翻压不同量紫云英配施减量化肥对土壤肥力和水稻产量的影响

在豫南稻区,通过田间试验研究了翻压不同量紫云英配施减量化肥对土壤肥力和水稻产量的影响。本研究在化肥减量20%和40%条件下,将紫云英翻压量设22.5、30、37.5、45 t/hm~24个水平,另设仅施用100%化肥处理作为对照。结果表明,与对照相比,减施20%和40%化肥配施紫云英可使土壤碱解氮分别增加14.4%~20.9%和13.5%~26.5%,有机质分别增加4.5%~10.8%和4.2%~8.2%,差异均达到显著水平。水稻产量随着紫云英翻压量的增加出现先升后降趋势,在减量20%化肥条件下,翻压30 t/hm~2紫云英时水稻产量最高,比对照增产16.7%,差异极显著;而在减量40%化肥条件下,翻压37.5 t/hm~2紫云英时水稻产量最高,比对照增产15.3%,差异极显著;与对照比较,翻压紫云英极显著提高了水稻有效穗,但每穗实粒数较对照有所降低。     

Trivalent metal (Cr, Y, Rh, La, Pr, Gd) sorption in two acid soils and its consequences for bioremediation

The recent addition of trivalent metals to soil and their subsequent movement within the biosphere are of concern. For this reason, the sorption of chromium (Cr), yttrium (Y). rhodium (Rh), lanthanum (La), praseodymium (Pr) and gadolinium (Gd) in two contrasting acid soils has been determined. Except for Rh, the sorption of the other trivalent metals conformed well to the Langmuir equation with derived sorption parameters similar for all the trivalent species tested. Calculation of the buffer powers indicated that under both small (0·01 mmol kg^?1) and large (1 mmol kg^?1) trivalent metal soil loadings > 99·5% of the metals will be associated with the exchange phase with small quantities present in the bulk soil solution (<0·5%). It seems that the slight availability of metals within the bulk soil solution will slow the rate of trivalent metal bioremediation of contaminated sites.     

水头可调薄壁堰式渠道流量智能测控系统优化试验研究

采用巴赞堰流公式计算流量的水头可调薄壁堰式渠道流量智能测控系统通过渠道流量量测与控制试验,验证了其精准的测流功能和智能控制技术的可行性。为进一步提高该测控系统运行的效率和稳定性,减少运行能耗,对矩形薄壁堰堰流公式进行水力试验研究,通过分析堰上水头和流量关系,拟合出矩形薄壁堰流量计算公式。通过向该拟合公式引入修正系数λ=0.848,将测控系统测得的堰上水头数据值代入该拟合公式求得的流量值与电磁流量计测得流量值的差值的平均值为-0.004L/s,标准差为0.119,线性相关系数R2=0.989 1。该拟合公式相对于巴赞堰流公式形式简单、参数较少、运算简便,同时也满足节水灌溉对精准测流的要求,更适用于水头可调薄壁堰式渠道流量智能测控系统,对于在灌区推广和使用该测控系统具有重要的意义。     

Content of Nutrient and Antinutrient in Edible Flowers of Wild Plants in Mexico

Nutrient and antinutritional/toxic factors present in some edible flowers consumed in Mexico were determined. The edible flowers were: Agave salmiana, Aloe vera, Arbutus xalapensis, Cucurbita pepo (cultivated), Erythrina americana, Erythrina caribaea, Euphorbia radians benth and Yucca filifera. The nutrient content in the flowers studied is similar to that of the edible leaves and flowers studied mainly in Africa. The moisture content of the flowers varied from 860 to 932 g kg⁻¹. Crude protein (CP) was between 113 to 275 g kg⁻¹ DM, crude fiber, 104 to 177 g kg⁻¹ DM and the nitrogen free extract, between 425 to 667 g kg⁻¹ DM. The highest chemical score (CS) was found in E. americana and A. salmiana; in five samples the limiting amino acid was lysine, and in three of them it was tryptophan. Trypsin inhibitors and hemaglutinnins had a very low concentration. Alkaloids were present in both the Erythrina species and the saponins in A. salmiana and Y. filifera. Cyanogenic glucosides were not found in the studied flowers. The traditional process of preparing these specific flowers before consumption is by cooking them and discarding the broth; in this way the toxic substances are diminished or eliminated. These edible flowers from wild plants consumed in local areas of the country play an important role in the diet of the people at least during the short time of the season where they are blooming.     

