• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2007

The chicken liver has been involved in various biological functions including detoxification, glycogen storage and plasma protein synthesis. The aim of this study was to investigate differentially expressed genes in chicken liver in four different growing stages. Using 10 arbitrary Annealing Control Primers (ACPs), five differentially expressed genes have been identified. Based on the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) search results, three of them were matched with previously known genes, and the other two were matched with unknown EST sequence and a hypothetical protein, respectively. In order to confirm the expression results, quantitative real-time PCR was also performed. The high similarities between the expression data using arbitrary ACPs and quantitative real-time PCR indicate that the identified genes are the real differentially expressed genes in different growing stages. The genes identified in this study can be used as valuable biomarkers in chicken with further investigation of the functions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.275-281
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• 2004

Socket weldment used to change the flow direction of fluid nay have flaws such as lack of fusion and cracks. Liquid penetrant testing or Radiography testing have been applied as NDT methods for flaw detection of the socket weldment. But it is difficult to detect the flaw inside of the socket weldment with these methods. In order to inspect the flaws inside the socket weldment, a ultrasonic testing method is established and a ultrasonic transducer and automated ultrasonic testing system are developed for the inspection. The automated ultrasonic testing system is based on the portable personal computer and operated by the program based Windows 98 or 2000. The system has a pulser/receiver, 100MHz high speed A/D board, and basic functions of ultrasonic flaw detector using the program. For the automated testing, motion controller board of ISA interface type is developed to control the 4-axis scanner and a real time iC-scan image of the automated testing is displayed on the monitor. A flaws with the size of less than 1mm in depth are evaluated smaller than its actual site in the testing, but the flaws larger than 1mm appear larger than its actual size on the contrary. This tendency is shown to be increasing as the flaw size increases. h reliable and objective testing results are obtained with the developed system, so that it is expected that it can contribute to safety management and detection of repair position of pipe lines of nuclear power plants and chemical plants.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2006

Doxorubicin (DXR) is a type of anti-cancer drug called an 'anthracycline glycoside', It works by impairing DNA synthesis, a crucial feature of cell division, and thus is able to target rapidly dividing cells. Doxorubicin is a very serious anti-cancer medication with definite potential to do great harm as well as great good. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to identify and quantify DXR in small-volume biological samples. After the addition of internal standard (IS, $5{\mu}L\;of\;1{\mu}M/ml$ daunorubicin methanol solution) into the serum sample, the drug and IS were extracted by methanol. Following vortex for a 1min and centrifugation at 15,000g for 10 min the organic phase was transferred and evaporated under a vacuum. The residue was reconstituted with $350{\mu}L$ of mobile phase and $10{\mu}L$ was injected into C18 column with mobile phase composed of 0.05M ammonium acetate (0.1 M acetic acid adjusted to pH 3.5) and acetonitrile (40:60, v/v). The flow rate was kept constant at $350{\mu}L/min$. The ions were quantified in the multiple reaction mode (MRM), using positive ions, on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The lower limits of quantification for Doxorubicin in plasma and small tissues were approximately 0.5 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL respectively. Intra- and inter-assay accuracy (% of nominal concentration) and precision (% CV) for all analytes were within 15%, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.37-49
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• 2015

