巴图湾水库风沙入库量的估算

风沙入库给干旱、半干旱地区的水库带来了严重的填淤危害。本文通过对内蒙古乌审旗南部巴图湾水库岸边流动沙丘不同部位风速与风沙流的同步观测,计算出库岸流动沙丘表面的平均输沙率。利用巴图湾水库1986~2005年9月份的5期TM遥感影像统计出水库两岸受不同风向影响的流动沙丘断面的平均长度,结合巴图湾水库附近乌审旗河南乡气象站1985~2004年的气象资料,统计出不同风向大于起沙风的风速年均持续时间,初步计算出巴图湾水库的年均入库风沙量。结果表明:(1)巴图湾水库的年均入库风沙量为3.65万t,其中西岸风沙入库量为3.55万t,东岸为0.10万t。西岸风沙危害最为严重,是治沙工作的重点。(2)巴图湾水库的风沙入库具有明显的时间性和方向性。受季风气候的影响,风沙入库的方向会随着风向的变化而改变。东南风与西北风是造成东西两岸风沙入库的主要风向。西北风对风沙入库量的贡献最大。(3)在大于起沙风的风速中,5~12 m/s风速段是风沙入库的主要风速。当风速中7 m/s以上的风速持续时间有一个较小的增加时,入库风沙量将会有一个巨大的增加。(4)库岸半固定沙丘的风沙入库,降尘和风水复合侵蚀引起的库岸坍塌也是入库风沙量的重要组成部分。因此,巴图湾水库的实际年入库风沙量应该大于3.65万t。     

Cervical thymoma originating in ectopic thymic tissue in a cat

Abstract: An 11‐year‐old female spayed domestic shorthair cat was referred to The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (OSU‐VTH) for evaluation of a 6 × 4 × 3.5 cm mass in the left midcervical region causing increased respiratory sounds and lateral deviation of the trachea. A fine needle aspirate of the mass was obtained before referral and the cytology results were compatible with a reactive lymph node. Immunocytochemistry showed increased numbers of CD3+ T lymphocytes and small numbers of CD20+ and CD79a+ medium to large lymphocytes. Differential diagnoses from the referral pathologist were T‐cell‐rich B‐cell lymphoma and feline Hodgkin's‐like lymphoma. A subsequent fine needle aspirate performed at the OSU‐VTH showed similar results. On flow cytometry the majority of cells were CD3+ T lymphocytes that were double positive for CD4 and CD8 (73%), compatible with either a double‐positive (CD4+CD8+) T‐cell lymphoma or lymphocytes from ectopic thymic tissue. The mass was surgically removed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the mass revealed a predominant population of CD3+ small lymphocytes and small numbers of medium to large lymphocytes with moderate anisocytosis and anysokaryosis. A population of cytokeratin‐positive epithelial cells surrounded small microcystic structures filled with eosinophilic material and structures interpreted as Hassall's corpuscles. These findings were consistent with thymic tissue and a diagnosis of ectopic thymoma was made. PCR results for lymphocyte antigen receptor rearrangement (PARR) were negative. The cat had no evidence of disease 16 months after removal of the mass. To our knowledge this is the first report of an ectopic cervical thymoma in a cat. The clinical and diagnostic features of this unusual case will be useful in helping veterinarians and pathologists obtain a presurgical diagnosis and establish a prognosis for similar lesions.     

Relating tradable credits for biodiversity to sustainability criteria in a dynamic landscape

