Disturbance in the growth of the tibia and femur in dogs.

The clinical and radiographic features associated with premature cessation of the growth of the tibia (four) and femur (eight) in 12 dogs are described. Surgical correction of the resultant deformity was possible in only a few cases. Trauma was thought to be the cause of the local growth plate disorder.     

Tissue distribution and blood levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase in the horse.

In the horse, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) was found to be mainly located in the kidneys, liver and pancreas. As renal lesions are followed by a urinary escape of enzyme, it can be assumed that if there are raised serum enzyme levels then the source will be chiefly from the liver and pancreas. In the blood, GGT can be measured either in plasma or serum. Its mean level in 58 horses was 12 U/L. This level was not affected by moderate dilution or slight haemolysis and its activity was only slightly decreased by storage at--30 degrees C. The relative hepatic specificity of this enzyme and its easy measurement make it a potentially very useful measure of liver dysfunction in the horse.     

Primary liver-cell tumour (hepatoma) in sudanese desert sheep—A report of two cases

Summary At meat-inspection examination after abattoir slaughter, two Desert sheep oged 3 to 4 years showed hepatoma. There were several tumours in the liver of each but no metastatic lesions in other organs of the body. The macroscopic and microscopic appearances are described as also the chemical changes in the serum constituents.     

Studies on digenetic trematodes of the genus Prosthodendrium Dollfus, 1931 from some Egyptian bats. 2. Trematodes of the subgenus Paralecithodendrium Odhner, 1911

A review of the subgenus Paralecithodendrium Odhner, 1911 is presented. Prosthodendrium (Paralecithodendrium) glandulosum (Looss, 1896) is redescribed from some Egyptian bats. The present study indicated that this species is a very variable one. Moreover, a new species P. (Paralecithodendrium) aegyptiacum is described from two species of bats.     

The use of blood meal in tropical broiler diets

Summary Sixteen hundred commercial broiler chicks (Cobbs) were used to investigate the food value of blood meal in broiler production under Sudanese conditions. Seven experimental diets, containing various levels of blood meal, were fed to groups of chicks from 0 to 9 weeks of age and the performance was compared with those on a control diet containing 15 per cent meat meal. The results indicated that 6 per cent blood meal can be used in broiler diets without growth rate being adversely affected.

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Sumario Mil seicientos pollos parrilleros de origen comercial (Cobbs) fueron usadospara investigar el valor alimenticio de la harina de sangre en la producción de pollos parrilleros bajo condiciones propias del Sudan. Siete dietas experimentales conteniendo varios niveles de harina de sangre fueron alimentadas a grupos de pollos de 0–9 semanas de edad y el rendimiento fue comparado con aquellos bajo una dieta control conteniendo 15 por ciento de harina de carne. Los resultados indicaron que la harina de sangre puede ser usada economicamente a niveles no mayores de 6 por ciento en la dieta de los pollos parrilleros.

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Résumé Seize cent poulets de chair (Cobbs) étaient utilisés pour étudier la valeur alimentaire de la farine de sang pour la production de poulets dans les conditions du Soudan. Sept régimes expérimentaux, contenant des taux différents de farine de sang, étaient distribués à des groupes de poulets agés de 0 à 9 semaines et les performances étaient comparées avec celles d'un régime témoin contenant 15 p. 100 de farine de viande. Les résultats montrent que la farine de sang peut être employée économiquement jusqu'à 6 p. 100 dans la ration des poulets de chair.

     

Principles for regulatory testing and interpretation of semi-field and field studies with non-target arthropods

This paper is a guidance document for side-effect testing with plant protection products on non-target arthropods under semi-field and field conditions. The principles, methods, endpoints and interpretation of non-target arthropod semi-field and field trials which should be conducted for registration of plant protection products in the European Union are presented and discussed. The recommendations presented reflect the opinions of the experts from authority, academia, industry and consulting which participated at the IOBC (International Organisation of Biological Control), BART (Beneficial Arthropod Regulatory Testing) group and EPPO (European Plant Protection Organisation) Joint Initiative workshop held in Versailles (France) on the 25–26 October, 1999.     

On the use of spectral reflectance indices to assess agro‐morphological traits of wheat plants grown under simulated saline field conditions

Successful breeding of plants for salinity stress tolerance requires realistic growing conditions and fast, non‐destructive evaluation techniques for phenotypic traits associated with salinity tolerance. In this study, we used subsurface water retention technique (SWRT) as a growing condition and spectral measurements as an evaluation method to assess different agro‐morphological traits of salt‐tolerant (Sakha 93) and salt‐sensitive (Sakha 61) wheat genotypes under three salinity levels (control, 60, and 120 mm NaCl). The effects of salinity on agro‐morphological traits were evaluated and related with forty‐five published vegetation‐ and water‐spectral reflectance indices (SRIs) taken at both the heading and grain milk growth stages for each salinity level, genotype, and growth stage. In general, the agro‐morphological traits gradually decreased as salinity levels increased; however, the reduction in these traits was more pronounced in Sakha 61 than in Sakha 93. The effect of salinity levels and their interaction with genotypes on the SRIs was only evident at the grain milk stage. The performance of the spectral reflectance indices depicted that the closest associations with agro‐morphological traits depended on salinity level, degree of salt tolerance of the genotypes, and growth stage. The SRI‐based vegetative indices correlated better with growth and yield of Sakha 93 than SRI‐based water indices and vice versa for Sakha 61. The SRI‐based vegetative and water indices are effective for assessment of agro‐morphological traits at early growth stages under high salinity level. The functional relationship between grain yield per hectare and the best SRIs was linear for the high salinity level and Sakha 61; however, the quadratic model was found to best fit this relationship for the control, moderate salinity level, and Sakha 93. The overall results indicate that the usefulness of the SRIs for assessment of traits associated with salinity tolerance is limited to salinity level and growth stage.     

Effect of livestock grazing and human uses on herbaceous species diversity in oriental beech （Fagus orientalis Lipsky） forests,Guilan, Masal,northern Iran

Plant diversity plays key ecological roles in forest ecosystems, including influencing succession, resilience and nutrient cycling. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of livestock grazing and human uses on herbaceous species diversity. We surveyed 50 ha of protected area and 50 ha of unprotected area to evaluate herbaceous species diversity in oriental beech （Fagus orientalis Lipsky） forests in northern Iran. We calculated and compared three indices each of diversity and evenness, and species richness between the two areas. Herbaceous cover was higher in the unprotected area while leaf litter depth and tree canopy cover were higher in the protected area. The diversity indices, H （Shan- non-Wiener index ）, N~ （McArthur index）, N2 （Hill＇s index）, EQ （Modified Nee index）, E,ar （Smith-Wilson index）, E5 （modified index of Hill） and R=S （species richness） and species richness R=S were greater in the protected area than in the unprotected area, suggesting that protection from grazing results in increased numbers of plants and species. The effect of land protection on plant diversity was more pronounced for evenness than for species richness and the positive correlation between diversity and evenness indices was higher than that between diversity and richness.