Dietary supplementation with ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate calcium during the early postnatal period accelerates skeletal muscle fibre growth and maturity in intra-uterine growth-retarded and normal-birth-weight piglets.

Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) impairs postnatal growth and skeletal muscle development in neonatal infants. This study evaluated whether dietary ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate Ca (HMB-Ca) supplementation during the early postnatal period could improve muscle growth in IUGR neonates using piglets as a model. A total of twelve pairs of IUGR and normal-birth-weight (NBW) male piglets with average initial weights (1·85 (sem 0·36) and 2·51 (sem 0·39) kg, respectively) were randomly allotted to groups that received milk-based diets (CON) or milk-based diets supplemented with 800 mg/kg HMB-Ca (HMB) during days 7-28 after birth. Blood and longissimus dorsi (LD) samples were collected and analysed for plasma amino acid content, fibre morphology and the expression of genes related to muscle development. The results indicate that, regardless of diet, IUGR piglets had a significantly decreased average daily weight gain (ADG) compared with that of NBW piglets (P<0·05). However, IUGR piglets fed HMB-Ca had a net weight and ADG similar to that of NBW piglets fed the CON diet. Irrespective of body weight (BW), HMB-Ca supplementation markedly increased the type II fibre cross-sectional area and the mRNA expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), insulin-like growth factor-1 and myosin heavy-chain isoform IIb in the LD of piglets (P<0·05). Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the effects of BW and HMB on mTOR expression in the LD (P<0·05). In conclusion, HMB-Ca supplementation during the early postnatal period could improve skeletal muscle growth and maturity by accelerating fast-twitch glycolytic fibre development in piglets.

Does genotypic diversity of Hydrocotyle vulgaris affect CO2 and CH4 fluxes?

Biodiversity plays important roles in ecosystem functions and genetic diversity is a key component of biodiversity. While effects of genetic diversity on ecosystem functions have been extensively documented, no study has tested how genetic diversity of plants influences greenhouse gas fluxes from plant-soil systems. We assembled experimental populations consisting of 1, 4 or 8 genotypes of the clonal plant Hydrocotyle vulgaris in microcosms, and measured fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from the microcosms. The fluxes of CO2 and CO2 equivalent from the microcosms with the 1-genotype populations of H. vulgaris were significantly lower than those with the 4- and 8-genotype populations, and such an effect increased significantly with increasing the growth period. The cumulative CO2 flux was significantly negatively related to the growth of the H. vulgaris populations. However, genotypic diversity did not significantly affect the flux of CH4. We conclude that genotypic diversity of plant populations can influence CO2 flux from plant-soil systems. The findings highlight the importance of genetic diversity in regulating greenhouse gas fluxes.

Dual-Emissive and Color-Tunable Mn-Doped InP/ZnS Quantum Dots via a Growth-Doping Method.

In this letter, dual-emissive and color-tunable Mn-doped InP/ZnS quantum dots (Mn:InP/ZnS QDs) with the absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) up to 78% were successfully synthesized via a growth-doping method. The dual emission of Mn:InP/ZnS QDs is composed of intrinsic emission and Mn-doped emission, which can be tuned by different Mn/In ratios. With the increase of Mn dopant concentration, the intrinsic emission shows a red shift from 485 to 524 nm. The new class of dual-emissive QDs provides potential for future application in white LED.

Tunable emission of Cu (Mn)-doped ZnInS quantum dots via dopant interaction.

In this work, transition metal ion- doped zinc-based quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized via a greener controllable method to avoid the toxicity of the traditional cadmium-based QDs and broaden the tunable emission. Herein, the tunable emission of Cu-doped ZnInS/ZnS core-shell QDs (Cu:ZnInS/ZnS) can cover from 500 to 620nm by varying the Cu dopant concentration from 1 to 20% and the maximum quantum yield can reach 49.8%. Based on the single-doped QDs, Cu,Mn co-doped ZnInS/ZnS core-shell QDs (Cu,Mn:ZnInS/ZnS) with a photoluminance (PL) quantum yield of 30.4% are obtained. All the as-synthesized QDs have the zinc blende structure and the average size is about 3.55nm. Besides, the interaction mechanism between the Cu and Mn dopant luminescence centers is proposed in this work, which is rarely investigated in the previous report. Diffusion priority and energy transfer between these two dopants are supposed to play an important role in the co-doped QDs and Cu ions could affect the splitting of Mn d states. Color coordinates of these doped QDs show the line-tunability from (0.200, 0.397) to (0.408, 0.508) on the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) chromatic diagram, showing a promising potential in high-quality white light output by integration of these QDs with blue chips.

