486 research outputs found
Evaluation of fermented whole crop wheat and barley feeding on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, faecal volatile fatty acid emission, blood constituents, and faecal microbiota in growing pigs
This study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding diets with fermented whole crop wheat (FWW) and fermented whole crop barley (FWB) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood constituents, faecal volatile fatty acid (VFA) emission and faecal microbiota in growing pigs. A total of 200 growing pigs were randomly allotted to five treatments with eight replicates per treatment and five pigs per replicate. Dietary treatments consisted of i) CON (basal diet), ii) 0.5% FWW (CON + 0.5% fermented whole crop wheat), iii) 1.0% FWW (CON + 1.0% fermented whole crop wheat), iv) 0.5% FWB (CON + 0.5% fermented whole crop barley), and v) 1.0% FWB (CON + 1.0% fermented whole crop barley). The digestibility of total dietary fibre was significantly higher in pigs fed FWW diets. The faecal emissions of VFA of pigs fed the fermented treatments was increased significantly compared with CON. Concentrations of cortisol and triglyceride in blood of pigs fed 1.0% FWW were significantly lower than pigs fed CON diets. The pigs fed 1.0% FWB diets had a significantly decreased level of total cholesterol in blood compared with CON. In conclusion, the current results indicated that diets supplemented with FWW and FWB could increase faecal VFA emission and reduce concentration of triglyceride and cortisol, while 0.5% and 1.0% FWW had no negative effects on growth performance, and could increase digestibility of dietary fibre in growing pigs.Keywords: Dietary fibre, faecal short-chain fatty acid emissions, fermented feed, serum parameter, swin
Effects of reducing dietary crude protein and metabolic energy in weaned piglets
The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of a pure reduction in the dietary crude protein (CP) and metabolic energy (ME) contents on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile, faecal microflora and odour gas emission in weaned pigs. A total of 80 weaned piglets ((Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc) with a mean initial bodyweight (BW) of 6.8 ± 0.5 kg were randomly allotted to four treatments with four replicate pens of five piglets per pen (based on average BW) for 45 days. The dietary treatments consisted of i) CON: basal diet; ii) LME: reduction of 10% of ME in basal diet; iii) LCP: reduction of 10% of CP in basal diet; iv) MECP: reduction of 10% of CP and 10% of ME in basal diet. During the experimental period, average daily feed intake (ADFI) improved in piglets fed the LME and LCP diets, compared with those fed the CON diets. Average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed (G : F) ratio decreased in piglets fed LCP, LME, and MECP diet, when compared with those fed the CON diet. However, during the total experimental period, ADG and G : F ratio were not affected by dietary treatment. With regard to nutrient digestibility, apparent total track digestibility (ATTD) of CP was not affected by experimental diets. The concentration of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in blood decreased more in piglets fed LME, LCP, and MECP than those fed the CON diet. The emissions of ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sufide (H2S), and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were lower in piglets fed LME, LCP, and MECP diet than those fed the CON diet. In conclusion, these results indicate that reduction in dietary CP and ME content did not decrease growth performance and nutrient digestibility, and they increased positive effects such as BUN and gas emission reduction.Keywords: Blood profile, digestibility, growth performance, odour emission, pi
Influence of season of birth, sex and paternal line on growth performance and carcass traits in pigs
Participants in the pig production industry focus on feed and feed additives to improve growth performance and meat quality of pigs. Consequently, the Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea produced a new paternal line to improve economic traits in pigs. However, there is an absence of information on pig traits with regard to season and sex, and a comparison between the new paternal line and past paternal lines. Therefore, the authors conducted this study to investigate the influence of season of birth, sex and paternal line on growth performance and carcass traits in pigs. A total of 2888 piglets ((Landrace × Yorkshire) × Darby Duroc (DD) or Chookjin Duroc (CD)) with an average age of three weeks were tested for 22 weeks during the four season of the year (spring 608 piglets, summer 404 piglets, autumn 576 piglets and winter 1300 piglets). The bodyweights (BW) of individual pig were recorded, and feed consumption was recorded at weeks 2, 12 and 22, to determine growth performance. At reaching market weight, backfat thickness was determined at the last rib area. Meat was graded according to the criteria of the slaughterhouse. There were no significant differences in growth performance and carcass traits between sexes. The CD line crossbred pig had a significant higher BW at 16 weeks, and higher carcass trait values at 22 weeks than the DD line. During weeks 8 to 16 the CD line crossbred pigs showed a tendency of an increased average daily gain (ADG) and gain : feed (G : F) ratio compared with the DD line. Furthermore, pigs born in spring had significant lower ADG, average daily feed intake (ADFI) and carcass trait values than born in the other seasons. In conclusion, the new paternal line (Chookjin Duroc) improved growth performance and carcass traits compare with the DD line.Keywords: sex, growth, terminal sire, meat quality, backfat thicknes
