Recent SAXS Progress at NSRRC

Jeng U.,Hsu C.-H.,Sun Y.-S.,Lai Y.-H.,Chung W.-T.,Sheu H.-S.,Lee H.-Y.,Song Y.-F.,Liang K. S.,Lin T.-L. The Polymer Society of Korea 2005 Macromolecular Research Vol.13 No.6

We review the recent SAXS activity on the 1.5-GeV electron storage ring at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC). Typical measurements featuring in grazing incident SAXS for soft materials are illustrated. Complex measurements using simultaneous SAXS/DSC and SAXSIWAXS for the correlations between the crystallization and mesoscale ordering in a polymer blend and a polypeptide-block-polypseudorotaxane diblock copolymer are presented. We also introduce a dedicated SAXS beamline which is planned at NSRRC.

Experimental investigation on effect of ion cyclotron resonance heating on density fluctuation in SOL at EAST

Y.C. Li,M.H. Li,M. Wang,L. Liu,X.J. Zhang,C.M. Qin,Y.F. Wang,C.B. Wu,L.N. Liu,J.C. Xu,B. J. Ding,X. D. Lin,B. J. Ding,X. D. Lin,J. F. Shan,F. K. Liu,Y. P. Zhao,T. Zhang,X. Gao 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.1

The suppression of high-intensity blob structures in the scrape-off layer (SOL) by ion-cyclotron range offrequencies (ICRF) power, leading to a decrease in the turbulent fluctuation level, is observed first in theExperimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) experiment. This suppression effect from ICRFpower injection is global in the whole SOL at EAST, i.e. blob structures both in the regions that aremagnetically connected to the active ICRF launcher and in the regions that are not connected to theactive ICRF launcher could be suppressed by ICRF power. However, more ICRF power is required to reachthe full blob structure suppression effect in the regions that are magnetically unconnected to the activelauncher than in the regions that are magnetically connected to the active launcher. Studies show that apossible reason for the blob suppression could be the enhanced Er B shear flow in the SOL, which issupported by the shaper radial gradient in the floating potential profiles sensed by the divertor probearrays with increasing ICRF power. The local RF wave power unabsorbed by the core plasma isresponsible for the modification of potential profiles in the SOL regions.

Effects of Free-range Farming on Carcass and Meat Qualities of Black-feathered Taiwan Native Chicken

Cheng, F.Y.,Huang, C.W.,Wan, T.C.,Liu, Y.T.,Lin, L.C.,Lou Chyr, Chu-Ying Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.8

The effects of free-range farming, compared to a conventional production system, on carcass and meat qualities were studied using black-feathered Taiwan native chickens. Twenty 16-week old females were purchased separately from a free-range farm and a conventional production farm and used for this study. The results showed similarities in the live weight (roughly 2.1 kg), dressing percentage (69%) and meat percentage (19%) of deboned leg quarter. Significant differences (p<0.05) found for the free-range chickens included: a higher percentage of meat for the breast, an increased crude protein content and chewiness value for the breast, but decreased crude fat content and lower hardness and fracturablility values for the leg quarter. Significantly higher L* values were found for the breast and leg meat of conventionally produced chickens, whereas no significant differences were found for WHC and purge loss between the breast and the leg, and between the two production systems as well. Results of sensory evaluation showed a significant preference for leg over breast meat (p<0.05). The scores of all the attributes including aroma, flavor, firmness, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability of leg meat from free-range chickens were slightly higher than for conventional chickens, while the reverse was true for breast meat, though no significant difference could be found. Free-range Taiwan native chicken appeared to yield the best of the results, with flavorful yet tender leg meat for higher sensory satisfaction, and high-protein but low-fat breast meat for healthier diet choice.

Effect of Dietary Vitamin E on Growth Performance and Immune Response of Breeder Chickens

Lin, Y.F.,Chang, S.J. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.6

The effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on immune responses was studied in breeder chickens during the maturing period. In experiment 1, 17-week old female birds were fed corn-soybean meal based diets supplemented with either 0, 40, 80, 120, or 160 mg vitamin E (all-rac-${\alpha}$-tocopherol acetate)/kg diet for 19 weeks. In experiment 2, 23-week old male birds were fed the corn-soybean meal based diet supplemented with either 0, 20, 40, 80 or 160 mg vitamin E/kg diet for 8 weeks. The chickens were evaluated for growth performance, antibody titer to sheep red blood cell (SRBC), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), and skin response to phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P). The results showed that supplemental vitamin E improved body weigh gain of laying pullets during peak-laying period but had no significant effect on growth performance of cockerels. For cockerels, addition of 20 mg vitamin E/kg diet significantly enhanced (p<0.05) immune response to SRBC compared to those added with 0, 80 and 160 mg vitamin E/kg diet; addition of 20 mg vitamin E/kg diet had higher (p<0.01) antibody titer to IBDV than those added with 40-160 mg vitamin E/kg diet. No significant effects on immune response were observed in laying pullets fed supplemental vitamin E. The findings suggest that moderate supplementation of vitamin E may enhance immune responses to selective antigens in cockerels but excessive vitamin E may depress specific immune response.

