Studies on ‘zinc deficiency syndrome’ in Black Bengal goats (Capra hircus) fed with fodder (Andropogon gayanus) grown on soil treated with an excess of calcium and phosphorus fertilizer

Overliming and excessive application of superphosphate caused a zinc deficiency in the soil and so reduced the uptake of zinc by fodder plants. Bucks reared on such fodder had significantly (p<0.01) less zinc in their hair compared with controls and suffered from conditioned zinc deficiency syndrome with a significant (p<0.01) loss of body weight, stunted growth, alopecia, lethargy, abnormal (kyphotic) gait, anorexia, digestive and respiratory problems. Oral supplementation with zinc sulphate very rapidly improved these conditions to near normality. Histological examination of samples of skin and testis from the zinc-deficient bucks revealed formation of excessive keratin, retention of nuclei in the stratum corneum and reduction in the width of the stratum granulosum in the skin, while samples of testis indicated degenerative changes, including atrophy of the seminiferous tubules, hyperplasia of the germinal epithelium and thickening of the walls of blood ve ssels.     

Distinctive diet‐tissue isotopic discrimination factors derived from the exclusive bamboo‐eating giant panda

Stable isotope analysis is very useful in animal ecology, especially in diet reconstruction and trophic studies. Differences in isotope ratios between consumers and their diet, termed discrimination factors, are essential for studies of stable isotope ecology and are species‐specific and tissue‐specific. Given the specialized bamboo diet and clear foraging behavior, here, we calculated discrimination factors for carbon and nitrogen isotopes from diet to tissues (tooth enamel, hair keratin and bone collagen) for the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), a species derived from meat‐eating ancestors. Our results showed that carbon discrimination factor obtained from giant panda tooth enamel (ε ¹³C_{diet‐enamel} = 10.0‰) and nitrogen discrimination factors from hair keratin (Δ¹⁵N_diet‐hair = 2.2‰) and bone collagen (Δ¹⁵N_{diet‐collagen} = 2.3‰) were lower, and carbon discrimination factors from hair keratin (Δ¹³C_diet‐hair = 5.0‰) and bone collagen (Δ¹³C_{diet‐collagen} = 6.1‰) were higher than those of other mammalian carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Such distinctive values are likely the result of a low‐nutrient and specialized bamboo diet, carnivore‐like digestive system and exceptionally low metabolism in giant pandas.     

羽毛肽粉对瓦氏黄颡鱼稚鱼生长、体成分和消化酶活性的影响

为研究羽毛肽粉替代鱼粉对瓦氏黄颡鱼Pelteobagrus vachelli幼鱼生长、体成分和消化酶活力的影响,以基础饲料为对照,分别在基础饲料中添加5%、10%、15%、20%羽毛肽粉,饲喂初始体重(25±2)g试验鱼60d。结果表明,试验黄颡鱼增重率、特定生长率随羽毛肽粉添加水平升高呈先升后降趋势,添加水平为10%时,增重率达到最大值117.48%。当添加水平为15%、20%时,增重率、特定生长率显著下降(P0.05);摄食总量随着羽毛肽粉的添加水平也呈先升后降趋势,在10%时,摄食总量达到最大值。饲料系数随着羽毛肽粉添加水平增加呈升高趋势,5%添加组与对照组无显著性差异(P0.05),其余各组均显著高于对照组(P0.05);羽毛肽粉在20%添加水平内对瓦氏黄颡鱼幼鱼体蛋白质、灰分、脂肪、水分无显著性影响(P0.05);试验黄颡鱼肝胰腺胰蛋白酶活力随羽毛肽粉添加水平的升高呈升高趋势,5%添加水平组与对照组无显著差异(P0.05),但显著低于其余各组(P0.05);试验黄颡鱼肠胰蛋白酶活力与肝胰腺蛋白酶活力呈相似的变化趋势,当添加水平达15%时,肠胰蛋白酶活力与胰胰蛋白酶活力比值显著下降(P0.05);不同添加水平羽毛肽粉对试验黄颡鱼淀粉酶活性无显著性影响(P0.05);5%羽毛肽粉添加组的肠、肝胰腺脂肪酶活力最低,显著低于其他羽毛肽粉添加组与对照组(P0.05);羽毛肽粉添加水平至10%时,肠脂肪酶活力与对照组无显著性差异(P0.05),至15%时,肝胰脏脂肪酶活力与对照组无显著差异(P0.05);羽毛肽粉添加组瓦氏黄颡鱼肠胃蛋白酶活性显著高于对照组(P0.05),15%、20%添加组5%、10%添加组对照组,各组间肝胰腺胃蛋白酶活性无显著性差异。在瓦氏黄颡鱼饲料中可以适量添加羽毛肽粉,添加水平在10%以内时,可以显著提高瓦氏黄颡鱼摄食量,促进其生长。     

基于色差信息多色彩模型的黄羽鸡快速分割方法

快速准确分割出复杂背景下的鸡只图像,是应用机器视觉系统快速识别实际饲养环境下病鸡的关键步骤。以某鸡舍散养的黄羽肉鸡为分割目标,提出了一种基于色差信息的多色彩模型鸡只分割方法。首先对200幅自然环境下拍摄的图像在常用的色彩模型下,分析了鸡冠、鸡身羽毛、鸡肚羽毛以及背景的颜色特征,利用背景在RGB色彩模型的R、G、B三分量色差信息特征进行一次分割,去除大部分的背景,然后转换到HSV色彩模型,获取黄羽鸡不同部位的H分量阈值,再由H阈值范围提取鸡身、鸡冠实现二次分割,最终得到分割目标。实验结果表明所提方法实际分割正确率为86.3%,优于L*a*b*色彩模型聚类的78.4%。所提方法复杂度小,运算时间短,适用于实时分割场合。     

