Control of spoilage and ripening in mango fruit by zineb and sodium diethyldithiocarbamate

Zineb (0.375%) in hot water as a post harvest dip reduced the spoilage due to fungi and delayed the ripening process in Alphonso and Pairi mangoes. Spoilage was minimal when the treatment was given soon after harvest. Sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (0.4 %) was also effective in reducing the spoilage in Pairi mangoes although the treatment was delayed until 7 days after harvest. These compounds did not adversely affect the chemical composition or edible quality of the fruit.     

Novel and simple approach using synthesized nickel nanoparticles to control blood-sucking parasites

The present study was on assessment of the anti-parasitic activities of nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) against the larvae of cattle ticks Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and Hyalomma anatolicum (a.) anatolicum (Acari: Ixodidae), fourth instar larvae of Anopheles subpictus, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex gelidus (Diptera: Culicidae). The metallic Ni NPs were synthesized by polyol process from Ni-hydrazine as precursor and Tween 80 as both the medium and the stabilizing reagent. The synthesized Ni NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis which indicated the presence of Ni NPs. Synthesized Ni NPs showed the X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks at 42.76°, 53.40°, and 76.44°, identified as 1 1 1, 2 2 0, and 2 0 0 reflections, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the synthesized Ni NPs clearly showed that the Ni NPs were spherical in shape with an average size of 150 nm. The Ni NPs showed maximum activity against the larvae of R. (B.) microplus, H. a. anatolicum, A. subpictus, C. quinquefasciatus and C. gelidus with LC₅₀ values of 10.17, 10.81, 4.93, 5.56 and 4.94 mg/L; r² values of 0.990, 0.993, 0.992, 0.950 and 0.988 and the efficacy of Ni-hydrazine complexes showed the LC₅₀ values of 20.35, 22.72, 8.29, 9.69 and 7.83 mg/L; r² values of 0.988, 0.986, 0.989, 0.944 and 0.978, respectively. The findings revealed that synthesized Ni NPs possess excellent larvicidal parasitic activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on larvicidal activity of blood feeding parasites using synthesized Ni NPs.     

Effect of the herbicide butachlor on methane emission and ebullition flux from a direct-seeded flooded rice field

 Application of a commercial formulation of the herbicide butachlor (N-butoxymethyl-2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyl acetanilide) at 1 kg a.i. ha^–1 to an alluvial soil planted with direct-seeded flooded rice (cv. Annada), significantly inhibited both crop-mediated emission and ebullition fluxes of methane (CH₄). Over a cropping period of 110 days, the crop-mediated cumulative emission flux of CH₄ was lowered by ∼20% in butachlor-treated field plots compared with that of an untreated control. Concurrently, ebollition flux of CH₄ was also retarded in butachlor-treated field plots by about 81% compared with that of control plots. Significant relationships existed between CH₄ emission and redox potential (E _h) and Fe²⁺ content of the flooded soil. Application of butachlor retarded a drop in soil redox potential as well as accumulation of Fe²⁺ in treated field plots. Methanogenic bacterial population, counted at the maturity stage of the crop, was also low in butachlor-treated plots, indicating both direct and indirect inhibitory effects of butachlor on methanogenic bacterial populations and their activity. Results indicate that butachlor, even at field-application level, can effectively abate CH₄ emission and ebollition from flooded soils planted to rice whilst maintaining grain yield. Received: 15 March 2000     

Isolation of Acholeplasma oculi from diseased horses in Australia

Eleven isolations of A. oculi were made from nasal swabs from horses with acute upper respiratory disease (3), from an equine lung with extensive emphysema (1), from lung, liver and placenta respectively of three aborted foals, from cerebrospinal fluids from two horses with a paralytic syndrome, from synovial from a horse with acute polyarthritis and from a semen sample from a stallion with a breeding problem.     

A Classical Live Attenuated Vaccine for Sheep Pox

A classical live attenuated sheep pox vaccine was prepared using the Ranipet strain of sheep pox virus (SPV) at the 50th passage in a secondary lamb testicular cell system. The TCID50 and RD50 were 10(9.63)/ml and 10(9.51)/ml. respectively. The SID50 of SPV challenge virus was 10(5)/ml. The vaccine was found to have no adverse effects in laboratory animals, and was safe and effective in SPV seronegative lambs. In the field, 660 sheep were vaccinated with an immunizing dose containing 1 x 10(2) TCID50. Randomly selected vaccinated sheep mounted good cell-mediated immunity and humoral responses as measured by glucose utilization test and serum neutralization test, respectively, for the study period of 6 months.     

Effect of steam pressure treatment on the physicochemical properties of Dioscorea starches

Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea rotundata starches were subjected to steam pressure treatments (0.35, 0.7, and 1.05 kg cm(-)(2)) for different periods. The total amylose content in the treated starches was not significantly affected, but the soluble amylose content decreased 3-5-fold. Reducing values and lambda(max) of the iodine complexes were unaffected. Viscosity of the starch paste was reduced by the treatments, and at higher pressures and longer time of treatments, the peak viscosity values were reduced to very low values. Pasting temperatures were enhanced considerably. Swelling volumes underwent reduction, but no change in solubility occurred. Clarity and paste stability were markedly lowered. The results suggest that starch granules are compressed by the steam pressure treatment, leading to vast changes in physicochemical properties.     

Multi-scale prediction of landscape resistance for tiger dispersal in central India

Context

Connectivity models for animal movement frequently use resistance surfaces, but rarely incorporate actual movement data and multiple scale drivers of landscape resistance.

Objectives

Using GPS data, we developed a multi-scale model of landscape resistance for tiger (Panthera tigris) dispersal in central India and evaluated the performance, interpretation and predictions against single scale models.

Methods

Six dispersing tiger paths were subjected to a path level analysis with conditional logistic regression to parameterize a resistance surface. We evaluated for 21 scales of available habitat and selected the best scale for each variable. We derived a scale-optimized multivariate path selection function and predicted landscape resistance across the landscape.

Results

The tigers preferred to move along areas with forest cover at relatively high elevations along the ridges with rugged topography at broad scale, while avoiding areas with agriculture-village matrix at fine scale. We found that the scale that was most supported by Akaike’s information criterion was not always the scale that maximized the magnitude (effect size) of the relationship. Further, the multi-scale optimized model differed substantially from the single scale models in terms of variable importance, magnitude of coefficients and predictions of connectivity.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that the variables in landscape resistance models produce markedly different predictions of population connectivity depending on the scales of analyses and interpretation. Thus, scale optimization in parameterization is critical for appropriate inferences and sound management strategies.