Anti-Bordetella bronchiseptica effects of targeted bacteriophages via microbiome and metabolic mediated mechanisms.

Bordetella bronchiseptica poses a significant challenge in the context of respiratory infections, particularly in weanling pigs. In this study, we investigated the impact of a novel targeted bacteriophage in controlling B. bronchiseptica challenge (BBC) in an experimental design involving five distinct treatment groups: NC (no challenge), PC (BBC challenge), BF (108 pfu bacteriophage/kg diet + BBC), BN (2 × 107 pfu/day bacteriophage by nasal spray + BBC), and AT (antibiotic + BBC). The experiment was conducted for 2 weeks. The highest turbinate score was observed in the PC. The BF treatment showed higher plasma IL (interleukine)-1ß and IL-6 compared with the BN and AT treatments. Plasma concentrations of IL-1ß were increased in the BF pigs compared with the BN, AT, and NC. Among the BBC groups, the PC treatment exhibited a higher abundance of Staphylococcus. aureus and B. bronchiseptica in the lung. A lower S. aureus, Streptococcus. suis, and B. bronchiseptica colonization was detected in the AT compared with the BF and BN treatments. The BF showed lower plasma zonulin compared with the BN and AT. A higher plasma concentration of superoxide dismutase was observed in the BF and AT compared with PC and BN. The BN influenced the glycine, serine-threonine metabolism; glycerolipid metabolism; glyoxylate-dicarboxylate metabolism; and arachidonic acid metabolism compared with the NC. In conclusion, nasal-sprayed bacteriophage effectively controlled B. bronchiseptica infection, however, their efficiency was lower than the antibiotic.

A quantum-inspired probabilistic prime factorization based on virtually connected Boltzmann machine and probabilistic annealing.

Probabilistic computing has been introduced to operate functional networks using a probabilistic bit (p-bit), broadening the computational abilities in non-deterministic polynomial searching operations. However, previous developments have focused on emulating the operation of quantum computers similarly, implementing every p-bit with large weight-sum matrix multiplication blocks and requiring tens of times more p-bits than semiprime bits. In addition, operations based on a conventional simulated annealing scheme required a large number of sampling operations, which deteriorated the performance of the Ising machines. Here we introduce a prime factorization machine with a virtually connected Boltzmann machine and probabilistic annealing method, which are designed to reduce the hardware complexity and number of sampling operations. From 10-bit to 64-bit prime factorizations were performed, and the machine offers up to 1.2 × 108 times improvement in the number of sampling operations compared with previous factorization machines, with a 22-fold smaller hardware resource.

Effects of dietary supplementation of bacteriophage cocktail on health status of weanling pigs in a non-sanitary environment.

BACKGROUND: The study evaluated the effects of bacteriophage cocktail (BP) and ZnO administered during weaning time for piglets exposed to a non-sanitary environment. The bacteriophages were designed to eliminate Escherichia coli (K88, K99 and F41), Salmonella (typhimurium and enteritidis), and Clostridium perfreingens (types A and C). Forty 21-day-old crossbreed piglets were assigned to four treatments, including the PC (sanitary environment), NC (non-sanitary environment), BP (NC plus 108 pfu/kg BP), and ZO (NC plus 2,500 mg/kg ZnO). Piglets in the NC, BP and ZO were kept in a non-sanitary environment for 14 d, which was contaminated with the feces of infected pigs. RESULTS: Pigs in the BP and ZO treatments had a higher final body weight compared with the NC. The NC treatment showed the highest concentration of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the plasma. The administration of BP and ZO showed lower myeloperoxidase concentrations compared with the NC. The NC treatment showed a lower concentration of superoxide dismutase in serum compared with the PC. Among the treatments in non-sanitary environment, the NC treatment showed a higher concentration of malondialdehyde compared with the ZO. The PC treatment showed a lower concentration of butyric acid in the feces compared with the BP treatment. Among non-sanitary treatments, the villus height in the duodenum was greater in the BP and ZO compared with the NC. The lower abundance of Proteobacteria phylum was observed in the BP and PC treatments compared with the NC. The highest relative abundance of Eubacterium was recorded in the BP treatment. The abundance of Megasphaera and Schwartzia was higher in the NC pigs compared with the BP piglets. The abundance of Desulfovibrio was lower in the supplemented treatments (BP and ZO) compared with non-supplemented (NC and PC). The abundance of Cellulosilyticum genera was higher in the BP and ZO treatments rather than in the NC. The piglets in the NC treatment had the highest abundance of Escherichia-Shigella, followed by the PC and ZO treatments. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these results suggest that the supplementation of bacteriophage cocktail could effectively control Proteobacteria phylum, Clostridium spp. and coliforms population and mitigated the adverse influences of weaning stress in piglets.

