Physical properties of media for container-grown crops. II. Peat mixes

The effect of addition of sand, perlite, polystyrene and pumice in half and quarter proportions and in various particle sizes, on physical properties of peat mixes was studied. Coarse sand had no effect on air space (AS), while fine sand reduced AS and at the higher rate the value fell to an unsatisfactory level. At the higher rate of coarse sand addition, easily available water (EAW) fell to an unsatisfactory level. Fine sand increased EAW. Total porosity (TP) and water-buffering capacity (WBC) were generally reduced as a result of sand addition. The addition of coarse perlite at the higher rate increased the AS, while fine perlite at both rates and medium perlite at the high rate reduced AS. The effect of addition of coarse and fine perlite on EAW was similar to sand addition. Total porosity was reduced by coarse perlite and by medium perlite addition at the higher rate. The addition of polystyrene increased AS, but decreased EAW and the value fell to an unacceptable level at the high rate of application. Bulk density, WBC and TP were decreased by the addition of polystyrene. The addition of a standard grade of pumice had no effect on AS, but the EAW, WBC and TP were reduced. However, only in the case of WBC was the reduction below the critical level.     

Bovine diaphragmatic hernioplasty using autologous skin grafts.

A 2nd recurrence of diaphragmatic hernia in a buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), which twice previously had been subjected to herniorrhaphy, was successfully treated by hernioplasty, using a fresh autologous skin graft to compensate for the lost tissue.     

Sequence Analysis of an Indian Field Isolate of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Shows Six Unique Amino Acid Changes in the VP1 Gene

Veterinary Research Communications -     

Mortality Patterns in Dairy Animals under Organized Herd Management Conditions at Karnal India

Mortality patterns of two Zebu cattle breeds, Sahiwal and Tharparkar, and two crossbred strains, Karan Swiss and Karan Fries, maintained at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal were studied. Nine-year (1989--90 to 1997--98) data on mortality were analysed for year, season, age and cause effects on mortality rate. The overall mortality was 14.17%. The mortality in Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Karan Swiss and Karan Fries averaged 14.35%, 7.21%, 17.12% and 13.46%, respectively. The breed mortality rate did not vary significantly between years, seasons, age categories and causes of disease. However, the trends indicated appreciable difference in mortality rates. The mortality was highest in the year 1994--95 (19.53%) and lowest in 1991--92 (8.56%). There was very little variation in seasonal mortality rate and mortality rate averaged 4.53%, 4.81% and 4.84% in hot-dry (March-June), hot-humid (July-October) and cold (November-February) seasons, respectively. The mortality up to 2 months of age accounted for a major share (50-60% or higher) in different breed groups. Digestive problems followed by respiratory disorders together accounted for 70-80% of total deaths.     

Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Using Fly Ash Zeolite

In this paper, two Indian fly ashes (from Talcher and Ramagundam) were converted into zeolites and both the raw fly ash and zeolite were used to treat two British acidic mine waters. The results demonstrate that fly ash zeolites are more effective than raw fly ash for treatment of acid mine drainage. Fly ash has been found effective for removal of Pb, but with increased dosing, caused release of Ba, Cr, Sr (both fly ashes) plus Zn, Ni (Talcher), or Fe (Ramagundam) into mine water. In contrast, increased dosing with fly ash zeolite removed 100% Pb, 98.9% Cd, 98.8% Zn, 85.6% Cu, 82.8% Fe, 48.3% Ni, and 44.8% Ba from mine water. Fly ash is amorphous in nature and many metals attached on the surface of the ash particles are easily leached off when ash comes in contact with acidic mine water. However, fly ash zeolite is crystalline in nature and due to its high cation exchange properties, most of the metals present in acid mine water are retained in surface sites.     

Continental-scale partitioning of fire emissions during the 1997 to 2001 El Niño/La Niña period

During the 1997 to 1998 El Ni?o, drought conditions triggered widespread increases in fire activity, releasing CH4 and CO2 to the atmosphere. We evaluated the contribution of fires from different continents to variability in these greenhouse gases from 1997 to 2001, using satellite-based estimates of fire activity, biogeochemical modeling, and an inverse analysis of atmospheric CO anomalies. During the 1997 to 1998 El Ni?o, the fire emissions anomaly was 2.1 +/- 0.8 petagrams of carbon, or 66 +/- 24% of the CO2 growth rate anomaly. The main contributors were Southeast Asia (60%), Central and South America (30%), and boreal regions of Eurasia and North America (10%).     

Forecasting fire season severity in South America using sea surface temperature anomalies

Fires in South America cause forest degradation and contribute to carbon emissions associated with land use change. We investigated the relationship between year-to-year changes in fire activity in South America and sea surface temperatures. We found that the Oceanic Ni?o Index was correlated with interannual fire activity in the eastern Amazon, whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index was more closely linked with fires in the southern and southwestern Amazon. Combining these two climate indices, we developed an empirical model to forecast regional fire season severity with lead times of 3 to 5 months. Our approach may contribute to the development of an early warning system for anticipating the vulnerability of Amazon forests to fires, thus enabling more effective management with benefits for climate and air quality.     

Neuroblastoma: drug-induced differentiation increases proportion of cytoplasmic RNA that contains polyadenylic acid

The production of cytoplasmic RNA that contains polyadenylic acid is increased, relative to total cytoplasmic RNA, in a neuroblastoma clone, NBE-(A), after induction of differentiation by 4-(3-butoxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-2-imidazolidinone, an inhibitor of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase. The amount of RNA that contains polyadenylic acid in cytoplasm may be greater in such differentiated neuroblastoma cells than in proliferating control cells.