Congenital heart disease in boxer dogs: results of 6 years of breed screening

This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and severity of ocular lesions in dogs with anemia (packed cell volume  20%) and/or thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 150,000/μL). Dogs were divided into four groups: (1) anemic (n = 17); (2) thrombocytopenic (n = 36); (3) anemic and thrombocytopenic (n = 24); and (4) healthy controls (n = 26). The prevalence of ophthalmic lesions in these four groups was 12%, 42%, 42% and 0%, respectively. Anemia was not associated with the presence of ocular lesions (P = 0.41) or their severity. Thrombocytopenia was significantly associated with the presence of ocular lesions (P = 0.0016) and with their severity (P = 0.017). We conclude that thrombocytopenia, but not anemia, is associated with ocular lesions in dogs.     

Determining FAO-56 crop coefficients for peanut under different water stress levels

Accurate estimates of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) water requirements are needed for water conservation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the FAO-56 crop coefficients for peanut grown under various levels of water stress in a humid climate. Two experiments were conducted in three automated rainout shelters located at the University of Georgia Griffin Campus in Griffin, Georgia, USA in 2006 and 2007. Irrigation was applied when the modeled soil water content in the effective root zone dropped below a specific threshold of the available water content (AWC). The irrigation treatments corresponded to irrigation thresholds (IT) of 40, 60 and 90% of AWC. The soil water balance was used to compute observed evapotranspiration (ET _cm) from measured soil water content at six different soil depths. The length of the four developmental stages was different than the values listed in FAO-56. The 2-year average absolute relative error of K _cini was 8, 19 and 6% for 40, 60 and 90% IT, respectively. For the 90% IT, the FAO-56 K _cmid and K _cend were almost identical to the 2-year averages of the observed K _cmid and K _cend, respectively. The findings of this study confirmed that the FAO-56 procedure was reasonably accurate for estimating peanut ET under water stress in a humid climate.     

Structure-antifungal activity relationship of cinnamic acid derivatives

A structure-antifungal activity relationship (SAR) study of 22 related cinnamic acid derivatives was carried out. Attention was focused on the antifungal activities exhibited against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus, and Aspergillus niger. (E)-3-(4-methoxy-3-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)phenyl)acrylic acid (16) exhibited antifungal activity against A. niger, comparable to that of miconazole and a significant antifungal effect against A. flavus and A. terreus as well. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of related cinnamic acid derivatives has allowed a model to be proposed for the recognition of the minimal structural requirements for the antifungal effect in this series.     

New phenolic esters from the resinous exudate of Haplopappus taeda

Two new phenolic esters 9-trans-p-coumaroyloxy-alpha-terpineol (1) and 7-trans-p-coumaroyloxy-taedol (2), both endowed with free radical scavenger activity and cleroda-3,13 (E)-dien-15,18-diol (3) for which a cis stereochemistry at the decalin junction was found, were isolated from the resinous exudate from Haplopappus taeda upper parts.     

Rebaling of silage and haylage and its effects on forage microbial and chemical composition—A pilot study

Use of big bale silage and haylage can be difficult on farms where daily forage consumption is comparatively low as speed of deterioration of forage after bale opening may be faster than feed-out rate. Production of smaller bales at harvest is possible, but expensive and work-intensive. Therefore, a pilot study of rebaling forage stored in big bales to smaller bales was conducted. Three separate experiments were included, where microbial and chemical composition of silage and haylage was studied before and after rebaling. In Experiment III, residual big bale forage stored and opened together with rebaled forage was included. Results showed that rebaled haylage and silage had higher yeast counts compared to initial forage; however, residual bales in Experiment III had yeast counts similar to rebaled forage, indicating an effect of storage time rather than of rebaling. In Experiment II, mould counts were higher in rebaled compared to initial silage, but not in haylage. Chemical composition was similar in initial and rebaled forage except for ammonia-N. In Experiment III, ammonia-N was higher in rebaled compared to initial and residual forage and was the only chemical variable affected by rebaling. Bale temperature during aerobic storage followed ambient temperature until day 6–8 in Experiment I and until day 14 in Experiment III where ambient temperature was lower. In conclusion, rebaling can be done without large changes in chemical composition of the forage, but yeast and mould counts may be higher in rebaled forage, and this risk should be considered when using this procedure.     

Temporal dynamics of soil nematode communities in a grassland plant diversity experiment

We report here on an 8-year study examining links between plant and nematode communities in a grassland plant diversity experiment, located in the north of Sweden on previous agricultural soil. The examined plots contained 1, 4 and 12 common grassland plant species from three functional groups; grasses, legumes and forbs. The same plant species composition was maintained in the plots through weeding and resowing during the experimental period. The hypotheses were (i) that the nematode community would shift towards a more diverse and mature fauna over time and (ii) that the effects of both plant species identity and plant species richness would increase over time. As hypothesized, the Bongers’ Maturity Index (a measure of nematode responses to disturbance) increased over time, but not nematode diversity. Instead, the nematode community development in the present grassland experiment seemed to be more characterized by shifts in dominance patterns than by colonization of new taxa. Clear temporal trends were found for plant-feeders and Adenophorea bacterial-feeders which increased in abundance over time in almost all plant treatments. Rhabditidae bacterial-feeders decreased in abundance over time, in particular in plots with legumes. Fungal-feeders, omnivores/predators and the two nematode indices PPI (Bongers’ Plant Parasitic Index) and NCR (Nematode Channel Ratio) had significant interactions between plant composition and time giving some support to our second hypothesis. Our results highlight the need for long-term experiments to examine plant species effects on soil fauna, especially on taxa belonging to higher trophic levels. The results also stress the importance of plant composition for belowground soil faunal communities.     

Influence of age and planting density on the energy content of Eucalyptus benthamii,Eucalyptus dunnii and Eucalyptus grandis planted in Uruguay

New Forests - According to some studies, the use of forest biomass for the generation of electric power and/or heat would result in a significant reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. This...     

Aligning landscape structure with ecosystem services along an urban–rural gradient. Trade-offs and transitions towards cultural services

Landscape Ecology - Urban–rural gradients provide a suitable framework for studying the provision of urban and rural ecosystem services (ES), linked to social welfare. Landscape structure...