Tradable biodiversity credit systems provide flexible means to resolve conflicts between development and conservation land-use options for habitats occupied by threatened or endangered species. We describe an approach to incorporate the influence of habitat fragmentation into the conservation value of tradable credits. Habitat fragmentation decreases gene flow, increases rates of genetic drift and inbreeding, and increases probabilities of patch extinction. Importantly, tradable credit systems will change the level of fragmentation over time for small and/or declining populations. We apply landscape equivalency analysis (LEA), a generalizable, landscape-scale accounting system that assigns conservation value to habitat patches based on patch contributions to abundance and genetic variance at landscape scales. By evaluating habitat trades using two models that vary the relationship between dispersal behaviors and landscape patterns, we show that LEA provides a novel method for limiting access to habitat at the landscape-scale, recognizing that the appropriate amount of migration needed to supplement patch recruitment and to offset drift and inbreeding will vary as landscape pattern changes over time. We also found that decisions based on probabilities of persistence alone would ignore changes in migration, genetic drift, and patch extinction that result from habitat trades. The general principle of LEA is that habitat patches traded should make at least equivalent contributions to rates of recruitment and migration estimated at a landscape scale. Traditional approaches for assessing the “take” and “jeopardy” standards under the Endangered Species Act based on changes in abundance and probability of persistence may be inadequate to prevent trades that increase fragmentation.     

Milking performance evaluation and factors affecting milking claw vacuum levels with flow simulator

Milking performance of milking machines that matches the production capability of dairy cows is important in reducing the risk of mastitis, particularly in high‐producing cows. This study used a simulated milking device to examine the milking performance of the milking system of 73 dairy farms and to analyze the factors affecting claw vacuum. Mean claw vacuum and range of fluctuation of claw vacuum (claw vacuum range) were measured at three different flow rates: 5.7, 7.6 and 8.7 kg/min. At the highest flow rate, only 16 farms (21.9%) met both standards of mean claw vacuum ≥35 kPa and claw vacuum range ≤ 7 kPa, showing that milking systems currently have poor milking performance. The factors affecting mean claw vacuum were claw type, milk‐meter and vacuum shut‐off device; the factor affecting claw vacuum range was claw type. Examination of the milking performance of the milking system using a simulated milking device allows an examination of the performance that can cope with high producing cows, indicating the possibility of reducing the risk of mastitis caused by inappropriate claw vacuum.     

Evaluation of a 4‐h static copper sulphate treatment against experimental infection of Flavobacterium columnare in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

The efficacy of copper sulphate (CuSO₄) against the early stages of an experimental acute infection of Flavobacterium columnare in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) was evaluated. Fish were challenged, by waterborne exposure to F. columnare in an ultra‐low flow‐through water delivery system, and treated with CuSO₄ at 4.2 and 2.1 mg L^?1 at 5.5 h post challenge for 4 h. Bacterial challenged non‐treated fish acted as a positive control and non‐challenged non‐treated fish acted as a negative control. Fish challenged with F. columnare and treated with CuSO₄ at 4.2 and 2.1 mg L^?1 post challenge had mortalities of 6.4% and 18.3%, respectively, compared with the positive control, which had 90.2% mortality. The mortality of challenged fish treated with CuSO₄ at 4.2 and 2.1 mg L^?1 was significantly different from the positive control. There was no significant difference between the mortalities of the 4.2 and 2.1 mg L^?1 treatments. The results suggest that CuSO₄ has clear therapeutic value against columnaris infections.     

Trends in NE Atlantic landings (southern Portugal): identifying the relative importance of fisheries and environmental variables

Time series of commercial landings from the Algarve (southern Portugal) from 1982 to 1999 were analyzed using min/max autocorrelation factor analysis (MAFA) and dynamic factor analysis (DFA). These techniques were used to identify trends and explore the relationships between the response variables (annual landings of 12 species) and explanatory variables [sea surface temperature, rainfall, an upwelling index, Guadiana river (south‐east Portugal) flow, the North Atlantic oscillation, the number of licensed fishing vessels and the number of commercial fishermen]. Landings were more highly correlated with non‐lagged environmental variables and in particular with Guadiana river flow. Both techniques gave coherent results, with the most important trend being a steady decline over time. A DFA model with two explanatory variables (Guadiana river flow and number of fishermen) and three common trends (smoothing functions over time) gave good fits to 10 of the 12 species. Results of other models indicated that river flow is the more important explanatory variable in this model. Changes in the mean flow and discharge regime of the Guadiana river resulting from the construction of the Alqueva dam, completed in 2002, are therefore likely to have a significant and deleterious impact on Algarve fisheries landings.     

