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.     

Dopamine protects mice against whole-body irradiation

Injection of dopamine before whole-body x-irradiation of mice resulted in 80 percent survivors whereas no irradiated controls survived; injection after exposure had no effect. D,L-Dihydroxyphenylalanine, the precursor of dopamine, had no effect on survival when injected either before or after irradiation.     

Prevalence,O-genotype and Shiga toxin (Stx) 2 subtype of Stx-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from Argentinean beef cattle

The aims of this study were to investigate prevalence, O-genotype, and virulence gene profile including Shiga toxin (Stx) 2 gene-subtype of Stx-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in beef cattle from the Bahía Blanca in Argentina. Rectal swabs were collected from 283 beef cattle in 2012. stx genes were detected in 90 (32%) out of the 283 rectal swabs by stx gene-specific PCR assay. The positive cases were 13 with stx1, 58 with stx2, and 19 with both stx1 and stx2. Among 90 stx gene-positive samples, 45 STEC strains were isolated, which included 3 stx1, 34 stx2, and eight stx1 and stx2 genes positive isolates. O-genotyping grouped 45 STEC strains into 19 different O-genotypes such as Og8, Og145, Og171, Og185 (4 from each), Og22, Og153, Og157 (3 from each) and others. Various stx2 gene-subtypes were identified in 42 STEC strains: 13 positive cases for stx2a, 11 for stx2c, 3 for stx2g, 10 for stx2a and stx2d, 4 for stx2a and stx2c, and 1 for stx2b, stx2c and stx2g. efaI gene, generally prevalent in clinical strains, was detected in relatively high in the STEC strains. These data suggest that stx2a and stx2c were distributed not only in O145 and O157 but also in minor O-genotypes of STEC in Argentina.     

Bovine brucellosis – a comprehensive review

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of great animal welfare and economic implications worldwide known since ancient times. The emergence of brucellosis in new areas as well as transmission of brucellosis from wild and domestic animals is of great significance in terms of new epidemiological dimensions. Brucellosis poses a major public health threat by the consumption of non-pasteurized milk and milk products produced by unhygienic dairy farms in endemic areas. Regular and meticulous surveillance is essentially required to determine the true picture of brucellosis especially in areas with continuous high prevalence. Additionally, international migration of humans, animals and trade of animal products has created a challenge for disease spread and diagnosis in non-endemic areas. Isolation and identification remain the gold standard test, which requires expertise. The advancement in diagnostic strategies coupled with screening of newly introduced animals is warranted to control the disease. Of note, the diagnostic value of miRNAs for appropriate detection of B. abortus infection has been shown. The most widely used vaccine strains to protect against Brucella infection and related abortions in cattle are strain 19 and RB51. Moreover, it is very important to note that no vaccine, which is highly protective, safe and effective is available either for bovines or human beings. Research results encourage the use of bacteriophage lysates in treatment of bovine brucellosis. One Health approach can aid in control of this disease, both in animals and man.     

Effect of green manuring,blue-green algae and neem-cake-coated urea on wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Summary A field trial was set up to examine the effect of green manuring, blue-green algae, and neem-cake-coated urea on a rice crop. Summer green manuring using Sesbania aculeata increased the crop yield. Inoculation of blue-green algae increased the rice grain yield when 60 kg N ha^-1 was applied as prilled urea, but the increase in grain yield was greater when 60 kg N ha^-1 was applied as neem-cake-coated urea. The results of the present study show that applications of green manure, neem-cake-coated urea, and blue-green algae are complementary and that the three treatments can be used together in the rice ecosystem. The green manure and the fertilizer treatments had no effect on the algal flora of the soil.     

Effect of blending urea with pyrite or coating urea with polymer on ammonia volatilization loss from surface-applied prilled urea

Laboratory studies on a sandy clay loam (Typic Ustochrept) alkaline soil showed that NH₃ volatilization loss from surface-applied prilled urea during an 8-dya incubation under aerobic conditions was 27.5% of applied N (400 kg N ha^-1) and was reduced to 8.9% when the urea was blended physically with pyrite in a 1:2 ratio; under anaerobic conditions the values for urea and pyrite-urea were 19.3 and 16.9%, respectively. Other treatments tested were urea-gypsum, neemcake-coated urea and polymer-coated urea. A 6% polymer coating showed the least NH₃ volatilization under anaerobic conditions and was next best to pyrite-urea under aerobic conditions. A 3% polymer coating was slightly inferior to the 6% coating. Urea-gypsum and neemcake-coated urea did not differ very much from urea alone under anaerobic conditions, but under aerobic conditions neemcake-urea showed a significantly lower total NH₃ loss compared to prilled urea alone and urea-gypsum.     

Mechanisms of Resistance to Tobacco Cutworm (Spodoptera litura F.) and their Implications to Screening for Resistance in Groundnut

Summary The Tobacco cut worm (Spodoptera litura Fab.), a polyphagous defoliating insect is a major pest on groundnut in Asia. Screening germplasm for resistance to Spodoptera litura in the field under high infestation revealed significant genotypic variation. Low damage was observed on Mutant (28-2), NC Ac 343, ICGV 86031, R 9227 and TAG 24. In the laboratory rearing of insect, the resistant genotypes, NC Ac 343, Mutant 28-2 and R 9227 affected larval growth and survival, pupal development, adult emergence and fecundity indicating antibiosis as the principal mechanism of resistance. The reduction in larval weight reared on ICGV 86031 could be due to the toughness of leaves. Though the genotype TAG 24 suffered low damage in the field, the larval and pupal development was normal in the laboratory revealing avoidance/non-preference as the mechanism of resistance. Based on the insight gained from the growth and development of the insect on resistant genotypes, the gain in weight (GIW) of the pre-starved larvae was assessed for its suitability in rapid screening. GIW in 24 h by III instar larvae fed with fully expanded II leaf was found suitable in screening for resistance based on antibiosis. The method could be adopted for screening large breeding populations in a short time under laboratory conditions. The resistant genotypes with different mechanisms of resistance could be hybridized to pool the resistant genes for enhancing the level and effectiveness of resistance in the management of the pest.