Endocarditis in chickens caused by subclinical infection of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus

Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus causes endocarditis in humans and acute septicemia in domestic birds. We describe here the infective endocarditis caused by the bacterium found among clinically healthy broilers at two abattoirs in Japan. The chickens were thought to be healthy because of the lack of clinical symptoms and normal levels of mortality before slaughtering. At the time of inspection, some chickens were condemned because of organ disorders characterized by vegetative valvular endocarditis as well as focal necrosis in heart, liver, and spleen. Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus was isolated from the organs as a pure culture, indicating that the bacterium probably was the causative agent of the disorders. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of the isolates collected at the abattoirs from chickens grown in nine different farms indicated that the isolates were different variants of the same clonal lineage and may have been derived from the same ancestor. These results suggest that S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus causes infectious endocarditis in chickens and that healthy chickens may possess the bacterium in their normal flora as an opportunistic pathogen.     

Effects of biochars and hydrochars produced from lignocellulosic and animal manure on fertility of a Mollisol and Entisol

Biochar and hydrochars (HC) are emerging soil fertility amendments; however, their ability to improve fertility levels in soils possessing vastly different pedogenic characteristics has not been well investigated. In this study, several plant and manure biochars and two blended HC applied at 3.84 g/kg (ca.10 t/ha) were incubated in pots containing a highly fertile‐Mollisol (Waukegan series; Sandy‐skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludoll) and an infertile Entisol (Margate series; Siliceous, hyperthermic, Mollic Psammaquent). During the 124–125 day laboratory incubations, pots were leached four times with deionized H₂O with the leachates analysed for the concentrations of dissolved phosphorus (DP) and potassium (DK). After the incubations, both soils were analysed for fertility characteristics (i.e. pH, cation‐exchange capacity (CEC), and extractable P and K). In both soils after biochar additions, there were mixed pH and CEC responses. Both the Mollisol and Entisol treated with swine solid biochar had greater plant extractable P and K contents, which was reflective of the elevated P and K contents in the swine solid biochar. However, most biochars and HC additions to the Mollisol and Entisol had minimal impact on soil fertility characteristics indicating a low direct fertilization potential. These nutrient contents could be altered through feedstock blending to target a particular fertilizer requirement.     

Studies of Spatial Variabilities of Airborne Metals Across Four Different Land-Use Types

The concentrations of seven metals (Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Cd, Cu, and Cr) associated with the total suspended particles (TSPs) were analyzed regularly from the four sampling sites of different land-use types within the boundary of Won Ju city, Korea during1991 through 1995. The mean concentration data for the four sitesselected to represent grassland, residential, commercial, and industrial areas fell in a relatively broad range of: 1440–2240 (Fe), 88–326 (Pb), 2–4 (Cd), 8–21 (Cr),194–469 (Cu), 32–95 (Mn), and 15–26 (Ni) ng m^-3. The data, when compared across the different study sites, generally exhibited systematic trends in accordance withthe site-selection scheme; most metals exhibited increase in their concentration levels across grassland through industrial site. Examinations of data also indicated the possibility that spatial factors play complicated roles on both long- and short-term distribution of metals. From all four sites studied, severalmetals (e.g., Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Cd) consistently showed theirseasonal trends characteristic of high winter/spring values. In addition, the analysis of long-term distribution trendsindicated that the concentrations of many metals droppedsteadily at four sites (e.g., Fe, Pb, and Mn). When these metaldata were compared among different sites (land-use types), significant correlations were seen frequently for such metals asFe, Pb, Cd, and Cr. Investigations of inter-metal relationshipsindicated that strong correlations were more abundant from such metal pairs as Fe-Pb, Pb-Mn, and Mn-Fe. In addition, the cases for such strong correlations were seen more abundantly from grassland (and residential) than industrial (and commercial) site. Factor analysis was also conducted to distinguish sourceprocesses affecting metal distributions in the study area. Results of this analysis suggest that the metal distributions ofthe individual sites may be affected most significantly by distinctive source processes of their own.     

