Immunostimulatory effects of dietary poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate in European sea bass postlarvae

The stable production of high‐quality fry in marine aquaculture is still hampered by unpredictable mortality caused by infectious diseases during larval rearing. Consequently, the development of new biocontrol agents is crucial for a viable aquaculture industry. The bacterial energy storage compound poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) has been shown to exhibit beneficial properties on aquatic organisms such as enhanced survival, growth, disease resistance and a controlling effect on the gastrointestinal microbiota. However, the effect of PHB on the developing immune system of fish larvae has so far not been investigated. In this study, the effect of feeding PHB‐enriched Artemia nauplii on survival, growth and immune response in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) postlarvae was examined. Amorphous PHB was administered to 28‐day‐old sea bass postlarvae over a period of 10 days. The survival and growth performance were monitored, and the expression of 29 genes involved in immunity, growth, metabolism and stress‐response was measured. While the expression of the insulin‐like growth factor 1 (igf1), an indicator of relative growth, was upregulated in response to feeding PHB, the larval survival and growth performance remained unaffected. After 10 days of PHB treatment, the expression of the antimicrobial peptides dicentracin (dic) and hepcidin (hep) as well as mhc class IIa and mhc class IIb was elevated in the PHB fed postlarvae. This indicates that PHB is capable of stimulating the immune system of fish early life stages, which may be the cause of the increased resistance to diseases and robustness observed in previous studies.     

First isolation of hirame rhabdovirus from freshwater fish in Europe

A rhabdovirus was isolated in cell culture inoculated with tissue material from diseased grayling, Thymallus thymallus (L.), originating from a fish farm affected by a mortality episode in Poland. Diagnostics tests showed that the virus was not related to novirhabdoviruses known in Europe, nor to vesiculovirus‐like species, except perch rhabdovirus (PRhV) with which it shared moderate serological relations. However, RT‐PCR with PRhV probes gave negative results. To identify the virus, a random‐priming sequence‐independent single primer amplification was adopted. Surprisingly, two of the obtained sequences exhibited a high identity (>99%) with hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV), a novirhabdovirus usually found in fish in marine Asiatic countries, for instance Japan, China and Korea. The full‐length sequence of the phosphoprotein gene (P) demonstrated a higher identity of the present isolate with HIRRV from China compared with the Korean isolate. An identical viral sequence was also found in brown trout, Salmo trutta trutta L., affected by mortalities in a second farm in the same region, after a likely contamination from the grayling farm. To our knowledge, this is the first report of HIRRV in Europe, and in two hosts from fresh water that have not been described before as susceptible species.     

不同糖源对方格星虫稚虫生长、成活率及体组成的影响

以初始体重为15.49±0.03 mg的方格星虫稚虫为实验对象,分别投喂以葡萄糖、蔗糖、糊精、木薯淀粉、土豆淀粉、玉米淀粉、糊化玉米淀粉作为饲料糖源的7种等氮（45％蛋白）等脂（9％脂肪）饲料56d,研究饲料中的糖源对稚星虫生长、成活率及体组成的影响.结果表明,糊化玉米淀粉组增重率和特定生长率最高,显著高于其他各糖源处理组（P＜0.05）,而饲料中糖源对稚星虫存活率没有显著影响（P＞0.05）.体组成分析的结果显示,不同糖源对稚星虫的体水分和体粗蛋白含量均有显著的影响（P＜0.05）,其中,葡萄糖处理组方格星虫稚虫的体水分含量最高,且显著高于土豆淀粉组（P＜0.05）,其他各实验组差异不显著;葡萄糖处理组方格星虫稚虫的体粗蛋白含量最低,显著低于糊化及非糊化淀粉组（P＜0.05）.不同糖源对稚星虫的体粗脂肪含量及灰分含量没有显著影响（P＞0.05）.在本实验条件下,稚星虫对大分子糖类（淀粉）的利用能力显著优于双糖（蔗糖）和单糖（葡萄糖）.另外,玉米淀粉预糊化显著提高了方格星虫稚虫对玉米淀粉的利用.     

湖北稻茬小麦主茎、分蘖1、分蘖2和分蘖3的成穗率、产量贡献率及主要农艺性状分析

合理的茎蘖组合是提升小麦绿色高效生产的重要因素。为了解湖北稻茬小麦主要茎蘖对产量及主要农艺性状的影响,以大穗型小麦品种川麦104和多穗型小麦品种扬麦15为材料,于2016-2018年在湖北十堰和武汉两地稻茬麦大田条件下,设置低(1.35×106~1.65×106株·hm^-2)、中(2.85×106~3.15×106株·hm^-2)、高(4.35×106~4.65×106株·hm^-2)三种种植密度,分析了主茎(S)、分蘖1(T1)、分蘖2(T2)和分蘖3(T3)(按出现先后顺序)的成穗率、产量贡献率及相关农艺性状的表现。结果表明:(1)湖北稻茬小麦成穗茎蘖农艺性状表现值偏低,除穗长和茎高受品种的影响最大外,其他被测性状受影响程度表现为蘖位>种植密度>品种;(2)在主茎均能成穗的情况下,分蘖成穗率随蘖位和种植密度的升高而降低,大穗型品种川麦104的降幅大于多穗型品种扬麦15;(3)主茎产量贡献率随种植密度的升高而升高(35.12%~54.50%),分蘖1产量贡献率稳定在23.25%~25.50%,分蘖2和分蘖3的产量贡献率随种植密度升高而降低,分别为14.59%~23.22%和5.42%~16.77%;(4)主茎的穗粒数(35.94~44.13粒)和穗粒重(1.44~1.93 g)显著高于其分蘖,茎高、茎蘖收获指数和穗茎节长只在川麦104中、高种植密度下的分蘖3与其他茎蘖差异显著;穗长、可孕小穗数和不孕小穗数有随蘖位和种植密度升高而变劣的趋势。聚类分析得出:湖北稻茬小麦绿色高效生产模式,以主茎成穗为主体,低种植密度下增加分蘖1和分蘖2,争取分蘖3成穗为辅;中种植密度下争取分蘖1+分蘖2成穗为辅;而高种植密度下争取分蘖1成穗为辅。     

