• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1617-1626
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding essential oils to the diet of weaned pigs on performance, nutrient utilization, immune response and intestinal health. A total of 96 weaning pigs ($8.37{\pm}1.58$ kg) were allotted to one of three dietary treatments. The treatments consisted of an unsupplemented basal diet (negative control, NC) or similar diets supplemented with 0.01% of an essential oil product which contained 18% thymol and cinnamaldehyde (EOD) as well as a diet supplemented with 0.19% of an antibiotic mixture which provided 150 ppm chlortetracycline, 80 ppm colistin sulfate and 50 ppm kitasamycin (positive control, PC). Each treatment was provided to eight pens of pigs with four pigs per pen. Over the entire 35 d experiment, ADG and fecal score were improved (p<0.05) for pigs fed the PC and EOD compared with the NC. Dry matter and crude protein digestibility as well as lymphocyte proliferation for pigs fed the PC and EOD diets were increased significantly compared with NC (p<0.05). IGF-I levels in plasma were significantly increased (p<0.05) in pigs fed the PC diet compared with pigs fed the NC diet. Interleukin-6 concentration was lower (p<0.05) and the tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ level was higher (p<0.05) in the plasma of pigs fed the EOD diet than the NC diet. Plasma total antioxidant capacity level increased (p<0.05) in pigs fed the EOD diet compared with pigs fed the NC. Villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum was greater (p<0.05) in pigs fed the PC and EOD diets than the NC. The numbers of E. coli in the cecum, colon and rectum were reduced (p<0.05) in pigs fed the PC and EOD diets compared with the control. In the colon, the ratio of Lactobacilli to E. coli was increased (p<0.05) in pigs fed the EOD diet compared with NC diet. Total aerobe numbers in the rectum were decreased (p<0.05) in pigs fed the PC and EOD diets compared with the control. Collectively, these results indicate that blends of essential oils could be a candidate for use as an alternative to traditional antibiotics in weaning pig diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1124-1131
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• 2012

Four Thai - rumen fistulated male swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), about four years old with $400{\pm}20kg$ liveweight, were randomly assigned according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design to receive dietary treatments. The treatments were: ground corn cob (GCC) replacement for cassava chip (CC) in concentrate at 0% (T1); GCC replacement at 33% (T2); GCC replacement at 67% (T3); and GCC replacement at 100% (T4), respectively. During the experiment, concentrate was offered at 0.5% BW while 5% urea-treated rice straw was given at ad libitum. The result revealed that there was no effect of GCC replacement on DMI among treatments. In addition, digestibilities of DM, OM and CP were not different while aNDF linearly increased with an increasing level of GCC replacement. However, GCC replacement did not affect rumen fermentation such as ruminal pH, $NH_3$-N and VFA concentration; except C3 proportion which was the highest at 33% replacement while the lowest was at 100% replacement. All replacements of GCC resulted in similar protozoal and bacterial populations and microbial protein synthesis (MPS). Purine derivatives (PD) concentration in urine and PD to creatinine (PDC) index were varied with time of urination and among treatments at 0 to 8 and 8 to 16 h post feeding and higher values were shown among the GCC replacement groups. However at 16 to 24 h-post feeding, it was untraceable. In addition, creatinine concentration was similar among all treatments at every sampling time. Based on the above results, GCC can be used as an energy source for swamp buffalo fed with rice straw. Spot sampling of urine can be used for purine derivatives determination.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1469-1477
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• 2014

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of magnesium sulfate ($MgSO_4$) during late gestation and lactation on sow and litter performance, fecal moisture, blood biochemistry parameters, immunoglobulin levels and milk composition in sows. Forty-eight sows ($Yorkshire{\times}Landrace$, 4th to 5th parity) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments supplemented with 0, 200, 400, or 600 mg/kg $MgSO_4$ (n = 12). The experiment started on day 90 of gestation and continued through day 21 of lactation. Blood samples were collected on day 107 of gestation, day 0 (farrowing) and 21 (weaning) of lactation for the analyses of the blood biochemistry parameters and immunoglobulin levels. The colostrum and milk samples were obtained on day 0 and 14 of lactation, respectively. Fecal samples were collected from the sows on day 107 of gestation as well as day 7 and 20 of lactation to determine fecal moisture content. The results showed that the survival percentage of piglets and the litter weight at weaning were decreased linearly (p<0.05) and other parameters of the sow or litter performance were not influenced (p>0.05) by $MgSO_4$ supplementation. The fecal moisture content of the sows were increased (p<0.05) linearly as dietary $MgSO_4$ increased on day 7 and 20 of lactation. Supplementation with $MgSO_4$ increased the plasma magnesium (Mg) level linearly (p<0.05) and had a trend to increase total protein level (p>0.05 and p<0.10). However, an increase in the dietary $MgSO_4$ level resulted in a linear decrease in the colostrum fat content (p<0.05). Dietary $MgSO_4$ supplementation enhanced the immunoglobulin G (IgG) level (linear, p<0.05) in plasma on day of farrowing and immunoglobulin A (IgA) level in colostrum (quadratic, p<0.05) and milk (linear, p<0.05) of the sows. These results indicated that supplementation with $MgSO_4$ during late gestation and lactation may have the potential to prevent sow constipation, but may also result in some negative effects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1909-1916
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• 2007

