ABSTRACT Over-accumulation of triglycerides (TGs) in goose hepatocytes leads to the formation of fatty acid liver. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase 1 (PEPCK) is regarded as the rate-limiting enzyme for gluconeogenesis, and there is evidence that PEPCK is involved in regulating hepatic glucolipid metabolism. Hence, we proposed that PEPCK may have a role in goose hepatic steatosis. To test our hypothesis, the present study was conducted to firstly determine the sequence characteristics of goose PEPCK and then to explore its role in overfeeding-induced fatty liver. Our results showed that goose PEPCK encodes a 622-amino-acids protein that contains highly conserved oxaloacetate-binding domain, kinase-1 and kinase-2 motifs. PEPCK had higher mRNA levels in goose liver, and overfeeding markedly increased its expression in livers of both Sichuan White and Landes geese (p<0.05). Besides, expression of PEPCK was positively correlated with hepatic TG levels as well as plasma glucose and insulin concentrations. Additionally, in cultured goose primary hepatocyte, treatment with either oleic acid (0.8, 1.2 or 1.6 mM) or linoleic acid (0.125 or 0.25 mM) significantly (p<0.05) enhanced the expression of PEPCK. Taken together, these data suggested a role for PEPCK in the occurrence of overfeeding-induced goose hepatic steatosis.

This research proposes a benchmarking-based process redesign approach for a new product development (NPD) process. The proposed method compares the semantic similarities of the design activities in the as-is NPD process with the activities in the design chain operations reference-model (DCOR). Then a design structure matrix (DSM) is employed to streamline the redesigned NPD process and form a to-be NPD process. Finally, grounded theory is used to evaluate the to-be NPD process according to five key performance indicators and to identify the pros and cons for the redesign changes. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) NPD process is used for case study and the results show that the to-be UAV NPD process is more effective than the as-is UAV NPD process.

Hierdie navorsing stel 'n maatstafgebaseerde proses voor vir herontwerpe binne die nuwe produk ontwikkelingsproses (NPO). Die voorgestelde metode vergelyk die semantiese ooreenkomste van die ontwerpsaktiwiteite in die huidige NPO-proses met die aktiwiteite van die ontwerpsketting bedryfsverwysingsmodel. Daarna is 'n ontwerpstruktuur matriks toegepas om die voorgestelde NPO-proses meer vaart belyn te maak. Laastens word gegronde teorie gebruik om die voorgestelde NPO-proses te evalueer volgens vyf sleutel verigtingsindikators en om die voor- en nadele van die herontwerpveranderinge te identifiseer. 'n Onbemande lugvaartuig NPO-proses is gebruik as 'n gevallestudie en die resultate toon dat die om-te-wees NPO-proses meer effektief is as die soos-dit-is NPO-proses.

