Differences between carcass grades in some morphological, behavioral and physiological measurements at early and middle stages of fattening in crossbred steers

The differential variables for carcass grades were identified from morphological, behavioral and physiological measurements of young steers at a commercial farm. Thirty‐five Japanese Black × Holstein steers aged 6–10 months were randomly assigned to three pens. The steers had free access to ryegrass hay and a restricted amount of concentrate diet for the first 6 months of trial. They were then given oat straw ad libitum and an additional concentrate diet until slaughter. Behavioral observations (15 categories) were carried out once every 2 weeks for 2 h after feeding. Bodyweight was measured, blood sampled (for seven metabolic hormones and five metabolites), ultrasonic scanning conducted and physical measurements taken (10 parts for each animal) in months 1, 3 and 5 (early fattening stage, EFS) and in months 7, 9 and 11 (middle fattening stage, MFS) of the trial. Temperament scores during these procedures, entry order into restraint stalls, social rank and average daily gain were also assessed. A factor analysis and one‐way anova were used to identify clusters of variables which had different factor scores between carcass grades. As for the carcass yields, a cluster of chest girth and depth, bodyweight, withers and hip height, and rump length (P < 0.01), and a cluster of the frequency of scratching the body with facilities (P < 0.05) were identified as differential variables in the EFS. In the MFS, a cluster of concentrations of cortisol and epinephrine, and the frequency of eating straw were identified (P < 0.10). As for the carcass quality grade, a cluster of social rank, triglyceride concentration and the frequencies of stand‐chewing cud and eating hay, and a cluster of the frequency of investigating facilities (both P < 0.10) were identified in the EFS. In the MFS, a cluster of hip height, bodyweight, cannon circumference, chest depth, withers height and chest girth, and a cluster of the frequencies of eating a concentrate diet and stand‐chewing the cud, and social rank (both P < 0.10) were identified. In conclusion, bodyweight, chest girth and depth, withers and hip height were identified as good differential variables for future carcass grades of young steers. Facility enrichment that encourages steers to eat hay in the EFS, and to eat a concentrate diet in and after the MFS would be effective in upgrading carcass grades. High incidence of investigating and scratching the body with facilities and stand‐chewing the cud might lead to lower carcass grades.     

Effects of cultural methods and physical weed control on intrarow weed numbers, manual weeding and marketable yield in direct-sown leek and bulb onion

Manual weeding of intrarow weeds in direct-sown leek and bulb onion crops grown organically can be very labour-intensive. Four field experiments, two in direct-sown leek and two in direct-sown bulb onion were made in this investigation to study the effects of physical and cultural methods on intrarow weed numbers, time consumption for hand-weeding and marketable yield parameters. The physical methods considered were: pre-emergence flaming and harrowing, and post-emergence hoeing close to the row (only leek) and vertical brush weeding. The cultural methods were: seed priming, slurry placement and cultivar choice (only leek). Generally, flaming plus brush weeding gave the highest intrarow weed control at 92% and 87%, respectively, in the two leek experiments and 39% (only brush weeding was effective) and 74%, respectively, in the two onion experiments. Time consumption for hand-weeding after the different treatments was linearly related to the remaining numbers of intrarow weeds, with no significant influences of the experimental factors on the general relationship. Generally, the cultural methods had no significant influence on the effects of physical weeding in terms of their effect against intrarow weeds. They did not affect the tolerance or robustness of the crop plants against negative impact from the physical control methods. However, generally, seed priming and cultivar choice did improve yield in the leek experiments and seed priming also did so in the one experiment with onion.     

Cutting weeds with a CO2 laser

Stems of Chenopodium album . and Sinapis arvensis . and leaves of Lolium perenne . were cut with a CO₂ laser or with a pair of scissors. Treatments were carried out on greenhouse-grown pot plants at three different growth stages and at two heights. Plant dry matter was measured 2 to 5 weeks after treatment. The relationship between dry weight and laser energy was analysed using a non-linear dose–response regression model. The regression parameters differed significantly between the weed species. At all growth stages and heights S. arvensis was more difficult to cut with a CO₂ laser than C. album . When stems were cut below the meristems, 0.9 and 2.3 J mm⁻¹ of CO₂ laser energy dose was sufficient to reduce by 90% the biomass of C. album and S. arvensis respectively. Regrowth appeared when dicotyledonous plant stems were cut above meristems, indicating that it is important to cut close to the soil surface to obtain a significant effect. When cutting L. perenne plants with 2-true leaves at a height of 2 cm from the soil surface with a laser, the biomass decreased significantly compared with plants cut by scissors, indicating a delay in regrowth. This delay was not observed for the dicotyledonous plants nor for the other growth stages of L. perenne .     

干旱区杨树用材林土壤特性和林木生长对供水的响应

经过4年试验,结果表明,(1)供水对土壤水分调控作用明显,土壤各项含水指标均随供水量的增加而增加;(2)通过灌溉可改善土壤的三相比结构和土壤容重;灌溉对总孔隙度影响不明显;(3)灌溉对地下水位的影响显著,灌水前林地地下水埋深为3.46m,而灌水期内地下水埋深在2.36~2.87m之间,在7500m3/hm2.a灌溉定额以下时,不会造成土地次生盐渍化;(4)不同供水量对林木生长的效应是不同的,随灌溉量增加而造成不同程度的正增长;(5)人工林的蒸腾耗水量随供水量的增加而增加;(6)河套灌区杨树速生丰产林的合理灌溉量为7500m3/hm2.a。     

