Molecular prevalence,risk factors assessment and haemato-biochemical alterations in hepatozoonosis in dogs from Punjab,India

Hepatozoonosis caused by Hepatozoon canis is an important tick-borne disease of dogs in tropical and sub-tropical regions throughout the world. In the present study evaluation of blood samples collected from 225 dogs presented at Small Animal Clinics, GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab (India) was done for the presence of H. canis by PCR based assay targeting a portion of 18S rRNA gene. Of the total samples subjected to PCR, an amplicon of 666 bp was detected in 13.78% samples whereas, routine blood smear examination revealed gamonts in 5.78% samples. Furthermore, prevalence of H. canis infection was found to be significantly associated with season, being highest in summer and lowest in winter while other risk factors e.g. age, sex and breed showed non-significant association. In terms of various clinico-pathological parameters, significant drop in haemoglobin, total red blood cell count, packed cell volume and lymphocytes were recorded in positive cases whereas the total white blood cell count was non-significantly increased. The haematological alterations in the positive cases were lymphopenia, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, relative neutrophilia, neutrophilic leucocytosis, eosinophilia, monocytosis and lymphocytosis while the biochemical profile revealed hypoproteinemia and increased levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine (in positive cases) pointing towards renal failure.     

Incorporating local ecological knowledge into urban riparian restoration in a mountainous region of Southwest China

Modern cities use straightened and concrete watercourses with simple greening for riparian zones, which has been criticised for insensitivity to natural system integrity and cultural identity. This increases the challenge to urban ecologists, landscape designers and managers to conceive innovative and effective design solutions that do not jeopardise hydraulic efficiency yet are culturally acceptable to local communities. This paper introduces the field of local ecological knowledge (LEK) as rich sources of inspiration and design solutions to meet this challenge. LEK refers to knowledge and practices of various local cultures about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with their environments. Wepropose a pragmatic framework that integrates LEK with modern landscape design. It includes steps: (1) investigate existing practices, skills andmeasures relating to LEK; (2) explore how and whereLEKcan inspire or integrate withdesign. Here we propose three aspects for integration in accordance with the nature of landscaping process: overall structure, component and maintenance.(3)evaluate and test the integration in terms of its acceptability by local communities. Taking the riparian revegetation project of Hanfeng Lake Urban Wetland Park (Chongqing Municipality) as an example, we illustrate the utility of this framework. 11 local common practices relating to LEK were identified. According to thethree aspects for integration, alternative design solutions were offered. The survey showed that LEK based designwas more highly valued than other conventional ways in terms of useracceptance. We conclude that LEK provides actionable ecologically sound and culturally desirablesolutions for urbanlandscape. We also recognise that LEK evolveswith changing environments and new harmonious and dynamic human-nature relationships arecontinually re-forming. The process of acquisition and application of LEK could encourage multidisciplinary and synthetic approaches to urban ecosystems. Such adaptability and interdisciplinary engagementare crucial totoday’schanging and complexurban environments.     

湘桂走廊白背飞虱早期虫源及灾变大气背景

为阐明湘桂走廊白背飞虱早期虫源及大气背景在其北迁过程中的影响,利用HYSPLIT软件模拟白背飞虱灾变性迁入高峰期、始见期后向轨迹,分别从个性及共性角度,分析湘桂走廊白背飞虱主要虫源地及其灾变大气背景。结果表明：（1）1991—2014年湘桂走廊白背飞虱的迁入始见期、首次迁入高峰期分别为0.9 d/10 a、1.6 d/10 a;（2）西南路径是湘桂走廊白背飞虱初始虫源迁入的主要路径,永福站、兴安站和全州站虫源西南路径占比分别为54%、50%、72%;（3）中南半岛白背飞虱借助微弱上升气流完成起飞,850 hPa高度上的强劲的西南气流、丰富的水汽条件有利于其北迁,降水是白背飞虱降落的重要大气动力机制。研究结果为白背飞虱的异地监测及科学防治提供科学依据。     

