Strong enhancement of nonlinear optical properties through supramolecular chirality

A new approach to second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) materials is reported, in which chirality and supramolecular organization play key roles. Langmuir-Blodgett films of a chiral helicene are composed of supramolecular arrays of the molecules. The chiral supramolecular organization makes the second-order NLO susceptibility about 30 times larger for the nonracemic material than for the racemic material with the same chemical structure. The susceptibility of the nonracemic films is a respectable 50 picometers per volt, even though the helicene structure lacks features commonly associated with high nonlinearity. Susceptibility components that are allowed only by chirality dominate the second-order NLO response.     

Loss of intraspecific aggression in the success of a widespread invasive social insect

Despite the innumerable ecological problems and large economic costs associated with biological invasions, the proximate causes of invasion success are often poorly understood. Here, evidence is provided that reduced intraspecific aggression and the concomitant abandonment of territorial behavior unique to introduced populations of the Argentine ant contribute to the elevated population densities directly responsible for its widespread success as an invader. In the laboratory, nonaggressive pairs of colonies experienced lower mortality and greater foraging activity relative to aggressive pairs. These differences translated into higher rates of resource retrieval, greater brood production, and larger worker populations.     

Giardia infection of cats and dogs in New Zealand

Giardia intestinalis is a pathogenic protozoan which infects humans and a wide range of animal hosts, including cats and dogs⁽¹⁾. However, the status of animals in New Zealand with respect to Giardia infection has not received much attention, so we undertook a preliminary study of cats and dogs in Palmerston North and Hamilton to determine the prevalence of infection, as indicated by the presence of cysts in faeces.     

Comparison of transcutaneous ultrasound over the right flank with transrectal ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis in the dairy cow

Objective   Evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of transrectal ultrasound and transcutaneous ultrasonography across the right flank between days 31 and 196 of pregnancy in the dairy cow.
Procedure   Pregnancy status and stage of gestation at date of pregnancy diagnosis by transcutaneous and transrectal ultrasonography were determined for 1570 dairy cattle. Sensitivity and specificity values and probabilities of a correct diagnosis for both techniques were determined and compared. Possible effects of gestational age, herd, method of transcutaneous ultrasound diagnosis, cow age, cow and bull breed, and calf sex on the determination of a correct diagnosis of pregnancy status were evaluated for both techniques.
Results   The overall sensitivity and probability of a correct diagnosis of pregnancy status from days 31 to 196 of gestation were significantly higher when using transrectal ultrasound relative to transcutaneous ultrasound over the right flank. However, the sensitivity of transcutaneous ultrasound changed over the course of pregnancy: it was low (7–8%) before day 84, increased to 89% between days 141 and 154, and was close to 100% thereafter. The specificity of both methods did not differ significantly. Herd and gestational age at date of pregnancy diagnosis were significantly associated with making a correct test result using transcutaneous ultrasound, although only the latter predictor was significantly associated with making a correct test result using transrectal ultrasound.
Conclusion   Transcutaneous ultrasound can not be recommended as an accurate method for early pregnancy diagnosis in the dairy cow, particularly on a whole-herd basis. However, if pregnancy testing is undertaken in mid to late gestation, this technique could provide an accurate and rapid alternative to transrectal ultrasound or manual palpation per rectum.     

更新观念创新机制依法做好兽药审评工作在农业部兽药审评工作培训与研讨会议上的讲话

各位专家,同志们: 首先,请允许我代表农业部兽药审评委员会办公室和中国兽医药品监察所,对参加本次培训研讨会议的专家和老师们表示热烈的欢迎,同时也借此机会向对圆满完成审评工作任务的第三届审评委员会委员表示衷心的感谢!     

Effect of Temperature,Exposure Duration,and Moisture Content on Color and Viscosity of Rice

Rice yellowing is a problem for the rice industry. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of various temperatures and exposure durations at certain moisture content levels on yellowing in rice. Preliminary experiments were performed on stored Oryza sativa L. ‘Cypress’ rice. These experiments showed that exposure temperature and duration had a great effect on yellowing, but that the effect of moisture content was not significant (P > 0.15). With this information, similar experiments were performed on freshly harvested ‘Cypress’ and ‘Bengal’ rice. Color degradation, as measured by hue angle and chroma, was observed when at temperatures >50°C for exposure durations >12 hr. Temperatures >55°C with exposure durations >12 hr also resulted in dramatically lowered peak viscosity, but not all samples that showed yellowing had lowered viscosity. For the conditions of these experiments, temperature and exposure duration were the most important factors in color and viscosity change.     

