Relationship between angioarchitecture of the testicular artery and spermiogram parameters in Egyptian buffalo bulls (bubalus bubalis)

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of testicular artery angioarchitecture on the spermiogram parameters in Egyptian Buffalo bulls. Eight adult buffalo bulls aged between 2 and 8 years were used for semen evaluation. For anatomical studies, the masculine gonads were collected after slaughtering 30 adult bulls and prepared for injection by different masses (Urographine^®, Latex and Epoxy) through the testicular artery. The mass activity of the ejaculate was assessed immediately after collection. The sperm motility in fresh bull ejaculate was more than 80%. The overall mean percentage of sperm abnormalities was <18%. The recorded sperm abnormalities were mostly secondary one including distal protoplasmic droplet, fragmented tail, detached head, detached galea capitis and bent tail. The highest percentage of sperm viability was recorded just after sperm collection (alive > 85%). The results revealed that testicular artery can be divided into three parts (abdominal, funicular and marginal parts) along its course. The coils of the funicular part forming a cone-like structure with its base fixed to the head of the testis. Two epididymal branches to the head and tail of epididymis emanate from the funicular part which continues as pars marginalis on the lateral surface of testis before its division into the lateral and medial testicular arteries on approaching the tail extremity of the testis. The increase in the length of the testicular artery with increase in the size of the testes played a great role in the degree of complexity of the architectural vascular patterns. The degree of complexity is affected by the number of coils formed by the vessel. The increase in the convolutions of the vessel will reduce the speed of blood flow to the gonads. Thus in turn will enabling the thermoregulatory mechanism to work more efficiently and will affect the semen value.     

EFFECTS OF GYPSUM ENHANCED COMPOSTS ON YIELDS AND MINERAL COMPOSITIONS OF BROCCOLI AND TALL FESCUE

Gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O) addition during composting of manure or biosolids can reduce ammonia nitrogen losses and represents a new method for controlling odors. Additional work is needed, however, to test the ability of the gypsum-containing composts to support plant growth and affect uptake of nutrients and heavy metals. A field study using broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) and a growth chamber study using tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) were conducted by application of composts at 10 Mg ha^?1 for broccoli and 10 and 25 Mg ha^?1 for tall fescue. Compared to composts without gypsum, at 10 Mg ha^?1, gypsum composts significantly increased or had a strong trend to increase yields of broccoli and tall fescue. Gypsum composts affected concentrations of nutrient elements but did not increase concentrations of environmental concern elements in broccoli flowers and tall fescue tissue. Thus gypsum composts can be safely applied to soils to enhance crop growth.     

Genetic variability in bread wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) of Pakistan based on polymorphism for high molecular weight glutenin subunits

Variation in bread wheat including pre and post green revolutions varieties of Pakistan along with landraces was investigated for high molecular weight Glutenin subunits (HMW Gs) encoded at three genes (Glu-A1, Glu-B1, Glu-D1) with SDS-PAGE. The germplasm was diverse and unique on the basis of HMW Gs compositions and out of 14 alleles detected at all the Glu-1 loci, three belonged to Glu-A1, nine to Glu-B1 and two to Glu-D1 locus. High variation was observed in the landraces and higher gene diversity was observed between the populations as compared to the gene diversity within populations, whereas a reverse pattern of gene diversity was observed when populations were pooled across the region (higher within the regions than between the regions). A lack of relationship between the HMW Gs diversity and the altitude of collection site was observed. A data base has been generated in this study which could be expanded/exploited for cultivar development or management of gene bank.     

Crossbreeding effects for post-weaning growth traits in a project of Spanish V-line with Baladi Red Rabbits in Egypt

