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1. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of dietary soluble non-starch polysaccharide (sNSP) level and xylanase supplementation on productive performance, viscosity and pH along the gastrointestinal tract in laying hens. Excreta moisture content, ileal and caecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) composition and apparent total tract nutrient utilisation were measured. 2. Hyline Brown laying hens (n = 144) were housed individually at 25 weeks of age and allocated to one of the four wheat-based dietary treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, consisting of two levels of sNSP (High 13.40 g/kg or Low 11.22 g/kg), with or without xylanase (0 or 12,000 BXU/kg). Birds were fed the dietary treatments for 56 d. 3. Increasing dietary sNSP increased jejunum viscosity, degradability of total NSP, total tract flow of insoluble arabinose, and succinic acid concentration in the caeca (P < 0.05). Feeding high sNSP decreased excreta moisture content, total tract energy retention and free oligosaccharide, total tract flow of soluble and insoluble galactose and insoluble rhamnose and fucose, and ileal acetic and lactic acid concentrations (P < 0.05), and tended to reduce egg production (P = 0.058). 4. Supplementation with xylanase resulted in reduced jejunum and ileum viscosity, caecal pH, excreta moisture, flow of soluble arabinose and glucose and insoluble arabinose and xylose, caecal concentration of Lactobacillus sp. and isobutyric and succinic acid, and ileal concentration of Bacillus sp. and total anaerobic bacteria (P < 0.05). Xylanase application also increased energy retention and insoluble and total NSP degradation, and caecal abundance of Bifidobacteria sp. and valeric acid (P < 0.05). 5. These results reiterated the ability of xylanase to improve nutrient digestibility and reduce excreta moisture content in laying hens, and highlighted the importance of considering dietary sNSP level in laying hen diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of multi-carbohydrase enzymes (MC) on net energy (NE), performance and gene expression in Cobb 500 broilers fed diets containing different levels of soluble and total arabinoxylan (sAX/tAX) ratios. 2. The study employed a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments, with factors including with or without MC and three ratios of sAX/tAX: high (HS, 27.3%), intermediate (IS, 21.3%) and low (LS, 15.7%). 3. Six dietary treatments were formulated, with each diet replicated five times in the calorimetric study (Experiment 1) and eight times for a floor pen feeding trial (Experiment 2). 4. Experiment 1 showed significant (P < 0.01) MC × sAX/tAX interactions for apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and NE. These interactions indicated that the supplemental MC increased AME only in the HS diet, and NE in the HS and LS diets. 5. Experiment 2 results showed MC × sAX/tAX interactions for feed conversion ratio (FCR, P < 0.01) and ileal digesta viscosity (P < 0.05), demonstrating that MC lowered FCR only in the LS-fed birds, and reduced digesta viscosity only in the HS-fed birds. Apparent ileal digestible crude protein (AID CP) was negatively correlated with ileal digesta viscosity (r = −0.735, P < 0.001), which suggested that increasing ileal digesta viscosity reduced AID CP. 6. A significant (P < 0.05) MC × sAX/tAX interaction was observed for duodenal COX III mRNA gene expression, which indicated that this gene was upregulated in the IS-fed birds relative to the HS-fed birds, but only when MC was added. This gene was downregulated (P < 0.05) in the muscle in the presence of MC application in all diets. 7. The results from this study showed that supplemental MC can improve NE and FCR in birds fed diets containing the low sAX/tAX ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the structural components in the diet, namely through including coarse grain particles in diets and manipulating the dietary fibre composition, has been shown to improve gut health, feed utilisation and production efficiency. This is primarily because structural components physically stimulate activity in the fore gut. An example of this is dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), namely insoluble NSP, which have been shown to instigate beneficial effects on gut health, litter quality and nutrient utilisation, by increasing crop and gizzard activity, stimulating digestive enzyme production and enhancing bacterial fermentation in the hind gut. However, there is a lack of consistency with regard to the direct effects of dietary fibre on chicken health and production. The aim of this review therefore is to explore the impact of feeding different sources of fibre and different size grain particles on gut health and microflora, nutrient utilisation, performance and litter quality in broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. This study investigated the prebiotic properties of arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides (AXOS) produced bothin situandin vitrofor their activity against the onset of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens. 2. A 2 × 3 factorial arrangement was applied, including necrotic enteritis challenge (challenged/unchallenged) and three dietary treatments from d 10 to 21. A wheat–soy commercial-type basal-grower diet was fed with 2% of the wheat proportion replaced by the same amount of either arabinoxylan (AX), AXOS produced from hydrolysing AX with 16 000 BXU (birch xylanase unit) xylanasein vitroor AX fed with 16 000 BXU xylanase (AX + E). Necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge was induced by orally infecting birds with a vaccine strain ofEimeriaoocysts at d 9 of age followed by oral gavage of a freshly preparedClostridium perfringensbroth at d 14. 