Spear yield and quality of white asparagus as affected by soil temperature

In three consecutive years two asparagus cultivars (Gijnlim, Grolim) were cultivated at three different temperatures in the ridge surface ranging from 12 to 26 °C to assess (1) the onset of spear yield, (2) the mean daily yield increase per plant, and (3) the establishment of spear quality defects. The objective was to determine the temperature dependence of the spear growth and quality of white asparagus with respect to different cultivars and the harvest year.

The mean time interval Δt from the beginning of the temperature treatment to harvest start was 16.5 d at the reference temperature of 20 °C. This time interval corresponded to a thermal time of 255 °C d at a base temperature of 4.4 °C. The mean yield increase per plant at the reference temperature was 17.4 g d⁻¹. The temperature dependence of Δt and was expressed by the relative change of these quantities per 1 °C alteration, which were on average 0.08 and 0.14 °C⁻¹, respectively. The frequency of quality defects (rusted spears, split spears, hollow/club-shaped spears, spears with open heads) and grade I quality depended significantly (P < 0.05) on the temperature, cultivar, and harvest year. Generally, ‘Gijnlim’ showed fewer quality defects than ‘Grolim’, whereas spears without defects were most frequent for those grown between 18 and 22 °C. With rising temperatures, the frequency of split or hollow/club-shaped spears and spears with open heads increased, while the frequency of rusted spears decreased. The derived functions of yield and quality parameters should improve the controlling of the yield and quality of white asparagus spears at varying temperatures in the ridge.     

新疆天然甜型葡萄酒原料种植区划研究

运用层次分析法和模糊数学综合评判方法,根据石河子、昌吉、吐鲁番等8个地区的无霜期、温度、积温和降水因素,建立了数学模型,并对新疆天然甜型葡萄酒原料种植区域进行了区划研究.结果表明:吐鲁番的综合评价最高,其次为和田,评价值分别为0.97和0.91,属非常适宜种植区;哈密和喀什的评价值分别为0.81和0.87,属适宜种植区;库尔勒的为0.71,属次适宜种植区,而石河子、昌吉和霍城的评价值均小于0.59,属不适宜种植区.     

Novel polymorphism of the canine dopamine receptor D4 gene intron II region

Various dog breeds are remarkably different from each other not only in their sizes and shapes but also in behavioral traits, suggesting that some of these characteristics are under genetic control. However, little is known about genes related to behavioral traits in canine species. In humans, it has been reported that the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) includes polymorphism at several regions that relate to personality or psychiatric disorders. In an earlier study by the authors of the present study, the polymorphisms in canine DRD4 exon III and exon I regions were reported. In the present study, a novel polymorphism in canine DRD4 intron II was found based on a 17 base pair insertion/deletion, and the two alleles detected were named P (shorter allele) and Q (longer allele). The allelic distribution in 28 breeds of dog, including a total of 1114 unrelated individuals, were then investigated. Both P and Q alleles were detected in most of the breeds investigated; however, the frequencies of P and Q differed greatly between breeds. With respect to classification based on breed origin, P and Q alleles were frequent in Occidental and Oriental breeds, respectively. Furthermore, two subspecies of wolves, the ancestors of dogs, were analyzed for the comparison of allele frequencies with dogs, and the P allele was predominant in both European and Chinese wolves.     

原发性肾病综合征并发急性肾功能衰竭的临床与病理分析

目的；观察原发性肾病综合征(iNS)并发急性肾功能衰竭(ARF)的临床与病理。方法：对42例iNS并发ARF患者临床和病理改变进行分析。结果：iNS并发ARF的发生率为5．87％，临床上以少尿型为主(78．6％)．起病均在iNS的急性期。42例患者临床表现为大量蛋白尿、高度水肿，病程中无明显诱因出现少尿，尿素氮与血清肌酐增高。肾脏病理检查肾小球以轻微改变为主，其中微小病变型16例．轻度系膜增生型肾炎2l例；肾小管间质的病变却表现为广泛肾间质水肿及小管上皮细胞灶性坏死。经利尿、强的松等治疗后，36例患者肾功能逐渐恢复正常。结论：iINS并发ARF多发生于肾小球轻微改变者；尽早明确iNS并发ARF，并给予适当治疗，绝大多数患者肾功能可以恢复。     

Comparison of External and Internal Pelvic Measurements of Belgian Blue Cattle from Sample Herds in Belgium and the United Kingdom