ABSTRACT Chinese indigenous chicken breeds are geographically widespread, and a total of 116 indigenous chicken breeds are listed as Chinese national genetic resources. However, these indigenous chicken breeds are facing serious challenges as declining population and germplasm degeneration because lots of commercial chicken breeds had been introduced. In this study, the genetic variations of eleven Chinese indigenous chicken breeds of Sichuan province and three commercial chicken breeds were investigated based on the partial mitochondrial DNA D-loop of 487bp in length. 147 individuals from 14 breeds were examined and 34 haplotypes were observed. Genetic diversity analysis showed that the highest haplotype diversity level was found in Dahen Chicken (DH) population, while the Arbor Acres Chicken (WF) and Roman layer (RM) showed lower genetic diversity levels. The long-term artificial selection may lead to reduced nucleotide diversity. Genetic population differentiation analysis indicated that most of the variation (80.80%) was attributed to variations among breeds. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these individuals were divided into four distinct genetic clades, including cluster A, B, C and D. Eighteen haplotypes were classified as cluster A, eight haplotypes were classified as cluster B, five haplotypes were classified as cluster C and three haplotypes were classified as cluster D. There was no breed-specific clade. Our study firstly identified the population’s genetic structure of Chinese indigenous chickens and the most important commercial breeds in Sichuan province, though the genetic diversity of indigenous breeds did not suffer obvious decrease, but could be helpful for efficient artificial breeding selection and genetic resources conservation.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of dietary vitamin E supplementation on laying performance, serum reproductive hormones concentration and gene expression in ovary and follicles of anti-season breeding goose. A total of 210 anti-season breeding geese were divided into seven treatments with six replications. Each group was supplied with diets containing different vitamin E (DL-α-tocopherol acetate) contents (0, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320mg/kg). We observed that the egg production and laying rate improved significantly at doses of 10 and 80 mg/kg, while the highest egg weight appeared in the 320 mg/kg group. Meantime, 80 mg/kg of vitamin E supplementation significantly improved the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) in serum (p<0.05). Dietary vitamin E supplementation significantly enhanced mRNA expression of FSHR, LHR and ESR1 at a dose of 80mg/kg, while PRLR increased at doses of 10 and 20mg/kg (p<0.05). It was found that the mRNA expression of Dicer increased at doses of 40 and 80 mg/kg of vitamin E supplementation in the ovary, SWF, LWF and SYF, respectively. Thence, Dietary vitamin E supplementation could improve egg laying performance, plasma reproductive hormones and the mRNA expression of reproductive hormone receptor genes in ovary, as well as the mRNA expression of Dicer in ovary, SWF, LWF and SYF. It was supposed that 80 mg/kg of vitamin E supplementation in dietary was appropriate to improve the fertility of anti-season breeding Xingguo grey goose.

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of replacing distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) with fermented DDGS (FDDGS) on meat quality and serum amino acid profiles in Chinese yellow broilers. Forty-eight 42-day-old male Chinese yellow broilers were randomly allotted to the treatments. Each treatment was replicated six times with four birds per replicate. Both groups received a basal corn -soybean diet that was supplemented with either 20% DDGS or 20% FDDGS. Broilers were euthanized at 70 days old. The right half of each breast was evaluated for meat quality. Both breast and thigh meats were evaluated for proximate and fatty acid composition. Serum from blood samples was analysed to quantify relative amounts of free amino acids. Breast meat from broilers supplemented with FDDGS had a lower pH and less drip loss than those supplemented with DDGS (P <0.05). No differences were detected between treatments in the proximate composition of breast and thigh meat (P >0.05). Myristic acid (C14:0) concentration of thigh muscles was reduced for broilers supplemented with FDDGS compared with those supplemented with DDGS (P<0.05). Concentrations of lysine, taurine, alpha-aminoadipic acid, glycine, and 3-methylhistidine in serum were all lower for broilers supplemented with FDDGS than for those supplemented with DDGS (P< 0.05). Meanwhile, the serum phosphoserine concentration of the FFDS-supplemented broilers was greater than those supplemented with DDGS (P<0.05). In conclusion, replacing 20% DDGS with a like amount of FDDGS can be recommended for diets of growing broiler chickens.

ABSTRACT The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene plays a key role in controlling the deposition of melanin. In mammals, the MC1Rgene is regarded as a major candidate gene in the control of melanin formation. In domestic animals, the MC1R gene mainly controls the expression of coat, skin, and plumage color in mammals and birds. In order to breed chickens with dark-green shank faster, we screened the molecular markers for shank color in a HS chicken population by exploring the relationship between polymorphism of the MC1R gene and three different shank colors (light green, dark green and yellow). Two primer pairs for code region of the MC1R gene were designed in the basic of chicken genomic sequence. DNA sequencing was performed to detect the polymorphisms and PCR was used to amplify DNA fragment. Sequences analysis indicated that 7 SNPs were predominant the three HS chicken populations with different shank color, including g.18,287,945C>T, g.18,288,088T>C, g.18,288,150G>A, g.18,288,303A>G, g.18,288,512G>A, g.18,288,513T>C, and g.18,288,520A>C. Association analysis revealed that the dark-green shank population showed moderate polymorphism, whereas the light-green shank population showed low polymorphism among overall 7 SNPs and that SNP6 (g.18,288,513T>C) may be significantly associated with three different shank colors in HS chickens. The haplotype CTGGACA had the largest haplotype frequencies, accounting for 56.22%, and the haplotype combination H1H1 is mainly distributed in the dark-green shank population, and may be used as molecular maker for marker-assisted selection of shank color in HS chickens.

