Self-assembled aggregates of rod-coil block copolymers and their solubilization and encapsulation of fullerenes

Amphiphilic poly(phenylquinoline)-block-polystyrene rod-coil diblock copolymers were observed to self-organize into robust, micrometer-scale, spherical, vesicular, cylindrical, and lamellar aggregates from solution. These diverse aggregate morphologies were seen at each composition, but their size scale decreased with a decreasing fraction of the rigid-rod block. Compared to coil-coil block copolymer micelles, the present aggregates are larger by about two orders of magnitude and have aggregation numbers of over 10(8). The spherical and cylindrical aggregates have large hollow cavities. Only spherical aggregates with aggregation numbers in excess of 10(9) were formed in the presence of fullerenes (C60, C70) in solution, resulting in the solubilization and encapsulation of over 10(10) fullerene molecules per aggregate.     

Tracking the long-term decline and recovery of an isolated population

Effects of small population size and reduced genetic variation on the viability of wild animal populations remain controversial. During a 35-year study of a remnant population of greater prairie chickens, population size decreased from 2000 individuals in 1962 to fewer than 50 by 1994. Concurrently, both fitness, as measured by fertility and hatching rates of eggs, and genetic diversity declined significantly. Conservation measures initiated in 1992 with translocations of birds from large, genetically diverse populations restored egg viability. Thus, sufficient genetic resources appear to be critical for maintaining populations of greater prairie chickens.     

精密镗床旋转轴几何误差完备性测量与辨识

针对四轴卧式镗床旋转轴需测几何误差的数目不统一与完备性缺失的问题,提出了基于形状创成函数的四轴卧式镗床旋转轴PIGEs形成机理分析方法与旋转轴完备几何误差测量辨识方法。基于形状创成机理构建了卧式镗床几何误差创成函数,确定了旋转轴可通过误差补偿进行调整的最少与位置无关的几何误差(Position-independent geometric error, PIGEs)数目。建立了卧式镗床旋转轴4项PIGEs、6项与位置有关的几何误差(Position-dependent geometric error, PDGEs)、6项安装误差(Setup error, SEs)与球杆仪(Double ball bar, DBB)测量轨迹半径之间的完备性函数模型,设计了基于DBB的四轴联动Viviani曲线测量轨迹,构建了旋转轴6项PDGEs的NURBS表征与PIGEs、SEs辨识方法。开展了误差补偿对比实验验证,结果表明,利用几何误差完备性测量与辨识结果进行误差补偿,较仅单一补偿6项PDGEs可提升圆轨迹测量精度40.69%。     

短期玉米秸秆还田对冷凉地区土壤真菌多样性的影响

在玉米吐丝期,利用传统涂布平板法和高通量测序技术,设置常规秸秆不还田(CK)、秸秆深翻还田(SF)和秸秆旋耕还田(XG)3个处理,研究0~10 cm、10~20 cm和20~30 cm土层真菌群落丰富度、多样性和群落结构变化,揭示冷凉地区玉米秸秆还田真菌群落结构及其差异。结果表明:冷凉地区玉米秸秆还田对土壤真菌多样性的影响较大,秸秆还田土壤中可培养真菌数为SFXGCK;秸秆还田后土壤真菌优势菌群发生变化,CK优势菌为马拉色氏霉菌属、被孢霉属和葡萄孢属,XG优势菌为被孢霉属;XG和SF表层土壤中耐冷酵母菌属和被孢霉属是优势菌;SF处理20~30 cm土层优势菌为葡萄孢属。真菌菌群Alpha多样性、群落组成丰度、RDA(Redundancy analysis)和菌群相似性综合分析可知,SF和XG 0~20 cm土层菌群差异小;SF和XG均能增加10~30 cm土层真菌群落丰度。     

沙质草地、高平原草地牧草总糖与还原糖含量变化

研究了沙质草地与高平原草地六种牧草的总糖含量与还原糖含量变化情况.结果表明:沙质草地与高平原草地供试牧草的总糖含量变化(除糙隐子草外)和还原糖含量变化不同;除羊草和寸草苔外,其余几种牧草的还原糖含量都是高平原草地高于沙质草地.     

