Long-term effects of early life L-arginine supplementation on growth performance, lymphoid organs and immune responses in Leghorn-type chickens

The effects of a short-term dietary arginine supplementation after hatching on subsequent growth and the immune system were assessed in growing male Leghorn-type chickens. An arginine-deficient basal diet (67 g/kg) supplemented with 0 (control), 2.7 (LA) or 5.4 (HA) g L-arginine/kg, was offered ad libitum to 1-d-old male ISA Brown chicks for 4 weeks, then all birds were offered ad libitum a commercial pullet grower feed (8.9 g arginine/kg) for another 8 weeks. Supplemented birds had higher growth rates and feed intake than control birds during the 4-week supplementation period, but these effects did not persist into the subsequent periods. When the supplementation ceased at week 4, no differences in lymphoid organ weights relative to body weight (BW), primary serum antibody levels against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) or cutaneous reactivity of toe webs to phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) were detected. LA-fed birds had lower immunoglobulin (Ig) G levels against bovine serum albumin (BSA) than the control at week 4, but this effect did not persist at weeks 8 and 12. No difference in anti-BSA IgM levels was detected among birds at week 4; at week 12, however, the LA-fed birds had a significantly higher anti-BSA IgM level than the control. An increased anti-SRBC antibody level and a reduced relative bursa weight in HA-fed birds were evident at week 8, without any prior effects. It is concluded that short-term supplementary L-arginine had minimal effects on immunity, but some enhancement of SRBC antibody responses in later stages of growth was observed with previous L-arginine administration.     

Herd-level risk factors for subclinical Salmonella infection in European finishing-pig herds

Our objective was to find herd factors associated with pigs testing seropositive for Salmonella. Data were collected from 359 finishing-pig herds in Germany, Denmark, Greece, The Netherlands and Sweden, between 1996 and 1998. Pigs fed non-pelleted feed (dry or wet) had 2- and 2.5-times lower odds of seropositivity, compared to pigs fed pelleted feed. The protective effect of non-pelleted feed over pelleted feed may be ascribed to the structure and composition. Also, pigs that were given whey (to drink or as the liquid part of the diet) had 2.6-times lower odds to test seropositive than pigs not getting whey. Pigs produced in batches in herds with hygienic-lock facilities had >3-times lower odds for testing seropositive compared to pigs in herds where only one or neither factor was present. In herds where the caretaker(s) washed hands consistently before tending to the animals, pigs had 1.5-times lower odds of seropositivity than pigs in herds where the caretaker did not. Pigs which were able to have snout contact with pigs in neighbouring pens (because pen separations were either open or too low) had 1.7-times higher odds to test seropositive compared to pigs for which such contact was prevented. Pigs in herds recruiting from more than three supplier herds had three-times higher odds to test seropositive than pigs in herds which breed their own replacement stock or recruit from a maximum of three supplier herds.     

贵州省赤水市大棚种植金钗石斛的气候评价

对赤水市大棚小气候特征与石斛生长气象条件进行对比分析。结果表明,整个春末至秋初,棚内气温达到石斛生长适宜温度,冬季气温满足石斛冬眠需要;夏季棚内最高气温超出石斛生长的最高临界温度4.0～7.0℃,春秋两季棚内最高气温上限也达到石斛生长的最高临界温度,但最低气温均高于石斛生长的最低临界温度。对不利于大棚石斛生产的气象条件,提出具有针对性和合理化的小气候调控措施。     

番茄黄化曲叶病毒病防控技术

介绍做好番茄黄化曲叶病毒病防控的基本原则,以及做好番茄黄化曲叶病毒病防控的具体措施。     

Excitation of orbital angular momentum resonances in helically twisted photonic crystal fiber

Spiral twisting offers additional opportunities for controlling the loss, dispersion, and polarization state of light in optical fibers with noncircular guiding cores. Here, we report an effect that appears in continuously twisted photonic crystal fiber. Guided by the helical lattice of hollow channels, cladding light is forced to follow a spiral path. This diverts a fraction of the axial momentum flow into the azimuthal direction, leading to the formation of discrete orbital angular momentum states at wavelengths that scale linearly with the twist rate. Core-guided light phase-matches topologically to these leaky states, causing a series of dips in the transmitted spectrum. Twisted photonic crystal fiber has potential applications in, for example, band-rejection filters and dispersion control.     

Osteogenic proliferation and differentiation of canine bone marrow and adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stromal cells and the influence of hypoxia

The aim of this study was to compare the osteogenic and proliferative potential of canine mesenchymal stromal cells (cMSCs) derived from bone marrow (BM-cMSCs) and adipose tissue (AT-cMSCs). Proliferation potential was determined under varying oxygen tensions (1%, 5%, and 21% O(2)). Effects of reduced oxygen levels on the osteogenic differentiation of AT-cMSCs were also investigated. AT-cMSCs proliferated at a significantly faster rate than BM-cMSCs, although both cell types showed robust osteogenic differentiation. Culture in 5% and 1% O(2) impaired proliferation in cMSC from both sources and osteogenic differentiation in AT-cMSCs. Our data suggests that AT-cMSCs might be more suitable for use in a clinical situation, where large cell numbers are required for bone repair, due to their rapid proliferation combined with robust osteogenic potential. Our data also suggests that the inhibitory effects of hypoxia on both cell proliferation and differentiation should be considered when using MSCs in a potentially hypoxic environment such as a fracture site.     

