The Expression of Genes Related to Egg Production in the Liver of Taiwan Country Chickens

Ding, S.T.,Ko, Y.H.,Ou, B.R.,Wang, P.H.,Chen, C.L.,Huang, M.C.,Lee, Y.P.,Lin, E.C.,Chen, C.F.,Lin, H.W.,Cheng, Winston Teng Kuei Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.1

The purpose of this study was to detect expression of genes related to egg production in Taiwan Country chickens by suppression subtractive hybridization. Liver samples of mRNA extraction from two Taiwan Country chicken strains (L2 and B), originated from the same population but with very distinct egg production rates after long-term selection for egg and meat production respectively. Two-way subtraction was performed. The hepatic cDNA from the low egg production chickens (B) was subtracted from the hepatic cDNA from the high egg production strain (L2). The reversed subtraction (L2 from B) was also performed. The resulting differentially expressed gene fragments were cloned and sequenced. We sequenced 288 clones from the forward subtraction and 96 clones from the reverse subtraction. These genes were subjected to further screening to confirm the differential expression between the two genetic breeds of chickens. The apolipoprotein B (apoB) was expressed to a greater extent in the liver of the L2 than in the B line chickens. The 5-aminoimidazole- 4-carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase/IMP cyclohydrolase (PURH) was expressed to a greater extent in the liver of the B than in the L2 strain chickens. We demonstrated that both apoB and PURH were more highly expressed in the liver than that in other tissues (muscle, ovary, and oviduct) in laying Taiwan Country chickens. Taken together, these data suggest that after the selection for egg production, expression of apoB and PURH genes were also changed. Whether the changed expression of these genes is directly related to egg production is not known, but these two genes may be useful markers for egg laying performance in Taiwan Country chickens.

Effect of Corticosterone Administration on Small Intestinal Weight and Expression of Small Intestinal Nutrient Transporter mRNA of Broiler Chickens

Hu, X.F.,Guo, Yuming,Huang, B.Y.,Zhang, L.B.,Bun, S.,Liu, D.,Long, F.Y.,Li, J.H.,Yang, X.,Jiao, P. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2010 Animal Bioscience Vol.23 No.2

The effects of corticosterone (CORT) administration on the weight of small intestine and the expression of nutrient transporter mRNA in the small intestine of broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were investigated. One hundred and eight sevenday-old birds were randomly divided into two equal groups comprising a control group (CTRL) and an experimental group (CORT). CTRL birds were fed a basal diet and the CORT birds were fed a basal diet containing 30 mg corticosterone/kg from d 8 to 21. At 21 d of age, average daily feed intake (ADFI), serum corticosterone level, small intestinal absolute wet weight and relative weight, and relative abundance of SGLT1, CaBP-D28k, PepT1 mRNA in the duodenum and L-FABP mRNA in the jejunum were determined. The results showed that serum corticosterone level, liver weight and small intestinal relative weight (small intestinal wet weight/body weight) of CORT chickens were about 30.15%, 26.72% and 42.20% higher, respectively, than in the CTRL group (p<0.05). CORT birds had relative mRNA abundance of CaBP-D28k and PepT1 in the duodenum, and L-FABP in the jejunum which was 1.77, 1.37 and 1.94 fold higher, respectively, than in the CTRL group (p<0.05); the relative abundance of SGLT1 was 1.67 fold higher than in the CTRL group (p = 0.097). ADFI, small intestinal wet weight and length in CORT-treated broiler chickens was about 29.11%, 31.12% and 12.35% lower, respectively, than in the CTRL group (p<0.05). In conclusion, corticosterone administration lowered the wet weight but increased the relative weight of the small intestine and the expression of intestinal nutrient transporter mRNA of broiler chickens.

