Antioxidants, free radicals, storage proteins, puroindolines, and proteolytic activities in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) seeds during accelerated aging

Seeds of bread wheat were incubated at 40 degrees C and 100% relative humidity for 0, 3, 4, 6, and 10 days. The effects of accelerated aging on seed germinability and some biochemical properties of flour (carotenoid, free radical, and protein contents and proteolytic activity) and gluten (free radical content and flexibility) were investigated. Seed germinability decreased during aging, resulting in seed death after 10 days. A progressive decrease of carotenoid content, in particular, lutein, was observed, prolonging the incubation, whereas the free radical content increased in both flour and gluten. A degradation of soluble and storage proteins was found, associated with a marked increase of proteolytic activity and a loss of viscoelastic properties of gluten. On the contrary, puroindolines were quite resistant to the treatment. The results are discussed in comparison with those previously obtained during accelerated aging of durum wheat seeds.     

Antioxidants,free radicals,storage proteins,and proteolytic activities in wheat (Triticum durum) seeds during accelerated aging

Accelerated aging was performed by incubation of wheat seeds at 40 degrees C and 100% relative humidity for 3, 4, 6, 10, and 14 days. The effects of the treatment on seed germinability and on several biochemical characteristics of flour (carotenoids, free radical and protein contents, and proteolytic activity) and gluten (free radical content and flexibility) were evaluated. A decrease of germinability was found during aging, the germination being completely inhibited after 14 days. The lutein content decreased gradually, without going to zero, while that of free radicals increased. A reduction of soluble proteins and a degradation of glutenins and gliadins were observed, associated with a substantial increase of protease activity and a decrease in gluten flexibility. The results were discussed in reference to those previously obtained by natural aging of wheat seeds of the same species and cultivar.     

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of butachlor and benoxacor in wheat and soil

Butachlor is a chloroacetanilide herbicide successfully employed in weeding some important crops, and benoxacor is a safening compound able to induce the enzymatic mechanism of chloroacetanilide detoxification in plants. A practical method for a simultaneous detection of butachlor and benoxacor residues in wheat and in soil is described. The procedure can be performed by GC and HPLC. They were extracted with methanol and cleaned up by solid phase extraction (SPE). The analytes were satisfactorily separated via both GC and HPLC techniques, and no interferences were observed coming from plant or soil matrixes or reagents. The limit of quantitation was found to be 5.0 ng by GC and 20.0 ng by HPLC for butachlor and 2.5 ng by GC and 15.0 ng by HPLC for benoxacor. Butachlor recovery tests ranged from 85.4% to 91.7% in wheat shoots and 84.0% to 93.2% in soil; benoxacor recovery tests ranged from 86.5% to 90.8% in wheat shoots and 85.7% to 90.7% in soil. The reproducibility and the accuracy make this method a selective and sensitive tool for routine analyses.     

Persistence of benfluralin in soil and its uptake by carrots

Analytical methods are described for the determination of residues of benfluralin in soil and carrots. All plots treated with 1.3 or 1.9 kg benfluralin/ha produced average carrot yields significantly higher than untreated plots. Degradation of benfluralin in soil was very slow during the winter. As the temperature rose, the rate of benfluralin decline was accelerated; 324 days after incorporation, benfluralin residues were reduced to about 11 and 14% of the applied dose. The average total residues of benfluralin found in whole carrots were 210 ± 18 and 240 ± 47 ng/g following doses of 1.3 and 1.9 kg a.i./ha respectively. The peel of carrots contained 92% of the total residue, and there seemed to be little translocation of the compound through the plant tissues.     

Gas-liquid chromatographic method for perfluidone residues in rice grains and husks

A gas-liquid chromatographic method using electron-capture detection is described for the determination of perfluidone residues in rice grains and husks. The procedure consists of extraction, purification on an anion-exchange resin, methylation and further clean-up (if necessary) by adsorption on “Florisil”. The recoveries from fortified rice grains and husks were respectively 73.5–98% and 77–104% in the range 0.01–0.50 mg/kg. Sensitivity permits detection of perfluidone at 0.005 mg/kg level.     

