Do cover crops change the lability of phosphorus in a clayey subtropical soil under different phosphate fertilizers?

Plants have developed different mechanisms to absorb and solubilize phosphorus (P) in the soil, especially in environments with low P availability. This study evaluated the effects of different winter cover crops on soil P availability in a clayey subtropical (Hapludox) soil receiving soluble P fertilizer and a rock phosphate applied to the summer crop, under no‐tillage. The experiment was carried out over 3 yrs (2009–2011) with five different cover crop species: common vetch, fodder radish, ryegrass, black oat, white clover and fallow as control. The soil was sampled after the third year of cover crop cultivation and analysed for inorganic and organic P forms according to the well‐established Hedley fractionation procedure. Phosphate fertilizers promoted accumulation of both labile and nonlabile P pools in soil in the near surface layer, especially under rock phosphate. Fertilizer applications were not able to change P fractions in deeper layers, emphasizing that the Brazilian clayey soils are a sink of P from fertilizer and its mobility is almost nil. Although the cover crops recycled a great amount of P in tissue, in a short‐term evaluation (3 yrs) they only changed the content of moderately labile P in soil, indicating that long‐term studies are needed for more conclusive results.     

Phenological and physiological evaluation of first and second cropping periods of sorghum and maize crops

Environmental conditions influence phenology and physiological processes of plants. It is common for maize and sorghum to be sown at two different periods: the first cropping (spring/summer) and the second cropping (autumn/winter). The phenological cycle of these crops varies greatly according to the planting season, and it is necessary to characterize the growth and development to facilitate the selection of the species best adapted to the environment. The aim of this study was to characterize phenological phases and physiological parameters in sorghum and maize plants as a function of environmental conditions from the first cropping and second cropping periods. Two parallel experiments were conducted with both crops. The phenological characterization was based on growth analyses (plant height, leaf area and photoassimilate partitioning) and gas exchange evaluations (net assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration and water-use efficiency). It was found that the vegetative stage (VS) for sorghum and maize plants was 7 and 21 days, respectively, longer when cultivated during the second cropping. In the first cropping, the plants were taller than in the second cropping, regardless of the crop. The stomatal conductance of sorghum plants fluctuated in the second cropping during the development period, while maize plants showed decreasing linear behaviour. Water-use efficiency in sorghum plants was higher during the second cropping compared with the first cropping. In maize plants, in the second cropping, the water-use efficiency showed a slight variation in relation to the first cropping. It was concluded that the environmental conditions as degree-days, temperature, photoperiod and pluvial precipitation influence the phenology and physiology of both crops during the first and the second cropping periods, specifically cycle duration, plant height, leaf area, net assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and water-use efficiency, indicating that both crops respond differentially to environmental changes during the growing season.     

The effect of feeding a novel multistrain yeast fraction on European seabass (Dicentrachus labrax) intestinal health and growth performance

Fish were fed a single‐strain yeast fraction (SsYF; 2 g/kg) or a multistrain yeast fraction (MsYF; 0.8 g/kg) for 10 weeks. The results demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.03) elevations in weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion ratio in fish fed the yeast fraction‐supplemented diets. In the distal intestine, a significant elevation in microvilli density was observed after 5 and 10 weeks of dietary supplementation with MsYF and SsYF, respectively, compared to control fed fish (p < 0.001). A significant elevation (p = 0.02) in the perimeter ratio was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. After 10 weeks of feeding on the experimental diets, Rt‐qPCR demonstrated a significant downregulation (p < 0.05) in the stress response genes, heat‐shock protein 70 (hsp70) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna), in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. Significant (p < 0.05) elevations in interleukin 1‐beta (il1β) and interleukin‐10 (il10) gene expression were observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the MsYF compared to the other dietary groups. These findings suggest that feeding an MsYF specifically at a lower incorporation rate < 1 g/kg, compared to a commercial SsYF at 2 g/kg, is effective in improving the intestinal health status and growth performance of European seabass.     

含刚性沉水植物明渠水流结构的试验研究

【目的】得到含刚性沉水植物明渠的水流结构。【方法】采用粒子图像测速仪(PIV),用有机玻璃棒模拟刚性植物,在不同来水流量、植物密度条件下对明渠水流结构进行了试验研究。【结果】无植物时平均流速沿垂向呈对数分布规律,有植物时则呈现明显的分区分布特性。无植物时紊动强度值沿垂向变化不大,有植物时在植物顶端位置处紊动最剧烈。流量或植物密度越大,植物顶端位置的流速梯度就越大,植物层上方的流速最大值也越大。植物密度越大,植物顶端位置的紊动强度越大,植物密度对水流紊动强度由最大值减小到最小值的区域影响很大。【结论】刚性沉水植物的存在会改变水流结构,增强紊动掺混,增强流体质点交换和能量传递,且上述影响会随着流量或植物密度的增大而增强。     

