Effects of exogenous phytase and xylanase, individually or in combination, and pelleting on nutrient digestibility, available energy content of wheat and performance of growing pigs fed wheat-based diets

Yang, Y.Y.,Fan, Y.F.,Cao, Y.H.,Guo, P.P.,Dong, B.,Ma, Y. X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2017 Animal Bioscience Vol.30 No.1

Objective: Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of adding exogenous phytase and xylanase, individually or in combination, as well as pelleting on nutrient digestibility, available energy content of wheat and the performance of growing pigs fed wheat-based diets. Methods: In Experiment 1, forty-eight barrows with an initial body weight of $35.9{\pm}0.6kg$ were randomly assigned to a $2{\times}4$ factorial experiment with the main effects being feed form (pellet vs meal) and enzyme supplementation (none, 10,000 U/kg phytase, 4,000 U/kg xylanase or 10,000 U/kg phytase plus 4,000 U/kg xylanase). The basal diet contained 97.8% wheat. Pigs were placed in metabolic cages for a 7-d adaptation period followed by a 5-d total collection of feces and urine. Nutrient digestibility and available energy content were determined. Experiment 2 was conducted to evaluate the effects of pelleting and enzymes on performance of wheat for growing pigs. In this experiment, 180 growing pigs ($35.2{\pm}9.0kg\;BW$) were allocated to 1 of 6 treatments according to a $2{\times}3$ factorial treatment arrangement with the main effects being feed form (meal vs pellet) and enzyme supplementation (0, 2,500 or 5,000 U/kg xylanase). Results: In Experiment 1, there were no interactions between feed form and enzyme supplementation. Pelleting reduced the digestibility of acid detergent fiber (ADF) by 6.4 percentage units (p<0.01), increased the digestibility of energy by 0.6 percentage units (p<0.05), and tended to improve the digestibility of crude protein by 0.5 percentage units (p = 0.07) compared with diets in mash form. The addition of phytase improved the digestibility of phosphorus (p<0.01) and calcium (p<0.01) by 6.9 and 7.6 percentage units respectively compared with control group. Adding xylanase tended to increase the digestibility of crude protein by 1.0 percentage units (p = 0.09) and increased the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (p<0.01) compared with control group. Supplementation of the xylanase-phytase combination improved the digestibility of phosphorus (p<0.01) but impaired NDF digestibility (p<0.05) compared with adding xylanase alone. In Experiment 2, adding xylanase increased average daily gain (p<0.01) and linearly improved the feed:gain ratio (p<0.01) compared with control group. Conclusion: Pelleting improved energy digestibility but decreased ADF digestibility. Adding xylanase increased crude protein digestibility and pig performance. Phytase increased the apparent total tract digestibility of phosphorus and calcium. The combination of phytase-xylanase supplementation impaired the effects of xylanase on NDF digestibility.

Effects of Post-harvest Storage Duration and Variety on Nutrient Digestibility and Energy Content Wheat in Finishing Pigs

Guo, P.P.,Li, P.L.,Li, Z.C.,Stein, H.H.,Liu, L.,Xia, T.,Yang, Y.Y.,Ma, Y.X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.10

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of post-harvest storage duration and wheat variety on the digestibility and energy content of new season wheat fed to finishing pigs. Two wheat varieties (Shi and Zhong) were harvested in 2013 and stored in the warehouse of the Fengning Pig Experimental Base at China Agricultural University for 3, 6, 9, or 12 mo. For each storage period, 12 barrows were placed in metabolism crates and allotted to diets containing 1 of the 2 wheat varieties in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets contained 97.34% wheat and 2.66% of a vitamin and trace mineral premix. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the gross energy (GE) and crude protein (CP) of the wheat decreased by 2.0% and 12.01%, respectively, while the concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and starch content increased by 30.26%, 19.08%, and 2.46%, respectively. Total non-starch polysaccharide, total arabinose, total xylose and total mannose contents decreased by 46.27%, 45.80%, 41.71%, and 75.66%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the chemical composition between the two wheat varieties with the exception of ADF which was approximately 13.37% lower in Shi. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) content and the apparent total tract digestibility of GE, CP, dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, ADF and metabolizability of energy in wheat decreased linearly (p<0.01) by 5.74%, 7.60%, 3.75%, 3.88%, 3.50%, 2.47%, 26.22%, 27.62%, and 3.94%, respectively. But the digestibility of NDF changed quadratically (p<0.01). There was an interaction between wheat variety and storage time for CP digestibility (p<0.05), such that the CP digestibility of variety Zhong was stable during 9 mo of storage, while the CP digestibility of variety Shi decreased (p<0.05). In conclusion, the GE, DE, and ME of wheat was stable during the first 3 to 6 mo of post-harvest storage, and decreased during the following 6 to 12 mo of storage under the conditions of this study.

