Bioremediation of Oil-contaminated Soil Using Chicken Manure

In less developed countries, the prevalence of soil contaminated with used lubricating oil is high and the situation worsens with the economic advancement. The contamination has been shown to adversely affect the environment and human health. To mitigate, bioremediation could be adopted to tackle the problem of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. Thus, this experimental research carried out the bioremediation using chicken manure in soils contaminated with 5%, 10% and 20% w/w used lubricating oil for a 42-day composting period. To compare, this research also experimented with the 5%, 10% and 20% oil-contaminated soils untreated with chicken manure. The results showed that the highest total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) reduction efficiency of >60% was achieved in the 5% oil-contaminated compost remediated with chicken manure. The highest biodegradation rate of lubricating oil of 0.023–0.0025 day^?1 as measured by the first-order kinetics could also be achieved under the 5% oil contamination condition with the application of chicken manure. The findings highlight the prospect of chicken manure as a proper nutrient for enhanced remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, particularly of low contamination concentrations.     

The effect of polyphenols and vitamin E on the antioxidant status and meat quality of broiler chickens exposed to high temperature

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a polyphenol product (PP) (Proviox) and vitamin E on the antioxidant status and meat quality of broiler chickens exposed to high temperature. The experimental materials comprised 120 ROSS 308 broilers (6 treatments, 10 replications, 2 birds per replication). Dietary supplementation with vitamin E and PP was applied in the following experimental design: group I (negative control) – without supplementation; group II (positive control) – without supplementation; group III – supplementation with 100 mg vitamin E/kg; group IV – 200 mg vitamin E/kg; group V – 100 mg vitamin E/kg and 100 mg PP/kg; group VI – 200 mg PP/kg. In groups II–VI, broiler chickens aged 21–35 d were exposed to increased temperature (34°C for 10 h daily). In chickens exposed to high temperature, dietary supplementation with antioxidants, mostly PP, improved growth performance parameters, including body weight, body weight gain and feed intake until 28 d of age. Vitamin E added to broiler chicken diets at 200 mg/kg and vitamin E combined with PP was most effective in improving the total antioxidant status of birds, enhancing blood antioxidant enzyme activities and increasing vitamin E concentrations in the liver and breast muscles. Broilers fed diets supplemented with 200 mg/kg of vitamin E alone and vitamin E in combination with PP were characterised by a higher percentage content of breast muscles in the carcass. Dietary supplementation with antioxidants improved the water-holding capacity of meat, reduced natural drip loss and increased the crude ash content of meat. The breast muscles of chickens fed diets supplemented with PP had a lower contribution of yellowness. The breast muscles of chickens receiving diets with 100 mg vitamin E/kg(group III) and diets supplemented with PP (groups V and VI) were characterised by the highest concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The PP can be a valuable component of diets for broiler chickens exposed to high temperature.     

Effect of dietary chromium supplementation on meat nutritional quality and antioxidant status from broilers fed with Camelina-meal-supplemented diets

Poultry meat is a valuable source of nutrients and the enrichment with health-promoting substances such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) is an important factor for consumers’ choice. Camelina meal (Camelina sativa) is an animal feedstuff used to achieve this goal, but the administration of n-3 PUFA-enriched diets in broiler nutrition can accelerate the oxidative processes in meat leading to a decreased quality of final product. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the organic Cr as chromium picolinate (CrPic) on meat quality, fatty acid profile of fat and oxidative stability of meat from broilers fed supplemented dietary Camelina meal. An experiment was conducted on 240 Ross 308 broiler chicken aged 14 days which were assigned to 6 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Within the treatment arrangement two concentrations of Camelina meal (0% and 3%) and three concentrations of Cr³⁺ (0, 200 and 400 μg/kg) were used. Dietary treatments were: (1) Control diet (C) containing a corn–soybean diet with no added Camelina meal or Cr³⁺; (2) a C diet containing an additional 200 μg/kg of Cr³⁺ as CrPic; (3) a C diet containing an additional 400 μg/kg of Cr³⁺ as CrPic; (4) a C diet containing an additional 3% Camelina meal; (5) diet 2 containing an additional 3% Camelina meal; (6) diet 3 containing an additional 3% Camelina meal. Chromium supplementation significantly (P<0.05) increased the CP concentrations and significantly (P<0.05) decreased the crude fat concentrations in breast samples. The Camelina meal groups presented higher values of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly n-3 fatty acids (P<0.05). In CrPic groups, increased retention of Zn and Fe (P < 0.05) was observed in breast samples, compared to control group, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values were significantly (P<0.05) smaller. Myoglobin fraction (metmyoglobin and oximyoglobin) concentrations differ significantly (P<0.05) from the control group, under the influence of Cr³⁺ supplements. This study found that broilers fed with CrPic supplements showed improved mineral composition and oxidative stability of breast meat, proving an effective protection of lipid molecules from oxidation in PUFA-enriched meat.     

