Effects of music stimulus on behavior response,cortisol level,and horizontal immunity of growing pigs

An enriched environment is widely used to improve domestic animals’ welfare and promote their natural behaviors. Music can reduce abnormal behavior in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. However, little is known about the effects of music on pigs. This study aims to explore the effects of repeated music stimulation on the behavior, physiology, and immunity of growing pigs. A total of 72 hybrid piglets (Large White × Duroc × Minpig) were randomly divided into three groups, including music (Mozart K.448, 60 to 70 dB), noise (recorded mechanical noise, 80 to 85 dB), and control (natural background sound, <40 dB), and 6 h sound stimulation was given per day (1000 to 1600 hours) from 40 to 100 d of age. The behavioral activities of the pigs were observed during the music stimulation, and their serum cortisol, salivary cortisol, and serum immune indices were also measured. Compared with the control group, the music group and noise group increased activity but decreased lying of pigs (P < 0.05). A significant increase in tail-wagging, playing, and exploring behaviors of pigs was found in the music group (P < 0.05), and the noise significantly increased the aggressive behavior of the pigs (P < 0.05). Tail-wagging, playing, exploring, manipulating, and aggressive behaviors decreased over time. Short-term (8 d) music stimulus had a lower cortisol level than that of the noise and control groups (P < 0.05), whereas long-term (60 d) music stimulus increased immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels (P < 0.05) and decreased interleukin-4 (IL-4) level (P < 0.05). Long-term noise stimulus significantly reduced the level of IgG (P < 0.05) but did not affect the level of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ levels (P > 0.05). In conclusion, short-term music stimulus (8 d) reduced the stress response, whereas long-term music stimulus (60 d) enhanced the immune responses. In addition, the noise increased the aggressive behavior, and long-term noise reduced the immunity of the growing pigs.     

Growth Responses and Differences in Gene Expression depending on Cultivation Temperature between Alternative type Wheat Varieties

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Two domestic wheat varieties were grown in the growth chamber set at 17°C, 20°C, 23°C and 26°C on average after the emergence of...     

天津春稻和麦茬稻品质特性比较

以天津市培育的优质小站稻品种津川1号和隆优619为供试材料,分析了春稻和麦茬稻品质特性的差异。结果表明,津川1号作麦茬稻的整精米率明显低于作春稻,而垩白粒率显著高于春稻;津川1号麦茬稻的蛋白质含量明显偏高,食味值显著低于春稻;隆优619作春稻和麦茬稻无论在外观、加工、食味还是营养品质方面均无显著差异,是较理想的麦茬连作品种。     

青海省祁连圆柏天然林单木生物量模型构建

利用祁连圆柏整株生物量与生长指标数据，为估算祁连圆柏林的生物量估算提供参考。通过野外调查，共获取了63株祁连圆柏天然林样木生物量与生长指标实测数据。用其中50株样木数据进行回归模拟，用其余的13株样木数据对模型可靠性进行检验，构建器官生物量与生长指标间的回归模型。结果表明，祁连圆柏单木水平下，树干生物量模型的R²_adj为0.96，均方根、模型有效性和残差系数分别为0.50、0.85和0.05；枝条生物量模型的R²_adj为0.897，均方根、模型有效性和残差系数分别为0.69、0.80和-0.66；叶生物量模型的R²_adj为0.61，均方根、模型有效性和残差系数分别为0.54、0.86和0.15；根生物量模型的R²_adj为0.93，均方根、模型有效性和残差系数分别为0.12、0.997 和-0.01。在调查数据范围内构建的模型较好地反映了祁连圆柏生物量与生长指标间的关系，形式简单、使用方便；与实测值相比，树干与叶生物量模拟值偏小，枝和根偏大。     

Determination of critical nitrogen dilution curve based on leaf area index for winter wheat in the Guanzhong Plain,Northwest China

Excessive use of nitrogen(N) fertilizers in agricultural systems increases the cost of production and risk of environmental pollution. Therefore, determination of optimum N requirements for plant growth is necessary. Previous studies mostly established critical N dilution curves based on aboveground dry matter(DM) or leaf dry matter(LDM) and stem dry matter(SDM), to diagnose the N nutrition status of the whole plant. As these methods are time consuming, we investigated the more rapidly determined leaf area index(LAI) method to establish the critical nitrogen(N_c) dilution curve, and the curve was used to diagnose plant N status for winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. Field experiments were conducted using four N fertilization levels(0, 105, 210 and 315 kg ha-1) applied to six wheat cultivars in the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 growing seasons. LAI, DM, plant N concentration(PNC) and grain yield were determined. Data points from four cultivars were used for establishing the N_c curve and data points from the remaining two cultivars were used for validating the curve. The N_c dilution curve was validated for N-limiting and non-N-limiting growth conditions and there was good agreement between estimated and observed values. The N nutrition index(NNI) ranged from 0.41 to 1.25 and the accumulated plant N deficit(N_(and)) ranged from 60.38 to –17.92 kg ha~(-1) during the growing season. The relative grain yield was significantly affected by NNI and was adequately described with a parabolic function. The N_c curve based on LAI can be adopted as an alternative and more rapid approach to diagnose plant N status to support N fertilization decisions during the vegetative growth of winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China.     

