Effects of dietary supplementation of nucleotides from late gestation to lactation on the performance and oxidative stress status of sows and their offspring

Increased metabolic burdens in breeding sows, which are induced by elevated systemic oxidative stress, could increase the need for nucleotides to repair lymphocyte DNA damage; however, de novo synthesis of nucleotides may be insufficient to cover this increased need. This study investigated the effects of dietary nucleotides on milk composition, oxidative stress status, and the reproductive and lactational performance of sows. Forty multiparous sows were assigned to 2 dietary treatments (Control group, and 1 g/kg Nucleotides group) based on a randomized complete block design using their BW at 85 d of gestation as a block. Sows from 2 groups were fed a restricted diet during gestation and ad libitum during lactation. The experiment lasted from 85 d of gestation to 21 d of lactation. The reproductive performance of sows and the growth performance of suckling piglets were measured. Oxidative stress parameters and milk components were also analysed. Data were analyzed using contrasts in the MIXED procedure of SAS. Sows in the Nucleotides group consumed more feed during the first week (P < 0.01) and from 1 to 21 d (P < 0.05) of lactation than those in Control group. Correspondingly, the litter weight gain of piglets showed a tendency to increase from cross-fostering to 9 d (P = 0.09) and from cross-fostering to 20 d (P = 0.10) in the Nucleotides group relative to the Control group. Additionally, the Nucleotides group was higher (P < 0.01) than the Control group in the concentrations of uridine 5''monophosphate, guanosine 5''monophosphate, inosine 5''monophosphate, adenosine 5''monophosphate and total nucleotides in milk. Furthermore, the Nucleotides group was higher (P < 0.01) than the Control group in the serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (P < 0.01) for sows at 109 d of gestation and glutathione peroxidase for weaning piglets, but lower at the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (P < 0.05) in serum of weaning piglets. This study indicated that maternal dietary nucleotides could promote piglet growth, probably due to the higher lactational feed intake and higher concentration of nucleotides in the milk of sows, and lower oxidative stress for both sows and piglets.     

Starch digestion rates in multiple samples of commonly used feed grains in diets for broiler chickens

In this study the starch digestion rates in broiler chickens from 18 samples of 5 commonly used feed grains (sorghum, wheat, maize, barley, triticale) were determined. The methodology to determine starch digestion rates in poultry is detailed herein. Starch digestion rates were not significantly different (P = 0.128) across the 18 feed grains, which reflects the wide variations that were observed within a given feedstuff. Nevertheless, starch digestion rates in broiler chickens offered wheat-based diets were significantly more rapid by 56.0% (0.117 versus 0.075 min⁻¹; P = 0.012) than their sorghum-based counterparts on the basis of a pair-wise comparison. In descending order, the following starch digestion rates were observed: wheat (0.117 min⁻¹), barley (0.104 min⁻¹), triticale (0.093 min⁻¹), maize (0.086 min⁻¹), sorghum (0.075 min⁻¹). The implications of these findings are discussed as they almost certainly have implications for poultry nutrition and the development of reduced crude protein diets for broiler chickens.     

Deoxynivalenol in chicken feed alters the vaccinal immune response and clinical biochemical serum parameters but not the intestinal and carcass characteristics

This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of deoxynivalenol (DON) feeding either alone or in combination with a microbial feed additive (MFA) on the immune response to a viral vaccine and serum clinical chemical parameters. Forty 1‐day‐old boiler chicks were weighed and randomly divided into four groups, 10 birds in each group: (i) control group fed with basal diet; (ii) DON group fed with basal diet artificially contaminated with 10 mg DON/kg feed; (iii) DON + MFA group fed with basal diet contaminated with 10 mg DON/kg feed and supplemented with 2.5 kg of MFA/ton feed; and (iv) MFA group fed with basal diet supplemented with 2.5 kg of MFA/ton feed. At 35 days of age, birds were slaughtered and blood was collected for investigating the antibody titre against infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and clinical chemical parameters. The results showed that DON reduced (p = 0.032) the titre against IBV, decreased (p = 0.005) the level of alanine transaminase (ALT) (4.2 ± 0.5 U/l) compared with control birds (6.4 ± 0.5 U/l), increased (p = 0.002) the serum cholesterol concentration (144 ± 6 mg/dl) compared with their control counterparts (123 ± 5 mg/dl) and increased (p = 0.074) the amount of circulating triglycerides (62.25 ± 7.50 mg/dl) compared with controls (39.55 ± 4.74). These results indicate that dietary DON altered the humoral immune response to viral vaccine and affected the serum clinical biochemistry. However, DON in combination with MFA did not affect serum IBV titre. Taken together, DON in the feed of broilers produced an impairment of the success of IBV vaccine and affected the health of birds.     

