Effects of Exogenous Cinnamic Acids on the Growth and Physiological Characteristics of Cucumber Seedlings

In order to study the effects of exogenous cinnamic acids on plant growth, contents of photosynthetic pigment, root activities and ATPase activities of root membrane at cucumber seedling stage, the seedlings of Shandong Mici cucumber were tested. The results showed that seedlings growth, contents of photosynthetic pigment, root activities and ATPase activities of root membrane were inhibited by cinnamic acids. The growth and root activities of seedlings were significantly （P〈0.05） lower in the soil amended with 100 mg kg^-1 cinnamic acids compared to the control. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll a＋b and carotenoid of seedlings significantly （P〈0.05） decreased in the soil amended with 200 mg kg^-1 cinnamic acids, whereas ATPase activities exhibited a higher sensitivity and greatly decreased in the soil amended with 50 mg kg^-1 cinnamic acids. These results suggested that cinnamic acids could induce a stress condition, and the stress intensities increased with enhanced cinnamic acid concentration.     

Effects of Exogenous Amino Acids on the Contents of Amino Acids in Tobacco Leaves

The effect of three amino acids on the growth of flue-cured tobacco was studied with water culture. The results showed that the three amino acids improved the growth of flue-cured tobacco and increased the contents of chlorophyll a,chlorophyll b and carotenoid in tobacco. At the same time, the activities of NR (nitrate reductase), INV(invertase) and root growth activity were also significantly enhanced. The exogenous glutamic, aspartate and phenylalanine all increased the amino acid contents of tobacco leaves. Of these three amino acids, glutamic had the greatest effect, the next was aspartate,and phenylalanine had the least effect. These three amino acids all had significantly increased the accumulation of amino acids in the leaves of individual plants of tobacco; and the magnitude of accumulation indicated aspartate＞glutamic＞phenylalanine.     

Lipase and Phospholipase in the Hydrolysis of Lipids in Wastewater from Swine Slaughterhouse and Subsequent Biological Treatment Study

Wastewaters from slaughterhouses are characterized by a high concentration of oils and greases that can cause problems in conventional treatments. The degradation of difficult pollutants in more easily degradable products can be mediated by enzymes. Enzymatic hydrolysis facilitates the biodegradation because it makes the organic material is made available as compounds of lower molecular weight, the lipids being made available in the form of free fatty acids. The application of enzymes as processing aids in wastewater treatment has some advantages, such as the specificity that allows control of the products, which leads to increased income generation for the non-toxic byproducts and moderate conditions of operation. The objective of this work was optimizing the conditions for lipids enzymatic hydrolysis present in swine slaughterhouse wastewaters using lipolytic enzymes and subsequent biological treatment study. Temperature, pH and enzyme concentration were the variables tested. The enzymes showed good activity and could therefore be used for the hydrolysis process proposed here. The optimized conditions to maximize the release of fatty acids were： temperature of 36 ℃, pH 8.5 and enzyme concentration of 1.1%, yielding fatty acids in the order of 31.50μmol/mL for lipase and 31.13 μmol/mL for phospholipase. All variables influenced the release of fatty acids. The maximum yield of biogas was 89.65 mL in the reactor added the sludge, raw wastewater and phospholipase in the conditions optimized the hydrolysis step, obtaining a chemical oxygen demand （COD） reduction of 90.01% in relation to the value of the COD of the raw wastewater.     

Study on Humic Acids of the Soil Applied with Corn Stalk by Spectroscopy Measurements

Spectroscopy measurements （Fourier transform infrared differential spectroscopy, Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, Matrix-assisted laser resorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry） were performed to study the humic acids of the soil applied with corn stalk. The results showed that after incorporation of corn stalks into the soil, the soil humic acid （HA） changed significantly in different stages. During first 60 days, new HAs were formed by polymerization and seems to be similar to that of initial HAs from composting corn stalk, some little molecular organic matters also reacted with soil HAs and turned into parts of soil HAs. After 60 days of the corn stalk residue incorporation, new HAs were formed by polymerization of decomposed lignin molecules, some methylenes transformed into methyls and methoxyls since the 90th day. Application of corn stalk led to the increase of aliphatic components in soil HAs, the decrease in aromatic components of soil HAs and the suppression in oxidation degree of soil HAs. The average molecular weight of soil HAs also declined because of application of corn stalk.     

