Effects of β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate and γ-Oryzanol on Blood Biochemical Markers in Exercising Thoroughbred Race Horses

In both the horse and the man, nutritional ergogenic aids have been used to improve physical ability in conjunction with an appropriate training regimen. Although training increases physical condition, the ease of taking a nutritional additive to improve training results explains the demand for supplementation, which may increase mechanical energy of work, delay onset of fatigue, or improve neuromuscular coordination. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral supplementation of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) and γ-oryzanol (GO) on indices of exercise-induced muscle damage in Thoroughbred race horses. In this 32-week study, the horses were assigned to either a placebo, GO (3.0 g/d), HMB (15 g/d), or GO and HMB treatment groups. The supplements were administered for the first 16 weeks of the study during the training period before the racing season began. Blood samples were taken at baseline, and then during training, before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 30 minutes after exercise. Heart rate and speed were monitored in each exercise session. Hematocrit, glucose, lactate (LA), creatine phosphokinase, and aspartate aminotransferase were measured before and after each exercise session. Analysis of variance showed a significantly greater increase in postexercise creatine kinase activity in placebo-supplemented group than in the other treatment groups, both in the training period and during the racing seasons (P < .05). Blood LA was higher immediately after exercise in the placebo group compared with the supplemented groups. In conclusion, supplementation with HMB and GO resulted in decreased creatine kinase and LA after exercise. These findings support the hypothesis that HMB and GO supplementation helps to prevent exercise-induced muscle damage.     

不同月季品种耐阴性比较研究

以8个月季品种为试验材料,进行透光率25%、50%、75%和100%的遮阴处理,测定了其脯氨酸、可溶性糖、叶片相对含水量、叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量。结果表明:8个月季品种在不同透光条件下耐阴程度有所不同,同一品种在不同透光处理下各项生理指标的反应也不尽完全相同,多数品种在遮阴胁迫后叶片脯氨酸含量、可溶性总糖、叶片相对含水量、叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量均与ck有极显著差异(P<0.01),但各品种间差异有所不同,在透光率25%条件下,白米浓表现最好,各项指标均与ck有极显著差异(P<0.01)。通过对8个月季品种的综合分析得出,耐阴性强弱顺序依次为:白米浓(可在透光率25%的条件下生长)>玫瑰地毯、恋情火焰、猩红梅荻郎和紫微星(可在透光率50%的条件下生长)>哈德福俊(可在透光率75%的条件下生长)>巴西诺和皇家巴西诺(只在全光照条件下生长)。     

Immunoblotting, ELISA and culture evidence for Chlamydiaceae in sows on 258 Belgian farms

The prevalence of Chlamydiaceae infections on 258 closed pig breeding farms in Belgium was examined. For this purpose, 258 farms were randomly selected in the provinces West-Vlaanderen (44%), Oost-Vlaanderen (20%), Antwerpen (10%) and Vlaams-Brabant (6%). Of all farms examined, 96.5% were positive for Chlamydia-specific antibodies in ELISA and most were moderately to strongly positive. ELISA results revealed only 9 (3.5%) sero-negative farms. None of the ELISA negative sera reacted in immunoblotting. Only 212 of 249 ELISA positive sera reacted positive in immunoblotting. Additionally, 23 autopsy samples were examined by isolation in Vero cells. The major outer membrane sequence of the one isolate obtained showed 98.6% amino acid homology to the one of Chlamydophila psittaci strain CP3, formerly isolated from a pigeon. Present observations indicate that chlamydial infections are nearly endemic in the Belgian pig population and that Belgian pigs can become infected with C. psittaci. Nevertheless, the role and significance of Chlamydiaceae as pathogens in pigs remain unsolved and require further investigation.     

