基于修正双作物系数模型估算温室黄瓜不同季节腾发量

为估算温室黄瓜植株蒸腾与土面蒸发,该研究基于FAO-56推荐的双作物系数模型,应用温室内实测微气象、叶面积指数(LAI)及土壤水分数据,对模型中基础作物系数(Kcb)和土面蒸发系数(Ke)进行修正,并基于修正后FAO-56Penman-Monteith(P-M)模型,确定温室参考作物蒸发蒸腾量(ET0),进而估算温室黄瓜蒸发蒸腾量(ETc)和植株蒸腾(Tr)。基于Venlo型温室内黄瓜不同种植季节(春夏季和秋冬季)Lysimeter和茎流计观测的黄瓜ETc和Tr,对修正后的双作物系数模型预测结果进行验证。结果表明,应用修正后的双作物系数模型估算的温室黄瓜ETc和Tr与实测值具有较好地一致性,春夏季温室黄瓜全生育期ETc估算值与实测值的日均值分别为3.05和2.94 mm/d,秋冬季分别为2.53和2.76 mm/d。修正后的双作物系数模型估算春夏季温室黄瓜日ETc的决定系数(R2)、均方根误差(RMSE)和模型效率系数(Ens)分别为0.95、0.41 mm/d和0.93;估算秋冬季ETc的误差计算结果依次为0.91(R2)、0.48 mm/d(RMSE)和0.90(Ens)。修正后的双作物系数模型估算春夏季日平均Tr与实测值分别为2.37和2.19mm/d,秋冬季分别为1.43和1.34 mm/d。研究结果还显示,不同种植季节温室黄瓜全生育期日平均Tr占ETc的比例分别为64.62%(春夏季)和68.59%(秋冬季)。该研究成果不仅为制定准确的温室黄瓜灌溉制度提供了理论依据,而且对实现温室环境智能化控制及减少温室内无效的土面蒸发具有重要意义。     

Effects of Vermicompost and Vermiwash on Plant,Phenolic Content,and Anti-oxidant Activity of Mexican Pepperleaf (Piper auritum Kunth) Cultivated in Phosphate Rock Potting Media

The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of vermicompost, vermiwash, and phosphate rock on plant, total phenols, flavonoids, and anti-oxidant activity in Piper auritum Kunth leaves. P. auritum plants were obtained from cuttings and were planted according to the Box-Behnken experimental design with three repetitions at the central point. The factors and levels were vermicompost (10, 20, and 30 g plant^?1), vermiwash (5, 10, and 15 mL plant^?1), and phosphate rock (1, 2, and 3 g plant^?1). Plant growth parameters (plant height, stem diameter, leaves number) and chlorophyll content were measured 1 month after treatment applications. Total phenols, total flavonoids, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity was measured after 4 months. Vermicompost, vermiwash, and phosphate rock had no statistically significant effect on plant growth. Plant height, stem diameter, leaves number, chlorophyll, innermost number, fresh weight stem, fresh weight leaves, fresh weight root, dry weight stem, dry weight leaves, and dry weight root were not different among treatments. Total phenolic compounds were statistically affected for both vermiwash and phosphoric rock (p < 0.05) and the anti-oxidant activity decreased by vermicompost addition. The application of 15 mL plant^?1 vermiwash, 1 g phosphate rock, and 20 g vermicompost plant^?1 increased the total phenol content.     

Contamination of highly weathered urban soils in Uberlândia,Brazil

We determined heavy metal, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in 18 topsoils of Uberlândia (420,000 inhabitants, Brazil) and in 3 rural topsoils. Concentrations of Al (11—124 g kg^—1) and Fe (13—109 g kg^—1) are large because of desilification. Concentrations of Cd (0.1—0.5 mg kg^—1), Cr (13—72), Cu (6—154), Mn (28—974), Ni (4—29), Pb (3—26), Zn (4—107), the sum of 20 PAHs (=Σ20PAHs:7—390 μg kg^—1), and the sum of 14 PCBs (=Σ14PCBs:0.05—1.25) are comparable to or below background concentrations in temperate soils except for Cu at two sites. More than 67% of the metals are strongly bound in Fe oxides and silicates; metals are more bioavailable in the urban than in the rural soils. The most abundant PAHs in the urban soils, on average, are naphthalene (19.0 ± 13.4% of Σ20PAHs) and the benzo(b+j+k)fluoranthenes (11.4 ± 6.7%); the most abundant PCBs are nos. 138 (23.3 ± 11.0% of Σ14PCBs) and 153 (14.3 ± 6.4%). The rural soils contain larger percentages of low molecular PAHs and up to tetra‒chlorinated PCBs than the urban soils. The different pollutant concentrations and patterns in the studied tropical compared with many temperate soils indicate different sources and fate.     

Rainfall Interception by Singleleaf Piñon and Utah Juniper: Implications for Stand-Level Effective Precipitation

The expansion of piñon and juniper trees into sagebrush steppe and the infilling of historic woodlands has caused a reduction in the cover and density of the understory vegetation. Water is the limiting factor in these systems; therefore, quantifying redistribution of water resources by tree species is critical to understanding the dynamics of these formerly sagebrush-dominated rangelands. Tree canopy interception may have a significant role in reducing the amount of rainfall that reaches the ground beneath the tree, thereby reducing the amount of available soil moisture. We measured canopy interception of rainfall by singleleaf piñon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém.) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma [Torr.] Little) across a gradient of storm sizes. Simulated rainfall was used to quantify interception and effective precipitation during 130 rainfall events ranging in size from 2.2 to 25.9 mm hr^? 1 on 19 trees of each species. Effective precipitation was defined as the sum of throughfall and stemflow beneath tree canopies. Canopy interception averaged 44.6% (± 27.0%) with no significant difference between the two species. Tree allometrics including height, diameter at breast height, stump diameter, canopy area, live crown height, and width were measured and used as predictor variables. The best fit predictive model of effective precipitation under canopy was described by stump diameter and gross precipitation (R² = 0.744, P < 0.0001). An alternative management model based on canopy area and gross precipitation predicted effective precipitation with similar accuracy (R² = 0.741, P < 0.0001). Canopy area can be derived from various remote sensing techniques, allowing these results to be extrapolated to larger spatial scales to quantify the effect of increasing tree canopy cover on rainfall interception loss and potential implications for the water budget.     

