Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “egg quality”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Effects of vitamin D deficiency in the chicken embryo.

Vitamin D-deficient chicken embryos were obtained by feeding laying hens a diet in which 5 micrograms 1,25(OH)2D3/kg feed were substituted for the vitamin D3 supplement in the control diet. Hatchability, total Ca and inorganic P concentration in blood, and tibial ash/dry weight ratio were determined in the vitamin D-deficient embryos and in embryos obtained from hens fed the control diet supplemented with 1100 IU vitamin D3/kg feed. After 5 weeks on the substituted diet the hens laid eggs that showed decreased hatchability in spite of excellent shell quality. All determinations in blood and bones were made on embryos of eggs laid after 6-12 weeks on the diets. On the 17th day of incubation the embryos derived from hens fed the substituted diet showed significant hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia and a low tibial ash/dry weight ratio. Injection of 1,25(OH)2D3 3 days before killing corrected the hypocalcemia of the deficient embryos. Those chicks that managed to hatch had normal levels of calcium and inorganic phosphate 1 day after hatching. These findings support previous suggestions by us and other authors that vitamin D metabolites are required by the embryo in order to mobilize calcium from the shell, and decreased hatchability in vitamin D-deficient embryos is related to a defect in calcium mobilization from the shell. While in previous studies a decrease in hatchability was the only parameter used to judge D deficiency of the embryos in our present studies, the deficiency is confirmed by demonstrating a deficit in mineral metabolism which is a more specific sign of D deficiency.

24,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D 3↗
PubMed2005

Effects of supplemental vitamin E during the mature period on the reproduction performance of Taiwan Native Chicken cockerels.

One-day-old Taiwan native male chicks were fed with maize-soybean rearing diets without supplemental vitamin E to 23 weeks of age. From 23 to 52 weeks of age, the cockerels (n = 90) were assigned at random to 5 dietary treatments and fed with maize-soybean diets supplemented with 0, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mg/kg of vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate). Pullets (225) of the same age were fed with standard diets throughout. They were artificially inseminated with one dose of 0.04 ml/bird intact and 5-fold diluted pooled semen at 31 to 43 weeks of age and at 49 weeks of age, respectively. The criteria evaluated included: semen quality, fertility and maximum and effective duration of fertility, blood characteristics, body and testes weight. Supplemental vitamin E did not affect cockerels' effective duration of fertility and percentage of fertility. However, when pullets were inseminated with diluted semen, supplementing 160 mg/kg vitamin E increased the maximum duration of fertility at 49 weeks of age. Cockerels receiving 40 to 160mg/kg supplements had higher sperm viability and motility after 39 weeks of age and those fed 80 mg/kg had higher sperm concentration at 39 weeks of age. Cockerels receiving supplements of more than 40 mg/kg vitamin E had higher body weight gain. Plasma cholesterol and testosterone were not affected by supplemental vitamin E. However, plasma luteinising hormone (LH) concentration was lower in cockerels fed 160 mg/kg. Lack of supplemental vitamin E over 39 weeks was associated with lower semen quality but did not reduce the proportion of fertile eggs laid by inseminated hens, perhaps because the insemination dose compensated for low sperm quality. We found that the maximum duration of fertility might be improved by supplementing 160 mg/kg vitamin E at 49 weeks of age.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The effect of age on sperm stock and egg laying in the parasitoid wasp, Dinarmus basalis.

Sperm quantity and quality during storage may be constraints acting on female fecundity and hence fitness. In Hymenoptera, the importance of sperm quality has rarely been considered, despite its central role in reproductive strategies and especially in sex ratio control. In these insects, fertilized eggs develop into females and unfertilized eggs into males. Experiments were conducted on the female wasp, Dinarmus basalis, in the laboratory with and without egg-laying resources (hosts). The first point was to test if sperm age influenced sperm storage by measuring sperm count and viability using a sperm viability test (SYBR14 : propidium iodide). The second point was the influence of prolonged storage in the female genital tract on the quantity, sex ratio and fitness of offspring produced. Results show that sperm viability in the spermatheca does not change significantly with maternal age, and that the sperm stock is not affected when females are deprived of hosts. Egg-laying is gradually restored after 21 days of host deprivation but remains at a low level after 115 days. The fitness of mated D. basalis females is therefore not constrained by sperm quantity or quality and seems to depend on host availability and female age.

Aging↗
PubMed2006

[Egg cluster pattern of two coexisting melitaeine butterfly species and oviposition site selection of their adult females].