Anti-Inflammatory Components of the Starfish Astropecten polyacanthus

Inflammation is important in biomedical research, because it plays a key role in inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, allergies, asthma, and even cancer. In the present study, we describe the inhibitory effect of crude extracts and steroids isolated from the starfish Astropecten polyacanthus on pro-inflammatory cytokine (Interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). Among those tested, compounds 5 and 7 showed potent inhibitory effects on the production of all three pro-inflammatory cytokines with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.82 ± 0.11 to 7.00 ± 0.16 μM. Potent inhibitory activities were also observed for compound 1 on the production of IL-12 p40 and IL-6 with values of 3.96 ± 0.12 and 4.07 ± 0.13 μM, respectively, and for compounds 3 and 4 on the production of IL-12 p40 with values of 6.55 ± 0.18 and 5.06 ± 0.16 μM, respectively. Moreover, compounds 2 (IC₅₀ = 34.86 ± 0.31 μM) and 6 (IC₅₀ = 79.05 ± 2.05 μM) exhibited moderate inhibitory effects on the production of IL-12 p40, whereas compounds 3 (IC₅₀ = 22.80 ± 0.21 μM) and 4 (IC₅₀ = 16.73 ± 0.25 μM) moderately inhibited the production of TNF-α and IL-6, respectively.     

Penicillinolide A: A New Anti-Inflammatory Metabolite from the Marine Fungus Penicillium sp. SF-5292

In the course of studies on bioactive metabolites from marine fungi, a new 10-membered lactone, named penicillinolide A (1) was isolated from the organic extract of Penicillium sp. SF-5292 as a potential anti-inflammatory compound. The structure of penicillinolide A (1) was mainly determined by analysis of NMR and MS data and Mosher’s method. Penicillinolide A (1) inhibited the production of NO and PGE₂ due to inhibition of the expression of iNOS and COX-2. Penicillinolide A (1) also reduced TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 production, and these anti-inflammatory effects were shown to be correlated with the suppression of the phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α, NF-κB nuclear translocation, and NF-κB DNA binding activity. In addition, using inhibitor tin protoporphyrin (SnPP), a competitive inhibitor of HO activity, it was verified that the inhibitory effects of compound 1 on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and NF-κB DNA binding activity were partially associated with HO-1 expression through Nrf2 nuclear translocation.     

Effects of Different Irrigation Levels and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), Photosynthesis Activator,Traditional Fertilizer on Yield and Growth Parameters of Dry Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) in Arid Climatic Conditions

A field experiment has been conducted to determine the effects of different irrigation water and AMF (Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi) biofertilizer, photosynthesis activator and traditional fertilizer dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on yield and growth parameters in Nevsehir Province of Turkey in 2015. The experiment has been carried out using three replications in a split plot design with three different irrigation types as main plots and AMF biofertilizer (ERS), photosynthesis activator (Multigreen-Mg), traditional fertilization (TF-Control), ERS + Mg, ERS + TF and TF + Mg applied as subplots. The number of pods per plant, the length of pods, the number of grains per pod, the weight of grains per plant, the yield of grains, 1000 seed weight, the number of grains per plant, protein yield, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi rate have been evaluated as yield and growth criteria in the study. In the experiment, as well as the treatment x irrigation interaction, the plant height, pod number per plant, pod lenght, grain number per pod, grain weight per plant, grain yield, 1000 seed weight, grain number per plant, protein rate/grain, protein yield, root weight and AMF colonization parameters, were the other studied properties that were found to be significant. The results obtained were 877.6 mm for I₁₀₀ irrigation treatment, 512.2 mm for I₅₀ irrigation treatment and 40.19 mm water for I₃₀ irrigation treatment. Regarding the growth parameters of dry bean, the highest PH was in ERS + Mg (67.66 cm), the lowest PH was in ERS (54.33 cm); In I₅₀, the highest Plant Height (PH) was in ERS + Mg (65.66 cm), the lowest PH was in TF-Control (53.00 cm); and in I₃₀, the highest PH was in TF-Control (50.66 cm), and the lowest PH was again in ERS + Mg (44.33 cm). For protein yield (PY) value, ERS + Mg, ERS + TF, TF + Mg have been placed in the same group, in I₁₀₀ and I₅₀ irrigation treatment. The highest value was ERS + TF (34.90 kg da^?1) in I₁₀₀, The lowest value was TF-control (19.90 kg da^?1) in I₃₀ irrigation treatment. In terms of mycorrhiza colonization ratio, ERS has been ranked first in all irrigation treatments, while the highest mycorrhiza colonization has been observed in I₃₀ irrigation treatment (26.30%). ERS was followed by ERS + Mg (23.33%). As expected, the lowest mycorrhiza colonization ratio in all irrigation treatments have been observed in TF-control treatment, while the highest mycorrhiza colonization ratio has been respectively observed in I₃₀ and I₅₀ irrigation topics. The highest root weight (RW) in I₁₀₀ irrigation treatment was observed in ERS (15.06 g plant^?1) and it was observed in ERS (19.05 g plant^?1; 26.30 g plant^?1) in I₅₀ and I₃₀ irrigation treatments. The lowest RW in all irrigation treatments has been observed in TF + Mg (4.43 g plant^?1, 6.40 g plant^?1, 10.26 g plant^?1), respectively.     

