Report of the CCQM-K97: measurement of arsenobetaine standard solution and arsenobetaine content in fish tissue (tunafish)

Ma, L D,Wang, J,WEI, C,Kuroiwa, T,Narukawa, T,Ito, N,HIOKI, A,CHIBA, K,Yim, Y H,Lee, K S,Lim, Y R,Turk, G C,Davis, C W,Mester, Z,Yang, L,McCooeye, M,Maxwell, P,Cankur, O,Tokman, N,Coskun, F G BUREAU INTERNATIONAL DES POIDS ET MESURES 2017 METROLOGIA -BERLIN- Vol.54 No.-

<P></P> <P>The CCQM-K97 key comparison was organized by the inorganic analysis working group (IAWG) of CCQM as a follow-up to completed pilot study CCQM-P96 and P96.1 to test the abilities of the national metrology institutes to accurately quantitate the mass fraction of arsenobetaine (AsB) in standard solution and in fish tissue. A pilot study CCQM-P133 was parallelized with this key comparison. National Institute of Metrology (NIM), China and National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) acted as the coordinating laboratories.</P> <P>Six NMIs participated in CCQM-K97 and two institutes participated in CCQM-P133, and all of them submitted the results. Some NMIs submitted more than one results by different methods. The results were in excellent agreement with each other, and obviously better than those of previous P96 and P96.1. Therefore the calibrant which each NMI used was comparable. It shows that the capabilities of some of the participants have been improved after the previous pilot studies.</P> <H2>Main text</H2> <P> To reach the main text of this paper, click on <A HREF='http://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/final_reports/QM/K97/CCQM-K97.pdf'>Final Report</A>. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database <A HREF='http://kcdb.bipm.org/'>kcdb.bipm.org/</A>.</P> <P>The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).</P>

Vitamin E improves antioxidant status but not lipid metabolism in laying hens fed a aged corn-containing diet

Ding, X.M.,Mu, Y.D.,Zhang, K.Y.,Wang, J.P.,Bai, S.P.,Zeng, Q.F.,Peng, H.W. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.2

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether a dietary vitamin E (VE) supplement could alleviate any detrimental effects of aged corn on lipid metabolism and antioxidant status in laying hens. Methods: The experiment consisted of a 2×3 factorial design with two corn types (normal corn and aged corn (stored for 4 yr) and three concentrations of VE (0, 20, and 100 IU/kg). A total of 216 Lohmann laying hens (50 wk of age) were randomly allocated into six treatment diets for 12 wk. Each treatment had 6 replicates of 6 hens per replicate. Results: The results show that aged corn significantly decreased the content of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.05), and reduced chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) mRNA expression (p<0.05) in the liver compared to controls. Diet with VE did not alter the content of crude fat and cholesterol (p>0.05), or acetyl-CoA carboxylase, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid synthase or CMKLR1 mRNA expression (p>0.05) in the liver among treatment groups. Aged corn significantly increased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) (p<0.05) and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (p<0.05) in the liver. The VE increased the content of MDA (p<0.05) but decreased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in serum (p<0.01) and in the ovaries (p<0.05). Adding VE at 20 and 100 IU/kg significantly increased GSH-Px activity (p<0.05) in liver and in serum (p<0.01), 100 IU/kg VE significantly increased SOD activity (p<0.05) in serum. Aged corn had no significant effects on GSH-Px mRNA or SOD mRNA expression (p<0.01) in the liver and ovaries. Addition of 100 IU/kg VE could significantly increase SOD mRNA expression (p<0.01) in the liver and ovary. Conclusion: Aged corn affected lipid metabolism and decreased the antioxidant function of laying hens. Dietary VE supplementation was unable to counteract the negative effects of aged corn on lipid metabolism. However, addition of 100 IU/kg VE prevented aged corninduced lipid peroxidation in the organs of laying hens.

