A Tremor Syndrome With a Central Axonopathy in Scottish Terriers

A central axonopathy in 2 male and 1 female Scottish Terrier puppies from 3 different but related litters is reported. Clinical signs consisting of severe whole-body tremors and ataxia were first detected at the age of 10 to 12 weeks. They worsened with activity and excitement and diminished during rest or sleep. Two dogs also had paraparesis. In 1 dog the neurological deficits progressed over several months. Neuropathological examination revealed widespread axonal changes, vacuolation, and gliosis in the white matter of the central nervous system.     

Can treatment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachiaria decumbens</Emphasis> (signal grass) improve its utilisation in the diet in small ruminants?—a review

Brachiaria decumbens is an extremely productive tropical grass due to its aggressive growth habit and its adaptation to a varied range of soil types and environments. As a result of the vast availability, treated B. decumbens demonstrates as a promising local material that could be utilised as an improved diet for sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the grass significantly increases weight gains in grazing farm animals, there were many reports of general ill-thrift and sporadic outbreaks of photosensitivity in livestock due to the toxic compound of steroidal saponin found in B. decumbens. Ensiling and haymaking were found to be effective in removing toxin and undesirable compounds in the grass. Biological treatments using urea, activated charcoal, polyethylene glycol, and effective microorganisms were found to be useful in anti-nutritional factor deactivation and improving the nutritive values of feedstuffs. Besides, oral administration of phenobarbitone showed some degree of protection in sheep that fed on B. decumbens pasture. In this review, we aim to determine the effect of B. decumbens toxicity and possible treatment methods on the grass to be used as an improved diet for small ruminant.     

Genomic characterization of the first oral avian papillomavirus in a colony of breeding canaries (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Serinus canaria</Emphasis>)

Papillomaviruses are non-enveloped, DNA viruses that infect skin and mucosa of a wide variety of vertebrates, causing neoplasias or simply persisting asymptomatically. Avian papillomaviruses, with six fully sequenced genomes, are the second most studied group after mammalian papillomaviruses. In this study, we describe the first oral avian papillomavirus, detected in the tongue of a dead Yorkshire canary (Serinus canaria) and in oral swabs of the same bird and other two live canaries from an aviary in Madrid, Spain. Its genome is 8,071 bp and presents the canonical papillomavirus architecture with six early (E6, E7, E1, E9, E2, E4) and two late open reading frames (L1 and L2) and a long control region between L1 and E6. This new avian papillomavirus L1 gene shares a 64% pairwise identity with FcPV1 L1, so it has been classified as a new species (ScPV1) within the Ethapapillomavirus genus. Although the canary died after showing breathing problems, there is no evidence that the papillomavirus caused those symptoms so it could be part of the oral microbiota of the birds. Hence, future investigations are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of the virus.     

利用录音软件Nuendo演示拍音现象

目的 更方便快捷地演示拍音现象.方法 基于录音软件Nuendo,在两个虚拟的Input BUS(输入总线)上加载插件Test Generator,产生两列相干波,对应录入音轨一、二;同时两者叠加产生拍音信号,录入音轨三,并从音箱放出.观察干涉波形,验证相应关系.结果 验证并动态演示了拍音出现的条件以及拍频与两组相干波频率差的关系.结论 波形图像直观,操作简单,适合教师在多媒体教室演示.     

Concentration variations of several ions in stream after a wildfire

In May 2006, a high intensity wildfire occurred in Songling forest region in Daxing＇an Mountains, China. The concentration changes of eight ions （K^＋, Na^＋, Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Cl^-, Br^-, NO3^- and SO4^2-） were measured in burned and tmbumed streams after fire from May to Oct., 2006. Results show that the most ions flux were higher in burned stream than that in unburned stream during the sampling period, and the greatest concentrations of most ions transported from burned stream occurred in July. After fire, the most amplitude chemical ion was Ca^2＋, whose average concentration was 5.50 mg·L^-1 higher than that in unburned stream, and the total concentration of every chemical ion presents a trend Ca^2＋〉SO4^2- 〉Na^＋〉Mg^2＋〉NO3^- . The average concentrations of Ca^2＋, SO4^2- , Na^＋＇Mg^2＋,NO3^- showed an increase trend, but those of K^＋, Cl^- , Br had a decreased trend. SO4^2- had the largest loss among these anions, followed by NO3^-. Overall, the increase degree of cation was greater than that of anion after burning.     

