卷烟材料参数对细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量的影响

为研究细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量受不同卷烟材料参数,即卷烟纸透气度(X_1)、接装纸透气度(X_2)、成型纸透气度(X_3)和滤嘴丝束规格(X_4)的影响,运用均匀设计实验制备了不同材料组合的实验卷烟样品,采用二次多项式逐步回归法,建立细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量与不同材料参数的数学模型,再对模型进行主效应分析、单因素效应分析、边际效应分析,并进一步开展参数优化和实验验证,明确了以上4种卷烟材料参数对细支卷烟主流烟气中氢氰酸释放量的影响.结果表明:①4种卷烟材料对氢氰酸释放量影响的大小顺序依次为X_2X_4X_1X_3;②接装纸透气度X_2、卷烟纸透气度X_1和滤嘴丝束规格X_4的交互与细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量呈负相关,接装纸透气度X_2的平方、成型纸透气度X_3和滤嘴丝束X_4的交互作用与细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量呈正相关;③细支卷烟主流烟气氢氰酸释放量较低的材料参数组合为卷烟纸透气度为100 CU、接装纸透气度为800 CU、成型纸透气度为6 000 CU、滤嘴丝束规格为6.0 Y/17000;④与实验组的最低值相比,氢氰酸释放量降低了40.31%.     

杜仲杂种优良无性系抗旱性间接评价

以7个杜仲无性系22-22、2-23、4-30、17-17、2-32、6-30、5-152和2个对照品种（无性系）秦仲2号（Qinzhong No.2）、龙拐（Longguai）为对象,以其2年生嫁接苗成熟叶片为材料,采用常规石蜡切片法研究叶片解剖结构、扫描电镜技术观察气孔结构和压力室技术测定水分生理指标,用主成分分析法筛选主要指标,用隶属函数法对各无性系抗旱性进行对比分析。结果表明,共筛选出栅栏组织厚度、原初渗透势、气孔开度、厚角组织厚度4项主要指标,12项解剖结构参数、5项水分生理指数和5项气孔参数,均在无性系间差异显著,无性系抗旱性排序为:6-30>4-30>龙拐>秦仲2号>17-17>5-152>22-22>2-23>2-32。研究结果可对进一步筛选杜仲优良无性系提供参考依据。     

A deep-level region-based visual representation architecture for detecting strawberry flowers in an outdoor field

Precision Agriculture - An accurate and robust strawberry flower representation and detection scheme is a key step to enable the reliable forecasting of fruit yield for use in precision...     

环境因子对太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物组成和多样性的影响

【目的】探索太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物组成和多样性与环境因子的关系,为该区域森林保护、经营管理提供理论指导。【方法】基于太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物野外调查及室内试验数据,采用CCA和偏CCA排序法分析环境因子对太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物组成的影响,采用相关分析和多元逐步回归分析探索环境因子对其草本植物多样性的影响。【结果】环境因子能显著解释太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物组成变异,海拔、坡向、坡度、pH、枯落物厚度和有机质、碱解N、有效P、有效K含量及郁闭度、灌木盖度11个环境因子共解释了物种组成变异的39.05%。其中,郁闭度、土壤有效P含量、pH值和海拔是影响林下草本植物组成的主要环境因子。海拔、郁闭度、有效P和有效K含量能够显著影响太白山锐齿槲栎林林下草本植物的多样性,海拔较高、郁闭度较大、土壤有效P和有效K含量较高的生境具有较好的草本植物多样性。【结论】在太白山锐齿槲栎林经营管理中,可通过适量施用P肥和K肥来促进林下草本植物发育,提高物种多样性。     