This study compared the growth performance and carcass evaluation of Jeju native cattle (JNC) and its crossbreds (CBK = 25 JNC:50 Charolais:25 Brahman and BCBK = 62.5 JNC:25 Charolais:12.5 Brahman). Eight male calves of each JNC, CBK and BCBK were weaned at 4 month of age and were fed for 24 months of age. All animals grazed a pasture between 5 to 10 months of age then they were fed growing ration at the rate of 1.5% of their BW along with ad libitum supply of Italian ryegrass hay between 11 to 16 months of age and thereafter switched to ad libitum feeding of finishing ration and hay between 17 to 24 months of age. Mean body weight (BW) and BW gain were higher in CBK compared with BCBK and JNC at 4, 10, 16 and 24 months of age. Average daily BW gain during 4 to 10 months of age was the highest for CBK followed by BCBK and JNC. However, daily BW gain was higher in BCBK than in CBK and JNC during 11 and 16 months of age. During fattening period (17 to 24 months) average daily BW gain was higher in JNC than in CBK and BCBK. Slaughter weight, hot and cold carcass weight were higher in CBK compared with JNC and BCBK. Weight of bones, boneless meat, ribs, excluded rib meat, retailed cut meat, tender loin, sir loin, strip loin, sticking, top round, bottom round, fore leg, shank, and thin-flank were higher in CBK than in BCBK and JNC. Fat weight in these carcass cuts and kidney fat was similar in JNC and its crossbreds. Logissimus dorsi and its ratio were higher in CBK compared with BCBK and JNC. Percent moisture, crude protein, and ash contents of beef were similar in JNC and its crossbreds. Percent beef fat was higher in JNC and BCBK than in CBK. Cooking loss and water holding capacity of beef was similar in JNC and its crossbreds. Sheer force was lower in BCBK compared with JNC and CBK. Juiciness, tenderness and flavor of beef were higher in BCBK compared with JNC and CBK. In conclusion, CBK has shown higher growth rate and produced heavier carcasses with good degree of fatness compared with JNC and BCBK. However, fattening for longer period could increase the maintenance cost in CBK and BCBK because of their higher BW which they attained during growing period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.653-659
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• 2017

Objective: This trial was performed to examine the effects of ruminally degradable starch (RDS) levels in total mixed ration (TMR) with low corn-based starch on the milk production, whole-tract nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in dairy cows. Methods: Eight multiparous Holstein cows (body weight [BW]: $717{\pm}63kg$; days in milk [DIM]: $169{\pm}29$) were assigned to a crossover design with two dietary treatments: a diet containing 62.3% ruminally degradable starch (% of total starch, low RDS) or 72.1% ruminally degradable starch (% of total starch, high RDS). Changes to the ruminally degradable levels were conducted by using either finely ground corn or steam-flaked corn as the starch component. Results: The results showed that dry matter intake, milk yield and composition in dairy cows were not affected by dietary treatments. The concentration of milk urea nitrogen was lower for cows fed high RDS TMR than low RDS TMR. The whole-tract apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and crude protein decreased, and that of starch increased for cows fed high RDS TMR over those fed low RDS TMR, with no dietary effect on the whole-tract apparent digestibility of dry matter and organic matter. The proportion of urinary N excretion in N intake was lower and that of fecal N excretion in N intake was higher for cows fed high RDS TMR than those fed low RDS TMR. The N secretion in milk and the retention of N were not influenced by the dietary treatments. Total purine derivative was similar in cows fed high RDS TMR and low RDS TMR. Consequently, estimated microbial N flow to the duodenum was similar in cows fed high RDS TMR and low RDS TMR. Conclusion: Results of this study show that ruminally degradable starch levels can influence whole-tract nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in dairy cows fed low corn-based starch diets, with no influence on performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1585-1592
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• 2016

