Sorghum extrusion process combined with biofortified sweet potato contributed for high iron bioavailability in Wistar rats

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sorghum and sweet potato on the bioavailability of iron, gene expression of proteins involved in iron metabolism and the plasma antioxidant capacity in animals fed with whole sorghum grains processed by dry heat or extrusion, combined or not with sweet potato flour with high content of carotenoids. Five experimental groups were tested (n = 7): dry heat sorghum flour (DS); extruded sorghum flour (ES); whole sorghum flour + sweet potato flour (DS + SP); extruded sorghum flour + sweet potato flour (ES + SP) and positive control (FS). The evaluations included: hemoglobin gain, hemoglobin regeneration efficiency, gene expression of divalente metal transporter 1 (DMT-1), duodenal citochroma B (DcytB), ferroportin, hephaestin, transferrin and ferritin and total plasma antioxidant capacity (TAC). The ES + SP group showed higher (p < 0.05) expression of DcytB, ferroportin and hephaestin when compared to the control group. The DS group showed high (p < 0.05) expression of DMT-1 and the ES showed high mRNA expression of transferrin and ferritin. The changes in the sorghum physicochemical properties from extrusion process reduced the iron and phytate content, and increased the gene expression of proteins involved in iron metabolism, improving iron bioavailability. The combination of sweet potato and sorghum flour (dry or extruded) improved the iron capture and total antioxidant capacity, probably due to the presence of β-carotene and antioxidant compounds.     

基于季节特征的土壤退墒模型建立与率定

利用河南省南阳市2011—2015年12个墒情站的土壤水分监测资料,分析研究了无增墒情况下土壤含水量消退规律,构建出基于不同季节(夏季、春秋季与冬季)的土壤含水量与衰减系数的数学模型,运用规划求解法率定模型参数,并利用2016—2017年资料对模型进行检验。结果表明,不同季节土壤水分衰竭系数模型分别为α=1.023(1-ω~2/4353)~(1/2)(夏季)、α=1.013(1-ω~2/7005)~(1/2)(春秋季)与α=1.008(1-ω~2/9303)~(1/2)(冬季),所建立的数学模型适用于南阳市相应季节壤土与粘壤土小麦、水稻与休闲地土壤旱情预测,但不适用于夏季与春秋季砂土特别是休闲地砂土土壤墒情预测。     

Seasonal Losses of Surface Litter in Northern Great Plains Mixed-Grass Prairies

Surface litter protects rangeland soils against wind and water erosion and provides food and nesting materials for wildlife and insects. However, the ability of grassland systems to provide these services depends on the little studied topic of seasonal surface litter decomposition. Seasonal and annual surface litter decomposition rates were determined between 2014 and 2015 in central and western South Dakota at three mixed-grass prairie locations. Residue bags containing surface litter were placed in the field in late fall (1 November) of 2014 and removed after the winter (1 April), spring (1 July), and summer + fall seasons (1 November) of 2015. The litter was analyzed for total C, total N, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Average winter temperatures ranged from −5^oC to −15^oC, while summer temperatures ranged from 10^oC to 35^oC. Litter decomposition was lowest during the winter (0.57−0.86 g [kg × day]⁻¹) and greatest during the summer + fall (2.12−2.69 g [kg × day]⁻¹). Over the entire season, 40.8−62% of the surface litter decomposed. Winter litter decomposition was positively correlated with air temperature (r = 0.62, P < 0.01) and snow depth (r = 0.61, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with C/N ratio (r = −0.65, P < 0.01), ADF (r = −0.35, P < 0.05), and ADL (r = −0.25, P < 0.05) concentrations. These findings indicate that winter decomposition cannot be ignored and that winter surface litter decomposition increases with snow depth.     

基于局部均衡模型的中国羊肉市场供需变动分析

对中国羊肉市场供需变动情况进行深入分析,并运用局部均衡模型探究中国羊肉市场供给与需求相互变动的主要原因,最后运用ARIMA模型预测方法对中国未来羊肉供需变化进行预测分析。研究结果表明,中国羊肉市场需求的满足以国内市场供给为主,2017年国内供需缺口为74.28万t,约是1994年的3.82倍,供需缺口有扩大倾向。上一期肉羊存栏量、肉羊胴体质量水平、羊肉市场价格均显著影响国内羊肉市场供给量;上一期人均消费量与收入水平是影响城镇与农村居民当期人均消费量的重要因素;国际羊肉价格对国内羊肉出口量产生显著正向影响。在未来一段时期内,中国羊肉产量将保持稳定增长,羊肉消费量进一步增加,预计到2030年达到843.03万t,羊肉进口量较大幅度提高,可一定程度弥补国内羊肉供需缺口。为此,一方面需通过技术与政策支持大力发展国内肉羊产业,另一方面也需积极开拓国际市场,加强贸易协作。     

