Selection for Duration of Fertility and Mule Duck White Plumage Colour in a Synthetic Strain of Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Liu, H.C.,Huang, J.F.,Lee, S.R.,Liu, H.L.,Hsieh, C.H.,Huang, C.W.,Huang, M.C.,Tai, C.,Poivey, J.P.,Rouvier, R.,Cheng, Y.S. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.5

A synthetic strain of ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) was developed by introducing genes for long duration of fertility to be used as mother of mule ducklings and a seven-generation selection experiment was conducted to increase the number of fertile eggs after a single artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen. Reciprocal crossbreeding between Brown Tsaiya LRI-2 (with long duration of fertility) and Pekin L-201 (with white plumage mule ducklings) ducks produced the G0. Then G1 were intercrossed to produce G2 and so on for the following generations. Each female duck was inseminated 3 times, at 26, 29, and 32 weeks of age. The eggs were collected for 14 days from day 2 after AI. Individual data regarding the number of incubated eggs (Ie), the number of fertile eggs at candling at day 7 of incubation (F), the total number of dead embryos (M), the maximum duration of fertility (Dm) and the number of hatched mule ducklings (H) with plumage colour were recorded. The selection criterion was the breeding values of the best linear unbiased prediction animal model for F. The results show high percentage of exhibited heterosis in G2 for traits to improve (19.1% for F and 12.9% for H); F with a value of 5.92 (vs 3.74 in the Pekin L-201) was improved in the G2. Heritabilities were found to be low for Ie ($h^2=0.07{\pm}0.03$) and M ($h^2=0.07{\pm}0.01$), moderately low for Dm ($h^2=0.13{\pm}0.02$), of medium values for H ($h^2=0.20{\pm}0.03$) and F ($h^2=0.23{\pm}0.03$). High and favourable genetic correlations existed between F and Dm ($r_g=0.93$), between F and H ($r_g=0.97$) and between Dm and H ($r_g=0.90$). The selection experiment showed a positive trend for phenotypic values of F (6.38 fertile eggs in G10 of synthetic strain vs 5.59 eggs in G4, and 3.74 eggs in Pekin L-201), with correlated response for increasing H (5.73 ducklings in G10 vs 4.86 in G4, and 3.09 ducklings in Pekin L-201) and maximum duration of the fertile period without increasing the embryo mortality rate. The average predicted genetic response for F was 40% of genetic standard deviation per generation of selection. The mule ducklings' feather colour also was improved. It was concluded that this study provided results for a better understanding of the genetics of the duration of fertility traits in the common female duck bred for mule and that the selection of a synthetic strain was effective method of improvement.

Selection for Duration of Fertility and Mule Duck White Plumage Colour in a Synthetic Strain of Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

H.C. Liu,J.F. Huang,S.R. Lee,H.L. Liu,C.H. Hsieh,C.W. Huang,M.C. Huang,C. Tai,J.P. Poivey,R. Rouvier,Y.S. Cheng 아세아·태평양축산학회 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.5

A synthetic strain of ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) was developed by introducing genes for long duration of fertility to be used as mother of mule ducklings and a seven-generation selection experiment was conducted to increase the number of fertile eggs after a single artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen. Reciprocal crossbreeding between Brown Tsaiya LRI-2 (with long duration of fertility) and Pekin L-201 (with white plumage mule ducklings) ducks produced the G0. Then G1 were intercrossed to produce G2 and so on for the following generations. Each female duck was inseminated 3 times, at 26, 29, and 32 weeks of age. The eggs were collected for 14 days from day 2 after AI. Individual data regarding the number of incubated eggs (Ie), the number of fertile eggs at candling at day 7 of incubation (F), the total number of dead embryos (M), the maximum duration of fertility (Dm) and the number of hatched mule ducklings (H) with plumage colour were recorded. The selection criterion was the breeding values of the best linear unbiased prediction animal model for F. The results show high percentage of exhibited heterosis in G2 for traits to improve (19.1% for F and 12.9% for H); F with a value of 5.92 (vs 3.74 in the Pekin L-201) was improved in the G2. Heritabilities were found to be low for Ie (h2 = 0.07±0.03) and M (h2 = 0.07±0.01), moderately low for Dm (h2 = 0.13±0.02), of medium values for H (h2 = 0.20±0.03) and F (h2 = 0.23±0.03). High and favourable genetic correlations existed between F and Dm (rg = 0.93), between F and H (rg = 0.97) and between Dm and H (rg = 0.90). The selection experiment showed a positive trend for phenotypic values of F (6.38 fertile eggs in G10 of synthetic strain vs 5.59 eggs in G4, and 3.74 eggs in Pekin L-201), with correlated response for increasing H (5.73 ducklings in G10 vs 4.86 in G4, and 3.09 ducklings in Pekin L-201) and maximum duration of the fertile period without increasing the embryo mortality rate. The average predicted genetic response for F was 40% of genetic standard deviation per generation of selection. The mule ducklings’ feather colour also was improved. It was concluded that this study provided results for a better understanding of the genetics of the duration of fertility traits in the common female duck bred for mule and that the selection of a synthetic strain was effective method of improvement.

