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Biomedical subjects

Y X Wei

Publications and source records attributed to Y X Wei.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of mushroom and herb polysaccharides, as alternatives for an antibiotic, on growth performance of broilers.

(1) This in vivo trial was conducted to study the effects of polysaccharide extracts of two mushrooms, Lentinus edodes (LenE) and Tremella fuciformis (TreE), and a herb, Astragalus membranaceus (AstE) on growth performance, and the weights of organs and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of broiler chickens. (2) Three extracts (LenE, TreE and AstE) were supplemented at inclusion rates of 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/kg from 7 to 14 d of age and compared with an antibiotic treatment group (20 mg/kg, virginiamycin (VRG) as well as a group of non-supplemented birds. (3) Body weight (BW) gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the extract-supplemented groups were not significantly different from those of the antibiotic group. Significant effects of type of extract and concentration on growth performance were found from 7 to 28 d of age. Generally, birds fed with LenE showed higher BW gain and lower FCR from 7 to 28 d of age than those fed with TreE and AstE and 2 g/kg LenE was considered the optimal inclusion rate for enhanced broiler growth. However, the extracts had no significant effect on the relative weights of organs and GIT compared with the antibiotic group. (4) The birds fed the extracts showed better growth performance than the non-supplemented birds, but were not significantly different from those fed VRG. Of the three extracts, LenE appeared to be a potential growth promoter. Future studies are needed to investigate whether the extracts can be used as alternatives for antibiotic growth promoters in challenged birds, and to elucidate the mechanisms for potentially enhanced growth performance in poultry.

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗

[Development of multi-function ECG signal generator].

This paper describes the development of a portable multi-function ECG signal generator, which is based on micro-controller. It uses technique of LCD screen, and realizes man-machine interaction by keyboard. In constructing and disposing data module of the ECG signal, Eigen-heartbeat Code mapping method gets ROM saved greatly. Therefore it can generate all kinds of user-defined ECG signal sequence with no extension of on-board memory chips. This system can also simulate kinds of ECG signals, which have various heart rates and symptoms. It can meet the needs of researching and maintenance of kinds of ECG instruments.

Analog-Digital Conversion↗

Behavioral and neuroendocrine assessment of ritanserin exposure in the developing chicken: lack of toxicity at effective doses.

The 5-HT2 antagonist ritanserin (RIT) is undergoing Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of substance abuse disorders. RIT has also shown preclinical therapeutic potential for attenuating or blocking lethal and/or toxic effects of exposure to cocaine or the selective 5-HT2 agonist dimethoxyiodophenyl-aminopropane (DOI) in the developing chicken. To assess the potential toxicity ("side effects") of RIT itself during development, we exposed chicken embryos to 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.9, or 2.7 mg RIT/kg egg by injecting the drug into eggs with 14-day-old embryos (E14). Voltage generated by spontaneous embryonic activity (motility) was measured on E15 to assess short-term effects of RIT; none were observed. There was no overall effect of these RIT doses on hatchability, though sample sizes were small (n = 13-15 per group). One to 2 weeks after hatching, chicks' acquisition of a detour learning response was tested. There were no observable effects of any RIT dose on detour learning. To assess potential effects of RIT on responsiveness to stress, some chicks were exposed to isolation stress approximately 3 weeks after hatching and killed 15 min later. Blood was assayed for serum corticosterone. There was no effect of any embryonic RIT dose on corticosterone concentrations in nonstressed subjects. Although corticosterone was elevated in all stressed groups, the group exposed to the highest embryonic RIT dose (2.7 mg/kg egg) showed a stress-induced elevation greater than other groups. Thus, except for the highest RIT dose (six to seven times greater than a therapeutically effective dose used in earlier work), embryonic RIT exposure on E14 had no effect on embryonic behavior, hatchability, posthatch learned behavior, and basal serum corticosterone concentrations. At a supraefficacious dose it appears to have modified the responsiveness of the neuroendocrine axis to mild stress.

Animals↗