Effects of Functional Organic Materials on Fresh Weight,Quality,Single-melon Weight and SPAD Value of Watermelon

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore a functional organic material formula suitable for watermelon cultivation with high quality,high yield and high efficiency.[Methods]Four treatments were set in the experiment,namely four functional organic materials,garlic straw treatment(T_(1)),onion straw treatment(T_(2)),garlic straw+sheep manure treatment(T_(3))and onion straw+chicken manure treatment(T_(4)),to investigate the effects of different functional organic materials on fresh weight,quality,single-melon weight and SPAD value of watermelon.[Results]The effects of different functional organic materials on fresh weight,quality,single-melon weight and SPAD value of watermelon were quite different.The fresh weight,quality,single-melon weight and SPAD value of watermelon were higher in treatment T_(3)applying garlic straw and sheep manure and treatment T_(4)applying onion straw and chicken manure than in treatment T_(1)applying garlic straw and treatment T_(2)applying onion straw.Specifically,the fresh weight of whole plant was the highest in treatment T_(3),followed by treatment T_(4),and the values of the two treatments increased by 12.83%and 5.94%respectively compared with treatment T_(1);the weight of single melon was the highest in treatment T_(3),followed by treatment T_(4),and the values of the two treatments increased by 42.45%and 31.77%respectively compared with treatment T_(2);and the SPAD values of treatments T_(3)and T_(4)were significantly higher than those of treatments T_(1)and T_(2),and the value of treatment T_(3)was the largest.[Conclusions]This study provides theoretical support for the popularization and application of fertilization techniques combining organic fertilizers and reduced chemical fertilizers for watermelon.

Characteristics and distribution of low molecular weight organic acids in the sediment porewaters in Bosten Lake, China

The composition and vertical profiles of low molecular-weight organic acids （LMWOAs） and the contribution of them to dissolved organic matter （DOM） in sediment porewaters in Bosten Lake, Xinjiang, China were investigated. The results showed that total concentration of LMWOAs was up to 94.5 μmol/L and their proportion in DOM was 5.6%, suggesting that LMWOAs were important chemical components in DOM in lake sediment porewaters. Among the seven LMWOAs, pyruvic and acetic acid had the highest concentrations with 26.30 and 8.31 μmol/L, accounting for 51.4% and 14.92% of LMWOAs, respectively. Trifluoroacetic and sorbic acid had the lowest concentrations, indicating that the compositions of LMWOAs in relative reducing environments were largely different from those reported in glacier, atmosphere and soils. The concentrations of lactic, acetic, formic, sorbic and oxalic acid decreased with increasing depth, probably relating to stronger microbial activities in the initial stage of early diagenesis. Trifluoroacetic acid was mainly anthropogenic with its concentration, showing a diusive trend from the surface to bottom sediments. The concentrations of lactic acid and nitrate generally showed a consistent profile. The increasing concentration of pyruvic acid in the vertical profile was just opposite to that of sulfate, revealing a significant negative relationship between them. Oxalic acid remained constant except for an obvious peak at 6 cm depth. The results indicated the diversities in sources and behaviors for various LMWOAs during early diagenesis in sediments.

Effect of Dissolved Organic Matter on Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Aquatic Environment:Molecular Weight Fractions

At present,a growing number of consumer products contain engineered nanoparticle TiO2(nano⁃TiO2),which has resulted in the consequences of nano⁃TiO2 entering the aquatic environment directly or indirectly at some stage.The fate of nano⁃TiO2 in the aquatic environment has become the key factor which affects its safety application and nanoecotoxicology.This paper aims to investigate how the dissolved organic matters(DOM),especially the molecular weight fractions in the aquatic environment,affect the aggregation,stability,and fate of nano⁃TiO2,and the interaction mechanism of DOM and nano⁃TiO2.Results of dynamic light scattering(DLS)showed that the molecular weight of DOM molecules caused different aggregation rates of nano⁃TiO2 in aqueous solution.Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)results indicated the molecular structure is characteristics of DOM fractions and the mechanisms of bonds formation between DOM and nano⁃TiO2.Results of three⁃dimensional excitation⁃emission matrices(3D⁃EEM)confirmed the FTIR results and implied the increase of the stability of theπ-πconjugated system in the presence of DOM.In addition,low molecular weight of DOM fractions appeared to show more affinity with nano⁃TiO2 than high molecular weight fractions.

