Search

The current study investigated the effects of stocking density (SD) on the performance, tibia mineralization, and the hypothalamic appetite genes expression in broilers. A total of 2,800 1-d-old male broilers (Cobb 500) were distributed in a completely randomized design to 1 of 5 SD treatments with 8 replicate cages for each treatment. The SD treatments were 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, 20.0, and 22.5 birds/m2, corresponding to 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 birds per cage (4 m2/cage), respectively. The concentration of tibia phosphorus was determined by the ammonium metavanadate colorimetric method and the mRNA abundance in different tissues was measured by the real-time quantitative PCR method. The data were analyzed by the one-way and/or two-way analysis of variance and polynomial contrasts were used to determine the effect of increasing SD. Feed intake linearly decreased (P< 0.05) with increasing SD during d 1-42 production period. On d 42, body weight and tibia breaking strength were significantly lower in the groups of 17.5, 20.0 and 22.5 birds/m2than in the groups of 12.5 and 15 birds/m2(P< 0.01). Concentrations of ash and phosphorus in the tibia of broilers linearly decreased (P< 0.03) with increasing SD on d 42. The SD of 22.5 birds/m2decreased the mRNA abundance of neuropeptide Y (NPY), NPY-receptor (NPYR) 1, and NPYR2(P< 0.05), while it increased melanocortin receptor 4 mRNA abundance (P= 0.012) in the hypothalamus of broilers as compared with the SD of 12.5 birds/m2on d 21 and 42. The mRNA abundance of hypothalamic cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), and CRF-receptor 1 (CRFR1) were higher (P< 0.05) in the group of 22.5 birds/m2than in the group of 12.5 birds/m2on d 21. We concluded that increasing stocking density beyond 15 birds/m2(corresponding to the 45 kg/m2at 42 days of age) suppressed final BW and bone mineralization of broilers raised in multitier cage system. Hypothalamic NPY and CRF signaling might be involved in the anorexigenic effect of HSD.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of low-protein diets with low digestibility of feed ingredients on intestinal damage and to explore whether the protease supplementation can alleviate the damage in Pekin ducks. A total of 576 Pekin ducklings (6 replicate pens, 16 ducks/pen) were randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatments (3 × 2 factorial arrangement) in a randomized complete block design. Factors were CP levels (13.5%, 15.5%, and 17.5%) and protease (0 or 20,000U/kg). Compared with the diets containing 17.5% CP, low-protein diets (13.5% CP) showed suppressed (P < 0.05) growth performance and feed intake (FI); reduced (P < 0.05) serum-free arginine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, valine, and proline as well as the cecal acetate and propionate concentration; increased (P < 0.05) plasma and ileal mucosal tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentration; and downregulated (P < 0.05) mRNA expression of TNF-α, nuclear transcription factor-κb, interferon gamma,and Occludinin ileal mucosa. Irrespective of the dietary CP levels, protease supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) the serum-free glutamic acid concentration while decreasing (P < 0.05) the plasma endotoxin, IL-6, and the cecal isovalerate concentration. A significant interactive effect was observed between low-protein diets and protease supplementation (P < 0.05) on serum-free arginine concentration, the ratio of ileal villus height to crypt depth, and the IL-6 concentration in ileal mucosa. These results indicated that low-protein diets could damage intestinal integrity to induce systemic inflammation response and at last to suppress growth performance. Protease supplementation could partly attenuate the negative effects on gut health caused by low-protein diets in Pekin ducks.

A total of 560 one-day-old Pekin ducks were randomly allocated to 7 treatments with 8 replicate cages of 10 ducks per cage. The treatments included a corn–rice bran–soybean meal–based diet with recommended nonphytate phosphorus (NPP) (0.40% for 1–14 D/0.35% for 15–35 D, positive control; PC), NPP-deficient diet (0.22% for 1–14 D/0.18% for 15–35 D, negative control; NC), and NC diets supplemented with different levels of phytase (500, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, 10,000 FTU/kg). Compared with the PC diet, feeding the NC diet significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the bird growth performance, serum total protein, and albumin concentration as well as tibia bone mineralization and strength and increased (P < 0.05) serum calcium (Ca), urea content, and alkaline phosphatase activity throughout the experimental period. Phytase supplementation to NC diets at 5,000 to 10,000 FTU/kg restored (P < 0.05) growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, and tibia traits when compared with the levels of the PC. Moreover, the addition of phytase linearly increased (P < 0.05) dietary protein, Ca, and phosphorus (P) utilization as well as nitrogen output, and excreta iron, copper, manganese, and zinc concentration quadratically increased (P< 0.05) as well as P output. In conclusion, phytase at ≥5,000 FTU/kg was effective in ameliorating the negative effects of NC diets and reducing trace mineral supplementation in diet of Pekin ducks.

This study aimed to investigate to the effects of dietary CP levels and protease supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, nutrients utilization, and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acid in Pekin ducks fed a complex diet. A total of 960 14-day-old male ducks were weighed and randomly allotted to a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement of 10 treatments with 6 replicate pens per treatment and 16 ducks per pen fed to 49 D of age. Experimental factors included five dietary CP levels ranging from 13.5 to 17.5% and with or without protease (200 mg/kg) supplementation. Between day 28 to 34, the digestible and metabolizable trials were performed. Significant CP × protease interactions (P < 0.05) on breast meat yield, DM, energy and nitrogen utilization, as well as standardized ileal digestibility values of 7 amino acids were observed. Regardless of protease supplementation, ducks fed 13.5, 14.5, and 15.5% CP had a poorer (P < 0.05) growth performance and breast meat yield than ducks fed with 16.5 and 17.5% CP. Ducks fed 13.5% CP had a positive effect (P < 0.05) on meat quality, dietary DM, energy and nitrogen utilization as well as standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids. Protease supplementation increased (P< 0.05) DM and phosphorus retention and decreased (P< 0.05) shear force of breast meat, regardless of CP level; when CP = 14.5%, protease significantly increased (P< 0.05) breast muscle yield. The optimal CP requirement without or with protease supplementation for BWG and FI were 17.02 or 16.53% and 16.64 or 16.75%, respectively, based on linear broken-line regression.

