Use of Fourier‐Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Quantify Immunoglobulin G Concentrations in Alpaca Serum

Background

Rapid, economical, and quantitative assays for measurement of camelid serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) are limited. In camelids, failure of transfer of maternal immunoglobulins has a reported prevalence of up to 20.5%. An accurate method for quantifying serum IgG concentrations is required.

Objective

To develop an infrared spectroscopy‐based assay for measurement of alpaca serum IgG and compare its performance to the reference standard radial immunodiffusion (RID) assay.

Animals

One hundred and seventy‐five privately owned, healthy alpacas.

Methods

Eighty‐two serum samples were collected as convenience samples during routine herd visits whereas 93 samples were recruited from a separate study. Serum IgG concentrations were determined by RID assays and midinfrared spectra were collected for each sample. Fifty samples were set aside as the test set and the remaining 125 training samples were employed to build a calibration model using partial least squares (PLS) regression with Monte Carlo cross validation to determine the optimum number of PLS factors. The predictive performance of the calibration model was evaluated by the test set.

Results

Correlation coefficients for the IR‐based assay were 0.93 and 0.87, respectively, for the entire data set and test set. Sensitivity in the diagnosis of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) ([IgG] <1,000 mg/dL) was 71.4% and specificity was 100% for the IR‐based method (test set) as gauged relative to the RID reference method assay.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

This study indicated that infrared spectroscopy, in combination with chemometrics, is an effective method for measurement of IgG in alpaca serum.     

Genetic variation and selection of introduced provenances of Siberian Pine （Pinus sibirica） in frigid regions of the Greater Xing’an Range,Northeast China

Siberian Pine （Pinus sibirica） is an ecologically and eco-nomically important species in pristine forests throughout northern Rus-sia. Four provenances of P. sibirica were introduced from Mongolia and Russia to the Greater Xing’an Range （the Daxing’anling）, northeast China in 1993. The aim of this research was to study genetic variation and selection of the introduced four Pinus sibirica provenances. Heights （H）, basal diameters （BD）, survival rates （SR） and crown lengths （CL） of different families were measured as primary outcomes in different growth years. Results of data analyses demonstrated high coefficients of phenotypic variation （PCV） and heritability （H2） for H, BD and CL at 18 years after introduction. PCV and H2 increased with age. Correlations of＆amp;nbsp;growth traits between any two growth years were all significantly positive, but the correlation coefficient was smaller when the growth year interval was larger. Correlations between H and the original environment factors decreased gradually, indicating that with long-term subsistence in the new environment, the influence of the source environment declined. Colligation of multiple traits to estimate provenances showed that Novosibirsk, Tomsk, and Altai Mountains had higher survival rates and biomass, and proved more suitable for introduction and plantation in the Greater Xing’an Range in China.     

城市轨道交通上盖物业振动及噪声影响研究进展

阐述了城市轨道交通上盖物业振动和噪声影响研究进展,为城市轨道交通上盖物业前期规划建设提供参考性依据。     

农作物秸秆混配燃烧特性与动力学分析

选用北京市大兴区玉米秸为主原料,混配小麦秸、花生壳, 利用热重仪研究混配物料的燃烧特性,并采用Coats-Refern法研究其燃烧动力学特性,为农作物秸秆固体成型与燃烧提供实践与理论数据。研究发现,3试样燃烧都有2个明显的峰值,燃烧过程可分为水分蒸发干燥、挥发分析出及燃烧、固定碳燃烧和燃尽4个基本阶段,在整个燃烧阶段有较大的重叠区域。添加花生壳的混配物料,其燃烧特性及动力学参数受花生壳的影响较大,而添加小麦秸影响较小。     

大竹蛏亲体暂养技术简报

通过对大竹蛏(Solen grandis Dunker)亲蛏(体长9～12 cm,体重45.76±6.78 g)从采捕运输到人工暂养培育的一系列试验工作,结果表明:亲蛏的挑选以体长9~13 cm、活泼健康、肥满度好的3龄个体为最佳。经7天试验,采用细沙作为底质进行亲蛏暂养的效果良好,成活率达98.5％,个体排卵量约300万粒;不铺任何底质暂养的亲蛏,成活率仅16.4％.不能正常排放精卵。     

Effects of superfine grinding on the quality characteristics of whole-wheat flour and its raw noodle product

