• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.425-430
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• 1999

Complex environmental control systems were developed, which control properly the pig's environment in windowless pig-housing based on the thermoregulatory behaviors of pigs and concentrations of noxious gases (CO2 and NH3). The this study was conducted to assess the performance of complex environmental control systems by raising weaned piglets and growing pigs under different seasonal conditions. Average daily gain of pigs in the experimental pig-housing was slightly higher than that of pigs in the conventional pig-housing. Average daily gain was not significantly different in winter and spring(P＞0.05), but was significantly different in summer(P＜0.05). Feed conversion rate of pigs in the experimental pig-housing was smaller than that of pigs in the conventional pig-housing. Feed conversion rate was not significantly different in environment for weaned piglets and growing pigs resulted in the improved daily gain, feed conversion rate, and carcass quality of the finishing pigs. These results showed that the performance of the complex environmental control systems in windowless pig-housing was excellent for weaned piglets and growing pigs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.459-468
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• 2004

An experiment was conducted to establish comparison of ventulation efficiency in an enclosed and conventional growing-finishing pig house. The main results of the experiment are as follows : In the established temperature was sustained at the level of summer 24.8${\sim}$29.1$^{\circ}C$, winter 17.9${\sim}$23.1$^{\circ}C$ during the experimental period of enclosed growing-finishing pig house, and conventional growing-finishing pig house was at the lovel of summer 24.7${\sim}$32.3$^{\circ}C$, winter 14.5${\sim}$18.2$^{\circ}C$ during the experimental period respectively. As for the results of dertimental gas(ammonia) concentration ratio analysis, while the conventional pig house sustained of summer 9.3${\sim}$16.9 mg/$\ell$ level, enclosed growing-finishing pig house sustained of summer 7.9${\sim}$16.1 mg/$\ell$, and the latter one is lower than that of the conventional growing-finishing pig house. Air flow rate on the floor level which is the low part of pen and the active area of pigs in the enclosed growing and finishing pig house during winter was measured at 0 to 0.87 m/s at the 0.01 to 2.73 m/s at the maximum ventilation efficiency. As for breeding pigs in summer, the pigs from the conventional pig house weighed 100.2kg, on the other hand, the pigs from enclosed growing-finishing pig house weighed 107.3 kg ; the differnce between the two kinds was about 7 kg. This was because the most adequate environment, which was not influenced by the exterior atmosphere, was offered to the pigs from enclosed growing-finishing pig house, and all of this could reduce pigs stress effectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.433-442
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• 2013

This study aimed to compare the dynamics of air temperature and velocity under two different ventilation and housing systems during summer and winter in Korea. The $NH_3$ concentration of both housing systems was also investigated in relation to the pig's growth. The ventilation systems used were; negative pressure type for the enclosed pig house (EPH) and natural airflow for the conventional pig house (CPH). Against a highly fluctuating outdoor temperature, the EPH was able to maintain a stable temperature at 24.8 to $29.1^{\circ}C$ during summer and 17.9 to $23.1^{\circ}C$ during winter whilst the CPH had a wider temperature variance during summer at 24.7 to $32.3^{\circ}C$. However, the temperature fluctuation of the CPH during winter was almost the same with that of EPH at 14.5 to $18.2^{\circ}C$. The NH3 levels in the CPH ranged from 9.31 to 16.9 mg/L during summer and 5.1 to 19.7 mg/L during winter whilst that of the EPH pig house was 7.9 to 16.1 mg/L and 3.7 to 9.6 mg/L during summer and winter, respectively. These values were less than the critical ammonia level for pigs with the EPH maintaining a lower level than the CPH in both winter and summer. The air velocity at pig nose level in the EPH during summer was 0.23 m/s, enough to provide comfort because of the unique design of the inlet feature. However, no air movement was observed in almost all the lower portions of the CPH during winter because of the absence of an inlet feature. There was a significant improvement in weight gain and feed intake of pigs reared in the EPH compared to the CPH (p<0.05). These findings proved that despite the difference in the housing systems, a stable indoor temperature was necessary to minimize the impact of an avoidable and highly fluctuating outdoor temperature. The EPH consistently maintained an effective indoor airspeed irrespective of season; however the CPH had defective and stagnant air at pig nose level during winter. Characteristics of airflow direction and pattern were consistent relative to housing system during both summer and winter but not of airspeed. The ideal air velocity measurement favored the EPH and therefore can be appropriate for the Korean environment. Further emphasis on its cost effectiveness will be the subject of future investigations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.311-316
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• 1995