Gut-Specific Delivery of T-Helper 17 Cells Reduces Obesity and Insulin Resistance in Mice

Hong, C.P.,Park, A.,Yang, B.G.,Yun, C.H.,Kwak, M.J.,Lee, G.W.,Kim, J.H.,Jang, M.S.,Lee, E.J.,Jeun, E.J.,You, G.,Kim, K.S.,Choi, Y.,Park, J.H.,Hwang, D.,Im, S.H.,Kim, J.F.,Kim, Y.K.,Seoh, J.Y.,Surh, C. Elsevier North Holland [etc.] 2017 Gastroenterology Vol.152 No.8

<P>BACKGROUND & AIMS: Obesity and metabolic syndrome have been associated with alterations to the intestinal microbiota. However, few studies examined the effects of obesity on the intestinal immune system. We investigated changes in subsets of intestinal CD4(+) T-helper (T-H) cells with obesity and the effects of gut-tropic T(H)17 cells in mice on a high-fat diet (HFD). METHODS: We isolated immune cells from small intestine and adipose tissue of C57BL/6 mice fed a normal chow diet or a HFD for 10 weeks and analyzed the cells by flow cytometry. Mice fed a vitamin A-deficient HFD were compared with mice fed a vitamin A-sufficient HFD. Obese RAG1-deficient mice were given injections of only regulatory T cells or a combination of regulatory T cells and T(H)17 cells (wild type or deficient in integrin beta 7 subunit or interleukin 17 [IL17]). Mice were examined for weight gain, fat mass, fatty liver, glucose tolerance, and insulin resistance. Fecal samples were collected before and after T cell transfer and analyzed for microbiota composition by metagenomic DNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Mice placed on a HFD became obese, which affected the distribution of small intestinal CD4(+) T-H cells. Intestinal tissues from obese mice had significant reductions in the proportion of T(H)17 cells but increased proportion of T(H)1 cells, compared with intestinal tissues from nonobese mice. Depletion of vitamin A in obese mice further reduced the proportion of T(H)17 cells in small intestine; this reduction correlated with more weight gain and worsening of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Adoptive transfer of in vitro-differentiated gut-tropic T(H)17 cells to obese mice reduced these metabolic defects, which required the integrin beta 7 subunit and IL17. Delivery of T(H)17 cells to intestines of mice led to expansion of commensal microbes associated with leanness. CONCLUSIONS: In mice, intestinal T(H)17 cells contribute to development of a microbiota that maintains metabolic homeostasis, via IL17. Gut-homing T(H)17 cells might be used to reduce metabolic disorders in obese individuals.</P>

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.

Two-dimensional hexagonal CrN with promising magnetic and optical properties: A theoretical prediction

Kuklin, A.,Kuzubov, A.,Kovaleva, E.,Mikhaleva, N.,Tomilin, F.,Lee, H.,Avramov, P. Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Nanoscale Vol.9 No.2