Differences in isotopic fractionation of nitrogen in water-saturated and unsaturated soils

Temporal variations in δ¹⁵N of NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ in water-saturated and unsaturated soils were examined in a laboratory incubation study. Ammonium sulfate (δ¹⁵N=−2.6‰) was added to 25 g samples of soil at concentrations of 160 mg N kg⁻¹. Soils were then incubated under unsaturated (50% of water holding capacity at saturation, WHC) or saturated (100% of WHC) water conditions for 7 and 36 d, respectively. During 7 d incubation of unsaturated soil, the NH₄⁺-N concentration decreased from 164.8 to 34.4 mg kg⁻¹, and the δ¹⁵N of NH₄⁺ increased from −0.4 to +57.2‰ through nitrification, as evidenced by corresponding increase in NO₃⁻-N concentration and lower δ¹⁵N of NO₃⁻ (product) than that of NH₄⁺ (substrate) at each sampling time. In saturated soil, the concentration of NH₄⁺-N decreased gradually from 162.4 to 24.2 mg kg⁻¹, and the δ¹⁵N values increased from +0.8 to +21.0‰ during 36 d incubation. However, increase in NO₃⁻ concentration was not observed due to loss of NO₃⁻ through concurrent denitrification in anaerobic sites. The apparent isotopic fractionation factors (α_s/p) associated with decrease in NH₄⁺ concentration were 1.04 and 1.01 in unsaturated and saturated soils, respectively. Since nitrification is likely to introduce greater isotope fractionation than microbial immobilization, the higher value for unsaturated soil probably reflected faster nitrification under aerobic conditions. The lower value for saturated soil suggests that immobilization and subsequent remineralization of NH₄⁺ were relatively more dominant than nitrification under the anaerobic conditions.     

Paeoniflorin: an antihyperlipidemic agent from Paeonia lactiflora

Paeoniflorin (1), isolated from the methanol extract of Paeonia lactiflora, showed a lowering effect on cholesterol level in the experimentally-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Paeoniflorin showed a significantly lowering effect of total cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride levels compared with the control group at the dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o. once a day for 4 weeks.     

NEPTUN oder „Wie oft wird gespritzt?“

In 1999/2000 the ?Netzwerk zur Ermittlung der Pflanzenschutzmittelanwendung in unterschiedlichen, landwirtschaftlich relevanten Naturräumen Deutschlands (NEPTUN)“ was launched to collect detailed and close-to-practice data on the actual use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. The data were collected from selected farms on a voluntary basis. They have been stored anonymously, in relation to natural spaces and covered any chemical plant protection treatment including the application of growth regulators. This requires close co-operation of the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the Federal Bundesländer and the relevant professional associations. The project has been funded by the principal, the Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Funding depends on the number of provided records. As all data are collected and handled at the Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, they have a unique structure. This is necessary for analyses and extrapolation. At the same time a number of plausibility tests verify the individual data. Data analyses refer to the defined survey regions or the total area of the Federal Republic of Germany. The program calculates the ‘treatment frequency’ and the ‘application index’ indicators. Furthermore, it gives a ranking of applied active ingredients with respect to crop and groups of active ingredients. Method and results of the surveys are detailed in the final reports. Furthermore, the final reports contain an expert evaluation of the calculated indicators.     

Impact of inducing general anesthesia with Propiscin (etomidate) on the physiology and health of European perch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Perca fluviatilis</Emphasis> L.)

The aim of the study was to describe the course and timing of the different stages of anesthesia induced with Propiscin (etomidate) on juvenile European perch (experiment I) and to describe the effect of immersing specimens of this species had on selected hematological and biochemical parameters (experiment II). The study was conducted on material with body weights (BW) of 162.98 (experiment I) and 171.60 g (experiment II). In experiment I, general anesthesia was induced with two different anesthetic concentrations (1 or 2 ml l^?1; anesthesia time 10 min). In experiment II, blood was drawn for hematological and biochemical analyses from the fish that had been exposed to anesthetic immersion baths with two different concentrations of Propiscin (1 and 2 ml l^?1) and for different exposure times (3 and 10 min). Blood samples were collected immediately following immersion (0 h) and 24 h later (24 h). Specimens that were immersed at the higher concentration of anesthetic achieved subsequent stages of general anesthesia two times faster (P ≤ 0.05). However, during recovery, some statistically significant differences were observed, but these lasted only until stage I was achieved. Among the hematological parameters (0 h), significant differences were observed in hematocrit (HCT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), while among the biochemical determinations (0 h), statistically significant differences were noted in the concentrations of glucose, calcium, lactate, and ammonia. After 24 h, the levels of these parameters in all fish groups returned to initial values. The hematological and biochemical tests conducted permit concluding that the anesthetic tested, at the concentrations (1 and 2 ml l^?1) and the exposure times of up to 10 min at which it was tested, is safe and can be used successfully to induce general anesthesia in perch.