Demographic trends in Claremont California’s street tree population

The aim of this study was to quantify street tree population dynamics in the city of Claremont, CA. A repeated measures survey (2000 and 2014) based on a stratified random sampling approach across size classes and for the most abundant 21 species was analyzed to calculate removal, growth, and replacement planting rates. Demographic rates were estimated using a hierarchical Bayesian framework. The community-level (all species) median growth rate was 1.41% per year (95% CI: 1.21–1.65%) with Pinus brutia and Pistacia chinensis growing significantly faster than the community-level median. The community-level median removal rate was 1.03% per year (95% CI: 0.66–1.68%), with no significant differences between species and the community-level medium. Once removed, only 7.2% (95% CI: 4.4–12.9%) were replaced annually. Presence of overhead utility lines influenced tree removal rates while age, diameter-at-breast-height, and prior tree condition influenced tree growth. Overall live aboveground biomass in sampled sites was 713.29 Mg in 2000 and increased to 877.36 Mg by 2014. Biomass gain from growth outweighed loss from removals nearly three-fold; replacement contributed 0.5% of the total biomass gain. We conclude that to increase the resilience of the street tree population will require 1) an increase in percent of full stocking or biomass stock and 2) a shift in the species palette to favor species less vulnerable to pests and expected disturbance from climate change and 3) ongoing monitoring to detect departures from baseline demographic rates.     

苹小卷叶蛾在6个苹果品种上的发育与繁殖

为探索不同品种苹果对苹小卷叶蛾生长发育和繁殖的影响,在温度(26±1)℃、相对湿度(80±5)%、光周期L∶D=16 h∶8 h的室内条件下,测定了苹小卷叶蛾在小国光、大国光、红玉、祝光、红星和金帅上的发育历期、存活率和产卵量,并组建了其各自的生命周期表。结果显示,苹小卷叶蛾在6个品种上的发育历期差异显著,全世代发育历期以小国光最短(33.95 d),以红玉最长(39.76 d);平均单雌产卵量以红玉最高(107.24粒),小国光次之(85.00粒);而存活率则无显著差异。生命表参数中净生殖率(R0)、内禀增长率(rm)和周限增长率(λ)均以小国光最高,世代平均周期(T)和种群加倍时间(Dt)以小国光最短,表明6种试验品种中小国光是苹小卷叶蛾最适宜的寄主品种。     

In Vitro Evaluation of the Effects of Selected Plants on the Growth of the Mycelial Form of Histoplasma capsulatum Variety farciminosum in Ethiopia

Epizootic lymphangitis is prevalent in equines in Ethiopia, causing remarkable economic and welfare impacts but often neglected. Lack of effective treatment contributed to its continued occurrence, and hence, search for an effective treatment should be considered a priority area to minimize its impacts. Previous ethnobotanical studies have reported that Curcuma longa, Phytolacca dodecandra, and Datura stramonium were used to treat cutaneous fungal infections and reduce their incidence. The treatment effects of these plants against epizootic lymphangitis should be studied. The in vitro growth inhibitory effects of methanol extracts of the root of C. longa, berry of P. dodecandra, and leaf of D. stramonium were evaluated. Histoplasma capsulatum var farciminosum was isolated from clinical cases of epizootic lymphangitis in carthorses in central Ethiopia. The nested polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the identity of the isolates. Serial twofold dilutions of the extract of berries of P. dodecandra and leaves of D. stramonium were done in sterile water, whereas dilution of the extract of roots of C. longa was done in dimethylsulphoxide. The effects of the plants on the growth of Histoplasma capsulatum var farciminosum were assessed by agar dilution assay. Culture media with no antifungal agent and media containing ketoconazole served as negative and positive control, respectively. The methanol extract of C. longa showed inhibitory effects at concentrations ranging from 0.07 to 5 mg/mL. Similarly, the methanol extract of P. dodecandra showed growth inhibitory effects at concentrations ranging from 0.156 to 5 mg/mL. That is, the growth inhibitory concentration of C. longa was 0.07 mg/mL, whereas that of P. dodecandra was 0.156 mg/mL. In contrast, D. stramonium showed no inhibitory effect. This preliminary observation showed that methanol extracts of C. longa and P. dodecandra showed inhibitory effects on the growth of Histoplasma capsulatum var farciminosum requiring further repeated in vitro evaluation so as to generate adequate evidence, which would justify in vivo trials.     

