• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.532-537
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• 2005

Increasing of body weight has been one of the important economic factors in the poultry industry. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I is a polypeptide that serves to regulate muscle development and body growth. Moreover, IGF-I is related to feed efficiency. However, there are few studies regarding the regulatory roles of chicken IGF-I/-II compared with that of mammals. Especially, the Korean Native Ogol Chicken (KNOC) has a lean body growth and its body weight is generally lighter than the broiler chicken. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate associations among serum IGF-I/-II concentration, feed efficiency, and body growth in KNOC. The body weight and feed intake of KNOC were recorded from 20 to 36 weeks at 2 weeks intervals, and blood was taken every 2 weeks. Serum IGF-I/-II were measured by RIA. Chickens were divided into two groups, high and low serum IGF-I concentration. Generally, feed efficiency and growth performance (body weight and weight gain) in the high serum IGF-I group were higher than those of the low group during the experimental period. In particular, the body weight of the IGF-I high group were significantly different from those of the IGF-I low group at 34 and 36 weeks, respectively (p<0.05). Moreover, body weight, weight gain, and feed efficiency had a significant correlation with serum IGF-I at several weeks (p<0.05 and p<0.01). These results show that IGF-I plays an important role in body growth and suggests a possibility that serum IGF-I could be used as a selection marker for body growth in KNOC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1026-1032
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• 2004

In this study, we assess the recent changes in the amount of excretion by the livestock industry, and discuss the effects of increasing the ratio of cultivated land on the reduction of surplus nitrogen from a cost-performance perspective. Nitrogen has contributed to acidification of ecosystems and nitrate concentrations in groundwater, especially in Europe. Therefore, we assessed the level of nitrogen waste from the domestic Japanese livestock industry, including cattle, swine and poultry during the period 1987-2001. This assessment assumed that 40% of the nitrogen from the domestic livestock industry was emitted as gas into the air and that 60% of the nitrogen was contained in manure used on domestic cultivated land. Nitrogen excreted from livestock, excluding gas emission, decreased by 11% from 0.504 million tons to 0.447 million tons during 1993-2001. Thus, the peak period of nitrogen excretion from livestock is already past in Japan. However, the area of cultivated land under management also decreased during 1990-2000. In addition, the area of paddy and upland fields left unplanted for a year increased during 1990-2000. Therefore, if all manure from the domestic livestock industry had been utilized on the fields as organic fertilizer, but not on arable land left uncultivated for the past year, the nitrogen per net area of cultivated land would have increased by 5%, from 125 to 131 N kg/ha, during 1990-2000. To reduce the nitrogen ratio on cultivated land through the planting of feed grain to utilize the nitrogen, a comparison of the cost performance of feed grains indicated that barley would be more suitable than wheat, rice or soybean. Had barley been planted in 100% of the land left fallow for the past year in 2000, 4% (20,000 tons) of the nitrogen from livestock waste would have been used in the harvest, and the nitrogen per land unit would have not increased but decreased from 125 to 121 N kg/ha during the same decade. Furthermore, when converted into Total Digestible Nutrients, 7% of imported feed corn could have been replaced with the harvested barley in 2000. Planting barley on this fallow land had three benefits; reducing the risk of manure overload on the land, slowing down the decrease in cultivated land, and raising the feed self-sufficiency ratio. Thus, it would be beneficial to plant feed grain such as barley in land left fallow for the past year through utilization of manure.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1619-1637
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• 2000

