AGE AND DIET EFFECTS ON RELATIVE RENAL ECHOGENICITY IN GERIATRIC BITCHES

Under controlled, but varied dietary conditions 35 geriatric, uninephrectomized, spayed Beagle bitches (dogs) observed for 4 years, renal cortical and renal medullary echogenicity was measured relative to hepatic and splenic echogenicity. Regardless of the diet fed, 60-75% of these aged dogs had renal cortical echogenicity less than that of either the liver or spleen across time; 25-35% of these dogs had renal cortical echogenicity equal to that of the liver, but less than that of the spleen across time. Less than 3% of these dogs had renal cortical echogenicity greater than that of the liver, but less than that of the spleen. Only 1 (one) of these dogs had renal cortical echogenicity equal to that of the spleen and that occurred at only one of the 14 chronologic assessments. Therefore, in either mature or aged dogs imaged with 4.0 to 5.0 MHz equipment, the renal cortical echogenicity should be considered normal if it is less than or equal to that of the liver and less than that of the spleen. In 29 dogs imaged with the 4.0/5.0 MHz equipment and 6 dogs imaged with 7.5 MHz equipment, there was no significant diet or individual dog effect. The 7.5 MHz (6 dog) group had significantly higher average cortical echogenicity scores than the 4.0/5.0 MHz (29 dog) group. However, the occurrence of renal cortical echogenicity greater than liver echogenicity was seen in only 5 of 83 samples (approximately 6.0%) made on 6 dogs imaged with 7.5 MHz equipment and only 1 of 375 samples (approximately 0.27%) made on 29 dogs with 4.0/5.0 MHz equipment. With the exception of one occurrence, all dogs had renal medullary echogenicity less than that of the liver or spleen regardless of imaging equipment frequency. The renal medulla was always hypoechoic compared to the cortex.     

Sex ratio changes in the long-term Windermere pike and perch sampling program

Abstract– Analysis of the Windermere (England), Perca fluviatilis (1965–1997) and Esox lucius (1943-1997) fishery data indicates there have been substantial changes in sex ratios through time. In the case of perch, a 1976 perch disease outbreak substantially skewed the sex ratio in favor of females. It took over a decade for the fishery to recover to its pre-1976 state. In the case of pike, both catch and year-class data are female biased, but this bias has significantly weakened through time. This trend towards proportionately more males through time may reflect an effect of increasing spring temperatures or an evolutionary or phenotypic response to female-biased fishing pressure.     

Larval pigmentation, survival and growth of Penaeus indicus fed the nematode Panagrellus redivivus enriched with astaxanthin and various lipids

The highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) content of the free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus was successfully increased when three different lipid sources (cod-liver oil, marilla oil and capelin oil) from marine animals were used in the nematode culture medium. The lipid enrichment significantly increased the ω3 HUFA content, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), of the nematodes compared with lipid non-enriched nematodes. Penaeus indicus larvae fed the lipid-enriched nematodes had significantly ( P < 0.05) greater larval survival (69–77%) until metamorphosis than those fed non-enriched nematodes (54%).
This nematode species was also enriched with astaxanthin to determine the effects of this carotenoid on pigmentation, survival and growth during the larval development of P. indicus . The pigment, delivered via nematodes, significantly ( P < 0.05) improved larval coloration and survival (88%) compared with that of placebo-pigmented nematodes (78%). However, there was no strong evidence to show the benefit of either pigment and/or lipid enrichment on larval growth and development of P. indicus .
This study has shown that the nutritional value of the nematodes can be enhanced by the addition of fish oil into the culture medium. Supplementation of EPA and DHA, together with synthetic astaxanthin, allow the nematodes to be used as a sole diet for the larval culture of P. indicus .     

Bridging the divide: Social–ecological coherence in Marine Protected Area network design

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Development of a Pseudomonas syringae–Eutrema salsugineum pathosystem to investigate disease resistance in a stress tolerant extremophile model plant

To improve the ability to understand how plants respond to multiple and/or concurrent stresses, disease resistance was investigated in Eutrema salsugineum, an extremophile model plant that is highly tolerant of abiotic stress. Compared to Arabidopsis (Col‐0), both Yukon and Shandong Eutrema accessions exhibit increased resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst) and pv. maculicola (Psm), with Shandong Eutrema exhibiting greater resistance to Pst than Yukon Eutrema. RT‐PCR of the EsPR1 (Pathogenesis‐related 1) defence marker gene confirmed RNA‐Seq data that healthy Shandong Eutrema constitutively expresses EsPR1. The data suggests that Shandong Eutrema exists in a highly primed state of defence preparedness, as it displays heightened resistance compared to defence‐primed natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Can‐0, Bur‐0). Pathogen‐triggered PR1 expression was delayed in Yukon Eutrema; however, these plants were resistant to Pst suggesting that Yukon Eutrema employs a PR1‐independent mechanism to resist Pst. This study demonstrates that Eutrema is an excellent model to investigate biotic stress tolerance. The Eutrema–P. syringae pathosystem will facilitate future studies to understand how this extremophile tolerates both abiotic and biotic stress, and will allow exploration of the interplay of these responses to inform efforts to improve stress tolerance in crops.     

