• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.8
• /
• pp.1174-1183
• /
• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the provision of a protein-rich supplement on productive performance, and metabolic profile on grazing suckling female beef calves in tropical conditions during 150 d of experimentation. Methods: Fifty-six Nellore suckling female calves, and their respective dams were distributed in a completely randomised design and made to undergo two treatments as follows: UNS (without supplementation), and SUP (supplementation with 5 g/kg body weight [BW] of a protein supplement). Throughout the experiment, animal performance and metabolic profile were evaluated. Also, ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis were assessed for gene expression. Results: SUP female calves showed a higher voluntary intake (p≤0.03) of the diet components evaluated, digestibility of organic matter (p≤0.02) and microbial nitrogen production (MICN; p≤0.02) compared to UNS female calves. In its turn, serum urea nitrogen (p≤0.01) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (p≤0.03) levels and ureagenesis (p≤0.04) increased in SUP female calves compared to UNS female calves. Blood glucose and triglyceride levels were not affected by supplementation. The average daily gain (ADG) from SUP female calves was higher (p≤0.02) compared with UNS female calves. However, supplementation did not affect the body measures of the animals. Conclusion: In summary, provision of a protein-rich supplement improves the intake and nutrients digestibility, ADG and final BW and increases metabolic indicators of the protein status in grazing suckling female beef calves in tropical conditions.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.56 no.2
• /
• pp.109-112
• /
• 2013

Azole fungicides are one of the most wide-spread antifungal compounds in agriculture and pharmaceutical applications. Their major mode of action is the inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis, giving depletion of ergosterol, precursors and abnormal steroids. However, metabolic consequences of such inhibition, other than steroidal metabolitesare not well established. Comprehensive metabolic profiles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been presented in this study. Wild type yeast was treated either with glucose as control or azole fungicide (ketoconazole). Both polar metabolites and lipids were analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Approximately over 180 metabolites were characterized, among which 18 of them were accumulated or depleted by fungicide treatment. Steroid profile gives the most prominent differences, including the accumulation of lanosterol and the depletion of zymosterol and ergosterol. However, the polar metabolite profile was also highly different in pesticide treatment. The concentration of proline and its precursors, glutamate and ornithine were markedly reduced by ketoconazole. Lysine and glycine level was also decreased while the concentrations of serine and homoserine were increased. The overall metabolic profile indicates that azole fungicide treatment induces the depletion of many polar metabolites, which are important in stress response.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2008

We created a cDNA microarray representing approximately 3,500 pig genes for functional genomic studies. The array elements were selected from 6,494 cDNA clones identified in a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) project. These cDNA clones came from normalized and subtracted porcine adipose tissue cDNA libraries. Sequence similarity searches of the 3,426 ESTs represented on the array using BLASTN identified 2,790 (81.4%) as putative human orthologs, with the remainder consisting of "novel" genes or highly divergent orthologs. We used the gene microarray to profile transcripts expressed by adipose tissue of fatty Chinese Xiang pig (XP) and muscley Large White (LW). Microarray analysis of RNA extracted from adipose tissue of fatty XP and muscley LW identified 81 genes that were differently expressed two fold or more. Transcriptional differences of four of these genes, adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (aP2), stearyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) were confirmed using SYBR Green quantitative RT-PCR technology. Our results showed that high expression of SCD and SREBF1 may be one of the reasons that larger fat deposits are observed in the XP. In addition, our findings also illustrate the potential power of microarrays for understanding the molecular mechanisms of porcine development, disease resistance, nutrition, fertility and production traits.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.293-305
• /
• 1996

Effects on the tractor vibrations of tread, wheelbase and axle load distribution were analyzed by using mathematical models of tractor and random road surface. A 4 degrees of freedom tractor model was developed to predict the bounce, pitch and roll motions of tractor. The front axle which is constrained to roll with respect to tractor body was also included in the model. A random road profile was generated and used as an excitation input to the tractor. Output vibrations of the model were predicted and analyzed by a computer simulation method. In general, longer tread tends to reduce rolling and longer wheelbase does bouncing and pitching motions. Tractor vibrations were minimum when the ratio of front to rear axle loads was in the range of 30:70-35:65. Sensitivity analysis showed that rolling and pitching motions most sensitively varied with changes in tread and wheelbase while bouncing motion did with the location of mass center.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.57-61
• /
• 2005

A strain of Bacillus thuringiensis that showed signifi­cantly high toxicity to Plutella xylostella was isolated from a dust sample collected from Chinese tobacco warehouse and characterized. The isolate named B. thuringiensis LY-99 was determined to belong to subsp. alesti (H3a3c) by an H antisera agglutination test and produced bipyramidal inclusions. Plasmid and crystal protein patterns of the LY-99 were different from those of the reference strain, subsp. alesti. PCR analysis with specific primers revealed that this isolate contained abundant cry genes including crylAa, crylAc, crylB, crylD, crylE, crylF and cry2 genes, which was absolutely different from cry gene profile of the subsp. alesti. In addition, insecticidal activity of the LY-99 against P. xylostella larvae was about 44 times higher than that of the subsp. alesti.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2583-2589
• /
• 2014

