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The study investigated the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid ( CLA) on the growth, lipid metabolism, and plasma lipid levels of juvenile Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii. In the study design, fish were initially fed a carbohydrate-enriched diet to obtain 'high-lipid or obese' fish plus a control ( NC). In the second step, the high-lipid fish were divided into four groups and fed increasing levels of CLA at 0% ( MC0), 0.5% ( MC0.5), 1.0% ( MC1.0), and 2.0% ( MC2.0) in their diet. The initial control fish ( NC) and the other four groups ( MC0-2.0) were set up as an experimental series. Each group had three replicate tanks and 15 fish in each tank. After 6 weeks of feeding, specific growth rates and the condition factor were significantly reduced in the 1.0 and 2.0% CLA-supplemented groups compared with the initial control ( NC) and MC0 group. Body lipid content in the 2.0% CLA group was also significantly lower than in the control and other experimental groups. Compared with the MC0 group, lipid liver content in the 2.0% CLA-supplemented group decreased significantly. Total serum cholesterol was significantly lower in the 1.0% and 2.0% CLA-supplemented groups. Serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower in the 2.0% CLA group than in the MC0 group. There were no differences in survival rate, feed conversion efficiency, body moisture, body protein content, hepatosomatic index, serum triglyceride, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol among all experimental groups. The results suggest that adding CLA to fish diets is advisable as it can reduce growth and lipid accumulation in both the body and liver, and affect the regulation of blood lipid levels in juvenile Amur sturgeon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rigid open-celled polyurethane foam is the main type of core material in vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). The formulation and manufacturing process of the foam are experimentally analyzed, and the factors that affect cell structure and heat insulation performance are discussed. Vacuum level in VIPs is one of the most important factors contributing to the heat insulation performance of VIPs. By the throughput method, outgassing properties of the core material of open-celled PU foam are investigated. Outgassing has a great negative influence on vacuum level in VIPs. The specific outgassing rate of the foam is tested not only at room temperature but also at low and high temperatures. It has been found that the specific outgassing rate is large, and has a decreasing trend with decreasing temperature. In a log-log plot of specific outgassing rate versus time, the decay exponent α ranges from 0.62 to 0.8 with temperature changes from -20 to 70°C. At room temperature, pressure in VIPs used in refrigerators will reach more than 300 Pa due to outgassing in its service life, if there are no getters adopted. After the foam is baked at 120° C for 15 min, the specific outgassing rate is greatly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-filament schlieren system equipped with a four-element photodiode was developed to investigate the disturbance in the discharge region of a pulsed gas laser. This method showed a high sensitivity in measuring weak disturbance left in the test region. Therefore, it was applied in a discharge-pumped ArF excimer laser for the acquiring of optical disturbance of the gas medium in the directions of pulsed discharge and gas flow simultaneously. Time-resolved signals of the optical disturbance were recorded for each pulse. A quantitative evaluation for the strength of residual disturbance was obtained from the differential output of the four-element photodiode, and the influence of the disturbance on the pulsed energy was also analyzed. It showed that this method can be easily applied in pulsed gas laser to study the effect of the gas non-uniformity on beam parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical studies in burn patients demonstrate a close association between leaky guts and increased incidence or severity of sepsis and other complications. Severe thermal injury triggers intestinal inflammation that contributes to intestinal epithelial hyperpermeability, which exacerbates systemic response leading to multiple organ failure and sepsis. In this study, we identified a significant function of a particular palmitoyl acyltransferase, zinc finger DHHC domaincontaining protein-21 (ZDHHC21), in mediating signaling events required for gut hyperpermeability induced by inflammation. Using quantitative PCR, we show that ZDHHC21 mRNA production was enhanced twofold when intestinal epithelial cells were treated with TNF-β-IFN-α in vitro. In addition, pharmacological targeting of palmitoyl acyltransferases with 2-bromopalmitate (2-BP) showed significant improvement in TNF-β-IFN-α-mediated epithelial barrier dysfunction by using electric cell-substrate impedance-sensing assays, as well as FITC-labeled dextran permeability assays. Using acylbiotin exchange assay and click chemistry, we show that TNF-β-IFN-α treatment of intestinal epithelial cells results in enhanced detection of total palmitoylated proteins and this response is inhibited by 2-BP. Using ZDHHC21-deficient mice or wild-type mice treated with 2-BP, we showed that mice with impaired ZDHHC21 expression or pharmacological inhibition resulted in attenuated intestinal barrier dysfunction caused by thermal injury. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin staining of the small intestine, as well as transmission electron microscopy, showed that mice with genetic interruption of ZDHHC21 had attenuated villus structure disorganization associated with thermal injury-induced intestinal barrier damage. Taken together, these results suggest an important role of ZDHHC21 in mediating gut hyperpermeability resulting from thermal injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary ferulic acid (FA) supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity and some physical characteristics of flesh in genetic improvement of farmed tilapia (GIFT) juveniles. Five diets supplemented with 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg FA were prepared. Weight gain was significantly increased, while feed conversion ratio, viscerosomatic index and hepatosomatic index were significantly decreased in fish fed FA diet at 100 mg/kg feed (p < .05). FA supplementation improved hepatic and serum superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, but decreased the malondialdehyde content (p < .05). Furthermore, with the addition of FA, serum triacylglycerol, cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol contents, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase activities were reduced, whereas serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol content, alkaline phosphatase and lysozyme activities were enhanced. The texture profile analysis parameters and water‐holding capacity tended to increase while cooking loss was decreased by dietary FA