MAGPIE: A modelling framework for evaluating nitrate losses at national and catchment scales

Abstract. A national agri-environmental database and nitrate modelling system has been developed to support the UK government's nitrate policy development. The framework, 'MAGPIE', consists of a database and models linked within a Geographical Information System and provides a user interface which allows detailed spatial and statistical investigation of the current state (data and model output) and the impact of changes in conditions or agricultural practice. Data on crops and livestock numbers taken from the annual agricultural census were modified in relation to land cover data derived from remote sensing, and other sources. These data and data on climate, soils and altitude were interpolated to a 1 km grid. The models of nitrate loss were adapted to work with this data set while retaining as far as possible the salient features of the more detailed models and data from which they were derived. The resulting Policy Decision Support System was found to give estimates of mean annual flow and nitrate load for agricultural catchments which matched measured data closely. The system has contributed to work on a number of policy issues both within the UK and in the UK's contribution to international policy development on pollution derived from agriculture.     

Do artificial and natural defoliation have similar effects on physiology of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. seedlings?

? Artificial defoliation is often used to simulate defoliation by herbivory and is usually considered a good indication of a plant’s response to a given type of damage. However, the findings of studies directly comparing the two defoliation types are inconsistent.

? Here, the short term effects of artificial and insect defoliation by larvae of Paropsisterna agricola on growth, biomass allocation and photosynthetic capacity of Eucalyptus globulus seedlings were compared in a glasshouse experiment. The artificial defoliation was carried out to closely resemble the spatial patterns observed for insect defoliation.

? Height and diameter increments were reduced as a result of insect defoliation, whereas artificial defoliation had no significant effect on height. Increased photosynthetic capacity was observed in response to both treatments, but the magnitude of this increase was larger in insect-than in artificially-defoliated seedlings. Significant reductions in foliar carbohydrate content and total biomass were noticeable in artificially-defoliated seedlings. Although the foliar carbohydrate levels also decreased across the crown zones following insect defoliation treatment, seedlings allocated a large amount of their biomass in the branches of the damaged zone.

? Despite our best endeavours to simulate insect defoliation in the artificial treatment, the latter may not reflect accurately the full strength of the effects. However, artificial and insect defoliation were similar in their direction of the responses they caused in E. globulus seedlings.

     

The influence of cutting cycle and stocking level on the structure and composition of managed old-growth northern hardwoods

Forest management approaches are increasingly being focused on restoring or retaining structurally complex old forest conditions. Evaluations of the long-term impacts of different management regimes on the maintenance and restoration of these conditions are critical for informing and refining current management approaches. To this end, we examined the long-term effects of differing intensities of single-tree selection harvest on stand structural attributes within northern hardwood forests in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Stands in this study were classified as old growth at the onset of the experiment and were repeatedly treated and maintained at three residual stocking levels (11.5, 16.1, and 20.7 m² ha⁻¹ in trees greater than 24 cm DBH) with three different cutting cycle lengths (5, 10, and 15 years) over a 57-year period. Conditions within an adjacent, unmanaged old-growth system were used as a benchmark for comparing stand structural attributes, including abundance of downed woody debris (DWD), regeneration, and large diameter trees.     

Prevention of organ allograft rejection by a specific Janus kinase 3 inhibitor

Because of its requirement for signaling by multiple cytokines, Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) is an excellent target for clinical immunosuppression. We report the development of a specific, orally active inhibitor of JAK3, CP-690,550, that significantly prolonged survival in a murine model of heart transplantation and in cynomolgus monkeys receiving kidney transplants. CP-690,550 treatment was not associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or lymphoproliferative disease. On the basis of these preclinical results, we believe JAK3 blockade by CP-690,550 has potential for therapeutically desirable immunosuppression in human organ transplantation and in other clinical settings.     

Critical drainage and nitrate leaching losses from manures applied to freely draining soils in Great Britain

Abstract. Pig slurry was applied by open-slot injection to experimental plots on a sandy loam site at ADAS Gleadthorpe, Nottinghamshire. Volume and distribution of over-winter drainage were adjusted through the use of rainfall exclusion covers or irrigation. The resultant slurry N leaching over the range of drainage values tested (up to 300 mm) could be satisfactorily described by curve-fitting, using a quadratic or exponential function. Initial simulations of slurry N leaching using the manure nitrogen decision support system manner (v. 3.0) compared poorly with the experimental data, predicting both earlier and greater amounts of nitrate leaching. However, the lack of fit could be explained by consideration of the likely ammonia emissions following slurry injection, the actual volumetric soil moisture capacity at the experimental site and the likely time delay for the nitrification of slurry N following application. Good agreement between modelled and observed data was achieved when these factors were taken into account. The manner model was used to simulate nitrate leaching beyond the range of drainage treatments tested in the experiments and the anticipated sigmoidal relationship between nitrate leaching and drainage was observed. The model was then used to study the effects of manure application timing and the likely impact on nitrate leaching, across the range of rainfall conditions found in Great Britain. Simulations for a range of manure types were undertaken, with manures applied at rates up to the limit of permitted N loading on freely draining sandy loams. Rainfall inputs for these simulations were based on long-term average climatic data. Results are presented for two contrasting manure types, cattle slurry and poultry manure, both of which are subject to controls in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in Great Britain.     

