• Toxicological Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.535-539
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• 1998

The present study was designed to investigate the serum cholesterol lowering effect oj the phytosterol derivative (LPSS) on high cholesterol (HC) diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in male weaning Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Rats were fed with HC diet containing 1 % cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid for 1 week. After 1 week, the LPSS oil suspension (0.32 g/kg B. W.) was orally administered to the rats fed with either basal diet or HC diet groups for 7 days. In addition, the LPSS powder (0.14%) mixed with basal diet or HC diet was Jed to the rats for 7 days. Serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol contents were not altered by administration of the LPSS oil suspension with basal diet. However, they were significantly decreased by administration of the LPSS oil suspension with HC diet at day 14. Also, they were significantly decreased by the LPSS powder mixed with basal diet or HC diet at day 9, 11, 14. HDL-cholesterol contents were not altered by the LPSS oil suspension or LPSS powder. These results indicated that the phytosterol derivative(LPSS) might decrease serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol contents in rats.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.53-56
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• 2020

A wild juvenile bean goose (Anser fabalis serrirostris) was rescued after sustaining an extensive degloving injury around the neck and chin region. Except for the degloving injury, physical and radiographic examination detected no other trauma-induced abnormality. On the day of presentation to the hospital, the patient underwent extensive debridement and suturing. A twice-daily force feeding with diluted parrot weaning food was required during the hospitalization due to severe anorexia. On day 18, the bean goose was moved to the aviary to undergo rehabilitation and feeding by itself. Management of the severe degloving injury of the cervical region with medical intervention and nutritional assistance was successful in this case, and the results of this case shows the proper management can be implemented to produce satisfactory outcomes.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2019

Ketamine has long been used as an anesthetic agent. However, ketamine use is associated with numerous side effects, including flashbacks, amnesia, delirium, and aggressive or violent behavior. Ketamine has also been abused as a cocktail with ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Several studies have investigated therapeutic applications of ketamine, demonstrating its antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in both humans and rodents. We recently reported that neonatal maternal separation causes enhanced anxiety- and aggressive-like behaviors in adolescent. In the present study, we evaluated how acute and chronic ketamine administration affected the behavioral consequences of neonatal maternal separation in adolescent mice. Litters were separated from dams for 4 hours per day for 19 days beginning after weaning. Upon reaching adolescence (post-natal day 35-49), mice were acutely (single injection) or chronically (7 daily injections) treated with a sub-anesthetic dose (15 mg/kg) of ketamine. At least 1 h after administration of ketamine, mice were subjected to open-field, elevated-plus maze, and resident-intruder tests. We found that acute ketamine treatment reduced locomotor activity. In contrast, chronic ketamine treatment decreased anxiety, as evidenced by increased time spent on open arms in the elevated-plus maze, and remarkably reduced the number and duration of attacks. In conclusion, the present study suggests that ketamine has potential for the treatment of anxiety and aggressive or violent behaviors.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.1019-1023
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• 2001

An on-farm trial was conducted in temperature-controlled lactation rooms at a commercial pig farm to investigate the efficacy of broadcasting sow suckling grunts from day 4 of lactation, on increasing piglet growth to weaning. In the Broadcast treatment, sows and litters were exposed to a 3-min broadcast from loud-speakers every 42 min. The Control treatment was not exposed to the broadcast. All sows and litters had similar husbandry and piglets were provided with creep feed on the floor twice daily. In each of the three replicates in time, the Broadcast and Control treatments were allocated to different lactation rooms at random and there were 12 sows and litters per treatment per replicate. A total of four identical lactation rooms were available for the trial, each containing 28 conventional sow and litter crates with piglet heater in the creep area. A non-trial room separated the two treatment rooms in each replicate to minimise the chance that the broadcast grunt stimulation was audible to the Control treatment litters. Five "normal and average-looking" piglets from the trial litters were weighed twice, 7 d apart. The cohort of five piglets was identified by ear-tags and formed the experimental unit for the statistical analysis. The average (${\pm}SD$) age of piglets at initial weighing was 7.7(${\pm}2.22$) days. For each litter, mean piglet live weight at day 14 of lactation was estimated by linear regression of the two weights recorded seven days apart, when on average, the Broadcast treatment had been exposed to the stimulation for 10 days. Piglets in the Broadcast treatment were heavier (p<0.01) at day 14 of lactation compared to Control treatment (4.24 and 3.92 kg, respectively) and tended to have a greater average daily weight gain over the 7-d period (245 and 228 g/day, respectively; p<0.08). The results suggest piglet growth was improved by about 8% in response to the regular, timed broadcast of sow suckling grunts in the lactation shed. The independent contributions of milk and creep feed to the improved growth remain to be determined.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.568-572
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• 2006

