Selection and Crossbreeding in Relation to Plumage Color Inheritance in Three Chinese Egg Type Duck Breeds (Anas Platyrhynchos)

Lin, R.L.,Chen, H.P.,Rouvier, R.,Poivey, J.P. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.8

In China and South East Asia, the duck (common duck) is important in egg production for human consumption. Plumage color is a breed characteristic and of economic importance, together with egg production. Our aim in this study was to investigate the inheritance of plumage color in three Chinese indigenous egg-type duck breeds, Shan Ma (S), Putian White (F) and Putian black (P), and some of their crossbreds. These three breeds have different plumage color and are used in crossbreeding. The crossbred laying ducks $F{\times}(P{\times}S)$ and $F{\times}(S{\times}P)$ showed highly improved laying ability but heterogeneous plumage color. Genotypes at four relevant loci were investigated by studying down color and pattern in ducklings after crossbreeding. $F_1$ ducklings from the matings $F{\times}S$ and $S{\times}F$, $P{\times}S$, and $S{\times}P$ were classified into four classes of plumage color (the Shan Ma plumage color, black, white, or multicolored) over three generations. Parents were selected for the Shan Ma plumage color of their progeny. In the fourth generation, P male and P female ducks were selected according to the frequency of the desired class of plumage color (Shan Ma) of their $F_1$ progeny to obtain the so-called "Brown Putian Ma duck". The Shan Ma duck genotype was identified as having the restricted mallard color pattern ($M^RM^R$), full expression of any of the patterns or colors (CC), no extended black (ee) and no brown dilution D (D). The Putian White genotype was recessive white (cc), no extended black (ee) and no brown dilution D (D). The Putian Black genotype exhibited full expression of extended black (E gene) and no brown dilution (CCEE D [D]). It was shown that $F{\times}S$ and $S{\times}F$ tests should be implemented to eliminate the recessive white c allele in the S line and the dominant extended black E allele in the F line. It was also shown that the Brown Putian Ma obtained from Putian Black, with no extended black genotype (ee), could be used to get rid of the black plumage (E gene) in the crossbred ducks. This could provide a solution for producing 3-way crossbred ducks Putian $White{\times}$(Putian-$Ma{\times}Shan$ Ma) and Putian $White{\times}$(Shan $Ma{\times}Putian$-Ma), with the desired Shan Ma feather color.

Effects of Dietary Nitrogen Sources on Fiber Digestion and Ruminal Fluid Characteristics in Sheep Fed Wheat Straw

Tan, Z.-L.,Lu, D.-X.,Hu, M.,Niu, W.-Y.,Han, C.-Y.,Ren, X.-P.,Na, R.,Lin, S.-L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.10

Fifteen Inner Mongolian wethers with permanent ruminal and duodenal cannulas were used to study the effects of dietary rumen-undegradable protein (RUP) to rumen-degradable protein (RDP) ratios or protein sources on fiber digestion in the gastrointestinal tract and ruminal fluid characteristics. Fiber digestion and ruminal fermentation were not affected (p>0.05) by dietary RUP to RDP ratios (from 1.54 to 0.72). Soybean meal supplementation improved ruminal digestion. Fish meal supplementation increased (p<0.05) the ruminal degradability of fiber. The different RUP to RDP ratios (from 1.54 to 0.72) did not influence (p>0.05) ruminal fluid pH, but there were differences (p<0.05) in ruminal fluid $NH_3-N$ concentration because of urea replacement. Soybean meal as a dietary protein source decreased (p<0.05) ruminal fluid pH and increased (p<0.05 or p<0.01) $NH_3-N$, acetate, propionate and butyrate concentrations in the rumen. Fish meal as a dietary protein source decreased (p<0.05 or p<0.01) ruminal $NH_3-N$ and acetate concentrations and increased (p<0.05) ruminal propionate concentration. It can be concluded that dietary protein sources have more significant effect on fiber digestion and ruminal fermentation than different dietary RUP to RDP ratios, when the dietary crude protein requirements of growing sheep are satisfied.