In this study, the oviposition sites of Euphydryas aurinia and Meiltaea phoebe adult females in the same habitat network were investigated, aimed to identify the factors affecting the patch quality. The results showed that the egg-laying females of both melitaeine butterfly species preferred to oviposit in the open areas with large-sized host plants and surrounded by short vegetations, especially on warm and sunny slopes. For E. aurinia, most of its egg clusters were concentrated within the area less than 3 m to the edge of cropland, and the average distance from each egg cluster to the edge of nearest cropland was 3.55 +/- 0.33 m (n = 246); but for M. phoebe, a few of its egg clusters distributed in the area less than 3 m to the edge, and the average distance was 7.43 +/- 1.53 m (n = 25). It was suggested that the criteria to evaluate the patch quality and the conservation strategies for the two butterfly species should be different, due to their special habitat requirements of ovipositing females.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Changes in sperm quality and lipid composition during cryopreservation of boar semen.

Egg yolks are commonly used in diluents in order to improve the freezability of semen. Two aspects of the role of lipids in boar semen freezability are reported in this article. The first one concerns the eventual exchanges of lipid components between the spermatozoa and the yolk-based diluent during cryopreservation. Two types of yolk have been considered as ingredients in diluents for cryopreservation: yolks with a standard fatty acid composition and yolks enriched in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The relation between lipid exchanges and the quality of fresh semen is considered. The other aspect concerns the possibility to enhance the freezability of boar spermatozoa by altering the plasma membranes under the influence of dietary fatty acids. Spermatozoa were damaged significantly by the cryopreservation cycle in all experiments. Spermatozoa with the best fresh quality had accumulated the largest quantity of lipids upon thawing. A general decrease in the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids was observed after thawing. The yolks enriched in n-3 fatty acids failed to improve the quality of sperm following cryopreservation. The proportion of DHA was significantly higher in spermatozoan phospholipids from thawed cells that had been in contact with n-3 yolks. A significant reduction in cholesterol was observed in spermatozoa after the cryopreservation cycle, which correlated with an increased number of acrosome-reacted cells and changes in the parameters of motility. The addition of 3% fish oil to the daily boar ration significantly increased the content of DHA (from 33 to 45% of the total fatty acids) in the spermatozoa. Ejaculate concentrations were significantly increased in the experimental group. DHA-enriched semen did not show improved freezability, at least not as assessed by in vitro parameters.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

The effect of diet and reproductive maturity on the growth and reproduction of Helisoma anceps (Pulmonata) infected by Halipegus occidualis (Trematoda).

Inhibition of snail reproductive activity by larval trematodes often results in increased growth of the snail, termed gigantism, during which the snail is hypothesized to allocate excess energy normally used for reproduction to somatic growth. Using the planorbid snail Helisoma anceps and the hemiurid trematode Halipegus occidualis, this hypothesis was examined by raising snails on low and high quality diets under 3 infection conditions: uninfected (UNI) and infected prior to (IPR) and after (IAR) reproductive maturity. Snails exhibited gigantism as an increase in wet mass only in the IPR condition on a high quality diet; snails in the IAR condition were not significantly different in size from UNI controls. Throughout the experiment, snails raised on a high quality diet were larger than those on the low quality diet, regardless of infection status, primarily because of increased growth rates prior to the onset of reproduction. Egg production by UNI snails on the high quality diet was 20 times higher than snails on the low diet, even though diet quality only differed by a factor of 4, and infected snails (both IPR and IAR) showed significantly reduced reproductive activity compared to UNI controls. The number of cercariae shed by each snail on a daily basis was not significantly different between IPR and IAR conditions when each diet quality was examined separately; more cercariae were produced by snails raised on the high quality diet. The prevalence of infection at the end of the experiment was lowest among snails raised on the low quality diet, suggesting the diet, i.e., energy intake, influences the loss of infections. Snail mortality did not differ among the various treatment conditions. These data suggest that gigantism is dependent upon snail reproductive maturity at the time of infection and food quality, and comparison to growth rates and fecundity data from previous field studies indicates that H. anceps in the field are probably protein deprived. Gigantism does not appear to be adaptive for the snail because survival was not increased, or for the parasite because cercariae production was the same for snails exhibiting gigantism or not. These results also stress the need for caution when examining the fecundity and growth rates of both uninfected and infected snails in the laboratory, especially when comparing these data to other laboratory or field studies.

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed1988

Laboratory experiments on factors affecting oviposition site selection in Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Diptera: Culicidae), with a report on the occurrence of egg cannibalism.

