Impact of weather variables and season on sporulation of Phytophthora pluvialis and Phytophthora kernoviae

Phytophthora pluvialis and Phytophthora kernoviae are the causal agents of important needle diseases on Pinus radiata in New Zealand. Little is known about the epidemiology of the diseases, making the development of control strategies challenging. To investigate the seasonality and climatic drivers of sporulation, inoculum traps, consisting of pine fascicles floating on water in plastic containers, were exchanged fortnightly at five sites in P. radiata plantations between February 2012 and December 2014. Sections of needle baits were plated onto selective media and growth of Phytophthora pluvialis and P. kernoviae recorded. To explore the generalizability of these data, they were compared to detection data for both pathogens from the New Zealand Forest Health Database (NZFHDB). Further, equivalent analyses on infection of Rhododendron ponticum by P. kernoviae in Cornwall, UK allowed the comparison of the epidemiology of P. kernoviae across different host systems and environments. In New Zealand, inoculum of P. pluvialis and P. kernoviae was detected between January–December and March–November, respectively. Inoculum of both species peaked in abundance in late winter. The probability of detecting P. pluvialis and P. kernoviae was greater at lower temperatures, while the probability of detecting P. pluvialis also increased during periods of wet weather. Similar patterns were observed in NZFHDB data. However, the seasonal pattern of infection by P. kernoviae in the UK was the opposite of that seen for sporulation in New Zealand. Phytophthora kernoviae was likely limited by warmer and drier summers in New Zealand, but by colder winter weather in the UK. These results emphasize the importance of considering both environmental drivers and thresholds in improving our understanding of pathogen epidemiology.     

河北省杂粮生产现状及生产布局展望

河北省是杂粮生产大省,且种类繁多。为稳定河北省杂粮生产发展,进一步调整河北省种植业结构提供参考依据,本文总结了河北省杂粮的历史生产现状,包括面积、单产、总产以及河北省各地市杂粮的分布,试图探索杂粮的生产布局与趋势,同时针对河北省杂粮历史单产水平变化趋势,分析了造成单产变化的成因,并简单提出建议。最后提出河北省杂粮生产布局的展望,将河北省杂粮生产区域布局划分为优势主产区、战略提升区、稳步发展区三个功能区。     

Innovating in less developed regions: What drives patenting in the lagging regions of Europe and North America

Not all economically disadvantaged—“less developed” or “lagging”—regions are the same. They are, however, often bundled together for the purposes of innovation policy design and implementation. This paper attempts to determine whether such bundling is warranted by conducting a regional level investigation for Canada, the United States, on the one hand, and Europe, on the other, to (a) identify the structural and socioeconomic factors that drive patenting in the less developed regions of North America and Europe, respectively; and (b) explore how these factors differ between the two contexts. The empirical analysis, estimated using a mixed‐model approach, reveals that, while there are similarities between the drivers of innovation in North America's and Europe's lagging regions, a number of important differences between the two continents prevail. The analysis also indicates that the territorial processes of innovation in North America's and Europe's less developed regions are more similar to those of their more developed counterparts than to one another.     

Backshoring and nearshoring: An overview

Increasingly, economies that have traditionally benefited from offshoring are losing some of their strategical advantages, with a consequent increase in backshoring by developed economies. This paper describes the phenomenon and tries to shed light on the current challenges, trends, and debates in the area, and on the main determinants of backshoring. A new phenomenon known as nearshoring is also analysed—this consists of relocating some previously offshored manufacturing activities so that they are now close to previous core locations, but not so close as to suffer from disagglomeration effects. This combines the advantages of offshoring and backshoring.     

Spatial–temporal evolution of the port–hinterland relationship: A case study of the Midstream Yangtze River,China

Most scientific attention on port studies centers on deep sea ports, especially container ports. In this paper, in contrast, attention is focused on the spatial–temporal development of inland waterway ports on the Midstream Yangtze River from 2001 to 2013. The aim of this study is to assess two relevant and complementary questions of the hinterland evolution: its geographical extent and the coordination relationship with the inland port. To conduct the study, it was necessary to first identify the boundaries of the ports' hinterlands within the given timeframe. Then, the coupling coordination degree model was introduced to explore the underlying relationship between the port service and hinterland economy. Furthermore, to better depict the intricate economic characteristics of the hinterland, the development stage theory was applied in the models. The results highlight the emergence of a discontinuous hinterland at Wuhan Port and its reinforcement of primacy with respect to fierce hinterland rivalry. It also demonstrates that an interplay between major ports and their corresponding hinterlands evolves from the transitional stage, characterized by lagging port service, to the multi‐stage, wherein the supply of ports partly outstrips hinterland demand.     

