Characterization of turkey inducible nitric oxide synthase and identification of its expression in the intestinal epithelium following astrovirus infection

The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) enzyme has long been recognized as a key mediator of innate immune responses to infectious diseases across the phyla. Its role in killing or inactivating bacterial, parasitic, and viral pathogens has been documented in numerous host systems. iNOS, and its innate immune mediator NO has also been described to have negative consequence on host tissues as well; therefore understanding the pathogenesis of any infectious agent which induces iNOS expression requires a better understanding of the role iNOS and NO play in that disease. Previous studies in our laboratory and others have demonstrated evidence for increased levels of iNOS and activity of its innate immune mediator NO in the intestine of turkeys infected with astrovirus. To begin to characterize the role iNOS plays in the innate immune response to astrovirus infection, we identified, characterized, developed tkiNOS specific reagents, and demonstrated that the intestinal epithelial cells induce expression of iNOS following astrovirus infection. These data are the first to our knowledge to describe the tkiNOS gene, and demonstrate that astrovirus infection induces intestinal epithelial cells to express iNOS, suggesting these cells play a key role in the antiviral response to enteric infections.     

Effects of low root temperature on sap flow rate,soluble carbohydrates,nitrate contents and on cytokinin and gibberellin levels in root xylem exudate of sand‐grown tomato

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculuntum Mill.) grown in open fields in dry land areas or in non‐controlled greenhouses are subjected to substantial daily changes in root temperature. In the field, root‐zone temperatures fluctuate both diurnally and during the growing season. The purpose of this study was to monitor root‐zone temperature effects on tomato initial growth, transpiration, sap flow rate, leaf and air temperatures differences, nitrate accumulation, total nitrogen, and soluble carbohydrates in the shoot and roots as well as levels of endogenous cytokinins and gibberellins in xylem exudate. Tomato seedlings were grown in three growth cabinets with variable control of root temperatures. Three day/night root temperature regimes (12/12, 16/8 and 20/20°C) were employed. Low day root temperatures of 12 and 16°C reduced shoot dry weight by 47 and 26%, root dry weight by 36 and 14%, shoot nitrate by 79 and 50%, root nitrate by 49 and 16%, levels of cytokinins in root xylem exudate by 27 and 13% and gibberellins by 65 and 23%, in relation to the respective values of 20°C day root temperature. Soluble carbohydrates in the shoot and roots were increased significantly (18 and 111%) by 12°C root temperature. The main effects of low root temperatures on shoot growth stem from slow upward transport of plant hormones and nitrate rather than reduction in their rate of biosynthesis or entry to the root, respectively.     

Electronic origin of the inhomogeneous pairing interaction in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Identifying the mechanism of superconductivity in the high-temperature cuprate superconductors is one of the major outstanding problems in physics. We report local measurements of the onset of superconducting pairing in the high-transition temperature (Tc) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta using a lattice-tracking spectroscopy technique with a scanning tunneling microscope. We can determine the temperature dependence of the pairing energy gaps, the electronic excitations in the absence of pairing, and the effect of the local coupling of electrons to bosonic excitations. Our measurements reveal that the strength of pairing is determined by the unusual electronic excitations of the normal state, suggesting that strong electron-electron interactions rather than low-energy (<0.1 volts) electron-boson interactions are responsible for superconductivity in the cuprates.     