Does sand content in spawning substrate result in early larval emergence? Evidence from a lithophilic cyprinid fish

The spawning success of lithophilic salmonids is strongly influenced by the fine sediment content (“fines”) of spawning substrates, yet knowledge on the impacts of fines on the spawning of non‐salmonid lithophiles remains limited, despite their ecological and socio‐economic importance in European rivers. Consequently, the aim here was to use an ex‐situ experiment to investigate the impact of sand content on egg survival and timing of larval emergence of the surface‐spawning cyprinid European barbel Barbus barbus. Thirty incubator boxes within a recirculating system were filled with one of five experimental sediment mixtures (0%–40% sand by mass) that each contained 300 fertilised eggs at a depth of 50 mm. Emerged, free‐swimming larvae were captured and counted daily to assess grain‐size effects on larval survival and emergence. Specifically, total proportion of emerged larvae, cumulative daily proportion of emerged larvae and time required to reach 50% emergence were measured during the study. Whilst the proportion of sand in the sediments did not have a significant impact on egg‐to‐emergence survival (mean survival per treatment 75%–79%), it significantly affected the timing of larval emergence to the water column; early emergence was detected in treatments with elevated sand content (on average, 50% emergence after 12–13 days versus 19 days in the control). Similar to findings from salmonid studies, these results suggest high sand content in spawning gravels can influence timing of larval emergence and potentially cyprinid lithophilic fish survival.     

不同基础培养基对漏斗形马勃菌丝体生长的影响

[目的]研究漏斗形马勃在7种不同基础培养基上的生长情况。[方法]采用7种基础培养基进行试验,通过液体和固体培养,以菌丝体生物量及菌落直径为指标,确定漏斗形马勃的最佳基础培养基。[结果]最适合漏斗形马勃生长的基础培养基配方为玉米渣4%、蛋白胨0.3%、蔗糖2%、KH2PO41%、Mg SO40.05%。在28℃和摇床转速150 r/min条件下,液体培养5 d后的菌丝体干重为16.56 g/L。在28℃固体培养7 d,菌丝体鲜重和干重分别为16.47和2.27 g/L,菌落直径为4.49 cm。[结论]该研究为漏斗形马勃培养条件的进一步优化奠定了基础。     

不同施肥模式对‘企黑’墨兰生长影响研究

[目的]筛选盆栽墨兰适宜的施肥模式.[方法]根据墨兰体内氮、磷和钾含量的特点,结合目前生产者对墨兰进行施肥的主要模式及相关的文献资料,设计出8种施肥模式对‘企黑’墨兰进行生长的比较试验,测定26个形态和生理指标.[结果]不同施肥模式对墨兰生长的21个指标都存在显著性影响.[结论]综合各生长指标来看,对‘企黑’墨兰生长最优的施肥模式是:4、7和10月每袋各施1次N-P2O5-K2O=14-14-14的缓释肥8 g,同时在4～9月每半个月每袋淋施1次800倍液的N-P2O5-K2O=30-10-10水溶肥150 ml,在10～12月每半个月每袋淋施1次800倍液的N-P2O5-K2O=15-5-30水溶肥150 ml.     

Estimation of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) leaf nitrogen content at different growth stages using canopy reflectance spectra