Emergence of recombinant PCV2 between genotype 2a and 2b in pig herds in Shandong province of China

Since late 2005, the swine industry in Shandong province has experienced a significant increase in postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome （PMWS）. Porcine circovirus type 2 （PCV2） is one of the major etiologic agents of PMWS. In order to understand the genetic diversity of PCV2 in swine herds in Shandong province, we sequenced six complete genomes of PCV2 between 2005 and 2007. Sequence analysis revealed that all the six PCV2 strains belonged to one genotype （named PCV 2b）. The deduced amino acid sequences of the replication associated protein （coded by ORFI） showed that all the six PCV2 strains belonged to genotype 2a and could be further divided into two clusters. Based on the analysis of the capsid protein （coded by ORF2）, the six PCV2 strains belonged to genotype 2b. All the six strains belonged to recombinant viruses between genotype PCV2a and genotype PCV2b. This study implied that such recombinant PCV2 spread widely in Shandong area and might be the reason that pig death rate associated with PMWS increased in recent years.     

New Extracellular Bacillus subtilis Lectins with Sialic Acid-Specificity

The purpose of this work is to perform a detailed study of carbohydrate specificity of the new extracellular bacilli lectins which is considered to determine mechanisms of the lectins action. Sources of lectins were bacterial strains from Ukrainian collection of microorganisms. The optimized protocol of bacilli lectins isolation and purification included precipitation with ammonium sulfate with subsequent gel filtration chromatography on Sepharose CL-6B. Hemagglutinating activity of bacilli lectins and their fine carbohydrate specificity to sialic acids and their derivatives as well as sialic asid-containing and asialic glycoconjugates were studied. The ability of extracellular bacilli lectins to discriminate a- and 13-conformation of carbohydrate molecule and the type of connection between the monomers was determined. Studied lectins showed the most affinity to glycoconjugates containing both types of sialic acids （N-acetylneuraminic acid （Neu5Ac） and N-glycolylneuraminic acid （NeuGc）） and it is supposed to be a basis of their diagnostic and analytical potential.     

Application of the Mixture Design to Design the Formulation of Pure Cultures in Tibetan kefir

To obtain the optimization formulation of pure cultures in Tibetan kefir, the influence of the different mixtures of five strains in the pure cultures in Tibetan kefir on the flavor components in fermented milk was studied using the mixture design. The regression model on microorganism composition and main metabolites was established. The results suggested that the predictable production of lactate reached the maximum of 8.16 g L-1, while the most predictable production of diacetyl, ethanol, and CO2 were 77.23 mg L-1, 4259 mg L-1, and 2.12 g L-1, respectively. Based on these, the response values that satisfied all expectations were optimized, and the most excellent combination was Lactococcus lactis 27%, Leuconostoc mesenteroides 37%, Lactobacillus kefiri 11%, Lactobacillus casei 10%, and Kluyveromyces rnarxianus 15%. With the aid of analysis software （Design-expert 6.0.5）, the formulation of pure cultures in Tibetan kefir can be optimized for several responses and the best formulation can be obtained.     

Advances in Toxicology of Nε-（carboxymethyl）- lysine （CML）

Advanced glycation end-products （AGEs） are products of non-enzymatic glycation of proteins, lipids or nucleic acids and other macromolecules. To be spe- cific, Nε-（carboxymethyl）-Iysine （CML） is one of the most important components of AGEs, which is wildly distributed in the body and can be formed in vivo or in food processing and heating processes. Previous studies have shown that CML is a ma- jor immunological epitope in AGEs and plays an important role in diabetes and its complications, as well as in the development and progression of aging. This review summarized recent advances in major source, toxicological hazard and control mea- sures of CML.     

Evaluation of the Role of Mixed Amino Acids in Nitrate Uptake and Assimilation in Leafy Radish by Using 15N-Labeled Nitrate

In this paper, the role of mixed amino acids in nitrate uptake and assimilation was evaluated in leafy radish by using ^15N labeled nitrate. The mixtures of alanine, β-alanine, aspartic acid, asparagines, glutamic acid, glutamine, and glycine were sprayed to plant leaf two or four times. The activity of the enzymes related to the process of NO3- reduction （nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase and glutamine synthetase） was affected differently depending on the application rate of mixed amino acids. Applying mixed amino acids increased the fresh weight, dry weight, and N yield. The NO3 content was reduced to 24-38%, but no significant differences were observed in amino acids and proteins. In addition, the nitrogen derived from fertilizer and the ^15N-NO3-recovery rate increased to 2-8% and 15-47%, respectively. These results strongly suggest that the positive effect of mixed amino acids on nitrate uptake and assimilation might be attributed to the regulation on NO3- uptake and assimilation, but not to the preference for amino acids as sources of reduced nitrogen.     