Transfer of ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate from sows to their offspring and its impact on muscle fiber type transformation and performance in pigs.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that supplementation of lactating sows with ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate (HMB) could improve the performance of weaning pigs, but there were little information in the muscle fiber type transformation of the offspring and the subsequent performance in pigs from weaning through finishing in response to maternal HMB consumption. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing lactating sows with HMB on skeletal muscle fiber type transformation and growth of the offspring during d 28 and 180 after birth. A total of 20 sows according to their body weight were divided into the control (CON, n = 10) or HMB groups (HMB, n = 10). Sows in the HMB group were supplemented with ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate calcium (HMB-Ca) 2 g /kg feed during d 1 to 27 of lactation. After weaning, 48 mixed sex piglets were blocked by sow treatment and fed standard diets for post-weaning, growing, finishing periods. Growth performance was recorded during d 28 to 180 after birth. Pigs were slaughtered on d 28 (n = 6/treatment) and 180 (n = 6/treatment) postnatal, and the longissimus dorsi (LD) was collected, respectively. RESULTS: The HMB-fed sows during lactation showed increased HMB concentration (P < 0.05) in milk and LD of weaning piglets (P < 0.05). In addition, offsprings in HMB group had a higher finishing BW and lean percentage than did pigs in CON group (P < 0.05), meanwhile, compared with pigs from sows fed the CON diet, pigs from sows fed HMB diet showed higher type II muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), elevated myosin heavy chain (MyHC) IIb and Sox6 mRNA, and fast-MyHC protein levels in LD (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HMB supplemented to sow diets throughout lactation increases the levels of HMB in maternal milk and skeletal muscle of pigs during d 28 after birth and promotes subsequent performance of pigs between d 28 and 180 of age by enhancing glycolytic muscle fiber transformation.

Effects of dietary lysozyme levels on growth performance, intestinal morphology, non-specific immunity and mRNA expression in weanling piglets.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of dietary lysozyme levels on growth performance, gut health and non-specific immunity of weanling piglets. A total of 150 weanling piglets were allocated to six treatments. The piglets were fed the same basel diet supplemented with 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/kg lysozyme as well as antibiotics for 28 days. From day 14 to day 28 of dietary treatment, piglets fed 90 mg/kg lysozyme had greater average daily gain than piglets fed control diet. During the whole experimental period, piglets fed 120 mg/kg lysozyme tended to have greater average daily gain than piglets fed control diet. Compared with piglets fed control diet, piglets fed diets containing antibiotics and 90 mg/kg lysozyme had greater villus height to crypt depth ratio in duodenum and jejunum. Additionally, dietary supplementation of 60 and 90 mg/kg lysozyme as well as antibiotics enhanced the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages in piglets. In conclusion, dietary lysozyme can accelerate the growth of weanling piglets by improving gut health and non-specific immunity and supplementing 90 mg/kg lysozyme is as effective as antibiotics (20 mg/kg colistin sulphate + 50 mg/kg kitasamycin) in improving the growth performance of weanling piglets.

Fish Oil and Olive Oil Supplementation in Late Pregnancy and Lactation Differentially Affect Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Sows and Piglets.

This study was conducted to compare the effects of fish oil and olive oil supplementation in late pregnancy and during lactation on oxidative stress and inflammation in sows and their piglets. A total of 24 sows were fed a basal diet supplemented with additional corn starch (CON), fish oil (FO) or olive oil (OO). Sows fed an OO diet during late gestation had a higher piglet birth weight compared with CON-fed and FO-fed sows (P < 0.05). Furthermore, sows from the OO group had a higher milk fat content than sows from CON and FO groups, and a lower pre-weaning mortality of piglets was observed in the OO group (P < 0.05). Maternal FO supplementation resulted in increased malondialdehyde concentration in sow plasma, colostrum, milk and piglet plasma than in CON and OO groups (P < 0.05). However, an increased total antioxidant capacity (T-ACC) and activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) were also observed in the FO group (P < 0.05). Sows fed an OO diet had significantly decreased interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations in milk compared with CON and FO fed sows (P < 0.05). Moreover, lower plasma IL-1ß and TNF-α levels were observed in piglets from the OO group compared with the CON group (P < 0.05). Collectively, these results suggest that an OO diet is most beneficial in late gestation and during lactation in sows. However, FO increases the susceptibility to oxidative stress in sows and piglets.