UV‐light and dietary vitamin D and their effects on ionized calcium and 25‐OH‐D plasma concentrations in captive gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua)

In this study, the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light and dietary vitamin D on calcium metabolism in permanently indoor‐housed gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua ) was investigated. The study consisted of three periods, each completed with blood samples to analyse plasma concentrations of 25‐OH‐D, 1,25‐(OH)₂‐D, ionized (iCa) and total calcium (tCa). During the first study period (D), animals were housed under routine conditions without UV‐light and fed a diet of different fish species, supplemented with 1,000 IU vitamin D per animal and day. The following study period (Baseline) of 28‐day duration consisted of the same diet without any vitamin D supplementation and without UV‐light. During the study period (UVB) artificial UV‐light was added for 3 weeks. The vitamin D content of fish was measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography. It varied between fish species and between facilities, ranging from no measurable content in capelin (Mallotus villosus ) to 7,340 IU vitamin D/kg original matter (OM) in herring (Clupea spp). The average dietary vitamin D content was 311 IU/kg OM at facility 1 and 6,325 IU/kg OM at facility 2, resulting in a vitamin D intake per animal and day without supplementation of 130 IU (25.5 IU/kg body weight BW) and 2,454 IU (438.2 IU/kg BW) respectively. The supplementation of vitamin D elevated significantly the plasma concentrations of 25‐OH‐D by an intraindividual difference of 15 (range ?2 to 59) nmol/L and tCa by 0.1 (0.0–0.3) mmol/L only at facility 2. The exposure to UV‐light raised the blood concentrations of tCa at facility 2 by 0.15 (0.1–0.2) mmol/L, and of iCa and tCa for females at facility 1 by 0.23 (0.13–0.41) mmol/L and 1.8 (1.1–2.5) mmol/L respectively. No significant influence of the study periods (D) and (UVB) was found for the concentrations of 1,25‐(OH)₂‐D at both facilities.     

Efficacy of essential oils combination on performance,ileal bacterial counts,intestinal histology and immunocompetence of laying hens fed alternative lipid sources

This study was carried out to assess the effects of a blend of herbal essential oils (namely Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus offisinalis and Anethum graveolens) and different dietary lipid sources on the performance, ileal bacterial enumeration, intestinal histological alterations and immune responses in laying hens. For this purpose, a total of 150 laying hens were randomly allocated to six experimental treatments with five replicates of five birds each. Dietary treatments consisted of three levels of a mixture of essential oils (0, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and two sources of lipid (soybean oil and fish oil containing different ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids) fed to the animals during an 80‐days feeding trial. Findings indicated that dietary administration of fish oil not only increased significantly the spleen relative weight (p < 0.01) and the antibody titre against Newcastle virus (p < 0.05) but also led to reductions in liver relative weight (p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mixture of herbal essential oils brought about declines in hepatic relative weight, heterophile to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05) and intestinal pathogen populations (p < 0.01). Mention must also be made of the improvements it made in spleen weight (p < 0.01), antibody titres against SRBC (p < 0.01) and Newcastle virus (p < 0.05), villus height to crypt depth ratio (p < 0.01), goblet cell numbers (p < 0.05), lamina propria lymphatic follicle diameters (p < 0.01) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.06). It may be claimed that the enhancements observed in the performance of laying hens fed fish oil and 200 mg/kg of the blend of essential oils could have potentially been associated with improved intestinal health indices as well as cellular and humoral immune responses.     

Effect of parental origin on early life history traits of European eel

Establishment of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) hatchery production will rely on selectively bred individuals that produce progeny with the best traits in successive generations. As such, this study used a quantitative genetic breeding design, between four females and nine males (four wild‐caught and five cultured), to investigate the effect of paternal origin (wild‐caught vs. cultured) and quantify the relative importance of parental effects, including genetic compatibility, on early life history (ELH) performance traits (i.e. fertilization success, embryonic survival at 32 hr post‐fertilization, hatch success and larval deformities at 2 days post‐hatch) of European eel. Wild‐caught males had higher (56%) spermatocrit values than cultured males (45%), while fertilization success, embryonic survival, hatch success and larval deformities were not significantly impacted by paternal origin. This demonstrates that short‐term domestication of male eels does not negatively affect offspring quality and enables the consideration of cultured male broodstock in future breeding programmes. Moreover, paternity significantly explained 9.5% of the variability in embryonic survival, providing further evidence that paternal effects need to be taken into consideration in assisted reproduction protocols. Furthermore, maternity significantly explained 54.8% of the variation for fertilization success, 61.7% for embryonic survival, 88.1% for hatching success and 62.8% for larval deformities, validating that maternity is a major factor influencing these “critical” ELH traits. At last, the parental interaction explained 12.8% of the variation for fertilization success, 8.3% for embryonic survival, 4.5% for hatch success and 20.5% for larval deformities. Thus, we conclude that eggs of one female can develop more successfully when crossed with a compatible male, highlighting the importance of mate choice for successful propagation of high‐quality offspring. Together, this knowledge will improve early offspring performance, leading to future breeding programmes for this critically endangered and economically important species.     