肉鸡浸烫工艺参数的研究

浸烫是肉鸡屠宰加工过程中的一个关键作业工序,其效果好坏影响后续脱羽和去残羽效率和肉鸡产品品质。通过对浸烫工艺参数与浸烫效果之间相互关系的研究,获取最佳浸烫效果的工艺参数和烫后羽毛附着力。实验结果表明,样本肉鸡烫后主羽翼和主尾翼附着力为4N以下,纤羽附着力为2N以下时,非常适宜脱羽。采用旋转组合设计实验,获得样本肉鸡的最佳浸烫参数为:浸烫温度58.4℃,浸烫时间97s。     

傅立叶红外光谱仪分析膨化羽毛粉的结构变化

利用傅立叶红外光谱方法对膨化羽毛粉结构进行分析,结果表明,膨化处理后,羽毛角蛋白中多肽链形成的索状结构发生解链,部分氢键断裂,羽毛的致密结构变得疏松,从而使其易于被消化。     

基于改进ConvNeXt模型的黄羽鸡表皮层黑色素智能分级方法

为解决活体黄羽鸡表皮层黑色素分级方法成本高、效率低下、分级环境易受环境光干扰等问题,该研究探索一种基于ConvNeXt模型的黄羽鸡表皮层黑色素智能分级方法 ConvNeXt-WPCA,用于实现活体黄羽鸡表皮层黑色素智能分级。ConvNeXt-WPCA模型通过以下3点改进提高模型对黄羽鸡黑色素的识别效果：1）针对黄羽鸡黑色素图像RGB三通道内黑色素信息分布不均衡问题,改变输入图片通道权重来增强模型对黑色素特征的提取能力;2）使用部分卷积代替深度可分离卷积,减少模型计算量和内存访问次数提高对计算资源的利用率;3）引入坐标注意力机制,引导模型关注黄羽鸡胸腹部及肛门附近皮肤提升模型精度。同时,该研究还设计一种双光源图像获取装置,分别在自然光和偏振光条件下拍摄黄羽鸡样本,以减小分级结果受环境光干扰的影响,并探索偏振光在黑色素分级任务中的应用潜力。结果表明ConvNeXt-WPCA模型相较标准ConvNeXt模型,针对自然光下黄羽鸡黑色素图像数据集分级准确率提升9.68个百分点,最终达到89.03%的识别准确率,针对偏振光下黄羽鸡黑色素图像数据集分级准确率提升15.26个百分点,最终达到98.87...     

角蛋白分解真菌的分离筛选及初步鉴定

[目的]为动物角蛋白的高效、经济降解和利用提供新种质资源。[方法]采用传统分离筛选、固体基质降解和动物试验相结合的方法,对角蛋白降解菌进行了分离筛选及初步鉴定。[结果]得到1株非致病、降解效率较高的丝状真菌,并初步鉴定为毛霉科（Mucora-ceae）的一个种。[结论]该菌株的发现丰富了角蛋白降解菌的家族成员,为动物角蛋白的降解利用提供了新种质资源。     

Growth and survival of the juvenile yellowleg shrimp Farfantepenaeus californiensis cohabiting with the green feather alga Caulerpa sertularioides at different temperatures

This study was performed to determine the growth and survival patterns of the juvenile yellowleg shrimp Farfantepenaeus californiensis cohabiting with the green feather alga Caulerpa sertularioides over a range of temperatures (18, 22, 25, 28 and 32°C) found throughout the year in the Gulf of California. From an initial weight of 46 ± 10 mg, shrimp cohabiting with green feather algae increased in weight by an average of 0.57 (±0.07), 5.44 (±0.45), 6.36 (±0.37), 7.66 (±0.26) and 5.96 (±0.59) g at 18, 22, 25, 28 and 32°C, respectively, whereas shrimp grown without seaweed increased in weight by an average of 0.28 (±0.026), 2.66 (±0.24), 3.15 (±0.49), 4.00 (±0.67), and 3.54 (±0.09) g respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed for the growth rates of juvenile yellowleg shrimp in the presence of C. sertularioides and peak growth was observed at 28°C in experiments with macroalgae. No significant differences were observed for shrimp survival except at 32°C without macroalgae, where survival was lower. These results suggest a beneficial and growth‐promoting effect of cohabitation with live C. sertularioides on F. californiensis.     

Mussel shells as an environment enrichment and calcium source for floor-housed laying hens

Feather pecking is still a behavioral problem in laying hen flocks, resulting in impaired welfare and economic losses. Environment enrichment, e.g., providing access to litter, to increase foraging behavior in laying hens has been shown to decrease feather pecking. This study investigated the effect of spreading crushed mussel shells (particle size 10 to 20 mm) in the litter area as an environment enrichment and source of calcium for layers receiving a commercial feed and for layers given a feed with 40% less calcium. These treatments were compared with a control involving hens given the commercial feed, but no mussel shells in the litter. The study included 900 Dekalb White layers housed in a single-tier floor system during a production cycle (20 to 72 wk of age). The mussel shells were consumed to a lower extent than predicted, resulting in calcium deficiency in hens fed the low-calcium diet. This in turn was evident as increased degree of keel bone deviations and lower eggshell breaking strength. Daily addition of crushed mussel shells to the litter for laying hens on a balanced or calcium-deficient diets did not generate any positive effects on bird feather cover, eggshell quality, production performance, or fearfulness. Hence, with the particle size of mussel shells used in this study, there was no indication of improved welfare due to environment enrichment.