机械运输对伊朗北部山林陡峭集材道土壤的干扰

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of skid trail slope and traffic levels on soil disturbances at two soil depths (0–10 and 10–20 cm). The treatments were set at four traffic levels (2, 7, 12 and 20), two slope classes (<20% and >20%) and two soil depths (0–10 and 10–20 cm). Results show that skidder traffic, longitudinal slope and soil depth have significant effect on soil bulk density in skid trail. Comparison of average soil bulk density in different traffic levels shows that there are significant differences in average bulk density between different traffic levels and control (p<0.05). The average bulk densities in different slopes and soil depths are significantly increased with increase in traffic levels, maximized at 12 passes (p<0.05), but there are no significant differences between 12 and 20 passes. The interaction effects between traffic and soil depth are significant (F _0.05,3=0.109, p<0.001). For all traffic treatments, there are significant differences in soil moisture content between the two slope classes and the two depths (p<0.001). However, the interaction effects between traffic levels and slope classes are not significant (p >0.05), although skidder traffic and slope affected soil moisture content.     

The effect of melanocortin (Mc3 and Mc4) antagonists on serotonin-induced food and water intake of broiler cockerels

The current study was designed to examine the effects of intracerebroventricular injections of SHU9119 [a nonselective melanocortin receptor (McR) antagonist] and MCL0020 (a selective McR antagonist) on the serotonin-induced eating and drinking responses of broiler cockerels deprived of food for 24 h (FD24). For Experiment 1, the chickens were intracerebroventricularly injected with 2.5, 5, and 10 µg serotonin. In Experiment 2, the chickens received 2 nmol SHU9119 before being injected with 10 µg serotonin. For Experiment 3, the chickens were given 10 µg serotonin after receiving 2 nmol MCL0020, and the level of food and water intake was determined 3 h post-injection. Results of this study showed that serotonin decreased food intake but increased water intake among the FD24 broiler cockerels and that these effects occurred in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of serotonin on food intake was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with SHU9119 and MCL0020. However, the stimulatory effect of serotonin on water intake was not altered by this pretreatment. These results suggest that serotonin hypophagia and hyperdipsia were mediated by different mechanisms in the central nervous system, and that serotonin required downstream activation of McRs to promote hypophagia but not hyperdipsia in the FD24 chickens.     

Collaborative development of the Arrowsmith two node search interface designed for laboratory investigators

Arrowsmith is a unique computer-assisted strategy designed to assist investigators in detecting biologically-relevant connections between two disparate sets of articles in Medline. This paper describes how an inter-institutional consortium of neuroscientists used the UIC Arrowsmith web interface http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu in their daily work and guided the development, refinement and expansion of the system into a suite of tools intended for use by the wider scientific community.     

The drug transporter MgMfs1 can modulate sensitivity of field strains of the fungal wheat pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola to the strobilurin fungicide trifloxystrobin

BACKGROUND: The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) drug transporter MgMfs1 of the wheat pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola (Fuckel) J Schroeter is a potent multidrug transporter with high capacity to transport strobilurin fungicides in vitro. The data presented in this paper indicate that, in addition to the predominant cause of strobilurin resistance, cytochrome b G143A subsititution, MgMfs1 can play a role in sensitivity of field strains of this pathogen to trifloxystrobin. RESULTS: In a major part of field strains of M. graminicola (collected in the Netherlands in 2004) containing the cytochrome b G143A substitution, the basal level of expression of MgMfs1 was elevated as compared with sensitive strains lacking the G143A substitution. Induction of MgMfs1 expression in wild-type isolates upon treatment with trifloxystrobin at sublethal concentrations proceeded rapidly. Furthermore, in disease control experiments on wheat seedlings, disruption mutants of MgMfs1 displayed an increased sensitivity to trifloxystrobin. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the drug transporter MgMfs1 is a determinant of strobilurin sensitivity of field strains of M. graminicola.     

