Bacterial diskospondylitis in juvenile mink from 2 Ontario mink farms

Nine juvenile mink with hind-limb paresis/paralysis from 2 Ontario farms were submitted for necropsy. Diagnostic tests revealed spinal compression and severe thoracic diskospondylitis with intralesional Gram-positive coccoid bacterial colonies. Streptococcus canis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis, and hemolytic Staphylococcus spp. were isolated from vertebral lesions.     

Comparison of bread wheat varieties with different breeding origin under organic and low input management

In recent years needs have increased to investigate the necessity of breeding cereals for organic agriculture. The aims of this study were (1) to compare 37 bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties with different breeding origin under low input conventional and certified organic farming conditions in Austria and Hungary for 3 years, (2) to identify traits highly sensitive to management systems that could be separated according to their suggested selecting environments and (3) to find evidence for the distinctness of organic wheat breeding. According to the results, seven out of the 15 traits assessed during this study showed significant management × genotype interaction meaning that these traits could be the basis of selection for different management systems. Heading date, sensitivity to leaf rust and powdery mildew had high repeatabilities. For economic reasons, it is therefore reasonable to select for these traits in conventional fields even if the selection target is organic agriculture. However, the present study suggests that selection for the other four traits (grain yield, test weight, leaf-inclination and vigorous growth during booting) should be done later in the target environment. The study compared groups of varieties developed by different breeding strategies (organic, conventional and combined strategies). The results of multivariate analyses showed that the organic breeding was distinct from the other two breeding strategies, but the combined and conventional breeding resulted in similar groupings. It is concluded that the selecting environment has measurable effects on the performance of bread wheat varieties under organic and low input growing conditions.     

Identification, cloning and characterisation of a HMW-glutenin gene from an old Hungarian wheat variety, Bánkúti 1201

Despite its good functional properties, the varietyBánkúti 1201 has been found to possess 2 + 12 or 3 + 12 allelecomposition on chromosome 1D. In order to determine the reason for itsquality traits a gene-specific PCR technique was applied in preliminaryexperiments to examine the HMW glutenin allele composition of thevariety. In the course of the analysis a fragment characteristic ofBánkúti 1201 was identified and the nucleotide sequence wasdetermined. This showed the presence of a 1Ax2^* gene variantwhich, despite near homology, differed from the original 1Ax2^* geneat one important point. At 1181 bp of the 1Ax2^* sequencenucleotide exchange was observed which is the middle nucleotide of theTCT–TGT base triplet, involving the exchange of serine for cysteine. Thegene was designated 1Ax2^*B. The presence of an extrasulphydryl group, like that of the extra cysteine in the 1Dx5 gene,facilitates the formation of further disulphide bonds, might lead to animprovement in gluten quality characters.     

Distal initiation and active propagation of action potentials in interneuron dendrites

Fast and reliable activation of inhibitory interneurons is critical for the stability of cortical neuronal networks. Active conductances in dendrites may facilitate interneuron activation, but direct experimental evidence was unavailable. Patch-clamp recordings from dendrites of hippocampal oriens-alveus interneurons revealed high densities of voltage-gated sodium and potassium ion channels. Simultaneous recordings from dendrites and somata suggested that action potential initiation occurs preferentially in the axon with long threshold stimuli, but can be shifted to somatodendritic sites when brief stimuli are applied. After initiation, action potentials propagate over the somatodendritic domain with constant amplitude, high velocity, and reliability, even during high-frequency trains.     

Variations in the Composition,Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Cystoseira compressa during Seasonal Growth

The underexplored biodiversity of seaweeds has recently drawn great attention from researchers to find the bioactive compounds that might contribute to the growth of the blue economy. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of seasonal growth (from May to September) on the in vitro antioxidant (FRAP, DPPH, and ORAC) and antimicrobial effects (MIC and MBC) of Cystoseira compressa collected in the Central Adriatic Sea. Algal compounds were analyzed by UPLC-PDA-ESI-QTOF, and TPC and TTC were determined. Fatty acids, among which oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, and palmitic acid were the dominant compounds in samples. The highest TPC, TTC and FRAP were obtained for June extract, 83.4 ± 4.0 mg GAE/g, 8.8 ± 0.8 mg CE/g and 2.7 ± 0.1 mM TE, respectively. The highest ORAC value of 72.1 ± 1.2 µM TE was obtained for the August samples, and all samples showed extremely high free radical scavenging activity and DPPH inhibition (>80%). The MIC and MBC results showed the best antibacterial activity for the June, July and August samples, when sea temperature was the highest, against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enteritidis. The results show C. compressa as a potential species for the industrial production of nutraceuticals or functional food ingredients.     

