Decomposition of calcium carbonate and organic carbon in the deep oceans

Simple mass-balance calculations indicate that in seawater the calcium variation (DeltaCa) correlates with the variation in the titration alkalinity (DeltaTA) and the variation in the total carbon dioxide (DeltasigmaCO(2)) or nitrate (DeltaNO(3)) according to the equations DeltaCa = 0.46288 DeltaTA + 0.074236 DeltasigmaCO(2) and DeltaCa = 0.5 DeltaTA + 0.53125 DeltaNO(3). The estimated values for DeltaCa from these equations, which agree with the values obtained from direct measurements, have been used to estimate the ratio of the in situ inorganic to organic carbon fluxes in the oceans. The precise vertical distribution of this ratio is shown for the first time.     

谷氨酰胺对肉仔鸡脾组织结构发育的影响

160只 1日龄艾维茵肉仔鸡随机分成 4组 ,分别饲喂添加 0 % ,0 2 % ,0 4%和 0 8%谷氨酰胺的饲粮 2 8d。每周末每组取 6只鸡 ,颈静脉放血致死 ,取脾脏 ,Bouin液固定 ,制作石蜡切片 ,HE染色 ,光镜观察 ,显微摄影 ,研究基础日粮中添加谷氨酰胺对肉仔鸡脾组织结构的影响。结果显示 :添加谷氨酰胺的各试验组脾小结增多、增大 ;动脉周围淋巴鞘增厚 ;椭球增多、增大 ,细胞排列疏松 ,鞘毛细血管内皮细胞增高、增多 ;红髓比例降低 ,脾索内浆细胞和巨噬细胞增多。添加 0 8%谷氨酰胺的脾小结变化明显 ,添加 0 4%谷氨酰胺的动脉周围淋巴鞘和椭球变化明显。说明日粮中适量添加谷氨酰胺可促进脾内淋巴细胞的增殖与分化 ,从组织学角度证明 ,谷氨酰胺可促进脾的免疫应答能力 ,提高机体的免疫功能     

Evolution Analysis About Soybean MIR166 Family

MicroRNA(miRNA) is a class of important regulating non-coding small molecular RNA. The gma-MIR166 gene family consists of 21 members and their expression patterns diversify widely. It is important to analyze the evolution of gma-MIR166 gene family in order to understand the evolutionary mechanisms of miRNAs in soybean. In this study, we implemented soybean wide genome block analysis, the molecular phylogeny of gma-MIR166 and block analysis of gma-MIR166 family. The results showed that both chromosome big segmental duplications and tandem duplications were main reasons contributed to the expanding of gmaMIR166 gene family. These findings suggested that gma-MIR166 gene family might originate from one or two ancient miRNA genes. The results of research provided a support for evolutionary study of miRNAs in soybean and related species in Fabaceae.     

Design and Experiment of Slave Computer Control System for Applying Variable-rate Liquid Fertilizer

In order to increase the applying rate of liquid fertilizer and reduce environmental pollution, a slave computer control system for applying variable-rate liquid fertilizer was designed. The system used SMC as core processor and electrically controlled pressure regulator as execution component. The characteristic equation of the system was obtained by using classical control theory. Results indicated that the characteristic equation met the requirements of routh-criterion, which indicated the working process of the system was stable. Performance of the slave computer was verified via bench tests. Results demonstrated that there was no significant influence on the response from interclass error. The fertilization error was less than 0.9, and the fertilization accuracy was larger than 97%. The liquid fertilizer emitted by the fertilizing devices had no significant difference in uniformity, which met the demands of the slave computer control system for applying variable-rate liquid fertilizer.     

Immunogenicity and haemagglutination of recombinant Avibacterium paragallinarum HagA

Inactivated vaccines of Avibacterium paragallinarum provide protection and reduce the economic losses caused by infectious coryza. However, inactivated bacterins provide protection only against the Page serovars included in the vaccine. In this study, we investigated the immunological properties of a functional recombinant haemagglutinin protein (rHagA) derived from a Taiwan isolate strain A9 as the immunogen for vaccination. The rHagA subunit vaccine protected 71% of immunized chickens against 10(10) colony-forming units (CFU) of viable A9. Vaccinated chickens which showed no clinical signs of coryza developed haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers of 1:10 or greater. Haemagglutination (HA) of serovars A and C was not affected by the presence of rHagA specific antiserum. The HA of rHagA could only be induced against formaldehyde-fixed chicken red blood cells (FA-RBCs). These results suggested that HagA is a moderate immunogen and might not be a major haemagglutinin in vivo. However, HagA might be involved in haemagglutination when treated serovar C aggregates fixed RBCs in vitro.     

