• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1307-1314
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• 2010

This study was conducted to isolate and characterize a novel feather-degrading bacterium producing keratinase activity. A strain K9 was isolated from soil at poultry farm and identified as Xanthomonas sp. K9 by phenotypic characters and 16S rRNA gene analysis. The cultural conditions for the keratinase production were 0.3% fructose, 0.1% gelatin, 0.04% $K_2HPO_4$, 0.06% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.05% NaCl and 0.01% $FeSO_4$ with an initial pH 8.0 at $30^{\circ}C$ and 200 rpm. In an optimized medium containing 0.1% chicken feather, production yield of keratinase was approximately 8-fold higher than the yield in basal medium. The strain K9 effectively degraded chicken feather meal (67%) and duck feather (54%), whereas human nail and human hair showed relatively low degradation rates (13-22%). Total free amino acid concentration in the cell-free supernatant was about 25.799 mg/l. Feather hydrolysate produced by the strain K9 stimulated growth of red pepper, indicating Xanthomonas sp. K9 could be not only used to increase the nutritional value of chicken feather but also a potential candidate for the development of natural fertilizer applicable to crop plant soil.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.597-600
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• 1993

An experiment was conducted using 160 Arbor Acres broiler strain of chickens to evaluate the effects of partial replacement of soyabean meal with feather meal on the diets of broiler chickens raised from day old to 8 weeks of age. Feathers, obtained from a local poultry processing plant, were boiled in water for 30 minutes, sun-dried and ground using a 2 mm sieve for inclusion into the experimental diets at 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5% levels at the expense of soyabean meal. The feather meal was assayed and found to contain 86.5% crude protein and to be low in lysine, methionine and histidine amino acids. The inclusion of such processed feather meal up to 3% in the diet did not (p>0.05) affect growth or feed conversion ratio. However, the highest level of inclusion of feather meal in the diet, 4.5%, significantly reduced both growth rate and feed conversion ratio of the birds. The results of this experiment showed that up to 3% of water-boiled feather meal, which represents 12% of dietary protein, the equivalent of 6% level of use of soyabean meal in the diet, can be successfully included as a protein source in the diets of broiler chickens.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.109-115
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• 2011

An analysis and design method for reducing aerodynamic noise in high-speed trains based on biomimetics of noiseless flight of owl is proposed. Five factors related to the morphology of the flight feather have been selected, and the candidate optimal shape of the flight feather is determined. The turbulent flow field analysis demonstrates that the optimal shape leads to diminished vortex formation by causing separation of the flow as well as allowing the fluid to climb up along the surface of the flight feather. To determine the effect of scaling of the owl's flight feather on the noise reduction, a two-fold and a four-fold scaled up model of the feather are constructed, and the numerical simulations are carried out to obtain the aerodynamic noise levels for each scale. Original model is found to reduce the noise level by 10 dBA, while two-fold increase in length dimensions reduces the noise by 12 dBA. Validation of numerical solution using wind tunnel experimental measurements is presented as well.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.215-224
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• 2019

We describe three feather mites recovered from a wood sandpiper Tringa glareola that was stored in a $-20^{\circ}C$ freezer at the Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center. These feather mites are reported for the first time in South Korea: Avenzoaria totani (Canestrini, 1978), Ingrassia veligera Oudemans, 1904 and Montchadskiana glareolae Dabert and Ehrnsberger, 1999. In this study, we provide morphological diagnoses and illustrations. Additionally, we provide partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) gene as molecular characteristics of three species.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.706-711
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• 2022

Broiler chickens are exposed to various stresses throughout their lives, and those stresses affect their well-being and meat quality. Therefore, the farm breeding system is critical for reducing stress in broilers and improving animal welfare. This study was conducted to evaluate the difference between general farms and animal welfare farms and to evaluate feather corticosterone as an index for measuring stress. Samples of 28-day-old broilers (blood, feathers, and muscle) were collected from slaughter-houses, and corticosterone, along with HSP70, glycogen, and L-lactate, were extracted from feathers and serum as indicators of broiler stress levels and energy metabolism. The analysis results confirmed a significantly (p<0.01) higher feather cortisone level in the general farm group than in the welfare farm group, but no significance was detected for serum corticosterone. HSP70 levels did not differ in muscles and feathers. Glycogen levels were significantly higher in the general farm group than in the welfare farm group (p<0.01), but L-lactate levels showed no difference. Our results suggest that feather corticosterone can be used as an indicator to evaluate stress differences between general farms and animal welfare farms and that long-term stress can be assessed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.213-221
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• 2018

