• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.1460-1464
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• 2001

This study compared the lipid metabolism of white Leghorn layers between the growing and the laying periods. The study was conducted on thirty layers in the growing period (14 weeks old) and in the initial laying period (36 weeks old; 14 weeks from the onset of laying). Results indicated that all plasma lipid traits were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two periods. The estrogen concentration in the laying period was about 3 fold that in the growing period. Triacylglycerol (TG) concentration in the laying period was about 12 fold that in the growing period. The phospholipids, cholesterol, glycerol and non esterified fatty acid (NEFA) in the laying period were also higher than those in the growing period (p<0.05). Lipogenic enzyme activities in the laying period were higher than in the growing period (p<0.05). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) was the largest lipoprotein portion in growing layers. In laying hens, the major lipoprotein portion was very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). It was also shown that protein is the primary component of HDL and TG is the largest portion of VLDL in both periods. In laying hens, VLDL contained more TG than that in growing layers (p<0.05). The VLDL particle size in laying hens was larger than that in growing layers (p<0.05). This study indicates that the lipid metabolism traits of a layer in the laying period were different from those in the growing period. The lipogenesis related traits in the laying period were markedly greater than in the growing period.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1552-1558
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• 2021

Objective: This work was carried out to evaluate the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) combined with immunocastration on the welfare traits of feedlot Nellore cattle. Methods: Ninety-six Nellore males (average body weight [BW] = 409±50 kg; average 20 mo of age) were divided into two groups according to BW; half of the animals in each group received two doses of an immunocastration (ImC) vaccine in a 30 day interval, and the other half did not receive the vaccine (NoC). Afterward, the animals were housed and fed a common diet for 70 days. Then, they were split into three groups and fed one of the following diets for 30 additional days: control (CO) diet, with no β-AA; ZH diet, containing 80 mg/d ZH; and RH diet, containing 300 mg/d RH. Welfare traits were assessed by monitoring body surface temperature using infrared thermography (IRT) and plasma cortisol and temperament measurements. Results: There was no interaction between sexual condition and diet for any trait. The ImC and NoC groups did not differ in rectal and ocular temperatures. The ImC animals had higher flight speeds (p = 0.022) and tended to have higher cortisol levels (p = 0.059) than the NoC animals. Animals fed ZH and RH did not differ in cortisol levels, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, temperature measured by IRT, or temperament behaviour. Conclusion: The ImC animals showed a less stable temperament during handling practices than NoC, whereas ZH and RH supplementation had no adverse effects on animal welfare.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1117-1123
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• 2017

