Management effect on bird and arthropod interaction in suburban woodlands

Background  

Experiments from a range of ecosystems have shown that insectivorous birds are important in controlling the populations of their invertebrate prey. Here, we report on a large field experiment testing the hypothesis that management for enhancing recreational values in suburban woodlands affects the intensity of bird predation on canopy-living arthropods. Bird exclosures were used in two types of management (understory clearance and dense understory) at two foraging heights in oak Quercus robur canopies and the experiment was replicated at two sites.     

Effects of five tree-selection strategies when thinning spruce (Picea abies) stands: a case study in a field trail in southern Sweden

The aim of this study was to show the effects of five tree-selection strategies when thinning on quality and growth properties of Norway spruce stands, and their potential for improving quality in the stands. The five strategies were thinning to retain high-quality (HQ) and low-quality (LQ) trees, thinning from above (A) and below (B) and thinning to obtain an even distribution of residual trees (S). The study was conducted in two planted stands close to rotation age, located in southern Sweden, which had been thinned twice since the establishment of the thinning experiment. In the two quality-based treatments trees were selected for harvest on the basis of the following growth and quality traits: tree class, vitality, dbh, height, straightness, branch diameter and quality defects. The quality traits were found to be largely independent of tree size, thus the selection strategies based solely on dbh (A and B) did not improve quality within the stands. Thinning targeting HQ traits promoted the retention and growth of HQ trees, and improved overall quality of the stands compared to the other treatments. HQ thinning increased the share of straight trees by 15%, on average. Significant proportions of stem crooks and quality defects detected before the first thinning were invisible 21 years after it. All thinned stands had higher proportions of naturally pruned trees than unthinned stands. The selection method had no influence on periodic annual increment after thinning.     

Racing‐associated fatalities in Norwegian and Swedish harness racehorses: Incidence rates,risk factors,and principal postmortem findings

BackgroundThere are no reports on the number of fatalities or causes of death in the Norwegian and Swedish harness racehorses.ObjectivesThe incidence rates (IRs), risk factors, and postmortem findings in horses that died or were euthanized associated with racing between 2014 and 2019 were investigated.AnimalsThirty‐eight Standardbreds and 10 Norwegian‐Swedish Coldblooded Trotters died or were euthanized associated with racing. A total of 816 085 race‐starts were recorded.MethodsIncidence rates were calculated for both countries and horse breeds. Risk factors for sudden death were identified using a case‐control logistic model. Postmortem examinations were performed in 43 horses.ResultsThe overall fatality IR was 0.059/1000 race‐starts. Traumatic injuries accounted for 14.5%, while sudden death for 85.5% of fatalities. Only minor differences between countries and breeds were recorded. The number of starts within the last 30 days increased the risk of sudden death (5 starts odds ratio (OR) 228.80, confidence interval (CI) 10.9‐4793). An opposite non‐linear effect was observed in number of starts the last 180 days (>10 starts OR 0.12, CI 0.02‐0.68). Seven horses were euthanized because of catastrophic injury. Acute circulatory collapse because of suspected cardiac or pulmonary failure or both was recorded in 30 horses, while major hemorrhage after vessel rupture was the primary cause of death in 10 cases. One horse collapsed and died but was not submitted for autopsy.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceComparatively low rates of catastrophic orthopedic fatalities were reported, while causes and IR of sudden death were similar to previous studies.     

Formation and availability of methylmercury in mercury-contaminated sediment: effects of activated carbon and biochar amendments

Journal of Soils and Sediments - As the formation of toxic and bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg) in Hg-contaminated sediments is of great concern worldwide, suitable remediation options are...     

Isolation and Characterization of Anti-Adenoviral Secondary Metabolites from Marine Actinobacteria

Adenovirus infections in immunocompromised patients are associated with high mortality rates. Currently, there are no effective anti-adenoviral therapies available. It is well known that actinobacteria can produce secondary metabolites that are attractive in drug discovery due to their structural diversity and their evolved interaction with biomolecules. Here, we have established an extract library derived from actinobacteria isolated from Vestfjorden, Norway, and performed a screening campaign to discover anti-adenoviral compounds. One extract with anti-adenoviral activity was found to contain a diastereomeric 1:1 mixture of the butenolide secondary alcohols 1a and 1b. By further cultivation and analysis, we could isolate 1a and 1b in different diastereomeric ratio. In addition, three more anti-adenoviral butenolides 2, 3 and 4 with differences in their side-chains were isolated. In this study, the anti-adenoviral activity of these compounds was characterized and substantial differences in the cytotoxic potential between the butenolide analogs were observed. The most potent butenolide analog 3 displayed an EC₅₀ value of 91 μM and no prominent cytotoxicity at 2 mM. Furthermore, we propose a biosynthetic pathway for these compounds based on their relative time of appearance and structure.     

Correlations between potassium, calcium and magnesium in blood and muscle of standardbred trotters

This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between the concentrations of potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium of plasma and muscle in horses, as interactions between these ions can be important in the development of muscle cell injury. Blood samples and gluteal muscle biopsies were taken from 20 healthy Standardbreds to determine the potassium concentration in plasma (cK⁺(P)), red blood cells (cK⁺(RBC)), and muscle (cK⁺(M)), and the calcium and magnesium concentrations in plasma and muscle. No correlations were found between cK⁺(P), cK⁺(RBC), and cK⁺(M). Significant positive correlations were found between cK⁺(M) and muscle magnesium (p<0.01); and cK⁺(P) and plasma calcium (p<0.005). Significant negative correlations were found between cK⁺(M) and the percentage of muscle water (p<0.005); and the muscle magnesium and calcium concentrations (p<0.02).     

Dynamic Compression of the Cervical Spinal Cord: A Myelographic and Pathologic Investigation in Great Dane Dogs

The authors report the radiographic and pathologic findings in 10 Great Dane dogs with the wobbler syndrome. In all 10 dogs it was possible to demonstrate myelographically that there was cervical spinal cord compression at 1 or 2 sites. The spinal cord compression was mainly dynamic in nature, as degree of compression increased in extension and decreased in flexion of the neck in 8 dogs. In 1 dog with deformed vertebral bodies (G6 and C7), compression increased slightly in flexion of the neck. In another dog, compression was lateral and could only be seen in the ventrodorsal view.The macroscopic findings substantiated the radiologic findings. The cause of the spinal cord compression was in 8 dogs a decrease in the dorsoventral diameter of the orifice of the vertebral canal of 1 or 2 vertebrae in combination with deformation and elongation of 1 or several vertebral arches. In extension of the neck, the cervical spinal cord was squeezed between the anterior tip of the elongated vertebral arch and the caudodorsal rim of the body of the adjacent cranial vertebra.Histologic examination was made of the spinal cord in 5 dogs and the compressive lesions that were found could explain the neurologic signs.In the discussion, the question is raised as to why pain is not a prominent sign in dogs with the wobbler syndrome in contrast to in dogs with cervical disc protrusion. It is believed that the inflammatory foreign body reaction, triggered by the protruded calcified nucleus pulposus is the main cause of pain in the disc protrusion syndrome. In the wobbler syndrome there is no obvious inflammatory reaction in the epidural space.Finally, the possible etiologic factors oC importance for the deformation oC the cervical vertebrae in wobblers are discussed. There are indications that both overnutrition and a genetic trait for rapid growth are of importance.