Design and use of an automatic humidity chamber in phytopathological research

Inexpensive humidity chambers, equipped with spore traps, were designed for the study of various ecological phenomena. The basic apparatus enables cycling conditions of any desired humidity with a period of high humidity with or without leaf wetness; and two conditions of air movement through the chamber, each of them chosen in the range of 0 to 14 1/min. The chamber’s performance was tested withUromyces phaseoli on beans in relation to (a) the duration of leaf wetness needed for infection, (b) the effect of relative humidity on the appearance of sori. and (c) the amount of sori and the number of uredospores produced. Iiberated and trapped under various conditions of relative humidity.     

渔船安全技术评价系统的开发与应用

为了辅助有关部门与管理人员收集指定区域的渔船的信息,并据此对渔船及其设备的安全技术状况进行科学、客观的评价,该文利用MS-ACCESS数据库的单机访问效率高、数据文件存储与合并灵活便捷的特点,开发了一种经济实用的渔船安全技术状况评价系统,实现了评价指标、标准与模型的自定义以及网络限制条件下的渔船安全技术状况评价数据采集与处理。该系统在应用过程中,数据由基层的渔业船舶检验工程师将有关渔船参数报到地方渔船管理部门,并最终上报到上级渔船管理部门,进行逐级收集、合并、上报与汇总,最后由相关部门的管理人员进行评价、统计与分析。该研究以某区域5700多艘24 m及以上钢质海洋渔船为样本,实施了渔船安全技术状况的评价。实用证明该系统用户环境配置安装简单,界面简洁方便,数据处理效率高,通用性强,运行维护成本低。通过渔船安全技术评价系统的开发与实施,可以对指定区域渔船的安全技术作出全面客观的评价,并辅助管理者对渔船技术状况和安全隐患进行科学分析,提出消除危险的最佳技术措施和方案,为主管机关制定相关政策、安全技术法规提供参考,进而大力改善区域渔船的安全生产状况。     

The sharks of South East Asia – unknown,unmonitored and unmanaged

Sharks fisheries have declined globally due to over‐ and unregulated fishing. As with many collapsed and unmonitored coastal fisheries, information is difficult to obtain, yet it is important to understand the historical changes determining population trends and evaluate the current status of sharks in order to conserve these vulnerable species. Here, we document for the first time the history and general condition of the shark fisheries of Southern China, specifically Hong Kong, and Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan Provinces. This study shows, through the use of historical literature and anecdotal accounts, including fisher interviews, that all known shark fisheries in the region collapsed between the 1970s and the 1990s. Of the 109 species present historically in the South China Sea, only 18 species were recorded in current market surveys, of which all were landed as bycatch and 65% were below the size of sexual maturity. Markets are dominated by smaller species, including the spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) and the whitespotted bambooshark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). Marketed large shark species are almost all below the size of sexual maturation, evidence of growth overfishing and a factor in recruitment overfishing. Some species, like the whale (Rhincodon typus) and basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus), are clearly vulnerable to local extinction without intervention. Given the inherent vulnerability of sharks and the overfished states of many sharks, there is clearly an urgent need to formulate impacting conservation and management plans for these rapidly declining species in a region that has the highest demand for shark products globally.     

Dietary magnesium requirement and physiological responses of marine shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei reared in low salinity water

An 8‐week feeding experiment was conducted to determine the dietary magnesium (Mg) requirement and physiological responses of Litopenaeus vannamei in low salinity water of 2 g L^?1. Casein–gelatin‐based diets supplemented with seven levels of Mg (0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, 6.4 and 8.0 g kg^?1) were fed to juvenile shrimp. Prior to the experiment, the postlarvae were gradually acclimated to the low salinity media and fed with a basal diet (0.5 g Mg kg^?1) for 2 weeks. After 8 weeks of feeding, survival ranged from 80.11% to 85.65% with no significant difference among the treatments. Hepatopancreas Mg²⁺‐ATPase and Na⁺/K⁺‐ATPase activities and muscle content of lipid and protein were not significantly affected by graded levels of Mg. The weight gain and mineral (calcium, potassium, sodium and total phosphorus) content of different tissues were significantly affected by dietary Mg levels, while there were no significant differences in ash and zinc content in tissues. The Mg content in tissues except hepatopancreas was maintained relatively constant regardless of dietary treatments. The dietary Mg requirement for optimal growth was 2.60–3.46 g Mg kg^?1 by using the polynomial regression analysis based on growth.     

