Effects of Biocom as a Replacement of Glutamine on Performance and Blood Biochemical Indexes of Early Weaned Piglets

Zhou, R.Y.,Peng, J.,Liu, Z.L.,Fang, Z.F. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.6

The objective of this study was to evaluate Biocom (a protein source containing a high level of glutamine and alanyl-glutamine) as a replacement for glutamine (Gln) in nursery pig diets. Forty-two pigs (fourteen pigs per treatment) weaned at 28 d of age were used in a 28-d performance trial using three dietary treatments: control (no Gln), control supplemented with Gln or Biocom. The control diet was composed of corn, soybean meal, whey and fish meal. Individual body weight, pen feed disappearance and diarrhea were monitored. On d 0, 2, 7 and 14 postweaning, respectively, five pigs per treatment were selected and bled from the anterior vena cava to obtain five replicate samples of blood on each dietary treatment for determination of blood biochemical index. Dietary supplementation of Gln and Biocom did not influence performance, plasma Gln and total serum protein concentration (p>0.05). However, the addition of Gln and Biocom could prevent serum urea nitrogen and serum cortisol from increasing on d 2 postweaning (p<0.05). There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in any of the examined parameters between Gln- and Biocom-supplemented diets. In conclusion, dietary Gln did not influence the performance of early-weaned piglets owing to the complex diet containing whey, but could prevent the increase of serum urea and cortisol. Biocom could be used as a replacement for free pure Gln without any negative effect on early-weaned piglets.

Effects of Dietary Coptis Chinensis Herb Extract on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Blood Characteristics and Meat Quality in Growing-finishing Pigs

Zhou, T.X.,Zhang, Z.F.,Kim, I.H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.1

The effects of dietary Coptis chinensis herb extract (CHE) on growth performance, blood characteristics, nutrient digestibility and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs were investigated in an 18-wk feeding trial. A total of 36 Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire-Duroc pigs with an initial body weight of $20{\pm}1.0$ kg were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments with 6 replications per treatment and 2 pigs per pen. A maize-soybean meal-based diet was formulated as a control diet and other treatment diets were supplemented with 0.5, or 1 g CHE/kg, respectively. After the feeding period, meat samples were collected from those pigs that had reached the market BW. During the experimental periods, growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter and nitrogen were unaffected (p>0.05) by the dietary supplementation of CHE. Plasma erythrocytes counts were increased (Linearly, p<0.05) in response to application of CHE at the end of the experiment. Moreover, pigs fed the CHE diets had better (p<0.05) meat color, pH and water holding capacity (WHC) than pigs fed the control diet. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with CHE could increase blood erythrocytes counts and improve meat quality in growing-finishing pigs but not improve growth performance.

Effects of Dietary Olive Oil on Growth Performance, Carcass Parameters, Serum Characteristics, and Fatty Acid Composition of Breast and Drumstick Meat in Broilers

Zhang, Z.F.,Zhou, T.X.,Kim, I.H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.3

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary olive oil on growth performance, carcass parameters, serum characteristics, and fatty acid composition of breast and drumstick meat in broiler chickens. A total of 480 broilers were randomly allotted into three dietary treatments, including T (basal diet, 5% tallow), O1 (2% olive oil+3% tallow), and O2 (5% olive oil). During d 0 to 21, broilers fed the diet supplemented with 5% olive oil showed lower (p<0.05) body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) compared with those fed the T diet. Serum triglyceride concentration was reduced (p<0.05), while high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentration was increased (p<0.05) in the O2 treatment group compared with the T and O1 treatment groups. The addition of olive oil to the diets induced a reduction (p<0.05) in the total saturated fatty acid (SFA) contents in breast and drumstick meat, and increased (p<0.05) the total unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) contents and USFA/SFA ratios. In conclusion, a diet with 5% olive oil could decrease BWG and FI of broilers during the starter period (wk 0 to 3), and cause an increase in the serum HDL-cholesterol level, while decreasing the serum triglyceride concentration. Furthermore, USFA level and USFA/SFA ratios in breast and drumstick meat were increased by dietary supplementation of 2 or 5% olive oil.