Effects of Nighttime Temperature During Kernel Development on Rice Physicochemical Properties

Rice quality can vary inexplicably from one lot to another and from year to year. One cause could be the variable temperatures experienced during the nighttime hours of rice kernel development. During the fall of 2004, a controlled temperature study was conducted using large growth chambers, testing nighttime temperatures of 18, 22, 26, and 30°C from 12 a.m. until 5 a.m. throughout kernel development, using rice cultivars Cypress, LaGrue, XP710, XL8, M204, and Bengal. As nighttime temperature increased, head rice yields (HRY) significantly decreased for all cultivars except Cypress and Bengal, for which HRY did not vary among nighttime temperature treatments. Kernel mass did not vary among temperature treatments for any cultivar. Grain dimensions generally decreased as nighttime temperature increased. The number of chalky kernels increased with an increase in nighttime temperature for all cultivars but Cypress. The amylose content of Cypress and LaGrue was significantly lower at the nighttime temperature of 30°C, while total brown rice lipid and protein contents did not vary among temperature treatments for all cultivars.     

Extreme nighttime air temperatures in 2010 impact rice chalkiness and milling quality

Research shows that elevated nighttime air temperatures (NTATs) contribute to increased chalk formation and reduced milling quality in rice. Arkansas rice-growing regions experienced exceptionally warm weather conditions during the summer of 2010, providing an opportunity to test this hypothesis under extreme conditions. Data from a previous study, conducted in years 2007-2009 (Ambardekar et al., 2011), was extended to include 2010 data, and analyzed to evaluate the correlations of 95th percentiles of NTAT frequencies (NT₉₅) occurring during reproductive (R) stages of six rice cultivars with chalk and peak head rice yields (pHRYs). Long-grain cultivars produced chalk values that were positively correlated to NT₉₅, and pHRYs that were inversely correlated, during the R5 through R8 stages. Medium-grain cultivars, Bengal and Jupiter, which in the original study showed little or no response to elevated NTATs during all R-stages, showed significant positive correlations between chalk, and negative correlations between pHRY, and NT₉₅, during the R7 and R8 stages. The 2007-2009 analyses indicated quadratic relationships of chalk with NT₉₅ and linear relationships of pHRY with NT₉₅. However, addition of the 2010 data indicated that both of these relationships were quadratic in nature. The extreme temperatures observed in 2010 also verified that while cultivars vary in their level of resistance to NTAT effects, all of the rice cultivars analyzed throughout the four-year study exhibited some degree of susceptibility to extreme NTAT temperatures occurring during critical grain-filling stages.     

Predicting Rice Physicochemical Properties Using Thickness Fraction Properties

Long‐grain rice cultivars Francis and Wells and hybrid XL8 Clearfield were harvested from two locations at three harvest moisture contents (HMC) in 2003. The rough rice was dried, fractionated into thin, medium, and thick fractions, and milled. Physicochemical properties of unfractionated and fractionated samples were determined. The effects of HMC and location on thickness distributions were investigated and the weighted‐average physicochemical properties of the thickness fractions were compared with those of unfractionated rice. Generally, the growing location and HMC affected kernel thickness distributions, green kernel content, fissured kernel content, and head rice yield (HRY). As kernel thickness within samples increased, amylose content increased and the protein content and α‐amylase activity decreased. Thick fractions had greater peak viscosities than medium and thin fractions. The thin, medium, and thick fraction physicochemical property weighted averages provided good predictions of most unfractionated rice sample properties. However, this approach was not entirely accurate for predicting HRY, milled rice total lipid content, and bulk density.     

Influence of Storing Rough Rice with High Moisture Content on Subsequent Drying Characteristics and Milling Quality

The objective of this research was to determine the influence on drying characteristics and resultant milling quality of storing high moisture content (MC) rough rice (Oryza sativa L. ‘Bengal’ and ‘Cypress’) under various conditions and durations before drying. Immediately after harvest, drying experiments were performed with samples of both cultivars using two drying air conditions: 52°C with 25% rh and 60°C with 17% rh. Rough rice from each cultivar also was stored for 27 and 76 days at ‐9 or 4°C. After storage, all samples were dried under the same two drying air conditions as at harvest. Head rice yields (HRY) were determined for all dried samples. There were no significant differences between the drying rates or resultant HRY of Bengal or Cypress rice samples stored for either 27 or 76 days at both storage temperatures and then dried compared with the HRY of samples dried immediately after harvest. This research shows that it may be possible to store high MC rice for extended periods of time without detrimental effects on HRY.