The effect of dietary lysine supplementation on the performance of crossbred lactating sows (n = 49, total 92 litters) and suckling piglets during the warm and cool seasons was studied. Sows were randomly allocated to one of two experimental diets, which were fed throughout a 28-day lactation period. Two diets were formulated based on corn-soybean meal with 6% wheat bran, containing 15% crude protein, and with or without 0.25% lysine-HCl supplementation. No interaction was observed between season and dietary lysine supplementation. Dietary lysine supplementation significantly (p<0.05) increased weaning weight (7.11 vs. 6.46 kg) and daily gain (0.20 vs. 0.18 kg) of piglets. During the warm season lactating sows had significantly lower feed intake (3.78 vs. 6.11 kg, p<0.01), higher weight loss (19.81 vs. 9.73 kg, p<0.01) and backfat loss (0.23 vs. 0.06 cm, p<0.01), longer interval from weaning to estrus (9.32 vs. 6.21 days, p<0.05), lower litter weight gain (42.13 vs. 52.90 kg, p<0.01) and lower daily gain (0.17 vs. 0.21 kg, p<0.01) than lactating sows during the cool season. The results indicate that the influences of dietary treatment and season were independent. The 15.0% CP lactation diet with 0.25% lysine-HCl supplementation did not improve the performance of lactating sows and litter piglets, which was impaired by the warm season.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2015

Connexin (Cx) is a complex which allows direct communication between neighboring cells via exchange of signaling molecules and eventually leads to functional harmony of cells in a tissue. The initial segment (IS) is an excurrent duct of male reproductive tract and expression of numerous genes in the IS are controlled by androgens and estrogens. The effects of these steroid hormones on gene expression in the IS during postnatal development have not extensively examined. The present research investigated expressional modulation of Cx isoforms in the IS by exogenous exposure to estrogen agonist, estradiol benzoate (EB), or androgen antagonist, flutamide (Flu), at weaning age. Two different doses of EB or Flu were subcutaneously administrated in 21-day old of male rats, and expressional changes of Cx isoforms in the adult IS were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Treatment of a low-dose EB ($0.015{\mu}g/kg$ body weight) resulted in an increased expression of Cx31 gene and a decreased expression of Cx37 gene. A high-dose EB ($1.5{\mu}g/kg$ body weight) treatment caused an increase of Cx31 gene expression. Increased levels of Cx30.3 and Cx40 transcripts were observed with a low-dose Flu ($500{\mu}g/kg$ body weight) treatment. Treatment of high-dose Flu (50 mg/kg body weight) led to expressional increases of Cx30.3, 40, and 43 genes. Our previous and present findings suggest differential responsiveness on gene expression of Cx isoforms in the IS by androgens and estrogens at different postnatal ages.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.231-235
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• 2015

This study was performed to investigate the change of the body surface temperature during socialization of weaning pigs. A total of 108 piglets (Landrace 60 and Yorkshire 48) aged 31 (${\pm}1.1$) day was used for this study. Experiment was designed as follows; familiar group (T1), randomly mixed with unfamiliar piglets (T2), mixed based on weight of unfamiliar piglet (T3). The transport and mixing of pigs were performed at 10:00, and then body surface temperature was taken by thermo-graphic camera after 4 hours (14:00). Average surface temperature and hot-spot-temperature, which is the hottest spot of the body surface, were analyzed using Testo IRsoft 3.1 software. Average temperature of body surface were 36.0, 38.2, and 37.5 in T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Average of body surface temperature in T2 and T3 were higher (p<0.001) than T1, and average temperature of body surface of T3 was greater (p<0.001) than that of T2. The hot-spot-temperature of T1, T2, and T3 were 38.7, 39.5, and 39.6, respectively. The hot-spot-temperature of T2 (p<0.01) and T3 (p<0.001) were significantly higher than that of T1. Above results demonstrate that grouping unfamiliar pigs leads to increase in the body temperature possibly by pigs aggressive behavior during social conflict. By the result on average body temperature, this study suggests that the mixing with similar body weight would increase the struggle time and frequency.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.292-299
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• 2000