Laboratory experiments tested the effects of water quality and the presence of conspecific and heterospecific immatures on oviposition by Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Doleschall). The females showed a highly significant preference for oak leaf infusion water over distilled water. When twenty starved third and fourth instar Tx.amboinensis larvae were present in the water, substantially fewer eggs were counted from pots containing these conspecifics, than from controls in which no larvae were present. Numbers of eggs from pots containing starved second instar larvae did not differ significantly from controls. Observations of larval behaviour while oviposition was occurring suggested that egg numbers were reduced in containers because of egg cannibalism with third and fourth instar larvae, and not because the larvae caused a deterrent effect. Subsequent experiments confirming the occurrence of substantial egg cannibalism by third and especially fourth instar larvae are described. As with larvae, the presence of Tx.amboinensis pupae in the water had little effect on oviposition. If placed in the water 24 h prior to test, pupae very slightly enhanced its attractiveness, but if introduced immediately before test there appeared to be a slight deterrent effect. With heterospecific larvae, twenty fourth instar Ae.aegypti larvae introduced into infusion water 24 h before test rendered the water slightly attractive, while water in which Ae.aegypti larvae had been reared for 48 h proved highly repellent.

Aedes↗
PubMed2005

Estimation of wavelet and short-time Fourier transform sonograms of normal and diabetic subjects' electrogastrogram.

Electrogastrography (EGG) is a noninvasive way to record gastric electrical activity of stomach muscle by placing electrodes on the abdominal skin. Our goal was to investigate the frequency of abnormalities of the EGG in real clinical diabetic gastroparesis patients using WT method and to compare performance of STFT and WT methods in the case of time-frequency resolution. The results showed that WT sonograms can be used to classify patients successfully as healthy or sick. And also, due to the fact that the WT method does not suffer from some intrinsic problems that affect the STFT method, one can see that the WT method can help improve the quality of the sonogram of the EGG signals.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Response of laying hens to dietary saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the presence of varying dietary calcium levels.

The response of 33-week-old White Leghorn laying hens to dietary palmitic, oleic, or a 50/50 mixture of oleic and palmitic acids at an 8% inclusion level in the presence of 3, 3.6, or 4.2% dietary calcium was investigated over a 7-week period. There was no significant effect of treatments on egg production and egg weight. Although birds on diets supplemented with oleic acid consumed less feed (P less than .01) than those on diets supplemented with palmitic acid (102 g vs. 114 g), they gained more weight (P less than .01) than birds on diets supplemented with palmitic acid (+105 g vs. -32 g) over the 7-week period. There was no significant effect of the fatty acid treatment on shell quality as estimated by shell deformation. However, increasing the calcium content of the diets reduced feed intake and weight gain (P less than .05) and improved egg shell quality (P less than .05). The fat content of diets supplemented with oleic acid was better utilized than that from diets with an oleic/palmitic mixture, which, in turn, was better utilized than fat from diets supplemented with palmitic acid (P less than .01). Metabolizable energy values of diets followed a trend similar to fat retention and were independent of dietary calcium levels. There were no significant effects of fatty acid supplementation on calcium and magnesium retention, although increasing the calcium content of the diet resulted in a decreased (P less than .01) percentage of calcium retention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Role of veterinarians in modern food hygiene.

Veterinary services and veterinary education and training must keep pace with the constantly changing patterns of agriculture and food processing. Changes in methods of animal production are associated with many problems of food processing and food quality. Veterinary supervision of the animal feed industry and of meat and distribution is essential. Quality testing of meat, milk, and eggs requires the introduction of suitable routine sampling systems, laboratory procedures, and complex evaluation procedures.Food hygiene problems have changed in recent years not only as a result of new methods of animal production, but also because of changes in food processing technology and in the presentation of food to the consumer, increased environmental pollution, increased international trade, and increased tourist travel.Food hygienists must adopt an active and progressive policy and change the scope of food control from a purely negative measure into a positive force working towards improved food quality and the avoidance of losses during production. A modern food hygiene programme should cover all stages of production, processing, and distribution of food and also other ingredients, additives and the water used for production and processing. Veterinarians should also be involved in the registration and licensing of enterprises and this should take into account the premises, the procedures to be used, new techniques in animal husbandry, machines and equipment, etc.In order to facilitate the microbiological analysis of foodstuffs, new mechanized or automated laboratory methods are required, and consideration must be given to adequate sampling techniques.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2004

The relationships among measures of egg albumen height, pH, and whipping volume.

