Indoor feeding combined with restricted grazing time improves body health, slaughter performance, and meat quality in Huang-huai sheep

Huang Yafeng,Zhao Mengyu,Zhang Xiaoan,Wei Huiqing,Liu Lumeng,Zhang Zi Jun,Cheng Xiao,Wang Guanjun,Ren Chunhuan 아세아·태평양축산학회 2023 Animal Bioscience Vol.36 No.11

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of three feeding systems, i.e., indoor feeding (CON), indoor feeding with 4-h daily access to grazing artificial pasture (ITGP), and indoor feeding with 8-h daily access to grazing artificial pasture (IEGP), on the plasma antioxidant and immunological capacity, slaughter characteristics, meat quality and economic efficiency of Huang-huai lambs. Methods: Thirty-three healthy Huang-huai rams with similar body weight (approximately 5 mo of age, 28.96±1.01 kg) were assigned equally to three experimental groups. When finished fattening, six lambs from each group were collect blood samples for plasma analyses and then slaughtered to determine slaughter characteristics and obtain biceps brachii muscle for further analysis of meat quality and fatty acid profile. Results: Compared to CON group, animals submitted to ITGP and IEGP groups resulted in greater contents of serum glutathione peroxidase, immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, and IgM), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-6 PUFA, and PUFA/saturated fatty acid (FA) ratio and lower palmitic /oleic acid ratio (p<0.05). Moreover, animals in ITGP group exhibited a higher (p<0.05) loin eye area, content of meat crude protein (CP), and eicosetrienoic acid compared to CON group, while slaughter performance was superior (p<0.05) to that of the IEGP group. The economic efficiency of ITGP group was 70.12% higher than that of CON group, while the IEGP group exhibited a decrease of 92.54% in economic efficiency compared to the CON group. Conclusion: Restricted grazing time combined with indoor feeding was more effective in conferring superior body health, carcass traits and economic efficiency in Huang-huai lambs, as well as higher CP content and healthier FA composition in the resulting meat.

A study on the Influencing Factors to China-Pakistan Trade under BRI Initiative

Jun Tang(Jun Tang),Xuanyu Xing(Xuanyu Xing),Tingting Huang(Tingting Huang) 아시아사회과학학회 2023 Jornal of Asia Social Science Vol.10 No.1

The Belt and Road Initiative is a grand plan proposed by China to promote the common development and prosperity of China and its partner countries. With the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Pakistan relations are getting closer, known as the “iron brother”. Economic cooperation is a key priority for both sides. Under the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, this study uses trade data of China and Pakistan to find out the bilateral trade problems and the influencing factors behind them. This study will discuss the above questions and propose some suggestions for policymakers. Specifically, the discussion of the problems was conducted in terms of GDP, population, comparative advantages, international environment, domestic environment, and other factors respectively. In the conclusion part, the author suggests that the two countries should try to improve their domestic/international environment and reduce policy barriers to promote the trade. Modern industrial parks are encouraged to solve the problems. This study on the influencing factors and economic trade relations between China and Pakistan hopes to provide some academic references to the study of the CPEC and provide some guidance to the policy makers.

Production and Characterization of Ethanol- and Protease-Tolerant and Xylooligosaccharides-Producing Endoxylanase from Humicola sp Ly01

( Jun Pei Zhou ),( Qian Wu ),( Rui Zhang ),( Yu Ying Yang ),( Xiang Hua Tang ),( Jun Jun Li ),( Jun Mei Ding ),( Yan Yan Dong ),( Zun Xi Huang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2013 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.23 No.6

This paper reports the production and characterization of crude xylanase from the newly isolated Humicola sp. Ly01. The highest (41.8 U/ml) production of the crude xylanase was obtained under the optimized conditions (w/v): 0.5% wheat bran, 0.2% KH2PO4, and 0.5% peptone; initial pH 7.0; incubation time 72 h; 30℃; and 150 rpm. A considerable amount of the crude xylanase was induced using hulless barley bran or soybean meal as the carbon source, but a small amount of the enzyme was produced when supplementary urea was used as the nitrogen source to wheat bran. The crude xylanase showed apparent optimal cellulase-free xylanase activity at 60℃ and pH 6.0, more than 71.8% of the maximum xylanase activity in 3.0-30.0% (v/v) ethanol and more than 82.3% of the initial xylanase activity after incubation in 3.0-30.0% (v/v) ethanol at 30℃ for 2 h. The crude xylanase was moderately resistant to both acid and neutral protease digestion, and released 7.9 and 10.9 μmol/ml reducing sugar from xylan in the simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, respectively. The xylooligosaccharides were the main products of the hydrolysis of xylan by the crude xylanase. These properties suggested the potential of the crude enzyme for being applied in the animal feed industry, xylooligosaccharides production, and high-alcohol conditions such as ethanol production and brewing.

