Retrospective serological study on hepatitis E infection in pigs from 1985 to 1997 in Spain

The objective of the present work was to ascertain the date in which hepatitis E virus (HEV) was introduced in the Spanish pig population. For this, a serological retrospective study was carried out using archived sera. A total of 2871 serum samples gathered between 1985 and 1997 and collected in 208 farms of Spain were tested for anti-HEV IgG by an in-house ELISA. Of the 2871 sera analyzed by ELISA, 1390 were positive for anti-HEV antibodies (48.4%, 95% CI: 46.9-49.9%) and that corresponded to 204/208 farms (98%, 95% CI: 96.1-99.9%) having at least one positive pig. Our results show that HEV was present and widespread in Spanish swine farms at least since 1985. Any significant changes in prevalence were detected from 1 year to another and therefore, HEV infection in swine should be considered endemic in Spain.     

A multiplex RT-PCR assay for the rapid and differential diagnosis of classical swine fever and other pestivirus infections

Classical swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease causing severe economic losses in pig production almost worldwide. All pestivirus species can infect pigs, therefore accurate and rapid pestivirus detection and differentiation is of great importance to assure control measures in swine farming. Here we describe the development and evaluation of a novel multiplex, highly sensitive and specific RT-PCR for the simultaneous detection and rapid differentiation between CSFV and other pestivirus infections in swine. The universal and differential detection was based on primers designed to amplify a fragment of the 5′ non-coding genome region for the detection of pestiviruses and a fragment of the NS5B gene for the detection of classical swine fever virus. The assay proved to be specific when different pestivirus strains from swine and ruminants were evaluated. The analytical sensitivity was estimated to be as little as 0.89 TCID₅₀. The assay analysis of 30 tissue homogenate samples from naturally infected and non-CSF infected animals and 40 standard serum samples evaluated as part of two European Inter-laboratory Comparison Tests conducted by the European Community Reference Laboratory, Hanover, Germany proved that the multiplex RT-PCR method provides a rapid, highly sensitive, and cost-effective laboratory diagnosis for classical swine fever and other pestivirus infections in swine.     

Hybridization between Quercus robur and Q. petraea in a mixed oak stand in Denmark

? Hybridization and mating pattern between Quercus robur and Q. petraea was studied in a 5.8 ha mixed forest stand in Jutland, Denmark which comprises in total 135 Quercus robur and 230 Q. petraea trees. Classification of the oak trees into species was performed using canonical discriminant analysis of a range of leaf morphological traits. Adult trees (365) and offspring (582) were genotyped with eight microsatellite markers. Seedlings were sampled in 2003 and acorns were collected in 2004.

? Mating patterns of Q. robur and Q. petraea are expected to be different in the northern range of the distribution area and a larger hybridization rate is expected. It is further expected, that pollination from outside sources will be relatively less in small fragmented forest management systems compared to large scale oak forest. The conclusions should be verified through repeated year to year analysis of the mating pattern.

? Phenological studies revealed that there was no difference in flowering time between species. Data for the adult trees revealed no significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg proportions and there was weak, but significant spatial genetic structure, which supports the idea that the stand is of natural origin. Spatial genetic structure in the first distance class is stronger for Q. petraea. The genetic composition of the offspring was remarkably consistent from year to year. Paternity analysis revealed that, on average, 85% pollination came from fathers within the stand. The direction of the pollen flow varied from year to year. Inter-specific hybridization was high and ranged from 15–17% and from 48–55% for Q. petraea and Q. robur mothers respectively. Paternity analysis revealed that the population was basically outcrossing and only 3.7% of the analysed progeny were the product of selfing. Over the two years of study, approximately 200 trees contributed to the paternity of the next generations.

? The study confirms earlier studies with a greater tendency for Q. robur mothers to produce hybrid seeds than Q. petraea mothers. The rate of hybridization is higher in this Danish stand than in comparable studies elsewhere in Europe. Gene flow from outside sources are relatively low.

