Effects of Organic or Inorganic Acid Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and White Blood Cell Counts in Weanling Pigs

D. Y. Kil,L. G. Piao,H. F. Long,J. S. Lim,M. S. Yun,C. S. Kong,W. S. Ju,H. B. Lee,Y. Y. Kim 아세아·태평양축산학회 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.2

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic or inorganic acid supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts of weanling pigs. In growth trial (Exp I), a total of 100 crossbred pigs ({Landrace횞Yorkshire}횞Duroc), weaned at 23짹2 days of age and 7.25짹0.10 kg average initial body weight (BW), were allotted to 5 treatments by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Three different organic acids (fumaric [FUA], formic [FOA] or lactic acid [LAA]) and one inorganic acid (hydrochloric acid [SHA]) were supplemented to each treatment diet. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During 0-3 wk, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed efficiency (G/F ratio) were not significantly different among treatments. However, pigs fed LAA or SHA diet showed improved ADG by 15 or 13% respectively and 12% greater ADFI in both treatments compared to CON diets. Moreover, compared to organic acid treatments, better ADG (p = 0.07) and ADFI (p = 0.09) were observed in SHA diet compared to pigs that were fed the diet containing organic acids (FUA, FOA or LAA). However, during 4-5 wk, no differences in ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were observed among treatments. Overall, ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were not affected by acidifier supplementation. Although it showed no significant difference, pigs fed LAA or SHA diets showed numerically higher ADG and ADFI than pigs fed other treatments. In metabolic trial (Exp II), 15 pigs were used to evaluate the effect of acidifier supplementation on nutrient digestibility. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was not improved by acidifier supplementation. Although the amount of fecal-N excretion was not different among treatments, that of urinary-N excretion was reduced in acidsupplemented treatments compared to CON group (p = 0.12). Subsequently, N retention was improved in acid-supplemented groups (p = 0.17). In anatomical trial (Exp III), the pH and Cl- concentrations of digesta in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. No detrimental effect of intestinal and lingual (taste bud) morphology was observed by acidifier supplementation particularly in inorganic acid treatment. In white blood cell assay (Exp IV), 45 pigs were used for measuring white blood cell (WBC) counts. In all pigs after LPS injection, WBC counts had slightly declined at 2 h and kept elevating at 8 h, then returned to baseline by 24 h after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, overall WBC counts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. In conclusion, there was no difference between organic and inorganic acidifier supplementation in weanling pigs' diet, however inorganic acidifier might have a beneficial effect on growth performance and N utilization with lower supplementation levels. Furthermore, inorganic acidifier had no negative effect on intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts in weanling pigs. These results suggested that inorganic acidifier might be a good alternative to organic acidifiers in weanling pigs.

True Digestibility of Phosphorus in Different Resources of Feed Ingredients in Growing Pigs

Wu, X.,Ruan, Z.,Zhang, Y.G.,Hou, Y.Q.,Yin, Y.L.,Li, T.J.,Huang, R.L.,Chu, W.Y.,Kong, X.F.,Gao, B.,Chen, L.X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.1

