Evaluation of a new strategy to modulate skeletal development in racehorses by imposing track-based exercise during growth: the effects on 2- and 3-year-old racing careers

REASON FOR PERFORMING STUDY: No data exist on the effects of conditioning exercise at foal age on workload and subsequent clinical injury rate during their 2- and 3-year-old racing careers. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of subjecting TB foals to conditioning exercise prior to the start of race training on: the workload required to reach a level of fitness sufficient to compete; and the prevalence of orthopaedic injury during the first 2 seasons of their racing careers. METHODS: Twenty 18-month-old TBs, 12 subjected to conditioning exercise at foal age (CONDEX) and 8 exercised spontaneously at pasture only (PASTEX) were trained and entered in competitive events. Workload was quantified using the cumulative workload index (the product of average velocity and distance at a specific gait) and the animals were monitored clinically and radiographically for signs of musculoskeletal disorders. RESULTS: Workload to reach the desired fitness level was similar for CONDEX and PASTEX. CONDEX performed more prerace training sessions as 2-year-olds (P<0.05). The incidence of orthopaedic injuries was low in both groups and there were no differences in the occurrence of orthopaedic ailments. PASTEX animals tended to show signs of musculoskeletal disorders earlier than CONDEX animals. This time difference was significant for metacarpophalangeal joint pain on flexion, reduced carpal flexion and hindlimb lameness (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Subjecting TB foals to conditioning exercise early in life does not have adverse effects on racing careers at ages 2 and 3 years, and does not influence the workload needed to reach a fitness level that is sufficient for racing. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The lack of negative effects and the indications of some positive effects of early conditioning exercise in the Thoroughbred encourage further large-scale comparative studies.     

Research on the Antioxident Function of Sulforaphane on the Leydig Cells of Cadmium Exposured Mice

The study was aimed to explore the antioxident function of sulforaphane (SFN) on the leydig cells of cadmium (Cd) exposured mice.Cd and SFN were added to the cell culture medium of TM3 cell, half inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of Cd and SFN safe dose range were determined.The tested model was set up,and the relative survival rate of TM3 cells, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and cell antioxidant levels were determined to study the antioxident function of SFN to cadmium exposured mice.The results showed that:①With the increase of Cd concentration,the relative survival rate of TM3 cells was decreased,and the IC₅₀ of Cd was 51.4 μmol/L;Within a certain concentration range,SFN could increased the cells survive rate,but there was toxicity when the SFN concentration was more than the scope,and the greater the concentration,the greater the toxicity. At experimental condition,SFN safety concentration were 2.5,5 and 10 μmol/L.②Compared with the control group,the GSH content,the T-SOD and GSH-Px activities in Cd group were significantly or extremely significantly decreased (P < 0.05;P < 0.01),and the LDH activity,the MDA content were increased.Additionally,the LDH activity and MDA content of SFN groups were decreased,while others three indexes were increased. Compared with Cd group,the GSH content,the T-SOD and GSH-Px activities of Cd+SFN groups were significantly or extremely significantly increased (P < 0.05;P < 0.01),however,the LDH activity,MDA content were decreased. The result indicated that SFN had the antagonism effect on toxicity of Cd in TM3 cell.     

甘南和川西北地区草地植被NDVI变化及其驱动因素研究

草地是甘南和川西北地区最主要的植被覆盖类型,约占研究区面积的43.91%。为探明该地区草地的生长状况变化及其驱动因素,基于MOD13A3数据,采用趋势分析、变异系数、偏相关分析和残差分析,对研究区草地归一化植被指数（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI）时空动态变化和稳定性进行分析,并研究了气象因素和人类活动对草地NDVI变化的影响。结果表明：2000-2018年甘南和川西北地区草地生长期NDVI呈上升趋势的面积占比为74.17%,其中17.15%通过显著性验证;研究区草地NDVI整体较高（均值为0.7096）,在19年间全区和各类型草地NDVI均呈波动上升趋势,生长状况稳定,仅有6.08%的草地波动幅度较大;温度和降水对研究区草地NDVI的变化主要呈正向驱动,且NDVI与温度呈正相关的面积（70.19%）大于降水（62.63%）,人类活动在2000-2005年对草地NDVI呈负向影响,2006-2017年呈正向影响。     

高温条件下复合抗应激剂对肉鸡的影响

本文研究了高温条件下复合抗应激剂对肉鸡的影响。结果表明：经历３２ ℃一周的５ ～８ 周龄肉鸡采食量、增重、饲料转化率均显著下降（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０１） ,饮服复合抗应激剂显著改善增重和饲料转化率（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０１） , 采食量未见明显改变,饲料转化率达到常温水平。３２ ℃１６ 小时血浆皮质酮、Ｔ３ 显著下降（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０１） 、Ｔ４ 显著升高（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０１） ;３２ ℃１２０ 小时血浆皮质酮、Ｔ３ 升高并超出常温组（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０５） 、Ｔ４ 较１６ 小时下降但仍高出常温组（Ｐ＜ ０ ．０５） 。饮服复合抗应激剂时血浆皮质酮、Ｔ３ 、Ｔ４ 显现相同变化规律,但这种变化得到显著缓解     

Cell-free extract from porcine induced pluripotent stem cells can affect porcine somatic cell nuclear reprogramming