塔型桁架人工鱼礁流场效应及稳定性

本研究利用物理模型试验和粒子图像测速技术,对塔型桁架人工鱼礁模型在6种换算流速0.031 m/s、0.063 m/s、0.095 m/s、0.126 m/s、0.158 m/s和0.190 m/s (实际流速0.2 m/s, 0.4 m/s, 0.6 m/s, 0.8 m/s, 1.0 m/s和1.2 m/s)下产生的流场效应与物理稳定性进行研究。结果表明,流速达到1.2m/s时,礁体不会发生漂移和倾覆,说明该礁型具有良好的稳定性。单体礁在45°和90°迎流方式下,最大上升流流速和上升流平均流速随来流速度增加而递增,90°摆放单体礁最大上升流流速为来流速度的15.6%～21.0%, 45°摆放单体礁最大上升流流速为来流速度的16.3%～23.5%;上升流面积和高度随来流速度的增大先增加后减小,均在来流速度为0.095 m/s时出现最大值;缓流区面积均随来流速度的增加而减小;在相同来流速度下, 45°迎流时礁体缓流区面积大于90°迎流;在45°和90°摆放方式下,缓流区长度与礁高比值均随来流速度的增加呈下降趋势,且下降趋势逐渐平缓;45°迎流时缓流区长度为礁体高度的13～24倍, 90°迎流时缓流区长度为礁体高度的11～22倍。塔型桁架人工鱼礁礁体前后没有涡流形成,但具有较好的缓流作用,在礁体后方形成了较大规模的缓流区。     

Potential gene flow from transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) to different weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) accessions based on reproductive compatibility

BACKGROUND: The possibility of gene flow from transgenic crops to wild relatives may be affected by reproductive capacity between them. The potential gene flow from two transgenic rice lines containing the bar gene to five accessions of weedy rice (WR1–WR5) was determined through examination of reproductive compatibility under controlled pollination. RESULTS: The pollen grain germination of two transgenic rice lines on the stigma of all weedy rice, rice pollen tube growth down the style and entry into the weedy rice ovary were similar to self‐pollination in weedy rice. However, delayed double fertilisation and embryo abortion in crosses between WR2 and Y0003 were observed. Seed sets between transgenic rice lines and weedy rice varied from 8 to 76%. Although repeated pollination increased seed set significantly, the rank of the seed set between the weedy rice accessions and rice lines was not changed. The germination rates of F₁ hybrids were similar or greater compared with respective females. All F₁ plants expressed glufosinate resistance in the presence of glufosinate selection pressure. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of gene flow between different weedy rice accessions and transgenic herbicide‐resistant rice may differ owing to different reproductive compatibility. This result suggests that, when wild relatives are selected as experimental materials for assessing the gene flow of transgenic rice, it is necessary to address the compatibility between transgenic rice and wild relatives. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Prediction of irrigation return flows through a hierarchical modeling approach

The quantity of water available for irrigation is getting scarce in many countries and it assumes great importance for assured crop production, especially in view of the erratic behavior of the monsoon. Thus, there is a pressing need to improve the water efficiency of irrigation systems. One-way of improving the efficiency of the irrigation system is reusing the return flow from the irrigation system. This task requires quantification of return flow, which still remains as a grey area in irrigation water management. The estimation of return flow from the irrigation system is usually obtained using thumb rules depending upon the site-specific conditions like command area conditions and soil properties. In this paper, a hierarchical modeling technique, namely, regression tree is developed for return flow estimation. Regression tree is built through binary recursive partitioning. The effective rainfall, inflow, consumptive water demand, and percolation loss are taken as predictor variables and return flow is treated as the target variable. The applicability of the hierarchical model is demonstrated through a case study of Periyar-Vaigai Irrigation System in Tamil Nadu, India. The model performance shows a good match between the simulated and the field measured return flow values. Results of statistical analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients are high for both single as well as double crop seasons.