To determine the true digestible phosphorus (TDP) requirement of growing pigs, two experiments were designed with the experimental diets containing five true digestible P levels (0.16%, 0.20%, 0.23%, 0.26% and 0.39%) and the ratio of total calcium to true digestible P (TDP) kept at 2:1. In Experiment 1, five barrows (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire) with an average initial body weight of 27.9 kg were used in a $5{\times}5$ Latin-square design to evaluate the effect of different dietary P levels on the digestibility and output of P and nitrogen. In Experiment 2, sixty healthy growing pigs (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire) with an average body weight (BW) of 21.4 kg were assigned randomly to one of the five dietary treatments (12 pigs/diet), and were used to determine the true digestible phosphorus (TDP) requirement of growing pigs on the basis of growth performance and serum biochemical indices. The results indicated that the true digestibility of P increased (p<0.05) linearly with increasing dietary TDP level below 0.26%. The true P digestibility was highest (56.6%) when dietary TDP was 0.34%. Expressed as g/kg dry matter intake (DMI), fecal P output increased (p<0.05) linearly with increasing P input. On the basis of g/kg fecal dry matter (DM), fecal P output was lowest for Diet 4 and highest (p<0.05) for Diet 5. The apparent digestibility of crude protein (CP) did not differ (p>0.05) among the five diets, with the average nitrogen output of 12.14 g/d and nitrogen retention of 66% to 74% (p>0.05), which suggested that there was no interaction between dietary P and CP protein levels. During the 28-d experimental period of Experiment 2, the average daily gain (ADG) of pigs was affected by dietary TDP levels as described by Eq. (1): $y=-809,532x^4+788,079x^3-276,250x^2+42,114x-1,759$; ($R^2=0.99$; p<0.01; y = ADG, g/d; x = dietary TDP, %), F/G for pigs by Eq. (2): $y=3,651.1x^4-3,480.4x^3+1,183.8x^2-172.5x+10.9$ ($R^2=0.99$; p<0.01; y = F/G; x = dietary TDP, %), and Total P concentrations in serum by Eq. (3): $y=-3,311.7x^4+3,342.7x^3-1,224.6x^2+195.6x-8.7$ (R2 = 0.99; p<0.01; y = total serum P concentration and x = dietary TDP, %). The highest ADG (782 g/d), the lowest F/G (1.07) and the highest total serum P concentration (3.1 mmol/L) were obtained when dietary TDP level was 0.34%. Collectively, these results indicate that the optimal TDP requirement of growing pigs is 0.34% of the diet at a total Ca to TDP ratio of 2:1.

Weak screening of a large dipolar molecule adsorbed on graphene

Kong, Lingmei,Perez Medina, G.J.,Coló,n Santana, J.A.,Wong, F.,Bonilla, M.,Coló,n Amill, D.A.,Rosa, L.G.,Routaboul, L.,Braunstein, P.,Doudin, B.,Lee, Chang-Mook,Choi, Jaewu,Xiao, Jie,Dowbe Elsevier 2012 Carbon Vol.50 No.5

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>We compare the electronic structure of a quinonoid zwitterionic type molecule adsorbed on both gold and graphene on copper substrates. This (6<I>Z</I>)-4-(butylamino)-6-(butyliminio)-3-oxocyclohexa-1,4-dien-1-olate, C<SUB>6</SUB>H<SUB>2</SUB>(⋯_NHR)<SUB>2</SUB>(⋯_O)<SUB>2</SUB> where R=<I>n-</I>C<SUB>4</SUB>H<SUB>9</SUB>, film is made of small molecules with a large intrinsic dipole of 10Debyes. We find that the photoemission and inverse photoemission final states are well screened for these dipolar molecules on gold. This is not observed when they are adsorbed on graphene on copper. This weaker screening results in a larger highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap for the molecules on graphene.</P>

Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor${\gamma}$ Is Involved in Weaning to Estrus of Primiparous Sows by Regulating the Expression of Hormone Genes in Hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary Axis

Kong, L.J.,Wang, A.G.,Fu, J.L.,Lai, CH.H.,Wang, X.F.,Lin, H.CH. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.3