Low-temperature catalytic combustion of benzene over Ni–Mn/CeO2/cordierite catalysts

B. Li,Q. Huang,X.K. Yan,X.L. Xu,Y. Qiu,B. Yang,Y.W. Chen,S.M. Zhu,S.B. Shen 한국공업화학회 2014 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.20 No.4

The catalytic combustion of benzene over a Ni–Mn mixed oxide supported on cordierite coated with CeO2 was investigated. The catalysts were prepared using a sol–gel method and characterized using BET, H2-TPR, XRD, SEM and TEM. The catalysts calcined at 500 ℃ for 7 h with a Ni/Mn molar ratio of 1 exhibited the highest catalytic activity. When the concentration of benzene was 4.8 g/m3 and the GHSV was 15,000 h-1, the conversion was 94.3% at 300 ℃. These results were primarily attributed to the catalyst structure and the synergistic activity of the NiMnO3 perovskite and crystalline CeO2.

Four-dimensional calibration turntable of the motional Stark effect diagnostic on EAST

Huang, X.,Liu, D. M.,Liu, C.,Fu, J.,Wan, B. N.,Lyu, B.,Wu, Z. W.,Holcomb, C. T.,Ko, J.,Rowan, W. L.,Huang, H.,Miao, G. Z. American Institute of Physics 2018 Review of scientific instruments Vol.89 No.10

High temperature thermal stability of nanocrystalline 316L stainless steel processed by high-pressure torsion

El-Tahawy, Moustafa,Huang, Yi,Choi, Hyelim,Choe, Heeman,Lá,bá,r, Já,nos L.,Langdon, Terence G.,Gubicza, Jenő Elsevier 2017 Materials science & engineering. properties, micro Vol.682 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the thermal stability of the microstructure and the phase composition in nanocrystalline 316L stainless steel processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) for ¼ and 10 turns. The DSC thermograms showed two characteristic peaks which were investigated by examining the dislocation densities, grain sizes and phase compositions after annealing at different temperatures. The first DSC peak was exothermic and was related to recovery of the dislocation structure without changing the phase composition and grain size. The activation energies for recovery after processing by ¼ and 10 turns were ~163 and ~106kJ/mol., respectively, suggesting control by diffusion along grain boundaries and dislocations. The second DSC peak was endothermic and was caused by a reverse transformation of α’-martensite to γ-austenite. The hardness of annealed samples was determined primarily by the grain size and followed the Hall–Petch relationship. Nanocrystalline 316L steel processed by HPT exhibited good thermal stability with a grain size of ~200nm after annealing at 1000K and a very high hardness of ~4900MPa.</P>

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

Effect of Galacto-mannan-oligosaccharides or Chitosan Supplementation on Cytoimmunity and Humoral Immunity in Early-weaned Piglets

Yin, Y.-L.,Tang, Z.R.,Sun, Z.H.,Liu, Z.Q.,Li, T.J.,Huang, R.L.,Ruan, Z.,Deng, Z.Y.,Gao, B.,Chen, L.X.,Wu, G.Y.,Kim, S.W. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.5

Immunomodulatory feed additives might offer alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters in pig production. This experiment was designed to determine the effects of dietary galacto-mannan-oligosaccharide (GMOS) and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on the immune response in early-weaned piglets. Forty 15-day-old piglets (Duroc$\times$Landrace$\times$Yorkshire) with an average live body weight of $5.6{\pm}0.51kg$ were weaned and randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups that were fed maize-soybean meal diets containing either basal, 110 mg/kg of lincomycin, 250 mg/kg of COS or 0.2% GMOS, respectively, over a 2-week period. Another six piglets of the same age were sacrificed on the same day at the beginning of the study for sampling, in order to obtain baseline values. Interleukin (IL)-1${\beta}$gene expression in peripheral blood monocytes, jejunal mucosa and lymph nodes, as well as serum levels of IL-1${\beta}$ IL-2 and IL-6, IgA, IgG, and IgM, were evaluated for 5 pigs from each group at 15 and 28 days of age. The results indicate that weaning stress resulted in decreases in serum antibody and cytokine levels. Dietary supplementation with GMOS or COS enhanced (p<0.05) IL-1${\beta}$gene expression in jejunal mucosa and lymph nodes, as well as serum levels of IL-1${\beta}$ IL-2, IL-6, IgA, IgG and IgM compared to supplementation with lincomycin. These findings suggest that GMOS or COS may enhance the cell-mediated immune response in early-weaned piglets by modulating the production of cytokines and antibodies, which shows that GMOS or COS have different effects than the antibiotic on animal growth and health.