The estimation of crop nitrogen status in fresh vegetation leaf using field spectroscopy is challenging due to the weak responses on leaf/canopy reflectance and the overlapping with the absorption features of other compounds. Although the spectral indices were proposed in the literature to predict leaf nitrogen content (LNC), the performance of selected spectral indices to estimate the LNC is often inconsistent. Moreover, the models for nitrogen content estimation changed with the growth stage. The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of published indices, ratio of data difference index (RDDI) and ratio of data index (RDI) developed by band iterative-optimization algorithm in LNC estimation. The correlation analysis, linear regression and cross validation were used to analyze the relationship between spectral data and LNC and construct the best performed estimation model. The study was conducted by the data of five growing seasons of litchi from the orchards in Guangdong Province of China. Results showed that the relationship between chlorophyll (Chl) related spectral indices and LNC varied with the growth stage. Even in flower bud morphological differentiation stage and autumn shoot maturation stage, there were not significant correlations between the proposed spectral indices and LNC. Besides it is difficult to estimate the LNC by the general model across the growth stages due to the integrated effects of cultivar, biochemical, canopy structure, etc. The band iterative-optimization algorithm can improve the sensitivity of spectral data to LNC to some extent. The optimal RDDI performed better than other indices for the synthetic dataset and the dataset in each growth stage. And the sensitive bands selected in the optimal indices at each growth stage are not consistent, which are not only related to the Chl absorption but also other biochemical components, such as starch, lignin, cellulose, protein, etc. In general, the LNC can be estimated by the optimized CR-based RDDI indices in autumn shoot maturation stage, flower spike stage, fruit maturation stage, and flowering stage with the R² > 0.50 and RMSE < 0.14. Although there were the significant relationship between RDIs and RDDIs in flower bud morphological differentiation stage, the highest R²s of the model developed by RDDIs and RDIs were less than 0.50 in cross validation. This study indicated that the applicability of canopy reflectance to estimate litchi LNC was closely related to the growth stage of litchi. Growth stage-specific models will be preferred for estimating litchi LNC estimation.     

我国中小银行成长性综合评价研究

通过构建商业银行成长性评价体系，利用突变级数法对14家中小银行2007~2010年的成长性进行评价，得出中小银行具有振荡向上的成长趋势，且股份制银行整体成长性优于城市商业银行，但对于影响成长性的各因素，银行间的表现不尽相同。这表明中小银行还需调整经营管理思路来保证成长的稳健和持续。     

有机无机生物活性肥料施用技术对蔬菜作物生长及产量的影响

田间试验结果表明:施用有机无机生物活性肥料能明显提高蔬菜作物长势,提高甘蓝抗根腐和烂心病能力。在等氮条件下,与常规对照相比产量基本持平,差异并不显著;但每666.7m2可节约成本24元左右,幅度达30,7%。椐统计分析,甘蓝最佳施肥置以100kg/666,7m2为宜,此用量可比常规对照增产9.3%,每666.7m2增加收入295元。在施用总量不变的条件下,减少有机无机生物活性肥料基肥比例,甘蓝则有碱产趋势。     

Effects of soybean raffinose on growth performance,digestibility,humoral immunity and intestinal morphology of growing pigs

There are appreciable does of raffinose in soybean, but the impacts of raffinose on pigs are poorly investigated. We used 2 experiments to investigate the influence of soybean raffinose on growth performance, digestibility, humoral immunity and intestinal morphology of growing pigs. In Exp. 1, a total of 30 crossbred (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) barrows (21.93 ± 0.43 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups, and were fed with the control diet, the control diets supplemented with 0.2% and 0.5% raffinose, respectively, for 21 d. Results showed that the addition of 0.2% or 0.5% raffinose reduced (P < 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and nutrient digestibility, and dietary 0.5% raffinose increased the ratio of feed to gain (P < 0.05). For serum indexes, dietary 0.5% raffinose decreased growth hormone and increased glucagon-like peptide-2, immunoglobulin G, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 concentration (P < 0.05). In Exp. 2, a total of 24 crossbred barrows (38.41 ± 0.45 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups, and were fed with the control diet (ad libitum), the raffinose diet (0.5% raffinose, ad libitum), and the control diet in the same amount as the raffinose group (feed-pair group) for 14 d, respectively. Compared with the control diet, dietary 0.5% raffinose decreased ADFI (P < 0.05). Intriguingly, the raffinose group had lower ADG than the feed-pair group, lower nutrient digestibility, lower amylase activity in duodenum, lower amylase, lipase and trypsin activities in jejunum and higher TNF-α concentration in serum compared with the other 2 groups, and a higher ratio of villus height to crypt depth compared with the control group (P < 0.05). These results showed that soybean raffinose could reduce feed voluntary intake and body gain while improving intestinal morphology without a significant negative influence on immunity. Taken together, dietary raffinose could decrease growth performance by reducing both feed intake and nutrient digestibility while inducing humoral immune response of growing pigs.