A four-year crossing scheme involving Spanish V line (V) and Egyptian Baladi Red (B) rabbits was carried out to produce five genetic groups: V, B, 1/2B1/2V(F₁), (1/2B1/2V)²(F₂), and ((1/2B1/2V)²)². The last genetic group was considered a new line, named APRI. Body weights (BW) and daily gains in weight (DG) from four to twelve weeks were evaluated for 13,383 rabbits produced by 330 sires and 1074 dams. An animal model was used to estimate heritabilities and common litter effects and a generalized least squares procedure was used to estimate direct additive effects, and direct and maternal heterosis.Heritabilities for growth traits were mostly moderate, ranging from 0.075 to 0.240 for BW and from 0.020 to 0.104 for DG. The V line was heavier and had better gains at each weighing than B rabbits. The F₂ and APRI were also lower in most post-weaning growth performance measures than V line rabbits. APRI rabbits were significantly lighter by 39, 26, 46, 64, and 50 g at ages of 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks, respectively, relative to the purebred V line, while APRI was significantly heavier by 36 and 127 g relative to the B line at 4 and 12 weeks. The V line, in general, had a higher DG than B line. The differences were 3.15, 7.91 and 1.95 g/d at age intervals of 8–10, 10–12 and 4–12 weeks. Differences in direct additive effects between the two lines were in favor of V line rabbits reaching 15.0% (76 g) at 4 weeks and 13.3% (195 g) at 12 weeks. Direct additive effects for DG were significant during most age intervals reaching 35.7% (7.19 g/d) in the interval of 10–12 weeks. All estimates of direct heterosis were positive and ranged from 4.9 to 16.7% for BW and 14.4 to 29.5% for DG, but the estimates for maternal heterosis were, in most cases, significantly negative and ranging from − 4.5 to − 15.2% for BW and from 20.6 to − 36.9% for DG. If the results are confirmed at commercial farms, the APRI line could be reared in heat stress conditions.     

Spatial modeling of soil salinity using multiple linear regression,ordinary kriging and artificial neural network methods

Salinity as an important property of soil plays a major role in reducing the fertility in the world. Accurate information about the spatial change of soil salinity is essential for sustainable soil management and utilization in agriculture lands. For this purpose, 150 soil samples were collected from Dashte-e-Tabriz Iran and tested and soil salinity was estimated by land surface parameters including elevation, aspect, length of slope, wetness index, slope and normalized difference vegetation index as basic parameters. In order to model and predict the salinity, ordinary kriging (OK), artificial neural networks (ANN) and multiple linear regressions (MLR) were used. Accuracy of models was evaluated by the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). Based on Pearson correlation, elevation, normalized difference vegetation and wetness indices were selected for soil salinity spatial modeling from six land surface parameters. The results showed that the ANN had the lowest RMSE and highest R2. The values of R2, RMSE and MAE were 0.36, 25.89 and 17.06 for regression and 0.56, 17.70 and 13.05 for OK and 0.69, 16.06 and 11.60 for ANN, respectively, which indicated more accuracy of ANN in comparison with MLR and OK.     

Protein Changes During Various Stages of Breadmaking of Four Spring Wheats: Quantification by Size-Exclusion HPLC

Protein changes for four hard red spring wheat genotypes (Len, Marshall, 215, and Butte 86) were assessed at various stages of breadmaking using a size-exclusion HPLC technique. Breadmaking stages considered were flour, after mixing, before punching, after punching, after fermentation, and after proofing. Quality and functional characteristics of the four wheat genotypes were determined. The three main protein groups isolated by SE-HPLC were further characterized by SDS-PAGE. A direct relationship between polymeric glutenin (peak I of SE-HPLC fractions) in flours and loaf volume was found for the three wheat genotypes with identical high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) composition (2*, 7+9, 5+10) and one line with similar HMW-GS composition (2*, 7+9, 2+12), differing in the Glu-D1 locus. Quantitative changes in the distribution of SDS-soluble proteins fractionated by SE-HPLC were also examined. Peak I proteins (polymeric proteins) from SDS-extractable proteins tend to decrease during breadmaking, while peak III proteins (low molecular weight) tend to increase. Peak II (monomeric proteins, medium molecular weight) did not show a change in quantity during breadmaking. These results seem to indicate that some type of rearrangement took place during the breadmaking process to release proteins of smaller molecular weight.     

N2O, NH3 and NOx Emissions as a Function of Urea Granule Size and Soil Type Under Aerobic Conditions

