Trends in calving ages and calving intervals for Iranian Holsteins in Fars province,southern Iran

Purpose  

To determine trends in calving ages and calving interval as measures of reproductive performance in Iranian Holsteins in Fars province, southern Iran during 2000–2005.     

Phoma stem canker (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptosphaeria maculans/L. biglobosa</Emphasis>) of oilseed rape (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis>): is the G<Subscript>2</Subscript> Disease Index a good indicator of the distribution of observed canker severities?

Several disease indices (DI) have been proposed to assess the severity of phoma stem canker at late growth stages. The DI commonly used in France (called G₂ DI) consists of integrating the distribution of the proportions of plants observed within six canker severity classes into a single index. This index uses arbitrarily chosen coefficients associated to each class of canker severity. A given value of this DI can therefore be obtained with different distributions among the canker severity classes. Consequently, it is important to assess to what extent the G₂ DI is representative of the distribution of plants in canker severity classes. We show in this study that the G₂ DI is a good indicator of the distribution of the observed canker severities, using a dataset from different years, sites and cultivars; this illustrates the robustness of the G₂ DI.     

Salt-free dyeability of thiourea grafted cotton fabric

In this study salt-free dyeing cotton fabric was achieved by grafting thiourea to cotton fibers, where the thiourea grafted cotton fabric (TUGCF) was prepared by epoxidizing cotton fibers with epichlorohydrin in water and subsequently grafting in aqueous solution of thiourea. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and XPS of the TUGCF indicated that a great amount of epoxy groups from the epoxidized cotton fibers reacted with amino groups from thiourea. The TUGCF fabric prepared at the optimum condition and subsequently dyed with reactive dyes in the absence of salt displayed significantly enhanced color strength, showing better dyeing properties when compared with the untreated cotton fabric dyed with conventional methods, in terms of washing fastness, rubbing fastness, and levelness. It was found that the dyeing performance of Reactive Red B-3BF followed a Langmuir-type adsorption curve when used to salt-free dye the TUGCF.     

Risk factors associated with feline urolithiasis

Urinary tract diseases are among the main reasons for consultation in veterinary clinics and hospitals. It affects animals of any age, breed and gender. Among the diseases that affect this system, urolithiasis is the second largest cause of clinical signs compatible with feline urinary tract disease. The term urolithiasis refers to the presence of uroliths in any region of the urinary tract, but it is more commonly seen in the bladder and urethra. Uroliths are classified based on the type of mineral present in their composition, therefore, quantitative and qualitative analyzes are important for a better therapeutic approach. The animals may suffer from the disease and be asymptomatic, or show nonspecific clinical signs, making the diagnosis difficult. The disease should not be seen as a single problem, but as a consequence of various disorders. As dietary, metabolic, genetic and infectious causes, as well as factors that potentiate the chance of development of uroliths such as breed, age, sex, age range, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, geographic region and climate. Thus, the knowledge of the factors that influence the formation of uroliths, as well as the understanding of the pathophysiology, are key elements for better alternatives of therapy and prevention. The recognition of these factors helps to identify susceptible populations, minimizing exposure and increasing the protection factors, which facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of patients with urolithiasis. The objective of this paper is to present the main risk factors involved in the formation of urinary lithiasis in felines.     

Growth hormone attenuates branchial HSP70 expression in silver sea bream

In this study the effects of growth hormone (GH) on silver sea bream branchial heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression was investigated using in-vivo and in-vitro experiments. For in-vivo experiments, sea bream were administered recombinant bream GH or the GH secretagogue hexarelin. Pituitary levels of GH were unchanged in fish administered exogenous GH but decreased on hexarelin administration, in comparison with saline controls. Levels of HSP70 were measured using immunoanalysis and it was found that both GH and hexarelin administration caused a significant decrease in branchial HSP70 abundance. For in-vitro analysis, branchial filaments were exposed to a range of GH concentrations (1, 10, and 100 ng/ml) and it was found that HSP70 levels were significantly lowered in all cases. This study adds to the growing body of evidence surrounding the importance of hormones in regulating heat-shock protein expression in fish.     

