Pyogenic granuloma of the cornea in a pony: Uncommon complication of corneal wound healing

A 6-year-old miniature Shetland pony mare was referred for evaluation of a left corneal mass, which developed from the healing tissue of a corneal traumatic ulceration that had occurred 4 weeks previously. On gross examination, a spherical, smooth-surfaced, and pink-colored lesion of about 1 cm in diameter was protruding from the left palpebral fissure. Ophthalmic examination revealed that it was attached to the scar tissue of the cornea, and that one corpora nigra was adherent to the posterior face of corneal wounded area, without sign of uveitis. The remainder of the ophthalmic examination was unremarkable. The mass was excised, and cryotherapy was used as an adjunctive therapy. Histopathology of the resected mass was consistent with a pyogenic granuloma on the basis of radially oriented proliferating capillaries, embedded in immature granulation tissue containing an infiltrate of neutrophils, plasma cells and eosinophils. There were no histological features of malignancy. 2 months after surgery, the ventral part of the fibrotic corneal scar was slightly raised by a pink tissue, suggesting possible recurrence of the initial lesion. A second cryotherapy was performed over the leukoma area. No recurrence has been noted for a follow-up period of more than 25 months. Pyogenic granuloma is a benign proliferative fibrovascular response that typically develops after trauma or surgery. Corneal involvement is rare in humans, and to the authors' knowledge has never been documented in veterinary ophthalmology.     

Evidence that subsistence farmers have domesticated indigenous fruits (Dacryodes edulis and Irvingia gabonensis) in Cameroon and Nigeria

Ten fruit and kernel traits were measured in 152 Irvingia gabonensis and 293 Dacryodes edulis trees from 6 villages in Cameroon and Nigeria. Frequency distribution curves were used to examine the range of variation of each trait of each species in each village and aggregated into national and regional populations. There were differences between the village sub-populations, with regard to the normality (e.g., mean kernel mass of D. edulis) or skewness (e.g., mean flesh depth of D. edulis) of the distribution curves and in the degree of separation between the individual village populations along the x axis, resulting in the development of a bimodal distribution in the regional population. For all traits, populations of both species differed significantly between countries, but only in D. edulis were there significant differences between the Cameroon populations. On the basis of the results of this study, D. edulis can be said to be virtually wild in Nigeria but semi-domesticated in Cameroon, while I. gabonensis is wild in Cameroon and semi-domesticated in Nigeria. These results are discussed with regard to a hypothesis that the range and frequency of variation in the different populations can be used to identify five stages of domestication. From a comparison of the frequency distribution curves of desirable versus undesirable traits, and statistically identifyable changes in skewness and kurtosis, it is concluded that as a result of the farmers’ own efforts by truncated selection, D. edulis is between Stages 2 and 3 of domestication (with a 67% relative gain in flesh depth) in Cameroon, while I. gabonensis in Nigeria is at Stage 2 (with a 44% relative gain in flesh depth). In this study, genetic diversity seems to have been increased, and not reduced, by domestication. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Crop damage by nematodes in improved-fallow fields in western Kenya

The rotation of leguminous shrubs and crops is being tested on farms and recommended as a means of improving soil fertility and increasing crop yield in eastern and southern Africa, including western Kenya. However, this improved fallow practice may also increase the nematode population in the soil. An experiment was conducted to monitor the effects of plant-parasitic nematodes on crops after improved fallow. Soil was collected from a maize (Zea mays L.)/bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) field, a natural fallow, a Crotalaria (Crotalaria grahamiana Wight & Arn.) fallow, a Tephrosia (Tephrosia vogelii Hook. f.) fallow and a Crotalaria — Tephrosia mixed fallow and used to fill plastic pots placed in a shade. Three successive crop cycles of 2 months were tested in these pots using maize and beans, the most important staple foods in western Kenya. In the first cycle, beans grew poorly on the Tephrosia and Crotalaria — Tephrosia soil due to the high incidence of root knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., while maize did not suffer any loss. Although the populations of root knot nematodes reduced drastically in the second and third cycles, both maize and beans experienced heavy losses on the soil under improved fallow probably due to the spiral nematodes, Scutellonema spp., which became dominant in the nematode communities. Despite the use of fertilisers (N, P, K), both crops became highly sensitive to spiral nematodes in the third cycle because of the degradation of the soil physical properties. The study showed that the benefits of improved fallows in terms of crop production may be limited by the high number of plant-parasitic nematodes they help develop in the process.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Online control of wood peeling process: Acoustical and vibratory measurements of lathe checks frequency

