Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is one of the most common problems in the poultry industry and leads to lameness by affecting the proximal growth plate of the tibia. However, due to the unique environmental and geographical conditions of Tibet, no case of TD has been reported in Tibetan chickens (TBCs). The present study was designed to investigate the effect of high altitude hypoxia on blood parameters and tibial growth plate development in chickens using the complete blood count, morphology, and histological examination. The results of this study showed an undesirable impact on the overall performance, body weight, and mortality of Arbor Acres chickens (AACs) exposed to a high altitude hypoxic environment. However, AACs raised under hypoxic conditions showed an elevated number of red blood cells (RBCs) and an increase in hemoglobin and hematocrit values on day 14 compared to the hypobaric normoxia group. Notably, the morphology and histology analyses showed that the size of tibial growth plates in AACs was enlarged and that the blood vessel density was also higher after exposure to the hypoxic environment for 14 days, while no such change was observed in TBCs. Altogether, our results revealed that the hypoxic environment has a potentially new role in increasing the blood vessel density of proximal tibial growth plates to strengthen and enhance the size of the growth plates, which may provide new insights for the therapeutic manipulation of hypoxia in poultry TD.

The following, from the 12th OESO World Conference: Cancers of the Esophagus, includes commentaries on approaches to the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of esophageal cancer in Europe, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, and China; the molecular classification of esophageal cancers (including cancers at the gastroesophageal junction); the Japanese classification; the scope of the Human Variome Project; and the topographic-anatomic subclassification of adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction.

No abstract

Circadian rhythm (CR) plays a critical role in the treatment of several diseases. However, the role of CR in the treatment of peripheral nerve defects has not been studied. It is also known that the pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) can provide a beneficial microenvironment to quicken the process of nerve regeneration and to enhance the quality of reconstruction. In this study, we evaluate the impact of CR on the promoting effect of PEMF on peripheral nerve regeneration in rats. We used the self-made “collagen-chitosan” nerve conduits to bridge the 15-mm nerve gaps in Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results show that PEMF stimulation at daytime (DPEMF) has most effective outcome on nerve regeneration and rats with DPEMF treatment achieve quickly functional recovery after 12 weeks. These findings indicate that CR is an important factor that determines the promoting effect of PEMF on peripheral nerve regeneration. PEMF exposure in the daytime enhances the functional recovery of rats. Our study provides a helpful guideline for the effective use of PEMF mediations experimentally and clinically.

The quality of the perovskite film has a vital influence on the performance of perovskite solar cells and it is quite desirable to simultaneously manipulate the crystallization and morphology of the perovskite film. In this study, conventional PbI2 is replaced with a PbI2/I2 mixed precursor during the first step of sequential deposition, causing the formation of a PbI2 porous nanostructure. By changing the content of I2 in the precursor, the morphology of the PbI2 film as well as the resulting perovskite film can be successfully modulated. With an optimal content of I2, a high‐quality perovskite film with a pure phase and smooth surface can be achieved. As a result, the conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells using a PbI2/I2 mixed precursor can be as high as 18.63%, compared to 16.89% for the reference device through traditional sequential deposition with a pure PbI2 precursor.