Influence of some 1,3,5-triazine herbicides on peroxidase activity in corn seedlings

The effect of some 1,3,5-triazine herbicides, on the rate of oxidative decarboxylation of tryptophan by peroxidase from corn seedlings, varied with the concentration. Atrazine was stimulatory in vivo at 10-⁶M but not at 10⁸ M or lower, whereas terbutryne was inhibitory at 10-⁶M but not at 10-⁸M or below. Prometryne inhibited enzyme activity at 10-⁶M and stimulated it at 10-¹⁰M and at 10¹²M, while simazine caused stimulation at 10-⁶M and inhibition at 10^?10M and 10^?12M. Atraton reduced enzyme activity at 10^?6M and 10^?8M but had no effect at 10^?10M and 10^?12M. When peroxidase activity was assayed in acetone-dried powders from seeds, harvested from fields that had received typical atrazine applications, the quantities of tryptophan consumed were significantly less than the quantity determined in the control powder. From the results obtained, by incorporating dealkylated and 2-hydroxy metabolites of atrazine at 10^?6M into the culture solutions, it seems possible that the inhibition observed may have been due to the presence of 4-amino-6-ethylamino-1, 3, 5-triazin-2-ol and/or 4, 6-diamino-1, 3, 5-triazin-2-ol residues in seeds from treated plots, even if, in previously reported experiments, analyses had not detected their presence.     

Cytoarchitecture, morphology, and lumbosacral spinal cord projections of the red nucleus in cattle

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the morphology, cytoarchitecture, and lumbosacral spinal cord projections of the red nucleus (RN) in cattle. ANIMALS: 8 healthy Friesian male calves. PROCEDURES: Anesthetized calves underwent a dorsal laminectomy at L5. Eight bilateral injections (lateral to the midline) of the neuronal retrograde fluorescent tracer fast blue (FB) were administered into the exposed lumbosacral portion of the spinal cord. A postsurgical calf survival time of 38 to 55 days was used. Following euthanasia, the midbrain and the L5-S2 spinal cord segments were removed. Nissl's method of staining was applied on paraffin-embedded and frozen sections of the midbrain. RESULTS: The mean length of the RN from the caudal to cranial end ranged from 6,680 to 8,640 microm. The magnocellular and parvicellular components of the RN were intermixed throughout the nucleus, but the former predominate at the caudal portion of the nucleus and the latter at the cranial portion with a gradual transitional zone. The FB-labeled neurons were found along the entire craniocaudal extension of the nucleus, mainly in its ventrolateral part. The number of FB-labeled neurons was determined in 4 calves, ranging from 191 to 1,469 (mean, 465). The mean cross-sectional area of the FB-labeled neurons was approximately 1,680 microm2. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In cattle, small, medium, and large RN neurons, located along the entire craniocaudal extension of the RN, contribute to the rubrospinal tract reaching the L6-S1 spinal cord segments. Thus, in cattle, as has been shown in cats, the RN parvicellular population also projects to the spinal cord.     

Comparison of Selected Nonlethal Samples from Adult Steelhead for Detection of Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus Using Cell Culture

Abstract

Nonlethal sampling techniques have previously been evaluated for detection of a variety of viral salmonid pathogens. However, many of these studies have used molecular assays in lieu of widely accepted cell culture techniques to evaluate the sampled tissues. Samples were collected from female steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss broodstock using three potential nonlethal sampling methods (mucus/skin scrape, pectoral fin clip, and gill tissue biopsy) and evaluated for the presence of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) via cell culture techniques. The results were compared with those from samples collected using a standard lethal sampling method (pooled anterior kidney and spleen tissues) applied to the same fish. Of the three nonlethal sampling techniques that were evaluated, fin clipping was the easiest and least invasive method. Furthermore, fin tissue was as sensitive as or more sensitive than kidney/spleen tissue for detecting IHNV in this population of fish. However, with the exception of gill tissue, the nonlethal samples did not appear to be appropriate surrogates for lethally collected tissues with regard to identifying an active infection in a particular fish. Nevertheless, nonlethal sampling coupled with cell culture appears to be suitable for helping to define the IHNV status of a steelhead population.

