• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.296-300
• /
• 2005

Human-induced soil salinity is becoming a major threat to agriculture across the world. This salinisation occurs in both irrigated and rain-fed agricultural zones with the highest proportions in the arid and semi-arid environments. Livestock can play an important role in the management and rehabilitation of this land. There are a range of plants that grow in saline soils and these have been used as animal feed. In many situations, animal production has been poor as a result of low edible biomass production, low nutritive value, depressed appetite, or a reduction in efficiency of energy use. Feeding systems are proposed that maximise the feeding value of plants growing on saline land and integrate their use with other feed resources available within mixed livestock and crop farming systems. Salt-tolerant pastures, particularly the chenopod shrubs, have moderate digestible energy and high crude protein. For this reason they represent a good supplement for poor quality pastures and crop residues. The use of salt-tolerant pasture systems not only provides feed for livestock but also may act as a bio-drain to lower saline water tables and improve the soil for growth of alternative less salt tolerant plants. In the longer term there are opportunities to identify and select more appropriate plants and animals for saline agriculture.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.701-706
• /
• 2008

The aim of the present study was to determine the apparent and true digestibilities of amino acids of maize, low tannin sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in adult caecectomized cockerels. Adult cockerels (n = 60), 25-weeks old, were used in this study of which 30 birds were caecectomized as per a standard method. The apparent digestibilities of amino acids of sorghum were not affected by caecectomy, but were higher for maize, finger millet and pearl millet in caecectomized cockerels. Caecectomy had no influence on the true digestibilities of amino acids of maize, but higher digestibilities were observed for most of the amino acids of sorghum and finger millet in caecectomized cockerels. Caecectomy lowered the true digestibility of cystine, threonine and serine of pearl millet. The apparent digestibilities of amino acids of maize, finger millet and pearl millet were underestimated in intact cockerels. The true digestibilities of most of the amino acids of sorghum and finger millet were underestimated, while those of cystine, threonine and serine of pearl millet were overestimated in intact cockerels. The findings suggest that the amino acid digestibility values of cereal grains determined using caecectomized cockerels might be appropriate and reliable for poultry diet formulations. Moreover, the digestibilities of amino acids of finger millet were inferior to other cereal grains, while those of pearl millet were comparable to maize and sorghum.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.583-590
• /
• 1989

Increasing levels of ammonia-N in the rumen fluid used for in vitro incubation were achieved by supplementation of the ration of the donor cows with urea and by addition of urea either with or without glucose to the rumen fluid after collection. The ration of the donor animals consisted of wheat straw (80%) and maize silage (20%). During the second half of the experiment the basal ration was supplemented with a mineral mixture. Wheat straw, Guinea grass and two rice straw varieties were incubated with the various kinds of rumen fluid. Parameters studied were: solubility, apparent organic matter disappearance after 48 hours of incubation ($OMD_{48}$), rate of organic matter degradation from 0 to 24 hours of incubation ($k_1$) and from 24 to 95 hours ($k_2$). The concentration of ammonia-N in the rumen fluid at which 95% of the maximal $OMD_{48}$ and k1 were reached (88.2 and 100.0 mg/l) were independent of the feed. With regard to the $k_2$ the required ammonia-N concentration to reach 95% of the maximal $k_2$ differed per feed. Mineral supplementation increased the OMD48 and $k_1$, but not the solubility and $k_2$. Glucose addition in combination with urea had no beneficial effect compared to urea supplementation alone.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.383-388
• /
• 1993

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of cellulose addition on high (Exp. I) and low (Exp. II and III) dry matter barley straw silages. In Exp. I : 1 kg barley straw + 16 g glucose + 600 g water + 0 g as control (E0G), + 2 g (E2G), + 4 g (E4G), + 6 g (E6G), and + 8 g (E8G) of cellulose as treatments were ensiled. In Exp. II and III, 10 g glucose was and was not added, respectively, into 2 kg barley straw + 0 g (E8W, E8T) of cellulose as treatments. Samples were stored for 10 (Exp. I) and 7 (Exp. II and III) months at $21^{\circ}C$. The effect of cellulose addition on the fermentation and breakdown of the polysaccharides component in the silos at ensiling occurred more markedly at low dry matter silages rather than at the high ones. All cellulose treated silages were well preserved (pH below 5 in Exp. I and below 4 in Exp. II and III), while lactic acid and ethanol concentration increased. The fibrous fraction (ADF, NDF, crude fiber, hemicellulose, and cellulose) significantly (p<0.01) decreased (except hemicellulose content in Exp. I) compared with corresponding untreated silages. In vitro dry matter digestibility values (IVDMD) were similar for all silages. The present study showed that cellulose addition improved the potential nutritional and fermentation quality of barley straw silage.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.125-129
• /
• 1994

A field survey was carried out in Korea to assess the mineral composition of rice straw since it is a cheap and available cattle feedstuff. Forage and soil samples were collected in 4 localities in the Kyongbuk province. Soil analysis were also carried out in order to establish the relationships between soil composition and mineral content in the rice straw. Based on NRC tables, the rice straw samples provided adequate amounts of Mg, Ca, K, S, Mo, Mn and Zn. Percentages of samples deficient in P, Na, Cu and Se were 83, 50, 67 and 83 respectively. Soil samples, whose mean pH was 5.8 and mean organic matter content was 3.99%, were comparatively acidic and had high organic matter content. They also had high amounts of extractable Fe and Mn. Correlation coefficients between mineral content in soil and rice straw were low, i.e., 0.42 for Me (p < 0.05), and 0.37 for Mo (p < 0.05). The low or nonexistent correlation between soil and forage composition indicates the difficulty of establishing appropriate methods of mineral availability to the plants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.423-431
• /
• 2001

