Morphology,ultrasonographic and computed tomography configuration of the dog pelvis and perineum

The current study used topographic anatomy, distribution of arteries and nerves, sectional anatomy of the pelvis, computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography examination to describe the canine pelvis and its organs. This study was conducted on twenty male and female baladi dogs, weighing 30–35 kg and aged between 1.5 and 2 years. The pelvis dorsal boundary appeared long and reached to the level of the third caudal vertebra. The vesicogenital pouch in the female extended further caudally than the rectogenital pouch while in the male the two pouches were at the same level and extended to the level of the first sacral vertebra. The plexus lumbosacralis formed from the ventral branches of the last three lumbar nerves and the first three sacral nerves. The obturator nerve arose from the ventral branches of the fifth and sixth lumbar nerves. We developed an anatomical atlas of the pelvis of both sexes of the dog using CT scans compared to anatomical sections. Our study is the first research on the pelvis in both sexes of the dog to compare sagittal CT scan data to sagittal anatomical sections. In the CT slices, the prostate appeared homogenous, relatively hypodense presenting with a soft tissue density. It appeared oval in the longitudinal sections and elliptical to round at the cross sections. It was situated on the floor of the pelvic cavity or the pelvic brim depending on its size. The present study is also the first to describe the fascia diaphragmatic pelvis.     

A genome-wide analysis of cardiac lesions of pigs that die during transport: Is heart failure of in-transit-loss pigs associated with a heritable cardiomyopathy?

While heart failure is a primary cause of death for many in-transit-loss (ITL) pigs, the underlying cause of these deaths is not known. Cardiomyopathies are considered a common cause of heart failure in humans and often have a genetic component. The objective of this study was to determine if genes associated with cardiomyopathies could be identified in ITL pigs. Samples from the hearts of pigs that died during transport to an abattoir in Ontario, Canada were collected and genotyped along with samples from pigs that did not die during transport (ILT hearts: n = 149; non-ITL/control hearts: n = 387). Genome-wide analyses were carried out on each of the determined phenotypes (gross cardiac lesions) using a medium density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip and 500 kb windows/regions for analysis, with 250 kb regions of overlap. The distribution derived by a multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis of all phenotypes demonstrated a lack of complete separation between phenotypes of affected and unaffected animals, which made diagnosis difficult. Although genetic differences were small, a few genes associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVM) were identified. In addition, multiple genes associated with cardiac arrhythmias and ventricular hypertrophy were identified that can possibly result in heart failure. The results of this preliminary study did not provide convincing evidence that a single, heritable cardiomyopathy is the cause of heart failure in ITL pigs.     

Field determination of soil hydraulic properties for simulation of the optimum watertable regime

A field experiment to evaluate accurate cost and time efficient methodologies for determining soil hydraulic properties was done at the NIAB Research Station at Faisalabad, Pakistan. The experiment was performed on a freely draining loamy soil. This soil type is representative of 75% of the topsoil in a tile drainage area known as the Fourth Drainage Project. Redistribution of water was monitored at five locations, for seven depths, following a steady state infiltration for prolonged time. The data were analyzed with Darcian flow analysis, three simplified methods, and two parameter optimization programs to calculate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The Darcian flow analysis was used as a reference against which the simplified methods were compared. Two simplified methods produced satisfactory results with less effort. The drawback is that the simplified methods alone do not provide enough information for use in simulation models. The advantage of the two optimization programs — SFIT and RETC — is that they are based on a continuous function which describes complete h() and K() curves. This is a requirement for computer simulation of salt and water movement in the unsaturated soil. The results of the optimizations were evaluated by their correspondence to field measurements and to laboratory measurements and by their ability to simulate soil water flow. Both programs fit the observed field data well, but only the SFIT optimized parameters were suitable for soil water flow simulations.Abbreviations IWASRI International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute - NRAP Netherlands Research Assistance Project - NIAB Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology - SSP Soil Survey of Pakistan Revised paper from Field determination of soil hydraulic properties presented in ICID, CIID IDW5, Lahore, Pakistan (1–55 — 1–64).     

