Response of Yield Attributes of Isogenic Tall, Semidwarf, and Doubledwarf Winter Wheats to Nitrogen Fertilizer and Seeding Rates

Relationships between grain yield attributes and response to agronomic practices of dwarf and tall genotypes in the major U.S. wheat region were investigated. Isogenic tall, semidwarf, and doubledwarf (Norin 10/5/Pawnee) 'Pawnee' winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) lines were planted in a split-split-plot design with nitrogen fertilizer rates of 0, 50, and 100 kg ha⁻¹ as main plots and seeding rates of 30, 60, and 90 kg ha⁻¹ as subplots in four replications at Hutchinson and Manhattan, Kansas, during 1980–1981. There was no evidence that dwarf lines responded better than the tall line to nitrogen fertilizer; however, percentage fertile spikelets, spike length, harvest index, and kernel number per spike of the semidwarf line were favored by high nitrogen rates. Grain yield was more responsive to seeding rate in the doubledwarf line than in the other lines, and test weight and spike number per unit area were more responsive to seeding rate in one or both dwarf lines than in the tall line. Grain yield of each genotype depended highly on the predominant yield attributes — usually spike number per unit area and/or kernel weight — at one or both locations.     

Isolation of a cytopathic virus from weak pigs on farms with a history of swine infertility and respiratory syndrome.

Severe clinical signs of swine infertility and respiratory syndrome (SIRS) of unknown cause were observed in several Minnesota swine farms between November 1990 and March 1991. Forty-five lung samples of weak pigs were collected from 13 swine farms, and virus isolation was attempted using swine alveolar macrophage (SAM) cultures. A cytopathic virus was isolated from 19 lung samples collected from 6 different farms. Four pregnant sows were infected intranasally with a tissue suspension from which virus was isolated, and 4 6-week-old pigs and 2 contact pigs were infected intranasally with 1 of the isolates. The 4 sows farrowed 12 stillborn and 32 normal pigs. Virus was recovered from 10 of 19 pigs examined. Infected 6-week-old pigs were clinically normal except for slightly elevated rectal temperatures and mild respiratory signs. No or mild interstitial pneumonic lesions were observed in inoculated pigs, but the lesion was obvious in the 2 contact pigs. Seroconversion was observed in sows and pigs as measured by indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA). Serologic identification of the isolates was carried out by IFA using reference serum prepared from an experimentally infected sow. A cytoplasmic fluorescence was observed on the SAM monolayers infected with each of the 19 different isolates. Fluorescence was also observed when the monolayers were tested with SIRS virus ATCC VR-2332-infected sow sera. Replication of the isolates was not affected in the medium containing 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine but was inhibited by treatment with ether. The isolates were relatively stable at 56 C and did not agglutinate with various erythrocytes tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with divergent mesenchymal differentiations in a dog.

A malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with divergent osteogenic, myxomatous, and myoblastic differentiations is described in a 10.5-year-old male Labrador Retriever dog. The tumor involved the sixth and seventh cervical spinal cord segments and nerves. The diagnosis was based on the results of histopathology, electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry.     

Serosurveillance for Japanese encephalitis, Akabane, and Aino viruses for Thoroughbred horses in Korea

Recent global warming trends may have a significant impact on vector-borne viral diseases, possibly affecting vector population dynamics and disease transmission. This study measured levels of hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies against Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and neutralizing antibodies against Akabane virus (AKAV) and Aino virus (AINV) for Thoroughbred horses in Korea. Blood samples were collected from 989 racehorses in several provinces, between October 2005 and March 2007. Sera were tested using either an HI assay or a virus neutralization test. Approximately half (49.7%; 492/989) of the horses tested were antibody-positive for JEV. The HI titer against JEV was significantly correlated with racehorse age (p < 0.05). Horses with an HI antibody titer of 1:160 or higher accounted for 3.9% of the animals tested, indicating that vectors transmitting arthropod-borne viruses bit relatively few horses. In contrast, 3.8% (19/497) and 19.5% (97/497) of horse sera collected in March 2007 were positive against AKAV and AINV, respectively. The presence of antibodies against AKAV and AINV may indicate the multiplication of AKAV and AINV in these horses.     

