Rickettsial Pathogen Perturbs Tick Circadian Gene to Infect the Vertebrate Host

Ixodes scapularis is a medically important tick that transmits several microbes to humans, including rickettsial pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In nature, these ticks encounter several abiotic factors including changes in temperature, humidity, and light. Many organisms use endogenously generated circadian pathways to encounter abiotic factors. In this study, we provide evidence for the first time to show that A. phagocytophilum modulates the arthropod circadian gene for its transmission to the vertebrate host. We noted a circadian oscillation in the expression of arthropod clock, bmal1, period and timeless genes when ticks or tick cells were exposed to alternate 12 h light: 12 h dark conditions. Moreover, A. phagocytophilum significantly modulates the oscillation pattern of expression of these genes. In addition, increased levels of clock and bmal1 and decreased expression of Toll and JAK/STAT pathway immune genes such as pelle and jak, respectively, were noted during A. phagocytophilum transmission from ticks to the vertebrate host. RNAi-mediated knockdown of clock gene expression in ticks resulted in the reduced expression of jak and pelle that increased bacterial transmission from ticks to the murine host. Furthermore, clock-deficient ticks fed late and had less engorgement weights. These results indicate an important role for circadian modulation of tick gene expression that is critical for arthropod blood feeding and transmission of pathogens from vector to the vertebrate host.     

节水灌溉条件下作物系数和土壤水分修正系数试验研究

考虑土壤水分调控所产生的作物生长滞后效应与补偿生长效应,对节水灌溉条件下作物蒸发蒸腾量ETc的理论计算模型进行了研究。根据灌溉试验资料,确定了冬小麦、夏玉米、棉花及水稻作物的作物系数Kc,得出节水灌溉条件下主要农作物土壤水分修正系数Ks的计算公式。覆膜旱作节水灌溉模式的水稻需水量计算实例结果显示,计算值与实测值较为吻合,模型具有较高的精度。     

Compendium on Food Crop Plants as a Platform for Pharmaceutical Protein Production

Tremendous advances in crop biotechnology related to the availability of molecular tools and methods developed for transformation and regeneration of specific plant species have been observed. As a consequence, the interest in plant molecular farming aimed at producing the desired therapeutic proteins has significantly increased. Since the middle of the 1980s, recombinant pharmaceuticals have transformed the treatment of many serious diseases and nowadays are used in all branches of medicine. The available systems of the synthesis include wild-type or modified mammalian cells, plants or plant cell cultures, insects, yeast, fungi, or bacteria. Undeniable benefits such as well-characterised breeding conditions, safety, and relatively low costs of production make plants an attractive yet competitive platform for biopharmaceutical production. Some of the vegetable plants that have edible tubers, fruits, leaves, or seeds may be desirable as inexpensive bioreactors because these organs can provide edible vaccines and thus omit the purification step of the final product. Some crucial facts in the development of plant-made pharmaceuticals are presented here in brief. Although crop systems do not require more strictly dedicated optimization of methodologies at any stages of the of biopharmaceutical production process, here we recall the complete framework of such a project, along with theoretical background. Thus, a brief review of the advantages and disadvantages of different systems, the principles for the selection of cis elements for the expression cassettes, and available methods of plant transformation, through to the protein recovery and purification stage, are all presented here. We also outline the achievements in the production of biopharmaceuticals in economically important crop plants and provide examples of their clinical trials and commercialization.     

The biomethane producing potential in China: A theoretical and practical estimation

Biomethane has been developed rapidly in many countries as a renewable energy which upgraded from biogas. China also began to pay attention to it even though we still at a initial stage, primarily, understanding the biomethane potential and development prospect, choosing appropriate biomass as the biomethane source is very important. In this work, the theoretical and practical biomethane producing potential from five main biomass resources in China were estimated with appropriate methods based on the data collected, and during calculation, two appropriate energy crops were assumed to be planted on marginal lands for biomethane production. Our estimation showed that the theoretical and practical biomethane potentials in China can reach to 888.78 and 316.30 billion m³ per year, agricultural waste should be the preferential development biomass, and planting energy crops on marginal lands is the most promising way to enhance biomethane production in China. Finally, biomethane is compared with natural gas, and the result showed that 48.15% of the practical biomethane potential can meet the total Chinese natural gas consumption in 2013.     

