Seasonal and estradiol-17β-stimulated changes in thyroid function of adult Geotria australis,a southern hemisphere lamprey

Measurable in vitro hepatic monodeiodinase activity of the southern hemisphere lamprey, Geotria australis, was present only during the first 5 of the 16 month upstream spawning migration of this species. The production of T3 from T4 in vitro was pH-sensitive, and exhibited typical Michaelis-Menton kinetics. No consistent differences in the serum T4 concentrations were found in animals sampled at different times during the period of their residence in fresh water. However, serum T3 concentrations underwent a progressive decline during this period. Estradiol-17β (E2), administered as a suspension in hydrogenated coconut oil, induced a lowering of serum T4 concentrations and a rise in serum T3:T4 ratios, but had no measureable effect on liver size and serum concentrations of total calcium and protein. In the males, E2 induced the production of a small amount of a serum protein assumed to be vitellogenin, but there was no conspicuous increase in the amount of the same protein in females. This response to E2-challenge parallels more closely that of cyprinids than that of salmonids.     

Multiresidue analysis of cotton defoliant, herbicide, and insecticide residues in water by solid-phase extraction and GC-NPD, GC-MS, and HPLC-diode array detection

A multiresidue procedure was developed for analysis of cotton pesticide and harvest-aid chemicals in water using solid-phase extraction and analysis by GC-NPD, GC-MS, and HPLC-DAD. Target compounds included the defoliants tribufos, dimethipin, thidiazuron; the herbicide diuron; and the insecticide methyl parathion. Three solid-phase extraction (SPE) media, octadecylsilyl (ODS), graphitized carbon black (GCB), and a divinylbenzene-N-vinyl pyrollidine copolymer (DVBVP), were evaluated. On GCB and ODS, recoveries varied depending on compound type. Recoveries were quantitative for all compounds on DVBVP, ranging from 87 to 115% in spiked deionized water and surface runoff. The method detection limit was less than 0.1 microg L(-)(1). SPE with DVBVP was applied to post-defoliation samples of surface runoff and tile drainage from a cotton research plot and surface runoff from a commercial field. The research plot was defoliated with a tank mixture of dimethipin and thidiazuron, and the commercial field, with tribufos. Dimethipin was detected (1.9-9.6 microg L(-)(1)) in all research plot samples. In the commercial field samples, tribufos concentration ranged from 0.1 to 135 microg L(-)(1). An exponentially decreasing concentration trend was observed with each successive storm event.     

Rapid viral induction of plasmacytomas in pristane-primed BALB-c mice

Strain BALB/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 milliliter of pristane, and 39 to 56 days later they were infected with Abelson murine leukemia virus, which is a lymphosarcomagenic variant of Moloney virus. Fifty-eight percent of the mice developed lymphosarcoma, and 28 percent developed immunoglobulin-producing plasmacytomas within 20 to 93 days (77 to 149 days after the pristane injection). Two of 57 control mice developed plasmacytomas at days 138 and 166 after a single injection of pristane; no plasmacytomas were found in mice treated with virus alone.     

Interpretation of snow-climate feedback as produced by 17 general circulation models

Snow feedback is expected to amplify global warming caused by increasing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. The conventional explanation is that a warmer Earth will have less snow cover, resulting in a darker planet that absorbs more solar radiation. An intercomparison of 17 general circulation models, for which perturbations of sea surface temperature were used as a surrogate climate change, suggests that this explanation is overly simplistic. The results instead indicate that additional amplification or moderation may be caused both by cloud interactions and longwave radiation. One measure of this net effect of snow feedback was found to differ markedly among the 17 climate models, ranging from weak negative feedback in some models to strong positive feedback in others.     

