Managing soil quality for humanity and the planet

Rather than a human-centric, the basic strategy of achieving Sustainable Development Goals must be focused on restoring and sustaining planetary processes. The urgency of meeting the demands of the humanity must be reconciled with the necessity of enhancing the environment. Increasing and restoring soil organic matter content of the degraded and depleted soils is critical to strengthening planetary processes.     

Variation in cooking and eating quality traits in Japanese rice germplasm accessions

The eating quality of cooked rice is important and determines its market price and consumer acceptance. To comprehensively describe the variation of eating quality in 183 rice germplasm accessions, we evaluated 33 eating-quality traits including amylose and protein contents, pasting properties of rice flour, and texture of cooked rice grains. All eating-quality traits varied widely in the germplasm accessions. Principal-components analysis (PCA) revealed that allelic differences in the Wx gene explained the largest proportion of phenotypic variation of the eating-quality traits. In 146 accessions of non-glutinous temperate japonica rice, PCA revealed that protein content and surface texture of the cooked rice grains significantly explained phenotypic variations of the eating-quality traits. An allelic difference based on simple sequence repeats, which was located near a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on the short arm of chromosome 3, was associated with differences in the eating quality of non-glutinous temperate japonica rice. These results suggest that eating quality is controlled by genetic factors, including the Wx gene and the QTL on chromosome 3, in Japanese rice accessions. These genetic factors have been consciously selected for eating quality during rice breeding programs in Japan.     

Effects of phytosterol ester on aortic aging and expression of related genes in rats

AIM: To explore the protective effect of phytosterol ester (PSE) on aortic aging in rats. METHODS: The female SD rats (12 months old, n=42) were randomly divided into control group, model group and PSE group. During the experiment, the rats in control group, model group and PSE group were treated with basic feed, high-fat diet (HFD) and HFD with 2% PSE (W/W) for 6 months, respectively. The morphological changes of the aorta were observed by HE staining and Masson staining, and the absolute area of smooth muscle cells and collagen fiber in the vascular wall were measured by image analysis. The levels of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the plasma were detected. The expression of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) at mRNA and protein levels in the vascular tissue was determined by real time PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: PSE significantly lowered plasma TC and LDL-C, and increased plasma HDL-C level (P<0.05), but had no effect on plasma TG level. PSE significantly attenuated the thickening of intima and media of aging aortic, and decreased the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and the amount of VSMC and collagen fiber in the aorta (P<0.05). PSE significantly reduced the contents of AGEs and MDA (P<0.05), but had no effect on the activity of SOD and CAT in the plasma. PSE also down-regulated the expression of PPARγ and up-regulated the expression of SIRT1 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PSE is able to attenuate the senescence process in the aorta by reducing the production of reactive oxygen species in plasma, and activating SIRT1, or inhibiting the expression of PPARγ in vascular tissues.     

镉、铜胁迫对路易斯安娜鸢尾生理生化的影响

通过溶液培养的方法,研究了Cd、Cu胁迫对路易斯安娜鸢尾幼苗生长及生理生化的影响.结果表明:Cd、Cu胁迫下,路易斯安娜鸢尾幼苗生长缓慢,地上、地下干重下降,叶片中的叶绿素含量均随胁迫浓度的增加而降低；植株叶片的丙二醛和游离脯氨酸含量、超氧化物岐化酶活性均随处理浓度、处理时间的延长而增加.     

天气衍生品的运作机制与精算定价

天气衍生品是为了规避天气风险给天气敏感行业带来收入的不稳定性而兴起的创新型风险管理工具，其实质是通过衍生合约对天气风险进行分割、重组和交易的证券化产品。不同于传统金融衍生品，天气衍生品的价值取决于温度、湿度或降雨量等天气指数。本文在分析天气衍生品市场发展的基础上，重点探讨了最常见的天气期货和天气期权的运作机制及其精算定价。     

Analysis of Inter-Individual Bacterial Variation in Gut of Cicada Meimuna mongolica (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

Intestinal bacterial community plays a crucial role in the nutrition, development, survival, and reproduction of insects. When compared with other insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts, the habitats of cicada nymphs and adults are totally different. However, little is known about the differences in the gut bacterial communities in the nymphs and adults within any cicada species. The diversity of bacteria in the gut of nymphs and adults of both genders of Meimuna mongolica (Distant) was studied using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method. Few inter-individual variations among gut microbiota were observed, suggesting that M. mongolica typically harbors a limited and consistent suite of bacterial species. Bacteria in the genera Pseudomonas and Enterobacter were the predominant components of the gut microflora of M. mongolica at all life stages. Bacteria of Pantoea, Streptococcus, and Uruburuella were also widespread in the cicada samples but at relatively lower concentrations. The relative stability and similarity of the PCR-DGGE patterns indicate that all individuals of this cicada species harbor a characteristic bacterial community which is independent from developmental stages and genders. Related endosymbionts that could be harbored in bacteromes of cicadas were not detected in any gut samples, which could be related to the cicada species and the distribution of these endosymbionts in the cicada cavity, or due to some of the possible limitations of PCR-DGGE community profiling. It is worthwhile to further address if related cicada endosymbiont clades distribute in the alimentary canals and other internal organs through diagnostic PCR using group-specific primer sets.     