Major mechanisms in formation of spodic horizons

Current explanations of the formation of spodic horizons do not accomodate all features of the horizons in their natural state. In this paper, a more complete explanation of major mechanisms is proposed, using two principles of colloid chemistry: (1) organic substances may form hydrophylic colloids with surface charges, and (2) the hydrophylic character and negative surface charges determine the dispersibility of the colloids. The hydrophylic character is due to the presence of hydrophylic radicals as parts of the organic compounds in soils. The surface charges are the result of dissociation of -COOH and possibly phenol-OH radicals.The neutralization of the surface charge can in principle occur: (1) through electrostatic or physical adsorption and (2) through chemisorption. The first case is typical for monovalent alkali cations. The adsorbed cations are distributed in a double layer, which favours dispersion. Chemisorption occurs mostly with polyvalent cations. This process corresponds in reality to the formation of organo-metallic compounds. It results in a relatively complete disappearance of the double layer and in the formation of large immobile “polymerized” organo-metallic compounds. Because these compounds contain much hydrophylic water, they form a gel. Transition into the solid state is accompanied by the loss of most of the hydration water. The dehydration may be induced by a decrease in thickness of the double layer. At a certain stage of the dehydration process, Van der Waals bonds and protonic bridges can form and bring about a certain degree of hydrophoby.In soils, mobile organic substances are formed during breakdown of plant remains. If at the top of the mineral soil enough polyvalent cations, especially Al and Fe, are available, the mobile organic substances formed are immobilized immediately and no migration occurs. In case insufficient amounts of Al and/or Fe are available to completely immobilize the mobile compounds, these cations are complexed by the mobile compounds and transported downward. Immobilization may occur at some depth through supplementary fixation of cations, through dessication or on arrival at a level with different ionic concentration.In nature, spodic horizons range from loose, with many roots, to very cemented with few roots. These differences can be related to changes in microstructure. Loose spodic horizons have a predominance of polymorphic pellets and aggregates, whereas organans or monomorphic coatings prevail in cemented horizons. The former horizons have many features suggesting major biological influences during their formation, viz., high numbers of roots, thorough mixing of the organic units with clay and silt, the presence of pedotubules and relatively young mean residence times. The latter horizons have features consistent with organo-metallic compounds immobilized in a gel-state, viz., the coatings are strongly cracked, indicating the transition of a gel into a solid; they contain much Al or Al plus Fe but very little or no Si, and the mean residence time is considerably higher than in loose horizons.The two processes seem to operate simultaneously during the formation of spodic horizons and their relative intensities determine the composition of each spodic horizon at any moment in its evolution. As long as the biological activity predominates, the horizon remains loose; if the accumulation of mobile organo-metallic compounds starts to prevail, the horizon is gradually cemented and fossilized.     

The chemistry of humic and fulvic acids extracted from argentine soils—I. Analytical characteristics

Five humic and three fulvic acids were extracted from Argentine Chestnut, Brunizem, Solod and Solonetz soils and analysed by electrometric, spectroscopic and spectrometric methods. There were great similarities in elementary analysis, functional group content, absorption characteristics in the visible region and in the IR, and in the ESR measurements between the humic acids and, similarly, between the fulvic acids. There were distinct differences between the humic and fulvic acids in C, H, N and O content, distribution of oxygen in functional groups, E₄/E₆ ratios and free radical content.     

内燃机燃烧模型的发展现状

利用CFD技术对内燃机燃烧过程进行数值模拟已成为内燃机研究的重要工具。选用恰当的燃烧模型对准确预测内燃机燃烧过程具有重要意义。内燃机CFD燃烧模型主要针对自燃、预混燃烧和非预混燃烧3种燃烧模式,其中有些模型可以同时模拟2种模式或3种模式。内燃机新的燃烧系统的不断出现促进了燃烧模型的发展。本文以STAR—CD和FIRE软件为出发点,介绍了内燃机燃烧模型的发展现状。     

Antihypertensive Effects of IGTGIPGIW Peptide Purified from Hippocampus abdominalis: p-eNOS and p-AKT Stimulation in EA.hy926 Cells and Lowering of Blood Pressure in SHR Model

The aim of this study was to assess the potential hypertensive effects of the IGTGIPGIW peptide purified from Hippocampus abdominalis alcalase hydrolysate (HA) for application in the functional food industry. We investigated the antihypertensive effects of IGTGIPGIW in vitro by assessing nitric oxide production in EA.hy926 endothelial cells, which is a major factor affecting vasorelaxation. The potential vasorelaxation effect was evaluated using 4-amino-5-methylamino-2′,7′-difluorofluorescein diacetate, a fluorescent stain. IGTGIPGIW significantly increased the expression of endothelial-derived relaxing factors, including endothelial nitric oxide synthase and protein kinase B, in EA.hy926 cells. Furthermore, oral administration of IGTGIPGIW significantly lowered the systolic blood pressure (183.60 ± 1.34 mmHg) and rapidly recovered the diastolic blood pressure (143.50 ± 5.55 mmHg) in the spontaneously hypertensive rat model in vivo. Our results demonstrate the antihypertensive activity of the IGTGIPGIW peptide purified from H. abdominalis and indicate its suitability for application in the functional food industry.     

烟草丛顶病毒RNA依赖RNA聚合酶(RdRp)介导的体外复制体系

通过重叠PCR扩增得到烟草丛顶病毒(Tobacco bushy top virus,TBTV)中国分离物RdRp的编码序列,构建以pMALC2X为基础载体的原核表达载体pMAL-TB-RdRp。0.5 mM IPTG诱导可特异性表达分子量约为120 kDa的MBP-RdRp融合蛋白。温度梯度实验显示,18℃下诱导表达的MBP-RdRp融合蛋白的可溶性比例较高,约17%;经亲和层析纯化的MBPRdRp可特异性识别TBTV正链和负链的3'末端序列,催化体外复制;对正负链的3'末端的体外复制效率存在差别,识别负链3'末端的体外复制效率明显高于正链3'末端。本研究创建的TBTV RdRp介导的体外复制体系为进一步研究TBTV基因组复制调控奠定了基础。