<P>Half-metallic ferromagnetic materials with planar forms are promising for spintronics applications. A wide range of 2D lattices like graphene, h-BN, transition metal dichalcogenides, etc. are non-magnetic or weakly magnetic. Using first principles calculations, the existence of graphene-like hexagonal chromium nitride (h-CrN) with an almost flat atomically thin structure is predicted. We find that freestanding h-CrN has a 100% spin-polarized half-metallic nature with possible ferromagnetic ordering and a high rate of optical transparency. As a possible method for stabilization and synthesis, deposition of h-CrN on 2D MoSe2 or on MoS2 is proposed. The formation of composites retains the half-metallic properties and leads to the reduction of spin-down band gaps to 1.43 and 1.71 eV for energetically favorable h-CrN/MoSe2 and h-CrN/MoS2 configurations, respectively. Calculation of the dielectric functions of h-CrN, h-CrN/MoSe2 and h-CrN/MoS2 exhibit the high transparency of all three low-dimensional nanomaterials. The honeycomb CrN may be considered as a promising fundamental Half-2D material for a variety of potential applications of critical importance.</P>

The development of a cryogenic detector with CaMoO₄ crystals for neutrinoless double beta decay search

Lee, S.J.,Choi, J.H.,Danevich, F.A.,Jang, Y.S.,Kang, W.G.,Khanbekov, N.,Kim, H.J.,Kim, I.H.,Kim, S.C.,Kim, S.K.,Kim, Y.D.,Kim, Y.H.,Kobychev, V.V.,Kornoukhov, V.N.,Lee, J.I.,Lee, J.S.,Lee, K.B.,Lee, M North-Holland ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2011 Astroparticle physics Vol.34 No.9

The search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is a key experiment for evaluating the mass of the neutrino and for determining the Majorana/Dirac nature of neutrinos. A scintillating CaMoO<SUB>4</SUB> crystal is a good material for use in investigating 0νββ with cryogenic detectors. The high transition energy (Q=3034keV) and nearly 10% natural abundance of <SUP>100</SUP>Mo, together with the scintillating property of the crystal, provide favorable conditions to search for 0νββ of <SUP>100</SUP>Mo. We report a prototype experiment operating at low temperatures using a CaMoO<SUB>4</SUB> crystal as a particle absorber. Prior to testing of isotopically-enriched <SUP>40</SUP>Ca<SUP>100</SUP>MoO<SUB>4</SUB> crystals, a CaMoO<SUB>4</SUB> crystal with Mo of natural isotopic composition was tested. Using a metallic magnetic calorimeter as a temperature sensor, we achieved high energy resolutions for alpha particles and low-energy gamma rays. This experiment shows the feasibility of scaling up the crystal size to perform a high sensitivity search for 0νββ decay of <SUP>100</SUP>Mo.

Early initiation of continuous renal replacement therapy improves patient survival in severe progressive septic acute kidney injury

Oh, H.J.,Shin, D.H.,Lee, M.J.,Koo, H.M.,Doh, F.M.,Kim, H.R.,Han, J.H.,Park, J.T.,Han, S.H.,Yoo, T.H.,Choi, K.H.,Kang, S.W. Grune Stratton 2012 Journal of critical care Vol.27 No.6

Purpose: The definition of ''early'' in terms of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) initiation has not been uniformly used. Therefore, we tried to elucidate whether the timing of CRRT application, based on the interval between the start time of vasopressors infusion and CRRT initiation, was an independent predictor of mortality in the patients with septic acute kidney injury (AKI). Materials and Methods: Progressive septic AKI patients, in whom the infusion doses of vasopressors were increased compared with the initial dose during the first 6 hours of vasopressor treatment and CRRT was performed, between 2009 and 2011, were collected and divided into 2 groups based on the median interval between the 2 points. Results: A total of 210 patients were included. The mean age was 62.4 years, and 126 patients (60.0%) were male. The most common comorbid disease was malignancy (53.8%), followed by hypertension (35.7%) and diabetes mellitus (29.0%). The median interval between the start time of vasopressor infusion and CRRT commencement was 2.0 days. During the study period, 156 patients (74.3%) died within 28 days of CRRT application. The interval between 2 points was significantly shorter in the survivor compared with the death group (P < .001). Moreover, 28-day overall mortality rates in the early CRRT group were significantly lower than those in the late CRRT group (P = .034). Furthermore, early CRRT treatment was independently associated with a lower mortality rate even after adjustment for age, sex, causative organisms, and infection sites (P = .032). Conclusions: This retrospective cohort study suggests that early initiation of CRRT may be of benefit. Given the complex nature of this intervention, the ongoing controversies regarding early vs late initiation of therapy in acute and chronic situation, there is an urgent need to develop well-designed clinical trials to answer the question definitely.