Serological survey of Toxoplasma gondii in captive nonhuman primates in zoos in Spain

Toxoplasma gondii is a widely distributed zoonotic protozoan parasite, which can affect most warm-blooded species. Some species of non-human primates (NHPs) are highly susceptible to T. gondii infection. The aim of the study was to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in NHPs housed in zoos in Spain. Sera from 189 NHPs belonging to 33 species were collected in eight zoos. Additionally, 10 of the 189 animals were longitudinally sampled. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were detected in 48 NHPs (25.4%; confidence interval of 95% (CI_95%): 19.2–31.6) using a modified agglutination test (MAT; cut-off = 25). Seropositive animals had titers of 25 (6.3%), 50 (8.3%), 100 (8.3%) and ≥500 (68.8%). Seropositivity was detected in 15 of the 33 species (45.5%). Of the 10 NHPs sampled more than once, two animals (one Barbary macaque [Macaca sylvanus] and one common chimpanzee [Pan toglodytes]) seroconverted along the study period, while one seropositive chimpanzee increased antibody titers over time. The Hominidae family (OR = 5.9; CI_95%: 2.7–12.8) and sex (females) (OR = 2.1; CI_95%: 1.1–4.1) were risk factors potentially associated with seropositivity to T. gondii. Our results evince a widespread circulation of T. gondii in NHPs in zoos in Spain, which may be of conservation concern. Control measures should be implemented to minimize the risk of exposure of these species to T. gondii.     

Anthropogenically disturbed potentially toxic elements in roadside topsoils of a suburban region of Bishkek,Central Asia

The ecological environment in Central Asia is vulnerable to pressure from human activity due to the physical geography and climatic fragility of this region. A set of indicators suitable for the future assessment of this pressure needs to be proposed. Thirty‐six topsoil samples (0–5 cm) were collected from roadsides in a suburban region of Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, and a risk assessment of anthropogenically disturbed potentially toxic elements (PTEs) was systematically conducted with classic statistical methods. The results of detrended correspondence analysis and principal component analysis clearly showed that topsoil samples with high contents of PTEs (Pb, Zn and Cu) were strongly affected by traffic within a distance threshold of 200 m and that anthropogenic effects decreased significantly with increasing distance from the highway. The enrichment factor and anthropogenic contribution for Pb were the highest among the three PTEs, with average values of 2.0% and 47.4%, respectively, suggesting enrichment. However, the results of the human health risk assessment also indicated that noncarcinogenic risks did not occur for any of the anthropogenic PTEs. The reported method provides a new systematic pathway to reveal anthropogenic influences on the geochemical composition of soil. The conclusions of this work will be highly valuable as important guidelines for agriculture, and the results of the PTE contents will provide a scientific basis for soil collection in future studies.     

利用自制骨炭除氟剂处理农村高氟地下水研究

在不同实验条件下将家畜骨制成骨炭除氟剂,通过除氟效果的比较筛选出最佳除氟剂制备方法。利用所制得的骨炭进行除氟静态吸附实验,研究了骨炭对氟的吸附效果以及温度、pH和地下水中常见阴阳离子等不同影响因素对骨炭除氟效果的影响。实验结果表明温度对骨炭除氟效果影响不大;低pH条件有利于骨炭对氟的去除;地下水常见阴阳离子中,Ca2＋和Mg2＋对骨炭除氟有一定的促进作用,而阴离子则起到不同程度的抑制作用。除氟后的骨炭可以利用NaOH浸泡方法进行再生,经三次再生后其吸附容量仍可达原来的94.3%,说明骨炭除氟剂具有良好的再生能力且可反复用于水中除氟。     

