A review on breeding and genetic strategies in Iranian buffaloes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bubalus bubalis</Emphasis>)

The aim of current study was to review breeding progress and update information on genetic strategies in Iranian buffaloes. Iranian buffalo is one of the vital domestic animals throughout north, north-west, south and south-west of Iran with measurable characteristics both in milk and meat production. The species plays an important role in rural economy of the country due to its unique characteristics such as resistance to diseases and parasites, having long productive lifespan and showing higher capability of consuming low-quality forage. In Iran, total production of milk and meat devoted to buffaloes are 293,000 and 24,700 tons, respectively. Selection activities and milk yield recording are carrying out by the central government through the Animal Breeding Centre of Iran. The main breeding activities of Iranian buffaloes included the estimation of genetic parameters and genetic trends for performance traits using different models and methods, estimation of economic values and selection criteria and analysis of population structure. Incorporating different aspects of dairy buffalo management together with improved housing, nutrition, breeding and milking, is known to produce significant improvements in buffalo production. Therefore, identifying genetic potential of Iranian buffaloes, selection of superior breeds, improving nutritional management and reproduction and developing the education and increasing the skills of practical breeders can be useful in order to enhance the performance and profitability of Iranian buffaloes.     

Chemical fertilizer reduction and soil fertility maintenance in rice-fish coculture system

In the long run, whether the use of chemical fertilizers could be reduced and soil fertility could be maintained through rice-fish coculture is less well known. At the pilot site of the rice-fish coculture system, which is one of the five “globally important agricultural heritage systems” (GIAHS), we conducted a 4-year study to compare fertilizer use, rice yield, and soil fertility in rice-fish coculture and rice monoculture. Based on the survey data from 21 villages, rice yield did not differ between rice monoculture and rice-fish coculture, but less chemical fertilizers were used in rice-fish coculture than in rice monoculture. Survey data from 145 farms also showed that rice-fish coculture farms with high input of feed for fish used less chemical fertilizers for rice production than farms with low input of feed for fish. In the 4-year field experiment, although less fertilizer was used in rice-fish coculture, rice yield, soil organic matter, soil total nitrogen, and soluble phosphorus did not differ between rice-fish coculture and rice monoculture. Our results suggest that rice-fish coculture can reduce chemical fertilizers application, enhance land productivity, and maintain soil fertility. Our results also suggest that rice-fish coculture could reduce the risk of non-point source pollution by reducing the input of chemical fertilizers.     

School food environments and the obesity issue: content,structural determinants,and agency in Canadian high schools

To understand the phenomenon of the rapidly increasing prevalence of overweight and obese children and youth, it is especially important to examine the school food environment, the role of structural factors in shaping this environment, and the resulting nutrition and health outcomes. The paper examines research on school food environments in the US and Canada. It notes evidence of widespread availability of poor nutrition products in both environments and delineates reasons for the situation, and examines initiatives presently being undertaken in a number of jurisdictions in both countries to encourage healthy eating in schools. Empirical data are presented from a pilot study of high schools in the Canadian province of Ontario. The study documents the extent of student purchasing of nutrient-poor foods and beverages, and the structural factors internal and external to the school that appear responsible for the availability of such products in food environments in this critical institutional sphere. The paper also examines positive local initiatives in high schools that seek to encourage healthy eating in schools.

Survey of internal parasites in Western Australian pig herds. 1. Prevalence

Between September 1982 and March 1984, 101 Western Australian piggeries with 15 or more sows were surveyed to determine the prevalence of internal parasites and examine the relationship between parasitism and management practices. Faecal samples were collected from 20 pigs in 4 age groups in randomly selected piggeries, and examined for the presence of eggs of helminth parasites and protozoan cysts. Evidence of nematode parasites was found in 79% of piggeries. Sows were more commonly affected than other classes of pigs with worm eggs being found in 68% of herds. Oesophagostomum spp was the most prevalent worm species, being found in pigs from 65% of piggeries and in sows in 60% of herds. Ascaris suum was the most common species of worm found in growing pigs. There was no evidence of infection with either Metastrongylus spp or Strongyloides spp in any of the herds sampled. Oocysts of coccidia were found in pigs from 56% of piggeries and Balantidium coli cysts were detected in pigs from 42% of piggeries sampled.     

Population genetic structure and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coluber constrictor flaviventris</Emphasis>) in the contiguous tallgrass prairie of northeastern Kansas,USA

The tallgrass prairie of North America has undergone widespread habitat loss and fragmentation (<4% remains). The Flint Hills region of Kansas and Oklahoma is the largest tallgrass prairie remaining and therefore provides an opportunity to study the population genetic structure of grassland species in a relatively contiguous landscape and set a baseline for evaluating changes when the habitat is fragmented. We adopted a landscape genetics approach to identify how landscape structure affected dispersal, population genetic structure, and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) across a 13,500-km² landscape in northeastern Kansas, USA. The racer population had high allelic diversity, high heterozygosity, and was maintaining migration-drift equilibrium. Autocorrelation between genetic and geographic distance revealed that racers exhibited restricted dispersal within 3 km, and isolation-by-distance. Significant isolation-by-distance occurred at broad regional scales (>100 km), but because of sufficient gene flow between locations, we were unable to define discrete subpopulations using Bayesian clustering analyses. Resistance distance, which considers the permeability of habitats, did not explain significant variation in genetic distance beyond Euclidean distance alone, suggesting that racers are not currently influenced by landscape composition. In northeastern Kansas, racers appear to be an abundant and continuously distributed snake that perceives the landscape as well connected with no cover type currently impeding snake dispersal or gene flow.     

