Effect of carbon sources on asymbiotic nitrogen fixation in a paddy soil

The effect of various carbon sources on asymbiotic N₂ fixation in a paddy soil was studied by C₂H₂ reduction and ¹⁵N tracer techniques. N₂ fixation increased with increasing concentrations of cellulose and rice straw, but the former was more effective. N₂ fixation was considerably enhanced in soils amended with glucose, sucrose, succinate, acetate, butyrate, pyruvate or n-propanol, while n-butanol, ethanol, lignin or paraffin were ineffective. Succinate at low moisture content and butyrate under flooded conditions stimulated N₂ fixation during a 15-day incubation.     

甘露糖—小清蛋白美拉德反应产物的免疫活性

为探讨以甘露糖为还原糖进行美拉德反应对小清蛋白免疫活性的影响,通过将鲢重组小清蛋白(r PV)和甘露糖混合物在干热条件下(100°C)反应100 min制得糖化的r PV(Mr PV),采用Tricine-SDS-PAGE和斑点杂交(Dot-blotting)分析糖化前后r PV的聚合特性、免疫活性及消化稳定性的变化;采用圆二色谱仪和扫描电子显微镜分析糖化对r PV的二级结构及微观结构的影响。结果显示,r PV糖化后形成大分子量的片状聚集体;甘露糖糖化修饰的r PV免疫活性及消化稳定性均显著下降;美拉德反应导致r PV二级结构中的α-螺旋和无规则卷曲的含量有一定程度的减少,而β-折叠的含量显著增加。研究表明,以甘露糖为还原糖进行美拉德反应可有效降低r PV的免疫活性及消化稳定性,这可能与糖化后r PV聚集体的形成及二级结构的改变有关。     

Pharmacokinetics of Enrofloxacin and Its Metabolite Ciprofloxacin after Intramuscular Administration of Enrofloxacin in Goats

The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and its active metabolite ciprofloxacin were investigated in goats after a single intramuscular administration of enrofloxacin at 2.5 mg/kg body weight. The plasma concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were determined simultaneously by a HPLC method. The peak concentrations (C _max) of enrofloxacin (1.13 g/ml) and ciprofloxacin (0.24 g/ml) were observed at 0.8 and 1.2 h, respectively. The elimination half-life (t _1/2), volume of distribution (V _d(area)), total body clearance (Cl_B) and mean residence time (MRT) of enrofloxacin were 0.74 h, 1.42 L/kg, 1329 ml/h per kg and 1.54 h, respectively. The t _1/2, area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) and the MRT of ciprofloxacin were 1.38 h, 0.74 g h/ml and 2.73 h, respectively. The metabolic conversion of enrofloxacin to ciprofloxacin was appreciable (36%) and the sum of the plasma concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was maintained at or above 0.1 g/ml for up to 4 h. Enrofloxacin appears to be useful for the treatment of goat diseases associated with pathogens sensitive to this drug.     

Conditional expression of harpinPsscauses yeast cell death that shares features of cell death pathway with harpinPss-mediated plant hypersensitive response (HR)

Conditional expression of harpin_Psscauses yeast cell death that shares features of cell death pathway with harpin_Pss-mediated plant hypersensitive response (HR).Pseudomonas syringae pv.syringae 61 hrp Z gene encodes harpin_Pss, a 34.7 kD extracellular protein that elicits a hypersensitive response (HR) in plants. Conditional expression of either full-length or truncated hrp Z sequences under the GAL1 promoter caused cell death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y187. Plating of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants on a medium containing galactose resulted in complete inhibition of colony formation, whereas their growth on a glucose-based medium was unaffected. Western blot analysis confirmed the expression of harpin_Pssin yeast cells transformed with pYEUT- hrp Z and grown in galactose-containing medium. A time-dependent decline in the percentage of trypan blue-excluding cells in cultures of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants was observed when cultured on galactose-containing medium. Similarly, the number of viable cells reduced to about 50% within 6 h. There were similarities in the harpin_Pss-mediated cell death in plants and yeast cell death (YCD). Galactose-induced cell death in pYEUT-hrp Z transformants of S. cerevisiae Y187 was suppressed by a protein kinase inhibitor K252a (10 μ M). The viability of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants was prolonged in the presence of 100 U ml⁻¹catalase suggesting a role for the oxidative burst in YCD that was further supported by the flow cytometric patterns of propidium iodide uptake by yeast cells. Overall, it appears that yeast provides a useful model system to understand the molecular mechanism of harpin_Pss-mediated cell death.     

Bovine urolithiasis in Andhra Pradesh

Urinary calculi from three bulls, six bullocks and one male buffalo from the Guntur district were investigated. By chemical analysis only CO₃², Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and a trace of PO¾^- were found. X-ray analysis showed that all samples consisted of magnesian calcite with an atomic percentage of magnesium between 14.5 and 21.9. The size of the crystallites varied approx. from 200 to 400 Å.