A new quantitative method for evaluation of adhesive penetration pattern in particulate wood-based composites: elemental counting method

The importance of adhesion in production of wood-based composites is well-known. Adhesive penetration and interphase morphology play an important role in bond strength and product performance. Many studies offered different methods for interphase characterization and analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used to analyze the bondline. Most of the quantitative methods were developed for bonded assemblies of veneer or wood blocks. Adhesive penetration measurement in particulate wood-based composites is the main scope of this study. For this purpose, uniform oriented strand board with veneer strands was produced by the use of phenol formaldehyde resin with 2, 6, and 10 % strand moisture content (MC). The strands were formed into well-organized mats to achieve a uniform structure for the composite. Cross-section specimens were prepared from each board and observed by epifluorescence microscopy. Six positions for growth-ring angle in adhesive joints were denoted to evaluate penetration in different directions of the wood. Four parameters were also determined to quantify resin penetration patterns by counting the quantity of the main anatomical elements of wood, which were filled with resin. Finally, it was determined that this method could recognize the differences between adhesive penetration in boards produced with different level of strand MC. Resin penetration in strands with 6 and 10 % MC was the greatest. Growth-ring angle of the strands influenced penetration as it was increased when both strands meet each other in an oblique position, although this effect was significant only in maximum penetration depth in fibers.     

Human Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (hG-CSF) Expression in Plastids of Lactuca sativa

Background: Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) can serve as valuable biopharmaceutical for research and treatment of the human blood cancer. Transplastomic plants have been emerged as a new and high potential candidate for production of recombinant biopharmaceutical proteins in comparison with transgenic plants due to extremely high level expression, biosafety and many other advantages. Methods: hG-CSF gene was cloned into pCL vector between prrn16S promoter and TpsbA terminator. The recombinant vector was coated on nanogold particles and transformed to lettuce chloroplasts through biolistic method. Callogenesis and regeneration of cotyledonary explants were obtained by Murashige and Skoog media containing 6-benzylaminopurine and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid hormones. The presence of hG-CSF gene in plastome was studied with four specific PCR primers and expression by Western immunoblotting. Results: hG-CSF gene cloning was confirmed by digestion and sequencing. Transplastomic lettuce lines were regenerated and subjected to molecular analysis. The presence of hG-CSF in plastome was confirmed by PCR using specific primers designed from the plastid genome. Western immunoblotting of extracted protein from transplastomic plants showed a 20-kDa band, which verified the expression of recombinant protein in lettuce chloroplasts. Conclusions: This study is the first report that successfully express hG-CSF gene in lettuce chloroplast. The lettuce plastome can provide a cheap and safe expression platform for producing valuable biopharmaceuticals for research and treatment.Key Words: Plastid, Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF), Biolistics, Gene targeting     

Rapid detection of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs: comparative study using an immunochromatographic dipstick rk39 test and direct agglutination

A rapid, sensitive and specific tool for detection of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs, would be highly desirable, because it would allow control interventions in endemic areas of Zoonotic visceral leishmaniosis (ZVL). In this study, we compared an immunochromatographic dipstick test with direct agglutination test (DAT) for detecting L. infantum infections in dogs from areas of ZVL endemic in Iran. The validity of the dipstick rk39 (Cypress Diagnostic Company, Belgium) for canine visceral leishmaniosis (CVL) was compared with a standard direct agglutination test on 116 clinically suspected dogs and 152 healthy controls from endemic areas of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan provinces, north-western of Iran for 1 year. A sensitivity of 70.9% and specificity of 84.9% were found at a 1:320 cut off titer when DAT confirmed cases were compared with healthy control. As the dipstick rk39 test is rapid, noninvasive and does not require much expertise or elaborate equipment, it can be used for screening and diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniosis in remote endemic areas.     

Comparison of four direct algorithms for computing inbreeding coefficients

One widely used measure in genetic analyses of livestock species is the inbreeding coefficient. Computation costs of inbreeding coefficients are of importance for large populations. Very recently, a ‘direct’ method for computing inbreeding coefficients was modified using a relatively efficient method to construct lists of ancestors in which the integrity of chronological order within each ancestral path is kept. Using simulated data, the computational efficiency of the recently modified algorithm was investigated by comparing it with three other algorithms – the original direct algorithm, its previously modified algorithm and another direct algorithm. The recently modified algorithm became considerably faster than the original algorithm and its previous modification when the number of generations increased, and it was fast relative to the other direct algorithm when the average number of generations and family size were not large. When only animals born in the most recent year were evaluated with the knowledge of inbreeding coefficients for their ancestors, the recently modified algorithm outperformed the other algorithms, indicating its possible advantage in updating situations.     