Objective: This study was conducted to compare growth performance, blood components and carcass traits by two feeding systems (concentrate with roughage separately [CON] vs total mixed ration [TMR]) in Hanwoo steers, and to learn the relationship between blood components during fattening or finishing phases and carcass traits in Hanwoo steers. Methods: Sixty steers aged 8 months were allotted to two feeding systems and fed similar amounts of average dry matter and total digestible nutrient throughout whole experimental period according to each feeding program. Steers were weighed monthly, taken blood at the end of growing, fattening and finishing periods, and slaughtered at 30 month of age. Results: Growing performance was higher (p<0.05) in the CON group compared to the TMR group during fattening and finishing periods. The CON group was lower (p<0.05) in blood aspartic acid transaminase, blood urea nitrogen and retinol levels during growing period, but higher in triglyceride and cholesterol levels during fattening and finishing periods compared to the TMR group. The CON group was greater (p<0.05) in rib-eye area, and lighter (p<0.05) red in meat color compared to the TMR group. In the correlation coefficients between blood components of steers and carcass traits, retinol had a negative (p<0.05) correlation with marbling score and rib-eye area. Leptin had a positive (p<0.05) correlation with back fat thickness. Blood cholesterol and triglyceride were positively (p<0.05) correlated with carcass weight and rib-eye area. Conclusion: Growth performance, carcass ribeye area and meat color showed a more desirable result in the CON compared to the TMR in Hanwoo steers. Assessing the accumulated data of carcass traits with blood components including hormones-particularly retinol, cholesterol, triglyceride, and leptin-during the fattening or finishing phases, it may be possible to find a biomarker for determining beef quality in living animals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.627-631
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of genetic differences in the bovine leptin gene and milk yield, reproduction, body condition score (BCS), and plasma glucose level in Iranian Holstein cows. In total, two hundred and thirty eight cows were used and genotyped for a restricted fragment length polymorphism at the leptin gene locus. Two genotypes, AA and AB, have been distinguished which have the frequencies of 0.89 and 0.11, respectively. The genotypes were distributed according to the Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium ($x^2$ = 0.733). During the first 12 wk of lactation, milk yield and composition, live weight, BCS and plasma glucose were measured in 50 cows. Data were analyzed based on a repeated measures ANOVA. During this period, milk yield and composition, live weight, BCS and plasma glucose level were similar among the genotypes. The first cumulative 60-d milk yield, 305-d milk yield, days to first breeding, days open and days from first breeding to conception using previous lactation records were also analyzed using Standard Least Square within mixed models. Fixed effects were year, season, parity and age at calving, and sire. For the reproductive traits the cumulative first 60-d milk yield was also added to the model. Animal was fitted as a random effect. A significant association was detected between the RFLP-AB genotype and 305-d milk yield (p<0.05). The first 60-d cumulative milk yield was similar for the two genotypes (p = 0.21) and tended to be higher in the heterozygous cows. The heterozygous genotypes at the above mentioned locus had a trend to better reproductive performance than the homozygous. The results demonstrate that the RFLP B-allele can yield a higher 305-d milk production with a trend to better reproductive performance.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1079-1086
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• 2018

Objective The pathophysiology of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is not yet well understood, but previous research has suggested that oxytocin is associated with social behavior and may play a role in human anxiety states and anxiety-related traits. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between social anxiety symptoms and plasma oxytocin levels. Methods Twenty-three male patients with SAD and 28 healthy male controls participated in this study. All participants were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify associations between plasma oxytocin levels and SAD. Results In multiple regression models, after controlling for age and years of education, we found that higher oxytocin levels were significantly associated with higher total LSAS scores ($R^2=0.157$, coefficient=0.145, 95% CI=-0.0005-0.291, p=0.051) and fear subscale scores ($R^2=0.134$, coefficient=0.083, 95% CI=0.007-0.159, p=0.034) in the SAD group. Conclusion In this study, increased plasma oxytocin levels were associated with higher social anxiety symptoms among SAD patients, but not among controls. This might be because among SAD patients, higher oxytocin (OT) secretion is an insufficient compensatory attempt to reduce social anxiety symptoms.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1569-1578
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• 2021

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of prolonged photoperiod on the serum lipids, carcass traits, and meat quality of Jinjiang cattle during winter. Methods: Thirty-four Jinjiang bulls aged between 14 and 16 months were randomly assigned to two groups that were alternatively subjected to either natural daylight +4 h supplemental light (long photoperiod, LP) or natural daylight (natural photoperiod, NP) for 96 days. The potential effects on the levels of serum lipids, carcass traits, meat quality, and genes regulating lipid metabolism in the intramuscular fat (IMF) of the cattle were evaluated. Results: Jinjiang cattle kept under LP showed significant increase in both dry matter intake and backfat thickness. the serum glucose and the plasma leptin levels were significantly reduced, while that of melatonin and insulin were observed to be increased. The crude fat contents of biceps femoris muscle and longissimus dorsi muscle were higher in LP than in NP group. In longissimus dorsi muscle, the proportions of C17:0 and C18:0 were significantly higher but that of the C16:1 was found to be significantly lower in LP group. The relative mRNA expressions in IMF of longissimus dorsi muscle, the lipid synthesis genes (proliferator-activated receptor gamma, fatty acid-binding protein) and the fatty acid synthesis genes (acetyl-coa carboxylase, fatty acid synthetase, 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase) were significantly up-regulated in LP group (p<0.05); whereas the hormone-sensitive lipase and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 were significantly down-regulated in LP than in NP group. Conclusion: Prolonged photoperiod significantly altered the growth performance, hormonal levels, gene expression and fat deposition in Jinjiang cattle. It suggested that the LP improved the fat deposition by regulating the levels of different hormones and genes related to lipid metabolism, thereby improving the fattening of Jinjiang cattle during winter.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2006

