Can treatment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachiaria decumbens</Emphasis> (signal grass) improve its utilisation in the diet in small ruminants?—a review

Brachiaria decumbens is an extremely productive tropical grass due to its aggressive growth habit and its adaptation to a varied range of soil types and environments. As a result of the vast availability, treated B. decumbens demonstrates as a promising local material that could be utilised as an improved diet for sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the grass significantly increases weight gains in grazing farm animals, there were many reports of general ill-thrift and sporadic outbreaks of photosensitivity in livestock due to the toxic compound of steroidal saponin found in B. decumbens. Ensiling and haymaking were found to be effective in removing toxin and undesirable compounds in the grass. Biological treatments using urea, activated charcoal, polyethylene glycol, and effective microorganisms were found to be useful in anti-nutritional factor deactivation and improving the nutritive values of feedstuffs. Besides, oral administration of phenobarbitone showed some degree of protection in sheep that fed on B. decumbens pasture. In this review, we aim to determine the effect of B. decumbens toxicity and possible treatment methods on the grass to be used as an improved diet for small ruminant.     

Genomic characterization of the first oral avian papillomavirus in a colony of breeding canaries (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Serinus canaria</Emphasis>)

Papillomaviruses are non-enveloped, DNA viruses that infect skin and mucosa of a wide variety of vertebrates, causing neoplasias or simply persisting asymptomatically. Avian papillomaviruses, with six fully sequenced genomes, are the second most studied group after mammalian papillomaviruses. In this study, we describe the first oral avian papillomavirus, detected in the tongue of a dead Yorkshire canary (Serinus canaria) and in oral swabs of the same bird and other two live canaries from an aviary in Madrid, Spain. Its genome is 8,071 bp and presents the canonical papillomavirus architecture with six early (E6, E7, E1, E9, E2, E4) and two late open reading frames (L1 and L2) and a long control region between L1 and E6. This new avian papillomavirus L1 gene shares a 64% pairwise identity with FcPV1 L1, so it has been classified as a new species (ScPV1) within the Ethapapillomavirus genus. Although the canary died after showing breathing problems, there is no evidence that the papillomavirus caused those symptoms so it could be part of the oral microbiota of the birds. Hence, future investigations are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of the virus.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

温度和水分对赖草种子萌发的影响

利用聚乙二醇(PEG)试剂室内模拟不同干旱(0、-0.10、-0.20、-0.40、-0.80、-1.60 MPa)和温度(10、15、20、25、30℃)环境条件,对西藏班戈县野生型赖草(Leymus secalinus)种子萌发特性进行研究。结果表明,赖草种子在恒温10~30℃和变温10~30℃均能萌发.恒温25℃处理下,种子萌发达到了最佳响应;恒温15℃和变温20/30℃处理对赖草种子发芽率具有显著影响(P0.05),而恒温10和30℃对赖草种子发芽率具有极显著影响(P0.05);随着PEG渗透势的增加,赖草种子发芽率、发芽指数、活力指数和胚芽长均出现了不同程度的下降现象,而胚根则表现为先升后降的变化现象。25℃和蒸馏水处理下,野生赖草种子萌发效果最佳;而在25℃和-0.10~0 MPa渗透势处理下,赖草种子胚根优于胚芽生长。     

中早熟辣椒新品种‘农大7号’

‘农大7号’辣椒是以HP1016为母本,Y0931为父本杂交选育而成。植株长势强,平均株高78.7 cm,中早熟。果实羊角形,青熟果黄绿色,果面光滑,果肉厚,平均单果质量80 g,平均单株结果数26.8个。果实维生素C含量0.56 mg·g^-1,粗纤维含量1.15%。抗疫病、炭疽病等。适宜河南全省各地(含烟区)早春保护地种植。     

豆粕对乌鳢肠道菌群组成及微生物氨基酸代谢酶活性的影响

为研究豆粕替代鱼粉对乌鳢生长、肠道菌群组成和微生物相关氨基酸代谢酶活性的影响,分别用豆粕替代0、25%、50%和75%的鱼粉配制4组等氮等能的饲料饲喂初始体质量为(8.65±0.25) g的幼鱼(分别命名为G1、G2、G3和G4组),养殖实验在室内纤维玻璃钢桶中进行,实验周期为21 d。结果显示,各组间幼鱼成活率无显著性差异;G4组乌鳢幼鱼的生长性能显著低于G1和G2组,而G3组幼鱼生长性能与其余3组差异不显著。厚壁菌门在G1和G2组乌鳢肠道中的比例显著高于G3组,且在G4组中的比例最低;变形菌门在G1和G2组中的比例显著低于G3和G4组;G4组中乳球菌属、杆菌属、假单胞菌属、链球菌属、芽孢杆菌属和不动杆菌属的比例显著低于其余3组。另外,G4组幼鱼肠道微生物谷丙转氨酶、腺苷脱氨酶活性显著高于其余3组,而G1组乳酸脱氢酶的活性最高。研究表明,豆粕替代鱼粉除了对乌鳢幼鱼的生长产生影响外,也显著影响了肠道微生物组成及微生物相关氨基酸代谢酶的活性,本研究结果对于从微生态角度进一步理解豆粕在乌鳢配合饲料中的应用提供了理论依据和参考。     

