• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2011

A 35-day trial was conducted to examine the influence of floor density on the behaviour of broiler chickens. Day-old male broilers (n=756) were randomly assigned to one of four stocking densities (6 replicates of n=13, 25, 38 and 50) in 24 identical 2.6 $m^2$ pens. These stocking densities were coded very low (VL), low (L), medium (M) and high (H) and contained a floor space allowance per bird of 2,000 $cm^2$, 1,000 $cm^2$, 667 $cm^2$ and 500 $cm^2$, respectively. Scan sampling of all groups was carried out at 15-min intervals during two 1-h periods (10.00 h~11.00 h and 14.00 h~15.00 h) for five days each week. The numbers of birds engaged in different behavioural activities were recorded. It was found that the most common behaviour in all densities was lying. There was no clear effect of density during wks 1~4 of the trial, but in wk 5 birds in the L, M and H groups showed lower levels (P=0.07) of lying behaviour when compared to birds in the VL group suggesting that an increase in animal density results in decreased opportunities for undisturbed rest. This observation is supported by standing and walking behaviour, which was lower (P<0.05) in the VL group in wk 5. Foraging behaviour measured in the study by the numbers of birds pecking the ground declined as the trial progressed, but scratching increased in 2 wk then decreased. Birds in the VL group showed higher (P<0.05) level of pecking the ground behaviour compared to birds in the L, M and H groups, but scratching behaviour higher (P<0.05) and lower (P<0.05) in VL of 1 wk and 2 wk respectively. However, a peak in aggressive behaviour was observed in wk 2 and birds in the VL group showed less (P<0.05) agonistic behaviour than birds in the H and M groups. Other behaviours (dustbathing, preening, eating or drinking) were not influenced (P>0.05) by stocking density.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.827-837
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• 2019

The present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the ameliorative effects of a new soybean product (cheonggukjang) fermented with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SCGB1 (SFBA) in atopic dermatitis (AD) mouse model. Visual evaluation of AD induction in the mice indicated the remarkable control of SFBA in reducing the pathological severity of AD-like skin lesions reported as the SCORAD score of AD clinical symptoms. The results revealed that SFBA reduced dorsal skin and epidermal thickness to a similar extent with prednisolone. Further analysis revealed the dominance of SFBA in restraining mast cell infiltration in the dermis; immunoglobulin-E expression in serum; and TH2 IL-4 cytokine and itch-related IL-31 cytokine in the mice skin and serum. SFBA also suppressed scratching behaviours in mice induced by compound 48/80. Further histological findings also revealed the alleviation of collagen fiber deposition in dermal skin of the AD mice model. These actions of SFBA were examined to be mediated by its suppression of the phosphorylation activation of key signalling molecules such as $NF-{\kappa}B$ and MAPK responsible for the induction of cytokine production. Thus, SFBA can be considered as a promising functional food for managing clinical, histological and immunological spectra associated with AD.