Untersuchungen zum endophytischen Befall von Fusarium proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg in geernteten Stangen von Spargel (Asparagus officinalis L.)

Zusammenfassung Erstmalig wurden mit den vorliegenden Untersuchungen Spargelstangen zur Haupterntezeit auf endophytischen Pilzbefall untersucht. Sie zeigen, dass im Ernteprodukt zwar Fusarium proliferatum als potenzieller Mykotoxinbildner zu finden ist. Eine mögliche natürliche Kontamination mit Fumonisinen bestätigte sich nicht. Von den mit F. proliferatum infizierten Stangen wies nur eine Stange mit grau-rosa-orange farbenen Gewebeveränderungen an der Basis sichtbare Symptome auf. Allgemeine Rückschlüsse auf eine mögliche Gefährdung oder Nichtgefährdung des Verbrauchers beim Verzehr von mit F. proliferatum kontaminierten, symptomlosen Stangen können aus der Analyse nicht gezogen werden. Hierzu müssen weitergehende Untersuchungen zur Wirt-Pathogen-Interaktion erfolgen und die phänotypischen und genotypischen Einflussfaktoren in diesem Prozess noch näher untersucht werden.     

Hip dysplasia in a 6-year-old Salz ram

A 6-year old Salz ram was presented with a history of poor body condition, progressive gait abnormalities, pelvic limb lameness, and difficulty with copulation. Based on the history, clinical signs, hip palpation, and radiography, a diagnosis of hip dysplasia, previously unreported in sheep, was made.     

Comparative study of the characteristics of the carcass and the meat of the Chato Murciano pig and its cross with Iberian pig, reared indoors

The Chato Murciano pig is a breed catalogued as a Special Protection breed in danger of extinction. At present it is commonly reared in an intensive system. We have studied the mineral composition and other characteristics of its carcass and meat. Samples from the Musculus longissimus lumborum were taken from a total number of 43 animals, divided into two groups, Chato Murciano and Chato Murciano crossed with Iberian, reared in a conventional indoor system. The resulting meat of the Chato Murciano pig and its cross with Iberian was especially rich in iron and copper, rich in phosphorus, and marginally poor in calcium and sodium. The evolution of the pH of the carcass was that of pigs which do not produce PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat. Some relevant positive correlation coefficients between minerals (P ≤ 0.05) have been found.     

The socioeconomics and management of Santiago de Chile''s public urban forests

Santiago, Chile's semi-arid climate and urbanized environment poses a severe limitation for the establishment and maintenance of urban forests. Municipalities, or comunas, are the main stakeholders in the management of Santiago's public urban forests. A tenable hypothesis would be that as the socioeconomic level of a comuna increases, the better the condition of a comuna's urban forest. Unfortunately, there is little comprehensive information on management, public expenditure, and structure of Santiago's public and private urban forests. To examine this hypothesis, Santiago was divided into socioeconomic strata, then using air photo interpretation and stratified field sampling, urban forest structures were quantified by socioeconomic strata. In addition, interview surveys were used to determine municipal urban forest management and expenditures for different public urban forests based on socioeconomic strata. Urban forests in the high socioeconomic strata had fewer public trees, greater tree cover, tree and leaf area density, and leaf area index than lower socioeconomic strata. The percentage of total municipal budget allocated to public urban forest management was consistent among strata, but the total public urban forest budgets were greater in the high socioeconomic strata. Public urban forest structure is related to the socioeconomic strata of Santiago's different comunas.     

Posterior capsular opacification in diabetic and nondiabetic canine patients following cataract surgery

Posterior capsular opacification (PCO) is the most common postoperative complication of contemporary cataract surgery. Limited information is available regarding PCO formation and factors that influence PCO development in the dog. Two hundred sixty-five eyes (144 from diabetic dogs and 121 from dogs with breed-related cataracts) were prospectively evaluated for PCO formation for up to 12 months postoperatively. The mean age of all dogs in the study was 7.77 years and diabetic dogs were significantly older than dogs with breed-related cataracts. There were 73 males (61 neutered, 12 intact) and 74 females (70 neutered, 4 intact) in the study. Statistical analysis was performed based on age, breed/size, gender, stage of cataract at the time of surgery, PCO score at each time point, breed-related vs. diabetic cataract, right eyes compared to left eyes, and presence/absence of uveitis. Age and gender did not significantly influence PCO formation. Small and medium-sized breeds developed significantly more PCO in comparison to the large/giant breeds at 2 weeks and 2-4 months postoperatively, but the differences were not significant at later time points. There was an overall significant increase in PCO formation in eyes with early immature cataracts when compared to other stages of cataract up to 4 months postoperatively but not at later time points. There were no statistical differences in PCO score at 6 months or at 1 year postoperatively in eyes with breed-related and diabetic cataracts. Right eyes did not differ from left eyes in PCO score. PCO score significantly increased over time in breed-related and diabetic groups and in the overall population. No difference was found in the degree of PCO formation in eyes with inflammation prior to or after surgery compared with those without inflammation. In summary, age, gender, presence of inflammation, and cause of cataract (breed-related vs. diabetes mellitus) do not influence the development of PCO in canine cataract dogs. Small and medium-sized breeds develop significant PCO earlier than larger breeds. It is important to note that all eyes from all dogs in this study developed PCO in a time dependent manner.     

