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To obtain good productive performance, sows have different nutrition requirements at different gestation periods. However, in gestation stalls, conventional feeders have large relative errors, management is difficult because of the large numbers of sows, and there are shortcomings in feeding precision and data management. In order to achieve precision feeding and enhance the control of multiple feeders for gestating sows housed in stalls, this study was carried out to investigate a precision feeding system that could be controlled at multiple levels. This system consisted of an electronic sow feeder (ESF), controller area network (CAN), personal digital assistant (PDA), central controller, and Internet of Things platform (IoTP). The results of the experiment showed that relative errors of 60 ESFs delivering feed were within ±2.94%, and the coefficient of variation was less than 1.84%. When the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) ranged from −80 dbm to −70 dbm, the packet loss rate of the PDA was 3.425%. When the RSSI was greater than −70 dbm, no packet loss was observed, and the average response time was 556.05 ms. The IoTP was at the performance bottleneck when the number of concurrent threads was greater than 1700. These experimental results indicated that the system was not only highly accurate in delivering feed, but was also highly reliable in the transmission of information, and therefore met the production requirements of an intensive gestation house.

Dehydrins (DHNs) belong to group II of late embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins, which are up-regulated in most plants during cold, drought, heat, or salinity stress. Despite the importance of dehydrins for the plants to resist abiotic stresses, it is necessary to obtain plant-derived dehydrins from different biomass. Generally, dehydrin PicW1 from Picea wilsonii is involved in Kn-type dehydrin with five K-segments, which has a variety of biological activities. In this work, Picea wilsonii dehydrin PicW1 was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by chitin-affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography, which showed as a single band by SDS-PAGE. A cold-sensitive enzyme of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is used to explore the protective activities of other proteins. Temperature stress assays showed that PicW1 had an effective protective effect on LDH activity, which was better than that of bovine serum albumin (BSA). This study provides insights into the purification and protective activity of K5 DHNs for the advancement of dehydrin structure and function from biomass.

Intercropping is an efficient way to utilize growth resources and for economic benefits. We evaluated the possibility of Zelkova schneideriana Hand. Mazz intercropping with maize (Zea mays L), wheat (Triticum aestivum L), rape (Brassica rapa C), and tall fescue (Festuca elata K). A total of 39 compounds were identified in Z. schneideriana root exudates by GC-MS analysis; 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-methylpropyl) ester had the highest content (50.36 %), followed by phenol, 2,2'-methylenebis[6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methyl- (21.56 %). Growth of the test crops was inhibited by root exudates, when applied at 4 mg·ml-1, however, promoted at 2 mg·ml-1. The strongest inhibition was observed in maize and the lowest in tall fescue. The physiological responses of the crops to the root exudates of Z. schneideriana showed similar treads. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was the most sensitive parameter followed by relative electrical conductivity (REL) and chlorophyll (Chl) content, indicating the trait-specific responses. Rape growth was the most promoted at 2 mg·ml-1, followed by tall fescue. Rape was found the ideal specie for intercropping with Z. schneideriana, followed by tall fescue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allelopathy can seriously affect the growth and vitality of plants and microorganisms. We analyzed the effects of Willow (Salix matsudana Koidz) root exudates on soil bacterial diversity to explore the interactions between plants and soil microorganisms. A total of 18 compounds were identified from the root exudates of S. matsudana variety Yanjiang by GCMS in which the butylacetate content was maximum (72.20 %). Soil was treated with S. matsudana root exudates and genomic DNA of microorganisms was extracted and analyzed by 16s-rDNA sequencing. A total of 374 bacterial species were identified, 91 % of which were uncultured. Uncultured_bacterium_c_subgroup_6 was the dominant bacteria in both treated and control samples. Two species of uncultured_bacterium_f_Acetobacterales_incertae_sedis and uncultured_bacterium_f_Lachnospiraceae were found only in the treated sample, whereas, two species of Kofleria_flava and uncultured_bacterium_f_Enterobacteriaceae were present only in the control sample. The abundance of most species differed between the treated and control bacterial communities, e.g., the abundance of uncultured_bacterium_f_Amb-16S-1034 was 7.22 times higher in the control than in the treated sample and uncultured_bacterium_g_Bacteroides was 6.65 times higher in the treated community than in the control. Functional analysis showed that bacteria in the treated sample were enriched for some disease-resistant and cellulose-decomposing strains. The results demonstrated that willow root exudates can change the soil microbial community structure, which might correspondingly affect the plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]