Pork Meat Quality of Preto Alentejano and Commercial Largewhite Landrace Cross

This work aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics of pork from a local breed （Portuguese black pork called Preto Alentejano） and a commercial breed. Sixteen animals were used, 4 females and 4 males from each breed. Animals had 80-100 kg of live weight. The longissimus muscle between the 5th thoracic vertebra and the 10th lumbar vertebra was used in the analysis. Samples were analysed for protein, fat, pigments, ashes, dry mater, water-holding capacity, and texture. Results of fat and pigments contents indicate signiifcant （P〈0.05 and P〈0.01） differences for all treatments. For protein, ashes, dry mater, water-holding capacity and texture, no signiifcant differences were found for sex. In the analysis of fatty acids composition, ten were detected, being the main ones C16：0, C18：0, C16：1, C18：1, C18：2. There was a predominance of monounsaturated fatty acids （MUFA）, followed by saturated （SFA） and polyunsaturated （PUFA）. Differences were signiifcant for sex （P〈0.01） and breed （P〈0.01）. Preto Alentejano breed and females presented the higher percentages of SFA （P〈0.01） and MUFA （P〈0.001） fatty acids. Differences between breeds might be due to breed production system and feed differences.     

Myristic Acid （MA） Promotes Adipogenic Gene Expression and the Differentiation of Porcine Intramuscular Adipocyte Precursor Cells

Intramuscular fat （IMF） content is considered to be a key factor that affects the marbling, tenderness, juiciness and lfavor of pork. To investigate the effects of myristic acid （MA） on the differentiation of porcine intramuscular adipocytes, cells were isolated from longissimus dorsi muscle （LDM） and treated with 0, 10, 50 or 100μmol L-1 MA. The results showed that MA signiifcantly promotes the differentiation of intramuscular adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. MA also led to a parallel increase in the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ（PPARγ） and adipose-related genes, such as glucose transporter 1 （GLUT1）, lipoprotein lipase （LPL）, adipocyte fatty acid binding protein 4 （FABP4/aP2）, fatty acid translocase （FAT）, acetyl-CoA carboxylaseα（ACCα）, adipose triglyceride lipase （ATGL） and fatty acid synthase （FASN）. However, no signiifcant effects of MA were observed on the expression of CAAT enhancer binding protein-α（C/EBPα） or hormone sensitive lipase （HSL）. The expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 （PDK4） was increased by MA during the early stages of differentiation （day 1-3）. In addition, MA also increased the absolute content of C14 （P〈0.001） and saturated fatty acids （SFA） （P〈0.05） to varying degrees, but no effects were observed on other fatty acids. These results suggest that MA might be able to enhance the IMF content of pork and increase the accumulation of myristic and myristoleic acid in muscle, which might have beneifcial implications for human health.     

Eukaryotic Expression and Activity Analysis of Capsid Gene of Swine Vesicular Disease Virus HK/70

The capsid protein precursor （P1）, which plays a major role for the generation of polypeptides of swine vesicular disease virus （SVDV）, was cloned from SVDV HK/70 strain into the retroviral vector pBABE puro and expressed in the mammalian cell line PK15 through the retroviral expression system. The activity of recombinant protein to induce immune response was evaluated in guinea pigs. IFA and Western Blot were used to detect the recombinant protein expression. The results showed that the recombinant protein could be recognized by SVDV positive serum, and animal test showed SVDV-specific antibodies. All of those results indicate that a retroviral-based vaccine carrying the capsid protein precursor （P1） of SVD is able to be expressed in the eukaryotic cell and elicites strong SVDV-specific immune responses in guinea pigs.     