四种鱚属鱼类线粒体Cyt b基因的序列变异及系统发育研究

测定和分析了4种鱚属(Sillago)鱼类:斑鱚(Sillago aeolus)、亚洲鱚(S. asiatica)、多鳞鱚(S. sihama)和少鳞鱚(S. japonica)线粒体细胞色素b基因序列片段,比较了不同鱚属鱼类种间的序列差异,探讨了彼此间系统发育关系和分类地位。结果显示,4种鱼类平均核苷酸组成为T 29.9%、C 29.2%、A 21.5%、G 19.3%,种间平均净遗传距离在0.157到0.280之间。最大似然法构建的系统树显示,少鳞鱚和亚洲鱚首先聚类、再与多鳞鱚和斑鱚相聚,斑鱚是最晚分化出的鱼类。基于Cyt b基因序列核苷酸分歧速率计算得出4种鱼类发生遗传分化时间在距今785—1400年前的第三纪中新世(Miocene)。     

基于声发射技术的木材害虫信号特征检测

针对木材害虫声发射（AE）信号检测问题，研究杨树木段中麻点豹天牛幼虫AE信号波形特征及其信号的能量，为钻蛀害虫声音的监测提出一种新的方法。取一段具有麻点豹天牛幼虫的杨树木段，通过采样频率为500 kHz的2通道木材蠕变声发射信号采集系统采集原始AE信号。对采集到的原始信号滤波后进行小波分解，通过对各层高频信号的分析获取AE信号的频域特征，并对其进行重构与信号解析。结果表明，麻点豹天牛幼虫AE信号的主频主要集中在30 kHz附近，其信号的能量在16:00最高，反映了该幼虫在15:00-16:00较活跃。     

Antioxidant,anti-amylase and anti-glycation potential of brans of some Sri Lankan traditional and improved rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties

Brans of 23 traditional and 12 improved (both red and white) rice varieties in Sri Lanka were screened for anti-amylase and anti-glycation activities in vitro. Varieties which showed the highest inhibitory activities at screening were further investigated for anti-glucosidase and glycation reversing as anti-diabetic properties. The same varieties were studied for selected antioxidant properties. Significantly high anti-amylase and anti-glycation activities were observed for bran extracts of red varieties compared to white varieties at screening. Traditional red rice varieties, Masuran, Sudu Heeneti, Dik Wee and Goda Heeneti, exhibited significant and dose dependent anti-amylase, anti-glycation and glycation reversing activities. These varieties also showed marked antioxidant properties. It is concluded that brans of Sri Lankan traditional red rice varieties Masuran, Sudu Heeneti, Dik Wee and Goda Heeneti may be potential food supplements for diabetes.     

Estimates of genetic variance and variance of predicted genetic merits using pedigree or genomic relationship matrices in six Brown Swiss cattle populations for different traits

The amount of variance captured in genetic estimations may depend on whether a pedigree‐based or genomic relationship matrix is used. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic variance as well as the variance of predicted genetic merits (PGM) using pedigree‐based or genomic relationship matrices in Brown Swiss cattle. We examined a range of traits in six populations amounting to 173 population‐trait combinations. A main aim was to determine how using different relationship matrices affect variance estimation. We calculated ratios between different types of estimates and analysed the impact of trait heritability and population size. The genetic variances estimated by REML using a genomic relationship matrix were always smaller than the variances that were similarly estimated using a pedigree‐based relationship matrix. The variances from the genomic relationship matrix became closer to estimates from a pedigree relationship matrix as heritability and population size increased. In contrast, variances of predicted genetic merits obtained using a genomic relationship matrix were mostly larger than variances of genetic merit predicted using pedigree‐based relationship matrix. The ratio of the genomic to pedigree‐based PGM variances decreased as heritability and population size rose. The increased variance among predicted genetic merits is important for animal breeding because this is one of the factors influencing genetic progress.     

Accounting for unknown foster dams in the genetic evaluation of embryo transfer progeny

Animals born by embryo transfer (ET) are usually not included in the genetic evaluation of beef cattle for preweaning growth if the recipient dam is unknown. This is primarily to avoid potential bias in the estimation of the unknown age of dam. We present a method that allows including records of calves with unknown age of dam. Assumptions are as follows: (i) foster cows belong to the same breed being evaluated, (ii) there is no correlation between the breeding value (BV) of the calf and the maternal BV of the recipient cow, and (iii) cows of all ages are used as recipients. We examine the issue of bias for the fixed level of unknown age of dam (AOD) and propose an estimator of the effect based on classical measurement error theory (MEM) and a Bayesian approach. Using stochastic simulation under random mating or selection, the MEM estimating equations were compared with BLUP in two situations as follows: (i) full information (FI); (ii) missing AOD information on some dams. Predictions of breeding value (PBV) from the FI situation had the smallest empirical average bias followed by PBV obtained without taking measurement error into account. In turn, MEM displayed the highest bias, although the differences were small. On the other hand, MEM showed the smallest MSEP, for either random mating or selection, followed by FI, whereas ignoring measurement error produced the largest MSEP. As a consequence from the smallest MSEP with a relatively small bias, empirical accuracies of PBV were larger for MEM than those for full information, which in turn showed larger accuracies than the situation ignoring measurement error. It is concluded that MEM equations are a useful alternative for analysing weaning weight data when recipient cows are unknown, as it mitigates the effects of bias in AOD by decreasing MSEP.