Molecular Responses to Cadmium in Roots of Pisum Sativum L.

Molecular responses to Cd were studied in roots of three pea genotypes (cv. Frisson, VIR4788, VIR7128) growing in a polluted substrate. Root and shoot fresh biomass was decreased by Cd pollution in all genotypes. Gene expression profiling after one weeks' exposure to Cd revealed that genes encoding stress-related proteins (heat-shock protein, pI206, chitinase, chalcone isomerase), a metallothionein, γ -glutamylcysteine synthetase and glutathione reductase were up-regulated in the pea genotypes. A glutathione synthetase gene was activated only in VIR4788 but a homoglutathione synthetase gene was unaffected by Cd, and concomitantly glutathione/homoglutathione accumulation in plant roots did not change with Cd stress. However, the overall concentration of thiol groups, which indicate the presence of phytochelatins and/or homophytochelatins, increased more than 2-fold.     

Effect of soil compaction on photosynthesis and carbon partitioning within a maize–soil system

Soil compaction is known to affect plant growth. However, most of the information regarding the effects of this factor on carbon partitioning has been obtained on young plants while little is known about the evolution of these effects with plant age. The objective of this work was to investigate how soil compaction affects carbon assimilation, photosynthate partitioning and morphology of maize plants during vegetative growth up to tassel initiation. A pressure was applied on moist soil to obtain a bulk density of 1.45 g cm⁻³ (compacted soil (CS) treatment) while the loose soil (LS) treatment (bulk density of 1.30 g cm⁻³) was obtained by gentle vibration of soil columns. Plants were grown in a growth chamber for 3–6 weeks and carbon partitioning in the plant–soil system was evaluated using ¹⁴C pulse-labelling techniques. Soil compaction greatly hampered root elongation and delayed leaf appearance rate, thereby decreasing plant height, shoot and root dry weights and leaf area. The increase in soil bulk density decreased carbon assimilation rate especially in early growth stages. The main effect of soil compaction on assimilate partitioning occurred on carbon exudation, which increased considerably to the detriment of root carbon. Furthermore, soil microbial biomass greatly increased in CS. Two hypotheses were formulated. The first was that increasing soil resistance to root penetration induced a sink limitation in roots and this increased carbon release into the soil and resulted in a root feedback that regulated carbon assimilation rate. The second hypothesis relies on soil–plant water relations since, due to compaction, the pore size distribution has to be considered. In a compacted soil, the peak of the pore size distribution curve is shifted towards the small pore size. The volume of small pores increases and the unsaturated conductivity decreases substantially, when compared to non-compacted soil. Due to small hydraulic conductivity, the inflow into the roots is well below optimum and the plant closes stomata thus reducing carbon assimilation rate. The effects of soil compaction persisted with plant age although the difference between the two treatments, in terms of percentage, decreased at advanced growth stages, especially in the case of root parameters.     

Translocation and recovery of 15N-labelled N derived from foliar uptake of 15NH3 by rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars

Foliar uptake of ¹⁵NH₃ applied at two growth stages (tillering and anthesis) and the subsequent ¹⁵N-labelled vegetative-N distribution in different plant components at maturity was investigated in three rice cultivars, IR-6, NIAB-6 and Bas-385. Rice plants absorbed 22–30% and 18–24% of the ¹⁵NH₃ applied at tillering and anthesis stages, respectively. Of the total ¹⁵NH₃ absorbed at tillering stage, IR-6 and Bas-385 showed higher recovery (71%) in different plant components at maturity as compared to NIAB-6 (48% recovery). At maturity, percent recovery of the ¹⁵NH₃ absorbed at anthesis stage was almost comparable in different cultivars, but it was lower (46–55%) than that absorbed at the tillering stage. Recovery of the absorbed ¹⁵NH₃-N in the soil was negligible and ranged from 0.3–1%. At maturity, the cultivars IR-6 and Bas-385 showed a higher loss (45–53%) of ¹⁵NH₃ absorbed at anthesis than at the tillering stage (29% loss), whereas for NIAB-6, the corresponding figures were comparable for the two growth stages (tillering, 51% loss; anthesis, 49% loss). Results indicated a variable potential of the tested rice cultivars for foliar uptake of atmospheric ¹⁵NH₃ and distribution of ¹⁵N-labelled vegetative-N in different plant components.     

