The objective of this study was to investigate the villus distribution in the caeca of domestic geese based on the fine structure. The caeca of White Roman geese, 14-week old, were sampled and specimens were detected under photomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicated that the villi existed at the proximal caecum. The morphologies of these villi showed finger-like, peak-like or tongue-like shapes. The heights of the villi decreased far from the proximal caecum. No villi were found in the middle and distal caecum. It was obvious that the proximal segment was the main portion for absorbing food nutrients in the caeca. The caecal content particles were small and possessed a viscid character. The large particles filtered out at the proximal caecum just like a mesh. The surface of the middle caecum exhibited parallel ridges with no villi. There were band plicae circular shapes found in the middle caecum under scanning electron microsopy.

Ocimum gratissimum found in tropical regions is a traditional herb commonly which prevents free radical damage and protects liver from oxidative stress and fibrosis. Ocimum gratissimum polyphenol extract (OGPE) was purified by resin tube to 33.24% polyphenol and 8.2% flavonoid, which were three-fold higher compared with the pre-purification concentrations. The abstract was used to determine if the antioxidant components in the O. gratissimum extract (OGE) were responsible for protective effects on liver fibrosis. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the content levels of catechin, caffeic acid and epicatechin in OGPE also increased three-fold. Male Wistar rats were administered with carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and varying amounts of OGPE doses [0-12 mg/kg body weight (BW)] or OGE dose (40 mg/kg BW) for 8 weeks. Results showed that OGPE at 12 mg/kg BW, similar to OGE at 40 mg/kg BW, maintained the liver weight, significantly ameliorated CCl₄-induced steatosis, and mitigated other pathological changes. OGPE (12 mg/kg BW) also maintained the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, as well as the levels of malondialdehyde, catalase and α-smooth muscle actin in liver tissues from CCl₄-induced changes. These findings suggest that antioxidant components in OGPE were the major factors that prevented liver fibrosis. Moreover, higher polyphenol concentrations were necessary for higher effectiveness.

In a recent study on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we have shown that the transcription factors Myeloid Zinc Finger-1 (MZF-1) and Ets-like-protein 1 (Elk-1) are significantly related to protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) expression. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of the expression of PKCα with the expression of Elk-1 and MZF-1 in various differentiated urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) cell lines: 5637, BFTC905, TSGH8301, HT1376 and HT1197 cells. The malignant potential in the five TCC cell lines was examined by using cell proliferation/migration/invasion assay and the protein and mRNA levels of PKCα, ElK-1 and MZF-1 were examined by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis. The results showed that the rate of cell proliferation in the TSGH8301 cell line was higher than that in other cell lines, while there were obvious signs of cell migration and invasion in 5637, BFTC905 and HT1376 cells, and no sign in TSGH8301 and HT1197 cells. The resulting expression levels of Elk-1 and PKCα were the highest in 5637 cells, but the MZF-1 expression observed in all five cell lines showed no significant difference. To determine whether a correlation exists between PKCα and Elk-1, a shRNA knockout assay was performed and the results showed that the reduction of Elk-1 expression in 5637 cells did not result in the decreased PKCα expression. Therefore, although the findings showed elevated expression of Elk-1 and PKCα in 5637 cells, the regulator of PKCα in bladder cancer cells is yet to be determined.

Ocimum gratissimum (OG) was investigated in this study to determine its effect on the immune capability of black-feathered Taiwan country chickens. A total of 90 four-week-old male chickens were randomly assigned to a control group, which was fed with basal diet (BD), and two experimental groups, which were fed with a 0.2 and 0.4 g/kg OG-supplemented BD. During the experimental period, feed intake and body weight were recorded every two weeks to determine growth performance and feed efficiency. Blood was collected from the brachial vein of the chicken wing to obtain blood characteristics at 12 weeks of age. OG supplementation yielded no significant difference in growth performance and blood characteristics. The hemagglutination test showed that, compared with the control, the 0.4 g/kg BD group was able to maintain a significantly higher antibody titer level over two weeks after goat red blood cells injection (p＜0.05), suggesting that 0.4 g/kg improves humoral immune response. The phytohemagglutinin test showed that wattle swelling in the 0.2-0.4 g/kg BD groups was reduced more significantly than that in the control group (p＜0.05), suggesting that OG supplementation reduces cell-mediated immune response. Taken together, these findings suggest that although OG does not enhance growth or blood characteristics, the inverse changes in humoral and cell-mediated immune response may improve the overall health of the chickens.