THE TAIWANESE-AMERICAN OCCULTATION SURVEY PROJECT STELLAR VARIABILITY. II. DETECTION OF 15 VARIABLE STARS

Mondal, S.,Lin, C. C.,Chen, W. P.,Zhang, Z.-W.,Alcock, C.,Axelrod, T.,Bianco, F. B.,Byun, Y.-I.,Coehlo, N. K.,Cook, K. H.,Dave, R.,Kim, D.-W.,King, S.-K.,Lee, T.,Lehner, M. J.,Lin, H.-C.,Marshall, S. American Institute of Physics 2010 The Astronomical journal Vol.139 No.5

<P>The Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey (TAOS) project has collected more than a billion photometric measurements since 2005 January. These sky survey data—covering timescales from a fraction of a second to a few hundred days—are a useful source to study stellar variability. A total of 167 star fields, mostly along the ecliptic plane, have been selected for photometric monitoring with the TAOS telescopes. This paper presents our initial analysis of a search for periodic variable stars from the time-series TAOS data on one particular TAOS field, No. 151 (R.A. = 17<SUP>h</SUP>30<SUP>m</SUP>6<img entity='fs' SRC='http://ej.iop.org/icons/Entities/fs.gif' ALT='fs' ALIGN='BASELINE' />7, decl. = 27°17'30'', J2000), which had been observed over 47 epochs in 2005. A total of 81 candidate variables are identified in the 3 deg<SUP>2</SUP> field, with magnitudes in the range 8 < R < 16. On the basis of the periodicity and shape of the light curves, 29 variables, 15 of which were previously unknown, are classified as RR Lyrae, Cepheid, δ Scuti, SX Phonencis, semi-regular, and eclipsing binaries.</P>

Effect of Dietary Structural to Nonstructural Carbohydrate Ratio on Rumen Degradability and Digestibility of Fiber Fractions of Wheat Straw in Sheep

Tan, Z.-L.,Lu, D.-X.,Hu, M.,Niu, W.-Y.,Han, C.-Y.,Ren, X.-P.,Na, R.,Lin, S.-L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.11

The effect of different dietary structural carbohydrate (SC) to nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) ratios on fiber degradation, digestion, flow, apparent digestibility and rumen fluid characteristics was studied with a design using 18 wethers fitted with permanent rumen and duodenum cannulae. All sheep were divided into six groups randomly, receiving six diets with varying SC to NSC ratios. All diets contained the same proportion of wheat straw and concentrate. The dietary SC to NSC ratios were adjusted by adding cornstarch to the concentrate supplements. The duodenal and fecal flows of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose (HC) and cellulose (CEL) were estimated using chromium-mordanted wheat straw as a flow marker. The degradation parameters of wheat straw DM, NDF, ADF, HC and CEL were determined by incubating the ground wheat straw in nylon bags in the rumen for different periods of time. There was no effect (p>0.05) of the different dietary SC to NSC ratios on rumen pH or $NH_3$-N, but acetate, propionate and butyrate concentrations were significantly affected (p<0.05 or p<0.01) by dietary SC to NSC ratios in the rumen fluid. When the dietary SC to NSC ratio was 2.86, the highest rumen degradability of wheat straw DM, NDF, ADF and CEL was found, but the highest apparent rumen digestibilities of DM, NDF, ADF, HC and CEL occurred at a 2.64 SC to NSC ratio. However, because of compensatory digestion in the hindgut, the apparent digestibilities of DM, NDF, ADF, HC and CEL were highest when the dietary SC to NSC ratio was 2.40. In conclusion, there is a optimal range of dietary SC to NSC ratios (between 2.86 and 2.40) that is beneficial to maximize wheat straw fiber degradation and apparent digestibility.

ESTIMATES OF DENSITIES AND FILLING FACTORS FROM A COOLING TIME ANALYSIS OF SOLAR MICROFLARES OBSERVED WITH<i>RHESSI</i>

Baylor, R. N.,Cassak, P. A.,Christe, S.,Hannah, I. G.,Krucker, Sä,m,Mullan, D. J.,Shay, M. A.,Hudson, H. S.,Lin, R. P. IOP Publishing 2011 The Astrophysical journal Vol.736 No.1

<P>We usemore than 4500 microflares from the RHESSI microflare data set to estimate electron densities and volumetric filling factors of microflare loops using a cooling time analysis. We show that if the filling factor is assumed to be unity, the calculated conductive cooling times are much shorter than the observed flare decay times, which in turn are much shorter than the calculated radiative cooling times. This is likely unphysical, but the contradiction can be resolved by assuming that the radiative and conductive cooling times are comparable, which is valid when the flare loop temperature is a maximum and when external heating can be ignored. We find that resultant radiative and conductive cooling times are comparable to observed decay times, which has been used as an assumption in some previous studies. The inferred electron densities have a mean value of 10(11.6) cm(-3) and filling factors have a mean of 10(-3.7). The filling factors are lower and densities are higher than previous estimates for large flares, but are similar to those found for two microflares by Moore et al.</P>