Morphological Variability of Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce, from the Cholistan Desert, Pakistan

Sixty-two accessions of Prosopis cineraria, collected from different areas of the Cholistan desert and from the vicinity of Islamia University, Bahawalpur during June, 2002 were evaluated for agro-morphological diversity. Data collected revealed considerable variation for pod length, pod thickness, number of seeds per pod, pod weight, 100-seed weight, seed size, number of pinnules, length of pinnae, length of the pinnulae, and breadth of the pinnulae. Accessions GD-1 and GD-2, collected from Gadhen Wala Toba, KWT-1, KWT-3, KWT-4, KWT-6, from Khokhran Wala Toba, TWT-2, TWT-7, TWT-8, from Taraway Wala Toba, CSW-2, CSW-7, CSW-8, from Chah Sulleh Wala, and IUB-5, IUB-9, from Islamia University, Bahawalpur, showed very high variation. Overall, accessions KWT-6 from Khokhran Wala Toba, and TWT-7, from Taraway Wala Toba, (both from Cholistan desert), appeared as best genotypes based on their morphological variation detected in this study.     

Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA)-typing of Brucella abortus isolates of India reveals limited genetic diversity

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) technique has wide applications in studying phylogenies and short-term epidemiology of pathogens....     

Effects of Potassium Sulfate on Adaptability of Sugarcane Cultivars to Salt Stress under Hydroponic Conditions

The effect of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) on adaptability of sugarcane to sodium chloride (NaCl) stress was investigated under hydroponic conditions. Two sugarcane cultivars, differing in salinity tolerance, were grown in half strength Johnson's solution at 80 mM NaCl with 0, 2.5 and 5.0 mM potassium (K) as K₂SO₄. Salinity disturbed above and below-ground dry matter production in both sugarcane cultivars. However, salt sensitive cultivar showed more reduction in shoot dry matter and higher root:shoot ratio compare to the salt tolerant cultivar under. Application of K significantly (p < 0.05) improved dry matter production in both sugarcane cultivars. The concentration of Na was markedly increased with increasing salinity; however, the application of K reduced its uptake, accumulation and distribution in plant tissues. Salinity induced reduction in K concentration, K-uptake, K utilization efficiency (KUE) and K:Na ratio in both sugarcane cultivars was significantly improved with the addition of K to the saline growth medium.     

Induction of ovulation in ornamental common carp (Koi, Cyprinus carpio L.) using LHRHa ([d-Ser(tBu)6, Pro9-NEt]-LHRH) combined with haloperidol and carp pituitary extract

The effects of a single injection of mammalian superactive analogue [d ‐Ser(tBu)⁶,Pro⁹‐NEt]‐LHRHa (20 μg/ kg^?1) combined with the dopamine antagonist, haloperidol (HAL, 0.5 mg kg^?1), for induction of ovulation in the koi carp broodstocks were determined under routine hatchery conditions. The results were compared with classic carp pituitary extract (CPE, double injection) application (water temperature 22 °C). Physiological saline (0.7% NaCl)‐injected fish were used as a control group and no ovulation occurred in this group. The spawning ratio was high in the LHRHa+HAL treatment group and in the CPE treatment group (6/7 and 5/7 respectively). The latency period was 14–16 h in the LHRHa+HAL treatment group and 12–14 h in the CPE treatment group (after the second injection). There was no difference between the two ovulating groups with respect to the spawning index (the weight of eggs as a percentage of female body weight) and fertilization rate of eggs (P>0.05). As a result, ovulation can be induced successfully in koi carp broodstocks with 20 μg kg^?1 [d ‐Ser(tBu)⁶,Pro⁹‐NEt]‐LHRHa+0.5 mg kg^?1 HAL treatment in a single injection without decreasing the egg quality. Application of this combination can be useful for hatchery and broodstock management in koi carp culture.