Twenty small-scale farms of two villages (A and B) were surveyed to identify the feeding traits, milk productivity and nutritional status of lactating cattle and buffalo in Terai, Nepal. Constituents and dry matter (DM) of feed supplied, body condition score (BCS), heart girth (HG), bodyweight (BW), milk yield (MY) and plasma metabolites were obtained in the pasture-sufficient, pasture-decreasing and fodder-shortage periods. Milk yield of 305-day lactation was estimated by the daily MY. The supplies of rice straw and native grass were lower and higher in the pasture-sufficient period than in the other periods, respectively (5.5 kg/day vs. 9.8 kg/day and 3.2 kg/day vs. 0.4 kg/day, respectively, p<0.01). The roughage-supplement rates of the animals were higher in village A than in village B (5.0 vs. 2.2 in cattle and 9.3 vs. 1.8 in buffalo, p<0.01). The variance of feed constituents among the periods and between the villages induced different supplies of CP, NDF and TDN. The concentrations of CP and TDN in the cattle feed were higher in the pasture-sufficient period than in the other periods (9.1% vs. 7.3% and 57.4% vs. 51.0%, respectively, p<0.01). The supplies of CP for cattle and buffalo, and of TDN for buffalo were lower in village A than in village B (7.5% vs. 8.7% and 6.6% vs. 9.1% [p<0.01], and 53.1% vs. 56.2% [p<0.05], respectively). The BCS, HG and BW of the animals were lower in village A than in village B (2.51 vs. 2.86, 156 cm vs. 170 cm and 300 kg vs. 318 kg, respectively in cattle, 2.83 vs. 4.00, 186 cm vs. 216 cm and 429 kg vs. 531 kg, respectively in buffalo, p<0.01). The cattle yielded more milk in the pasture-sufficient period than in the other periods (7.9 liters/day vs. 6.6 liters/day, p<0.01). The 305-day MY of cattle that calved in the fodder-shortage period was lower than that of cattle that calved in the other periods (1,900 liters vs. 2,251 liters, p<0.01). The MYs of cattle and buffalo were lower in village A than in village B (6.2 liters/day vs. 8.1 liters/day and 3.7 liters/day vs. 7.7 liters/day, respectively, p<0.01). The 305-day MY of cattle was lower in village A than in village B (1,935 liters vs. 2,409 liters, p<0.01). The concentrations of plasma albumin and urea nitrogen in cattle were lower in village A than in village B (3.2 g/dl vs. 3.4 g/dl [p<0.01] and 7.4 mg/dl vs. 10.2 mg/dl [p<0.05], respectively). The different supplies of CP, NDF and TDN among the periods and between the villages might have affected MY and nutritional status in cattle and buffalo. It was likely that the lower supplies of CP and TDN for cattle that calved in the fodder-shortage period and in village A lowered the 305-day MY of cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1622-1633
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• 2002

