Evaluation of the background for determination of vitamin requirements in pigs

The effects of vitamins on important production and performance traits have been evaluated from the present knowledge of the functions of vitamins in the organism and the effects of deficient and excess supplies.It is concluded that there is a lack of current knowledge on almost all aspects of quantitative metabolism of vitamins. Stress is laid on our need to understand problems of availability and sensitive parameters indicating the vitamin status of the organism.A clear distinction between the scientific determination of requirements, and the allowances recommended by advisers is emphasized. A safety margin has to be added to estimates of requirements to cover farm conditions.     

Hereditary early-onset Parkinson's disease caused by mutations in PINK1

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. We previously mapped a locus for a rare familial form of PD to chromosome 1p36 (PARK6). Here we show that mutations in PINK1 (PTEN-induced kinase 1) are associated with PARK6. We have identified two homozygous mutations affecting the PINK1 kinase domain in three consanguineous PARK6 families: a truncating nonsense mutation and a missense mutation at a highly conserved amino acid. Cell culture studies suggest that PINK1 is mitochondrially located and may exert a protective effect on the cell that is abrogated by the mutations, resulting in increased susceptibility to cellular stress. These data provide a direct molecular link between mitochondria and the pathogenesis of PD.     

Detection of a novel herpesvirus associated with squamous cell carcinoma in a free-ranging Blanding’s turtle

The spread of both infectious and noninfectious diseases through wildlife populations is of increasing concern. Neoplastic diseases are rarely associated with population-level impacts in wildlife; however, impacts on individual health can be severe and might reflect deteriorating environmental conditions. An adult male free-ranging Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) originally captured in 2005 and deemed healthy, was recaptured in 2018 with a 1 × 1.5 cm intra-oral broad-based right mandibular mass. An excisional biopsy was performed, and histopathology revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Consensus herpesvirus PCR identified a novel herpesvirus (proposed name Emydoidea herpesvirus 2 [EBHV-2]) within the tumor. EBHV-2 shares 85% sequence homology with Terrapene herpesvirus 2 (TerHV-2), a herpesvirus linked to fibropapillomas in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Virus-associated fibropapillomas have been identified in multiple marine turtle species and have had debilitating effects on their populations, but to date, virus-associated SCCs are rarely reported.     

On the Isotopic Composition of Pb in Cloud Waters in Central Germany. A Source Discrimination Study

Fifty seven (57) cloud water samples collected in 1 hr intervals during 9cloud events in 1997 at the summit of the Brocken (altitude 1142 m) in Central Germany were analyzed for their Pb concentrations and isotopic compositions. For comparison, filterdusts of such possible emitters as power plants, cement factories, waste incinerators, cars and others were also studied.Profiles over many hours reveal changes in composition correlatedwith changes in the origin of the air masses. Five main groups ofpossible sources of the Pb can be distinguished: most importantare (1) the European standard pollution ESP dominating the continent from Germany over France to Scandinavia and (2) industrial Pb (and soot from car exhausts) followed by (3) urban waste incinerators as well as (4) perhaps ores from Norilsk/Siberia, and, somewhat uncertain, (5) ores from PaleozoicEuropean deposits. Local and daily varying anthropogenic emissions of the sources (2–5) cause scatter of the points around the ESP correlation line. In soils all these variationsand individual signatures are levelled out so that specific sources of pollution cannot be identified anymore. Geogenic Pbfrom rocks and soils is the same as that from power plants and cement factories. It is one of the two nominal end components making up the mixture of the ESP. The less radiogenic end component of this mix which must contain Pb from very old deposits is somewhat elusive: none of the large Archaic or Proterozoic deposits could be identified. Most probably numerous sources contribute to this Pb. Pb from leaded gasoline seems to be absent or is hidden under the five components dominating the composition of the Pb in the European environment. This probably reflects phasing out of such gasoline in most European countries. The Pb in the clouds may contain a small component of old Proterozoic or even Archaic Pb, but it can also be modelled with Paleozoic Pb.     

Risks of Boron Toxicity in Canola and Lupin by Forms of Boron Application in Acid Sands of South-Western Australia

Boron (B) deficiency frequently occurs on soils that are low in organic carbon (C) (<1.0% organic C), pH (soil pH_Ca <5.0), and clay content (<5% clay). Acid sands with these soil properties are common in south-western Australia (SWA). Moreover, hot calcium chloride (CaCl₂) extractable B levels are commonly marginal in the acid sands of SWA. This study examined the effects of soluble and slow release soil-applied B fertilizer and foliar B sprays on crops most likely to respond to B fertilizer on these soils, canola (oil-seed rape, Brassica napus L.) and lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.).