四川省不同地理环境下辣椒果实辣椒碱及VC含量差异

为分析四川不同地理、气候条件下辣椒果实内辣椒碱及VC含量差异,在成都平原和川南攀西高原按照当地种植习惯栽种2个线椒品种和1个牛角椒品种,果实成熟后,测定了果实内辣椒素、二氢辣椒素及VC含量。试验结果表明,攀枝花和西昌地区栽种的辣椒辣度显著低于成都和遂宁产的辣椒,但其VC含量显著高于后者;3个辣椒品种辣椒碱和VC含量受环境因素影响。     

北京地区小麦禾谷孢囊线虫病发生动态调查

小麦禾谷孢囊线虫病是小麦生产上的重要病害.2010-2011年对北京地区小麦禾谷孢囊线虫的发生规律进行了定期定点调查.结果表明,禾谷孢囊线虫在北京地区全年只发生1代,夏季滞育,卵孵化高峰为4月初;2龄幼虫侵染高峰为4月上旬,3龄幼虫发育高峰为4月下旬至5月初,4龄幼虫发育高峰为5月上旬,白雌虫发育高峰为5月下旬至6月上旬,10月份播种后部分2龄幼虫就可以发生侵染并且冬前发育至3龄幼虫.本研究结果可为北京地区禾谷孢囊线虫的防治提供理论依据.     

Biological Control of Sclerotinia Diseases of Rapeseed by Aerial Applications of the Mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans

Indoor and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of applying the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans to the aerial parts of rapeseed plants at the flowering stage to control sclerotinia diseases caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Under controlled conditions, a petal inoculation technique was used to determine the effect of conidial suspensions of C. minitans on suppression of sclerotinia leaf blight. Results showed that C. minitans was effective in inhibiting infection initiated by ascospores of S. sclerotiorum on flower petals by restricting mycelial growth of the pathogen. Suppression of lesion development was related to the conidial concentration of C. minitans, with larger lesions at low concentration (5×10³conidia ml⁻¹), but smaller lesions at high concentration (5×10⁴ conidia ml⁻¹ or higher). When C. minitans-treated rapeseed leaves were inoculated with mycelia of S. sclerotiorum, C. minitans failed to prevent infection of leaves, but caused a significant reduction in number of sclerotia produced on the diseased leaves. No significant difference in efficacy was detected between the two isolates of C. minitans, LRC 2137 and Chy-1, on the two rapeseed cultivars, Westar (spring type) and Zhongyou 821 (winter type). Results of field trials showed a significant reduction of stem rot of rapeseed in four (1997, 1999, 2003 and 2004) out of five years by aerial application of C. minitans, compared with controls. No significant difference in suppressive efficacy was observed between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + benomyl (50 μg ml⁻¹) and benomyl (100 μg ml⁻¹) in 2003, and between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + vinclozolin (100 μg ml⁻¹) and vinclozolin (500 μg ml⁻¹) in 2004. Sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum collected from diseased plants in plots treated with C. minitans in 1999, 2000 and 2003, or with C. minitans + benomyl in 2003 were infected by C. minitans at frequencies ranging from 21.3 to 54.5%. This study concludes that aerial spraying of C. minitans is an effective method for controlling sclerotinia diseases of rapeseed.     

仿生人工木材的研究进展

天然木材是地球上丰富的自然资源,具有优异的力学特性与美学特征,也是一种独特的工程材料;同时,由木材衍生出来的一些多功能复合材料,也被广泛地应用于各个领域。但是,天然木材这种生物质资源也有很多缺陷,其形貌以及性质易受环境等外在因素的影响而发生改变,并且由于生长周期过长,木材的供给量不能满足日益增长的需求量。受天然木材独特的分级多孔结构和化学成分的启发,研究人员通过利用先进的仿生合成技术进行自组装实验设计,研制出具有与天然木材分级多孔结构相似、力学性能更好的仿生人工木材。相比于天然木材,仿生人工木材在力学性能、功能性、智能性、防腐蚀、防火方面上优势明显。笔者从设计原理、制备方法、功能化设计等方面阐述了仿生人工木材的研究进展,为发展具有天然木材独特各向异性结构的高性能仿生工程材料提供参考,同时也分析了仿生人工木材现阶段发展所面临的问题、挑战以及进一步发展方向。