Effects of physical attributes and chemical composition of novel foods on food selection by Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus)

An organism’s food is a fundamental aspect of its survival niche. Free-ranging rodents are presented regularly with different types of novel food. To investigate the novel food selection process in Norway rats concerning chemical and physical characteristics, 288 laboratory bred Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) were tested with a 2-h free choice for each animal. First, rats were tested against eight kinds of novel foods: corn, beans, broiler ration, soybeans, peanuts, rice, potatoes, and millet. Rats preferred corn over the other novel food types, and there was a significant positive correlation between the selective coefficient and carbohydrate content; rats chose novel food with highest energy content. Rats also appeared to be less neophobic to foods of high sugar content. Regarding physical characteristic, rats effectively differentiated between spectral colors of different wavelengths, and red-colored food was more attractive for rats than foods of four other colors. Small-sized food received the highest numbers of visits and longest feeding bouts compared to other sizes. These results suggest that the carbohydrates content, red color, and small size of novel food play a role in the novel food selection of Norway rats.     

司家营铁矿降低露采穿爆成本的实践

穿孔、爆破是露天开采基础且重要的两个环节,且占开采成本的很大比例,针对司家营铁矿穿孔废孔率高,炸药消耗大问题,通过加强穿孔管理降低废孔率、使用强力膜降低炸药单耗、降低后排孔装药量三项措施,降低了矿山穿孔爆破成本。     

Intermedin inhibits pulmonary collagen synthesis in rats with pulmonary hypertension induced by high pulmonary blood flow

AIM: To explore the regulatory effect of intermedin (IMD) on pulmonary collagen synthesis and accumulation in rats with pulmonary hypertension induced by high pulmonary blood flow.METHODS: Healthy male SD rats (n=20) were randomly divided into control group (n=7), shunt group (n=7) and shunt with IMD group (n=6). The shunting of abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava was produced in rats of shunt group and shunt with IMD group. After 8 weeks, IMD was administered into the rats of shunt with IMD group subcutaneously by mini-osmotic pump for 2 weeks. Mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), relative medial thickness (RMT) of pulmonary arteries, contents of hydroxyproline, collagen type I and III, bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), and the mRNA expression of procollagen I and III in lung tissues were measured and compared. RESULTS: Compared with control group, mPAP and RMT of medium and small pulmonary arteries in the rats of shunt group were significantly increased. Meanwhile, the lung hydroxyproline, collagens I and III and BMP-2 contents, and the mRNA expression of lung procollagen I and III were all significantly increased compared with control group. However, IMD significantly decreased mPAP, alleviated the changes of pulmonary vascular micro-structure, decreased the collagen accumulation and pulmonary tissue homogenate BMP-2 contents, and inhibited the mRNA expression of procollagen I and III in the lung tissue of shunting rats.CONCLUSION: IMD plays a protective role in the development of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular structural remodeling induced by high blood flow by inhibiting pulmonary collagen synthesis and accumulation, possibly in association with the BMP-2 pathway.     

甘肃高原夏菜产地预冷与保温物流模式分析

针对甘肃高原夏菜产地分散,冷库预冷能力弱、缺乏冷链运输设备的情况,提出发展
组装式小冷库、改进差压预冷技术以及采用蔬菜绿色包装和促进冷链物流的发展建议。     

Enhancing mucosal immunity in mice by recombinant adenovirus expressing major epitopes of porcine circovirus-2 capsid protein delivered with cytosine-phosphate-guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides

A recombinant replication-defective adenovirus expressing the major epitopes of porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2) capsid protein (rAd/Cap/518) was previously constructed and shown to induce mucosal immunity in mice following intranasal delivery. In the present study, immune responses induced by intranasal immunization with a combination of rAd/Cap/518 and cytosine-phosphate-guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN) were evaluated in mice. The levels of PCV-2-specific IgG in serum and IgA in saliva, lung, and intestinal fluids were significantly higher in the group immunized with rAd/Cap/518 and CpG ODN than animals immunized with rAd/Cap/518 alone. The frequencies of IL-2-secreting CD4⁺ T cells and IFN-γ-producing CD8⁺ T cells were significantly higher in the combined immunization group than mice immunized with rAd/Cap/518 alone. The frequencies of CD3⁺, CD3⁺CD4⁺CD8^-, and CD3⁺CD4^-CD8⁺ T cells in the combined immunization group were similar to that treated with CpG ODN alone, but significantly higher than mice that did not receive CpG ODN. PCV-2 load after challenge in the combined immunization group was significantly lower than that in the phosphate-buffered saline placebo group and approximately 7-fold lower in the group treated with CpG ODN alone. These results indicate that rAd/Cap/518 combined with CpG ODN can enhance systemic and local mucosal immunity in mice, and represent a promising synergetic mucosal vaccine against PCV-2.     

