The application of polyamines by pressure or immersion as a tool to maintain functional properties in stored pomegranate arils

Pomegranate fruits were treated with putrescine (Put) or spermidine (Spd) at 1 mM either by pressure infiltration or by immersion and then were stored at 2 degrees C for 60 days. Samples were taken biweekly and were further stored 3 days at 20 degrees C for shelf life study. The treatments were effective on maintaining the concentration of ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, and total anthocyanins in arils at higher levels than in control samples. In addition, the two ways of polyamine application increased the levels of total antioxidant activity (TAA) during storage, especially when polyamines were applied by pressure infiltration. Moreover, Spd showed the best results on increasing TAA through maintenance of total phenolic compounds.     

Acute phase proteins in the diagnosis of bovine subclinical mastitis

Background: The California mastitis test (CMT) and somatic cell count (SCC) are commonly used for diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in cattle. Acute phase proteins (APPs), as alternative biomarkers of mastitis, may increase in concentration in the absence of macroscopic changes in the milk, or may precede the onset of clinical signs. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of APPs measured in milk and in serum with bacterial culture for the diagnosis of bovine subclinical mastitis. Methods: One hundred and seventy‐five Holstein cows were randomly selected from 7 dairy farms. Quarter milk and serum samples were taken from all cows. Milk samples were analyzed using a CMT and SCC, and for haptoglobin (MHp) and amyloid A (MAA) concentrations, and were also submitted for bacterial culture. Serum samples obtained concurrently were analyzed for haptoglobin (SHp) and amyloid A (SAA). Two‐sample Wilcoxon (Mann–Whitney) test was used to compare SCC, MAA, MHp, SAA, and SHp concentrations between culture‐positive and culture‐negative animals. Receiver‐operating characteristic analysis was used to assess the performance of each test using bacterial culture as the reference method. Results: MAA concentration was the most accurate of the 5 tests, with a sensitivity of 90.6% and specificity of 98.3% at concentrations >16.4 mg/L. MAA and MHp had significantly larger areas under the curve than the respective serum proteins, SAA and SHp. Conclusions: The results suggest that measuring haptoglobin and amyloid A in milk is more accurate than serum analysis for the diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in Holstein cows.     

Antioxidant and immune potential marker enzymes assessment in the various tissues of rats exposed to indoleacetic acid and kinetin: A drinking water study

In the present study, the influence of two different PGRs, indoleacetic acid (IAA) and kinetin (Kn) on immune potential enzymes, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and antioxidant defense enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in various tissues of rats were investigated during the treatment as a drinking water model. 100 ppm of IAA and Kn as drinking water were administered orally to rats (Sprague-Dawley albino) ad libitum for 21 days continuously. The PGRs treatments caused different effects on the immune potential and antioxidant defense enzymes of experimented rats compared to controls. Results show that IAA caused a significant decrease in GR activity in the lungs and liver and an increase in the spleen. Also, IAA caused a significant decline in GPx activity in the lungs and an increase in the heart. SOD was significantly reduced in the heart, while increased in the lungs. Furthermore, IAA caused a significant decrease in ADA activity in the heart and blood whereas an increase in the kidney and spleen. MPO activity was also significantly increased in the heart by IAA treatment. The activity of enzymes were also seriously affected by Kn; GR activity decreased in the lungs, brain, and blood while GPx activity decreased in the spleen, brain, and heart. ADA activity was also significantly reduced in the blood whereas MPO activity rose in the spleen. In addition, SOD activity lowered in all tissues except for lungs where a significant increment was determined. As a conclusion, the results indicate that PGRs might affect on antioxidant and immune potential enzymes. These data, along with the determined changes suggest that PGRs produced substantial systemic organ toxicity in the erythrocyte, liver, brain, heart, lungs, spleen, and kidney during the period of a 21-day subacute exposure.     