An intelligent method for pregnancy diagnosis in breeding sows according to ultrasonography algorithms.

Pig breeding management directly contributes to the profitability of pig farms, and pregnancy diagnosis is an important factor in breeding management. Therefore, the need to diagnose pregnancy in sows is emphasized, and various studies have been conducted in this area. We propose a computer-aided diagnosis system to assist livestock farmers to diagnose sow pregnancy through ultrasound. Methods for diagnosing pregnancy in sows through ultrasound include the Doppler method, which measures the heart rate and pulse status, and the echo method, which diagnoses by amplitude depth technique. We propose a method that uses deep learning algorithms on ultrasonography, which is part of the echo method. As deep learning-based classification algorithms, Inception-v4, Xception, and EfficientNetV2 were used and compared to find the optimal algorithm for pregnancy diagnosis in sows. Gaussian and speckle noises were added to the ultrasound images according to the characteristics of the ultrasonography, which is easily affected by noise from the surrounding environments. Both the original and noise added ultrasound images of sows were tested together to determine the suitability of the proposed method on farms. The pregnancy diagnosis performance on the original ultrasound images achieved 0.99 in accuracy in the highest case and on the ultrasound images with noises, the performance achieved 0.98 in accuracy. The diagnosis performance achieved 0.96 in accuracy even when the intensity of noise was strong, proving its robustness against noise.

Comparison of growth performance and related gene expression of muscle and fat from Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc and Woori black pigs.

The purpose of this study was to compare marbling score, meat quality, juiciness, sarcomere length, and skeletal muscle satellite cell (SMSC) growth and related gene expression between Woori black pig (WB) and the Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc (LYD) crossbreed at different body weights (b.w.). WB was developed to improve meat quality and growth efficiency by crossbreeding Duroc with Korean native black pig. A total of 24 pigs were sacrificed when their b.w. reached about 50, 75, 100, and 120 kg. SMSC were isolated from the femoris muscles, and muscle and adipose tissues were sampled from the middle and the subcutaneous part of the femoris of hind legs, respectively. Expression levels of genes including Myoblast determination protein 1 (MyoD), Paired box gene 3 (Pax3), Myosin heavy chain (MyHC), and Myogenin, which are responsible for the growth and development of SMSC, were higher in LYD than the WB. Muscle growth inhibitor myostatin (MSTN), however, was expressed more in WB compared to LYD (p < 0.01). Numbers of SMSC extracted from femoris muscle of LYD at 50, 75, 100, and 120 kg b.w. were 8.5 ± 0.223, 8.6 ± 0.245, 7.2 ± 0.249, and 10.9 ± 0.795, and those from WB were 6.2 ± 0.32, 6.2 ± 0.374, 5.3 ± 0.423, and 17.1 ± 0.315, respectively. Expression of adipogenic genes in adipose tissue including CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (CEBP)-ß, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)-γ, and fatty acid synthase (FASN), were greater in WB when compared with LYD (p < 0.01). Results from the current study suggest that different muscle cell numbers between 2 different breeds might be affected by related gene expression and this warrants further investigation on other growth factors regulating animal growth and development.

