Interactions between different media and follicle‐stimulating hormone supplementation on in vitro culture of preantral follicles enclosed in ovarian tissue derived from collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu Linneaus, 1758)

The aim was to verify the effect of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) supplementation to α‐MEM+ or TCM199+ media on the in vitro development of ovarian preantral follicles (PFs) derived from collared peccaries. Ovaries (n = 5 pairs) were collected and divided into fragments destined to control group (non‐cultured) or treatments that were cultured for 7 days. The PFs morphology, growth and activation were evaluated by classical histology. The immunohistochemistry markers Ag‐NOR and PCNA were used for nuclear proliferation analysis, and the picrosirius red labelling was used for ovarian extracellular matrix (ECM) evaluation. After 7‐day culture, only the TCM199+ treatment maintained the proportion of intact PFs similar to day 1 (63.2%), but no differences were found among treatments (p > .05). In addition, a significant increase in the growing follicles proportion was verified for all the treatments, indicating follicular activation (p > .05). By the Ag‐NOR analysis, only the TCM199+/FSH maintained the nuclear proliferation similar to the first day (p > .05). The picrosirius red staining revealed that the ECM remained intact in all the treatments (p > .05). We suggest the use of TCM199+ medium supplemented of FSH for the in vitro development of peccaries PFs under 7‐day culturing conditions.     

Ecological consequences of variation in standard metabolism and dominance among salmon parr

Abstract – Standard metabolic rate (SMR, closely related to basal and resting metabolism) varies by up to threefold among juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., of similar size at common temperature. Here, consequences of this variation are predicted by combining empirically derived relationships between SMR, specific dynamic action, energy budgets, water velocity, food level in the environment and food availability to fish. The range of velocities across which growth is predicted to occur is inversely related to a fish’s SMR. Growth is positively related to SMR at high but negatively related to it at low‐food levels. The relationship between food level and the range of velocities over which lower SMR fish can grow but higher SMR fish cannot is asymmetrically bi‐phasic and peaked. It is predicted that maternal manipulation of offspring SMR would generate fitness benefits through bet‐hedging against unpredictability in food level and increases in the overall range of velocities that the family of offspring can occupy and thrive in.     

Effects of Infection by Mycosphaerella graminicola on Translocation of Fluquinconazole in Wheat Seedlings

ABSTRACT Translocation of (14)C-labeled fluquinconazole was measured using combustion analysis and radio thin-layer-chromatographic analysis in seedling wheat leaves uninfected and infected with Mycosphaerella graminicola. Two isolates were used with differing sensitivity to demethylation inhibitor fungicides. Fluquinconazole was translocated acropetally, but not basipetally. Fluquinconazole accumulated around infection sites within 6 days after treatment. Accumulation occurred before M. graminicola hyphae had colonized the host mesophyll further than one host cell around the invasion site. This suggested that the accumulation was caused by a host response to infection. Infrared gas analysis showed that rates of transpiration and stomatal conductance in inoculated leaves were significantly increased very soon after inoculation but net photosynthesis was decreased. The actual mechanism of fungicide accumulation was not determined.     

Modeling gas migration through unsaturated soils from waste disposal sites

The movement of gases away from waste disposal sites and hazardous waste spills through soils can result in serious safety and health hazards. As in the analogous problem of contaminant transport in groundwater, mathematical models are useful in predicting future gas excursion distances at existing sites and evaluating gas migration control alternatives. This paper presents a mathematical model for simulating the migration of gases from waste disposal sites through the unsaturated zone. The system equations used to represent gas migration through the unsaturated zone are an amalgam of the traditional groundwater flow-contaminant transport equations with the representation of gaseous flows in molar quantities. The model accounts for gas migration due to gas pressure, concentration and velocity gradients. The system equations are solved with the Galerkin finite element technique. The mathematical model successfully reproduced observed historical gas pressure and concentration data at two landfill sites. These two applications tested the mathematical model for both summer and winter flow conditions and under both natural and forced gas potential gradients.     

Spatial variability in emissions reduction strategies for sulphur and nitrogen in the UK

The roles of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) in causing critical loads exceedance across the UK show considerable spatial variability at the present time. Over much of lowland Britain it appears that the environment can only be protected by reducing N deposition, whilst in upland areas (e.g. most of Scotland and Wales) reductions in S deposition are the primary requirement. Using the Hull Acid Rain Model (HARM) the effects of current and possible future emissions control legislation on critical loads exceedance can be explored. Based on HARM output, the implementation of the UNECE Sulphur Protocol (1994) will bring about a substantial reduction in the amount of S being deposited in the UK, especially in central and southern parts of the country. Some areas will remain where additional reductions in S are required. Over most of the country, however, the need to reduce N deposition will become paramount. The changing contributions and significance of non-UK sources can be estimated.     

Climate change as the dominant control on glacial-interglacial variations in C3 and C4 plant abundance

Although C4 plant expansions have been recognized in the late Miocene, identification of the underlying causes is complicated by the uncertainties associated with estimates of ancient precipitation, temperature, and partial pressure of atmospheric carbon dioxide (PCO2). Here we report the carbon isotopic compositions of leaf wax n-alkanes in lake sediment cores from two sites in Mesoamerica that have experienced contrasting moisture variations since the last glacial maximum. Opposite isotopic trends obtained from these two sites indicate that regional climate exerts a strong control on the relative abundance of C3 and C4 plants and that in the absence of favorable moisture and temperature conditions, low PCO2 alone is insufficient to drive an expansion of C4 plants.     

Estimating the impact of air pollution on environmentally valuable sites

Concern about the environmental effect of air pollution on areas of high conservation value in the UK has prompted the statutory agencies to initiate an investigation on these areas. For this, critical loads maps have been used together with predicted air pollution data, monitored air pollution data and remotely sensed land cover information within a geographic information system (GIS). Additional information on designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for England and Wales have also been incorporated. This provides the framework for examining potential impacts to these sites under various current and future scenarios. The approach allows for the investigation of the impacts of individual point sources as well as complete national scenarios. Preliminary results are provided from analysis of a single pollutant (sulphur). These indicate that nationally up to 52% of the area of SSSI's (5000 km²) are at risk from soil acidification. Using this approach it has been possible to apportion the load on any SSSI, thereby enabling the ecological impacts of each point source to be identified. This information can then be used to assess priorities for regulatory controls.     

Laboratory studies on the leaching of aldicarb through a tropical soil from Belize,Central America

Studies in temperate regions indicate that the carbamate insecticide aldicarb and its metabolites leach readily through agricultural soils into groundwater. However, little is known about the fate of this nematicide in tropical regions, where its leaching potential may be even greater because of high annual rainfall and the acidic nature and low organic content of many tropical soils. Examination of the leaching behaviour of aldicarb and its metabolites in columns containing soil from Belize, Central America, indicated that total carbamate residues (TCR) could rapidly reach concentrations > 15 mg L^?1 in porewater 1 m below the soil surface within 70 days of application. These values are well in excess of the US EPA Health Advisory level of 0.01 mg L^?1. TCR retention within a given depth interval in the soil columns relative to incoming TCR flux was greatest between 0 and 0.1 m, reflecting high organic matter contents in the upper soil. Retention below 0.1 m was relatively consistent with depth, while differences in relative retention between columns were due to a greater duration of leaching for the second column. Aldicarb was rapidly oxidized to aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone in these soils. The high concentration and mobility of TCR in this acidic soil is attributed to the transformation of the parent compound to the sulfoxide metabolite, which has a lower degradation rate and organic carbon partioning coefficient than aldicarb.