The objective of this study was to determine whether peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$(PPAR${\gamma}$ is involved in the regulation of weaning to estrus of primiparous sows. Twelve sows composed of 6 groups of 2 full-sibs in a similar age (325.2 d), body weight (BW; 152.4 kg) and backfat thickness (BFT; 27.0 mm) at start of lactation, were allocated to accept 31 MJ (restricted group, R-group) or 53 MJ (control group, C-group) DE/d treatment, respectively. The experimental results indicated that the low energy intake resulted in excessive losses of BW and BFT during lactation in R-group sows, which may be related to decrease of serum 15-deoxy-${\Delta}^{12,14}$-prostaglandin $J_2$ (15d-$PGJ_2$), a ligand of PPAR${\gamma}$ The obvious peak and the frequency of LH, FSH and estradiol ($E_2$) were only observed in C-group sows. Except for $E_2$ at d 1 and 2, serum FSH, LH and $E_2$ concentrations in R-group were lower than those in C-group sows after weaning. However, the serum progesterone ($P_4$) level in R-group sows was always more than that in C-group. The expression abundances of PPAR${\gamma}$and GnRH receptor (GnRH-R) in pituitary, FSH receptor (FSH-R), LH receptor (LH-R), estrogen receptor (ES-R) and aromatase in ovary of anestrous sows were lower than those of estrous sows. Neither the BFT nor the BW was associated with the mRNA abundance of PPAR${\gamma}$in hypothalamus during lactation. Expressions of PPAR${\gamma}$in pituitary and ovary were affected evidently by the BFT changes and only by the loss of BW of sows during and after lactation. Furthermore, PPAR${\gamma}$mRNA level in ovary was significantly related to the expression abundances of GnRH-R, FSH-R, ES-R and aromatase, and GnRH-R was obviously associated with PPAR${\gamma}$expression in pituitary. However, PPAR${\gamma}$expression in hypothalamus likely has no effects on these genes expression and no obvious difference for all sows. Not serum $E_2$ or $P_4$ alone but the ratios of $E_2$ to $P_4$ and 15d-$PGJ_2$ to $P_4$, and serum FSH and LH were evidently related to PPAR${\gamma}$expression in pituitary and ovary. It is concluded that PPAR${\gamma}$is associated with body conditions, reproduction hormones and their receptor expression, which affected the functions of pituitary and ovary and ultimately the estrus after weaning of primiparous sows.

Radio afterglows and host galaxies of gamma-ray bursts

Li, L.-B.,Zhang, Z.-B.,Huang, Y.-F.,Wu, X.-F.,Kong, S.-W.,Li, D.,Chang, H.-Y.,Choi, C.-S. Oxford University Press 2015 Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol.451 No.2

Intramuscular Administration of Zinc Metallothionein to Preslaughter Stressed Pigs Improves Anti-oxidative Status and Pork Quality

Li, L.L.,Hou, Z.P.,Yin, Y.L.,Liu, Y.H.,Hou, D.X.,Zhang, B.,Wu, G.Y.,Kim, S.W.,Fan, M.Z.,Yang, C.B.,Kong, X.F.,Tang, Z.R.,Peng, H.Z.,Deng, D.,Deng, Z.Y.,Xie, M.Y.,Xiong, H.,Kang, P.,Wang, S.X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.5

This study was conducted to determine the effects of exogenous zinc-metallothionein (Zn-MT) on anti-oxidative function and pork quality. After feeding a corn-soybean meal-based diet for two weeks, 48 pigs ($Duroc{\times}Landrace{\times}Chinese\;Black Pig$) were assigned randomly to four groups. Pigs in Group 1 were maintained under non-stress conditions, whereas pigs in Groups 2, 3 and 4 were aggressively handled for 25 min to produce stress. Pigs in Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 received intramuscular administration of saline (control group; CON), 0 (negative control group; NCON), 0.8 (low dose group; LOW), and 1.6 (high dose group; HIGH) mg rabbit liver Zn-MT per kg body weight, respectively. Pigs were slaughtered at 3 and 6 h post-injection. Zn-MT treatment increased (p<0.05) the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-PX) while decreasing the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver. These responses were greater (p<0.05) at 6 h than at 3 h post Zn-MT injection. Zn-MT treatment increased (p<0.05) hepatic SOD mRNA levels in a time and dose-dependent manner and decreased (p<0.05) serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase activities (indicators of tissue integrity). Zn-MT administration decreased (p<0.05) lactate concentration and increased (p<0.05) pH and water-holding capacity in the longissimus thorasis meat. Collectively, our results indicate that intramuscular administration of Zn-MT to pre-slaughter stressed pigs improved tissue anti-oxidative ability and meat quality.