This study was conducted to determine whether protein solubility (PS) of rapeseed meals (RSM) can affect standardized ileal amino acid digestibility (SIDAA) in meat ducks. A total of 1,168, 14-days-old ducks were randomly allotted to 23 treatments (6 cages per diet, 8 ducks per cage) and 1 nitrogen-free diet treatment (8 cages, 8 ducks per cage) based on body weight. The 23 experimental diets consisted of a corn–soybean meal basal diet, and 22 diets containing 15% RSM: 85% basal diet. Titanium dioxide (0.5%) was included in all diets as an indigestible marker. On day 18, all ducks were euthanized by carbon dioxide asphyxiation and digesta samples from the ileum. The contents of PS, ether extract (EE), glucosinolate, isothiocyanate, and oxazolidine were significantly different (P < 0.05) in the 22 RSM, with the CV being 52.62, 49.23, 86.84, 90.19, and 81.98%, respectively. The content of lysine (Lys) and methionine in the 22 RSM samples ranged from 1.03 to 2.71% (CV 24.19%) and from 0.33 to 0.65% (CV 15.17%), respectively. The SIDAA, except for leucine (Leu) and tyrosine, of the 22 RSM samples varied significantly (P < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed (P < 0.05) between PS and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of Lys, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, histidine, serine, cysteine, and tyrosine. The R2value of multiple linear regression equations for predicting the SID of amino acids (AA) was best for Lys (R2 = 0.958 using dry matter, crude protein, EE, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber, and PS) and least significant for Leu (R2 = 0.348 using crude fiber and ash) with intermediate values for other AA (R2= 0.359–0.837, P < 0.05). These results suggest that PS varying from 15.06 to 98.08%, also varied considerably in the proximate nutrient content, AA composition, and antinutritional factor content, which was reflected in considerable differences in the duck's SID of AA in RSM. Therefore, PS value can partly reflect the quality of RSM.

Lonicera confusa(LC) and Astragali Radix (AR) extracts have been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in human. To determine whether LC or/and AR extracts had similar functions to improve the egg production and egg quality, 1,440 (52-wk-old) Lohmann pink-shell hens were randomly distributed into 4 treatments with nine replicates of 40 hens. The hens were fed a basal diet (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 0.1% LC extracts, 0.1% AR extracts, or 0.1% LC extracts plus 0.1% AR extracts (LC-AR) for 12 wk. The eggs were collected on week 6 and 12 for analysis, and the plasma and ovaries were collected at end of trial. Dietary treatment did not influence (P< 0.05) egg production, egg weight, and feed conversion ratio. However, LC-AR addition increased (P< 0.02) yolk color and sensory quality of hard-boiled eggs compared to other groups. The LC-AR supplementation increased (P= 0.02), and LC addition tended to increase (P= 0.08) Haugh unit of eggs on week 12 compared to CON. The LC-AR supplementation decreased (P< 0.001), and LC or AR individual addition tended to decrease (P< 0.10) plasma malondialdehyde concentration compared to CON. Conversely, LC supplementation increased (P= 0.02) total superoxide dismutase activity, and LC or/and AR supplementation increased the activities of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) (P< 0.08) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (P< 0.01) in plasma, and the mRNA abundance of MnSOD, GSH-Px1, and catalase in ovaries (P< 0.05) compared to CON. The LC or/and AR supplementation decreased the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in plasma (P< 0.05), and the mRNA abundance of IL-6 and TNF-α in ovaries (P< 0.04) compared to CON. These results suggested dietary inclusion of LC or/and AR improved the albumen quality, and a blend of LC and AR improved yolk color, which were associated with the enhancement of antioxidant capacity and the suppression of systemic inflammation in hens.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of rapeseed expeller cake (REC) derived from Brassica napusrapeseed with different concentrations of glucosinolate (Gls) and erucic acid (EA) on the egg-production performance, egg quality, apparent nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology in laying hens. At 33 wk of age, a total of 1,080 laying hens were randomly divided into 9 treatment groups in a completely randomized design involving a control treatment without REC (a corn–soybean diet) and a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with 2 concentrations of REC (at 7 and 14%) from 4varieties of rapeseed varying in Gls and EA concentrations [DY6 REC: 22.67 μmol/g (Gls, relative to rapeseed meal), 0.7% (EA, relative to total fatty acids); MB1 REC: 43.23 μmol/g, 3.5%; DY5 REC: 74.66 μmol/g, 16.20%; XH3 REC: 132.83 μmol/g, 44.60%]. The trial lasted for 8 wk. Compared with the control group, REC addition decreased the ADFI, egg production, egg weight, and egg mass of laying hens during wk1 to wk4, wk5 to wk8, and wk1 to wk8 (P< 0.05), and REC did not affect FCR, mortality during wk1 to wk4, wk5 to wk8, and wk1 to wk8 (P> 0.05). The XH3 REC group had a trend to lower egg weight when compared with the DY6 REC group during wk1 to wk8 (P= 0.07).REC decreased AME and DM digestibility at wk8 (P< 0.01), and REC addition in diet did not affect apparent nitrogen digestibility (P= 0.6). REC decreased villi height (P< 0.01) and increased crypt depth (P< 0.01). The XH3 REC group had a lower crude fat digestibility than the DY6 REC group, and the crude fat digestibility of the DY5 and MB1 REC groups was lower than the XH3 REC group (P< 0.01). The DY6 REC group had a higher villi height than the DY5, MB1, and XH3 REC groups (P< 0.01). The XH3 REC group had a higher crypt depth than the DY6, DY5, and MB1 REC groups (P< 0.01). The DY6 REC group had a higher value of the ratio of villi height to crypt depth than the DY5 and MB1 REC groups, and the DY5 and MB1 REC groups had a higher value of the ratio of villi height to crypt depth than the XH3 REC group (P< 0.01).REC decreased albumen height and Haugh unit during wk1 to wk8 (P< 0.01 and P= 0.004), and increased yolk color during wk1 to wk8 (P< 0.01).The XH3, MB1, and DY5 REC groups had a lower albumen height than the DY6 REC group during wk1 to wk8 (P< 0.01), and the XH3 and DY5 REC groups had a lower Haugh unit than the DY6 REC group during wk1 to wk8 (P< 0.01). The DY6 REC group had the highest value of yolk color than other three varieties of REC (DY5, MB1, XH3) at wk6 and wk8 (P< 0.01 and P< 0.01). It can be concluded that the exposure of laying hens to REC with higher Gls and EA (DY5, MB1, XH3) led to a lower egg weight, nutrient digestibility, intestinal absorptive area, and egg internal quality than those with lower Gls and EA (DY6).