The effects of tuna oil supplementation (0, 1, 2 and 3%) to pig diets on growth and carcass yield as well as meat quality were determined in 40 crossbred pigs. Animals were fattened from 30 to 90 kg of live-weight. Twenty-four hours after slaughter, following various early- and late-post mortem measurements, loin, backfat and belly were prepared from the carcasses. Bacon was produced from the belly part by curing and smoking. Neither performance (feed intake, daily gains, feed conversion efficiency) nor carcass quality (slaughter weight, dressing percentage, lean percentage, nutrient composition of the loin) were significantly affected by tuna oil supplementation. Tuna oil also had no clear effects on early- and late-post mortem meat quality traits, water-holding capacity and tenderness of the M. longissiumus dorsi (LD). Colour traits of LD and backfat, and backfat firmness were not significantly affected by tuna oil, either. However, there was a certain trend to elevated fat contents of LD (and bacon), but not of backfat, with increasing levels of tuna oil in feed. Pigs receiving elevated proportions of tuna oil expressed lower VLDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in blood plasma, whereas the cholesterol content of LD, backfat and bacon did not reflect this trend. Effects of tuna oil on fatty acids in LD, backfat and bacon were often small in extent, except those concerning the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. With 3% tuna oil in the diet, the contents of the particularly desired omega-3 fatty acids, C20:5 and C22:6, were 0.1 and 0.2 g/kg in LD. The corresponding values for backfat and bacon were 2.6 and 12.6 g/kg, and 1.3 and 9.2 g/kg, respectively. Tuna oil supplementation was associated with significant adverse effects on flavour and overall acceptance of bacon (not significant in LD although numerically the same trend was noted), but these effects on sensory ratings were limited in extent. Also shelf life of the products, determined as TBA value after different storage periods at $4^{\circ}C$ in LD, backfat and bacon, was significantly reduced. Overall, the present study suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may be enriched in pork by feeding tuna oil with few undesired side-effects, particularly those on sensory perception and shelf life, suggesting immediate consumption of the products is advisable. Most economically important traits (performance, slaughter and physical meat quality) remained unaffected.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.147-153
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• 1993

A total of 109 heads of horses and ponies from eight horseback riding clubs nearby Central Taiwan were investigated to evaluate the blood parameters and the biochemical compositions of serum for the documentation of clinical pathological diagnosis and exercise physiology. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of resting horses. The sex difference in the blood traits were compared both in horses and in ponies. Results shows that total plasma proteins (PP) and hematocrit (PCV) were found higher in male horses than in females (p < 0.05). The sexual effect also exertes a significant influence on the leucocyte (WBC) count, but not on the erythrocyte (RBC) concentration. According to the differential counts of leucocytes, the number of monocytes and lymphocytes was higher in the male pony than that of in male horse. A close relationship Between the erythrocyte sedimention rate (ESR) and the other blood parameters were found especially in PCV, RBC concentration, and plasma protein level. The average ESR observed at 60 minutes were $21.80{\pm}21.87mm$, $39.50{\pm}18.90mm$ and $43.73{\pm}17.89mm$ in stallions, geldings, and mares, respectively. Most of the biochemical components of horse serum detected were distributed in normal ranges, although some of the items show a great variation in such a large sample size.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.826-839
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• 2021

A 60-d feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets supplemented with two concentrations (0% and 0.3%) of black raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miquel) fruit by-product (RCFB) on the physicochemical characteristics, oxidative stability, antioxidant capacity, antioxidant enzyme activity, and fatty acid profile of M. longissimus dorsi (LL) porcine muscle from Berkshire finishing pigs meat. Results revealed that regardless of the sex, diets supplemented with 0.3% RCFB reduced (p<0.05) the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) expressed as malonaldehyde (MDA) content effectively. A higher antioxidant capacity [2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity] was found (p<0.05) in response to feeding supplemented with 0.3% RCBF for male or female pigs. Moreover, 0.3% RCFB dietary feed increased (p<0.05) the glutathione peroxidase enzyme activities (GPX1) in blood plasma for male or female pigs. However, no influences were observed (p>0.05) on meat color, WHC, shear force, and fatty acid contents while fed diet supplemented with 0% or 0.3% RCFB for male or female pigs. Overall, this study suggests that a diet supplemented with 0.3% RCFB may beneficially affect owing to better oxidative stability, higher antioxidant capacity, and antioxidant enzyme activity (blood plasma) in pigs which could be a promising natural antioxidant without affecting meat quality traits.