Goat horns: Platforms for viroid transmission to fruit trees?

Mechanical inoculations with contaminating tools and propagation of infected budwood were considered the main causes for the omnipresence of multiple viroid species among citrus and other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fruit trees and grapevines. However, neither means could explain viroid infections of wild trees — scattered on terrains inaccessible to humans — nor the finding of similar viroids among graft-incompatible plants. Northern hybridization of RNA extracts made of scrapings from the surfaces of goat (Capra hircus) horns that were rubbed against etrog (Citrus medica) stems infected with a citrus viroids complex, revealed accumulation of considerable amounts ofCitrus exocortis viroids (CEVd) andHop stunt viroids (HSVd). Experimental transmission of both CEVd and HSVd was obtained by rubbing healthy citrus plants with goat horns that had been rubbed 24 h earlier on infected etrog stems. These results implicate goats as possible vectors of viroids. Transmissionvia goats could have facilitated the long-range spread of viroids among cultivated and wild plants andvice versa and also among graft-incompatible plants.     

Influence of temperature,humidity duration and growth stage on the infection and mycotoxin production by Fusarium langsethiae and Fusarium poae in oats

High occurrence of Fusarium poae (FP) and Fusarium langsethiae (FL) and their mycotoxins nivalenol (NIV) and T-2/HT-2 have been observed in Swiss oats. Early prediction of mycotoxin levels is important for farmers and the cereal industry to minimize the risk of contaminated food and feed. Therefore, climate chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of different temperatures (10, 15, 20 °C) and durations (4, 8, 12 h) at 99% relative humidity (RH) on the infection of oats with FP and FL. In addition, to discover the most susceptible period of oats, artificial FL inoculations were conducted at different growth stages. Field experiments were performed to observe the dispersal of these fungal species within the field and to investigate the weather conditions that influence the dispersal. The climate chamber experiments revealed higher contamination with NIV and T-2/HT-2 in the 10 °C treatments and with a prolonged humidity duration of 12 h 99% RH. Inoculations of oat plants at early (DC 61) and mid (DC 65) anthesis, led to higher FL infection and T-2/HT-2 accumulation in the grains compared with treatments at earlier growth stages, which might be due to an increased susceptibility during anthesis. No indication for spore dispersal was observed in the field experiments. The results obtained, together with the cropping factors that influence infection and mycotoxin production, could be used as a first step in developing forecasting models to predict the contamination of oats with the mycotoxins NIV and T-2/HT-2.     

梨果实石细胞团的发育,分布及其对果实品质的影响

１９９７年对梨果实石细胞团的发育和分布进行了观察分析,供试品种４３个。通过对苹果梨、南果梨、丰水梨,伏茄梨四个品种的石细胞团形成过程的观察,及４３个梨品种的成熟果实中石细胞团大小和分布的观察测定发现,梨果实石细胞团的形成从花后１５ｄ左右开始,花后２个月内基本结束,梨果实中石细胞团分布一般以近果皮处和近果心处密度高、直径大,中层果肉中石细胞团密度低,直径小,果实中石细胞团直径较大,密度高的品种肉质较     

牛体外受精胚胎衍生干细胞能力影响因素的研究

以牛卵巢卵母细胞体外受精获取囊胚期胚胎，比较体外受精牛胚胎不同获取内细胞团的方法和不同培养液对体外培养胚胎干细胞能力的影响。结果表明，囊胚期胚胎不除去透明带而直接培养产生胚胎干细胞，初次克隆率为55％；胰酶法去透明带分离的内细胞团（ICM）培养产生胚胎干细胞，初次克隆率为90％。免疫外科法去透明带分离的ICM在4种不同的培养液中，初次克隆率分别为16．4％、11．5％、21．8％、18．2％，但是其分离的ICM经传代后形成的衍生细胞不易发生分化，经过4～6代的传代，仍然保持其完整的形态，说明免疫外科法是一种理想的牛ICM分离法，培养液为D20＋LIF（40ng／mL）可用于牛胚胎干细胞培养。     

Comparison of different bronchial closure techniques following pneumonectomy in dogs