A total of 2123 eggs obtained from Brown Leghorn hens (unselected since 1965, ISA Brown, commercial brown egg layer) and Babcock hens (commercial white egg layer) at 32, 50, and 68 wk of age were used to investigate relationships among measures of albumen quality and a functional property of albumen. The eggs were sampled fresh and after storage for 5 and 10 d. At sampling, eggs were weighed and broken, and albumen height, pH, and volume after whipping for 80 s were measured. Also, yolks were weighed, dried shells were weighed, and albumen weight was determined by difference. Egg weight and the weights of the 3 principal components of the egg all increased with increasing age of the hen, with yolk weights increasing proportionately more. With storage, egg and albumen weights decreased, whereas yolk weight increased. Eggs from Brown Leghorn hens were smallest but had proportionately the largest yolks. Albumen height decreased with time in storage, and albumen pH and whipping volume increased. Differences between lines suggested that selection has changed the proportion of the yolk, albumen, and shell and has increased albumen height. Albumen height and whipping volume were negatively correlated, and differences between lines suggest that selection could have decreased the foaming ability of albumen, a principal reason for including eggs in many processed food products.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Factors affecting oogenesis in the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).

Xenopus laevis, commonly known as the South African Clawed frog, is a hardy adaptable species that is relatively easy to maintain as a laboratory animal. Gametogenesis in wild Xenopus laevis is continuous and under ideal conditions, reproduction can occur year round. This unique aspect of amphibian reproduction offers an advantage over mammalian model systems: the eggs and oocytes collected from laboratory maintained Xenopus laevis provide an abundant and readily obtainable supply of material for cellular and biological research. However, many investigators report that laboratory Xenopus laevis go through periods of unexplained inefficient or complete failure of oocyte production or the production of poor quality oocytes. This results in experimental delays, inability to reproduce data, and ultimately the use of more animals. There is a lack of evidenced based information regarding the housing conditions that are necessary to optimize the health and fecundity of this species in captivity, but studies of wild Xenopus laevis have shown that temperature, age of the female, and nutrition are of key importance. The objective of this report is to review oogenesis with a special emphasis on these factors as they pertain to laboratory Xenopus laevis maintained for the purpose of providing a steady supply of eggs and oocytes. Harvesting methods and other experimental techniques that affect the quality of eggs and oocytes are also discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

The protein efficiency ratios of 30:70 mixtures of animal:vegetable protein are similar or higher than those of the animal foods alone.

Animal foods in general are considered to be foods with high protein qualities, although their qualities are not always similar because of differences in essential amino acids. The purpose of this study was to compare the protein quality of different animal foods and of their mixtures with vegetable foods, mainly cereals, at the 30:70 animal:vegetable protein proportion with experiments performed under the same conditions. The animal foods were eggs, beef, pork, barbecued lamb, chicken, ham, sausage and milk powder. The vegetable foods used in the mixtures were rice, lime-treated corn flour, wheat flour and cooked black beans. The protein concentrations in the raw and cooked materials were analyzed. The protein efficiency ratios (PER) and digestibilities were determined in Fisher 344 weanling rats. Based on the corrected PER, the foods with the best protein quality were egg (3.24), sirloin beef (3.16), lamb (3.11) and chicken breast (3.07), which were significantly different (P < 0.05) from milk powder (2.88) and beef liver and beef round (2.81 and 2.70, respectively). The ham (2.63) and the pork loin (2.57) had a similar protein quality to that of casein (2.50). The lowest protein quality was found in sausages (2.14). In most of the mixtures of animal and vegetable protein (30:70), the PER was similar to or higher than that of the animal food alone. Beans were the vegetable food that showed the lowest response to the addition of animal food. The conclusion of the study is that some 30:70 mixtures of animal:vegetable protein, such as chicken, beef round and pork with cereals could be utilized for regular meals because of their high PER and low cost.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

New approach of testing the effect of heat stress on eggshell quality: mechanical and material properties of eggshell and membrane.

1. The effect of high temperature on eggshell quality was investigated by measuring the mechanical and material properties of shell and membranes. 2. Heat exposure resulted in a decrease in zootechnical performance and eggshell thickness, increase in egg breakage, and unchanged egg shape index. 3. The static stiffness (Kstat), dynamic stiffness (Kdyn) and modulus of elasticity of the eggshell were not significantly affected by high temperature. Membrane prolongation increased significantly while membrane attachment strength and breakage strength tended to decrease and increase, respectively. The relationships between these variables were changed by high temperature. 4. Neither Kstat nor Kdyn could give a reasonable explanation for the changed eggshell quality induced by heat stress. The decreased eggshell thickness and changed properties of shell membrane may be responsible, at least partially, for the decreased shell quality of eggs from heat-stressed hens.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Further investigations on the effect of dietary manipulation of protein, phosphorus, and calcium for reducing their daily requirement for laying hens.