Microbial pathogens in ticks, rodents and a shrew in northern Gyeonggi-do near the DMZ, Korea

A total of 1,618 ticks [420 individual (adults) and pooled (larvae and nymphs) samples], 369 rodents (Apodemus agrarius, Rattus norvegicus, Tscherskia triton, Mus musculus, and Myodes regulus), and 34 shrews (Crocidura lasiura) that were collected in northern Gyeonggi-do near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of Korea during 2004-2005, were assayed by PCR for selected zoonotic pathogens. From a total of 420 individual and pooled tick DNA samples, Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum (16), A. platys (16), Ehrlichia (E.) chaffeensis (63), Borrelia burgdorferi (16), and Rickettsia spp. (198) were detected using species-specific PCR assays. Out of 403 spleens from rodents and shrews, A. phagocytophilum (20), A. platys (34), E. chaffeensis (127), and Bartonella spp. (24) were detected with species-specific PCR assays. These results suggest that fevers of unknown causes in humans and animals in Korea should be evaluated for infections by these vector-borne microbial pathogens.     

Protective and therapeutic effects of an extract mixture of alder tree, labiate herb, milk thistle green bean-rice bran fermentation, and turnip against ethanol-induced toxicity in the rat

An herbal extract mixture and yogurt added to the herbal extract mixture were tested for their protective and therapeutic effects on ethanol-induced liver injury. The herbal extract mixture, yogurt and commercial drugs were used for treatment for two weeks prior to administering a single oral dose of ethanol (3 g/kg body weight). The herbal extract mixture and yogurt added to the herbal extract mixture were found to provide protection against ethanol-induced toxicity comparable to the commercial drug treatment, according to the serum and histopathological analysis. It was also shown that co-treatment with herbal extract mixture and yogurt against a triple oral dose of ethanol (2 g/kg body weight, over one week) provided protection against ethanol toxicity. After the initial set of experiments, the herbal extract mixture and yogurt treatments were extended for three more weeks. When compared to the positive control, further treatment with both the herbal extract and yogurt significantly reduced liver injury and resulted in a lower grade of lipid deposition.     

Effects of reducing dietary crude protein on growth performance, odor gas emission from manure and blood urea nitrogen and IGF-1 concentrations of serum in nursery pigs

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of reducing dietary crude protein on growth performance, odor gas emission from manure and blood urea nitrogen and IGF-1 concentrations of serum in nursery pigs. In experiment 1, the dietary treatments were (i) CON (CP 19.5%) and (ii) T1 (CP 16.0%). In feces samples, NH₃, H₂S, acetic acid and butyric acid emissions during the T1 treatment were lower than during the CON treatment ( P  < 0.05). In feces-urine samples, NH₃ emission during the T1 treatment was lower than during the CON treatment ( P  < 0.05). In experiment 2, 28 crossbred (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) pigs (13.58 ± 0.10 kg) were used for a 42-day growth trial. Throughout the entire experimental period, ADG and ADFI of the CON treatment were higher than the T1 treatment ( P  < 0.05). On day 14, N digestibility in pigs fed the CON diet was higher than that of pigs fed the T1 diet ( P  < 0.05). On days 28 and 42, DM digestibility of the CON diet was greater than the T1 treatment ( P  < 0.05). On dat 42, serum BUN concentration of pigs fed the CON diet was higher than that of pigs fed the T1 diet ( P  < 0.05). In conclusion, these results indicate that reduction in dietary CP concentration decreased NH₃, H₂S and VFA emissions in feces and growth performance in nursery pigs.     

Computed tomographic bronchial collapsibility values over 50% may be detected in healthy dogs

Bronchomalacia and bronchial collapse are important causes of chronic coughing in dogs. The current reference standard diagnostic tests for these problems are flexible bronchoscopy and biopsy. Previous human studies have also supported inspiration/expiration computed tomography (CT) as a diagnostic test. The current prospective, pilot study aimed to determine whether inspiration/expiration CT is also a feasible test for quantifying bronchial collapsibility in dogs. Thoracic CT images were acquired using a 64‐row multidetector CT for 10 healthy Beagle dogs during maximal inspiration and expiration. For each scan, one observer measured transverse sectional areas of the mainstem and lobar bronchi, and the dorsal and ventral segmental bronchi of the left cranial lobar bronchus. Diameters for each bronchus were also measured in transverse, sagittal, and dorsal planes. Bronchial collapsibility (%) was calculated as the difference between inspiration/expiration transverse sectional areas divided by the inspiration transverse sectional areas. Mean bronchial collapsibility of all bronchi was 38.20 ± 15.17%. A collapsibility of over 50% was found in the dorsal (n = 7) and ventral (n = 4) segmental bronchi of the left cranial lobar bronchus, and the left caudal (n = 5) and right middle (n = 2) lobar bronchus. Bronchial collapsibility measurements were greater in the dorsal and ventral segmental bronchi of the left cranial lobar bronchus and the left caudal lobar bronchus (P < 0.001). Findings supported inspiration/expiration CT as a modality to noninvasively assess bronchial collapse in dogs and a bronchial collapsibility value greater than 50% for detecting pathologic bronchial collapse in clinically affected dogs.