Effect of Polysaccharides from Hedyotis diffusa on Immune Cells of Small Intestinal Mucosa of Chicks

[Objectives]This study aimed to investigate the effect of polysaccharides from Hedyotis diffusa on the immune cells of the intestinal mucosa of chicks.[Methods]Total 200 seven-day-old AA chicks were evenly and randomly divided into four groups:control group and three treatment groups.The chicks in the control group(group I)were fed basal diet,and those in the treatment groups were fed with basal diet supplemented with 0.4(group II),0.8(group III)and 1.2(group IV)g/kg H.diffusa polysaccharides(OPS),respectively.At the age of 14,28 and 42 d,10 chicks from each of the groups were sacrificed,respectively for counting of intraepithelial lymphocytes(IELs)and lamina propria secretory IgA(SIgA)positive cells in small intestinal mucosa.[Results]At the age of 14 d,the duodenal and jejunal IEL and SIgA positive cell counts in groups II,III and IV were significantly greater than those in group I(P<0.05).At the age of 28 d,the jejunal IEL count of group IV was significantly lower than those of groups I,II and III(P<0.05);and there was no significant difference in IEL or SIgA positive cell count between group I and the other groups(P>0.05).At the age of 42 d,the duodenal and jejunal IEL counts in group II were significantly greater than those in groups I,III and IV(P<0.05),while the differences in duodenal and jejunal IEL count between groups III,IV and I were insignificant(P>0.05).The duodenal SIgA positive cell counts in the treatment groups were insignificantly different from that in group I(P>0.05).The jejunal SIgA positive cell count in group II was significantly greater than those in groups I,III and IV(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in jejunal SIgA positive cell count between groups III and IV and group I(P>0.05).[Conclusions]OPS at 0.4 g/kg can promote the proliferation of immune cells in the small intestine mucosa of 14-42-day-old AA chicks,and it is recommended to be added to the feed.     

Production of Protein Feed from Chicken Manure with Double Strains of Bacteria by Solid State Fermentation

Protein feed are produced from the mixtures of chicken manure and wheat bran with the aspergillus oryzae and geotrichum candidum by solid state fermentation., at the same time, nitrogen source (urea) was added to the culture in the course of the fermentation.The contents of protein and amino nitrogen in the chicken manure feed reach 20.70% and 19.74% and the amino nitrogen in culture change from 56.89% to 95.36%. The feed is very tasty and can replace partial formula feed. The result of feeding pig showed that the average daily gain is increased by 10.83% compared with the control group.     

Experimental Study on Analgesia and Hemostasis of Paris polyphylla,Scutellaria baicalensis and Their Compatibility

[Objectives]The analgesic and hemostatic effects of Paris polyphylla,Scutellaria baicalensis,and their compatibility were studied.[Methods](i)In the experiment on the writhing of mice induced by acetic acid,60 Kunming SPF mice were randomly selected,and were randomly divided into 6 groups according to the male-to-female ratio of 1∶1,including blank control group,P.polyphylla group,S.baicalensis group,and three P.polyphylla and S.baicalensis compatibility groups(with the ratio of 1∶2,1∶1 and 1∶2).There were 10 mice in each group.In the experimental groups,the mice were given 1 g/mL Chinese medicine extract according to a dose of 20 mL/kg.In the control group,the mice were given 0.9%normal saline in equal volumes.Gavage was performed one time every 24 h and lasted for 14 d.1 h after the gavage on the 14th day,they were given 0.5%glacial acetic acid solution via intraperitoneal injection.(ii)In the hot plate experiment,60 Kunming SPF mice were selected,and the ratio of male to female,grouping,administration and gavage were the same as those of the glacial acetic acid-induced writhing experiment.Gavage was lasted for 14 d.1 h after the gavage on the 14th day,the mice were placed on a hot plate apparatus at(55±0.5)℃,and the time of licking hindfoot was measured.(iii)The hemostatic effect was explored through three experimental methods of tail hemostasis,femoral artery hemostasis and liver hemostasis.60 Kunming SPF mice were taken in each of the three experiments,and the male-female ratio and grouping were the same as above.The powder was covered on the surface of the wound sites,and the bleeding was observed.The hemostatic time was recorded,and the hemostatic time was recorded as 3 min if it exceeded 3 min.[Results](i)In the acetic acid-induced writhing experiment,compared with the blank control group,the pain of mice in the experimental groups was inhibited.Among them,P.polyphylla group,S.baicalensis group,compatibility 1∶2 group,compatibility 1∶1 group,and compatibility 2∶1 group had significant effects(P<0.05),and the inhibition rate of writhing was 20.43%,28.32%,52.30%,32.79%,and 39.02%,respectively.The analgesic effect of the compatibility 1∶2 group was the most obvious.(ii)In the hot plate experiment,compared with the blank control group,the experimental groups had analgesic effect.Among them,P.polyphylla group,S.baicalensis group,compatibility 1∶2 group,compatibility 1∶1 group,and compatibility 2∶1 group had significant effects(P<0.05),and the increase rate of pain threshold was 29.17%,47.83%,61.54%,and 50.61%,and 53.83%,respectively.The analgesic effect of the compatibility 2∶1 group was the most significant.(iii)In the hemostatic experiment,there was a significant difference in hemostatic time between the compatibility 1∶2 group and the blank control group,P.polyphylla group,and S.baicalensis group(P<0.05).The hemostatic effect of the compatibility 1∶2 group was the best.[Conclusions]P.polyphylla,S.baicalensis,and its compatibility had good analgesic and hemostatic effects,and the best compatibility ratio was 1∶2.     

