Characterizing long-term forest disturbance history and its drivers in the Ning-Zhen Mountains,Jiangsu Province of eastern China using yearly Landsat observations (1987–2011)

Forest losses or gains have long been recognized as critical processes modulating the carbon flux between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Timely, accurate and spatially explicit information on forest disturbance and recovery history is required for assessing the effectiveness of existing forest management. The major objectives of our research focused on testing the mapping efficacy of the vegetation change tracker (VCT) model over a forested area in China. We used a new version of VCT algorithm built upon the Landsat time series stacks (LTSS). The LTSS consisted of yearly image acquisitions to map forest disturbance history from 1987 to 2011 over the Ning-Zhen Mountains, Jiangsu Province of east China. The LTSS consisted of TM and ETM+ scenes with different projections due to distinct data sources (Beijing remote sensing ground station and the USGS EROS Center). The validation results of the disturbance year maps showed that most spatial agreement measures ranged from 70 to 86 %, comparable with the VCT accuracies reported for many places in USA. Very low accuracies were identified in 1995 (38.3 %) and 1992 (56.2 %) in the current analysis. These resulted from the insensitivity of the VCT algorithm to detect low intensity disturbances and also from the mis-registration errors of the image pairs. Major forest disturbance types existing in our study area were identified as agricultural expansion (39.8 %), urbanization (24.9 %), forest management practice (19.3 %), and mining (12.8 %). In general, there was a gradual decreasing trend in forest cover throughout this region, caused principally by China’s economic, demographic, environmental and political policies and decisions, as well as some weather events. While VCT has largely been used to assess long term changes and trends in the USA, it has great potential for assessing landscape level change elsewhere throughout the world.     

Effect of ammonia and nitrite on vigour,survival rate,moulting rate of the blue swimming crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Portunus pelagicus</Emphasis> zoea

The effects of ammonia and nitrite on vigour, survival rate, moulting rate of zoea of blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus, were studied. A total of five nitrite-N treatments (26.67, 53.34, 106.68, 213.36, 426.72 mg/l) and a control (no nitrite-N added) were set up for the acute nitrite-N toxicity experiment; a total of five ammonia-N treatments (8.43, 16.86, 33.72, 67.44, 134.88 mg/l) and a control (no ammonia-N added) were set up for the acute ammonia-N toxicity experiment. The results showed that the vigour, survival rate and moulting rate of zoea of the blue swimming crabs exposed to over 53.34 mg/l were significantly different (P < 0.05) from the control group. The zoea LC₅₀ values (mg/l) of nitrite-N were 179.47, 76.56, 66.70, 37.49, 25.01, 25.35, 25.34 mg/l for 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 h, respectively. The vigour, survival rate and moulting rate of zoea of the blue swimming crabs exposed to over 16.86 mg/l were significantly different (P < 0.05) from the control group. The zoea LC₅₀ values (mg/l) of ammonia-N were 51.04, 39.62, 38.72, 24.43, 16.90, 13.42, 11.16 mg/l for 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 h, respectively. The zoeae are highly sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, and the toxicity of ammonia and nitrite on Portunus pelagicus decrease with development of this crab.     

Histology of corpuscles of Stannius in Lake Van fish (Alburnus tarichi Güldenstädt, 1814) (Cyprinidae)

In the present study, the location, histology and number of corpuscles of Stannius (Sc), which are endocrine glands associated with the kidneys of teleost fish, were investigated for the first time in Lake Van fish (Alburnus tarichi), an anadromous and endemic inhabiting Turkey's Lake Van Basin. The Sc, which were ovoid or spheroid and white or cream in colour, were found to vary in number between three and five among the examined fish. The glands were located in the caudal part of the kidney, and either partially or completely embedded, and found to be present on both the ventral and dorsal surface of either side of the caudal part of the kidney. The Sc were surrounded by a connective tissue capsule that penetrated and divided the gland into incomplete lobules. Two types of cells were determined in the parenchyma of the gland. Type-I cells were predominant throughout the parenchyma and larger than the second (type-II). In the type-I cells, the cytoplasm was observed as weakly or moderately eosinophilic with haematoxylin and eosin staining and weakly or moderately acidophilic with Mallory's triple staining. In the type-I cells, the cytoplasm exhibited weak to moderate periodic acid-Schiff staining and slight or uniform staining with aldehyde fuchsin. The type-II cells were round, had a darkly stained spherical nucleus and were dispersed among the type-I cells. They displayed no cytoplasmic staining with the abovementioned stains.     

