Association between management practices and within-herd prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum shedding on dairy farms in southern Ontario

To identify management practices associated with an increased within-herd prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum shedding on dairy farms in southern Ontario, fecal samples were taken from 1089 calves aged 7-28 days, from 119 herds. Information on management practices was obtained by administering a questionnaire compiled using a modified Delphi technique. Data were analyzed using univariable and multivariable negative binomial regression. Overall, 30% of the calves in the study were shedding C. parvum oocysts, with at least one positive calf detected in 77% of herds. Within-herd prevalence ranged from 0 to 80%. Predictors significantly associated with an increased prevalence of shedding in multivariable modelling were the use of calf scour prophylaxis in cows (risk ratio [RR] 1.70, P<0.01) and calves (RR 1.38, P=0.02) and the feeding of milk replacer in the first week of life (RR 1.40, P=0.02). In contrast, the presence of concrete flooring in calf housing areas (RR 0.59, P<0.01) and the use of soap or detergent when washing calf feeding utensils (RR 0.61, P<0.01) appeared to be protective.     

小麦谷蛋白聚合体粒度分布与面粉揉面特性关系的研究

 选用在谷蛋白 Glu- 1和 Glu- 3的 5个位点 (除 Glu- A1位点外 )上均带有不同等位基因的小麦品种 Suneca和 Cook的杂交 F4 代群体中谷蛋白各亚基位点均为纯合基因的 60个系 ,测定基因型不同的系间谷蛋白聚合体粒度分布和面粉揉面特性的变异 ,研究小麦谷蛋白聚合体粒度分布与面粉揉面特性的关系。结果表明 ,不同的谷蛋白基因型 ,其谷蛋白聚合体粒度大小相对分布 (即 U PP% )和面团形成时间 (即揉面曲线图峰值的和面时间 ,PTM)均有显著差异。面粉的揉面曲线形状与其 U PP%值密切相关 ,U PP%与 PTM呈极显著正相关 ,与揉面曲线图峰高 ( PHM)呈显著负相关 ;与面粉蛋白质含量 ( FP% )相比 ,U PP%对 PTM和 PHM的影响更大些 ,可作为育种早代品质性状选择的一个指标     

Synthesis and antifungal action of new tricyclazole analogues

Melanins are very important pigments for the survival and longevity of fungi, so their biosynthesis inhibition is a new biochemical target aiming at the discovery of selective fungicides. In this work is described the synthesis of new pyrazolo-thiazolo-triazole compounds, analogues of tricyclazole (a commercial antifungal product that acts by inhibiting melanin synthesis), and their biological activity was studied on some dermatophytes and phytopathogens. The compounds poorly inhibited the growth and pigmentation of fungi tested and were less efficient than tricyclazole. Electron microscopy on Botrytis cinerea showed that treatment with the most active compound caused abnormally thickened and stratified walls in fungi, whose ultrastructure was, in contrast, generally normal. The fungus treated with tricyclazole, on the other hand, appeared to be drastically altered, so as to become completely disorganized. These results suggest that the new azole compounds employ an action mechanism similar to that of other azoles, but dissimilar to that of tricyclazole.     

Drought and high temperature increases preharvest sprouting tolerance in a genotype without grain dormancy

Preharvest sprouting is common in cereals, which lack grain dormancy when maturing grain is exposed to rainfall or high moisture conditions. Environmental conditions such as drought and high temperature during grain filling have a large effect on the expression of sprouting tolerance. A dormant (DM 2001) and non-dormant (Cunderdin) hard white spring wheat were exposed to drought or irrigated conditions and either low or high temperature during grain filling. Dormancy and embryo sensitivity to ABA were analysed throughout grain filling. The conclusions from this investigation were as follows; firstly DM 2001 was more dormant than Cunderdin, with a four-fold lower germination index (GI) at maturity. Secondly during grain ripening drought increased dormancy and overrides any increase in dormancy with low temperature. Finally embryo sensitivity can be induced in a non-dormant genotype to the extent where the non-dormant genotype in a hot dry environment can have the same phenotype as a dormant genotype grown in a cool wet environment. In summary drought during grain filling increases dormancy suggesting breeders need to avoid drought when screening for sprouting tolerance in order to maximise the chances of identifying genetic differences in grain dormancy and avoid any maturity by drought interactions.     