Cloning,expression, and polymorphism of the ECI1 gene in various pig breeds

The enzyme Δ~3,Δ~2-dienoyl-CoA isomerase(ECI1) plays a crucial role in the mitochondrial β-oxidation of fatty acids with a double-bond in odd and even positions. The ECI1 gene might be a qualified candidate for studies pertaining to lipid deposition and meat quality in swine. In the present study, ECI1 cDNA of the Tibetan pig was obtained by in silico cloning and verified by PCR analysis. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) of ECI1 were screened by PCR-sequencing and genotypes of those SNPs were tested by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) in Diannan small-ear pigs(DSP, n=40), Tibetan pigs(TP, n=60) and Yorkshire pigs(YP, n=30). The expression levels of ECI1 were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting in tissues of the liver, backfat, and longissimus dorsi(LD) muscle of DSP(n=8), TP(n=8) and YP(n=8). Single factor linear correlation analysis was applied separately for each breed to evaluate correlations between ECI1 gene expression in the LD muscle and intramuscular fat(IMF) content. We obtained an ECI1 gene length of 1 401 bp from the cDNA that contained a full coding region of 909 bp. Three novel SNPs(g.42425337GA; g.42424666AG; and g.42422755AG) were detected, and only g.42424666AG exhibited three genotypes among the three breeds. The ECI1 expression levels in the LD muscle of DSP and TP were significantly higher than that of YP(P0.05). Moreover, TP had the highest ECI1 expression in backfat(P0.01), and a positive correlation was observed between gene expression and IMF content. The results suggest that differences in ECI1 gene expression might be related to lipid deposition and meat quality in pig.     

Analysis of Oleanolic Acid and Ursolic Acid,Potential Antifertility Agents in Moringa （Moringa oleifera） Seed

Oleanolic acid （OA） and ursolic acid （UA） are isomeric tritcrpenes that are difficult to separate chromatographically. Studies have indicated that both OA and UA have antifertility properties in several livestock species, suppressing attainment of puberty, gonad function and gamete production. Being able to determine the presence and quantity of the OA and UA in moringa and pawpaw seeds will allow for calculation of optimal inclusion levels of these acids in animal diets for antifertility-activity. The purpose of the study was thus to quantify the levels of OA and UA in Moringa and pawpaw seed powder by means of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry （UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS）. Only OA was detected in moringa seeds at a concentration level of 0.508 p.g/g ＋ 0.032 pg/g dry weight. UA and OA could not be detected in pawpaw seeds used in this study. The presence of OA in moringa seeds suggest that the seeds can be included in tilapia diets as a potential antifertility treatment to control precocious breeding in tilapia culture in small scale farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Further studies are warranted to determine the levels of OA and UA composition in moringa seeds from other parts of the Sub-Saharan Africa （other than Zambia）.     

Influence of Hypericum perforatum Extract on Piglet Infected with Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome Virus

To study the influence of Hypericum perforatum extract （HPE） on piglets infected with porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus （PRRSV）, enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and cytopathic effect （CPE） were used to determine in vitro whether HPE could induce swine pulmonary alveolar macrophages （PAMs） to secrete IFN-γ, and whether PRRSV titers in PAMs were affected by the levels of HPE-induced IFN-γ. HPE （200 mg·kg-1） was administrated by oral gavage to piglets infected with the PRRSV in vivo to observe whether HPE affected the viremia, lung viral titers, and weight gain of piglets infected with PRRSV. The results showed that HPE was capable of inducing PAMs to produce IFN-γ in a dose dependent manner and HPE pretreatment was capable of significantly reducing PRRSV viral titers in PAMs （P〈 0.01）. Administration of HPE to the PRRSV-infected animals significantly （P〈 0.05） reduced viremia over time as compared with the PRRSV-infected animals. But there was not significant decrease in lung viral titers at day 21 post-infection between the HPE- treated animals and the PRRSV-infected control piglets. There were no significant differences in weight gain over time among the HPE-treatment animals, the normal control, and the HPE control animals. The PRRSV-infected animals caused significant （P〈 0.01） growth retardation as compared with the HPE controls and the normal piglets. It suggested that HPE might be an effective novel therapeutic approach to diminish the PRRSV-induced disease in swine.     

Changes of Intramuscular Fat Composition,Lipid Oxidation and Lipase Activity in Biceps femoris and Semimembranosus of Xuanwei Ham During Controlled Salting Stages

