• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.327-331
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to investigate the interrelationship of weight and hormonal changes through the administration of vitamin A to first time pregnant heifers. A total of 28 Korean heifers was used for this study. The heifers were divided into two groups - with vitamin A (n=14) and without vitamin A (control) (n=14) in the feed. Body weight increased in vitamin A treated heifers starting 9 months until 15 months. After pregnancy, vitamin A treated heifers were found to maintain higher body weights than the control group. Pre-pregnancy and post pregnancy progesterone levels were not different between the two groups. Serum estradiol levels of heifers at different growth stages showed relatively higher E2 levels than the control. Also, the control during pregnancy may show higher serum E2 levels than the vitamin A treated heifers. The growth phase serum estradiol levels in heifers may be relatively higher than the control. During pregnancy it showed a similar trend. Serum levels of vitamin A treated heifers did not differ from pregnant heifers at 5 months of age. However, after 5 months from conception until 8 months of treatment it showed a high level. Serum cholesterol in pregnant cows was higher in the control group than the treatment from beginning until the end of pregnancy. This is considered to be related to fetus development during pregnancy, as well as the mother's health.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.349-354
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• 1996

An Experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary excessive chromium picolinate on growth performance, nutrient utilizability and the content of serum cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, glucose, triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acid in broiler chicks. Experimental diets based on corn-soybean meal were supplemented at 0, 800, 1,600 and 2,400 ppb chromium in the form of chromium picolinate. Each treatment had six replicates of six female chicks each (average initial weight=45.6 g). Experimental period lasted for six weeks. Excessive supplementation of chromium as chromium picolinate had no effect on body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion and nutrient utilizability of broiler chicks. Mortality was improved with a supplementation of chromium (p < 0.05). However, serum glucose decreased as chromium level increased (p < 0.05). Up to 2,400 ppb chromium as chromium picolinate, signs of toxicity were not noticed in this study.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1559-1563
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• 2002

The ovarian follicular fluid was found to contain steroidogenesis stimulatory protein similar to albumin from human and buffalo. Therefore, the albumins from various species, commercial and purified, were studied for their steroidogenic effect on progesterone secretion by granulosa cells from buffalo ovaries, during culture. A dose of $20{\mu}g$ of bovine serum albumin was optimum to exhibit maximum progesterone secretion on day 6 of culture, in medium ($350{\mu}l$) containing $10^5$ cells. Among commercial albumins, chicken albumin showed highest effect on progesterone secretion, which was followed by albumins from goat, bovine, human, sheep and rat, respectively at day 6 of culture. The albumins were also purified from blood serum of buffalo, goat and rat using salt fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration and SDS-PAGE. The highest stimulatory effect on progesterone secretion was shown by albumin purified from buffalo blood serum and lowest by that from rat blood. Comparatively the buffalo and goat albumins were more biologically active than commercial albumins. The presence of some active molecules conjugated with freshly purified albumins may be responsible for better stimulatory effect.

• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.20-20
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• 2003

Phenotypic characteristics and genetic markers in livestock have been utilized for improvement of the economic traits including egg productivity. Korean Native Ogol Chicken (KNOC) has low egg productivity compared to White Leghorn. Therefore, in this study, serum IGF-I concentration and number of egg production were used as selection markers to improve egg productivity. KNOCs were divided into three groups showing high IGF-I concentration (IGF-I high), high egg production (EP high), and IGF-I/EP high groups. Blood was collected every 10 weeks, and serum concentrations of IGF-I, estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P4) were measured by radioimmunoassay. In comparison of three groups in each generation, the highest increment of egg production was detected in the IGF-I/EP high group from 20 weeks till 40 weeks, and the IGF-I high group also showed the significant increment of egg production after 50 weeks. Interestingly, there were the increase of egg production and decrease of periods in sexual maturity in the second and third generation selected by serum IGF-I concentration, while egg weight and body weight decreased during experimental period. In conclusion, the present study suggest the possibility of IGF-I as a selection marker to improve the egg productivity of KNOC.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2021

