Solving post-prandial reduction in performance by adaptive regurgitation in a freshwater fish

Foraging animals must balance benefits of food acquisition with costs induced by a post-prandial reduction in performance. Eating to satiation can lead to a reduction in locomotor and escape performance, which increases risk should a threat subsequently arises, but limiting feeding behaviour may be maladaptive if food intake is unnecessarily reduced in the prediction of threats that do not arise. The efficacy of the trade-off between continued and interrupted feeding therefore relies on information about the future risk, which is imperfect. Here, we find that black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) can balance this trade-off using an a posteriori strategy; by eating to satiation but regurgitating already ingested food when a threat arises. While degrees of satiation (DS) equal to or greater than 60% reduce elements of escape performance (turning angle, angular velocity, distance moved, linear velocity), at 40% DS or lower, performance in these tasks approaches levels comparable to that at 0% satiation. After experiencing a chasing event, we find that fish are able to regurgitate already ingested food, thereby changing the amount of food in their gastrointestinal tract to consistent levels that maintain high escape performance. Remarkably, regurgitation results in degrees of satiation between 40 and 60% DS, regardless of whether they had previously fed to 40, 60 or 100% DS. Using this response, fish are able to maximize food intake, but regurgitate extra food to maintain escape performance when they encounter a threat. This novel strategy may be effective for continual grazers and species with imperfect information about the level of threat in their environment.     

新生儿胆汁淤积症患儿肠道菌群与分娩方式及喂养方式的关系

目的分析新生儿胆汁淤积症患儿肠道菌群特征及其与分娩方式、喂养方式的关系。方法选择2018年6月至2019年6月我院收治的40例新生儿胆汁淤积症患儿作为观察组,选择同期入院的120例健康新生儿作为对照组,比较两组对象肠道菌群分布情况。各组对象进一步按不同喂养方式分为母乳喂养组和混合喂养组,按不同分娩方式分为阴道分娩组和剖宫产组,分析各组新生儿肠道菌群与分娩方式、喂养方式的相关性。结果观察组新生儿粪便中双歧杆菌、乳杆菌数量及双歧杆菌/大肠埃希菌值[(7.53±0.57)lg copies/g、(8.12±0.71)lg copies/g、1.06±0.18]明显少于对照组[(9.58±0.64)lg copies/g、(8.64±0.75)lg copies/g、1.39±0.22],大肠埃希菌数量[(7.28±0.85)lg copies/g]明显多于对照组[(6.81±0.63)lg copies/g]。观察组中,阴道分娩与剖宫产分娩患儿粪便中双歧杆菌、乳杆菌、大肠埃希菌数量及双歧杆菌/大肠埃希菌值差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。观察组中,母乳喂养与混合喂养新生儿粪便中双歧杆菌、乳杆菌、大肠埃希菌数量及双歧杆菌/大肠埃希菌值差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论新生儿胆汁淤积症患儿肠道菌群存在异常,且受到分娩方式和喂养方式的影响。     

解磷菌对设施土壤金属元素有效含量及黄瓜秧苗金属元素吸收量的影响

通过向设施土壤中添加解磷菌和秸秆,达到活化土壤中作物所需金属元素的含量,促进作物对中微量元素吸收的目的。试验设置对照、秸秆、解磷菌、解磷菌+秸秆4个处理,在不同时间测试土壤及秧苗中钙、镁、铜、铁、锌等的含量,确定解磷菌及秸秆对设施土壤金属元素含量及黄瓜秧苗吸收量的影响。试验结果表明,秸秆、解磷菌、秸秆+解磷菌处理能明显增加黄瓜秧苗吸收钙、镁、铁、铜的能力,对锌的吸收没有影响,其中秸秆+解磷菌处理对黄瓜秧苗吸收钙、镁、铜影响最大,促进作用分别达到6.26%、8.25%和11.57%,3种处理对设施土壤中有效钙、镁、铁的含量没有影响,但是能明显提高土壤中有效铜、锌的含量,盛果后期有效铜含量分别比对照提高12.19%、15.41%、16.49%,盛果后期有效锌含量分别比对照区提高38.8%、33.26%、56.81%。     

Migration sources and pathways of the pest species Sogatella furcifera in Yunnan,China, and across the border inferred from DNA and wind analyses

