• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.3 s.116
• /
• pp.175-181
• /
• 2006

Nursery pig building is imperative to provide environmental conditions favorable to maintenance of piglet health and the efficiency of growth rate. To meet the ultimate goal, it is necessary to apply proper ventilation design and construction to a confinement livestock building. This study was conducted to investigate the performance of a modified ventilation system in terms of devised slot-inlet (modification I) and exhaust fan (modification II) to improve air change rate in a confined nursery pig building, with dimension of 5.9 m(W) ${\times}$ 12.6 m(L) ${\times}$ 2.2 m(H) in an Darby Genetic Station. The experiment was carried out in August, especially when the outdoor peak temperature were above $30^{\circ}C$ and the measured indoor environmental factors were temperature, air velocity, humidity and ammonia concentration which have been known to affect the piglet health and growth. There was no difference in indoor temperature between the original and modified ventilation systems, however the air velocity and ammonia concentration in confined nursery pig building with modified ventilation system were, in most cases, better performance than original ventilation system. Therefore, it was concluded that the slot-inlet system that kept indoor environmental factors pertinent and had an economic advantage, should be considered as a ventilation system for decreasing sensible heat from piglet in confined nursery pig building during extreme summer season.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.701-709
• /
• 2011

This study was performed to establish an effective extraction method of pig placenta extract that could be used for a putative functional food supplement with immunomodulatory effects. In the present study, we used different temperatures (4, 37, 60, 80, and $100^{\circ}C$) and different solvents (chloroform, NaOH, and phosphate buffered saline [PBS]) to extract the pig placenta. Among the different placenta extracts yielded by the different extraction methods, placenta extract (PE) in PBS at $80^{\circ}C$ for 30 min (referred to as PE-PBS80) showed a significant increase of nitric oxide production of up to 22.97 ${\mu}M/10^5$ cells at a 1 mg/mL dose (p<0.05 ) in J774A.1 cells than other extracts and control tested. Using PE-PBS80, further animal challenges were performed to identify the immune-enhanced effects. As a result, orally administered PE-PBS80 showed a significant increase in blood T and B cell activities and immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM) production. IgG and IgM levels increased to 41.53 mg/mL at a 20 mg dose on day 7 and to 27.38 mg/mL at a 10 mg dose on day 14, respectively (p<0.05). Furthermore, PE-PBS80 was also able to significantly enhance the immune modulator cytokine levels (p<0.05) compared to the control and vehicle treatments. Among the evaluated cytokines, the tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) level increased to 28.89 pg/mL at extract doses of 20 and 50 mg, the interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$) level increased to 21.52 pg/mL at extract doses of 10, 20, 50 and 75 mg and the interferon (IFN)-${\gamma}$ level increased to 18.24 pg/mL at extract doses of 10, 20, and 50 mg. Therefore, this study presents an effective method for extracting pig placenta extracts and also demonstrates that pig placenta extracts had significant immunomodulatory effects not only at the cellular level but also in a mouse model, suggesting that this material could be used as an excellent candidate functional food supplement.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.63 no.4
• /
• pp.33-41
• /
• 2021

The emission characteristics and emission factors were determined by measuring the concentration of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), the amount of ventilation, etc. in the two fattening rooms which have the same environment in winter. As a result of monitoring, the average concentration of CH₄ and N₂O was 20.7-26.7 ppm and 1.4-1.6 ppm. The average temperature inside the room was measured at 20.0-21.4℃, and the average ventilation was 1345.4-1567.3 m³/h. The daily emission of CH₄ for the first 30 days showed a constant emission of 3.6-8.2 g/d/m²/pig, but thereafter, the emission increased rapidly. The daily emission of N₂O was 0.7-1.3 g/d/m²/pig, showing stable emission during the test period, and relatively insignificant emission compared to the emission of CH₄. After repeated test, it was confirmed that there was no significant difference between the two rooms. As a result, the CH₄ 6. 21 g/d/m²/pig and N₂O 1.02 g/d/m²/pig average emission for each room was derived.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.1310-1315
• /
• 1999