Effects of Post-harvest Storage Duration and Variety on Nutrient Digestibility and Energy Content Wheat in Finishing Pigs

P.P. Guo,P.L. Li,Z.C. Li,H.H. Stein,L. Liu,T. Xia,Y.Y. Yang,Y.X. Ma 아세아·태평양축산학회 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.10

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of post-harvest storage duration and wheat variety on the digestibility and energy content of new season wheat fed to finishing pigs. Two wheat varieties (Shi and Zhong) were harvested in 2013 and stored in the warehouse of the Fengning Pig Experimental Base at China Agricultural University for 3, 6, 9, or 12 mo. For each storage period, 12 barrows were placed in metabolism crates and allotted to diets containing 1 of the 2 wheat varieties in a randomized complete block design. The experimental diets contained 97.34% wheat and 2.66% of a vitamin and trace mineral premix. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the gross energy (GE) and crude protein (CP) of the wheat decreased by 2.0% and 12.01%, respectively, while the concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and starch content increased by 30.26%, 19.08%, and 2.46%, respectively. Total non-starch polysaccharide, total arabinose, total xylose and total mannose contents decreased by 46.27%, 45.80%, 41.71%, and 75.66%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the chemical composition between the two wheat varieties with the exception of ADF which was approximately 13.37% lower in Shi. With an extension of storage duration from 3 mo to 12 mo, the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME) content and the apparent total tract digestibility of GE, CP, dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, ADF and metabolizability of energy in wheat decreased linearly (p<0.01) by 5.74%, 7.60%, 3.75%, 3.88%, 3.50%, 2.47%, 26.22%, 27.62%, and 3.94%, respectively. But the digestibility of NDF changed quadratically (p<0.01). There was an interaction between wheat variety and storage time for CP digestibility (p<0.05), such that the CP digestibility of variety Zhong was stable during 9 mo of storage, while the CP digestibility of variety Shi decreased (p<0.05). In conclusion, the GE, DE, and ME of wheat was stable during the first 3 to 6 mo of post-harvest storage, and decreased during the following 6 to 12 mo of storage under the conditions of this study.

Repeat liver resection versus salvage liver transplant for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: A propensity score-adjusted and -matched comparison analysis

Yuxin Guo,Ek-Khoon Tan,Nicholas L. Syn,Thinesh-Lee Krishnamoorthy,Chee-Kiat Tan,Reina Lim,Ser-Yee Lee,Chung-Yip Chan,Peng-Chung Cheow,Alexander Y. F. Chung,Prema Raj Jeyaraj,Brian K. P. Goh 한국간담췌외과학회 2019 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.23 No.4

Backgrounds/Aims: Repeat liver resection (RLR) and salvage liver transplantation (SLT) are viable treatment options for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). With possibly superior survival outcomes than RLR, SLT is however, limited by liver graft availability and poses increased perioperative morbidity. In this study, we seek to compare the outcomes of RLR and SLT for patients with recurrent HCC. Methods: Between 1999 and 2018, 94 and 16 consecutive patients who underwent RLR and SLT respectively were identified. Further retrospective subgroup analysis was conducted, comparing 16 RLR with 16 SLT patients via propensity-score matching. Results: After propensity-score adjusted analyses, SLT demonstrated inferior short-term perioperative outcomes than RLR, with increased major morbidity (57.8% vs 5.4 %, p=0.0001), reoperations (39.1% vs 0, p<0.0001), renal insufficiency (30.1% vs 3%, p=0.0071), bleeding (19.8% vs 2.2%, p=0.0289), prolonged intensive care unit stay (median=4 vs 0 days, p<0.0001) and hospital stay (median= 19.8 vs 7.1days, p<0.001). However, SLT showed significantly lower recurrence rate (15.4% versus 70.3%, p=0.0005) and 5-year cumulative incidence of recurrences (19.4% versus 68.4%, p=0.005). Propensity-matched subgroup analysis showed concordant findings. Conclusions: While SLT offers potentially reduced risks of recurrence and trended towards improved long-term survival outcomes relative to RLR, it has poorer short-term perioperative outcomes. Patient selection is prudent amidst organ shortages to maximise allocated resources and optimise patient outcomes.

