Alleviation of body weight loss by dietary methionine is independent of insulin‐like growth factor‐I in protein‐starved young chickens

It is well known that in protein‐starved chickens, small amounts of amino acid supplement, especially methionine, reduces nitrogen excretion and thereby improves nitrogen balance. On the other hand, excess intake of methionine causes growth depression and the growth‐depressive effect of excess methionine can be alleviated by consumption of dietary glycine. Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) is one of various growth‐promoting factors relating to the efficiency of animal production and is known to be very sensitive to changes in nutritional status. In the present study, the interactive effect of glycine on nitrogen sparing effect of methionine in protein‐starved chickens was examined. In addition, the relation of IGF‐I and its specific binding protein to the nitrogen sparing effect of supplemented methionine was also investigated. Two‐days refeeding of methionine supplemented to protein‐free diet could promptly alleviate body weight loss in protein‐starved chickens, and the alleviation of body weight loss by methionine was not improved by glycine supplements. Moreover, such acute alleviation of body weight loss by dietary methionine was independent of the change in plasma IGF‐I concentration.     

Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the seminal plasma of normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic Beagles

We measured the blood plasma testosterone (T) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities in the seminal plasma of the ejaculates of 5 normal (2-5 years old) and 5 asthenozoospermic (AZ-) (3-5 years old) Beagles. Sperm ejaculated by AZ-dogs was incubated for 3 hr in Eagle's MEM only (controls) or Eagle's MEM containing 100 units/ml of SOD or catalase. Sperm motility was examined during incubation. The mean (+/- SE) plasma T level of the AZ-dogs (1.2 +/- 0.2 ng/ml) was significantly lower than in the normal dogs (2.5 +/- 0.2 ng/ml) (P<0.005). The mean (+/- SE) seminal plasma SOD and catalase activities (18.8 +/- 1.9 and 0.5 +/- 0.1 unit/g protein, respectively) were significantly lower in the AZ-dogs than in the normal dog (43.3 +/- 2.5 and 2.2 +/- 0.4 unit/g protein, respectively) (P<0.001 and 0.01, respectively). The motility of sperm incubated in Eagle's MEM containing SOD or catalase was significantly higher than that of control sperm incubated in only Eagle's MEM after 2 or 3 hr of incubation (P<0.05). The results of this study indicate that poor T secretion by the testes and low antioxidant enzyme activities are related to AZ in the dog.     

Signature-tagged mutagenesis of Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio vulnificus is the causative agent of primary septicemia, wound infection and gastroenteritis in immunocompromised people. In this study, signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) was applied to identify the virulence genes of V. vulnificus. Using STM, 6,480 mutants in total were constructed and divided into 81 sets (INPUT pools); each mutant in a set was assigned a different tag. Each INPUT pool was intraperitoneally injected into iron-overloaded mice, and in vivo surviving mutants were collected from blood samples from the heart (OUTPUT pools). From the genomic DNA of mixed INPUT or OUTPUT pools, digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes against the tagged region were prepared and used for dot hybridization. Thirty tentatively attenuated mutants, which were hybridized clearly with INPUT probes but barely with OUTPUT probes, were negatively selected. Lethal doses of 11 of the 30 mutants were reduced to more than 1/100; of these, the lethal doses of 2 were reduced to as low as 1/100,000. Transposon-inserted genes in the 11 attenuated mutants were those for IMP dehydrogenase, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase, aspartokinase, phosphoribosylformylglycinamidine cyclo-ligase, malate Na (+) symporter and hypothetical protein. When mice were immunized with an attenuated mutant strain into which IMP dehydrogenase had been inserted with a transposon, they were protected against V. vulnificus infection. In this study, we demonstrated that the STM method can be used to search for the virulence genes of V. vulnificus.     