Experimental study on natural convection of cold water near the maximum density in horizontal annulus

This paper conducts the experimental study on the natural convection characteristics of cold water near the maximum density in horizontal annulus with the fixed inner radius ri=14 mm and different width l=6~18 mm. The temperature at outer wall is maintained at 0 ℃, and the temperature differences between the inner and outer walls range from 2 to 24 ℃. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient at inner wall increases with the increase of the annulus width. When the temperature difference is bellow 4 ℃ or above 8 ℃, the heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase of the temperature difference. When the temperature difference is between 4 ℃ and 8 ℃, it decreases with the increase of the temperature difference. The formula of heat transfer at inner walls is obtained by using the method of linear regression.     

Distribution and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Suspended Particle Mater in Rainy Season from Jialing River in Chongqing

16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured by GC-MS for 13 suspended particle matter samples collected from Jialing River in Chongqing in rainy season. The results showed that the total concentrations of 16 PAHs ranged from 447.47 ng/g to 1 344.92 ng/g, with a mean value of 927.48 ng/g. The concentration of total PAHs in suspended particle matter showed the trend of“up-down-up-down”in spatial distribution in the 13 sampling sites. The predominant PAHs in suspended particle matter were 4 ring PAHs, which accounting for 41.87% of the tatal PAHs. The ratio analysis and principle factor analysis-multiple linear regression(PCA-MLR) indicated that the major source of PAHs was the engine combustion source, in which the proportion of gasoline combustion and diesel combustion were 37.79% and 29.97%, respectively. The ecological risk of PAHs was evaluated by the effects range median values (ERM) and the effects range low values (ERL). The results illustrated that Acy, Ace, Fl and DahA had certain ecological risks, while the ERL values of other12 PAHs in all suspended particle matter samples were lower than the ERL guideline value,namely, PAHs in Jialing River in Chongqing could not cause obvious ecological risk.     

Experimental Analysis on Function of Free Cooling Unit with a Pump-driven Loop Heat Pipe for Internet Data Center

A free cooling unit with a pump-driven loop heat pipe was designed for internet data center (IDC), and its components and working processes were described. The experiment system for the developed prototype was built and the comprehensive studies were conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the unit can reach to 5.88 when the temperature difference between IDC indoor and outdoor is 10℃, and it will be 10.41 when the temperature difference is 18℃. When mass flow rate of the working fluid in the unit changes within a certain range, namely the gasification rate of the fluid being between 2% and 50%, there is no significant changes for the heat transfer capacity. And there is an approximately linear relationship between the capacity and the temperature difference. Meanwhile, with the increase of the system resistance, both temperature difference of the fluid between inlet and outlet of the evaporator and the proportion of the sensible heat to the capacity also increase.     

