Analysis of yield attributes and crop physiological traits of Liangyoupeijiu,a hybrid rice recently bred in China

Crop physiological traits of Liangyoupeijiu, a “super” hybrid rice variety recently bred in China, were compared with those of Takanari and Nipponbare in 2003 and 2004 in Kyoto, Japan. Liangyoupeijiu showed a significantly higher grain yield than Nipponbare in both years, and achieved a grain yield of 11.8 t ha⁻¹ in 2004, which is the highest yield observed under environmental conditions in Kyoto. Liangyoupeijiu had longer growth duration and larger leaf area duration (LAD) before heading, causing larger biomass accumulation before heading than the other two varieties. Liangyoupeijiu had a large number of grains and translocated a large amount of carbohydrates from the vegetative organ to the panicle during the grain filling period. The three yield components measured were panicle weight at heading (P₀), the amount of carbohydrates translocated from the leaf and stem to the panicle during the grain filling period (ΔT), and the newly assimilated carbohydrates during grain filling (ΔW). It was found that the sum of P₀ and ΔT were strongly correlated with grain yield when all the data (n = 8) were combined (r = 0.876**). However, there was no significant difference in the radiation use efficiency (RUE) of the whole growth period between Liangyoupeijiu and Nipponbare for both years. Even though the growth duration was shorter, Takanari, an indica/japonica cross-bred variety, showed a similar yield to Liangyoupeijiu in both years. The mean RUE of the whole growth period was significantly higher in Takanari, 1.60 and 1.64 g MJ⁻¹ in 2003 and 2004, respectively, than in Liangyoupeijiu, which had a RUE of 1.46 and 1.52 g MJ⁻¹ in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The high grain yield of Takanari was mainly due to its high RUE compared with Liangyoupeijiu and its large P₀ and ΔT. Our result showed that the high grain yield of Liangyoupeijiu was due to its large biomass accumulation before heading, which resulted from its large LAD rather than its RUE.     

Evaluation of Various Baking Methods for Polished Wheat Flours

Flour qualities of polished wheat flours of three fractions, C‐1 (100–90%), C‐5 (60–50%), and C‐8 (30–0%), obtained from hard‐type wheat grain were used for the evaluation of four kinds of baking methods: optimized straight (OSM), long fermentation (LFM), sponge‐dough (SDM) and no‐time (NTM) methods. The dough stability of C‐5 in farinograph mixing was excellent and the maturity of polished flour doughs during storage in extensigraph was more improved than those of the commercial wheat flour (CW). There were no significant differences in the viscoelastic properties of CW dough after mixing, regardless of the baking method, while those of polished flour doughs were changed by the baking method; this tendency became clear after fermentation. The polished flours could make a better gluten structure in the dough samples after mixing or fermentation using LFM and SDM, as compared with other baking methods. Baking qualities such as specific volume and storage properties of breads from all polished flours made with SDM increased more than with other methods. In addition, viscoelastic properties of C‐5 and C‐8 doughs fermented by SDM were similar to those of CW, and the C‐5 breadcrumb showed softness similar to that of the CW. Also, SDM could make C‐5 bread with significantly higher elasticity and cohesiveness after storage for five days when compared with CW bread. Therefore, SDM with long fermentation, as compared with other baking methods, was considered suitable for use with polished flours to give better effects on dough properties during fermentation, resulting in more favorable bread qualities.     

The positive contributions of PowerLac™ supplementation to the production performance,feed utilization and disease resistance of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

The objective of this research was to determine the optimum dietary supplementation level of a probiotic (PowerLac^?), for improving Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus growth performance and feed utilization, as well as enhanced protection against disease. For laboratory experimentation, a completely randomized experimental design, consisting of four treatments of a dietary probiotic (PowerLac^?, containing Lactobacillus lactis D1813) supplementation at different levels (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g kg^?1), against a control (0 g kg^?1), was performed for 8 weeks (of culture period). For field experiments, three treatments of different dietary probiotic supplementation levels (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 g kg^?1), plus a control, were employed for 22 weeks (of culture period). Under controlled experimental conditions, in the first experiment, significantly higher fish final body weight, growth and lower food conversion ratio (FCR) were achieved by treatments with dietary probiotic supplementations of 0.25 and 0.5 g kg^?1 (P < 0.05). In strong partial support of this, at field experimentation level, a dietary PowerLac^? supplementation of 0.5 g kg^?1 showed the most pronounced results, as indicated by the higher growth, and protein and lipid retention, as well as lower FCR, and reduced mortality following the Aeromonas hydrophila challenge test (P < 0.05).     

Diurnal variations of blood pressure in dogs.