Effect of Feeding Enzymolytic Soybean Meal on Performance, Digestion and Immunity of Weaned Pigs

Zhou, S.F.,Sun, Z.W.,Ma, L.Z.,Yu, J.Y.,Ma, C.S.,Ru, Y.J. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.1

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of enzymolytic products of soybean meal (ESBM), as one of the protein sources in the diet, on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and immune function of weaned piglets. Soybean meal produced by bioprocessing with fermentation and enzymolysis contains reduced anti-nutritional factors and improved protein utilization. A total of 240 weaned piglets (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire, $9.01{\pm}0.22\;kg$ body weight) were randomly allocated to 4 treatments with 6 pens per treatment and 10 piglets per pen. The diets were based on corn-soybean meal and ESBM partially replaced soybean meal and soybean protein isolate at the inclusion level of 5, 10 or 15% in the basal diet. Feed intake and body weight were measured weekly. On days 24 to 27, faeces of each replicate were proportionally collected to determine the nutrient digestibility. On day 28 of the experiment, one piglet from each replicate was slaughtered humanely to collect immune organs. The results showed that inclusion of ESBM increased (p<0.05) the final weight, daily feed intake and daily gain of weaned pigs compared with the control diet, and ESBM at the inclusion levels of 10 and 15% improved (p<0.05) the feed/gain compared with the control diet. There were no differences (p>0.05) in daily feed intake among the levels of ESBM, but increasing the levels of ESBM from 5 to 15% improved (p<0.05) the final weight, average daily gain of pigs and feed/gain. The inclusion of ESBM at 5 to 15% increased (p<0.05) the digestibility of crude protein (CP) by 5 to 16%, and ESBM at 15% increased (p<0.05) the digestibility of digestible energy (DE), Ca and P compared with the control diet. ESBM increased (p<0.05) the relative weights of thymus and mandibular lymph nodes by 57.7 and 29.6%, respectively. The percentages of T lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ in peripheral blood of weaned piglets were also increased (p<0.05) by feeding ESBM. The results suggest that ESBM can be a better protein source in improving growth performance, nutrient digestibility and immune function of weaned piglets.

Effects of Increasing Level of Dietary Rice Straw on Chewing Activity, Ruminal Fermentation and Fibrolytic Enzyme Activity in Growing Goats

Wanga, M.,Zhaoa, X.G.,Tan, Z.L.,Tang, S.X.,Zhou, C.S.,Sun, Z.H.,Han, X.F.,Wang, C.W. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2010 Animal Bioscience Vol.23 No.8

Effects of increasing dietary rice straw on chewing activity, ruminal fermentation, and fibrolytic enzyme activity in growing goats were investigated in a $4{\times}4$ Latin Square experiment. The goats were offered four diets with an increasing proportion of rice straw (i.e. 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20, respectively, on dry matter basis). Increasing level of rice straw increased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.05) the time spent on eating, ruminating, and chewing. The ruminal pH and acetate: propionate ratio were increased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.05), while the $NH_3$-N concentration was decreased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.01). Increasing level of rice straw in the diet increased ($P_{linear\;effect}{\leq}0.01$) molar proportion of acetate and isovalerate, and decreased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.01) molar proportion of propionate. The CMCase, xylanase and cellobiase activities in the rumen were decreased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.05) with increasing level of dietary rice straw, whereas the avicelase activity was increased ($P_{linear\;effect}$ <0.01). In summary, increased level of rice straw elevated the dietary neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content in the diet and had a great impact on chewing activity and ruminal fermentation.