Genome-wide association study in a Chinese population identifies a susceptibility locus for type 2 diabetes at 7q32 near <i>PAX4</i>

Ma, R. C. W.,Hu, C.,Tam, C. H.,Zhang, R.,Kwan, P.,Leung, T. F.,Thomas, G. N.,Go, M. J.,Hara, K.,Sim, X.,Ho, J. S. K.,Wang, C.,Li, H.,Lu, L.,Wang, Y.,Li, J. W.,Wang, Y.,Lam, V. K. L.,Wang, J.,Yu, W.,Ki Springer-Verlag 2013 Diabetologia Vol.56 No.6

<P><B>Aims/hypothesis</B></P><P>Most genetic variants identified for type 2 diabetes have been discovered in European populations. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a Chinese population with the aim of identifying novel variants for type 2 diabetes in Asians.</P><P><B>Methods</B></P><P>We performed a meta-analysis of three GWAS comprising 684 patients with type 2 diabetes and 955 controls of Southern Han Chinese descent. We followed up the top signals in two independent Southern Han Chinese cohorts (totalling 10,383 cases and 6,974 controls), and performed in silico replication in multiple populations.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>We identified <I>CDKN2A/B</I> and four novel type 2 diabetes association signals with <I>p</I> < 1 × 10<SUP>−5</SUP> from the meta-analysis. Thirteen variants within these four loci were followed up in two independent Chinese cohorts, and rs10229583 at 7q32 was found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in a combined analysis of 11,067 cases and 7,929 controls (<I>p</I><SUB>meta</SUB> = 2.6 × 10<SUP>−8</SUP>; OR [95% CI] 1.18 [1.11, 1.25]). In silico replication revealed consistent associations across multiethnic groups, including five East Asian populations (<I>p</I><SUB>meta</SUB> = 2.3 × 10<SUP>−10</SUP>) and a population of European descent (<I>p</I> = 8.6 × 10<SUP>−3</SUP>). The rs10229583 risk variant was associated with elevated fasting plasma glucose, impaired beta cell function in controls, and an earlier age at diagnosis for the cases. The novel variant lies within an islet-selective cluster of open regulatory elements. There was significant heterogeneity of effect between Han Chinese and individuals of European descent, Malaysians and Indians.</P><P><B>Conclusions/interpretation</B></P><P>Our study identifies rs10229583 near <I>PAX4</I> as a novel locus for type 2 diabetes in Chinese and other populations and provides new insights into the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.</P><P><B>Electronic supplementary material</B></P><P>The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-013-2874-4) contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.</P>

Effect of Microbial Phytase on Performance, Nutrient Absorption and Excretion in Weaned Pigs and Apparent Ileal Nutrient Digestibility in Growing Pigs

Zeng, Z.K.,Piao, X.S.,Wang, D.,Li, P.F.,Xue, L.F.,Salmon, Lorraine,Zhang, H.Y.,Han, X.,Liu, L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.8

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Trichoderma reesei derived phytase for pigs fed diets with fixed calcium to total phosphorus ratios (1.5:1). In Exp. 1, 280 weaned pigs (initial BW of $10.32{\pm}1.94$ kg) were allocated to one of five dietary treatments on the basis of weight and gender in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were the low phosphorus (0.6% Ca, 0.4% total P and 0.23% available P) diets supplemented with 0, 250, 1,000, or 2,000 FTU phytase/kg of diet and a positive control diet (PC; 0.85% Ca, 0.58% total P and 0.37% available P). The treatments were applied to seven pens with eight pigs per pen, half male and half female. In Exp. 2, six barrows fitted with ileal T-cannula (initial BW = $35.1{\pm}1.6$ kg) were assigned to three dietary treatments with a double $3{\times}3$ Latin square design. The dietary treatments were the low-phosphorus diet (0.53% Ca, 0.34% total P and 0.14% available P), the low phosphorus diet plus 1,000 FTU phytase/kg and a positive control diet (0.77% Ca, 0.50% total P and 0.30% available P). In Exp. 1, there were linear increases (p<0.01) in weight gain, phosphorus absorption, bone strength, calcium and phosphorus content of fat-free dried bone and plasma phosphorus concentrations with increasing dose rate of phytase. The performance of pigs fed the diets with 250, 1,000, or 2,000 FTU of phytase/kg did not differ from pigs fed the PC diet. Pigs fed diets with 1,000 or 2,000 FTU of phytase/kg did not differ from pigs fed the PC diet in bone characteristics. The apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ash and energy was not affected by dietary treatment. However, pigs fed the PC diet excreted more fecal phosphorus (g/d, p<0.01) and fecal phosphorus per BW gain (g/kg) than pigs fed the diets with phytase. Phytase linearly decreased (p<0.01) fecal phosphorus excreted per BW gain (g/kg), plasma calcium concentration as well as plasma and bone alkaline phosphatase activity. In Exp. 2, phytase supplementation in the low-P diet increased (p<0.05) the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of Ca, P, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, alanine and cysteine, tended to AID of crude protein, isoleucine, threonine, asparagine and serine. In conclusion, the novel phytase originated from Trichoderma reesei is effective in releasing Ca, P, and amino acids from corn soy based diet for pigs.

