• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.595-602
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• 2021

Human intestinal microbiota play an important role in the regulation of the host's metabolism. There is a close pathological and physiological interaction between dysbiosis of the intestinal microflora and obesity and metabolic syndrome. Akkermansia muciniphila, which was recently isolated from human feces, accounts for about 1-4% of the intestinal microbiota population. The use of A. muciniphila- derived external membrane protein Amuc_1100 and extracellular vesicles (EVs) could be a new strategy for the treatment of obesity. A. muciniphila is considered a next-generation probiotic (NGP) for the treatment of metabolic disorders, such as obesity. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii accounts for about 5% of the intestinal microbiota population in healthy adults and is an indicator of gut health. F. prausnitzii is a butyrate-producing bacterium, with anti-inflammatory effects, and is considered an NGP for the treatment of immune diseases and diabetes. Postbiotics are complex mixtures of metabolites contained in the cell supernatant secreted by probiotics. Parabiotics are microbial cells in which probiotics are inactivated. Paraprobiotics and postbiotics have many advantages over probiotics, such as clear chemical structures, safe dose parameters, and a long shelf life. Thus, they have the potential to replace probiotics. The most natural strategy to restore the imbalance of the intestinal ecosystem normally is to use NGPs among commensal bacteria in the gut. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new foods or drugs such as parabiotics and postbiotics using NGPs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.84-96
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• 2022

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of calcium-enriched fatty acid supplementation on the growth performance, blood metabolites, intestinal morphology, carcass traits, and nutrient digestibility of broilers subjected to chronic heat stress. A total of 210 one-day-old broiler chicks (40.12 ± 0.25 g) were randomly allocated to one of five dietary treatments, to obtain six replicates per treatment. Broilers were subjected to chronic heat stress from day 21 to day 35, post-hatching, at 34℃ for 9 h per day. The body weight (BW) and feed intake of the experimental broilers were recorded weekly, and the average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated accordingly. Rectal temperature was measured to compare the basal body temperatures between individuals, and blood samples were collected on days 21 and 35 to evaluate basal body temperature, serum total cholesterol, and the triglyceride content of the broilers. On days 21 and 35, one broiler from each cage (n=6) was euthanized to measure carcass trait parameters, nutrient digestibility in digesta, and intestinal morphology. On days 14, 28, and 35, the broilers fed 2.0% calcium-enriched fatty acids had higher BW (p < 0.05) than those fed the other diets. However, no differences (p > 0.05) were found in the average daily feed intake (ADFI) between dietary treatments over the 35 experimental days. On the other hand, on day 21, post-hatching, the broilers fed the 2.0% calcium-enriched fatty acid diet had improved (p < 0.05) dietary feed efficiencies compared to the other treatments. On day 28, the broilers fed the 5.0% of calcium-enriched fatty acid diet also had higher (p < 0.05) dietary feed efficiencies than those fed with the other dietary treatments. No effects (p > 0.05) on carcass weight, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, or blood parameters were found between broilers fed with dietary treatments. This study demonstrated that the inclusion of an additive, containing 2.0% calcium-enriched fatty acid, to broiler diet could ameliorate the negative growth performance of broilers; and no interaction (p > 0.05) was observed between the calcium-enriched fatty acid and nutrient digestibility, digestive anatomy, blood metabolism, and carcass traits of broilers subjected to chronic heat stress conditions for 35 days post-hatching.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2000

An efficient and reliable Agrobacterium transformation procedure based on TDZ (thidiazuron)-induced organogenesis was established and applied to six Brazilian eggp1ant varieties. Optimum transgenic plants recovery was achieved upon the study of the following parameters affecting transformation efficiency, using F-100 variety as a model: i) explant source; ii) pre-culture period; iii) physical state of the pre-culture medium and iv) coculture conditions. The highest frequency of kanamycin-resistant calli derived from leaf explants (5%) was obtained without a pre-culture period and co-cultivation for 24 h in liquid medium followed by five days on solid RM (regeneration medium). For cotyledon explants, best results were achieved upon a pre-culture of 24 h in liquid RM and a co-cultivation period of 24 h in liquid RM followed by three days in solid RM, resulting in a transformation Sequency of 22.7%. Kanamycin-resistant organogenic calli were also obtained from cultivars Emb, Preta Comprida, Round nose Shaded, Campineira and Florida Market. The expression pattern of an epidermis-specific promoter was studied using transformants expressing a chimaeric construct comprised by the promoter Atgrp-5 transcriptionally fused to the coding region of the gus gene. The expression pattern was similar to that previously observed in tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana, with preferential expression at the epidermis and the stem phloem. These results support the idea that the Atgrp-5 promoter can be used to drive defense genes in these tissues, which are sites of pathogen interaction and spread, in programs for the genetic improvement of eggplant.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.984-988
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• 2002