Biochemical Characterization of a GDSL-Motif Esterase from Bacillus sp. K91 with a New Putative Catalytic Mechanism

( Jun Mei Ding ),( Ting Ting Yu ),( Lian Ming Liang ),( Zhen Rong Xie ),( Yun Juan Yang ),( Jun Pei Zhou ),( Bo Xu ),( Jun Jun Li ),( Zun Xi Huang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2014 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.24 No.11

The esterase gene Est8 from the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus sp. K91 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The monomeric enzyme exhibited a theoretical molecular mass of 24.5 kDa and an optimal activity around 50°C at pH 9.0. A model of Est8 was constructed using a hypothetical YxiM precursor structure (2O14_A) from Bacillus subtilis as template. The structure showed an α/β-hydrolase fold and indicated the presence of a typical catalytic triad consisting of Ser-11, Asp-182, and His-185, which were investigated by site directed replacements coupled with kinetic characterization. Asp-182 and His-185 residues were more critical than the Ser-11 residue in the catalytic activity of Est8. A comparison of the amino acid sequence showed that Est8 could be grouped into the GDSL family and further classified as an SGNH hydrolase. Est8 is a new member of the SGNH hydrolase subfamily and may employ a different catalytic mechanism.

Breviscapine Ameliorates Fear Extinction and Anxiety in BALB/cJ Mice

Wei Liang(Wei Liang),Jing Huang(Jing Huang),Shuya Yang(Shuya Yang),Peng Huang(Peng Huang),Jun Chen(Jun Chen),Chen Chen(Chen Chen),Qun Yang(Qun Yang),Fengzhan Li(Fengzhan Li) 대한신경정신의학회 2023 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.20 No.3

Objective In this research, the influence of breviscapine on anxiety, fear elimination, and aggression and the potential mechanism was investigated. Methods Anxiety and locomotion were analyzed by elevated plus maze and open field test in mice. Bussey-Saksida Mouse Touch Screen Chambers were used to perform fear conditioning. Territorial aggression was assessed by resident intruder test. Protein levels were evaluated by Western blot. Breviscapine improved fear-extinction learning in BALB/cJ mice. Results Breviscapine at 20-100 mg/kg increased center cross number, total distance traveled, and velocity in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, breviscapine at 20-100 mg/kg decreased the immobility time in open field test. In addition, breviscapine at 20-100 mg/kg increased the ratio of time on the open arm, time on the distal parts of the open arm, and total distance traveled in elevated plus maze. Breviscapine at 100 mg/kg increased the average attack latency and decreased the number of attacks over the last 3 days of resident intruder test. In hippocampus, protein levels of postsynaptic density protein-95 and synaptophysin were elevated by breviscapine at these three doses. Conclusion The administration of breviscapine alleviates fear extinction, anxiety, and aggression, while increases locomotor in a dose-dependent manner, which might be associated with its influence on synaptic function.

Transcriptional Profiling of the Trichoderma reesei Recombinant Strain HJ48 by RNA-Seq

Huang, Jun,Wu, Renzhi,Chen, Dong,Wang, Qingyan,Huang, Ribo The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnol 2016 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.26 No.7

The ethanol production of Trichoderma reesei was improved by genome shuffling in our previous work. Using RNA-Seq, the transcriptomes of T. reesei wild-type CICC40360 and recombinant strain HJ48 were compared under fermentation conditions. Based on this analysis, we defined a set of T. reesei genes involved in ethanol production. Further expression analysis identified a series of glycolysis enzymes, which are upregulated in the recombinant strain HJ48 under fermentation conditions. The differentially expressed genes were further validated by qPCR. The present study will be helpful for future studies on ethanol fermentation as well as the roles of the involved genes. This research reveals several major differences in metabolic pathways between recombinant strain HJ48 and wild-type CICC40360, which relates to the higher ethanol production on the former, and their further research could promote the development of techniques for increasing ethanol production.

Cloning, Heterologous Expression, and Characterization of Novel Protease- Resistant α-Galactosidase from New Sphingomonas Strain

( Jun Pei Zhou ),( Yan Yan Dong ),( Jun Jun Li ),( Rui Zhang ),( Xianghua Tang ),( Yuelin Mu ),( Bo Xu ),( Qian Wu ),( Zun Xi Huang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2012 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.22 No.11