3. The challenge depressed growth performance, induced gross lesions and reduced ileal viscosity at d 10–21. Birds fed on the AXOS diet had numerically less severe gross lesions, improved feed conversion at d 0–16 and lower ileal viscosity at d 16 compared to birds fed on AX. Weight gain of the unchallenged birds ranked as follows in terms of the diets: AXOS > AX + E > AX. AX + E produced a lower ileal viscosity compared to the AX treatment but only led to marginal improvements in performance and intestinal lesion scores. 4. Caecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration was higher in birds fed on AXOS and AX + E compared to those fed on AX and was higher in the challenged birds compared to the unchallenged birds. Gizzard pH was lower in birds fed on AX + E compared to those fed on AXOS at d 16. Challenged birds had lower ileum pH compared to the unchallenged birds at d 16 and 21. 5. Results of this study suggest that AXOS appeared to be efficacious prebiotics, as highlighted by improvements in feed conversion ratio and increased SCFA production. Future studies are warranted to elucidate the types of AXOS that are most active against NE and the mechanisms by which different levels of AXOS enhance bird performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the current study was to compare the effects of dietary enzymes and nutrient restriction on performance and bone mineralization in birds fed wheat- or sorghum-based diets. A total of 720 d-old male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 8 treatments, with 6 replicates per treatment and 15 birds per replicate. Birds were reared in floor pens from 0 to 35 d. The study used a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with 2 grains (sorghum or wheat) and 4 diets: positive control (no enzyme and ME, digestible Lys, Ca, and P sufficient, negative control (NC; no enzyme and reduced ME [-100 kcal/kg], digestible AA [-2%], Ca [-0.12 percentage points], and available P [-0.18 percentage points in the starter phase and -0.22 percentage points in the grower phase]), NC + nonstarch polysaccharide-degrading enzymes + phytase (500 phytase units [FTU]; NCCP), and NC + phytase (1,000 FTU; NCP). From 0 to 35 d, birds fed wheat-based diets had greater G:F (4.5%), BW gain (9.2%), breast meat yield (6.8%), and tibia ash (2.0%) compared with birds fed sorghum-based diets. Across grain types, the NCCP treatment improved BW gain (P < 0.001), feed intake (P < 0.001), G:F (P < 0.05), and livability (P < 0.001) compared with the NC treatment. Birds fed NCP had greater BW gain (P < 0.001), feed intake (P < 0.001), G:F (P < 0.001), and livability (P < 0.001) compared with birds fed NC. Birds fed the NCP diet had greater BW gain (P < 0.001), toe ash (P < 0.01), and tibia ash (P < 0.001) compared with birds fed the NCCP diet. There was a grain × diet interaction for feed intake (P < 0.01), BW gain (P < 0.001), tibia ash (P < 0.01), and tibia breaking strength (P < 0.05). The influence of enzymes was more pronounced in sorghum-based diets than in wheat-based diets. Birds fed wheat-based diets had greater ileal digestibility of His, Met, Val, Phe, Ile, Leu, Trp, Glu, Pro, Ala, Tyr, and Cys compared with those fed sorghum- based diets (P < 0.05). Across grain types, NCP had greater apparent ileal digestibility of Met, Lys, Ser, Pro, Gly, and Cys than NC (P < 0.05). The results suggest that wheat is superior to sorghum for broilers, as expected, but that enzyme supplementation has the capability to restore the compromised bird performance due to feeding sorghum. In addition, compared with nonstarch polysaccharide-degrading enzymes and phytase (500 FTU/kg feed) added in concert, phytase supplemented at 1,000 FTU/kg resulted in a further improvement of some of the performance and bone mineralization parameters in male broilers fed sorghum-based diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato spotted wilt virus ( TSWV) is an important plant virus that infects a wide range of hosts including weeds making its management difficult. A survey was undertaken to establish the occurrence of weed species in tomato production systems in Kenya and their role as hosts of TSWV and its vectors. Selected weed species were further evaluated for their reaction to TSWV, transmission efficiency by Frankliniella occidentalis and ability to support thrips reproduction. Of the 43 weed species identified in the field, 29 species had been reported as hosts of TSWV, two were non-hosts and 11 had no record of their status. Among the more common species, Amaranthus hybridus, Solanum nigrum, Tagetes minuta and Datura stramonium were susceptible to the virus and supported high levels of thrips reproduction. The TSWV could not be transmitted to Galinsoga