Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in goats. I. Evaluation of two serological diagnostic tests

The bacterial agglutination test (BAT) and the hemolysis inhibition test (HIT) were employed and evaluated.The threshold value between positive and negative antibody titres in BAT and HIT was determined on the basis of titration results for sera from 25 adult goats infected with Corynebacterium pseudotuber-culosis (positive), and sera from 25 adult goats from a herd in which caseous lymphadenitis did not occur (negative).Antibody titres were expressed as logio to the reciprocal value of the highest positive serum dilution in both tests. Positive titre (T) in BAT was stipulated as T ≥ 2.1 and in HIT as T > 0.6. The sensitivity and specificity was 0.96 in both tests in the material used. Twenty-three of the 25 goats infected with G. pseudotuberculosis were positive in both BAT and HIT.The reproducibility in both tests was described by the use of correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation. The values were estimated using duplicate determination of titres of 155 serum samples. Correlation coefficients were 0.87 for BAT and 0.95 for HIT. Coef-ficients of variation were 26.4 % for BAT and 14.1 % for HIT. The coefficient of variation was related to titres. It was highest for BAT at low titres.It was concluded that both tests can be used for seroepidemio-logical investigations of C. pseudotuberculosis infection in goats.     

Quantifying habitat specificity to assess the contribution of a patch to species richness at a landscape scale

Assessing and predicting the species richness of a complex landscape remains a problem because there is no simple scaling function of species richness in a heterogeneous environment. Furthermore, the potential value of an area for biodiversity conservation may depend on which, rather than how many, species the area contains. This paper shows how we can objectively evaluate the contribution of an area, e.g., a habitat patch, to larger-scale plant species richness, e.g., a landscape composed of patches of several habitat types, and how we can test hypotheses that attempt to explain this contribution. We quantified the concept of habitat specificity to assess the proportion of each observed plant population that is concentrated within a given spatial element. A case study of a biodiversity-monitoring program in the Swiss Canton of Aargau showed that the relative contribution of the three main types of land use to the overall species richness differed strongly between higher taxa (vascular plants and molluscs). However, the type of data, i.e., presence-absence or abundance, was not important. Resampling of the plant data suggested that stratification provided an unbiased estimate of relative specificity, whereas unstratified sampling caused bias even for large samples. In a second case study of vascular plants in an agricultural landscape in central Switzerland, we tested whether the type, size or shape of a landscape element can predict its contribution to the species richness of the landscape. Habitat types that were less frequently disturbed contributed more per m² to landscape species richness than more frequently disturbed ones. Contrary to expectation, patch size was negatively correlated to specificity per m² for arable fields, whereas patch shape appeared to be unrelated to the specificity per m² both for arable fields and for meadows. The specificity approach provides a solution to the problem of scaling species richness and is ideally suited for testing hypotheses on the effect of landscape structure on landscape species richness. Specificity scores can easily be combined with measures of other aspects of rarity to assess the contribution of a spatial element to conservation goals formulated at regional, national or global level.     

2009/2010年内蒙古冬季低温特征及成因分析

利用常规观测资料,分析2009/2010年内蒙古冬季低温的特征。并通过对欧亚地区大气环流、影响我国的冷空气活动、北极涛动指数和EI Nino年内蒙古冬季气温的分析,探讨此次低温的气候成因。结果表明：此次冬季低温是内蒙古自1986年以来范围最广、时间最长、强度最大的一次冬季低温。强降温的同时,还伴随着强降雪和大风沙尘天气。地面西伯利亚高压偏强、850 hPa内蒙古北侧偏北气流偏强、500 hPa位势高度场偏低、东亚大槽位置偏西偏强以及强冷空气活动频繁是造成此次低温的主要原因。此次低温还与北极涛动指数负异常和EI Nino事件有关。     

渭河中游全新世晚期古洪水沉积物特征

通过野外实地调查,在渭河中游咸阳市南寺村一级阶地的全新世黄土-古土壤剖面,发现了含有波状水平层理的古洪水滞流沉积层,对所采集的全新世地层样品进行了粒度、磁化率、烧失量、CaCO3和石英颗粒微结构表面特征分析,表明古洪水滞流沉积物（SWD）平均粒径小,磁化率值低,CaCO₃含量高,石英颗粒表面“V”形坑和三角痕明显等特征,与风成黄土和古土壤差别显著,判定为典型的古洪水滞流沉积物。通过OSL（光释光）测年及地层学对比,确定古洪水SWD记录了渭河中游3 200~2 800 aBP发生的一组3次古洪水事件,正处于全新世大暖期向晚期转变的过渡时期,气候不稳定,降水变率大,引发了连续的特大洪水事件。此研究成果对于揭示区域水文变化对全球气候变化的响应规律具有重要科学意义。     

