潜水埋深对花生氮累积及产量的影响

潜水位的埋深(简称WTD);4个不随机地块的WTD值分别为0.61、0.76、0.91、1.07、1.22m。第1年和第2年的累积降雨量分别为406和634mm,花生(果荚)产量在3.5~5.5t/hm~2。如果WTD<0.91m,则花生产量>4t/hm~2。第1年,干物质累积量和花生产量与WTD呈负相关(R~2>0.37)。但是在第2年,由于雨量充沛,上述的植物特性与WTD之间也没有显著的相关关系。在较干旱年份,假定空气氮固定量提供了总氮累积量的45%,则氮的净累积量与WTD呈负的或较差的相关性(R~2=0.02)。而在湿润年份,土壤氮的净累积量的估算值达64~4kg/hm~2,净增氮与WTD的线性回归参数R~2为0.40,回归系数为-1.05。因此,潜水位的管理和排灌的调控可以为减少过剩氮和由此造成硝酸盐污染,以及稳定花生产量提供一种管理方法。     

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in two cats

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a disease characterised by infiltration of the myocardium by adipose and fibrous tissue. The disease is an important cause of sudden death in humans, but has rarely been described in animals. This report describes ARVC in two cats with right-sided congestive heart failure. One cat had also experienced previous episodes of syncope. Standard six-lead and 24-hour (Holter) electrocardiogram recording revealed complete atrioventricular block and multiform ventricular ectopics in both cats, with the addition of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular bigeminy and R-on-T phenomenon in one of them. On echocardiography, the right ventricle and atrium were massively dilated and hypokinetic. The survival times of the cats were three days and 16 days following diagnosis. Histopathology in one case revealed fibro-fatty infiltration of the myocardium, predominantly affecting the right ventricular free wall.     

Relationship between total transit time and faecal quality in adult dogs differing in body size

Fed the same diet, large and giant-breed dogs have higher faecal moisture and increased frequency of soft stools than small ones. This could be the result of physiological differences, such as a different gastrointestinal transit time. In this study, we have correlated mean total transit time (MTT) with body size and faecal consistency in dogs varying in body size. Fifty dogs from 13 different breeds were used, from a Dachshund to a Great Dane. The MTT was determined using coloured plastic beads [Cummings and Wiggins, Gut, Vol. 17 (1976), p. 219], and faecal consistency was scored daily during the study. We confirmed the strong correlation between height at the shoulder (body size) and faecal score (r = 0.76; p < 0.0001). The MTT increased with body size, from 22 h for a Miniature Poodle to 59 h for a Giant Schnauzer. We found significant positive correlations (p < 0.0001) between MTT and body size as well as faecal scores (r = 0.71 and 0.70 respectively). In the present study, we observed an effect of body size on MTT. In our 50 healthy dogs a longer MTT was related to a poorer faecal quality. Previous studies reported no relationship between body size and the upper gastrointestinal transit time in healthy dogs. So, we hypothesized that body size would mainly affect colonic transit time and that a longer colonic residence time would be related to a poorer faecal quality by promoting fermentation activity.     

Identification, Chromosome Location, and Diagnostic Markers for a New Gene (YrCN19) for Resistance to Wheat Stripe Rust

ABSTRACT Several wheat lines and cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum) originating from the southwestern region of China were found to be highly resistant to stripe rust by inoculation with the prevalent races (CYR30, CYR31, and CYR32) and newly emerged races (H46-4, SY11-4 and SY11-14) of the pathogen. An inheritance study of the resistance to stripe rust was carried out by crossing resistant AIM6 with susceptible BeiZ76. Results indicated that the resistance to stripe rust was controlled by a single dominant gene. The 112 F(2) plants chosen from the cross BeiZ76/ AIM6 were analyzed with 218 pairs of microsatellite primers to determine the map location of the resistance gene. A simple sequence repeat marker on chromosome arm 2BS, Xgwm410, showed polymorphism and co-segregation between stripe rust resistant and susceptible plants. From the pedigree, inheritance, molecular marker, and resistance response, it is concluded that the stripe rust resistance gene in wheat cv. Chuan-nong19 (CN19) and wheat lines AIM5 and AIM6 is a novel gene, designated YrCN19. The microsatellite primer Xgwm410 is a diagnostic marker of the resistance gene YrCN19, which has potential for application in the marker-assisted breeding of wheat.     

