Antibiotic treatment of experimentally Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ponies

The objective of this study is to determine whether doxycycline, ceftiofur or tetracycline could be effectively used to treat equine Lyme disease. Ponies experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi by tick exposure were treated with doxycycline, ceftiofur or tetracycline for 4 weeks (28 days). Doxycyline and ceftiofur treatment were inconsistent in eliminating persistent infection in this experimental model. However, tetracycline treatment seems to eliminate persistent infection. Although serum antibody levels to B. burgdorferi in all ponies declined gradually after antibiotic treatment, three out of four ponies treated with doxycline and two out of four ponies treated with ceftiofur, serum KELA titers were raised again 3 month after treatment was discontinued. Five months after antibiotic treatment, tissues aseptically collected at necropsy from ponies with increased antibody levels after antibiotic treatment also showed culture positive to B. burgdorferi in various post-mortem tissues. However, all four-tetracycline treatment ponies showed a negative antibody level and culture negative from post-mortem tissues. Untreated infected ponies maintained high KELA titers throughout the study and were tissue culture positive.     

水土流失定量监测中的DEM精度评价新方法

提出了由像元坡度评价法和数值评价法组成的DEM精度评价新方法 ,介绍了它在两类DEM实验区应用的结果 ,显示了它在DEM精度评价中具有准确可靠、快速直观、评价客观、精度数值符合DEM实际的特点 ,并能醒目突显DEM的局部错误 ,使其能用DEM构建文件改正后建成较高精度的DEM。该评价新方法 ,已在江苏全省和密云水库流域DEM建成中得到充分应用和证明。     

Comparison of Nutritional Compounds in Premature Green and Mature Yellow Whole Wheat in Korea

Until now few comparisons of nutritional compounds in premature green and mature yellow wheat have been reported. In this study, the contents of amino acids, vitamins, mineral compounds, phytosterols, and fatty acids as well as the proximate composition of premature green and mature yellow wheat were investigated. Premature green wheat had lower protein content (12.0 g/100 g db) and higher dietary fiber content (19.3 g/100 g db) than mature yellow wheat (13.6 and 14.3 g/100 g db for protein and dietary fiber, respectively). Despite a small difference in total amino acids, protein in premature wheat had a significantly greater proportion of essential amino acids: 16.1, 39.9, and 32.7 mg/g of protein for methionine, lysine, and threonine, respectively. Furthermore, the protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid scores of whole grain premature green and mature yellow wheat were 62.8 and 46.4, respectively, showing significant difference (P < 0.05). Total fatty acids content was 2.66 g/100 g db for premature green wheat and 2.21 g/100 g db for mature yellow wheat. Vitamin C, β‐carotene (provitamin A), α‐ and γ‐tocopherol, and niacin were the major vitamins in premature green wheat, whereas vitamin C and β‐carotene were not detected in mature yellow wheat. The results obtained indicated that premature green wheat has potential for the human diet because of its desirable nutritional value.     

基于机器视觉的番茄多目标提取与匹配

果实的提取和匹配是番茄采摘机器人进行番茄定位和采摘的基础。为解决获取图像中多个成熟番茄粘连或被遮挡的情况下果实的提取和匹配问题,该文提出了使用局部极大值法和随机圆环变换检测圆算法结合进行目标提取,再使用SURF算法进行目标匹配的算法。该方法首先基于颜色对番茄进行分割提取,然后使用局部极大值法对番茄个数进行估计,结合番茄区域面积进行半径估计,之后通过随机圆环变换算法检测番茄中心和半径进行目标定位,再使用SURF算法进行双目目标匹配的算法。该方法在一定程度上解决了复杂自然环境下,多个番茄的提取和图像特征匹配的问题,并通过试验验证了其有效性和准确性,可为采摘机器人目标识别技术的研究提供参考。     

Variations in Pectoral Girdle Muscles in Dogs

Muscle variations take the form of additional muscle bundle or belly, unusual muscle origin or termination, as well as complete muscle absence. Knowledge of such variations not only has clinical importance for guiding surgery, but also can help reveal phylogenetic relationships. To improve our understanding of muscle variations in dogs, 57 medium‐sized, cross‐breed male and female adult animals were dissected as part of a gross anatomy course between 2005 and 2011. Variations in pectoral girdle muscles were observed in 7 (12.3%) dogs and took the form of an additional muscle bundle in the brachiocephalicus muscle (n = 2), in the omotransversarius muscle (n = 2), in the cervical part of the rhomboideus muscle (n = 2) and in the cervical part of the serratus ventralis muscle (n = 1). Muscle variation was bilateral in only one dog; it involved the omotransversarius muscle. The variations did not seem to be sex dependent. Such variations can appear regularly in dogs and should be taken into consideration during anatomical dissection.     