Animals are one of the important memberships of the food chain. The low-efficiency rule of nutrient transfer from one member to the next in the food chain determines the low efficiency of animal agriculture for human food. On the average, about 20% feed proteins and 15% feed energy can be converted into edible nutrients for humans. The rest proportion of feed nutrients is exposed to the environment. Environmental pollution, therefore, is inevitable as animal agriculture grows intensively and extensively. The over-loading of the environment by nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus from animal manure results in soil and water spoilage. The emission of gases like $CH_2$, $CO_2$, $SO_2$, NO, $NO_2$ by animals are one of the contributors for the acidification of the environment and global warming. The inefficient utilization of natural resources and the probable unsafety of animal products to human health are also a critical environmental issue. Improving the conversion efficiency of nutrients in the food chain is the fundamental strategy for solving environmental issues. Specifically in animal agriculture, the strategy includes the improvements of animal genotypes, nutritional and feeding management, animal health, housing systems and waste disposal programs. Animal nutrition science plays a unique and irreplaceable role in the control of nutrient input and output in either products or wastes. Several nutritional methods are proved to be effective in alleviating environmental pollution. A lot of nutritional issues, however, remain to be further researched for the science of animal nutrition to be a strong helper for sustainability of animal agriculture.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.2167-2172
• /
• 2013

Lung cancer remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for more deaths than any other cause. All the clinical practice guidelines recommended against routine screening for lung cancer have cited lack of robust evidence, at least until a few years back. However, the potential to screen lung cancers has received renewed interest due to superior performance of low dose CT (LD-CT) in detecting early stage cancers. The incremental costs and risks involved due to the invasive procedures in the screened population due to a high false positivity rate questions the use of LD-CT scan as a reliable community based screening tool. There is therefore an urgent need to find a less invasive and a more reliable biomarker that is crucial to increase the probability of early lung cancer detection. This can truly make a difference in lung cancer survival and at the same time be more cost and resource utilization effective. Sampling blood serum being minimally invasive, low risk and providing an easy to obtain biofluid, needs to be explored for potential biomarkers. This review discusses the use of circulatory miRNAs that have been able to discriminate lung cancer patients from disease free controls. Several studies conducted recently suggest that circulating miRNAs may have promising future applications for screening and early detection of lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.2545-2549
• /
• 2013

Cervical cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in women worldwide. Persistent infection with a human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause for cervical cancer. Vaccination and Pap smear screening are the best methods for prevention of the disease. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the knowledge and views of upper secondary school female students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, toward prevention of cervical cancer. This study was conducted from April 2009 to September 2009 in 8 schools in Kuala Lumpur area using pre-tested and validated questionnaires. Results indicated that the respondents had low knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention although the majority of students (80.4%) had heard about the disease. The level of knowledge of cervical cancr and its prevention was significantly higher among students from the science stream (p<0.001) compared to students from the art stream. Most students (69.3%) agreed to take the vaccination if the service was available in schools. A high percentage of students (82.2%) agreed that the vaccination should be compulsory to the students. In conclusion, most students had low knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention but they had positive attitude toward vaccination and agreed that vaccination should be compulsory. Therefore, suitable educational programmes should be developed to improve the knowledge of secondary school students on the prevention of cervical cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2009

Genetic variability is an important component in the ability of populations to adapt in the face of environmental change. Severe human impacts reduced Muzzafarnagri sheep of India from 500,000 in 1972 to 10,989 in 1973-74. Here we report for the first time the effect of this population decline on levels of genetic variability at 13 FAO recommended ovine microsatellite loci and contrast levels of variability to that in a breed from the same geographical region, which differed in numbers, by an order of magnitude (Marwari sheep). Of the 13 loci, 100% were polymorphic in both breeds. A high degree of genetic variation was observed within populations in terms of both allele diversity (number of alleles per locus, >4) and gene diversity (expected heterozygosity, >0.5), which implied that there is still a substantial amount of genetic diversity at the nuclear loci in a declining population. Nevertheless, overall low number of alleles per locus and relatively less abundance of low frequency alleles in Muzzafarnagri sheep suggested that genetic variability has been comparatively reduced in this population. Bottleneck analysis indicated that a genetic bottleneck did not occur during the most recent decline. In addition, we found that the differentiation among populations was moderate ($F_{ST}$= 11.8%). This study on assessment of genetic effects of the population declines in ovines is a step towards identification of genetically impoverished or healthy populations, which could prove to be a useful tool to facilitate conservation planning in this important species of small ruminants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.1457-1465
• /
• 2012

Intestinal phosphate (Pi) absorption across the apical membrane of small intestinal epithelial cells is mainly mediated by the type IIb Na-coupled phosphate co-transporter (NaPi-IIb), but its expression and regulation in the chicken remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the mRNA and protein levels of NaPi-IIb in three regions of chicken small intestine, and related their expression levels to the rate of net phosphate absorption. Our results showed that maximal phosphate absorption occurs in the jejunum, however the highest expression levels of NaPi-IIb mRNA and protein occurs in the duodenum. In response to a low-Pi diet (TP 0.2%), there is an adaptive response restricted to the duodenum, with increased brush border membrane (BBM) Na-Pi transport activity and NaPi-IIb protein and mRNA abundance. However, when switched from a low-(TP 0.2%) to a normal diet (TP 0.6%) for 4 h, there is an increase in BBM NaPi-IIb protein abundance in the jejunum, but no changes in BBM NaPi-IIb mRNA. Therefore, our study indicates that Na-Pi transport activity and NaPi-IIb protein expression are differentially regulated in the duodenum vs the jejunum in the chicken.