紫云英绿肥盛花期埋切翻压组合作业机设计与试验

为实现紫云英绿肥规模化种植区域的绿肥高效、低耗机械化翻压,基于前端埋切、后端翻压的结构配置思路,设计了一种无动力输入的紫云英绿肥盛花期埋切翻压组合作业机。对盛花期紫云英生物学特征及压切特性开展研究,进而设计了辊筒组件、前悬挂连接组件、栅条式翻转犁等主要工作部件;通过理论计算和力学分析,得到实现紫云英茎秆顺畅埋切的压切辊半径为305 mm、压切刀滑切角范围为34. 3°～55. 7°;采用水平直元线法设计了栅条式犁体曲面,推导得到导曲线抛物线方程,并绘制了犁体直元线角变化规律图。紫云英绿肥盛花期田间翻压试验结果表明:在机具作业速度为5. 8～6. 0 km/h条件下,茎秆切断长度合格率92%,耕宽稳定性变异系数3. 7%,耕深稳定性变异系数5. 6%,土垡破碎率85. 6%,植被翻压覆盖率98. 3%,试验指标均符合国家和行业标准要求。设计的埋切翻压组合作业机工作效率可达0. 67～1. 20 hm2/h,在翻压质量和组配方式上明显优于目前我国常用的畜力犁、铧式犁、旋耕机等翻压方式,具有很好的推广应用价值。     

Food animals as reservoirs and potential sources of multidrug-resistant diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes: Focus on intensive pig farming in South Africa

BackgroundDiarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) strains are a major cause of diarrheal diseases in both developed and developing countries. Healthy asymptomatic animals may be reservoirs of zoonotic DEC, which may enter the food chain via the weak points in hygiene practices.AimWe investigated the prevalence of DEC along the pig production continuum from farm-to-fork.MethodsA total of 417 samples were collected from specific points along the pig production system, that is, farm, transport, abattoir and food. E. coli was isolated and enumerated using Colilert. Ten isolates from each Quanti-tray were selected randomly and phenotypically identified using eosin methylene blue agar selective media. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to confirm the species and to classify them into the various diarrheagenic pathotypes. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined against a panel of 20 antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and EUCAST guideline.ResultsThe final sample size consisted of 1044 isolates, of which 45.40% (474/1044) were DEC and 73% (762/1044) were multidrug-resistant. Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) was the most predominant DEC at all the sampling sites.ConclusionThe presence of DEC in food animal production environments and food of animal origin could serve as reservoirs for transmitting these bacteria to humans, especially in occupationally exposed workers and via food. Adherence to good hygienic practices along the pig production continuum is essential for mitigating the risk of transmission and infection, and ensuring food safety.     

Characterization of an Insoluble and Soluble Form of Melanin Produced by Streptomyces cavourensis SV 21, a Sea Cucumber Associated Bacterium

Melanin is a widely distributed and striking dark-colored pigment produced by countless living organisms. Although a wide range of bioactivities have been recognized, there are still major constraints in using melanin for biotechnological applications such as its fragmentary known chemical structure and its insolubility in inorganic and organic solvents. In this study, a bacterial culture of Streptomyces cavourensis SV 21 produced two distinct forms of melanin: (1) a particulate, insoluble form as well as (2) a rarely observed water-soluble form. The here presented novel, acid-free purification protocol of purified particulate melanin (PPM) and purified dissolved melanin (PDM) represents the basis for an in-depth comparison of their physicochemical and biological properties, which were compared to the traditional acid-based precipitation of melanin (AM) and to a synthetic melanin standard (SM). Our data show that the differences in solubility between PDM and PPM in aqueous solutions may be a result of different adjoining cation species, since the soluble PDM polymer is largely composed of Mg²⁺ ions and the insoluble PPM is dominated by Ca²⁺ ions. Furthermore, AM shared most properties with SM, which is likely attributed to a similar, acid-based production protocol. The here presented gentler approach of purifying melanin facilitates a new perspective of an intact form of soluble and insoluble melanin that is less chemical altered and thus closer to its original biological form.     

