Abstract Peru has a great potential for forestry plantations, nevertheless, importations of this type of products are getting very expensive. Soils under forest are acidic and infertile to support sustainable economically valuable forest tree species such as teak. Information is lacking on proper fertility management in forest plantations such as teak. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the effect of lime, and organic and inorganic fertilizers on the early growth and nutrient composition of 12-month old teak grown on acidic soil of Peru. The soil under field study was acidic with a pH of 4.99, low in fertility. A factorial design of 2x3: Lime (No Lime and Liming) and fertilizer (organic, inorganic and mixture), with 9 repetitions was adopted. Tree biometric parameters (height, diameter, biomass) and N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn foliar concentrations were determined during early the growth of teak. Treatments with addition of dolomite lime favored higher biometric parameters, and use of organic fertilizers promoted more growth than inorganic fertilizers. In the case of nutrients, no major differences were observed between limed and unlimed treatments while organic fertilizer promoted Ca, K and S nutrition. The results show that the application of lime and organic fertilizers is essential for the successful management and establishment of teak plants in acidic soils of Peru.

ABSTRACT To effectively develop and utilize high-quality Tianfu broilers, this study evaluated the morphological and structural characteristics of the immune organs of such broilers with different strains (HS1 and HS2) at different developmental stages and analyzed the distribution of mast cells by toluidine blue staining. Moreover, the localization and expression of immunoglobulin, complement C3, C4 and CD3 in immune organs were also detected. The results showed that although there was no significant difference in the development of immune organs in the HS1 and HS2, the number of lymphatic follicles and capsule thickness in the spleen and bursa of Fabricius in HS1 were greater than those in HS2. Additionally, the number of mast cells in the spleen of HS1 was greater at Day 1 and Day 21 and was significantly higher than that of HS2 (p<0.05); the number of mast cells in the bursa of Fabricius reached 9.17 on Day 7, which was significantly higher than that of HS2 (p<0.05). Moreover, the serum IgA and IgM levels in HS1 were higher than those in HS2 on Day 14 and 21 (p<0.05). In addition, the complement C3 content in HS1 was significantly or extremely significantly higher than that in HS2 on Days 1, 14 and 21 (p<0.01, p<0.05), respectively, but significantly lower than in HS2 on Day 7 (p<0.05). These results indicated that the disease resistance of the HS1 line was stronger than that of the HS2 line, which lays a foundation for future disease- resistance breeding of Tianfu broilers.

Abstract The study was aimed to assess the effects of exposure of the “Benihoppe” strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) to La3+ treatment during propagation and rooting in vitro. The results showed that propagation and rooting were inhibited by lower (0.2, 0.5 mg/L) and higher (40.0 mg/L) concentrations of La3+, respectively. Propagation and rooting were promoted by a moderate concentration (1.0, 10.0, and 15.0 mg/L) of La3+, and a concentration of 1.0 mg/L was found to be optimal. Under 1.0 mg/L of La3+ treatment, certain trends associated with changes in the levels of hormones and 12 nutrients, with the exception of Ca, were observed during plant growth in vitro, and a greater balance was observed in the trends associated with changes in the amounts of elements at the rooting stage, as compared to the propagation stage. Furthermore, the elements or hormones with the highest effects on the two stages of propagation were Co and K (positive), and TDZ and Fe (negative), while those that affected the two stages of rooting were S and Zn ( positive), and IAA and Fe (positive). Our findings suggest that the use of 1.0 mg/L of La3+ is cost-effective, and can help achieve strawberry propagation and rooting in vitro.

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o efeito do tratamento de lantanídeos na propagação rápida in vitro e no enraizamento do morango “Cara Vermelha”. Os resultados mostram que concentrações menores (0,2; 0,5 mg/L) e maiores (40,0 mg/L) de La3+ inibem a propagação e o enraizamento do morango, respectivamente. As concentrações médias (1,0; 10,0 e 15,0 mg/L) de La3+ promovem a propagação e o enraizamento, sendo 1,0 mg/L a concentração ideal. No tratamento com 1,0 mg/L de La3+, os hormônios e os 12 elementos nutricionais apresentam a mesma tendência, exceto o elemento Ca. As mudanças no estágio de enraizamento mostram um equilíbrio maior em comparação com o estágio de propagação. Além disso, os elementos ou oshormônios que têm a maior influência nos dois estágios de propagação são Co e K(positivos) e TDZ e Fe (negativos), enquanto os elementos ou os hormônios que influenciam os doisestágios de enraizamento são S e Zn (positivos) e IAA e Fe (positivos). Nossos resultadosmostram que o uso de 1,0 mg/L de La3+ é econômico e útil para a propagação in vitro e oenraizamento do morango.