Fermented bamboo vinegar liquid (FBVL) was prepared through liquid fermentation of bamboo vinegar with multispecies probiotics, and its effect on growing pigs was investigated. A 42-day feeding trial with 84 growing pigs (28.0 ± 0.08 kg) was conducted to evaluate the effects of FBVL on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, faecal Escherichia coli concentration and faecal ammonia emissions. Pigs were randomly distributed to one of four dietary treatments, namely control, CTC (0.003% chlortetracycline), FBVL 0.2%, and FBVL 0.4%. Overall, the final weight and daily weight gain of the pigs in the CTC group were higher than that of pigs in the control group. Dietary supplementation with 0.4% FBVL reduced the feed intake of growing pigs, whereas the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lower in the CTC supplemented group. The dry matter digestibility was higher in pigs fed CTC and 0.2% FBVL diets, and crude protein digestibility was improved in all treatment groups compared with control. The faecal E. coli numbers were reduced in response to CTC and 0.4% FBVL supplementation. Faecal ammonia emissions were reduced by dietary supplementation with CTC and FBVL at weeks 1, 2 and 3. In conclusion, dietary FBVL supplementation increased nutrient digestibility and reduced faecal E. coli population and ammonia emissions without negative effects on growth performance.

Loss of function of mutated solute carrier family 12 member 3 (SLC12A3) gene is the most frequent etiology for Gitelman syndrome (GS), which is mainly manifested by hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria. We report the genetic characteristics of one suspicious Chinese GS pedigree by gene sequencing. Complete sequencing analysis of the SLC12A3 gene revealed that both the proband and his elder sister had a novel homozygous SLC12A3 mutation: c.2099T>C and p.Leu700Pro. Moreover, the SLC12A3 genes of his mother and daughter encoded the same mutated heterozygote. It was noted that in this pedigree, only the proband complained about recurrent episodes of bilateral lower limb weakness over 8 years, while his elder sister, mother and daughter did not present symptoms. The inconsistent clinical features of this pedigree implied that besides diverse phenotypes possibly originated from the same genotype, gender difference may also dominate the variant GS phenotypes. Further genetic and proteomic research are needed to investigate the precise mechanisms of GS, including the study of specific ethnicities.

Studies have indicated that early-life or early-onset depression is associated with a 2- to 4-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimers disease (AD). In AD, aggregation of an abnormally phosphorylated form of the tau protein may be a key pathological event. Tau is known to play a major role in promoting microtubule assembly and stabilization, and in maintaining the normal morphology of neurons. Several studies have reported that stress may induce tau phosphorylation. The main aim of the present study was to investigate possible alterations in the tau protein in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and then re-exposed to CUMS to mimic depression and the recurrence of depression, respectively, in humans. We evaluated the effects of CUMS, fluoxetine, and CUMS re-exposure on tau and phospho-tau. Our results showed that a single exposure to CUMS caused a significant reduction in sucrose preference, indicating a state of anhedonia. The change in behavior was accompanied by specific alterations in phospho-tau protein levels, but fluoxetine treatment reversed the CUMS-induced impairments. Moreover, changes in sucrose preference and phospho-tau were more pronounced in rats re-exposed to CUMS than in those subjected to a single exposure. Our results suggest that changes in tau phosphorylation may contribute to the link between depression and AD.

Least significant bit (LSB) embedding is a simple steganographic technique used in the spatial domain that involves replacing the LSB of each pixel in the cover work with the information bits being hidden to achieve information secrecy. However, considering the current prevalence of information theft and sabotage, the stego image produced using LSB embedding cannot prevent malicious illegal acts. Therefore, this study proposes a blind data hiding technique that combines block-coded modulation (BCM) codes with LSB embedding. The proposed method not only provides error correction capabilities to prevent errors during the extraction process, but also has a superior embedding payload. The peak signal noise ratio (PSNR) exceeds 40 dB by using our proposed method. Regarding the simulation results, the proposed method provides a superior PSNR compared to LSB embedding and a higher embedding payload than that offered by other steganographic techniques with error correction capabilities.