The treatment of diarrhoea in the adult horse

The priority in treating the equine patient with acute diarrhoea is to stabilise the haemodynamic aberrations secondary to the fluid and electrolyte losses. Once this has been initiated and the patient is stabilised ancillary treatments may be beneficial. Besides the well established effects of NSAIDs and polymixin B on systemic inflammation, recent studies suggest that the use of DTOS to bind bacterial toxins and Saccharomyces boulardii to reduce the severity and duration of diarrhoea may be beneficial. The justification for using probiotic products is scant. There is no evidence to suggest that systemic use of antimicrobials benefits equine patients with colitis, with the exception of metronidazole in cases of clostridial diarrhoea. In light of their potentially detrimental effects, their use can, in the opinion of the authors, not be advocated. Better understanding of the pathways of systemic inflammation and more selective anti‐inflammatory drugs may be of great benefit in the future.     

Severe hyperkalaemia associated with renal dysplasia in a 2-day-old foal

A 2-day-old filly foal presented with signs of depression, recumbency and inappetence. Blood analyses revealed hypoalbuminaemia, hyperfibrinogenaemia, hyperglycaemia and hyperkalaemia. The foal deteriorated despite intensive treatment and was subjected to euthanasia. At post mortem examination, the urinary bladder, ureters and kidneys appeared normal grossly. Histologically both kidneys showed disorganised development with the presence of structures inappropriate for a foal of this age, including primitive glomeruli, immature renal tubules and persistent metanephric ducts. Based on these findings a diagnosis of bilateral renal dysplasia was made.     

Are the Australian poultry industries vulnerable to large outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza?

Objective   To describe the structure of the Australian poultry industry and discuss the potential for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to spread between Australian poultry farms.
Procedure   High densities of poultry farms, frequent contacts between farms by service providers, the supply of live poultry markets (LPM) and the presence of free-range duck flocks in affected regions have been identified as risk factors for the spread of HPAI between flocks in outbreaks causing the death or destruction of over 1 million poultry overseas. Data on 1,594 commercial Australian chicken meat, chicken egg, duck and turkey farms were collected by a telephone questionnaire of farm managers to assess the risk of a HPAI outbreak in Australia.
Results and Discussion   Five regions of Australia had farm densities comparable to overseas regions that experienced widespread HPAI. Common service providers routinely contacted different classes and types of farms over wide geographic areas. However, no responding farms supplied LPM and the majority of duck farms did not produce free-range ducks.
Conclusion   Outbreaks of HPAI have the potential to cause serious impacts on the Australian poultry industry. The risk posted by LPM and free-range ducks is limited, but the movement of genetic stock and common service providers could spread infection between companies, industries or geographical regions. Biosecurity measures are therefore considered critical to limit the secondary spread of infection should an outbreak occur.     

Demographic survey of veterinarians employed in western Canada

The objective of this study was to generate demographic data on veterinarians working in western Canada. A sample of 551 veterinarians was randomly selected from a population of 2474 veterinarians employed in western Canada, 425 (77.1%) of whom responded to the survey. The respondents were evenly split between males (53.1%) and females (46.9%). More than half (58.0%) of the private practitioners practised exclusively on companion animals (small animals and horses), while 2.9% devoted 100% of their time to food animals. There were 351 respondents who had had ≥ 2 employers since graduation; 80% of those who had begun their careers in companion animal (CA) practice had remained in this type of practice, while 54.3% of those who had begun their careers in mixed animal practice had switched to CA practice. Analyses of wage and workload data from 85 full-time veterinary employees showed that CA practitioners worked the fewest hours/week (47.0), had the least number of evenings on-call/month (3.7), and earned the highest hourly wage ($35.79) as compared with non-CA practitioners.     

Mycoplasma bovis and otitis in dairy calves in the United Kingdom

Signs of severe otitis media in 20% of dairy calves on one farm were associated with Mycoplasma bovis infection, based on isolation from the external ear canal and nares. Affected calves seroconverted to M. bovis and no other significant bacteria were isolated. Infection was considered likely to have originated from cows in the milking herd based on evidence of seroconversion and detection of infection in a milk sample. M. bovis infection should be considered when investigating otitis problems in calves.