调整农业种植结构对农业节水的影响

邢台市主要农作物为冬小麦-夏玉米,种植冬小麦-夏玉米粮食作物,在平水年只有8月、9月份的降水能满足作物生长需水量,其他10个月缺水368.4mm。在平水年,种植棉花一年中有5个月缺水,缺水量为79.6mm,由于棉花生长期需水量与降水季节同步,缺水量较小。利用邢台市2001~2012年棉花种植面积资料,与种植粮食作物进行对比分析,平均每年可节约灌溉用水3.161 2亿m3。     

湖泊流域种植系统磷流特征及影响分析

湖泊流域中农业种植排放的磷污染是水体富营养化的主要污染来源。通过物质流分析方法,建立湖泊流域农业种植系统的静态磷物质流分析模型,并以巢湖流域为例,运用模型系统地量化并分析了2006年流域农业种植系统中的种子、化肥、农药、粪便、作物、秸秆等含磷物质的代谢过程。结果表明,系统对水体磷贡献为20．84 kg／亩,其中畜禽粪便还田和化肥施用是造成水体磷污染的主要原因,其含磷量分别占系统磷总输入量的74．68％和15．07％,并提出防治畜禽养殖污染和提高磷肥施用效率等减少系统对水体磷污染的主要措施。研究为高效控制农业面源污染,寻找治理水体富营养化的新途径提供依据。     

参考作物腾发量预报的傅立叶级数模型

以傅立叶级数和表示多年日平均参考作物腾发量在年内的变化过程,结合天气类型修正系数,提出了一种新的参考作物腾发量预报模型,即傅立叶级数模型.将模型应用于陡山灌区的参考作物腾发量实时预报;结果表明,该模型的预测精度比原有的指数模型(亦称逐日均值修正模型)的预测精度高.这种模型简单,可方便地嵌入灌溉预报系统,适应性强.     

Crystallography and equilibrium solubility for ammonium and potassium orthophosphites and hypophosphites

The composition and solubility properties of eight ammonium and potassium orthophosphites and hypophosphites were determined to evaluate the potential of these classes of materials for increasing the plant nutrient content of liquid fertilizers. Phase relationships for the systems (NH₄)₂O-P₂O₃-H₂O, K₂O-P₂O₃-H₂O, (NH₄)₂O-P₂O-H₂O, and K₂O-P₂O-H₂O were determined along with the crystallographic properties (X-ray and optical) of the solid phases. Toxicity and phosphite response was tested in greenhouse experiments for the compounds.     

The influence of tillage and cropping-intensity on cereal response to nitrogen,sulfur, and phosphorus

Efficient fertilizer use is a prerequisite for achieving optimum crop yield while avoiding environmental contamination. Cereal response to nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and phosphorus (P) were determined for 6 years under differing tillage [conventional-till (CT) vs. no-till (NT)] and intensity of cropping (cereal/fallow vs. cereal/cereal). Semidwarf white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) alternated yearly with either fallow or spring cereal [barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) or spring wheat] on a Typic Haploxeroll soil in a 415 mm rainfall zone. Fertilizer treatments were no fertilizer (None), N only (N), N plus S (NS), and N plus S plus P (NSP). Average application rate, when applied, was 109 kg N, 18 kg S, and 11 kg P ha^–1. Average cereal yield without fertilizer was 1.82 t ha^–1. Nitrogen increased grain yield in 6 of 6, S in 4 of 6, and P in 3 of 6 years, with P and S response significant the remaining years at the 10% probability level. Average yield increases were 1.11 t ha^–1 for N, 0.93 t ha^–1 for S, and 0.47 t ha^–1 for P. The NT/CT yield ratio was 0.60, 0.75, 0.93, and 0.95 with None, N, NS, and NSP addition, respectively, indicating that N and S deficiency were more severe in no-till. Limited increase in the NT/CT ratio with P addition indicated that P deficiency was less affected by tillage. Winter wheat always yielded less under NT than CT regardless of fertility, whereas spring cereals reached equality when fertilized with NSP. Annually-cropped wheat yielded 52, 67, 89, and 90% of wheat after fallow with None, N, NS, and NSP, respectively. Thus N and S, but not P, deficiency was more intense with increased frequency of cropping. Adequate fertility was a prime prerequisite for efficient yield in all systems.