A review was undertaken to obtain information on the range of beak-trimming methods available or under development. Beak-trimming of commercial layer replacement pullets is a common yet critical management tool that can affect the performance for the life of the flock. The most obvious advantage of beak-trimming is a reduction in cannibalism although the extent of the reduction in cannibalism depends on the strain, season, and type of housing, flock health and other factors. Beak-trimming also improves feed conversion by reducing food wastage. A further advantage of beak-trimming is a reduction in the chronic stress associated with dominance interactions in the flock. Beak-trimming of birds at 7-10 days is favoured by Industry but research over last 10 years has shown that beak-trimming at day-old causes the least stress on birds and efforts are needed to encourage Industry to adopt the practice of beak-trimming birds at day-old. Proper beak-trimming can result in greatly improved layer performance but improper beak-trimming can ruin an other wise good flock of hens. Re-trimming is practiced in most flocks, although there are some flocks that only need one trimming. Given the continuing welfare scrutiny of using a hot blade to cut the beak, attempts have been made to develop more welfare friendly methods of beak-trimming. Despite the developments in design of hot blade beak-trimmers the process has remained largely unchanged. That is, a red-hot blade cuts and cauterises the beak. The variables in the process are blade temperature, cauterisation time, operator ability, severity of trimming, age of trimming, strain of bird and beak length. This method of beak-trimming is still overwhelmingly favoured in Industry and there appears to be no other alternative procedures that are more effective. Sharp secateurs have been used trim the upper beak of both layers and turkeys. Bleeding from the upper mandible ceases shortly after the operation, and despite the regrowth of the beak a reduction of cannibalism has been reported. Very few differences have been noted between behaviour and production of the hot blade and cold blade cut chickens. This method has not been used on a large scale in Industry. There are anecdotal reports of cannibalism outbreaks in birds with regrown beaks. A robotic beak-trimming machine was developed in France, which permitted simultaneous, automated beak-trimming and vaccination of day-old chicks of up to 4,500 chickens per hour. Use of the machine was not successful because if the chicks were not loaded correctly they could drop off the line, receive excessive beak-trimming or very light trimming. Robotic beak-trimming was not effective if there was a variation in the weight or size of chickens. Capsaicin can cause degeneration of sensory nerves in mammals and decreases the rate of beak regrowth by its action on the sensory nerves. Capsaicin is a cheap, non-toxic substance that can be readily applied at the time of less severe beak-trimming. It suffers the disadvantage of causing an extreme burning sensation in operators who come in contact with the substance during its application to the bird. Methods of applying the substance to minimise the risk to operators of coming in contact with capsaicin need to be explored. A method was reported which cuts the beaks with a laser beam in day-old chickens. No details were provided on the type of laser used, or the severity of beak-trimming, but by 16 weeks the beaks of laser trimmed birds resembled the untrimmed beaks, but without the bill tip. Feather pecking and cannibalism during the laying period were highest among the laser trimmed hens. Currently laser machines are available that are transportable and research to investigate the effectiveness of beak-trimming using ablasive and coagulative lasers used in human medicine should be explored. Liquid nitrogen was used to declaw emu toes but was not effective. There was regrowth of the claws and the time and cost involved in the procedure limit the potential of using this process to beak-trim birds.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.405-415
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study is to comprehensively summarize endotoxin levels reported in operations using metalworking fluids(MWFs). Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted of studies reporting endotoxin levels in processes using metalworking fluids. Keyword search terms included 'metalworking fluids', 'machining fluids', 'metalworking operation', 'machining operation' and 'endotoxin', which were used in combination. Results: A total of ten manuscripts were found to report on airborne endotoxin levels from metalworking operations in the automobile industry. Polycarbonate(PC), polyvinyl chloride(PVC) and mixed cellulose ester(MCE) were used to collect airborne endotoxin. Limulus Amebocyte Lysate was mainly used to quantify endotoxin amount. The levels of airborne endotoxin reviewed varied considerably, ranging from < $4EU/m^3$ to $790EU/m^3$, which was found to be far lower than those from cotton and potato processing plants, sawmills, and poultry farms. Several studies assumed that exposure to endotoxin could be a causative agent of respiratory diseases. Conclusions: Inhalation endotoxin exposure levels reported from metalworking operations were found to be lower than those from industries handling organic materials, even though it could be considered as a possible cause for several respiratory diseases.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 1981

It has long been believed for the presence of infectious coryza affecting serious economic loss in domestic poultry industry. However, the etiologic agent has not been isolated until quite recently. From 1979, several strains of Haemophilus-like organism were isolated from chickens with symptoms similar to infectious coryza, and their colonial morphology, growth requirement, biochemical properties and pathogenicity were assessed. In addition, serological properties of the isolates by cross hemagglutination inhibition test was also investigated. The results indicated that all the isolates were identified as Haemophilus gallinarum which had similar characteristics to the reference strains.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.426-433
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• 2008

Heat stress is major welfare problem in the poultry industry. Huge economic losses occur every year because of mortality and decreased production due to high environmental temperatures. This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of level of inclusion of ascorbic acid supplementation to the diet on performance, carcass composition and bone characteristics of male turkeys during high summer temperature. A total of 120 day-old turkey chicks were wing banded at hatch and randomly distributed into 3 treatment groups. Three diets were formulated to provide a similar nutrient profile with the exception of using three graded levels of ascorbic acid, namely 0, 150 and 300 mg/kg of the diet. The experimental diets were used from 0 to 18 weeks of age. Body weights, feed intake and feed conversion ratio, slaughter weight, carcass yield, portions, composition and thigh and breast pigmentation of the turkeys were not affected by ascorbic acid (p>0.05). Also, shank and tibia bone characteristics were not affected by ascorbic acid (p>0.05).