parviflora and Sonchus oleraceus by F. occidentalis despite them being highly susceptible in mechanical transmission tests. There was a significant correlation between feeding damage and number of larvae of F. occidentalis on different weeds. Occurrence of weeds that support thrips reproduction and are good hosts of TSWV is a clear indicator of their role in epidemiology and the importance of their management for disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper researches the conditions where the manufacturer focuses on development of core components and outsources development of supporting components to the supplier in the collaborative R&D of the supply chain. The manufacturer needs to consider the impact on market revenue of innovation quality when they design contracts in order to avoid unethical behaviour of suppliers. The manufacturer should not only offer the suppliers a certain fixed payment, but also share the market revenue from the products with the suppliers. This study research arrives at several conclusions. First, the optimal revenue sharing coefficient has a negative correlation with the impacting coefficient of the success of product innovation, which is affected by the efforts put into core components development by the manufacturer. Second, the optimal revenue sharing coefficient has a positive correlation with the impacting coefficient of the success of product innovation success, which is affected by the efforts put in development of supporting component by the supplier. Third, the optimal revenue sharing coefficient has no correlation with the fixed payment and innovation quality of product. Fourth, the optimal fixed payment has positive correlation with the cost coefficient of developing the core components and supporting component by both sides in the supply chain, and it has negative correlation with innovation quality of products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thickness dependence of anomalous Hall effect in the amorphous CoFeB thin films has been investigated. A dimensional crossover of electron conduction from 2-D to 3-D in weak localization (WL) has been observed when the film is thicker than 8.5 nm. Meanwhile, the scaling of the anomalous Hall conductivity to the longitudinal conductivity at low temperature, \sigma \mathrm{ AH} {\propto } \sigma \mathrm{ xx}^{n} , also shows the same dimensional crossover of the scaling exponent, $n$ , from 2.3 to 1.2. However, the scaling exponent is corrected to 1.58 after subtracting the contribution of WL effect from the conductance, which indicates that the unified theory, {\sigma }_{\mathrm{ AH}} {\propto } ~ {\sigma }_{\mathrm{ xx}}^{1.6} , is still universally verified for the strongly disordered alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato spotted wilt virus ( TSWV) affects the production of many horticultural crops worldwide. It was first reported from Kenya in 1999. The occurrence, distribution and genetic diversity of TSWV were evaluated in four tomato production areas in Kenya a decade after this incursion. The awareness of TSWV and its vectors among farmers was assessed through a questionnaire while plant samples including tomato leaves and fruit were collected from diseased and non-diseased plants. The samples were assayed for TSWV using ELISA and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and the resulting positive samples were sequenced. There was less awareness of the virus, its vectors and alternate hosts among farmers, despite the occurrence of the disease for over a decade. A total of 89 of 408 tomato samples tested positive for TSWV. Most of the positive samples came from Nakuru, where the virus was first detected, with only a single positive sample being obtained from Loitokitok and none from Bungoma or Kirinyaga. A phylogenetic analysis based on partial nucleocapsid (N) protein gene sequences suggested that the Kenyan isolates formed a single subgroup nested within a cluster of isolates that came predominantly from Europe. This indicated a single introduction that had undergone limited diversification. The study revealed that the disease has persisted in the area to which it was first introduced but has had very limited dispersal to other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of Permian-Triassic brachiopod diversity and body size changes from different water depths spanning the continental shelf to basinal facies in South China provides insights into the process of environmental deterioration. Comparison of the temporal changes of brachiopod diversity between deepwater and shallow-water facies demonstrates that deepwater brachiopods disappeared earlier than shallow-water brachiopods. This indicates that high environmental stress commenced first in deepwater settings and later extended to shallow waters. This environmental stress is attributed to major volcanic eruptions, which first led to formation of a stratified ocean and a chemocline in the outer shelf and deeper water environments, causing the disappearance of deep marine benthos including brachiopods. The chemocline then rapidly migrated upward and extended to shallow waters, causing widespread mass extinction of shallow marine benthos. We predict that the spatial and temporal patterns of earlier onset of disappearance/extinction