Genetic progress and increasing nutrient density for greater body mass and meat yield in poultry has inadvertently led to an imbalance between pectorales mass and sternal development which may or may not be detrimental to productivity and welfare. Slowing weight gain while promoting bone mineralization could positively influence sternal health. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of graded calcium (Ca) supplementation in low nutrient density (LND) diets on sternal mass and bone turnover in meat ducks. Male meat ducks (720, 15-day-old) were randomly assigned and fed a standard nutrient density positive control (PC) diet, and 4 LND diets with 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1% Ca, respectively. Metabolic energy (ME) was reduced in the LND by 9.5 and 16.3% at 15–35 D and 36–56 D compared to PC diet, respectively, while maintaining proportionate essential nutrient proportions to energy similar as in the PC diet. Although the 0.9% Ca LND diet decreased body weight and sternal dimension, it increased the relative sternum weight, the trabecular bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) and Ca content of the sternum compared with PC diet. Feeding 0.7% or more Ca with the LND diet significantly increased the mineral content, bone density, BV/TV, and trabecular number of the sternum for 49-days-old ducks. Furthermore, the LND diet with 0.7% or more Ca-increased osteocyte-specific gene mRNA and osteoprotegerin(OPG) expression, and it blocked the expression of cathepsin Kand decreased osteoclasts number per bone surface. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining also revealed that the addition 0.7% or more Ca to the LND diet significantly decreased the number of osteoclasts compared with the 0.5% Ca LND diet. Meanwhile TRAP activity in serum was significantly decreased in 0.7% or more Ca-treated groups. We concluded that LND diet with 0.7% or more Ca may maintain optimal sternal mass through suppressing bone resorption for meat duck.

The article focuses on a study examining the effects of different tea polyphenol (TP) products on egg production performance, egg quality and antioxidative status of laying hens. It mentions that the major compounds of TP are epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). It mentions that caffeine decreases feed intake and do not affect the egg production rate.

AbstractThis study was designed to explore the association between undernutrition in the growth period and cardiovascular risk factors in a middle-aged Chinese population. A total of 1756 subjects, aged 45–60 years, were invited to participate in the Hefei Nutrition and Health Study and divided into three groups according to their self-reported animal food intake in the growth period. Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 were defined as undernutrition, nutritional improvement and the good nutrition group, respectively. In the three groups, the subjects in Groups 1 and 2 had more oil and salt intake (P<0.001), and less eggs and milk intake (P<0.001), when compared with the subjects in Group 3. After adjusting for age, education, smoking status and other confounding factors, it was found that male participants who experienced nutritional improvement before age 18 had higher risk of hypertension [odds ratio (OR)=1.68; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.05, 2.69] than those with good nutrition, and female participants with undernutrition (OR=1.52; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.29) and nutritional improvement (OR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.69) before age 18 had a higher risk of hypertension than those with good nutrition. For diabetes, obesity, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, our results did not found difference among the three groups both in male and female. Our findings indicated that nutritional deficiency in childhood was associated with bad dietary behaviors and a significantly increased risk of hypertension in middle age. Therefore, early adequate nutrition is very important for the prevention of non-communicable diseases later.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the most common gynecological cancers, with diagnosis often at a late stage. Metastasis is a major cause of death in patients with EOC, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Here, we utilized an integrated approach to find potential key transcription factors involved in ovarian cancer metastasis and identified STAT4 as a critical player in ovarian cancer metastasis. We found that activated STAT4 was overexpressed in epithelial cells of ovarian cancer and STAT4 overexpression was associated with poor outcome of ovarian cancer patients, which promoted metastasis of ovarian cancer in both in vivoand in vitro. Although STAT4 mediated EOC metastasis via inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of ovarian cancer cells in vivo, STAT4 failed to induce EMT directly in vitro, suggesting that STAT4 might mediate EMT process via cancer–stroma interactions. Further functional analysis revealed that STAT4 overexpression induced normal omental fibroblasts and adipose- and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells to obtain cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF)-like features via induction of tumor-derived Wnt7a. Reciprocally, increased production of CAF-induced CXCL12, IL6 and VEGFA within tumor microenvironment could enable peritoneal metastasis of ovarian cancer via induction of EMT program. In summary, our study established a model that STAT4 promotes ovarian cancer metastasis via tumor-derived Wnt7a-induced activation of CAFs.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a high-fat diet on the growth performance, serum, liver, and skin lipid metabolism as well as the fatty acids composition of liver and skin fat in Pekin ducks from 10 to 40 d of age based on a pair-fed group. Two hundred forty healthy male ducks (10 d old, 470.53 ± 0.57 g) were randomly divided into 3 groups (8 replicates per cage of 10 ducks): a normal diet (ND, 3% fat), a high-fat diet (HFD, 9% fat), and a pair-fed diet (PFD, given the ND in an amount equal to that consumed of the HFD to eliminate the effects of feed intake). The results were as follows: compared to ND feeding, HFD feeding significantly decreased (P< 0.05) the feed intake and feed:gain ratio (F:G), along with serum triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid contents. When compared with the ND and PFD, the HFD significantly decreased (P< 0.05) the liver weight and inhibited hepatic de novo lipogenesis (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase activities), β-oxidation (carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 content), and decreased saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids deposition. Moreover, the HFD significantly increased (P< 0.05) the total fat content, lipid droplet area, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) content in the liver, as well as the abdominal fat weight, subcutaneous fat weight, the total fat and PUFAs content in skin fat. These results suggested that the HFD improved feed efficiency, which was related to HFD feeding inhibiting hepatic de novo lipogenesis and β-oxidation and promoting the deposition of fat in skin as well as altering the fatty acids composition of the liver and skin fat in Pekin ducks.