In the course of most wood machining processes, operators are usually able to detect various problems simply by hearing the sound emitted by the process. This is especially true for wood peeling. Lathe checks formation has been identified as one of the typical situations that an experimented peeler can detect. Poplar and beech veneer samples have been produced on a laboratory microlathe, using working conditions deliberately favourable to checking. Forces, sound, and vibration levels were measured during the tests. The lathe check frequencies have been determined on both sound and vibration signals using a local Root Mean Square (RMS) averaging and a peak detection algorithm. This makes possible the evaluation of lathe checks distribution along the veneer length. The technique was validated by measuring the real veneer profile using a specific apparatus developed by IVALSA-CNR in Trento (Italy).     

Understory vegetation of boreal tree plantations: Differences in relation to previous land use and natural forests

The aim of this study was to evaluate if and how the previous land use (here: agriculture versus forest) has influenced the floristic composition now observed in the understory of jack pine plantations of Abitibi-Temiscamingue (North-Eastern Canada). Floristic inventories were conducted in jack pine plantations which had been established on forest sites after logging and on sites previously utilized for agriculture. These were compared to one another and to inventories conducted in natural forests and on agricultural sites which had not (not yet) been planted with trees (old fields). The vegetation community composition of the sites is analysed using several multivariate techniques. Results show that the flora of plantations on old agricultural fields is markedly different than that of plantations established on sites which were previously forested and that the two types of plantation are unlikely to become floristically the same before the anticipated harvest time. Comparing old and young plantations and old fields in light of natural forests sites, we show that the previous land-use is a key determinant of future compositional differences in plantations. This must be considered when we evaluate the impact of establishing plantations on sites with different land-use histories.     

化学还原处理改善杨木过氧化氢机械浆白度稳定性研究

分别采用硼氢化钠、亚硫酸氢钠及其混合物处理杨木APMP漂白机械浆，优化了处理条件，研究了不同化学药品对纸浆还原处理后改善白度稳定性效果。结果表明硼氢化钠处理杨木漂白化机浆不但能够显著改善其白度稳定性而且对纸浆具有漂白作用。加入亚硫酸氢钠混合处理纸浆可大幅度减少硼氢化钠用量，并能取得类似的改善纸浆白度稳定性效果。杨木碱性氧化氢漂白机械浆光诱导返色有其固有特点，傅立叶红外光谱显示，纸浆木质素中的羰基和酚羟基结构基团是引起纸浆光诱导返色的主要原因。     

Sisal fibers: surface chemical modification using reagent obtained from a renewable source; characterization of hemicellulose and lignin as model study

Sisal fibers have one of the greatest potentials among other lignocellulosic fibers to reinforce polymer matrices in composites. Sisal fibers have been modified to improve their compatibility with phenolic polymer matrices using furfuryl alcohol (FA) and polyfurfuryl alcohols (PFA) that can be obtained from renewable sources. The modification corresponded first to oxidation with ClO 2, which reacts mainly with guaiacyl and syringyl units of lignin, generating o- and p-quinones and muconic derivatives, followed by reaction with FA or PFA. The FA and PFA modified fibers presented a thin similar layer, indicating the polymer character of the coating. The untreated and treated sisal fibers were characterized by (13)C CP-MAS NMR spectrometry, thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, for a better understanding of the reactions involved in the FA and PFA modifications, the sisal lignin previously extracted was also submitted to those reactions and characterized. The characterization of isolated lignin and hemicellulose provides some information on the chemical structure of the main constitutive macrocomponents of sisal fibers, such information being scarce in the literature.     