A single-cell gene expression atlas of human follicular aspirates: Identification of leukocyte subpopulations and their paracrine factors.

Leukocytes are in situ regulators critical for ovarian function. However, little is known about leukocyte subpopulations and their interaction with follicular cells in ovulatory follicles, especially in humans. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed using follicular aspirates obtained from four IVF patients and identified 13 cell groups: one granulosa cell group, one thecal cell group, 10 subsets of leukocytes, and one group of RBC/platelet. RNA velocity analyses on five granulosa cell populations predicted developmental dynamics denoting two projections of differentiation states. The cell type-specific transcriptomic profiling analyses revealed the presence of a diverse array of leukocyte-derived factors that can directly impact granulosa cell function by activating their receptors (e.g., cytokines and secretory ligands) and are involved in tissue remodeling (e.g., MMPs, ADAMs, ADAMTSs, and TIMPs) and angiogenesis (e.g., VEGFs, PGF, FGF, IGF, and THBS1) in ovulatory follicles. Consistent with the findings from the scRNA-seq data, the leukocyte-specific expression of CD68, IL1B, and MMP9 was verified in follicle tissues collected before and at defined hours after hCG administration from regularly cycling women. Collectively, this study demonstrates that this data can be used as an invaluable resource for identifying important leukocyte-derived factors that promote follicular cell function, thereby facilitating ovulation and luteinization in women.

Transcriptomic Analysis of the Porcine Gut in Response to Heat Stress and Dietary Soluble Fiber from Beet Pulp.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of heat stress (HS) and the effects of dietary soluble fiber from beet pulp (BP) on gene expression (differentially expressed genes, DEGs) of the porcine jejunum. Out of the 82 DEGs, 47 genes were up-regulated, and 35 genes were downregulated between treatments. The gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were related mainly to the actin cytoskeleton organization and muscle structure development in biological processes, cytoplasm, stress fibers, Z disc, cytoskeleton, and the extracellular regions in cellular composition, and actin binding, calcium ion binding, actin filament binding, and pyridoxal phosphate binding in the molecular function. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the DEGs were involved in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, vascular smooth muscle contraction, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis, and African trypanosomiasis. Several of the genes (HSPB6, HSP70, TPM1, TAGLN, CCL4) in the HS group were involved in cellular oxidative stress, immune responses, and cellular differentiation. In contrast, the DEGs in the dietary BP group were related to intestinal epithelium integrity and immune response to pathogens, including S100A2, GCNT3, LYZ, SCGB1A1, SAA3, and ST3GAL1. These findings might help understand the HS response and the effect of dietary fiber (DF) regarding HS and be a valuable reference for future studies.

Effects of various cooling methods and drinking water temperatures on reproductive performance and behavior in heat stressed sows.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of multiple cooling systems and different drinking water temperatures (DWT) on the performance of sows and their hair cortisol levels during heat stress. In this study, the effect of four different cooling systems: air conditioner (AC), cooling pad (CP), snout cooling (SC), and mist spray (MS), and two DWT, namely low water temperature (LWT) and high water temperature (HWT) on 48 multiparous sows (Landrace × Yorkshire; 242.84 ± 2.89 kg) was tested. The experiment is based on the use of eight replicas during a 21-days test. Different behaviors were recorded under different cooling treatments in sows. As a result, behaviors such as drinking, standing, and position change were found to be lower in sows under the AC and CP treatments than in those under the SC and MS treatments. Lying behavior increased under the AC and CP systems as compared with that under the SC and MS, systems. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) in sows and weight at weaning in piglets was higher under the AC, CP, and LWT treatments than under the SC, MS and HWT treatments. Sows subjected to SC and MS treatment showed higher hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate during lactation than those under AC and CP treatments. Hair cortisol levels, rectal temperature, and respiratory rate were also higher under the HWT than under the LWT treatment. As per the results of this study, the LWT has no significant effect on any of the behavioral factors. Taken together, the use of AC and CP cooling treatment is highly recommended to improve the behavior and to reduce the stress levels in lactating sows.