Experiments were conducted to determine the possibility of reducing the daily requirement of laying hens for Ca, available P (AP), and protein by providing the hens with adequate levels of these nutrients only during those hours of the day that the physiological need for these nutrients for formation of various components of the eggs are increasing. The results of the Ca experiment indicated that the daily Ca requirement cannot be reduced by providing the hens with adequate levels of Ca during the afternoon (1500 to 2100 h) and inadequate Ca level during the morning (0500 to 1500 h). Providing the hens with most of the daily Ca need during the afternoon did not have a beneficial effect on shell quality as compared to the control group that received a diet with 3.5% Ca during the morning and the afternoon. On the other hand, inadequate Ca intake during the afternoon adversely affected shell quality as compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The AP experiment indicated that egg production performance and shell quality can be maintained satisfactorily as long as the daily intake of AP is adequate, regardless of whether most of the AP is consumed during the morning or the afternoon. Egg production and shell quality of hens fed a diet with 0.4% AP during the morning and 0.1% AP during the afternoon or 0.1% AP during the morning and 0.4% AP during the afternoon were not different than the control group that received a diet with 0.25% AP during the morning and the afternoon. The results of two protein experiments failed to indicate that egg production performance of laying hens can be maintained satisfactorily by providing them with an adequate level of protein (16%) only during the morning and inadequate level of protein (10%) during the afternoon or, conversely, compared to the control group that received a diet with 16% protein both during the morning and afternoon (P < 0.05). The supply of adequate protein with sufficient amino acids, during the morning and the afternoon, was required for satisfactory maintaining egg production performance. Under the conditions selected for the conduct of this study, the results of the current experiments, combined with those of a previous report, failed to support the hypothesis that satisfactory performance may be maintained by providing the hens with adequate levels of protein, AP, and Ca only during those hours of the day when the physiological need for these nutrients for formation of various components of the egg are increasing.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1998

Why is meiosis arrested?

In mammals and birds, females are born with all the oocytes required for future ovulations. These oocytes are not haploid: they are arrested at the Prophase I of meiosis when they have two sister chromatids of each chromosome (i.e. the eggs are at the 4C stage). Under the assumption that the low number of ovulated eggs in these species have been selected to be of high quality, I propose three explanations for these two observations: (I) producing the eggs before birth may decrease the variance in mutations and genetic damage, thereby reducing risk; (II) arresting the oocytes at a 4C stage may allow sister-strand recombination to repair genetic damage; (III) arresting the oocytes at the 4C stage may mitigate intergametic conflict, hence potential selection of the oocytes for ovulation will not involve conflict. Predictions from the Mutational, Repair, and Conflict Hypotheses are critically evaluated in the light of unpublished data, evolutionary theory, and computer simulations.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Inactivation of bovine herpesvirus 1 in semen using a hyperimmune egg yolk semen extender.

Hyperimmune egg yolk semen extender was used for the inactivation of bovine herpesvirus (BHV-1) in experimentally infected bovine semen. As much as 5 x 10(4) TCID50/ml of virus was inactivated in semen as assayed by tissue culture. Moreover the hyperimmune egg yolk semen extender did not produce any adverse effect on the quality of the semen after being frozen/thawed in comparison with normal egg yolk semen extender (P > 0.05). The hyperimmune egg yolk semen extender is considered an important tool for containing the spread of BHV-1 from infected semen.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Probability of an egg cracking during packing can be predicted using a simple non-destructive acoustic test.

1. The aim of this investigation was to test the predictive power of the dynamic stiffness measurement to identify eggs which are most likely to crack under field conditions. 2. A representative sample of eggs (n = 1660) was collected from the front of the cages in a commercial battery unit. Egg weight, % damping and dynamic stiffness (Kdyn) were recorded using an acoustic crack detection device. Intact eggs were marked and replaced in the front of the cages. These eggs were subsequently passed through online collection, grading and packing machinery, along with a volume of unmarked eggs. At the end of packing the acoustic test was repeated on the marked eggs, and these were subsequently categorised as being either intact (0) or cracked (1). 3. A logistic regression of the probability of cracking vs Kdyn revealed that as the Kdyn measurement decreases below 15,000 N/m there is a rapid increase in the probability that an egg will crack during routine handling. 4. Additional variables (visit, egg weight,% damping and position in the house (battery [1 to 7], side [1, 2] and tier [1 to 8]) were also fitted to the model but only egg weight, visit and tier effects significantly improved the model fit. 5. This study confirms that the dynamic stiffness measurement can predict the probability of an egg cracking in the field and with high precision. As this measurement also has a high heritability, it could be incorporated into breeding programmes, where it would offer an excellent method to improve eggshell quality and reduce the incidence of cracked eggs.

Acoustics↗