The comparison of the histologic healing and bronchopleural fistula (BPF) complications encountered with three different BS closure techniques (manual suture, stapler and manual suture plus tissue flab) after pneumonectomy in dogs was investigated for a one-month period. The dogs were separated into two groups: group I (GI) (n = 9) and group II (GII) (n = 9). Right and left pneumonectomies were performed on the animals in GI and GII, respectively. Each group was further divided into three subgroups according to BS closure technique: subgroup I (SGI) (n = 3), manual suture; subgroup II (SGII) (n = 3), stapler; and subgroup III (SGIII) (n = 3), manual suture plus tissue flab. The dogs were sacrificed after one month of observation, and the bronchial stumps were removed for histological examination. The complications observed during a one-month period following pneumonectomy in nine dogs (n = 9) were: BPF (n = 5), peri-operative cardiac arrest (n = 1), post-operative respiratory arrest (n = 1), post-operative cardiac failure (n = 1) and cardio-pulmonary failure (n = 1). Histological healing was classified as complete or incomplete healing. Histological healing and BPF complications in the subgroups were analyzed statistically. There was no significant difference in histological healing between SGI and SGIII (p = 1.00; p > 0.05), nor between SGII and SGIII (p = 1.00; p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant difference was observed between the subgroups in terms of BPF (p = 0.945; p > 0.05). The results of the statistical analysis indicated that manual suture, stapler or manual suture plus tissue flab could be alternative methods for BS closure following pneumonectomy in dogs.     

Performance of Legume Mixtures under Small-plot Periodic Grazing

The potential of pastures sown with species mixtures of tropical legume species compared with single species was investigated in subhumid west Africa, over a period of three grazing seasons. Through compensation and complementation of the individual legume species, the mixtures were seasonally and temporally (seasonal refers to different seasons in a year, temporal to different years) more stable than the single species stands. Crude protein contents of individual legumes in the mixtures were higher than of the same species grown in single stands, indicating possible synergistic effects in the mixtures. The ability of legume mixtures to withstand environmental and management variations and, thus, their subsequent potential for on-farm utilization under farmers' conditions are discussed.     

Study on Nutritional Characteristics of Cottonseed Hull as a Feed of Sheep

In this paper through digestive and metabolic experiments studied the voluntary intake and apparent digestibility of cottonseed hulls (kernel-contained CH,kernel-free CH) and cornstalk on sheep to evaluate the nutrition value and digestion characteristics of cottonseed hulls.12 of adult Xinjiang merino rams were selected and divided into two groups (n=6 each group),and on the basis of 300 g/(head·day) of mixed concentrate,fed with kernel-free CH by 400 (group 1) or 800 (group 2) g/(head·day) respectively,to estimate the digestibility of CH by difference method;As well,another 18 of adult Xinjiang merino rams were selected and divided into three groups (n=6 each group),and on the basis of 300 g/(head·day) of mixed concentrate,cafeteria feeding with kernel-contained CH (group 3),kernel-free CH (group 4) or ground cornstalks (group 5) respectively,to study the effects of three diets on the voluntary intake,digestion and metabolism of sheep.The results showed that the apparent digestibility of the DM,OM,CP,cellulose,hemicellulose and energy of kernel-free CH by sheep were 46.71%,47.37%,-53.40%,66.60%,62.48% and 42.59%,respectively.There were no significant differences in the intake of DM,OM,cellulose,hemicellulose,energy and Ca between kernel-contained CH and kernel-free CH groups (P> 0.05);Intake of CP and P in kernel-contained CH group were extremely significantly higher than that in kernel-free CH group (P< 0.01);Intake of lignin in kernel-contained CH group was extremely significantly lower than that in kernel-free CH group (P< 0.01).There were no significant differences in the apparent digestibility of DM,OM and energy between kernel-contained CH and kernel-free CH groups (P> 0.05).The apparent digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose in kernel-free CH group were significantly and extremely significantly higher than that in kernel-contained CH group (P< 0.05;P< 0.01),respectively.The apparent digestibility of CP in kernel-contained CH group was extremely significantly higher than that in kernel-free CH group (P< 0.01).The apparent digestibility of DM,OM,CP,cellulose and energy in ground cornstalks group were extremely significantly higher than that in kernel-contained CH and kernel-free CH groups (P< 0.01),however,the apparent digestibility of Ca and P were lower than that in kernel-contained CH and kernel-free CH groups (P> 0.05).Intake and retention of nitrogen in kernel-contained CH group were extremely significantly higher than that in kernel-free CH group (P< 0.01);The was no significant difference in the retention of nitrogen between kernel-free diet group and cornstalk diet group (P> 0.05).It was concluded that CH was a kind of special forage with larger intake,higher digestibility on the fiber substances and energy,but with a serious obstruction on protein digestion;The nutritional value between kernel-free diet and cornstalk diet was almost equal,and with lower nitrogen digestibility on kernel-free diet.