The effects of maternal nutrition during the first 50 d of gestation on the location and abundance of hexose and cationic amino acid transporters in beef heifer uteroplacental tissues

We hypothesized that maternal nutrition during the first 50 d of gestation would influence the abundance of hexose transporters, SLC2A1, SLC2A3, and SLC2A5, and cationic amino acid transporters, SLC7A1 and SLC7A2, in heifer uteroplacental tissues. Angus-cross heifers (n = 43) were estrus synchronized, bred via artificial insemination, and assigned at breeding to 1 of 2 dietary intake groups (CON = 100% of requirements to achieve 0.45 kg/d of BW gain or RES = 60% of CON intake) and ovariohysterectomized on day 16, 34, or 50 of gestation (n = 6 to 9/d) in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Uterine cross-sections were collected from the horn ipsilateral to the corpus luteum, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, sectioned at 5 µm, and stained via immunofluorescence for transporters. For each image, areas of fetal membrane (FM; chorioallantois), luminal epithelium (ENDO), superficial glands (SG), deep glands (DG), and myometrium (MYO) were analyzed separately for relative intensity of fluorescence as an indicator of transporter abundance. Analysis of FM was only conducted for days 34 and 50. No transporters in target areas were influenced by a day × treatment interaction (P ≥ 0.06). In ENDO, all transporters were differentially abundant from days 16 to 50 of gestation (P ≤ 0.04), and SLC7A2 was greater (P = 0.05) for RES vs. CON. In SG, SLC7A1 and SLC7A2 were greater (P ≤ 0.04) at day 34 vs. day 16. In DG, SLC2A3 and SLC7A1 were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for CON vs. RES heifers; furthermore, SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) at day 50 vs. days 16 and 34 of gestation. In MYO, SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) for CON vs. RES and was greater (P = 0.02) at days 34 and 50 vs. day 16. There were no differences in FM (P ≥ 0.06). Analysis of all uterine tissues at day 16 determined that SLC2A1, SLC2A3, and SLC7A2 were all differentially abundant across uterine tissue type (P < 0.01), and SLC7A1 was greater (P = 0.02) for CON vs. RES. Analysis of all uteroplacental tissues at days 34 and 50 demonstrated that all transporters differed (P < 0.01) across uteroplacental tissues, and SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) for CON vs. RES. These data are interpreted to imply that transporters are differentially affected by day of gestation, and that hexose and cationic amino acid transporters are differentially abundant across utero-placental tissue types, and that SLC7A1 is responsive to maternal nutritional treatment.     

Limb Salvage Surgery for Osteosarcoma of the Proximal Humerus: Outcome in 17 Dogs

Objective —To describe function and identify factors that affect outcome in dogs undergoing limb salvage surgery for osteosarcoma (OS) of the proximal humerus.
Study Design —A retrospective study of dogs in which OS of the proximal humerus was treated with limb salvage surgery.
Animals —17 client-owned dogs.
Methods: Records were analyzed for functional outcome, recurrence, metastasis, and survival.
Results —Outcome was good to excellent in 12% of dogs. Recurrence, metastasis, and survival were significantly affected by completeness of surgical margins. Double plating of the distal allograft-host junction significantly reduced frequency of biomechanical failure.
Conclusions —Limb salvage surgery for OS of the proximal humerus did not result in acceptable function and was fraught with postoperative complications. Outcome was significantly affected by completeness of surgical margins.
Clinical Relevance —Limb salvage surgery for OS of the proximal humerus in dogs cannot be recommended until improvement in functional outcome and reduction in postoperative complications can be achieved. The dependence of outcome on completeness of surgical margins supports aggressive en bloc resection and marking and evaluating surgical margins.     

