Changes in soil nutrient content and bacterial community after 12 years of organic amendment application to a vineyard

An interesting alternative to landfills for disposing of organic residues is their addition to soil as composted organic residues. There is little information available about the long‐term benefits following prolonged periods of application. After 12 years of annual incorporation of organic amendments to the soil of a vineyard, three soil characteristics were analysed: mineral content, bacterial community and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The organic amendments were (i) a pelletized organic compost (PEL) made from plant, animal and sewage sludge residues, (ii) a compost made from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OF‐MSW) and (iii) a stabilized sheep manure compost (SMC). Mineral fertilizer (NPK) and an unaltered control treatment were also included. Our results showed that long‐term application of treated residues as compost changed soil nutrient content, bacterial community and gas emission rates. For instance, SMC increased nutrients and soil organic matter (OM) throughout the experiment. There was a change in bacterial community structure, with an increase in the phylum Proteobacteria observed for all four treated soils, and an increase in the phylum Bacteroidetes for PEL, OF‐MSW and SMC treatments. Among the organically‐amended soils, the amount of Adhaeribacter increased by a factor of 2.5 times more than the control, which reported a total of 2.0% of the bacterial community compared with 5.6% for PEL, 5.2% for OF‐MSW and 5.0% for SMC. Adhaeribacter may be a genus that specializes in the degradation of residues in the different composts. The SMC treatment had the largest Chao1 estimator and was the most biodiverse of all treatments. These changes in bacterial community structure did not correlate with the observed GHG fluxes from the sampling day. The application of amendments did not affect N₂O fluxes. However, the application of treatments slightly reduced the capacity for CH₄ sequestration by soil with respect to the untreated soils. Compost is an effective method to increase soil fertility. Soil GHG emissions should be further evaluated.     

Cerebral cysticercosis in pigs studied by computed tomography and necropsy

An original technique for computed tomography (CT) of the pig's brain is described. Brains of 11 cysticercotic pigs were studied by CT and by macroscopic and microscopic examination after necropsy, in order to compare the tomographic images with the anatomic findings. By CT, cysticerci could be seen in all the brains except one which had only one parasite. Good correlation was found when the CT sections were compared with the anatomic slices, nevertheless not all cysticerci seen during necropsy examination could be identified in the CT images. Only two parasites were found in the ventricles. There were difficulties in differentiating submeningeal and parenchymal localization of the cysticerci. Most cysticerci had similar morphologic appearance; inflammatory reactions of different degrees and characteristics were observed around some of them.     

Integrating Fire Risk Considerations in Forest Management Planning in Spain – A Landscape Level Perspective

It is reasonable to assume that there is a relationship between the spatial distribution of forest fuels and fire hazards. Therefore, if fire risk is to be included into numerical forest planning, the spatial distribution of risky and non-risky forest stands should be taken into account. The present study combines a stand-level fire risk model and landscape level optimization to solve forest planning problems in which the fire risk plays an important role. The key point of the method was to calculate forest level fire resistance metrics from stand level indices and use these metrics as objective variables in numerical optimization. This study shows that maximizing different landscape metrics produces very different landscape configurations with respect to the spatial arrangement of resistant and risky stands. The landscapes obtained by maximizing different metrics were tested with a fire spread simulator. These tests suggested that the mean fire resistance of the landscape, which is a non-spatial metric, is the most important factor affecting the burned area. However, spatial landscape metrics that decrease the continuity of fire resistance in the landscape can significantly improve the fire resistance of the landscape when used as additional objective variables.     