Background: Soybean oil may protect against cancer of the breast and prostate. It may also exert beneficial influence in combination with other oils. Here, blends (20%, v/v) of sea buckthorn oil (SEBO), camellia oil (CAO), rice bran oil (RBO), sesame oil (SEO) and peanut oil (PEO) with soybean oil (SBO) were formulated. Materials and Methods: Oxidative stability (OS) and radical scavenging activity (RSA) of SBO and blends stored under oxidative conditions ($60^{\circ}C$) for 24 days were studied. By blending with different kinds oils, levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased, while monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content increased. Progression of oxidation was followed by measuring peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine (PAV), conjugated dienes (CD) and conjugated trienes (CT). Results: Inverse relationships were noted between PV and OS at termination of storage. Levels of CD and CT in SBO, and blends, increased with increase in time. The impact of SEO as additives on SBO oxidation was the strongest followed by RBO, CAO, SEBO and PNO. Conclusions: Oxidative stability of oil blends was better than SBO, most likely as a consequence of changes in fatty acids and tocopherols' profile, and minor bioactive lipids found in selected oils. The results suggest that these oil blends could contribute as sources of important antioxidant related to the prevention of chronic diseases associated to oxidative stress, such as in cancer and coronary artery disease.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.36 no.11
• /
• pp.1655-1665
• /
• 2023

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of three feeding systems, i.e., indoor feeding (CON), indoor feeding with 4-h daily access to grazing artificial pasture (ITGP), and indoor feeding with 8-h daily access to grazing artificial pasture (IEGP), on the plasma antioxidant and immunological capacity, slaughter characteristics, meat quality and economic efficiency of Huang-huai lambs. Methods: Thirty-three healthy Huang-huai rams with similar body weight (approximately 5 mo of age, 28.96±1.01 kg) were assigned equally to three experimental groups. When finished fattening, six lambs from each group were collect blood samples for plasma analyses and then slaughtered to determine slaughter characteristics and obtain biceps brachii muscle for further analysis of meat quality and fatty acid profile. Results: Compared to CON group, animals submitted to ITGP and IEGP groups resulted in greater contents of serum glutathione peroxidase, immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, and IgM), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-6 PUFA, and PUFA/saturated fatty acid (FA) ratio and lower palmitic /oleic acid ratio (p<0.05). Moreover, animals in ITGP group exhibited a higher (p<0.05) loin eye area, content of meat crude protein (CP), and eicosetrienoic acid compared to CON group, while slaughter performance was superior (p<0.05) to that of the IEGP group. The economic efficiency of ITGP group was 70.12% higher than that of CON group, while the IEGP group exhibited a decrease of 92.54% in economic efficiency compared to the CON group. Conclusion: Restricted grazing time combined with indoor feeding was more effective in conferring superior body health, carcass traits and economic efficiency in Huang-huai lambs, as well as higher CP content and healthier FA composition in the resulting meat.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.62-73
• /
• 1997

The application of nutrients and pesticides to agricultural lands has been reported to contribute to groundwater contamination, which can be explained by preferential flow in lieu of convective-dispersive flow. An one-dimensional numerical model depicting preferential water and solute movement was modified to describe multi-layer flows. The model is based on a piecewise linear conductivity function. By combining conservation of mass and Darcy's law and using the method of characteristics a solution is obtained for water flow in which water moves at distinct velocities in different flow regions instead of an average velocity for the whole profile. The model allows transfer ofqr solutes between pore groups. The transfer is characterized by assuming mixing coefficients. The model was applied to undisturbed soil columns and an experiment site with structured sandy clay loam soil. Chloride, bromide, and 2, 4-D were used as tracers. Simulated solutes concentrations were in good agreement with the soil column data and field data in which preferential flow of solute is significant. The proposed model is capable of describing preferential solute transport under laboratory and field conditions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.357-360
• /
• 2008

Several pathotypes have been recognized in citrus bacterial canker, which causing serious damage in citrus cultivation area. To control the disease, it is important to understand the pathological diversity and reason of difference in virulence of the causal pathogen. We analyzed 124 strains of Xanthomonas causing citrus bacterial canker by southern hybridization with an internal 3.4-kb BamHI fragment from pthA gene. Assuming each band represented an intact gene, each strain of Xanthomonas was estimated to have approximately 1 to 4 copies of pthA gene. X. a. pv. citri A type had more than 3 copies of pthA gene, and the number of pthA gene in X. a. pv. citri $A^*,\;A^w$, and X. a. pv. aurantifolii B, C were different from 1 to 3 according to the strains. When the pthA gene profile was classified into 13 groups according to the number and size of hybridization bands, most of the A types belong to the 3A group, and 4A and 4B type was dominant when they had 4 bands. However, there was no general pattern of difference between the virulence and pthA gene group in this test.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.264-270
• /
• 2010

Agricultural workers are often exposed to high levels of dust during field operations. A systematic exposure assessment of annual task-weighted exposure has not been thoroughly examined. The occupational dust exposure in two wine grape vineyards was measured. Exposure levels to total and respirable dust were determined for a 1-year cycle of work. An operation profile including the frequency of tasks was established. The means of total and respirable dust exposure were $1.08\;mg/m^3$ and $0.07\;mg/m^3$, respectively. Based on the exposure for each task and the task frequency, task-weighted mean exposures to total and respirable dust were estimated as $1.115\;mg/m^3$ and $0.079\;mg/m^3$, respectively. The task-weighted exposure was significantly represented by three operations and could be attributed to the exposure frequency rather than the exposure intensity of operations. The measurement of a few of the most frequent tasks may be an alternative method of estimating task-weighted exposure. Agricultural dust exposure can be significantly reduced by targeting those tasks most important to task-weighted dust exposure.