Age estimation of different tree species using a special kind of an electrically recording resistance drill

The determination of tree age is an important issue for urban green planning, forestry and dendrology; finding non-destructive and quasi-non-destructive methods for this purpose is of great theoretical and practical importance. The resistance drilling method is quasi-non-destructive because the average diameter of an opening that remains after drilling does not exceed 3 mm. Do electrically recording resistance drills allow precise assessment of tree age? The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of determining the number of tree rings based on an examination of this special kind of drilling resistance profiles for three tree species, the pine Pinus sylvestris L., the oak Quercus robur L., and the birch Betula pendula ROTH. In 2015 and 2016, 15 pine trees, 15 oak trees, and 15 birch trees were randomly selected. For each studied tree, a measurement was conducted using the electrically recording resistance drill IML-Resi E400 with a flat-tipped 1.5/3 mm steel needle (research sample), and an increment core was taken (reference sample). The drill used was not a real Resistograph^®. The analysis of the E400-profiles underestimated the number of tree rings; the mean bias error (MBE) values were –6.5, –2.5, and –6.0 years for pine, oak, and birch, respectively. The proportion of investigated trees with less than five years difference between the research and reference samples varied from 38.4 (birch) to 66.7 (oak) percent. The accuracy of tree age determination was lowest for birch and highest for oak. The binomial generalised linear model (GLM) revealed that the most accurate tree age assessments were obtained from tree rings wider than 2 mm. The measurements clearly showed that the electrically recording resistance drill IML-Resi E400 enables a quick, although approximate, tree age assessment. Future research should concentrate on electronically regulating and recording drills, providing a higher spatial and signal resolution, and a stronger correlation to wood density.     

Construction of recombinant capripoxviruses as vaccine vectors for delivering foreign antigens: Methodology and application

Goatpox (GTP), sheeppox (SPP) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) are three severe diseases of goat, sheep and cattle. Their typical clinical symptoms are characterized by vesicles, papules, nodules, pustules and scabs on animal skins. The GTP, SPP and LSD are caused by goatpox virus (GTPV), sheeppox virus (SPPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), respectively, all of which belong to the genus Capripoxvirus in the family Poxviridae. Several capripoxvirus (CaPV) isolates have been virulently attenuated through serial passaging in vitro for production of live vaccines. CaPV-based vector systems have been broadly used to construct recombinant vaccines for delivering foreign antigens, many of which have been demonstrated to induce effective immune protections. Homologous recombination is the most commonly used method for constructing recombinant CaPVs. Here, we described a methodology for generation of recombinant CaPVs by the homologous recombination, and further reviewed CaPV-vectored vaccines for delivering foreign antigens.     

Captopril exerts myocardial protective effect in coronary microembolization rats by inhibiting oxidative stress injury and alleviating inflammatory response

AIM: To investigate the effects of captopril (CAP) on oxidative stress injury and inflammatory response induced by coronary microembolization (CME) and its related molecular mechanisms. METHODS: The rat model of CME was established by clamping the rat artery and injecting blood microemboli. The rats were divided into control group, CME group and CME+CAP group, with 6 rats in each group. The myocardial tissues of each group were collected. The changes of myocardial structure and the degree of inflammatory response were analyzed by HE staining. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining. The fluorescence intensity of cleaved caspase-3 was detected by immunofluorescence obervation. The protein levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax were determined by Western blot. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase was measured by ELISA. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by DHE fluorescence staining. RESULTS: CAP significantly reduced the myocardial structural changes (P<0.05), inflammatory cell infiltration (P<0.01), number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes (P<0.01), the protein levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax (P<0.01), and ROS production levels (P<0.01), but promoted the activity of antioxidant markers SOD and catalase (P<0.01) in the CME rats.CONCLUSION: CAP attenuates CME-induced myocardial injury by resisting oxidative stress and alleviating inflammatory response.     

云南小粒咖啡果皮粉发酵酸奶的研制

以鲜牛奶为主要原料，添加云南小粒咖啡果皮粉、蔗糖、琼脂，直投式发酵菌种为发酵剂，以酸奶感官品质评分为考察指标，在单因素试验的基础上，应用Box-Behnken试验设计优化确定最佳的云南小粒咖啡果皮粉发酵酸奶的工艺与配方。结果表明：咖啡果皮粉添加量为鲜奶量的0.63%，蔗糖为鲜奶量的7.50%，琼脂为鲜奶量的0.55%，发酵时间6.6 h时，获得的发酵酸奶的感官品质评分为91分，产品组织状态均匀，口感细腻，略带有咖啡香味，感官评价最佳。     

基于综合判别法的广东省水土流失状况遥感分析

以2009和2010年10 m分辨率的ALOS多光谱遥感影像为数据源,采用计算机自动分析与人机交互判别相结合的方法,对广东省水土流失状况进行了遥感分析。结果表明:广东省土地利用以林草地、水田、建筑用地、水域和旱地为主,植被覆盖状况良好,珠三角和粤西地区地形平缓,粤北山区地形起伏较大;全省水土流失总面积20945.87 km 2,其中自然侵蚀面积14781.06 km 2,人为侵蚀面积6164.81 km 2;全省水土流失以轻度和中度侵蚀为主,主要分布在河源、梅州和云浮等地,其中生产建设活动导致的人为侵蚀集中分布在惠州、清远和广州等地。     

Performance and uncertainty analysis of a short-term climate reconstruction based on multi-source data in the Tianshan Mountains region,China

