Banishing barberry: The history of Berberis vulgaris prevalence and wheat stem rust incidence across Britain

Wheat stem rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), is a notoriously damaging disease of wheat and barley. Pgt requires two hosts to complete its lifecycle; undergoing asexual reproduction on cereal crops and completing sexual reproduction on Berberis spp. The latter stage of its lifecycle is of particular importance in temperate regions such as western Europe, where asexual urediniospores are unable to survive cold winter weather. In the past, the crucial role of Berberis in the lifecycle of stem rust led to intensive eradication campaigns, initially carried out by farmers in the face of hostile scientific opinion. In the United Kingdom, common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is today a relatively rare plant. Stem rust is, however, currently experiencing a resurgence; at the same time, there has been a general increase in the prevalence of barberry and an upsurge in its planting which, in the United Kingdom, is associated with attempts to encourage the endangered barberry carpet moth (Pareulype berberata). This article situates current developments within a broader chronological framework, examining changing attitudes towards barberry and rust in England in the past and the history of the plant's use and cultivation. It assesses how widespread B. vulgaris really was in the environment historically, and thus the scale of its eradication. We suggest that Berberis was never widely established as an archaeophyte in the United Kingdom. Current attempts to re-establish it are based on a misunderstanding of the plant's historical status and could potentially pose a serious threat to food security.     

面向“双一流”建设的中国高校科技发展指数研究

创新高校科技评估的理念,提高高校科技评估水平是建设一流大学与一流学科的有力保障。文章主要从高校科技发展指数的概念和特征、指数构建的原则、指标体系的设计和指数评价模型的构建等方面对中国高校科技发展指数进行了阐述,为中国高校科技发展指数的全面实施打下基础。与以往高校科技评估方式相比,高校科技发展指数具有动态性、国际标准性和客观可行性等特点,满足了“双一流”建设背景下高校科技评估的新要求。     

具有解析式位置正解的2T1R并联机构运动性能分析

求解具有解析式位置正解且部分运动解耦的并联机构,有利于后续的误差分析、动力学分析、运动轨迹规划与控制等。基于方位特征方程(POC)的并联机构设计理论与方法,设计了两种具有解析式位置正解且部分运动解耦的2T1R并联机构,并对这两种机构进行了方位特征、自由度及耦合度等主要拓扑性能分析;提出基于拓扑特征的运动学建模与求解方法,并据此求解了两种机构的解析式位置正解;基于导出的位置反解,分析了两种机构工作空间、奇异位形、动平台的速度与加速度变化规律。最后比较了两种机构的运动性能,选择了优选机型。为优选机型的动力学分析与样机研制提供了理论基础。     

Comparative analysis of genetic effects of wheat‐Dasypyrum villosum translocations T6V#2S·6AL and T6V#4S·6DL

Wheat‐Dasypyrum villosum translocations T6V#2S·6AL and T6V#4S·6DL, carriers of Pm21 and PmV, respectively, confer high resistance to wheat powdery mildew. For better understanding of the difference in genetic effect between them, a RIL population was constructed based on the cross between “Yangmai 18” carrying T6V#2S·6AL and “Yangmai 22” carrying T6V#4S·6DL. Analysis of distribution of the translocations showed that T6V#2S·6AL is much more transmittable than T6V#4S·6DL. By comparing their effects on main agronomic traits, we firstly found that T6V#2S·6AL contributes greatly to top spikelet fecundity, but causes a decrease of 6.7%–10.5% of spike number. No stable effects of T6V#4S·6DL on agronomic traits were found, except for positive effect on plant height. Excitingly, a new recombinant, T6V#4S‐6V#2S·6AL carrying PmV, was screened and proved to have a higher transmission rate than the original translocation T6V#4S·6DL, which will greatly promote the utilization of PmV. The above conclusions of this research will provide important guidance for utilization of Pm21 and PmV more effectively, in wheat powdery mildew resistance breeding.     

The mutagenesis of a type IV secretion system locus of Piscirickettsia salmonis leads to the attenuation of the pathogen in Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar

Piscirickettsiosis is a threatening infectious disease for the salmon industry, due to it being responsible for significant economic losses. The control of outbreaks also poses considerable environmental challenges. Despite Piscirickettsia salmonis having been discovered as the aetiological agent of the disease more than 25 years ago, its pathogenicity remains poorly understood. Among virulence factors identified so far, type four secretion systems (T4SS) seem to play a key role during the infection caused by the bacterium. We report here the genetic manipulation of P. salmonis by means of the transference of plasmid DNA in mating assays. An insertion cassette was engineered for targeting the icmB gene, which encodes a putative T4SS‐ATPase and is carried by one of the chromosomal T4SS clusters found within the genome of P. salmonis PM15972A1, a virulent representative of the EM‐90‐like strain. The molecular characterization of the resulting mutant strain demonstrated that the insertion interrupted the target gene. Further in vitro testing of the icmB mutant showed a dramatic drop in infectivity as tested in CHSE‐214 cells, which is in agreement with its attenuated behaviour observed in vivo. Altogether, our results demonstrate that, similar to other facultative intracellular pathogens, P. salmonis’ virulence relies on an intact T4SS.     