Trait‐based approach confirms the importance of propagule limitation and assembly rules in old‐field restoration

Community assembly theory is suggested as a guiding principle for ecological restoration to help understand the mechanisms that structure biological communities and identify where restoration interventions are needed. We studied three hypotheses related to propagule limitation, stress‐dominance, and limiting similarity concepts in community assembly in a restoration field experiment with a trait‐based null model approach. The experiment aimed to assist the recovery of sand grassland on former arable land in the Kiskunság, Pannonian biogeographic region, Europe. Treatments included initial seeding of five grassland species, carbon amendment, low‐intensity mowing, and combinations in 1 m by 1 m plots in three old fields from 2003 to 2008. The distribution of 10 individual plant traits was compared to the null model and the effect of time and treatments were tested with linear mixed effect models. Initial seeding had the most visible impact on species and trait composition confirming propagule limitation in grassland recovery. Reducing nutrient availability through carbon amendment strengthened trait convergence for length of flowering as expected based on the stress‐dominance hypothesis. Mowing changed trait divergence to convergence for plant height with a strengthening impact with time, supporting our hypothesis of increasing dominance of limiting similarity with time. Our results support the idea that community assembly is simultaneously influenced by propagule limitation and multiple trait‐based processes that act through different traits. The limited impact of manipulating environmental filtering and limiting similarity compared to seeding, however, supports the view that only targeting the dispersal and environmental filters in parallel would improve restoration outcome.     

青海高原复种绿肥毛叶苕子对土壤微生物生物量碳、氮的影响

通过在小麦收获后复种绿肥毛叶苕子研究绿肥的培肥效应。在复种绿肥毛叶苕子的情况下,研究后茬作物小麦生育期土壤微生物生物量碳、氮的时空变化。结果表明,小麦生育期0～20 cm土层土壤微生物生物量碳、氮均表现为有毛叶苕子处理高于无毛叶苕子处理,其中施肥70%化肥+毛苕子翻压还田处理的土壤微生物生物量碳、氮最高。小麦苗期土壤微生物生物量碳、氮含量最低,至抽穗期土壤微生物生物量碳、氮含量达到最高,成熟期又有所降低。微生物熵在各时期的变化与微生物生物量碳一致,绿肥处理表现出明显较高的微生物熵。     

Effect of weight and storage time of broiler breeders’ eggs on morphology and biochemical features of eggs,embryogenesis, hatchability,and chick quality

The transfer of hatchability results obtained under experimental conditions to the commercial ground with a positive financial effect proves the value and usefulness of these data. On the other hand, finding results on commercial processes of broiler breeders’ egg incubation in the literature is challenging. The presented study aimed to determine the effects of egg weight and storage time on the physical, biochemical characteristics of hatching eggs, embryogenesis and hatchability in Ross 308 broiler breeders. On the laying day, the eggs were divided into four weight groups: S – small eggs (57–61 g), M – medium eggs (62–66 g), L – large eggs (67–71 g), and XL – extra-large eggs (72–76 g). The eggs were then stored for 3, 7, 14, and 21 days under controlled conditions. As the egg storage time increased, a decrease in the yolk quality (lower index) was observed. The highest Haugh units were found in eggs from the S and M groups. The cholesterol content of the M, L, and XL groups was lower on days 7, 14, and 21 as compared to that of eggs only stored for 3 days. Egg weight loss during incubation decreased with an increase in the egg weight. An extension of the egg storage time caused an increase in the loss of egg weight. On the 14th and 18th days of hatching, an increase in the eggshell temperature was noted with an increase in the weight of the egg. The eggs stored for 7 days were characterised by the highest shell temperature on each day. The highest hatchability percentage was recorded for the M group. The hatchability rate decreased with the prolongation of the storage time, while the number of crippled chicks after hatching increased. The results confirmed that the increased weight of the eggs and prolonged storage time (14 and 21 days) increased the weight and decreased the length of the newly hatched chicks, respectively. Chicks from the heaviest eggs and those stored for 14 and 21 days showed poor results on the Pasgar score® test. The observations indicate the need to adopt various (of those available) methods to assess the quality of newly hatched chicks in hatcheries in order to produce high-quality broiler chickens. The results also indicate that prolonged egg storing beyond 14 days may affect the thyroid hormone economy during the hatching of chicks, especially in the XL group.