Nickel-based alloys containing high amount of Cr are desirable materials for the production of critical components that operate under high temperature and severe corrosion conditions. The description of flow behaviors for these alloys is key to designing the hot formation process for achieving the excellent mechanical properties of components. This work aims to study the flow behaviors of Ni-38Cr-3.8Al alloy during thermal deformation. A series of isothermal compression experiments were carried out at temperatures of 1148 K, 1223 K, 1298 K, 1373 K, 1448 K and 1523 K, and strain rates of 0.01 s-1, 0.1 s-1, 1 s-1 and 10 s-1. Results show that the obtained true stress-strain curves exhibit the softening characteristics of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and dynamic recovery (DRV). The flow stress decreases with temperature increasing and strain rate decreasing. To further quantitatively describe the flow behaviors, an improved segmented Arrhenius constitutive equation was developed according to the softening characteristics under different temperatures. In these equations, the variable coefficients, including activation energy Q and material constants (structure factor A, stress exponent n, stress parameters α), were fitted as the polynomial functions of true strain. Furthermore, a typical Arrhenius constitutive equation was also solved. The comparisons between experimental stress and predicted results obtained from the typical and improved constitutive equations were conducted, and the correlation coefficient (R) and average absolute relative error (AARE) were calculated as 0.932, 15.83%, and 0.9963, 5.61%, respectively. It suggests that the improved constitutive equation can adeptly describe the flow behaviors of Ni-38Cr-3.8Al alloy.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of adding Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) to the basal diets of chickens at late laying period on clutch trait, reproductive organs, serum reproductive hormones and reproduction-related genes expression. A total of 350 hens (37 weeks old) with similar laying rate and clutch trait were randomly allocated into five groups, and fed 0 (Control, CON), 2.5 (MOLP2.5), 5, 7.5 and 10% MOLP supplemented diets for 6 weeks. The hens supplemented with 2.5% MLOP had the average clutch length, clutches and clutch intensity close to those in CON. The numbers and weight of hierarchal follicle were significantly increased at the supplementation 2.5% MOLP group. The estrogen concentration was highest in MOLP2.5 group and lowest in MOLP10 group. Expression levels of steroidogenesis-related genes of StAR and Cyp19a1 were higher in MOLP2.5, MOLP5 and MOLP7.5 groups compared with that in the control. These findings suggested that dietary supplementation with 2.5% MOLP effectively increased hierarchal follicle numbers, estrogen level and gene expression of StAR and Cyp19a1, which has a potential beneficial effect on laying performance in laying chicken.

ABSTRACT In the present work, the considered hydrogen abstraction (HAT) reactions of CCl3H molecule driven by three different small anions MO− (M = Be, B, and Al) have been investigated using electronic structure calculations. While full geometry optimizations were operated to locate all of the relevant stationary points using the DFT-BHandHLYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level, the potential-energy profiles were constructed using the coupled-cluster theory with extrapolation to complete basis set CCSD(T)/CBS. Our theoretical findings suggest that the most favored pathway determined for the HAT reactions mainly stems from the MO− type, namely, for facilitating the HAT pathway the B atom is predicted to be an inherent key in the BO−-reaction whereas it becomes O atom in both BeO−- and AlO−-reactions. Of the three favored pathways obtained here, the activations of the CCl3H in the presence of both BeO− and AlO− anions are significantly efficient, in which the energy barrier for the cleavage of the C-H bond with the assistance of BeO− was to be relatively low. Again, through the transition state theory the rate constants at 298-1000 K are also evaluated for the most favored HAT reactions studied here, indicating the lower the temperature, the faster the BO− chemical reaction.

In order to investigate the hot deformation behaviors of Invar36 alloy, isothermal compressive tests were conducted on a Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical simulator at the temperatures of 873, 948, 1023, 1098 and 1173 K and the strain rates of 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 s−1. The effects of strain, temperature and strain rate on flow stress were analyzed, and a dynamic recrystallization type softening characteristic with unimodal flow behavior is determined. An artificial neural network based on back-propagation algorithm was proposed to handle the complex deformation behavior characteristics. The ANN model was evaluated in terms of correlation coefficient and average absolute relative error. A comparative study was performed on ANN model and constitutive equation by regression method for Invar36 alloy. Finally, the ANN model was applied to the finite element simulation, and an experimental study on trial hot forming of a V-shaped part was conducted to demonstrate the precision of the finite element simulation based on predicted flow stress data by ANN model. The results have sufficiently showed that the well-trained ANN model with BP algorithm is able to deal with the complex flow behaviors of Invar36 alloy and has great application potentiality in hot deformation.