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of simulated heat stress on digestibility and methane ($CH_4$) emission. Four non-lactating crossbred cattle were exposed to $25^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$, $35^{\circ}C$, and $40^{\circ}C$ temperature with a relative humidity of 40% to 50% in a climatic chamber from 10:00 hours to 15:00 hours every day for 27 days. The physiological responses were recorded at 15:00 hours every day. The blood samples were collected at 15:00 hours on 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, and 21st days and serum was collected for biochemical analysis. After 21 days, fecal and feed samples were collected continuously for six days for the estimation of digestibility. In the last 48 hours gas samples were collected continuously to estimate $CH_4$ emission. Heat stress in experimental animals at $35^{\circ}C$ and $40^{\circ}C$ was evident from an alteration (p<0.05) in rectal temperature, respiratory rate, pulse rate, water intake and serum thyroxin levels. The serum lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase activity and protein, urea, creatinine and triglyceride concentration changed (p<0.05), and body weight of the animals decreased (p<0.05) after temperature exposure at $40^{\circ}C$. The dry matter intake (DMI) was lower (p<0.05) at $40^{\circ}C$ exposure. The dry matter and neutral detergent fibre digestibilities were higher (p<0.05) at $35^{\circ}C$ compared to $25^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$ exposure whereas, organic matter (OM) and acid detergent fibre digestibilities were higher (p<0.05) at $35^{\circ}C$ than $40^{\circ}C$ thermal exposure. The $CH_4$ emission/kg DMI and organic matter intake (OMI) declined (p<0.05) with increase in exposure temperature and reached its lowest levels at $40^{\circ}C$. It can be concluded from the present study that the digestibility and $CH_4$ emission were affected by intensity of heat stress. Further studies are necessary with respect to ruminal microbial changes to justify the variation in the digestibility and $CH_4$ emission during differential heat stress.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6449-6453
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• 2014

Background: Prior studies showed a relationship between serum albumin and the albumin to globulin ratio with different types of cancer. We aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) for survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 240 lung adenocarcinoma patients. Biochemical parameters before chemotherapy were collected and survival status was obtained from the hospital registry. The AGR was calculated using the equation AGR=albumin/(total protein-albumin) and ranked from lowest to highest, the total number of patients being divided into three equal tertiles according to the AGR values. Furthermore, AGR was divided into two groups (low and high tertiles) for ROC curve analysis. Cox model analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic value of AGR and AGR tertiles. Results: The mean survival time for each tertile was: for the $1^{st}$ 9.8 months (95%CI:7.765-11.848), $2^{nd}$ 15.4 months (95%CI:12.685-18.186), and $3^{rd}$ 19.9 months (95%CI:16.495-23.455) (p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly higher survival rates with the third and high tertiles of AGR in comparison with the first and low tertiles, respectively. At multivariate analysis low levels of albumin and AGR, low tertile of AGR and high performance status remained an independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Low AGR was a significant predictor of long-term mortality in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Serum albumin measurement and calculation of AGR are easily accessible and cheap to use for predicting mortality in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5825-5831
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• 2013

Background/Objectives: Maintenance of cellular function in culture is vital for transfer and development following adoptive immunotherapy. Dual properties of IL-21 in activating T cells and reducing activation induced cell death led us to explore the mechanism of action of IL-21 enhanced proliferation and cytotoxic potential of CIK cells. Method: CIK cells cultured from PBMCs of healthy subjects were stimulated with IL-21 and cellular viability and cytotoxicity to K562 cells were measured. To elucidate the mechanism of action of IL-21, mRNA expression of cytotoxic factors was assessed by RT-PCR and protein expression of significantly important cytotoxic factors and cytokine secretion were determined through flow cytometry and ELISA. Western blotting was performed to check the involvement of the JAK/STAT pathway following stimulation. Results: We found that IL-21 did not enhance in vitro proliferation of CIK cells, but did increase the number of cells expressing the CD3+/CD56+ phenotype. Cytotoxic potential was increased with corresponding increase in perforin ($0.9831{\pm}0.1265$ to $0.7592{\pm}0.1457$), granzyme B ($0.4084{\pm}0.1589$ to $0.7319{\pm}0.1639$) and FasL ($0.4015{\pm}0.2842$ to $0.7381{\pm}0.2568$). Interferon gamma and TNF-alpha were noted to increase ($25.8{\pm}6.1ng/L$ to $56.0{\pm}2.3ng/L$; and $5.64{\pm}0.61{\mu}g/L$ to $15.14{\pm}0.93{\mu}g/L$, respectively) while no significant differences were observed in the expression of granzyme A, TNF-alpha and NKG2D, and NKG2D. We further affirmed that IL-21 signals through the STAT-3 and STAT-5b signaling pathway in the CIK cell pool. Conclusion: IL-21 enhances cytotoxic potential of CIK cells through increasing expression of perforin, granzyme B, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. The effect is brought about by the activation of STAT-3 and STAT-5b proteins.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2007

