Cell neutrality in sodium chloride‐treated leaves and calli of the wilty mutant lycopersicon esculentum flacca and the wild species lycopersicon peruvianum

Some parameters involved in cell neutrality (inorganic solute, cation‐anion balance, proline and organic acid contents linked to oxidative respiration, and PEPCase activity) were determined in salinized plant leaves and leaf calli from two tomato species, the wilty mutant Lycopersicon esculentum cv flacca, and the wild relative L. peruvianum. Callus sensitivity was associated to membrane integrity and cell neutrality; while whole plant sensitivity was linked to nutritional unbalance and energy supply, both factors affecting the maintenance of the cell neutrality by means of ion translocation/compartimentalization.     

Comparable sensitivity and specificity in three commercially available ELISAs to differentiate between cattle infected with or vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease virus

Three commercially available ELISAs for the detection of antibodies to the non-structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) were evaluated, using sera from uninfected, vaccinated, infected, inoculated, first vaccinated and subsequently infected, and first vaccinated and subsequently inoculated cattle. We compared antibody kinetics to non-structural proteins, sensitivity, and specificity. One of the ELISAs had a higher sensitivity and much lower specificity than the other two, therefore we established standardised cutoff values for the compared assays using receiver operated characteristic (ROC) curves. Using the standardised cutoff values, all three ELISAs produced comparable results with respect to sensitivity and specificity. Antibody development to non-structural proteins after infection and after vaccination/infection was not significantly different. Development of antibodies, however, both neutralising and directed to non-structural proteins, was significantly delayed after intranasal inoculation as compared to intradermolingual infection. Based on results of sera obtained after vaccination and experimental infection all three assays can be used for testing sera collected between 4 weeks and 6 months after infection. More information is needed on the prevalence of positive reactors in a situation where emergency vaccination has been used and FMD transmission was still observed.     

Registration of visible and near infrared unmanned aerial vehicle images based on Fourier-Mellin transform

The combination of aerial images acquired in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges is particularly relevant for agricultural and environmental survey. In unmanned aerial vehicle imagery, such a combination can be achieved using a set of several embedded cameras mounted close to each other, followed by an image registration step. However, due to the different nature of source images, usual registration techniques based on feature point matching are limited when dealing with blended vegetation and bare soil patterns. Here, another approach is proposed based on image spatial frequency analysis. This approach, which relies on the Fourier-Mellin transform, has been adapted to homographic registration and distortion issues. It has been successfully tested on various aerial image sets, and has proved to be particularly robust and accurate, providing a registration error below 0.3 pixels in most cases.     

Treatment of presumptive idiopathic immune-mediated anemia in a Holstein heifer, using blood transfusions and corticotherapy

An idiopathic immune-mediated anemia was diagnosed in a 1-year-old Holstein heifer. The diagnostic procedures, blood transfusions, use of an immunosuppressive dosage of dexamethasone, and favorable outcome are described, and idiopathic immune-mediated anemia in mammals is briefly reviewed.     

Trace metal concentrations in Posidonia oceanica of North Corsica (northwestern Mediterranean Sea): use as a biological monitor?

Background  

Within semi-closed areas like the Mediterranean Sea, anthropic wastes tend to concentrate in the environment. Metals, in particular, are known to persist in the environment and can affect human health due to accumulation in the food chain. The seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely found in Mediterranean coastal waters, has been chosen as a "sentinel" to quantify the distribution of such pollutants within the marine environment. Using a technique similar to dendrochronology in trees, it can act as an indicator of pollutant levels over a timeframe of several months to years. In the present study, we measured and compared the levels of eight trace metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, and Pb) in sheaths dated by lepidochronology and in leaves of shoots sampled from P. oceanica meadows collected from six offshore sites in northern Corsica between 1988 and 2004; in the aim to determine 1) the spatial and 2) temporal variations of these metals in these areas and 3) to compared these two types of tissues.     

A spectral correction method for multi-scattering effects in close range hyperspectral imagery of vegetation scenes: application to nitrogen content assessment in wheat

In-field hyperspectral imagery is a promising tool for crop phenotyping or monitoring. In association with partial least square regression (PLS-R), it allows building high spatial resolution maps of the chemical content of plant leaves. However, several optical phenomena must be taken into account, due to their influence on collected spectral data. The most challenging is multiple scattering, produced when a leaf is partly illuminated by light reflection or transmission from neighboring leaves. It can induce bias in prediction results. This paper presents a method for multi-scattering correction. Its development has been based on simulation tools: a 3D canopy model of winter wheat was combined with light propagation modeling, in order to simulate the apparent reflectance of every visible leaf in the canopy for a given actual reflectance. Leaf nitrogen content (LNC) prediction has been considered. A data set of reflectance spectra associated with LNC values has been issued from real leaf measurements. A theoretical disturbance subspace representing the spectrum dispersion in the spectral space due to multi-scattering has then been built by considering polynomial combinations of the initial spectra, and a projection along this subspace has been applied to every simulated spectra. Using this strategy, a PLS-R model built on initial spectra was still satisfactory when applied to simulated spectra with multiple scattering. The method has then been applied to real plants in greenhouse and field conditions, and its prediction results compared with those of a standard PLS-R, confirming its efficiency in the presence of various lighting environments.