Air Pollutant Transport Analysis Based on Hourly Winds in the City of La Plata and Surroundings, Argentina

The city of La Plata and its surroundings are a very populated area, which has an important Industrial Pole and intense traffic activity but environmental studies have been rare so far. This article presents and discusses the importance of wind frequencies and velocities for the transport of air pollutants. The study emphasizes the importance of knowing wind patterns on an hourly basis that can be helpful for designing a monitoring network as well as for preventing exposure to pollutants. Correlation between monthly SO₂ concentrations and wind frequencies and velocities are discussed for a particular set of directions NNW–NE that carry pollutants from industrial sources toward populated areas. As a result, averaged wind frequencies have been found to be very important for determining patterns influencing pollutants transport; the influence of averaged velocities has shown low variability (hourly and monthly). Hierarchical cluster analysis applied to wind roses provided a useful approach for analyzing and describing the general daily occurrence of winds.     

Epidemiological surveillance of ovine hydatidosis in Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia Argentina, 1997-1999

Cystic echinococcosis is the most prevalent zoonosis in Tierra del Fuego province, Argentina, with important economic, productive and public health consequences. The present work was performed to determine the ovine prevalence in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, as well as to evaluate the quality of diagnostic systems in slaughterhouses. Moreover, genetic analyses to characterize the strain of Echinococcus granulosus involved in the region were done. The first actions to perform a diagnosis of the epidemiological situation of hydatidosis in Tierra del Fuego were done between 1976 and 1977. A canine prevalence of 80% and an ovine prevalence of 55% results were obtained. Since 1979 the control program of Hydatidosis of Tierra del Fuego was implemented. It was based on semiannual canine anthelmintic treatment with praziquantel at dose of 5mg/kg, and complemented with sanitary education and canine and ovine epidemiological surveillance. During May 1997-January 1999: 5,916 sheep coming from 20 farms of the programmatic area were evaluated. In the lamb category, hydatid cysts were not found. In the adults category, 62 infected animals were found (3.2%). The ovine prevalence was 1.1% and there was 100% of coincidence between diagnosis in the slaughterhouse, re-inspection in the laboratory and histopathological study. The marked decrease in the prevalence observed for sheep infection evidenced a destabilization of the biological cycle of the parasite. This could be explained by the application of a control program with uninterrupted systematic actions. Polymerase chain reaction-ribosomal ITS-1 DNA (rDNA) restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis and partial sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene were used to characterize E. granulosus isolates collected from different regions of Tierra del Fuego to determine which genotypes occurred in this region. The results revealed the presence of the G1 genotype (sheep-dog strain). This is the first time that a molecular analysis was performed for the E. granulosus isolates from Tierra del Fuego.     

Dynamics of senescence-related QTLs in potato

The study of quantitative trait’s expression over time helps to understand developmental processes which occur in the course of the growing season. Temperature and other environmental factors play an important role. The dynamics of haulm senescence was observed in a diploid potato mapping population in two consecutive years (2004 and 2005) under field conditions in Finland. The available time series data were used in a smoothed generalized linear model to characterize curves describing the senescence development in terms of its onset, mean and maximum progression rate and inflection point. These characteristics together with the individual time points were used in a Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. Although QTLs occurring early in the senescence process coincided with QTLs for onset of senescence, the analysis of the time points made it difficult to study senescence as a continuous trait. Characteristics estimated from the senescence curve allowed us to study it as a developmental process and provide a meaningful biological interpretation to the results. Stable QTLs in the two experimental years were identified for progression rate and year-specific QTLs were detected for onset of senescence and inflection point. Specific interactions between loci controlling senescence development were also found. Epistatic interaction between QTLs on chromosomes 4, 5 and 7 were detected in 2004 and pleiotopic effects of QTLs on chromosomes 3 and 4 were observed in 2005.     

Evaluating trap cropping strategies for insect pest control through simulation models

Trap cropping is a habitat management strategy where the aim is to reduce damage to the crop of interest by mixing it with other plants that are highly attractive to insect pests. However, despite its potential, the application of this strategy has been limited mainly due to a lack of consistent effectiveness. Here, we developed an individual-based spatially explicit model that accounts for reproduction, movement and mortality of insects within a mixed crop system. This model was used to evaluate the effects of varying trap crop spatial configurations (border, stripes and patches), cover (2, 4 and 10 %) and supplemental management strategies (early harvest and pesticide application) to gain insight into the best control options offered by trap cropping. As a case study, we considered Liriomyza huidobrensis, a world known leafminer pest. Our results showed a maximum reduction of about 34 % in the pest population of the main crop when using trap plants. The supplemental management strategy had a stronger effect than other factors, with pesticide use being the best option. A sensitivity analysis showed that demographic parameters were more relevant than the behavioral ones in determining the success of the method. Our model suggests that trap cropping is only suitable for controlling L. huidobrensis if a pesticide application is added to the trap crop. Individual-based models, which are cheaper and less laborious than direct field testing, might provide an important tool to help define management schemes for the control of herbivorous pests.     

