• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.818-827
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• 2016

This study hypothesized that dietary feed additive containing probiotics alter either immune-related serum substances or serum metabolites in Hanwoo heifers. A probiotic treatment was given at 0.5% top-dressing of concentrate diet for 6 months. The change of immunological indicators in the blood was analyzed under LPS (Lipopolysaccharide) challenge. One day before administration of LPS, all heifers were fitted with an indwelling jugular vein catheter for serial blood collections. Both a serum tube and an EDTA-coated tube were collected at 30-min intervals from - 2 to 8 hours relative to the LPS challenge at time 0 ($1{\mu}g/kg$ of BW). Serum was used for analyzing albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), total protein (TP), triglycerides (TG), phosphorus (IP), and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). Plasma was used for analyzing white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), platelet (PLT) and inflammation-related factors (NE, LY, MO, EO, BA, Hb, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, MPV). There were significant differences in ALB, GLU, TG, IP, and NEFA concentration with the passage of hours post challenge (p < 0.05). The level of ALB, GLU, TG, and IP showed significant difference (p < 0.05) between treatments. However, none of the data showed interaction between time and treatments (p > 0.05). The level of WBC, EO, LY, and MO were reduced after LPS challenge (p > 0.05). In conclusion, LPS challenge after dietary supplementation of probiotics changed the levels of both serum metabolites and inflammation-related factors. The increase of GLU and TG indicated a probiotics-positive response under LPS challenge (p < 0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.601-605
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• 1993

This study was purposed to investigate the efficiency of protein utilization of rapeseed meal (RSM) and formaldehyde-treated RSM (TRSM) by sheep, and their influence on performance of growing heifers. Experiment 1 was conducted according to a double $3{\times}3$ Latin square design involving sex yearling Hu Sheep and three experimental diets. All diets contained 600 g ammoniated rice straw and 200 g concentrate mixture. Three dietary treatments were: (1) 100 g RSM + 40 g soybean meal (URUS), (2) 100 g TRSM + 40 g soybean meal (TRUS) and (3) 100 g TRSM + 40 g treated soybean meal (TRTS). Apparent nitrogen digestibility was significantly higher for diet TRUS than that for URUS or TRTS (p<0.05), but with no significant difference between URUS and TRTS (p>0.05). Proportion of nitrogen retention (NR) to the digestible nitrogen intake for diet TRUS and TRTS was 25.57 (p<0.05) and 23.44% (p<0.05) higher than that for URUS respectively. As a result, proportion of NR to nitrogen intake for diet TRUS and TRTS was 34.74 (p<0.05) and 23.78% (p<0.05) higher than that for URUS respectively. Experiment 2 was conducted with 59 Holstein heifers. They were 12-20 months of age at the start of the trial. The experiment was a $2{\times}2$ factorial trial in which the heifers were given the ammoniated rice straw ad libitum and 1.5 kg hay, and supplemented with either RSM or TRSM at a daily allowance of 1.2 or 1.8 kg per day. The live weight gains for heifers receiving 1.2 and 1.8 kg/d of RSM or TRSM were 0.491 and 0.556 or 0.564 and 0.665 kg/d, respectively. The results suggest that formaldehyde treatment can effectively improve the efficiency of protein utilization of rapessed meal and cattle's performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.314-319
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• 2005

To compare two different schemes, continuous scheme (CS) and discontinuous scheme (DCS), of once-weekly ovum pick up (OPU) with ultrasound-guided follicular puncture technique, Holstein heifers were randomly divided into two groups of five. After characterization of their two normal estrous cycles, the heifers were subjected to consecutive 20 weeks of once-weekly OPU under two schemes: the CS (one week interval between continuous OPU, total 100 OPU sessions performed) and the DCS (OPU fixed to the day 3 and day 10 of each estrus). Then, the status of ovaries and artificial insemination results were observed. On oocyte yield, the total number of punctured follicles using DCS was lower than that using CS, but the mean numbers of punctured follicles and recovered oocytes per session were higher in DCS than CS group. So the total number of recovered oocytes was similar in both groups. There were also no differences in the quality of recovered oocytes, nor in the developmental ability of oocytes fertilized in vitro between groups. The heifers in the DCS group showed regular estrous cycles with stable estrous signs through the periods of before, during, and after OPU, while those in CS group showed longer estrous cycles and less estrous signs during and/or after OPU compared with before period. Furthermore, the mean number of inseminations required for obtaining pregnancy after completion of the experiments was lower in DCS than CS group. The research demonstrates that similar quantity and quality oocytes can be achieved, and the side effects on donors are lower in DCS that needs fewer OPUs than CS group, and DCS is superior to CS.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.897-900
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• 2000