Enhancement of Learning and Memory by Elevating Brain Magnesium

Slutsky, I.,Abumaria, N.,Wu, L.J.,Huang, C.,Zhang, L.,Li, B.,Zhao, X.,Govindarajan, A.,Zhao, M.G.,Zhuo, M.,Tonegawa, S.,Liu, G. Cell Press 2010 Neuron Vol.65 No.2

Learning and memory are fundamental brain functions affected by dietary and environmental factors. Here, we show that increasing brain magnesium using a newly developed magnesium compound (magnesium-L-threonate, MgT) leads to the enhancement of learning abilities, working memory, and short- and long-term memory in rats. The pattern completion ability was also improved in aged rats. MgT-treated rats had higher density of synaptophysin-/synaptobrevin-positive puncta in DG and CA1 subregions of hippocampus that were correlated with memory improvement. Functionally, magnesium increased the number of functional presynaptic release sites, while it reduced their release probability. The resultant synaptic reconfiguration enabled selective enhancement of synaptic transmission for burst inputs. Coupled with concurrent upregulation of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors and its downstream signaling, synaptic plasticity induced by correlated inputs was enhanced. Our findings suggest that an increase in brain magnesium enhances both short-term synaptic facilitation and long-term potentiation and improves learning and memory functions.

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.

Effects of Inclusion Levels of Wheat Bran and Body Weight on Ileal and Fecal Digestibility in Growing Pigs

Huang, Q.,Su, Y.B.,Li, D.F.,Liu, L.,Huang, C.F.,Zhu, Z.P.,Lai, C.H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.6

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of graded inclusions of wheat bran (0%, 9.65%, 48.25% wheat bran) and two growth stages (from 32.5 to 47.2 kg and 59.4 to 78.7 kg, respectively) on the apparent ileal digestibility (AID), apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and hindgut fermentation of nutrients and energy in growing pigs. Six light pigs (initial body weight [BW] $32.5{\pm}2.1kg$) and six heavy pigs (initial BW $59.4{\pm}3.2kg$) were surgically prepared with a T-cannula in the distal ileum. A difference method was used to calculate the nutrient and energy digestibility of wheat bran by means of comparison with a basal diet consisting of corn-soybean meal (0% wheat bran). Two additional diets were formulated by replacing 9.65% and 48.25% wheat bran by the basal diet, respectively. Each group of pigs was allotted to a $6{\times}3$ Youden square design, and pigs were fed to three experimental diets during three 11-d periods. Hindgut fermentation values were calculated as the differences between ATTD and AID values. For the wheat bran diets, the AID and ATTD of dry matter (DM), ash, organic matter (OM), carbohydrates (CHO), gross energy (GE), and digestible energy (DE) decreased with increasing inclusion levels of wheat bran (p<0.05). While only AID of CHO and ATTD of DM, ash, OM, CHO, GE, and DE content differed (p<0.05) when considering the BW effect. For the wheat bran ingredient, there was a wider variation effect (p<0.01) on the nutrient and energy digestibility of wheat bran in 9.65% inclusion level due to the coefficient of variation (CV) of the nutrient and energy digestibility being higher at 9.65% compared to 48.25% inclusion level of wheat bran. Digestible energy content of wheat bran at 48.25% inclusion level (4.8 and 6.7 MJ/kg of DM, respectively) fermented by hindgut was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that in 9.65% wheat bran inclusion level (2.56 and 2.12 MJ/kg of DM, respectively), which was also affected (p<0.05) by two growth stages. This increase in hindgut fermentation caused the difference in ileal DE (p<0.05) to disappear at total tract level. All in all, increasing wheat bran levels in diets negatively influences the digestibility of some nutrients in pigs, while it positively affects the DE fermentation in the hindgut.