Effect of Time and Storage Conditions on Albumen Quality of Eggs from Hens Fed Vanadium

This experiment was conducted to study the albumen quality of eggs from 60-wk-old hens fed 0 or 10 ppm supplemental vanadium (V) as influenced by storage conditions and length of storage time as well as the effect of V feeding and withdrawal on albumen quality over time. After hens were fed V for 23 d, eggs were collected and stored in the laying house at ambient temperature or in a cooler (15.5°C, 60% relative humidity) for 1, 3, 5, or 7 d. Eggs were then broken, and Haugh units (HU) were calculated. Hens fed V had poorer albumen quality than eggs from birds fed the control diet (62.5 vs. 72.1 HU, respectively). Eggs stored in the layer house had poorer albumen quality than those stored in the cooler (63.9 vs. 70.7 HU, respectively). Increasing storage time also had a detrimental effect on albumen quality. Quality declined more rapidly in eggs stored at ambient temperature than in the cooler, but it was not influenced by dietary V. Thus, there was no 3-way interaction as hypothesized.After 7 d of feeding hens 10 ppm V, their eggs had poorer albumen quality than eggs from hens fed the control diet. Time analysis indicated that the significant negative effect to albumen quality occurred in V-fed hens on d 1, 2, 5, and 12 of supplementation. When these hens were then switched to the control diet after 30 d of V supplementation, albumen quality continued to decline for 2 d but did not differ by d 6 from that of eggs from hens given the control diet.     

甘肃黄鸡蛋用性能的研究

为探讨甘肃黄鸡的选育效果及其利用价值,对甘肃黄鸡蛋用性能进行了较为系统的测定。结果：甘肃黄鸡１７２ｄ开产,３００ｄ产蛋量为９３．２２个,蛋重为５４．７６ｇ;产蛋期料蛋比为２．９６。     

Investigation of the Effects of a Dietary Supplement on Insulin and Adipokine Concentrations in Equine Metabolic Syndrome/Insulin Dysregulation

High insulin concentrations are a common clinical feature of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and insulin dysregulation. Hyperinsulinemia can induce laminitis, so reduction of insulin concentrations in response to an oral challenge should decrease risk. In human studies, diets containing a polyphenol (resveratrol) led to improvements in insulin sensitivity. In rodents, the addition of leucine to a resveratrol supplement caused a decrease in the amount of resveratrol needed to achieve a clinical effect. We hypothesize a supplementation with a low dose of a synergistic polyphenol and amino acid blend including leucine (SPB+L) would improve metabolic health in EMS/insulin dysregulated horses. Fifteen EMS/ID horses received a high or low dose of SPB+ L daily for 6 weeks. Insulin during an oral sugar test (OST), body condition score, weight, baseline high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin, triglycerides, nonesterified fatty acids, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were assessed before supplementation (PRE) and after supplementation (POST) via paired Student’s t-tests and a repeated-measures mixed-model analysis of variance (significant at P < .05). There were no differences between doses. Horses in the POST group weighed significantly less, had significantly higher baseline HMW adiponectin concentrations, and had significantly lower insulin concentrations at 60- and 75-minute time points (P < .05). Insulin concentrations of the horsesin the POST group, but not in the PRE group, were lower and similar to results from the study conducted three years before the present study (PRIOR) for 0- and 60-minute time points (P < .002). An increased HMW adiponectin level supports increasing insulin sensitivity after supplementation. These results suggest that SPB + L supplementation at either dose leads to improvements in the clinical manifestations of EMS/insulin dysregulation, potentially reducing laminitis risk.     