A Survey of Datasets, Preprocessing, Modeling Mechanisms, and Simulation Tools Based on AI for Material Analysis and Discovery.

Research has become increasingly more interdisciplinary over the past few years. Artificial intelligence and its sub-fields have proven valuable for interdisciplinary research applications, especially physical sciences. Recently, machine learning-based mechanisms have been adapted for material science applications, meeting traditional experiments' challenges in a time and cost-efficient manner. The scientific community focuses on harnessing varying mechanisms to process big data sets extracted from material databases to derive hidden knowledge that can successfully be employed in technical frameworks of material screening, selection, and recommendation. However, a plethora of underlying aspects of the existing material discovery methods needs to be critically assessed to have a precise and collective analysis that can serve as a baseline for various forthcoming material discovery problems. This study presents a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art benchmark data sets, detailed pre-processing and analysis, appropriate learning model mechanisms, and simulation techniques for material discovery. We believe that such an in-depth analysis of the mentioned aspects provides promising directions to the young interdisciplinary researchers from computing and material science fields. This study will help devise useful modeling in the materials discovery to positively contribute to the material industry, reducing the manual effort involved in the traditional material discovery. Moreover, we also present a detailed analysis of experimental and computation-based artificial intelligence mechanisms suggested by the existing literature.

Calcium-binding proteins S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12: expression and regulation at the maternal-conceptus interface in pigs†.

Among the many calcium-binding proteins, S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 play important roles in inflammation, innate immunity, and antimicrobial function, but their expression, regulation, and function at the maternal-conceptus interface in pigs are not fully understood. Therefore, we determined the expression and regulation of S100A8, S100A9, S100A12, and their receptor AGER at the maternal-conceptus interface in pigs. We found that S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 mRNAs were expressed in the endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy, with the greatest levels on Day (D) 12 of pregnancy, and AGER appeared at greater levels on D15 and D30 of pregnancy than on other days. The expression of S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 was predominantly localized to epithelial cells in the endometrium, and they were detected in early-stage conceptus and later chorioallantoic tissues during pregnancy. AGER expression was localized to endometrial epithelial and stromal cells and chorionic epithelial cells. In endometrial explant tissues, the expression of S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 was induced by estrogen, S100A8 by interleukin-1ß, and AGER by interferon-γ. We further found that on D12 of pregnancy, the expression of S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 decreased significantly in the endometria of gilts carrying conceptuses derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer. These results indicate that the expression of S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 is dynamically regulated in response to conceptus-derived signals at the maternal-conceptus interface, suggesting that S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 could play a critical role in regulating endometrial epithelial cell function and conceptus implantation to support the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in pigs.

A deep learning-based approach for feeding behavior recognition of weanling pigs.

Feeding is the most important behavior that represents the health and welfare of weanling pigs. The early detection of feed refusal is crucial for the control of disease in the initial stages and the detection of empty feeders for adding feed in a timely manner. This paper proposes a real-time technique for the detection and recognition of small pigs using a deep-leaning-based method. The proposed model focuses on detecting pigs on a feeder in a feeding position. Conventional methods detect pigs and then classify them into different behavior gestures. In contrast, in the proposed method, these two tasks are combined into a single process to detect only feeding behavior to increase the speed of detection. Considering the significant differences between pig behaviors at different sizes, adaptive adjustments are introduced into a you-only-look-once (YOLO) model, including an angle optimization strategy between the head and body for detecting a head in a feeder. According to experimental results, this method can detect the feeding behavior of pigs and screen non-feeding positions with 95.66%, 94.22%, and 96.56% average precision (AP) at an intersection over union (IoU) threshold of 0.5 for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and an additional layer and with the proposed activation function, respectively. Drinking behavior was detected with 86.86%, 89.16%, and 86.41% AP at a 0.5 IoU threshold for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and the proposed activation function, respectively. In terms of detection and classification, the results of our study demonstrate that the proposed method yields higher precision and recall compared to conventional methods.