Measurements of the acid-binding capacity of ingredients used in pig diets

: Some feed ingredients bind more acid in the stomach than others and for this reason may be best omitted from pig starter foods if gastric acidity is to be promoted. The objective of this study was to measure the acid-binding capacity (ABC) of ingredients commonly used in pig starter foods. Ingredients were categorised as follows: (i) milk products (n = 6), (ii) cereals (n = 10), (iii) root and pulp products (n = 5), (iv) vegetable proteins (n = 11), (v) meat and fish meal (n = 2), (vi) medication (n = 3), (vii) amino acids (n = 4), (viii) minerals (n = 16), (ix) acid salts (n = 4), (x) acids (n = 10). A 0.5 g sample of food was suspended in 50 ml distilled de-ionised water with continuous stirring. This suspension was titrated with 0.1 mol/L HCl or 0.1 mol/L NaOH so that approximately 10 additions of titrant was required to reach pH 3.0. The pH readings after each addition were recorded following equilibration for three minutes. ABC was calculated as the amount of acid in milliequivalents (meq) required to lower the pH of 1 kg food to (a) pH 4.0 (ABC-4) and (b) pH 3.0 (ABC-3). Categories of food had significantly different (P < 0.01) ABC values. Mean ABC-4 and ABC-3 values of the ten categories were: (i) 623 (s.d. 367.0) and 936 (s.d. 460.2), (ii) 142 (s.d. 79.2) and 324 (s.d. 146.4), (iii) 368 (s.d. 65.3) and 804 (s.d. 126.7), (iv) 381 (s.d. 186.1) and 746 (s.d. 227.0), (v) 749 (s.d. 211.6) and 1508 (s.d. 360.8), (vi) 120 (s.d. 95.6) and 261 (s.d. 163.2), (vii) 177 (s.d. 60.7) and 1078 (s.d. 359.0), (viii) 5064 (s.d. 5525.1) and 7051 (s.d. 5911.6), (ix) 5057 (s.d. 1336.6) and 8945 (s.d. 2654.1) and (x) -5883 (s.d. 4220.5) and -2591 (s.d. 2245.4) meq HCl per kg, respectively. Within category, ABC-3 and ABC- 4 values were highly correlated: R2 values of 0.80 and greater for food categories i, iv, v, vi, vii and viii. The correlation between predicted and observed ABC values of 34 mixed diets was 0.83 for ABC-4 and 0.71 for ABC-3. It was concluded that complete diets with low ABC values may be formulated through careful selection of ingredients. The final pH to which ABC is measured should matter little as ABC-3 and ABC-4 are highly correlated.     

Leukocyte-hepatocyte interaction in calicivirus infection: differences between rabbits that are resistant or susceptible to rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD)

Calicivirus infection is lethal for adult rabbits, whereas young rabbits (less than 8-weeks-old) are resistant to the same infectious agent. The virus replicates in the liver and causes a fulminant hepatitis in adult rabbits leading to rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD); this is in contrast with the mild and transient hepatitis observed in infected young rabbits. We have used electron microscopy to compare liver leukocyte infiltrates between young (resistant) and adult (susceptible) rabbits, 36-48 h after inoculation of the animals with caliciviruses. In adult rabbits, liver infiltrates were made up mostly of heterophils, and they were located near hepatocytes showing severe cellular damage. In contrast, liver leukocyte infiltrates of RHD-resistant young rabbits were dominated by lymphocytes that depicted membrane contacts with the cell surface of undamaged hepatocytes. We conclude that: (i) the cellular inflammatory response of the liver to calicivirus infection is different in rabbits that are susceptible (adult) or resistant (young) to RHD; (ii) leukocyte infiltration of the adult liver by heterophils is probably directed at the removal of dead hepatocytes, whereas the liver lymphocytic infiltration of young rabbits suggests the expression of viral antigens on the surface of liver cells of the RHD-resistant animals.     

Sun-tracking solar furnaces in high arctic flowers: significance for pollination and insects

Heliotropic flowers (Dryas integrifolia, Papaver radicatum) act, in sunshine, as solar reflectors, their corollas focusing heat on the sporophylls. Considerable intrafloral temperatures are generated. Winds above 3.8 meters per second and cloud abolish the effect. Insects that bask in the flowers also gain heat. The phenomena areimportant in maximizing the small heat budget.