Genetic manipulation for enhancing calcium content in potato tuber

Increased calcium (Ca) in potatoes may increase the production rate by enhancing tuber quality and storability. Additionally, increased Ca levels in important agricultural crops may help ameliorate the incidence of osteoporosis. However, the capacity to alter Ca levels in potato tubers through genetic manipulations has not been previously addressed. Here we demonstrate that potato tubers expressing the Arabidopsis H+/Ca2+ transporter sCAX1 (N-terminal autoinhibitory domain truncated version of CAtion eXchanger 1) contain up to 3-fold more Ca than wild-type tubers. The increased Ca appears to be distributed throughout the tuber. The sCAX1-expressing potatoes have normally undergone the tuber/plant/tuber cycle for three generations; the trait appeared stable through successive generations. The expression of sCAX1 does not appear to alter potato growth and development. Furthermore, increased Ca levels in sCAX1-expressing tubers do not appear to alter tuber morphology or yield. Given the preponderance of potato consumption worldwide, these transgenic plants may be a means of marginally increasing Ca intake levels in the population. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempts to use biotechnology to increase the Ca content of potatoes.     

Papaya seed represents a rich source of biologically active isothiocyanate

In the present study, papaya (Carica papaya) seed and edible pulp were carefully separated and then the contents of benzyl isothiocyanate and the corresponding glucosinolate (benzyl glucosinolate, glucotropaeolin) quantified in each part. The papaya seed with myrosinase inactivation contained >1 mmol of benzyl glucosinolate in 100 g of fresh seed. This content is equivalent to that of Karami daikon (the hottest Japanese white radish) or that of cress. The papaya seed extract also showed a very high activity of myrosinase and, without myrosinase inactivation, produced 460 micromol of benzyl isothiocyanate in 100 g of seed. In contrast, papaya pulp contained an undetectable amount of benzyl glucosinolate and showed no significant myrosinase activity. The n-hexane extract of the papaya seed homogenate was highly effective in inhibiting superoxide generation and apoptosis induction in HL-60 cells, the activities of which are comparable to those of authentic benzyl isothiocyanate.     

我国甘蔗中耕机械发展现状及趋势

随着农业产业结构调整和人工成本增加,发展机械化成为甘蔗生产节本增效的迫切需求。甘蔗中耕机械化作业能一次完成松土、除草、施肥和培土等工序,有效改善土壤状况,深层保肥保水,为甘蔗生长创造良好的条件。介绍了甘蔗中耕机械生产技术、发展历程、机型特点以及效益,指出存在的问题,提出应重点发展高地隙底盘配套技术、多功能肥膜药一体化轻便型耕作培土机以及驱动型中耕联合作业机械。      

玉米抗倒性检测环境的选取方法

倒伏是玉米的重要胁迫之一,为提高玉米新品种抗倒性检测的效率,需选择倒伏胁迫高发环境作为测试环境。该文结合倒伏胁迫发生机理和大风概率统计模型,首先计算每个气象站点的因风倒伏概率,通过插值和区域统计,得到东华北、黄淮海两大玉米主产区各县区的因风倒伏概率,最后进行玉米抗倒性检验环境的选取分析。结果表明：倒伏胁迫概率超过60%的县区适宜作为玉米抗倒性检测的备选环境,只需3～5个点即可基本保证每年试验都会发生倒伏胁迫;黄淮海发生极严重倒伏胁迫的平均概率高于东华北,与实际情况吻合,两大区域可作为极严重倒伏胁迫检测环境的备选县区有54个,严重倒伏有16个,一般性倒伏有21个;本方法为测试环境选取决策提供了一种量化操作的手段,有助于提高测试环境倒伏胁迫的发生概率和新品种抗倒性检测的效率,降低应用风险。     

基于结合部动力学特性的立柱-主轴系统动力学模型研究

针对某卧式加工中心动力学特性分析的需要,论述了主要影响其动力学特性的立柱-主轴系统中导轨结合部、螺栓结合部、滚珠丝杠结合部以及轴承4类结合面分布情况,提出各类结合部动力学参数提取方法与有限元建模方法.通过试验测试与有限元分析相结合的手段识别导轨结合部刚度与阻尼,利用赫兹接触理论计算出滚珠丝杠接触刚度.在此基础上,建立了某卧式加工中心立柱-主轴系统有限元分析模型,通过测试立柱-主轴系统轴端频率响应函数验证了该有限元分析模型的准确性,并分析得出了该立柱-主轴系统导轨结合部对系统动态性能的影响情况.     

