Oldest knowii terrestrial arachnids

New finds of nonscorpionid arachnids in the Lower Devonian Nellenk?pfchen Shale of Alken an der Mosel, Germany, give valuable iniformation on the first appearance of terrestrial arachnids.     

茶树水溶性肥料产品现状及研究进展

茶树耗水较大、需肥较大,易旱茶区工程性缺水和季节性缺水导致传统施肥肥料利用率低.随着农业节水技术的普及,以滴灌和微喷灌为主的水肥一体化系统逐步应用到茶园,茶树水溶性肥料的筛选及配套施肥策略的研究成为技术人员关注的热点.为此,通过分析茶树水溶性肥料产品现状和专利申请现状,发现茶树水溶性肥料以叶面肥为主,用于灌溉施肥的水溶...     

Endogenous development of Hemolivia mauritanica (Apicomplexa: Adeleina: Haemogregarinidae) in the marginated tortoise Testudo marginata (Reptilia: Testudinidae): evidence from experimental infection

Six young tortoises Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792 were experimentally infected with Hemolivia mauritanica (Sergent et Sergent, 1904). The prepatent period ranged from 6 to 8 weeks. Young, smaller, club-like forms (6-9 x 3-6 Am) of gametocytes appeared in the peripheral blood first, whereas mature, elongated, cylindrical forms (9-12 x 5-7 Am) were detected after 1-2 weeks and predominated during later patency. Three of the infected tortoises were euthanized and dissected to study the endogenous stages. Meronts occurred in the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system and in the erythrocytes; these were observed mostly in parenchymatous organs. Mature forms measured 14.2 x 9.3 microm and contained 7-12 merozoites. Cysts with two (exceptionally one) cystozoites were also found predominantly in parenchymatous organs and measured 14.8 x 7.9 microm. Pathological changes attributable to Hemolivia were mild and limited to liver and kidneys. The role of individual developmental stages of haemogregarines is discussed with respect to evolution of heteroxenous life cycle and long-term persistence of parasites in their intermediate hosts.     

Viral and bacterial agents associated with experimental transmission of infectious proventriculitis of broiler chickens.

Proventriculitis of broilers can be reproduced by oral inoculation of day-old chicks with a proventricular homogenate from affected 3-wk-old broilers. The objective of the following studies was to isolate from this homogenate viral and bacterial isolates that could produce proventriculitis. A monoclonal antibody to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was used to precipitate virus from the homogenate. A primary chicken digestive tract cell culture system was also used to isolate virus from a 0.2-microm filtrate of the homogenate, and a bacterium was also isolated from the homogenate. In trial 1, day-old birds were orally inoculated with either proventriculus homogenate or monoclonal antibody immunoprecipitated IBDV (MAB-IBDV). At 4, 7, 14, and 21 days postinfection (PI), 12 birds from each treatment group were subjected to necropsy. In trial 2, day-old birds were orally inoculated with either infectious proventriculus homogenate, suspect virus isolated in cell culture and propagated in embryo livers and spleens, or a bacterial isolate. Twelve birds from each treatment were subjected to necropsy at days 7, 14, 21, and 28 PI. In trial 3, treatments were maintained in negative pressure isolation chambers, and an additional treatment included virus plus bacterial isolate. Twenty-four birds from each treatment were subjected to necropsy at day 21 PI. In trial 1, infectious homogenate decreased body weight and relative gizzard weights at 4, 7, 14, and 21 days PI. Proventriculus relative weight was increased at days 7, 14, and 21 PI, and proventriculus lesion scores were increased at days 14 and 21 PI. Bursa/spleen weight ratios were decreased at day 14, and feed conversion was increased at days 4 and 21. The MAB-IBDV treatment decreased proventriculus and gizzard relative weights at day 4 PI, increased proventriculus lesion scores and bursa/spleen weight ratios at day 14, and decreased heterophil/lymphocyte ratios at day 21. In trial 2, all infected birds had significantly higher mean relative proventriculus weights at 21 days PI and had higher 4-wk mean proventriculus scores as compared with both control groups. In trial 3, birds treated with homogenate and birds treated with both suspect virus and the bacterial isolate had significantly higher proventriculus lesion scores; higher relative weights of proventriculus, gizzard, liver, and heart; lower body weights; and lower relative bursa weights compared with the saline control group. These studies suggest that infectious proventriculitis has a complex etiology involving both viral and bacterial infection.     

