Changes in the plasma concentrations of prolactin,luteinising hormone,progesterone and d‐(β)‐hydroxybutyrate in turkey hens (meleagris gallopavo), during treatment of broodiness under commercial conditions

1. An experiment was done under commercial conditions to investigate the physiological effects of isolating broody turkey hens, for 72 h, in sand and wire floored pens on the third, 10th and 16th weeks of production.

2. Hens identified as broody and removed from the flock had higher plasma prolactin concentrations than the laying hens at each of the three experimental stages.

3. Confinement in sand and wire floored pens, induced a decline in plasma prolactin concentrations. This decline probably impeded immediate development of broody behaviour. Alternately, levels of prolactin higher than those of laying hens were again measured 7 and 14 days after treatment during third week but not after the 10 th and 16th week of production.

4. Confinement did not induce consistent changes in luteinising hormone (LH) and progesterone concentrations from one period to an other.

5. An increase in the plasma concentration of D‐(/?)‐hydroxybutyrate was observed in the hens which had an egg present in the oviduct on day 2, 3 and/or 4 of the treatment. Subsequently, a decrease in ovulation rate was observed in the hens with higher concentrations of D‐(β)‐hydroxybutyrate while under treatment, during the 10th week of production.

6. These data confirm that the effectiveness of the traditional methods for broodiness prevention under commercial conditions is related to the induction of a decrease of prolactin.     

水稻三化螟蚁螟在稻株上的定向、着生习性及对水稻不同组织和人工合成“稻酮”的趋化性反应试验

本项工作的目的在于探求水稻三化螟Tryporyza incertulas(Walker)初孵幼虫在稻株上的定向特性,为鉴定水稻的不同生育期、品种植株间的抗螟性能做一些基本工作。其次,以人工合成的“稻酮”进行蚁螟趋化反应试验。工作系于1961—1964年进行。所得结果初步表明:1.在稻株上的定向部位:蚁螟侵入孔距稻株基部的相对高度为,分蘖期<10厘米;圆秆期10—20厘米,孕穗期后>30厘米。在生长期相同的植株上,籼稻>粳稻。入侵途径以叶鞘侧部的脉间蛀入为主,部分咬脉而入。2.蚁螟在分蘖期至圆秆期稻株上主动选择叶鞘部位入侵,并非由“向地性”所支配。3.蚁螟对各生育期水稻叶鞘组织的趋化反应与成虫的产卵选择性相吻合,即偏选分蘖期与孕穗期的稻株(或叶鞘)。4.在稻株叶鞘及孕穗穗苞内含有诱致蚁螟的物质,而在稻叶叶片组织内可能含有拒食作用的物质。5.蚁螟着生数量,在秧苗上为,17天秧>44天秧;在分蘖与圆秆期稻株上,籼稻>梗稻。6.一定浓度的人工合成“稻酮”能明显地引起蚁螟的嗅觉反应。     

The application of atomic force microscope in clinic diagnosis of erythrocytes

AIM: To investigate the application of atomic force microscope (AFM) in clinic diagnosis. METHODS: Topographic images and some parameters of large range field and microstructures of erythrocytes in the blood of normal subjects, lung cancer and myelodisplastic syndrome (MDS) patients were examined by atomic force microscope. RESULTS: Many clear topographic images of many erythrocytes, single erythrocyte, and microstructure of erythrocyte membrane surface were obtained. Many erythrocytes in lung cancer patients were found to change into echinocytes. One erythrocyte had 10-20 protuberances, most of which, with a mean width of 589. 0 nm and a length of 646. 7 nm, were on the edge of cells. The protuberances on the center of echinocytes are lodged and embedded. The erythrocytes of MDS patients were biconcave in shape. Many apertures with different diameters of tens to hundreds nanometer appeared on the surface of cell membrane. CONCLUSIONS: AFM can be widely applied in clinic pathological inspection, including quantification of cells, obtainment and comparison of many parameters (such as diameter, thickness, volume, surface, surface area/volume ratio), observation of topograph of single cell, and observation and comparison of membrane surface microstructure of cells, and so on.     

