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α-Ketoglutarate (AKG) is an extensively used dietary supplement in human and animal nutrition. The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of dietary AKG supplementation on the energy status and anti-oxidative capacity in liver and intestinal mucosa of Cherry Valley ducks. A total of 80 1-day-old ducks were randomly assigned into four groups, in which ducks were fed basal diets supplemented with 0% (control), 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% AKG, respectively. Graded doses of AKG supplementation linearly decreased the ratio of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the liver, but increased ATP content and adenylate energy charge (AEC) in a quadratic and linear manner, respectively (P

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of N -acetylcysteine (NAC) on growth performance and intestinal function of heat-stressed broilers. A total of two hundred 1-d-old Cobb male chicks were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments, with 5 replicated pens per treatment and 10 birds per pen. The experiment consisted of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangements with two diets (basal diet or 1 g/kg NAC diet) and two temperatures (thermoneutral or heat stress). From day 8–35 of age, broilers were raised at thermoneutral (26 ± 1 °C) or exposed to cyclic heat stress (36 ± 1 °C from 0800 to 1800 and 26 ± 1 °C from 1800 to 0800). The results showed that heat stress reduced ADFI, ADG, plasma concentrations of triiodothyronine (T 3 ) and thyroxine (T 4 ), intestinal villus height (VH), ratio of VH to crypt depth (CD), intestinal mucosal ATP level, adenylate energy charge (AEC), activities of alkaline phosphatase (AKP), antioxidative and digestive enzymes, and mRNA level for Bcl-2, whereas increased the feed/gain, mortality rate, plasma corticosterone level, intestinal CD, intestinal mucosal AMP and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and mRNA levels of heat shock protein (HSP70), caspase-3, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), heme-oxigenase (HMOX), and xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR). Dietary supplementation with NAC decreased the feed/gain, mortality rate, plasma corticosterone level, MDA concentration and intestinal mucosal mRNA levels of HSP70, AMPK and HMOX, while elevated the ratio of VH to CD, ATP, catalase (CAT) and trypsine activity in the small intestine of heat-stressed broilers. Taken together, these results suggest that dietary supplementation of 1 g/kg NAC could improve growth performance and intestinal function of broilers exposed to heat stress.

SummaryObjective To compare pregnancy outcomes of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) newly defined by the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG)'s criteria vs GDM cases missed by a shift from the 1999 World Health Organization (WHO)'s criteria to the IADPSG's. Methods From 2010 to 2012, we recruited 17 808 women who registered within 12 weeks of gestation in Tianjin, China. All women underwent a 50-g 1-h glucose challenge test (GCT) at 24–28 weeks of gestation and further underwent a 75-g 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) if the GCT result was ≥7·8 mmol/l. Women were divided into four groups, i.e., GDM defined by both criteria, GDM defined by the IADPSG's only, GDM defined by the 1999 WHO's only and non-GDM by either of them. Large for gestational age (LGA), macrosomia, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and preterm birth were compared among the four groups. Logistic regression was used to control for confounders. Results The use of IADPSG's and the 1999 WHO's criteria detected that 7·7% (n = 1378) and 6·8% (n = 1206) of women had GDM, respectively, with 429 GDM newly identified and 257 women missed by a shift from the 1999 WHO's to the IADPSG's. The IADPSG's newly defined GDM had significantly increased risks of LGA (adjusted OR: 2·23, 95%CI: 1·36–3·64) and macrosomia (2·65, 95%CI: 1·50–4·66) than the 1999 WHO's only defined GDM cases. Conclusions A shift of the 1999 WHO's criteria to the IADPSG's diagnosed more GDM cases who had worse pregnancy outcomes than those cases missed.

Objective To investigate the association between different levels of birth weight and the risk of overweight and obesity in children aged 3 years and under. Methods Between 2009 and 2011, health care records of 55,925 children had been collected, and body weight and length had been measured from birth to 3 years old. Results Prevalence of overweight/obesity (BMI ≥85th percentiles and BMI ≥95th percentiles, referring to WHO BMI standards) at 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 years of age are 34.7%/16.8%, 36.4%/17.7%, 26.6%/11.0%, 22.3%/9.3%, respectively. There was a positive association between birth weight and childhood overweight or obesity from 6 months to 3 years of age. After adjustment for gestational age, maternal age, weight gain during pregnancy, maternal history of diabetes, mother's and father's education, occupation, and health status, family income, feeding modalities, and sex, the odds ratios (ORs) of overweight or obesity were significantly higher among children whose birth weights were 3,000–3,499 g (1.35–1.53 folds), 3,500–3,999 g (2.09–2.37 folds), 4,000–4,499 g (2.80–3.32 folds), and more than 4,500 g (3.54–4.90 folds), compared with the reference group (2,500–2,999 g). Conclusions Higher levels of birth weight were associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity among Chinese children from 6 months to 3 years of age. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:331–336, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.