Quinolone resistance in Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli is an important pathogen of animals and humans that causes great financial cost in food production by causing disease in food animals. The quinolones are a class of synthetic antimicrobial agents with excellent activity against Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative bacteria used in human and veterinary medicine. Different quinolones are used to treat various conditions in animals in different parts of the world. All members of this class of drug have the same mode of action: inhibition of topoisomerase enzymes, DNA Gyrase and Topoisomerase IV. Escherichia coli can become resistant to quinolones by altering the target enzymes, reducing permeability of the cell to inhibit their entry, or by actively pumping the drug out of the cell. All these resistance mechanisms can play a role in high-level fluoroquinolone resistance, however target site mutations appear to be most important. As all quinolones act in the same way resistance to one member of the class will also confer decreased susceptibility to all members of the family. Quinolone resistant Escherichia coli in animals have increased in numbers after quinolone introduction in a number of different case studies. The resistance mechanisms in these isolates are the same as those in resistant strains found in humans. Care needs to be taken to ensure that quinolones are used sparingly and appropriately as highly resistant strains of Escherichia coli can be selected and may pass into the food chain. As these drugs are of major therapeutic importance in human medicine, this is a public health concern. More information as to the numbers of quinolone resistant Escherichia coli and the relationship between resistance and quinolone use is needed to allow us to make better informed decisions about when and when not to use quinolones in the treatment of animals.     

Galaxies, human eyes, and artificial neural networks

The quantitative morphological classification of galaxies is important for understanding the origin of type frequency and correlations with environment. However, galaxy morphological classification is still mainly done visually by dedicated individuals, in the spirit of Hubble's original scheme and its modifications. The rapid increase in data on galaxy images at low and high redshift calls for a re-examination of the classification schemes and for automatic methods. Here are shown results from a systematic comparison of the dispersion among human experts classifying a uniformly selected sample of more than 800 digitized galaxy images. These galaxy images were then classified by six of the authors independently. The human classifications are compared with each other and with an automatic classification by an artificial neural network, which replicates the classification by a human expert to the same degree of agreement as that between two human experts.     

Effect of Breeding Activity on the Microflora of the External Genitalia and in the Semen of Stallions,and the Relationship Between Micro‐organisms on the Skin and on the External Genitalia

A possible role of breeding activities in the composition of the microbial population in stallions' external genitalia (EG) and the relationship between micro‐organisms colonizing the skin of the abdomen and the ones colonizing the EG have not been studied. In experiment 1, EG microbiological samples were collected from 41 stallions used for both natural cover and semen collection (BST) and from 18 non‐breeding stallions (NBST). A higher (p < 0.05) frequency of isolation of potentially pathogenic species was found for BST. Age did not influence number of micro‐organism species isolated both in BST and NBST. In experiment 2, the microbial content of the EG and semen was compared in 23 BST. Most micro‐organisms isolated from the EG were present in semen, albeit with a numerically lower prevalence. In 7 stallions, six microbial species isolated from semen were absent from the EG cultures, suggesting contamination by the operator. In experiment 3, a numerically higher number of micro‐organism species was isolated from the EG of 31 stallions, than from their skin of the ventral abdomen in contact with the penis or from the skin of the thorax. With the sole exception of Escherichia coli, potentially pathogenic bacteria were only isolated from the EG but not from the skin. Results suggest that breeding activity increased the number of species colonizing the EG; most species isolated from the EG were also found in semen even if with a lower frequency, and additional semen contamination seemed to occur during its manipulation. Many micro‐organism species of the skin were also isolated from the penis, but independently of being or not in contact with the penis, skin did not seem to provide an adequate environment for the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria that were isolated from EG, with the sole exception for E. coli.