Egg production forecasting: Determining efficient modeling approaches

Several mathematical or statistical and artificial intelligence models were developed to compare egg production forecasts in commercial layers. Initial data for these models were collected from a comparative layer trial on commercial strains conducted at the Poultry Research Farms, Auburn University. Simulated data were produced to represent new scenarios by using means and SD of egg production of the 22 commercial strains. From the simulated data, random examples were generated for neural network training and testing for the weekly egg production prediction from wk 22 to 36. Three neural network architectures-back-propagation-3, Ward-5, and the general regression neural network-were compared for their efficiency to forecast egg production, along with other traditional models. The general regression neural network gave the best-fitting line, which almost overlapped with the commercial egg production data, with an R(2) of 0.71. The general regression neural network-predicted curve was compared with original egg production data, the average curves of white-shelled and brown-shelled strains, linear regression predictions, and the Gompertz nonlinear model. The general regression neural network was superior in all these comparisons and may be the model of choice if the initial overprediction is managed efficiently. In general, neural network models are efficient, are easy to use, require fewer data, and are practical under farm management conditions to forecast egg production.     

芩连液与白虎汤对气分证家兔免疫调节及抗氧化活性的影响比较

为比较自拟方芩连液和白虎汤对气分证的疗效差别,以静脉注射脂多糖(LPS)制作气分证家兔模型,在两种药物治疗前后分别检测了血清免疫球蛋白IgG、IgM和IgA的含量变化,以及血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、丙二醛(MDA)和总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)的变化。结果显示,白虎汤对气分证家兔升高了的血清免疫球蛋白和T-AOC的含量变化无显著影响,但能使血清SOD下降,MDA上升;芩连液可使得IgM和IgG含量下降,SOD上升,MDA无显著变化,而T-AOC含量下降。结果表明,白虎汤对气分证家兔免疫调节和总抗氧化能力的保持优于芩连液,但对SOD和MDA调节不及芩连液。     

产蛋下降综合征（EDS－76）病毒DNA探针的制备及应用研究

用纯化的产蛋下降综合征（ＥＤＳ－７６）病毒（Ｈ９１毒株）悬液提取的核酸，经琼脂糖凝胶电泳只出现１条分子量较大、背景清晰的核酸带。用ＢａｍＨＩ酶消化产生４个片段，大小分别为１７ｋｂ、１０ｋｂ、４．０ｋｂ和２．０ｋｂ。将其中的２．０ｋｂ片段克隆进ｐＵＣ１８ＤＮＡ载体中，重组质粒ＤＮＡ用ｄｉｇｏｘｉｇｅｎｉｎ标记作为ＤＮＡ探针，在ｄｏｔｂｌｏｔ中该探针不与鹅胚尿囊液核酸抽提物、马立克氏病病毒（ＭＤＶ）ＤＮＡ、鸡传染性贫血病毒（ＣＡＶ）ＤＮＡ、ＳＰＦ鸡基因组ＤＮＡ等核酸反应，只与３株ＥＤＳ病毒（ＥＤＳ标准毒株ＡＶ－１２７、ＥＤＳＨ９１毒株和从健康鹅体中分离的ＥＤＳＹ８１毒株）ＤＮＡ呈阳性反应。人工感染产蛋母鸡和雏鸡后２４ｈ即可用该探针从泄殖腔棉拭子样品中检测出ＥＤＳ病毒ＤＮＡ，在感染后３５ｈ仍能从部分感染鸡样品中检出。对部分探针检测阳性鸡的泄殖腔棉拭子样品用ＳＰＦ鸡胚分离病毒，并用ＨＡ和ＨＩ试验检测分离病毒的特异性；在感染过程中，同时检测了血清中ＨＩ抗体的消长情况。结果表明，人工感染鸡排毒至少可以维持２个月左右，而且血清中ＨＩ抗体即使很高，也不能阻止感染鸡的排毒。     