The Additivity of True or Apparent Phosphorus Digestibility Values in Some Feed Ingredients for Growing Pigs

Fang, R.J.,Li, T.J.,Yin, F.G.,Yin, Y.L.,Kong, X.F.,Wang, K.N.,Yuan, Z.,Wu, G.Y.,He, J.H.,Deng, Z.Y.,Fan, M.Z. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.7

Two experiments were conducted to determine the additivity of apparent or true digestibility of phosphorus (P) in soybean meal (SBM), peas, faba beans, corn, oats, broken rice meal, rough rice meal, buckwheat, and sorghum for growing pigs. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as a digestion marker in both experiments. Each experiment lasted for 12 d, which consisted of a 7-d dietary adaptation period followed by a 5-d fecal collection period. Experiment 1 involved 6 diets: the SBM-based control diet; 4 diets with corn, oats, rough rice meal and broken rice meal substituted for SBM; and an additional diet with a representative mixture of the 5 ingredients. In Experiment 2, 6 diets were prepared similarly, except that the tested ingredients besides SBM were faba beans, peas, buckwheat, and sorghum. In each experiment, six barrows with an initial average individual BW of 20.5 kg were fed one of the six diets according to a $6{\times}6$ Latin square design. The apparent and true P digestibility values for the nine tested ingredients were determined by the substitution method. There were no differences (p>0.05) between the determined and the predicted true P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients in Experiments 1 and 2. However, the determined and the predicted apparent P digestibility values for the mixture of ingredients differed (p = 0.059) in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results indicate that true P digestibility values are additive in ingredients containing low levels of phytate phosphorus and anti-nutritional factors, whereas the apparent P digestibility values are not always additive in single feed ingredients for growing pigs.

Effects of Different Products and Levels of Selenium on Growth, Nutrient Digestibility and Selenium Retention of Growing-finishing Pigs

Tian, J.Z.,Yun, M.S.,Kong, C.S.,Piao, L.G.,Long, H.F.,Kim, J.H.,Lee, J.H.,Lim, J.S.,Kim, C.H.,Kim, Y.Y.,Han, In K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.1

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different selenium (Se) products (inorganic, organic A, organic B) added at two supplemental dietary Se levels (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and Se retention in growing-finishing pigs. A $3{\times}2$ factorial arrangement of treatments was used in a RCB design, with a non-Se-fortified basal diet serving as the negative control. A total of 56 crossbred pigs (28 male and 28 female pigs) initially weighing an average $28.45{\pm}0.53kg$ BW were allotted to each treatment with four pigs per pen on the basis of sex and weight. Two pigs per pen were selected and bled from the anterior vena cava at 3- weekly intervals to analyze Se concentration. In the growing phase (0-6 weeks), increased ADFI was observed when pigs were fed organic Se compared to those fed the control diet or inorganic Se treatment (p<0.05). Pigs fed inorganic Se had a great ADFI than pigs fed organic Se (p<0.05) in the late finishing phase (7-12 weeks), although there were no differences in whole period ADFI between organic or inorganic Se products. During 12 weeks of the whole experimental period, serum Se concentration increased linearly when dietary Se level increased regardless of Se products (p<0.05). Both dietary Se source (p<0.05) and Se level (p<0.01) influenced the Se concentration of various pig tissues at end of this experiment and Se content was the highest in the kidney. For the determination of nutrient digestibility, a metabolic trial was conducted in 3 replicates in randomized complete block (RCB) design. A total of 21 barrows ($50.21{\pm}0.62kg$ of average BW) were used in the metabolic study. Selenium supplementation had no effect on nutrient digestibility except for crude protein. Crude protein digestibility increased with dietary supplementation of organic Se (A) compared with other forms of Se products or control diet (p<0.05). Consequently, this experiment indicated that dietary Se products and levels had no effect on growth performance of pigs. Se concentration in tissues and serum was increased in proportion to dietary Se level, especially when organic Se was provided. Although pigs were fed organic forms of Se, bioavailability of organic forms varied among products, consequently bioactivity of organic products to the animals should be evaluated before practical application in animal feed.

