Clinical trial of long-acting oxytetracycline and piroxicam in the treatment of canine ehrlichiosis.

Forty-three dogs with canine ehrlichiosis were treated with long-acting oxytetracycline (TLA) at a dose of 20 mg/kg. In order to eliminate pain at the site of injection of TLA, varying doses of piroxicam were administered intramuscularly to the treated dogs. A minimum of 15 mg of piroxicam proved effective in eliminating pain and swelling at the TLA-injection sites, while fever was eliminated with a minimum of 10 mg of piroxicam 24 hours post-treatment. Rapid restoration or improvement of appetite in treated dogs was also observed after treatment with piroxicam and TLA. Both TLA and piroxicam were found to be suitable for use in dogs.     

Potential of indigenous antagonistic rhizobacteria in the biological control of Monosporascus root rot and vine decline disease of muskmelon

ABSTRACT

Monosporascus root rot and vine decline (MRVD) of muskmelon, caused by Monosporascus cannonballus, is an economically important disease worldwide. The objectives of this study were to isolate native rhizobacterial strains and to evaluate their ability to promote plant growth and to provide protection against M. cannonballus. Thirty eight native bacterial isolates from the rhizosphere soil of muskmelon and cucumber were screened for their antagonism against M. cannonballus in a dual culture assay. Among them, five isolates viz., Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B4), Pseudomonas mendocina (B7), Bacillus endophyticus (B10), Pseudomonas resinovorans B11 and P. aeruginosa AT3, identified based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, showed a significant level of antagonism and the inhibition zone ranged from 5.6 mm to 25.9 mm. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the hyphae of M. cannonballus at the inhibition zone revealed morphological abnormalities including shrinkage, loss of turgidity, pit formation and deformation. These bacterial isolates showed compatibility with one another and with Trichoderma viride. Greenhouse experiments revealed that P. resinovorans B11 was the most effective among the bacterial antagonists in controlling MRVD in melon. When applied as seed treatment and soil application, P. resinovorans B11 reduced the incidence of MRVD by 93.1%, relative to the infected control.     

Hydrothermal decomposition of various crystalline celluloses as treated by semi-flow hot-compressed water

Various types of crystalline celluloses I, II, III_I, III_II, IV_I and IV_II that have been adjusted for their degree of polymerization were treated by semi-flow hot-compressed water (HCW) at 230–270 °C/10 MPa/15 min to study their hydrothermal decomposition. The treatments resulted in either partial or complete decomposition of the celluloses and the decomposed products were primarily recovered as hydrolyzed, dehydrated and fragmented ones as well as organic acids in the water-soluble (WS) portions. Their results of hydrothermal decomposition and its kinetics revealed that the celluloses decomposition is dependent on the types of crystalline celluloses as well as temperature of the HCW treatment. The outcome from the WS portions at 270 °C/10 MPa/15 min showed that the degree of difficulty for decomposition is lower in group II (cell II, cell III_II, cell IV_II) than group I (cell I, cell III_I, cell IV_I), indicating that group II is less resistant to decomposition by HCW treatment. Therefore, the decomposition behaviors of the cellulose are due to the inherent differences in the crystalline structures.     

Interrelationships Between Apoptosis and Fertility in Bull Sperm

Male fertility, the ability of sperm to fertilize and activate the egg and support early embryogenesis, is vital for mammalian reproduction. Despite producing adequate numbers of sperm with normal motility and morphology, some males suffer from low fertility whose molecular mechanisms are not known. The objective was to determine apoptosis in sperm from high and low fertility bulls and its relationship with male fertility. DNA damage, phosphatidylserine (PS) translocation, and expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins (BAX and BCL-2) in the sperm were determined using TUNEL, Annexin V, and immunoblotting approaches, respectively. Amounts of apoptotic spermatozoa were 2.86 (± 1.31) and 3.00 (± 0.96) in high and low fertility bulls, respectively (P=0.548), and were not correlated with fertility. There was a negative correlation between early necrotic spermatozoa and viable spermatozoa (r = –0.99, P<0.0001). Fertility scores were correlated with live spermatozoa detected by eosin-nigrosin test and necrotic spermatozoa determined via flow cytometry (r = –0.49, P<0.006 and r = –0.266, P<0.0113, respectively). BAX level was higher in low fertile group than high fertile group; however, this difference was not statistically significant due to the variations of bull samples (Bull 1–3 vs. Bull 4–5) in low fertile group (P<0.283). BCL-2 was not detectable in any of the sperm samples. The results shed light onto molecular and cellular underpinnings of male fertility.     

