两种饲喂方式对哺乳母猪生产性能的影响研究

选取年龄、胎次、品种基本一致的哺乳母猪20头,随机分成对照组和试验组,试验分两批进行,每批10头.在相同的环境条件下,母猪自由饮水,饲喂同一哺乳母猪料.母猪分娩后4 d内,采用原场饲养制度,逐步增加哺乳母猪采食量,第5天开始,对照组采用不限量饲喂,试验组采用限量和添加哺乳母猪补充料的饲喂方式,仔猪21日龄断奶.结果显示两组仔猪21日龄的断奶窝重、母猪断奶后再发情时间和母猪哺乳失重等差异均不显著(P>0.05).     

Activity levels and predator detection by amphipods infected with an acanthocephalan parasite, Pomphorhynchus laevis

The acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller, 1776) uses freshwater amphipods as its intermediate host. In order to complete the life cycle, the infected amphipod must be consumed by a fish, where the acanthocephalan will mature and reproduce. Parasite transmission, and therefore fitness, could be enhanced if infected amphipods fail to detect or avoid predatory fish. We compared the activity levels of infected and non-infected amphipods, Echinogammarus stammeri (Karaman, 1931), in both the presence and absence of odours from its natural, definitive host, the fish Leuciscus cephalus (L.). Throughout the experiment, infected amphipods were more active than were non-infected individuals. The non-infected amphipods reduced their activity after the addition of fish odours, but the infected amphipods failed to show a significant decrease. The failure of infected amphipods to reduce activity levels in the presence of fish odour may reflect a parasite strategy to increase its chances of transmission by making its amphipod host more vulnerable to predation by fish.     

Interstitial nitrate profiles and oxidation of sedimentary organic matter in the eastern equatorial atlantic

Pore-water nitrate concentrations in six pelagic eastern equatorial Atlantic cores increase from bottom water values (22 micromolar) to 40 micromolar at a depth of about 5 centimeters, then decrease to undetectable levels at depths as shallow as 40 centimeters. These nitrate concentrations and concentration gradients reflect zones of oxygen reduction, nitrate reduction, and sulfate reduction in the sediments. The estimated benthic flux of nitrate to the ocean from our data is much less than the total globalflux of nitrate to deep waters, even though these equatorial sediments underlie a productive upwelling zone. The estimated denitrification rate in our study area suggests that pelagic sediments may be important sites of marine denitrification.     

A four-base paired genetic helix with expanded size

We describe a new molecular class of genetic-pairing system that has a native DNA backbone but has all four base pairs replaced by new, larger pairs. The base pairs include size-expanded analogs of thymine and of adenine, both extended by the width of a benzene ring (2.4 A). The expanded-diameter double helices are more thermodynamically stable than the Watson-Crick helix, likely because of enhanced base stacking. Structural data confirm a right-handed, double-stranded, and base-paired helical form. Because of the larger base size, all the pairs of this helical system are fluorescent, which suggests practical applications in detection of natural DNA and RNA. Our findings establish that there is no apparent structural or thermodynamic prohibition against genetic systems having sizes different from the natural one.