• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제27권10호
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• pp.1513-1520
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• 2014

The present aim was to investigate the effects of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions (TCM) on body temperature, blood physiological parameters, nutrient apparent digestibility and growth performance of beef cattle under heat stress conditions. Twenty-seven beef cattle were randomly divided into three groups as following; i) high temperature control (HTC), ii) traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions I+high temperature (TCM I) and iii) traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions II+high temperature (TCM II) (n = 9 per group). The results showed that the mean body temperature declined in TCM II treatment (p<0.05). Serum $T_3$ and $T_4$ levels with TCM I and TCM II treatments elevated (p<0.05), and serum cortisol levels of TCM I treatments decreased (p<0.05), compared with the HTC group. Total protein, albumin, globulin in TCM II treatments elevated and blood urea nitrogen levels of both TCM treatments increased, but glucose levels of both TCM treatments decreased, compared with the HTC group (p<0.05). The apparent digestibility of organic matter and crude protein with TCM I treatment increased, and the apparent digestibility of acid detergent fiber elevated in both TCM treatments (p<0.05). Average daily feed intake was not different among three groups, however average daily gain increased and the feed:gain ratio decreased with both TCM treatments, compared with the HTC group (p<0.05). The present results suggest that dietary supplementation with TCM I or TCM II improves growth performance of heat stressed beef cattle by relieving heat stress responses and increasing nutrient apparent digestibility.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.46-52
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• 2004

Hisardale male lambs (n=24, 4-5 month of age) were maintained on a conventional ration for a month, to equilibrate the body mineral status. Six lambs were sacrificed after one month of feeding; the samples of organs were analyzed to ascertain mineral status. The remaining 18 lambs were divided into 3 groups of 6 each on body weight basis. Three dietary treatments containing 100 ($T_1$), 110 ($T_2$) and 120% ($T_3$) of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) as specified by NRC (1985) were formulated and each treatment was alloted ad libitum to a group for 120 days. Blood and wool samples were collected at monthly intervals. At the end of the experiment a balance trial of 5 days duration was conducted to study the balance of mineral elements. The effective intake of minerals was Ca, 111 and 120, P, 110 and 122; S, 112 and 129; Zn, 112 and 126 and Mn, 109 and 123 percent in $T_2$ and $T_3$, respectively, in comparison to $T_1$ (100). The additional mineral supplementation had no significant effect on dry matter intake. The average daily weight gain was higher (p<0.01) in $T_2$ and $T_3$ than the control ($T_1$). The lambs under treatments $T_2$ (8.72) and $T_3$ (8.47 kg) consumed apparently lesser amount of dry matter per unit gain as compared to $T_1$ (10.81 kg). Significantly higher (p<0.05) dry matter and crude protein digestibility (%) were observed in $T_2$ and $T_3$ than in $T_1$. The mean balances for different elements were Ca, 1.14, 1.68 and 1.67 g; P, 1.70, 1.95 and 2.18 g; S, 0.54, 0.92 and 1.11 g; Zn, 22.56, 25.30 and 28.71 mg; Cu, 7.94, 5.71 and 5.53 mg; Fe, 33.19, 32.94 and 31.03 mg and Mn, 8.24, 14.40 and 16.07 mg/lamb/day. The retention of supplemental minerals increased (p<0.01) while that of Cu decreased (p<0.01) due to supplementation of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn). Retention as per cent of intake increased statistically for S and Mn while that of Cu decreased. It can be concluded that supplementation of minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) higher than the recommended level improved body weight gain and feed to gain ratio. The retention of minerals increased due to supplementation. Therefore, an additional supplementation of deficient minerals (Ca, P, S, Zn and Mn) by 10% was beneficial for Hisardale male lambs under tropical condition in India.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.363-367
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• 2006