常用玉米自交系抗旱性及抗旱性鉴定指标研究

采用人工水分胁迫处理,通过植物生理学方法,对10个常用玉米自交系进行了抗旱性研究。结果表明,不同玉米自交系存在明显差异,沈136、齐319、丹598和沈137耐旱性较好,可以作为玉米耐旱育种的基础材料。干旱胁迫下,玉米植株叶片相对含水量、丙二醛含量、电导率和ASI与玉米子粒产量极显著相关,能够比较准确地评价玉米自交系抗旱性的强弱,和抗旱系数、抗旱指数一样可以作为玉米育种耐旱自交系筛选的鉴定指标。     

Book reviews

Marilyn Holly is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Florida. Her special interests include political philosophy, ethics and ecology, Jungian thought, and Native American spirituality in its relation to the environment. She is currently at work on a monograph-length piece on the latter topic. She has taught an undergraduate course in ethics and ecology, and plans to do so again. The following essay emerged from her search for a suitable text for such a course.     

日粮蛋白水平对圩猪生长性能、肉质和血清生化指标的影响

【目的】探讨不同蛋白水平日粮对圩猪生长性能、肉质和血清生化指标的影响,确定圩猪适宜的蛋白质营养水平。【方法】选用平均体质量约为35kg的健康圩猪24头,按照公母比例1∶1的原则随机分为3个处理组,每组8个重复,采用种猪自动饲喂系统饲喂,耗料和体质量实时自动记录。试验期共分为2个阶段(生长期:35~60kg;肥育期:60~80kg)饲养,1,2,3组生长期粗蛋白水平分别为180,160和140g/kg,肥育期粗蛋白水平分别为160,140和120g/kg。3个处理组除粗蛋白水平不同外,其他营养水平基本一致。试验结束时,对全部试猪前腔静脉采血以进行血液生化指标与部分内分泌激素浓度的测定,同时每组选取4头体质量相近的公猪屠宰,测定其屠宰性能和肉质。【结果】在育肥阶段,日粮中粗蛋白含量最少的试验3组料体质量比极显著高于1组和2组(P<0.01)。除屠宰后24h肉样的pH值和亮度(L)值外,各组间肉质性状差异均不显著(P>0.05),1组屠宰后24h的pH值显著低于2组(P<0.05),而L值显著高于2组(P<0.05);1组的肌苷酸含量显著高于2组(P<0.05),不饱和脂肪酸和单不饱和脂肪酸含量极显著高于3组(P<0.01),但均与2组差异不显著(P>0.05)。随着日粮蛋白水平的降低,血清尿素氮浓度下降,3组血清尿素氮浓度显著低于试验1组和2组(P<0.05),血清甲状腺素T3浓度显著高于2组(P<0.05)。【结论】在日粮消化能水平为12.77MJ/kg时,圩猪生长期和肥育期日粮粗蛋白水平均以140g/kg为宜。     

Partitioning the multi-scale effects of human activity on the occurrence of riparian forest birds

Conservationists, managers, and land planners are faced with the difficult task of balancing many issues regarding humans impacts on natural systems. Many of these potential impacts arise from local-scale and landscape-scale changes, but such changes often covary, which makes it difficult to isolate and compare independent effects arising from humans. We partition multi-scale impacts on riparian forest bird distribution in 105 patches along approximately 500 km of the Madison and Missouri Rivers, Montana, USA. To do so, we coupled environmental information from local (within-patch), patch, and landscape scales reflecting potential human impacts from grazing, invasive plant species, habitat loss and fragmentation, and human development with the distribution of 28 terrestrial breeding bird species in 2004 and 2005. Variation partitioning of the influence of different spatial scales suggested that local-scale vegetation gradients explained more unique variation in bird distribution than did information from patch and landscape scales. Partitioning potential human impacts revealed, however, that riparian habitat loss and fragmentation at the patch and landscape scales explained more unique variation than did local disturbances or landscape-scale development (i.e., building density in the surrounding landscape). When distribution was correlated with human disturbance, local-scale disturbance had more consistent impacts than other scales, with species showing consistent negative correlations with grazing but positive correlations with invasives. We conclude that while local vegetation structure best explains bird distribution, managers concerned with ongoing human influences in this system need to focus more on mitigating the effects of large-scale disturbances than on more local land use issues. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Effects of forage level in feedlot finishing diets on carcass characteristics and palatability of Jersey beef