Micromechanics of wood subjected to axial tension

Summary The behaviour of a small group of wood fibers of Sitka spruce during tensile loading is investigated. The load-extension curves for both early and late wood fibers consist of three distinct segments. The first segment is almost a straight line, at some stage of loading a yield point is observed. Beyond this point the specimen becomes less stiff and undergoes a large, mainly irreversible deformation. As the load is increased further, the curve exhibits the third segment showed by a significant change in slope. These curves look different from those obtained on thick specimens. In this respect, the behaviour of a thin wood specimen subjected to cyclic type tensile loading along its longitudinal direction is also illustrated. Based on wood microstructure, a model is presented to interpret the evolution of the Young's modulus of a wood fiber during tensile loading. The model considers wood as an assembly of cylindrical fibers pasted together in a longitudinal direction. We have assumed the cell wall to comprise only an S₂ layer made of a composite material consisting of a lignin and hemicellulose matrix reinforced by helical microfibrils along the fiber. Furthermore, it is assumed that the microfibril angle a in the S₂ layer is not uniform along the fiber axis and matrix degradation occurs in the zones where the microfibril angles are bigger. The validity of this assumption is verified by using holographic interferometry to visualize the displacement field of the specimen's surface under tension.The work reported in this paper is supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, and its support is gratefully acknowledged     

中国华北地区瓜类尖孢镰刀菌对咪鲜胺的敏感性及抗药突变株生物学性状研究

为明确中国华北地区瓜类尖孢镰刀菌Fusarium oxysporum Schl.对咪鲜胺的抗药性现状及抗药突变株的生物学性状,采用菌丝生长速率法,分别测定了采自北京、山东、河北等地未使用过咪鲜胺的112株瓜类尖孢镰刀菌对咪鲜胺的敏感性,并通过药剂驯化的方法获得尖孢镰刀菌抗咪鲜胺突变株。结果表明:咪鲜胺对112株瓜类尖孢镰刀菌的平均EC50值为（0.030 1±0.030 4）μg/mL,菌株频率呈连续单峰曲线分布,未发现敏感性明显下降的亚群体,因此,可将该EC50值作为瓜类尖孢镰刀菌对咪鲜胺的敏感基线。药剂驯化共获得7株抗咪鲜胺突变株,其抗性倍数介于6.2~26.8之间;突变株在菌丝生长速率、菌丝干重和致病力等方面均明显低于亲本菌株,差异显著;仅突变株HG13052701-R1的抗药性可以稳定遗传,其他6株抗咪鲜胺突变株的抗药性均不能稳定遗传。室内交互抗性测定结果表明,咪鲜胺仅与戊唑醇之间有交互抗性,与多菌灵和齅霉灵之间均无交互抗性关系。研究表明,瓜类尖孢镰刀菌在药剂选择压下可以形成抗咪鲜胺群体,具有低等抗药性风险。     

Allelic polymorphism in the second exon of Ovar-DRB1 in fat-tailed sheep

Ovar-DRB1 is one of the most important response genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II region of sheep. Gene polymorphism in the second exon of Ovar-DRB1 in three different Iranian fat-tailed sheep breeds (Lori-Bakhtiari, Shaul and Zandi) was analyzed by either restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) or direct sequencing. A total of 92 Lori-Bakhtiari, 40 Shaul, and 47 Zandi sheep were examined. PCR-RFLP identified 17 genotypes in Lori-Bakhtiari sheep, 12 in Shaul sheep and 11 in Zandi sheep. Collectively, 24 different genotypes could be found for Iranian fat-tailed sheep. Using direct sequencing, seven new sequences in exon 2 of the Ovar-DRB1 gene were identified. Generalized linear modeling with a multinomial error structure showed that the sheep populations had significantly different allele frequencies.     

Impact factors of soil wind erosion in the center of Taklimakan Desert

The development and progress of soil wind erosion are influenced by the factors of climate,terrain,soil and vegetation,etc. This paper,taking Tazhong region,a town in the centre of the Taklimakan Desert,as an example and using comparative and quantitative methods,discussed the effects of climate,surface roughness(including vegetation cover) and surface soil properties on soil wind erosion. The results showed that the climate factor index C of annual wind erosion is 28.3,while the maximum of C is 13.9 in summer and it is only 0.7 in winter. The value of C has a very good exponential relationship with the wind speed. In Tazhong region,the surface roughness height is relatively small with a mean of 6.32 × 10-5 m,which is in favor of soil wind erosion. The wind erosion is further enhanced by its sandy soil types,soil particle size,lacking of vegetation and low soil moisture content. The present situation of soil wind erosion is the result of concurrent effects of climate,vegetation and surface soil properties.     

