A COMPARISON OF TOOLS FOR PRUNING PINUS PINASTER

Dielectric heating by radio-frequency power has been established in various countries as a practical means for the rapid gluing of wood with thermosetting adhesives. The high-frequency drying of wood and wooden products as an economical substitute for conventional drying methods is being investigated extensively.

Especially in South Africa, it seems the appropriate time to consider this process again. This article is the first in a series and reviews the general principles. Further papers will present values of dielectric properties of South African pines and deal with the possibilities of drying wood by this process.     

Review of human-animal interactions and their impact on animal productivity and welfare

Humans and animals are in regular and at times close contact in modern intensive farming systems. The quality of human-animal interactions can have a profound impact on the productivity and welfare of farm animals. Interactions by humans may be neutral, positive or negative in nature. Regular pleasant contact with humans may result in desirable alterations in the physiology, behaviour, health and productivity of farm animals. On the contrary, animals that were subjected to aversive human contact were highly fearful of humans and their growth and reproductive performance could be compromised. Farm animals are particularly sensitive to human stimulation that occurs early in life, while many systems of the animals are still developing. This may have long-lasting impact and could possibly modify their genetic potential. The question as to how human contact can have a positive impact on responses to stressors, and productivity is not well understood. Recent work in our laboratory suggested that pleasant human contact may alter ability to tolerate various stressors through enhanced heat shock protein (hsp) 70 expression. The induction of hsp is often associated with increased tolerance to environmental stressors and disease resistance in animals. The attitude and consequent behaviour of stockpeople affect the animals’ fear of human which eventually influence animals’ productivity and welfare. Other than attitude and behaviour, technical skills, knowledge, job motivation, commitment and job satisfaction are prerequisites for high job performance.     

青海省海西州中东部冰雹天气时空分布特征及短临预报指标

[目的]研究海西州中东部冰雹天气时空分布特征和短临预报指标。[方法]利用1960～2010年海西中东部6个气象站的冰雹资料,分析冰雹天气的时空分布特征;基于2006～2010年30次冰雹个例的高空实况资料,利用统计学和天气学方法,分析该区冰雹天气的高空天气形势、地面天气形势和物理量场特征,归纳出冰雹天气形成的短期环流形势和短临预报特征。[结果]海西中东部冰雹天气出现在4～9月,5～8月最多,主要集中在14:00～20:00。天峻地区降雹次数最多,乌兰最少。冰雹灾害主要发生在乌兰和天峻地区。冰雹天气的500 hPa环流形势有3个类型,其中西北气流冷温槽型最多,新疆东移小槽型次之,蒙古低槽型最少。冰雹一般发生在西北气流下,且短波槽、冷中心或冷温槽、急流核三者必居其一。冰雹多产生于高层辐散、低层辐合相配置的形势下,低层充沛的水汽和水汽通量的辐合是形成冰雹的重要条件。[结论]该研究为冰雹天气预报准确率的提高提供了一定参考。     

农村建设用地复垦适宜性评价研究——以重庆市丰都县某镇为例

以重庆市丰都县某镇为例,分析了农村建设用地现状及存在的问题,指出对农村建设用地土地复垦的适宜性进行评价的必要性。通过建立农村建设用地复垦适宜性评价指标体系,采取综合分析和主导因子(主导限制因子)相结合的方法,对该镇农村建设用地复垦的适宜性进行评价,结果显示,该镇农村建设用地适宜复垦为耕地,通过建设用地复垦复垦可有效缓解耕地资源日益减少与城镇建设用地增加之间的矛盾。     

不同浓度“生命素”对碧玉兰生长发育的影响

为探索研究喷施不同浓度的“生命素”对碧玉兰生长发育的影响,找出最有利于碧玉兰生长发育的“生命素”浓度,以碧玉兰为研究对象,研究了“生命素”在稀释400倍、600倍、800倍三种浓度叶面肥的施用条件下,利用Li-6400光合作用测定仪测定了碧玉兰的光合特征指标,包括净光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度、胞间二氧化碳浓度,并测定了它们的生理指标包括叶片中的N、P、K含量。结果表明:在400~800倍浓度叶面肥喷施条件下,碧玉兰光合特征指标差异显著,其中喷施600倍浓度“生命素”的碧玉兰光合特征指标相对较高,对N、P、K等营养元素吸收也相对较好,效果最为显著。     

A description and evaluation of the physical and financial characteristics of dairy farms operating on soil types classified as poorly drained and associated with high rainfall