New technique of sex preselection for increasing female ratio in boar sperm model

In this study, we tried to optimize the porcine semen extender conditions to maximize the differences between live X chromosome-bearing (X) spermatozoa and to Y chromosome-bearing (Y) spermatozoa without a decline in the fertility rate at different pH conditions during storage. We observed the viability of X and Y boar spermatozoa in acidic (pH 6.2), original (pH 7.2), and alkaline condition (pH 8.2) for 5 days to investigate the effect of storage conditions on the X to Y spermatozoa ratio. The functional parameters of spermatozoa were also examined to evaluate sperm quality. Sperm motility was preserved at pH 7.2 and pH 6.2 for 3 days, while sperm motility at pH 8.2 decreased significantly after 2 days. Non-capacitated spermatozoa increased while capacitated spermatozoa decreased during storage. Sperm viability decreased significantly duration-dependent under all pH conditions, but there was no significant difference during storage at pH 6.2 and 7.2. The X: Y ratio of live spermatozoa in acidic condition was maximized (1.2:1) without affecting the sperm function and fertility-related protein expression after 2 days compared to original conditions. Moreover, insemination of sows using acidic extender increased the number of female pups on days 1 and 2 of preservation. These results indicate that the production of female offspring may increase when acidic BTS is used for 2 days without affecting the success rate of AI. Above all, this method is simple and economical compared to other methods.     

Canine fetal echocardiography: correlations for the analysis of cardiac dimensions

The aim of this study was to develop regression models for correlation of canine fetal heart development with body size to characterize normal development or suggest cardiac anomalies. Twenty clinically healthy pregnant bitches, either brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic, were examined ultrasonographically. Transabdominal fetal echocardiography was conducted every 4 days from the beginning of cardiac chambers differentiation until parturition. Ten cardiac parameters were measured: length, width and diameter of the heart; heart area; left and right ventricular dimensions; left and right atrial dimensions; and aortic and pulmonary artery diameter. Femoral length, biparietal diameter and abdominal cross-sectional area were also recorded. Regression equations were developed for each parameter of fetal body size, and linear and logarithmic models were compared. The model with the highest correlation coefficient was chosen to produce equations to calculate relative dimensions based on the correlations. Only the left-ventricular chamber differed between the two racial groups. Biparietal diameter was the independent parameter that produced the highest correlation coefficient for the most fetal cardiac dimensions, although good correlations were also observed using femoral length and abdominal cross-sectional area. Heart width and heart diameter were used as surrogates of cardiac development, as these measurements showed the best statistical correlation. Quantitative evaluation of fetal cardiac structures can be used to monitor normal and abnormal cardiac development.     

Tenogenic induction of equine mesenchymal stem cells by means of growth factors and low-level laser technology

Tendons regenerate poorly due to a dense extracellular matrix and low cellularity. Cellular therapies aim to improve tendon repair using mesenchymal stem cells and tenocytes; however, a current limitation is the low proliferative potential of tenocytes in cases of severe trauma. The purpose of this study was to develop a method useful in veterinary medicine to improve the differentiation of Peripheral Blood equine mesenchymal stem cells (PB-MSCs) into tenocytes. PB-MSCs were used to study the effects of the addition of some growth factors (GFs) as TGFβ3 (transforming growth factor), EGF2 (Epidermal growth factor), bFGF2 (Fibroblast growth factor) and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) in presence or without Low Level Laser Technology (LLLT) on the mRNA expression levels of genes important in the tenogenic induction as Early Growth Response Protein-1 (EGR1), Tenascin (TNC) and Decorin (DCN). The singular addition of GFs did not show any influence on the mRNA expression of tenogenic genes whereas the specific combinations that arrested cell proliferation in favour of differentiation were the following: bFGF2 + TGFβ3 and bFGF2 + TGFβ3 + LLLT. Indeed, the supplement of bFGF2 and TGFβ3 significantly upregulated the expression of Early Growth Response Protein-1 and Decorin, while the use of LLLT induced a significant increase of Tenascin C levels. In conclusion, the present study might furnish significant suggestions for developing an efficient approach for tenocyte induction since the external administration of bFGF2 and TGFβ3, along with LLLT, influences the differentiation of PB-MSCs towards the tenogenic fate.