Management ofMeloidogyne incognita infecting cowpea by using some native blue green algae

Three species of blue green algae;Anabena oryzae, Nostoc calcicola andSpirulina sp. were tested versusMeloidogyne incognita infecting cowpea cv. Baladi. In single treatments,N. calcicola alga was superior than the other algae treatments in reducing the number of nematode galls and egg masses as compared to the untreated check. In combined treatments, the 3 algae together achieved the highest significant (P≤0.01 and 0.05) reduction in the number of galls and egg masses. All the treatments significantly (P≤0.01 and 0.05) improved plant growth criteria as measured by fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots and length of shoots and increased the number of nodules.     

Infleence of some organic manures as soil amendments on development and reproduction ofRotylenchulus reniformis infecting eggplant andHirschmanniella oryzae infecting rice

The effect of amended soil with rabbit, camel, poultry, quail, pigeon, horse, buffalo and duck manures to manage the rice root nematode, Hirschmanniella oryzae on Giza 171 rice plants, and effects of the first five manures in management of the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis on Balady eggplants was studied under greenhouse conditions. All treatments significantly (p<-0.01) reduced final populations, rate of build-up and reproduction of both nematodes than in unamended soil. The reduction in such parameters greatly varied according to the type of the tested organic manure and the host plant. Generally, pigeon manure was highly effective against R. reniformis on eggplant followed by quail, poultry and rabbit manures, while camel treatment occupied the least potent manure. Consequently a corresponding statistical increase in eggplant growth resulted. As for managing H. oryzae on rice plants, buffalo dung was very potent inhibitor to its build-up followed by camel, horse, poultry, duck, quail, rabbit and pigeon manures. Percentages increase in the rice growth showed more values when applying duck and pigeon manures followed by quail, rabbit and buffalo. Horse dung improved, to some extent, the growth of rice plants although, none of the other organic manures succeeded in improving the rice plant growth. An explanation has been submitted to discuss the role of both pigeon droppings and buffalo dung on both R. reniformis on eggplant and H. oryzae on rice. This type of control of phytonematodes was considered economical, easy and pollution free.     

Mitigation of salt stress on tomato crop by using foliar spraying or fertigation of various products

Abstract

Among major constraints to crop production, salt stress affects the morphological structure and yield in crop plants. Nano-fertilizers, have made their hierarchy to supplement the traditional fertilizers in mitigating the effect of abiotic stress due to their slow release and efficiency. Three products were tested namely lithovit®-standard(LITHO), monopotassium-phosphate(MKP:0-52-34), and aspirin(ASP) on salt-stressed tomato crop. These products were applied through foliar spraying (foliar) or fertigation (ferti) on tomato plants irrigated with 4 saline solutions (4, 6, 8 and 10dS/m). Control plants were subjected to five salinity levels (0, 4, 6, 8 and 10dS/m) without any treatments. Results showed that increasing in salinity levels adversely affected all parameters in the control plants. The ameliorating effect of MKP-ferti was prominent in plant height, stem diameter, number of fruits, fruit weight and yield/plant at 4 and 6S/m. Whereas, the effect of salinity was mitigated by LITHO-foliar regarding flowers number and total chlorophyll content at all salinity level. Leaf N, P and K contents were accumulated higher when MKP-ferti was used whereas, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ contents were accumulated higher in the plants treated with LITHO-foliar. The cellular leakage of electrolyte was reduced at 4, 6 and 10dS/m with MKP-ferti and at 8dS/m with LITHO-foliar application. Among the two methods of application, foliar spraying of LITHO and ASP, and fertigation of MKP improved plant performance more than their complementary methods of application. The better performance of MKP necessitates the use of phosphorous and potassium-based nano-fertilizers. It can reduce the production cost of vegetables using conventional fertilizers.     

DNA content in embryo and endosperm of maize kernel (Zea mays L.): impact on GMO quantification

PCR-based techniques are the most widely used methods for the quantification of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through the determination of the ratio of transgenic DNA to total DNA. It is shown that the DNA content per mass unit is significantly different among 10 maize cultivars. The DNA contents of endosperms, embryos, and teguments of individual kernels from 10 maize cultivars were determined. According to our results, the tegument's DNA ratio reaches at maximum 3.5% of the total kernel's DNA, whereas the endosperm's and the embryo's DNA ratios are nearly equal to 50%. The embryo cells are diploid and made of one paternal and one maternal haploid genome, whereas the endosperm is constituted of triploid cells made of two maternal haploid genomes and one paternal haploid genome. Therefore, it is shown, in this study, that the accuracy of the GMO quantification depends on the reference material used as well as on the category of the transgenic kernels present in the mixture.     

Ruminal excretion of sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole in goats and their influence on some enzyme activities and renal clearances

Five clinically health goats were injected with sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole in a single dose of 100 mg/kg b. wt. by intravenous route. Highest concentration levels of sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole in rumen were detected 1 hour following intravenous injection, then the concentration for both compounds declined at 12 and 8 hours post administration, respectively. In addition, both types of sulfonamide completely disappeared in ruminal fluid samples taken after 24 and 12 hours, respectively. The rate of acetylation for sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole were nearly similar and occurred to a high extent in ruminal fluid (22.95 and 23.72%, respectively). On the other hand, both tested drugs increased significantly the ruminal gas production from the first to eight hours after i.v. injection in goats. Changes in the serum enzyme activities (SGOT, SGPT and alkaline phosphatase) observed with sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole, and represented by a significant decrease in the activity of SGOT and SGPT level, alkaline phosphatase 4 hours sulfadimethoxine and in GOT/GPT ratio 24 and 48 hours after i.v. injection, respectively. The creatinine clearance was significantly decreased after 4 hours following the i.v. administration of sulfadimethoxine and sulfadimethyloxazole in goats.     