Ovulatory upregulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, a receptor for SARS-CoV-2, in dominant follicles of the human ovary.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the temporal expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a receptor for SARS-CoV-2, in dominant follicles throughout the periovulatory period in women and the regulatory mechanisms underlying ACE2 expression in human granulosa/lutein cells (hGLC). DESIGN: Experimental prospective clinical study and laboratory-based investigation. SETTING: University Medical Center and private in vitro fertilization center. PATIENT(S): Thirty premenopausal women undergoing surgery for tubal ligation and 16 premenopausal women undergoing in vitro fertilization. INTERVENTION(S): Administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and harvesting of preovulatory/ovulatory follicles by timed laparoscopy, and collection of granulosa/lutein cells and cumulus cells at the time of oocyte retrieval. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression and localization of ACE2 in granulosa cells and dominant follicles collected throughout the periovulatory period of the menstrual cycle and in hGLC using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. RESULT(S): ACE2 expression (mRNA and protein) is up-regulated in human ovulatory follicles after administration of hCG. ACE2 expression was higher in cumulus cells than in granulosa cells. hCG increased the expression of ACE2 in primary hGLC cultures; the increase was inhibited by RU486 (an antagonist for progesterone receptor and glucocorticoid receptor) and CORT125281 (a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist), but not by AG1478 (an EGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor) or by dexamethasone. CONCLUSION(S): The hormone-regulated expression of ACE2 in granulosa cells suggests a potential role of ACE2 in the ovulatory process. These data also imply the possible impact of COVID-19 on a vital cyclic event of ovarian function and thus on women's overall reproductive health. However, SAR-CoV-2 infection in ovarian cells in vivo or in vitro has yet to be determined.

Effects of cooling systems on physiological responses and intestinal microflora in early gestating sows exposed to high-temperature stress.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cooling systems on reproductive performance, body temperature, blood metabolites, and the intestinal microbiome in early gestating sows exposed to high ambient temperature. In total, 39 pregnant sows (Landrace × Yorkshire; 2 parities) were randomly assigned to and maintained in the following three treatment groups (13 sows per group) over days 0 to 35 of pregnancy: (i) air cooling (AC; 26.87 ± 1.23°C), (ii) water-drip cooling (WC; 28.81 ± 0.91°C), and (iii) a lack of cooling with heat stress (HS; 30.72 ± 0.70°C). Backfat thickness was measured before and after HS. Feces were collected on day 0 and 35 d of the trial for microbiome analysis, whereas blood was taken at day 35 of pregnancy and analyzed. Reproductive performance and physiological responses were identified at day 35. Respiration rate along with rectal and skin temperatures were lower (p < 0.05) in the AC group than in the HS and WC groups. Serum blood urea nitrogen values were increased (p < 0.05) in the WC group compared with those measured in the AC and HS groups. Triiodothyronine was found at greater levels (p < 0.05) in the AC than in the HS group. Reproductive performance was not affected by the cooling systems. At the phylum level, fecal pathogenic Spirochaete and Euryarchaeota were found in higher numbers (p < 0.05) in all groups after HS. Similarly, at the genus level, the amount of Treponema was greater (p < 0.05) in all groups after HS. In conclusion, our results suggest that AC or WC can ameliorate or mitigate the adverse effects of HS on the physiological parameters of pregnant sows reared under high temperatures.

The FOS/AP-1 Regulates Metabolic Changes and Cholesterol Synthesis in Human Periovulatory Granulosa Cells.