烯丙孕素内服溶液的临床药效和靶动物安全性研究

研究国产烯丙孕素内服溶液的临床药效和靶动物安全性，为其新兽药注册和临床合理应用提供依据。通过发情间隔、发情率、发情集中度、妊娠率等指标评价烯丙孕素内服溶液调控母猪同期发情的临床效果；通过比较给药前后的临床体征、血常规指标、血清生化指标及组织病理学变化，评价烯丙孕素内服溶液对靶动物母猪的安全性。实验性临床试验中，国产烯丙孕素内服溶液高（25 mg·d-1）、中（20 mg·d-1）、低（10 mg·d-1）剂量组以及空白对照组的母猪从停药到出现发情反应的间隔时间分别为（3.45±0.81）（3.35±0.66）（5.21±2.65）和（11.71±5.39）d，发情率分别为100%（20/20）、100%（20/20）、95%（19/20）、70%（7/10）。扩大临床试验中，国产烯丙孕素内服溶液组和进口药物对照组的母猪在药物调控下均表现出良好的同期发情效果，发情间隔分别为（3.59±1.07）d和（3.75±1.22）d，发情率分别为96.72%（59/61）和98.33%（59/60）。靶动物安全性试验中，国产烯丙孕素内服溶液在5倍推荐剂量（100 mg·d-1）范围内对母猪的血液生理生化功能和主要脏器未造成明显的不良影响。结果表明，国产烯丙孕素内服溶液调控母猪同期发情，一次量20 mg，连续给药18 d，临床应用安全、有效。     

miR-18a-5p在鸡不同生长时期的表达及其生物信息学分析与靶基因预测

为探究miR-18a-5p在鸡不同生长时期组织表达变化规律及其生物信息学特点,本研究以苏禽3号鸡为试验动物,利用实时荧光定量PCR技术检测不同生长时期鸡miR-18a-5p的组织表达变化。通过文献和miRBase检索脊椎动物的miR-18a-5p序列,利用Ensembl数据库确定miR-18a-5p在基因组中的位置,根据成熟序列构建系统进化树;使用miRmap、microT、miRanda和TargetScan网站预测miR-18a-5p靶基因,并进行GO和KEGG分析。组织表达分析结果显示,miR-18a-5p序列在鸡心脏、脾脏、肾脏和下丘脑中的表达量显著高于除大脑以外的其他组织(P<0.05)。与3日龄雏鸡相比,90日龄鸡心脏、脾脏、肾脏、腿肌和下丘脑中miR-18a-5p的表达量均显著上升(P<0.05)。在50种脊椎动物中共发现52条miR-18a-5p序列,几乎所有物种都只有1条成熟序列;基因定位分析发现,鸡miR-18a-5p位于1号染色体上的基因间隔区。多序列比对分析表明,不同物种miR-18a-5p的成熟序列同源性较高,物种间较为保守。系统进化树分析发现,鸡miR-18a-5p与原鸽、斑胸草雀等其他鸟类聚为一类,这表明miR-18a-5p进化过程中是保守的。靶基因预测和功能分析发现,miR-18a-5p共有121个靶基因。GO分析结果显示,靶基因主要富集到蛋白质泛素化、细胞周期阻滞、白细胞介素-6产生的负调控等功能。KEGG 通路分析表明,靶基因主要富集到细胞周期及Wnt和FoxO信号通路等。多个与肌肉生长及细胞增殖等相关的基因富集到相关通路之上。综上,鸡miR-18a-5p是组织广泛表达的miRNA,其可能通过Wnt及FoxO信号通路调控肌肉生长及细胞增殖分化。本研究为miR-18a-5p功能及调控机制的深入研究提供参考依据。     

基于级联卷积神经网络的番茄花期识别检测方法

对作物花期状态的准确识别是温室作物执行授粉的前提。为提高花期状态识别的准确度，该研究以温室番茄为例提出了一种基于级联卷积神经网络的番茄花朵花期识别方法。首先采用改进的端到端的特征金字塔网络FS-FPN实现番茄花束的分割，然后采用Prim最小生成树对分割后的花束图片进行花期识别优先级排序，最后将已排序的分割花束图片输入改进的Yolov3网络，实现番茄花朵花期状态的精准识别。在由1600幅包含花蕾期、全开期、谢花期、初果期4类花期状态的番茄花束图像构成的数据集上，所提方法对番茄花朵花期平均检测时间为12.54 ms，平均检测精度分别比Mask R-CNN和SPP-Net提高了3.67%和2.39%，识别错误率比改进前的Yolov3网络降低了1.25%。最终将该方法部署到番茄授粉机器人上，并在大型玻璃温室内进行验证，结果表明，所提方法对番茄花朵各花期的检测精度分别为花蕾期85.71%、全开期95.46%、谢花期62.66%、初果期88.34%，该研究结果可为智能授粉机器人的精准作业提供重要依据。     