Design of wireless sensor network and its application for structural health monitoring of cable-stayed bridge

Lin, H.R.,Chen, C.S.,Chen, P.Y.,Tsai, F.J.,Huang, J.D.,Li, J.F.,Lin, C.T.,Wu, W.J. Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.8

A low-cost wireless sensor network (WSN) solution with highly expandable super and simple nodes was developed. The super node was designed as a sensing unit as well as a receiving terminal with low energy consumption. The simple node was designed to serve as a cheaper alternative for large-scale deployment. A 12-bit ADC inputs and DAC outputs were reserved for sensor boards to ease the sensing integration. Vibration and thermal field tests of the Chi-Lu Bridge were conducted to evaluate the WSN's performance. Integral acceleration, temperature and tilt sensing modules were constructed to simplify the task of long-term environmental monitoring on this bridge, while a star topology was used to avoid collisions and reduce power consumption. We showed that, given sufficient power and additional power amplifier, the WSN can successfully be active for more than 7 days and satisfy the half bridge 120-meter transmission requirement. The time and frequency responses of cables shocked by external force and temperature variations around cables in one day were recorded and analyzed. Finally, guidelines on power characterization of the WSN platform and selection of acceleration sensors for structural health monitoring applications were given.

Effect of Methionine Source and Dietary Crude Protein Level on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Nutrient Retention in Chinese Color-feathered Chicks

Xi, P.B.,Yi, G.F.,Lin, Y.C.,Zheng, C.T.,Jiang, Z.Y.,Vazquez-Anon, M.,Song, G.L.,Knight, C.D. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.6

A total of 1,200 LinNan Chinese color-feathered chicks were used to study the effects of methionine source [DL-2-hydroxy-4-methylthio-butanoic acid (HMTBa) or DL-methionine (DLM)] and dietary crude protein (CP) level on growth performance, carcass traits, and whole-body nitrogen and fat retention. The trial was designed as a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement, including two CP levels (adequate and low) and two methionine sources (HMTBa and DL-methionine). Diets were formulated for three phases, starter (0-21 d), grower (21-42 d), and finisher (42-63 d). Chicks fed HMTBa had higher daily gain and improved feed efficiency than DLM during the grower phase (p<0.05). A significant two-way interaction was observed for growth performance during the finisher phase and overall (0-63 d). Growth performance was greater for chicks fed HMTBa than DLM on adequate-CP diets (p<0.05), but this was not observed at low-CP level (p>0.05). Chicks fed low-CP diets grew slower, used feed less efficiently during the grower, finisher phase and overall. On d 42, regardless of dietary CP levels, birds fed HMTBa had higher carcass weights, breast and thigh weights than DLM-fed birds (p<0.04). Birds fed low-CP diet had lighter carcass weights and less breast muscle, thigh muscle, and dressing percentage at the end of starter, grower and finisher phases (p<0.05). Whole body composition analyses found that birds fed HMTBa tended to contain more protein and less fat compared to those chicks fed DLM at the end of the starter phase (p<0.10). Low-CP diets increased CP concentration in the whole body at the end of the finisher phase (p = 0.05). HMTBa supplementation increased whole-body N retention rate during the finisher phase and overall (p<0.01), and low-CP diets reduced N intake and whole-body fat retention during the finisher phase and overall (p<0.05). In summary, HMTBa was better than DLM on an equimolar basis for growth performance, carcass traits, and N retention in Chinese color-feathered chicks. Low-CP diets lowered growth performance as well as carcass traits in color-feathered birds, probably due to imbalanced AA profiles.

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.

