The River Wadu role play — ten years experience

This paper describes a role playing planning exercise that has been used for training agriculturists, engineers and agricultural economists for more than ten years. It sets out the objectives and key features of the exercise and the experience that has been gained in its use. The exercise has been found to successfully test and integrate subject matter expertise acquired from formal teaching. It also highlights the multiple and often conflicting objectives of irrigation planning, and the need for full evaluation of alternatives and sound technical judgements under conditions of inadequate data and time pressure. The exercise is also successful in developing professional personal skills such as group working, interviewing and presentation, and is recommended as an effective training aid.     

A postscript: Macroeconomics and structural adjustment — the minimum for water sector specialists

The need for a grasp of macroeconomic concepts and methods for microeconomists and technical specialists is stressed. At this juncture policy failure is commonplace. Experience in using the World Bank Structural Adjustment in Lowinca as a training exercise is discussed.     

Irrigation and food security in the 21st century

Global food projections indicate that food prices in the next threedecades will likely be stable or decline, but progress inreducing malnutrition in developing countries will be slow. Smallshortfalls in crop productivity growth would lead to rising foodprices and worsening malnutrition. Increased food production fromirrigation is essential, and will require expansion of irrigatedarea and water supplies, and improved efficiency of use of existingwater supplies. Neither of these growth factors will prove easy, andboth will require complex institutional and policy reforms. Failureto meet food production needs through efficient expansion andintensification of irrigated agriculture would increase pressure onland resources and hasten the process of environmental degradation.Irrigation and water development strategies have been hampered bya lack of understanding of the links between water scarcity, foodproduction, food security, and environmental sustainability.Research to improve this understanding would have high payoffs.     

The effects of 3 gonadorelin products on luteinizing hormone release,ovulation, and follicular wave emergence in cattle

The objective was to determine luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion and follicular dynamics in cattle following administration of 3 gonadorelin formulations that are commercially available in Canada. In experiment 1, nonlactating Holstein cows (n = 4 per group) were randomly assigned to receive 100 micrograms gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate, intramuscularly (C; Cystorelin, or FE; Fertagyl). Blood samples (for LH analysis) were collected 0, 1, 2, and 4 hours after treatment. In experiment 2, nonlactating Holstein cows (n = 10 per group) were randomly allocated to receive 100 micrograms gonadorelin, intramuscularly as follows: 2 mL of C; 1 mL of FE; or 2 mL of Factrel (FA, gonadorelin hydrochloride). Gonadorelin treatment was done on days 6 or 7 after ovulation and blood samples for LH analysis were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after treatment. Ovaries were examined by ultrasonography, twice daily, to detect ovulation. A replicate was conducted using only C (n = 10) or FE (n = 10); blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours. In experiment 3, beef heifers (n = 10 per group) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 GnRH gonadorelin treatments (as in the first phase of experiment 2) on days 6 or 7 after ovulation and blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4 hours. In experiments 2 and 3, both mean and mean peak plasma LH concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) in cattle treated with C. The proportion of dominant follicles that ovulated was higher (P < 0.02) in Holstein cows treated with C than in those treated with FE or FA (18/19, 11/19, and 4/7, respectively), but there was no significant difference among the products in beef heifers (6/10, 6/10, and 4/10, respectively). No significant differences were found in the interval from treatment to the emergence of the next follicular wave. In summary, C induced a greater LH release and this resulted in a higher ovulatory rate in Holstein cows but not in beef heifers.     

Intercropping of Corn with Soybean and Lupin for Silage: Effect of Seeding Date on Yield and Quality

Intercropping of corn with legumes is an alternative to corn monocropping and has a number of advantages, for example, lower levels of inputs, lower costs of production and better silage quality than the monocrop system. An experiment was carried out at two sites in 1993 and 1994 to investigate the effects of seeding date (simultaneous with corn or 3 weeks later) and number of rows of large‐seeded legumes (one or two) seeded between the corn rows. The intercrop plots received 90 kg ha^?1 less nitrogen fertilizer than the monocrop plots, which received 180 kg ha^?1. Silage yields were sometimes decreased by the simultaneous seeding of corn and large‐seeded legumes. Protein content and concentration were not affected by most treatments and provided reasonable quality silage, despite a reduction in the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used.     

Association between cervical and intracranial dimensions and syringomyelia in the cavalier King Charles spaniel

O bjectives : To investigate the possible association between caudal fossa area and cervical vertebral dimensions and the presence of syringomyelia in cavalier King Charles spaniels.
M ethods : From magnetic resonance imaging scans of 78 cavalier King Charles spaniels, measurements were made of the widest vertical spinal width at C1/C2, C2, C2/C3 and C3; angulation of the C2/C3 spine; and estimated caudal fossa area. A correlation between these measurements and syringomyelia was sought.
R esults : A total of 59 dogs with and 19 without syringomyelia were compared. Older dogs had a significantly higher incidence of syringo-myelia. No difference in incidence was noted between genders. There was no significant difference in vertebral canal width at C1/C2 and C2, or angulation of C2/C3 between syringomyelia and non-syringomyelia groups. The width of the canal at C2/C3 and C3 was significantly increased in syringomyelia dogs. There was no significant difference in the caudal fossa area between groups.
C linical S ignificance : Although syringomyelia was shown to be more prevalent in older dogs, the age beyond which dogs were considered at greater risk was not deducible from the dataset. The association identified between wider spinal canal at C3, and C2/C3 and syringomyelia presence is of questionable clinical significance, as the difference between syringomyelia and non-syringomyelia groups is too small to be measured in a clinical setting.     

The role of CCR7 in TH1 and TH2 cell localization and delivery of B cell help in vivo

Subsets of murine CD4+ T cells localize to different areas of the spleen after adoptive transfer. Na?ve and T helper 1 (TH1) cells, which express the chemokine receptor CCR7, are home to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath, whereas activated TH2 cells, which lack CCR7, form rings at the periphery of the T cell zones near B cell follicles. Retroviral transduction of TH2 cells with CCR7 forces them to localize in a TH1-like pattern and inhibits their participation in B cell help in vivo but not in vitro. Thus, differential expression of chemokine receptors results in unique cellular migration patterns that are important for effective immune responses.     

Nest inheritance is the missing source of direct fitness in a primitively eusocial insect

Animals that cooperate with nonrelatives represent a challenge to inclusive fitness theory, unless cooperative behavior is shown to provide direct fitness benefits. Inheritance of breeding resources could provide such benefits, but this route to cooperation has been little investigated in the social insects. We show that nest inheritance can explain the presence of unrelated helpers in a classic social insect model, the primitively eusocial wasp Polistes dominulus. We found that subordinate helpers produced more direct offspring than lone breeders, some while still subordinate but most after inheriting the dominant position. Thus, while indirect fitness obtained through helping relatives has been the dominant paradigm for understanding eusociality in insects, direct fitness is vital to explain cooperation in P. dominulus.