The α-galactosidase-coding gene agaAJB13 was cloned from Sphingomonas sp. JB13 showing 16S rDNA (1,343 bp) identities of ≤97.2% with other identified Sphingomonas strains. agaAJB13 (2,217 bp; 64.9% GC content) encodes a 738-residue polypeptide (AgaAJB13) with a calculated mass of 82.3 kDa. AgaAJB13 showed the highest identity of 61.4% with the putative glycosyl hydrolase family 36 α-galactosidase from Granulicella mallensis MP5ACTX8 (EFI56085). AgaAJB13 also showed <37% identities with reported protease-resistant or Sphingomonas α-galactosidases. A sequence analysis revealed different catalytic motifs between reported Sphingomonas α-galactosidases (KXD and RXXXD) and AgaAJB13 (KWD and SDXXDXXXR). Recombinant AgaAJB13 (rAgaAJB13) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The purified rAgaAJB13 was characterized using p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside as the substrate and showed an apparent optimum at pH 5.0 and 60oC and strong resistance to trypsin and proteinase K digestion. Compared with reported proteaseresistant α-galactosidases showing thermolability at 50oC or 60oC and specific activities of <71 U/mg with or without protease treatments, rAgaAJB13 exhibited a better thermal stability (half-life of >60 min at 60oC) and higher specific activities (225.0-256.5 U/mg). These sequence and enzymatic properties suggest AgaAJB13 is the first identified and characterized Sphingomonas α-galactosidase, and shows novel protease resistance with a potential value for basic research and industrial applications.

Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 4 and 5 Channel Antagonist ML204 Depolarized Pacemaker Potentials of Interstitial Cells of Cajal

( Jun Hyung Lee ),( Wen-hao Wu ),( Xing-you Huang ),( Jae Yeoul Jun ),( Seok Choi ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회(구 대한소화관운동학회) 2020 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.26 No.4

Background/Aims To investigate an effect of ML204 (an inhibitor of transient receptor potential canonical 4 and 5 [TRPC4/5] channels) on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and therefore determine whether TRPC4/5 channels act on ICC-generated pacemaker activity. Methods We enforced whole cell patch clamp analysis, measurements of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to determine the effect of ML204 (10 μM) or englerin A (a selective activator of TRPC4/5 channeles, 10 μM) and the existence of TRPC4/5 in mouse small intestinal ICC. Results Treatment of ICCs with ML204 or englerin A caused the membrane potentials to depolarize. This depolarization effect of membrane potentials by ML204 in ICCs was observed to be concentration-dependent. After treating Ca²⁺- and Na⁺-free solutions or flufenamic acid (a non-selective cation channel blocker), the pacemaker potentials in the ICCs were abolished. A specific anoctamin 1 channel blocker did not have any effect on the pacemaker activity in ML204-untreated control cells; however, they blocked ML204-induced pacemaker activity in ICCs. Specific primers designed against TRPC4 and TRPC5 detected the presence of TRPC4/5 in small intestinal ICCs, and the application of ML204 increased raise the frequency of Ca²⁺ oscillations in ICCs, as assessed using Fluo-4 AM. Conclusion The results implied that ML204 could not inhibit the pacemaker activity but depolarized the membrane potential of ICCs by regulating intracellular Ca²⁺ oscillations and anoctamin 1 channels. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2020;26:521-528)

Transcription Analysis of Recombinant Trichoderma reesei HJ-48 to Compare the Molecular Basis for Fermentation of Glucose and Xylose

( Jun Huang ),( Mei Lin ),( Shijie Liang ),( Qiurong Qin ),( Siming Liao ),( Bo Lu ),( Qingyan Wang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.10

Profiling the transcriptome changes involved in xylose metabolism by the fungus Trichoderma reesei allows for the identification of potential targets for ethanol production processing. In the present study, the transcriptome of T. reesei HJ-48 grown on xylose versus glucose was analyzed using next-generation sequencing technology. During xylose fermentation, numerous genes related to central metabolic pathways, including xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH), were expressed at higher levels in T. reesei HJ-48. Notably, growth on xylose did not fully repress the genes encoding enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid and respiratory pathways. In addition, increased expression of several sugar transporters was observed during xylose fermentation. This study provides a valuable dataset for further investigation of xylose fermentation and provides a deeper insight into the various genes involved in this process.

Dithienobenzothiadiazole-Based Donor-Acceptor Polymer: Synthesis and Characterization for Organic Field-Effect Transistor

Jun Huang,Mingyuan Pei,김희수,양회창,황도훈 한국고분자학회 2019 Macromolecular Research Vol.27 No.3

Conjugated polymers with coplanar conformation backbones can form a closer π-π stacking self-assembly in solid films, producing high charge-carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). In this work, a new donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymer (PDTFBT-TVT) including (E)-2-(2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)thiophene and dithienobenzothiadiazole conjugated units is synthesized via Stille copolymerization. It is found that PDTFBT-TVT has a good planar backbone structure with an optical band gap of 1.89 eV. Spun-cast film contains preferentially edge-on orientated polymer chains with respect to a polymer-treated SiO2 dielectric, yielding a hole mobility (μh) of 0.06 cm2 V-1 s-1 in OFET. Thermal annealing enhanced the π-conjugated ordering and orientation of PDTFBT-TVT chains in the spun-cast films. The annealed film-based OFETs show a considerable enhancement in μh up to 0.22 cm2 V-1 s-1, as well as high on/off current ratio of > 106.