Data on available feed resources, feeding practices and nutrient adequacy of rations under small farm conditions in Sri Lanka were obtained in a baseline survey involving 104 pig farms. The results showed that a wide range of non-conventional feedstuffs are used for pig feeding under typical small farm conditions and that dietary protein quality is a major factor limiting productivity. Following the survey, two on-farm trials were conducted to evaluate cheaper, alternative feeding strategies. In trial 1, a test diet was formulated using several non-conventional feedstuffs and compared with a commercial feed that is normally fed in the farms. In trial 2, the possibility of improving growth rates by amino acid supplementation was evaluated. The results demonstrated that feed costs can be considerably lowered through these packages. Some problems inherent to on-farm livestock trials are highlighted.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.418-426
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• 2023

This study focused on nitrous oxide, a major greenhouse gas produced in agricultural settings through bacterial nitrogen oxidation in aerobic soil. Nitrogen fertilizer in farmland is identified as a primary source of nitrous oxide. The importance of reducing excess nitrogen in soil to mitigate nitrous oxide production is well-known. The study investigated the use of liquefied pig manure as an alternative to urea fertilizer in conventional agriculture. Results showed a more than two-fold reduction in nitrous oxide emissions in pepper cultivation areas with liquefied pig manure compared to that with urea fertilizer. The population of Nitrosospira, a nitrous oxide-producing bacterium, decreased by over 10% with liquefied pig manure. Additionally, nirK and nosZ, which are related to the denitrification process, significantly increased in the urea fertilizer group, whereas levels in the liquefied pig manure group resembled those with no nitrogen treatment. In conclusion, the experiment confirmed that liquefied pig manure can serve as an eco-friendly nitrogen fertilizer, significantly reducing nitrous oxide production, a major contributor to the atmospheric greenhouse effect.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.622-630
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• 2024

Objective: Pig breeders cannot obtain phenotypic information at the time of selection for sow lifetime productivity (SLP). They would benefit from obtaining genetic information of candidate sows. Genomic data interpreted using deep learning (DL) techniques could contribute to the genetic improvement of SLP to maximize farm profitability because DL models capture nonlinear genetic effects such as dominance and epistasis more efficiently than conventional genomic prediction methods based on linear models. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of DL for the genomic prediction of two SLP-related traits; lifetime number of litters (LNL) and lifetime pig production (LPP). Methods: Two bivariate DL models, convolutional neural network (CNN) and local convolutional neural network (LCNN), were compared with conventional bivariate linear models (i.e., genomic best linear unbiased prediction, Bayesian ridge regression, Bayes A, and Bayes B). Phenotype and pedigree data were collected from 40,011 sows that had husbandry records. Among these, 3,652 pigs were genotyped using the PorcineSNP60K BeadChip. Results: The best predictive correlation for LNL was obtained with CNN (0.28), followed by LCNN (0.26) and conventional linear models (approximately 0.21). For LPP, the best predictive correlation was also obtained with CNN (0.29), followed by LCNN (0.27) and conventional linear models (approximately 0.25). A similar trend was observed with the mean squared error of prediction for the SLP traits. Conclusion: This study provides an example of a CNN that can outperform against the linear model-based genomic prediction approaches when the nonlinear interaction components are important because LNL and LPP exhibited strong epistatic interaction components. Additionally, our results suggest that applying bivariate DL models could also contribute to the prediction accuracy by utilizing the genetic correlation between LNL and LPP.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.155-165
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• 2022