The nutritional worth of Phalaris minor seeds was assessed in comparison to conventional cereal grains like maize and wheat. P. minor seeds had higher total ash and cell wall constituents as compared to wheat and maize grains. The CP content of P. minor was comparable to wheat grains but higher than maize grains. The in vitro studies revealed that the net gas production and availability of ME from P. minor was comparable to that of maize but the digestibility of nutrients was significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of conventional cereal grains. The digestion kinetic parameters for DM and CP revealed that P. minor had the highest (p<0.05) soluble fraction (a) followed by wheat and maize. Reverse trend was observed for insoluble but potentially degradable fraction (b). The effective and true DM and CP degradability was significantly (p<0.05) higher in wheat grains followed by that in P. minor and maize grains. The digestibility of OM and NDF was not affected by replacing cereal grains in concentrate mixture with P. minor seeds up to 75 per cent level. But the availability of ME from concentrate mixtures was comparable to control only up to 50% level of replacement. Replacement of cereal grains with P. minor did not affect the rapidly soluble fraction and insoluble but potentially degradable fraction of concentrate mixture containing P. minor up to 75 per cent, but it was depressed significantly at 100% replacement level. The effective and true degradability of DM of concentrate mixtures containing P. minor from 50 to 100 per cent was comparable to that of conventional concentrate mixture (CCM). The wheat based concentrate mixtures showed higher net gas production (208 vs. 201 ml/g DM/24 h), digestibility of nutrients and ME availability (9.64 vs. 9.54 MJ/kg DM) as compared to maize based concentrate mixture. The wheat based concentrate mixture had significantly (p<0.05) higher rumen undegradable fraction and effective degradability. The data conclusively revealed that conventional cereal grains could be replaced with P.minor seeds up to 75 per cent without affecting the availability of nutrients.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제26권10호
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• pp.1484-1489
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• 2013

The study was conducted to determine the effects of chitosan on the concentrations of GH and IGF-I in serum and small intestinal morphological structure of piglets, in order to evaluate the regulating action of chitosan on weaned pig growth through endocrine and intestinal morphological approaches. A total of 180 weaned pigs (35 d of age; $11.56{\pm}1.61kg$ of body weight) were selected and assigned randomly to 5 dietary treatments, including 1 basal diet (control) and 4 diets with chitosan supplementation (100, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg, respectively). Each treatment contained six replicate pens with six pigs per pen. The experiment lasted for 28 d. The results showed that the average body weight gain (BWG) of pigs was improved quadratically by dietary chitosan during the former 14 d and the later 14 d after weaned (p<0.05). Furthermore, dietary supplementation of chitosan tended to quadratically increase the concentration of serum GH on d 14 (p = 0.082) and 28 (p = 0.087). Diets supplemented with increasing levels of chitosan increased quadratically the villus height of jejunum and ileum on d 14 (p = 0.089, p<0.01) and 28 (p = 0.074, p<0.01), meanwhile, chitosan increased quadratically the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in duodenum, jejunum and ileum on d 14 (p<0.05, p = 0.055, p<0.01) and 28 (p<0.01, p<0.01, p<0.01), however, it decreased quadratically crypt depth in ileum on d 14 (p<0.05) and that in duodenum, jejunum and ileum on d 28 (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.05). In conclusion, these results indicated that chitosan could quadratically improve growth in weaned pigs, and the underlying mechanism may due to the increase of the serum GH concentration and improvement of the small intestines morphological structure.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.1702-1710
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• 2017

Objective: The study examined the effect of condensed tannins (CT) containing Ficus infectoria and Psidium guajava leaf meal mixture (LMM) supplementation on nutrient metabolism, methane emission and performance of lambs. Methods: Twenty four lambs of ~6 months age (average body weight $10.1{\pm}0.60kg$) were randomly divided into 4 dietary treatments (CT-0, CT-1, CT-1.5, and CT-2 containing 0, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 percent CT through LMM, respectively) consisting of 6 lambs each in a completely randomized design. All the lambs were offered a basal diet of wheat straw ad libitum, oat hay (100 g/d) along with required amount of concentrate mixture to meet their nutrient requirements for a period of 6 months. After 3 months of experimental feeding, a metabolism trial of 6 days duration was conducted on all 24 lambs to determine nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance. Urinary excretion of purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. Respiration chamber study was started at the mid of 5th month of experimental feeding trial. Whole energy balance trials were conducted on individual lamb one after the other, in an open circuit respiration calorimeter. Results: Intake of dry matter and organic matter (g/d) was significantly (p<0.05) higher in CT-1.5 than control. Digestibility of various nutrients did not differ irrespective of treatments. Nitrogen retention and microbial nitrogen synthesis (g/d) was significantly (p<0.01) higher in CT-1.5 and CT-2 groups relative to CT-0.Total body weight gain (kg) and average daily gain (g) were significantly (linear, p<0.01) higher in CT-1.5 followed by CT-1 and CT-0, respectively. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) by lambs was significantly (linear, p<0.01) better in CT-1.5 followed by CT-2 and CT-0, respectively. Total wool yield (g; g/d) was linearly (p<0.05) higher for CT-1.5 than CT-0. Methane emission was linearly decreased (p<0.05) in CT groups and reduction was highest (p<0.01) in CT-2 followed by CT-1.5 and CT-1. Methane energy (kcal/d) was linearly decreased (p<0.05) in CT groups. Conclusion: The CT supplementation at 1% to 2% of the diet through Ficus infectoria and Psidium guajava LMM significantly improved nitrogen metabolism, growth performance, wool yield, FCR and reduced methane emission by lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제30권11호
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• pp.1643-1650
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• 2017