云南怒江傈僳族自治州古树名木资源现状调查

对怒江傈僳族自治州人为活动区域古树名木资源现状进行调查。结果表明:共记录到古树名木496株,涉及36科54属76种,其中有8种国家重点保护野生植物,分别为澜沧黄杉、秃杉、南方红豆杉、云南榧树、千果榄仁、红椿、光叶珙桐和香果树;怒江州古树名木主要分布在乡村街道及远郊野外,占总数的98.8%,63.6%的古树生长在海拔1500~1999 m;古树名木的生长环境及长势总体较好,但保护力度相对薄弱,应采取相关措施加强保护和管理。     

Dietary Lipid Levels Affect the Growth Performance,Lipid Deposition,and Antioxidative Capacity of Juvenile Scaleless Carp,Gymnocypris przewalskii,on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

A 56‐d growth trial was conducted to evaluate the growth performance, lipid deposition, and antioxidative capacity of juvenile scaleless carp, Gymnocypris przewalskii, on Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. One‐year‐old juveniles (initial weight: 15.99 ± 0.02 g) were fed practical diets with different lipid levels of 4, 5.5, 7, 8.5, and 10%, respectively. Results showed that the best specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion rate, and total antioxidative capacity (T‐AOC) in hepatopancreas were observed in fish fed the diet with 7% lipid level. Fish fed with high lipid diets (8.5 and 10%) had significantly higher condition factor and viscerosomatic index as well as lipid in muscle, intestine, mesenteric fat tissue, and whole body. Highest level of hepatopancreas lipase and lipoprotein lipases activities as well as malondialdehyde content and the lowest level of feed intake and T‐AOC content in hepatopancreas and intestine were also observed in fish fed with high lipid diets (8.5 and 10%) (P < 0.05). In conclusion, based on SGR and hepatopancreas T‐AOC content, dietary lipid requirement of juvenile G. przewalskii was estimated to be 7.35 and 7.39%, respectively.     

Impact of soil water content on maize responses to the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Azospirillum lipoferum CRT1

Members of the bacterial genus Azospirillum are root-associated bacteria that increase yield in cereals by promoting growth and alleviating drought stress. How plants integrate the many bacterium-derived growth-promoting stimuli with other environmental factors to generate a coordinated response remains unresolved. Using a commercial Azospirillum strain, A. lipoferum CRT1 and two host maize cultivars, it was observed that bacterization reduced the drought-induced increase in lateral root growth and enhanced the flood-induced increase in lateral root growth in the more drought- and flood-sensitive cultivar. In the other one, A. lipoferum CRT1 only elicited a moderate root growth response under low soil water potential. The photosynthetic potential and activity were increased in the earlier cultivar and decreased in the later one, irrespective of the soil water content. No impact of the bacterium was seen on the growth of the leaves of both cultivars under both stresses until the third leaf stage, therefore suggesting that it is a consequence of multiple primary adaptations to biotic and abiotic stresses. It is suggested that host–bacteria recognition leads to a stress-specific modulation of the root response and a differential stress-independent effect on photosynthesis. This is the first report of the impact of Azospirillum under flood conditions.     

槟榔间作条件下不同修剪方式对可可生长和产量的影响

以槟榔间作可可条件下的可可为研究对象,比较不同修剪方式对其生长、光合作用及产量的影响。结果表明:中度修剪提高可可株高、干周和主枝粗度,重度修剪和仅控冠幅降低可可干周和主枝粗度。中等修剪可可叶片Pn显著高于轻度修剪和仅控冠幅,可能由于修剪提高了新梢叶片叶肉细胞光合作用能力。中度修剪可可徒长枝重量分别比轻度修剪、重度修剪和仅控冠幅显著降低了69.27%、54.69%和57.03%,大大降低了养分消耗,提高产量的同时节省了修剪工作量。综上所述,在槟榔间作可可条件下,采用中度修剪有利于提高光合作用效率,形成健康平衡树形,降低徒长枝养分消耗,提高产量,为槟榔间作可可节本增效技术研究与优化提供依据。     

EPS364, a Novel Deep-Sea Bacterial Exopolysaccharide,Inhibits Liver Cancer Cell Growth and Adhesion

The prognosis of liver cancer was inferior among tumors. New medicine treatments are urgently needed. In this study, a novel exopolysaccharide EPS364 was purified from Vibrio alginolyticus 364, which was isolated from a deep-sea cold seep of the South China Sea. Further research showed that EPS364 consisted of mannose, glucosamine, gluconic acid, galactosamine and arabinose with a molar ratio of 5:9:3.4:0.5:0.8. The relative molecular weight of EPS364 was 14.8 kDa. Our results further revealed that EPS364 was a β-linked and phosphorylated polysaccharide. Notably, EPS364 exhibited a significant antitumor activity, with inducing apoptosis, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Huh7.5 liver cancer cells. Proteomic and quantitative real-time PCR analyses indicated that EPS364 inhibited cancer cell growth and adhesion via targeting the FGF19-FGFR4 signaling pathway. These findings suggest that EPS364 is a promising antitumor agent for pharmacotherapy.