Inhibition of porcine circovirus type 1 and type 2 production in PK-15 cells by small interfering RNAs targeting the Rep gene

Porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1) and type 2 (PCV2) are two genotypes of porcine circovirus. Both of them are presumed to be widespread in the swine population. Currently, there is no specific treatment for their infections. RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific RNA degradation mechanism mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA), which represents a possible therapeutic application for the treatment of viral infections. In this study, three siRNA expression plasmids (pS-RepA, pS-RepB and pS-RepC) were generated to target three different coding regions of the Rep protein (Rep) of PCV. These siRNAs were used to inhibit PCV production in a porcine kidney cell line, PK-15 cells. Our results revealed that Rep gene expression was inhibited by pS-RepA, pS-RepB and pS-RepC to different degrees. Moreover, our study also showed that the production of PCV1 and PCV2 was reduced by these siRNAs. pS-RepC, which targets the middle region of Rep gene, proved to be the most efficient siRNA for inhibition of Rep expression and viral production. Taken together, our data suggest that RNAi could be investigated as a potential treatment for PCV infection.     

Evaluation of immunogenicity and protective efficacy of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae HB04C(-) mutant lacking a drug resistance marker in the pigs

Previously, we reported the construction and characterization of a genetically defined Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A. pleuropneumoniae) apxIIC gene mutant, HB04C(-), which conferred protection to mice against infection with A. pleuropneumoniae. In this study, we further evaluated HB04C(-) for safety and its ability to elicit protective immunity in pigs. It was demonstrated that a dose of 2 x 10(8) CFU HB04C(-) was safe to the pigs via intranasal or intramuscular injection. Immunization with a dose of 2 x 10(8) HB04C(-) by both intranasal and intramuscular routine could yield equal protective efficacy and elicited significant protection against experiment challenge with homologous or heterologous serotypes of a virulent A. pleuropneumonia. Taken together, HB04C(-) might serve as a promising vaccine candidate against infection with A. pleuropneumoniae.     

A peptide of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype Asia1 generating a neutralizing antibody response, and an immunostimulatory peptide

The epitopes of the capsid of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) play important roles in the construction of highly immunogenic subunit vaccines. However few epitopes have been found for FMDV serotype Asia1. In this study we screened for epitopes of the VP1 and VP2 proteins of FMDV serotype Asia1 isolate, YNBS/58. Fragments consisting of amino acids 133-163 of VP1 and amino acids 1-33 of VP2 contained epitopes, and both induced lymphoproliferation in guinea pigs. Only the VP1 fragment induced neutralizing antibodies but the VP2 peptide dramatically increased the neutralizing antibody response induced by the VP1 peptide.     

Effects of CpG-B ODN on the protein expression profile of swine PBMC

The CpG motif within bacterial DNA is a potent immuno-stimulatory moiety. Here, using a 2-D electrophoretic approach, we investigated the effect of synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide containing a B type CpG motif (CpG-B ODN) on the protein expression profile of swine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). We found that several proteins including spondin 1, N-acetolactate alpha linked acidic dipeptidase; V kappa light chain, T cell receptor variable alpha chain, heat shock protein (Hsp) 60, Hsp70, KIAA0857 protein, and PNAS-146 were up-regulated in PBMC by CpG-B ODN stimulation. Further studies showed that CpG-B ODN-mediated Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90 expressions were closely associated with the TLR9 signalling pathway. Pretreatment with inhibitors of Hsp70, Hsp90 and TLR9 all blocked the CpG-B ODN-mediated anti-apoptotic effect in swine PBMC. These results suggest that CpG-B ODN treatment of swine PBMC may enhance the expression of biologically active proteins, notably spondin 1, V kappa light chain, T cell receptor variable alpha chain and Hsps, which may play an important role in CpG-B ODN-mediated activation of immune responses and enhancement of swine PBMC survival.