Our study aimed to investigate the effects of different dietary vitamin D (VD) combinations during the grower (1–32 d of age) and feed restriction (33–52 d of age) phases on growth performance. We also evaluated sternal morphology, mineralization, and related genes expression of bone metabolism as well as absorption of calcium and phosphorous in duodenal mucosa and kidney in Pekin ducks. During the grower phase, we used 2 VD regimes (Group A: 3,160 IU/kg VD3; Group B: 400 IU/kg VD3 + 69 μg/kg 25-OH-D3). Each dietary treatment had 50 replicate pens of 10 ducks per pen. During the feed restriction phase, 30 replicate pens selected from Group A and Group B, repetitively, were redivided into 5 different dietary VD regimes to form a 2 × 5 experimental design. Each group consisted of 6 replicates, each with 10 ducks. During the feed restriction phase, we evaluated 5 different dietary VD combinations were as follows: T1: 2,000 IU/kg VD3; T2: 5,000 IU/kg VD3; T3: 3,620 IU/kg VD3 + 34.5 μg/kg 25-OH-D3; T4: 2,240 IU/kg VD3 + 69 μg/kg 25-OH-D3; T5: 1,800 IU/kg VD3 + 80 μg/kg 25-OH-D3). Results showed that Group B combinations with T5 had a better growth performance and breast meat deposition (P< 0.1). Regardless of 5 dietary VD regimes during the feed restriction phase, Group B significantly increased (P< 0.05) 52 d sternal depth and tended to increase (P< 0.1) 52 d sternal defatted weight, ash content, and phosphate (P) content of ducks. A significant interactive effect (P< 0.05) was observed on the mRNA abundance of DMP1and Sost1as well as RANKL/OPG in sternum and of VDRin duodenal mucosa of ducks at 52 d of age between dietary VD combinations during 2 phases. These results indicated that dietary VD regimes during the grower phase could affect the effectiveness of dietary VD regimes during the feed restriction phases; Dietary VD combinations of both phases could affect the genes expression of bone formation and the absorption as well as reabsorption of calcium and phosphorus in duodenum and kidney.

In our previous experiment, we found that fats with pre-emulsification (PreE), a new supplemented mode of emulsifier, had an improved bioavailability for Pekin ducks than fats without PreE based on dietary EE utilization. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of the supplemented mode of emulsifier (PreE vs. emulsifier direct supplementation) on the growth performance, serum biochemical index, quality of meat and skin fat, and nutrient utilization in Pekin ducks. A total of 640 healthy 10-day-old Pekin male ducks (408.65 ± 12.00 g) were randomly allocated into 4 treatments with 16 replicates of 10 birds each. The 4 dietary treatments were as follows: the positive control group (PC; the oil supplemented amount of 6%), the negative control group (NC; the oil supplemented amount of 5.4%), the emulsifier group (E; NC diet with an emulsifier added directly), and the oil pre-emulsification group (PreE; NC diet with oil PreE). The results showed reducing the amount of fat in the diet (NC vs. PC) significantly decreased growth performance and quality of skin fat, and affected serum lipid metabolism (P< 0.05). Interestingly, the body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), and the shear force of skin fat were increased, but the feed to gain ratio (F/G) was markedly decreased in the PreE group (P< 0.05) compared to those in the NC group, and these levels were similar to those in the PC group (P >0.05). Additionally, the utilization of dietary dry matter (DM), ether extract (EE), and total phosphorous (TP) were increased, but the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum was decreased in the PreE group compared to those in the NC group (P< 0.05). Furthermore, compared to the E group, the F/G was decreased (P< 0.05), and the utilization of dietary EE, the shear force of skin fat and content of collagen in skin fat were markedly increased (P< 0.05) in the PreE group. However, no differences were observed (P >0.05) in growth performance between the group administered a direct supplementation of emulsifier and the control groups (PC and NC). These results indicate that the negative effect of reducing the oil supplementation amount (−0.6%) in the diet can be restored by supplementation with emulsifier, especially by oil with PreE.

The study aimed to determine the ileal phosphorus (P) digestibility (iPD) and the excreta P retention (ePR) of 5 monodicalcium phosphate (MCP) samples and 3 dicalcium phosphate (DCP) samples in broiler chickens and in Pekin ducks using the substitution method. A total of 720, 21-d-old Arbor Acres broiler chickens in experiment 1 and 720, 15-d-old Pekin ducks in experiment 2 were randomly allocated to 9 dietary treatments with 8 replicate cages (10 birds/cage) based on the similar mean body weight, respectively. The collection of excreta (for 72 h after a 3-d acclimation) and ileal digesta (after 6 d of feeding experimental diets) was done. The results showed the average iPD/ePR of MCP and DCP for broilers were 83.11%/74.52% and 75.34%/69.46% and for ducks were 79.37%/80.02% and 75.74%/76.44%, respectively. The iPD/ePR of MCP in broilers and the ePR of MCP in ducks were markedly higher (P< 0.05) than those of DCP. Our data suggest that using the substitution method to evaluate the bioavailability of feed phosphates has its own advantages; MCP has higher biological availability than DCP for broilers and ducks.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary corn germ meal (CGM) levels on growth performance, carcass characteristic, serum biochemical indexes, meat physical and chemical quality, and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids (SIDAA) in Pekin ducks from 10 to 42 d of age. A total of 420 ten-day-old Cherry Valley ducks were randomly allotted to 5 treatments with 6 replicate cages per treatment and 14 ducks per cages based on mean body weight. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric experimental diets were formulated on a digestible amino acid basis to produce diets containing 0, 3, 6, 9, or 12% CGM. Results showed: 1) Compared with other groups, ducks fed 12% CGM significantly increased (P< 0.05) the feed to gain ratio. 2) Dietary CGM levels had no effect (P> 0.05) on the carcass traits and breast meat physical quality; but the content of crude protein presented a linear decrease (P< 0.05) in breast meat with increasing dietary CGM levels. 3) Serum biochemical indices (e.g., alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glucose, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, and urea) showed no significant differences among all groups (P> 0.05). 4) The levels of CGM had no significant effect on SIDAA of diets (P> 0.05), except for cysteine which showed a quadratic increase (P< 0.05). These results suggested that the optimal levels of CGM in diets for meat duck aged from 10 to 42 d should be below 9% based on feed to gain ratio and the content of crude protein in breast meat.