Effects of Rapid Cooling Prior to Freezing on the Quality of Canine Cryopreserved Spermatozoa

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rapid cooling prior to freezing on frozen-thawed canine sperm quality. In experiment 1, centrifuged ejaculates from 6 dogs were pooled, split into 4 aliquots and cryopreserved by the Uppsala procedure using different cooling rates (control, cooling speed 18 C/90 min and average cooling rate 0.2 C/min; rapid, cooling speed 18 C/8 min and average cooling rate 2.25 C/min) in combination with 2 glycerol addition protocols (fractionated or unfractionated). In experiment 2, centrifuged ejaculates from 4 dogs were processed individually using the same cooling rates described in experiment 1 in combination with an unfractionated glycerol addition protocol. Each of the experiments was replicated 5 times. Sperm quality was evaluated after 30 and 150 min of post-thawing incubation at 38 C. Total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM) and quality of movement parameters were assessed using a computerized system, and sperm viability (spermatozoa with intact plasma and acrosome membranes) was assessed using flow cytometry (H-42/PI/FITC-PNA). Values for TM, PM, viable spermatozoa and the quality of movement parameters after thawing were not significantly affected by the cooling rate. The interaction between the cooling rate and the added glycerol protocol was not significant. There were significant differences among the males (P<0.01) in the sperm quality parameters evaluated after thawing. The interaction between the males and the cooling rate was not significant. In conclusion, canine spermatozoa can be cryopreserved using the Uppsala method at an average cooling rate of 2.25 C/min prior to freezing together with addition of fractionated or unfractionated glycerol.     

Evaluation of the flammability of gorse (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulex europaeus</Emphasis> L.) managed by prescribed burning

• Introduction  

The abandonment of rural areas has led to an increase of the fire-prone European gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) communities in some regions, where prescribed burning is a technique applied to control them. Understanding flammability changes after treatments is crucial for the sustainable use of fire.     

Preparation and promotion of fruit growth in kiwifruit of fluorinated N-phenyl-N'-1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl ureas

Seventeen phenyl-fluorinated analogues of thidiazuron [N-phenyl-N'-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea, TDZ] have been prepared and characterized. The effects of each fluorinated urea on growth and quality of kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa) were evaluated by comparison with untreated (control) and TDZ-treated fruits. The results obtained showed a clear dependence of the growth-promoting activity of these fluorinated ureas on the pattern and degree of fluorine substitution in the phenyl ring. The most effective for promoting fruit growth was N-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl)-N'-(1',2',3'-thiadiazol-5'-yl)urea at 25 ppm (at harvest, treated fruits were 58% heavier than untreated ones) followed by N-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-N'-(1',2',3'-thiadiazol-5'-yl)urea at 10 ppm (50%). Comparatively, TDZ-treated fruits were 31% (10 ppm) and 38% (25 ppm) heavier than untreated ones. The results also indicate that the effects of the more active phenyl-fluorinated ureas on some standard quality parameters of fruits, for example, percent of fruit dry matter content, soluble solids contents, total titratable acids, shape, and internal structure, are similar to those of TDZ. Quantitative structure-activity relationships have been derived for the fruit growth promoting activity of the phenyl-fluorinated analogues of TDZ.     

Simulated digestion and antioxidant activity of red wine fractions separated by high speed countercurrent chromatography

Wine is an important source of dietary antioxidants because of its phenolic compound content. The antioxidant activity (AA) of pure monomer substances present in wines, such as phenolic acids, flavanols, and anthocyanins, has already been described, but the AA of polymeric phenols is still unknown. In this study, we have fractionated a red wine by countercurrent chromatography (CCC) into four fractions: fraction 1, made up of polymeric compounds; fraction 2, containing malvidin-3-glucoside; fraction 3, containing peonidin-3-glucoside; and fraction 4, containing vitisin A. The AA of these fractions was determined by oxygen radical absorbance capacity and ferric reducing ability assays. The weight of fraction 1 was the largest, so this was the largest contributor to the AA of the wine. However, the antioxidant powers (muM Trolox/g fraction) of fractions 2-4 were similar and higher than that of fraction 1. We also determined AA before and after in vitro gastric and intestinal digestions. After gastric digestion, the AA was 100-1000 times higher than the original fraction values. Gallic acid was determined in gastric and intestinal digested fractions. After intestinal digestion, the concentrations of simple phenols, such as caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, and protocatechualdehyde, increased as they were released from the fractions under our conditions. Protocatechuic acid was determined in more intestinal digested fractions than in gastric digested fractions. These results partly explain the increase in AA after the digestion and indicate the relevance of polymeric polyphenolic compounds as precursors of smaller molecules with biological activity.