Citrullinaemia in Friesian calves

Six Friesian calves from a pedigree herd died or were killed within 1 week of birth because of progressive central nervous disease in which the only consistent lesion was cerebral oedema. The cause was citrullinaemia, resulting from an autosomally inherited dysfunction of the urea cycle enzyme arginosuccinate synthetase. Citrullinaemia was diagnosed by demonstrating markedly elevated concentrations of citrulline in the blood of one calf and in the cerebral spinal fluid of another. One of two sires used in the herd was a heterozygous carrier of the disease. Heterozygocity was demonstrated using a polymerase chain reaction/restriction endonuclease test designed to detect the genetic mutation that causes citrullinaemia in cattle.     

供水工程影响下中国北方地区耕地后备资源开发潜力

灌溉水源是北方地区耕地后备资源能否有效开发的关键。当前,中国正在推动国家水网工程规划建设,为北方地区耕地后备资源开发提供了新的机遇。在以往研究基础上,该研究考虑北方地区已建、在建及规划的供水工程,基于自然适宜、利用高效、发展稳定三方面评价准则,结合三维魔方空间分类方法,开展了雨养情景和供水灌溉情景下耕地后备资源开发潜力分析。结果表明：雨养农业情景下,北方地区勉强适宜（Ⅱ级）、中度（Ⅲ级）和高度（Ⅳ级）适宜的耕地后备资源面积分别为2.9万、1.0万和0.6万km²。灌溉农业情景下,耕地后备资源面积明显增加,勉强适宜（Ⅱ级）、中度（Ⅲ级）和高度（Ⅳ级）适宜的耕地后备资源面积将分别达到5.4万、7.6万和6.5万km²,主要集中于新疆、内蒙古和甘肃3省（自治区）。该研究结果可为中国耕地后备资源开发利用及国家水网工程效益发挥提供参考。