• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1196-1203
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• 2014

This study intended to compare the productive performance of three different layer raising systems; conventional cage (CC), barn (BR) and aviary (AV). The AV is welfare bestowed housing that allows free locomotion for birds within the BR. The BR allows bird's free locomotion inside BR but without multilevel structures. Both pullets and cockerels were housed together in both AV and BR, but only pullets in CC. Seventeen weeks old Lohmann Brown Lite (n = 800) pullets were housed in AV during this study. The same age layer pullets were simultaneously assigned to either at CC or BR to compare egg production performance with AV. The duration of experiment was 40 weeks (from 21st to 60th week). There were no remarkable differences in egg production, hen day egg production (HDEP) and average egg weight among three rearing systems. First 20 weeks (phase-1) average HDEP (%) of AV, CC, and BR were 85.9, 88.8, 87.1 and average egg weights (g) were 57.5, 59.9, and 56.9 respectively. Those of the remaining 20 weeks (phase-2) were 87.1, 87.9, 85.5 and 64.2, 63.0 62.1, respectively. Daily feed intakes (122 g, 110 g, 125 g); feed conversion ratio (2.4, 2.1, 2.5) and daily egg mass (53.9 g, 54.4 g, 52.8 g) data from AV, CC, and BR were not influenced significantly by the respective raising systems. Daily feed intake of layers in both AV (124 g) and BR (127 g) tended to be higher than that in CC (113 g) during phase-2. Overall, exterior egg quality (dirty and cracked eggs) in both phases was superior in BR compared with AV and CC, whereas CC generated intermediate results. This study indicated that the HDEP per se in AV and BR were not significantly different from that in CC. The study implied that the facility depreciation cost for AV and cost for increased feed intake in AV compared to CC are believed to be critical to evaluate the cost effectiveness of egg production in AV.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2014

The study aimed to evaluate the potential effects of feeding with phytase transgenic corn (PTC) on organ weight, serum biochemical parameters and nutrient digestibility, and to determine the fate of the transgenic DNA in laying hens. A total of 144 50-week-old laying hens were grouped randomly into 2 treatments, with 8 replicates per treatment and 9 hens per replicate. Each treatment group of hens was fed with diets containing 62.4% non-transgenic conventional corn (CC) or PTC for 16 weeks. The phytase activity for CC was 37 FTU/kg of DM, whereas the phytase activity for PTC was 8,980 FTU/kg of DM. We observed that feeding PTC to laying hens had no adverse effect on organ weight or serum biochemical parameters (p>0.05). A fragment of a poultry-specific ovalbumin gene (ov) was amplified from all tissues of hens showing that the DNA preparations were amenable to PCR amplification. Neither the corn-specific invertase gene (ivr) nor the transgenic phyA2 gene was detected in the breast muscle, leg muscle, ovary, oviduct and eggs. The digestibility data revealed no significant differences between the hens that received the CC- and PTC-based diets in the digestibility of DM, energy, nitrogen and calcium (p>0.05). Phosphorus digestibility of hens fed the PTC-based diet was greater than that of hens fed the CC-based diet (58.03% vs 47.42%, p<0.01). Based on these results, it was concluded that the PTC had no deleterious effects on the organ weight or serum biochemical parameters of the laying hens. No recombinant phyA2 gene was detected in muscle tissues and reproductive organs of laying hens. The novel plant phytase was efficacious in improving the phosphorus digestibility of laying hens.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.589-599
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• 2017

Objective: The objective of this study was to measure the upper-limb motions and postures of grapes-harvesting tasks using electrical goniometers and analyze the upper-limb motions in a kinematic way to assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Background: Grapes farmers are exposed to various risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as repetitive upper-limb motions, non-neutral postures, and manual handling of heavy items. The farmers have to use scissors repetitively while harvesting grapes with their being arms elevated over the shoulder height, which presumed to increase the physical workload. It has been reported that the grapes farmers feel the harvesting task as the one of the hardest work in cultivating grapes. We tried measure the wrist and elbow angles while the farmers were carrying out harvesting tasks to understand how much workload the work impose on the farmers, which can be helpful in making interventions of preventing musculosksletal disorders among grapes farmers. Method: We measured joint angles at the right wrist and elbow with a wireless measuring system with two electrical goniometers from five grape farmers. The grapes-harvesting task was classified into 6 different subtasks: 1) searching, 2) picking, 3) cleaning, 4) carrying, 6) storing, and 7) miscellaneous tasks. The subtasks were compared by mean angles, 10%, 50%, and 90% APDF values of wrist flexion/extension, ulnar/radial deviation, and elbow flexion. Results: The Kruskal-Wallis tests showed that the 10th percentiles of APDF of ulnar/radial deviation and flexion/extension of the wrist significantly differs among subtasks (p<0.05). It was found that the farmers assumed more deviated wrist postures in the ulnar direction when they picking and adjusting the grapes. The use of scissors seemed to force the farmers to severely bend their wrist in the directions of ulnar deviation and flexion. The grapes-harvesting task showed similar wrist postures and motion with poultry deboning and milking tasks. Conclusion: The grapes harvesting tasks make the farmers take ulnar deviated and extended postures in the wrist. The use of scissors makes them take more severely deviated postures in the wrist. Safety guidelines including use of ergonomic scissors can be provided to the farmers to improve their work conditions. Application: The results of this study can be used as a basic data for the development of safety guidelines for agricultural work.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.549-553
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• 2006