As pork consumption increases, rapid and accurate determination of porcine carcass grades at abattoirs has become important. Non-destructive, automated inspection methods have improved slaughter efficiency in abattoirs. Furthermore, the development of a calibration equation suitable for non-destructive inspection of domestic pig breeds may lead to rapid determination of pig carcass and more objective pork grading judgement. In order to increase the efficiency of pig slaughter, the correct estimation of the automated-method that can accommodate the existing pig carcass judgement should be made. In this study, the previously developed calibration equation was verified to confirm whether the estimated traits accord with the actual measured traits of pig carcass. A total of 1,069,019 pigs, to which the developed calibration equation, was applied were used in the study and the optimal estimated regression equation for actual measured two traits (backfat thickness and hot carcass weight) was proposed using the estimated traits. The accuracy of backfat thickness and hot carcass weight traits in the estimated regression models through stepwise regression analysis was 0.840 (R²) and 0.980 (R²), respectively. By comparing the actually measured traits with the estimated traits, we proposed optimal estimated regression equation for the two measured traits, which we expect will be a cornerstone for the Korean porcine carcass grading system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1997.07a
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• pp.17-17
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• 1997

We investigated the relationship between the voltage-operated calcium channel current and the corresponding [Ca$^{2＋}$]i change (Ca$^{2＋}$-transient) in guinea-pig gastric myocyte. Fluorescence microspectroscopy was combined with conventional whole-cell patch clamp technique and fura-2 (80 $\mu$M) was added into the CsCl-rich pipette solution.(omitted)

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2013

Effects of pig manure with various composting periods(0, 15, 30, 50, 80 days) on feeding rate, biomass, cocoon production of earthworm(Eisenia fetida) population and physicochemical property of vermicast produced from pig manure were investigated. The feeding rate of earthworm was increased with longer composting period of pig manure. But the biomass production of earthworm population was highest upon the pig manure composted for 30 days. Upon the pig manure composted for 80 days, the biomass was severely reduced. Cocoon production was decreased with longer composting period and especially lower on the pig manure composted for 80 days. Values of pH, EC, C/N ratio of vermicasts produced from pig manure composts were lower than those of pig manures. And the organic material contents of vermicasts were uniformly reduced irrespective of composting duration of pig manure, whose values were 35.9-39.8%. From these results, the optimum composting period of pig manure for vermicomposting could be 15-30 days. And the application of vermicomposting upon the composted pig manure could be an efficient way for the treatment of pig feces, which can stabilize and recycle the organic wastes more rapidly than the conventional composting method.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.138-146
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of the current study was to investigate the influences of conventional (CO) and deep litter (DE) systems on antimicrobial resistance in fecal Escherichia coli (E. coli). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to detect antimicrobial resistance to E. coli in swine fecal samples in CO and DE systems located in western and northeastern Thailand. Individual rectal swab samples were taken only from healthy pigs. A total of 215 individual and healthy pigs were randomly selected for isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility test of E. coli by the disc diffusion method. The test panel included amoxicillin (AMX), colistin, doxycycline (DOX), enrofloxacin, gentamicin (GEN), kanamycin, neomycin (NEO), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT). Results: There were significant (p<0.05) lower resistance levels for GEN, NEO, and SXT in the DE farms compared to those in the CO farms. There was a lower number of antimicrobial resistance agents (p<0.001) in the DE farms compared to those in the CO farms. This result was consistent with those in western (p<0.01) and northeastern (p<0.01) Thailand. Overall, antibiograms of AMX-SXT and AMX-DOX-SXT were found in the CO (19.09% and 20.91%, respectively) and the DE (16.19% and 24.76%, respectively) farms. No antimicrobial resistance (5.71%) was found and AMX (13.33%) resistant pigs in the DE farms, whereas the pattern of AMX-GEN-SXT (6.36%) and AMX-DOX-GEN-SXT (11.82%) resistant pigs was found in the CO farms. Conclusion: The DE system for pig farming was superior to conventional pig farming by lowering the resistance level of fecal E. coli to GEN, NEO, and SXT, with decreasing the number of antimicrobial resistance agents and inducing a small proportion of pigs to be free from antimicrobial resistance.