The issue of whether or not the presence NOx (NO and oxidized metabolites) in the hepatocytes at pathological levels affects the functional activity of transport systems within the sinusoidal membrane was investigated. For this purpose, the effect of the pretreatment of isolated hepatocytes with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a spontaneous NO donor, on the sinusoidal uptake of tributylmethylammonium (TBuMA) and triethylmethyl ammonium (TEMA), representative substrates of the organic cation transporter (OCT), and taurocholate, a representative substrate of the $Na^+$/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), was measured. The uptake of TBuMA and TEMA was not affected by the pretreatment, as demonstrated by the nearly identical kinetic parameters for the uptake ($i.e., V_{max}, K_{m} and CL_{linear}$). The uptake of mannitol into hepatocytes was not affected, demonstrating that the membrane integrity remained constant, irregardless of the SNP prutreatment. On the contrary, the uptake of taurocholate was significantly inhibited by the pretreatment, resulting in a significant decrease in V_{max}$, thus providing a clear demonstration that NOx preferentially affects the function of NTCP rather than OCT on the sinusoidal membrane. A direct interaction between NOx and NTCP or a decrease in $Na^+/K^+$ ATPase activity as the result of SNP pretreatment might be responsible for this selective effect of NOx.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.677-684
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• 2008

Accurate estimation of dry matter intake (DMI) is a prerequisite to meet animal performance targets without penalizing animal health and the environment. The objective of the current study was to evaluate some of the existing models in order to predict DMI when lactating dairy cows were offered a total mixed ration containing a high level of concentrates and locally produced agricultural by-products. Six popular models were chosen for DMI prediction (Brown et al., 1977; Rayburn and Fox, 1993; Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat, 1999; National Research Council (NRC), 2001; Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS), Fox et al., 2003; Fuentes-Pila et al., 2003). Databases for DMI comparison were constructed from two different sources: i) 12 commercial farm investigations and ii) a controlled dairy cow experiment. The model evaluation was performed using two different methods: i) linear regression analysis and ii) mean square error prediction analysis. In the commercial farm investigation, DMI predicted by Fuentes-Pila et al. (2003) was the most accurate when compared with the actual mean DMI, whilst the CNCPS prediction showed larger mean bias (difference between mean predicted and mean observed values). Similar results were observed in the controlled dairy cow experiment where the mean bias by Fuentes-Pila et al. (2003) was the smallest of all six chosen models. The more accurate prediction by Fuentes-Pila et al. (2003) could be attributed to the inclusion of dietary factors, particularly fiber as these factors were not considered in some models (i.e. NRC, 2001; CNCPS (Fox et al., 2003)). Linear regression analysis had little meaningful biological significance when evaluating models for prediction of DMI in this study. Further research is required to improve the accuracy of the models, and may recommend more mechanistic approaches to investigate feedstuffs (common to the Asian region), animal genotype, environmental conditions and their interaction, as the majority of the models employed are based on empirical approaches.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.91-112
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• 1995

Drilled shafts are used increasingly as the foundations for many types of structures. However, very little knowledge of drilled shaft behavior under inclined load is available. In this study, a systematic experimental testing program was conducted to understand the undrained behavior of drilled shaft foundations under inclined loads. A semi-theoretical method of predicting the inclined capacity was developed through a parametric study of the variables such as shaft geometry and load inclination. Test parameters were chosen to be representative of those most frequently used in the electric utility industry. Short, rigid shafts with varying depth/diameter(D/B) ratios were addressed, and loading modes were investigated that includes exial uplift, inclined uplift, and inclined compression loads. Capacities were evaluated using the structural interaction formula and an equation developed from this experimental study. This new equation models the laboratory data well and is applicable for the limites field data.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.254-263
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• 2012

