Bovine and canine acute phase proteins

Acute phase proteins are serum proteins which increase in concentration during the acute phase response to inflammation or infection. The response occurs in all animals, but in different species the response of individual proteins can be significantly different. Of the numerous acute phase proteins which have been identified in humans, a number have been examined in cattle and dogs but usually on an individual basis with little reference to their part in the acute phase response. Biochemical, physiological and clinical investigations into haptoglobin, fibrinogen, ₁-proteinase inhibitor, ceruloplasmin, seromucoid and C-reactive protein of cattle and dogs have therefore been reviewed with the emphasis on their role in this response to tissue damage.     

Thermodynamic efficiency of brittle frictional mountain building

An active fold-and-thrust belt in unchanging tectonic and climatic conditions attains a dynamic steady-state in which the influx of accreted material at the toe is balanced by the erosive efflux off the top. The overall balance of energy in such a steady-state fold-and-thrust belt is described by the equation E = W(G) + Q, where E is the rate at which both mechanical and heat energy are added from external sources, W(G) is the rate of work performed against gravitational body forces, and Q is the rate at which waste heat flows out of the upper and lower boundaries. The total amount of power being supplied to the active Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt by the subducting Eurasian plate and in situ radioactivity is 4.2 gigawatts. Because only 0.5 gigawatts are expended in doing useful work against gravity and the remaining 3.7 gigawatts are ejected as heat, the efficiency of brittle frictional mountain building in Taiwan is 11 percent.     

Fatty acid composition of broiler abdominal fat as influenced by temperature,diet, age and sex

1. Two environmentally controlled houses at 21°‐30°‐21°C (HT) and 21°C (LT) were used to study the effect of temperature on fatty acid composition of the abdominal fat of male and female broilers fed 13.8 and 13 MJ ME/kg diets and slaughtered at 34 and 54 d.

2. Extracts from the abdominal fat of 160 carcases and of the experimental foods were analysed for fatty acids by gas liquid chromatography.

3. Birds reared in HT had a significantly lower proportion of polyun‐saturated fatty acids (PUFA) in their abdominal fat between 34 and 54 d than birds in LT. The depot fat contents of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids were all reduced by HT at 54 d.

4. For broilers slaughtered at 54 d, saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was much higher in females at high temperatures than in males while at low temperatures PUFA, especially linoleic, was much lower in males than in females.

5. Early finishing of broilers is advantageous from the viewpoint of fatty acid composition because the PUFA/SFA ratio declines significantly with age regardless of temperature.     

Physiological effects of arginine vasotocin and mesotocin in cockerels

1. The effects of continuous infusion of 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 mU/min/kg body weight of arginine vasotocin (AVT) or mesotocin (MT) on cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses, on plasma osmolality and ionic composition and on plasma concentrations of AVT, MT, prolactin and aldosterone, were investigated in conscious White Leghorn cockerels.

2. Neither of the peptides, at any dose, affected cardiovascular functions, plasma ions and osmolality. Infusion of MT at the rate of 10 mU/min/kg body weight increased respiratory rate. Both peptides at doses of 1 and 10 mU/min/kg reduced the temperatures of the comb and shank but had no effect on the skin and cloaca.

3. Doses of 0.1 and 1.0 mU MT/mu/kg reduced plasma aldosterone and at 10 mU/min/kg increased plasma AVT. At any given dose MT had no effect on plasma prolactin. AVT at 0.1 and 1.0 mU/min/kg of AVT reduced plasma MT. AVT at 1.0 mU/min/kg increased plasma prolactin and at 10 mU/min/kg reduced plasma aldosterone.

4. During saline infusion, plasma MT was positively correlated with plasma AVT and negatively correlated with respiratory rate and cloacal temperature. Plasma AVT showed a positive correlation with plasma MT and aldosterone and a negative correlation with respiratory rate and skin temperature.

5. During saline infusion, there was no significant correlation between cardiovascular functions, or plasma osmolality and ionic composition and plasma MT or AVT.

6. The present study suggests that interrelationships between circulating concentrations of AVT and MT do exist and that AVT affects     

Releases in israel ofAphelinus perpallidus,a recently introduced parasite of the pecan blackmargined aphid,Monellia caryella

Six shipments totaling 3452 mummies of the blackmargined aphid,Monellia caryella (Fitch), parasitized withAphelinus perpallidus Gahan, were obtained by air freight during the years 1982-1985 from Texas A&M Research Center, El Paso, Texas. About two-thirds of the mummies did not yield parasites. A colony ofA. perpallidus was established in the laboratory. Under laboratory conditions the percentage of emerged parasites was higher than that in the imported mummies, and the parasite had very limited impact on the aphid population. Field releases of the parasite were made but no establishment ofA. perpallidus was observed through the years.     

Outbreak of cucumber mosaic virus on musa sp. in Tamil Nadu,India

Cucumber Mosaic Virus, or Infectious Chlorosis, was found in alarming proportions in all the districts of Tamil Nadu on the ‘Robusta’ (Dwarf Cavendish) and ‘Poovan’ (Mysore) cultivais. The disease was transmitted only through suckers from the diseased gardens. Among the genotypes screened, the clones with ABB genomes showed complete field resistance.     

Additional species of aphidoidea in Israel

Data are presented on 25 species of aphids recorded in Israel during the last 25 years. Information is provided on their host plants, localities and dates of collection. The occurrence of 11 of these species has not been reported previously. Three of the species are noxious:Cinara cupressi (Buckton),Monellia caryella (Fitch) andAphis citricola van der Goot (= ?A. spiraecola Patch).     

Synergism in fungicide mixtures againstPseudoperonospora Cubensis

Mixtures of cymoxanil with mancozeb (Mancur) or with mancozeb plus oxadixyl (Pulsan, Sandocur-M) were effective in controlling either metalaxyl-sensitive (MS) or -resistant (MR) isolates ofPseudoperonospora cubensis on cucumbers (cv. ‘Elem’) in growth chambers. Metalaxyl+mancozeb (Ridomil-MZ) and oxadixyl+mancozeb (SAN-518) mixtures were effective against the metalaxyl-sensitive but less so against the metalaxyl-resistant isolate. Fungicide mixtures were far more effective in controlling either the sensitive or the resistant isolates than were the individual components applied alone, thereby representing significant levels of synergistic interactions. Increased efficacy of mixtures relative to their combined components (synergy factor) was calculated by the Wadley method. Mixtures containing cymoxanil showed high synergy factors against the resistant isolate, whereas Ridomil-MZ and SAN-518 did not evince this phenomenon. We concluded that cymoxanil mixtures might be suitable for the control of downy mildew incited by a metalaxyl-resistant isolate ofP. cubensis.