     

Wireless sensor network deployment for integrating video-surveillance and data-monitoring in precision agriculture over distributed crops

Monitoring different parameters of interest in a crop has been proven as a useful tool to improve agricultural production. Crop monitoring in precision agriculture may be achieved by a multiplicity of technologies; however the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) results in low-cost and low-power consumption deployments, therefore becoming a dominant option. It is also well-known that crops are also negatively affected by intruders (human or animals) and by insufficient control of the production process. Video-surveillance is a solution to detect and identify intruders as well as to better take care of the production process. In this paper, a new platform called Integrated WSN Solution for Precision Agriculture is proposed. The only cost-effective technology employed is IEEE 802.15.4, and it efficiently integrates crop data acquisition, data transmission to the end-user and video-surveillance tasks. This platform has been evaluated for the particular scenario of scattered crops video-surveillance by using computer simulation and analysis. The telecommunications metrics of choice are energy consumed, probability of frame collision and end-to-end latency, which have been carefully studied to offer the most appropriate wireless network operation. Wireless node prototypes providing agriculture data monitoring, motion detection, camera sensor and long distance data transmission (in the order of several kilometers) are developed. The performance evaluation of this real tests-bed scenario demonstrates the feasibility of the platform designed and confirms the simulation and analytical results.     

Fishermen's perception on the sustainability of small‐scale fisheries and dolphin–fisheries interactions in two increasingly fragile coastal ecosystems in western Greece

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Alopecia in a black Labrador retriever associated with focal sub‐follicular panniculitis and sebaceous adenitis

A 6‐year‐old entire male black Labrador retriever was presented with nonpruritic multicentric, well‐demarcated alopecia of 12‐weeks duration. Skin biopsies from the margins of alopecic regions showed sebaceous adenitis and sub‐follicular panniculitis. Biopsies from alopecic areas showed severe follicular atrophy with residual fibrous tracts, loss of sebaceous glands and lymphohistiocytic panniculitis beneath individual atrophic hair follicle groups. These features differed from previous reports of pilosebaceous diseases of dogs and appeared to extend the spectrum of inflammatory patterns in presumed immune‐mediated adnexal diseases of this species. During the 12‐month follow‐up, there was partial hair regrowth without treatment but alopecia was permanent in the centre of larger lesions.     

Resolving differing stakeholder perceptions of urban rooftop farming in Mediterranean cities: promoting food production as a driver for innovative forms of urban agriculture

Urban agriculture (UA) is spreading within the Global North, largely for food production, ranging from household individual gardens to community gardens that boost neighborhood regeneration. Additionally, UA is also being integrated into buildings, such as urban rooftop farming (URF). Some URF experiences succeed in North America both as private and community initiatives. To date, little attention has been paid to how stakeholders perceive UA and URF in the Mediterranean or to the role of food production in these initiatives. This study examines the promotion and inclusion of new forms of UA through the practice of URF and contributes to the nascent literature on the stakeholder and public perceptions of UA. It seeks to understand how those perceptions shape the development of new urban agriculture practices and projects. Barcelona (Spain) was used as a Mediterranean case study where UA and URF projects are growing in popularity. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 core stakeholders, we show that UA is largely perceived as a social activity rather than a food production initiative, because the planning of urban gardens in Barcelona was traditionally done to achieve leisure and other social goals. However, several stakeholders highlighted the potential to increase urban fertility through URF by occupying currently unused spaces. As a result, the positive valuation of URF depends on the conceptualization of UA as a social or food production activity. In turn, such conceptualization shapes barriers and opportunities for the development of URF. While most UA-related stakeholders (e.g., food co-ops, NGOs) preferred soil-based UA, newer stakeholders (e.g., architects) highlighted the economic, social and environmental opportunities of local and efficient food production through innovative URF.     

Science for action at the local landscape scale

For landscape ecology to produce knowledge relevant to society, it must include considerations of human culture and behavior, extending beyond the natural sciences to synthesize with many other disciplines. Furthermore, it needs to be able to support landscape change processes which increasingly take the shape of deliberative and collaborative decision making by local stakeholder groups. Landscape ecology as described by Wu (Landscape Ecol 28:1–11, 2013) therefore needs three additional topics of investigation: (1) the local landscape as a boundary object that builds communication among disciplines and between science and local communities, (2) iterative and collaborative methods for generating transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable change, and (3) the effect of scientific knowledge and tools on local landscape policy and landscape change. Collectively, these topics could empower landscape ecology to be a science for action at the local scale.     

Physiological and Anatomical Studies of surface Pitting of Sweet Cherry Fruit in Relation to Bruising,Chemical Treatments and Storage Conditions

Mechanical injury of sweet cherry fruit causes the disorder ‘surface pitting’, in which skin depressions overlie necrotic lesions in the fleshy mesocarp. Storage at temperatures near 0°C or the transfer of fruit from cool storage to room temperature worsened the disorder. Pretreating the fruit before cool storage with antitranspirant or surface-active agents exacerbated the disorder, but these effects were mitigated by the addition of CaCl₂. Low O₂, high CO₂ and high humidity atmospheres did not affect the disorder, and low pressure storage was beneficial.