Effects of melatonin implantation on cashmere yield,fibre characteristics,duration of cashmere growth as well as growth and reproductive performance of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats

Background： Exogenous melatonin could induce cashmere growth. However, induced growth of cashmere fleece by melatonin implants cannot be combined with the typical growth, resulting in earlier shedding followed by another cycle of cashmere growth. To address this issue, we examine the effects on the cashmere yield, fibre characteristics, and the growth and reproductive performance of cashmere goats of planned administration of melatonin. Methods： Eighteen half-sib, female goats were assigned to two treatments （n = 9） including a control and a treatment where melatonin （2 mg/kg BW） was implanted at the end of April and end of June. Cashmere growth and shedding were observed for approximately ] year following implantation. Fibre samples were collected monthly to determine cumulative cashmere length. Initiation and cessation dates for cashmere growth as well as the rate of cashmere growth were calculated. Cashmere yield, weight gain of dam, kidding date, litter size, and birth weight were also recorded. Results： Melatonin implantation increased cashmere yield by 34.5 % （control 553.7 g vs. melatonin 745.0 g; P〈 0.01）, cashmere length by 21.3 % （control 95.2 mm vs. melatonin 115.4 mm; P 〈 0.01）, and decreased fibre diameter by 4.4 % （control 14.6 pm vs. melatonin 14.0 IJm; P 〈 0.03）. In melatonin-treated goats, the average initiation date was earlier than in control goats （May 18, 2013 vs. July 2, 20]3; P〈 0.01） but there was a similar cessation date （March 22, 2014 vs. March 27, 2014）. Consequently, the duration of cashmere growth was longer in melatonin-treated goats than in control goats （307 vs.270 days; P 〈 0.01）. The final BW, average daily gain, kidding date, litter size, and birth weight were not influenced by melatonin implantation. Conclusions： These data indicate that melatonin implantation （2 mg/kg BW） on two occasions （late April and June） increased cashmere yield by combining the induced growth of cashmere fleece with the typical growth and decreased the fibre diameter without changing dam growth rate or reproductive performance.

“The Loro Piana Cashmere of the Year Award” explores the sustainability of cashmere,herdsmen,and the land

The educational commitment of the Loro Piana Method extends to many areas of China 'The Loro Piana Cashmere of the Year Award' was held on October 23rd,2017 in Beijing.Numerous herdsmen throughout Inner Mongolia and other Chinese areas,including Loro Piana's trusted suppliers,who compete in this contest based on the objective criteria of fineness,length and performance.This year the two breeder couples-Mr.Batunashun and Mrs.

Hoxc13/β-catenin Correlation with Hair Follicle Activity in Cashmere Goat

Seasonal hair follicle activity and fibre growth in some Cashmere-bearing goats （Caprus hircus） is a cyclic process that is well characterized morphologically but understood incompletely at the molecular level. As an initial step in discovering regulators in hair-follicle activity and cycling, we used qPCR to investigate 19 genes expression in Cashmere goat side skin from 12 mon. Many of these genes may be associated with the hair follicle development-relevant genes （HFDRGs） in the literature. Here we show that Hoxc13/β-catenin gene associated with the follicle activity. In addition, Hoxc13 was found to be expressed with an drastic increase between July and November for melatonin treatments. To further investigate the role of Hoxcl3 on HFDRGs, fibroblasts and keratinocytes from Cashmere goat skin were transfected with p-ECFP- Hoxc13. The result suggested that overexpression ofHoxcl3 gene decreased HFDRGs with negative role for hair follicle development and increase HFDRGs with positive role for hair follicle development in vitro. These findings provide data on the Hoxc13 expression profile of normal Cashmere goat skin and Cashmere goat skin with melatonin treatment, and demonstrate hair-follicle-activity dependent regulation of Hoxc13 expression.

Hoxc13 Expression Pattern in Cashmere Goat Skin During Hair Follicle Development

Hoxc13 has an important role in controlling hair formation. In this study, we examine the Hoxc13 RNA expression pattern of skin during embryo development. The result indicated that changes of the Hoxe13 gene expression and thickness of skin have a similar trend during hair follicle morphogenesis. In interpreting these results, we investigated whether the regulation motifs is in Hoxc13 intron, which is a 5.4 kb fragment. To blast with other mammals, we found a very conservative region in all mammal animals and two regions in livestock, such as cow, sheep, horse, dog, and so on, which are not in other Hox genes. We have examined putative pre-miRNA in this region, providing an entry point for elucidating currently unknown mechanisms that are required for regulating quantitative levels of Hoxc13 gene expression.