In this study, the effects of granite-grit offered free-choice on voluntary intakes of grit and subsequently on some morphologic traits of the digestive tract and performance of broilers were investigated. A total of 240 7d-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were allotted randomly to 10 floor pens supplied with wood shavings. The experiment lasted for 42 days. There were 2 dietary treatments, each consisting of 5 replicates. Each replicate consisted of 24 birds kept in an experimental unit with a floor size of $2{\times}2m$. Dietary treatments consisted of control (C) in which broilers were fed standard broiler rations, and acid insoluble granite-grit choice (AIGG) in which broilers were fed standard broiler rations and grit in separate troughs. Mean amounts consumed varied quite widely from week to week, but on average broilers ate 3.41 g per d per bird during the experimental period. Birds had a higher voluntary intake of granite-grit at an early age (7 to 21 d of age) than later (22 to 42 d of age). The voluntary intake of granite-grit of AIGG broilers increased (p<0.05) from 2.7 g/day at 7-14 d to 4.4 g at 15-21 d of age, and then it decreased to 3.4, 3.2 and 3.4 g/day between 22-28, 29-35 and 36-42 d of age, respectively. This level of grit intake increased (p<0.05) weights of empty gizzard (0.97 vs. 1.30 g), edible inner organs (3.51 vs. 3.69 g), and length of gut (8.86 vs. 9.01 cm) as a proportion of body weight and the content of insoluble ash (8.4 vs. 42.2 g/kg) in the faeces compared to the control group. Feeding free-choice grit had little or no effect on final live weights (2,542 vs. 2,543 g), daily gains (69 vs. 69 g), carcass weights (1,924 vs. 1,911), dressing percentages (75.6% vs. 75.1%) and feed efficiencies (1.69 vs. 1.66). Birds given grit did not gain more weight than those not given grit but they tended to have (p<0.07) lower feed intake (116.7 vs. 114.5 g), and consequently lower protein and energy intake. In conclusion, the granite-grit consumed voluntarily by broilers increased gut length and empty gizzard weight without affecting growth performance of broilers. Thus, it can be assumed that the voluntary consumption of granite-grit was too low to affect performance.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.587-602
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• 2017

Correlations of soil and leaf nutrients and growth of young 'Enterprise' apple (Malus ${\times}$ domestica Borkh.) trees were analyzed with tree damage, such as Japanese beetle (JB; Popillia japonica Newman)-damaged leaves, vole damage to trunk, tree mortality, and weed density in a certified organic orchard in warm and humid environment of Southern USA. Interaction treatments of four mulch and three fertilizers were applied around trees as follows: mow-and-blow (MB), shredded paper (SP), wood chips (WC), and green compost (GC) as a mulch, with no fertilizer (NF), poultry litter (PL), and commercial organic fertilizer (CF) as a fertilizer applied in April. Vole damage to trunk and weed density were little correlated with mineral nutrients and tree growth. JB-damaged leaves were highly stimulated to 26.5% in GC-treated plots while tree mortality were increased by MB treatments. Biomass production per tree was approximately 3,700 g on the WC- and GC-treated plots, which was two times higher than those values observed on the other two mulch plots. JB-damaged leaves tended to get worse when nutrients in soil and leaf increased through the correlation analysis, with a strong positive relationship ($r^2=0.585$) observed between JB-damaged leaves and trunk cross sectional area, a vegetative indicator. Tree mortality was more negatively associated with nutrient contents and growth of trees than those of soil nutrients. Wood chips was considered for a local organic mulch materials to increase organic matter contents and to produce healthy young trees in Southern USA, with control insect, such as beetle, and vole density in an orchard habitat.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.157-169
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• 2018

Background: Cassia tora L., an annual or perennial plant of the Fabaceae family, is traditional medicine with various biological activities, including anti-constipation and, anti-inflammation. Chemical compounds such as anthraquinone glycoside and naphthalene derivatives have been isolated from this plant. Cassia tora L. is a common contaminant of agricultural commodities, but is toxic to cattle and poultry. Methods and Results: To investigate the potential toxicity, Cassia tora L. aqueous extract (CO) was administered orally to rats for 26 weeks at 0 (control), 300, 1,500 and 3,000 mg/kg/day (n = 10 for male rats for each dose). The positive control comprised animals orally administered anthraquinone 100 mg/kg/day. There was no treatment-related mortality. An increase in the kidney weight was observed at 3,000 mg/kg/day of CO and anthraquinone 100 mg/kg/day. Macrophage infiltration in the colon was observed at CO 1,500 and 3,000 mg/kg/day and anthraquinone 100 mg/kg/day, but there were no significant toxicological changes in the incidence and severity of the finding. Conclusions: The oral no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of CO was 3,000 mg/kg/day in male rats and no target organs were identified. In addition, 300 mg/kg was found to be the no-observed-effect level (NOEL) for systemic toxicity under the conditions of the study.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.915-921
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• 2001