Effects of Sown Season and Maturity Stage on In vitro Fermentation and In sacco Degradation Characteristics of New Variety Maize Stover

Tang, S.X.,Li, F.W.,Gan, J.,Wang, M.,Zhou, C.S.,Sun, Z.H.,Han, X.F.,Tan, Z.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.6

The effects of seedtime and maturity stage on nutritive value of five maize stover varieties, including conventional maize (Kexiangyu 11, CM), fodder maize (Huqing 1, FM), high oil maize (Gaoyou 115, HOM), sweet maize (Kexiangtianyu 1, SM) and waxy maize (Kexiangluoyu 1, WM), were examined based on chemical composition, in vitro gas production and in situ incubation techniques. Maize stover was sampled at d 17 and d 30 after tasseling, and designated as maturity stage 1 and stage 2, respectively. The average dry matter (DM) organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and fiber contents were the greatest for HOM, SM and FM, respectively. CM had the highest in vitro organic matter disappearance (IVOMD) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration. The highest ammonia nitrogen ($NH_3$-N) concentration in the incubation solution, and effective degradability of DM ($ED_{DM}$) and neutral detergent fiber ($ED_{NDF}$) were observed in SM. Advanced maturity stage increased (p<0.05) DM content, $ED_{DM}$ and $ED_{NDF}$, but decreased (p<0.05) OM and CP contents, and decreased (p<0.05) b and a+b values, IVOMD and molar proportion of valerate in the incubation solution for maize stover. Maize sown in summer had greater (p<0.05) OM content, but lower DM, CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content compared with maize sown in spring. Maize sown in summer had greater (p<0.001) IVOMD, $NH_3$-N concentration in the incubation solution and $ED_{NDF}$, but lower (p<0.01) ratio of acetate to propionate compared to maize sown in spring. The interaction effect of variety${\times}$seedtime was observed running through almost all chemical composition, in vitro gas production parameters and in situ DM and NDF degradability. The overall results suggested that SM had the highest nutrient quality, and also indicated the possibility of selecting maize variety and seedtime for the utilization of maize stover in ruminants.

Microstructural Stability and Creep Performance of a Novel Low-Cost Single Crystal Superalloy

Z. H. Tan,X. G. Wang,Y. L. Du,Y. M. Li,Y. H. Yang,J. L. Liu,J. D. Liu,J. G. Li,Y. Z. Zhou,X. F. Sun 대한금속·재료학회 2022 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.28 No.7

The increasing pursuit of advanced aero-engines with lower ratio between the cost and performance has greatly promotedthe demanding of single crystal superalloys characterized by low cost and outstanding temperature capability. In this study,a novel low-cost single crystal superalloy was designed and the creep tests as well as micro-characterization were carried outon the experimental alloy. The results illustrated that the novel single crystal alloy exhibited an ideal microstructural stabilitywithout precipitating TCP phases, after long-term thermal exposure at the ultimate service temperature of third generationsingle crystal superalloys. Moreover, the experimental alloy with only 3 wt% Re addition demonstrated remarkable creepresistance and maintained a very low minimum creep rate at 1100 °C/137 MPa and 1120 °C/137 MPa, while the accumulationand coalescence of micro-pores had eventually led to the alloy fracture. Apart from that, the compact interfacial dislocationnetworks the 2nd γ′ phase were observed after high-temperature creep rupture, and the typical a < 010 > superdislocationswith relatively poor mobility was found at 1120 °C. At 760 °C/800 MPa, both the minimum creep velocity and entire creepstain was increased evidently, however, the ultimate creep rupture life of the alloy had still reached 200 h. The correspondingdeformation mechanism was identified as the combination of superdislocation pairs shearing and a/3 < 121 > partial dislocationcutting the γ′ phase with a SISF being generated. In general, the novel single crystal alloy characterized by remarkablemechanical properties and cost reduction possesses a great potential for future application in the advanced aircraft engines.

