The evolution of agriculture in ants

Cultivation of fungi for food by fungus-growing ants (Attini: Formicidae) originated about 50 million years ago. The subsequent evolutionary history of this agricultural symbiosis was inferred from phylogenetic and population-genetic patterns of 553 cultivars isolated from gardens of "primitive" fungus-growing ants. These patterns indicate that fungus-growing ants succeeded at domesticating multiple cultivars, that the ants are capable of switching to novel cultivars, that single ant species farm a diversity of cultivars, and that cultivars are shared occasionally between distantly related ant species, probably by lateral transfer between ant colonies.     

Pharmacokinetics of carprofen and firocoxib for medication control in racing greyhounds

Animals used in sport should be treated as required to ensure animal welfare but any such use of medication should also be controlled to ensure integrity. Pharmacokinetic studies on groups of six greyhounds were performed to measure plasma and urine levels of carprofen and firocoxib to inform medication control advice. Using the standard methodology for medication control the Irrelevant Plasma Concentration was determined as 20 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. The Irrelevant Urine Concentration was also determined as 0.3 and 2 ng/mL for carprofen and firocoxib, respectively. These Irrelevant Plasma and Urine Concentrations will allow laboratory Screening Limits, Detection Times and Withdrawal Time advice to be determined and publicised by regulators of greyhound racing. The Screening Limits will also inform Recommended Limits of Detection if meat-containing residues of these medications are fed to greyhounds.     

白狐源星状病毒RdRp基因的鉴定及遗传演化分析

目的 探究广州动物园一例死亡白狐Alopex lagopus肾脏中鉴定出的星状病毒的遗传变异情况。方法 对死亡白狐进行剖检,利用半巢式RT-PCR对内脏器官进行病原学检测,对扩增出的病毒株的RdRp基因序列进行相似性分析。结果 死亡白狐的肾脏苍白肿大,被膜难以剥离,肾脏中检测出的星状病毒RdRp基因呈阳性。RdRp基因与9株参考毒株的核苷酸相似性为67.5%～96.2%,其中与香港猫源星状病毒1637F的核苷酸相似性(96.2%)最高。结论 本研究为星状病毒在野生哺乳动物间的跨种传播及肠外器官中的感染提供了依据。     

Varietal relationship between instrumental skin hardness and climate for grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)

The main aims of this work were to classify 30 colored and white wine grape varieties according to the berry skin hardness, to assess the influence of annual variations in climate on the berry skin hardness, and to establish significant relationships among berry skin mechanical properties and some climatic-bioclimatic indices calculated for different grape-ripening periods, close to the harvest date. The results obtained show that the most influential bioclimatic indices on the skin mechanical attributes were temperature parameters. In the same season, the influence of the production area was also evaluated, precipitation parameters being the best correlated with the berry skin hardness. This first work has permitted us to know the relationship among skin texture characteristics and seasonal climatic indices.     

腐殖酸液浸苗对匙叶翼首草产量和品质的影响

基于腐殖酸液肥在烤烟、冬小麦等农作物及辣椒等蔬菜生产的良好表现,为了拓宽该肥料的使用范围,采用单因素随机区组设计,研究了腐殖酸液肥浸苗对匙叶翼首草产量和品质的影响。结果表明:匙叶翼首草用不同浓度的腐殖酸液肥浸苗后移栽可以显著提高其产量,且0.6%腐殖酸溶液浸苗处理产量最高,较对照增产25.06%,还可以显著提高匙叶翼首草中的糖含量,同时降低灰分含量。腐殖酸液浓度增大到0.8%时不但产量降低,而且匙叶翼首草的品质也降低了。     

两种人工栽培藏茵陈生物学特性的研究

通过椭圆叶花猫(Halenia elliptica D.Don)、四数獐牙菜(Swertia tetraptera maxim)的人工栽培试验表明:两种藏茵陈植物都为两年生草本,第一年仅以叶簇形态生枝条不伸长,只进行营养生长,生长第二年枝条才开始伸长,开花结实后完成生活史;两种藏茵陈播种时间都以秋播为宜,有利于自然通过低温春化作用打破种子休眠,促进翌年春天种子萌发,显著提高田间出苗率;两种藏茵陈通过人工栽培,其茎、叶都比野生植物生长高大、粗壮,可大幅提高生药产量,是保护珍稀野生植物资源的有效途径之一;两种藏茵陈50%以上的种子在土壤中有较长期的休眠特性,一般在一年中的春秋两季萌发,所以适当增加播种量第二年后可使田间一年、二年生植株同时生长,对生药生产可连年持续收获产品,免去了对土壤的耕、翻、耙、种等作业,从而可有效降低栽培成本。     