FOS, a subunit of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factor, has been implicated in various cellular changes. In the human ovary, the expression of FOS and its heterodimeric binding partners JUN, JUNB, and JUND increases in periovulatory follicles. However, the specific role of the FOS/AP-1 remains elusive. The present study determined the regulatory mechanisms driving the expression of FOS and its partners and functions of FOS using primary human granulosa/lutein cells (hGLCs). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) induced a biphasic increase in the expression of FOS, peaking at 1 to 3 hours and 12 hours. The levels of JUN proteins were also increased by hCG, with varying expression patterns. Coimmunoprecipitation analyses revealed that FOS is present as heterodimers with all JUN proteins. hCG immediately activated protein kinase A and p42/44MAPK signaling pathways, and inhibitors for these pathways abolished hCG-induced increases in the levels of FOS, JUN, and JUNB. To identify the genes regulated by FOS, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed using hGLC treated with hCG ± T-5224 (FOS inhibitor). Sequencing data analysis revealed that FOS inhibition affects the expression of numerous genes, including a cluster of genes involved in the periovulatory process such as matrix remodeling, prostaglandin synthesis, glycolysis, and cholesterol biosynthesis. Quantitative PCR analysis verified hCG-induced, T-5224-regulated expression of a selection of genes involved in these processes. Consistently, hCG-induced increases in metabolic activities and cholesterol levels were suppressed by T-5224. This study unveiled potential downstream target genes of and a role for the FOS/AP-1 complex in metabolic changes and cholesterol biosynthesis in granulosa/lutein cells of human periovulatory follicles.

Neurotensin: a neuropeptide induced by hCG in the human and rat ovary during the periovulatory period†.

Neurotensin (NTS) is a tridecapeptide that was first characterized as a neurotransmitter in neuronal cells. The present study examined ovarian NTS expression across the periovulatory period in the human and the rat. Women were recruited into this study and monitored by transvaginal ultrasound. The dominant follicle was surgically excised prior to the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge (preovulatory phase) or women were given 250 µg human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and dominant follicles collected 12-18 h after hCG (early ovulatory), 18-34 h (late ovulatory), and 44-70 h (postovulatory). NTS mRNA was massively induced during the early and late ovulatory stage in granulosa cells (GCs) (15 000 fold) and theca cells (700 fold). In the rat, hCG also induced Nts mRNA expression in intact ovaries and isolated GCs. In cultured granulosa-luteal cells (GLCs) from IVF patients, NTS expression was induced 6 h after hCG treatment, whereas in cultured rat GCs, NTS increased 4 h after hCG treatment. Cells treated with hCG signaling pathway inhibitors revealed that NTS expression is partially regulated in the human and rat GC by the epidermal-like growth factor pathway. Human GLC, and rat GCs also showed that Nts was regulated by the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway along with input from the phosphotidylinositol 3- kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. The predominat NTS receptor present in human and rat GCs was SORT1, whereas NTSR1 and NTSR2 expression was very low. Based on NTS actions in other systems, we speculate that NTS may regulate crucial aspects of ovulation such as vascular permeability, inflammation, and cell migration.

Synergistic effect of exogenous multi-enzyme and phytase on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, blood metabolites, intestinal microflora and morphology in broilers fed corn-wheat-soybean meal diets.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the synergistic effect of exogenous multienzyme and phytase on growth performance, nutrients digestibility, blood metabolites, intestinal microflora, and morphology in broilers fed corn-wheat-soybean meal diets. METHODS: A 2×2 factorial design was used in this study. Four dietary treatments consisted of i) basal diets (corn-wheat-soybean meal based diets without multi-enzyme and phytase), ii) basal diets with phytase (0.05%), iii) basal diets with exogenous multi-enzyme (0.05%), and iv) basal diets with exogenous multi-enzyme including phytase (0.05%). A total of 480 broiler chickens (Ross 308 - one day old) were weighed and allotted to thirty-two cages (15 birds per cage), and chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments. RESULTS: The body weight gain and feed conversion rate were improved by supplementation of exogenous multi-enzyme containing phytase during the finisher period (p<0.05). The birds fed diets with exogenous multi-enzyme containing phytase had a significantly greater digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus compared with birds fed non-supplemented diets (p<0.05). The chickens fed diets with exogenous multi-enzyme containing phytase showed a higher concentration of Ca and P in the serum (p<0.05). The population of Lactobacillus spp., Escherichia coli, and Clostridium were not affected in the ileum and cecum of chickens fed enzyme-supplemented diets. The dietary supplemental exogenous multi-enzyme containing phytase showed a significant improvement in villus height, crypt depth, and villus height and crypt depth ratio, compared to basal diets or dietary supplemental phytase (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The supplementation of the exogenous multi-enzyme containing phytase synergistically improved the growth performance, nutrients digestibility, and villus height of the small intestine of broiler chickens fed a corn-wheat-soybean meal based diets.