Blind prediction of homo‐ and hetero‐protein complexes: The CASP13‐CAPRI experiment

Lensink, Marc F.,Brysbaert, Guillaume,Nadzirin, Nurul,Velankar, Sameer,Chaleil, Raphaë,l A. G.,Gerguri, Tereza,Bates, Paul A.,Laine, Elodie,Carbone, Alessandra,Grudinin, Sergei,Kong, Ren,Liu, Ran& John WileySons, Inc. 2019 Proteins Vol.87 No.12

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>We present the results for CAPRI Round 46, the third joint CASP‐CAPRI protein assembly prediction challenge. The Round comprised a total of 20 targets including 14 homo‐oligomers and 6 heterocomplexes. Eight of the homo‐oligomer targets and one heterodimer comprised proteins that could be readily modeled using templates from the Protein Data Bank, often available for the full assembly. The remaining 11 targets comprised 5 homodimers, 3 heterodimers, and two higher‐order assemblies. These were more difficult to model, as their prediction mainly involved “ab‐initio” docking of subunit models derived from distantly related templates. A total of ~30 CAPRI groups, including 9 automatic servers, submitted on average ~2000 models per target. About 17 groups participated in the CAPRI scoring rounds, offered for most targets, submitting ~170 models per target. The prediction performance, measured by the fraction of models of acceptable quality or higher submitted across all predictors groups, was very good to excellent for the nine easy targets. Poorer performance was achieved by predictors for the 11 difficult targets, with medium and high quality models submitted for only 3 of these targets. A similar performance “gap” was displayed by scorer groups, highlighting yet again the unmet challenge of modeling the conformational changes of the protein components that occur upon binding or that must be accounted for in template‐based modeling. Our analysis also indicates that residues in binding interfaces were less well predicted in this set of targets than in previous Rounds, providing useful insights for directions of future improvements.</P>

Effects of Dietary Energy Density on Growth, Carcass Quality and mRNA Expression of Fatty Acid Synthase and Hormone-sensitive Lipase in Finishing Pigs

Liu, Z.H.,Yang, F.Y.,Kong, L.J.,Lai, C.H.,Piao, X.S.,Gu, Y.H.,Ou, X.Q. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.10

A single factorial experiment was conducted to test the effects of three dietary levels of energy on mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS-mRNA) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL-mRNA) and their association with intramuscular fat in finishing pigs. 72 crossbred (Large $White{\times}Rongchang$) barrows with an average initial body weight of 20.71 (s.e. 0.1) kg, were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments (11.75, 13.05 and 14.36 MJ DE/kg) and fed until slaughtered at 100 or 101 kg. The diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-essential amino acids. The growth performances including the duration of finishing were changed linearly (p<0.05) or quadratically (p<0.05) with increased dietary energy levels. The effects of dietary energy content on the percentage of external fat, intramuscular backfat and the fat thickness were linear (p<0.05). The content of dietary energy increased FAS-mRNA linearly or quadratically, while HSL-mRNA decreased linearly or quadratically in backfat and Longissmus dorsi muscle. Meanwhile, significant positive correlations (p<0.05) were found between energy level and intramuscular fat, FAS-mRNA or the ratio of FAS-mRNA to HSL-mRNA, between the ratio of FAS-mRNA to HSL-mRNA and intramuscular fat. However, the correlations between HSL mRNA and dietary energy or intramuscular fat were negative (p<0.05). The results indicated that dietary energy level regulates lipid accumulation, especially intramuscular fat, possibly by modulating the mRNA of FAS and HSL together rather than individually.