Air quality in confinement pig houses is important to production and health. Mechanical ventilation and confinement is known to be the most practical tool for maintaining adequate air quality in pig houses through extensive researches since Millier (1950) invented the 'slotted inlet' ventilation system. A variety of mechanical ventilation systems have been applied to confined nursery pig houses in Korea without scientific verification of their ventilation effectiveness. Ventilation systems with three feasible combinations (NA, NB, and NC) of inlets and outlets in a confined nursery pig house were tested to evaluate their ventilation efficiency, of which the one with the performance was supposed to be taken as a standard ventilation system for nursery pig houses in Korea. Field data of air velocity and temperature fields, and ammonia concentration with three ventilation systems were taken and compared to determine the best system. The air velocity and temperature fields predicted by the PHOENICS computer program were also validated against the available experimental data to investigate the feasibility of computer simulation of air and temperature distribution with an acceptable accuracy in a confined house. NC system with duct-induced in-coming air, performed best among the three different ventilation systems, which created higher velocity field and evener distribution ($2.5m/s{\pm}0.3m/s$) over the space with a Reynolds number of $10^4$. The experimental data obtained also fitted well with the simulated values using the modified PHOENICS, which suggested a viable tool for the prediction of air and temperature field with given calculation geometries.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.7
• /
• pp.931-937
• /
• 2006

The full-length cDNA of the porcine SMPX gene was obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The nucleotide sequences and the predicted protein sequences share high sequence identity with both human and mouse. The promoter of SMPX was sequenced and then analyzed to find the promoter binding sites. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that SMPX has a high level of expression in heart and skeletal muscle, a very low expression in lung and spleen and no expression in liver, kidney, fat and brain. Moreover, SMPX has a differential expression level in skeletal muscle, the expression in 65-day embryos being higher than other stages. The porcine SMPX was mapped to SSCXp24 by using a somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP) and was found closely linked to SW1903 using the radiation hybrid panel IMpRH. An A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) was detected in eight breeds. The analysis of allele frequency distribution showed that introduced pig breeds (Duroc and Large White) have a higher frequency of allele A while in the Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Qingping pig, Lantang pig, YushanBlack pig, Large Black-White pig, Small Meishan) have a higher frequencies of allele G. The association analysis using an experimental population (188 pigs), which included two cross-bred groups and three pure-blood groups, suggested that the SNP genotype was associated with intramuscular fat content.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.1286-1290
• /
• 2004

This study was carried out to screen yeasts effective in reducing odor from pig feces. Three isolates from soil and compost sources were selected to treat pig feces. On the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics, one isolate from compost was Candida rugosa, and two isolates from soil were Candida rugosa and Candida maris. These isolates showed deodorizing activity by reducing the concentration of ${NH}_3$ and R-${NH}_2$. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) are the specific malodorous compounds of pig feces, and the Candida maris from soil showed a 100% reduction of butyric, iso-butyric, and iso-valeric acid in 10% pig slurry medium. However, the Candida rugosa from compost showed a 100% reduction of butyric and iso-butyric acid while that from soil showed a 100% reduction of propionic, butyric acid and iso-valeric acid in the medium. Also, these yeasts were effective in reducing $NH_{4}-N$, soluble-N, and biological oxygen demand (BOD).

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.295-301
• /
• 1983

Among the many protein modifications methylation is being investigated actively with regard to bacterial chemotaxis, gene regulation, muscle contraction, cytochrome c methylation, and the synthesis of the acyl transporter, carnitine. In this study the activities of protein methylase I, II, and III in pancreatic tissues of rat, mouse, and guinea pig were examined. Furthermore, the effect of cholinergic agents on the activity of protein methylases in pancreatic fragment of guinea pig was also examined in order to test the relationship between protein methylation and pancreatic secretion. The results are as follows. 1) The activities of protein methylases were generally high in pancreatic tissues of guinea pig and mouse but low in the tissue of rat. 2) The cholinergic stimulants, acetylcholine and carbachol at a concentration of $10^{-5}M$ decreased the activities of protein methylase I, II, and III compared with unstimulated control. 3) The inhibitory effect of the cholinergic stimulant on the activities of protein methylases was not blocked by atropine at a concentration of $10^{-5}M$.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.139-148
• /
• 1999