During pregnancy, the maternal body undergoes significant physiological changes. The present study assessed the changes on calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and potassium (K) metabolism in singleton and twin-pregnant dairy goats. The 42 goats used ($49.5kg{\pm}7.6$ body weight [BW]) were assigned at random to treatments that were factorially arranged to account for 2 breeds (Oberhasli and Saanen), 2 pregnancy types (singleton and twin) and 3 gestation periods (80, 110, and 140 days). Digestibility trials were performed at 80, 110, and 140 days of gestation. Mineral retention during pregnancy was determined in the maternal body, femur, uterus, mammary gland, fetus and fetal fluid. Blood samples were taken during pregnancy before and after a meal, and Ca, P, Mg, Na, K ions and alkaline phosphatase activity determined in serum. Bone mineral density was determined in the right femur. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS MIXED procedure. Dry matter intake decreased linearly up to 140 days of gestation. Maternal BW gain, and Ca, P, and Mg retention (g/kg) decreased linearly with the advance of gestation days. Macromineral retention in maternal body (g/kg) was greater in Oberhasli than Saanen goats, and their fetuses had higher Ca, P, and Mg deposition (mg/g). Mineral retention (mg/g) increased in fetuses according to pregnancy development, with no differences between singleton and twin pregnancy. In the mammary gland, the retention of all minerals (g) increased with the days of pregnancy. In conclusion, related to Ca, P, and Mg metabolism can be divided into two stages. Up to 80 days of gestation, was characterized by the preparation of the maternal body reserves for future mineral demands. From 80 days of gestation onward, was characterized by the transfer of maternal body reserves for fetal development and colostrum production. Na and K supply was provided by adjustments in endogenous excretion and an increase in intestinal absorption. Finally, mineral metabolism was specific to each genotype and, except for Na, was not affected by the number of fetuses.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1138-1143
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• 2001

A total of 96 piglets were weaned at 19 and 13 days in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively, and allotted to one of four diets: three with different spray dried plasmas (SPs) and one with hydrolysed casein (HC). SPs were from pigs (SPP), mixed origin (SMP), and mixed origin with standardized level of immunoglobulins (SMPIG). All the diets contained 1.7% total lysine, 25% of the test protein source, 45% corn starch, 15% lactose, 2% sucrose, 7% soybean oil. At d 4 and d 2 in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively, piglets were perorally challenged with $10^{10}$ CFU E. coli K88. Growth performance, immunity, and health condition were measured for 15 days and 14 days in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. To investigate apparent ileal digestibility and nutrient deposition, all piglets were sacrificed at d 14 in Exp. 2. In 1. 3 piglets died in HC diet and 1 in SPP diet. HC diet showed higher mortality (p<0.01) than other diets. In Exp. 2, no clinical sign of infection was detected, no difference for the content of E. coli K88 was found in feces at 4 and 6 days after the infection, and no E. coli K88 was found in the jejunum at the end of experiment. In both experiments, feed intake was lower for HC diet and ADG was 96, 106, 122 and 155 for HC, SPP, SMP and SMPIG diet, respectively (HC vs others, p<0.05; SMPIG vs other SP, p<0.01). Heal apparent digestibility of nitrogen in sacrificed piglets was higher for HC diet (p<0.05). After the challenge, K88-specific titers in saliva (Exp. 1) and in plasma (Exp. 2) were reduced in SMP and SMPIG. The piglets positive to the adhesion of the used E. coli strain to the intestinal brush borders had a significantly reduced growth (p<0.01) and a higher K88-specific IgA titer in plasma, in comparison with negative ones. This effect was independent of the diet. The data show the relevance of spray dried plasma sources and particularly of SP with standardized level of immunoglobulins for the feeding of early-weaned at the risk of infection by enterotoxigenic bacteria.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.873-882
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• 2008

Eight ileally cannulated pigs (BW $35.9{\pm}0.9kg$) were randomly allotted according to a $4{\times}3$ Latin square design to determine the effects of cellulose, pectin and starch on standardized ileal digestibility (SID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) as well as on the bacterial AA contribution in feces. The pigs were fed the control diet (20.2% CP, % dry matter (DM)) or one of the three experimental diets in which 25% of the control diet was substituted by cellulose, starch or pectin. Due to this substitution, dietary CP levels were lower in the cellulose (15.5% CP, % DM), pectin (15.4% CP, % DM) and starch diet (15.2% CP, % DM). Following a 15-d adaptation period, feces were collected for 5 d and ileal digesta for a total of 24 h. Starch increased SID of CP, while cellulose and pectin had no significant effect on the digestibility of CP. Overall, starch supplementation resulted in higher (p<0.05) SID values of histidine, isoleucine, threonine, alanine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glycine and serine compared with cellulose, while pectin decreased (p<0.05) SID of valine and proline compared with the starch and control diet. Both cellulose and pectin reduced (p<0.05) the ATTD of CP and AA, while starch decreased (p<0.05) ATTD of phenylalanine, alanine, proline and serine compared with the control. With regard to bacterial AA composition of the fecal mixed bacterial mass (MBM), cellulose supplementation increased (p<0.05) its content of N and almost all AA, except for valine, while pectin caused higher contents of arginine, histidine and proline compared with the control (p<0.05). The bacterial contribution of arginine in feces was higher (p<0.05) in the cellulose treatment, while pectin reduced (p<0.05) the bacterial contribution of leucine, alanine, glutamic acid and proline in feces compared with the control. In conclusion, the effects of cellulose, starch and pectin on SID were rather small. Bacterial activity in the large intestine can only explain the reduced ATTD values for arginine in the cellulose treatment, but not for the other AA in the cellulose and pectin treatments, suggesting higher endogenous losses of these AA in the large intestine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1712-1720
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• 2014