Disposition of tylosin in goats

The disposition kinetics of tylosin was studied in goats after intravenous (i.v.) or intramuscular (i.m.) injection of 15 mg/kg body wt. Following i.v. injection, tylosin was rapidly and widely distributed with a distribution half-life of 0.2 h and volume of distribution of 1.7 l/kg. It was slowly eliminated with a mean elimination half-life of 3.04 h and a total body clearance rate of 6.8 ml/kg/min. Following i.m. injection, tylosin was slowly absorbed (tau 1/2 ab of 1.82 h). Tylosin concentration in serum was greater than 1 microgram/ml after 1 h and persisted up to 12 h post-injection. The peak concentration (Cmax 2.38 micrograms/ml) was obtained after 4.19 h. The systemic bioavailability of tylosin injected intramuscularly was 72.6% and the serum protein bound fraction was 37.59% of the total drug. Tylosin was excreted in milk and urine at concentrations much higher than that in serum. Low concentrations of tylosin were reported in ruminal juice of goats. In conclusion tylosin should be injected every 14 h to obtain an appreciable concentration in serum, milk and urine.     

Influence of sodium taurocholate on the potency and duration of action of some neuromuscular blocking agents

The effect of sodium taurocholate (S. T.) on the contractile response of rat-phrenic nerve diaphragm, frog's musculus rectus abdominis and frog's musculus gastrocnemius sciatic nerve preparation was studied. Moreover, interaction of S. T. with neuromuscular blockers are carried out, too. S. T. was found to have a dose-dependent reduction in the contractile response of the tested preparation. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect induced by S. T. did not block or alter the stimulatory effect of either acetylcholine or prostigmine. Trials were made to estimate the potency of S. T. in a comparison with other skeletal muscle relaxant drugs. In this respect S. T. exhibited a more potent effect than gallamine. In contrast, other skeletal muscle relaxants (dtubocurarine, atracurium, pancuronium and succinylcholine) were highly potent. There was also a marked synergistic effect between S. T. and other neuromuscular agents.     

Immunostimulatory properties of a novel adjuvant administered with inactivated influenza virus vaccine

The immunopotentiating activity of a new delivery system was investigated comparatively to Alhydrogel adjuvant, as an antiviral inactivated vaccine after one injection. The efficiency of the new formulation (BioMed) was evaluated with an inactivated porcine strain of influenza (A/Sw/IN/1726/88 H1N1) in the pig model. The first assessment criteria was the follow-up of selected immunological parameters such as, antibody levels, lymphoproliferation, double positive CD4+CD8+ T lymphocytes and cytokine production (IL-2, IL-4, IFN-gamma). The second criteria was the estimate of the protection level of animals exposed to a homologous challenge of 50 PID50 one month after a single immunizing or control injection. In the BioMed group of animals, 4 pigs (out of 6) were free of macroscopic lesion, while lesions could be seen in all individuals of other groups and virus was isolated in only one animal, whereas all other animals of other groups had virus in their lungs. This better protection of BioMed animals seems to be correlated mainly with higher levels of antibodies and to a lesser extent with a slightly better CMI response and probably with the production of memory CD4+CD8+ T cells.     

Equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis: a newly recognized herpesvirus-associated fibrotic lung disease

Pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease are poorly understood in horses; the causes of such conditions are rarely identified. Equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) is a gamma-herpesvirus of horses that has not been associated with disease in horses. Pathologic and virologic findings from 24 horses with progressive nodular fibrotic lung disease associated with EHV-5 infection are described and compared with 23 age-matched control animals. Gross lesions consisted of multiple nodules of fibrosis throughout the lungs. Histologically, there was marked interstitial fibrosis, often with preservation of an "alveolar-like" architecture, lined by cuboidal epithelial cells. The airways contained primarily neutrophils and macrophages. Rare macrophages contained large eosinophilic intranuclear viral inclusion bodies; similar inclusion bodies were also found cytologically. The inclusions were identified as herpesviral-like particles by transmission electron microscopy in a single horse. In situ hybridization was used to detect EHV-5 nucleic acids within occasional macrophage nuclei. With polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the herpesviral DNA polymerase gene was detected in 19/24 (79.2%) of affected horses and 2/23 (8.7%) of the control horses. Virus genera-specific PCR was used to detect EHV-5 in all of the affected horses and none of the control horses. EHV-2 was detected in 8/24 (33.3%) of affected horses and 1/9 (11.1%) of the control horses. This disease has not been reported before, and the authors propose that based upon the characteristic gross and histologic findings, the disease be known as equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis. Further, we propose that this newly described disease develops in association with infection by the equine gamma-herpesvirus, EHV-5.