Effects of Adding Super Dose Phytase to the Phosphorus-deficient Diets of Young Pigs on Growth Performance, Bone Quality, Minerals and Amino Acids Digestibilities

Zeng, Z.K.,Wang, D.,Piao, X.S.,Li, P.F.,Zhang, H.Y.,Shi, C.X.,Yu, S.K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.2

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of feeding an Escherichia coli (E. coli) derived phytase to pigs fed P deficient, corn-soybean meal diets. In Exp. 1, one hundred and twenty crossbred piglets ($9.53{\pm}0.84$ kg) were allocated to one of five treatments which consisted of four low P diets (0.61% Ca, 0.46% total P and 0.24% non-phytate P) supplemented with 0, 500, 1,000, or 20,000 FTU/kg E. coli phytase as well as a positive control formulated to be adequate in all nutrients (0.77% Ca, 0.62% total P and 0.42% non-phytate P). The treatments were applied to six pens with four pigs per pen for 28 days. In Exp. 2, ten crossbred pigs ($19.66{\pm}1.16$ kg) fitted with ileal T-cannula were used in a nutrient balance study. The pigs were assigned to treatments similar to those used in Exp. 1 in a doubly replicated $5{\pm}4$ incomplete Latin square design (5 diets with 4 periods). Each period consisted of a 5-d adjustment period followed by a 3-d total collection of feces and urine and then a 2-d collection of ileal digesta. Supplementation with phytase linearly increased (p<0.05) weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency, bone breaking strength and fat-free dry and ash bone weight. There were linear increases (p<0.01) in the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of DM, GE, CP, Ca, total P, inositol hexaphosphate ($IP_6$) and some AA with increasing dose of E. coli phytase. Pigs fed 20,000 FTU/kg had a greater (p<0.05) AID of IP6 (80% vs 59% or 64%, respectively) than pigs fed diets with 500 or 1,000 FTU/kg phytase. There were linear increases (p<0.05) in the total tract digestibility of Ca, total P, Na, K, Mg, and Zn as well as in the retention of Mg and Zn with increased phytase dose. The retention and utilization of Cu, and the total tract digestibility of CP and Cu quadratic increased (p<0.05) with increased phytase dose. In conclusion, supplementation of 500 FTU of phytase/kg and above effectively hydrolyzed phytate in low-P corn-soybean diets for pigs. In addition, a super dose of phytase (20,000 FTU/kg) hydrolyzed most of the IP6 and consequently further improved mineral use, protein utilization and performance.