The Determination of Soil Boron Fractions,Their Relationships to Soil Properties and the Availability to Olive (Olea europea L.) Trees

This study was conducted to investigate the various boron fractions in olive tree grown soils. The correlations between boron fractions in leaves, fruits and soil properties were examined. For this purpose cv “Gemlik” olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards were visited. Soil samples from 0–30 cm and 30–60 cm deep, the leaf and fruit samples were collected. The greatest proportion of total soil boron is present in residual form (85–88%). It is followed by organically bound B (2.84–4.50%), specifically adsorbed on soil colloid surfaces (0.93–1.31%), oxides (manganese oxyhydroxides, amorphous Fe and Al oxides, crystalline Fe and Al oxides) bound B (7.27–8.31%). The smallest one readily soluble (extracting plant available) boron values were composed of only 0.40–0.50% of total boron ranging. To determine readily soluble boron five different extraction solutions were in the order Hot water ? 0.01 M CaCl₂ ? 1 M NH₄OAc ? 0.1 M KCl ? 0.005 M DTPA. Fruit boron concentration and soil boron fractions showed close correlations than leaf boron concentration.     

The Contribution of Various Components to pH Buffering Capacity of Acrisols in Southeastern Vietnam

This paper examined the contribution of various soil components to pH buffering capacity (pH_BC) of haplic Acrisols in an upland area of Southeastern Vietnam. Sampling was conducted in 2016 in Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province at seven sites from the surface to 60-cm depth. Soils were very acidic (pH_H2O 4.53 ± 0.05). The pH_BC were very low, 0.46 ± 0.04 and 0.44 ± 0.05 cmol H⁺ kg^?1 pH^?1, respectively, for original samples and those from which soil organic carbon (SOC, 0.52 ± 0.09%) were removed. The contribution of Al³⁺ to pH_BC was remarkable while that of SOC was of little significance. The contribution of clay minerals to pH_BC was unclear due to the low (9.37 ± 0.76%) and kaolinite-dominated clay content. The current soil conditions indicated a potential for further soil acidification. Liming would be one of the measures to remediate soil acidity in the research area.     

High yield and nutritional quality of rice for animal feed achieved by continuous irrigation with treated municipal wastewater

Paddy and Water Environment - Two consecutive pilot-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the potential reuse of treated municipal wastewater (TWW) as an irrigation source for cultivating...     

农用柔性底盘偏置轴转向机构联动耦合控制策略及试验

针对农用柔性底盘前轮转向时两偏置轴转向机构难以保持联动关系而影响顺利转弯的问题,基于阿克曼转向几何与交叉耦合控制原理,设计了偏置轴转向机构联动耦合控制策略,采用模糊PID控制算法对两转向轮转角联动轮廓误差进行补偿,并依据方向盘信号大小和变化率对电磁摩擦锁PWM控制信号占空比进行调节,以匹配偏置电动轮转向的角速度,使两转向机构形成耦合而保持期望联动关系;基于MATLAB/Simulink对控制策略进行了仿真,且在硬化路面上实施了阶跃转向、蛇行转向及随机转向3种运动方式的试验验证,并对比分析了转角分配控制下的前轮转向效果。试验结果表明:耦合控制方法下柔性底盘前轮阶跃转向响应均在0.8 s内,左、右侧转角最大超调为1.3°;电磁摩擦锁的开闭可较好匹配电动轮的转向;左、右前轮对于各自目标角具有良好的跟踪性能;3种转向方式下最大与平均跟随误差值均小于分配控制方法;两轮联动的最大与平均转角轮廓误差分别为:阶跃转向1.2°与0.6°、蛇行转向1.1°与0.6°、随机转向1.0°与0.5°;耦合控制下仿真与试验转角的轮廓误差变化趋势一致,最大误差为2.2°,证明仿真模型合理有效。耦合控制下偏置轴转向机构联动控制效果优于转角分配控制,转向效果良好,该文提出的柔性底盘偏置轴转向机构联动耦合控制策略有效且可行。