Cloning and characterization of two glutathione S-transferases from pyrethroid-resistant Culex pipiens

BACKGROUND: The Marin strain of Culex pipiens Say is a pyrethroid‐resistant population that was collected in Marin County, California, in 2001 and subsequently maintained in the laboratory under regular permethrin exposure. RESULTS: In this study, two cDNAs, CpGSTd1 and CpGSTd2, encoding glutathione S‐transferase (GST) were cloned from Cx. pipiens Marin. Phylogenetic analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences, CpGSTD1 and CpGSTD2, of these genes indicated that they belong to the Delta class of insect GSTs. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of CpGSTd1 and CpGSTd2 were 59 and 48% identical respectively. CpGSTD1 and CpGSTD2 were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. The recombinant GSTs exhibited unique selectivity towards the general GST substrates 1‐chloro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene (CDNB) and 1,2‐dichloro‐4‐nitrobenzene (DCNB), and also differed in their sensitivity to known inhibitors of GSTs. CpGSTD1 exhibited peroxidase activity with cumene hydroperoxide, while CpGSTD2 appeared to lack this activity. CpGSTD1 was able to metabolize 1,1,1‐trichloro‐2,2‐bis(4‐chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), while DDT metabolism by CpGSTD2 was not detectable. CpGSTD1 and CpGSTD2 showed no detectable metabolism of permethrin. Gene expression of CpGSTd1 and CpGSTd2 in Marin mosquitoes was elevated about twofold in comparison with that found in a pyrethroid‐sensitive mosquito strain. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that CpGSTD1 and CpGSTD2 have unique biochemical characteristics, but they do not appear to play major roles in permethrin resistance in Marin mosquitoes. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Interactions of insecticides with biological membranes

Many insecticides (e.g. DDT, lindane, pyrethroids) are hydrophobic molecules which bind extensively to biological membranes. Binding of insecticides to phospholipid bilayers frequently shows saturation, with binding increasing with increasing insecticide concentration up to some limit, beyond which no further insecticide is incorporated into the bilayer. For lindane, this limit has been shown to correspond to the concentration at which the aqueous phase becomes saturated. Simple alkanes show similar saturation phenomena, and binding of halogenated alkanes can be followed by fluorescence quenching methods. It is shown that effects of hydrophobic molecules on bilayer fluidity are small. Effects of alkanes and insecticides on the activity of the (Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺)-ATPase purified from sarcoplasmic reticulum follow from direct binding to the ATPase, at sites which are not at the lipid-protein interface of the ATPase.     

NOCTURNAL ACTIVITY OF BIRDS ON SHRIMP MARICULTURE PONDS

Birds can reduce production of shrimp in mariculture grow-out ponds through predation and competition for feed. This study involved weekly nocturnal enumeration of bird populations and observation of nocturnal avian habits on a series of 0.1 ha experimental ponds at the Texas A&M University Shrimp Mariculture Facility at Corpus Christi, Texas. Observations were conducted hourly from sunset to sunrise during October through December 1980. The rate of predation was evaluated every three hours by comparing the number of feeding attempts to the number of successful prey captures over a known time period. Gulls (Family Laridae) acted primarily as competitors for feed. Active feeding by gulls was restricted to daylight hours, consequently feed loss decreased when the feed was distributed at or after dusk. Major preadatory birds included herons and egrets (F. Ardeidae), migratory ducks (F. Anatidae), and, to a lesser extent, grebes (F. Podicipedidae) and shorebirds (Order Charadriiformes). Bird predation decreased pond production by 75% in some ponds.     

Leptospirosis in dogs: a serologic survey and case series 1996 to 2001

All leptospirosis microscopic agglutination test titers for the Leptospira serovars icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, grippotyphosa, bratislava, hardjo, and pomona conducted on 1,260 blood samples from dogs at the University of Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory between March 1996 and March 2001 were evaluated. Low titers (1:100 to 1:400) were predominantly L. icterohaemorrhagiae and L. canicola, which represented the predominant serovars (65.4%) among all positive samples with low titers. L. grippotyphosa was the predominant serovar (72.1%) among samples with clinically significant titers (greater than 1:800). The medical records of 87 dogs with a titer greater than 1:800 that were patients at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Illinois were reviewed. A clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis was made in 15 cases (17.2%) based on the elevated titer, appropriate clinical signs, lack of recent vaccination, and lack of concurrent disease that could explain the clinical signs present. Renal disease was present in 10 of the cases, concurrent renal and hepatic disease in two, and hepatic disease in three. In 12 cases, the predominant serovar was L. grippotyphosa; titers to L. grippotyphosa and L. bratislava were equal in magnitude in three cases.