马铃薯新品种—‘宕薯6号’选育

‘宕薯6号’新品种是以‘陇薯3号’为母本、‘94-3-17’为父本,通过有性杂交,利用杂种实生苗,经过系统定向选育而成。2009-2010年在甘肃省两年区域试验中平均产量1 388 kg/667 m^2,比对照‘陇薯6号’增产52.5%。鲜薯维生素C含量14.88 mg/100 g,干物质含量23.90%,淀粉含量17.45%,粗蛋白含量2.48%,还原糖含量4.07%;中抗马铃薯晚疫病,对花叶病毒和卷叶病毒有较强抗性。2012年1月通过甘肃省农作物品种审定委员会审定。     

Hurricane disturbances,tree diversity,and succession in North Carolina Piedmont forests,USA

Windthrow plays a critical role in maintaining species diversity in temperate forests. Do large-scale strong wind events(i.e., tropical cyclones, including hurricanes,typhoons and severe cyclonic storms) increase tree diversity in severely damaged forest areas? Do hurricanes(tropical cyclones that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean) lead to altered relative abundance of shade-tolerant and shade-intolerant species? Did historic hurricanes alter the succession trajectory of the damaged forests? We used nearly 70-year tree demographic data to assess the effects of two major hurricanes on woody species diversity in Piedmont forests, North Carolina, USA. Species richness(S) and Shannon–Wiener's diversity index(H') were used to evaluate the changes in tree diversity. The changes in composition were assessed with Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling. The pre-hurricane successional phase can strongly influence both the damage severity and subsequent responses. Although there is often an immediate drop in diversity following a hurricane, understory tree diversity quickly increases to levels that exceed those prior to the disturbance. This leads to an increase in diversity in stands that were substantially damaged. Hurricanes significantly decrease the dominance of shade-intolerant canopy species while increasing preestablished, more shade-tolerant species. We conclude that large, and infrequent hurricanes help to maintain local tree diversity, but also accelerate the increase in dominance of understory species such as red maple and beech.     

Electrocardiography‐guided and retrospective analysis of central venous catheter placement in the dog

Objective To compare the success rates of central venous catheter placement (CVCP) in dogs using electrocardiograph (ECG)‐guided and external landmark (‘blind’) techniques. To report success rates determined retrospectively of CVCPs in dogs using external landmarks at a tertiary referral institution. Study design Prospective blinded comparison of techniques. Retrospective analysis of case records. Animals Adult Beagles weighing 11.9 ± 2.6 kg were used in the experimental group (n = 38). Various breeds of dogs were in the retrospective clinical group (n = 33). Methods Laboratory dogs were anesthetized and CVCPs were placed using a modified Seldinger technique. Catheter tip position was first based on external landmarks and then the catheter was repositioned using an ECG‐guided placement. The ECG‐guided technique used the V‐lead with the positive electrode attached to the guide wire. Catheter placement was determined by moving the catheter cephalad and caudad to the point of maximum p‐wave amplitude and then withdrawing the catheter 1–2 cm from this point. Catheter position with each technique was determined using a lateral thoracic radiograph. Retrospective data were collected from the medical records of dogs that had CVCPs using anatomical landmarks and corresponding thoracic radiographs. Results The number of successful CVCP attempts was the same for both prospective groups (21/38). There was no statistically significant difference in success between the ECG‐guided technique and the blind technique. From the retrospective investigation 10/33 of the cases that fit the criteria had correct CVCPs. Conclusions and clinical relevance The odds of correctly placing a central venous catheter by ECG‐guidance were the same as the external landmark technique. The ECG‐guided technique may be useful in situations where external landmarks are not readily available.     

Modeling impact of nitrogen carrier and concentration on root substrate pH

We conducted an experiment to quantify the effects on substrate pH from nitrogen (N) carrier and concentration. We used four concentrations of N (3.5–14 mM) and five fractions of ammonium (NH₄⁺) (0–80% NH₄⁺ of total N) that are found in commercially available fertilizers. Fertilizers were applied to fallow 14-cm-diameter pots (1.29 L) filled with a 3 peat:1 perlite (v/v) substrate amended with non-residual powdered calcium carbonate to raise the substrate pH to approximately 6.0. Harvests occurred at 20 and 42 days. Significant effects in the model included main effects of N carrier and N concentration, their squared terms, an interaction effect, and a time × N carrier. The fraction of NH₄⁺ accounted for 45.0% of variation in substrate pH, and N concentration accounted for 1.5% of the total R² of 76.7%. Substrate acidification was likely due to the physiological fertilizer effect and nitrification.     

