The subacute and subchronic toxicity of chlorophacinone in Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica)

Accordingly to the subacute toxicity of chlorphacinone to Japanese quail (LC 50: 60 mg/kg feed), the uptake of Delicia-chlorphacinone-baits for several days can be lethal to birds as a matter of principle. A subchronic study resulted in a "no-observed-effect-level" of 1 mg chlorphacinon/kg feed. Reproduction is not affected until dose levels which resulted in lethality or are accompanied by physiological changes (coagulability of blood, microcytic anaemia). Increased sensibility of descendants to chlorphacinone cannot be derived from the findings.     

Epizoologic studies of the detection of antibodies against Aujeszky's disease virus in sera and blood eluates of swine from Thailand using ELISA ("Enzygnost," Behring), serum neutralization test and "Aujeszky Latex Kit" (Iffa Merieux)

The results of three tests for Aujeszky's disease were analysed and compared. The presence of Aujeszky's antibodies was determined by "Enzyme-linked-Immunosorbent-Assays" (ELISA, "Enzygnost"), Behring company, Marburg; "Serum-Neutralization-Tests" (SNT); and "Latex Agglutination-Tests" (LT, "Aujeszky-Latex-Kit"), Iffa Merieux company, Laupheim. Whole blood and sera samples were taken from 805 swine from 26 of Thailand's provinces. These samples were analysed to determine if eluates of whole blood on filter paper were as effective as corresponding sera samples in determining the presence of Aujeszky's disease antibodies. From a total of 805 samples, 26% of the serum and 18% of the blood eluate samples showed a positive result when tested by the ELISA method. Clearly, testing whole blood eluates provides results which are inferior to results from sera samples. Therefore the ELISA whole blood eluates test can only be recommended with reservations. Further testing was done on 645 serum samples using SNT. Samples tested were those which gave negative, suspicious, or weakly positive results when tested by ELISA. Using SNT, 23% of these showed a positive result. Many serum and blood eluate samples were also tested by LT. Most of these test samples were chosen because they were deemed suspicious. Suspicious samples were defined as those which had deviant test results. According to these results the sensitivity of LT was between the sensitivity of SNT and ELISA. Owner survey responses tended to state that few animals had been vaccinated. This coupled with the frequency of antibody occurrence proves the high rate of infection among Thailand's swine population.     

Arbovirus isolations from mosquitoes in South Slovakia.

In the years 1973 and 1975 mosquitoes and some other Diptera (Tabanidae, Simuliidae, Hippoboscidae) were tested for virus. 13,924 mosquitoes, 75 horseflies and 60 blackflies were processed in 1973. Five strains of Tahyna virus were isolated from mosquito species Aedes vexans. 3,378 mosquitoes and 12 sheep keds were tested for virus in 1975. Twelve strains of Calovo virus were isolated from Anopheles maculipennis and one strain of Tahyna virus was obtained from Aedes vexans mosquitoes.     

Endocrine and sperminogenic testicular function. 8. Relationships between testicular and plasma testosterone concentrations as well as between the number of Leydig cells in testicular tissue and their cell nucleus volume in boars of different ages]

Testicular tissue and blood samples (V. spermatica interna) were taken from 32 boars during castration. The animals were different age groups. Against this background, studies were conducted into the correlations between testicular and plasma testosterone, on the one hand, and the amount of interstitial cells of Leydig in testicular tissue as well as the latters' cell nuclei volumes, on the other. The results seemed to support the conclusion that any age-dependent increase of testicular and plasma testosterone concentrations was caused unambigously by an absolute increase in volume of androgenic testicular tissue, in concomitance with testicular growth, in other words, by rise in the total number of interstitial cells of Leydig.     

Excessive oral administration of iron to sheep. 1. Digestibility of rations, results of fattening and carcass yields]

4 digestibility trials (4 male sheep per group) and 2 growth trials were carried out with 24 (V 1) and 32 (V 2) fattening lambs to investigate the effect of abundant oral Fe doses on the digestibility of crude nutrients in a ration of barley + dried green feed and on the results of fattening and carcass yields. Fe supplementation (less than 1400 mg per sheep/day) did not significantly change the digestibility coefficients of crude nutrients. Increasing Fe levels in the concentrates decreased the rates of liveweight increase and food consumption in both growth trials. Well-established statistical evidence was provided for the decline in absolute carcass yields resulting from the lower weight of the lambs at the end of the fattening period after Fe supplementation.     

Detection and characterization of phytoplasmas in diseased stone fruits and pear by PCR-RFLP analysis in Turkey

During the late summer-early autumn of 2002, surveys were carried out in Turkey to determine the presence of phytoplasma diseases in fruit trees. Phytoplasmas were detected and characterized by PCR-RFLP analysis and TEM technique in stone fruit and pear trees in the eastern Mediterranean region of the country. Six out of 24 samples, including almond, apricot, peach, pear and plum, gave positive results in PCR assays. RFLP analysis usingSspI andBsaAI enzymes of PCR products obtained with primer pair f01/r01 enabled identification of the phytoplasmas involved in the diseases. Stone fruit trees, including a local apricot variety (‘Sakıt’) and a pear sample, were found to be infected with European stone fruit yellows (ESFY, 16SrX-B) and pear decline (PD, 16SrX-C) phytoplasmas, respectively. This is the first report in Turkey of PD phytoplasma infecting pear and of ESFY phytoplasma infecting almond, apricot, myrobalan plum and peach; ESFY phytoplasma infecting Japanese plum was previously reported. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 21, 2005.     

Resistance to bifenthrin and resistance mechanisms of different strains of the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) from Turkey

Nine different strains of the two-spotted spider miteTetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) were collected on cotton from Adana, Antalya, Izmir, Manisa and Urfa in Turkey. Their responses to bifenthrin were investigated using conventional bioassay and biochemical assays. LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values of bifenthrin were determined for all strains by using a residual bioassay with a petri dish-spray tower. Resistance ratios were determined by comparing the samples with a standard susceptible strain, GSS. The resistance ratios of the strains ranged from <1 to 669-fold (at LC₅₀). Of the investigated field strains, only three (two from Adana and one from Urfa) were resistant to bifenthrin. There was a correlation between esterase enzyme activity and bifenthrin resistance according to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and microtiter plate assays in the three resistant strains. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting May 17, 2005.