Circulating antibody response to Eimeria tenella oral and subcutaneous infections in chickens

Immune responses in chickens to Eimeria tenella using oral and subcutaneous routes of infection were investigated. The results obtained indicated that sporulated oocysts inoculated subcutaneously in doses up to 50 000 oocysts per bird were not fatal to 21-day-old chicks. Subcutaneous inoculation of oocysts was found to be less immunogenic than oral administration. The dynamics of the antibody responses were different for the two routes of infection. Orally administered oocysts stimulated a dramatic primary increase in the serum antibody titre with a tendency towards a decrease in the titre 14 days post infection irrespective of second infections at that time. However, a third oral dose of oocysts stimulated a slight increase in antibody titre. Two doses of oocysts injected subcutaneously induced only a slight increase in serum antibody titre. Such a low titre was dramatically increased following a subsequent oral dose of oocysts. Antibodies specific to E. tenella are IgM and IgG immunoglobulins. IgA immunoglobulin was not investigated.     

库尔勒香梨枝条、花芽冻害发生程度与相关生理指标研究

2008年1月下旬库尔勒地区的梨树遭受不同程度的冻害,以了解受不同程度冻害的香梨枝条、花芽相关生理指标为目的,以不同冻害程度的枝条、花芽为试验材料,测定其部分生理及营养元素指标,并对不同程度冻害与各指标的关系进行研究。结果表明,随着冻害程度的不断加深,枝条和花芽的游离脯氨酸、可溶性糖含量不断降低,并且差异显著,POD活性、MDA含量变化不具有一致性,因此,游离脯氨酸、可溶性糖含量可作为库尔勒香梨树的主要抗冻生理指标。随着冻害程度的不断加深,枝条和花芽的N,K,Mg含量不断降低,并且差异显著,Ca含量变化不具有一致性,P含量差异不明显,因此,N,K,Mg含量可作为库尔勒香梨树的主要抗冻营养元素指标。     

Fatty acid, triacylglycerol, phytosterol, and tocopherol variations in kernel oil of Malatya apricots from Turkey

The fatty acid, sn-2 fatty acid, triacyglycerol (TAG), tocopherol, and phytosterol compositions of kernel oils obtained from nine apricot varieties grown in the Malatya region of Turkey were determined ( P<0.05). The names of the apricot varieties were Alyanak (ALY), Cataloglu (CAT), C?loglu (COL), Hacihaliloglu (HAC), Hacikiz (HKI), Hasanbey (HSB), Kabaasi (KAB), Soganci (SOG), and Tokaloglu (TOK). The total oil contents of apricot kernels ranged from 40.23 to 53.19%. Oleic acid contributed 70.83% to the total fatty acids, followed by linoleic (21.96%), palmitic (4.92%), and stearic (1.21%) acids. The s n-2 position is mainly occupied with oleic acid (63.54%), linoleic acid (35.0%), and palmitic acid (0.96%). Eight TAG species were identified: LLL, OLL, PLL, OOL+POL, OOO+POO, and SOO (where P, palmitoyl; S, stearoyl; O, oleoyl; and L, linoleoyl), among which mainly OOO+POO contributed to 48.64% of the total, followed by OOL+POL at 32.63% and OLL at 14.33%. Four tocopherol and six phytosterol isomers were identified and quantified; among these, gamma-tocopherol (475.11 mg/kg of oil) and beta-sitosterol (273.67 mg/100 g of oil) were predominant. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the data from lipid components of apricot kernel oil in order to explore the distribution of the apricot variety according to their kernel's lipid components. PCA separated some varieties including ALY, COL, KAB, CAT, SOG, and HSB in one group and varieties TOK, HAC, and HKI in another group based on their lipid components of apricot kernel oil. So, in the present study, PCA was found to be a powerful tool for classification of the samples.