Effects of Chlortetracycline Rumen-Protected Granules on Rumen Microorganisms and Its Diarrhea Therapeutic Effect.

Chlortetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used as an oral medication in ruminants. However, this antibiotic affects the rumen microbial population, thereby upsetting the normal microbiota of ruminants. This study determined whether our newly developed chlortetracycline rumen-protected granules are relatively harmless to rumen microorganisms while effective against lamb E. coli diarrhea. We used a qPCR assay to quantify selected rumen microorganisms from lambs treated with or without oral chlortetracycline. We also assessed bacterial diversity in the rumen by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Lambs were divided into three groups: one group given with oral chlortetracycline granules for 7 days; one group with chlortetracycline premix; and one without treatment. Rumen fluid was collected on 0 d, 7 d, and 14 d of the experiment. In the therapeutic effect trial, cases of naturally E. coli-infected lamb with diarrhea were selected and divided into low, medium, and high dose groups of granules, premix, infection control, and healthy control groups. Treatments were continuously administered for 7 days, and animals were observed for 14 days after drug withdrawal to score and evaluate the treatment effect. Results of qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the granules could diminish the impact of chlortetracycline on rumen microorganisms compared with the premix. The diarrhea therapeutic effect trial showed that the oral administration of the chlortetracycline rumen-protected granules at the dose of 30 mg/kg·bw/d for 7 days could effectively treat lamb diarrhea caused by E. coli. In conclusion, we provide a new drug preparation of chlortetracycline that can diminish the effect on the rumen microbiota while treating diarrhea caused by E. coli.

Into the Seed: Auxin Controls Seed Development and Grain Yield.

Seed development, which involves mainly the embryo, endosperm and integuments, is regulated by different signaling pathways, leading to various changes in seed size or seed weight. Therefore, uncovering the genetic and molecular mechanisms of seed development has great potential for improving crop yields. The phytohormone auxin is a key regulator required for modulating different cellular processes involved in seed development. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the role of auxin biosynthesis, transport, signaling, conjugation, and catabolism during seed development. More importantly, we not only summarize the research progress on the genetic and molecular regulation of seed development mediated by auxin but also discuss the potential of manipulating auxin metabolism and its signaling pathway for improving crop seed weight.

QSAR Studies on andrographolide derivatives as α-glucosidase inhibitors.

Andrographolide derivatives were shown to inhibit alpha-glucosidase. To investigate the relationship between activities and structures of andrographolide derivatives, a training set was chosen from 25 andrographolide derivatives by the principal component analysis (PCA) method, and a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) was established by 2D and 3D QSAR methods. The cross-validation r(2) (0.731) and standard error (0.225) illustrated that the 2D-QSAR model was able to identify the important molecular fragments and the cross-validation r(2) (0.794) and standard error (0.127) demonstrated that the 3D-QSAR model was capable of exploring the spatial distribution of important fragments. The obtained results suggested that proposed combination of 2D and 3D QSAR models could be useful in predicting the alpha-glucosidase inhibiting activity of andrographolide derivatives.

Two-gap superconductivity in R2Fe3Si5 (R=Lu, Sc) and Sc5Ir4Si10.

R2Fe3Si5 (R= Sc, Y, Lu) contains nonmagnetic iron and has a relatively high superconducting transition temperature Tc among iron-containing superconductors. An anomalous temperature dependence of specific heat C(T) has been reported for polycrystalline samples down to 1 K. We have grown R2Fe3Si5 single crystals, confirmed the anomalous C(T) dependence, and found a second drop in specific heat below 1 K. In Lu2Fe3Si5, we can reproduce C(T) below Tc, assuming two distinct energy gaps 2Δ 1/kBTc = 4.4 and 2Δ 2/kBTc = 1.1, with nearly equal weights, indicating that Lu2Fe3Si5 is a two-gap superconductor similar to MgB2. Hall coefficient measurements and band structure calculation also support the multiband contributions to the normal-state properties. The specific heat in the Sc2Fe3Si5 single crystals also shows the two-gap feature. R5Ir4Si10 (R = Sc, rare earth) is also a superconductor where competition between superconductivity and the charge-density wave is known for rare earths but not for Sc. We have performed detailed specific heat measurements on Sc5Ir4Si10 single crystals and found that C(T) deviates slightly from the behavior expected for weak-coupling superconductors. C(T) for these superconductors can also be reproduced well by assuming two superconducting gaps.

[1H NMR analysis of rice wine treated by electric field].

This paper studied the 1H NMR spectrum change of Guangdong rice wine. Three kinds of rice wine were studied: raw wine, finished product wine and electric-field-treated wine (40 kV x m(-1), 50 Hz, 180 min). Results showed that many weak peaks appeared in raw wine's CH3- and -CH2- peaks in contrast to the other two samples, reflecting that single molecules and various kinds of hydrogen-bonded clusters coexisted in the raw wine, and many kinds of organic compounds also contributed to forming peaks. As to the peaks of hydroxide H, the peak forms of the three samples were level, single sharp and irregular, respectively (raw, finished product and electric-field-treated wine). The level peak of raw wine inferved that there were two kinds of hydroxide H existed, one was involved in forming hydrogen bonds, while the other was not. The single sharp peak of finished product wine showed that single stable large hydrogen-bonded clusters were formed in the wine, and the irregular peak of electric-field-treated wine illustrated that there might exist various kinds of hydrogen-bonded clusters, whose main structure was similar to that of the finished product wine.