Objective: The control of psychrotrophic bacteria causing milk spoilage and illness due to toxic compounds is an important issue in the dairy industry. In South Korea, Gangwon-do province is one of the coldest terrains in which eighty percent of the area is mountainous regions, and mainly plays an important role in the agriculture and dairy industries. The purposes of this study were to analyze the indigenous microbiota of raw milk in Gangwon-do and accurately investigate a putative microbial group causing deterioration in milk quality. Methods: We collected raw milk from the bulk tank of 18 dairy farms in the Hoengseong and Pyeongchang regions of Gangwon-do. Milk components were analyzed and the number of viable bacteria was confirmed. The V3 and V4 regions of 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced on an Illumina Miseq platform. Sequences were then assigned to operational taxonomic units, followed by the selection of representative sequences using the QIIME software package. Results: The milk samples from Pyeongchang were higher in fat, protein, lactose, total solid, and solid non-fat, and bacterial cell counts were observed only for the Hoengseong samples. The phylum Proteobacteria was detected most frequently in both the Hoengseong and Pyeongchang samples, followed by the phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Notably, Corynebacterium, Pediococcus, Macrococcus, and Acinetobacter were significantly different from two regions. Conclusion: Although the predominant phylum in raw milk is same, the abundances of major genera in milk samples were different between Hoengseong and Pyeongchang. We assumed that these differences are caused by regional dissimilar farming environments such as soil, forage, and dairy farming equipment so that the quality of milk raw milk from Pyeongchang is higher than that of Hoengseong. These results could provide the crucial information for identifying the microbiota in raw milk of South Korea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.138-148
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• 2018

Objective: Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), common contaminants in the feed of farm animals, cause immune function impairment and organ inflammation. Consequently, the main objective of this study was to elucidate DON and ZEN effects on the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other immune related genes in the kidneys of piglets. Methods: Fifteen 6-week-old piglets were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments for 4 weeks: control diet, and diets contaminated with either 8 mg DON/kg feed or 0.8 mg ZEN/kg feed. Kidney samples were collected after treatment, and RNA-seq was used to investigate the effects on immune-related genes and gene networks. Results: A total of 186 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened (120 upregulated and 66 downregulated). Gene ontology analysis revealed that the immune response, and cellular and metabolic processes were significantly controlled by these DEGs. The inflammatory stimulation might be an effect of the following enriched Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis found related to immune and disease responses: cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), tuberculosis, Epstein-Barr virus infection, and chemical carcinogenesis. The effects of DON and ZEN on genome-wide expression were assessed, and it was found that the DEGs associated with inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 10 receptor, beta, chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 9, CXCL10, chemokine [C-C motif] ligand 4), proliferation (insulin like growth factor binding protein 4, IgG heavy chain, receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase C, cytochrome P450 1A1, ATP-binding cassette sub-family 8), and other immune response networks (lysozyme, complement component 4 binding protein alpha, oligoadenylate synthetase 2, signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-9, ${\alpha}$-aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, Ig lambda chain c region, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, isozyme 4, carboxylesterase 1), were suppressed by DON and ZEN. Conclusion: In summary, our results indicate that high concentrations of DON and ZEN suppress the inflammatory response in kidneys, leading to potential effects on immune homeostasis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.24-34
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• 2020

Objective: The effects of Pleurotus ostreatus on the feed utilization of broad bean stalks (BBS), rape straw (RS), paddy straw (PS), and corn stalk (CS) was examined. Methods: The four roughages were co-cultured with Pleurotus ostreatus. The chemical composition; enzyme activities of laccase, carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and xylanase; carbohydrate and protein fractions (based on The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System [CNCPS]) were assessed at different days after inoculation (7, 14, 21, 28 d) and un-inoculated roughages (control, 0 d). The digestibility of nutrient components and the gas production of roughage with various incubation times were monitored at 0, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h using an in vitro ruminal fermentation method. Results: A higher CMCase activity (0.1039 U/mL) and earlier time to peak (14 d) were detected in Pleurotus ostreatus cultured with CS (p<0.05). Significantly, the incubation length-dependent responses of cumulative gas production were observed from 24 to 72 hours post fermentation (p<0.05), and these incubation length-dependent effects on cumulative gas production of PS and CS appeared earlier (24 h) for PS and CS than those (48 h) for BBS and RS (p<0.05). The fast-degradable carbohydrate (CA) content for all four roughages significantly increased over time (p<0.05). Nonetheless, increased degradation efficiency for CA treated with Pleurotus ostreatus was detected at both 21 and 28 days of incubation (p<0.05). With the exception of PS (p<0.05), there were no significant difference among the roughages (p>0.05) in slowly-degradable carbohydrate (CB2) at different incubation times (p<0.05). Conclusion: Assessment of the alterations in chemical composition, CNCPS system fractions, and the fermentation kinetics after biological pretreatment may yield a valuable database for evaluating the biological pretreatment of Pleurotus ostreatus in ruminant feed.

