Studies in riding arenas and on different riding path surfaces with respect to respiratory tract contamination in horses. Air hygiene studies in riding arenas

Using the direct sedimentation method, the air pollution with fungal spores was measured in indoor riding arenas and compared to horse stables, outside riding arenas and covered sport courts. Depending on the location of indoor arenas and stables, the presence of "dust-nests", the number of horses ridden, and the moisture of the tread layer, an air pollution was measured which was equivalent to that in stables except at times of feeding and straw-giving. Outside and in sport arenas a low air pollution was found. Recommendations are given, regarding optimum air hygiene especially for horses with chronic and subclinical respiratory conditions.     

Role of precipitation chemistry versus other watershed properties in Wisconsin lake acidification

Data for over 100 watershed properties, including aspects of topography, hydrology, geology, soils, vegetation, lake morphometry and input precipitation chemistry, have been developed since 1980 for 316 watersheds in northern Wisconsin. The hypothesis being evaluated for this lake population is that the observed water chemistry, can be accounted for as a function of antecedent water and chemical inputs, after considering exchange processes in the lake and watershed and the lake/groundwater interactions. The variables found by regression analysis to explain observed variability in color, sulfate, and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) levels in Wisconsin lakes are: for color, vegetative characteristics, mean depth, and water renewal times; for sulfate, precipitation concentration of sulfur, evaporative concentration, and lake water renewal time; ANC appears to be controlled by the size of the watershed, lake depth or water renewal time, and the intensity of anthropogenic inputs and cultural developments in the watershed. These results differ from previous studies in Wisconsin and nearby areas of Michigan and Minnesota by indicating that in some lakes acidity may not be in equilibrium with current precipitation chemistry.     

Evidence for proteolysis of a recombinant prion protein in a lamb brain‐amended loamy soil

Soils contaminated by prions, the infectious agents responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases, remain infectious to grazing animals for many years. In this study, the ability of enzymes produced by soil microbes to degrade a recombinant prion protein (recPrP) was investigated in a loamy soil. A ¹⁵N‐labelled recPrP was added to soil in which microbial biomass and soil proteolytic activity had been increased by either simultaneous or prior amendment with lamb brain, and distribution of ¹⁵N among soil solid particles, soluble molecules and bacterial biomass was determined. After 1 day the proportions of recovered recPrP‐N associated with microbial biomass and soluble molecules were 6–9 and 15–19%, respectively, which is consistent with the hypothesis of degradation. A greater incorporation of ¹⁵N‐derived β‐sheeted recPrP into the microbial biomass pool occurred when the soil proteolytic activity was pre‐stimulated by a lamb brain amendment, suggesting that the recPrP degradation in soil is mediated by the activity level of proteolytic enzymes produced by the microbial biomass. The majority (35–87%) of the recovered recPrP‐N was associated with the soil particles. An observed partial degradation of recPrP deposited on a mica surface by soil soluble enzymes indicated a sorption‐related resistance to proteolysis. In conclusion, integration of the stimulation and turnover of the soil microbial component, after an input of a large amount of animal organic matter with the sorption properties of prion protein, is required to model and predict prion survivability, transformation and transmissibility in soil.     

Variabilite Spatiale Des Variations Du Stock D'Eau Du Sol Sous Foret: Application A l'Optimisation d'Un Dispositif De Mesure Du Bilan Hydrique

An example of principal component analysis applied to soil water storage change data from an experimental forest stand is presented. It is suggested that this analysis method would be suitable to identify the factors which influence the spatial variability and to select, from thirteen measurement points, two representative points of the hydrodynamic functionning of this stand. The first principal component explains 82 percent of the variability. It is highly correlated with the bulk density of the soil. The next component is associated with multidimensional flow. The selected points have mean coordinates on the first axis and are neutral on the second axis. The mean error in the estimation of the changes of soil water storage, mades from the only measurement of these two points, is negligible.