Design automation for integrated circuits

With the ever-increasing complexity of integrated circuits, manual design methods have become intolerably slow and error-prone. The use of computers to automate some or all of the design process is necessary to minimize both design time and error incidence. In this article are discussed the design and fabrication of integrated circuits, selected techniques of design automation, and the problems associated with such automation.     

Antibody-induced internalization of viral glycoproteins in pseudorabies virus-infected monocytes and role of the cytoskeleton: a confocal study

Addition of pseudorabies virus (PrV)-specific polyclonal immunoglobulins to PrV-infected monocytes induces internalization of plasma membrane anchored viral glycoproteins. This process may interfere with antibody-dependent cell lysis and resembles the well-studied physiological endocytosis process. A confocal study was designed to investigate whether the major cellular components, involved in physiological endocytosis (clathrin, actin, dynein and microtubules), play a role in this virological internalization process. In order to visualize the interaction of endosomes, which contain the internalized viral glycoproteins, with clathrin, actin, dynein and microtubules, a double labeling of viral glycoproteins and different cellular proteins was performed. Porcine monocytes were inoculated with the PrV-strain 89V87 at a multiplicity of infection of 50 for 13h. After the addition of FITC-labeled porcine polyclonal PrV-specific antibodies, cells were fixed with para-formaldehyde at different time points and afterwards permeabilized. The different cellular components were visualized with monoclonal antibodies and a Texas Red-conjugate, with the exception of actin, which was stained with phalloidin-Texas Red. The cells were analyzed by confocal microscopy. A clear co-localization was observed between the viral glycoproteins and clathrin and dynein during the internalization process. The microtubules were in close contact with the internalized vesicles. For actin no co-localization could be observed. It can be stated that clathrin, dynein and microtubules, important components during physiological endocytosis, are also of importance during the antibody-induced internalization of viral glycoproteins.     

Responses of native legume desert trees used for reforestation in the Sonoran Desert to plant growth-promoting microorganisms in screen house

Three slow-growing legume trees used for desert reforestation and urban gardening in the Sonoran Desert of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern USA were evaluated whether their growth can be promoted by inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (Azospirillum brasilense and Bacillus pumilus), unidentified arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (mainly Glomus sp.), and supplementation with common compost under regular screenhouse cultivation common to these trees in nurseries. Mesquite amargo (Prosopis articulata) and yellow palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla) had different positive responses to several of the parameters tested while blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) did not respond. Survival of all tree species was over 80% and survival of mesquite was almost 100% after 10 months of cultivation. Inoculation with growth-promoting microorganisms induced significant effects on the leaf gas exchange of these trees, measured as transpiration and diffusive resistance, when these trees were cultivated without water restrictions.     

Water and dye-free coloration of wool

A water and dye-free heat treatment method was used to color wool fibers. The heat effect changed wool fibers to different colors from white in a nitrogen atmosphere. The influences of heating temperature and time on the colors of wool were investigated and the mechanical property of colored wool fibers was evaluated. The color strength of wool fibers increased as heat treatment temperature and time increased. The tensile strength retention rate of wool fiber was relatively high (≥90 %) when the heat temperature was below 200 °C. The surface morphologies of wool fibers scarcely changed during the heat treatment. The carbon content of fibers was found to reduce by heat treatment, indicating oxidization of components in the wool fibers in the process of coloration. Heat treatment may provide a water and dye-free approach to color wool and other textile fibers, albeit within a limited color range.     

Recent Discoveries on Marine Organism Immunomodulatory Activities

Marine organisms have been shown to be a valuable source for biologically active compounds for the prevention and treatment of cancer, inflammation, immune system diseases, and other pathologies. The advantage of studying organisms collected in the marine environment lies in their great biodiversity and in the variety of chemical structures of marine natural products. Various studies have focused on marine organism compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications, for instance, as immunomodulators, to treat cancer and immune-mediated diseases. Modulation of the immune system is defined as any change in the immune response that can result in the induction, expression, amplification, or inhibition of any phase of the immune response. Studies very often focus on the effects of marine-derived compounds on macrophages, as well as lymphocytes, by analyzing the release of mediators (cytokines) by using the immunological assay enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, immunofluorescence, and real-time PCR. The main sources are fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, mollusks, corals, and fishes. This review is focused on the marine-derived molecules discovered in the last three years as potential immunomodulatory drugs.