State‐of‐the‐art flood hazard maps in coastal cities are often obtained from simulating coastal or pluvial events separately. This method does not account for the seasonality of flood drivers and their mutual dependence. In this article, we include the impact of these two factors in a computationally efficient probabilistic framework for flood risk calculation, using Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as a case study. HCMC can be flooded subannually by high tide, rainfall, and storm surge events or a combination thereof during the monsoon or tropical cyclones. Using long gauge observations, we stochastically model 10,000 years of rainfall and sea level events based on their monthly distributions, dependence structure and cooccurrence rate. The impact from each stochastic event is then obtained from a damage function built from selected rainfall and sea level combinations, leading to an expected annual damage (EAD) of $1.02 B (95th annual damage percentile of $2.15 B). We find no dependence for most months and large differences in expected damage across months ($36–166 M) driven by the seasonality of rainfall and sea levels. Excluding monthly variability leads to a serious underestimation of the EAD by 72–83%. This is because high‐probability flood events, which can happen multiple times during the year and are properly captured by our framework, contribute the most to the EAD. This application illustrates the potential of our framework and advocates for the inclusion of flood drivers' dynamics in coastal risk assessments. In coastal cities, floods can result from different drivers such as intense rainfall and extreme sea levels. In order to estimate the expected annual damage (EAD) from flooding, it is important to correctly quantify the chance of these events happening and their impacts. Commonly, only the maximum value for a flood driver each year is taken, ignoring its seasonality; and these maxima are assumed to either never or always happen at the same time of the year. These assumptions become problematic when pluvial and coastal floods can occur at different times of the year and sometimes at the same time, such as in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). In this paper, we develop a framework to account for the seasonality of flood drivers and their mutual dependencies. Using statistical and hydrodynamic modeling, we generate the equivalent of 10,000 years of rainfall and sea level events and estimate their impact. We find the EAD for HCMC to be $1.02 B. Neglecting the seasonality of rainfall and sea level leads to an underestimation of the EAD by 72–83%. This application illustrates the potential of our framework and advocates for the inclusion of flood drivers' dynamics in coastal risk assessments. We develop a flood risk framework based on monthly time series that includes the seasonality and the dependence between flood driversNot accounting for seasonality underestimates the expected annual damage (EAD) in Ho Chi Minh City by 72–83%Rainfall and storm surge are independent for most months but, under the assumption of full correlation, EAD would increase by 15% We develop a flood risk framework based on monthly time series that includes the seasonality and the dependence between flood drivers Not accounting for seasonality underestimates the expected annual damage (EAD) in Ho Chi Minh City by 72–83% Rainfall and storm surge are independent for most months but, under the assumption of full correlation, EAD would increase by 15%

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different varieties of rapeseed meal (RSM) with different concentrations of glucosinolates (Gls) and erucic acid (EA) on performance and egg quality of laying ducks. A total of 576 twenty eight-wk-old laying ducks were randomly allocated to 4 treatments. Each treatment had 8 replicates of 18 laying ducks raised in 6 adjacent cages with 3 laying ducks per cage. The control diet was corn soybean meal based without RSM. Three varieties of RSM varying in Gls concentrations were supplemented to the base diet at 10% by substituting soybean meal to formulate the three RSM diets. The experiment lasted 12 wk. Diets with 10% RSM decreased average egg weight (P< 0.01) and feed intake (P = 0.07) compared with the control diet, but there was no significant difference in laying performance among the 3 RSM diets. RSM increased color value (P< 0.05) and crude protein (CP) content (P< 0.05) of yolk compared with the control diet, but had no significant effects on the other egg quality indexes including eggshell strength, albumen height, Haugh unit, and the composition ratio of eggshell, albumen and yolk. RSM decreased total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (P< 0.01) and increased total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (P< 0.01) of yolk, but total saturated fatty acids (SFA) proportions and UFA/SFA ratio of egg yolk were not significantly affected by RSM. RSM increased deposition of trimethylamine (TMA) and 5-vinyl-1,3-oxazolidine-2-thione (5-VOT) in yolk (P< 0.01); moreover, the high Gls RSM increased deposition of TMA (P< 0.01) and 5-VOT in yolk (P< 0.01) compared with the RSM varieties low in Gls. These results suggested that dietary inclusion of 10% RSM decreased egg weight of laying ducks, and affected yolk quality especially yolk color, fatty acid profile, CP, TMA, and 5-VOT content of yolk. Moreover, RSM with higher Gls concentration resulted in higher deposition of TMA and 5-VOT in egg yolk.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) levels on growth performance, carcass characteristic, serum biochemical indexes, meat physical and chemical quality, nutrient utilization, and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids (SIDAA) in Pekin ducks aged 11 to 42 d based on the evaluation of its SIDAA. A total of 560 eleven-day-old Cherry Valley ducks were randomly allotted to five treatments with seven replicate pens per treatment and 16 ducks per pen based on the average body weight. Six isonitrogenous and isocaloric experimental diets were formulated on a digestible amino acid basis to produce diets containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% DDGS, respectively. With increasing of dietary DDGS levels, a linear and quadratic reduction (P< 0.05) was observed in the body weight (BW) at d 42, average day gain (ADG) and average day feed intake (ADFI) from d 11 to 42, breast meat yield, the moisture and protein content in the breast meat, and dietary DM and EE utilization. Moreover, a linear and quadratic increase (P< 0.05) was observed in the b* value of the breast meat and serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. Compared with the control group, the group with 10% inclusion of DDGS exhibited no adverse effect on growth performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical indexes, meat physical and chemical quality, nutrient utilization, and the SIDAA of the diets (P> 0.05). These results suggested that 10% of corn DDGS can function as an alternative ingredient to corn and soybean meal, and the optimal levels of DDGS in the diets of ducks aged from 11-42 d depends more on its quality.

Vapor/liquid hybrid deposition (VALID) is a modified atomic layer deposition (ALD) method that combines adsorption of metal precursors from the vapor phase with their hydrolysis from the liquid phase. This paper is a report of the development of an automated VALID apparatus that performs the adsorption/hydrolysis processes with a reasonable throughput. HfO2films have been successfully produced with this automated system using Hf(OtC4H9)4[hafnium tetra‐tert‐butoxide (HTB)] as the precursor. A brief discussion is given on the contribution of multilayer adsorption of HTB to the observed deposition rates.

Honeycomb macroporous films fabricated by the “breath figures” method were composed of poly2-vinylpyridine (P2VP) distributed in the holes of polystyrene (PS). The porous films exhibited reversible behavior responding to water and different solvent vapors. When the porous film was treated with water, the honeycomb pattern would change to the hexagonal islandlike pattern. Once heated to remove the water, the honeycomb pattern emerged again. When the porous film was exposed to different solvent vapors, the same reversible process appeared. Carbon disulfide (CS2), toluene (TOL), and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent vapors induced the honeycomb pattern into the ordered islandlike pattern, and ethanol, chloroform, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent vapors made the islandlike pattern come back to the honeycomb pattern. The hygroscopic property of P2VP and the polymer−solvent interaction are the driving force for the reversibly switchable morphology. The appropriate control of the hole depth is very crucial in determining the reversible changes.