The survivability of warship is assessed by susceptibility, vulnerability and recoverability. Essentially, a vulnerability assessment is a measure of the effectiveness of a warship to resist hostile weapon effects. Considering the shot line and its penetration effect on the warship, present study introduces the procedural aspects of vulnerability assessments of warship. Present study also considers the prediction of penetration damage to a target caused by the impact of projectiles. It reflects the interaction between the weapon and the target from a perspective of vulnerable area method and COVART model. The shotline and tracing calculation have been directly integrated into the vulnerability assessment method based on the penetration equation empirically obtained. A simplified geometric description of the desired target and specification of a threat type is incorporated with the penetration effect. This study describes how to expand the vulnerable area assessment method to the penetration effect. Finally, an example shows that the proposed method can provide the vulnerability parameters of the warship or its component under threat being hit through tracing the shotline path thereby enabling the vulnerability calculation. In addition, the proposed procedure enabling the calculation of the component's multi-hit vulnerability introduces a propulsion system in dealing with redundant Non-overlapping components.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.175-182
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• 2013

In this paper, the simulation model of house price is presented on the basis of pricing mechanism between the demand and the supply of apartments in seoul. The algorithm of house price simulation model for calculating the rate of price over time includes feedback control theory. The feedback control theory consists of stock variable, flow variable, auxiliary variable and constant variable. We suggest that the future price of apartment is simulated using mutual interaction variables which are demand, supply, price and parameters among them. In this paper we considers three items which include the behavior of apartment price index, the size of demand and supply, and the forecasting of the apartment price in the future economic scenarios. The proposed price simulation model could be used in public needs for developing a house price regulation policy using financial and non-financial aids. And the quantitative simulation model is to be applied in practice with more specific real data and Powersim Software modeling tool.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.229-265
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• 2012

Hygroexpansion of wood is a known and undesired characteristic in civil engineering. When wood is exposed to changing environmental humidity, it adsorbs or desorbs moisture and warps. The resulting distortions or - at restrained conditions - cracks are a major concern in timber engineering. We herein present a multiscale model for prediction of the macroscopic hygroexpansion behavior of individual pieces of softwood from their microstructure, demonstrated for spruce. By applying poromicromechanics, we establish a link between the swelling pressure, driving the hygroexpansion of wood at the nanoscale, and the resulting macroscopic dimensional changes. The model comprises six homogenization steps, which are performed by means of continuum micromechanics, the unit cell method and laminate theory, all formulated in a poromechanical framework. Model predictions for elastic properties of wood as functions of the moisture content closely approach corresponding experimental data. As for the hygroexpansion behavior, the swelling pressure has to be back-calculated from macroscopic hygroexpansion data. The good reproduction of the anisotropy of wood hygroexpansion, based on only a single scalar calibration parameter, underlines the suitability of the model. The multiscale model constitutes a valuable tool for studying the effect of microstructural features on the macroscopic behavior and for assessing the hygroexpansion behavior at smaller length scales, which are inaccessible to experiments. The model predictions deliver input parameters for the analysis of timber at the structural scale, therewith enabling to optimize the use of timber and to prevent moisture-induced damage or failure.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.93-115
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• 2013

This paper describes a study of the influence of a dynamically flexible building structure on pressures inside and net pressures on the roof of low-rise buildings with a dominant opening. It is shown that dynamic interaction between the flexible roof and the internal pressure results in a coupled system that is similar to a two-degree-of-freedom mechanical system consisting of two mass-spring-damper systems with excitation forces acting on both the masses. Two resonant modes are present, the natural frequencies of which can readily be obtained from the model. As observed with quasi-static building flexibility, the effect of increased dynamic flexibility is to reduce the first natural frequency as well as the corresponding peak value of the admittance, the latter being the result of increased damping effects. Consequently, it is found that the internal and net roof pressure fluctuations (RMS coefficients) are also reduced with dynamic flexibility. This model has been validated from experiments conducted using a cylindrical model with a leeward end flexible diaphragm, whereby good match between predicted and measured natural frequencies, and trends in peak admittances and RMS responses with flexibility, were obtained. Furthermore, since significant differences exist between internal and net roof pressure responses obtained from the dynamic flexibility model and those obtained from the quasi-static flexibility model, it is concluded that the quasi-static flexibility assumption may not be applicable to dynamically flexible buildings. Additionally, since sensitivity analyses reveal that the responses are sensitive to both the opening loss coefficient and the roof damping ratio, careful estimates should therefore be made to these parameters first, if predictions from such models are to have significance to real buildings.