This study was conducted to develop an image processing system which can classify the pig's thermoregulatory behavior under the different environmental conditions. The 4 pigs of 25kg were housed in the environmentally controlled chamber(1.4m$\times$2.2m floor space). Postural behavior of the pigs was captured with an CCD color camera. The raw behavioral images were processed by thresholoding, reduction, separation of slightly contacted pigs, labeling, noise removal, computation of number of labels, and classification of the pig's behavior. The correct classification rate of the image processing system was 97.8%(88 out of 90 testing images). The results of this study showed that the image processing system could be used for a behavior-based automatic environmental controller.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.459-468
• /
• 2004

An experiment was conducted to establish comparison of ventulation efficiency in an enclosed and conventional growing-finishing pig house. The main results of the experiment are as follows : In the established temperature was sustained at the level of summer 24.8${\sim}$29.1$^{\circ}C$, winter 17.9${\sim}$23.1$^{\circ}C$ during the experimental period of enclosed growing-finishing pig house, and conventional growing-finishing pig house was at the lovel of summer 24.7${\sim}$32.3$^{\circ}C$, winter 14.5${\sim}$18.2$^{\circ}C$ during the experimental period respectively. As for the results of dertimental gas(ammonia) concentration ratio analysis, while the conventional pig house sustained of summer 9.3${\sim}$16.9 mg/$\ell$ level, enclosed growing-finishing pig house sustained of summer 7.9${\sim}$16.1 mg/$\ell$, and the latter one is lower than that of the conventional growing-finishing pig house. Air flow rate on the floor level which is the low part of pen and the active area of pigs in the enclosed growing and finishing pig house during winter was measured at 0 to 0.87 m/s at the 0.01 to 2.73 m/s at the maximum ventilation efficiency. As for breeding pigs in summer, the pigs from the conventional pig house weighed 100.2kg, on the other hand, the pigs from enclosed growing-finishing pig house weighed 107.3 kg ; the differnce between the two kinds was about 7 kg. This was because the most adequate environment, which was not influenced by the exterior atmosphere, was offered to the pigs from enclosed growing-finishing pig house, and all of this could reduce pigs stress effectively.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.189-194
• /
• 2009

This study was designed to clarify the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of forskolin on contraction, cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ level $([Ca^{2+}]_i)$, and $Ca^{2+}$ sensitivity in guinea pig ileum. Forskolin (0.1 nM ${\sim}$ 10 ${\mu}M$) inhibited high $K^+$ (25 mM and 40 mM)- or histamine (3 ${\mu}M$)-evoked contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. Histamine-evoked contractions were more sensitive to forskolin than high $K^+$-evoked contractions. Spontaneous changes in $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ and contractions were inhibited by forskolin (1 ${\mu}M$) without changing the resting $[Ca^{2+}]_i$. Forskoln (10 ${\mu}M$ ) inhibited muscle tension more strongly than $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ stimulated by high $K^+$, and thus shifted the $[Ca^{2+}]_i$-tension relationship to the lower-right. In histamine-stimulated contractions, forskolin (1 ${\mu}M$) inhibited both $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ and muscle tension without changing the $[Ca^{2+}]_i$-tension relationship. In ${\alpha}$-toxin-permeabilized tissues, forskolin (10 ${\mu}M$) inhibited the 0.3 ${\mu}M$ $Ca^{2+}$-evoked contractions in the presence of 0.1 mM GTP, but showed no effect on the $Ca^{2+}$-tension relationship. We conclude that forskolin inhibits smooth muscle contractions by the following two mechanisms: a decrease in $Ca^{2+}$ sensitivity of contractile elements in high $K^+$-stimulated muscle and a decrease in $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ in histamine-stimulated muscle.