Received July 27, 2016; accepted December 11, 2016 Published online March 21, 2017     

Effect of peripartal administration of mycobacterium cell wall fraction on health and fertility of Holstein cows under organic-certified management

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of peripartal administration of a commercially available nonspecific immune stimulant (mycobacterium cell wall fraction; MCWF [Amplimune, NovaVive Inc., Napanee, ON, Canada]) on the incidence of disease during early lactation and subsequent fertility of dairy cows. A second objective was to characterize the dynamics of circulating white blood cells (WBC) and metabolic markers following treatment administration. Cows in an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic-certified dairy herd were blocked by parity and, based on sequential calving dates, randomly assigned to receive two injections (5 mL s.c.) of either a placebo (saline solution) as a control (CON; n = 71) or MCWF (n = 65) at enrollment (7 d before expected calving) and within 24 h after calving. Blood samples were collected from a subsample of the study population (MCWF = 16; CON = 18) for WBC count at enrollment, at day 2 post enrollment, and at days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after calving. Serum fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and Ca concentrations were determined at days 1 and 7 postpartum (MCWF = 21; CON = 21). Main outcome variables included incidence risk of peripartal and early lactation health disorders and pregnancy at first artificial insemination (AI), at 100, and at 150 days in milk (DIM). In addition, the average daily milk yield up to 90 DIM and death and live culling before 305 DIM were compared. Treatment effects were assessed using multivariable logistic regression, time-to-event analyses, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). A treatment effect on the incidence risk of some of the health disorders in the study was established. Incidence risk of metritis and clinical mastitis <28 DIM was smaller in MCWF than in CON cows (36.9% vs. 50.7% and 6.3% vs. 19.7%, respectively). On the contrary, the incidence risk of respiratory disease <28 DIM was smaller in CON (0%) than in MCWF (7.7%). Reproductive performance of multiparous cows was affected by MCWF administration: pregnancy at first AI and pregnancy at 100 and 150 DIM were greater in MCWF than in CON (35.6% vs. 19.2%; 51.1% vs. 25.0%; and 64.4% vs. 40.4%, respectively). Overall, median intervals from calving to pregnancy were 90 vs. 121 d in MCWF and CON cows, respectively. No treatment effects on the dynamics of circulating WBC or in postpartum metabolic status were established. No differences for milk yield or for the proportion of cows that survived up to 305 DIM were determined, although cows in MCWF left the herd earlier than cows in CON. In conclusion, incidence risks of metritis and mastitis in early lactation were smaller in cows receiving MCWF, whereas the incidence risk of respiratory disease was smaller in CON. Fertility significantly improved in MCWF compared with CON cows. As this study was performed in an organic-certified dairy, specific health and reproductive management practices may affect the external validity of the current findings.     

Mixed-effect non-linear modelling for diameter estimation along the stem of Tectona grandis in mid-western Brazil

This study evaluated the efficiency of taper functions and the application of mixed-effect modelling for diameter estimation along the stems of Tectona grandis. We sampled 266 trees of Tectona grandis, measuring the diameter at relative heights for volume determination, grouping the data according to three form-factor classes. Six taper functions were fitted, selecting the function with better fit performance. Six taper functions were fitted, selecting the function with better fit performance. The selected function was fitted in its basic formulation, and with the mixed non-linear modelling technique in different scenarios, and for the stem stratified in three portions of the total height. The precision and selection of the adjusted models were evaluated regarding the coefficient of determination, standard error of estimate, the Akaike information criterion, bias, quadratic error and absolute bias. According to the statistical criteria used, the model of Kozak was selected for the adjustments. For diameter estimation, the scenario with two coefficients as random effects provided an accuracy increase of 11.91%, and the mixed non-linear modelling better estimated the stem diameter for the stratified stems. In conclusion, the model of Kozak can be used to describe the stem shape of Tectona grandis, and the mixed-effect non-linear model approach was the best technique to estimate diameter along the stem of Tectona grandis.