New constituents related to 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione identified in green tea

The volatile constituents of two exquisite green tea varieties, Kiyosawa tea from Japan and Long Jing tea from China, were investigated in order to identify new compounds responsible for the characteristic flavor of a green tea brew. The extracts were prepared by solid-phase extraction using Oasis-HLB-cartridges. Besides the common compounds of green tea chemistry, the already described compounds 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione (1) and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione (2), products of degradation of furan fatty acids, as well as three new compounds related to compound 1 were identified. These were 1-methyl-2-oxopropyl hexanoate (3), 1-methyl-2-oxoheptyl acetate (4) and 2-butyl-4,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (5). Their syntheses and spectroscopic data are reported. Compound 2 increases the sweet, creamy aroma and the characteristic mouthfeel of a green tea flavor, compounds 3 and 4 contribute to its floral, juicy notes and compound 5 exhibits an interesting sweet, buttery flavor.     

Impact of silviculture on dead wood and on the distribution and frequency of tree microhabitats in montane beech-fir forests of the Pyrenees

In forest ecosystems, the level of biodiversity is strongly linked to dead wood and tree microhabitats. To evaluate the influence of current forest management on the availability of dead wood and on the abundance and distribution of microhabitats, we studied the volume and diversity of dead wood objects and the distribution and frequency of cavities, dendrothelms, cracks, bark losses and sporophores of saproxylic fungi in montane beech-fir stands. We compared stands unmanaged for 50 or 100 years with continuously managed stands. A total of 1,204 live trees and 460 dead wood objects were observed. Total dead wood volume, snag volume and microhabitat diversity were lower in the managed stands, but the total number of microhabitats per ha was not significantly different between managed and unmanaged stands. Cavities were always the most frequent microhabitat and cracks the least frequent. Dendrothelm and bark loss were favored by management. Beech (Fagus sylvatica) carried many more microhabitats than silver fir (Abies alba), especially cavities, dendrothelms and bark losses. Fir very scarcely formed dendrothelms. Secondary tree species played an important role by providing cracks and bark losses. The proportion of microhabitat-bearing trees increased dramatically above circumference thresholds of 225 cm for beech and 215 cm for fir. Firs with a circumference of less than 135 cm did not carry microhabitats. In order to conserve microhabitat-providing trees and to increase the volume of dead wood in managed stands, we recommend conserving trees that finish their natural cycle over 10–20% of the surface area.     

Trace metals and animal health: Interplay of the gut microbiota with iron,manganese, zinc,and copper

Metals such as iron, manganese, copper, and zinc are recognized as essential trace elements. These trace metals play critical roles in development, growth, and metabolism, participating in various metabolic processes by acting as cofactors of enzymes or providing structural support to proteins. Deficiency or toxicity of these metals can impact human and animal health, giving rise to a number of metabolic and neurological disorders. Proper breakdown, absorption, and elimination of these trace metals is a tightly regulated process that requires crosstalk between the host and these micronutrients. The gut is a complex system that serves as the interface between these components, but other factors that contribute to this delicate interaction are not well understood. The gut is home to trillions of microorganisms and microbial genes (the gut microbiome) that can regulate the metabolism and transport of micronutrients and contribute to the bioavailability of trace metals through their assimilation from food sources or by competing with the host. Furthermore, deficiency or toxicity of these metals can modulate the gut microenvironment, including microbiota, nutrient availability, stress, and immunity. Thus, understanding the role of the gut microbiota in the metabolism of manganese, iron, copper, and zinc, as well as in heavy metal deficiencies and toxicities, and vice versa, may provide insight into developing improved or alternative therapeutic strategies to address emerging health concerns. This review describes the current understanding of how the gut microbiome and trace metals interact and affect host health, particularly in pigs.