and ecological crisis in deeper water ecosystems will be recorded during other episodes of rapid global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instrumented indentation test has been widely used for the non-destructive evaluation of the tensile properties ofmetal materials. The true stress-strain curve, yield strength and tensile strength can be obtained by this method. In the present study, a new modified indentation algorithm was used to determine the tensile properties of austenitic stainless steel 316L by taking into account its linear hardening characteristic. As received 316L was solution treated at four different temperatures in the range of 1223-1473K for 2 h followed by water quenching. The effect of solution treatment temperature on the tensile properties of 316L was investigated by the instrumented indentation test using the modified indentation algorithm. Results reveal that the new modified indentation algorithm can be used to estimate the tensile properties of austenitic stainless steel with linear hardening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SO42−/TiO2catalysts prepared by precipitation and impregnation method were used for the dehydration of carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in aqueous solution. Effects of various parameters towards catalytic performance of SO42−/TiO2were studied in detail. A 5-hydroxymethylfurfural yield of 29.3% was obtained at a reaction temperature of 413 K for 3 h with a catalyst dosage of 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In addition to serving as the power house of mammalian cells, mitochondria are crucial for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis in response to physiological or environmental changes. Several lines of evidence suggest that posttranslational modification (PTM) of proteins plays a pivotal role in the regulation of the bioenergetic function of mitochondria. Among them, reversible lysine acetylation of mitochondrial proteins has been established as one of the key mechanisms in cellular response to energy demand by modulating the flux of a number of key metabolic pathways. In this article, we focus on the role of Sirt3-mediated deacetylation in: (1) flexibility of energy metabolism, (2) activation of antioxidant defense, and (3) maintenance of cellular redox status in response to dietary challenge and oxidative stress. We suggest that oxidative stress-elicited down-regulation of Sirt3 plays a role in the pathophysiology of diabetes, cardiac hypotrophy, mitochondrial diseases, and age-related diseases. Besides, the physiological role of newly identified lysine acylation mediated by Sirt5 and its biochemical effects on oxidative metabolism are also discussed. Moreover, we have integrated the regulatory function of several protein kinases that are involved in the phosphorylation of mitochondrial enzymes during oxidative stress. Finally, the functional consequence of the synergistic regulation through diverse protein modifications is emphasized on the maintenance of the bioenergetic homeostasis and metabolic adaptation of the animal and human cells. Together, we have provided an updated review of PTM in mitochondrial biology and their implications in aging and human diseases through an intricate regulation of energy metabolism under oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary There is a growing body of evidence to support the direct link between obstructive bladder dysfunction and erectile dysfunction (ED). However, there have been few pathophysiological studies to determine the relationship between lower urinary tract syndrome (LUTS) and ED. As the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) that induces the synthesis of collagen in the penile tissues is critical for the development of ED, the first aim of this study was to investigate the expression of TGF-β1 in the penis from male rabbits with chronic partial bladder outlet obstruction (PBOO). Besides, it has been suggested that oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathophysiological mechanism of ED. Thus, the second aim of this study was to further investigate whether the urinary or serum oxidative stress markers are involved in chronic PBOO-induced penile dysfunction. A total of 16 male New Zealand White rabbits were separated equally into four groups: a control group and PBOO groups obstructed for 2, 4 and 8 weeks respectively. Using the RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, a progressive increase of TGF-β1 in penis was found at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after obstruction. Moreover, the biomarkers for oxidative stress or oxidative damage were significantly detected in the penis of rabbits after PBOO, which include the enhancement of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in urine and plasma, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as reduction of glutathione (GSH). On the basis of our results, the increase of TGF-β1 and elevated systemic oxidative stress may play key roles to contribute to penile dysfunction after chronic PBOO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the morphological responses of Late Permian brachiopods to environmental changes. Quantitative analysis of body size data from Permian-Triassic brachiopods has demonstrated