Large Solar Eruptive Events

R. P. Lin 한국천문학회 2011 天文學會報 Vol.36 No.2

DISCOVERY OF X-RAY PULSATION FROM THE GEMINGA-LIKE PULSAR PSR J2021+4026

Lin, L. C. C.,Hui, C. Y.,Hu, C. P.,Wu, J. H. K.,Huang, R. H. H.,Trepl, L.,Takata, J.,Seo, K. A.,Wang, Y.,Chou, Y.,Cheng, K. S. IOP Publishing 2013 ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS - Vol.770 No.1

<P>We report the discovery of an X-ray periodicity of similar to 265.3 ms from a deep XMM-Newton observation of the radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar, PSR J2021+4026, located at the edge of the supernova remnant G78.2+2.1 (gamma-Cygni). The detected frequency is consistent with the gamma-ray pulsation determined by the observation of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at the same epoch. The X-ray pulse profile resembles the modulation of a hot spot on the surface of the neutron star. The phase-averaged spectral analysis also suggests that the majority of the observed X-rays have thermal origins. This is the third member in the class of radio-quiet pulsars with significant pulsations detected from both X-ray and gamma-ray regimes.</P>

Amplification at 1400–1450 nm of the Large-Core Nd-Doped Fiber by White LED Pumping

Lin Htein,Weiwei Fan,Watekar, P. R.,Won-Taek Han IEEE 2013 Photonics Technology Letters Vol.25 No.11

<P>A novel cost-effective fiber amplifier operating over 1400-1450 nm is developed based on pumping of a large-core Nd-doped fiber with a high-power white light-emitting diode (LED). An optical gain of 6 dB at 1400 nm is obtained by simultaneously exciting the multiple absorption bands in the visible wavelength of the Nd-doped fiber.</P>

Design of wireless sensor network and its application for structural health monitoring of cable-stayed bridge

Lin, H.R.,Chen, C.S.,Chen, P.Y.,Tsai, F.J.,Huang, J.D.,Li, J.F.,Lin, C.T.,Wu, W.J. Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.8

A low-cost wireless sensor network (WSN) solution with highly expandable super and simple nodes was developed. The super node was designed as a sensing unit as well as a receiving terminal with low energy consumption. The simple node was designed to serve as a cheaper alternative for large-scale deployment. A 12-bit ADC inputs and DAC outputs were reserved for sensor boards to ease the sensing integration. Vibration and thermal field tests of the Chi-Lu Bridge were conducted to evaluate the WSN's performance. Integral acceleration, temperature and tilt sensing modules were constructed to simplify the task of long-term environmental monitoring on this bridge, while a star topology was used to avoid collisions and reduce power consumption. We showed that, given sufficient power and additional power amplifier, the WSN can successfully be active for more than 7 days and satisfy the half bridge 120-meter transmission requirement. The time and frequency responses of cables shocked by external force and temperature variations around cables in one day were recorded and analyzed. Finally, guidelines on power characterization of the WSN platform and selection of acceleration sensors for structural health monitoring applications were given.

UPPER LIMITS ON THE NUMBER OF SMALL BODIES IN SEDNA-LIKE ORBITS BY THE TAOS PROJECT

Wang, J.-H.,Lehner, M. J.,Zhang, Z.-W.,Bianco, F. B.,Alcock, C.,Chen, W.-P.,Axelrod, T.,Byun, Y.-I.,Coehlo, N. ,K.,Cook, K. H.,Dave, R.,de Pater, I.,Porrata, R.,Kim, D.-W.,King, S.-K.,Lee, T.,Lin, American Institute of Physics 2009 The Astronomical journal Vol.138 No.6

<P>We present the results of a search for occultation events by objects at distances between 100 and 1000 AU in light curves from the Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey. We searched for consecutive, shallow flux reductions in the stellar light curves obtained by our survey between 2005 February 7 and 2006 December 31 with a total of ~4.5 × 10<SUP>9</SUP> three-telescope simultaneous photometric measurements. No events were detected, allowing us to set upper limits on the number density as a function of size and distance of objects in Sedna-like orbits, using simple models.</P>