Effect of built-in temperature difference on curling and stresses in cement concrete slabs

The temperature distributions were measured in hardening concrete slabs, determining final set time of concrete; the calculation methods of built-in temperature difference and the effective temperature difference were provided to determine the corresponding values of the slabs constructed during spring and fall, respectively. Finally, the influence of built-in temperature difference on slab curling and stress were evaluated based on finite element analysis. The results show that negative built-in temperature differences were found in both spring and fall construction which will lead to loss of slab support in the mid-slab position during the most time of a day, and larger tensile stress generates at the slab bottom. However, small size slab will minimize this negative effect from built-in temperature difference and at the same time reduce fatigue damage.     

Diversity of Sex Types and Seasonal Sexual Plasticity in a Cucumber Germplasm Collection

The sex type of a cucumber plant is determined by the proportion of male, female and hermaphrodite flowers that it bears and is an important factor that affects fruit yield. In this paper, the sex types and seasonal sexual stabilities of 322 accessions of cucumber germplasm were identified. This germplasm collection displayed a great variety of sex types. We used an updated 10-type sex classification system based on the flower types present and the proportion of nodes with pistillate flowers(PNPF). The PNPF ranges of all the accessions were 2.12%–100% in spring and 0–100% in autumn. A total of 81.37% of the accessions had PNPFs of 10%–50% in spring, but most(84.78%) accessions were reduced to 0–20% PNPF in autumn. The range of reduction of PNPF from spring to autumn was 0–67.91%. In other words, most of the germplasm was normal monoecious(31.68%) or subandroecious(62.73%) in spring, but 94.10% of the accessions were subandroecious in autumn. According to the statistical evaluation of the difference in PNPFs between the two seasons, each accession could be classified into one of three groups: seasonally stable, seasonally sensitive and highly seasonally sensitive, accounting for 10.56%, 20.50% and 68.94% of the accessions, respectively. With a few exceptions, the seasonal PNPF differences were positively correlated with the PNPFs in a given season for most accessions. These results provided useful information and materials for sex expression mechanism research and for breeding cucumbers with high and stable yields.     

Biological Activity and Quantification of Suspected Allelochemicals from Alfalfa Plant Parts

Autotoxicity restricts reseeding of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) after alfalfa until autotoxic chemical(s) breaks down or is dispersed into external environments. A series of aqueous extracts from leaves, stems, roots and seeds of alfalfa ‘Vernal’ were bioassayed against alfalfa seedlings of the same cultivar to determine their autotoxicity. The highest inhibition was found in the extracts from the leaves. Extracts at 40 g dry tissue l^?1 from alfalfa leaves were 15.4, 17.5 and 28.7 times more toxic to alfalfa root growth than were those from roots, stems and seeds, respectively. A high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis with nine standard compounds showed that the concentrations and compositions of allelopathic compounds depended on the plant parts. In leaf extracts that showed the most inhibitory effect on root growth, the highest amounts of allelochemicals were detected. Among nine phenolic compounds assayed for their phytotoxicity on root growth of alfalfa, coumarin, trans‐cinnamic acid and o‐coumaric acid at 10^?3 m were most inhibitory. The type and amount of causative allelochemicals found in alfalfa plant parts were highly correlated with the results of the bioassay, indicating that the autotoxic effects of alfalfa plant parts significantly differed.     

Changes in Seed Yield and Quality with Maturity in Onion (Allium cepa L., cv. 'Early Cream Gold')

Development of onion (Allium cepa L., cv. ‘Early Cream Gold’) seed under cool climate conditions in Tasmania, Australia occurred over a longer duration than previously reported, but similar patterns of change in yield components were recorded. In contrast to previous studies, umbel moisture content declined from 85 to 67 % over 57 days while seed moisture content decreased from 85 to 31 %. Seed yield continued to increase over the duration of crop development, with increasing seed weight compensating for seed loss resulting from capsule dehiscence in the later stages of maturation. Germination percentage was high and did not vary significantly from 53 to 77 days after full bloom (DAF), but mean germination time declined and uniformity of germination increased significantly over the same time period. The percentage abnormal seedlings declined with later harvest date, resulting in highest seed quality at 77 DAF. The results of this study suggest that the decision to harvest cool climate onion seed crops before capsule dehiscence will result in a loss of potential seed yield and quality.     