Contents Volume 126 2002

Volume Contents

Contents Volume 126 2002     

Conservation in South america: problems, consequences, and solutions

Lack of solid data on rates of habitat conversion and on the basic biology of Neotropical organisms makes predictions of massive waves of extinction in South America premature. South America's problems regarding the use of natural resources are a result of historical, sociological, economic, and scientific factors. Most countries in South America have done a great deal to encourage conservation efforts, but the magnitude of the problem is well beyond their limited economic means to solve. The problems of species disappearance in South America are of global importance. A successful solution will involve a coordinated and massive effort of governments and specialists in all aspects of conservation biology from throughout the world. There is still time to resolve these problems. Unnecessarily dire predictions of species extinction may be counterproductive to the development of a long-term conservation strategy that is needed to manage Neotropical conservation problems.     

Analysis of yield variability in winter wheat due to temporal variability,and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization

Abstract

Field average based recommendations have been a common practice for recommending the major crop nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The problem is yield will not be the same from year to year with application of the same amount of recommended rate of fertilizer. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate how recommendations generated using nutrient response experiments were dynamic; and to assess the relative contribution of temporal variability, N and P fertilizers on winter wheat grain yield and N concentration. Twelve factorial combinations of four N (0, 56, 112, and 168 kg ha^?1) and three P (0, 14.5, and 29 kg P ha^?1) rates were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Perkins, Oklahoma. To address the first objective, ANOVA and orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used. To address the second objective, a ten predictor variable multiple linear regression model with two quantitative variables and their interaction (N, P and N×P) and seven-year variables was evaluated and a reduced model containing seven variables was generated. Wheat grain yield showed three distinct responses to N rates: Linear, quadratic and no response. These individual year data show that it is not always appropriate to use results of nutrient response experiments to estimate next year's N fertilizer requirement due to apparent temporal variability in the results. Wheat only responded to P during the first two years of the study. The reduced model from the regression analysis revealed that most of the variability in grain yield was accounted for by five individual indicator years and N only. High variability across years in grain yield and fertilizer (N and P) response, even between years of similar grain yield, is an indication of a given season's production dependence on factors other than N and P.     

Different cultures,different values: The role of cultural variation in public’s WTP for marine species conservation

Understanding the cultural variation in public preference for marine species is a necessary pre-requisite if conservation objectives are to include societal preferences in addition to scientific considerations. We report the results of a contingent study undertaken at three case-study sites: Azores islands (Portugal), Gulf of Gdansk (Poland) and Isles of Scilly (UK). The study considered species richness of five specific marine taxa (mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates and algae) as proxies of marine biodiversity and the aim of analysis was to estimate from a multi-site perspective public’s willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid increased levels of species loss (reduction of species richness) for different marine taxa. Results, based on 1502 face-to-face interviews, showed that income, education and environmental awareness of the respondents were significant predictors of WTP for marine species conservation. Results also indicated that respondents in each of the European locations had different preferences for marine taxa. In the Azores, although mammals and fish were valued highly, small differences occurred in the WTP among different taxa. Respondents in the Isles of Scilly put a relatively low value on fish while algae and marine mammals were highly valued. In Gdansk, respondents defined a clear order of preference for marine mammals > fish > birds > invertebrates and algae. These findings suggested that cultural differences may be important drivers of valuation and undermines the commonly held premise that charismatic/likeable taxa consistently have a disproportionately strong influence on WTP for biodiversity conservation. We conclude that conservation policy must take account of cultural diversity alongside biological diversity.     

Structural identification of two major anthocyanin components of boysenberry by NMR spectroscopy

The major anthocyanins of boysenberry fruit, a cross between Rubus loganbaccus and Rubus baileyanus Britt., were isolated by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The structures of cyanidin-3-[2-(glucosyl)glucoside] (1) and cyanidin-3-[2-(glucosyl)-6-(rhamnosyl)glucoside] (2) were determined by NMR in 1% DCOOD/D(2)O. An unusually high chemical shift (delta 2.5) is reported for H-5' ' of cyanidin-3-[2-(glucosyl)glucoside].     

Prediction of maize (Zea mays L.) population using normalized-difference vegetative index (NDVI) and coefficient of variation (CV)

The process of improving crop management inputs by use of remote sensing devices is a new technology. This study presents the use of the normalized-difference vegetative index (NDVI) combined with the coefficient of variation (CV) to predict plant populations in corn (Zea mays L.) over different growth stages and different locations. About 76 plots were selected from the two sites to conduct this research. The results showed that we were not able to reliably predict plant population at lately growth stages because the canopy covered the soil with overlapping leaves. However, at early growth stages, the results suggest that as the corn plant emerged from the soil, the biomass per unit area was small and the sensor technology application for prediction of plant population was possible. Further studies may be designed based on this observation to investigate the possibility at early growth stages such as V2 and V3.