Pretreatment of somatic cells with undifferentiated cell extracts, such as embryonic stem cells and mammalian oocytes, is an attractive alternative method for reprogramming control. The properties of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are similar to those of embryonic stem cells; however, no studies have reported somatic cell nuclear reprogramming using iPSC extracts. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of porcine iPSC extracts treatment on porcine ear fibroblasts and early development of porcine cloned embryos produced from porcine ear skin fibroblasts pretreated with the porcine iPSC extracts. The Chariot^TM reagent system was used to deliver the iPSC extracts into cultured porcine ear skin fibroblasts. The iPSC extracts-treated cells (iPSC-treated cells) were cultured for 3 days and used for analyzing histone modification and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Compared to the results for nontreated cells, the trimethylation status of histone H3 lysine residue 9 (H3K9) in the iPSC-treated cells significantly decreased. The expression of Jmjd2b, the H3K9 trimethylation-specific demethylase gene, significantly increased in the iPSC-treated cells; conversely, the expression of the proapoptotic genes, Bax and p53, significantly decreased. When the iPSC-treated cells were transferred into enucleated porcine oocytes, no differences were observed in blastocyst development and total cell number in blastocysts compared with the results for control cells. However, H3K9 trimethylation of pronuclear-stage-cloned embryos significantly decreased in the iPSC-treated cells. Additionally, Bax and p53 gene expression in the blastocysts was significantly lower in iPSC-treated cells than in control cells. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that an extracts of porcine iPSCs can affect histone modification and gene expression in porcine ear skin fibroblasts and cloned embryos.     

MAP3K5基因在畜禽剩余采食量表型调控中的研究进展

随着分子遗传学的发展,已经鉴定出了影响剩余采食量(RFI)的大量数量性状位点和候选基因。有丝分裂原活化蛋白3激酶5(MAP3K5),也称凋亡信号调节激酶1(ASK1),属于MAPK超家族基因之一。目前,已有细胞外信号调节蛋白激酶(ERK)、c-Jun N-末端激酶(JNK)和p38丝裂原激活蛋白激酶(p38-MAPK)这3个MAPK家族成员在哺乳动物细胞中被克隆和鉴定,其主要作用机制是介导3条MAPKs信号通路,从而影响家畜的生长、体型及产奶性状等。课题组在前期对RFI的研究中筛选出与牛剩余采食量相关的MAP3K5基因,但其功能作用尚不明确,笔者在此基础上回顾了该基因的结构、生物学功能,概述了该基因在主要畜禽采食量变异及人类肥胖表型中的功能及作用,并从遗传学的角度重点分析了MAP3K5基因在畜禽RFI表型调控中的可能机制。通过对MAP3K5基因在畜禽RFI表型调控中的研究进展进行综述,期望为后期深入开展MAP3K5基因在畜禽采食量性状调控中的分子机制研究提供思路;对于其他可能通过MAP3K5基因影响畜禽表型的因素(如肠道菌群)有待进一步探讨。     

Effects of Wnt10b on dermal papilla cells via the canonical Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway in the Angora rabbit

Wnt10b is a member of Wnt family that plays a variety of roles in biological functions, including those in the development of hair follicles. To investigate the effect of Wnt10b on hair growth in the Angora rabbit and to determine the underlying molecular mechanism, we cultured dermal papilla (DP) cells with exogenous Wnt10b in vitro. We observed the expressions of downstream critical gene β‐catenin and lymphoid enhancer‐binding factor 1 (LEF1) in Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. The levels of β‐catenin mRNA and protein were higher in the Wnt10b group of DP cells than in the Control group, and the mRNA level of LEF1 in the Wnt10b group was higher than in the Control group. Moreover, translocation of β‐catenin from cytoplasm to nucleus was activated in the Wnt10b group. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of the hair follicle‐regulatory genes, insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the protein activity of ALP was also upregulated in the Wnt10b group compared to their corresponding levels in the Control group. These data suggest that Wnt10b could activate the canonical Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway to induce DP cells in the Angora rabbit. In addition, the proliferation of DP cells was significantly promoted when cultured with Wnt10b for 48 and 72 hr, suggesting that Wnt10b plays a pivotal role in the proliferation and maintenance of DP cells in vitro. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Wnt10b may promote hair follicle growth in Angora rabbit through the canonical Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway that promotes the proliferation of DP cells.     

Plant Species Composition and Forage Production 14 Yr After Biosolids Application and Grazing Exclusion

This paper examines the effects of a single surface application of biosolids (at 20 dry Mg ha^{? 1}) on plant species composition, forage quality and quantity, and C stocks after 14 yr of rest in rangelands of the Central Interior of British Columbia. More than two times the aboveground biomass of grasses and the percent cover of plant litter were found in the biosolids treatment relative to the control, along with reductions in bare soil and microbiotic crust cover. Significantly greater plant uptake of all macronutrients (C, N, P, K, S, Ca, and Mg); most micronutrients (B, Cu, Mn, Mo, and Zn); and Al occurred in the biosolids treatment. P and Cu were the only two nutrients to be more concentrated in the biosolids-treated forage relative to the control forage, while N, Mg, and protein were more concentrated in the control forage. No significant difference in forage digestibility was found between biosolids and control treatments. Bluebunch wheatgrass, the late-seral native grass species, had significantly increased cover and aboveground biomass in the biosolids treatment relative to the control; however, between 2006 and 2016, non-native Kentucky bluegrass had reached > 25% cover in the biosolids plots, perhaps restricting the full recovery of bluebunch wheatgrass. Our findings indicate that biosolids application to ungrazed rangeland can increase long-term forage production and reduce bare soil. However, at our study site biosolids application also led to a long-term shift in the plant community composition away from the late-seral (i.e., bluebunch wheatgrass) trajectory, and the effects of this shift on rangeland health and productivity require further investigation.