Digestion of rice straw and oil palm fronds by microflora from rumen and termite bacteria, in vitro

The digestion and Volatile Fatty Acid (VFA) production from rice straw and oil palm fronds by cellulolytic bacteria isolated from the termite Coptotermes curvignathus were investigated. The bacteria were Acinetobacter strain Raminalimon, Enterobacter aerogenes strain Razmin C, Enterobacter cloacae strain Razmin B, Bacillus cereus strain Razmin A and Chryseobacterium kwangyangense strain Cb. Acinetobacter strain Raminalimon is an aerobic bacterium, while the other species are facultative anaerobes. There were significant differences (p<0.05) among the bacteria for Dry Matter (DM) lost and acetic acid production from rice straw and Acinetobacter strain Raminalimon showed the highest activity. The facultative bacteria C. kwangyangense strain Cb (cfu mL(-1) 231 x 10(-6), OD: 0.5), E. cloacae (cfu mL(-1) 68 x 10(-7), OD: 0.5) and E. aerogenes (cfu mL(-1) 33 x 10(-7), OD: 0.5) were used for digestion study with the rumen fluid microflora. The in vitro gas production technique was applied for the comparative study and the parameters measured were pH, gas (volume), dry matter lost, acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid concentrations. pH was not significantly (p<0.05) different among the five treatments. The bacterium C. kwangyangense strain Cb showed the highest activity (p<0.05) for DM lost, acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid production from rice straw when compared to the other bacterial activities. There was no significance (p<0.05) difference between the three bacteria for the dry matter lost of oil palm fronds but the production of Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) was significantly (p<0.05) high in the treatment which was inoculated with C. kwangyangense strain Cb. The Gen Bank NCBI/EMBL accession numbers for the bacterial strains are EU332791, EU305608, EU305609, EU294508 and EU169201.     

A survey on hydatidosis in livestock in Northern Iran based on data collected from slaughterhouses from 2004 to 2008

Data have been collected from slaughterhouses in three provinces across the Northern Iran (Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan) from March 2004 to March 2008. These data were collected to evaluate the prevalence of hydatidosis in slaughtered cattle, sheep and goats. During the study, 3,347,797 animals were slaughtered. These included 621,686 cattle, 1,719,725 sheep and 1,006,386 goats. The prevalence of infection in cattle, sheep and goats was 12%, 14.6% and 10.1%, respectively. The association of condemnation rates with seasons was not proven statistically.     

Phytoremediation of Mixed Soil Contaminants

Tests were conducted to study the influence of non-ionic surfactants Triton X-100 and Tween 80 on the removal of mixed contaminants from a sandy soil using phytoremediation. Cd(II) and Pb(II) were used to form the inorganic contaminant, while used engine oil was selected to form the organic contaminant. The Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) plant was the plant chosen for phytoremediation of the sandy soil that contained the mixed contaminant. Thirty days after the plants were grown in the greenhouse, surfactants were applied to test pots in which the soil had been spiked with 50 mg kg⁻¹ of CdCl₂, 500 mg kg⁻¹ of PbCl₂ and 500 mg kg⁻¹ of used engine oil. Two control tests were conducted in this study. Planted and unplanted control tests were conducted using soil without surfactants. Following these tests, the tests were completed using the plants and surfactants at different concentrations. Test results showed that Triton X-100 and Tween 80 at concentrations higher than their critical micellar concentration enhanced Cd(II) and Pb(II) accumulation in the plant roots. Further, test data showed that translocation of contaminants to plant shoots occurred for Cd(II) but not for Pb(II). At the same concentrations, Tween 80 was more effective than Triton X-100 in facilitating rhizodegradation of used engine oil. This study demonstrates that simultaneous phytoremediation of Pb(II), Cd(II) and oil can be enhanced by using non-ionic surfactant Tween 80. Leaching test results indicated that the enhanced phytoremediation could remove the mixed contaminants safely from the point of view of limiting groundwater contamination.     

Grain filling and yield of mung bean affected by salicylic acid and silicon under salt stress

Two experiments were carried out in 2013 and 2014, to investigate changes in grain filling rate (GFR), grain filling duration (GFD) and yield of mung bean in response to salicylic acid (SA) and silicon (Si) under salt stress (0, 3, 6 and 9 dS m^?1). In experiment 1, four levels of SA (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM), but in experiment 2, two levels of SA (0 and 1 mM) and Si (0 and 2 mM) were applied. In experiment 1, GFR, GFD, yield components, biological and grain yields and harvest index were decreased with increasing salt stress. Application of different levels of SA, especially 1 mM, increased GFR, but decreased GFD. In experiment 2, GFD under salinity was shorter than that under non-saline condition, resulting in comparatively smaller grains. Application of Si and particularly SA accelerated grain development under all salinity treatments. The superiority of SA treated plants in GFR, grain weight and grains per plant resulted in greater grain yield per plant under saline and non-saline conditions.