Floristic diversity and vegetation patterns along disturbance gradient in arid coasts in southern Mediterranean: Case of the Gulf of Gabès,southern Tunisia

Knowledge about vegetation patterns along disturbance gradients is essential for conservation and management of coastal habitats in arid regions. This study focuses on the floristic diversity and the factors controlling the vegetation structure in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia). For this purpose, the floristic diversity of 120 relevés belonging to three coastal sites with different disturbance levels (40 relevés per site) was analyzed in relation with 10 environmental and anthropogenic factors. Therophytes constitute 54% of the 237 plants species belonging to 44 families identified in the present study. The species richness and floristic diversity indices exhibited a similar trend and peaked in the slightly disturbed site (H′?=?3.38; S?=?176). The similarity between sites was relatively low and reached its maximum between the little and the highly disturbed sites. Two-way indicator species analysis and detrended correspondence analysis applied on the floristic data resulted in groups mainly determined by disturbance level by explicitly segregating the three sites. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the spatial pattern of species composition was mainly influenced by anthropogenic variables. Partial CCA revealed that the effect of anthropogenic variables on floristic composition was thrice higher than the effect of environmental variables (57.5% vs. 18.4%, respectively). Overall, this study provides a broad understanding of the floristic diversity and vascular plant richness in the Gulf of Gabès. The obtained results reflected a disturbance–diversity pattern and thus revealed the obvious importance of maintaining the intermediate disturbance for biodiversity conservation and monitoring.     

Influence of Humic Products on Soil Health and Potato Production

Since 1900, soil organic matter (SOM) in farmlands worldwide has declined drastically as a result of carbon turnover and cropping systems. Over the past 17 years, research trials were established to evaluate the efficacy of different commercial humates products on potato production. Data from humic acid (HA) trials showed that different cropping systems responded differently to different products in relation to yield and quality. Important qualifying factors included: source; concentration; processing; chelating or complexing capacity of the humic acid products; functional groups (Carboxyl; Phenol; Hydroxyl; Ketone; Ester; Ether; Amine), rotation and soil quality factors; consistency of the product in enhancing yield and quality of potato crops; mineralization effect; and influence on fertilizer use efficiency. Properties of humic substances, major constituents of soil organic matter, include chelation, mineralization, buffer effect, clay mineral-organic interaction, and cation exchange. Humates increase phosphorus availability by complexing ions into stable compounds, allowing the phosphorus ion to remain exchangeable for plants’ uptake. Collectively, the consistent use of good quality products in our replicated research plots in different years resulted in a yield increase from 11.4% to the maximum of 22.3%. Over the past decade, there has been a major increase in the quality of research and development of organic and humic acid products by some well-established manufacturers. Our experimentations with these commercial products showed an increase in the yield and quality of crops.     

Studies on hollownesss regulation and properties of crosslinked hollow phenolic fibers

The hollowness of crosslinked hollow phenolic fibers was regulated successfully from 9 % to 80 % by adjusting the curing temperature of the partially crosslinked fibers. The partially crosslinked fibers was studied in detail by mass gained, tensile strength, solvent dissolution, SEM, IR, and TG analysis, and the prepared hollow phenolic fibers with different degrees of hollowness were characterized with SEM, tensile strength, TG-DSC and TG-MS. The results show that the factor determining the hollowness is the crosslinked extent of the partially crosslinked fibers and the hollow fibers with different degrees of hollowness have similar crosslinkage, mechanical properties and thermal stability.     

Efficiency of methods applied for goat estrous synchronization in subtropical monsoonal climate zone of Southwest China

Two experiments were undertaken to select the efficient method applied for goat estrous synchronization. In experiment 1, a total of 120 does (Capra hircus) were divided into five groups with a randomized block design, and the does of treatment 1 were synchronized by intravaginal sponges impregnated with 30 mg Levonorgestrel inserted for 10 days. Does of treatments 2, 3, and 4 were treated with further injection of 25 IU follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), 0.05 mg prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF_2α), and 25 IU FSH + 0.05 mg PGF_2α at sponge withdrawal, respectively. The does in the control group (n = 40) without estrous synchronization treatment and natural estrous does were observed. In experiment 2, a total of 140 does in five goat farms in breeding and non-breeding seasons were treated with the selective efficient procedure. The results presented that all the employed treatments were capable of inducing and synchronizing estrous goats. According to estrous response and economy, the use of intravaginal sponges impregnated with 30 mg Levonorgestrel and 0.05 mg PGF_2α (treatment 3) is the first choice for estrous synchronization, and 95.0% of synchronized does demonstrated estrus, which was significantly higher than that of treatment 1 (P < 0.05) and control group (P < 0.01). The percentages of ovulating of treatments 3 and 4 were the same (95.0%), which were significantly higher than that of treatment 1 (P < 0.01). The ovulation rates among different groups were not significant (P > 0.05). When the selective procedure was applied to five goat farms, 85.7% (120/140) of does demonstrated estrus, and the kidding percentage, litter size, and prolificacy rate were 53.6%, 0.95, and 177%, respectively.     

