Nutritional management of inherited copper-associated hepatitis in the Labrador retriever

Canine hereditary copper-associated hepatitis is characterized by gradual hepatic copper accumulation eventually leading to liver cirrhosis. Therapy is aimed at creating a negative copper balance with metal chelators, of which d-penicillamine is the most commonly used. d-penicillamine often causes gastro-intestinal side effects and life-long continuous therapy may lead to a deficiency of copper and zinc. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of a low-copper, high-zinc diet as an alternative to continuous d-penicillamine treatment for the long-term management of canine copper-associated hepatitis.Sixteen affected Labrador retrievers were followed for a median time period of 19.1 months (range, 5.9–39 months) after being effectively treated with d-penicillamine. The dogs were maintained on a diet containing 1.3 ± 0.3 mg copper/1000 kcal and 64.3 ± 5.9 mg zinc/1000 kcal. Liver biopsies were taken every 6 months for histological evaluation and copper determination. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase, as well as serum albumin were determined.Dietary treatment alone was sufficient to maintain hepatic copper concentration below 800 mg/kg dry weight liver in 12 dogs during the study period. Four dogs needed re-treatment with d-penicillamine. ALT activity and albumin concentration were not associated with hepatic copper concentration, but showed a significant association with the stage and grade of hepatitis respectively. In conclusion, a low-copper, high-zinc diet can be a valuable alternative to continuous d-penicillamine administration for long-term management of dogs with copper-associated hepatitis. The copper re-accumulation rate of an individual dog should be considered in the design of a long-term management protocol and in determining re-biopsy intervals.     

The effect of trans-\-farnesene,used as a repellant against landing aphid alatae in seed potato growing

Summary Periodical application of trans-\-farnesene, incorporated in polyvinylchloride from which it was slowly and regularly released, did not measurably inhibit the infection of seed-potato-plots with PVY^N by aphid alatae. The progeny of PVY^N-infected hills proved to be only partially infected with the disease.     

Masonaphis lambersi MacGillivray, 1960 (Homoptera,Aphididae), a new pest of Rhododendron in Europe

Samenvatting Een beschrijving wordt gegeven van de levenswijze van de groene, rode of gele bladluisMasonaphis lambersi, die in Nederland en Engeland bladhoudende en bladverliezende, buitengroeiende rhododendrons aantast. Aan aangetaste scheuten van bladhoudendeRododendron ponticum hybriden blijven den bladen klein, en er worden geen bloemknoppen aangelegd. Vervellingshuidjes en dode luizen blijven meestal maandenlang aan dedaardoor grijsgroene bladeren vastkleven.R. molle hybriden vertonen bij ernstige aantasting onregelmatig gewelfd blad en verdrogingsverschijnselen, maar maken normaal bloemknoppen.R. ferrugineum andR. praecos werden niet aangetast. De bladluis was slechts uit de Westelijke kuststaten van de Verenigde Staten bekend, en werd, na signalering vanuit Nederland, ook in Engeland gevonden. De kleverige jonge scheuten en bladeren vanR. ponticum hybriden werken als lijmstokken voor bladluisparasieten en ook voor andere bladluissoorten. Inhemse roofvjanden worden op eendere wijze in hun verplaatsing belemmered. Op bladverliezende rhododendron vond evenmin parasitering en nagenoeg geen predatie plaats. Invoer van eventuele, aangepaste natuurlijke vijanden uit Ameika wordt wenselijk geacht. Op bladhoudende rhododendrons zou bestrijding gewenst kunnen zijn, mar de schade valt pas op als de luizen door verouderen van het blad uitsterven. De overwintering op bladhoudende vormen lijkt uitgesloten.     

Improved recruitment and early growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings after fire and soil scarification

The success of seedling recruitment of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is strongly dependent on soil surface properties, such as humus depth and moisture content. In an undisturbed forest floor, seedlings are seldom able to become established due to the high incidence of desiccation in the organic soil layer. Methods that remove the organic soil layer are often necessary to improve the availability for radicles to reach the more stable moisture regime in the mineral soil. In this study we investigated pine-seedling establishment after mechanical soil scarification, burning of litter (O_L) and burning of litter and humus (O_L and O_FH) in two mature pine stands in Germany. The herbaceous layer of the first stand was dominated by grasses (Molinia caerulea L. and Deschampsia flexuosa L.), whereas the herbaceous layer of the second stand was dominated by blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.). Pine seeds were placed in experimental plots, and seedling numbers and heights were recorded at regular intervals. All treatments that removed organic soil resulted in higher seedling counts than did the undisturbed forest floor. The highest seedling counts were found on scarified and severely burnt plots, whereas seedling counts were lower on lightly burnt plots. Seedlings were significantly taller on burnt plots. This study shows that pine regeneration is stimulated by fire, not only in boreal forests, but also under central European conditions. With the expectation of higher fire frequency in the near future due to climatic changes, natural regeneration and succession on burnt sites should receive more focus in forest management and research.     