Bamboo NiR gene is associated with regeneration capacity

It was reported that the activity of NiR (nitrite reductase) enzyme encoded by the NiR gene was correlated with the regeneration ability in rice. To testify the function of NiR gene in bamboo, seven bamboo species whose calli had different differentiation rate were chosen to analyse their NiR enzyme activity. The results showed that bamboo NiR enzymatic activity had a certain correlation with the regeneration capacity. A NiR gene named DhNiR from Dendrocalamus hamiltonii with high regeneration capacity was cloned. Sequence analysis revealed that the ORF of DhNiR was 1779bp encoding 592 amino acids. Overexpression of DhNiR in rice reduced the time of shoot differentiation and increased the transformation rate, suggesting that DhNiR might play an important role in the regeneration ability of bamboo, and can be applied in regeneration and gene transformation of bamboo and other plant species.     

亏缺灌溉对南疆棉花生长和水分利用的影响

针对南疆地区水资源短缺、作物水分利用效率低等问题,以棉花为试验材料进行田间小区试验,在棉花现蕾期、开花期以及结铃期分别设置3个亏缺灌溉水平(W₁:50%ET_c,W₂:65%ET_c,W₃:80%ET_c,ET_c为作物蒸发蒸腾量),以全生育期100%ET_c灌溉处理为对照(CK),研究膜下滴灌条件下,不同生育期亏缺灌溉对棉花生长、产量、氮素吸收和水分利用效率的影响.结果表明:现蕾期亏水对棉花株高、叶面积指数、地上干物质生长、氮素吸收和产量有不同程度的抑制效应,但复水后补偿效应显著,其中轻度亏水(W₃)在籽棉产量减少3.48%的条件下,WUE高达1.57 kg/m³,显著高于CK的1.48 kg/m³;开花期亏水,棉花的各项生长指标均有显著降低,复水后补偿效应不显著,不利于棉花生长发育;结铃期亏水对棉花地上干物质累积、氮素吸收和产量均有显著的抑制效应,但在W₂和W₃水平下,WUE均达1.51 kg/m³.综合考虑在保证棉花产量的同时达到节水增产的目的,可在棉花蕾期进行80%ET_c灌水,其他生育阶段实施充分灌溉,来控制营养生长,促进生殖生长,获得更高的水分利用效率.     

Cepharanthine induces autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells

AIM: To investigate the autophagy of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells induced by cepharanthine and to explore its mechanism. METHODS: The effect of cepharanthine on the viability of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells was measured by CCK-8 assay. The SKOV3 cells were treated with cepharanthine, and then the formation of autophagosome was observed with acridine orange staining under fluorescence microscope. The protein levels of LC3, AKT, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR and GAPDH in the SKOV3 cells treated with cepharanthine were determined by Western blot.RESULTS: Cepharanthine significantly inhibited the viability of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). The number of the intracellular acidic autophagosomes with bright red fluorescence was significantly increased after cepharanthine treatment in the SKOV3 cells. The expression of LC3-Ⅱ in SKOV3 cells was significantly enhanced after cepharanthine treatment. Furthermore, treatment with cepharanthine in the SKOV3 cells also resulted in a significant down-regulation of phosphorylated form of AKT and mTOR (P<0.01), while the total protein level was not changed. Combination of cepharanthine and 3-methyladenine resulted in a substantial decrease in the cell viability compared with using cepharanthine alone.CONCLUSION: Cepharanthine significantly inhibits the growth of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells and induces the autophagy, which may be correlated with down-regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.     

关于动物医学专业少数民族学生教育的探析

分析了动物医学专业少数民族学生教育教学面临的困难及存在的问题，提出了调整少数民族班级的培养方案、民汉帮学提高少数民族学生汉语水平、提高少数民族学生的英语应用能力、提高动物医学专业少数民族学生就业质量等具体改革措施，从而达到提高少数民族学生对动物医学专业的理解、提升学生的主动学习意识、提高学生的综合能力、促进学生就业的目的。     

基于UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS的不同产地普洱生茶化学成分差异研究

为了更加全面地了解产地对普洱生茶品质与化学成分的影响,本研究选取来自临沧市、普洱市、西双版纳州三大产区12个茶山(自然村)的普洱生茶样品,采用超高效液相色谱-四级杆-飞行时间质谱(UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS)对不同产地普洱生茶的非挥发性代谢物表型进行了研究。结果表明:不同产地普洱生茶的化学成分在含量上具有较大差异,且具有明显的产地特征。采用主成分分析,可以对来自西双版纳自治州(包括勐腊县、勐海县、景洪市)、普洱市、临沧市3个地级行政区的普洱生茶进行有效区分,也可以对来自普洱茶产区的东南、西南、西北3个区域的普洱生茶进行有效区分。进一步鉴定了普洱生茶中79种主要成分,并对其在12个茶山(自然村)的普洱生茶中的含量分布,以及与不同产地普洱生茶滋味品质的关系进行了分析。本研究表明,基于UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS的茶叶非挥发性化学成分轮廓可以作为普洱生茶产地判别的依据。