Effects of additive iron on growth,tissue distribution,haematology and immunology of gilthead sea bream, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sparus aurata</Emphasis>

The comparative effects of iron-supplemented levels on growth, tissue distribution, haematology and immunology of gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata (2 g) were investigated, using four organic (50, 100, 200, 300 mg ORG/kg diet) and one inorganic iron source (200 INOR mg/kg diet). Fish were treated for 12 weeks with the experimental diets and maintained at a water temperature of 19–22°C. Growth (final weight and specific growth rate), tissue distribution (spleen, liver and muscle), haematological parameters (red blood cells, haematocrit, haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration) and non-specific immune indexes (respiratory burst activity and antibacterial activity of serum) were analysed. No significant differences were found in growth and iron tissue distribution among the tested groups. Red blood cell counting was statistically higher in fish given 50 ORG, 100 ORG, 200 ORG and 200 INOR feeds. However, haematocrit, haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration were not significantly affected by increasing dietary iron. Fish receiving the 100 ORG diet had the best performance with respect to the respiratory burst activity and significantly higher values for antibacterial activity of serum were obtained in fish fed with the 300 ORG diet. The present findings provided no clear evidence of the optimum iron concentration. However, there was adequate indication that iron supplementation enhanced the performance of gilthead sea bream, mainly from a haematological and immunological point of view.     

Isolation and characterisation of biologically-active compounds from some plant extracts

Of the numerous fractions obtained from the crude plant extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides, Conyza dioscordisis and Convolvulus arvensis, 11 were found to be active against stored grain pests. The chemical structures of compounds present in the 11 fractions were found by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to include predominantly long-chain fatty acid esters of hexadecanoic, arachidonic, and octadecanoic acids.     

Ontogeny of testicular inhibin and activin in ducks: An immunocytochemical analysis

The ontogeny of testicular inhibin/activin in ducks was investigated. Testicular localization of three inhibin/activin subunits (α, β_A and β_B) was determined in embryonic and newly hatched ducks from 12 days of incubation to 1 day of age, in immature ducks and in adult ducks. In the duck embryonic testis, positive α‐subunit immunostaining was first detected in the Leydig cells and Sertoli cells on day 15 of incubation, whereas β_A‐subunit and β_B‐subunit immunostaining were found in Sertoli cells and primary germ cells on day 18 of incubation. In 1 month old ducks, intense staining of α‐subunit was present in the seminiferous epithelium consistent with localization in Sertoli cells and primary germ cells, and the immunostaining of the β_A‐ and β_B‐subunit was also present in Sertoli cells and primary germ cells. Specific immunostaining with inhibin/activin α‐, β_A‐ and β_B‐subunits antisera occurred in Sertoli cells in the adult duck testes. In conclusion, it was shown that, in the duck testis, the majority of α‐, β_A‐ and β_B‐subunits are colocalized in Sertoli cells with a certain degree of staining in germ cells and the α‐subunit is present in Leydig cells of embryonic testes before day 18 of incubation. These results indicate that Sertoli cells and possibly germ cells in the embryonic testes of late stage of incubation and newly hatched ducks, immature ducks and mature ducks may produce bioactive inhibin dimers, inhibin A and inhibin B, as a possible regulator of follicle‐stimulating hormone secretion. Free inhibin/activin subunits and their dimers may also play an autocrine/paracrine role in the development of the testis and spermatogenesis. Furthermore, early onset of the α‐subunit in duck testes indicates that it may have an autocrine/paracrine effect on steroid hormones, which is important for sex differentiation.     

Molecular breeding for virus resistant potato plants

To engineer resistance against potato virus X (PVX), the viral coat protein (CP) gene has been introduced into two potato cultivars. Stable expression of the gene in transgenic clones throughout the growing season has been obtained and resulted in considerably increased virus resistance. With varying frequencies depending on the original cultivar used, true-to-type PVX resistant transgenic clones have been obtained. Since deviant light sprout characteristics were invariably associated with aberrations in plant phenotype, they can be used in procedures to early screen for deviations. Furthermore, it has been possible to unequivocally discriminate between the original untransformed and independent transgenic cultivars. Although no relation has been found between the presence, if any, of the CP of potato virus Y (PVY) or potato leafroll virus (PLRV) in CP gene transgenic potato, appreciable levels of resistance to these viruses has been obtained. This suggests that the mechanism by which a viral CP gene in the potato genome evokes resistance, differs amongst various viruses.     

Studies on Normal Haematological and Serum Biochemical Values of the ‘Hijin’ Racing Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Kuwait

Haematological estimations and serum biochemical analyses were made on 100 samples collected from clinically healthy Hijin racing camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Kuwait. The red blood cell counts, packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and total white blood cell counts were estimated. In the serum biochemical analyses, sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose, total protein and cholesterol concentrations were measured, as were the alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, -glutamyltransferase, creatine kinase and alkaline phosphatase activities. The results are discussed in relation to other findings reported in camels.