Evaluation of foliar resistance in potato to Phytophthora infestans based on an international field trial network

During the period 2000–03, local potato cultivars in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark were tested for foliar resistance to Phytophthora infestans (late blight) in an international field trial network. Four standard cultivars were included in the trials: Sava, Oleva, Danva and Kuras. Primary disease-assessment data were entered into a common database, and parameters from the disease progress curves were calculated and made available on interactive web pages. A regression model, using relative area under disease progress curve (RAUDPC) values for cv. Oleva as a reference, was developed for the estimation of 1–9 scale values, where 1 = most susceptible. Standard deviations for the estimated 1–9 scale values and a nonparametric rank stability analysis of RAUDPC were used to evaluate the stability of resistance of the cultivars. Overall, the results showed stability of resistance for cvs Sava, Oleva and Danva, but not for Kuras. Use of the Internet-based Web-Blight service in this study facilitated comparison of results among countries for the level and stability of resistance. The estimated 1–9 scale values were similar to, or slightly lower than, those from official cultivar lists or from the European Cultivated Potato Database, especially for the more resistant cultivars. Possible reasons for discrepancies from different sources and locations are discussed. It is concluded that RAUPDC and the derived 1–9 scale values are useful for ranking cultivars for resistance to P. infestans , but this information is not detailed enough for use in a decision support system for late blight control.     

Regulation of milk intake in young ruminants

We studied the influence of the three main nutritive components of milk - saccharides, fat and amino acids - on milk intake in suckling lambs and on the role of insulin as a key metabolic hormone for the regulation of milk intake. The intake was slowed down after p.o. administration of milk fat (p less than 0.05), after i. v. administration of methionine (p less than 0.001) and after p. o. administration of glucose, lactose (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001) and sorbitol (p less than 0.001). After i. v. administration of glycerol, lysine, threonine, arginine, glucose, and i. v. and p. o. administration of galactose the intake of milk did not change significantly (p greater than 0.05). The findings indicate that the short-time regulation of milk intake in suckling ruminant animals is not subjected to the specific effect of some of the milk components. Regarding the metabolic effects, the problem concerns the speed of resorption of easily metabolizable sources of energy from the digestive system to the liver and to the whole body. Neutral Zn-insulin administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 4 U X kg-1 increased the milk intake (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001), in 8 to 22 hours after the administration only when the animals were on the low-fat milk diet (5.9%-11% fat in dry matter). We assume that the long-range hyperphagy can be related mainly with the fast metabolizing of energy-rich substances (glucose) into the body stores (glycogen, fat) accompanied by subsequent hormonal changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Food intake in suckling rats after glycerol administration

The influence of administered glycerol on the food intake was followed in suckling rats in five age periods (on the 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th and 23rd day of life). Glycerol significantly reduced the food intake (P less than 0.01) in the last three age categories. This finding indicates that from the 13th day of life glycerol becomes one of the limiting factors of food intake for suckling rats in connection with a gradual functional maturing of their control mechanism, regulating the food intake.     

The structure of mating type,virulence, metalaxyl resistance of Phytophthora infestans in a long-term phenotypic study in distinct location in Eastern Estonia

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans was collected from a region of Eastern Estonia during a period of seven years (2001–07). In...     

Different leguminous pre-crops increased yield of succeeding cereals in two consecutive years