Astaxanthin from Crustaceans and Their Byproducts: A Bioactive Metabolite Candidate for Therapeutic Application

In recent years, the food, pharma, and cosmetic industries have shown considerable interest in bioactive molecules of marine origin that show high potential for application as nutraceuticals and therapeutic agents. Astaxanthin, a lipid-soluble and orange-reddish-colored carotenoid pigment, is one of the most investigated pigments. Natural astaxanthin is mainly produced from microalgae, and it shows much stronger antioxidant properties than its synthetic counterpart. This paper aims to summarize and discuss the important aspects and recent findings associated with the possible use of crustacean byproducts as a source of astaxanthin. In the last five years of research on the crustaceans and their byproducts as a source of natural astaxanthin, there are many new findings regarding the astaxanthin content in different species and new green extraction protocols for its extraction. However, there is a lack of information on the amounts of astaxanthin currently obtained from the byproducts as well as on the cost-effectiveness of the astaxanthin production from the byproducts. Improvement in these areas would most certainly contribute to the reduction of waste and reuse in the crustacean processing industry. Successful exploitation of byproducts for recovery of this valuable compound would have both environmental and social benefits. Finally, astaxanthin’s strong biological activity and prominent health benefits have been discussed in the paper.     

Repatriation or Reshoring of Manufacturing to the U.S. and UK: Dynamics and Global Production Networks or from Here to There and Back Again

There are three contrasting approaches to understanding the geography of production. The first approach emphasizes the importance of local agglomerations, the second intrafirm mechanisms, while the third highlights global relationships or global production networks (GPN) or global value chains. These explanations are partial, but complementary. This paper explores the restructuring of global production with a focus on the reshoring or repatriation of manufacturing production to the U.S. and UK. Our intention is to identify the drivers behind reshoring as the first stage toward developing a dynamic conceptual framework for understanding the global organization of production. Reshoring needs to be conceptualized by drawing on and combining approaches developed in GPN with micro‐approaches to understanding firms including the development of a geography of production tasks. The study is based on a theoretical mapping to inform an empirical analysis of reshoring in both countries to identify and conceptualize the quantitative and qualitative causal drivers behind this process. The evidence suggests that reshoring is sector‐dependent and is mainly driven by manufacturers’ cost‐management and quality strategies combined with the importance of manufacturing products close to market. This involves a “total manufacturing cost analysis” in which access to a set of tangible and intangible inputs are key drivers behind dynamics of GPN.     

Twelve-year investigation of copper soil concentrations shows that vineyards are at risk

During the period 2004–2015, the upper soil layer (0–20?cm) was sampled in eight agricultural production areas in Slovenia. Overall, 53, 249, 169, 139, and 413 samples were respectively taken from vegetable fields, arable cropland, hop fields, orchards, and vineyards. Copper was measured in the aqua-regia extracts of these samples using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The minimum, maximum, average, and median concentrations were calculated for five land uses and for all eight production areas in Slovenia. Sample portions below and/or above the limit, warning, and critical concentrations of 60, 100, and 300?mg/kg, respectively, were calculated as well. The results were compared for different land uses and production areas and showed that the copper concentrations in the vegetable, arable crop, and hop fields and orchards did not exceed the critical concentration. In addition, the copper concentrations in the vineyards exceeded the critical concentration but the maximum copper concentration (508?mg/kg) was still lower than the concentrations reported from other vine-growing Mediterranean countries. Also, the copper concentrations in hop fields exhibited an increasing trend in the Celje (and Maribor) area(s).