Coughing in horses--an historical aspect.

A brief historical review is given of the incidence and types of respiratory disease that occurred in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. The significance of poor stabling and overcrowding in the causation and spread of coughing is emphasised and its dramatic reduction by simple methods of hygiene and ventilation.     

Cattle twins and freemartin diagnosis

Some cattle breeding improvement programmes particularly in continental Europe aim to reduce the costs of rearing calves by increasing the number suckled by each cow. This encourages the rearing of twins and an increase in the number of heifers born twin-to-bull. Many of these are offered in the market and bought on the assumption that they are single-born. A large proportion will be freemartins and therefore irremediably sterile. Theories of the aetiology of the freemartin condition are summarised. The anatomical, haematological and chromosomal characteristics are described. Diagnostic methods based on these characteristics are described and compared. The clinical method is recommended as reliable in all but a small proportion of cases. The clinical signs of the freemartin at age three to six weeks are the absence of the external os, and a vagina length of 5 inches (12 cm) or less. The veterinary surgeon is encouraged to make the diagnosis on these clinical signs alone.     

Using unsupervised learning techniques to assess interactions among complex traits in soybeans

Soybean yield components and agronomic traits are connected through physiological pathways that impose tradeoffs through genetic and environmental constraints. Our primary aim is to assess the interdependence of soybean traits by using unsupervised machine learning techniques to divide phenotypic associations into environmental and genetic associations. This study was performed on large scale, jointly analyzing 14 quantitative traits in a large multi-parental population designed for genetic studies. We collected phenotypes from 2012 to 2015 from a soybean nested association panel with 40 families of approximately 140 individuals each. Pearson and Spearman correlations measured phenotypic associations. A multivariate mixed linear model provided genotypic and environmental correlations. To evaluate relationships among traits, the study used principal component and undirected graphical models from phenotypic, genotypic, and environmental correlation matrices. Results indicate that high phenotypic correlation occurs when traits display both genetic and environmental correlations. In genetic terms, length of reproductive period, node number, and canopy coverage play important roles in determining yield potential. Optimal grain yield production occurs when the growing environment favors faster canopy closure and extended reproductive length. Environmental associations found among yield components give insight into the nature of yield component compensation. The use of unsupervised learning methods provides a good framework for investigating interactions among various quantitative traits and defining target traits for breeding.     

Metabolism and fate of [(14)C]ethametsulfuron-methyl in rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica Mill)

The metabolism and fate of ethametsulfuron-methyl ?methyl 2-[[[[[4-ethoxy-6-(methylamino)-1,3, 5-triazin-2-yl]amino]carbonyl]amino]sulfonyl]benzoate? in rutabaga were investigated. After 72 h, absorption and translocation of [(14)C]ethametsulfuron-methyl in rutabaga did not change for the duration of the study (50 days). Less than 4% of recovered radioactivity was present in the rutabaga root. Ethametsulfuron-methyl was metabolized through a proposed unstable alpha-hydroxy ethoxy intermediate that dissipated 3 days after treatment to two major metabolites, O-desethylethametsulfuron-methyl and N-desmethyl-O-desethylethametsulfuron-methyl, as determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. It was estimated that at a spray dose of 30 g of active ingredient ha(-)(1) and a harvest weight of 0.5 kg, the edible portion of the rutabaga root would contain no ethametsulfuron-methyl and approximately 1.3 ppb total of both identified metabolites. Residue analysis and toxicological assessment show that ethametsulfuron-methyl and its metabolites should pose little or no risk to consumers of rutabagas.     

Variation in Freshwater Critical Loads Across Two Upland Catchments in the UK: Implications for Catchment Scale Management

In the UK the "critical loads" approach has been used to derive maps based on the 10km × 10km national grid. However, this grid based approach is inappropriate for catchment scale management and these maps cannot be used for "stock at risk" assessments of the number of water bodies or lengths of streams in a given area that may be vulnerable to acidification. Critical loads are determined across two large river catchments in England (The Duddon) and Wales (The Glaslyn). High resolution, digital datasets are used to characterise the attributes of each subcatchment in terms of land cover, soil, geology, topography and topology. Empirical models used to examine the relationship between these attributes and critical loads indicate that the former can be used to account for significant variation in the latter. However, these relationships can vary from catchment to catchment. Thus, although this approach provides the potential for identifying sensitive surface waters on a catchment wide basis, it is likely that models will need to be parameterised on a catchment specific basis.     