We examined the influence of various urea granule sizes (< 2, 7.0, 9.9 and 12.7 mm) applied into a silt loam soil (experiment 1) and soil types (sandy, silt and clay loam) treated with the largest granule (experiment 2) on gaseous N loss (except N₂) at field capacity. The prilled urea (PU) was mixed into the soil whereas the urea granules were point-placed at a 5.0-cm depth. For experiment 1, N₂O emission was enhanced with increasing granule size, ranging from 0.17–0.50% of the added N during the 45-day incubation period. In the case of experiment 2, the sandy loam soil (0.59%) behaved similarly with the silt loam (0.53%) but both showed remarkably lower emissions than were found for the clay loam soil (2.61%). Both nitrification and N₂O emissions were delayed by several days with increasing granule size, and the latter was influenced by mineral N, soil water and pH. By contrast, the NH₃ volatilization decreased with increasing granule size, implying the inhibition of urease activity by urea concentration gradients. Considering both experimental results, the NH₃ loss was highest for the PU-treated (1.73%) and the larger granules regardless of soil type did not emit more than 0.27% of the added N over 22 days, possibly because the high concentrations of either mineral N or NH₄ ⁺ in the soil surface layer (0–2.5 cm) and the high H₊ buffering capacity might regulate the NH₃ emission. Similar to the pattern of NH₃ loss, NO_x emission was noticeably higher for the PU-treated soil (0.97%) than for the larger granule sizes (0.09–0.29%), which were the highest for the sandy and clay loam soils. Positional differences in the concentration of mineral N and nitrification also influenced the NO_x emission. As such, total NH₃ loss was proportional to total NO_x emission, indicating similar influence of soil and environmental conditions on both. Pooled total N₂O, NH₃ and NO_x emission data suggest that the PU-treated soil could induce greater gaseous N loss over larger urea granules, largely in the form of NH₃ and NO_x emissions, whereas a similar increase with the largest granule size was mainly due to the total N₂O flux.     

Soil and sediment quality and composition as factors in the distribution of damage at the December 26, 2003, Bam area earthquake in SE Iran (M s = 6.6)

Background, aim, and scope

The rapid growth of the world’s population over the past few decades has led to a concentration of people, buildings, and infrastructure in urban areas. The tendency of urban areas to develop in sedimentary valleys has increased their vulnerability to earthquakes due to the presence of soft soil and sediment. Several earthquakes have clearly demonstrated that local soil and sediment conditions can have a significant influence on earthquake-induced ground motion and damage pattern, respectively. Many studies confirm the relationship between site effect and ground motion (Borcherdt in Bull Seismol Soc Am 60:29–61, 1970; Bouckovalas et al. in Geotech Geolog Eng (Historical Archive) 14(2):111–128, 1996; Fäh et al. in Seismology 1:87–10, 1997; Atakan et al. in Nat Hazards 15(2–3):139–164, 1997; Christaras et al. in Geodynamics 26(2–4):393–411, 1998; Raptakis et al. in Bull Earthquake Eng 2(3):285–301, 2004a; Raptakis et al. in Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 25:871–887, 2005; Marka et al. in Pure Appl Geophys 158:2349–2367, 2001; Marka et al. in Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 25(4):303–315, 2005; Importa et al. in Seismology 9(2):191–210, 2005; Tyagunov et al. in Nat Hazards 38:199–214, 2006; Lombardo et al. in Nat Hazards 38:339–354, 2006; Rayhani et al. in Geotech Geol Eng 21(1):91–100, 2008). In order to classify the suitability of the soil and subsurface sediment units for urban planning and compare their mechanical behavior with the non-uniform damage observed in the 2003 earthquake, we performed some geotechnical and geophysical analyses of soil and sediment samples collected from different locations in Bam City.

Methodology

Geophysical and geotechnical properties, such as grain size distribution, sorting, plasticity, Poison’s ratio, shear strength, compression index, permeability, and P and S wave velocities in soil and subsurface sediments, were measured. Maps (in GIS environment) and cross-sections were prepared for the study area.

Results

According to our observations, a great number of buildings were damaged in areas of the city where silty and clayey soils dominate, presenting very low permeability, low wave velocity together with high plasticity, and compressibility. In the study area, we recognized eight sediment types. Shear wave propagation velocities allowed for the identification of four seismic layers referred to as the surface layer, second layer, and third layer and seismic bedrock. We found that the damages observed in the Bam area were related to the physical and mechanical properties of the soil and subsurface sediment units. We also found that the soil thickness that was estimated by geophysical surveying shows a direct relationship with damage rate observations. Furthermore, we observed that landslide and qanat collapses have occurred in some areas where sand and silty sand soils and subsurface sediments dominate.