Jersey cattle are known for producing carcasses with a greater amount of marbling, but they require more days on feed to achieve acceptable market weights compared with other breeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary forage (12 vs. 24% sudangrass:alfalfa hay, DM basis) in steam-flaked, corn-based finishing diets on carcass characteristics, beef palatability, and retail color stability of steaks from Jersey beef compared with conventionally fed commodity beef strip loins (COM) of identified quality (Choice(-) and Select(+)). Jersey steers (n = 77) were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of the following treatments for a 383-d trial period: Jersey low 12% (JL; n = 38) or Jersey high 24% (JH; n = 39) forage (DM basis). A comparison group was selected from conventionally fed cattle on the same day of slaughter as the Jersey treatments, and strip loins from USDA Select(+) (COM; n = 20) and Choice(-) (COM; n = 20) were removed for data analysis. Seventy-two hours postmortem, strip loins were removed, vacuum-packaged, and aged at 3°C for 18 d postmortem. After the aging period, steaks from the LM were sliced, vacuum-packaged, and frozen (-20°C) until analyzed. Jersey steaks had reduced (P < 0.05) Warner-Bratzler shear force values compared with COM steaks. Trained sensory panelists rated JL greater (P < 0.05) for initial and sustained tenderness and initial juiciness than COM, whereas JH was intermediate. As expected, marbling was greater (P < 0.05) for both JL and JH compared with COM, and trained sensory panel sustained juiciness, beef flavor intensity, and overall acceptability scores were greater (P < 0.05) for both JL and JH compared with COM; however, no differences (P = 0.14) were reported for consumer tenderness and flavor. Objective color (L*, a*, b*) measurements decreased (P < 0.05) over time across treatments. There were no differences among treatments for lightness (L*); however, overall during retail display JL were less (P < 0.05) red (a*) and yellow (b*) than JH and COM. Subjective color scores indicated both JL and JH were less red (P < 0.05) than COM. Steaks from Jersey were equal to and on some measurements more desirable than steaks from COM carcasses for both color stability and palatability. These results suggest that dietary forage level had minimal effects on carcass characteristics and beef palatability. However, feeding a low-forage diet decreases input cost and potentially results in a greater valued carcass. Finishing long-fed (383 d) Jersey steers can meet beef industry expectations with respect to quality grade.     

First detection of 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemolamae' infection in alpacas in England

This is the first report of detection of Candidatus Mycoplasma haemolamae in alpacas in England. The primary case occurred in a three year-old male alpaca in the south-east of England which presented with a history of progressive weight loss, lethargy, swelling of the scrotum and pale mucous membranes. Blood smear examination revealed a moderate, regenerative anaemia, with numerous small basophilic coccoid structures consistent with Candidatus M haemolamae. To confirm the presence of Candidatus M haemolamae, a portion of the 16S rDNA gene was amplified and analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). 16S rDNA gene sequencing showed a 99.8 per cent homology with Candidatus M haemolamae sequences deposited in GenBank. Subsequently, a cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the presence of Candidatus M haemolamae infection in the alpaca herd from which the primary case was detected (n=131). Blood smear examinations and PCR with DGGE were used and compared with a species-specific PCR. The prevalence of infection when PCR positive results were combined was 29 per cent. A substantial agreement between the PCR/DGGE and the species-specific PCR was found (κ=0.86). A significant association was also found between age and infection (P=0.04) while no significant association was found with sex or origin.