Factors Affecting Fertility According to the Postpartum Period in Crossbred Dual-Purpose Suckling Cows in the Tropics

To determine the relationship between first service conception rate (FSC) and the postpartum period (PP), 6160 calvings from 2250 crossbred dual-purpose cows were analysed. The effects of breed predominance (BT: Bos taurus and BI: Bos indicus), season of service (dry, intermediate and humid), parity (1 or 2 and more), agroecological region (Sub-humid and Dry Tropical Forest) and milk production were studied. The postpartum period was grouped according to the calving–first service interval as G1 ≤ 60 days (n = 1889); G2 > 60 ≤ 90 days (n = 1436); G3 > 90 ≤ 120 days (n = 1030); and G4 > 120 days (n = 1805). Data were analysed by chi-squared test. The overall mean for FSC was 58.2% and was lower in G1 (p < 0.01). All PP showed a breed effect on FSC, with mean values of 61.6% and 53.3% for BI and BT, respectively. Season of service also affected FSC, which was significantly lower during the humid period: 51.2% versus 57.4% and 61.5% for the intermediate and dry periods (p < 0.01), respectively. Parity and environmental effects were not observed on FSC. Levels of milk yield did influence the FSC, which decreased from 66.7% and 61.0% for milk yields of < 1500 kg and between 1501 and 2000 kg to 46.0% in milk yields > 2000 kg (p < 0.01).     

Participatory study on feeding strategies for working donkeys used by Campesino farmers in the highlands of central Mexico

The aim of this work was to describe the feeding strategies for donkeys used by peasant farmers in central Mexico. Feeding strategies for the dry and wet seasons are described, as well as the nutritional characteristics of the main forages and supplements used by the farmers. The extent to which the feeding practices used by farmers matched the digestible energy and crude protein requirements of donkeys for maintenance and work was determined. It was concluded that grazing on native grassland could provide enough energy and protein for donkeys at maintenance level and for those performing only a moderate amount of work. More research in required in order to have better estimates of intake and plant species preferred by donkeys under prevailing grazing conditions.     

Prevalence of udder infections and mastitis in 50 California dairy herds

The California mastitis test (CMT) and bacteriologic culture were performed on samples of bulk-tank milk and cow-composite milk (n = 23,138 cows) from 50 California dairies, 19 of the 50 with known mastitis problems. Thirty-eight (76.0%) bulk-tank milk samples and 12,334 (53.3%) cows were positive by results of the CMT. Potential mastitis agents were isolated from 5,085 (22%) cows. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from all 50 herds, Streptococcus agalactiae was isolated from 47 herds, and Mycoplasma sp was isolated from 24 herds. For cow-composite milk samples, the prevalences were 9.3% for Str agalactiae, 9.1% for S aureus, 0.9% for Mycoplasma sp, 1.2% for coliform bacteria, 0.9% for other streptococci, 0.8% for coagulase-negative staphylococci, and 1.3% for other organisms. The relative sensitivity and the relative specificity of the CMT performed on cow-composite milk samples were 83.4% and 55.2%, respectively, and the predictive value of positive CMT results was 34.2%.     

Physicochemical changes in the hull of corn grains during their alkaline cooking

The alkaline cooking of corn in a solution of Ca(OH)2 to produce corn-based foods is oriented to make corn proteins available, to incorporate Ca to the cooked grains, and also to remove the corn hull. This process (nixtamalization) is known in Mexico and Guatemala from prehispanic times; however, the effect of the alkaline cooking on the corn hull remains poorly documented. In this work, the physicochemical changes that take place in the corn hull during its cooking in a saturated solution of Ca(OH)2 were studied using infrared, X-ray diffraction, 13C cross-polarization/magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) NMR, confocal imaging microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetry techniques. The main effect of this treatment on the hull is the removal of hemicelluloses and lignin, increasing the hull permeability and, as a consequence, facilitating the entry of the alkaline solution into the corn kernel. No significant changes were observed in the cellulose fiber network, which remains as native cellulose I, with a crystalline index, according to 13C CP/MAS NMR spectra, of 0.60. The alkaline treatment does not allow the cellulose fibers to swell and their regeneration in the form of cellulose(II). It seems any attempt to make use of the Ca binding capacity of the hull to increase the Ca availability in nixtamalized corn-based foods requires a separated treatment for the hull and kernel. On alkaline cooking, the hull hemicellulose fraction dissolves, losing its ability to bind Ca as a way to incorporate this element into foods elaborated from nixtamalized corn.