Leguminous pre-crops are an important source of green manure in organic crop rotations for improving soil fertility and achieving high yields of cereals. We aimed to study the potential of various leguminous species, other than the traditionally cultivated red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), as green manure pre-crops for subsequent cereals. The use of different legume species enables to exploit advantages of specific legumes in organic cereal production. In order to test the legumes as pre-crops for cereals, we carried out trials located in the temperate climate zone of northeast Europe (58°44′59.41″ N, 26°24′54.02″ E). We sowed the following perennial legumes as pre-crops: red clover, alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum L.) and Washington lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.), biennial white sweet clover (Melilotus albus Medik.) and annual Alexandria clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.). Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) was used as a control. The leguminous pre-crops were followed by three spring cereals (barley, oat and spring wheat) and two winter cereals (rye and winter wheat). We tested the first-year after-effect (all cereals) and second-year after-effect (only barley and oat) of pre-crops on the grain yield of cereals. Perennial and biennial legume species produced the highest dry matter yield and contained the highest amount of nutrients, especially nitrogen, compared to annual species. All subsequent cereals produced significant extra yields after each leguminous pre-crop in the following two years, although the effect was smaller in the second year. The most suitable pre-crops for spring cereals were red and alsike clover followed by lupine, whereas the best pre-crops for winter cereals were sweet clover and annual clovers. Our results show the potential of various leguminous pre-crop species as valuable sources of green manure in organic crop rotation.     

Seasoned Sprat Products’ Acceptance in Estonia and in Thailand

The aim of the study was to describe and evaluate competitiveness of Estonian spice-cured sprat products in Estonia and Thailand. Sample A was saltiest, Sample B had lowest overall spiciness, and Sample C had highest pepper flavor and sour taste intensity. The main drivers of consumer acceptance for the spice-cured sprat products were different: flavor and appearance in Estonia and appearance and odor in Thailand. In Estonia, one cluster of consumers liked the traditional (Sample A) and lightly spiced (Sample B) sprat products, while the other cluster liked the traditional (Sample A) and the marinated (Sample C) sprat products. In Thailand, all samples scored low, but manual clustering indicated that marinated (Sample C) sprat products are most acceptable. The current study showed that spice-cured sprat products in general can be accepted by Thai consumers, especially as part of meals, if further flavor development is carried out with the products.     

Facilitated cross-species transmission of prions in extraneural tissue

Prions are infectious pathogens essentially composed of PrP(Sc), an abnormally folded form of the host-encoded prion protein PrP(C). Constrained steric interactions between PrP(Sc) and PrP(C) are thought to provide prions with species specificity and to control cross-species transmission into other host populations, including humans. We compared the ability of brain and lymphoid tissues from ovine and human PrP transgenic mice to replicate foreign, inefficiently transmitted prions. Lymphoid tissue was consistently more permissive than the brain to prions such as those causing chronic wasting disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Furthermore, when the transmission barrier was overcome through strain shifting in the brain, a distinct agent propagated in the spleen, which retained the ability to infect the original host. Thus, prion cross-species transmission efficacy can exhibit a marked tissue dependence.     

Red blood cell transfusions in cats: 126 cases (1999)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of and reasons for RBC transfusions, incidence of acute transfusion reactions, prevalence of blood types, volume of blood administered, change in PCV, and clinical outcome in cats. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 126 cats that received RBC transfusions. PROCEDURE: Medical records of cats that received whole blood or packed RBC transfusions were reviewed for signalment, blood type, pre- and post-transfusion PCV, volume of blood product administered, clinical diagnosis and cause of anemia, clinical signs of acute transfusion reactions, and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Mean volume of whole blood administered i.v. was 172 mL/kg (7.8 mL/lb) versus 9.3 mL/kg (4.2 mL/lb) for packed RBCs. Ninety-four percent of cats had blood type A. Mean increase in PCV among all cats was 6%. Fifty-two percent of cats had anemia attributed to blood loss, 10% had anemia attributed to hemolysis, and 38% had anemia attributed to erythropoietic failure. Acute transfusion reactions occurred in 11 cats. Sixty percent of cats survived until discharge. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: RBC transfusions resulted in an increase in PCV in cats with all causes of anemia in this study. The rate of death was greater than in cats that did not receive transfusions, but seriousness of the underlying disease in the 2 groups may not be comparable. Death rate of cats that received transfusions was not attributable to a high rate of transfusion reactions. Results confirm that pretransfusion blood typing or crossmatching is required to minimize the risk of adverse reactions.