial recognition and differentiation while the development of T-cell effector functions critically depends on the release of Th1- or Th2- type cytokines. In the present study, buffalo PBMCs were stimulated under in vitro culture conditions by Bacillus subtilis cell wall petidoglycan, a TLR2 ligand, in a dose-and time- dependent manner. The expression of TLR2 as well as the subsequent differential induction of the Th1 and Th2 type cytokines was measured. Stimulation was analyzed across five doses of peptidoglycan (10 μ/ml, 20 μg/ml, 30 μg/ml, 40 μg/ml and 50 μg/ml) for 3 h, 12 h, 24 h and 36 h incubation periods. We observed the induction of TLR2 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner and the peptidoglycan induced tolerance beyond 30 μg/ml dose at all incubation periods. The correlation between peptidoglycan stimulation and TLR2 induction was found positive at all doses and for all incubation periods. Increased production of all the cytokines was observed at low doses for 3 h incubation, but the expression of IL-4 was relatively higher than IL-12 at the higher antigen doses, indicating tailoring towards Th2 response. At 12 h incubation, there was a pronounced decrease in IL-4 and IL-10 expression relative to IL-12 in a dose- dependent manner, indicating skewing to Th1 polarization. The expression of IL-12 was highest for all doses across all the incubation intervals at 24 h incubation, indicating Th1 polarization. The relative expression of TNF-α and IFN-γ was also higher while that of IL-4 and IL-10 showed a decrease. For 36 h incubation, at low doses, relative increase in the expression of IL-4 and IL-10 was observed which decreased at higher doses, as did the expression of all other cytokines. The exhaustion of cytokine production at 36 h indicated that PBMCs became refractory to further stimulation. It can be concluded from this study that the cytokine response to sPGN initially was of Th2 type which skews, more pronouncedly, to Th1 type with time till the cells become refractory to further stimulation.