P2X receptors are membrane-bound ion channels that conduct $Na^+,\;K^+$, and $Ca^{2+}$ in response to ATP and its analogs. There are seven subunits identified so far ($P2X_1-P2X_7$). $P2X_2$ receptors are known to be expressed in a wide range of organs including brains and adrenal grands. PC12 cells are originated from adrenal grand and differentiated by nerve growth factor or pituitary adenylate cyclase activating poly peptide (PACAP). Previous studies indicate that $P2X_2$ receptor activation in PC12 cells couples to $Ca^{2+}-dependent$ release of catecholamine and ATP. It is known that acidic pH potentiates ATP currents at $P2X_2$ receptors. This leads to a hypothesis that $P2X_2$ receptors may play an important role in PC12 cell differentiation, one of the characteristics of which is neurite outgrowth, induced by the hormones under lower pH. In the present study, we isolated several clones which potentiate neurite outgrowth by PACAP in acidic pH (6.8), but not in alkaline pH (7.6). RT-PCR and electrophysiology data indicate that these clones express only functional $P2X_2$ receptors in the absence or presence of PACAP for 3 days. Potentiation of neurite outgrowth resulted from PACAP (100 nM) in acidic pH is inhibited by the two P2X receptor antagonists, suramin and PPADS ($100\;{\mu}M)$ each), and exogenous exprerssion of ATP-binding mutant $P2X_2$ receptor subunit ($P2X_2[K69A]$). However, acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) are not involved in PACAP-induced neurite outgrowth potentiation in lower pH since treatments of an inhibitor of ASICs, amyloride ($10\;{\mu}M$), did not give any effects to neurite extension. The vesicular proton pump ($H^+-ATPase$) inhibitor, bafilomycin (100 nM), reduced neurite extension indicating that ATP release resulted from $P2X_2$ receptor activation in PC12 cells is needed for neurite outgrowth. These were confirmed by activation of mitogen activated protein kinases, such as ERKs and p38. These results suggest roles of ATP and $P2X_2$ receptors in hormone-induced cell differentiation or neuronal synaptogenesis in local acidic environments.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.68-72
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• 2004

The effects of the addition of yeast on in vitro roughage degradability and methane production were investigated in order to clarify the effects of yeast on the rumen microbes and to establish methods of rumen manipulation. Three roughages (whole crop corn, rice straw and Italian ryegrass) were incubated for 3, 6, 12 and 24 h with or without dried beer yeast following the method described by Tilley and Terry. Using the same method, these roughages were incubated with or without yeast extract, albumin or purified DNA. In vitro methane production was measured with or without dried beer yeast at 12 and 24 h. The degradability of yeast was found to be 57 and 80% at 12 and 24 h, respectively. The rate of degradation of fraction b was 6.16%/h. There was a significant increase in roughage degradability at 6 h (p<0.05), 12 h (p<0.05) and 24 h (p<0.01) by dried yeast addition. The degradability of all three roughages was higher in the samples treated with yeast extract than in the no addition samples except in the case of rice straw incubated for 12 h. Nevertheless, the magnitude of increment was smaller with the addition of yeast extract than without the addition of yeast. With the addition of purified DNA, there were significant increases in roughage degradability at 6 h (p<0.01), 12 h (p<0.01) and 24 h (p<0.05); however, higher degradability values were detected in the samples to which albumin was added, particularly at 6 h. If the degradability values of the no addition samples with those of samples containing yeast, yeast extract, DNA and albumin were compared, the largest difference was found in the samples to which yeast was added, although it is worth noting that higher values were observed in the yeast extract samples than in the DNA or albumin samples, with the exception of the case of rice straw incubated for 24 h. Methane production was significantly increased at both 12 and 24 h incubation. The increment of roughage degradation and methane production brought about by the addition of dried beer yeast to the samples was thought to be due to the activation of rumen microbes. Water soluble fraction of yeast also seemed to play a role in ruminal microbe activation. The increment of degradability is thought to be partially due to the addition of crude protein or nucleic acid but it is expected that other factors play a greater role. And those factors may responsible for the different effects of individual yeast on ruminal microbes.