RESUMO Cerca de ¼ dos adultos têm hipertensão arterial, que é o fator de risco isolado mais importante para morte (incluídas as mortes por cardiopatia e acidente vascular cerebral). Existem políticas eficazes que poderiam facilitar escolhas pessoais saudáveis para evitar a elevação da pressão arterial e, se plenamente implementadas, podem prevenir a ocorrência da hipertensão arterial. É fácil rastrear e tratar a hipertensão, MAS somente cerca de 50% dos adultos hipertensos estão cientes de sua condição, e apenas cerca de 1 em cada 7 é tratado adequadamente. A prevenção e controle da hipertensão é o principal mecanismo de prevenção e controle das doenças não transmissíveis e um modelo para outros riscos de doenças não transmissíveis. Tratamentos eficazes com mudanças de estilo de vida e medicamentos poderiam prevenir e controlar a hipertensão arterial na maioria das pessoas se aplicados sistematicamente à população; as intervenções simples são viáveis em todos os ambientes e podem melhorar a atenção primária. É necessária a ação continuada e urgente a fim de obter mudanças efetivas nas políticas públicas e no sistema de saúde para prevenir e controlar a hipertensão arterial.

RESUMEN Cerca de una cuarta parte de los adultos tienen hipertensión, el principal factor de riesgo de muerte (inclusive la causada por cardiopatía y accidente cerebrovascular). Existen políticas eficaces que podrían ayudar a las personas a elegir opciones saludables para prevenir el aumento de la presión arterial; si se las aplicara plenamente, se podría evitar en gran medida el desarrollo de hipertensión. La hipertensión es fácil de detectar y tratar, PERO solo alrededor de 50% de los adultos que presentan dicha afección son conscientes de su situación y solamente 1 de cada 7 de ellos recibe el tratamiento adecuado. La prevención y el control de la hipertensión es el mecanismo principal para prevenir y controlar las enfermedades no transmisibles y un modelo para evitar otros riesgos de presentar dichas enfermedades. La adopción de un modo de vida saludable y el tratamiento farmacológico efectivo podrían prevenir y controlar la hipertensión en la mayoría de las personas si se implementaran de manera sistemática en la población; en todos los entornos es posible aplicar intervenciones sencillas, que pueden usarse para mejorar la atención primaria. Es urgente adoptar medidas sostenidas para introducir cambios eficaces en las políticas públicas y los sistemas de salud pública con miras a prevenir y controlar la hipertensión.

ABSTRACT About 1/4th of adults have high blood pressure which is the single most important risk for death (including heart disease and stroke). There are effective policies that could facilitate people making healthy choices to prevent raised blood pressure, and if fully implemented, could largely prevent hypertension from occurring. Hypertension is easy to screen and treat for BUT only about 50% of adults with hypertension are aware of their condition and only about 1 in 7 is adequately treated. Preventing and controlling high blood pressure is the major mechanism for NCD prevention and control and a model for other NCD risks. Effective lifestyle and drug treatments could prevent and control hypertension in most individuals if systematically applied to the population, simple interventions are feasible in all settings, and can be used to enhance primary care. Urgent sustained action is needed is needed for effective public policies and health system changes to prevent and control hypertension.

Abstract In this work, the vapor-liquid equilibrium experimental data for the systems of isopropyl chloroacetate + isopropanol, isopropyl chloroacetate + cyclohexane and isopropyl chloroacetate + benzene were measured by a modified Rose-type recirculating still under the pressure of 101.3 kPa. The thermodynamic consistency of the measured data was verified by the Herington and van Ness methods, respectively. The experimental data were correlated by the NRTL, Wilson, and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models, and the corresponding interaction parameters of the three models were obtained. The root-mean-square deviations between the experimental data and calculated results for the temperature and the mole fraction of the vapor phase were less than 0.58 K and 0.0066, respectively. In addition, the excess Gibbs energy was calculated for the three systems.

This paper presents a numerical analysis that uses an orthogonal array to investigate overburden failure caused by longwall mining of multiple coal seams. An LN(s k) array is said to be an orthogonal array with s levels, N rows, and k columns. This analysis identifies the contrasting factors that influence the height of the caving and water-conducting fractured zones. The factors include the mechanical properties of the interburden layers (factor A), thickness of the interburden layers (factor B), and mining height of the lower seam (factor C). The mechanical properties of the overburden failure are quantitatively investigated and the correlations among the factors are evaluated. The results show that factors A, B, and C all have a significant influence on the interactions during mining of multiple seams. This means that mining of the lower seam significantly changes the height of the caving zone of the entire system, with factors B and C having the most influence. Factor B has a more obvious effect on the water-conducting fractured zone than factor A, but factor C has the greatest effect among the factors. An equation to describe a dividing line, which is set to denote the relationship between the non-interaction ratio (K) and the cutting height of the lower seam (M) is proposed. This modified dividing line can be used to determine whether interactions exist among the overburden failure zones.