Endoscopic sex determination and gonadal manipulation in Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi).

Seventeen Gulf of Mexico sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) underwent endoscopic sex determination, gonadal biopsy, and various reproductive surgeries as part of a conservation development plan. The fish were anesthetized with tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) buffered with sodium bicarbonate and maintained on a recirculating water anesthesia circuit. A 6-mm Ternamian EndoTip Cannula, placed through the ventral midline, midway between pectoral and pelvic fins, permitted the introduction of a 5-mm telescope. Swim bladder aspiration and CO2 insufflation of the coelomic cavity provided excellent observation. Second and third cannulae were placed under direct visual control, lateral and cranial or caudal to the telescope cannula. Sex determination was successfully performed in all fish; however, five of 17 sturgeons (29%) required endoscopic gonadal biopsy to confirm sex. Bilateral ovariectomy or orchidectomy was successfully performed in three males and four females. Unilateral ovariectomy and bilateral ligation of the müllerian ducts using an extracorporeal suturing technique was accomplished in an additional three females. No apparent morbidity was associated with the anesthesia or endoscopic surgery in any fish. The ability to safely perform minimally invasive reproductive surgery in fish may have important management and conservation benefits.     

Evaluation of the effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors on cells from canine cancer cell lines

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether exposure of canine cancer cells to histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors S(+)-N-hydroxy-4-(3-methyl-2-phenyl-butyrylamino)benzamide (OSU-HDAC42) or suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) results in increased histone acetylation and decreased cell viability and whether any changes in viability involve induction of apoptosis or alterations in progression of the cell cycle. Sample POPULATION: 9 canine cancer cell lines. PROCEDURES: Cells from 9 canine cancer cell lines were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide vehicle, OSU-HDAC42, or SAHA, then assays of cell viability were performed. Histone acetylation was assessed by use of western blot analysis. Apoptosis was assessed via ELISA to detect fragmentation of cytoplasmic nucleosomal DNA and western blot analysis to detect cleavage of caspase 3. Cell cycle analysis was performed by use of propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry. RESULTS-Concentrations of OSU-HDAC42 and SAHA required to achieve 50% inhibition of cell viability (IC(50)) were reached in cells of 6 and 4 canine cancer cell lines, respectively, and ranged from approximately 0.4 to 1.3 microM for OSU-HDAC42 and 0.6 to 4.8 microM for SAHA. Cells from T-cell lymphoma, mast cell tumor, osteosarcoma, and histiocytic sarcoma lines were most sensitive to HDAC inhibition, with IC(50)s of < 1 microM for OSU-HDAC42 and < 5 microM for SAHA. Induction of apoptosis was indicated via cleavage of caspase 3 and increases in cytoplasmic nucleosomes and the subG(1) cell population. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Micromolar concentrations of HDAC inhibitors OSU-HDAC42 and SAHA induced histone acetylation, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis in canine cancer cells. In general, OSU-HDAC42 was more potent than SAHA.     

Developing a practice

Trials were carried out on 11 farms to assess the effectiveness of 2.5 per cent w/v cypermethrin pour-on for the control of ticks on sheep. Treatment at the rate of 5 ml/10 kg bodyweight gave 92 per cent control of ticks on ewes for up to nine weeks and 88 per cent control on lambs for up to eight weeks.     

A microbiologic study of the urban gray squirrel.

Bacteriologic, virologic, and serologic examinations were conducted on 180 urban gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) during a 1-year period in a metropolitan area. Evidence was not found of infections with leptospires, enteric or other bacteria, rickettsial agents, Francisella tularensis, or arthropod-borne viruses. The squirrels were remarkably free of evidence of bacterial or viral infections of importance to man and lower animals.     

Isolation of Babesia spp. from asymptomatic human beings

Babesiosis is a worldwide tick-borne protozoan disease of a variety of wild and domestic animals. For decades, various babesia strains were considered host-specific. However, babesiosis has been diagnosed as the cause of acute illness in 13 human beings in recent years, three of whom died. Studies of babesiosis in domestic animals indicate that for every clinically demonstrable case, there are hundreds of cases of latent infection. In an effort to determine if human babesia infections might be present in Mexico, we selected as our testing ground an endemic rural area along the Gulf Coast where continuous epizootics of equine, bovine, ovine and canine babesiosis were known to occur. Of the 101 individuals examined serologically by the indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test using Babesia canis as antigen, 38 reacted at titers from 1 : 10 to 1 : 80. Blood from these reactors was injected into splenectomized hamsters. Hamsters inoculated with blood from three of the individuals showed babesia in their peripheral blood. The growth of the organism was established by subpassages into additional hamsters. The persons from whom the organisms were isolated were asymptomatic for babesiosis. None of the 29 individuals residing in Mexico City, which represented the urban population in the survey, reacted in the IHA test. This is the first documented finding of the latent form of human babesiosis.