Little is known about the gender differences in energetic requirements of goats in early life. In this study, we determined the energy requirements for maintenance and gain in intact male, castrated male and female Saanen goat kids using the comparative slaughter technique and provide new data on their body composition and energy efficiency. To determine the energy requirements for maintenance, we studied 21 intact males, 15 castrated males and 18 females ($5.0{\pm}0.1kg$ initial body weight (BW) and $23{\pm}5d$ of age) using a split-plot design with the following main factors: three genders (intact males, castrated males, and females) and three dry matter intake levels (ad libitum, 75% and 50% of ad libitum intake). A slaughter group included three kids, one for each nutritional plane, of each gender, and all three animals within a group were slaughtered when the ad libitum kid reached 15 kg in BW. Net energy requirements for gain were obtained for 17 intact males, eight castrated males and 15 females ($5.1{\pm}0.4kg$ BW and $23{\pm}13d$ of age). Animals were fed ad libitum and slaughtered when they reached 5, 10, and 15 kg in BW. A digestion trial was performed with nine kids of each gender to determine digestible energy, metabolizable energy and energy metabolizability of the diet. Our results show no effect of gender on the energy requirements for maintenance and gain, and overall net energy for maintenance was $205.6kJ/kg^{0.75}$ empty body weight gain (EBW) ($170.3kJ/kg^{0.75}$ BW) from 5 to 15 kg BW. Metabolizable energy for maintenance was calculated by iteration, assuming heat production equal to metabolizable energy intake at maintenance, and the result was $294.34kJ/kg^{0.75}$ EBW and $k_m$ of 0.70. As BW increased from 5 to 15 kg for all genders, the net energy required for gain increased from 9.5 to 12.0 kJ/g EBW gain (EWG), and assuming $k_g=0.47$, metabolizable energy for gain ranged from 20.2 to 25.5 kJ/g EWG. Our results indicate that it is not necessary to formulate diets with different energetic content for intact male, castrated male and female Saanen goat kids weighing from 5 to 15 kg.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2093-2097
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• 2016

Background: HCV is a major global health problem. IL-27 is a member of the IL-6/IL-12 cytokine family with a broad range of anti-inflammatory properties. Recent studies highlighted the effect of a SNP in the IL-27 promoter region on modulating the progression of infectious diseases and individual responses to therapy. Aim of the work: The present study investigated the potential role of (-964 A/G) SNP in the promoter region of IL-27p28 gene (alleles rs153109) on the outcome of HCV infection among genotype 4a infected patients. Materials and Methods: HCV genotyping confirmed that all of the HCV-infected patients had genotype 4a infection. Genomic DNA was extracted from 111 patients with chronic HCV infection, 42 spontaneous resolvers (SR) and 16 healthy controls. IL- 27p28.rs153109 genotyping was assessed using PCR-RFLP then confirmed by DNA sequencing. Results: The frequency of IL-27-p28.rs153109AA, AG, and GG genotypes among chronically infected subjects were 74.8 %, 25.2%, and 0% while among the SR, they were 57.1%, 35.7%, and 7.14%, respectively. Our data show the unique presence of G/G genotype in the SR group (3 patients; 7.14%). Moreover, the "G" allele frequencies among chronic and resolved subjects were 12.6% and 25.0%, respectively (p=0.0136). Importantly, subjects with the GG genotype were more likely to clear their HCV infection than those with the AA genotype (p=0.0118). Conclusions: HCV genotype 4a subjects with the IL-27-p28.rs153109 A/G and G/G genotype were more likely to clear their HCV infection. Therefore, we propose IL- 27p28.rs153109SNPas a genetic biomarker for predicting HCV infection outcome.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1016-1025
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• 2009