Using the telemetry system, we measured the blood pressure (BP) invasively in seven adult mongrels while unanesthetized and unbound. Post-operative BP after implanting the telemetry BP transmitter showed temporarily high values due to the invasive nature of the surgery. It was, however, observed that BP gradually decreased thereafter, and showed settled trends from the eighth day post-operatively. When we took the average of the systolic, mean and diastolic BP at hourly intervals for each of the dogs once their BP had settled, a twin peak diurnal variation (at 8:00 and 19:00) was observed. Moreover, significantly high values (p < 0.05) were identified in active state compared with when sleeping or at rest. The 24 hr BP measured by the telemetry system in seven normal dogs resulted in the following values: systolic 123.4 +/- 7.9 mmHg, mean 91.1 +/- 5.6 mmHg, and diastolic 74.5 +/- 4.9 mmHg.     

Sequence analysis and expression of Nramp-1 gene in Bcgr and Bcgs mice.

Nucleic acid sequence of complemental DNA open reading frame for Nramp-1 gene was compared among DBA/2 (Bcgr), C57BL/6 (Bcgs) and C57BL/6-Bcgr mice which was previously developed as M. avium-resistant mouse strain (Xu, et al. Veterinary Microbiology 50:73-79 (1996). Total RNA was isolated from various organs of DBA/2, C57BL/6 and C57BL/6-Bcgr. Nramp-1 cDNA was constructed from their mRNAs by gene amplification (PCR) technique and their open reading frame sequences were compared. The results clearly showed that our C57BL/6-Bcgr was almost identical with the DNA sequence of the DBA/2 mice. In contrast, C57BL/6-Bcgs mice differed only on the substitution of adenine for guanine of the nucleic acid at position 596. This corresponded to the site of amino acid substitution (glycine to asparate) at position 169 in predicted NRAMP which had been reported. The expression of Nramp-1 mRNA was more prominent in spleens and livers and there appeared to be no significant difference among the strains of mice.     

Molecular epidemiology of clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from horses in Ireland

Clinical isolates (n = 63) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa obtained from various sites in 63 horses were compared using ERIC2 RAPD PCR to determine their genetic relatedness. Resulting banding patterns (n = 24 genotypes) showed a high degree of genetic heterogeneity amongst all isolates examined, indicating a relative non-clonal relationship between isolates from these patients, employing this genotyping technique. This study characterised 63 clinical isolates into 24 distinct genotypes, with the largest cluster (genotype E) accounting for 10/63 (15.9%) of the isolates. ERIC2 RAPD PCR proved to be a highly discriminatory molecular typing tool of P. aeruginosa in isolates recovered from horses. With the adoption of several controls to aid reproducibility, this technique may be useful as an alternative to PFGE, particularly in epidemiological investigations of outbreaks where speed may be a significant parameter. This is the first report of clonal heterogeneity amongst P. aeruginosa from horses and demonstrated that ERIC RAPD PCR is a rapid method for the examination of this species in horses, which may be useful in outbreak analysis.     

Oxygen radicals in influenza-induced pathogenesis and treatment with pyran polymer-conjugated SOD

The pathogenicity of influenza virus infection in the mice involves, at least in part, overreaction of the immune responses of the host rather than a direct effect of virus multiplication. Xanthine oxidase, which is responsible for the generation of oxygen free radicals, was elevated in serum and lung tissue of mice infected with influenza virus. To test the theory that oxygen-free radicals are involved in pathogenesis, free radicals were removed by injecting superoxide dismutase (SOD), a specific superoxide radical scavenger, which was conjugated with a pyran copolymer. The conjugate protected mice against a potentially lethal influenza virus infection if administered 5 to 8 days after infection. These findings indicate that oxygen radicals are important in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection, and that a polymer-conjugated SOD has therapeutic potential for this virus infection and other diseases associated with free radicals.     

Relationship between mineralization and immobilization of nitrogen influenced by various conditions of submerged soils

The relationship between mineralization of soil nitrogen and immobilization of added nitrogen in submerged soils were studied under various soil conditions in a laboratory experiment. Selected factors which constituted soil conditions were content of soil organic nitrogen, quantity of nitrogen addition, temperature, soil drying, puddling, and period of incubation. Each factor contained some treatments in it.

The ratio of mineralization to immobilization, M/I, was relatively constant under various soil conditions. The values of M/I were around 2 except the soil drying treatments, indicating that the amount equivalent to about half of mineralized nitrogen is immobilized simultaneously under nitrogen added condition. Even so, if considered in detail, treatments that stimulate the microbial activities were observed to have increasing effect on M/I.

The ratio of additional mineralization caused by nitrogen addition to immobilization, ΔM/I, is considered to be an index to know the influence of nitrogen addition on the quantitative change of soil nitrogen level. This value was around 1 in the soil without any application of organic matters, and around 0.6 in the soil receiving straw compost for 10 years. Factors that have close relations with the value of ΔM/I were soil organic nitrogen level, temperature, soil drying, and period of incubation.     

The influence of lime and manure on the stability of the soil

It is an effective way on one hand, for erosion control of the soil, to keep the influence of wind, rain, and running water away from the soil, and on the other, it is thought more essential for this to give the soil the quality of counter-erosion.