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.     

Urban land-use impacts on composition and spatiotemporal variations in abundance and biomass of earthworm community

Soil fauna can sensitively respond to alterations in soil environment induced by land-use changes.However,little is known about the impact of urban land-use changes on earthworm communities.In this study,three land-use types(i.e.,forest,nursery and abandoned lands)were chosen to identify differences in diversity,abundance and biomass of earthworm community in Kunming City.Urban land-use had a pronounced difference in species composition,evenness and diversity of earthworm communities.Forest land had the highest density,biomass and diversity of the earthworm communities.Total abundance was dominated by endogeic species in nursery land(70%)and abandoned land(80%),whereas in the forest land,the earthworm community comprised epigeic,endogeic and anecic species.Temporal changes in earthworm density and biomass were also significantly affected by land-use change.Total density and biomass of earthworms in the forest and nursery lands were highest in September,but highest in the abandoned land in October.The influence of soil physicochemical properties on the earthworm density and biomass also varied with land-use types.Soil temperature significantly affected earthworm density and biomass in the three land-use types.Soil pH was positively correlated with earthworm biomass in the forest land,but negatively associated with earthworm density in the abandoned land.Soil organic matter was positively correlated only with density and biomass of earthworms in the nursery and abandoned lands.Our results suggest that the species composition,abundance and biomass of earthworm communities can be determined by the modification of soil properties associated with urban land-use type.     

Surgical treatment of a complicated distal tibia epiphyseal Salter–Harris type I fracture in a yearling

This article describes the management of a complicated distal epiphyseal Salter–Harris type I fracture of the left tibia in a yearling horse. Closed reduction and internal fixation was attempted in the first surgery using tension band wires. Due to fracture instability 2 weeks after surgery, a full-limb transfixation pin cast was applied to the tibia and maintained for 7 weeks to prevent further fracture displacement and to achieve axial alignment. The full-limb cast was maintained for a total of 12 weeks, including the time with the transfixation pin cast. Cast sores and tendon laxity resolved without further complications. Ten months after the first surgery, the fracture had radiographically healed, and the horse was sound at the walk and trot in a straight line.     

蚯蚓粪对柑橘幼苗抗草甘膦胁迫的影响

草甘膦在柑橘园除草中得到大量使用，对农作物生长、果实品质、产量和质量造成影响。如何降低草甘膦对柑橘树的生物可利用性，从而降低其对农作物造成的药害、提高果实品质和食品安全将至关重要。本文在前期研究的基础上通过施用蚯蚓粪，表征蚯蚓粪作用下土壤中残留草甘膦对柑橘幼苗的生物有效性和生物毒性效应。结果显示，蚯蚓粪能够显著增强其生物有效性（BCF值显著增大）；显著降低草甘膦在土壤中的残留量到草甘膦单独处理组的55.15%，从而减少草甘膦在柑橘幼苗植株中的积累。同时，蚯蚓粪的施用能促进植物的茁壮生长，使抗氧化酶活力较对照组显著提高，从而具有更强的抗逆能力。在这两方面的共同作用下，蚯蚓粪显著减轻了土壤中残留草甘膦对柑橘幼苗的胁迫，使其株高、根长和相应的干重较草甘膦单独施用时增长了26.23%-140.11%，甚至成为对照组的1.03倍和1.13倍。此研究对兼顾化肥有机替代的草甘膦污染土壤的修复和高效利用具有重要意义。     

蚯蚓的化学成分与应用价值研究进展

综述了蚯蚓的化学成分及应用价值,旨在为蚯蚓的综合开发利用提供依据。     

家禽弃尸重制骨骼囊腔铸塑干教具的实验探索

本文笔者将解剖实验用后的家禽弃尸重新研制成实用的家禽骨骼囊腔铸塑干教具，不仅解决了实验动物尸体二次污染环境的问题，而且因为教具形态逼真、精细牢固而使解剖教学更形象生动，教学成果显著，同时还节省了很大一笔解剖教学实验经费。     