石家庄市动物卫生监督技能竞赛活动实践

为提升动物卫生监督人员的素质,2014年石家庄市动物卫生监督所开展了动物卫生监督技能竞赛活动。通过介绍竞赛活动中笔试、看图辨病现场问答、电子出证和屠宰检疫实际操作四个部分的竞赛内容、流程和评分标准,分析出该竞赛活动具有知识面广、技术含量高、流程设计科学、形式新颖等突出特点,是一种提升动物卫生监督人员综合素质的新方式。     

肝胆管盆空肠Roux-y定向吻合术治疗83例肝胆管结石的疗效观察

采用肝内1～3级胆管切开取石,肝胆管盆空肠Roux-y定向吻合术治疗肝内胆管结石92例。手术切开胆总管后,采用边夹、边切、边缝、边牵引方法逐渐向上显露和切开肝内1～3级胆管,取净结石,解除肝胆管狭窄,修整肝胆管成一个宽大、平整光滑的肝胆管盆;然后行肝胆管盆空肠Roux-y定向吻合术、并建立一个联合的抗返流装置,术后以胆系及溃疡病症状为内容随诊83例,随诊时间3个月～4年。结果疗效优者44例,良者34例,差者5例,优良率约达94％。92例术后均行胆道引流管造影,发现9例肝内胆管终末支有残石,残石率为9.8％。讨论了不横断胆总管的肝胆管盆Roux-y定向引流术的优越性,认为该术式既能取净结石及解除肝内胆管狭窄,又能抗食糜逆流和可避免术后并发消化性溃疡,因此是治疗肝内胆管结石比较理想和有效的术式。     

播种机排种技术研究态势分析与趋势展望

针对现有播种机排种技术研究态势缺乏定量分析,热点、重点和难点问题系统性和全面性梳理不充分等问题,该研究对已有排种技术相关文献进行计量学分析,从科研生产力、影响力和发展力等方面可视化呈现排种技术的研究态势,总结排种技术发展脉络和研究热点,并介绍国内外先进农机企业基于前沿排种技术开发的产品,分析其产业化应用情况和未来发展趋势。结果表明：排种技术呈波浪发展,当前处于高速稳态发展期;中国科研产出较多,影响力紧次于美国;代表性期刊有《Biosystems Engineering》《Computers and Electronics in Agriculture》和《农业工程学报》《农业机械学报》等;高影响力学者和机构围绕不同地区的典型农作物开展排种技术研究,推动了排种技术进步和机械化水平提升;排种技术发展脉络以实现功能为主的单一主题研究逐渐过渡到机构优化、机理分析、虚拟仿真等垂直细分主题的深入探索,现阶段排种技术的研究热点主要集中在高速兼用排种、播种均匀性、DEM-CFD耦合仿真、控制和监测系统开发。排种技术应用注重高效高性能装备研发,国内排种新产品研发处于跟跑阶段;随着新兴技术、多学科交叉融合和创新思维的应用,排种技术研究向高速高性能、精准精确、数字化、智能化等方面发展。本研究可为把握排种技术领域研究现状、未来发展趋势和播种机具创新提供参考。     

Genetic characterization of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) varieties conserved in Vietnam through SCoT marker-based polymorphisms

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) production sustains millions of smallholder farmers and their families around the globe, and also powers a thriving industry of...     

COMPARISON OF ZINC EFFICIENCY AMONG WINTER WHEAT GENOTYPES CULTURED HYDROPONICALLY IN CHELATOR-BUFFERED SOLUTIONS

Zinc (Zn) efficient genotypes grow and yield well in Zn deficient environments. The objective of this study was to compare Zn efficiency and seed Zn content among nine winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes grown in chelator-buffered nutrient solutions containing 0 μmol Zn L^?1 (?Zn treatment) or 3 μmol Zn L^?1 (+Zn treatment). The Zn efficiency of the genotypes ranged from 24% to 46%. Zinc efficiency was positively correlated with shoot dry weight, shoot Zn content, but there was no significant correlation between Zn efficiency and shoot Zn concentration, seed Zn concentration, or seed Zn content. The results suggested that variation in Zn efficiency among these nine wheat genotypes is genetically inherent. Differences in Zn efficiency among these wheat genotypes, which are widely grown in northern China, indicate the potential to breed for wheat genotypes with increased tolerance to soil Zn deficiency.