Genetic Diversity of Chinese Indigenous Pig Breeds in Shandong Province Using Microsatellite Markers

Wang, J.Y.,Guo, J.F.,Zhang, Q.,Hu, H.M.,Lin, H.C.,Wang, Cheng,Zhang, Yin,Wu, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.1

To investigate the genetic diversity of six Chinese indigenous pig breeds in Shandong province (Laiwu Black, Dapulian Black, Licha Black, Yantai Black, Yimeng Black and Wulian Black), explain their genetic relationship and assess their integrity and degree of admixture with three Western commercial breeds (Landrace, Yorkshire and Duroc), 303 individuals from these breeds were genotyped for 26 microsatellite markers. In general, high genetic diversity (observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.5495 to 0.7746) and large breed differentiation ($F_{ST}$ = 0.188) were observed. The indigenous pig breeds in Shandong exhibited consistently higher levels of genetic diversity than the three Western breeds. However, compared with the Western breeds, which have an $F_{ST}$ value of 0.252, the indigenous breeds in Shandong have smaller $F_{ST}$ value of 0.145. The analysis of breed relationship indicated that the six indigenous breeds are classified into two groups. One includes four breeds, Licha, Yantai, Yimeng and Wulian, which have experienced large gene introgression of the Western breeds through progressive crossbreeding as well as gene flow among themselves. The other includes Laiwu and Dapulian, which are less influenced by the Western breeds and other indigenous breeds in Shandong in the recent past. The results show that some measures must be taken to effectively protect these indigenous pig breeds in Shandong.

Effects of Dietary Fish Oil on the Contents of Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid and Sensory Evaluation of the Breast Meat in Mule Ducks

J. F. Huang,C. C. Huang,M. K. Lai,J. H. Lin,C. H. Lee,T. Y. Wang 아세아·태평양축산학회 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.2

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of dietary fish oil inclusion on the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents and organoleptic characteristics of breast meat in mule ducks. Three hundred mule ducks at four weeks of age were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments with five replicate pens in each. One replicate pen had ten males and females each with a total of 100 ducks in each treatment. The diet in the three treatments contained 0, 1.5, and 3.0% fish oil, respectively. Body weights at 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks of age, and feed efficiency at 4 to 6, 6 to 8, and 8 to 10 weeks of age were recorded. At 10 weeks of age, one male and one female from each replicate were sacrificed for oxidative stability of breast meat and the sacrificed males were employed for the analysis of fatty acids in breast meat and skin. Sensory evaluation of breast meat was also performed. A level of 3.0% fish oil in the diet significantly deteriorated feed efficiency and body weight gain. Dietary fish oil inclusion had a trend of increasing abdominal fat deposition and decreasing the flavor of breast meat. The EPA and DHA contents in the breast meat were higher than those in the breast skin irrespective of oil sources. The EPA and DHA contents in breast meat and breast skin was significantly increased in the 3.0% fish oil group. Although EPA and DHA were not efficiently deposited in the duck meat through dietary fish oil inclusion, this method can still provide a partial supplementation of EPA and DHA.

Effects of Varying Levels of Flaked Corn Starch Abomasally Infused on Nitrogen Retention and the Efficiency of Energy Conversion in Fattening Steers

Li, F.C.,Feng, Y.L.,Wang, Z.H.,Lin, H. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2000 Animal Bioscience Vol.13 No.4

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of varying levels of flaked com abomasally infused on energy metabolism and nitrogen metabolism in fattening steers. The starch levels of flaked corn of abomasally infused were 0, 300, 600 and 900 g/d. Four mature fattening steers fitted with permanent abomasum cannulas were allocated to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design were fed at 1.2 maintenance requirement a basal diet of Chinese wildrye (Aneurolepidium Chinense). Compared with 0 g/d (control group), digestible nitrogen, retention nitrogen (RN, g/d) and the efficiency of digestible nitrogen converted into retention nitrogen (RN/DN, %) of 300, 600 and 900 g/d groups were higher (p<0.05). The post-ruminal starch digestion of flaked corn were 71.36, 80.27 and 64.71 % when the amounts abomasally infused were 300, 600 and 900 g/d, respectively. When the amount of starch abomasally infused was more than 600 g/d, the post-ruminal digestion of starch decreased. 300, 600 and 900 g/d starch infusion groups showed higher metabolizable energy intake (ME) and net energy gains (NEg, MJ/d) than the control group, and the efficiencies of metabolizable energy converted into body weight (Kf, %) of these groups were higher than the control group by 38.31, 73.18 and 67.06% (p<0.05). Kf (Y, %) had a positive curved relation to starch of flaked com abomasally infused (X, g/d), $Y=36.1605X^{0.0760}$ (n=16, r=0.9308).