Genome-Wide Association Study for Certain Carcass Traits and Organ Weights in a Large White×Minzhu Intercross Porcine Population

Porcine carcass traits and organ weights have important economic roles in the swine industry. A total of 576 animals from a Large White×Minzhu intercross population were genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60K Beadchip and were phenotyped for 10 traits, speciifcally, backfat thickness （6-7 libs）, carcass length, carcass weight, foot weight, head weight, heart weight, leaf fat weight, liver weight, lung weight and slaughter body weight. The genome-wide association study （GWAS） was assessed by Genome Wide Rapid Association using the mixed model and regression-genomic control approach. A total of 31 single nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） （with the most signiifcant SNP being MARC0033464, P value=6.80×10-13） were located in a 9.76-Mb （31.24-41.00 Mb） region on SSC7 and were found to be signiifcantly associated with one or more carcass traits and organ weights. High percentage of phenotypic variance explanation was observed for each trait ranging from 31.21 to 67.42%. Linkage analysis revealed one haplotype block of 495 kb, in which the most signiifcant SNP being MARC0033464 was contained, on SSC7 at complete linkage disequilibrium. Annotation of the pig reference genome suggested 6 genes （GRM4, HMGA1, NUDT3, RPS10, SPDEF and PACSIN1） in this candidate linkage disequilibrium （LD） interval. Functional analysis indicated that the HMGA1 gene presents the prime biological candidate for carcass traits and organ weights in pig, with potential application in breeding programs.

Dissolution of Aluminum in Variably Charged Soils as Affected by Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids

Low-molecular-weight （LMW） organic acids exist widely in soils and play an important role in soil processes such as mineral weathering, nutrient mobilization and A1 detoxification. In this research, a batch experiment was conducted to examine the effects of LMW organic acids on dissolution of aluminum in two variably charged soils, an Ultisol and an Oxisol. The results showed that the LMW organic acids enhanced the dissolution of A1 in the two investigated soils in the following order： citric 〉 oxalic 〉 malonic 〉 malic 〉 tartaric 〉 salicylic 〉 lactic 〉 maleic. This was generally in agreement with the magnitude of the stability constants for the Al-organic complexes. The effects of LMW organic acids on Al dissolution were greater in the Ultisol than in the Oxisol as compared to their controls. Also, the accelerating effects of citric and oxalic acids on dissolution of A1 increased with an increase in pH, while the effects of lactic and salicylic acids decreased. Additionally, when the organic acid concentration was less than 0.2 mmol L-I, the dissolution of A1 changed Iittle with increase in acid concentration. However, when the organic acid concentration was greater than 0.2 mmol L^-1,the dissolution of A1 increased with increase in acid concentration. In addition to the acid first dissociation constant and stability constant of Al-organic complexes, the promoting effects of LMW organic acids on dissolution of A1 were also related to their sorption-desorption equilibrium in the soils.

Effects of Aroclor 1254 on reproductive organ weight,sperm quality and testicular mitochondria oxidative stress of Boleophthalmus pectinirostris