Measurements describing pelvic conformation of pedigree Belgian Blue cows were obtained from a sample of nine herds in Flanders, Belgium, comprising 111 adult breeding cows, and from 11 herds in the United Kingdom comprising 108 similar cows. All herds in the Belgian sample (111 cows) managed parturition by elective caesarian section as did seven herds (56 cows) in the UK sample; the remainder of UK herds (52 cows) allowed cows the opportunity to calve naturally per vagina before resorting to caesarian section. The data described the external and internal measurements, and pelvic area characteristic of this breed, irrespective of the different selection pressures applied over a number of years to this breed through variation in farm management and market forces present in either country. From these data, generalized linear models were constructed to predict pelvic area; they correctly identified cows with either small or large pelvic areas. There were no significant differences in pelvic conformation between cattle bred either in Belgium or the UK, although those cows bred in herds where natural calving was allowed to take place had significantly larger internal pelvic height (p < 0.05) and area (p < 0.05) than other Belgian Blue cows. The correlation coefficients between internal pelvic height and width and external pelvic measurements were significant (p < 0.001). These results might facilitate the selection of breeding cows with larger pelvic area so that a higher proportion of cows can calve naturally than currently occurs. However, selection for other traits such as relatively low birth weight combined with higher weaning weight should be carried out at the same time.     

Genetic screening of FecB,FecXG and FecXI mutations and their linkage with litter size in Barki and Rahmani sheep breeds

Characterization of fecundity genes offers the opportunity to improve production efficiency, and the consequent increase in litter size in livestock industry, through utilizing them in breeding programs. The main objective of this study was to detect the BMPR‐IB, BMP15 and GDF9 gene mutations and to investigate whether these mutations are associated with litter size in Egyptian sheep breeds. To achieve this goal, 73 adult ewes representing Barki (n = 33) and Rahmani (n = 40) breeds were used. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) screening approach was used to detect the presence of FecB, FecX^G and FecX^I mutations in the two selected breeds. Results of this study showed that the three different candidate gene mutations, namely FecB, FecX^G and FecX^I are not present among these selected populations of the Egyptian breeds. Further studies regarding other mutations and/or other genes, which may influence ovulation rate, should be carried out to determine the type and mode of inheritance of such genes in Egyptian sheep breeds.     

The effect of ivermectin treatment of late pregnant dairy cows in south-west Victoria on subsequent milk production and reproductive performance

SUMMARY A total of 498 dairy cows in 5 predominantly pasture-fed herds were allocated to pairs. One cow in each pair was treated with a single dose of ivermectin during the dry period. Treated and untreated cows were managed as a single group throughout the trial. Most cows calved between 45 and 115 days after treatment. When data from all herds were pooled, treated cows produced an extra 74 L of milk over the first 100 days of the subsequent lactation (95% confidence interval 20 to 128). Means were greater among treated groups relative to untreated groups in all 5 herds. However, when analysed individually, differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in 1 herd only. Over the complete lactation, mean milk volume for treated cows was 86 L greater than for untreated cows (95% confidence interval of difference -57 to 229; P = 0.24). Untreated cows produced 2473 L and 5883 L for the first 100 days of lactation and for the complete lactation, respectively. Milk production responses to treatment did not vary significantly with parity, body condition score, previous production index, calving date category or with plasma pepsinogen concentration or faecal egg count at the time of treatment. Faecal egg counts and plasma pepsinogen concentrations were low at the start of the study. The interval from calving to conception was 4.8 days less in treated cows (95% confidence interval 1.2 to 8.2) relative to untreated cows when data from all 5 herds were pooled. Differences within individual herds were not statistically significant.     

The surface-localised α-enolase of Mycoplasma suis is an adhesion protein

Mycoplasma suis belongs to the haemotrophic mycoplasmas which colonise red blood cells of a wide range of vertebrates. Adhesion to red blood cells is the crucial step in the unique lifecycle of M. suis. Due to the lack of a cultivation system, identification of adhesion structures has been difficult. So far, only one adhesion protein, i.e. MSG1 was identified. In order to determine further adhesion molecules of M. suis, we screened genomic M. suis libraries and performed Southern blot hybridisation analyses of genomic M. suis DNA. The α-enolase of M. suis was identified and analysed genetically and functionally. The encoding gene has 1623 bp in size. The deduced amino acid sequence showed an overall identity of 59.6-65.1% to α-enolases of other pathogenic mycoplasmas. The 540 aa M. suis α-enolase displays a size extension of about 90 aa in comparison to α-enolases of other mycoplasmas. Recombinant α-enolase expressed in Escherichia coli demonstrated immunogenicity in experimentally infected pigs. Immunoblot, confocal laser scanning microscopy and immune electron microscopy analysis using antibodies against recombinant α-enolase, indicate the membrane and surface localisation of native α-enolase in M. suis, though no typical signal sequences exist. Furthermore, we showed that recombinant α-enolase binds to porcine erythrocyte lysate in a dose-dependent manner. E. coli transformants which express α-enolase on their surface acquire the ability to adhere to porcine red blood cells. In conclusion, our observations indicate that α-enolase could be involved in the adhesion of M. suis to porcine red blood cells.