Effects of abscisic acid and calcium on tomato fruit aroma volatiles

Aroma volatiles are derived from precursors, such as amino acids, fatty acids and carotenoids in tomato fruit. Volatiles enhance the main flavor components in the fruit, particularly sugars. Abscisic acid (ABA) is derived from the carotenoid pathway and there may be an indirect connection to this pathway. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of ABA on tomato fruit volatiles. This study identified five flavor volatile compounds that were consistently present in “Mt. Fresh Plus” tomato fruit tissue. They were 2-methyl furan, (E)-2-hexeanl, 1-hexanol, hexenal, and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one. ABA treatments did not have an effect on volatile concentrations in “Mt. Fresh Plus” tomato fruit. Majority of the volatiles identified did not differ between the ABA treated plants and the ABA control plants. However, ABA treatments did significantly decrease (E)-2-hexenal. These results indicated that ABA treatments did not have a major effect on the aroma volatile profile of the fruit.     

水曲柳SRAP分子标记反应系统的优化

以水曲柳叶片DNA为模板,利用SRAP(相关序列多态性)技术及L_(16)(4~5)正交试验和单因子试验方法,分析了不同浓度的DNA模板、Mg~(2+)、dNTP、引物、TaqDNA聚合酶对扩增结果的影响,最终确立的PCR最佳反应系统为:20μL体系中,2×PCR buffer、DNA模板50～100ng,Mg~(2+) 的浓度2.0mmol/L,dNTP0.15mmol/L,引物0.30μmol/L,TaqDNA聚合酶1.0U;最佳退火温度50℃.在此反应系统下,所扩增谱带清晰、稳定、多态性高.     

The Bacteria Isolated from the Skin of 20 Horses at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital

The objective of this study was to isolate bacteria on the skin of the proximal to distal equine limb to guide the practitioner in the selection of prophylactic antimicrobial protocols. This prospective study involved 20 client-owned horses that were admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for routine elective surgery. Each horse spent between 12 and 36 hours at our hospital before sampling. Samples were collected from the skin of the left mid-thorax and the dorsal aspect of nine joints on the left side of each horse: front and hind coffin and fetlock joints, carpi, elbows, shoulders, hocks, and stifles. Samples were cultured aerobically and speciated when possible. When evaluating bacterial composition by location, a 40% difference was considered clinically significant. When comparing proximal sites above the fetlock to distal sites, the odds of isolating gram-positive bacteria were 1.23 times (P = .0124) higher at proximal sites; the odds of isolating coliform bacteria were 1.32 times (P = .023) higher at distal sites; and the odds of isolating a common septic arthritis pathogen were 1.16 times (P = .018) higher at distal sites. Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus was not isolated in this study. All comparisons between sites and between the proximal and distal limb were <40%, and thus were not considered clinically significant. No coagulase-positive Staphylococcus was isolated from any of the 200 sites in this study, suggesting that iatrogenic infections by that organism may not be because of preexisting flora. These data suggest that antibiotic prophylaxis targeting preexisting normal flora should be similar regardless of the area of interest on the limb.     

Efficacy of three tourniquet types for intravenous antimicrobial regional limb perfusion in standing horses

Objective: To determine (1) if clinically useful concentrations of amikacin sulfate can be obtained in synovial fluid during regional limb perfusion (RLP) performed above the carpus in standing sedated horses and (2) to determine the efficacy of 3 tourniquet types (narrow rubber [NR], wide rubber [WR], pneumatic [PN]). Animals: Horses (n=9). Methods: Bilateral forelimb RLP with amikacin sulfate (2.5 g) were administered through the cephalic vein in standing sedated horses. Limbs were randomly assigned to the 3 tourniquet types (NR, WR, PN) applied above the carpus. Metacarpophalangeal synovial fluid was obtained 0.5 hour after perfusion. Amikacin concentration in the synovial fluid was detected using fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Results: Mean synovial concentrations of amikacin in the PN (mean 236 μg/mL; range 23–913 μg/mL) and WR (mean 64.2 μg/mL; range 7–315 μg/mL) were significantly higher (P=.000 and .032, respectively) than the NR tourniquet (mean 2.1 μg/mL; range 0.9–3.3 μg/mL). Conclusions: The PN tourniquet resulted in the highest synovial fluid amikacin concentrations in all horses, although administration with PN and WR tourniquets achieved adequate amikacin concentrations. NR tourniquet is ineffective and should not be used for RLP above the carpus in the standing horse.     

SSHscreen and SSHdb,generic software for microarray based gene discovery: application to the stress response in cowpea

Background  

Suppression subtractive hybridization is a popular technique for gene discovery from non-model organisms without an annotated genome sequence, such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp). We aimed to use this method to enrich for genes expressed during drought stress in a drought tolerant cowpea line. However, current methods were inefficient in screening libraries and management of the sequence data, and thus there was a need to develop software tools to facilitate the process.