The role of ear environment in postharvest susceptibility of maize to toxigenic Aspergillus flavus

A kernel screening assay (KSA) was used to assess the genetic and environmental effects on the vulnerability of maize to aflatoxin accumulation. Kernels of 26 inbred lines that had been grown in seven environments, and 190 lines of the Intermated B73xMo17 (IBM) population grown in one location in the United States, were inoculated with a toxigenic strain of A. flavus and incubated in the dark at 30°C for 6 days. Percent kernel colonization (PKC), sporulation and aflatoxin were influenced by the maize genotypes (G), the location (“ear environment” or E) and the GxE interactions. Overall, low broad‐sense heritabilities were observed for PKC, sporulation and aflatoxin. PKC was significantly correlated with sporulation in all environments. Aflatoxin was positively correlated with colonization for two and with sporulation for all ear environments. Higher grain sulphur or magnesium in IBM was associated with less colonization or aflatoxin. Postharvest susceptibility of maize to aflatoxin is thus influenced by factors that are modulated by the ear environment. In a KSA, sporulation could be a proxy test for aflatoxin accumulation.     

Morphological differences among Raphanus raphanistrum populations and their relationship to related crops

Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) has developed introgressed populations after hybridization with its cultivated counterpart (R. sativus) in California. Hybridization with various Brassica and Sinapis species is also possible. To determine if hybridization is responsible of the genetic diversity of European populations, six wild radish populations with distinct morphological traits were sampled from geographically distant regions in Europe. Plants were cultivated in an oilseed rape field and in insect‐proof cages. Silique and flower morphology, growth, and reproductive traits were measured. The wild radish populations could be discriminated by the morphological traits, but not related to geographic regions. In particular, populations of one region showed wide variability in terms of silique shape and growth behaviour, and small‐sized flowers. Although the origin of morphological diversity in wild radish is unclear, i.e. native or due to gene flow from the cultivated radish or other Brassicaceae, significant morphological divergence was found that could have relevant effects on plant ecology and adaptation.     

Development of colchicine‐induced tetraploid St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) lines

St. Augustinegrass is well suited for lawns and commercial landscapes. While many genotypes are cross‐fertile, all cultivars are propagated vegetatively in sod production. To ensure varietal purity, development of sterile triploid hybrids by crossing tetraploid and diploid genotypes has been successfully used in other warm‐season turfgrasses. Applying this model in St. Augustinegrass would be beneficial to sod producers and turf managers who require purity for certification and uniformity for performance, respectively. This study was conducted to develop colchicine‐induced tetraploid lines of St. Augustinegrass. Seeds of cultivar ‘Raleigh’ were treated with four colchicine concentrations at four exposure times. A non‐treated control was included among the treatments. Seedlings that germinated were screened for genome size changes using flow cytometry. Line DSA 13005 and two progeny lines derived through selfing, DSA 16001 and DSA 16016, were corroborated as tetraploids (2n = 4x = 36) through chromosome counts. These lines will be used in future breeding efforts to attempt development of sterile triploid cultivars of St. Augustinegrass.     

山下黑猪与鲁莱黑猪正反交F1代杂种优势的估计

旨在估计山下黑猪和鲁莱黑猪正反交F₁代杂种优势，筛选出合适的杂交方式，以提高优质肉猪的生产效率，满足人们对于优质猪肉的需求。本研究在山下黑猪（164头）和鲁莱黑猪（69头）及其正（6头山下黑猪♂×25头鲁莱黑猪♀）、反（3头鲁莱黑猪♂×35头山下黑猪♀）交4个群体中测定了生长肥育、体尺外貌（75～110 kg）、繁殖和胴体肉质（90～115 kg）4大类共43个性状，比较了这些性状在群体间的差异，并估计了正反交F₁代的杂种优势。结果表明，山下黑猪的生长肥育和体尺性状较好，鲁莱黑猪的繁殖和肉质性状较好，正反交群体介于它们之间。正交群体的繁殖性能优于反交群体，但生长肥育性能比反交差。由于这4个群体的母猪都是纯种，因此繁殖性状没有表现出明显杂种优势。除膘厚、胸椎数、45 min pH和剪切力无显著的杂种优劣势外，大部分胴体性状和肉质性状有明显的杂种劣势。生长肥育性状的杂种优势在正反交群体中的表现不一致，反交群体表现出显著杂种优势，而正交则无明显的杂种优势。本研究估计了山下黑猪和鲁莱黑猪正反交的杂种优势，为筛选山下黑猪和鲁莱黑猪的最佳杂交方式奠定基础。     

EPS364, a Novel Deep-Sea Bacterial Exopolysaccharide,Inhibits Liver Cancer Cell Growth and Adhesion

The prognosis of liver cancer was inferior among tumors. New medicine treatments are urgently needed. In this study, a novel exopolysaccharide EPS364 was purified from Vibrio alginolyticus 364, which was isolated from a deep-sea cold seep of the South China Sea. Further research showed that EPS364 consisted of mannose, glucosamine, gluconic acid, galactosamine and arabinose with a molar ratio of 5:9:3.4:0.5:0.8. The relative molecular weight of EPS364 was 14.8 kDa. Our results further revealed that EPS364 was a β-linked and phosphorylated polysaccharide. Notably, EPS364 exhibited a significant antitumor activity, with inducing apoptosis, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Huh7.5 liver cancer cells. Proteomic and quantitative real-time PCR analyses indicated that EPS364 inhibited cancer cell growth and adhesion via targeting the FGF19-FGFR4 signaling pathway. These findings suggest that EPS364 is a promising antitumor agent for pharmacotherapy.