A New Bioassay Platform Design for the Discovery of Small Molecules with Anticancer Immunotherapeutic Activity

Immunotherapy takes advantage of the immune system to prevent, control, and eliminate neoplastic cells. The research in the field has already led to major breakthroughs to treat cancer. In this work, we describe a platform that integrates in vitro bioassays to test the immune response and direct antitumor effects for the preclinical discovery of anticancer candidates. The platform relies on the use of dendritic cells that are professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) able to activate T cells and trigger a primary adaptive immune response. The experimental procedure is based on two phenotypic assays for the selection of chemical leads by both a panel of nine tumor cell lines and growth factor-dependent immature mouse dendritic cells (D1). The positive hits are then validated by a secondary test on human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs). The aim of this approach is the selection of potential immunotherapeutic small molecules from natural extracts or chemical libraries.     

Leucettamols, Bifunctionalized Marine Sphingoids, Act as Modulators of TRPA1 and TRPM8 Channels

Leucettamols, bifunctionalized sphingoid-like compounds obtained from a marine sponge Leucetta sp., act as non-electrophilic activators of the TRPA1 channel and potent inhibitors of the icilin-mediated activation of the TRPM8 channel, while they are inactive on CB₁, CB₂ and TRPV1 receptors. Leucettamols represent the first compounds of marine origin to target TRPA1 and the first class of natural products to inhibit TRPM8 channels. The preparation of a small series of semi-synthetic derivatives revealed interesting details on the structure-activity relationships within this new chemotype of simple acyclic TRP modulators.     

风电逆变器的研究与设计

本文介绍了1种利用智能型、高精度脉宽调制发生器SA4828和单片机结合构成的风电逆变器,并给出了SA4828与单片机相结合的控制方法及初始参数的选定。实验表明逆变器的硬件和软件设计合理,工作可靠性高。     

Effect of pre-planting temperature and light treatments of seed tubers on potato yield and tuber size distribution

Summary From 1985 to 1987 field experiments were caried out to test the influence of different pre-planting storage treatments on yield and size distribution of potato crops. The storage treatments included 4, 8 and 12°C in the light and in the dark, for different periods before planting. Subjecting the seed tubers to light at low temperatures induced crops to produce a larger proportion of smaller sized tubers while storing seed tubers at higher temperatures in the dark led to an increase of tubers >55 mm. These observations were confirmed in five field experiments with two cultivars at two sites and in three growing seasons.     

Selection,characterization and genetic analysis of laboratory mutants of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Botryotinia fuckeliana</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Botrytis cinerea</Emphasis>) resistant to the fungicide boscalid

Resistance to the fungicide boscalid in laboratory mutants of Botryotinia fuckeliana (Botrytis cinerea) was investigated. The baseline sensitivity to boscalid was evaluated in terms of colony growth (EC₅₀ = 0.3–3 μg ml⁻¹; MIC = 10–30 μg ml⁻¹) and conidial germination (EC₅₀ = 0.03–0.1 μg ml⁻¹; MIC = 1–3 μg ml⁻¹) tests. Mutants were selected in vitro from wild-type strains of the fungus on a fungicide-amended medium containing acetate as a carbon source. Mutants showed two different levels of resistance to boscalid, distinguishable through the conidial germination tests: low (EC₅₀ ∼ 0.3 μg ml⁻¹, ranging from 0.03 to 1 μg ml⁻¹; MIC > 100 μg ml⁻¹) and high (EC₅₀ > 100 μg ml⁻¹) resistance. Analysis of meiotic progeny from crosses between resistant mutants and sensitive reference strains showed that resistant phenotypes were due to mutations in single major gene(s) inherited in a Mendelian fashion, and linked with both the Daf1 and Mbc1 genes, responsible for resistance to dicarboximide and benzimidazole fungicides, respectively. Gene sequence analysis of the four sub-units of the boscalid-target protein, the succinate dehydrogenase enzyme, revealed that single or double point mutations in the highly conserved regions of the iron-sulphur protein (Ip) gene were associated with resistance. Mutations resulted in proline to leucine or phenylalanine replacements at position 225 (P225L or P225F) in high resistant mutants, and in a histidine to tyrosine replacement at position 272 (H272Y) in low resistant mutants. Sequences of the flavoprotein and the two transmembrane sub-units of succinate dehydrogenase were never affected.     

蛋鸡龙骨损伤及其对蛋鸡福利影响的研究进展

龙骨损伤是福利和健康受损的主要表现之一.文章从蛋鸡生产的角度出发,阐述了蛋鸡龙骨损伤的概况、蛋鸡龙骨损伤的研究现状及其对蛋鸡福利状况的影响,旨在呼吁重视蛋鸡龙骨损伤现象,促进蛋鸡产业的健康可持续发展.