预防组培中蓖麻子叶节玻璃化的研究

为了预防蓖麻子叶节在组织培养过程中的玻璃化现象,以建立其高效的遗传转化体系,本实验对影响子叶节生长状态的几个因素进行了初步研究。结果表明,在胚轴、子叶均为淡黄色的时期切取蓖麻子叶节,接种在1/8MS、内含10g/L琼脂粉、20g/L蔗糖、8.0mg/LZT、1.0mg/LNAA的培养基中进行培养,能有效地预防蓖麻子叶节玻璃化。     

Evaluation of the side-effects and thermal antinociceptive effects of intravenous hydromorphone in cats

Hydromorphone (H) may be an effective analgesic agent in cats, but fear of negative behavioral side‐effects associated with opioids is cited as a reason for avoiding this class of analgesics in cats. This study was designed to assess onset and duration of antinociception using an established feline thermal threshold model in cats, given an accepted clinical dose of 0.1 mg kg^?1 of H. In addition, cats were observed for changes in behavior and other side‐effects. Six adult cats from an established colony (four spayed females and two castrated males, 4.7–7.0 kg) received 0.1 mg kg^?1 H IV following establishment of baseline thermal threshold (TT) values. TT was tested at 15 minutes post‐injection, then at every 30–60 minutes for 12 hours. Side‐effects and behavior changes were recorded for 12 hours. Changes in TT over time were analyzed using a one‐way anova ; a p‐value <0.05 was considered significant. TT increased from a pre‐treatment value of (mean ± SD) 40.9 ± 1.65 °C to instrument cutout (55.5 °C) within 30 minutes for 5/6 cats. Mean TT was significantly elevated above baseline from 15 to 450 minutes after treatment. There was a significant increase in skin temperature from 15 to 300 minutes with peak increase of 1.55 °C at 135 minutes. Side‐effects included mydriasis (6/6) and nausea (4/6), characterized by licking, foaming, and gagging. Mydriasis occurred within 10–30 seconds of injection and persisted for 5–7 hours. Nausea was noted within 2 minutes of injection and persisted for 30–90 minutes; no vomiting occurred. Commonly observed behavioral changes included ventral tail curl (6/6 cats, onset 5–45 minutes, duration 4–5 hours) and euphoria (5/6 cats, onset <6 minutes for 4/6, duration 1–6 hours). 2/6 cats were profoundly sedate. Three cats showed signs of dysphoria with or without increased motor activity with variable onset and duration. Dysphoric behavior included staring, pacing, vocalizing, and sudden movements. 3/6 cats exhibited both euphoria and dysphoria at different times during the study. At no time were cats difficult to restrain or work with. Return to baseline behavior occurred 7–8.5 hours post‐injection. Mydriasis did not correlate closely with antinociception. Signs of sedation and euphoria corresponded with onset of antinociception, but not duration. Tail curl signs correlated with antinociception. In this model, H proved to be a rapid acting, potent, analgesic with a long (7.5 hours) duration of action. The most common behavioral changes noted were ventral tail curl, euphoria, and sedation. Mydriasis and nausea were noted as side‐effects.     

Immunosuppressant Effect of Long Term and Subtherapeutic Chlortetracycline in Broiler

Experiments were conducted with 270 Abore Acre male broilers to study the influence of dietary chlortetracycline (CTC) on the bursal, thymus and spleen weight index and T, B cell proliferation and antibody responses of broilers. Results show that 50mg/kg CTC had no significant inhibitory effect on thymus and spleen weight index, and T, B cell proliferation of broilers at 21 days old. 150mg/kg CTC had significant inhibitory effect on bursal, thymus and spleen, and T, B cell proliferation (P＜0.05). Dietary CTC had a direct inhibitory effect on lymphocyte proliferation in vitro. 50mg/kg and 150mg/kg CTC had a significant inhibitory effect on the antibody responses to BSA (P＜0.01). Results demonstrated that subtherapeutic and long term CTC had significant inhibitory effects on immune organs and antibody response. The immunosuppressant effect became higher when the level of CTC increased. 150mg/kg CTC increased the growth rate of broilers significantly.