Forty-four Javanese thin-tail ewes were used to study the effect of superovulation prior to mating and of ration quality on lamb birth weight at parturition. Twenty-two ewes weaning at least one lamb were used to measure lamb preweaning growth. Prior to mating, the experimental ewes were injected twice with prostaglandin, with an 11 d interval between injections to synchronize the estrous cycle. At the last prostaglandin injection, 24 ewes were also injected with 700 IU of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) to stimulate superovulation and the remainder were injected with saline as control. During pregnancy and lactation, the experimental ewes were fed either on a low (12% CP and 65% TDN) or a high (15% CP and 75% TDN) quality ration. During lactation, the milk was collected twice a day and was refed to the lambs by bottle feeding immediately after collection. Superovulation or ration quality as a main factor did not significantly affect lamb birth weight. Litter size significantly affected lamb birth weight (p<0.05), and there was an interaction of superovulation and litter size. Nonsuperovulated ewes giving birth to multiple lambs had significantly lower average lamb birth weight (1.34 kg) as compared to those giving birth to a single lamb (1.97 kg) (p<0.05). However, superovulated ewes giving birth to multiple lambs had no significant difference in average lamb birth weight (1.68 kg) as compared to those giving birth to a single lamb (1.91 kg) (p>0.05). Superovulation of ewes prior to mating resulted in a significant improvement in lamb birth weight in the multiple litter size, without significant effect on average preweaning daily gain (p=0.07). Superovulation had a promising use in improving animal production through improvement of prenatal growth during pregnancy and milk production during lactation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1635-1640
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• 2004

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate developmental gene expression of antimicrobial peptide PR-39 and effect of zinc oxide on gene regulation of PR-39 in piglets using semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis. In experiment 1, fifteen female Tai-Hu pigs (a local breed in China) in five groups, each of three pigs at 1, 14, 28, 42 and 56 days of age were used to determine effect of age and weaning on mRNA expression of PR-39. In experiment 2, nine groups of pigs (total seventy-two female 36 days-age weanling Tai-Hu piglets) were assigned to three treatments (${ZnO}_0$, ${ZnO}_{100}$ and ${ZnO}_{3000}$). The feeding experimental period lasted 15 days. After feeding experiment, nine pigs with three animals in each treatment were chosen to determine the effect of ZnO on PR-39 mRNA expression of pigs. The results showed that PR-39 mRNA levels increased steadily in postnatal day 1-28 (preweaning), and weaning significantly decreased PR-39 mRNA expression of piglets (p<0.05). ${ZnO}_{3000}$ (3,000 mg zinc/kg diet) significantly increased PR-39 mRNA expression (p<0.05) when piglets were feed ${ZnO}_{3000}$ diet for 15 days. ${ZnO}_{100}$ (100 mg zinc/kg diet) also increased PR-39 gene expression, but the result was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The result was in accordance with the effect of ${ZnO}_{3000}$ and ${ZnO}_{100}$ on weight gain of piglets and prevention of diarrhea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.789-792
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• 2006

Two separate trials were conducted to determine the effects of uterine priming prior to first breeding and quantify any changes in the reproductive efficiency of gilts. In trial I twelve (12) gilts were randomly assigned to 3 treatments:T1:infusion of distilled water (control), T2: single infusion of killed semen (KS1), and T3: double infusion of killed semen (KS2). Each treatment had 4 breeding gilts which were bred by natural insemination (NI). In trial II, another set of 12 breeding gilts were randomly allotted to the same treatments and were subsequently bred by artificial insemination (AI). Infusions, through the use of AI catheters, were done during the $2^{nd}$ estrous cycle for T1 and T2, whereas infusions for T3 were made during the $1^{st}$ and $2^{nd}$ cycles. Regular breeding was subsequently made during the $3^{rd}$ estrous cycle. All gilts that returned to cycle were rebred within the 30-day period. In trial I (natural breeding), total piglets born was higher (p<0.05) in T2 (12.75 piglets) and T3 (11.75 piglets) than in the control (10.5 piglets). T3 obtained the highest (p<0.05) litter size (10.25 piglets) and heaviest litter weight (74.12 kg) at 28 days weaning, followed by T2 (9.80 piglets and 65.0 kg, respectively). The control yielded the lowest (p<0.05) litter size (7.50) and the lightest litter weight (47.00 kg) at weaning. For Trial II gilts (artificially inseminated), T3 gave higher (p<0.05) litter size born alive (10.88 piglets), total piglets born (11.72 piglets) and live litter weight at birth (15.30 kg) than those of T2 and the control. These results indicate that prebreeding intrauterine infusion of killed boar semen, either single or double, improved the reproductive performance of gilts.