Two experiments were conducted to determine energy and nutrient digestibility in four sources of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) produced from corn and fed to growing pigs. The objective was to test the hypothesis that energy and nutrient digestibility in DDGS does not vary if samples are procured from ethanol plants that use similar production technologies and use corn that is grown within a narrow geographical area. The four sources of DDGS that were used were procured from ethanol plants that were less than 10 yr old and located within 250 km of each other. In Exp. 1, five growing barrows (initial BW = 71.4 kg) that were fitted with a T-canula in the distal ileum were allotted to a 5${\times}$5 Latin square design and used to measure apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of AA in the four sources of DDGS. Results of this experiment showed that the SID of CP and all AA except Cys and Pro were greater (p<0.05) in two of the DDGS sources than in the other two sources. Exp. 2 was conducted to measure the concentration of DE and ME and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy, N, P, ether extract, NDF, and ADF in corn and in the same four sources of DDGS as used in Exp. 1. Five pigs (initial BW = 29.7 kg) that were placed in metabolism cages and allotted to a 5${\times}$5 Latin square design were used. Results of Exp. 2 showed that the average DE and ME in DDGS were 4,072 and 3,750 kcal/kg DM, respectively, which was less (p<0.01) than the DE and ME in corn (4,181 and 4,103 kcal/kg DM, respectively). The average ATTD for P in DDGS was 56.1%, which was greater (p<0.01) than the ATTD for P in corn (31.9%). The ATTD for ADF in DDGS was also greater (p<0.05) than in corn, but the ATTD for ether extract and NDF were greater (p<0.05) in corn than in DDGS. It is concluded that energy and nutrient digestibility vary among sources of DDGS even when the DDGS is procured from ethanol plants that use corn grown within a narrow geographical region. Thus, factors other than corn growing region are responsible for the variability of energy and nutrient digestibility in DDGS.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.907-915
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• 2014

Alpha-lipoic acid (${\alpha}$-LA) is not only involved in energy metabolism, but is also a powerful antioxidant that can protect against hepatic oxidative stress induced by some drugs, toxins, or under various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Here, we investigated the effect of ${\alpha}$-LA against liver oxidative damage in broilers exposed to aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$). Birds were randomly divided into four groups and assigned different diets: basal diet, 300 mg/kg ${\alpha}$-LA supplementation in basal diet, diet containing 74 ${\mu}g/kg$ $AFB_1$, and 300 mg/kg ${\alpha}$-LA supplementation in diet containing 74 ${\mu}g/kg$ $AFB_1$, for 3 weeks. The results revealed that the addition of 300 mg/kg ${\alpha}$-LA protected against the liver function damage of broilers induced by chronic low dose of $AFB_1$ as estimated by a significant (p<0.05) change in levels of plasma total protein, albumin, alkaline phosphatase and the activities of liver glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase. The histopathological analysis also showed that liver tissues were injured in the $AFB_1$ diet, but this effect was alleviated by the addition of 300 mg/kg ${\alpha}$-LA. Additionally, $AFB_1$ induced a profound elevation of oxidative stress in birds, as indicated by an increase in malondialdehyde level, a decrease in glutathione peroxidase activity and a depletion of the glutathione content in the liver. All of these negative effects were inhibited by treatment with ${\alpha}$-LA. Our results suggest that the inhibition of $AFB_1$-induced excess production of lipid peroxides and the maintenance of intracellular antioxidant status may play important roles in the protective effects of ${\alpha}$-LA against $AFB_1$-induced oxidative damage in the liver.