This work highlights the relationship between the preparation, crystallization behavior, microstructures, and mechanical properties of Cu-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and their composites (BMGCs). (Cu47Zr45Al8)97.5Y1.5Nb in-situ BMGCs were prepared using isothermal annealing, and the experimental results indicate tunable mechanical properties of the alloys by processing parameter manipulation. The crystallinity of (Cu47Zr45Al8)97.5Y1.5Nb BMGCs increases with extended annealing temperature and time, while their phase transition with rising temperature follows Am (amorphous state) → Am + Cu10Zr7 →Am + Cu10Zr7 + AlCu2Zr + Al2Zr. Precipitation strengthening during annealing above 720 K (447 ºC) can enhance the alloy microhardness remarkably and achieve an optimum of 712 HV by annealing at 800 K (527 ºC) for 60 min. TEM results show that Cu10Zr7 with sizes of 12~15 nm precipitates out upon crystallization and thereby accounts for the superior compressive property. The alloy exhibits a fracture strength up to 2080 MPa after annealing at 680 K (407 ºC) for 30 min. Morphological observation of the fracture surface reveals a transition of fracture characteristics from the typical amorphous ductile manner to a brittle manner with further annealing. The investigation provides novel thoughts of BMGs processing for further performance improvement.

Abstract: The combined application of organic and mineral fertilizers is gaining recognition as a viable approach to address the decline of soil fertility in intensive cultivation. A four-year experiment was conducted to study the dynamics of maize growth and analyse environmental changes. Two treatments were designed, (І) mineral fertilizer treatments (MF) that received the optimal fertilization level with 185 kg N/ha, 60 kg P2O5/ha, and 90 kg K2O/ha and (П) the combination of organic and mineral fertilizer treatments (OMF) with the application of 3.75 t/ha organic fertilizer supplemented with 125 kg N ha-1. The results indicated that OMF could improve the maize yield by 9.7-13.6 %, while the aggregate environmental index was reduced by 17 % compared with MF. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that OMF promotes maize growth and yield attributed to the increased N, P and K uptake at the 12-leaf stage and tasseling stage, and the increased urease activity and P uptakes at the harvest stage. Life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis indicated that OMF decreased energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, acidification and aquatic eutrophication compared with MF. The results clearly revealed that organic applied with less mineral fertilizer had a higher maize yield and lower agricultural environmental risk compared to only mineral fertilizer.

ABSTRACT Newcastle disease is a highly contagious disease responsible for major outbreaks and considerable economic losses in the poultry industry in China. There is still little information available regarding gene characterization of the NDV, especially in ducks and pigeons. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate NDV isolated from ducks and pigeons in Hubei, China. In this study, three NDVs from ducks and pigeons were isolated between 2013 and 2015.The fusion protein (F) gene of the NDV isolates was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. The clinical signs and gross histopathological lesions were examined. Phylogenetic analysis of these strains indicated that all the sequences are classified as genotype II. The isolates shared a 112 G-R-Q-G-R-L 117motif at the F protein cleavage site, indicating that these three isolates strains are lentogenic. Necropsy and histopathology showed the typical pathological changes. It was concluded that commercial ducks and pigeons in Hubei province carry lentogenic NDV strains with regular genetic divergence, indicating that these species may act as the main reservoirs of NDV in poultry. Therefore, strategies and surveillance should be undertaken to reduce the risk of ND outbreaks.

A novel heterometallic metal-porphyrinic framework (MPFs) built from Y and K ions as nods and meso-tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin as linkers has been successfully synthesized and characterized. The single crystal X-ray diffraction indicated that this complex 1 exhibited a bilayered architecture of the porphyrins, which is seldom seen in MPFs. In addition, in vitro anticancer activity of complex 1 on three human breast cancer cells (BT474, SKBr-3 and ZR-75-30) was further determined.

ABSTRACT Aquaporin 2 (AQP2) is a small protein located in the collecting tubules of kidneys; it plays an important role in the concentration and production of urine. The aim of this study was to determine the expression level of the AQP2 gene in the kidney of broiler chickens after the administration of renaldose dopamine. Broiler chickens (25 days-old) were randomly divided into two groups (n=20 per group): intravenous administration of saline solution (control group) or renal-dose dopamine (dopamine group). The expression and localization of the AQP2 gene were evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. The protein level of AQP2 was analyzed by western blot analysis. The dopamine group presented no significant difference (p>0.05) in the biochemical criterion or mRNA expression of AQP2 compared with the control group. However, AQP2 protein level was significantly reduced (p<0.05) in the membrane of renal tubular epithelial cells. In contrast, protein level was significantly increased (p<0.05) in the cytoplasm of the dopamine group compared with the control group. Moreover, AQP2 protein was apparently more distributed and localized in the cytoplasmic vacuoles than in the membranes of the kidney in the renaldose dopamine administered chickens group. In conclusion, present findings suggest that renaldose dopamine mediates the level of AQP2 protein via shuttle from the cell membrane to the cytoplasm rather than changing the expression of AQP2 gene to adjust the secretion and absorption of water in kidney.