Basic properties of grain by-products and their viability in polypropylene composites

The objective was to study the potential of grain by-products (husk) of grains such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L; German name is Weizen) and rice (Oryza sativa) as reinforcements for thermoplastics as an alternative to or in combination with wood fibres. Prior to composites preparation, the chemical components of fibres such as cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin, starch, protein and fat were measured and the surface chemistry and functionality of grain by-products were studied using EDX and FT-IR. Structural constituents (cellulose, starch) were found in wheat husk (W) equal 42%, in rice husk 50% and in soft wood 42%, respectively. Thermal degradation characteristics, the bulk density, water absorption and the solubility index were also investigated. Wheat husk (W) and rice husk were found thermally stable at temperatures as low as 178 °C and 208 °C, respectively. The particle morphology and particle size were investigated using microscopy. Water absorption properties of the fibres were studied to evaluate the viability of these fibres as reinforcements. Polypropylene composites were fabricated using a high speed mixer and an ensuing injection moulding process with 40 wt% fibre. The tensile and Charpy impact strength of the resulting composites were investigated. The tensile elongation at break was found to 75% for wheat husk (W) composites and 23% for rice husk composites better than soft wood composites. Rice husk composites showed 13% better Charpy impact strength than soft wood composites. Due to coupling agent, tensile strength of composites found to improve 25% for soft wood, 35% for wheat husk (W) and 45% for rice husk.     

Heuristic planning techniques applied to forest road profiles

Two heuristic techniques, the genetic algorithm (GA) and Tabu search (TS), both with an embedded linear programming routine for earthwork allocation, were compared to a manually designed forest road profile. The manually designed road length was 345.7m and its average gradient was 14.1%. The best costs of the profiles designed by GA and TS, without changing the placement of control points, were less than that designed manually. The best cost found by GA was almost the same as the global optimum solution. While TS could not find a better solution than GA, it usually found a good solution in less time. It was not possible to search all alternatives by changing the placement of control points and find the global optimum solution within a reasonable time. However, it can be concluded from the results that both GA and TS found good solutions within a reasonable time. Since it is not possible to manually evaluate many alternatives, road designers should find heuristic techniques helpful for design of the road profile. Moreover, the effect of the number of control points on construction costs was examined. The results indicated that increasing the number of control points reduces the construction costs. However, driving safety and comfort might be decreased.     

Breaking wheat yield barriers requires integrated efforts in developing countries

Most yield progress obtained through the so called "Green Revolution", particularly in the irrigated areas of Asia, has reached a limit, and major resistance genes are quickly overcome by the appearance of new strains of disease causing organisms.New plant stresses due to a changing environment are difficult to breed for as quickly as the changes occur.There is consequently a continual need for new research programs and breeding strategies aimed at improving yield potential, abiotic stress tolerance and resistance to new, major pests and diseases.Recent advances in plant breeding encompass novel methods of expanding genetic variability and selecting for recombinants, including the development of synthetic hexaploid, hybrid and transgenic wheats.In addition, the use of molecular approaches such as quantitative trait locus(QTL) and association mapping may increase the possibility of directly selecting positive chromosomal regions linked with natural variation for grain yield and stress resistance.The present article reviews the potential contribution of these new approaches and tools to the improvement of wheat yield in farmer's fields, with a special emphasis on the Asian countries, which are major wheat producers, and contain the highest concentration of resource-poor wheat farmers.     

Economic evaluation of the production impact of bovine schistosomiasis and vaccination in the Sudan

This study was done to evaluate the estimated economic consequences of the recent discovery that an irradiated Schistosoma bovis vaccine was effective in reducing mortality and intensity of infection in cattle after field exposure to S. bovis in the White Nile province. The benefits and costs were hypothesized to occur over a 5-year period starting after the vaccine had been further developed to optimal commercial usefulness.

The potential benefits of vaccination are from the avoidance of mortality and growth delay losses caused by S. bovis infection and were based on an owner survey conducted in 1981. These benefits were discounted from the time of their potential marketing opportunity to the first year of a vaccination program at 15% per annum and were valued on a basis of 1982 prices for live cattle exported to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Variations in benefits stem from degree of infection probability, mortality and morbidity estimates and percent of animals vaccinated. Since clinical schistosomiasis (“gorag” — sunken-eyed appearance) and associated production losses occur almost exclusively in 6- to 30-month-old cattle, and there is evidence for long-term immunity, vaccinations would be given to cattle in this age-specific group or younger once in their lifetime. The principal variation in vaccination program costs, also valued at 1982 prices, is from vaccine production costs; $0.50 or $4.00 per dose. A vaccine efficacy of 70%, observed in a previously reported field trial, was used in these calculations.

Present value benefit—cost (b–c) ratios were estimated for the central, western and southern areas for high- and low-level effects of S. bovis impact on production and the vaccination program, cost and effectiveness. In an area (central provinces) of high infection probability (90%), high percentage of animals vaccinated (90%), high mortality (7.1%), and low vaccine production costs, the b–c ratio was 12.7. In contrast, a b–c ratio of 0.7 was estimated for an area (southern provinces) assuming low infection probability (50%), low percent of animals vaccinated (50%), lower mortality (3.55%) and high vaccine production costs. Potential returns from increased future milk and calf production and from faster herd build-up with younger females were not included in these benefit calculations. These results indicate that under most conditions further development of the vaccine and cost-effective vaccine production techniques would yield very favorable returns from improved livestock production efficiency in the Sudan. Export prices were assumed to not vary significantly with increased supply of export-quality cattle resulting from the estimated production losses avoided by vaccination against schistosomiasis.