Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

LD2668 .T4 1947 S56 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 M37 / Master of Science

This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

A four-chamber indirect calorimeter was constructed to evaluate energy utilization by laying hens as affected by dietary energy, protein and amino acid levels and by housing temperature. Heat production was measured by indirect calorimetry and metabolizable energy was determined for each diet. Net energetic efficiency was calculated as the slope of the regression of energy balance (metabolizable energy intake - heat production) on metabolizable energy intake. Hens fed diets formulated without protein specifications to provide amino acid levels equivalent to those provided by 14.5 or 16% protein, had higher (P < .05) net energetic efficiencies than hens fed diets formulated with specified protein levels. Addition of 3% animal fat to the higher (16% protein) amino acid diets produced the greatest increases (P < .05) in net efficiency, but decreased (P < .05) efficiency in the lower (14.5% protein) amino acid diet formulated without a protein specification. Metabolizable energy available for production was improved (P < .05) with animal fat additions to all but the diet formulated to the higher (16% protein) amino acid levels. Animal fat, cottonseed oil, corn oil, cod liver oil and safflower oil were used to determine effects of fat source on energy utilization by laying hens at 21.1 C. Higher net efficiencies were obtained for the cottonseed and safflower oil diets (99.1 and 99.8%, respectively) than for the basal diet (90.6%) or the other fat sources (cod liver oil = 86.0%, corn oil = 87.3%, animal fat = 91.1%). Full vs. meal (two 1-hr periods daily) feeding and total sulfur amino acid deficiency effects on energy utilization were evaluated. Meal feeding reduced (P < .05) metabolizable energy available for production while increasing (P < .05) maintenance metabolizable energy requirements. Feeding regime did not reverse the decline (P < .05) in net efficiency (89.2-89.7 to 81.7-82.6%) observed with total sulfur amino acid deficiency. Hens were fed either 7% animal fat or 7% corn oil and maintained at 10, 21.1 and 32.2 C to study effects of fat source and temperature on energy utilization. From 10 to 32.2 C, net energetic efficiency increased from 87.6 to 92.6% with animal fat. Corn oil showed the highest net efficiency (93.9%) at 10 C, while animal fat was highest (92.6%) at 32.2 C. Hens fed animal fat required the most (P < .05) maintenance metabolizable energy and had the highest (P < .05) fasting heat productions at each temperature.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-309) Investigates aspects of the intake and utilization of barley grain and grain legume supplements by sheep fed low quality pasture hay and when grazing mature summer pastures.

Typescript (photocopy) Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-249) Investigates the relationship between feed conversion efficiency and physiological variables among several lines, generations and breeds of hen fed ad libitum or on restricted amounts of feed; and, of the consequences to egg shell quality of restriction of food supplied to laying hens.

Graduation date: 1992

Three experiments were conducted (1) to develop and characterize polyclonal antibodies against ovine adipocyte plasma membranes (APM), (2) to evaluate the effect of administering the developed antibodies to lambs on lamb growth and carcass characteristics, and (3) to investigate the possibility of using the developed antibodies to identify antigenic components on ovine APM that are tissue, species and possibly site specific. In Experiment 1, the developed antibodies showed a high rate of reactivity to APM and cross reacted with plasma membranes (PM) from liver, kidney, heart and erythrocytes. Adsorption of antisera with either liver PM or erythrocyte PM for 6 h resulted in a significant reduction in antisera cross-reactivity to liver or erythrocyte PM, respectively, with little effect on its specific reactivity to APM or cross-reactivity with PM of the other tissues tested. The antisera also reacted in different affinities to APM from sheep, pig and rat. The antisera also showed differential binding to APM isolated from different anatomical locations. In Experiment 2, five wether lambs were assigned to either a control or treatment group to study the effect of passive immunization with the antisera immunoglobulin (ASig) on lamb growth and carcass characteristics. Treatment with ASig resulted in a significant (P<.OS) reduction of 45% in wet perirenal fat weight, and of 1.8 and 0.8% in subcutaneous and perirenal lipid content, respectively. ASig immunization also significantly (P<.O5) reduced blood plasma non-esterified fatty acid without adversely affecting blood plasma triglycerides or packed cell volumes (hematocrit). Animals immunized with ASig also showed a significant (P<.OS) reduction in average weight daily weight gain, but this effect was not associated with any adverse effect on efficiency of carcass production. Moreover, passive immunization tended to improve protein accretion and efficiency of nitrogen utilization. In Experiment 3, the developed antisera immunoglobulins recognized three unique ovine APM components, in comparison with plazma membranes from liver, kidney, heart or RBC, with molecular weights of 70, 106 and 110 KD, and showed to react more intensely with APM antigenic components that are in common with PM of the tissues tested. Antisera immunoglobulins recognized just two (44, 46 KD) antigenic components on porcine APM that are shared with those of ovine APM but did not react with any component on APM of either rat or chicken. / Graduation date: 1990

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