Effect of sex and rearing system on the quality and mineral content of fiber from raeini cashmere goats

The aim of this study was to compare the quality characteristics and mineral content of the fiber from male and female cashmere goats raised under different management systems. Male and female Raeini cashmere goats （〈1.5 years of age, n=48） were selected from flocks raised at a government breeding station or raised commercially under either rural or nomadic conditions. The staple length, cashmere fiber diameter, coefficient of variation for fiber diameter, percentage of cashmere in a fleece, percentage of guard hair in a fleece and cashmere tenacity averaged 4.6 ±0.1 cm, 18.0 ±0.1 um, 20.9±0.4%, 66.1 ± 1.5%, 33.8± 1.5% and 1.8±0.2 gf/tex, respectively. The sulfur, copper and zinc content of the cashmere averaged 2.8 ± 0.1%, 0.00065 ± 0.00002% and 0.01276 ± 0.00025%, respectively. Rearing method significantly affected staple length, coefficient of variation of fiber diameter, cashmere tenacity and copper content. Males had a higher coefficient of variation of fiber diameter and cashmere tenacity than females （P 〈 0.05）.

Prokaryotic Expression, Ascitic Polyclonal Antibody Preparation and Identification of Cashmere Goat Izumo1

Izumol is a novel member of the immunoglobulin superfamily locating on sperm, and is indispensable for sperm-egg fusion. According to its immunoglobulin-like domain in the extracellular region, Izumol was fractionated into 6 fragments （F0-F5） which were ligated with pGEX-4T1 to construct the prokaryotic expression vectors pGEX-Fn. The recombinant plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 （DE3） and the GST-Fn fusion proteins were expressed successfully by induction with IPTG. GST-F0, a recombinant fusion protein of GST with the full length of extracellular region of mature cashmere goat Izumol, was purified by polyacrylamide gel slicing method and was used as an antigen to immunize the Kunming mouse to generate anti-GST-Izumol ascetic polyclonal antibody with intraperitoneal injection of S 180 cells. Subsequently, the anti-GST-Izumol polyclonal antibody was purified with miscellaneous antigen by glutaraldehyde cross-linking method. Western blotting analysis showed that the purified ascetic polyclonal antibody had high affinity to all 6 GST-Izumol fragment fusion proteins. Immunohistochemical analysis with this antibody displayed that the cashmere goat Izumol proteins were at the equatorial segment of sperm head surface. These results indicate that this polyclonal antibody has high specificity and lays the foundations for further study on the expression pattern of Izumol in cashmere goat testis and binding abilities of each extra-membrane fragment of Izumol to the egg surface.

Genome Array on Differentially Expressed Genes of Skin Tissue in Cashmere Goat at Early Anagen of Cashmere Growth Cycle Using DNA Microarray

In order to study the molecular mechanism involved in cashmere regeneration, this study investigated the gene expression profile of skin tissue at various stages of the cashmere growth cycle and screen differentially expressed genes at proangen in 10 cashmere goats at 2 years of age using agilent sheep oligo microarray. Significance analysis of microarray （SAM） methods was used to identify the differentially expressed genes, Hierarchical clustering was performed to clarify these genes in association with different cashmere growth stages, and GO （Gene ontology） and the pathway analyses were con-ducted by a free web-based Molecular Annotation System3.0 （MAS 3.0）. Approximately 10200 probe sets were detected in skin tissue of 2-yr-old cashmere goat. After SAM analysis of the microarray data, totally 417 genes were shown to be differentially expressed at different cashmere growth stages, and 24 genes are significantly up-regulated （21） or down-regulated （3） at proangen concurrently compared to angen and telogen. Hierarchical clustering analysis clearly distinguished the differentially expressed genes of each stage. GO analysis indicated that these altered genes at proangen were predominantly involved in collagen fibril organization, integrin-mediated signaling pathway, cell-matrix adhesion, cell adhesion, transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β） receptor signaling pathway, regulation of cell growth. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes （KEGG） analysis showed that the significant pathways involved mainly included focal adhesion and extracellular matrixc （ECM）-receptor interaction. Some important genes involved in these biological processes, such as COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, SPARC, CYR61 and CTGF, were related to tissue remolding and repairing and detected by more than one probe with similar expression trends at different stages of cashmere growth cycle. The different expression of these genes may contribute to understanding the molecular mechanism of cashmere regeneration.