Boleophthalmus pectinirostris is an amphibious economic fish and wildly distributed in the southeast coast of China. In this study, Aroclor 1254 was intraperitoneally injected into B. pectinirostris with 1, 2 and 4 μg/（g · d） for 28 d to assay the reproductive organ weight, the sperm quality （sperm concentration and motility）, and the testicular mitochondrial testicular mitochondria oxidative stress. The results show that the sperm number and motility in seminal vesicles, the absolute weight of testes and seminal vesicles of B. pectinirostris treated with 2 and 4 μg/（g · d） Aroclor 1254 decreased significantly as compared to the controls （p 0.05）, while those treated with 1 μg/（g · d） Aroclor 1254 had no significant effects on these indictors. For the relative weight of reproductive organs, significant reduction （p 0.05） was only observed in the seminal vesicles of B. pectinirostris treated with 4 μg/（g · d）. SOD activities and GSH levels in all the Aroclor 1254 treatments were significantly lower than those of the controls （p 0.05）. The activities of CAT, GPx, GR and the levels of Vit C also decreased significantly in comparison with the controls （p 0.05） at the higher dose of 2 and 4 μg/（g · d） Aroclor 1254 treatments. In addition, both H 2 O 2 level and MDA content in testicular mitochondria of B. pectinirostris had a close correlation with Aroclor 1254 dosage, and were significantly higher than the controls （p 0.05）. Those indicate that Aroclor 1254 can induce the oxidative stress of testicular mitochondria, and impair the reproductive function of male B. pectinirostris.

Utilizing Water Treatment Residuals for Phosphorus Removal:Batch Trials,Column Trials and Effects of Three Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids

Phosphorus( P) has been recognized as a major limited nutrient responsible for the eutrophication of surface waters. Water treatment residuals( WTRs) are safe by-products of water treatment plants and are cost-efficient adsorbents. In this study, batch experiments and column experiments based on WTRs were employed to study the characteristics of P adsorption and the effects of lowmolecular-weight organic acids( LMWOAs)( citric acid, oxalic acid,and tartaric acid) on P adsorption. Different models of adsorption were used to describe equilibrium and kinetic data. The adsorption data were fitted well by a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The adsorption process was determined to be controlled by three steps of diffusion mechanisms through the intra-particle model.The adsorption equilibrium was well described by the Langmuir,Freundlich,Redlich-Peterson,and Sips isotherm models. Batch and continuous flow experiments indicated that the LMWOAs exhibited inhibitory action,and as pH increased,the inhibitory action became weaker for all the three acids. The effect of LMWOAs concentration was not significant on inhibition. The effects of LMWOAs were closely related to reaction time.

Effects of n-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation on Performance, Relative Organ Weight and Fatty Acid Composition of Thigh Meat in Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with marine microbe accumulating n-3 fatty acids on growth performance, relative organ weight and fatty acid composition of thigh meat in broilers. A total of 480 broilers were randomly allotted to three treat-ments with eight replications per treatment and 20 chicks per pen. A corn-soybean meal-based diet was formulated as a control diet and the broilers were then provided with one of the following dietary treatments:(1) CON(basal diet);(2) N0.1(basal diet+0.10% marine microbe accumulating n-3 fatty acids);(3) N0.2(basal diet+0.20% marine microbe accumulating n-3 fatty acids). No significant differences were observed in the growth performance or the relative organ weight among treatments. However, the levels of saturated fatty acids(SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA)were significantly lower(P<0.05) in groups that received the n-3 fatty acids treatments, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA) were increased(P<0.05) significantly in these groups. Overall, these results indicate that dietary supplementation with marine microbe accumulating n-3 fatty acids can increase PUFA and decrease SFA and MUFA in thigh meat.

Weighted Particle Swarm Clustering Algorithm for Self-Organizing Maps

The traditional K-means clustering algorithm is difficult to determine the cluster number,which is sensitive to the initialization of the clustering center and easy to fall into local optimum.This paper proposes a clustering algorithm based on self-organizing mapping network and weight particle swarm optimization SOM&WPSO(Self-Organization Map and Weight Particle Swarm Optimization).Firstly,the algorithm takes the competitive learning mechanism of a self-organizing mapping network to divide the data samples into coarse clusters and obtain the clustering center.Then,the obtained clustering center is used as the initialization parameter of the weight particle swarm optimization algorithm.The particle position of the WPSO algorithm is determined by the traditional clustering center is improved to the sample weight,and the cluster center is the“food”of the particle group.Each particle moves toward the nearest cluster center.Each iteration optimizes the particle position and velocity and uses K-means and K-medoids recalculates cluster centers and cluster partitions until the end of the algorithm convergence iteration.After a lot of experimental analysis on the commonly used UCI data set,this paper not only solves the shortcomings of K-means clustering algorithm,the problem of dependence of the initial clustering center,and improves the accuracy of clustering,but also avoids falling into the local optimum.The algorithm has good global convergence.