Prevalence of avian influenza,Newcastle disease,and infectious bronchitis viruses in broiler flocks infected with multifactorial respiratory diseases in Iran, 2015–2016

In this study, the prevalence and spatial distribution of Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, and avian influenza have been evaluated in commercial broiler farms in 31 provinces in Iran. In this survey, a total of 233 affected broiler chicken farms were sampled. The infectious bronchitis virus (alone) was detected with highest frequency in 60 farms, and separately or combined with other agents, in 110 farms; Newcastle disease virus, separately, was detected in 28 farms, and in 63 farms separately or combined with other infectious agents; and avian influenza H9N2 was detected in 22 farms separately and in 51 farms separately or concomitant with other infectious agents. The sample tested negative for all H5 serotypes. The results of the present study show that the most prevalent avian viral infectious disease contributing to respiratory syndromes in broiler farms in Iran was infectious bronchitis due to infectious bronchitis virus serotypes variant 2 and 793/B. On the other hand, combined with the alternation of dominant viruses and circulating strains, flocks are exposed to unremitting anamorphic viral infections. Thus, the permanent monitoring of cases that have occurred and the review of vaccination plans of affected flocks every year are some of the necessary measures needed for strategic control of respiratory syndrome in broilers. It is noteworthy that execution of epidemiologic examinations on the cogent factors of prevalence of this syndrome and defeat of vaccination strategy in the flocks is urgent and has to be fulfilled on the definite causes of time.

     

Impact of including information from bulls and their daughters in the training population of multiple‐step genomic evaluations in dairy cattle: A simulation study

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of accounting for parent average (PA) and genotyped daughters’ average (GDA) on the estimation of deregressed estimated breeding values (dEBVs) used as pseudo‐phenotypes in multiple‐step genomic evaluations. Genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) were predicted, in eight different simulated scenarios, using dEBVs calculated based on four methods. These methods included PA and GDA in the dEBV (VR) or only GDA (VRpa) and excluded both PA and GDA from the dEBV with either all information or only information from PA and GDA (JA and NEW, respectively). In general, VR and NEW showed the lowest and highest GEBV reliabilities across scenarios, respectively. Among all deregression methods, VRpa and NEW provided the most consistent bias estimates across the majority of scenarios, and they significantly yielded the least biased GEBVs. Our results indicate that removing PA and GDA information from dEBVs used in multiple‐step genomic evaluations can increase the reliability of GEBVs, when both bulls and their daughters are included in the training population.     

Developmental competence of in vitro matured ovine oocytes vitrified in solutions with different concentrations of trehalose

This study aimed to determine the optimum concentration of trehalose in solutions used for vitrification of in vitro matured (IVM) ovine oocytes. IVM oocytes were randomly divided into four experimental (vitrified) and one control (fresh) groups. Experimental groups were treated with different concentrations (0.0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 M) of trehalose. After warming, some viable oocytes were exposed to 0.25% pronase to test zona pellucida hardening, whereas the others were fertilized and cultured in vitro for 8 days to evaluate their developmental competence. Blastocysts quality was assessed by differential staining and TUNEL test. Survival and developmental rates of oocytes vitrified in the presence of 0.5 M trehalose were significantly higher than those of the other vitrified groups. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between fresh and vitrified groups in total blastocyst rate. Analysis of blastocysts quality also revealed a significant difference between the group treated with 0.5 M trehalose and other groups in terms of apoptotic index. Furthermore,zona pellucida digestion time period was longer in trehalose‐free (0.0 M) group compared to other groups. In conclusion, we found that IVM ovine oocytes vitrified in solutions containing 0.5 M trehalose are fertilization‐competent and are able to produce good‐quality blastocysts with an apoptotic index comparable to that of the fresh oocytes. Therefore, 0.5 M may be considered the optimum concentration of trehalose to be used in solutions prepared for vitrification of oocytes.     

Treatment of Waters Contaminated by Phenol and Cresols in Circulating Packed Bed Bioreactors—Biodegradation and Toxicity Evaluations

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - Specific (nitrifying, denitrifying, and methanogenic) microbial activities were measured in simplified down-flow lab-scale columns simulating subsurface...     

Enriching Vermicompost Using P-solubilizing and N-fixing Bacteria under Different Temperature Conditions

In the present study we evaluated changes in phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and humic acid (HA) contents of vermicompost (VC) in response to temperature increases, and inoculation with N₂-fixing and P-solubilizing microbes. Inoculants of Pseudomonas and Azotobacter were prepared and used to inoculate VC that was kept at 28 and 41 °C. Biological and chemical parameters of the VC were evaluated at 0, 20, 40, and 60 days. As incubation duration increased, bacterial population, N, available P, and HA content increased while organic carbon and pH decreased. These changes were most rapid during the initial 40 days of the experiment, and slowed subsequently. Increasing temperature from 28 to 41 °C reduced bacterial population and the efficiency of these bacteria in improving VC quality. Overall, our results indicate that inoculation of VC with microbes holds promise as a means of increasing the quality of VC, while our increased temperature treatment was less effective.