Cleaved c-FLIP mediates the antiviral effect of TNF-α against hepatitis B virus by dysregulating hepatocyte nuclear factors

Park, Y.K.,Park, E.S.,Kim, D.H.,Ahn, S.H.,Park, S.H.,Lee, A.R.,Park, S.,Kang, H.S.,Lee, J.H.,Kim, J.M.,Lee, S.K.,Lim, K.H.,Isorce, N.,Tong, S.,Zoulim, F.,Kim, K.H. Elsevier Science Publishers 2016 Journal of hepatology Vol. No.

<P>Background & Aims: Cytokines are key molecules implicated in the defense against virus infection. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is well known to block the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, the molecular mechanism and the downstream effector molecules remain largely unknown. Methods: In this study, we investigated the antiviral effect and mechanism of p22-FLIP (FLICE-inhibitory protein) by ectopic expression in vitro and in vivo. In addition, to provide the biological relevance of our study, we examined that the p22-FLIP is involved in TNF-alpha-mediated suppression of HBV in primary human hepatocytes. Results: We found that p22-FLIP, a newly discovered c-FLIP cleavage product, inhibited HBV replication at the transcriptional level in both hepatoma cells and primary human hepatocytes, and that c-FLIP conversion to p22-FLIP was stimulated by the TNF-alpha/NF-kappa B pathway. p22-FLIP inhibited HBV replication through the upregulation of HNF3 beta but downregulation of HNF4 alpha, thus inhibiting both HBV enhancer elements. Finally, p22-FLIP potently inhibited HBV DNA replication in a mouse model of HBV replication. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that the anti-apoptotic p22-FLIP serves a novel function of inhibiting HBV transcription, and mediates the antiviral effect of TNF-a against HBV replication. (C) 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Comparison of the Haas and the Oxford classifications for prediction of renal outcome in patients with IgA nephropathy

Park, K.S.,Han, S.H.,Kie, J.H.,Nam, K.H.,Lee, M.J.,Lim, B.J.,Kwon, Y.E.,Kim, Y.L.,An, S.Y.,Kim, C.H.,Doh, F.M.,Koo, H.M.,Oh, H.J.,Kang, S.W.,Choi, K.H.,Jeong, H.J.,Yoo, T.H. W. B. Saunders Co ; Centrum Philadelphia 2014 Human pathology Vol.45 No.2

Pathologic features can provide valuable information for determining prognosis in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). However, it is uncertain whether the Oxford classification, a new classification of IgAN, can predict renal outcome better than previous ones. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 500 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN between January 2002 and December 2010 to compare the ability of the Haas and the Oxford classifications to predict renal outcome. Primary outcome was a doubling of the baseline serum creatinine concentration (D-SCr). During a mean follow-up of 68months, 52 (10.4%) and 35 (7.0%) developed D-SCr and end-stage renal disease, respectively. There were graded increases in the development of D-SCr in the higher Haas classes. In addition, the primary endpoint of D-SCr occurred more in patients with the Oxford M and T lesions than those without such lesions. In multivariate Cox regression analyses, the Haas class V (HR, 12.19; P=.002) and the Oxford T1 (hazard ratio [HR], 6.68; P<.001) and T2 (HR, 12.16; P<.001) lesions were independently associated with an increased risk of reaching D-SCr. Harrell's C index of each multivariate model with the Haas and the Oxford classification was 0.867 (P=.015) and 0.881 (P=.004), respectively. This was significantly higher than that of model with clinical factors only (C=0.819). However, there was no difference in C-statistics between the 2 models with the Haas and the Oxford classifications (P=.348). This study suggests that the Haas and the Oxford classifications are comparable in predicting progression of IgAN.

Bundling influence on ultrafast optical nonlinearities of single-walled carbon nanotubes in suspension and composite film

Lee, H. W.,Yim, J. H.,Kiran, A. J.,Baek, I. H.,Lee, S.,Yeom, D.-I.,Ahn, Y. H.,Kim, K.,Lee, J.,Lim, H.,Rotermund, F. Springer-Verlag 2009 Applied physics. B, Lasers and optics Vol.97 No.1