Pharmacokinetics of intravenous and subcutaneous cefovecin in alpacas

The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of cefovecin after intravenous and subcutaneous dose of 8 mg/kg to alpacas. Bacterial infections requiring long‐term antibiotic therapy such as neonatal bacteremia, pneumonia, peritonitis, dental, and uterine infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in this species. However, few antimicrobials have been evaluated and proven to have favorable pharmacokinetics for therapeutic use. Most antimicrobials that are currently used require daily injections for many days. Cefovecin is a long‐acting cephalosporin that is formulated for subcutaneous administration, and its long‐elimination half‐life allows for 14‐day dosing intervals in dogs and cats. The properties of cefovecin may be advantageous for medical treatment of camelids due to its broad spectrum, route of administration, and long duration of activity. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of antimicrobial drugs in camelids is essential for the proper treatment and prevention of bacterial disease, and to minimize development of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains due to inadequate antibiotic concentrations. Cefovecin mean half‐life, volume of distribution at steady‐state, and clearance after intravenous administration were 10.3 h, 86 mL/kg, and 7.07 mL·h/kg. The bioavailability was 143%, while half‐life, C_max, and T_max were 16.9 h, 108 μg/mL, and 2.8 h following subcutaneous administration. In the absence of additional microbial susceptibility data for alpaca pathogens, the current cefovecin dosage regimen prescribed for dogs (8 mg/kg SC every 14 days) may need to be optimized for the treatment of infections in this species.     

Is there a blue transition underway?

In this study, we describe what we term a Blue Transition, defined as the passage from fish biomass reduction to recovery in exploited aquatic resources, enabled by aquaculture. A Blue Transition is a key component of emergent “blue” discourses which support that the expansion of aquaculture would relieve pressure on declining capture fisheries, thus contributing to global food security, particularly of the poorest populations. Based on global secondary data and the case of Chile, we explore the evidence of such claim and the implications of a Blue Transition for fisheries and aquaculture development. In 2012, worldwide aquaculture production surpassed wild captures; nevertheless, such turnaround would have not taken place without China's contribution. In Chile, this turnaround occurred in 2014, concurrently with the lowest industrial landings registered since the 1960s (1,227,359 tons). Chile's aquaculture is not relieving wild fisheries or satisfying food demands of the lower income population, in the country or elsewhere. Salmon, the main aquaculture product, is destined mainly to Japan, Russia and United States where, due to its high prices, it is consumed mostly by wealthy consumers. For the case at hand, evidence suggests that a blue transition may be underway but is going in the wrong direction: from what may have been sustainable fisheries management before the 1970s to the overexploited wild fisheries of today.     

The defoliation dynamics of a stockpiled native grassland pasture follow similar patterns between supplemented and unsupplemented beef calves

It is unclear to what extent and on which variables does supplementing beef cattle on native grasslands affect sward structure, specifically on the dynamics of its grazing horizons. Three hypotheses were tested: (i) during a grazing down process under similar forage allowance, supplemented animals take longer to finish each grazing stratum, than their unsupplemented counterparts, (ii) in both cases, the upper stratum will be heavily depleted before the subsequent strata are grazed, (iii) some species and/or forage fractions are consumed faster than others, regardless of the animals being supplemented (corn dried distillers grains with solubles, DDGS, at 0.7% of their body weight, BW, on a dry matter, DM, basis) or not. Three blocks of stockpiled native grasslands were used and split into two treatments plots (n = 6), on which either supplemented (S) or control (C) heifers of 10.6 ± 0.6 months of age and an initial BW of 143 ± 9 kg, were used. A 2.5 × 0.5 m observation grid was installed on the sward, generating 384 observation points on each plot. On these observation plots, sward height (SH) and visually assessed green forage mass percentage (%G) were registered every other day for 12 consecutive days. No differences were found between the horizontal grazing dynamics between supplemented and control animals in terms of how they switched from the upper grazing horizon to the successive ones. In both cases, when the upper grazing horizon was heavily depleted, the subsequent horizon was being depleted by its half. Differences of preference for C3 species over C4 was observed for both treatments, but this effect was more meaningful for control animals. Grazing time never fully compensated for the decline in intake rate during depletion throughout the grazing horizons. Pasture intake declined when the animals transition from grazing the top grazing horizons to the lower horizons, irrespective of the level of supplementation. Managing the sward structure in terms of sward height will be beneficial to maximizing individual animal performance, for both C and S animals. Native grasslands paddocks with a greater C3 gasses predominance will always be preferred to C4 dominated paddocks, regardless of an eventual supplementation practice.     

Effects of intravenously administered esomeprazole sodium on gastric juice pH in adult female horses

Background: Gastric ulcers are common in horses and treatment of horses that cannot be administered oral medication can be problematic. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of esomeprazole sodium administered intravenously on gastric juice pH and gastric ulcer scores in horses. Animals: Twelve adult female Quarter Horses. Methods: Esomeprazole sodium (0.5 mg/kg IV) was administered once daily to 8 horses (treatment group) and saline (5 mL IV) was administered to 4 horses (control group) for 13 consecutive days. Gastroscopy was performed and gastric juice pH and gastric ulcer score were recorded before and 1 hour after the administration of esomeprazole sodium or saline on days 1 and 5, then on day 14, 23 hours after the 13th daily dose of esomeprazole sodium or saline. Results: When compared with values before treatment, gastric juice pH was higher in esomeprazole sodium‐treated horses after treatment (4.25 ± 2.39 versus 6.43 ± 1.18; P= .002). Also, gastric juice pH was higher (P= .001) in esomeprazole sodium‐treated horses compared with saline‐treated control horses on day 5 and on day 14 values. Gastric ulcers were seen in 5/12 (43%) horses in the study. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Esomeprazole sodium shows promise for treatment of gastric ulcers in horses with signs of dysphagia, gastric reflux, or other conditions that restrict oral intake of the current Federal Drug Administration‐approved omeprazole paste.