电磁振动排种器的试验研究

对排种盘上的种子进行了运动分析,论述了电磁振动排种器的工作原理。通过试验,找出了振动式排种器各运动参数对排种器排种量的影响规律。对不同形状的中、小粒种子进行了条播和精播台架试验,并对水稻、小麦种子进行了田间试验,结果表明:该排种器适用于各种形状复杂的中、小粒种子,播种精度高,不损伤种子。     

Estimation of genetic variance components and heritabilities for cut-flower yield in gerbera using least squares and maximum likelihood methods

Summary Genetic variance components and heritability were estimated for cut-flower yield of gerbera in the Davis population using ordinary least squares and maximum likelihood methods. The overall estimate of narrow-sense heritability is 0.33 based on least squares (LS) and 0.31 based on maximum likelihood (ML). The results of the study indicate that (1) ML and LS provide very similar results if sample size is large enough, suggesting both are useful for plant breeding programs; (2) about one third of the variation in gerbera cut-flower yield is additive, implying selection in cut-flower will be successful; and (3) although additive variation gradually decreased, heritability remained near 0.27 suggesting there is still potential variation in the population for further selection.     

自走式棉秆联合收获机设计与试验

阐述了自走式棉秆联合收获机的基本结构及工作原理,对总体结构、底盘配置及喂入切碎机构进行了设计和参数计算,采用纵向对称配置、简化喂入机构、交错对称布置切碎滚筒动刀等方法,实现了棉秆收割、切碎、集箱、自卸的一体化.试验结果表明作业流程安排合理,适用性较好,是棉秆资源规模化工业利用的适用设备.     

添加剂湍流减阻流动的传热特性数值计算

采用雷诺应力模型和Cross粘度方程,对二维轴对称圆管内湍流流动的聚丙烯酰胺稀溶液（PAM）的流场和温度场进行了数值模拟.在数值计算结果的基础上,系统研究了流速对减阻流体的减阻性能和传热特性的影响.结果表明,减阻流体的减阻率和传热降低率随流速的增大逐渐增大到渐进值,而且传热降低率恒大于减阻率.减阻流体柯尔本（Colburn）因子与摩擦系数的对比结果表明柯尔本比拟,特别是在较低流动雷诺数下有较大偏差.     

奶牛抗热应激中草药添加剂对小鼠热耐力的影响

试验研究奶牛抗热应激中草药添加剂对热应激小鼠机体耐力的影响。试验分A、B、C、D4个处理,每个处理20只小鼠,分别喂以不同添加剂浓度的饲料21d[A组:0.5g/(10g体重)、B组:0.25g/(10g体重)、C组:0.13g/(10g体重)、D组0g/(10g体重)],每日光暗节律各12h,自由摄食与饮水。试验结果表明,A、B组体重增加显著高于C、D组(P<0.01),A、B、C组小鼠死亡数显著少于D组(P<0.05),受热90min后,A、B、C组小鼠肛温比D组分别低0.3℃、0.3℃、0.5℃(P<0.05),说明该添加剂具有一定的提高小鼠热耐力作用。     

Selection of soybean elite cultivars based on phenotypic and genomic characters related to lodging tolerance

Soybean lodging can result in serious yield reduction. Detecting the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with lodging tolerance for their further application in marker‐assisted selection (MAS) has the potential to enhance soybean breeding efficiency. In this study, a genome‐wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed to identify soybean accessions that could potentially be used to produce lodging‐tolerant varieties, based on the comprehensive evaluation of lodging scores (LS) obtained for the parental cultivar “Tokachi nagaha” and its 137 derived cultivars. Results showed that genotype, environment and genotype × environment interaction significantly influenced LS. Of the 31 significant SNPs identified, 22 were consistently detected in two or more environments and 27 SNPs were located in or close to agronomically important QTL mapped by linkage analysis. Best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) of LS tend to decrease with the elite alleles contained by accessions increasing. Some excellent accessions, with lower BLUPs and D_i (stability coefficients) values and more elite alleles, were selected. This study contributed to understand the genetic mechanism of lodging, providing genetic and phenotypic information for MAS.     

添加剂对番茄茎秆好氧堆肥发酵过程及氮素损失的影响

为研究减少在番茄茎秆好氧堆肥过程中氮素损失的途径,提高堆肥品质,以粉碎的番茄茎秆为原料,按物料干重分别加入5%的腐殖酸(T1)、氯化钙(T2)和过磷酸钙(T3),同时以不进行任何添加的堆体作为对照(CK),进行45 d的好氧堆肥试验。结果表明：3种添加剂均可降低堆肥过程中的氮素损失,同时减少了NH₃的挥发量;堆肥结束时,CK、T1、T2和T3处理的氮素损失率分别为18.04%、15.00%、12.65%和14.05%,累计NH₃挥发量为CK(1 648.11 mg/kg)>T1(1 330.35 mg/kg)>T3(995.35 mg/kg)>T2(528.11 mg/kg)。其中,添加氯化钙的处理保氮效果最好,与对照相比,氮素损失率低至12.65%,NH₃挥发量减少67.96%;各处理高温期均≥3 d,发芽指数≥80%,表明堆体已经腐熟,无植物毒性。综上,番茄茎秆好氧堆肥中添加氯化钙,对于减少堆肥过程中的氮素损失较为理想。本研究可为番茄茎秆好氧堆肥保氮工艺优化提供理论依据。