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of GnRH administration at induced estrus on pituitary and ovarian response in buffalo heifers. Eight Murrah river buffaloes of 12 to 13 months of age were treated with $PGF_{{2}{\alpha}}$ and eCG combination. GnRH (Fertagyl) 200 ug was injected (iv) at estrus in four heifers (treated group) while saline (2 ml, iv) was injected in remaining four heifers (control group). Blood was collected through jugular catheter to estimate plasma FSH, LH and estradiol level. The pretreatment plasma FSH, LH and estradiol values ranged from $8.46{\pm}1.97ng/ml$ to $12.31{\pm}1.30ng/ml$, $0.87{\pm}0.21ng/ml$ to $1.19{\pm}0.29ng/ml$ and $19.09{\pm}2.38pg/ml$ to $20.24{\pm}1.00pg/ml$ respectively. The plasma estradiol concentration elevated significantly (p<0.05) within 24 hr after eCG administration and reached its peak levels of $154.09{\pm}17.28pg/ml$ and $181.95{\pm}31.82pg/ml$ at estrus in respectively treatment and control groups. The plasma FSH and LH concentrations did not increase during follicular development after eCG administration while initial significant (p<0.05) increases in both plasma FSH and LH concentrations occured within 5 and 10 min, reaching peak levels of respectively $110.06{\pm}23.56ng/ml$ and $13.15{\pm}3.13ng/ml$ within 90 min after GnRH injection was detected. A sharp and significant decline in plasma estradiol concentration ($59.27{\pm}8.78pg/ml$) associated with synchronized ovulation within 24 hours after GnRH injection was recorded. The observation suggest that the hypophysis of prepubertal buffaloes treated with eCG have gonadotrophins awaiting the releasing factor to evoke release of gonadotrophin during the follicular phase to induce synchronized ovulation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1700-1713
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the usefulness of artificial neural networks (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), naïve Bayes classifier (NBC), general discriminant analysis (GDA), and logistic regression (LR) for dystocia detection in Polish Holstein-Friesian Black-and-White heifers and cows and to indicate the most influential predictors of calving difficulty. Methods: A total of 1,342 and 1,699 calving records including six categorical and four continuous predictors were used. Calving category (difficult vs easy or difficult, moderate and easy) was the dependent variable. Results: The maximum sensitivity, specificity and accuracy achieved for heifers on the independent test set were 0.855 (for ANN), 0.969 (for NBC), and 0.813 (for GDA), respectively, whereas the values for cows were 0.600 (for ANN), 1.000 and 0.965 (for NBC, GDA, and LR), respectively. With the three categories of calving difficulty, the maximum overall accuracy for heifers and cows was 0.589 (for MARS) and 0.649 (for ANN), respectively. The most influential predictors for heifers were an average calving difficulty score for the dam's sire, calving age and the mean yield of the farm, where the heifer was kept, whereas for cows, these additionally included: calf sex, the difficulty of the preceding calving, and the mean daily milk yield for the preceding lactation. Conclusion: The potential application of the investigated models in dairy cattle farming requires, however, their further improvement in order to reduce the rate of dystocia misdiagnosis and to increase detection reliability.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1738-1746
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• 2018

Objective: The aim of the experiment was to assess the effect of increasing amounts of Leucaena leucocephala forage on dry matter intake (DMI), organic matter intake (OMI), enteric methane production, rumen fermentation pattern and protozoa population in cattle fed Pennisetum purpureum and housed in respiration chambers. Methods: Five crossbred heifers (Bos taurus${\times}$Bos indicus) (BW: $295{\pm}6kg$) were fed chopped P. purpureum grass and increasing levels of L. leucocephala (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of dry matter [DM]) in a $5{\times}5$ Latin square design. Results: The voluntary intake and methane production were measured for 23 h per day in respiration chambers; molar proportions of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were determined at 6 h postprandial period. Molar concentration of VFAs in rumen liquor were similar (p>0.05) between treatments. However, methane production decreased linearly (p<0.005), recording a maximum reduction of up to ~61% with 80% of DM incorporation of L. leucocephala in the ration and no changes (p>0.05) in rumen protozoa population were found. Conclusion: Inclusion of 80% of L. leucocephala in the diet of heifers fed low-quality tropical forages has the capacity to reduce up to 61.3% enteric methane emission without affecting DMI, OMI, and protozoa population in rumen liquor.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.232-237
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• 2015