Effect of night light regimen on growth performance, antioxidant status and health of broiler chickens from 1 to 21 days of age

R.X. Zhao,C.H. Cai,P. Wang,L. Zheng,J.S. Wang,K.X. Li,W. Liu,X.Y. Guo,X. A. Zhan,K.Y. Wang 아세아·태평양축산학회 2019 Animal Bioscience Vol.32 No.6

Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of night light regimen on growth performance, antioxidant status and health of Lingnan Yellow broiler chickens from 1 to 21 days of age. Methods: A completely randomized factorial design involved 2 photoperiods (constant lighting [CL], 24 L:0 D and intermittent lighting [INL], 17 L:3 D:1 L:3 D)×2 light intensities (10 lx and 30 lx). A total of one thousand six hundred and eighty 1-d-old Lingnan Yellow broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 treatments with 6 replicates (70 birds per replicate). The experiment lasted for 21 d. Results: Photoperiods and light intensities had no effect on average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and mortality of the broiler chickens (p>0.05). The INL had a significant effect on average daily feed intake (p<0.05) of broiler chickens compared with CL. Photoperiod and light intensity had an interactive effect on melatonin (MT) concentration (p<0.05). At CL, reducing light intensity increased MT concentration; INL birds had higher MT but MT concentration was not affected by light intensity. There was an interactive effect on glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) in serum and total antioxidant capability (T-AOC) in liver between photoperiod and light intensity. With the decrease of light intensity, the activities of GPx and CAT in serum and T-AOC in liver increased in CL group (p<0.05). Broiler chickens reared under INL had better antioxidant status and 10 lx treatments had higher activities of CAT in serum than 30 lx (p<0.05). Different photoperiods and light intensities had no effect on malondialdehyde. There was an interaction between photoperiod and light intensity on serum creatine kinase (CK) concentration (p<0.05). At CL, the elevated light intensity resulted in an increase in CK content; INL birds had lower CK concentration especially in low light intensity group. Besides, INL and low light intensity significantly reduced the concentration of serum corticosterone and heat shock protein 70 (p<0.05). Serum immunoglobulin M contents were increased in broiler chickens reared under the INL compared with CL group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results above suggest that the night light regimen of INL and 10 lx could be beneficial to the broiler chickens from 1 to 21 days of age due to the better health status and electricity savings.

One-Dimensional Electrical Contact to a Two-Dimensional Material

Wang, L.,Meric, I.,Huang, P. Y.,Gao, Q.,Gao, Y.,Tran, H.,Taniguchi, T.,Watanabe, K.,Campos, L. M.,Muller, D. A.,Guo, J.,Kim, P.,Hone, J.,Shepard, K. L.,Dean, C. R. American Association for the Advancement of Scienc 2013 Science Vol.342 No.6158

<P><B>Better Contact Along the Edge</B></P><P>Electrical contact to graphene is normally done with metal contacts on its flat face, where there are few strong bonding sites for the metal. <B>Wang <I>et al.</I></B> (p. 614) encapsulated graphene with hexagonal boron nitride sheets and made metal contacts along its edge, where bonding orbitals are exposed. The resulting heterostructures had high electronic performance, with room-temperature carrier mobilities near the theoretical phonon-scattering limit.</P>

Outcomes of salvage liver transplant for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma

Yuxin Guo,Ek-Khoon Tan,Thinesh-Lee Krishnamoorthy,Chee-Kiat Tan,Ban-Hock Tan,Thuan-Tong Tan,Ser-Yee Lee,Chung-Yip Chan,Peng-Chung Cheow,Alexander Y. F. Chung,Prema Raj Jeyaraj,Brian K. P. Goh 한국간담췌외과학회 2019 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.23 No.1