The fertility of dairy cows has been declining worldwide. The number of services per conception has increased, and repeat breeder (RB) cows are considered important in the dairy industry. However, there has been little research on RB cows in Korea. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum biochemical profiles and RB Holstein cattle in Korea and compare the results with those of studies conducted abroad. In addition, we investigated hidden factors that are needed for RB cattle to become pregnant. Overall, 34 Korean Holstein Friesian cows were divided into three groups: pregnant with normal cycling (PNC), pregnant with repeat breeder (PRB), and non-pregnant with repeat breeder (NRB). Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein, and serum parameters (ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, LD, CK, TP, ALB, GLOB, TBIL, BUN, CRE, GLU, TC, TG, NEFA, CA, MG, and IP) were analyzed. GGT levels were significantly different among groups (P=0.01). The concentration of GGT was the highest in the NRB and the lowest in the PNC. In contrast to the findings of other studies, there were no differences in GLU, TP, TC, and BUN levels. This study is the first to investigate serum biochemistry in RB cattle and provides results that differ from those of previous studies; these findings would help establish a novel approach to improve fertility of RB cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.558-564
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• 2003

A $3{\times}3$ (Fe$\times$VA) experiment with repeats was designed to study the interaction between iron and vitamin A in broilers. 504 broilers were divided into 9 groups (50% males, 50% femals), each group with 4 repeats. Iron supplemental amount was 0, 30 and 60 mg/kg; Vitamin A supplemental amount was 750, 1,500 and 2,700 IU/kg. Iron concentration in liver, serum, tibia and duodenum and vitamin A concentration in liver and serum were measured, and erythrocyte count was also observed. Results showed with the increase of dietary supplemental iron levels, vitamin A concentration in liver significantly decreased lineally (p<0.05) (0.861, 0.671, 0.639 mg/100 g at the end of 4th week; 0.900, 0.765, 0.739 mg/100 g at the end of 7th week), and vitamin A concentration in serum significantly increased lineally (p<0.05) (82.725, 97.842, $109.475{\mu}g/100mL$ at the end of 4th week; 62.288, 91.900, $95.117{\mu}g/100mL$ at the end of 7th week), meaning iron could promote the mobilization of vitamin A from liver to serum. With the increase of dietary supplemental vitamin A levels, liver iron concentration decreased and serum iron concentration increased, vitamin A could promote the mobilization of iron from liver to blood. Iron concentration in Duodenum and tibia and erythrocyte count increased significantly with higher dietary vitamin A supplementation (p<0.01), vitamin A could promote iron absorption, iron mobilization from liver to target tissues and erythropoiesis. Effects of the interaction between iron and vitamin A on vitamin A concentrations in liver and serum, iron concentration in tibia and erythrocyte count were significant (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1577-1582
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• 2013

The effects of dietary supplementation of selenium (Se), iodine (I), and a combination of both on the blood haematology, serum free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) hormones and glutathione peroxidase enzyme (GSH-Px) activity were examined on twenty four (7 to 8 months old, $22{\pm}1.17$ kg live weight) Kacang crossbred male goats. Animals were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments (6 animals in each group). Throughout 100 d of feeding trial, the animals of control group (CON) received a basal diet, while the other three groups were offered basal diet supplemented with 0.6 mg/kg diet DM Se (SS), or 0.6 mg/kg diet DM I (PI), or a combination of both Se and I, each at 0.6 mg/kg diet DM (SSPI). The haematological attributes which are haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), mean cell volume (MCV), white blood cells (WBC), band neutrophils (B Neut), segmented neutrophils (S Neut), lymphocytes (Lymph), monocytes (Mono), eosinophils (Eosin) and basophils (Baso) were similar among the four treatment groups, while serum levels of Se and I increased significantly (p<0.05) in the supplemented groups. The combined dietary supplementation of Se and I (SSPI) significantly increased serum FT3 in the supplemented animals. Serum GSH-Px activity increased significantly in the animals of SS and SSPI groups. It is concluded that the dietary supplementation of inorganic Se and I at a level of 0.6 mg/kg DM increased serum Se and I concentration, FT3 hormone and GSH-Px activity of Kacang crossbred male goats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1469-1474
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• 2019