Short-term climate reconstruction, i.e., the reproduction of short-term(several decades) historical climatic time series based on the relationship between observed data and available longer-term reference data in a certain area, can extend the length of climatic time series and offset the shortage of observations. This can be used to assess regional climate change over a much longer time scale. Based on monthly grid climate data from a Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project phase 5(CMIP5) dataset for the period of 1850–2000, the Climatic Research Unit(CRU) dataset for the period of 1901–2000 and the observed data from 53 meteorological stations located in the Tianshan Mountains region(TMR) of China during the period of 1961–2011, we calibrated and validated monthly average temperature(MAT) and monthly accumulated precipitation(MAP) in the TMR using the delta, physical scaling(SP) and artificial neural network(ANN) methods. Performance and uncertainty during the calibration(1971–1999) and verification(1961–1970) periods were assessed and compared using traditional performance indices and a revised set pair analysis(RSPA) method. The calibration and verification processes were subjected to various sources of uncertainty due to the influence of different reconstructed variables, different data sources, and/or different methods used. According to traditional performance indices, both the CRU and CMIP5 datasets resulted in satisfactory calibrated and verified MAT time series at 53 meteorological stations and MAP time series at 20 meteorological stations using the delta and SP methods for the period of 1961–1999. However, the results differed from those obtained by the RSPA method. This showed that the CRU dataset produced a low degree of uncertainty(positive connection degree) during the calibration and verification of MAT using the delta and SP methods compared to the CMIP5 dataset. Overall, the calibrated and verified MAP had a high degree of uncertainty(negative connection degree) regardless of the dataset or reconstruction method used. Therefore, the reconstructed time series of MAT for the period of 1850(or 1901)–1960 based on the CRU and CMIP5 datasets using the delta and SP methods could be used for further study. The results of this study will be useful for short-term(several decades) regional climate reconstruction and longer-term(100 a or more) assessments of regional climate change.     

草地贪夜蛾寄生蜂资源及其调控寄主免疫反应的研究

草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda（J.E.Smith）原产于美洲，自2019年初入侵我国以来迅速向北蔓延，对农业造成了巨大损失。其寄生蜂作为重要的天敌资源之一，在害虫防治中具有不可替代的作用。本文对目前已鉴定到的9个科170种草地贪夜蛾寄生蜂天敌等进行了分类总结，而后讨论了其在害虫生物防治方面的应用前景，并围绕草地贪夜蛾寄生蜂寄生因子调控寄主免疫反应的分子机理展开详细论述。该研究旨在丰富草地贪夜蛾的生物防治资源素材，并为该害虫的绿色防控提供重要的理论与实践指导意义。     

不同运输条件对合浦珠母贝稚贝存活比较

比较运输方式及环境温度对合浦珠母贝稚贝运输中的存活影响,从而为稚贝运输过程中的运输方式、环境温度及运输时间的把握提供借鉴和参考。以3月龄稚贝为实验材料,运用无水干露、加水淹没及包装充氧等3种方式,分别在环境温度为5、13、21和29℃下模拟运输。每隔3 h从每组运输条件下取出1组实验贝,转移到正常养殖环境下暂养恢复,经48 h后统计其存活率。对运输时间与存活率之间进行非线性参数曲线拟合,计算每组运输条件下的致死时间(T_0)、半致死时间(T_(0.5))及全致死时间(T_1);运用双因素方差分析,Duncan氏方法比较3种运输方式及4种环境温度间的均值。结果显示:包装充氧优于其他两种运输方式,而加水淹没又优于无水干露;温度为13℃和21℃时优于其他2个环境温度,环境温度为17.60～20.05℃是稚贝运输的最佳温度。     

干制羊肉基因组DNA不同提取方法的比较

为了研究干制加工羊肉基因组DNA的最佳提取方法,本试验采用传统酚-氯仿法、磁珠法、改良CTAB法、离心柱法分别提取干制处理后的羊肉基因组DNA,并对4种方法提取的羊肉基因组DNA浓度、纯度、完整性以及提取所需时间、PCR扩增效果等进行比较。结果表明,采用磁珠法提取DNA的效果更好,DNA浓度为118.87 ng·μL^-1,A₂₆₀/A₂₈₀值为1.89,而且此方法具有提取时间短、效率高、污染小等特点。本研究结果为干制加工羊肉基因组DNA的大批量提取和检测提供了参考依据。     

不同品种砧木及嫁接方法对有刺黄龙果嫁接育苗的影响

为改善有刺黄龙果在引种地区的生长势，提高其抗逆性，本研究探讨了不同砧木和嫁接方法对有刺黄龙果嫁接育苗的影响，以期筛选到适宜有刺黄龙果的砧木和嫁接方法。结果表明，不同砧木和嫁接方法对有刺黄龙果的成活率、出芽率和新芽长势有显著影响。嫁接30天时，芽接、楔接、套接和平接法的愈合率显著高于插接和靠接法。嫁接45天时，平接、靠接和楔接法的出芽率较高，分别是76.7%、76.7%和66.7%。嫁接苗田间定植2个月时，平接、靠接和楔接法嫁接苗长势较快。其中楔接法嫁接效率高，适合工厂化批量嫁接。白肉品种‘无刺黄龙’和红肉品种‘金都1号’、‘富贵红’是有刺黄龙果嫁接的优良砧木，嫁接2个月时出芽率分别为86.7%、90.0%和86.7%，且新芽高度和宽度均大于其他砧木。综上所述，适宜有刺黄龙果规模化嫁接育苗的嫁接方法是楔接法，砧木是‘金都1号’、‘富贵红’和‘无刺黄龙’。