Die Stammbastanalyse als Methode zur Beurteilung des Ernährungszustands von Coniferen

Stem phloem analysis as diagnostic tool to evaluate the nutritional status of conifers During late fall 1975 needles and stem phloem were sampled from 4–10 trees each on 44 experimental plots, belonging to five trials with fertilizer and sewage sludge application in Scots pine and Norway spruce stands in southern Germany. Treating the nutrient contents of both tissues by means of variance, regression and discriminant analysis gave evidence, that stem phloem analysis can be used effectively to evaluate the supply of those stands with N,P and Ca. Phloem analysis has several advantages as compared with traditional foliar analysis: Technical sampling difficulties in older stands as well as the hazard of dilution effects are smaller and the seasonal variation of nutrient contents seems to be less pronounced. Preliminary phloem threshold levels for N and P deficiency with pine may lie around 0,46 and 0,07%, respectively. There is some indication, that spruce suffers from N deficiency if the nitrogen content of its phloem is below 0,42%.     

A long-term in vitro culture of bovine epithelial cells on collagen rafts

In the present work, we established and characterized a 3D functional polarized primary bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOECs) culture on free-floating type I collagen hydrogels (rafts) at an air-liquid interface (ALI). Intercellular junctions, ultrastructural cellular morphology and the expression of the OVGP1 closely recapitulated those of the in vivo epithelium lining. These morphological and physiological epithelial cell features were maintained under standard DMEM/F12 with 10% foetal bovine serum culture medium for at least 28 days of ALI culture. The versatility of the BOECs raft cultures should allow testing of toxicity compounds, in vitro evaluation of physiological or pathological oviductal states, and the study of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that are critical for the maintenance of oviductal homeostasis.     

Evaluation of a Multi-species Test System for Assessing Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Sediments and Water to Aquatic Invertebrates: Effects of Pentachlorophenol on Daphnia magna and Chironomus prasinus (6 pp)

Background, Aims and Scope   Single-species toxicity tests are currently used as main tools for assessing effects in ecological risk assessments. Nevertheless, in higher-tier evaluations, alternative ecotoxicological methods can be required. Alternative methods should cover more realistic exposure conditions and/or additional species or endpoints. Water/sediment systems can be considered for covering additional exposure routes. A typical feature of water/sediment systems is the modification of exposure levels with time. The simultaneous exposure of different species within the same system can cover differences in sensitivity and relevance of exposure routes. The aim of this study was to develop a water/sediment test that could detect relevant effects on two selected species and explore the relevance of sediment and waterborne exposure routes. This alternative method may provide relevant information facilitating the design of microcosm and mesocosm studies.Methods   A multi-species water/sediment system was designed using two invertebrates: Chironomus prasinus a benthic detritivore invertebrate and Daphnia magna a pelagic filtering invertebrate was designed. Seven static water/sediments systems were built up: two controls and five treatments where sediments were spiked with NaPCP at nominal concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, respectively. Each system contained caged and free (unrestrained) Daphnia magna organisms to consider differences in the exposure route (through sediment and/or water column) and Chironomus prasinus organisms. Fate and partitioning of PCP within the water/sediment compartments were assessed. Acute (lethality) and chronic effects (reproduction) for Daphnia magna were monitored after 48 h and 16 days of exposure, respectively. Adult emergence and oviposition success of Chironomus prasinus were monitored at the end of test (16 days).Results and Discussion   Mortality and reproduction inhibition of Daphnia magna occurred at the two higher doses, corresponding to maximum measured PCP water concentrations of 1.95 and 0.746 mg/l, respectively. Chironomus prasinus was less sensitive to PCP than Daphnia magna. Concentrations inhibiting reproduction and provoking almost 100% adult mortality in D. magna only reduced slightly the emergence and reproduction of chironomids. The experimental design focussed on suitability of the system for assessing simultaneously assessing effects on D. magna and C. prasinus instead of calculations of toxicity endpoints for PCP. The results indicate that this experimental design can be useful to the field of sediment/aquatic toxicity testing, particularly through the comparison with single- species results. Assessment of relative contribution of two exposure routes for Daphnia magna and complementary chronic endpoints derived from two different species can be achieved. Another advantage is that differences in reproduction strategies of selected species (sexual vs. parthenogenetic) should permit one to detect mechanisms of action associated to with endocrine disrupters.Conclusion   The feasibility of a two-species test built-up in an artificial sediment/water system has been demonstrated. This experimental design represents a cost/effective test which can assess effects through water and sediment pathways and incorporates several relevant chronic endpoints in a single assay. Recommendation and Outlook   By building on the experience gained, improvements for further test designs are discussed. Test validation with a set of model chemicals will contribute to address the effectiveness of the test developed as comparing compared to single- species tests.     

Roles of raccoons in the transmission cycle of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus

The present study investigated severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) infection in raccoons in Wakayama Prefecture from 2007 to 2019. To perform surveillance, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was established, and the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA were 100% in comparison with a 50% focus-reduction neutralization assay. Using the established ELISA, we performed serosurveillance of SFTSV infection in 2,299 raccoons in Tanabe region, Wakayama Prefecture from 2007 to 2019. The first anti-SFTSV-positive raccoon was captured in October 2009. The seroprevalence of SFTSV infection was <10% between April 2009 and March 2013, 23.9% between April 2013 and March 2014, 37.5% between April, 2014 and March 2015, and over 50% from April 2015. Next, we performed detection of SFTSV genes in sera of raccoons captured in Wakayama Prefecture after April 2013. The results indicated that 2.4% of raccoons were positive for SFTSV genes and that the frequency of SFTSV infection among raccoons between January and March (0.7%) was lower than that between April and June (3.4%). In addition, virus genes were detected from many specimens, including sera and feces of two raccoons, and viral antigens were detected in lymphoid cells in lymphoid follicles in the colon by immunohistochemical staining. In conclusion, SFTSV had recently invaded the area and had rapidly spread among wild animals. The first patient in this area was reported in June 2014, indicating that raccoons are good sentinels for assessing the risk of SFTSV in humans.