向日葵副产物的营养特性及在反刍动物中的应用

饲料资源缺乏一直以来都是制约中国畜牧业发展的主要因素。从长远看，常规饲料已不能维持中国畜牧业的可持续发展，开发新的饲料资源是解决饲料不足的重要途径之一。向日葵副产物营养价值较高、来源广、价格低，是一种非常具有开发价值的新型饲料。向日葵副产物包括向日葵饼粕、向日葵盘、向日葵秸秆及葵花籽壳：向日葵饼粕蛋白质含量高、纤维含量低，是一种优质的植物蛋白来源，可以提高奶牛乳汁的营养价值、促进肉牛生长、提高羊的瘤胃发酵效果；向日葵盘粗脂肪含量高，含有大量的膳食纤维，可以提高奶牛的产奶量和乳脂率，促进肉牛增重，提高羊瘤胃挥发性脂肪酸浓度以及粗蛋白质、粗纤维、中性洗涤纤维的消化率；向日葵秸秆富含氮、磷、钾、钙、镁等矿物质元素以及少量的蛋白质，可以为肉牛提供一些常量元素和微量元素，提高羊的日增重，降低料重比；葵花籽壳的主要成分是纤维素和木质素，含有丰富的生物活性物质，可以提高奶牛日增重、肉牛饲料转化率。作者具体介绍了向日葵副产物饼粕、葵盘、秸秆、葵花籽壳的营养价值，以及目前它们在反刍动物饲料中的应用情况，以期为今后向日葵副产物的开发利用提供理论依据。     

不同配比南极磷虾粉饲料对网箱养殖俄罗斯鲟生长及氟累积的影响

配制南极磷虾粉替代饲料中鱼粉比例分别为0%、10%、20%、30%的4组饲料饲喂俄罗斯鲟(Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)200 d后,分析南极磷虾粉替代部分鱼粉对网箱养殖俄罗斯鲟生长和鱼体组织氟残留的影响。结果表明:(1)随着南极磷虾粉替代比例的升高,俄罗斯鲟的末重、增重、特定生长率、蛋白质效率先上升后下降,饲料系数先降低后升高,10%组显著高于对照组和其它试验组(P0.05);(2)实验结束时,俄罗斯鲟肌肉、肝脏和鱼鳔的氟浓度低于检测限,但鳃、皮、脊骨和背骨呈现剂量浓度效应,各试验组较对照组显著升高(P0.05)。综上所述,在本实验条件下,在俄罗斯鲟饲料中加入10%比例的南极磷虾粉时获得最佳生长效果和较低的组织氟累积。     

辽葱5号的选育

辽葱5号是以玉田县五叶齐大葱为母本、朝阳鳞棒葱为父本进行有性杂交，对杂交后代进行季节穿梭选择的方法，即用3年时间进行了3个世代的以株为单位的混合选择及以株系为单位的选择，最后留选1个经济性状整齐、生殖性状稳定的雄性可育母系，经系内混合授粉育成的大葱新品种。该葱生长旺盛、秋葱产量高、葱白较长、叶片直立性好、抗紫斑病能力较强，适合长季节栽培，生育期在120d以上，属中晚熟品种。冬贮干葱可食用率高，适宜北方各省、区种植。     

陕西安康烟区生育期气候综合指数对烤烟化学成分的影响

为了明确烤烟不同生育期气候资源对烟叶品质的贡献率，以陕西安康烟区2002—2011年气象资料和烟叶化学成分为材料，采用主成分分析法，对烤烟不同生育期的平均温度、降水量和日照时数进行分析，构建不同生育期的气候综合指数(CCI)；采用相关分析、通径分析和决策分析对各生育期CCI与烟叶化学成分的关系进行分析。结果表明：不同生育期CCI对烟碱含量的影响以采烤前期最大，旺长期最小，对采烤前期的影响主要为直接作用；对烟叶总糖含量的影响以采烤后期最大，采烤前期最小，对采烤后期的影响主要为直接作用和通过旺长期的间接作用；对烟叶糖碱比的影响以采烤后期最大，旺长期最小，采烤后期的影响主要为直接作用和通过采烤前期的间接作用。