The present study investigated the effects of Lysophospholipid (LPLs, LIPIDOL$^{TM}$) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of Hanwoo heifers. A feeding trial was performed for 120 days until slaughter using a herd of 24 Hanwoo heifers. Eight heifers were assigned to each of 3 experimental groups (control, 0.3% LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ and 0.5% LIPIDOL$^{TM}$). Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics were investigated. Significantly improved nutrient digestibility was found in the LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ treatment group compared to the control (p<0.05). No significant effect by LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ supplementation on growth performance was observed (p>0.05). However, interestingly, greater carcass weight was detected in the treatment of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ where less daily gain was found. Although not a significant effect, greatly decreased back-fat thickness and increased loin area were detected in the treatment of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$. In meat characteristics, LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ increased intramuscular fat and tenderness. Therefore, the present study results suggest that the inclusion of LIPIDOL$^{TM}$ in the diet of Hanwoo heifers can improve carcass performance and meat quality by increasing the carcass index and the meat quality index. The results also suggest that a level of 0.3% might be more efficient than 0.5% with regard to economic effectiveness.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.601-608
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of energy and protein levels in the diet of Hanwoo heifers on growth response and animal behavior. Methods: Forty heifers were randomly allocated into three experimental groups according to the target daily weight gain in 8 pens (T-0.2, 2 replications; T-0.4 and -0.6, 3 replications) based on similar body weight (BW) and age in months. The target average daily gain (ADG) was set at 0.2 (T-0.2), 0.4 (T-0.4), and 0.6 kg/d (T-0.6), and feed was based on National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS, 2017). In order to minimize hunger stress of T-0.2 and -0.4, the feeding ratio of rice straw was set to 55%, 50%, and 45% for T-0.2, -0.4 and T-0.6, respectively, so that the dry matter (DM) intake for all treatment groups was uniform but the energy and protein levels in the diet were adjusted differently. A total of 6 items (lying, standing, eating, rumination, walking and drinking) of animal behavior were analyzed. Results: During the whole period of the experiment, the ADG of the T-0.2, -0.4 and -0.6 treatments were 0.48, 0.56, and 0.65 kg/d (p<0.05), respectively, showing higher gain than the predicted value, especially for the low target ADG group. Based on these results, regression equations for the total digestible nutrient (TDN) and crude protein (CP) requirements were derived. No behavioral differences were found according to the energy and protein levels in the diet because the DM intake was kept constant by adjusting the roughage and concentration ratio. However, eating time was longer (p<0.05) at T-0.2 than T-0.6 during the whole day. Conclusion: Through this study, it was possible to derive regression equations for predicting TDN and CP requirements according to the target ADG and BW.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.283-294
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• 2024

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementing concentrates in a forage-based diet on methane emissions of pregnant Hanwoo heifers. Twenty-one pregnant Hanwoo heifers (481 ± 42.4 kg) were divided into two groups: 1) a group receiving forage only (control, CON) and 2) the other group receiving forage with 4 kg of a concentrate mix (treatment, TRT). Methane (CH₄) concentration was measured using a laser methane detector, following an 18-d adaptation period, according to previously established protocols. Feed intake was recorded throughout the experimental period. Ruminal fluid was collected and analyzed for pH, ammonia-nitrogen (NH₃-N), and volatile fatty acid (VFA). The TRT exhibited higher dry matter and neutral detergent fiber intake than CON (p < 0.05) with elevated NH₃-N (p < 0.001) and total VFA concentrations (p = 0.013). The proportions of butyrate, valerate, and iso-valerate were higher in TRT than CON (p < 0.05). Notably, CH₄ concentrations per kg dry matter intake was lower in the TRT group, both from respiration and eructation (p < 0.05). In conclusion, supplementing concentrates in a low-quality forage-based diet for pregnant Hanwoo heifers fulfills nutrient requirements and reduces CH₄ emissions, suggesting a potential strategy to reduce environmental impact of Hanwoo production.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2012

This study investigated the effect of birth weight on the fertility of Holstein heifers. Growth parameter (body weight) was measured at birth. Calves were analyzed as three subgroups: low (L), average (A) and high (H) birth weight (BW) calves. LBW calves were born 10 kg lighter than HBW calves. Fertility data collected included age at first breeding (AFB), number of services per conception, pregnancy rate to first artificial insemination (AI), and age at first calving (AFC). Primiparous calves in HBW are smaller compared to multiparous cows (18.3% versus 48%). Although not significantly different, LBW offspring appeared to breed faster over the service period compared with the ABW offspring that bred three weeks later on the average. The mean pregnancy rate to first AI for LBW heifers was higher (60%) than ABW (48%) and HBW (45%). HBW cows required more services per conception (2.1) than the LBW (1.7) and ABW (1.9). There were significant differences (p<0.05) in age at first calving among the different calving birth weights. Smaller birth size did not have any subsequent adverse effects on fertility. HBW offspring were more likely or tend to have worse fertility parameters.