Atypical masticatory muscle myositis in three cavalier King Charles spaniel littermates

This case report describes a novel manifestation of the immune-mediated disease, masticatory muscle myositis. Clinical signs, including difficulty in opening the mouth (trismus), were seen in three of four 12-week-old cavalier King Charles spaniel littermates. Diagnosis was established by 2M immunohistochemistry, supported by characteristic histopathological changes in affected temporal muscle. Treatment using corticosteroids at immune-modifying doses resulted in resolution of clinical signs in all the affected animals. Masticatory muscle myositis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in groups of young dogs with clinical signs of myositis localised to the head.     

A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing

Fishing has become a major conservation threat to marine fishes. Effective conservation of threatened species requires timely identification of vulnerable species. However, evaluation of extinction risk using conventional methods is difficult for the majority of fish species because the population data normally required by such methods are unavailable. This paper presents a fuzzy expert system that integrates life history and ecological characteristics of marine fishes to estimate their intrinsic vulnerability to fishing. We extract heuristic rules (expressed in IF-THEN clauses) from published literature describing known relationships between biological characteristics and vulnerability. Input and output variables are defined by fuzzy sets which deal explicitly with the uncertainty associated with qualitative knowledge. Conclusions from different lines of evidence are combined through fuzzy inference and defuzzification processes. Our fuzzy system provides vulnerability estimates that correlate with observed declines more closely than previous methods, and has advantages in flexibility of input data requirements, in the explicit representation of uncertainty, and in the ease of incorporating new knowledge. This fuzzy expert system can be used as a decision support tool in fishery management and marine conservation planning.     

Scaling up an immobilized enzyme system

The development of an immobilized enzyme system for commercial application involves a series of decisions and compromises beginning with the choice of enzyme support and ending with the decision on operational mode. Each step is dependent on the other steps, and all the steps influence the overall economics of the final process. Compromises need to be made about the support, method of enzyme attachment, reactor type, kinetic behavior, and operating strategy. Selection of the enzyme carrier and its composition will have a major effect on the pH optimum, metal requirements, and overall performance of the immobilized enzyme system. The reactor type and its behavior will also affect performance. For commercial applications the fixed-bed reactor is generally the reactor type of choice. Knowledge of the appropriate kinetics is necessary to achieve the desired product quality and to reduce cost. One important kinetic parameter is reaction velocity under real world conditions. Rate expressions must take into consideration back-mixing and mass transfer limitations, both internal and external to the immobilized enzyme particles. In addition to understanding kinetic behavior, one must devise a proper operating strategy for producing the greatest amount of product at the least cost, while maintaining constant productivity over time. The success of any scale-up will be determined by the final processing cost as compared to that of the alternatives.     

Utilization of deoiled castor cake for crop production

A screen house experiment was undertaken to study effect of time of application of deoiled castor cake on the yield, N and P uptake by wheat crop. The results indicate that the wheat growth decreased significantly with increasing dose of castor cake, when castor cake was applied just before sowing of wheat. When castor cake was applied 10 days before wheat sowing, the dry matter yield (DMY) of wheat increased up to 0.125% dose of castor cake and reduced thereafter. But when the castor cake was applied 20 days before wheat sowing, the DMY was at par under all the doses of castor cake and better than control indicating the degradation of the toxicants produced by the castor cake. Application of castor cake can also be helpful in reducing the cost of phosphatic fertilizer. Thus it can be concluded that castor cake should be applied at least 3 weeks before sowing of the crop and keeping the field moist for degradation of the toxicants.     

Observations on the Raspberry Cane Midge (Thomasiniana Theobaldi Barnes): II. “Midge Blight”, A Fungal Invasion of the Raspberry Cane Following Injury by T. Theobaldi

Seed of the Potentate variety of tomato was sown at weekly intervals for 56 weeks and weekly measurements of the diameters of every fruit were made to provide estimates of fruit volume production. Development of the plants could suitably be divided into the following periods : (a) from germination to the start of fruiting, (b) an initial lag in fruit volume production, (c) rapidly increasing production, (d) declining production and (e) arrested development, when fruit swelling virtually ceased.

The duration of the period from germination to the start of fruiting was related to day-length.

The condition of arrested fruit development occurred from approximately the shortest day to the vernal equinox in mature plants that had already attained a maximal rate of fruit volume production ; in juvenile plants it occurred, and was maintained, from approximately the autumnal equinox to the vernal equinox, i.e. when the duration of darkness exceeded that of the light. In both juvenile and mature plants the condition of arrested fruit development ceased when the duration of the light exceeded that of darkness, and a period of increasing fruit volume production ensued.

The rate of fruit volume production during this period of rapid increase was related to day-length and the relation was curvilinear. It continued to increase as long as the days continued to lengthen. When the day-length began to decline so also did the rate of production and the relation with day- length was linear.     

基于RS和GIS的柘皋河流域景观空间格局研究

在RS和GIS技术的支持下,运用景观生态学原理,以2000年LandsatTM 7遥感数据为数据源,通过影像解译和实地调查获得柘皋河流域景观类型图,并采用景观指数分析法对流域内景观空间格局做定量分析,为流域内生态保护和区域经济的可持续发展提供有益参考。结果显示：柘皋河流域是以农业为主的发展模式。景观异质性高,分布相对均匀;耕地破碎化程度低,连通性好,利于农业发展;居民点与交通用地破碎化程度高,边缘效应强,对周围影响大。A区农业化和非农化矛盾最强烈。B区景观异质性高,景观类型分布均匀,生态结构稳定。C区景观异质性低,生态稳定性较差。     

Predicting the effects of whale population recovery on Northeast Pacific food webs and fisheries: an ecosystem modelling approach

The recovery of whale populations from historical depletion may have the potential to noticeably affect Northeast Pacific ecosystems and fisheries. Surplus production models based on whaling catch records were used to reconstruct the historical abundances of five large whale species in the waters surrounding Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. The results suggest that the local abundances of all five species were vastly higher before the onset of modern whaling. A comparison of ecosystem models representing the states of the local marine food web before and after full whale recovery indicates that abundant whales could consume large proportions of the annual production of their principal prey, ranging up to 87% for Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) and 72% for piscivorous rockfish (Sebastes spp.). Dynamic modelling of the food web effects of whale recovery, including simulations of simultaneous top‐down and bottom‐up forcing and a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis, revealed noticeable (～6–12%) top‐down effects on Pacific herring biomass owing to increased predation by humpback and fin whales. However, these effects cannot explain the magnitude of recent declines in local herring biomass. The dynamic modelling results also suggest that top‐down effects of whale recovery could result in reduced biomasses of large rockfish as a result of predation by sperm whales, as well as potential cascading effects on many demersal fish groups. These findings have numerous practical implications for ecosystem‐based fisheries management and whale conservation strategies in Northeast Pacific waters.     

The benefits of fringing mangrove systems to Mumbai

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