Proximal mandibular nerve block, using electrolocation, for rostral mandibulectomy in a geriatric dog

We describe a case of proximal mandibular nerve block with ropivacaine, using electrolocation, for perioperative pain management in a geriatric dog undergoing rostral mandibulectomy. The patient did not require intraoperative analgesia or analgesic supplementation for 8 h after the end of the surgery.     

Supplementing a skimmed milk–egg yolk-based extender with L-carnitine helps maintain the motility,membrane integrity and fertilizing capacity of chilled ram sperm

This study examines the effect of L-carnitine (LC) on chilled ram semen stored for up to 96 hr. Semen samples were collected, placed in a skimmed milk + 6% egg yolk extender, pooled, aliquoted and diluted with the same extender supplemented with different LC concentration: 0 (control), 1 mM (LC1), 2.5 mM (LC2.5), 5 mM (LC5), 7.5 mM (LC7.5) or10 mM (LC10). Sperm kinetics and membranes (plasma, acrosome and mitochondrial) were examined using the CASA system and triple fluorescence staining (PI/ PNA-FITC/Mitotracker). The progressive motility was greater (p < .05) with LC7.5 treatment than the control sperm at 96 hr. The curvilinear velocity (p < .01) and the percentage of sperm with intact membranes (plasma/acrosome/mitochondria) (p < .01) were greater with all LC treatments than the control group at all times. Straight line velocity was greater (p < .01) with LC5 and LC7.5 treatments than the control group after 48 hr. The LC5 group also returned lower ALH values (p < .05) than these seen for the control groups after 48 hr. The fertilizing capacity of LC5 samples stored at 15°C for 2 hr (LC5-15°C-2h) and at 5°C for 24 hr (LC5-5°C-24h) was tested in three ewe groups via cervical fixed-time artificial insemination. In two groups, the fertilizing capacity of the LC5-5°C-24h was reduced (p < .001). In the remaining group, however, no significant difference was seen between the LC5-15°C-2h and LC5-5°C-24h sperm in this respect (pregnancy rates 52.4% versus 42.8%; p > .05). Overall, the present results suggest that supplementing skimmed milk–egg yolk-based extenders with LC has a positive effect on chilled sperm variables and fertilizing capacity.     

Abundance of White-fronted Parrots and diet of an urban parrot assemblage(Aves:Psittaciformes)in a green Neotropical city

Urban ecosystems are evolutionarily recent novel environments acting as biodiversity filters.Psittacidae birds are considered successful urban adapters mainly d...     

Drought as a modulator of plant–virus–vector interactions: Effects on symptom expression,plant immunity and vector behaviour

Plant–virus interactions are affected by environmental conditions that determine plant vulnerability to pathogens and the population dynamics of insect vectors. We hypothesize that drought enhances horizontal transmission by dampening the basal immunity of plants, which triggers symptom expression and vector manipulation. The potato yellow vein virus (PYVV) causes potato yellow vein disease (PYVD), a re-emerging epidemic of potato crops in South America, and is transmitted horizontally by the greenhouse whitefly (GWF), Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), or vertically through infected seed tubers. We investigated the role of drought and temperature as modulators of PYVD symptom expression, plant immune response, and vector survival, development and host preference. We found that drought induced symptom expression, suppressed the salicylic acid pathway and increased PYVV replication. GWF survival was reduced on PYVV-infected hosts and development was slowest when they fed on plants with PYVD symptoms, which also triggered adults’ attraction to PYVV-infected plants. However, adults previously fed on infected plants showed the opposite effect, being more attracted to PYVV-free plants. We propose a theoretical model that explains the role of drought in modulating potato–PYVV–GWF interactions and provides new insights into plant–virus–vector coevolution.     

Metabolite Profiling of Rosemary Cell Lines with Antiproliferative Potential against Human HT-29 Colon Cancer Cells

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a culinary and medicinal plant used in food and pharmaceutical industry. The wide range of biological activities is mainly...     

Identification of resistance to Uromyces pisi (Pers.) Wint. in Pisum spp. germplasm

A germplasm collection of 2759 pea accessions was screened for resistance against Uromyces pisi (Pers.) Wint. All accessions displayed a compatible interaction (high infection type) both in adult plants under field conditions and in seedlings under growth chamber conditions, but with varying levels of disease reduction. The identified resistance was based on reduction of disease severity with no associated host cell necrosis, which fits the definition of Partial Resistance. No complete resistance or incomplete resistance based on hypersensitivity was observed.     

‘Microbigation’: delivery of biological control agents through drip irrigation systems

The uniform and precise application of microbial particles close to the target organism and to the plant to be protected can increase the success of a biological control treatment. The use of systems or technologies which are usually available in agriculture could influence the acceptability of biocontrol agents by farmers, and enlarge the market. A pilot system was realized using dripper lines, drippers, filters and other tools commonly used in irrigation and precision agriculture in the greenhouse to evaluate their suitability for applying and distributing microbial biocontrol agents. Conidial suspensions of marketed or marketable agents were used, i.e. Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Trichoderma harzianum and Paecilomyces lilacinus. The experiments carried out demonstrated that conidial suspensions (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) can pass through the drippers without causing clogging, regardless of their size, and remained viable. The term ‘microbigation’ is here proposed for this kind of microbial application technique.     

A sensitive dot immunobinding assay for serodiagnosis of African swine fever virus with application in field conditions.

The present work describes a simple dot immunobinding assay (DIA) for African swine fever virus (ASFV) antibody detection that can be used under field conditions. The assay uses nitrocellulose strips dotted with a cytoplasmic soluble antigen (CS-P) of ASFV. The nitrocellulose strips are adhered to a plastic handle. The test serum samples react with the CS-P, and antibodies are detected using a protein A-peroxidase conjugate. Both incubations are carried out at 20 C. The efficacy of the DIA as a screening test for ASFV was compared to an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and an immunoblotting (IB) test using 343 sera collected from natural African swine fever epizootics and from inapparent ASFV carriers. The DIA had comparable sensitivity to both reference techniques, and all samples positive in the ELISA and IB test were also positive in the DIA. False-positive reactions were not detected when whole blood or poorly preserved serum samples were tested by DIA. Some poorly preserved sera that were positive initially by the ELISA were no longer ELISA positive in a later run, although they were positive in IB and DIA. These positive DIA and IB test results could be caused by the differences in antibody epitope binding.