At 25 sites over three years, canola was grown with (0.34 kg ha-¹) or without B applied as borax [sodium tetraborate decahydrate (Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O) 11% B], and this was followed by nine experiments with B rates [0, 0.55, 1.1 kg ha^?1, applied as borax or calcium borate (ulexite, NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·5(H₂O), 13% B] and foliar sprays (0.1% solution of solubor, 23% B) in 2000–2001. A further five sites of B rates and sources experiments were carried out with lupin in 2000–2001. Finally, foliar B sprays (5% B w/v as a phenolic complex) at flowering were tested on seven sites in farmers’ canola crops for seed yield increases. No seed yield increases to soil-applied B were found while foliar B application at flowering increased canola seed yield in only one season across seven locations. By contrast, borax fertilizer drilled with the seed at sowing decreased canola seed yield in nine of 34-farm sites, and decreased lupin yield in two of five trials. Toxicity from drilled boron fertilizer decreased yield could be explained by decreases in plant density (by 22–40%) to values lower than required for optimum seed yield. Seedling emergence was decreased by borax applied at sowing but less so by calcium borate. Foliar B spray application never reduced seed yield due to toxicity effects.

Boron fertilizer drilled with the seed increased the B concentration in plant dry matter at early to mid-flowering. Boron application decreased the oil concentration of grain of canola at four sites. The oil yield of canola was significantly decreased at seven sites.

Notwithstanding the marginal B levels on acid sands of the SWA region, care needs to be taken on use of borax fertilizer as toxicity was induced in canola and lupin; with 0.34 to 1 kg B ha^?1(3-10 kg borax ha^?1) at sowing depressing seed yield, mostly by decreasing plant density. Rather than making general recommendation for B fertilizer application based on 0.01M CaCl₂ soil extractable B, soil and plant analysis should be used to diagnose B deficiency and B fertilizer use limited to calcium borate or foliar borax rather than soil-applied borax on low B sands.     

Color, betalain pattern, and antioxidant properties of cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) clones

Total phenolics, ascorbic acid, and betalain contents of differently colored cactus pear clones (nine Opuntia ficus-indica [L.] Mill. clones and one O. robusta Wendl. clone) were investigated and related to their respective antioxidant potential assessed by Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. TEAC and ORAC values were very highly correlated with each other and also with values for total phenolics, betalain contents, and ascorbic acid concentrations. Total phenolics had the greatest contribution to ORAC and TEAC values. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) measurements of cactus pear juices permitted the differentiation of the clones based on variations in pigment patterns and betalain concentrations. The red and yellow betalains were absent in lime green colored cactus fruits. The ratio and concentration of these pigments were responsible for the yellow, orange, red, and purple colors in the other clones. Progeny of purple and lime green colored parents were characterized by 12% and 88% of plants bearing lime green and purple fruit, respectively. This implies that the genes for betalain production were lacking in the lime green fruits but could be provided by a parent with a complete set of genes, that is, purple fruits. Besides known pigments typical of Cactaceae, two unexpected betalains were identified. Whereas gomphrenin I was found for the first time in tissues of cactus plants, methionine-betaxanthin has never been described before as a genuine betalain. In addition to their alleged health-promoting properties, various combinations of yellow betaxanthins and red-purple betacyanins may allow the development of new food products without using artificial colorants.     

Determination of Sulfate,Nitrate, and Chloride in Throughfall using Ion-Exchange Resins

Throughfall, the solution that falls from the forest canopy, is an important and commonly measured flux in forest ecosystem studies. Throughfall water and chemistry are highly variable spatially, requiring large numbers of collectors to quantify it. This and the fact that the solution can be chemically unstable make throughfall sampling very labor intensive, thus we have developed a method to reduce the field labor portion of this effort. Our throughfall collection method uses compact ion exchange resin columns that need only be collected every 1–2 months. The resin columns are subsequently extracted with 1.0 M potassium iodide (KI), releasing anions back into solution, with extraction efficiencies > 94% for sulfate, nitrate, and chloride. The extracts are analyzed by ion-chromatography (IC) to determine the total microequivalents of anions per unit area of collector surface collected over the period of resin column exposure. This ion exchange resin method was originally developed for a project in which we needed to deploy over 300 throughfall collectors to quantify throughfall variability across mountainous terrain with heterogeneous vegetation.     

The Isotopic Composition of Anthropogenic Pb in Soil Profiles of Northern Germany: Evidence for Pollutant Pb from a Continent-wide Mixing System

Seventy-five samples of six soil profiles from forests on different substrates plus one next to a motorway were analyzed for the variation of Pb concentration and isotopic composition with depth. A substantial fraction of the anthropogenic Pb (peak concentrations between 74 and 300 ppm) is still stored in the organic top soil, and seldom penetrates deeper than 20–30 cm. In (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb) vs. (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb)-diagrams the Pb in the uppermost layers of the profiles plots on an excellent correlation line (R = 0.99) indicating essentially a two-component mixing system. Values for the dust on Scottish plants, Norwegian and Swiss bogs as well as for aerosols collected over the North Atlantic (data from the literature) plot on the same correlation line showing that the Pb was deposited from a continent-wide mixing system with two apparent end members: The radiogenic one is similar to geogenic Pb and could consist of contributions from certain European ore deposits and from different soil components (e.g. silicates and Fe-oxides), power plants and cement factories. The less radiogenic component must contain or consist of Pb from Proterozoic or even Archaic ore deposits. However, the sources of this Pb remain somewhat elusive. In any case, this isotopic pattern is so consistent all over Europe that the correlation line may serve as a line of reference for quasi normal or European Standard Lead Pollution (ESLP). The gasoline derived Pb in the soils is swamped by Pb of other provenances.