生物炭碳固定于稳定性土壤团聚体中：土壤黏土矿物及其它土壤性质的作用

Aggregation and structure play key roles in water-holding capacity and stability of soils.In this study,the incorporation of carbon(C) from switchgrass biochar into stable aggregate size fractions was assessed in an Aridisol(from Colorado,USA) dominated by 2:1 clays and an Alfisol(from Virginia,USA) containing weathered mixed 1:1 and 2:1 mineralogy,to evaluate the effect of biochar addition on soil characteristics.The biochar was applied at 4 levels,0,25,50,and 100 g kg~(-1),to the soils grown with wheat in a growth chamber experiment.The changes in soil strength and water-holding capacity using water release curves were measured.In the Colorado soil,the proportion of soil occurring in large aggregates decreased,with concomitant increases in small size fractions.No changes in aggregate size fractions occurred in the Virginia soil.In the Colorado soil,C content increased from 3.3 to 16.8 g kg~(-1),whereas in the53 μm fraction C content increased from 5.7 to 22.6 g kg~(-1) with 100 g kg~(-1)biochar addition.In the Virginia soil,C content within aggregate size fractions increased for each size fraction,except the2 000 μm fraction.The greatest increase(from 6.2 to 22.0 g kg~(-1)) occurred in the 53–250 μm fraction.The results indicated that C was incorporated into larger aggregates in the Virginia soil,but remained largely unassociated to soil particles in the Colorado soil.Biochar addition had no significant effect on water-holding capacity or strength measurements.Adding biochar to more weathered soils with high native soil organic content may result in greater stabilization of incorporated C and result in less loss because of erosion and transport,compared with the soils dominated by 2:1 clays and low native soil organic content.     

Neptune's eccentricity and the nature of the kuiper belt

The small eccentricity of Neptune may be a direct consequence of apsidal wave interaction with the trans-Neptune population of debris called the Kuiper belt. The Kuiper belt is subject to resonant perturbations from Neptune, so that the transport of angular momentum by density waves can result in orbital evolution of Neptune as well as changes in the structure of the Kuiper belt. In particular, for a belt eroded out to the vicinity of Neptune's 2:1 resonance at about 48 astronomical units, Neptune's eccentricity can damp to its current value over the age of the solar system if the belt contains slightly more than an earth mass of material out to about 75 astronomical units.     

Rapidly progressive diffuse retinal degeneration in a kitten

Advanced diffuse bilateral retinal degeneration was identified in a 13-week old female domestic short-haired kitten. The animal was in good physical health but had steady deterioration in vision over a period of a month. Clinical signs were mydriasis, tapetal hyper-reflectivity, marked loss of retinal vasculature and almost total blindness. Histological examination of the retina showed degeneration of the photoreceptor and outer nuclear layers. The clinical and pathological features are similar to those described in inherited retinal degeneration in Persian kittens.     

Successful Non-Surgical Transfer of Horse Embryos to Mule Recipients

Mules, hybrids resulting from the mating of a horse mare (Equus caballus, 2n = 64) to a Jack donkey (E. asinus, 2n = 62), are generally infertile. Five horse embryos were transferred non‐surgically to two cyclic and one acyclic recipient mules. In the mares and cycling mules, oestrus and ovulation were induced with, respectively, d ‐cloprostenol and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). The acyclic mule, on the other hand, received oestradiol benzoate when the embryo donor was showing oestrus and progesterone after the donor had ovulated and until pregnancy diagnosis. Non‐surgical embryo collections were attempted on day 7 after ovulation and recovered embryos were transferred transcervically into the mules’ uteri. Mules that became pregnant were blood sampled serially for equine chorion gonadotrophin (eCG), progestagen and total conjugated oestrogen concentrations until around 6 months of gestation. The three embryos transferred to the acyclic mule did not produce any pregnancies whereas both embryos transferred to the cycling mules resulted in the birth of live foals. The peak concentration and duration of secretion of eCG differed markedly between the two pregnant mules, although both animals appeared to develop secondary corpora lutea beyond day 40 of gestation, as in normal intraspecies horse pregnancy. Moreover, the rise in serum oestrogen concentrations from around day 90 was also similar to that seen in normal pregnant mares. Parturition occurred spontaneously on day 348 of gestation in both mules and the resulting colt foals developed normally to weaning. Thus, cycling mules can carry a horse conceptus after non‐surgical embryo transfer and give birth to a normal mature foal.     

Oxytetracycline hydrochloride in the horse: serum, synovial, peritoneal and urine concentrations after single dose intravenous administration

Six adult mares were given a single intravenous injection of oxytetracycline HCl (50 mg/ml) at a dosage of 5 mg/kg. Serum, synovial fluid, peritoneal fluid, and urine oxytetracycline concentrations were measured serially over a 48-h period. The highest measured serum oxytetracycline concentration was 8.01 mcg/ml at 1/2 h. Oxytetracycline was detected in synovial fluid and peritoneal fluid, which obtained mean peak oxytetracycline concentrations of 4.43 mcg/ml and 4.20 mcg/ml, at 1/2 h and 1 h, respectively. These concentrations steadily declined in parallel with serum concentrations and were not measurable at 48 h. Urine oxytetracycline concentration was relatively high, with a peak concentration of 1565.2 mcg/ml at 1/2 h after drug administration.