ABSTRACT The effects of the Kluyveromyces marxianus M3 strain, isolated from Tibetan mushrooms, on plasma lipids, egg cholesterol level, egg quality, and intestinal health of laying hens were evaluated. In total, 160 Beijing fatty laying hens (43 weeks old) were divided into four groups and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.1%, 0.3%, or 0.5% freeze-dried K. marxianus M3 powder for four weeks. The results showed that yeast supplementation reduced serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels (p<0.01), and increased serum high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level (p<0.05). Moreover, regardless of K. marxianus M3 dietary addition level, the cholesterol content of the eggs decreased by more than 26%. When0.3% yeast was supplemented, significant differences were found in the egg weights, shell strength, albumen height, Haugh unit and nutrient content of the eggs (p<0.01). Finally, 0.3% yeast supplementation improved the intestinal flora conditions of the hens by decreasing the Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus counts (p<0.01) and increasing the Bifidobacterium count (p<0.01). The results in this work demonstrated that yeast culture supplementation to the diets deceased the serum and egg yolk cholesterol, and increased egg quality.

The lineament density map derived from remote sensing data of the fractured rock terrain plays an important role in the evaluation of the groundwater resource in the associated fractured aquifer. Application of the lineament density map frequently encounters the problems of whether the density map is representative of an area and whether the map can be effectively applied at a regional scale. Lineament data captured from Landsat ETM+ imagery in 7 domain areas in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) sandstone terrain were used to compute and analyse lineament densities. Methods of determining representative elementary area (REA) on a domain-area scale and on a study-area scale were developed, respectively, based on the power law relationship of lineament densities with computing cell sizes, linear relationship of REAs with domain-area sizes, and the power law relationship of REA percentages with domain-area sizes. Using the function convergence criterion of curve slope less than 1º and measuring dimension in units of area (L²) other than units of length (L), the REA of each domain area can be accurately determined. REA scale-effect analysis helps to optimise the determination of REA in a study area, and the optimisation of REAs may in turn improve the lineament density map generated for regional groundwater studies.