Combined or individual effects of dietary magnesium and selenium nanoparticles on growth performance,immunity, blood biochemistry and antioxidant status of Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) reared in freshwater

This study was conducted to investigate effects of and interactions between nanoselenium (NanoSe) and nanomagnesium (NanoMg) on growth, humoral immunity, serum biochemistry and antioxidant capacity of juvenile Asian seabass Lates calcarifer reared in freshwater. Four groups of fish with an average weight of 32.78 ± 2.23 g were fed one of the experimental diets for 6 weeks: (a) control (basal diet); (b) NanoSe (basal diet + 4 mg NanoSe/kg diet); (c) NanoMg (basal diet + 500 mg NanoMg/kg diet); and (d) combination (basal diet + 4 mg NanoSe/kg diet + 500 mg NanoMg/kg diet). Fish fed with NanoSe‐supplemented diets (NanoSe and combination) showed higher weight gain, specific growth rate and feed intake. The combination of NanoSe and NanoMg enhanced the immune response. Also, fish fed on combination diet showed higher serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase levels but lower glucose concentration. The activities of liver superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase were not different among all groups, but liver malondialdehyde level was lower in fish fed diets supplemented with NanoSe and/or NanoMg. It could be concluded that NanoSe improved growth performance; the combination of both NanoSe and NanoMg enhanced humoral immunity; and NanoSe and/or NanoMg improved antioxidant capacity in Asian seabass.     

Efficacy of bath vaccination with a live attenuated Vibrio harveyi against vibriosis in Asian seabass fingerling,Lates calcarifer

Vibrio harveyi causes vibriosis in various marine aquaculture fish species, especially when they are young. The infection subsequently leads to significant economic losses for aquaculture farms. Vaccination is recommended to control this disease. This study describes the efficacy of a live attenuated V. harveyi strain MVh_vhs (LAVh) as a vaccine candidate in controlling infection by wild‐type V. harveyi (WTVh) in Lates calcarifer. A total of 240 fingerlings were divided into four groups. Group 1 was not vaccinated and was not challenged, Group 2 was vaccinated with a formalin‐killed V. harveyi (FKVh), Group 3 was vaccinated with the LAVh before challenge and Group 4 was not vaccinated and was challenged. Bath vaccination was employed for one hour before the LAVh distribution was determined in the fish mucus, gill, liver, gut, kidney and spleen. The gills, livers, kidneys and skins were also sampled for gene expression analysis. To challenge the fish, skin abrasion was conducted before the fish were challenged by immersion with WTVh. The results revealed an extensive distribution of the LAVh in the liver and kidneys of the fish in Group 3 for the first 12 hr, resulting in mild lesions compared with Group 1. Similarly, there were significantly (p < .05) higher expressions of the Chemokine ligand 4 and major histocompatibility complex I genes in the skin and liver of the fish in Group 3 in comparison with other groups. Vaccination with LAVh resulted in a significantly high rate of survival (68%) of the fingerlings after being challenged with WTVh.     

Morphological and oil content variations amongst Damask rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) landraces from different regions of Iran

Forty landraces of Damask rose were collected from 28 provinces (13 origin sites) in Iran and evaluated to determine the diversity among them. The investigated characters were: flower weight, flower diameter, peduncle length, number of petals, number of stamens and oil content. Pearson's coefficients showed that number of petals was positively correlated with flower weight (r = 0.642) and number of stamens (r = 0.630), while its correlation with peduncle length was negative (r = −0.53). A negative correlation was obtained between oil content and number of stamens (r = −0.60) which is useful for indirect selection of landraces with low number of stamens and therefore high amount of oil content. Cluster analysis based on five botanical characters and oil content separated the origin site 12, which included Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan provinces with a specific climate condition of temperate humid, from other origin sites. This distinctiveness was already confirmed by the bi-plot of the principal components. The distribution of Damask rose landraces provided useful information for the future collection and for the genetic resource management in these origin sites.     