In the desert and Gobi regions with strong wind and large sediment discharge, sand transporting engineering is more effective than sand blocking and sand fixing measures in sand prevention. This study uses the discrete phase model of 3D numerical simulation to study the motion trail, motion state and distribution rule of sand particles with different grain diameters when the included angle between the main shaft of the feather-row lateral transportation sand barrier and the wind direction changes, and conducts a comparison in combination with the wind tunnel test and the flow field rule of common sand barrier. According to the comparison, when wind-sand incoming flow passes through a feather-row sand barrier, sand particles slow down and deposit within the deceleration area under the resistance of the feather-row sand barrier, move along the transportation area formed by the transportation force, and accumulate as a ridge at the tail of the engineering. With increasing wind speed, the eolian erosion of the sand particles to the ground and the feather-row sand barrier is enhanced, and the sand transporting quantity and throw-over quantity of the feather-row sand barrier are both increased. When sand particles with different grain diameters bypass the feather-row sand barrier, the particle size of the infiltrating sands will increase with the included angle between the main shaft of the feather-row sand barrier and the wind direction. The obtained result demonstrates that, at a constant wind speed, the flow field formed is most suitable for the lateral transportation of the wind-drift flow when the included angle between the main shaft of the feather-row sand barrier lateral transportation engineering and the wind speed is less than or equal to $30^{\circ}$.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.12
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• 2021

Background: Goslings in several Taiwanese farms experienced gosling feather loss disease (GFL) at 21-35 days and goose broke feather disease (GBF) at 42-60 days. The prevalence ranges from a few birds to 500 cases per field. It is estimated that about 12,000 geese have been infected, the morbidity is 70-80% and the mortality is 20-30%. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the pathogens that cause GFL and GBF. Focus on the study of the correlation between goose circovirus (GoCV) and goose parvovirus (GPV) with the goose feather loss in southern Taiwan. Furthermore, a phylogenetic tree was established to align the differences between southern and northern Taiwan and compare with virus strains from China and Europe. Methods: Samples were collected from animal hospitals. Molecular and microscopy diagnostics were used to examine 92 geese. Specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) assays are performed to evaluate GPV and GoCV viral loads and simultaneously evaluated the feather loss conditions in geese with the scoring method. Results: High prevalence of GoCV and GPV infection in geese showing signs of GFL and GBF. Inclusion body was detected in the feather follicles and Lieberkuhn crypt epithelial cells. The Q-PCR showed the high correlation between feather loss and viruses during 3rd-5th week. However, the infection was not detected using the same test in 60 healthy geese. Conclusions: Thus, GFL and GBF appear to be significantly closely related to GoCV and GPV. The geese feathers showed increasing recovery after being quarantined and disinfected.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2006

Feather, generated in large quantities as a byproduct of commercial poultry processing, is almost pure keratin, which is not easily degradable by common professes. Four strains, SMMJ-2, FL-3, NO-4 and RM-12 were isolated from soil for production of extracellular keratinolytic protease. They were identified as Bacillus sp. based on their morphological and physiological characteristics. They shown high protease activity on 5.0% skim milk agar medium and produced a substrate like mucoid on keratin agar medium. Bacillus sp. SMMJ-2 had a faster production time for producing keratinolytic protease than other strains. This strain did not completely degrade whole chicken feather for five days in basal medium but completely degraded whole chicken feather when supplied with nitrogen source for 40hours in keratinolytic producing medium ($0.7%\;K_{2}HPO_{4},\;0.2%\;KH_{2}PO_{4},\;0.1%$ fructose, 1.2% whole chicken feather, $0.01%\;Na_{2}CO_3$, pH 7.0). When supplied with chicken feather as nitrogen source, keratinolytic protease activity was 89 units/ml/min. When soybean meal was used as nitrogen source, the keratinolytic protease production reached a maximum of 106 units/ml/min after 48 hours under $30^{\circ}C$, 180 agitation. To isolate the keratinolytic protease, the culture filtrate was precipitated with $(NH_4)_{2}SO_4$ and acetone. The recovery rate of keratinolytic protease was about 96% after treatment with 50% acetone. The enzyme was stable in the range of $30{\sim}50^{\circ}C$ and pH $6.0{\sim}12.0$.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.315-318
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• 2005

The effects of inorganic salts and feather concentrations on pretense production by Bacillus megaterium F7-1 were investigated. Pretense production was dependent on the presence of phosphates in the medium. Supplementation of medium with calcium ion slightly increased protease production. The highest protease production was obtained at $1.4\%$ feather. The optimal medium contained $2.0\%$ glucose, $0.8\%$ skim milk, $0.06\%\;K_{2}HPO_{4}\%,\;0.04\%\;KH_{2}PO{4},\;0.06\%\;NaCl,\;0.03\%\;MgCl_{2}\cdot6H_{2}O,\;0.002\%\;CaCl_{2}\cdot2H_{2}O,\;and\;1.4\%$ whole feather. By using this optimized medium, increased production of the protease was achieved compared with the cases of using basal medium.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2020

This study was conducted to analyze feasibility of monitoring of fluoroquinolnes residual through feather analysis in broilers. The calibration curve showed good linearity (r²≥0.99) within the concentration range of 1~100 ㎍/kg. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were validated at ≤0.66 and ≤1.99 ㎍/kg in broiler feather, respectively. The recoveries in feather samples ranged from 94.6 to 114.4% (5.1-15.8% RSD) at the 5 to 20 ㎍/kg spiking levels. The proposed new analytical method proved to be suitable and effective for fluoroquinolnes determination. We also monitored fluoroquinolones residue in 36 samples (broiler that were slaughtered in Gyonggi-do) using this method. Among tested feather samples, enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were detected in all samples. In muscle samples, enrofloxacin was detected in 20 (55.6%) samples and ciprofloxacin was not detected.