Hypolipemic effect of water extracts of Picrorrhiza kurroa in high fat diet treated mouse

A hypolipemic effect of the water extract of Picrorrhiza kurroa (PR) was observed in a high fat diet feeding hyperlipemic mouse at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, orally, once a day for 12 weeks. Liver weight, serum aspartate transferase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced by the treatment. On the contrary, serum HDL level seems not affected by P. kurroa water extract.     

The regional distribution and relative frequency of gastrointestinal endocrine cells in the nude mice, Balb/c-nu/nu: an immunohistochemical study

The distributions and frequencies of some endocrine cells in the eight portions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract - fundus, pylorus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum of the nude mouse, Balb/c-nu/nu were studied with immunohistochemical method using six types of anti-sera against serotonin, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK)-8, somatostatin, glucagon and human pancreatic polypeptide (hPP). All of six types of immunoreactive (IR) cells were identified. Most of IR cells in the intestinal portion were generally spherical or spindle in shape (open type cell) while cells showing round in shape (close type cell) were found in the intestinal gland and stomach regions occasionally. Their relative frequencies were varied according to each portion of GI tract. Serotonin-IR cells were detected throughout the whole GI tract and they showed the highest frequency in the pylorus. Gastrin-IR cells were restricted to the pylorus and duodenum with numerous and a few frequencies, respectively. CCK-8-IR cells were also restricted to the pylorus, duodenum and jejunum with numerous, a few and rare frequencies, respectively. Somatostatin-IR cells were demonstrated throughout the whole GI tract except for the colon and rectum, and they showed the highest frequency in the fundus. In addition, glucagon- and hPP-IR cells were restricted to the fundus and rectum, respectively with a few frequencies. In conclusion, the general distribution patterns and relative frequency of GI endocrine cells of the nude mouse, Balb/c-nu/nu was similar to that of other strains of mice. However, some strain and/or species-dependent unique distributions and frequencies of endocrine cells were also observed especially for somatostatin- and hPP-IR cells.     

A two-bath method for digital ink-jet printing of cotton fabric with chitosan

In our previous research, the possibility of using chitosan in preparing the pretreatment print paste for digital ink-jet printing for cotton fabric was investigated but the final color was not good as expected. In this paper, we modified our previous work by applying the chitsoan separately on the cotton fabric for digital ink-jet printing. A two-bath method was thus proposed and it was confirmed that a better color yield was achieved with this method. However, the use of chitosan reduced the tensile strength of the digital ink-jet printed fabric slightly.     

基于机器视觉的旱田多目标直线检测方法

在实际应用中,由于摄像头安装的高度不同或者车辆在地面高低不平的农田内行驶时产生的晃动,都会产生摄像头内出现多作物行的现象。因此根据农田图像的特点,提出了基于已知线的方法判断农作物列数,避免了传统算法只有先确定农作物列数才能提取导航线的弊端。针对农田图像中多列目标检测问题,采用了基于水平线扫描的归类算法,并利用改进的Hough变化快速检测多条定位线。试验结果表明,处理一幅720×480像素彩色图像平均消耗时间为258 ms,98%的图像中所有目标直线都可以检测出来。该算法能够准确提取各种天气环境下农田图像中的列信息,确定多条定位线的方位。     

局部回归残余克里格对土壤阳离子交换量空间预测的精度分析

高精度土壤理化属性的空间分布图件是环境保护、土壤管理及精准农业不可或缺的要件,土壤特性空间异质性的普遍存在是土壤理化特性精确预测的一大难题。以土壤阳离子交换量(CEC)为对象,通过比较不同的空间插值方法,来探讨土壤属性的高精度预测方法。通过采样实测表层土壤阳离子交换量,利用普通线性回归、地理权重回归及二者残余的克里格进行空间插值,来比较不同方法的插值精度和制图效果。结果表明,地理权重回归残余克里格法的精度最高,其预测值与实测值的回归决定系数达90%,普通线性回归的精度最低。在回归残余分析中,普通线性回归残余对CEC预测精度提高的幅度达34%,而地理权重回归残余对预测精度提高程度为9%,相对较小。说明地理权重回归及回归克里格法也是较好的空间预测方法。在制图效果上,2种残余法的预测图在空间上过渡自然,平缓,能较好地反映出CEC在空间上的变化细节,与实际情况吻合较好。对于那些环境影响因素明确,且与之存在线性相关的土壤属性,地理权重回归残余克里格法及回归克里格法可作为其高精度空间预测及制图的有效工具。