Nano-sized Zinc in Broiler Chickens: Effects on Growth Performance, Zinc Concentration in Organs, and Intestinal Morphology.

The effects of dietary supplementation of zinc (Zn) sources and concentrations were investigated on growth performance, absorption into tissues, fecal excretion, nutrient retention, and intestinal morphology in broilers fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet. A total of 525 one-day-old chicks (Ross 308) were assigned based on body weight to seven dietary treatments. There were five replicate pens for each treatment and 15 broilers per replicate pen. The dietary treatments included a basal diet (control, without supplementing Zn), and basal diet supplemented with Zn, as inorganic zinc sulfate (ZnS; 110 mg/kg); organic Zn-methionine (ZnM; 110 mg/kg); hot-melt extruded (HME) 25 zinc sulfate (27.5 mg/kg); HME50 zinc sulfate (55 mg/kg); HME75 zinc sulfate (82.5 mg/kg); or HME100 zinc sulfate (110 mg/kg) for 35 days in two phases (d 1-21, phase I and d 22-35, phase II). Bodyweight and feed efficiency of broiler chicks fed diets supplemented with increasing dietary concentrations of HME-Zn improved linearly during the study period (P<0.05). Compared to the control treatment, the ZnS, ZnM, and HME diets increased Zn concentrations in the serum and liver. Inorganic ZnS supply resulted in the highest Zn concentration in excreta. Increasing supplemented Zn content in diets as HME linearly increased Zn concentration in the excreta, serum, liver, and tibia. Broiler chicks fed diets supplemented with increasing concentrations of HME increased villus height (VH; linear and quadratic) of the jejunum and VH of the ileum (linear). Increasing concentrations of dietary Zn supplied as HME resulted in linearly enhanced dry matter, gross energy, and nitrogen retention of broilers on day 21. These results suggest that dietary HME-Zn at a lower level (55 ppm) shows the same growth performance as common ZnSO4 at 110 ppm.