Fine-scale effects of habitat loss and fragmentation despite large-scale gene flow for some regionally declining woodland bird species

Habitat loss and associated fragmentation effects are well-recognised threats to biodiversity. Loss of functional connectivity (mobility, gene flow and demographic continuity) could result in population decline in altered habitat, because smaller, isolated populations are more vulnerable to extinction. We tested whether substantial habitat reduction plus fragmentation is associated with reduced gene flow in three ??decliner?? woodland-dependent bird species (eastern yellow robin, weebill and spotted pardalote) identified in earlier work to have declined disproportionately in heavily fragmented landscapes in the Box-Ironbark forest region in north-central Victoria, Australia. For these three decliners, and one ??tolerant?? species (striated pardalote), we compared patterns of genetic diversity, relatedness, effective population size, sex-ratios and genic (allele frequency) differentiation among landscapes of different total tree cover, identified population subdivision at the regional scale, and explored fine-scale genotypic (individual-based genetic signature) structure. Unexpectedly high genetic connectivity across the study region was detected for ??decliner?? and ??tolerant?? species. Power analysis simulations suggest that moderate reductions in gene flow should have been detectable. However, there was evidence of local negative effects of reduced habitat extent and structural connectivity: slightly lower effective population sizes, lower genetic diversity, higher within-site relatedness and altered sex-ratios (for weebill and eastern yellow robin) in 10 × 10?km ??landscapes?? with low vegetation cover. We conclude that reduced structural connectivity in the Box-Ironbark ecosystem may still allow sufficient gene flow to avoid the harmful effects of inbreeding in our study species. Although there may still be negative consequences of fragmentation for demographic connectivity, the high genetic connectivity of mobile bird species in this system suggests that reconnecting isolated habitat patches may be less important than increasing habitat extent and/or quality if these need to be traded off.     

Antibacterial carbazole alkaloids from Clausena harmandiana twigs

Three new carbazole alkaloids, harmandianamines A-C (1-3), together with fifteen known compounds (4-18) were isolated from the twigs of Clausena harmandiana. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including UV, IR, NMR, and MS. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli TISTR 780, Salmonella typhimurium TISTR 292, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR 1466 and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) SK1 of some isolated compounds was also evaluated. Compound 6 exhibited significant antibacterial activity against MRSA SK1 with an MIC value of 0.25 μg/mL which higher than that of standard drug, vancomycin (MIC value=1 μg/mL) whereas compounds 14 and 5 showed strong activity with MIC values of 4 and 8 μg/mL, respectively. Only compound 14 showed strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus TISTR 1466 with an MIC value of 4 μg/mL.     

Using combined measurements for comparison of light induction of stomatal conductance, electron transport rate and CO2 fixation in woody and fern species adapted to different light regimes

We aimed to understand the relation of photosynthetic rate (A) with g(s) and electron transport rate (ETR) in species of great taxonomic range and light adaptation capability during photosynthetic light induction. We studied three woody species (Alnus formosana, Ardisia crenata and Ardisia cornudentata) and four fern species (Pyrrosia lingus, Asplenium antiquum, Diplazium donianum and Archangiopteris somai) with different light adaptation capabilities. Pot-grown materials received 100 and/or 10% sunlight according to their light adaptation capabilities. At least 4 months after light acclimation, CO(2) and H(2)O exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured simultaneously by equipment in the laboratory. In plants adapted or acclimated to low light, dark-adapted leaves exposed to 500 or 2000 μmol m(-2) s(-1) photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) for 30 min showed low gross photosynthetic rate (P(g)) and short time required to reach 90% of maximum P(g) (). At the initiation of illumination, two broad-leaved understory shrubs and the four ferns, especially ferns adapted to heavy shade, showed higher stomatal conductance (g(s)) than pioneer tree species; materials with higher g(s) had short at both 500 and 2000 μmol m(-2) s(-1) PPF. With 500 or 2000 μmol m(-2) s(-1) PPF, the g(s) for the three woody species increased from 2 to 30 min after the start of illumination, but little change in the g(s) of the four ferns. Thus, P(g) and g(s) were not correlated for all material measured at the same PPF and induction time. However, P(g) was positively correlated with ETR, even though CO(2) assimilation may be influenced by stomatal, biochemical and photoinhibitory limitations. In addition, was closely related to time required to reach 90% maximal ETR for all materials and with two levels of PPF combined. Thus, ETR is a good indicator for estimating the light induction of photosynthetic rate of species, across a wide taxonomic range and light adaptation and acclimation capability.