INVITED REVIEW—IMAGE REGISTRATION IN VETERINARY RADIATION ONCOLOGY: INDICATIONS,IMPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE ADVANCES

The field of veterinary radiation therapy (RT) has gained substantial momentum in recent decades with significant advances in conformal treatment planning, image‐guided radiation therapy (IGRT), and intensity‐modulated (IMRT) techniques. At the root of these advancements lie improvements in tumor imaging, image alignment (registration), target volume delineation, and identification of critical structures. Image registration has been widely used to combine information from multimodality images such as computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) to improve the accuracy of radiation delivery and reliably identify tumor‐bearing areas. Many different techniques have been applied in image registration. This review provides an overview of medical image registration in RT and its applications in veterinary oncology. A summary of the most commonly used approaches in human and veterinary medicine is presented along with their current use in IGRT and adaptive radiation therapy (ART). It is important to realize that registration does not guarantee that target volumes, such as the gross tumor volume (GTV), are correctly identified on the image being registered, as limitations unique to registration algorithms exist. Research involving novel registration frameworks for automatic segmentation of tumor volumes is ongoing and comparative oncology programs offer a unique opportunity to test the efficacy of proposed algorithms.     

Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from national horse racetracks and private horse-riding courses in Korea

Limited information is available regarding horse-associated antimicrobial resistant (AR) Escherichia (E.) coli. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency and characterize the pattern of AR E. coli from healthy horse-associated samples. A total of 143 E. coli (4.6%) were isolated from 3,078 samples collected from three national racetracks and 14 private horse-riding courses in Korea. Thirty of the E. coli isolates (21%) showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and four of the AR E. coli (13.3%) were defined as multi-drug resistance. Most of the AR E. coli harbored AR genes corresponding to their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Four of the AR E. coli carried class 1 integrase gene (intI1), a gene associated with multi-drug resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis showed no genetic relatedness among AR E. coli isolated from different facilities; however, cross-transmissions between horses or horses and environments were detected in two facilities. Although cross-transmission of AR E. coli in horses and their environments was generally low, our study suggests a risk of transmission of AR bacteria between horses and humans. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of possible transmission of horse-associated AR bacteria to human communities through horse riders and horse-care workers.     

Increased humoral antibody response of foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine in growing pigs pre-treated with poly-γ-glutamic acid

This study was conducted to determine if humoral antibody response of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine improved in 8-week-old growing pigs born to well-vaccinated sows pre-treated with 60 mg of poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) three days before vaccination. Antibody against FMD virus serotype O was measured 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks post-vaccination, using a PrioCHECK FMDV type O ELISA kit. The results showed that positive antibody reactions against FMDV serotype O antigen among a component of the vaccine significantly increased in response to pre-injection with γ-PGA.     

Using genetic tools to inform conservation of fragmented populations of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) across their range in China

A herd of 15 Chinese elephants attracted international attention during their 2021 northward trek, motivating the government to propose establishment of an Asian elephant national park. However, planning is hampered by a lack of genetic information on the remaining populations in China. We collected DNA from 497 dung samples from all 5 populations encompassing the entire range of elephants in China and used mitochondrial and microsatellite markers to investigate their genetic and demographic structure. We identified 237 unique genotypes (153 females, 84 males), representing 81% of the known population. However, the effective population size was small (28, range 25–32). Historic demographic contraction appeared to account for low haplotype diversity (H_d = 0.235), but moderate nucleotide and nuclear diversity (π = 0.6%, H_e = 0.55) was attributable to post-bottleneck recovery involving recent population expansion plus historical gene exchange with elephants in Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. The 5 populations fell into 3 clusters, with Nangunhe elephants differing consistently from the other 4 populations (F_ST = 0.23); elephants from Mengyang, Simao, and Jiangcheng belonged to a single population (henceforth, MSJ), and differed from the Shangyong population (F_ST = 0.11). Interpopulation genetic variation reflected isolation by distance and female-biased dispersal. Chinese elephants should be managed as 2 distinct units: Nangunhe and another combining Shangyong and MSJ; their long-term viability will require restoring gene flow between Shangyong and MSJ, and between elephants in China and neighboring countries. Our results have the potential to inform conservation planning for an iconic megafaunal species.     