Location of a high-lysine gene and the DDT-resistance gene on barley chromosome 7

Summary The high-lysine gene in Risø mutant 1508 conditions an increased lysine content in the endosperm via a changed protein composition, a decreased seed size, and several other characters of the seed. The designation lys3a, lys3b, and lys3c, is proposed for the allelic high-lysine genes in three Risø mutants, nos 1508, 18, and 19. Linkage studies with translocations locate the lys3 locus in the centromere region of chromosome 7. A linkage study involving the loci lys3 and ddt (resistance to DDT) together with the marker loci fs (fragile stem), s (short rachilla hairs), and r (smooth awn) show that the order of the five loci on chromosome 7 from the long to the short chromosome arm is r, s, fs, lys3, ddt. The distance from locus r to locus ddt is about 100 centimorgans.     

A note on the origin of Kalanchoë x vadensis Boom & Zeilinga (Crassulaceae)

Summary K x vadensis is a hybrid of K. blossfeldiana and K. marmorata obtained after doubling the number of chromosomes.     

Simultaneous Determination of Four Phenolic Acids in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae Formula Granules by QAMS

[Objectives]This study aimed to establish a QAMS(quantitative analysis of multi-components by single-marker)method for simultaneous determination of four phenol...     

Avoidance of leaf rust fungi in wild relatives of cultivated cereals

Summary Avoidance of rust fungi that was based on poor appressorium induction was previously found in Hordeum chilense. In the present study 95 accessions of Triticeae were screened for avoidance of Puccinia hordei. The percentage of appressorium formation per germinated spore ranged from 6 to 90%. On none of the 41 accessions of Aegilops, Agropyron, Elymus, Secale, Thinopyrum or Triticum studied was the rate of appressorium formation lower than 25%. Lower rates of appressorium formation were, however, found on accessions of wild barley species Hordeum brachyantherum, H. marinum, H. parodii and H. secalinum. Its implications in cereal breeding are discussed.     

Variation in forage grasses as hosts of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne naasi (Franklin) and selection for resistance in ryegrass

Summary Reactions of 13 grasses to Meloidogyne naasi varied with species; ryegrasses, fescues and their hybrids were generally susceptible and cocksfoot and timothy resistant. Marked variation in host resistance levels occurred between genotypes within cultivars.Selection of single plants, followed by tests on replicate tillers, identified resistant and susceptible genotypes in both Italian and perennial ryegrass cultivars. Resistant plants had few nematode-induced galls and fewer females and eggs than susceptibles. There was more or less continuous variation, with many genotypes intermediate between extremes of resistance and susceptibility. Selected resistant and susceptible genotypes are of use in assessing variation in nematode populations and as controls for breeding and selection programmes.     

Current and future strategies in breeding lentil for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Lentil production is limited by lack of moisture and unfavorable temperatures throughout its distribution. Waterlogging and salinity are only locally important. Progress has been made in breeding for tolerance to drought through selection for an appropriate phenology and increased water use efficiency and in breeding for winter hardiness through selection for cold tolerance.The diseases rust, vascular wilt, and Ascochyta blight, caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis, and Ascochyta fabae f. sp. lentis, respectively, are the key fungal pathogens of lentil. Cultivars with resistance to rust and Ascochyta blight have been released in several countries and resistant sources to vascular wilt are being exploited. Sources of resistance to several other fungal and viral diseases of regional importance are known. In contrast, although the pea leaf weevil (Sitona spp.) and the parasitic weed broomrape (Orobanche spp.), and to a lesser extent the cyst nematode (Heterodera ciceri), are significant yield reducers of lentil, no sources of resistance to these biotic stresses have been found. Directions for future research in lentil on both biotic and abiotic stresses are discussed.     

Present status and future strategy in breeding faba beans (Vicia Faba L.) for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

Progress is being made, mainly by ICARDA but also elsewhere, in breeding for resistance to Botrytis, AScochyta, Uromyces, and Orobanche; and some lines have resistance to more than one pathogen. The strategy is to extend multiple resistance but also to seek new and durable forms of resistance. Internationally coordinated programs are needed to maintain the momentum of this work.Tolerance of abiotic stresses leads to types suited to dry or cold environments rather than broad adaptability, but in this cross-pollinated species, the more hybrid vigor expressed by a cultivar, the more it is likely to tolerate various stresses.     

Water Extraction Process of Chinese Herbal Compound Man Gan Ning

[Objectives]To optimize the water extraction process of Chinese Herbal Compound Man Gan Ning and establish a method for its extraction and content determination...