加州鲈弹状病毒三水株全基因组序列测定及分析

【目的】对加州鲈弹状病毒弱毒三水株(MSRV-SS-7)及其母源株(MSRV-SS)进行全基因组克隆和测序分析。【方法】采用分段扩增方法对MSRV-SS-7及MSRV-SS基因组核心序列进行PCR扩增,第1轮根据鳜鱼弹状病毒(SCRV)基因序列(NC_008514.1)设计10对引物进行扩增并测序;在第1轮扩增产物测序、拼接基础上,设计8对引物进行第2轮扩增,拼接后获得基因组核心序列。同时用cDNA末端快速扩增法(RACE)获得3′和5′末端序列。采用Vector NTI 8.0对基因组核心序列和末端序列进行拼接,获得基因组全序列,使用Clone Manager 8.0对MSRV-SS-7和MSRV-SS进行序列比对分析;同时使用DNAMAN将基因组G基因序列转换为氨基酸序列,并通过MEGA 5.0与其他鱼类弹状病毒的G蛋白氨基酸序列进行进化树分析。【结果】MSRV-SS-7及其母源株MSRV-SS基因组全长均为11 548 bp,包含N、P、M、G、L等5个结构基因,基因组结构为3′Leader-N-P-M-G-L-Trailer 5′;MSRV-SS-7与MSRV-SS全基因组中共有10处核苷酸不同。G蛋白进化分析表明,MSRV-SS-7及母源株MSRV-SS与SCRV亲缘关系最近,且与鲈鱼弹状病毒属(Perhabdovirus)聚为一支。【结论】克隆分析了MSRV-SS-7的全基因组序列,可以用于后续活疫苗的开发。     

Food resources and cyprinid diet in permanent and temporary Mediterranean rivers with natural and regulated flow

This study addresses the differences in food availability, diet and feeding activity of the Iberian barbel, between permanent and temporary nonregulated rivers, and the effect of flow regulation on feeding parameters. A total of 267 adult barbels were seasonally collected in four nonregulated and regulated rivers from permanent and temporary basins, and their gut content was analysed. Locally available food sources were evaluated across sites and seasons. Barbels from the permanent nonregulated river exhibit a more variable and diversified diet in which invertebrates assumed a large importance, especially during high flows. Barbels from the temporary nonregulated river presented a more uniform diet composed of plant material and detritus, particularly in drought seasons. Flow regulation affected different flow components in both systems, but the effects on food resources and barbels' diet were similar, resulting in an intra‐annual stabilisation of resource availability and fish diet, with a higher consumption of plants and detritus. Changes in fish diet and feeding activity in both nonregulated and regulated rivers were strongly associated with the seasonal variability of streamflow components, particularly between low‐ and high‐flow periods, and with the reduction in flow variability in the case of dam regulation. Results from this study can be used to improve guidelines for flow requirement implementation.     

Influences of population density,temperature and latitude on the growth of invasive topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva

Plasticity in life‐history traits provides advantages for introduced fish in overcoming demographic bottlenecks that would otherwise inhibit establishment. Here, the influence of population density, temperature and latitude was tested on the growth increments and growth rates of invasive populations of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, a small Asian cyprinid fish that is invasive across Europe. Aquaria experiments tested the roles of fish number and temperature on growth increments under a fixed food supply, pond experiments tested the role of density on growth increments, and a field study completed in England and Wales tested the influence of density and latitude on growth rates. In aquaria experiments, whilst growth increments were higher at 21 and 23 °C than at 19 and 25 °C, fish number had a greater influence on growth than temperature. Higher growth increments were produced at lower densities. In experimental ponds, growth increments were significantly higher in ponds with low densities of P. parva compared with those at elevated densities. In the field study comprising 10 wild populations across a latitudinal gradient of 4.0°N, a difference in mean air temperatures of approximately 3 °C, and estimated densities between 0.5 and 65.0 m^?2, population density was the only significant predictor of growth rates. Whilst populations at very low densities comprised of significantly faster growing individuals, there were no significant differences when densities were between 15 and 65 m^?2. Thus, invasive P. parva populations have considerable growth plasticity, especially at low densities, with this likely to be important in their ability to colonise new environments.     

农用无人机移动补给平台自主降落算法与试验

为实现根据无人机作业位置改变中途补充能源或喷洒物的起降地点,增加无人机有效作业时间,提高无人机作业效率,设计了无人机移动补给平台。通过研究农用无人机自主降落过程,提出一种基于模糊逻辑和比例积分微分(Proportional-integral and derivative,PID)分段控制的农用无人机跟踪降落算法,该算法既拥有PID算法的高精度,又兼顾模糊控制算法响应速度快、超调量小、鲁棒性强的优点。目标轨迹跟踪预测由粒子滤波器跟踪算法和轨迹拟合算法相结合进行求解。仿真和现场试验表明,与单一的PID算法和模糊逻辑算法相比,分段控制算法能够把农用无人机对移动补给平台的跟踪误差缩小到6. 7 cm以内,在移动补给平台上的降落精度控制在7. 2 cm以内。