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.199-205
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• 2013

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is a causative agent for a number of extra intestinal diseases and account for significant losses to the poultry industry. Since protective immunity against APEC is largely directed to virulence antigens, we have individually expressed four different viulence antigens, papA, papG, IutA, and CS31A, using an attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium and a plasmid pBB244. Following oral immunization of mice with combination of two or four of these strains, serum IgG and mucosal IgA responses were elicited against each antigen represented in the mixture. The antigen-specific mucosal IgA responses were significantly higher in the group of mice immunized with the heat-labile Escherichia coli enterotoxin B subunit (LTB) strain than those in the group of mice immunized without the LTB strain. While, there was no significant difference between these two groups in antigen-specific serum IgG responses. The results showed that LTB could act as mucosal immune adjuvant. To assess the nature of immunity, the distribution of antigen-specific IgG isotypes was analyzed. All groups promoted Th1-type immunity as determined by the IgG2a/IgG1 ratio. Thus, our findings provided evidence that immunization with a combination of several vaccine strains is one of the strategies of developing effective vaccines against APEC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.177-187
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• 2014

Microbial phytases are enzymes with biotechnological interest for the feed industry. In this article, the effect of spray-drying conditions on the stability and activity of extracellular phytase produced by R. microsporus var. microsporus biofilm is described. The phytase was spray-dried in the presence of starch, corn meal (> $150{\mu}m$), soy bean meal (SB), corn meal (< $150{\mu}m$) (CM), and maltodextrin as drying adjuvants. The residual enzyme activity after drying ranged from 10.7% to 60.4%, with SB and CM standing out as stabilizing agents. Water concentration and residual enzyme activity were determined in obtained powders as a function of the drying condition. When exposed to different pH values, the SB and CM products were stable, with residual activity above 50% in the pH range from 4.5 to 8.5 for 60 min. The use of CM as drying adjuvant promoted the best retention of enzymatic activity compared with SB. Spray drying of the R. microsporus var. microsporus phytase using different drying adjuvants showed interesting results, being quite feasible with regards their biotechnological applications, especially for poultry diets.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2016

Protozoan parasite, the genus Eimeria, causes an intestinal disease, coccidiosis, in young broilers. Coccidiosis induces significant economic loss in poultry production. This study was designed to identify the prevalence of Eimeria spp. in broilers in Gyeonggi province, Korea. Fecal samples from broilers at 94 farms were collected in two chicken slaughterhouses between March and June 2015. Eimeria infection was determined by microscopic examination and PCR using ITS-1 region. The prevalence of Eimeria was 58.5% (55 of 94). E. acervulina was identified in 96.4% of samples, E. tenella in 81.8%, E. maxima in 12.7%, E. praecox in 12.7%, E. brunetti in 5.5%, E. necatrix in 1.8%, and E. mitis in 1.8%. Body weight (BW) of broilers infected with both E. tenella and E. acervulina ($mean=1.53{\pm}0.19^Bkg$) was significantly lower than broilers with E. acervulina positive/E. tenalla negative ($mean=1.74{\pm}0.07^Akg$) or Eimeria negative ($mean=1.65{\pm}0.15^Akg$) (Duncan's multiple range test, P<0.01). High prevalence of Eimeria tenella and the impact on the broiler body weight shows the importance of this protozoa in broiler industry. Development of the periodic monitoring strategy and systemic management for the purpose of the prevention/eradication of Eimeria infection among broilers is required.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.253-261
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• 2012

We isolated and characterized novel duck feather-degrading bacteria producing keratinase. Twelve strains were isolated from soil and faces at poultry farm, and decayed feathers. They were identified as Bacillus methylotrophicus, Pseudomonas geniculata, Pseudomonas hibiscicola, Exiquobacterium profundum, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Chryseobacterium indologenes, Bacillus thuringiensis, Thermomonas koreensis, respectively, by phenotypic characters and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Generally, the level of keratinase production was not proportional to feather degradation rate. The highest keratinolytic activity was observed in the culture inoculated with Chryseobacterium indologenes D27. Although all strains did not degrade human hair, strains tested effectively degraded chicken feather(53.8-91.4%), wool(40.4-93.0%) and human nail (51.0-82.9%). These results suggest that strains isolated could be not only used to improve the nutritional value of recalcitrant feather waste but also is a potential candidate for biotechnological processes of keratin hydrolysis.