Host use of the elkhorn coral crab <i>Domecia acanthophora</i> (Brachyura : Domeciidae), with a phylogeny of the genus
Coral-dwelling crabs form a diverse community on coral reefs, and various families independently colonised scleractinian corals. Species of Domecia have a circumtropical distribution, with two known species in the Indo-Pacific, one in the West Atlantic and one in the East Atlantic. New host records for the West Atlantic species D. acanthophora are recorded from Guadeloupe, as well as the first dwellings in Acropora prolifera from Curaçao. Here we provide an overview of all known hosts of Domecia species and, based on COI mtDNA, the first phylogeny of the genus. The coral Orbicella faveolata and the sponge Callyspongia sp. are recorded as new hosts for D. acanthophora. Host records for this species now include eight scleractinian hosts, Millepora fire corals and records on sponges. Our phylogenetic reconstruction shows that D. acanthophora is closest to the wide-ranging Indo-Pacific species D. hispida, and more distantly related to D. glabra. Domecia acanthophora appears to be less host specific than its congeners D. hispida and D. glabra that predominantly associate with Pocillopora and Acropora corals, respectively. Differences in host-specificity between Indo-Pacific and Atlantic species are briefly discussed in the light of similar observations on other coral-dwelling crab species
Effects of various additives to enhance growth performance, blood profiles, and reduce malodour emissions in growing pigs
Experiment 1 was a feeding trial in which 75 (Landrace ⅹ Yorkshire) ⅹ Duroc pigs with average initial bodyweight (BW) of 26 ± 1 kg were used. It was assigned to three pigs/pen and five pens/treatment. Experiment 2 was a metabolic trial in which 25 (LandraceⅹYorkshire)ⅹDuroc pigs with average initial bodyweight (BW) of 36 ± 1 kg were used. The basal diet consisted of maize (57.71 %), soybean meal (32.45 %), and wheat bran (5 %). Treatments consisted of i) CON (control diet); ii) OE (organic acid + essential oils) (Aviplus-S®), that is, CON + 0.05 % OE; iii) OC (organic charcoal) (Olga Black®), that is, CON + 0.1 % OC; iv) AE (anise extracts) (RESQ®), that is, CON + 0.015 % AE; and v) PB (probiotics) (Bonvital®), that is, CON + 0.1 % PB. Average daily gain (ADG) and gain/feed ratio (G : F) were significantly higher in the OE and AE groups than in the others. Average daily feed intake (ADFI) for OE, OC, and AE treatments was significantly higher than that for CON and PB treatments. Dry matter (DM) digestibility was significantly higher in AE than CON. Crude protein (CP) was significantly higher in OE, AE, and PB than CON. CON and other treatments did not cause significant differences in blood l-density lipoprotein (LDL), and glucose. NH3 emissions were significantly lower in all treated groups than in CON. Among the treatments, NH3 emissions were lowest in OE and AE. H2S emissions were significantly lower in OE, AE, and PB than in CON. Among the treatments, OE and AE were most effective at reducing H2S emissions. The emissions of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) showed no significant difference between treatments and CON. In conclusion, this experiment was shown to be more effective on growth performance, malodour emission, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in OE and AE than other additives.Keywords: Digestibility, feed, influence, odour, supplementation, swin
Landscape Design for Improved Thermal Environment: An Optimized Tree Arrangement Design for Climate-Responsive Outdoor Spaces in Residential Buildings Complexes
The heat reduction effect of trees has been investigated through numerical simulations; however, there are still challenges to applying the scientific results to the planning process due to the model's complexity and the computational resources required. This study investigates a rapid spatial evaluation method for heat stress potential, measured by mean radiant temperature (MRT), by decomposing radiation into sub-radiation using a multilayer MRT model. This method also enables the reproduction of optimized layouts considering the effect of tree arrangement in residential buildings. Multi-objectives were achieved through an evolutionary algorithm, resulting in more effective design layouts combining tree types and arrangements, all within a standard budget. By adopting this study's approach, landscape designers can create climate-responsive tree layouts with reduced heat exposure and generate customized planting designs tailored to their preferences
Running coupling: Does the coupling between dark energy and dark matter change sign during the cosmological evolution?