Effect of pH on photocatalytic activity of SnO₂ microspheres via microwave solvothermal route

Zhu, Z. F.,Zhou, J. Q.,Wang, X. F.,He, Z. L.,Liu, H. Informa UK (TaylorFrancis) 2014 Materials research innovations Vol.18 No.1

Improvement of lower hybrid current drive systems for high-power and long-pulse operation on EAST

Wang M.,Liu L.,Zhao L.M.,Li M.H.,Ma W.D.,Hu H.C.,Wu Z.G.,Feng J.Q.,Yang Y.,Zhu L.,Chen M.,Zhou T.A.,Jia H.,Zhang J.,Cao L.,Zhang L.,Liang R.R.,Ding B.J.,Zhang X.J.,Shan J.F.,Liu F.K.,Ekedahl A.,Gonich 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.11

Aiming at high-power and long-pulse operation up to 1000 s, some improvements have been made for both 2.45 GHz and 4.6 GHz lower hybrid (LH) systems during the recent 5 years. At first, the guard limiters of the LH antennas with graphite tiles were upgraded to tungsten, the most promising material for plasma facing components in nuclear fusion devices. These new guard limiters can operate at a peak power density of 12.9 MW/m2 . Strong hot spots were usually observed on the old graphite limiters when 4.6 GHz system operated with power >2.0 MW [B. N. Wan et al., Nucl. Fusion 57 (2017) 102019], leading to a reduction of the maximum power capability. With the new limiters, 4.6 GHz LH system, the main current drive (CD) and electron heating tool for EAST, can be operated with power >2.5 MW routinely. Long-pulse operation up to 100 s with 4.6 GHz LH power of 2.4 MW was achieved in 2021 and the maximal temperature on the guard limiters measured by an infrared (IR) camera was about 540 C, much below the permissible value of tungsten material (~1200 C). A discharge with a duration of 1056 s was achieved and the 4.6 GHz LH energy injected into the plasma was up to 1.05 GJ. Secondly, the fully-activemultijunction (FAM) launcher of 2.45 GHz system was upgraded to a passive-active-multijunction (PAM), for which the density of optimum coupling was relatively low (below the cut-off value). Good coupling with reflection coefficient ~3% has been achieved with plasma-antenna distance up to 11 cm for the new PAM. Finally, in order to eliminate the effect of ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) wave on 4.6 GHz LH wave coupling, the location of the ICRF launcher was changed to a port that is located 157.5 toroidally from the 4.6 GHz LH system and is not magnetically connected

cDNA Cloning and Polymorphism of the Porcine Carbonic Anhydrase III (CA3) Gene

Wu, J.,Deng, Changyan,Xiong, Y.Z.,Zhou, D.H.,Lei, M.G.,Zuo, B.,Li, F.E.,Wang, J. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.3

Carbonic anhydrase III (CA3) is a member of a multigene family that encode carbonic anhydrase isozymes. In this study, a complete coding sequence of the pig CA3 gene which encodes a 260 amino-acid protein was determined. The amino acid comparison showed high sequence similarities with previously identified human (86.5%) CA3 gene and mouse (91.5%) Car3 gene. The partial genomic DNA sequences were also investigated. The length of intron 1 was 727 bp. Comparative sequencing of three pig breeds revealed that there was a T${\rightarrow}$C substitution at position 363 within intron 1. The substitution was situated within a NcoI recognition site and was developed as a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) marker for further use in population variation investigations and association analysis. Two alleles (A and B) were identified, and 617 bp fragments were observed for the AA genotype and 236 bp and 381 bp fragments for the BB genotype. The polymorphism of CA3 was detected in 8 pig breeds. Allele B was predominant in the Western pig breeds. In addition, association studies of the CA3 polymorphism with carcass traits in 140 $Yorkshire{\times}Meishan$ $F_2$ offspring showed that the NcoI PCR- RFLP genotype may be associated with variation in several carcass traits of interest for pig breeding. Allele B was associated with increases in lean meat percentage, loin eye height and loin eye area. Statistically significant association with backfat thickness was also found; pigs with the AB genotype had much less backfat thickness than AA or BB genotypes.