Bronchoalveolar lavage in ponies with heaves during disease remission

Bronchoalveolar ravage (BAL) fluid was collected from control ponies and from affected ponies with heaves which were in clinical remission. Significant differences were not detected between the two groups in total nucleated cell count or relative percentages (relative cell counts) of small lymphocytes, large mononuclear cells, eosinophils, or mast cells. The mean relative neutrophil count of BAL fluid from the affected group was statistically greater than that of controls; however, the difference between the two groups was not sufficient to be of diagnostic significance.     

Parrot Rescue Organizations and Sanctuaries: A Growing Presence in 2010

Parrots are amazing creatures. They are beautiful, intelligent, and entertaining. Many psittacine species have the ability to mimic speech and sound, thereby making them a desirable animal to own. People may obtain parrots, believing they are easy to care for because they live in a relatively small cage. In reality, these birds are loud, messy, destructive, live long lives, and need a great deal of attention. On occasion, new parrot owners quickly realize that a bird is not a good choice for a pet. This buyer regret may lead the bird owner to sell or give the bird away; consequently, these parrots may end up in the care of rescue or sanctuary organizations. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of rescue and sanctuary organizations and the need to establish guidelines for the welfare of parrots maintained at these facilities.     

A set of standard area diagrams to assess severity of frogeye leaf spot on soybean

European Journal of Plant Pathology - A set of standard area diagrams (SADs) was developed and validated to aid visual assessment of severity of frogeye leaf spot (FLS) caused by Cercospora sojina....     

Spatial patterns of recreational exploitation in eastern Australian ROFAs: implications for zonal management

Effective management of recreational fisheries requires information on fine‐scale spatial patterns of recreational exploitation. Such information is particularly important for specially designated regions such as recreational‐only fishing areas (ROFAs). Using data acquired through progressive counts and interview‐based surveys, this study quantitatively compared recreational effort, harvest‐per‐unit‐effort (HPUE) and species composition among zonal habitats in three representative estuarine ROFAs in eastern Australia. The zones compared were as follows: (1) entrance channels; (2) lake areas; (3) artificial reefs; (4) tributary creeks; (5) rivers; and (6) canals. In most cases, effort was concentrated in the lake zones, which had the greatest access to fisheries resources. The lake and channel zones were associated with some of the highest HPUEs for key taxa [Acanthopagrus spp. (hybrid complex of Acanthopagrus butcheri (Munro) × Acanthopagrus australis (Owen)), Platycephalus fuscus (Cuvier), Sillago ciliata (Cuvier) and Girella tricuspidata (Quoy & Gaimard)] and a greater number of highly sought‐after species. Drawing on specific examples from these findings, this paper concludes by illustrating how spatial information on exploitation gained from this type of research can be used to meet the fundamental goals of recreational fisheries management at fine spatial scales.     

Cumulative impacts of fisheries in the California Current

Ecosystem‐based fisheries management calls for the consideration of the indirect and cumulative effects of fishing, in addition to estimating direct fishing mortality. Here, we quantify such effects of fishing fleets, and their interactions, using a spatially explicit Atlantis simulation model of the food web and fisheries in the California Current. Simulations testing the effects of single fleets suggested that bottom trawl, fixed gear, and hake (Merluccius productus) trawl primarily have direct impacts on their target and bycatch species. Few indirect effects from these three fleets extended through predator–prey links to other parts of the food web. In contrast, effects of the purse seine fleet extended beyond the three groups it harvested, strongly altering the abundance of predators, planktonic prey, and benthos. In terms of nine ecosystem attributes, our experiments involving single fleets identified six fleets that caused the bulk of negative impacts. Specific fleets impacted different aspects of the ecosystem, for instance with groundfish gears causing reductions in piscivore abundance, and hake trawl and purse seine increasing krill through reducing abundance of planktivores. In terms of interactions among fleets' effects, the vast majority of effects were simply additive – the combined effect of two fleets was simply the sum of the individual fleets' effects. The analyses offer one way to sharpen the focus of ecosystem‐based fisheries management in the California Current, emphasizing impacts and interactions of particular stressors.     

Stabilization of soybean oil bodies using protective pectin coatings formed by electrostatic deposition

Soybeans contain oil bodies that are naturally coated by a layer of phospholipids and proteins. In nature, this coating protects the oil bodies from environmental stresses and could be utilized by food manufacturers for the same purpose. However, natural oil bodies are physically unstable to aggregation because of the relatively weak electrostatic repulsion between them, which limits their application in many foods. In this study, oil bodies were extracted from soybean using an aqueous extraction method and then coated by a pectin layer using electrostatic deposition. The influence of NaCl (0-500 mM), pH (2-8), and freeze-thaw cycling (-20 degrees C, 22 h/40 degrees C, 2 h) on the properties and stability of the oil bodies coated by the pectin layer was analyzed using zeta-potential, particle size, and creaming stability measurements. These results suggest that pectin-coated oil bodies have similar or improved stability compared to uncoated oil bodies and may provide a new way of creating functional soy products for use in the food and other industries.     

Phenolic compounds contribute to dark bran pigmentation in hard white wheat

Unacceptably dark bran color has prevented the white-kernelled variety Argent from meeting grain color marketing standards for hard white wheats (Triticum aestivum L.). The objective of this research was to identify phenolic compounds that negatively affect bran color in white wheat using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and vanillin-HCl and NaOH staining methods. In mature bran, FT-ICR-MS detected derivatives of the flavonol quercetin in varieties Argent and RL4137 (red-kernelled wheat) but not in W98616, a white wheat variety with acceptable grain color. Derivatives of the isoflavone formononetin were more abundant in W98616 relative to RL4137 and Argent. Vanillin-HCl staining indicated that RL4137 sequestered high levels of proanthocyanidin (PA) throughout its entire seed coat, whereas white wheats sequestered PAs as discrete speckles. Argent possessed abundant speckles over its entire seed coat, whereas speckles were almost undetectable in W98616. In mature kernels, flavonoids throughout the seed coat of RL4137 reacted with NaOH, but only the speckles appeared to react in white wheats. W98616 consistently had lighter grain than Argent before and after NaOH treatment. Free and bound phenolic differences in bran samples confirmed that the darker seed coat color of Argent, relative to W98616, was likely due to higher total phenolic acid content. Although isoflavones accumulated in Argent and RL4137, it appears that the majority of the flux through the flavonoid pathway ultimately accumulates quercetin derivatives and PAs. In W98616, PAs accumulate, but it appears that flavonoid biosynthesis ultimately accumulates isoflavones. Argent, compared to W98616, generally accumulated higher levels of total phenolics (flavonols, stilbenes, and PAs) within its darker pigmented bran.