日本百脉根LjbHLH34基因克隆及耐旱功能鉴定

干旱是影响植物生长发育的重要环境因素。本研究分析了日本百脉根抗旱相关基因LjbHLH34的耐旱功能，初步解析其响应干旱胁迫的分子机制，以期为百脉根抗旱分子育种提供理论基础。本研究克隆得到的LjbHLH34基因大小为711 bp、编码236个氨基酸，属bHLH转录因子家族成员。系统进化树分析显示，LjbHLH34蛋白与拟南芥bHLHⅣ亚家族中AtbHLH34和AtbHLH104亲缘关系较近。实时荧光定量分析表明LjbHLH34在日本百脉根的根中表达量最高，叶中次之，茎中最少，暗示其在日本百脉根多个组织中发挥作用；同时LjbHLH34基因也受聚乙二醇(PEG)和脱落酸(ABA)诱导表达。在酵母中检测发现LjbHLH34具有转录激活活性；亚细胞定位试验表明LjbHLH34蛋白定位于细胞核中。将LjbHLH34基因转入拟南芥获得过表达株系。在200 mmol·L^-1甘露醇胁迫下，LjbHLH34转基因拟南芥的根长明显长于野生型。干旱处理后，野生型拟南芥比转基因拟南芥萎蔫程度更加明显，而转基因株系的相对含水量和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性显著高于野生型，丙二醛(MDA)积累...     

基于GIS的村级尺度统计数据空间化方法与时序分析初探

选择重庆市巴南区石龙镇大连村、大兴村、白马村、金星村、合路村、柏树村、大桥村、大园村和中伦村9个行政村作为研究区,将研究区的遥感影像、数字高程模型、行政界线等数据的空间参考坐标系统一为1980西安坐标系,选择2006-2012年研究区的农用肥施用量数据作为村级尺度统计数据空间化方法研究的研究数据,利用专家打分法对不同土地利用类型与农用肥施用之间的相关性进行打分,分值范围是0~1分。结合村级行政界线、行政村面积、农用肥施用量、土地利用数据和专家打分结果,构建农用肥施用数据空间化模型,分别生成2006-2012年村级农用肥施用数据空间化分布栅格数据,栅格尺度选择1、10、100和200 m这4种,并对栅格化结果进行对比分析。同时,对2006-2012年的农用肥施用空间分布数据进行时序分析,获取农用肥施用量的动态变化趋势。通过研究得到以下结论:1村级农用肥施用量数据空间化尺度与土地利用数据的类型及空间分辨率有关;2研究区各行政村农用肥施用量在2006-2012年期间总体变化趋于平稳。本研究对于实现村级统计数据空间化方法具有一定的参考意义,而空间化后的村级统计数据对于进行村镇区域规划、土地整改、生态环境保护等具有重要指导意义。     

规划衔接与建设用地空间管制协调研究

在前人研究的基础上,总结了上一轮土地利用规划实施过程中存在的问题,研究规划衔接的重要性和必要性。从剖析比较各类规划,特别是土地利用总体规划和城乡规划的内容和侧重点差异性的基础上,提出规划衔接的可行性及方法,探讨了规划衔接与建设用地空间管制的主要内容及协调对策,提出了对相关研究和新一轮规划编制的建议。     

云南瑞丽市滑坡影响因素的统计与分析

云南瑞丽市地质灾害类型有滑坡、崩塌、泥石流和不稳定斜坡等,其中以滑坡为主、共109个.影响滑坡的因素分为自然因素、诱发因素.自然因素指滑坡的坡度、滑体岩性、滑床岩性等在自然地质条件下形成的属性.诱发因素是指引发滑坡发生的因素,主要是降雨、地震、坡脚侵蚀、坡脚开挖等影响因素.自然因素统计表明,4～14°发育的滑坡较少,15 ～40°发育的滑坡较多;滑体岩性为含砾粉土和粉质粘土;滑床岩性以片麻岩、含砾粉土、泥岩为主,砂砾粉土次之,碎石土、粉质粘土、砂岩较少.诱发因素以降雨为主,坡脚侵蚀、地震、坡脚开挖次之.最后结合影响因素给出相关的分析.