We have followed the time development of the microdomain structure in symmetric diblock copolymer poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate), P(S-b-MMA), ultrathin films via PMMA-selective solvent vapor treatment by atomic force microscopy (AFM). After preparation on a substrate preferentially attracting the PMMA block, PS forms a continuous layer at a film's free surface. With subsequent solvent vapor treatment, the film gradually shows a well-ordered hexagonally packed nanocylinders structure. It is shown that only when the film thickness is less than the ¹/2L0 (lamellar repeat spacing), and exposed to PMMA block selective solvent for an appropriate time, can the well-ordered hexagonally packed nanocylinders form. On an extended solvent vapor treatment, a mixed morphology containing nanocylinders and stripes appears, followed by the striped morphologies. When the annealing time is long enough, the film comes back to the flat surface again, however, with PMMA instead of PS dominating the free surface. Thickness confinement and solvent induced reconstruction of the film are shown to be responsible for the P(S-b-MMA) morphology and surface chemistry development.

Not Available

Dietary vitamin E supplementation has been indicated to enhance the antioxidant capacity of breeders. As breeders age, the productive and reproductive performance rapidly decline, and dietary vitamin E supplementation may play a positive role in this process. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary vitamin E supplementation on laying performance, hatchability traits and antioxidant status in molted broiler breeder hens beyond 70 wk. A total of 512 (71-week-old) and 576 (75-week-old) molted Ross 308 breeder hens were assigned to 2 dietary vitamin E groups (6 or 100 mg/kg) and 3 dietary vitamin E groups (100, 200 or 400 mg/kg) for 12 wk, respectively. Eggs were collected and incubated at wk 9. Dietary vitamin E supplementation did not affect the laying performance of hens and the hatchability traits of eggs (P> 0.05). As dietary vitamin E concentration increased, the malonaldehyde (MDA) content in ovarian of hens, egg yolks and serum, brain, and yolk sac of chicks decreased (P< 0.05), the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum and ovarian of hens, egg yolks and yolk sac of chicks increased (P< 0.05), and the alpha-tocopherol content in egg yolks increased (P< 0.05). In conclusion, dietary vitamin E supplementation did not influence egg production and hatchability traits. However, based on optimizing the antioxidant status of egg yolks and newly hatched chicks, the suitable vitamin E concentration in the molted broiler breeder hen (beyond 70 wk) diet is at least 200 mg/kg.

We have investigated the effect of isoproterenol on endothelin-induced Ca2+ mobilization in A10 vascular smooth muscle cells. Endothelin (ET) stimulates a rapid and sustained elevation of intracellular Ca2+ mediated by production of inositol phosphates, release of intracellular Ca2+, and activation of a plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx pathway. This influx pathway appears to be a L-type channel because it is inhibited by nicardipine and activated by BAY K 8644. Depolarization of the cells, by elevating extracellular K+, activated a pharmacologically similar channel and produced a similar change in intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Preincubation of cells with isoproterenol reduced the peak Ca2+ response to endothelin and blocked the sustained elevation. However, isoproterenol did not alter K(+)-induced Ca2+ entry. Thus it appears that ET-induced entry is mediated by intracellular signals and not by depolarization. With the use of cells incubated in Ca2(+)-free medium containing 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, isoproterenol was shown to inhibit Ca2+ release from intracellular pools by 36 +/- 3%. Furthermore, isoproterenol pretreatment or addition of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) to saponin-permeabilized cells inhibited inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3]-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular sites. Similar effects were seen with forskolin. Propranolol reversed the inhibitory effects of isoproterenol. Isoproterenol pretreatment also inhibited the rapid formation of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and [2-3H]inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate stimulated by endothelin and reduced the sustained formation of these compounds. Finally, isoproterenol and forskolin led to a greater than 10-fold increase in intracellular cAMP levels. This stimulation of adenylate cyclase by isoproterenol was completely blocked by propranolol. It appears then that the beta-agonist isoproterenol interacts with a beta-adrenergic receptor, elevates cAMP, and thereby alters endothelin-induced Ca2+ mobilization. Inhibition of Ins(1,4,5)P3 formation, reduction in the responsiveness of the Ins(1,4,5)P3 intracellular receptor, and perhaps inhibition of ET-induced Ca2+ entry appear to be involved.

We have investigated the role of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pool in regulating Ca2+ entry in vascular smooth muscle cells using a receptor-independent means of mobilizing the intracellular Ca2+ pool. Thapsigargin (TG) has been shown to inhibit the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase, mobilize intracellular Ca2+, and activate Ca2+ entry in nonmuscle tissues. When smooth muscle cells were treated with 0.2 microM TG, cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations rose gradually over 8 min to a peak value of 365 +/- 18 nM. Cytosolic Ca2+ remained elevated for at least 20 min and was supported by continued entry of extracellular Ca2+. TG also stimulated entry of Mn2+ and 45Ca2+ from outside the cell. Importantly, TG-induced Ca2+ entry and Mn2+ entry were found to occur through mechanisms that were independent of L-type Ca2+ channel activation because influx was not inhibited by concentrations of nicardipine that were found to block either endothelin- or 100 mM extracellular K(+)-induced cation influx. The mechanism through which TG activates cation entry appears to involve mobilization of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-responsive intracellular Ca2+ pool. In permeabilized cells, TG prevented ATP-stimulated Ca2+ uptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum and slowly released sequestered Ca2+. The Ca2+ pool involved was responsive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. However, TG did not initiate the formation of inositol polyphosphates. Thus TG mobilizes the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pool and activates Ca2+ entry through a nicardipine-insensitive Ca2+ channel in vascular smooth muscle. The mechanism is independent of inositol polyphosphate formation.

Abstract: We present a theoretical study of states quasi-localized in CdTe barriers of HgTe/CdTe superlattices. We show that the quasi-localization of both electrons and holes will lead to strong Coulomb interaction, and thus to the formation of excitons. It is further demonstrated that such quasi-localized states, including excitons, exhibit confinement effect similar to those of loclaized states in quantum wells.

This article presents a method for predicting the transient responses to arbitrary inlet temperature changes in multipass shell-and-tube heat exchangers, considering the longitudinal heat conduction in the wall core as well as the thermal capacities of both fluids and the wall. The final solution is obtained by means of numerical inversion of the Laplace transform. The effect of longitudinal heat conduction on transient behavior of heat exchangers is discussed.

New compounds Eu2Co2/3Nb4/3O7 and Eu2Ni2/3Nb4/3O7 have been synthesized. The crystal structure of the new compounds belongs to a hexagonal system. The assignments for the absorption bands in the region of 400 to 1000 cm—1 of the infrared spectra for the compounds have also been given. A new absorption band (ν′1 = 816 or 832 cm—1) may arise from the stretching vibration of the Co–O or Ni–O bond in the compounds. The results of the infrared spectra can demonstrate the pyrochlore structure of Eu2Co2/3Nb4/3O7 and Eu2Ni2/3Nb4/3O7. The results of Mössbauer spectra at room temperature indicate that the Eu cation is trivalent in the compounds and there has been a certain distortion in the lattice of the compounds due to the substitution of the cobalt or nickel cation for the niobium cation. This kind of pyrochlore compounds with formula RE2B'2/3B″4/3O7 belongs to a hexagonal system, not to a cubic one.