Effects of Vertex Activity and Self-organized Criticality Behavior on a Weighted Evolving Network

Effects of vertex activity have been analyzed on a weighted evolving network.The network is characterized by the probability distribution of vertex strength,each edge weight and evolution of the strength of vertices with different vertex activities.The model exhibits self-organized criticality behavior.The probability distribution of avalanche size for different network sizes is also shown.In addition,there is a power law relation between the size and the duration of an avalanche and the average of avalanche size has been studied for different vertex activities.

Phosphorus release from phosphate rock and iron phosphate by low-molecular-weight organic acids

Low-molecular-weight(LMW) organic acids widely exist in soils, particularly in the rhizosphere. A series of batch experiments were carried out to investigate the phosphorus release from rock phosphate and iron phosphate by low-molecular-weight organic acids. Results showed that citric acid had the highest capacity to solubilize P from both rock and iron phosphate. P solubilization from rock phosphate and iron phosphate resulted in net proton consumption. P release from rock phosphate was positively correlated with the p K _a values. P release from iron phosphate was positively correlated with Fe-organic acid stability constants except for aromatic acids, but was not correlated with p K _a. Increase in the concentrations of organic acids enhanced P solubilization from both rock and iron phosphate almost linearly. Addition of phenolic compounds further increased the P release from iron phosphate. Initial solution pH had much more substantial effect on P release from rock phosphate than from iron phosphate.

Binding of Pyrene to Different Molecular Weight Fractions of Dissolved Organic Matter:Effects of Chemical Composition and Steric Conformation

The binding constant（KDOM） of pyrene onto different molecular weight（Mw） fractions of a dissolved organic matter（DOM） extract from an estuarine sediment was measured via a fluorescence quenching method,and the possible binding mechanisms were discussed.The influence of water chemical parameters on pyrene binding was studied to elucidate the effects of DOM steric conformation.DOM fraction with larger M w（14000） showed a greater KDOM（2.02×10 5） than that with smaller Mw did,and the KDOMs were 1.16×105 and 1.13×105 for the fractions with M w of 1000―14000 and 1000,respectively.The K DOM s of different M w DOM fractions were correlated positively with the atomic ratio of C/H and absorbance at 280 nm;while a negative correlation existed between K DOM and（O＋C）/N（atomic ratio）,and K DOM and O-containing groups.These correlations indicate the positive influence of aromatic structure and the negative effect of polarity on DOM binding capacity.Infrared spectroscopy revealed that specific interactions existed between pyrene and the DOM fraction with larger M W besides hydrophobic partition,i.e.,NH-π interaction in DOM moiety（1000―14000） and π-π electron donor acceptor（EDA） forces in DOM moiety（14000）.KDOM varied in a complex pattern with increasing cation concentration and pH,which could be explained by the change in DOM steric conformation.Formed aggregates favored the lipophilic partition of pyrene.However,the accessibility to some interior binding sites became low when the aggregate was too large,leading to a reduced KDOM.

Weight contributions of stomach compartment and organs to body weight of Mongolian gazelles

The stomach compartments of 51 Mongolian gazelles (Procapra guttrurosa) were weighed and the data were compared with total body weight. The total tissue weights ranged from 2.70% to 2.82% of body weight. Rumens were the heaviest, occupying about 75% of the total stomach, followed by reticulums (9%–11%), abomasums (8%–10%) and omasums (4%–6%). The weights of rumens were directly proportional to body weights and weights of omasums and abomasums were inversely related to body weights. Stomachs of the Mongolian gazelle were of the “mixed feeder” in terms of total weight and contribution of each compartment.