IGF-I is involved in the regulation of growth and differentiation in mammals, but its role as a modulator of growth and metabolism in poultry is poorly understood. And, no studies have so far been reported for the comparison between serum IGF-I concentration and body growth in the egg type or the dual purposes (meat and egg type) chicken including the Korean Native Ogol Chicken (KNOC). Therefore, in order to improve the body growth and meat production of the KNOC, this study was conducted for the identification of the polymorphism of IGF-I gene and for its possible association with both body weight and IGF-I concentration. The RFLP patterns for IGF-I gene were identified by the PstI restriction enzyme. The frequencies of +/+, +/-, and -/- genotype were 16.9%, 51.7%, and 31.4%, respectively. Any statistical significance was not observed in all variations except for sex variation (p<0.01) by covariate quadratic model. The significant effect of the IGF-I genotype on body weight by sex indicates that there are different physiological characteristics in gender. Although the body weights of male KNOCs in most ages were not significant, there was a tendency of KNOCs with +/+ IGF-I genotype to be heavier than those with any other genotypes. But all IGF-I genotypes in female did not influence on body weight. The ANOYA revealed no significant effects of IGF-I genotypes on serum IGF-I concentration but sex effect was highly significant on the IGF-I concentration at 20 and 40 weeks (p<0.01). Although the +/+ genotype, in gender, tended to express a higher IGF-I concentration than the other genotypes at all ages in males, a statistical difference among the genotypes was not found except for 60 weeks (p<0.05). Furthermore, since body weight and IGF-I genotypes are associated, it is possible to improve KNOC to a meat type breed if a continuous selection can be made for the body weight and/or IGF-I traits.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.606-611
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• 2015

As Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum remains a major economic problem for the poultry industries of countries with no efficient control measures, we presented a multidrug resistance strain S06004 (isolated from a clinically sick chicken in China in 2006) for genome sequencing. The genome comparison showed that the strain contained two prophages, the ST104 and prophage-4 (Fels2) of E. coli LF82, which were not detected in the only published genomes of S. Pullorum RKS5078 and CDC1983-67. In addition, the GyrA Ser83 point mutation, drugresistant genes, and many antibiotic pump systems that are present in S06004 may be contributing to the multidrug resistance of this strain.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2015

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria has recently emerged and been disseminated in livestock environments because of excessive use of antimicrobial agents for the therapeutic and growth promotion purposes to food animals. In particular, there is potential for multidrug-resistant bacteria that can be transmitted from animals to mankind. In this study, we investigated the genotypes of E. coli strains isolated from humans and chickens using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and antimicrobial resistance patterns by disk diffusion method along with integron study involving antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. From July 2013 to July 2014, E. coli strains isolated from clinical specimens (n=44) and poultry chickens (n=34). ST131 (n=20) was most common in human-derived E. coli. ST752 (n=7) was most common in chicken-derived E. coli, with four isolates each for ST117, ST189, and ST69. Of the 44 E. coli strains isolated from humans, 25 of had a class 1 integron, as opposed to only 11 of 34 strains in the E. coli isolated from chickens. There were differences in genotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns between the chicken-derived and the human-derived E. coli.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.177-188
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• 2005

In this study, the thermal environmental factors in a layer f(arm such as dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, black globe temperature and illumination intensity were measured and analyzed to serve as basis for effective design and plan of poultry houses. The correlation analysis between the different factors was also done. Heat Index as measure of the thermal stress was also calculated and analyzed. A $1,000m^2$ laying house, 4 meters high with 52,000 layers in six-stage type cages was used in the measurement of the different environmental parameters. The results were as follows; 1. The temperature of the inside air and materials was directly related to the increase in aerial temperature based on the dry-bulb, black globe temperature reading. The correlation factor of the outside to inside air based on dry bulb setting was very significant at 0.927 The dry bulb temperature for inside temperature ranged from $19.9\~28.8^{\circ}C\;with\;SD+2.2^{\circ}C$ while that of the outside air was $16.2\~33.1^{\circ}C,\;SD+3.5^{\circ}C$. In addition, the temperature of the inside air was very stable. 2. The black globe temperature of the inside air ranged from $20.1\~28.8^{\circ}C,\;SD+2.3^{\circ}C$ while that of the outside air was $16.2\~47.5^{\circ}C,\;SD+6.0^{\circ}C$. 3. The relative humidity of the outside and inside air was $72.4\~100\;and\;50.2\~85.6\%$ with an average of $89.2\;and\;71.7\%$, respectively. 4. The illumination intensity in the laying house was less than 7 lux, with an average of $1.2\~2.5lux$ relative to height indicating that the laying house was well isolated from outside radiation. 5. The heat index of the inside air of the laying house had a high variation from $20.5^{\circ}C,\;SD+2.5^{\circ}C$ while that of the outside air was $13.1\~45.5^{\circ}C$, with an average of $21.6^{\circ}C,\;SD+6.3^{\circ}C$.