Objective: Physical activity restriction in sows may lead to behavioral abnormalities and affective disorders. However, the psychophysiological state of these sows is still unclear. As miRNAs can be used as effective markers of psychopathy, the present study aimed to assess the difference in microRNA expression between the long-term activity restricted sows and activity free sows, thus contributing to the understanding of abnormal sow behavior. Methods: Four dry sows (sixth parity, Large${\times}$White genetic line) were selected from activity restricted crates (RC) or activity free pens (FP) separately. microRNAs in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) and serum were examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the correlation between the miRNAs expressed in the vMPFC and serum was evaluated. Results: miR-134 (1.11 vs 0.84) and miR-1202 (1.09 vs 0.85) levels were higher in the vMPFC of the RC sows than in the FP sows (p<0.01). Furthermore, miR-132 (1.27 vs 1.08) and miR-335 (1.03 vs 0.84) levels were also higher in the RC sows than in FP sows (p<0.05); however, miR-135a, miR-135b, miR-16, and miR-124 levels were not different (p>0.05). The relative expression of serum miR-1202 was higher in the RC sows than in the FP sows (1.04 vs 0.54) (p<0.05), and there was a strong correlation (R = 0.757, p<0.05) between vMPFC and Serum levels of miR-1202. However, no significant difference was observed in miR-16 levels in the serum of the RC sows and FP sows (p>0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates that long-term activity restriction in sows likely results in autism or other complex psychopathies with depression-like behaviors. These observations may provide new insights for future studies on abnormal behavior in sows and contribute to research on human psychopathy.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of age and diet forms on growth-development patterns, serum metabolism indicators, and parameters of body fat deposition in Cherry Valley ducks. Methods: According to the hatching age and initial weight, a total of 150 1-day-old male SM3 Cherry Valley ducks were randomly assigned to two diet forms (pellet vs powder form). Each treatment had with 5 replicates per treatment and 15 meat ducks per replicate. The study lasted 42 d, which was divided into two periods (1 to 21 vs 22 to 42 d). Results: Our results showed that compared with powder group, ducks in pellet group had greater growth performance during different period (p<0.05). The inflection point was 24 d and was not numerically affected by diet forms. Increasing age (42 vs 21 d) significantly increased the weight of body fat and hepatic fat metabolism related enzyme activities in ducks (p<0.05), meanwhile, increasing age (42 vs 21 d) improved serum metabolism indicators and decreased mRNA expression levels of fat metabolism-related genes in liver (p<0.05). Ducks fed different diets (pellet vs powder form) increased growth performance as well as the weight of body fat and improved serum metabolism indicators (p<0.05). In addition, interactions were found between age and diet forms on the levels of serum metabolism indicators in ducks (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, powder feed reduced growth performance of ducks, and the day of inflection point was 24 days old. Ducks with higher age or fed with pellet diet showed higher fat deposition. The effect of age and feed forms on body fat deposition might result from changes in the contents of serum metabolism indicators, key enzyme activity of lipid production, and hepatic gene expressions.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.315-318
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• 2013

This study was conducted to investigate the changes of hormone levels of serum progesterone (P4) and estradiol-$17{\beta}$ (E2) in sows of Landrace (L), Yorkshire (Y) and F1 (L ${\times}$ Y) (respectively n=3) with excellent ability, and to provide a baseline data for improving reproductive performance. In this experiment, the sows at the age of 12 months or more were used. The sows were fed by two way methods, one is conventional methods and the other is 3 days-flushing feed before estrus. Each pig's blood was collected in 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 days after the estrus for the analyses of P4 and E2. Serum was separated by centrifugation for 15 min. with 3,000 rpm. Progesterone and estradiol-$17{\beta}$ were measured by immunochemical assay (ELIZA test). In conventional feeding, serum progesterone levels were significantly (p<0.01) higher in F1 than in L and Y. No significant differences in P4 concentrations were seen between the L and Y of sows. Serum E2 levels were similar the serum progesterone levels. In the case of flushing feed, the tendency of hormonal changes were similar to conventional methods. But almost of hormonal levels were a little higher than that of conventional methods. P4 level of L and Y in flushing feed were significantly different (p<0.01). Serum E2 level of Y in flushing feed was significantly different among the breeds (p<0.01). These results were similar to the tendency of hormonal changes in general sows and moreover, flushing feed is known to develop the swine production, these results proved the fact of the methods. And these results suggested that more studies about hormonal changes in sows according to seasonal and nutritional factors should be needed.