低磷胁迫对红豆草光合、叶绿素荧光及内源激素的影响

为探究低磷胁迫对红豆草(Onobrychis viciaefolia)光合作用、叶绿素荧光以及内源激素的影响,本试验采用营养液沙培法,以耐低磷5号和磷敏感1号红豆草为试验材料,设置常磷(1.00 mmol·L^-1 KH₂PO₄)和低磷(0.01 mmol·L^-1 KH₂PO₄)胁迫处理,于不同胁迫天数后测定形态、光合以及内源激素含量变化。结果表明：低磷胁迫抑制红豆草生长和光合作用,在低磷胁迫下,除非光化学淬灭系数外,供试红豆草叶绿素荧光参数均下降。随着胁迫时间的延长,2份红豆草材料地上和地下部玉米素(ZT)、脱落酸(ABA)、生长素(IAA)和赤霉素(GA₃)及其之间的比值变化趋势不一致,耐低磷红豆草地上和地下部ZT,GA₃,IAA,ABA耐低磷系数大于磷敏感材料。相关性分析表明,IAA与光合作用和叶绿素荧光显著相关,ABA与IAA,ZT,GA₃呈负相关。研究结果可为红豆草耐低磷特性研究提供...     

饲粮添加过瘤胃半胱氨酸对育成期梅花鹿生长性能、营养物质表观消化率和血清生化指标的影响

本试验旨在研究饲粮添加过瘤胃半胱氨酸对育成期梅花鹿生长性能、营养物质表观消化率和血清生化指标的影响。采用单因素随机区组试验设计,将12头7月龄雄性梅花鹿仔鹿分为4组(每组3个重复,每个重复1只),组间体重差异不显著。对照组(Ⅰ组)饲喂基础饲粮,试验组分别饲喂额外添加1.25(Ⅱ组)、2.50(Ⅲ组)和5.00 g·kg^-1(Ⅳ组)过瘤胃半胱氨酸(有效成分51.70%)的试验饲粮。试验预饲期15 d,正试期112 d。结果表明,1)与Ⅰ组相比,添加过瘤胃半胱氨酸Ⅲ组总增重和平均日增重显著提高(P<0.05),Ⅲ组料重比显著降低(P<0.05);2)与Ⅰ组相比,添加过瘤胃半胱氨酸各组粗蛋白质、钙和磷表观消化率显著提高(P<0.05),Ⅲ组干物质和有机物表观消化率显著提高(P<0.05);3)与Ⅰ组相比,添加过瘤胃半胱氨酸Ⅱ组和Ⅲ组甘氨酸表观消化率显著提高(P<0.05),各组半胱氨酸、蛋氨酸、丝氨酸、赖氨酸、苏氨酸、缬氨酸、异亮氨酸、亮氨酸、精氨酸、苯丙氨酸、组氨酸、天冬氨酸、酪氨酸、谷氨酸、丙氨酸和脯氨酸表观消化率显著提高(P<0...     

杂交水稻制种提高结实率的研究

杂交水稻制种不同于水稻栽培、其结实由柱头外露结实和非柱头外露结实两部分构成；空壳中90％以上是由于没有授粉受精造成的：90％以上的受精拉都能正常发育结实。柱头外露率和受精率与结实率呈显著正相关。后期施肥、父本大龄秧和机械授粉能有效地提高柱头外露率、花遇优度和结实率及制种产量。     

棉花烂铃空间格局及抽样技术研究

本文通过聚集度指标（如：Ｃ、Ｋ、Ｃ＿Ａ、Ｉ、Ｉ＿δ、）测定，以及Ｉｗａｏ’线性回归、Ｔａｙｌｏｒ’ｓＳ￣２一回归和格局纹理分析，结果表明，棉花烂铃空间格而在一切密度下都呈聚集型，且聚集强度随烂铃密度的升高而增加，其空间格局的基本成分是疏松的个体群，其大小约为２～５株棉花，平均约含２．８４个烂铃个体，且个体群内的个体呈随机分布，经μ检验和方差分析，双对角线５点式、棋盘式和平行跳跃式等３种取样方法均适用于棉花烂铃田间调查，尤以双对角线５点式为佳，用双对角线５点式应样法调查的最适抽样数：一般病情普查至少１０个样方（每样方系５株棉花），系统测报和科研调查为２０～３０个样方。最后给出了棉花烂铃平均密度的零频率简易估计模型。