金华地区牧草引种试验研究初报

对从国外和北京引进的13个牧草品种在金衢盆地进行了栽培及品比试验。结果表明：籽粒苋、苏丹草、俄罗斯饲料菜、甜高梁等鲜草产量高；紫花苜蓿、白三叶、鲁梅克斯、欧洲菊苣、籽粒苋等牧草粗蛋白含量较高，在20％以上；冬牧70黑麦草出苗后可在严寒的冬季生长，且产量高；特早熟二倍体和意大利四倍体黑麦草生育期长，可延长黑麦草利用期1个月左右。     

Can treatment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachiaria decumbens</Emphasis> (signal grass) improve its utilisation in the diet in small ruminants?—a review

Brachiaria decumbens is an extremely productive tropical grass due to its aggressive growth habit and its adaptation to a varied range of soil types and environments. As a result of the vast availability, treated B. decumbens demonstrates as a promising local material that could be utilised as an improved diet for sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the grass significantly increases weight gains in grazing farm animals, there were many reports of general ill-thrift and sporadic outbreaks of photosensitivity in livestock due to the toxic compound of steroidal saponin found in B. decumbens. Ensiling and haymaking were found to be effective in removing toxin and undesirable compounds in the grass. Biological treatments using urea, activated charcoal, polyethylene glycol, and effective microorganisms were found to be useful in anti-nutritional factor deactivation and improving the nutritive values of feedstuffs. Besides, oral administration of phenobarbitone showed some degree of protection in sheep that fed on B. decumbens pasture. In this review, we aim to determine the effect of B. decumbens toxicity and possible treatment methods on the grass to be used as an improved diet for small ruminant.     

Genomic characterization of the first oral avian papillomavirus in a colony of breeding canaries (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Serinus canaria</Emphasis>)

Papillomaviruses are non-enveloped, DNA viruses that infect skin and mucosa of a wide variety of vertebrates, causing neoplasias or simply persisting asymptomatically. Avian papillomaviruses, with six fully sequenced genomes, are the second most studied group after mammalian papillomaviruses. In this study, we describe the first oral avian papillomavirus, detected in the tongue of a dead Yorkshire canary (Serinus canaria) and in oral swabs of the same bird and other two live canaries from an aviary in Madrid, Spain. Its genome is 8,071 bp and presents the canonical papillomavirus architecture with six early (E6, E7, E1, E9, E2, E4) and two late open reading frames (L1 and L2) and a long control region between L1 and E6. This new avian papillomavirus L1 gene shares a 64% pairwise identity with FcPV1 L1, so it has been classified as a new species (ScPV1) within the Ethapapillomavirus genus. Although the canary died after showing breathing problems, there is no evidence that the papillomavirus caused those symptoms so it could be part of the oral microbiota of the birds. Hence, future investigations are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of the virus.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

羊种布鲁氏菌疫苗株PCR-RFLP鉴定方法的建立

为建立一种羊种布鲁氏菌Rev.1疫苗株PCR-RFLP鉴定方法,利用羊种布鲁氏菌Rev.1具有链霉素抗性的特性,选取与链霉素抗性相关编码核糖体蛋白S12的rps L基因为模板设计引物,经PCR扩增后,将产物进行Nci I酶切,发现羊种布鲁氏菌疫苗株Rev.1出现约500 bp条带,而不具有链霉素抗性的羊种布鲁氏菌株16M则出现384 bp条带。结果表明,PCR-RFLP方法能够用于羊种布鲁氏菌Rev.1疫苗株的鉴定,这为今后区分羊种布鲁氏菌疫苗株Rev.1免疫与野株感染提供了基础。     

马铃薯块茎淀粉组分高效检测体系的建立及应用

马铃薯块茎淀粉组分(直链/支链淀粉比AM/AP)影响淀粉特性以及决定其在食品和其他工业上的应用。AM/AP的测定对其合理利用以及选育特异淀粉组分的专用品种等具有重要意义。采用96孔板双波长法对马铃薯不同AM/AP比率标准样品进行测试,发现当测试样品AM/AP比率超过制作标准曲线的AM/AP比率(33.3%)时,测试结果明显高估直链淀粉含量。基于96孔板的碘染分析,建立了马铃薯AM/AP比率和最大吸收峰下波长的标准曲线:y=601.88x^0.0215,R²=0.9999。该方法进一步提高了测试准确度和应用范围。利用该方法测试了198个马铃薯品种(系)以及高直链淀粉组分的转基因块茎,明确了收集的马铃薯品种(系)的直链淀粉组成范围为17.4%～33.3%。新建立的马铃薯淀粉组分测试方法为高效准确筛选遗传育种材料以及改良淀粉组分株系提供了方便。