珍珠鸡源IBDV的分离鉴定及其卵黄抗体的制备

从一群发病的珍珠鸡中分离到1株病毒,经鸡胚接种、琼脂扩散试验、PCR快速检测试验和病毒基因序列的测定,证实了所分离的病毒为IBDV。将该病毒制成灭活疫苗,接种开产的蛋鸡制备卵黄抗体。结果显示该卵黄抗体经免疫扩散试验测定抗体效价可达1∶256,符合无菌标准,对雏鸡也没有任何不良反应。临床试验表明:该卵黄抗体对该养殖场珍珠鸡的传染性法氏囊病的治疗有效率达91%、预防有效率达100%。     

蛋雏鸡大肠杆菌病的中草药防治研究试验

用自拟复方中草药对蛋雏鸡大肠杆菌病进行了人工感染治疗试验、中草药疗效试验和安全试验、临床治疗试验、临床预防试验,结果表明:该方药在治疗蛋雏鸡大肠杆菌病时采取中西医结合治疗效果最好;仅使用复方中草药治疗的效果不低于单独使用敏感的抗茵西药;使用复方中草药在临床上预防大肠杆茵病能获得较好效果;复方中草药无毒、无副作用、无残留,防治大肠杆菌病可用中草药代替抗茵西药,符合无公害产品生产要求.     

Horizontal transmission dynamics of White spot syndrome virus by cohabitation trials in juvenile Penaeus monodon and P. vannamei

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), a rod-shaped double-stranded DNA virus, is an infectious agent causing fatal disease in shrimp farming around the globe. Within shrimp populations WSSV is transmitted very fast, however, the modes and dynamics of transmission of this virus are not well understood. In the current study the dynamics of disease transmission of WSSV were investigated in small, closed populations of Penaeus monodon and Penaeus vannamei. Pair cohabitation experiments using PCR as a readout for virus infection were used to estimate transmission parameters for WSSV in these two species. The mortality rate of contact-infected shrimp in P. monodon was higher than the rate in P. vannamei. The transmission rate parameters for WSSV were not different between the two species. The relative contribution of direct and indirect transmission rates of WSSV differed between the two species. For P. vannamei the direct contact transmission rate of WSSV was significantly lower than the indirect environmental transmission rate, but for P. monodon, the opposite was found. The reproduction ratio R₀ for WSSV for these two species of shrimp was estimated to be above one: 2.07 (95%CI 1.53, 2.79) for P. monodon and 1.51 (95%CI 1.12, 2.03) for P. vannamei. The difference in R₀ between the two species is due to a lower host mortality and hence a longer infectious period of WSSV in P. monodon.     

Economic effects of proposed changes in living conditions for laying hens under the National Organic Program

In this paper, we estimate the costs and benefits of implementing the proposed National Organic Program for laying hens compared with alternatives. For the regulatory proposals under option 2, the regulatory cost will be zero because most producers are already in compliance with the proposed regulation. The anticipated benefits of this regulation will be zero as well, because the current market prices already reflect consumers’ willingness to pay for the existing animal welfare conditions. For the regulatory proposals under option 3, before market adjustments, the average regulatory burden for the entire organic egg industry will amount to $0.09 per dozen eggs, with extreme variations between $0 for small operations and $2.30 per dozen for large operations. If we rely on the average price of organic eggs, $2.69 per dozen, and assume a maximum estimated benefit associated with improved animal welfare conditions, that consumers would be willing to pay of about 30% above the current market price, the estimated benefit of regulation amounts to $0.81 per dozen eggs. Based on the findings, we conclude that option 2 is welfare neutral and could be easily adopted because it already has been adopted by representative producers. For option 3, the benefit-cost ratio is larger than 1, which indicates that the proposal passes the benefit-cost ratio test. The obtained result, however, has to be interpreted with serious reservation because of the differential effect that the proposed regulation would have on different industry participants. Under option 3, the effect of the proposed changes on small organic egg producers is negligible because most small producers are operating under conditions similar to the proposed living standards. However, costs will increase substantially for large organic egg producers and likely cause a substantial number of producers to exit organic production and switch to conventional production, which would cause a substantial decline in the prices of conventional eggs and organic feed in the short run.