Effects of melatonin implantation on carcass characteristics, meat quality and tissue levels of melatonin and prolactin in Inner Mongolian cashmere goats

Background: Implantation of goats with melatonin can induce cashmere growth and significantly increase cashmere production performance. However, the impact of melatonin implantation on the carcass characteristics,meat quality and related hormone levels in muscle and viscera of cashmere goats has not been studied. This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of melatonin implantation of cashmere goats during the nongrowing period on meat quality and related hormone levels in the tissues. It aimed to provide a theoretical basis for the practical application of melatonin in cashmere goat production systems.Results: Melatonin implantation(2 mg/kg live weight) had no influence(P > 0.05) on daily weight gain, carcass weight, dressing percentage, loin muscle area, or the p H, moisture level, crude fat(except for Gluteus muscle) and amino acid content of muscles of cashmere goats. After implantation for 1 month, shear force of Longissimus dorsi and water loss rate of Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris of cashmere goats were increased(P < 0.05), whereas the cooking yield of Gluteus muscle was reduced(P < 0.05). The melatonin treatment decreased(P < 0.05) muscle crude protein, Gluteus muscle crude fat and ∑n-3 PUFA content and decreased(P < 0.05) ∑n-6 PUFA content.However, after 2 months of implantation most of these effects had resolved. Melatonin implantation had no effect(P >0.05) on the melatonin or prolactin contents of kidney, heart, spleen, liver, Longissimus dorsi, Biceps femoris and Gluteus muscles. Melatonin content of lung tissue was lowered(P < 0.05) and that of prolactin was elevated(P < 0.05) by the melatonin implantation.Conclusion: This study has shown little impact of melatonin implantation of cashmere goats on carcass quality. A few meat quality indices i.e., shear force, water loss rate, ∑n-3 PUFA, ∑n-6 PUFA, and crude protein content of Longissimus dorsi;water loss rate, cooking yield and crude protein content of Biceps femoris;ether extract, crude protein content of Gluteus;were affected briefly(at 1 month of implantation) but these effects were not evident after 2 months of implantation.There was little effect of the melatonin treatments on tissue levels of melatonin or prolactin except in lung.

Identification and Quantitation of Cashmere (Pashmina) Fiber and Wool Using Novel Microchip Based Real-Time PCR Technology

The textile industrial chain all over the world is facing a challenge of differentiating cashmere fiber from mixture of wool and other fibers in case cashmere stocks are adulterated with wool or other fibers. For identification of cashmere in such mixtures, the development of microchip based real-time PCR technology offers a very sensitive, specific, and accurate solution. The technology has been validated with cashmere and wool samples procured from distant farms, and from cashmere goats and sheep of different age and sex. Model samples with incremental raw cashmere or wool content were tested. The experimentally determined content was found to be comparable to the weighed content of the respective fibers in the samples. This technology may prove a cost cutter since it needs only 1.2 μl of the PCR reagent mix. It is substantially faster than traditional real-time PCR systems for being carried as miniature reaction volume in metal microchip. These features allow faster thermal equilibrium and thermal uniformity over the entire array of microreactors. For routine tests or in commercial set up, the microchips are available as ready-to-run with lyophilized reagents in its microreactors to which only 1 μl of the 10-fold diluted isolated DNA sample is added. The lyophilized microchips offer user-friendly handling in testing laboratories and help minimize human error.

Preparation and Application of Anionic and Cationic Waterborne Polyurethanes and Graphene-Cellulose Nanocrystal as an Antistatic Agent for Cashmere

The main purpose of this research work is to improve anti-static properties of Cashmere fabric by introducing application comprising anti-static agent by foaming which was made with cationic waterborne polyurethane and graphene-CNC. Cashmere fabric was cut into 10 pieces of sample cloth of 5 cm * 5 cm size, washed with acetone solution, and then dried in an oven at 60℃. Three forms of waterborne polyurethanes such as two forms of Cationic waterborne polyurethane (CWPU) and a form of Anionic waterborne polyurethane (AWPU) were synthesized. Cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC)/graphite powder solution with the ratio of 0.5/1, 1/1, 2/1 was prepared by ultrasonic probe stripping method, and the concentration of graphite powder was ensured to be 1 mg/ml. The fabric was treated with anionic and cationic WPUs foaming solution until the weight gain reached 2.5 - 3.5 wt%. After drying, the elastic cloth was foamed with graphene solution until the graphite content of the cloth was close to 10%, 20%, 40%, 60% respectively, and then dried for reserving. Characterization properties of pure graphite powder, pure CNC and graphene solution with different proportions of three components were tested by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermalgravitimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Take the original cloth, only WPU treated cloth and four clothes with different graphite content for the fabric performance test.

Identification of Wool and Cashmere

The quality number66 wool and the first grade cashmerewere tested and analyzed by using the scanning electronmicroscope(SEM)and the probability distribution of thediameter,the surface scale height and the surface scalethickness of the wool and the cashmere were got,thenthe error identification probability(EIP)of the three pa-rameters were calculated.After verifying that these threeparameters were linear non-related,by using the prob-ability theory,the EIPs of these three parameters weremultiplied,thus,the total EIPs of the wool and the cash-mere were reduced.The result of the experiment verifiedthis conclusion.