妊娠山羊宫内胎儿脐动脉插管手术方法的研究

为了优化山羊胎儿脐动脉插管模型,本试验采用医用硬膜外导管对单胎妊娠120日龄的山羊进行胎儿脐动脉插管手术,对其手术途径、导管类型、插管方法、麻醉和术后护理进行研究。术后可顺利采集胎儿血液样本,1周后母山羊正常分娩。本试验建立的山羊胎儿脐动脉插管模型的手术方案,可为胎儿疾病的诊断及临床用药等提供试验基础。     

Effects of different dietary energy and protein levels and sex on growth performance,carcass characteristics and meat quality of F1 Angus x Chinese Xiangxi yellow cattle

Background：The experiment evaluated the effect of nutrition levels and sex on the growth performance,carcass characteristics and meat quality of F1 Angus × Chinese Xiangxi yellow cattle.Methods：During the background period of 184 d,23 steers and 24 heifers were fed the same ration,then put into a2×2×2 factorial arrangement under two levels of- dietary energy（TON：70/80%DM）,protein（CP：11.9/14.3%DM）and sex（S：male/female） during the finishing phase of 146 d.The treatments were-（1） high energy/low protein（HELP）,（2） high energy/high protein（HEHP）,（3） low energy/low protein（LELP） and（4） low energy/high protein（LEHP）.Each treatment used 6 steers and 6 heifers,except for HELP- 5 steers and 6 heifers.Results：Growth rate and final carcass weight were unaffected by dietary energy and protein levels or by sex.Compared with the LE diet group,the HE group had significantly lower dry matter intake（DMI,6.76 vs.7.48 kg DM/d）,greater chest girth increments（46.1 vs.36.8 cm）,higher carcass fat（19.9 vs.16.3%） and intramuscular fat content（29.9 vs.22.8%DM）.The HE group also had improved yields of top and medium top grade commercial meat cuts（39.9 vs.36.5%）.The dressing percentage was higher for the HP group than the LP group（53.4 vs.54.9%）.Steers had a greater length increment（9.0 vs.8.3 cm）,but lower carcass fat content（16.8 vs.19.4%） than heifers.The meat quality traits（shear force value,drip loss,cooking loss and water holding capacity） were not affected by treatments or sex,averaging 3.14 kg,2.5,31.5 and 52.9%,respectively.The nutritive profiles（both fatty and amino acid composition） were not influenced by the energy or protein levels or by sex.Conclusions：The dietary energy and protein levels and sex significantly influenced the carcass characteristics and chemical composition of meat but not thegrowth performance,meat quality traits and nutritive profiles.     

2012年全国家畜血吸虫病疫情状况

本文通报了2012年全国家畜血吸虫病疫情状况。在2012年,湖南省、湖北省、江西省、四川省、安徽省、云南省、江苏省等7省共有存栏牛1 033 056头,存栏羊2 024 512只,其他家畜存栏数891 301头（匹、只）。2012年共检查了684 899头牛,其中牛血吸虫病阳性3961头,阳性率0.58%,比2011年的阳性数下降了42.57%;检查了71 473只羊,其中羊血吸虫病阳性406只,阳性率0.57%,比2011年的阳性数下降了4.19%,并对142 976头其他家畜进行了检查,其中血吸虫病阳性为21头,阳性率0.01%。湖南省和江西省的病牛数占到了全国病牛数的80.06%。2012年,全国家畜血吸虫病疫情较之2011年继续下降,但是洞庭湖和鄱阳湖地区依然是今后家畜血吸虫病疫情控制的难点和重点。     

Mechanochemical properties of ordinary and dark muscle myosins from seawater fish

Myosin was isolated from two types of muscle, ordinary and dark muscles, of three species of fish living in sea water. The compositions of light chains were visualized by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and the mechanochemical activity was examined by in vitro motility and ATPase assays. Ordinary muscle myosin of either species had three species of light chain, whereas dark muscle myosin had another two species of light chain judged by SDS-PAGE. Sliding velocity of ordinary muscle myosin was in the range of 4.92–6.89 μm/S, whereas that of dark muscle myosin was in the range of 3.07–4.25 μm/s. Therefore, ordinary muscle myosin showed 1.26–1.95 times higher sliding velocity than dark muscle myosin in either species. The ratios of V_max of actin-activated Mg²⁺-ATPase activity of ordinary to dark muscle myosins were correlated quite well to the ratios of sliding velocity. Activity of ordinary muscle myosin was comparable to that of mammalian fast muscle myosin, but that of dark muscle myosin was twice of that of mammalian slow muscle myosin. These results may reflect the essential role of fish dark muscle myosin always used in slow cruising.