Exogenous application of melatonin improves plant resistance to virus infection

In this study, melatonin (MEL)-mediated plant resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was examined to study local infection in Nicotiana glutinosa and systemic infection in Solanum lycopersicum. Exogenous application of 100 µm MEL increased anti-virus infection activity to 37.4% in virus-infected N. glutinosa plants. The same treatment significantly reduced relative levels of virus RNA analysed by qRT-PCR and virus titres measured by dot-ELISA, and increased the relative expression levels of the PR1 and PR5 genes analysed by qRT-PCR, in virus-infected S. lycopersicum. MEL treatment induced considerable accumulations of salicylic acid (SA) and nitric oxide (NO) but did not significantly affect production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the virus-infected S. lycopersicum plants. Transgenic nahG N. tabacum was used to determine whether MEL-induced TMV resistance was dependent on the SA pathway. The results showed that the relative RNA level of the TMV analysed by qRT-PCR and virus titres analysed by dot-ELISA were not reduced by the MEL treatment in the nahG transgenic N. tabacum seedlings treated twice with 100 µm MEL. The increased relative expression levels of PR1 and PR5 were greatly reduced when cPTIO, an NO scavenger, was included in the MEL treatment. A working model of MEL-mediated plant resistance to TMV is proposed. MEL-mediated plant resistance to viruses provides a new avenue to control plant viral diseases.     

P0 protein of cotton leafroll dwarf virus-atypical isolate is a weak RNA silencing suppressor and the avirulence determinant that breaks the cotton Cbd gene-based resistance

Cotton blue disease (CBD) is the most important disease present in cotton crops in South America and cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) is the causal agent. The disease has been controlled by sowing cotton varieties resistant to CLRDV. However, in the 2009/10 growing season, an outbreak due to an atypical CLRDV isolate (CLRDV-at) occurred in northwest Argentina. Although CLRDV and CLRDV-at genomes are very closely related, the symptoms they produce in cotton plants are quite different. P0 is the most divergent protein between the isolates and in CLRDV is a silencing suppressor protein. This work characterized the silencing suppressor activity of the P0 protein encoded by CLRDV-at (P0^CL-at) and evaluated its role in Cbd-resistance break in cotton plants. It was demonstrated that P0^CL-at, despite having a mutation in the consensus of the F-box-like motif, was able to suppress local RNA silencing, but displayed lower activity than P0^CL. P0^CL and P0^CL-at showed no differences in the interaction with Gossypium hirsutum SKP1 orthologue (GSK1) and Nicotiana benthamiana SKP1 and both P0 proteins triggered destabilization of ARGONAUTE1. However, when the ability to enhance PVX symptoms was evaluated, P0^CL-at was shown to be a weaker pathogenicity factor than P0^CL in N. benthamiana. Interestingly, trans-expressed P0^CL-at enabled CLRDV to systemically infect CBD-resistant plants, and a chimeric CLRDV-P0^CL-at infectious clone succeeded in establishing infection in CBD-resistant cotton varieties with symptoms resembling those produced by CLRDV-at. These results strongly suggest that P0^CL-at is the avirulence (Avr) determinant involved in breaking cotton Cbd gene-based resistance.     

Distribution and genetic diversity among Aspergillus flavus isolates across three agro-ecologies essential for maize cultivation in Ghana

Fungal mycotoxins are important contaminants of agricultural commodities that pose serious concerns to producers, consumers and exporters. Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic metabolite produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. These fungi and other mould species living in the soil contaminate several crops including maize. This study was undertaken with the following objectives: (i) to assess the presence of A. flavus and other moulds in Ghanaian soil; (ii) to determine the distribution and density of A. flavus under three agro-ecologies noted for major maize production; and (iii) to assess the effect of percentage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and soil pH on A. flavus population densities and diversity in the isolates found across the agro-ecologies. The data showed seven moulds that were common across the agro-ecologies. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the A. flavus density and distribution within and across these agro-ecologies. Fumesua soils recorded the highest levels of A. flavus (1.185 × 10³ cfu g⁻¹) while Akomadan recorded the least (9.76 × 10² cfu g⁻¹). Percentage available C, N and soil pH did not significantly influence A. flavus density. The A. flavus isolates identified in this study varied in genetic sequence within the aflatoxin gene cluster, but these differences were not distinguishable by origin.