Four particle size distributions of whole-wheat flour (WWF) with mean particle sizes (MZ) of 125-μm, 96-μm, 72-μm, and 43-μm were obtained by superfine grinding. Starch damage and Farinograph water absorption were significantly affected by the reduction of particle size, while dough development time, stability, tolerance index and time to breakdown of WWF were little changed. The peak viscosity, trough, and final viscosity of WWF significantly decreased as particle size reduced. Although finer WWFs produced by superfine grinding caused more discoloration of whole-wheat noodle (WWN) after 24 h storage, they still showed brighter noodle appearance (higher L^∗) than coarser WWFs. A significant increase in the cooking yield of WWN was noticed from the 125-μm WWF group to the 43-μm group, perhaps due to increasing damaged starch, while the 72-μm group exhibited the smallest cooking loss of WWN. Additionally, the hardness, cohesiveness, and resilience values of texture profile analysis (TPA) of cooked WWN significantly increased from the 125-μm group to the 72-μm group, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed that the 72-μm group revealed the largest coverage of starch granules and degree of protein network connectivity among the WWF groups. The results demonstrated that the superfine grinding technique could improve the quality of WWN by significantly reducing the particle size of WWFs.     

Morphological structures of the cellulose hybrids containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and their application for removing C.I. Reactive Red 250

Cellulose hybrids containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) were synthesized by crosslinking reaction. The chemical and morphological structures of the hybrids were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectrum, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The hybrids were used for adsorbing C.I. Reactive Red 250 in aqueous solution. Adsorption kinetic and equilibrium isotherm of the cellulose hybrids for the dye were investigated. The hybrids formed new adsorptive positions for dyes because of a nanometer-sized cubic core and numerous organic functional groups (-C-N-). The adsorption capacity of the hybrid materials was significantly higher than that of the control cellulose. The adsorption of the dye on the hybrids was good fit with Langmuir isotherm equation and the second-order model. The apparent activation energy of the dye on the hybrid was 14.87 kJ/mol.     

Biochar composites: Emerging trends,field successes and sustainability implications

Engineered biochars are promising candidates in a wide range of environmental applications, including soil fertility improvement, contaminant immobilization, wastewater treatment and in situ carbon sequestration. This review provides a systematic classification of these novel biochar composites and identifies the promising future trends in composite research and application. It is proposed that metals, minerals, layered double hydroxides, carbonaceous nanomaterials and microorganisms enhance the performances of biochars via distinct mechanisms. In this review, four novel trends are identified and assessed critically. Firstly, facile synthesis methods, in particular ball milling and co-pyrolysis, have emerged as popular composite fabrication strategies that are suitable for large-scale applications. Secondly, biochar modification with green materials, such as natural clay minerals and microorganisms, align well with the on-going green and sustainable remediation (GSR) movement. Furthermore, new applications in soil health improvement and climate change mitigation support the realization of United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, the importance of field studies is getting more attention, since evidence of field success is critically needed before large-scale applications.     

黄河流域水资源、能源与粮食生产的时空匹配及阻尼效应

水、能源与粮食是人类生活与可持续发展的重要保障,探究水资源、能源对粮食生产作用对于优化资源配置与保障粮食安全有着重要的意义。该研究运用洛伦兹曲线与基尼系数评估黄河流域上中下游水资源、能源与粮食生产之间的匹配度,并基于柯布-道格拉斯函数引入粮食增长阻尼模型测算出黄河流域水资源与能源对于粮食生产的制约程度。结果表明：1）黄河流域水资源、能源对粮食的基尼指数呈现出先减小后增大情形,黄河下游区域的匹配度要比上中游区域更为合理,2019年,下游区域水资源、能源对粮食都呈现出高度匹配状态情形。2）黄河流域水资源对于粮食生产的阻尼系数波动较大,阻尼系数变化范围为0.005～0.032,且水资源对粮食增长阻尼作用呈现出6 a一周期情形。能源对于粮食生产的阻尼作用呈现出稳步上升情形,且在2015后上增较快。在水资源与能源约束条件下,2019年黄河流域粮食产量增长要比上一年分别降低0.76%与5.28%。3）黄河流域水资源阻尼系数呈现出西部小东部大情形,能源阻尼效应呈中高约束状态集中在黄河上游东部区域与下游区域,低约束状态集中于黄河中游区域。另外,黄河流域水资源与能源阻尼系数具有典型的空间集聚特征,水资源阻尼效应高-高集聚区主要分布在黄河下游区域,能源阻尼效应低-低集聚区分布在中游北部区域。研究结论可为黄河流域粮食的稳定增长与资源有效配置提供科学依据。