Escherichia coli K12 does not colonize the gastrointestinal tract of Fischer-344 rats

Summary The colonizing potential ofEscherichia coli K12 containing a vector coding for somidobove (bovine somatotropin) was determined. Treated male and female Fischer-344 rats were given a single oral gavage inoculum of sucrose with/without tetracycline (15 g/ml). Untreated control animals received similar drinking water regimes. All animals survived until termination. There were no clinical signs of toxicity observed and no treatment-related effect upon body weight, food consumption, or efficiency of food utilization. Fresh fecal samples were collected from each rat every 24 h following inoculation and the population of the marked strain was quantitated until no bacterial colonies were observed for two consecutive days. While all inoculated rats were positive at 24 h, by 72 and 96 h all had become negative for the test (marked) strain, as were the corresponding control group throughout the test. The frozen stock of the marked strain used as the positive control demonstrated that the agar plates were selective for the test strain. Fourteen days following inoculation, all groups of rats were killed and the gastrointestinal tracts removed and treated to recover the marked strain. There was no evidence of the marked strain in the gastrointestinal tract of any rat from any group. Thus, theE. coli K12 host/vector system used in this experiment does not colonize the gastrointestinal tract of Fischer-344 rats.     

Floral sex ratio variation in hermaphrodites of gynodioeciousChionographis japonica var.kurohimensis Ajima et Satomi (Liliaceae)

Intrapopulation and interpopulation variations in floral sex ratio in hermaphrodites of gynodioeciousChionographis japonica var.kurohimensis (Liliaceae) were examined. The relative ratio of male flowers to total flowers (male and perfect flowers) decreased with plant size, suggesting size-dependent gender modification. The relative ratio of male flowers per population-basis is negatively correlated with the mean number of perfect flowers. Since the number of perfect flowers proportionally increased with plant size, populations showing low maleness consist of relatively bigger plants and are considered to be in high-quality environment. On the other hand, the relative ratio of male flowers per population basis is independent of female frequency in the population. Plasticity in gender expression probably plays an important role of maintenance of gynodioecy inC. japonica var.kurohimensis.     

任务驱动法在“微生物学实验”混合式教学中的实践

通过“微生物学实验”课程多年来的混合式教学实践发现,学生的主动性是学习效果的核心要素。鉴于在以往的教学实践中,无论采用何种教学手段,总有部分学生的学习主动性不能得到体现。我们近年来采用轮流组长责任制下的任务驱动教学法,极大地调动了所有学生的学习动力。每位学生在担任组长工作时从课前任务、课堂执行、课后总结等方面都发挥了重要作用,而不担任组长时也会积极主动地配合组长工作。最终,实验课程学习成绩优秀率占比、体现素质能力培养的成绩分项都显著提升。同时,课程教学也收获了良好的学生认可和反馈。     

笼养蓝马鸡取食高度偏好

笼养鸟类取食高度对其自然行为表达和动物福利至关重要。然而,相关研究却少见报道。本文以我国二级重点保护野生动物——蓝马鸡(Crossoptilon auritum)为研究对象,观察笼养状态下其对不同高度取食槽内放置的种子或蔬菜的取食次序,并使用回归分析建立取食高度与偏好值的数学模型。结果发现,笼养蓝马鸡取食种子类食物(玉米粒)最佳取食高度为0cm,并且采食偏好随采食槽高度升高而下降(y=-0.564x+43.146,R²=0.946,y为采食偏好值,x为采食槽高度);油麦菜(Lactuca sativa)的最适取食高度范围为15～25 cm,随着取食槽高度的升高,偏好值先上升,至25 cm处后下降(y=-0.014x2+0.543x+26.487,R²=0.952,y为采食偏好值,x为采食槽高度)。当取食槽高度在65 cm及以上时,蓝马鸡拒食率上升(拒食率≥38.9%)。成年蓝马鸡体高对取食高度影响不明显。研究结果可为笼养蓝马鸡饲养管理提供参考。     

“环境工程微生物学”线上线下混合式教学的改革与实践

“环境工程微生物学”是环境工程专业的一门基础课程,但由于环境微生物学概念抽象、内容繁冗,大部分学生在课堂上注意力不集中,难以理解和应用生物氧化过程、微生物在环境工程中的作用等内容,教学效果较差。为提高学生的学习效果和教师的教学感受,基于超星泛雅网络教学平台,对环境工程微生物学的教学内容、教学方法、考核方式等进行线上线下混合式教学改革与实践。实践结果表明改革后的课程激发了学生内在学习的动力,使学生具有了自学和继续学习的能力,在知识、能力、素质这3个方面取得了成效,并有效提升了学生的专业能力和综合素质;同时,课程教师的教学方法、教学能力、教学感受以及信息技术均得到提升和改进,加强了课程创新实践,提升了环境工程类专业课程的教学质量。     