Effects of Hot-Melt Extruded Nano-Copper as an Alternative for the Pharmacological Dose of Copper Sulfate in Weanling Pigs.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of hot-melt extrusion (HME)-processed copper (Cu) sulfate supplementation on the growth performance, gut microbiota, metabolic function of Cu, and bioavailability of Cu in weanling pigs fed a corn-soybean meal basal diets. A total of 180 piglets (Yorkshire × Landrace × Duroc) of mixed-sex randomly were allotted to six treatments on the basis of initial average body weight (6.36 ± 0.39 kg) to six dietary treatments. There were six replicates in each treatment with 5 pigs per replicates. The dietary treatments included levels of CuSO4 (IN6, 6 mg Cu/kg diets; IN125, 125 mg Cu/kg diets), nano-CuSO4 (HME6, 6 mg Cu/kg diets; HME65, 65 mg Cu/kg diets; and HME125, 125 mg Cu/kg diets), and Cu-methionine (ORG125, 125 mg Cu/kg diets). The weanling pigs fed diets supplemented with the HME65 and HME125 showed a greater body weight and feed intake compared with IN6 and IN125 (P < 0.05). The weaning pigs fed diets supplemented with the HME125 showed the highest digestibility of gross energy in phase 1 and phase 2 (P < 0.05). The supplementation of HME125 significantly reduced the Escherichia coli (E.coli) in cecum and colon (P < 0.05). The supplementation of HME65 showed statistically equivalent effect on reduction of E. coli in the cecum and colon compared with IN125 and ORG125 treatments. The villus height in duodenum and jejunum of piglets in HME65 and HME125 treatments were higher than ORG125, HME6, IN6, and IN125 (P < 0.05). The gene expression of Atox1 was upregulated in IN125, HME125, and ORG125 treatments (P < 0.05). The expression of Sod1 was increased in IN125 treatment compared with IN6 treatment (P < 0.05). The HME125 treatment had the highest gene expression of ghrelin (P < 0.05). The Cu concentration of serum and liver was higher in the HME125 treatment than the HME6, IN6, and IN125 treatments (P < 0.05). The HME125 and ORG125 treatments showed a lower fecal Cu compared with IN125 treatment (P < 0.05). Taken together, these results suggest that the HME65 can be an alternative to IN125 in weanling pigs due to the greater overall average daily gain, improved villus height, and higher bioavailability.

Hot-Melt Extruded Selenium: a Highly Absorbable Nano-Selenium in Lactating Sows Exposed to High Ambient Temperature.

To study the role of hot-melt extruded (HME) selenium (Se) and in the lactating sows' reproductive performance and litter growth, a total of 60 crossbred sows (Yorkshire × Landrace; average body weight, 245.3 kg) were allotted to one of four treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The performance of lactating sows was investigated in the different average room temperatures (high temperature (HT), 28.1 °C vs. low temperature (LT), 24.6 °C), and different selenium sources (INO, 0.15 mg common sodium selenite/kg diet; HME, 0.15 mg nano-sodium selenite/kg diet) during the summer season. At days 10 and 21, the serum glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and Se concentration were greater in lactating sows fed HME compared with sows fed INO diet. The concentration of Se in the serum was greater in piglets from the HME treatment compared with piglets from the INO treatment. The HT treatment had a significantly higher body weight loss, backfat thickness loss, and weaning-to-estrus interval. The piglets' survivability, total weight gain, daily feed intake, and average daily gain during the lactation were greater in the LT sows compared with the HT sows. A higher blood cortisol concentration was observed in the HT sows compared with the LT. Selenium contents of milk at days 10 and 21 postpartum were increased by dietary supplementation of HME. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that there are no performance differences between sows fed different Se sources; however, HME supplementation increased serum and milk Se content, resulting in increased serum GPx concentration in sows and a greater serum Se in the litters.

Enhanced Antioxidant Capacity of Puffed Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) by High Hydrostatic Pressure Extraction (HHPE) of Bioactive Compounds.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is known for its health benefits. Several previous studies revealed that curcumin, the main active compound in turmeric, has antioxidant capacity. It has been previously demonstrated that puffing, the physical processing using high heat and pressure, of turmeric increases the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities by increasing phenolic compounds in the extract. The current study sought to determine if high hydrostatic pressure extraction (HHPE), a non-thermal extraction at over 100 MPa, aids in the chemical changes and antioxidant functioning of turmeric. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) analyses were conducted and assessed the content of total phenol compounds in the extract. The chemical changes of curcuminoids were also determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the three variables of ethanol concentration, pressure level, and treatment time, ethanol concentration was the most influential factor for the HHPE of turmeric. HHPE at 400 MPa for 20 min with 70% EtOH was the optimal extraction condition for the highest antioxidant activity. Compositional analysis revealed that 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol was produced by puffing. Vanillic acid and ferulic acid content increased with increasing HHPE time. Synergistic effect was not observed on antioxidant activity when the turmeric was sequentially processed using puffing and HHPE.