Circumstellar material in type Ia supernovae via sodium absorption features

Type Ia supernovae are key tools for measuring distances on a cosmic scale. They are generally thought to be the thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a close binary system. The nature of the mass donor is still uncertain. In the single-degenerate model it is a main-sequence star or an evolved star, whereas in the double-degenerate model it is another white dwarf. We show that the velocity structure of absorbing material along the line of sight to 35 type Ia supernovae tends to be blueshifted. These structures are likely signatures of gas outflows from the supernova progenitor systems. Thus, many type Ia supernovae in nearby spiral galaxies may originate in single-degenerate systems.     

Current status of freshwater prawn culture in Vietnam and the development and transfer of seed production technology

ABSTRACT:   In Vietnam, the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii is becoming an increasingly important targeted species, as its culture, especially in rice fields, is considered to have the potential to raise income among impoverished farmers. The production of M. rosenbergii based on aquaculture reached over 10 000 tons per year in 2002, having increased from about 2500 tons since the 1990s. Until recently, lack of a stable supply of seed had been an important obstacle to the further expansion and development of M. rosenbergii culture, but cumulative research on larval rearing, especially in the 1990s, has led to the development of new seed production technology based on the 'modified stagnant green water system'. Following its dissemination by the efforts of provincial authorities, hatchery operators, and farmers, the freshwater prawn seed production industry developed rapidly in the Mekong Delta with over 90 hatcheries producing 76.5 million postlarvae in 2003. This is considered to have affected the expansion of rice–prawn farming in the Mekong Delta, leading to increased aquacultural production in the region. This paper reviews the current status of freshwater prawn culture in Vietnam and background history, and presents a socioeconomic evaluation of seed production technology implementation.     

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in wildlife on three deer farms with a history of Johne's disease

Abstract

AIM: To determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) infection in wildlife, in pastoral landscapes with a recent history of clinical Johne's disease in livestock.

METHODS: A total of 449 wild mammals and birds from three farms in the South Island of New Zealand with recent histories of clinical Johne's disease in their deer herds were trapped and examined for gross pathological changes in the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, individual mesenteric lymph nodes from 380 mammals, and segments of gastrointestinal tract from 32 birds were excised, homogenised and cultured for viable Map bacilli. The prevalence of Map infection was then calculated for the various species. Faecal samples from those mammals which had culture-positive tissues were further cultured for the presence of Map.

RESULTS: Gross pathological changes were identified in the gastrointestinal tract of four brushtail possums, one cat, six ferrets, 12 hares, six hedgehogs, three rabbits, one stoat, and one paradise shelduck. Infection with Map in the gastrointestinal tract was confirmed in only three of these cases, one each of brushtail possums, hares and hedgehogs. In contrast, Map infection in the absence of gross pathological changes was frequently recorded in enteric tract tissues of mammals and birds. Among mammals, Map infection was recorded in 18/73 (25%) brushtail possums, 4/23 (17%) cats, 15/42 (36%) hedgehogs and 29/113 (26%) rabbits. Among birds, intestinal tract tissue Map infection was recorded in 3/17 (18%) paradise shelducks. Among 64 of the 74 mammals which had Map culture-positive tissues, 38% (n=5) of hedgehogs and 11% (n=3) of rabbits also had culture-positive faecal samples.

CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to identify that Map infection can be prevalent in wildlife in New Zealand. There was a high prevalence of Map infection among both scavenging and grazing wild animals. Both mammals and birds are capable of harbouring viable Map organisms in their gastrointestinal tract; further, viable Map was excreted into the environment via faeces by hedgehogs and rabbits.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Previous studies overseas have postulated a role of wildlife as reservoirs of Map infection and possible vectors of Johne's disease to livestock. Here, brushtail possums, hedgehogs and rabbits and in particular were identified as potential wildlife hosts for Map infection in NewZealand. This suggests that several wildlife species could contribute to the persistence of Map infection within a wildlife/livestock complex, and potentially, perhaps more importantly, to the spread of infection between farms.     

Isolation of Mycobacterium bovis from brushtail possums with non-visible lesions

AIM: To determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis infection in brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) that did not have macroscopic lesions of bovine tuberculosis, and to evaluate culture of pooled tissues from multiple possums as a method for determining the M. bovis-infection status of wildlife populations in New Zealand.

METHODS: Pools of selected tissues were collected from possums from four different populations known to be infected with M. bovis. Tissue pools from individual animals, and combined pools from multiple animals, were cultured for M. bovis.

RESULTS: In the four populations investigated, the prevalence of possums with macroscopic lesions confirmed by culture to be infected with M. bovis ranged from 1 to 19 (mean 31/283; 10.9)%. The prevalence of possums with non-visible lesions that were culture positive for M. bovis in the same populations ranged from 4 to 10 (mean 24/283; 8.5)%. The mean of the log10 cfu of M. bovis of the macroscopic lesions and of the culture-positive samples that did not have visible lesions was 3.85 (SE 0.26) and 1.46 (SE 0.26) log₁₀ cfu, respectively (p<0.01). Mycobacterium bovis was cultured from pools of 30–50 animals in the four populations studied.

CONCLUSIONS: The finding of M. bovis infection in possums with non-visible lesions identified a potential deficiency of declaring possum populations free of M. bovis on the basis of absence of macroscopic lesions. The culturing of pools of selected tissues from multiple animals without visible lesions can be used to reduce laboratory costs of possum surveys without a major reduction in the ability to detect M. bovis infection.     

Interaction of spittlebug and forage grass under different carbon dioxide concentrations

This study evaluated the impact of different CO₂ levels on the biological characteristics of Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) and on the performance of forage grasses. The signal grasses Brachiaria decumbens Stapf (susceptible) and Brachiaria brizantha (A. Rich.) (resistant), the elephant grass Pennisetum purpureum (Schum.), including the Roxo de Botucatu cultivar (susceptible) and the Pioneiro cultivar (resistant) and the insects were kept in climate-controlled chambers with constant low (250 ppm) CO₂ levels, constant high (500 ppm) CO₂ levels, or fluctuating CO₂ levels (mean, 368 ppm). Among these three CO₂ treatments, no significant differences were found in the nymphal survival of M. spectabilis when the nymphs were fed on two signal grass species. On the other hand, under a constant low CO₂ level (250 ppm), nymphal survival rates were significantly lower when the insects were kept in Roxo de Botucatu and Pioneiro cultivars. The mean adult longevity values for M. spectabilis were not significantly different among the three levels of CO₂ evaluated. We observed that increased CO₂ levels improved the performance of M. spectabilis and elephant grass cultivars in accumulating dry mass, which was not evident in signal grass. We further conclude that the levels of susceptibility and resistance of the forages tested will be maintained in future scenarios under which atmospheric CO₂ levels are expected to increase.     

The occurrence and mass distribution of close-in super-Earths, Neptunes, and Jupiters

The questions of how planets form and how common Earth-like planets are can be addressed by measuring the distribution of exoplanet masses and orbital periods. We report the occurrence rate of close-in planets (with orbital periods less than 50 days), based on precise Doppler measurements of 166 Sun-like stars. We measured increasing planet occurrence with decreasing planet mass (M). Extrapolation of a power-law mass distribution fitted to our measurements, df/dlogM = 0.39 M(-0.48), predicts that 23% of stars harbor a close-in Earth-mass planet (ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 Earth masses). Theoretical models of planet formation predict a deficit of planets in the domain from 5 to 30 Earth masses and with orbital periods less than 50 days. This region of parameter space is in fact well populated, implying that such models need substantial revision.