The effect of Dual® on the flavor of riced baked potatoes

Samples of Katahdin potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) from untreated and Dual 8E-treated plots (4 lb. ai/A applied at the first hilling) were evaluated for flavor by a sensory panel of 21 members. No off-flavor was associated with the Dual-treated baked potatoes.     

Public sector soybean (Glycine max) breeding: Advances in cultivar development in the African tropics

Formal public sector soybean breeding in Africa spans over four decades, and it was initiated by the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural (IITA). As the demand of soybean continues to outstrip production, strategic projects such the Tropical Legume (TL) were initiated, in which the main goal was to enhance the productivity of soybean in the farmers’ fields in Sub‐Saharan Africa. One of the strategies to enhance the productivity of soybean in the farmers’ fields is through developing and deploying improved soybean varieties in the target countries. Through the TL I and TL II projects, a number of varieties were released in the target countries, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique by employing participatory variety selection (PVS). This review provides highlights of the achievements made by IITA breeding programme and insights of what needs to be done to enhance yield improvement for soybean in Africa using demand‐driven breeding approaches.     

Premie race participation is associated with increased career longevity and prize money earnings in Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters

Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters can participate in premie races as two year olds, where prize money is awarded for finishing the race within a specific time interval rather than winning. In this study, the association with premie race participation and future competitive racing success was evaluated. Analyses including all raced horses born between 2000 and 2009 (n?=?9350) showed a relationship between premie race participation with reduced career longevity and prize money earnings. However, when analyses only included horses that raced competitively (n?=?7497; i.e. horses with participation in only premie or qualification races were excluded), premie race participation was associated with increased racing success. These findings indicate that premie race fields consist of both horses with good racing ability as well as horses with limited talent. Overall this study shows that premie racing is likely to be beneficial for both the horse and the trainer.     

Cryptococcosis of the central nervous system in a dog

A 3-year-old female German Shepherd Dog was evaluated for progressive mental obtundation and vestibular signs. Central nervous system cryptococcosis was diagnosed on the basis of growth of Cryptococcus neoformans in fungal culture of CSF, as well as detection of the organism in CSF via microscopy. Cryptococcal capsular latex antigen agglutination titer was 1:262,144 in CSF and 1:1,048,576 in serum samples. Imaging with magnetic resonance augmented diagnosis. The dog improved after long-term treatment with fluconazole. Fluconazole is useful in the treatment of CNS cryptococcosis, because it attains high concentration in the CNS. Long-term therapy is often required for resolution of clinical signs, and affected animals may require long-term follow-up with periodic evaluation of CSF via fungal culture and latex agglutination tests. Monitoring serum latex agglutination test results may provide a safe, less invasive means of monitoring response to treatment.     

Evaluation of leukotriene biosynthetic capacity in lung tissues from horses with recurrent airway obstruction

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate leukotriene (LT) biosynthetic capacity in lung tissue from healthy horses and horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). SAMPLE POPULATION: Lung parenchyma and airway specimens from 8 RAO-affected and 5 healthy horses. PROCEDURE: Horses were stabled for > or = 72 hours. Blood was drawn before euthanasia, after which lung specimens were collected. Tissue strips from small airways and parenchyma were incubated in organ baths with the precursor LTA4 or stimulated with calcium ionophore A23187 or the tripeptide N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP), with or without exogenous arachidonic acid, in the presence of isolated blood neutrophils. RESULTS: Stabling induced typical clinical signs of airway obstruction in RAO-affected horses but not control horses. When lung parenchyma or airway specimens from both groups of horses were incubated with calcium ionophore, with or without arachidonic acid, they did not form LT. In contrast, addition of LTA4 to both tissues resulted in conversion to LTB4, although concentrations of LTC4 were negligible in airways and parenchymal strips from healthy and RAO-affected horses. Incubation of airway and parenchymal strips with suspensions of autologous neutrophils did not influence formation of LT stimulated by calcium ionophore or fMLP, with or without exogenous arachidonic acid. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that lung parenchyma and airway tissues themselves are not of substantial importance for LT formation in the lungs, although these tissues possessed some LTA4 hydrolase activity, enabling LTB4 formation. It may be speculated that LTB4 originates primarily from neutrophils and may play a role in the inflammatory events of RAO.