Effects of Dietary Electrolyte Balance on Growth Performance, Nitrogen Metabolism and Some Blood Biochemical Parameters of Growing Rabbits

Li, J.W.,Wang, X.P.,Wang, C.Y.,Zhu, Y.L.,Li, F.C. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.12

The effects of different dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) on growth performance, nitrogen (N) metabolism and some blood biochemical parameters were investigated in 2 to 3 months old growing rabbits. A total of 150 growing rabbits of 2 months age were randomly divided into five groups according to average body weight, with 30 rabbits in each group. The DEB levels of the five experimental diets were -154, -3.16, +201, +347, and +500 meq/kg of dry matter (DM), respectively. There was a 7-d adaptation period and a 23-d experimental period. The results showed that the DEB levels had a quadratic affect on the average daily feed intake (ADFI) (p<0.001). The greatest ADFI was achieved when the DEB level was +201 meq/kg DM. Fecal N (FN) content linearly decreased (0.047), while digestible N (DN), retained N (RN), efficiency of intake N converted into digestible N (DN/IN) and the efficiency of intake N converted into retained N (RN/IN) linearly increased with the DEB increase (0.020, 0.004, 0.021, and 0.049, respectively). Serum phosphorus (P) ion content linearly increased with the DEB increase (p = 0.036). The DEB had a quadratic relationship with serum anion gap (AG) (p = 0.002) and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) content (p = 0.016). The DEB levels quadratically affected base excess (BE) in the plasma (p<0.001). In conclusion, the DEB unaffected growth performance but affected feed intake, N metabolism and some blood biochemical parameters of growing rabbits.

Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Spracklen, C. N.,Chen, P.,Kim, Y. J.,Wang, X.,Cai, H.,Li, S.,Long, J.,Wu, Y.,Wang, Y. X.,Takeuchi, F. IRL Press 2017 Human molecular genetics Vol.26 No.9

<P>Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified > 175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P < 5 x 10(-8)) three novel loci associated with HDL-C near CD163-APOBEC1 (P = 7.4 x 10(-9)), NCOA2 (P = 1.6 x 10(-8)), and NID2-PTGDR (P = 4.2 x 10(-8)), and one novel locus associated with TG near WDR11-FGFR2 (P = 2.7 x 10(-10)). Conditional analyses identified a second signal near CD163-APOBEC1. We then combined results from the East Asian meta-analysis with association results from up to 187,365 European individuals from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium in a trans-ancestry meta-analysis. This analysis identified (log(10)Bayes Factor a 6.1) eight additional novel lipid loci. Among the twelve total loci identified, the index variants at eight loci have demonstrated at least nominal significance with other metabolic traits in prior studies, and two loci exhibited coincident eQTLs (P < 1 x 10(-5)) in subcutaneous adipose tissue for BPTF and PDGFC. Taken together, these analyses identified multiple novel lipid loci, providing new potential therapeutic targets.</P>

Final report for the APMP.T-K4: Comparison of realizations of aluminium freezing-point temperatures

Gam, K S,Joung, W,Yamazawa, K,Cheung, C P,Kho, H Y,Wang, L,Tsai, S F,Norranim, U,Hafidzah, O,Gupta, J K Springer-Verlag 2013 Metrologia Vol.50 No.-

<P>The comparison APMP.T-K4 is the regional extension of the CCT-K4: an intercomparison of the realizations of the freezing-points of Al (660.323 °C) and Ag (961.78 °C). The comparison was organized in two loops and four sub-loops with high temperature standard platinum resistance thermometers (HTSPRTs) as transfer thermometers in the freezing-point comparisons. The comparison involved eight APMP NMIs (KRISS, NMIJ, SCL, NMC, CMS, NIMT, SIRIM, NPL), and KRISS and NMIJ acted as linking laboratories to the CCT-K4.</P><P>The transfer HTSPRTs showed a strong drift during the transportation between the NMIs. In the case of the Ag freezing-point comparison, the comparison results were scattered much more than expected. In the APMP meeting held in 2009, the participants agreed that the Ag comparison results would be omitted in the report. It revealed that the measurement results at the Al freezing-point of participants were in agreement with the key comparison reference value of the CCT-K4 within 4 mK except for one laboratory. Details of the comparison results, the uncertainty evaluation and the drift of the HTSPRTs are described in this report.</P><P>Main text.To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.</P><P>The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCT, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).</P>