不同PCR引物对柑桔黄龙病菌的特异性检测

本文对国内外研究者设计的11对PCR引物检测柑桔黄龙病菌的特异性进行了比较。其中包括5对一步法PCR引物(A2/J5、GB1/GB3、MP1/MP2、CQULA03F/CQULA03R和CLA-F2/CLA-R2)和6对巢式PCR引物(P1/P2、P3/P4、LP1/LP2、LP3/LP4、DP1/DP2和DP3/DP4)。结果发现,MP1/MP2和CLA-F2/CLA-R2 2对引物具有非特异性,不能区分亚洲柑桔黄龙病菌和非洲柑桔黄龙病菌,其余的9对引物特异性较好。本文旨在为研究者选择柑桔黄龙病菌扩增引物提供参考。     

Baseline toxicity and stage specificity of recently developed reduced‐risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram to obliquebanded leafroller,Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

BACKGROUND: Studies were designed to assess baseline toxicity of the two recently developed reduced‐risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram to obliquebanded leafroller (OBLR), Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), and to determine stage‐specific effects of these products on OBLR, so that these new chemicals could be judiciously incorporated into IPM programs by targeting only the most susceptible stages of OBLR. RESULTS: Both chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram were highly effective against neonate OBLR larvae at much lower doses than conventional standard azinphosmethyl. Most of the mortality caused by spinetoram occurred during the 4 day exposure period, while significant delayed mortality was observed as a result of chlorantraniliprole treatment during the 7 day recovery period, indicating that chlorantraniliprole is a slower‐acting compound compared with spinetoram. Unlike broad‐spectrum predecessors, the toxicity of chlorantraniliprole significantly increased with larval age. Similarly, the toxicity of spinetoram increased as larvae grew from neonates to third instars. CONCLUSION: Chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram are highly effective against OBLR larvae, regardless of larval age. Incorporation of these reduced‐risk chemistries into IPM programs for OBLR would lead to effective management of this pest in tree fruit systems. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

鸭肝炎病毒RT-PCR检测方法的建立与应用

根据鸭肝炎病毒(Duck Hepatitis Virus,DHV)3D基因序列,设计合成1对引物,通过优化RT-PCR反应条件,建立了DHV的RT-PCR检测方法。特异性试验结果显示,该引物仅特异性扩增出DHV 460 bp的特异性片段,而扩增鸭瘟病毒(DPV)、鹅细小病毒(GPV)、番鸭细小病毒(MDPV)和鹅副粘病毒(GPMV)的核酸扩增结果均为阴性;敏感性试验结果显示,该方法能检测到100 pg的DHV核酸;对6份临床病料进行RT-PCR扩增,DHV的检出率为83.33%(5/6)。结果表明:该方法具有良好的特异性和敏感性,可对临床病料中的DHV进行快速检测。     

梨轮纹病和炭疽病病原菌PCR检测

为建立梨轮纹病原菌和炭疽病病原菌的分子检测方法,根据GenBank上炭疽病原菌和轮纹病原菌不同种的ITS序列差异设计2对引物TJ1/TJ2和LW1/LW2,对2种病原菌菌株进行扩增,比较了常规PCR和巢式PCR的检测灵敏度,并对果园中接种梨轮纹病原菌的梨果实进行检测。结果表明,建立的PCR体系可分别从炭疽病原菌和轮纹病原菌菌株扩增出317 bp和325 bp的特异性条带,对其他相似或相近的病原真菌则无扩增条带。巢式PCR技术的灵敏度比常规PCR提高了约105倍,且可以在接种较低浓度(1 ml 10个)轮纹病原菌孢子液7 d后的梨果实组织中检测到病原菌。说明使用巢式PCR技术,可以准确、灵敏地监测梨轮纹病原菌在果园的种群消长动态。     

蔗糖密度梯度法定量口蹄疫完整病毒粒子（146S）的特异性研究

为验证蔗糖密度梯度法检测口蹄疫完整病毒粒子（146S）的特异性,选择pH值6．0、5．0、4．0PBS酸解处理3批提纯后的146S灭活抗原液,并将酸解后样品进行146S检测,发现8至11级份OD259峰值消失,146S含量由酸解前的1．77、6．60、3．67μg／mL至酸解后完全不能检测到。同时对3批不含病毒的细胞液按抗原纯化灭活工艺处理后进行146S检测,结果显示3批细胞液在8至11级份均没有明显吸收峰,而且其OD259值与PBS空白对照OD259值基本平行一致,说明不含病毒的细胞液对检测结果没有明显干扰。试验证明,蔗糖密度梯度法定量FMD病毒液中146S含量具有很好的特异性。