• Geosciences Journal
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.881-889
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• 2018

The Geodo skarn deposit is located in the Taebaeksan Basin, central eastern Korean Peninsula. The geology of the deposit consists of Cambrian to Ordovician calcareous sedimentary rocks and the Cretaceous Eopyeong granitoids. The skarns at Geodo occur around the Eopyeong granitoids, which consist, from early to late, of magnetite-bearing equigranular quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite, and dykes. These dykes emanated randomly from equigranular granodiorite and some of dykes spatially accompany skarns. Skarn Fe mineralization, referred as Prospect I and II in this study, is newly discovered beyond previously known skarns adjacent to the quartz monzodiorite. These discoveries show a vertical and lateral variation of skarn facies, grading from massive reddish-brown garnet-quartz in a lower and proximal zone to banded in an upper and distal zone, reflecting changes in lithofacies of the host rocks. Skarn veins in distal locations are parallel to sedimentary laminae, suggesting that lithologic control is important although proximal skarn has totally obliterated primary structures, due to intense retrograde alteration. Skarns at Geodo are systematically zoned relative to the causative dykes. Skarn zonation comprises proximal garnet, distal pyroxene, and vesuvianite (only in Prospect I) at the contact between skarn and marble. Retrograde alteration is intensely developed adjacent to the contact with dykes and occurs as modification of the pre-existing assemblages and progressive destruction such as brecciation of the prograde assemblages. The retrograde alteration assemblages consist predominantly of epidote, K-feldspar, amphibole, chlorite, and calcite. Most of the magnetite (the main ore mineral), replaces calc-silicate minerals such as garnet in the lower proximal exoskarn, whereas it occurs massive in distal pyroxene and amphibole in the upper and distal exoskarn. The emanation of dykes from the equigranular granodiorite has provided channelways for ascent of skarn-forming fluids from a deep source, whereas the style and nature of skarns suggest that originally structurally-controlled skarn-forming fluids may migrate long distances laterally to produce skarn in calcareous sedimentary rocks.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제36권9호
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• pp.1336-1349
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs in sows at early pregnancy by high-throughput sequencing and explore its mechanism of action on embryo implantation. Methods: The blood serum of pregnant and non-pregnant Landrace×Yorkshire sows were collected 14 days after artificial insemination, and exosomal miRNAs were purified for high throughput miRNA sequencing. The expression patterns of 10 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR quantified the abundance of serum exosomal miR-192 in pregnant and control sows, and the diagnostic power was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The target genes of DE miRNAs were predicted with bioinformatics software, and the functional and pathway enrichment analysis was performed on gene ontology and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes terms. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter system was used to identify the target relation between miR-192 and integrin alpha 4 (ITGA4), a gene influencing embryo implantation in pigs. Finally, the expression levels of miRNAs and the target gene ITGA4 were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and western blot, with the proliferation of BeWo cells detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Results: A total of 221 known miRNAs were detected in the libraries of the pregnant and non-pregnant sows, of which 55 were up-regulated and 67 were down-regulated in the pregnant individuals compared with the non-pregnant controls. From these, the expression patterns of 10 DE miRNAs were validated. The qRT-PCR analysis further confirmed a significantly higher expression of miR-192 in the serum exosomes extracted from pregnant sows, when compared to controls. The ROC analysis revealed that miR-192 provided excellent diagnostic accuracy for pregnancy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]=0.843; p>0.001). The dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-192 directly targeted ITGA4. The protein expression of ITGA4 was reduced in cells that overexpressed miR-192. Overexpression of miR-192 resulted in the decreased proliferation of BeWo cells and regulated the expression of cell cycle-related genes. Conclusion: Serum exosomal miR-192 could serve as a potential biomarker for early pregnancy in pigs. miR-192 targeted ITGA4 gene directly, and miR-192 can regulate cellular proliferation.