制药工程“微生物学实验”课程的项目化教学探索与实践

为了培养学生的自主学习能力和实践创新能力,按照工程教育专业认证要求基于成果导向教育(outcome based education, OBE)理念设计课程教学,将制药工程微生物学实验课实验教学项目设置成入门、进阶和自主3种项目等级。实验项目内容由浅入深、逐级递进、层层相关,教学过程以学生为中心,并结合线上教学手段和竞赛机制的支持。实践结果表明,经过项目化教学改革,在教师教学和学生学习成效两个方面均得到明显提升,学生在论文撰写能力、动手能力等方面也有了明显的进步,值得后续进一步总结和推广。     

西沙宣德群岛海域浮游植物群落及其影响因子

为了解西沙宣德群岛海域浮游植物群落结构特征,于2019年2月和11月对该海域进行采样调查,分析浮游植物群落组成及环境影响因素。两个航次共发现109种浮游植物,其中硅藻门最多,有81种。冬秋季节优势种不尽相同,冬季优势种为铁氏束毛藻(Trichodesmium thiebautii)、红海束毛藻(T. erythraeum)和标志星杆藻(Asterionella notata)等,秋季优势种为菱形海线藻(Thalassionema nitzschioides)、丹麦细柱藻(Leptocylindrus danicus)和劳氏角毛藻(Chaetoceros lorenzianus)。冬季浮游植物平均丰度[(5.27±6.14)×10⁷ cells/L]显著高于秋季[(1.56±1.40)×10⁵ cells/L]。浮游植物群落分布主要受亚硝酸盐、盐度等环境因子影响。冬秋季各站位浮游植物群落的多样性指数、均匀度指数和丰富度指数平均值分别为3.15、0.71、1.36和3.28、0.75、1.77。因此,宣德群岛海域冬秋季节浮游植物群落多样性较高,物...     

Factors underpinning Iranian farmers’ intention to conserve biodiversity at the farm level

The depletion of biodiversity is a major environmental challenge of the present time, with the agricultural sector being a significant contributor to the loss. Therefore, farmers' decisions and practices are pivotal in safeguarding biodiversity at the farm level. Accordingly, this study aimed to unravel the key factors influencing farmers' intention to conserve biodiversity (ICB), and in doing so, it adopted the protection motivation theory (PMT) as the theoretical framework. The study's statistical population comprised 412 farmers residing in Bavi County in the southwestern region of Iran. The research employed a questionnaire as the data collection instrument, and the research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings indicated that the respondents held a perception of high costs associated with implementing biodiversity conservation behaviors. They believed that such measures would not be easy to implement, and they would incur both monetary and non-monetary costs. Furthermore, the findings of the study revealed that the variables of SE and ICB among the studied farmers were lower than the theoretical median of 3, indicating that farmers may not have a strong desire and self-efficacy to engage in biodiversity conservation practices. Through the application of SEM, the study determined that the PMT accounts for 65.2% of farmers’ ICB. Additionally, perceived severity and self-efficacy were found to have the strongest effects on farmers’ ICB (as the first and second determinants), highlighting the importance of these variables in predicting farmers’ conservation behaviors. Overall, it can be concluded that these results have significant implications for policymakers in the agricultural sector, providing valuable insights into how to promote biodiversity conservation practices among farmers.     

Temporal dynamics of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in Shorea siamensis forest fragments

Investigating the dynamics of ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) communities in seasonally dry tropical forests is essential for sustainable management and for understanding the resilience of this forest type in future climate change scenarios. EMF communities in secondary forest fragments with Shorea siamensis as a single host tree species in central Thailand were sampled seasonally for 2.5 y. Ten EMF taxa were identified from ectomycorrhizal morphotypes, with/tomentella-thelephora and/russula-lactarius as the dominant taxa. Seasonal differences in EMF diversity were not detected; the dominant morphotypes were present in both seasons and their abundance varied. Most EMF taxa exhibited wide environmental ranges and only a few taxa were correlated with soil moisture. Seasonal dynamics of ectomycorrhizal colonization was likely influenced by climatic factors and the phenology of host species. Together, these results suggested that climatic variation may have a long-term and subtle influence on the composition of ectomycorrhizal communities.