Role of Low-Molecule-Weight Organic Acids and Their Salts in Regulating Soil pH

The process of organic materials increasing soil pH has not yet been fully understood. This study examined the role of cations and organic anions in regulating soil pH using organic compounds. Calcareous soil, acid soil, and paddy soil were incubated with different simple organic compounds, pH was determined periodically and CO2 emission was also measured. Mixing organic acids with the soil caused an instant decrease of soil pH. The magnitude of pH decrease depended on the initial soil acidity and dissociation degree of the acids. Decomposition of organic acids could only recover the soil pH to about its original level. Mixing organic salts with soil caused an instant increase of soil pH. Decomposition of organic salts of sodium resulted in a steady increase of soil pH, with final soil pH being about 2.7-3.2 pH units over the control. Organic salts with the same anions （citrate） but different cations led to different magnitudes of pH increase, while those having the same cations but different anions led to very similar pH increases. Organic salts of sodium and sodium carbonate caused very similar pH increases of soil when they were added to the acid soil at equimolar concentrations of Na^＋. The results suggested that cations played a central role in regulating soil pH. Decarboxylation might only consume a limited number of protons. Conversion of organic salts into inorganic salts （carbonate） was possibly responsible for pH increase during their decomposition, suggesting that only those plant residues containing high excess base cations could actually increase soil pH.

Effect of Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids on Cl-Adsorption by Variable Charge Soils

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) organic acids exist widely in soils and have beenimplicated in many soil processes. The objective of the present paper was to evaluate effect of twoLMW organic acids, citric acid and oxalic acid, on Cl^-adsorption by three variable charge soils, alatosol, a lateritic red soil and a red soil, using a batch method. The results showed that thepresence of citric acid and oxalic acid led to a decrease in Cl^- adsorption with larger decreasesfor citric acid. Among the different soils Cl^- adsorption in the lateritic red soil and the redsoil was more affected by both the LMW organic acids than that in the latosol.

Weighted Evolving Networks with Self-organized Communities

In order to describe the self-organization of communities in the evolution of weighted networks, we propose a new evolving model for weighted community-structured networks with the preferential mechanisms functioned in different levels according to community sizes and node strengths, respectively. Theoretical analyses and numerical simulations show that our model captures power-law distributions of community sizes, node strengths, and link weights, with tunable exponents of v ≥ 1, γ 〉 2, and α 〉 2, respectively, sharing large clustering coefficients and scaling clustering spectra, and covering the range from disassortative networks to assortative networks. Finally, we apply our new model to the scientific co-authorship networks with both their weighted and unweighted datasets to verify its effectiveness.

Combination of a <i>Lactobacillus</i>-Based Probiotic and Organic Acids Decrease Egg to Chick Weight Loss and Reduce <i>Salmonella</i>spp. Counts in the Litter of Commercial Broiler Breeders

The effects of supplementing a blend of organic acids (OA) and a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) based-probiotic on egg to chick weight loss (%) and Salmonella spp. recovery counts in the litter of commercial broiler breeders were examined in three independent trials during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. In each trial, ten thousand birds were divided into two groups of 5000 birds (4500 females and 500 males in each group): Control non-treated group, receiving regular water or treated group, receiving OA and probiotic in the drinking water from 25 to 35 weeks of age. During the ten weeks of evaluation, one thousand fertile eggs or hatched chickens in each trial respectively, were evaluated to obtained, hatching set weight, transferred egg weight, and hatching chick weight, to estimate the difference between egg to chick weight loss (%). Besides, in trial 2 (2014) and trial 3 (2015), litter samples were collected to evaluate Salmonella spp. counts. The supplementation of OA and probiotic during ten consecutive weeks significantly decreased the egg to chick weight loss (%) when compared with the control non-treated groups in all three trials evaluated. Interestingly, at the end of the trials 2 and 3, no counts of Salmonella spp. in the litter were detected. In contrast, control-non treated groups resulted in 4.30 and 4.24 Log10 of Salmonella spp. in trials two and three respectively. The results of the present study suggest that supplementation of OA and a LAB-probiotic for ten consecutive weeks decrease the egg to chick weight loss (%) and reduce Salmonella spp. counts in the litter of commercial broiler breeders. Higher initial body weight in broiler chickens and reduction of Salmonella spp., clearly justify the use of the combination of these products, as alternatives to antibiotics.