Variable number of tandem repeats of 9 Plasmodium vivax genes among Southeast Asian isolates

Wang, B.,Nyunt, M.H.,Yun, S.G.,Lu, F.,Cheng, Y.,Han, J.H.,Ha, K.S.,Park, W.S.,Hong, S.H.,Lim, C.S.,Cao, J.,Sattabongkot, J.,Kyaw, M.P.,Cui, L.,Han, E.T. Verlag fur Recht und Gesellschaft 2017 Acta tropica Vol.170 No.-

<P>The variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) provides valuable information about both the functional and evolutionary aspects of genetic diversity. Comparative analysis of 3 Plasmodium falciparum genomes has shown that more than 9% of its open reading frames (ORFs) harbor VNTRs. Although microsatellites and VNTR genes of P. vivax were reported, the VNTR polymorphism of genes has not been examined widely. In this study, 230 P. vivax genes were analyzed for VNTRs by SERV, and 33 kinds of TR deletions or insertions from 29P. vivax genes (12.6%) were found. Of these, 9 VNTR fragments from 8 P. vivax genes were used for PCR amplification and sequence analysis to examine the genetic diversity among 134 isolates from four Southeast Asian countries (China, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Myanmar) with different malaria endemicity. We confirmed the existence of extensive polymorphism of VNTR fragments in field isolates. This detection provides several suitable markers for analysis of the molecular epidemiology of P. vivax field isolates. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Effects of Keratinase on Performance, Nutrient Utilization, Intestinal Morphology, Intestinal Ecology and Inflammatory Response of Weaned Piglets Fed Diets with Different Levels of Crude Protein

Wang, D.,Piao, X.S.,Zeng, Z.K.,Lu, T.,Zhang, Q.,Li, P.F.,Xue, L.F.,Kim, S.W. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.12

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the in vitro ability of keratinase to hydrolyze soybean glycinin and ${\beta}$-conglycinin and to evaluate the in vivo effects of keratinase when included in corn-soybean diets with different levels of crude protein and fed to nursery pigs. In experiment 1, a saturated keratinase solution (1 ml) was added to two blank controls of either glycinin or ${\beta}$-conglycinin resulting in the hydrolysis of 94.74% glycinin and 88.89% ${\beta}$-conglycinin. In experiment 2, 190 pigs (8.3${\pm}$0.63 kg BW) were allotted to one of four treatments in a 2${\times}$2 factorial arrangement on the basis of body weight, and sex was balanced among the pens. The effects of crude protein (19 vs. 22%) and keratinase (0 vs. 0.05%) were studied. Each treatment was applied to six pens with seven (two pens) or eight pigs per pen. Pigs were fed the experimental diets for 21 d. Weight gain and feed conversion ratio were improved (p<0.05) with keratinase supplementation while feed intake was reduced (p<0.05). Keratinase supplementation increased (p<0.05) the apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, energy, crude protein and phosphorus. Keratinase supplementation also increased n-butyric acid in the cecum and colon, lactobacilli and total anaerobe counts in the colon as well as the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the ileum. Additionally, fecal score, ammonia nitrogen and branch chain volatile fatty acids in the colon, E. coli and total aerobe counts in the colon, crypt depth in the jejunum and ileum as well as serum interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 concentrations were also decreased (p<0.05) by keratinase supplementation. A reduction in dietary crude protein decreased (p<0.05) colon ammonia nitrogen concentration and cecal propionic acid and branch chain volatile fatty acid concentrations. In addition, cecal E. coli counts, colon total anaerobe counts, ileal crypt depth, and serum interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 concentrations were also decreased (p<0.05) with the reduction of dietary crude protein. With the exception of fecal scores, there were no significant interactions between crude protein and keratinase. This study provides evidence that dietary keratinase supplementation improved nursery pig performance by improving intestinal morphology and ecology, thus improving nutrient digestibility and alleviating the inflammatory response.