基于K波段的雷达水位计设计

针对传统水位测量方法的局限性以及传统水位测量仪器的误差,设计一种新型的基于K波段雷达的非接触式水位计.本系统利用雷达测距效应,得到水位与高频波发射接收时差之间线性关系.系统从硬件层面和软件层面分别进行模块化设计,并且提出若干增强系统可靠性减少系统缺陷的方法.最终制作了该水位计模型并对模型进行了测试,设备运行良好,实验结果和理论基本一致.说明该水位计具有良好的工程价值.     

Estimation of Dust Emission Amount for a Dust Storm Event Occurred in April 1998 in China

The threshold friction velocities for dust rises in inland China are examined using WMO synoptic station data and the soil types in the source region to estimate dust emission amounts for a dust event occurred from 13 to 24 April 1998 in China. The dust-rise reports in the WMO synoptic data are used for the delineation of dust source regions that are found to be composed of the Gobi, Sand and Loess regions according to soil types in inland China. The estimated threshold friction velocities with the use of wind speeds observed in the Gobi, Sand and Loess regions are found to be about 60, 50, and 40 cm s^-1, respectively. The estimated dust-rise occurrencegrids by both the grid interpolated observed wind and the MM5 model wind well coincide with the areas of strong wind speeds. However, the dust-rise areas estimated by the model are larger than those estimated by the observed wind, whereas the friction velocities estimated by the model in the dust-rise areas are much smaller than those estimated by the observed wind, which result in less amount of dust emission by the model in all source regions. The 10-day accumulated total dust emission estimated by the observed wind during the dust storm event is found to be 4.64 × 10⁸ ton in the whole source region of 3.29 × 10⁶ km². Of which 85, 9 and 6% are, respectively, contributed by the Gobi, Sand and Loess regions,suggesting the dominant emission from the Gobi region for this event.The model estimated total dust emission is found to be about 56% of that estimated by the observed wind, indicating some improvement of the model being required.     

The Use of Biofilters to Reduce Atmospheric Methane Emissions from Landfills: Part I. Biofilter Design

Previous laboratory research has shown that biofilters have the potential to reduce CH₄ emissions from landfills by as much as 83%. However, to achieve this level of CH₄ reduction biofilters must be properly designed. The present study was conducted to develop a method for properly designing biofilters based on landfill size and location. A quadratic equation was developed to describe the dependence of CH₄ oxidation rate in a sandy loam textured soil as a function of soil temperature, soil moisture and ammonium nitrogen concentration. Using this equation and the average monthly soil temperature and moisture contents for the largest cities of each of the 48 contiguous states, the monthly CH₄ oxidation rate at each location was calculated. Then, assuming a standard landfill depth of 27.6 m, and a standard area of 121,500 m², the required biofilter size was calculated. Finally, the ratio of biofilter size to landfill size was calculated. Design calculations for biofilters located in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas where the CH₄ oxidation rates are relatively high throughout the year indicate that the necessary biofilter sizes are small. In addition, biofilters in these states may be expected to be effective throughout the year. In contrast, the calculations indicated biofilter systems in the states of Idaho, Minnesota and North Dakota will have much lower efficiencies during much of the year due to unfavorable soil moisture and temperature ranges. Given proper design, installation and management, a biofilter should be capable of achieving a significant reduction in atmospheric CH₄ emission as compared to emissions from the same landfill without a biofilter.     

液压技术在农林机械方面的应用与展望

液压技术是一门新兴技术，具有许多独特的优点，近些年来在农林机械上得到了广泛应用与推广。为此总结了液压技术在农林机械上的应用，并展望了在该领域的发展前景。     

Chemical Composition Change in TSP Due to Dust Storm at Gosan, Korea: Do the Concentrations of Anthropogenic Species Increase Due to Dust Storm?

Aerosol composition change between dust storm and non-dust storm periods in spring is studied using the total suspended particle data measured at Gosan, a background area in Korea. The concentrations of eight inorganic ions and 12 elements were analyzed for the TSP samples collected from March 1992 to May 2006. Two-step statistical analyses were carried out for the data: F test and t test. The concentrations of anthropogenic ionic species showed increasing trend since 2003. The absolute concentrations of most anthropogenic species such as sulfate or nitrate increased (from 7.33 to 9.25 µg m^?3 and from 2.04 to 4.84 µg m^?3, respectively) during the dust storm period. However, the enrichment factors or normalized concentrations based on Al of most anthropogenic species decreased during dust storm period (factor of 0.1–0.5). It suggests that, in general, relative importance of anthropogenic species during dust storm would be not high.