Transduction and Transplantation of Spermatogonia into the Testis of Ram Lambs through the Extra-testicular Rete

Spermatogonial transplantation will provide a new way to study spermatogenesis in domestic animals, disseminate male genetics and produce transgenic animals, if efficiency can be improved. We evaluated a 'surgical' method for transplanting donor cells into testes of ram lambs, where the head of the epididymis is reflected, and a catheter introduced into the extra-testicular rete testis. We also tested transduction of ram spermatogonia with a lentiviral (LV) vector as a means to identify permanent colonization, and introduce genes into donor cells. Eight ram lambs, 11- to 13-week olds, were the recipients: in five, spermatogonia were injected into one testis, and the contralateral testis was an un-manipulated control: in two, spermatogonia were injected into one testis and the contralateral was sham-injected: in one, both testes were injected. Six lambs received spermatogonia labelled with a cell-tracking dye and these were collected 1 or 2 weeks after transplantation; three lambs received spermatogonia transduced with a LV vector driving the expression of enhanced Green Fluorescence Protein and these were collected after 2 months. Donor cells were detected by immunohistochemistry in tubules of seven of nine recipient testes. Approximately 22% of tubule cross-sections contained donor cells immediately after transplantation, and 0.2% contained virally transduced cells 2 months after transplantation. The onset of spermatogenesis was delayed, and there were lesions in both injected and sham-injected testes. Despite the effects of the surgery, elongated spermatids were present in one recipient testis 2 months after surgery. The results suggest that, after modifying the surgical and transduction techniques, this approach will be a means to produce good colonization by donor spermatogonia in sheep testes.     

Developing a critical nitrogen dilution curve for forage brassicas

Defining the critical nitrogen concentration (N_c; g N kg^?1) for maximum growth of forage brassicas will aid in the fertilizer management of these crops. Typically, the N_c value decreases with increasing crop biomass. In this paper, we used a nitrogen (N) response experiment with kale (Brassica oleracea) to define a critical N dilution (N_c = 55·3 × biomass^?0·47). However, at biomass <3·4 t ha^?1, a constant N_C of 31·2 g N kg^?1 was found. This N dilution curve compared favourably with published data sets for a range of forage brassicas but was substantially different from the established N dilution curve for oilseed rape (Brassica napus). This study also found a strong relationship (R² = 0·81) between the nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) and the NO₃ content of forage brassicas from a range of data sets. The NNI is the actual N concentration of the shoot as a ratio of the N_c from the established curve. The relationship between NNI and NO₃ contents was significantly different between leafy forage brassica crops and root forage brassicas. For each 0·1 increase in NNI, the proportion of total N that was in the form of NO₃ increased by 2·7% for leaf/stem brassicas and 0·60% for root crop brassicas. The critical dilution curve defined in this study can be used to manage fertilizer N in forage brassica crops, so that growth can be maximized but the risk of high NO₃ concentrations in the forage can be minimized.     

Lamprey GnRH‐III Releases Luteinizing Hormone but not Follicle Stimulating Hormone in Pigs

The effect of exogenous administration of lamprey GnRH‐III (IGnRH‐III) on gonadotropin secretion was evaluated in pigs. Six crossbred barrows (82.4 ± 3.5 kg body weight) were assigned randomly to a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design to evaluate the effect of 0.1, 1.0 or 10.0 μg/kg body weight of exogenous IGnRH‐III on LH and FSH secretion. To facilitate blood collection and infusion of IGnRH‐III, barrows were catheterized in the jugular vein 1 day before initiation of experiments. Blood samples were taken at 10‐min intervals for 6 h, starting 2 h before treatments were applied. Relative concentrations of LH and FSH were calculated by obtaining the ratio of the average concentration of each hormone 2 h after infusion divided by the average concentration during the 2 h before infusion. Relative concentrations of FSH after IGnRH‐III infusion did not influence mean concentration of FSH at any of the doses; yet 10.0 μg/kg body weight had a significant effect on LH secretion (p < 0.01). Relative concentrations of LH averaged 1.2, 1.0 and 3.0 ng/ml (for doses of 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 μg/kg body weight of IGnRH‐III respectively). Only a dose of 10 μg/kg body weight elicited a significant LH increase that was associated with exogenous IGnRH‐III infusion. We conclude that IGnRH‐III is a weak GnRH agonist and at high doses, IGnRH‐III has the ability to release LH but not FSH in barrows.