The effect of decreased temperature on Ca(2+)-dependent arachidonic acid release was studied in vascular endothelial cells by investigating bradykinin (BK)-stimulated Ca2+ mobilization, inositol phosphate formation and arachidonic acid release. At both 37 degrees C and 22 degrees C, BK efficiently increased cytosolic Ca2+ concn. ([Ca2+]i). At 22 degrees C, peak [Ca2+]i was higher and returned to basal levels more slowly. Although this response was preceded by rapid formation of Ins(1,4,5)P3, the activity of phospholipase C was significantly impaired at 22 degrees C. To determine if Ins(1,4,5)P3 effectively mobilized intracellular Ca2+, we used saponin-permeabilized cells. Ins(1,4,5)P3, mobilized sequestered Ca2+ to a similar degree at 37 degrees C and 22 degrees C, although Ca2+ release was prolonged at 22 degrees C. In intact cells, BK mobilized intracellular Ca2+ stores and activated Ca2+ entry. The rate of 45Ca2+ entry was approx. 2-fold slower at 22 degrees C, even though the peak and duration of the rise in [Ca2+]i were higher and sustained at the lower temperature. TG mobilized intracellular Ca2+, activated Ca2+ entry and elevated [Ca2+]i at both temperatures. As with BK, the peak [Ca2+]i reached after thapsigargin treatment was higher at 22 degrees C. This effect of lower temperature on [Ca2+]i was most probably due to decreased Ca2+ efflux after a decrease in activity of the Ca(2+)-ATPase on the plasma membrane. Both A23187 and BK were shown to stimulate phospholipase A2 and arachidonic acid release at 22 degrees C. In each case, the rate and extent of release were decreased compared with that at 37 degrees C. Among several effects, lowering the temperature decreases the activity of phospholipase C, Ca(2+)-ATPase(s), Ca(2+)-entry mechanisms and phospholipase A2. Together, these effects lead to a higher and more prolonged elevation of [Ca2+]i, but a decrease in arachidonate release in response to BK.

A measurement method of thermal diffusivity is described, which can be applied to fluids and solid materials. The surface temperature of a flat probe is periodically changed, so that in the center of the probe an oscillating temperature with a phase-delay is generated. Both temperatures will be measured, and the phase difference will be used for determining the thermal diffusivity of the samples. An extremely simple apparatus is shown in the paper. There is a good consistency between the measured results in this paper and existing thermal properties of the same samples: water, ethanol, heptane, toluene, plexiglass.

Ischemic preconditioning (PC) occurs in two phases: an early phase, which lasts 2–3 h, and a late phase, which begins 12–24 h later and lasts 3–4 days. The mechanism for the late phase of PC has been the subject of intensive investigation. We have recently proposed the “NO hypothesis of late PC”, which postulates that NO plays a prominent role both in initiating and in mediating this cardioprotective response. The purpose of this essay is to review the evidence supporting the NO hypothesis of late PC and to discuss its implications. We propose that, on day 1, a brief ischemic stress causes increased production of NO (probably via eNOS) and ·O2–, which then react to form ONOO–, ONOO–, in turn, activates the ɛ isoform of protein kinase C (PKC); either directly or via its reactive byproducts such as ·OH. Both NO and secondary species derived from ·O2–could also stimulate PKC ɛ independently. PKC ɛ activation triggers a complex signaling cascade that involves tyrosine kinases (among which Src and Lck appear to be involved) and probably other kinases, the transcription factor NF-κB, and most likely other as yet unknown components, resulting in increases transcription of the iNOS gene and increased iNOS activity on day 2, which is responsible for the protection during the second ischemic challenge. Tyrosine kinases also appear to be involved on day 2, possibly by modulating iNOS activity. According to this paradigm, NO plays two completely different roles in late PC: on day 1, it initiates the development of this response, whereas on day 2, it protects against myocardial ischemia. We propose that two different NOS isoforms are sequentially involved in late PC, with eNOS generating the NO that initiates the development of the PC response on day 1and iNOS then generating the NO that protects against recurrent ischemia on day 2. The NO hypothesis of late PC puts forth a comprehensive paradigm that can explain both the initiation and the mediation of this complex phenomenon. Besides its pathophysiological implications, this hypothesis has potential clinical reverberations, since NO donors (i.e., nitrates) are widely used clinically and could be used to protect the ischemic myocardium in patients.

We have investigated the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in regulating vascular smooth muscle cell responses to endothelin (ET). During the initial phase of the response, ET stimulated rapid formation of diacylglycerol due to rapid and transient activation of phosphatidyl inositol-specific phospholipase C and to rapid and prolonged activation of phospholipase D. Concurrently, ET stimulated translocation of PKC activity that reached a peak at 1 min and remained elevated for at least 20 min. Activation of PKC produced early inhibitory effects. Treatment of cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) 5 min before stimulation with ET inhibited total inositol phosphate formation by > 50%. Because each inositol phosphate isomer was equally affected, the target appears to be either phospholipase C or some upstream component of the receptor coupling mechanism. Activation of PKC was important for sustained response to ET. Treatment of cells with staurosporine significantly reduced sustained elevation of cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) normally seen with ET. We had previously shown that sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i initiated by ET was due to continued activity of L-type Ca2+ channels. Our current data suggest that PKC is important in this response. For example, staurosporine inhibited both ET-induced 45Ca2+ and Mn2+ entry occurring 10 min after stimulation of influx mechanisms by the agonist. Similarly, pretreatment of cells for 18 h with phorbol dibutyrate depleted the cells of PKC and blocked the sustained activity of Ca2+ entry mechanisms stimulated by ET. Finally, PMA initiated a slowly developing, sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

By means of both the discrete and continuous approaches, this paper proposes dynamic simulation algorithm of multipass crossflow heat exchangers with arbitrary rows per pass. Heat capacities of both fluids and of the core wall as well as conduction resistance of the wall are taken into account. Effect of the possible tubeside flow maldistribution is described with the dispersed plug-flow model. Furthermore, the simulation solution based on the conventional plug-flow model is developed. Transient temperature profiles are obtained by numerical inversion of the Laplace transform. Some examples are calculated and discussions are made.