Evaluation of three sources of pollen fertility restoration genes and natural outcrossing of cytoplasmic male-sterile wheat

Summary Fertility restoration genes in Triticum aestivum L. in Texas Restorer Composite (TRC), D6301, and four CIMMYT restorer lines were studied, and selection was made for higher fertility in TRC. Mean-while, outcrossing percentages of seed set for 27 spring habit cytoplasmic male sterile (cms) varieties were evaluated for 3 to 5 years at Davis. The winter-habit TRC material did not restore reasonably good fertility, and the response to selection for higher fertility seemed to be slow. This poor fertility could be partly due to its late winter growth habit causing flowering at a period of high temperature and low humidity at Davis. The highest F₁ fertility was 46.6% in the cross cms Ramona x TRC-6, and its F₂ segregated into the ratio of 15 fertile to 1 sterile, with fertility ranging from 3.2 to 100%. Suggested for its improvement was intensive selection in the original TRC material and in the segre-gating F₂ population, followed by intercrossing. D6301 has 2 fertility restoration genes with different strengths which restore fertility up to 45.2% when both genes are heterozygous. D6301 is quite likely heterogeneous for these genes. Four CIMMYT restorer lines, D7464, D7465, D7466, and D7467, had satisfactory F₁ fertility restoration after crossing with cms Ramona 50. In 1975, the fertilities of the F₁'s ranged from 71 to 85% and were over 90% in 1976. The F₂ population of the cross cms Ramona 50 × D7464 segregated into a ratio of 3 fertile to 1 sterile, indicating that D7464 has a single dominant gene for fertility restoration. The F₂'s of crosses cms Ramona 50 × D7465, cms Ramona 50 × D7466, and cms Ramona 50 × D7467 gave a ratio of 15 fertile to 1 sterile, indicating that two gene pairs in these three lines were responsible for the fertility restoration. The best of this group was D7467 which restored fertility fully after being crossed with cms Ramona 50 (T. timopheevi cytoplasm).The early-flowering cms male-sterile varieties had higher outcrossing rates (16 to 38%) than late varieties (6 to 30%) over a 5-year period. This was due to hot and dry weather during the late growing season as well as to the rarity of windborne pollen. In 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1976, the variation among varieties was rather great. Some of them such as Roque 66 and Bajio 67, had consistently high outcrossing rates. This outcrossing ability seemed to be inherited and probably associated with the open-flowering characteristics of each variety.     

Sensitivity among species of Solanaceae to AAL toxins produced by Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici

The necrotrophic fungus Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici produces AAL toxins that cause necrosis in tomato tissues with high specificity. Resistance or susceptibility of tomato to the fungus and insensitivity or sensitivity to AAL toxins are determined by a single locus, Asc . In order to investigate further the specificity of the host–fungus interaction, 200 species of Solanaceae were tested for their sensitivity to AAL toxins T_A and T_B. Twenty-five species were found to be sensitive to AAL toxins at a concentration of (0·2  µ m ) used for distinguishing sensitive and insensitive tomato plants. Three species were as sensitive as the sensitive tomato line, indicating that AAL toxins effectively act on a broader range of plant species within the Solanaceae.     

Descriptive analysis of haemangiosarcoma occurrence in dogs enrolled in the Golden Retriever lifetime study

Haemangiosarcoma is a relatively common malignant tumour in dogs, and one of the primary outcomes of interest for the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. This study collects longitudinal data and samples from a cohort of golden retrievers, with the aim of identification of nutritional, genetic, environmental, lifestyle and reproductive risk factors for cancers and other important diseases in dogs. This analysis describes the accumulating data and samples, which are available for use by researchers to fulfil the study's objectives. As of September 2022, 233/3044 dogs enrolled in the study had been diagnosed with haemangiosarcoma (7.65%), with an incidence rate of 1.10 cases per 100 dog-years. Visceral haemangiosarcoma was the most common, affecting 211/3044 study dogs (6.9%). One hundred and twenty eight visceral haemangiosarcoma diagnoses specified the presence of splenic tumours (60.7%) and 119 specified the presence of cardiac tumours (56.4%). The probability of remaining without a haemangiosarcoma diagnosis declined from 100% from approximately 4 years of age, to a 12 year probability of 91.1% in intact females (95% CI 84.4%–98.3%), 60.7% in neutered females (95% CI 41.6%–88.6%), 72.9% in intact males (95% CI 62.9%–84.6%) and 70.0% in neutered males (95% CI 53.4%–92.0%). The 1 year survival probability for visceral haemangiosarcoma was 1.42% (95% CI 0.37%–5.47%); for cutaneous haemangiosarcoma, it was 84.6% (95% CI 67.1%–99.99%). The accumulated data and samples are a considerable resource for further investigation of canine haemangiosarcoma and have a potential role in translational medicine.     

Assessment of genetic relatedness in carnation by DNA fingerprint analysis

Summary DNA fingerprinting analysis of genetic relatedness between carnation genotypes using human derived minisatellite probes, correctly reflected relationships within and between categories of carnation plants with inferred relatedness. Similar DNA fingerprint patterns were observed between genotypes within either standard or spray categories. A high level of similarity was also detected between those categories. Moderate similarities were found within the dwarf category, and between dwarf and either standard or spray categories. Large differences were observed between a wild species and cultivated categories. Abbreviations: b.1.-breeding line, BS-band-sharing