The migration sources and pathways of Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) in topologically complex regions like Yunnan, China, and adjacent montane areas have long been a challenging task and a bottleneck in effective pest forecast and control. The present research reinvestigated this issue using a combination of mtDNA and long‐term historical wind field data in an attempt to provide new insights. Genetic analyses showed that the 60 populations of S. furcufera collected across Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan lack genetic structure and geographic isolation, while spatial analysis of haplotype and diversity indices discovered geographic relevance between populations. Migration rate analysis combined with high‐resolution 10‐year wind field analysis detected the following migration sources, pathways, and impacted areas which could explain the outbreak pattern in Yunnan. (a) Dominating stepwise northward migrations originated from northern Indochina, southern Yunnan, and central‐eastern Yunnan, impacting their northern areas. (b) Concurring summer–autumn southward (return) migration originated from nearly all latitude belts of Sichuan and Yunnan mainly impacting central and southern Yunnan. (c) Regular eastward and summer–autumn westward migrations across Yunnan. The northward migration reflects the temporal rhythm of gradual outbreaks from the south to the north in a year, while the return migration may explain the repeated or very severe outbreaks in the impacted areas. To form a better pest forecast and control network, attention must also be paid to the northern part of Yunnan to suppress the impact of return migration in summers and autumns.     

Rice calli may decelerate its metabolism to adapt hormone free medium

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - This report focuses on the crucial role of lipids and starch metabolism in the growth and ultrastructure of the cell wall (CW) in rice calli....     

Integrative hormone and transcriptome analysis underline the role of abscisic acid in seed shattering of weedy rice

Plant Growth Regulation - Weedy rice is one of the most severe weeds in paddy fields, characterized by its high degree of seed shattering. Abscisic acid (ABA) serves as an abscission-accelerating...     

Reliable Method for Fabricating Tissue‐Mimicking Materials With Designated Relative Permittivity and Conductivity at 128 MHz

Artificial materials that can simultaneously mimic the relative permittivity and conductivity of various human tissues are usually used in medical applications. However, the method of precisely designing these materials with designated values of both relative permittivity and conductivity at 3 T MRI resonance frequency is lacking. In this study, a reliable method is established to determine the compositions of artificial dielectric materials with designated relative permittivity and conductivity at 128 MHz. Sixty dielectric materials were produced using oil, sodium chloride, gelatin, and deionized water as the main raw materials. The dielectric properties of these dielectric materials were measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method at 128 MHz. Nonlinear least‐squares Marquardt–Levenberg algorithm was used to obtain the formula, establishing the relationship between the compositions of the dielectric materials and their dielectric properties at 128 MHz. The dielectric properties of the blood, gall bladder, muscle, skin, lung, and bone at 128 MHz were selected to verify the reliability of the obtained formula. For the obtained formula, the coefficient of determination and the expanded uncertainties with a coverage factor of k = 2 were 0.991% and 4.9% for relative permittivity and 0.992% and 6.4% for conductivity. For the obtained artificial materials measured using the open‐ended coaxial line method, the maximal difference of relative permittivity and conductivity were 1.0 and 0.02 S/m, respectively, with respect to the designated values. In conclusion, the compositions of tissue‐mimicking material can be quickly determined after the establishment of the formulas with the expanded uncertainties of less than 10%. Bioelectromagnetics. 2021;42:86–94. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society.     

敲减神经肽F基因(npf)对亚洲玉米螟取食、生长发育和繁殖的影响

【目的】神经肽F(neuropeptide F, NPF)是无脊椎动物特有的一类神经肽,因其C末端是苯丙氨酸(F)而命名,参与昆虫的取食、生物节律、学习记忆等多种生理功能的调控。本研究旨在明确NPF对亚洲玉米螟Ostrinia furnacalis生长发育的影响,为害虫防治提供重要依据。【方法】采用一种基于工程菌高效合成靶向昆虫基因的dsRNA的方法经济有效地敲降npf,用低浓度(0.01%)和高浓度(0.02%)dsNPF和dsGFP(对照)分别饲喂亚洲玉米螟1龄初、3龄初和5龄初幼虫直至化蛹,检测5龄幼虫平均取食量、体重、体长、存活率和化蛹率,蛹羽化率和成虫产卵量,以及幼虫各龄期、蛹发育历期和成虫寿命。【结果】从亚洲玉米螟1, 3和5龄初幼虫开始饲喂0.01%和0.02% dsNPF时,与饲喂相应浓度dsGFP的对照相比,除个别点外,5龄幼虫的取食量、体重、体长、存活率和化蛹率,蛹羽化率和成虫单雌产卵量均显著降低,幼虫各龄期、蛹发育历期均显著延长,成虫寿命显著缩短。且dsNPF处理幼虫的龄期越早对发育的影响越大。其中0.01% dsNPF处理的1龄幼虫和0.02% dsNPF处理的3龄幼虫有90%的个体在蛹期死亡,而0.02%dsNPF处理的1龄幼虫有90%的个体在幼虫期死亡。【结论】结果提示NPF对亚洲玉米螟的发育和取食具有调控作用,这为探索新型绿色的害虫防治提供了依据。