Backgrounds/Aims: Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is a therapeutic strategy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it remains controversial with compromised survival outcomes and increased perioperative morbidity compared to primary liver transplant (PLT). In the present work, we describe our institution’s experience on SLT by comparing outcomes of SLT to PLT for HCCs. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted for 49 transplant patients from 2006-2017. A comparative analysis was carried out between 14 SLT patients and 35 PLT patients. Results: SLT patients demonstrated significantly shorter time to recurrence than PLT patients (median=5.5 versus 23 months, p<0.001) with a trend towards increased perioperative major morbidity (42.9% versus 37%, p=0.711), inferior 5-year overall survival (61% versus 75%, p=0.345) and inferior 5-year recurrence-free survival (57% versus 72%, p=0.263). However, overall survival from the point of primary resection over a 10-year period showed no statistical difference between the 2 groups (SLT=60% versus PLT=61%, p=0.685). Conclusions: SLT is a viable treatment strategy for HCCs. However, it exhibited poorer short-term perioperative and oncologic outcomes than PLT. SLT requires better patient selection with liver donor grafts for optimization of resource allocation in this era of organ shortage. Considering the worldwide shortages in liver grafts, it is hypothesized that optimization of a salvage transplant strategy may improve resource allocation and reap optimal patient outcomes.

Structural Switch of Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase between Translation and Transcription

Ofir-Birin, Y.,Fang, P.,Bennett, Steven P.,Zhang, H.M.,Wang, J.,Rachmin, I.,Shapiro, R.,Song, J.,Dagan, A.,Pozo, J.,Kim, S.,Marshall, Alan G.,Schimmel, P.,Yang, X.L.,Nechushtan, H.,Razin, E.,Guo, M. Cell Press 2013 Molecular Cell Vol.49 No.1

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS), a component of the translation apparatus, is released from the cytoplasmic multi-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) to activate the transcription factor MITF in stimulated mast cells through undefined mechanisms. Here we show that Ser207 phosphorylation provokes a new conformer of LysRS that inactivates its translational function but activates its transcriptional function. The crystal structure of an MSC subcomplex established that LysRS is held in the MSC by binding to the N terminus of the scaffold protein p38/AIMP2. Phosphorylation-created steric clashes at the LysRS domain interface disrupt its binding grooves for p38/AIMP2, releasing LysRS and provoking its nuclear translocation. This alteration also exposes the C-terminal domain of LysRS to bind to MITF and triggers LysRS-directed production of the second messenger Ap<SUB>4</SUB>A that activates MITF. Thus our results establish that a single conformational change triggered by phosphorylation leads to multiple effects driving an exclusive switch of LysRS function from translation to transcription.

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.

Effects of Dietary Cellulose Levels on Growth, Nitrogen Utilization, Retention Time of Diets in Digestive Tract and Caecal Microflora of Chickens

Cao, B.H.,Zhang, X.P.,Guo, Y.M.,Karasawa, Y.,Kumao, T. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2003 Animal Bioscience Vol.16 No.6

This study was conducted to examine the effects of dietary cellulose levels on growth, nitrogen utilization, the retention time of diets in the digestive tract, and caecal microflora of 2-month-old Single Comb White Leghorn male chickens fed 3 purified diets that contained 0, 3.5% and 10% cellulose in equal amount of nutrients for 7 days. Body weight gain and nitrogen utilization were significantly higher (p<0.05), while total microflora counts in the caecal contents and retention time of the diet in the digestive tract were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the group fed 3.5% dietary cellulose compared with the group fed 10% dietary cellulose. Body weight gain, nitrogen utilization and retention time of the diet in the digestive tract decreased significantly while the total microflora count in the caecal contents increased significantly in the group fed 10% dietary cellulose compared to the group fed 0% dietary cellulose (p<0.05). Chickens fed 10% dietary cellulose had significantly increased counts of uric acid-degradative bacteria such as Peptococcaceae and Eubacterium, including Peptostreptococcus (p<0.05). The results suggest that cellulose in purified diets is an effective ingredient and the effects on growth, nitrogen utilization, caecal microflora counts and diet retention time in the digestive tract are dependent on the inclusion rate. Positive or negative effects of dietary cellulose are displayed by growth, nitrogen utilization, caecal microflora counts and retention time of the diet in the digestive tract. Positive effects were displayed when the inclusion rate is 3.5% and negative effects were displayed when that is greater than 3.5% of the diet, and the phenomenon is without reference to the age of the chickens.