Transgenic cell lines which stably express progestogen receptors (PRS) α and β and the PR-responsive reporter genes

Transgenic cell lines which stably express progestogen receptors (PRs) and the PR-responsive reporter genes were developed. They are a good system for rapid, sensitive and reproducible screening of various ligands.     

Determination of allogeneic and xenogeneic markers in the genus of Tilapia. II. Identification of T. aurea,T. vulcani and T. nilotica by electrophoretic analysis of their serum proteins

Sera from Israeli stocks of T. nilotica, T. vulcani and T. aurea were analysed, by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, for the existence of species-specific markers. Markers situated in the fast region of the electropherogram were found to be male sex and species specific. Interspecies polymorphism in markers in the post albumin area (transferrins) permit the distinction between these related species of Tilapia. No significant polymorphism was found in the electropherogram of T. vulcani. T. aurea presented some slight variations in the transferrin zone, and T. nilotica displayed a high polymorphism everywhere along the electropherogram. Two other species specific bands were found in the prealbumin zone; bands 1 (specific for T. aurea) and 2 (specific for T. vulcani). A selection of fish stocks of T. aurea and T. vulcani is currently done now on the basis of this electrophoretic criteria and on the ability to produce a high percentage of male hybrids. It was concluded that the stock of T. nilotica which exist in Israel do not represent the pure species of T. nilotica. The failure to obtain 100% males in all paired interspecific mating (Pruginin et al., 1975) was explained on this basis.     

Role of T-bet in commitment of TH1 cells before IL-12-dependent selection

How cytokines control differentiation of helper T (TH) cells is controversial. We show that T-bet, without apparent assistance from interleukin 12 (IL-12)/STAT4, specifies TH1 effector fate by targeting chromatin remodeling to individual interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) alleles and by inducing IL-12 receptor beta2 expression. Subsequently, it appears that IL-12/STAT4 serves two essential functions in the development of TH1 cells: as growth signal, inducing survival and cell division; and as trans-activator, prolonging IFN-gamma synthesis through a genetic interaction with the coactivator, CREB-binding protein. These results suggest that a cytokine does not simply induce TH fate choice but instead may act as an essential secondary stimulus that mediates selective survival of a lineage.     

Detection of Flexibacter maritimus in fish tissue using nested PCR amplification

A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system was developed for the detection of Flexibacter maritimus from fish tissue. The total procedure for the diagnosis of marine flexibacteriosis, from the point of DNA extraction to the electrophoretic analysis, can be performed in < 4 h. This was achieved by the combination of a short thermal cycling programme with a rapid DNA extraction procedure. The assay was extremely sensitive, capable of detecting as few as 75 cfu mg(-1) fish tissue. The accuracy of the nested PCR was confirmed under field conditions using tissue samples recovered during 1993-2002 from fish suffering marine flexibacteriosis. The nested PCR method proved to be efficient for the rapid and sensitive detection of F. maritimus from fish tissues and can be used for routine diagnosis of the disease caused by this pathogen.     

EFFECT OF PYRAZON ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF VARIOUS PLANT SPECIES

Summary. Studies were conducted to determine the influence of pyrazon (5-amino-4-chloio-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone) on photosynthesis. A strong inhibiting effect on O₂ evolution from leaf discs of several species was recorded. For most species a concentration of 5 × 10⁻⁵ M caused a reduction of about 50% in the rate of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis of sugar beet, highly resbtant to pyrazon, was reduced to 50% by a concentration of 7–5 × 10⁻⁵ M. Since these differences cannot account for the great divergence in susceptibility to pyrazon, it is suggested that the selectivity of this herbicide results from degradation and differential accumulation in the foliage.
Pyrazon was phytotoxic to plants of tomato and pigweed (Amaranthus retrofiexus L.) kept in the light but not when kept in the dark, after foliage application. The conclusion that pyrazon inhibits the mechanism of photosynthesis and causes starvation for carbohydrates, was strengthened by the fact that external feeding of glucose overcame the toxicity of the compound in tomato plants. These results and a possible mode of selectivity are discussed.