蚯蚓堆肥和蚯蚓发酵液体肥在设施葡萄上应用研究

以设施栽培的‘红地球’葡萄为试验材料，采用单因素完全随机设计，研究了蚯蚓堆肥与蚯蚓发酵液体肥对葡萄叶片光合能力、植株生长情况、土壤状况和果实品质及产量的影响。结果表明：利用蚯蚓堆肥与蚯蚓发酵液体肥，提高叶绿素相对含量与净光合速率11.12%、15.31%，促进葡萄的生长，提高叶片面积、茎粗和新稍生长量7.58%、6.42%、18.86%，开花期促进茎叶磷素的吸收，成熟期促进茎叶钾素的吸收；改善土壤理化性质，降低土壤容重30.43%，显著增加总孔隙度8.63%，增加土壤EC值38.23%，pH值降低8.32%，提高速效氮、磷、钾10.56%、11.11%、12.67%，提升有机质3.15 g?kg-1；活化土壤微生物，提高脲酶、磷酸酶和蔗糖酶66.86%、54.60%、82.03%，细菌、放线菌、真菌数量是对照的3.20倍、0.43倍、3.28倍，提高微生物碳氮14.98%、20.23%，增加可溶性蛋白、Vc、可溶性固形物、糖酸比24.31%、9.74%、5.49%、23.46%，降低可滴定酸13.51%；产量增加了21.73%，并土壤理化性质以及土壤微生物关系密切。     

Ecological implications of motor oil pollution: Earthworm survival and soil health

The nontarget effects of fresh and used motor oil were studied in a soil test system involving such criteria as earthworm survival, response of soil dehydrogenase and urease, and nitrification. When earthworms were exposed to motor oil-contaminated soil for 4 weeks, the observed median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) were 40.33 and 3.88 g kg⁻¹ soil for fresh and used oil, respectively. Only fresh motor oil application increased earthworms' body weight even at the higher dose of 19 g kg⁻¹ soil. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed that used motor oil contained more of aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals than fresh oil. This disparity in the chemical composition might be the factor responsible for the significant toxicity of used motor oil towards earthworms. Activities of soil dehydrogenase and urease were significantly enhanced in presence of both the motor oils, while there was a significant inhibition in nitrification by the used motor oil even at a low concentration of 0.2 g kg⁻¹ soil. This study clearly demonstrated that earthworm survival and nitrification could serve as suitable indices to assess motor oil pollution in soil.     

Reconstructing mole tunnels using frequency-domain ground penetrating radar

The European mole (Talpa europaea L.) inhabits an underground tunnel system whereby the density, extent and condition of the subsurface tunnels are indicative of its activity. Currently, no survey method was able to reveal the spatial extent and condition of the mole's tunnel network. Frequency-domain ground penetrating radar (GPR) was evaluated on its potential to image these shallow tunnel systems. This technique allows for a non-invasive, high-resolution mapping of the subsurface. We examined the effectiveness of this GPR system for delineating the mole's tunnel network. The integration of different depth slices allowed a detailed overview of the tunnel system. Automatic feature recognition on these GPR images was proven valuable for the detection and representation of the mole tunnels. The GPR survey proved successful in mapping the mole's tunnel network, which facilitates the interpretation and characterization of the mole's living environment. This can be linked to the occurrence of earthworms, as the principle food source of the moles, which regulate important ecosystem processes within the soil. This offers new perspectives for the understanding of the mole's habitat.     

白口铸铁机械性能研究及在农机制造中的应用(I)

为了提高白口铸铁的冲击韧性等机械性能,扩大其在农机具上的应用范围,采用BZ变质剂对白口铸铁进行变质浇铸,并研究了变质剂对白口铸铁中碳化物的断网效果。试验结果表明,变质剂对于含碳量在3.2%以下、含铬量在12%以下的白口铸铁具有较好的断网效果。