A new pyrochlore compound Eu2Cu2/3Nb4/3O7has been synthesized by the wet chemical method and the crystal structure of the compound has been determined. The crystal structure of Eu2Cu2/3Nb4/3O7belongs to a tetragonal system and the lattice parameters are a=1.4672 nm and c=1.7582 nm, respectively. The assignments for the absorption bands in the infrared spectra of the compound are given. The results of both crystal structure and infrared spectra demonstrate that Eu2Cu2/3Nb4/3O7is a pyrochlore compound. The experimentally measured density and the calculated density indicate that there are 24 formula units in each unit cell. On the basis of these results and other published results, it is suggested that most pyrochlore compounds with a general formula A2′B2/3′B4/3″O7belong to a tetragonal or a hexagonal system and may possess a large cell structure. Eu2Cu2/3Nb4/3O7is an insulator and the electric resistivity at room temperature is larger than 105Ω cm.

This paper presents the spatial variation of area‐orientated annual maximum daily rainfall (AMDR), represented by well‐fitted generalized extreme value (GEV) distributions, over the last century in Great Britain (GB) and Australia (AU) with respect to three spatial properties: geographic locations, sizes, and shapes of the region‐of‐interest (ROI). The results show that the spatial variation of GEV location‐scale parameters is dominated by geographic locations and area sizes. In GB, there is an eastward‐decreasing banded pattern compared with a concentrically increasing pattern from the middle to coasts in AU. The parameters tend to decrease with increased area sizes in both studied regions. Although the impact of the ROI shapes is insignificant, the round‐shaped regions usually have higher‐valued parameters than the elongated ones. These findings provide a new perspective to understand the heterogeneity of extreme rainfall distribution over space driven by the complex interactions between climate, geographical features, and the practical sampling approaches. Rainfall series are extracted and processed from more than 11,000 regions of interest over the last 100 years in Great Britain and Australia.Spatial distribution of extreme rainfall modeled qualitatively and quantitatively shows impact from location, size, and shape of regions.Methods and findings provide new perspectives for understanding the heterogeneous nature of climate variability and climatic change impact. Rainfall series are extracted and processed from more than 11,000 regions of interest over the last 100 years in Great Britain and Australia. Spatial distribution of extreme rainfall modeled qualitatively and quantitatively shows impact from location, size, and shape of regions. Methods and findings provide new perspectives for understanding the heterogeneous nature of climate variability and climatic change impact.

This study investigated whether dietary resistant potato starch (RPS) inclusion could ameliorate the negative impact of a low nonphytate phosphorus (nPP) diet on growth performance, feather growth, feather follicles (FF) development, and carcass traits by improving nutrient utilization and cecal microbiome fermentation capacity in Pekin ducks. The experiment was performed with a 2 × 2 randomized block design with 2 levels of RPS (0 or 12%) and 2 levels of nPP (low or normal, low: 0.22% at 1–14 d and 0.18% at 15–35 d of age; normal: 0.40% at 1–14 d and 0.35% at 15–35 d of age) for a total of 4 treatments, each with 8 replicate pens per treatment of 12 birds per pen. As regards growth performance and carcass traits, RPS inclusion markedly increased (P < 0.05) BW of 14 and 35 d, BWG and FI of 1–14 d, 15–35 d, and 1–35 d as well as abdominal fat and breast meat percentage of 35 d in ducks fed low nPP diets; moreover, RSP inclusion significantly reduced (P < 0.05) mortality in ducks fed low nPP diets. As regards feather growth and follicles development of 35 d, RPS inclusion significantly increased (P < 0.05) the fourth primary feather length, absolute feather weight, and the density of primary FF in the back skin in ducks fed low nPP diets. In regard to nutrition utilization, RPS supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) the availability of DM, CP, and energy, as well as dietary AME at 35 d of age in ducks fed low nPP diets. However, RPS supplementation had no effect (P > 0.05) on the concentration of cecal short-chain fatty acids and the activities of cecal phytase and cellulase in ducks fed low nPP diets. These results indicate that RPS can improve nutrient availability to ameliorate the negative effects on performance and feather development caused by a low nPP diet in Pekin ducks.

Two trials were designed to investigate the impacts of egg storage time and maternal dietary vitamin E (VE) supplementation on the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of progeny chicks. In total 512 Ross 308 brolier breeder hens (71-wk-old) were assigned to two dietary VE treatments (6 and 100 mg/kg) for 14 weeks. Progeny chicks used in trials 1 and 2 were originated from eggs laid at week 10 (stored 0 d) and week 8 (stored 14 d), and week 14 (stored 0 d) and week 12 (stored 14 d), respectively. The 4 groups in trial 1 consisted of 2 levels of maternal VE (6 and 100 mg/kg) and 2 egg storage time (0 and 14 d). The 8 groups in trial 2 consisted of 2 levels of maternal VE (6 and 100 mg/kg), 2 egg storage time (0 and 14 d) and progeny sex (male and female). In trial 1, egg storage decreased the body weight (BW), the liver total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of 21-d-old offspring (P< 0.05), and the body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) from 8 to 21 d and 1 to 21 d (P< 0.05); and increased the serum and liver malonaldehyde (MDA) of 7-d-old offspring and the ratio of feed: gain (F/G) from 1 to 7 d (P< 0.05). Maternal VE (100 vs. 6 mg/kg) decreased the F/G from 1 to 7 d and increased the serum T-SOD of 21-d-old offspring (P< 0.05). In trial 2, egg storage decreased the BW of 42-d-old offspring, and the BWG and FI from 22 to 42 d and 1 to 42 d (P< 0.05); and increased the serum and liver MDA of 21- and 42-d-old offspring (P< 0.05). Maternal VE (100 vs. 6 mg/kg) reduced the serum MDA of 7-d-old offspring (P< 0.05). Interactively, maternal VE (100 vs. 6 mg/kg) reduced the serum MDA of offspring originated from stored eggs (P< 0.05), but not for that of offspring originated from unstored eggs in the two trials. It can be concluded that egg storage (14 vs. 0 d) decreased the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of offspring, while maternal dietary VE (100 vs. 6 mg/kg) supplementation could partly alleviate the reduction of antioxidant capacity (except for growth performance) of offspring induced by egg storage for the early phase post-hatch.

Oxidative stress contributes to endothelial dysfunction and is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, associations of biomarkers of oxidative stress with CVD have not yet been addressed in large cohort studies.