四川省普通高校开展少数民族传统体育的影响因素分析

主要通过文献资料法和问卷调查法，对四川省普通高校开展少数民族传统体育进行因子分析，其结 果表明：影响四川省普通高校少数民族传统体育开展的主要因子有：体育物质因子、教师因子、学生因子 、体育文化因子和外部环境因子五个因素，并对每一个影响因子进行研究与分析，提出了较为科学而合理 的建议，为四川少数民族传统体育项目的开展打下了良好基础，同时也为四川省普通高校今后进一步作好 学校少数民族传统体育教学工作提供理论依据。     

Repeated physical disturbances and the stability of sub‐tropical coral communities in Hong Kong,China

• 1. This paper reports on the dynamics of the coral community structure at A Ma Wan (AMW) and A Ye Wan (AYW) in Tung Ping Chau, Hong Kong, focusing on data collected before and after the summer typhoon seasons in 1997 to 1999. This period (1999) experienced the highest frequency of severe tropical cyclones to hit Hong Kong with one cyclone being the strongest to hit in the last 23 years (1984 to 2006).
• 2. This is part of a long‐term monitoring programme of subtropical coral communities that has been set up in AMW since May 1997 and AYW since May 1998 with nine fixed position 40 m long transects and 0.5 m × 0.5 m permanent quadrats laid at 5 m intervals along each transect. A total of 45 scleractinian coral species from 21 genera (12 families) was recorded, with 40 species in AMW and 32 species in AYW recorded at the beginning of the study.
• 3. Multidimensional scaling ordinations showed distinct spatial variations in the coral communities within and between sites. These variations were probably a result of the differential effects of the repeated cyclone impacts on the communities. Cyphastrea serailia, Goniopora lobata, Montipora peltiformis and Pavona decussata were the dominant species most strongly affected by cyclone impacts at AMW, experiencing a 6.2–16.2% loss of mean area cover during the study period. Some dominant species (e.g. P. decussata) in AYW also experienced a 6.5–14.3% loss of mean area cover within the same period.
• 4. Overall, these coral community structures appeared relatively stable and resistant to repeated physical disturbances. However, they may have low resilience towards more severe disturbances in the future. Preserving the resilience of coral communities/species in Tung Ping Chau should be one of the main goals of coral conservation strategies for the island.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

人工低产林改造对生态恢复区土壤理化性质的影响

为了解人工低产林改造对土壤理化性质的影响,于2010年9月-2011年8月对甘肃定西华家岭生态恢复区4个人工低产林改造后的混交林和1个杨树纯林、1个荒草坡对照点的土壤主要理化性质进行了研究.结果表明,杨树纯林的土壤有机质、总N和总P含量均处于较低水平,分别低于荒草坡10.98、0.78、0.10 g/kg;低产林改造后,土壤含水量、有机质和总N含量均有所升高,且随着改造时间的延长呈现出明显的增加趋势.改造8、18、25、31 a的混交林土壤含水量分别高出杨树纯林2.01、7.79、11.38、12.07个百分点,有机质含量分别高出2.96、15.23、20.80、24.96g/kg,总N含量分别高出0.41、1.02、1.48、1.96 g/kg;总P含量在改造初期有所增加,后期维持稳定,改造8、18、25 a的混交林总P含量分别高出杨树纯林0.02、0.06、0.10 g/kg,改造31a和25 a的混交林总P含量相等;低产林改造后土壤pH值略有降低.结果显示,人工低产林改造大大改善了该区土壤环境质量,有利于该区生态环境的恢复重建.     

湖北省成年人体质现状与体育活动的调查研究

本研究以2010年武汉市全民体质监测数据为基础，对武汉市四个区的成年人体质健康现状和变化规律进行了调查和数据分析，以了解不同成年人组别、不同职业和性别群体成年人的体质差异。对照湖北居民参与体育锻炼情况的调查结果，本文探讨了成年人体质状况与体育活动之间的关联，以寻求改善成年人体质健康水平的有效途径和方法，为落实全民健身计划提供依据，提高全民健康尤其是成年人的健康水平。     

乳清蛋白对以麦芽糊精为助剂桑葚汁喷雾干燥性能影响

桑葚富含多酚类物质,具有一定的营养与保健功能。多酚类物质在加工及贮藏过程中非常不稳定,喷雾干燥法微胶囊包埋是保护生物活性成分常采用的方法。但是,果汁喷雾干燥过程中极易出现黏壁现象,导致粉末回收率较低。基于此,研究不同比例乳清分离蛋白(WPI)与麦芽糊精(MD)对喷雾干燥桑葚粉理化特性的影响。结果表明,进料液中以少量WPI取代MD能显著提高桑葚粉的回收率,WPI较高的表面活性与良好的成膜性是使桑葚粉回收率提高的主要原因。随着进料溶液中WPI质量分数的增加,桑葚粉含水率增加;水分活度、堆积密度、粒径、水溶性指数和玻璃化转变温度呈降低趋势,而吸湿性则无明显变化。随着进料溶液中WPI质量分数的增加,桑葚粉L值、b值增加,a值降低,色差ΔE增加。桑葚粉的总酚含量与清除自由基能力随进料溶液中WPI质量分数的增加呈降低趋势。当进料溶液中桑葚汁/MD/WPI质量比为65∶(34.5~30.0)∶(0.5~5.0)时,既能有效解决黏壁问题,又能较好地抑制桑葚汁中多酚类成分降解,使桑葚粉具有较高的抗氧化能力。     

植物诱导抗病技术的发展现状

对植物诱导抗病技术进行了综述;针对生物诱导因子、物理诱导因子和化学诱导因子,分析了各种诱导因子的特征和应用;指出了植物诱导抗病性研究的现状和问题;并对诱导抗病性的应用和发展方向做作了概括.