Associations between grain yield and carbon isotope discrimination in cowpea

Twenty cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) genotypes, comprising Kenyan cultivars and Kenyan and introduced breedings lines, were grown in 15 replicated field trials carried out at three locations in semi-arid eastern Kenya over four seasons. Grain and straw yields and the carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) of this material were determined, and days to flowering and maturity observed.None of the seasons in which the trials were conducted was appreciably drier than the long term average for the sites, and some trials received excessive rain. Averaging the data for the 15 trials, one genotype yielded much less grain (77 g m⁻²) than the 19 others, whose yield ranged from 125 to 177 g m⁻² (average 148 g m⁻²). Trial mean yield trials had a high straw Δ (r = +0.567) and had received more rain between flowering and maturity (r = +0.428) than lower yielding ones. Among genotypes, averaging over trials, the correlation coefficient (r) between grain yield and grain Δ was +0.394, and between grain yield and straw Δ, +0.460. Early genotypes had the highest grain Δ and straw Δ. The correlation among genotypes between date of flowering and grain Δ was −0.632 and with straw Δ, −0.502. When comparisons were made among trials, there was no clear relationship between the strength of the correlations among genotypes between grain yield and straw Δ or grain Δ and the degree of stress experienced by a trial (as indicated by the rainfall it had received). It appeared that this was because the variances of grain Δ and straw Δ were greater in the most droughted trials, whereas the variance of yield was greatest in the least droughted trials.It is concluded that the genetic correlation between grain yield and either grain Δ or straw Δ is unlikely to be strong enough to make either Δ a useful surrogate or adjunct in selecting for high yield in the segregating generations of a breeding programme for semi-arid eastern Kenya, but that Δ may be of value in the selection of parent genotypes.     

Biomass Fly Ash as Foliar Fertilizer for Hybrid Aspen Trees: Nutrient Uptake,Growth Response,and Compatibility with Nitrogen Fertilizer

Biomass ash is an important and potentially useful by-product of the bioenergy industry. As a “proof of concept” for using biomass fly ash as a foliar fertilizer, we tested (i) whether the nutrients in the ash were absorbed by hybrid aspen trees, (ii) whether the ash affected tree growth, and (iii) whether the ash was compatible with nitrogen foliar fertilizer. Four foliar treatments (water [control], ash suspended in water, nitrogen fertilizer solution, and ash suspended in nitrogen fertilizer solution) were evaluated. Several nutrients in the fly ash were absorbed by hybrid aspen both in the greenhouse and in the field; however, this absorption did not significantly affect tree growth in either setting. Nitrogen fertilization was associated with significantly higher tree growth in the greenhouse; inclusion of the fly ash with the nitrogen fertilizer solution did not significantly alter this growth response.     

Isolation of a pure thornless loganberry by meristem tip culture

Summary Thornless Loganberry (TL) is a periclinal chimeral blackberry in which a layer of mutant (thornless) epidermis surrounds a core of wild-type (thorny) tiusse. Due to its chimeral arrangement, TL produces thorny adventitious root cuttings and thorny offspring. To separate the chimera into its components parts, meristems of TL were grow in vitro on modified Murashige and Skoog medium to yield callus and adventitious shoots. One of these shoots has survived, flowered, and produced thornless offspring from seed. The importance of this non-chimeral TL is discussed.List of terms BA 6-benzylaminopurine - GA₃ gibberellic acid - NAA naphthalene acetic acid - hybridberry polyploid bramble interspecific hybrids - MS Murashige & Skoog (1962) high mineral salt medium - TL Thornless Loganberry - TL_tc tissue culture-derived (non-chimeral) Thornless Loganberry