supplementation (p < .05). These results suggested that dietary FA supplementation increased the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of GIFT, and improved some physical characteristics of flesh and serum biochemical parameters. The optimum dietary FA level was 100 mg/kg in diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to determine the dietary folic acid ( FA) requirement of genetically improved Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Experimental diets were supplemented with 0.04, 0.22, 0.48, 0.96, 2.25, or 4.07 mg/kg FA, respectively, and fed to three replicate groups of 15 tilapia (mean initial weight = 60.23 ± 2.60 g; mean ± SD) for 12 weeks. Results showed that the weight gain rate increased linearly with increasing dietary FA from 0.04 to 0.40 mg/kg, then remained stable with higher supplementation. Similarly, hepatic FA concentration, red blood cell count ( RBC), hemoglobin concentration ( HB) and hematocrit ( HCT) all markedly increased in fish fed with 4.07 mg/kg FA compared to those fed a control diet ( p < .05). Serum aspartate aminotransferase ( AST) and alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) activities decreased with increasing dietary FA ( p < .05). The FA requirement was estimated to be 0.4 mg/kg based on weight gain rate, and 0.7 mg/kg based on liver FA accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to compare growth performance, feed utilization, muscle composition, and postprandial glycemic and glycogen responses of juvenile Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii, fed different carbohydrate diets in order to select the most appropriate carbohydrate sources for this species. Six experimental diets were formulated containing 22% glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrin, α-starch or cornstarch, respectively. Triplicate groups of 20 fish (average weight: (4.7 ± 0.1) g, means ± SD) were randomly fed one of the six diets for eight weeks. Results showed that the weight gain rate was highest in fish fed the dextrin (716.0%) or α-starch diet (782.9%), and lowest in fish fed the fructose diet (333.2%). Specific growth rate and feed efficiency showed a similar weight gain rate pattern. Apparent digestibility of dietary carbohydrate for Amur sturgeon was the fructose, glucose> maltose> dextrin> α-starch > cornstarch diet; apparent digestibility of dietary protein was the fructose> glucose, maltose, dextrin> cornstarch> α-starch diet. Contents of muscle moisture, ash and crude lipid were significantly affected by the difference in dietary carbohydrate sources (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed in crude protein content (P > 0.05). Dietary carbohydrate sources significantly affected plasma glucose and liver glycogen concentrations in sturgeon in different periods after feeding (P < 0.05). According to the weight gain rate, dextrin and α-starch were the most appropriate carbohydrate sources for juvenile Amur sturgeon, whereas fructose was deemed to be an inadequate carbohydrate source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effects of dietary dextrin feed utilization, growth and body composition of juvenile Chinese sturgeon or Acipenser sinensis. The study involves iso-protein and iso-lipid diets containing concentrations of dextrin as well as casein and gelatin used as protein source. Results showed improved growth and feed utilization by an increase in dietary dextrin. Assessments found no differences in muscle moisture, muscle crude protein or liver moisture.

The study investigated the effects of different dietary lipid sources on the growth performance, carcass composition, and blood parameters of juvenile Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis. Seven iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic diets containing different lipid sources were prepared, i.e. fish oil ( FO), soybean oil ( SO), groundnut oil ( GO), rapeseed oil ( RO), corn oil ( CO), pork lard ( PL), or fish oil: pork lard (1 : 1, FPL). Each experimental diet was fed to triplicate treatments of eight Chinese sturgeon juveniles with initial weights of approximately 47.5 g in indoor tanks for 10 weeks. The FO, SO, and CO treatments had significantly higher weight gain and specific growth rates than the other treatments. Muscle lipid content of the FO treatment was significantly higher than that of the PL treatment, but significantly lower than that of the SO treatment (P < 0.05). The PL treatment had the lowest liver lipid content. Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in the CO, FO, and SO treatments were significantly lower than those in the GO, PL, and FPL treatments. The activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase in the FO, GO, and CO treatments were lower than those in the SO, PL and FPL treatments (P < 0.05). This study revealed that the use of lipid sources for juvenile A. sinensis can be chosen in the order of FO, followed by CO and SO; GO was the least suitable lipid source for juvenile Chinese sturgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary lipid sources on the growth performance, tissue fatty acid composition and serum lipids indices of juvenile Acipenser schrenckii. Seven experimental diets were formulated with 10% lipid originating from fish oil ( FO), sunflower oil ( SFO), tallow oil ( TO), pork lard ( PL), rapeseed oil ( RO), corn oil ( CO) and soybean oil ( SBO), respectively. Triplicate groups of 20 Amur sturgeon [initial body weight (9.83 ± 0.19) g; means ± SD] were cultured in 405-L flow-through aquaria and assigned to the experimental diets for 8 weeks. Results showed that fish fed the SBO diet had the highest weight gain rate (611.29%), significantly higher than that of fish fed the FO (539.14%), CO (540.56%) or SFO (451.27%, the lowest) diet (P < 0.05). Fish fed the SFO diet also had the lowest values for feed efficiency, which was significantly lower than that in fish fed the other diets (P < 0.05). Significant differences were observed in fatty acids composition in muscle and liver of fish fed different lipid diets (P < 0.05). Ratios of total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipid of muscle and liver were highest in fish fed the SBO (10.66 and 5.02%) or FO (9.48 and 5.10%) diet, lowest in fish fed the SFO (4.68 and 1.01%) diet. The ratio of n-3/n-6 in muscle and liver was lowest in fish fed the SFO diet (0.68 and 0.13), and highest in fish fed the FO (2.30 and 0.82) diet. Serum concentrations of total-cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were lowest in fish fed the FO diet. No significant difference was observed in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol content among all groups (P > 0.05). Fish fed the PL diet had the highest moisture and lipid contents in muscle, while fish fed the TO diet had the highest protein content in muscle. In summary, the lipid sources used in this test (excepting SFO) can be deemed as suitable for Amur sturgeon, the effect of SBO being the best. SFO is not recommended as a supplement in the Amur sturgeon diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]