Discussion

The distribution of the damage shows a microzonation that is very serious in some points in the city along the main fault, especially where it is located on thick, fine, medium, and loose soil and sediments. In general, there is a discernable west to east increase in the damage across the city. The average level of destruction for the entire city was ~75%, while the eastern part of the city locally reached 100% destruction level. The major factors that influenced the damage and destruction in the Bam region were the distance of a given site from the seismic source, the quality of foundation soil and subsurface sediment, and the type of building. The Bam earthquake occurred on a single fault network comprising the Bam and Arg-e-Bam faults (Funning et al. in J Geophys Res 100(B09406):1–23, 2005). The sediments and soil of the area (unconsolidated silty sand and sandy gravel) belong to braided fluvial and alluvial facies. Most of the buildings near the epicenter area were old and constructed of mud bricks using mud cement.

Recommendations and perspectives

A combined sedimentological, geological, neotectonic, geotechnical, paleoseismological, and geophysical investigation in urban areas (especially in alluvial valleys) will give the detailed knowledge of the subsurface structure required for the accurate and precise seismic hazard assessments needed for effective earthquake protection planning. This paper shows that for the Bam situation, sedimentological data are required to provide an interpretive context for the geophysical data.     

Effects of transient anaerobic conditions in the presence of acetylene on subsequent aerobic respiration and N2O emission by soil aggregates

Our objective was to assess the effect of anaerobic conditioning in the presence of acetylene on subsequent aerobic respiration and N₂O emission at the scale of soil aggregates. Nitrous oxide production was measured in intact soil aggregates Δ (compacted aggregates without visible porosity) and Γ (aggregates with visible porosity) incubated under oxic conditions, with or without anaerobic conditioning for 6 d. N₂O emissions were much higher in aggregates that had been submitted to anaerobic conditioning than in aggregates that did not experience this conditioning, although very little NO₃⁻ remained in soil after the anaerobic period. ¹⁵N isotope tracing technique was used to check whether N₂O came from nitrification or denitrification. The results showed that denitrification was the major process responsible for N₂O emissions. The aerobic CO₂ production rate was also measured in intact soil aggregates. It was greater in aggregates submitted to anaerobic conditioning than in those that were not, suggesting that the anaerobic conditioning lead to an accumulation of small compounds including fatty acids that are readily available for microbial decomposition in aerobic conditions. This process increases the aerobic CO₂ production and favours the N₂O emissions through denitrification.     

Distribution of major elements and trace metals as indicators of technosolisation of urban and suburban soils

Purpose

Can geochemical characteristics indicate the human impact on soil formation (technosolisation) for urban and suburban soils? This question is assessed for the city of Marrakech located in one of the main agricultural areas of Morocco and characterized by a very rapid rate of expansion. The aim of this work is to assess geochemical properties of surface horizons of urban and suburban soils and to compare them with land use types.

Materials and methods

Fifty-eight surface soil samples were collected in different sectors of the city with different land use histories. As land use can be defined as the human use of land, these sampling sites were selected according to the current human activity (e.g., residential districts, agriculture, market-gardening, traditional, or industrial activities) and according to the superposition of the land use over time. All samples were air-dried, disaggregated, homogenized, and then sieved through a 2-mm mesh. Major elements and trace metals were measured in the soil using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. For technical limits, Cd was measured using atomic adsorption spectrometry.

Results and discussion

Urban and suburban soils of Marrakech present generally similar geochemical compositions for many elements. Siliceous (SiO₂) compounds related to the parent material are dominant in these soils. However, the significant concentrations of P₂O₅ and CaO, measured in some of the urban soils studied, can be attributed to anthropogenic inputs of phosphorus (P) and technic materials, mainly building materials composed of cement and gypsum (plaster). Soils collected from agricultural areas irrigated with urban wastewater and soils developed on rubbish dumps are the most contaminated by metals (e.g., Cu, Zn, and Pb). Therefore, the distribution of major and trace elements in soils underlines the considerable impact of urban land uses.

Conclusions

Human activities determine the type of land use, impact the urban environment, and cause a wide spatial diversity of soil quality. The urban and suburban soils of Marrakech contain similar major element distributions except for strongly anthropised soils (soils developed on rubbish dumps and agricultural soils irrigated with urban wastewater). Unlike major elements, trace elements present systematically significantly higher concentrations in urban soils than those measured in control soils. In these conditions, the highest concentrations exceed international clean-up standards and are correlated with land use type. Phosphorus, Ca, and several heavy metals are proposed as indicators of human impacts on soil characteristics in urban and suburban environments.