Torsional Properties and Torque Relaxation of Cashmere Yarn

By means of a torque testing apparatus with heat case and steam, the torque-twist relationship and torque-relaxation of cashmere yarn are investigated in comparison with wool yarn under two conditions of standard state and heating and steaming state, and the effect of pre-tension on the torque-relaxation of cashmere yarn is also investigated.It shows that (1) the torque of cashmere yarn is lower than that of wool yarn under the same conditions, (2) the torques of wet cashmere and wool yarns are both lower than that of cashmere and wool yarns under standard conditions, (3) the torque hysteresis for cashmere yarn is smaller and its level and rate of torque relaxations are lower than that of wool yarn, and (4) the percentage of residual torque of cashmere yarn increases with increasing pre-tensions (630 cN).

Preliminary Study on Anti-Dropping Methods for Short Cashmere Woolen Cloth

The fibre dropping mechanism of short cashmere fabrics is elucidated. Results show that to reduce the fibre dropping, it is necessary to increase the linkage force among the fibers, and the special anti - dropping finishing for the fabrics which have been normally finished, should be carried out. To evaluate the six selected anti - dropping finishing agents, fuzzy judgment method was used, and the agent, with the most effect on anti - dropping, was found out.

Molecular Characterization and Expression Pattern of Rheb Gene in Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goat(Capra hircus)

As one member of the Ras super family, Rheb is an upstream regulator of mTOR signaling pathway, which regulates the process of cell-growth, proliferation and differentiation. In order to study the relationship between Rheb and mTOR in Inner Mongolian Cashmere goat （Capra hircus） cells, Ras homolog enriched in brain （Rheb） gene eDNA was amplified by RT-PCR. It is 555 bp in length and includes the complete ORF encoding 184 amino acids （GenBank accession no. HM569224）. The full eDNA nucleotide sequence has a 99% identity with that of sheep, 98% with cattle and 93% with human while their amino acids sequence shares identity with 98, 97 and 97% of them, correspondingly. The bioinformatics analysis showed that Rheb has a Ras family domain, two casein kinase II phosphorylation sites, two ATP/GTP-binding sites motifA （P-loop）, a prenyl group binding site （CAAX box）. Tissue-specific expression analysis performed by semi- quantitative RT-PCR. The Rheb gene was expressed in all the tested tissues and the highest level ofmRNA accumulation was detected in brain, suggesting that Rheb played an important role in goat cells.

Subsidy Policies on Wool Sheep and Cashmere Goat Industry at the Background of Sustainable Development

Grassland ecological protection measures such as grazing prohibition and livestock changed traditional production mode of the cashmere goat industry,and exerted adverse influence on production of cashmere and income of farmers and herdsmen.On the basis of the survey in Inner Mongolia,Xinjiang,Jilin,Liaoning,Shanxi,and Yunnan,this paper evaluated effect of subsidy policies on wool sheep and cashmere goat industry and present some existing problems in the implementation of these policies.Finally,it came up with following recommendations:strengthening cultivation and protection of wool sheep and cashmere goat varieties,increasing subsidy level of fine varieties and expanding coverage of subsidy policies,formulating wool sheep and cashmere price supportive measures,enhancing construction of wool sheep and cashmere goat sci-tech service system,and promoted standardized production of cashmere goat.

Performances Analysis and Developmental Strategy of Hexi Cashmere Goats

The productive performances of Hexi cashmere goats for breeding nucleus groups and producing groups in different production areas were reviewed. At the same time, the productive performances were analyzed. Moreover, the existing problems and solving methods were put forward. In addition, the Hexi cashmere goats was an ancient and native breed, and it was necessary to further improve its productive performance to protect and utilize the breed resource effectively.

Comparison on Two Different Instrumental Methods for Determination of Fat Content in Washed Cashmere

The aim of this study was to compare two different instrumental methods for determination of fat content in washed cashmere. The fat content in washed cashmere was determined using Soxhlet fat extraction unit and fiber grease extractor quickly, respectively. The results show that no significant difference was found between these two instrumental methods, and reliability of fiber grease extractor quickly was confirmed for deter- mination of fat content in washed cashmere. Therefore, the fiber grease extractor quickly can meet current standard for determination of fat content in washed cashmere.

Thimble King Cashmere and Wool Overcoats

The Thimble King cashmere and wool overcoats made by the Gold Thimble Fashion Company in Dandong City, Liaoning Province, are of international fashion, unique style, selected materials and superb craftsmanship. With their style and quality in perfect harmony, the overcoats are comfortable and elegant. The company has adopted