Time after seawater transfer influences immune cell abundance and responses to SAV3 infection in Atlantic salmon

Pancreas disease (PD) caused by salmonid alphavirus (SAV) severely affects salmonid aquaculture during the seawater phase. To characterize immune cells in target tissues for SAV infection, heart, pancreas and pyloric caeca were analysed from two groups of fish adapted to seawater for 2 and 9 weeks. The sections were scored for the relative abundance of cells expressing MHC class II, IgM, CD3, CD8 or neutrophil/granulocyte markers using immuno‐histochemical techniques. In general, necrosis of tissue was more severe in fish infected at 2 weeks post‐seawater transfer (wpt) compared with those infected at 9 wpt. At 9 wpt, there were higher numbers of MHC II⁺ cells in heart, pancreas and pyloric caeca, IgM⁺ cells in heart and pancreas, and CD3⁺ cells in pancreas compared to those infected at 2 wpt. The majority of the immune cells infiltrating PD‐affected tissues were MHC II⁺ and CD3⁺ cells suggesting that antigen‐presenting cells and T lymphocytes are the main types of immune cells responding to SAV infection. All the investigated cell types were also observed in pyloric caeca of infected fish, suggesting that this tissue may play a role in the immune response to SAV.     

Changes in fatty acids profile,monosaccharide profile and protein content during batch growth of Isochrysis galbana (T.iso)

To investigate the nutritional value of the marine micro‐alga Isochrysis galbana Tahitian Isochrysis strain (T.iso) as an alternative feed for aquaculture during culture age, its biochemical composition was studied under autotrophic and controlled culture conditions at different growth stages: exponential phase, early and late stationary phases and decay phase. Analysis showed that C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:4 (n‐3) and C22:6 (n‐3) were the most abundant fatty acids in this alga at different growth stages. The highest values of monounsaturated fatty acids were recorded at the late stationary and the decay phases. However, the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were observed at the early stationary phase. At all growth stages, I. galbana (T.iso) contained arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose. Glucose represented the main sugar, and its content per dry alga biomass weight increased with increasing age of the culture and reached about fourfold in the decay phase. The maximum protein content was also observed during this last phase.     

蜂胶类黄酮对糖尿病合并肺结核患者外周血WBC与T淋巴细胞亚群的影响

目的 探讨蜂胶类黄酮对糖尿病合并肺结核（diabetes mellitus complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis,DM-PTB）患者外周血中WBC与T淋巴细胞亚群的影响。方法 以DM-PTB患者120人为对象，利用随机数字表采用完全随机法分成A（蜂胶黄酮1 000 mg/d）、B（蜂胶黄酮2 000 mg/d）、C（条件对照）三组，每组40人，观察6个月，比较综合治疗前后白细胞计数（WBC）及分类（淋巴细胞L和中性粒细胞N）、T淋巴细胞亚群CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD8⁺数量及CD4⁺/CD8⁺比值的变化，并比较组内前后差异和组间差异。结果 三组7项观测指标自身前后配对差值（治疗后-治疗前）的均数比较Hotelling T²=515.359，P=0.000；治疗7项观测指标差别Wilks λ=0.017，P=0.000，其中多重比较结果为WBC的B组大于A与C组，L的B组> A组> C组，N的B组大于A与C组，CD3⁺的B 与A组大于C组，CD4⁺的B组>A组>C组，CD4⁺/CD8⁺比值多重比较结果为B 与A组大于C组。结论 蜂胶类黄酮能提高DM-PTB患者的细胞免疫水平。     

“一带一路”背景下云南民族竹文化的传承与传播

云南民族竹文化在维系民族的生存和发展、保护生态环境、引领精神价值方面具有重要作用。在“一带一路”倡议下，民族竹文化的传播不但能加强文明间的对话、谋求更多共识，更能维护文化多样性、提升中国话语权。文章分析了云南民族竹文化的内容体系、新时代下传播与传承中存在的问题，从加大政策支持、加快人才培养、培育文化产业等方面提出了云南民族竹文化的建设路径。