An Efficient Implementation of the Method of Lines for Multicomponent Reactive Transport Equations

Modeling reactive transport with chemical equilibrium reactions requires solution of coupled partial differential and algebraic equations. In this work, two formulations are developed to combine the method of lines (MOL) with the global implicit approach. The first formulation has a non-conservative form and leads to a nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations with a reduced number of unknowns. The second formulation presents better conservation properties but leads to a nonlinear system of differential algebraic equations with a large number of unknowns. In both formulations, the resulting systems are integrated in time using the DLSODIS time solver which adapts both the order of the time integration and the time step size to provide the necessary accuracy. Numerical experiments show that higher-order time integration is effective for solving the non-conservative formulation and point out the high benefit of the MOL for solving reactive transport problems.     

岷江百合蛋白激酶基因lilyABC1的克隆及在非生物胁迫下的表达特性分析

以野生型岷江百合（Lilium regale Wilson）为材料,克隆岷江百合蛋白激酶基因lilyABC1,分析其在非生物胁迫下的表达特性,为百合抗逆育种提供候选基因。结果表明：lilyABC1基因全长cDNA序列为2 333 bp,其开放阅读框（ORF）为2 007 bp。该基因编码668个氨基酸,预测lilyABC1蛋白分子量为74.84 kD,等电点为5.46,含有一个高度保守的结构域--STYKc。lilyABC1基因在岷江百合的叶片、鳞片、花蕾组织中均有表达,表达量依次为叶 > 花蕾 > 鳞片,其中不同时期的花蕾中的表达量基本一致。lilyABC1的表达受到NaCl、低温、高温以及黑暗胁迫的诱导,对PEG-6000的模拟干旱处理不敏感,表明lilyABC1基因可能对岷江百合适应高盐、低温和黑暗等非生物胁迫具有一定作用。     

百合在NaHCO3胁迫下的生理响应机制

比较了耐盐碱的岷江百合（Lilium regale Wilson）和对盐碱敏感的东方百合‘索邦’（‘Sorbonne’）在不同浓度的碱性盐NaHCO₃胁迫下叶片的渗透调节物质、活性氧清除物质、离子调节物质（Na⁺、K⁺）及有机酸含量的变化,探讨百合耐盐碱的生理机制。研究发现,两种百合叶片中各种物质的变化趋势基本相似,但整体上岷江百合的各种物质含量或者活性均高于‘索邦’。随着NaHCO₃胁迫浓度的增加,两种百合叶片中的可溶性蛋白、脯氨酸含量增加,可溶性糖含量先升后降;SOD、GR的活性和AsA的含量先上升后下降,APX的活性和GSH的含量在低浓度胁迫时无明显变化,高浓度胁迫时显著下降;‘索邦’Na⁺主要积累在成熟叶和新生叶中,岷江百合则主要积累在茎和成熟叶中,且能维持根、成熟叶和新生叶中较高水平的K⁺/Na⁺值;岷江百合中的草酸、乳酸和乙酸含量都一直增加或高于对照,‘索邦’中的苹果酸和乙酸含量一直增加。与‘索邦’相比,岷江百合在低浓度NaHCO₃胁迫下提高SOD活性和AsA含量,高浓度NaHCO₃胁迫下增加可溶性蛋白的含量并保持可溶性糖的稳定性,是其耐盐碱性较强的原因之一。     

Preanalytical factors affecting blood inorganic phosphate concentration in dairy cows

BACKGROUND: Hypophosphatemia is a condition that affects feed intake and milk production in dairy cows, and, to assess it, a precise biological parameter is needed. Plasma inorganic phosphate (Pi) can be used as a potential indicator of bioavailability of feed phosphorus in dairy cows. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sample type (serum vs. plasma), blood sampling site (jugular vs. coccygeal), and morning feeding on blood Pi concentration in dairy cows. METHODS: Blood samples from 28 clinically healthy multiparous Holstein cows were analyzed for Pi concentration. The animals were sampled twice by coccygeal vessel into Vacutainer tubes both with and without sodium heparin, 3 hours after the morning feeding. In 4 additional cows, the concentration of Pi was measured in blood samples obtained simultaneously by jugular and coccygeal venipuncture into heparinized tubes before the morning feeding and 2, 4, and 6 hours after the feeding. The results were analyzed using parametric statistical tests. RESULTS: Serum and plasma concentrations of Pi were correlated (r(2) = 0.999, P < .0001), but serum Pi concentration was higher than plasma Pi (P < .02). Plasma Pi concentration 2 hours after feeding tended to be higher than that before feeding in jugular samples, but the difference was not significant. There was no significant variation in plasma Pi during the morning postfeeding times, although jugular concentrations were 19% lower than coccygeal (P = .04). CONCLUSION: To increase the precision of plasma Pi measurements as an indicator of bioavailability of feed phosphorus, sample type, sampling time, and site must be taken into account, to correctly interpret plasma Pi concentrations.     

Prunus arabica (Olivier) Meikle,an important genetic resource for breeding of almond: morphological and pomological characterizations

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Phenotypic variation of 75 accessions of wild Prunus arabica (Olivier) Meikle species was assessed. There were significant variations among the accessions...     

Correction to: Effects of some biological agents on the growth and biochemical parameters of tomato plants infected with Alternaria solani (Ellis & Martin) Sorauer

European Journal of Plant Pathology -     

Genetic and phenotypic parameters for Aleutian disease tests and their correlations with pelt quality,reproductive performance,packed-cell volume,and harvest length in mink

Aleutian disease (AD), caused by the Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV), is a major health concern that results in global economic losses to the mink industry. The unsatisfactory outcome of the culling strategy, immunoprophylaxis, and medical treatment in controlling AD have urged mink farmers to select AD resilient mink based on several detection tests, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP), and iodine agglutination test (IAT). However, the genetic analysis of these AD tests and their correlations with pelt quality, reproductive performance, packed-cell volume (PCV), and harvest length (HL) have not been investigated. In this study, data on 5,824 mink were used to estimate the genetic and phenotypic parameters of four AD tests, including two systems of ELISA, CIEP, and IAT, and their genetic and phenotypic correlations with two pelt quality, five female reproductive performance, PCV, and HL traits. Significances (P < 0.05) of fixed effects (sex, year, dam age, and color type), covariates (age at harvest and blood sampling), and random effects (additive genetic, permanent environmental, and maternal effects) were determined under univariate models using ASReml 4.1 software. The genetic and phenotypic parameters for all traits were estimated under bivariate models using ASReml 4.1 software. Estimated heritabilities (±SE) were 0.39 ± 0.06, 0.61 ± 0.07, 0.11 ± 0.07, and 0.26 ± 0.05 for AMDV antigen-based ELISA (ELISA-G), AMDV capsid protein-based ELISA, CIEP, and IAT, respectively. The ELISA-G also showed a moderate repeatability (0.58 ± 0.04) and had significant negative genetic correlations (±SE) with reproductive performance traits (from −0.41 ± 0.16 to −0.49 ± 0.12), PCV (−0.53 ± 0.09), and HL (−0.45 ± 0.16). These results indicated that ELISA-G had the potential to be applied as an indicator trait for genetic selection of AD resilient mink in AD endemic ranches and therefore help mink farmers to reduce the adverse effects caused by AD.     

Transformation of the L-Asparaginase II Gene to Potato Hairy Roots for Production of Recombinant Protein

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Nowadays, transgenic plants are considered as an expression system for therapeutic recombinant proteins. One of the approaches to recombinant protein...