significant, directional changes in body size before, during and after the Late Permian mass extinction event. Brachiopod size significantly reduced before and during the extinction interval, increased for a short time in more extinction-resistant taxa in the latter stages of extinction and then dramatically reduced again across the Permian/Triassic boundary. Relative abundances of trace elements and acritarchs demonstrate that the body size reductions which happened before, during and after extinction were driven by primary productivity collapse, whereas declining oxygen levels had less effect. An episode of size increase in two of the more extinction-resistant brachiopod species is unrelated to environmental change and possibly was the result of reduced interspecific competition for resources following the extinction of competitors. Based on the results of this study, predictions can be made for the possible responses of modern benthos to present-day environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeWe investigated the oxidative stress in orbital fibroadipose tissues and cultured orbital fibroblasts from patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO).MethodsThe content of 8-hydroxy 2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), an important biomarker of oxidative DNA damage, was measured in orbital fibroadipose tissues and cultured orbital fibroblasts from patients with GO and compared with age-matched normal controls. A product of lipid peroxidation, malondialdehyde (MDA), and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cultured orbital fibroblasts was also determined.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the 8-OHdG content of orbital fibroadipose tissues between patients with GO and age-matched normal controls (P=0.074). However, the levels of 8-OHdG and MDA in GO orbital fibroblasts were significantly higher than those of normal controls (P=0.0026 and P<0.001, respectively). In addition, GO orbital fibroblasts had higher contents of superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide compared with those of normal controls (P=0.0133 and 0.0025, respectively).ConclusionsOrbital fibroblasts represent the most abundant cell type among orbital connective tissues and exhibit great differences in their phenotypes. Increased oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, as well as higher intracellular ROS levels in GO orbital fibroblasts may have a role in the pathogenesis of GO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive accumulation of lipids in the adipose tissue is one of the main problems faced by the broiler industry nowadays. In chicken, lipogenesis occurs essentially in the liver, in which much of the triglycerides that accumulate in avian adipose tissue are synthesized. In order to better understand the gene expression and its regulation in chicken liver, the gene expression profiles of liver at developmental stages of chicken (1 week, 4 weeks and 7 weeks of age) were investigated and differentially expressed genes between lean and fat chicken lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content for eight generations were screened. Our data indicated that 4 weeks of age was a very important stage on chicken liver lipogenesis compared to 1 week and 7 weeks of age, and the glycometabolism in chicken liver could be related to lipid metabolism and the difference of glycometabolism could be another potential reason for the fat and lean phenotype occurrence besides the difference of lipogenesis in chicken liver. Our result have established groundwork for further study of the basic genetic control of chicken obesity and will benefit chicken research communities as well as researches that use chicken as a model organism for developmental biology and human therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on the dielectric response of c-axis oriented La...Sr...CuO...film, using Pd/La...Sr...CuO.../(100) SrTiO.../Pd multi-layer structure. Observation of anomalous capacitance increase; Other information on the study.

The dielectric response of c-axis oriented La/sub 2-x/Sr/sub x/CuO/sub 4/ film is experimentally studied using Pd/La/sub 2-x/Sr/sub x/CuO/sub 4//(100)SrTiO/sub 3//Pd multi-layer structure. Anomalous capacitance increase is observed at Sr doping level x/spl ap/1/2/sup n/, where the drop of resistivity in bulk La/sub 2-x/Sr/sub x/CuO/sub 4/ in normal state has been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the perpendicular CoFeB/Pt multilayers has been investigated. It is found that AHE comes from a small side jump contribution combining with a large skew scattering contribution, which is in contradiction to the conventional perpendicular Co/Pt multilayers. Moreover, the contribution of skew scattering is enhanced with the increasing number of the CoFeB/Pt bilayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the perpendicular Ta/CoFeB/MgO thin film has been investigated. Between the AHE coefficient (RS) and longitudinal resistivity (ρxx), a linear behavior of RS/ρxx versus ρxx can be found. Moreover, the conductivity of the film is about 5 × 103 S/cm, which suggests that AHE in the Ta/CoFeB/MgO film be dominated by the intrinsic or scattering-independent mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]