The physical and financial performance data used for analysis were obtained over a 6‐year period (2010–2015), from two different databases including a nationally representative data set of dairy farmers and a detailed data set of seven individual farms. Initial analysis indicated significant variations across soil type and region, across a wide range of physical and financial parameters. Further detailed analysis was completed using a group of seven farms participating in a Heavy Soils Programme (HSP), which were compared to different cohorts of the nationally representative database (National Farm Survey [NFS]), ranked on net profit per ha. The HSP farms utilized larger quantities of grass DM per ha per year than the median of the NFS farms, at similar grazing season lengths, but were using lower levels of purchased feed. Economic analysis indicated the HSP farmers achieved significantly lower net profits per hectare to the NFS median group but significantly higher net profits per kg of fat and protein. The HSP farms also achieved significantly greater overall net farm income per year (€83,788), when compared to the median nationally (€67,898), over the 6‐year period (excluding owned land and labour). The mean return on assets ascertained by the HSP farmers was also significantly greater, at 5.75% per year compared to 3.49% achieved by the median of NFS farms. In conclusion, this study has indicated that efficient dairy businesses operating on poorly drained soils can be as profitable as those across all ranges of soil types.     

玉米转录因子Zmhdz6的表达模式分析及互作功能蛋白预测

利用RT-PCR方法从玉米基因组中克隆到GRMZM2G056600(Zmhdz6)转录因子的cDNA序列长786 bp,编码261个氨基酸,分子质量为28.46 kD。二级结构显示,编码的蛋白主要以α-螺旋和不规则卷曲为主。亚细胞定位预测显示,Zmhdz6蛋白定位于细胞核。进化树和motifs分析发现,Zmhdz6基因属于HD-Zip-I家族成员且与高粱同源达到99%,单子叶植物亚群含有7个重要的motifs。Zmhdz6蛋白互作预测,发现互作的基因主要参与逆境胁迫、信号传导和植物生长发育过程。荧光定量结果显示,Zmhdz6基因在雌穗和雄穗中高度表达,NaCl、PEG胁迫和外源ABA诱导时均上调表达。结果说明Zmhdz6基因可能参与玉米逆境胁迫的应答和信号传导路径。     

硒处理对薄壳山核桃幼苗生长的影响

为探究硒对薄壳山核桃幼苗生长的影响,利用不同浓度亚硒酸钠[0(CK)、0.5、5、10、20、40、80 μmol·L^-1]对薄壳山核桃幼苗进行处理,并测定相关生理指标。结果表明,低浓度硒对薄壳山核桃幼苗生长发育、生物量积累、酶活性均有促进作用,而高浓度硒抑制了幼苗生长、干物质的积累、酶活性、光合速率,且硒浓度越高,抑制作用越明显。80 μmol·L^-1 硒浓度处理后的根长较CK显著降低了55.36%(P<0.05),其他形态指标均无显著差异。硒处理显著提高了幼苗体内的硒含量,且根系>叶片。随着硒浓度的增加,叶、根内的硒含量呈先升高后降低的趋势,硒浓度≥0.5 μmol·L^-1时,其他处理均与CK存在显著差异。40 μmol·L^-1硒浓度处理下叶中的硒含量较CK显著增加了1 682倍,根中的硒含量提高了482倍。低硒浓度(≤10 μmol·L^-1)处理可以促进根中Mn²⁺、Mg²⁺含量和叶中的Zn²⁺含量的积累。当硒浓度≥5 μmol·L^-1时,会促进根中Zn²⁺含量的积累,硒浓度≥10 μmol·L^-1,促进茎中Mn²⁺含量的积累,其中在80 μmol·L^-1硒浓度处理下茎中Mn²⁺含量为CK的9.29倍。过氧化物酶(POD)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性随着硒浓度增加均呈先增后减的趋势,且在0.5 μmol·L^-1硒浓度处理下达到最高,明显高于CK,分别为1 698.63、1 912.28 U·mg prot^-1。综上,低浓度硒处理和施硒时间长短对幼苗光合作用影响不大,而高浓度硒处理会抑制光合作用。本研究结果为进一步揭示硒富集机理和硒的科学使用提供了理论依据。     

不同光照条件对铁力木幼苗生长特性的影响

采用1年生铁力木苗木为试验材料,应用4种光照条件(CK、T_1、T_2、T_3,透光率分别为100%、45.7%、13.9%、6.3%)进行盆栽试验,探索铁力木幼苗对光照强度的适应性,以确定铁力木幼苗的最佳光照环境。结果表明,在T_1条件下,苗木苗高、高径比为最高,在低遮荫条件下促进苗木生物量积累,在T_3条件下苗木生长受到了抑制。因此,得出铁力木苗木在T_1条件(透光率45.7%)下最有利于铁力木苗木的生长。