Modeling the impacts of soil management practices on runoff, sediment yield, maize productivity, and soil organic carbon using APEX

Simulation models are increasingly used to analyze the impact of agricultural management at the watershed-scale. In this study, the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model was tested using long-term (1976–1995) data from two watersheds (W2 and W3) at the USDA Deep Loess Research Station near Treynor, Iowa. The two watersheds were cropped with continuous corn (Zea mays L.) and managed with conventional-tillage at W2 (34.4 ha) and ridge-till at W3 (43.3 ha). The monthly runoff and sediment yield were calibrated for the two watersheds during 1976–1987 by adjusting the curve numbers, curve number index coefficient, RUSLE C factor exponential residue and height coefficients, and erosion control practice factor for grassed waterways. Soil organic carbon values in the top 0.15 m soil layer were calibrated for the two watersheds in 1984 by adjusting the microbial decay rate coefficient. Model validation was conducted from 1988 to 1995. The calibrated model was able to reasonably replicate the monthly and yearly surface runoff and sediment yield for both watersheds for the validation period, with Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies (EF) larger than 0.62 except for the EF of 0.41 for monthly sediment yield comparison at W3. The errors between the predicted and observed means were all within ±6% for runoff and sediment yield; predicted soil organic carbon in the 0.15 m soils in 1994 were within 10% of the observed values for both watersheds. The percentage error between the predicted and observed average corn grain yields was −5.3% at W2 and −2.7% at W3 during the 20-year simulation period. Scenario analyses were also conducted to assess the benefits of ridge-till over conventional-tillage. Over the 20 years, the predicted benefit of ridge-till versus conventional-tillage on surface runoff reduction was 36% in W2 and 39% in W3, and about 82–86% sediment yield reduction in both watersheds. The cumulative soil organic carbon losses from sediment were reduced about 63–67%. The long-term benefit of ridge-till over conventional-tillage was also quantified as a minimum corn grain yield increase of 3.8%. The results of this study indicate that APEX has the ability to predict differences between the two tillage systems. The modeling approach can be extended to other watersheds to examine the impacts of different tillage systems.     

Transcutaneous direct current cardioversion in a foal with lone atrial fibrillation

There are rare published reports of atrial fibrillation (AF) in foals, all of which are associated with structural heart disease or within the adaptive period of newborns. This report describes a 3-month-old Thoroughbred filly with AF and a structurally normal heart on echocardiography. Medical cardioversion of the foal's AF was attempted with three 20mg/kg doses of quinidine sulfate therapy without success. Timed, transcutaneous, direct current cardioversion was successfully performed using adhesive patches on the midthorax in conjunction with intravenous procainamide at a total dose of 20mg/kg. A normal sinus rhythm was maintained through discharge from the hospital and at recheck 5 months after cardioversion. Transcutaneous direct current cardioversion presents a feasible alternative to quinidine sulfate or transvenous electrical cardioversion in young or lower body weight equids.     

A United States national prioritization framework for tree species vulnerability to climate change

Climate change is one of several threats that will increase the likelihood that forest tree species could experience population-level extirpation or species-level extinction. Scientists and managers from throughout the United States Forest Service have cooperated to develop a framework for conservation priority-setting assessments of forest tree species. This framework uses trait data and predictions of expected climate change pressure to categorize and prioritize 339 native tree species for conservation, monitoring, management and restoration across all forested lands in the contiguous United States and Alaska. The framework allows for the quantitative grouping of species into vulnerability classes that may require different management and conservation strategies for maintaining the adaptive genetic variation of the species within each group. This categorization is based on risk factors relating to the species’ (1) exposure to climate change, (2) sensitivity to climate change, and (3) capacity to adapt to climate change. We used K-means clustering to group species into seven classes based on these three vulnerability dimensions. The most vulnerable class encompassed 35 species with high scores for all three vulnerability dimensions. These will require the most immediate conservation intervention. A group of 43 species had high exposure and sensitivity, probably requiring conservation assistance, while a group of 69 species had high exposure and low adaptive capacity, probably needing close monitoring. This assessment tool should be valuable for scientists and managers determining which species and populations to target for monitoring efforts and for pro-active gene conservation and management activities.