Development of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Peronospora parasitica</Emphasis> epidemics on radish as modelled by the effects of water vapour saturation deficit and temperature

Epidemics of Peronospora parasitica are strongly affected by temperature and air moisture, and the interaction of these factors. Because a significant percentage of radish plants are grown in greenhouses, it may be possible to influence epidemics by altering the greenhouse climate. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that epidemics of P. parasitica can be modelled by the effects of air temperature and moisture in the greenhouse. Such a model could then be used to analyse greenhouse climate control strategies with regard to managing downy mildew. Five radish crops were grown under greenhouse conditions with set-points for heating and ventilation intended to obtain favourable conditions for disease development during the first part of the growing cycle. Subsequent to this first phase, unfavourable conditions were set until harvest. Disease incidence was measured once a week until the radishes reached marketable size. In addition, experiments were carried out in growth chambers in which inoculated plants were subjected to air temperatures between 8 and 27°C, and disease incidence and sporulation intensity were measured. Data from these two experiments were then used to estimate model parameters. In this model, the interactions of air temperature (T) and water vapour saturation deficit (SD) were adequately described by a multiplicative relationship. The simulated epidemics by the fitted model were highly correlated with the observed epidemics (r = 0.91, R ² = 0.83, n = 29). Parameter estimates indicated that T of ca. 20°C and SD < 0.03 hPa resulted in the highest rates of disease development and that the rate was zero when SD > 2.0 hPa. Both experimental data and simulations showed that epidemics of P. parasitica can be effectively controlled by managing the greenhouse climate.     

The performance of community organisers in promotion of community forestry in Leyte Province,Philippines

A study was conducted to assess the role and effectiveness of community organisers in supporting the development of people’s organisations in achieving community-based forest management objectives in Leyte Province Philippines. Community organisers were found to be effective in forming people’s organisations (POs), motivating people to participate in voluntary activities organised by POs and encouraging cohesiveness among PO members. Community organisers manage to raise the level of environmental awareness and knowledge of members of people’s organisations, develop leadership interest and skills, create various livelihood opportunities and provide direction and facilitate the establishment of large tree plantations. However, the short duration of community organisers’ contracts (typically two years) is insufficient to establish mature and cohesive POs prepared to assume management on their own, including the management of tree plantations. Further, lack of training and funding support, low wages, delayed payment of salaries and limited time to work with people’s organisations, as well as the pressure to produce tangible outputs such the establishment of large tree plantations, prevents them from placing greater emphasis on the development and empowerment of the people.     

Induced thermotolerance and expression of heat shock protein 70 in sea cucumber <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apostichopus japonicus</Emphasis>

ABSTRACT:   Thermal limits, induced thermotolerance and the expression of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in an echinoderm Apostichopus japonicus were studied. The sublethal and lethal temperatures for the juveniles were 30 and 34°C, respectively; a previous sublethal heat shock exposure (30°C, 2 h) could increase the survival rates of the sea cucumbers when they were exposed to 34°C. This induced thermotolerance could last for at least 2 days. Levels of Hsp70 increased substantially after sublethal heat shock exposure and linearly decreased with time. This result indicated that a close relationship existed between the induction of thermotolerance and the levels of Hsp70 in A. japonicus.     

Semiarid soils submitted to severe drought stress: influence on humic acid characteristics in organic-amended soils

Purpose  

The objective of this work was to assess the effect of severe drought conditions on the characteristics of semiarid soil humic acids (HAs) as well as the effect of organic amendment on such changes.     

Description of peripheral blood cells and differential blood analysis of captive female and male leopard grouper <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycteroperca</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">rosacea</Emphasis> as an approach for diagnosing diseases

The peripheral blood cells and differential blood profile of captive female and male leopard grouper Mycteroperca rosacea are described for aquacultural purposes. Basophilic, polychromatic, and orthochromic erythroblasts were observed as immature erythrocytes that develop into mature erythrocytes. Young erythrocytes were not evident, and bi-lobed erythrocytes were extremely scarce. Types of leukocytes included lymphocytes; three types of granulocytes (basophiles, eosinophiles, and neutrophiles); monocytes; and a specialized amoeboid-like macrophage in the blood, which has not been previously described in fish-blood literature. Thrombocytes were commonly observed. There was significantly higher erythropoiesis in males. Granulocytes and lymphocytes of females were significantly higher than males, whereas monocytes and thrombocytes were not.