In this paper we put forward a running coupling scenario for describing the
interaction between dark energy and dark matter. The dark sector interaction in
our scenario is free of the assumption that the interaction term is
proportional to the Hubble expansion rate and the energy densities of dark
sectors. We only use a time-variable coupling (with the scale factor
of the universe) to characterize the interaction . We propose a
parametrization form for the running coupling in which the
early-time coupling is given by a constant , while today the coupling is
given by another constant, . For investigating the feature of the running
coupling, we employ three dark energy models, namely, the cosmological constant
model (), the constant model (), and the time-dependent
model (). We constrain the models with the current
observational data, including the type Ia supernova, the baryon acoustic
oscillation, the cosmic microwave background, the Hubble expansion rate, and
the X-ray gas mass fraction data. The fitting results indicate that a
time-varying vacuum scenario is favored, in which the coupling crosses
the noninteracting line () during the cosmological evolution and the sign
changes from negative to positive. The crossing of the noninteracting line
happens at around , and the crossing behavior is favored at about
1 confidence level. Our work implies that we should pay more attention
to the time-varying vacuum model and seriously consider the phenomenological
construction of a sign-changeable or oscillatory interaction between dark
sectors.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; refs added; to appear in EPJ
Slowly rotating black holes in the Horava-Lifshitz gravity
We investigate slowly rotating black holes in the Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz (HL)
gravity. For and , we find a slowly rotating black
hole of the Kehagias-Sfetsos solution in asymptotically flat spacetimes. We
discuss their thermodynamic properties by computing mass, temperature, angular
momentum, and angular velocity on the horizon.Comment: 12 pages, no figures, version to appear in EPJ
Interventions Targeting Child Undernutrition in Developing Countries May Be Undermined by Dietary Exposure to Aflatoxin
Child undernutrition, a form of malnutrition, is a major public health burden in developing countries. Supplementation interventions targeting the major micronutrient deficiencies have only reduced the burden of child undernutrition to a certain extent, indicating that there are other underlying determinants that need to be addressed. Aflatoxin exposure, which is also highly prevalent in developing countries, may be considered an aggravating factor for child undernutrition. Increasing evidence suggests that aflatoxin exposure can occur in any stage of life, including in utero through a trans-placental pathway and in early childhood (through contaminated weaning food and family food). Early life exposure to aflatoxin is associated with adverse effects on low birth weight, stunting, immune suppression, and the liver function damage. The mechanisms underlying impaired growth and aflatoxin exposure are still unclear but intestinal function damage, reduced immune function, and alteration in the insulin-like growth factor axis caused by the liver damage are the suggested hypotheses. Given the fact that both aflatoxin and child undernutrition are common in sub-Saharan Africa, effective interventions aimed at reducing undernutrition cannot be satisfactorily achieved until the interactive relationship between aflatoxin and child undernutrition is clearly understood, and an aflatoxin mitigation strategy takes effect in those vulnerable mothers and children
Inflation and late time acceleration in braneworld cosmological models with varying brane tension
Braneworld models with variable brane tension introduce a new
degree of freedom that allows for evolving gravitational and cosmological
constants, the latter being a natural candidate for dark energy. We consider a
thermodynamic interpretation of the varying brane tension models, by showing
that the field equations with variable can be interpreted as
describing matter creation in a cosmological framework. The particle creation
rate is determined by the variation rate of the brane tension, as well as by
the brane-bulk energy-matter transfer rate. We investigate the effect of a
variable brane tension on the cosmological evolution of the Universe, in the
framework of a particular model in which the brane tension is an exponentially
dependent function of the scale factor. The resulting cosmology shows the
presence of an initial inflationary expansion, followed by a decelerating
phase, and by a smooth transition towards a late accelerated de Sitter type
expansion. The varying brane tension is also responsible for the generation of
the matter in the Universe (reheating period). The physical constraints on the
model parameters, resulted from the observational cosmological data, are also
investigated.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in European Physical
Journal
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