Fatty acid composition of neutral lipids （NLs）, phospholipids （PLs） and free fatty acids （FFAs） from intramuscular fat （IMF）, lipid oxidation and lipase activity in muscle Semimembranosus （SM） and msucle Biceps femoris （BF） of dry-cured Xuanwei ham during the 90-d salting stages were analysed. The salt content increased from 0.34 to 3.52%in BF and from 0.10 to 5.42%in SM during the 90 d salting stage, respectively. PLs of IMF in both BF and SM decreased 54.70%（P〈0.001） and 34.64%（P〈0.05）, furthermore, the saturated fatty acids （SFA）, monounsaturated fatty acids （MUFA） and polyunsaturated fatty acids （PUFA） of PLs in both muscles were hydrolysed almost isochronously. FFAs were increased from 0.46 g 100 g-1 lipids to 2.92 g 100 g-1 lipids in BF at the end of salting, which was lower than SM （from 1.29 g 100 g-1 lipids to 9.70 g 100 g-1 lipids）. The activities of acid lipase, neutral lipase and acid phospholipase all remained active in the 90 d. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substances （TBARS） was slowly increased to 1.34 mg kg-1 muscle in BF and to 2.44 mg kg-1 muscle in SM during the salting stage. In conclusion, the controlled salting process prompted the hydrolysis of PLs of IMF notably and increased the lipid oxidation of muscles within some limits.     

Effects of Different Organic Manure Applications on the Micro Nutrient Contents of Soil in Different Growing Seasons

This experiment aims to elaborate the influence of different organic manure applications on soil iron （Fe）, copper （Cu）, manganese （Mn） and zinc （Zn） contents in three successive seasons. Farmyard manure （FM）, chicken manure （CM） and blood meal （BM） and their mixtures and 1 control collectively 18 applications were tested under the open field conditions. All micro nutrients tended to increase with regard to the successive applications some of which were found to be statistically significant to a different extent. Considering the seasonal mean, an increase between the seasons in Fe, Cu and Mn contents were found to be statistically insignificant, whereas the Zn content was found to be statistically significant. CM gave rise to an augmentation in Cu, the Mn and Zn contents, BM also showed a tendency to increase in Fe contents of soils, but we recommend using BM only in small quantities due to the unfavorable features of the material. Summing up, 2.5 ton ha^-1 CM ＋ 0.3 ton ha^-1 BM and 2.5 ton ha^-1 CM ＋ 4.0 ton ha^-1 FM applications gave the better results.     

Genetic Variation of EPAS1 Gene in Tibetan Pigs and Three Low-Altitude Pig Breeds in China

Endothelial PAS domain protein 1（EPAS1）, also called hypoxia-inducible factor-2, is a key regulatory factor of hypoxic responses and plays an essential role in high-altitude adaptation in mammalian species. In this study, polymorphisms of EPAS1 were detected in 217 individuals from 2 Tibetan pig populations and 3 low-altitude pig breeds by DNA pooling, PCR-SSCP, PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing methods. A total of 14 synonymous polymorphisms were identified in the coding region. The analysis suggested that SNP1（G963A）, SNP7（C1632T）, SNP10（G1929A） and SNP11（G1947A） showed potential association with high-altitude environment because of their particular variation patterns in Tibetan pigs. Linkage disequilibrium（LD） of these SNPs was analyzed. One common LD block including 5 SNPs clustering in exon 12 was identified in all studied pig populations. Haplotype H1（AGGTC） in LD block was dominant in Tibetan pigs（76.6 and 74.2% in Linzhi（LZ） and Chayu（CY） pigs, respectively） and segregated at higher frequency than that in low-altitude pig breeds（52.3, 58.7 and 56.2% in Wuzhishan（WZS）, Min（M） and Laiwu（LW） pigs, respectively）, indicating that H1 may relate to adaptation to high altitude in Tibetan pigs. These findings raise hope that EPAS1 gene can be a candidate gene that involved in adaptation of high altitude in Tibetan pigs.     

Relationship between High-quality Tea and the Geological Background in Qionglai Mountains

[Objective] Many strata emerge in the high-quality tea producing area in Qionglai Mountains,which belongs to Mesozoic Cretaceous（K）,Mingshan Fm（E1-2mn）and Dayi conglomerate Team（N）of Cenozoic Tertiary System as well as Quaternary System（Q）.Analysis on the migrating features of soil heavy metal from each stratum to tea leaves showed that the enrichment ability of elements was Cu〉Cd〉Zn〉Ni〉Hg〉As〉Cr〉Pb.By comparing the soil background values with the soil base values of Sichuan hilly area and Chengdu economic region,it could be concluded that Cd,Hg,Mo,Pb and Se were enriched,and other metal elements existed at a level close to that of the comparing areas.The pH was a little acidic,and high quality tea cultivation could be developed here at present.With the increase of human activities,the environment of study area tends to deteriorate.Therefore,land planning and use should be reasonable.The government should control the environment nearby and prevent pollution.