Effects of magnetized water on the distribution pattern of soil water with respect to time in trickle irrigation

In arid and semi‐arid regions, farmers use low quality groundwater because of limited availability of high quality irrigation water; instead, magnetized water can be used for irrigation given its better quality. Magnetized water is obtained by passing water through permanent magnets or through electro‐magnets installed in or on a feeding pipeline. This study at the Gorgan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Gorgan province, Iran, investigated soil moisture distribution from trickle irrigation. Treatments were magnetic and non‐magnetic water and sub‐treatments involved the addition of 200 mg/L calcium carbonate and 400 mg/L calcium carbonate with well water providing the control. The experiment was laid out with a complete randomized block design with three replications. Soil moisture around the drippers was measured for 1, 2 and 3 days after irrigation during the 3‐month irrigation period. The results show that the differences in soil moisture for days 1, 2 and 3 after irrigation with magnetized irrigation water were lesser than those for the non‐magnetized irrigation water treatments. Irrigation with magnetized irrigation water caused higher soil moisture compared with the non‐magnetized irrigation water for different irrigation water salinities. The use of magnetized water for irrigation is recommended to improve irrigation efficiency.     

Assessment of soil erodibility and aggregate stability for different parts of a forest road

We measured erodibility and mean weight diameter （MWD） of soil aggregates in different parts of a forest road. Samples of topsoil were collected from cutslope, fillslope, road surface and forest ground to assess the texture, bulk density, moisture, CaCO3 and organic matter. Soil aggregate stability was determined by wet sieving. Soil erodibility on the road surface was 2.3 and 1.3 times higher than on the fillslope and cutslope, respectively. The forest soil had the lowest erodibility. Aggregate stability of cutslope and road surface were low and very low, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship between cutslope erodibility with CaCO3 and sand content. Cutslope erodibility increased with increasing silt, clay and moisture content. On fillslopes, MWD increased with in-creasing rock fragment cover, plant cover, litter cover, organic matter and sand. There was a strong negative correlation between fillslope erodibility and organic matter, sand and MWD. There was no significant difference between erodibility of bare soil and soils beneathRubus hyrcanusL. and Philonotis marchica （Hedw.） Brid.     

Comparative performance of the cotton bollworm,Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on various host plants

The effect of various host plants; chickpea (varieties Arman, Hashem, Azad and Binivich), bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), common bean (Khomein), white kidney bean (Dehghan), red kidney bean (Goli), cowpea (variety Mashhad) and tomato (variety Meshkin) on the life table parameters of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) were evaluated under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5 % RH and a 16:8 h light:dark photoperiod). Records for larval period, pupal period, and development time of H. armigera were longest on tomato (24.9, 15.1, and 45.4 days, respectively) and shortest on chickpea Arman (17.5, 9.1, and 31.7 days, respectively). Among various host plants fecundity (total number of eggs laid per female) was highest (2,665 eggs) on chickpea Arman and the lowest (700 eggs) on tomato. The net reproductive rate (R ₀) was significantly affected by various host plants being highest on chickpea Arman (1,422) and lowest on tomato (111.3 females/female/generation). The highest and lowest intrinsic rates of natural increase (r _m) were observed on chickpea Arman (0.244 day^?1) and tomato (0.123 day^?1) varieties, respectively. Cluster analysis of the life table parameters of H. armigera on various host plants indicated that tomato, in comparison to other plants was an unsuitable host to H. armigera.     

The lumbosacral Plexus of the Barn Owl (tyto alba): Formation,branches and distribution

The aim of the present study is to reveal the anatomical structure of lumbosacral plexus of barn owl. Six barn owls were included in the study. Nerves originating from plexus were dissected individually, and findings of innervation areas of nerves were determined. Lumbosacral plexus of barn owl was observed to be formed by ventral rami of ten synsacral spinal nerves. It was found that while the r. cutaneus femoris lateralis, the n. obturatorius, the n. coxalis cranialis, the r. cutaneus femoris medialis, the n. cutaneus femoris cranialis and the n. femoralis originated from the lumbar plexus, the n. isciofemoralis, the n. cutaneus femoris caudalis, the n. coxalis caudalis and the n. ischiadicus originated from the sacral plexus. Consequently, when the results of the study were compared with information of different avian species, it was observed that differences focused on the formation of the lumbar and sacral plexuses and innervation level of digits.