Associations between Borg's rating of perceived exertion and changes in urinary organic acid metabolites after outdoor weightbearing hiking

BACKGROUND Developing methods to monitor exercise load and evaluate body fatigue and muscle injury over time in hiking training remains a key problem to be solved.A widely used psycho-physical tool to assess the subjective perception of effort during exercise is Borg’s rating of perceived exertion(BRPE)scale.Data on the relationships and validity of the BRPE compared to objectively assessed metabolic criteria are still lacking,especially urinary organic acid concentrations.AIM To verify whether the BRPE scale could be used in the prescription of outdoor hiking with weight-bearing and reveal the relationship between the BRPE scale and urinary physiological measures.METHODS Eighty-nine healthy men(average age:22 years)were enrolled in a 40 km(6 h)hiking training exercise with a 20 kg load.After training,the BRPE scale(6-20)was completed.All participants were divided into three groups according to the rating of the BRPE scale.Urine samples were collected before and after training.Urinary myoglobin levels were measured immediately using the fluorescent immunoassay method.The remaining urine was subpacked and frozen for the subsequent detection of urinary organic acids using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.RESULTS The contents of organic acids and myoglobin in urine were significantly increased after participants hiked 40 km(6 h)with a 20 kg load.Only orthogonal partial least-squares discrimination analysis performed well in separating the group with a BRPE score of 6-12 from the group with a BRPE score of 13-20.Significant differences in the urine levels of several organic acids were observed between the two groups,and the heatmap also presented different metabolic profiles based on BRPE.According to the standard of a variable importance in the projection>1,fold change>1.5 and P<0.05,19 different metabolites of urinary organic acids were screened and enriched in pathways mainly including the citrate cycle(tricarboxylic acid cycle)and alanine,aspartate and glucose metabolism.CONCLUSION The BRPE scale identified significantly different urinary organic acid profiles between the higher and lower BRPE value groups,and,thus,could be used to monitor body fatigue in individuals participating in long-distance outdoor hiking with weight bearing.

Molecular Weight Distribution of Dissolved Organic Matter in Lake Hongfeng Determined by High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) With On-Line UV-Vis Absorbance and Fluorescence Detection

The molecular weight distribution (MWD) of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in lake waters from Lake Hongfeng was examined using high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) with UV-vis absorbance and fluorescence detection. The elution curves obtained by absorbance and fluorescence techniques expressed similar patterns, with the exception of diminishing of large fraction and the peaks behind several seconds in fluorescence chromatograms. According to its molecular weight (MW), DOM in water samples is divided into several fractions: large ({>3.5} kDa); medium-large ({3.5}-{2.0} kDa); medium ({2.0}-{1.0} kDa) and small ({<1.0} kDa). The average molecular weight was calculated using the elution curve detected by UV-vis absorbance and fluorescence detection techniques. The results showed that the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and number-average molecular weight (Mn) calculated by UV-vis absorbance techniques range from 1750 to 2050 Dalton and from 1450 to 1850 Dalton, respectively. And the Mw and Mn obtained by fluorescence detection are lower by 50 to 400 Dalton. As a reference, the molecular weight of Fluka humic acid (FHA) is larger than that of water samples by about 200 Dalton. The average molecular weight of DOM for water samples collected in March and July was compared. The results revealed that the molecular weight is lower for water samples obtained in July than that obtained in March, indicating the ambient environment has an influence on the molecular weight, including photo-degradation and biological activity.