Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis in a Birman kitten

Extract

A 6-month-old female Birman kitten was presented for long-lasting and repeated seizures. It initially had some response to treatment but deteriorated and was euthanised. At necropsy, the brain was swollen and some of the caudal cerebellum was compressed into the foramen magnum. The right cerebral hemisphere was enlarged and had a round, dark, 5 mm-diameter focus on the dorsal surface of the rostral sigmoid gyrus of the frontal cerebrum. There were smaller dark areas extending caudally into the endomarginal gyrus. When the fixed brain was sliced transversely, the lesions were grey-coloured or translucent and involved most of the rostral half of the right cerebral hemisphere. Histologically, there was severe, extensive pyogranulomatous inflammation with some interspersed areas of spongiosus and oedema. Within the granulomas were variable numbers of branching, pigmented, thin-walled, septate fungal hyphae. Cladosporium bantianum (trichoides) was isolated from the brain. This is the most frequent agent reported from cases of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis.     

Histidine and carnosine reduce muscle fatigue in Xenopus laevis

The inclusion of either histidine or carnosine in a frog Ringer’s perfusate at a concentration of 20 mmol/dm³ reduced fatigue in the gastrocnemius muscle ofXenopus laevis significantly. Histidine was superior to carnosine in this respect. The evidence also suggests that muscles perfused with histidine exhibit superior recovery, accumulate less lactic acid and lose significantly less K⁺ from the intracellular fluid. The implications of these findings in future research on capture myopathy are discussed.     

A standard set of host differentials and unified nomenclature for an international collection of Diplocarpon rosae races

Black spot of rose is distributed throughout the world and is the most serious disease of roses (Rosa spp.) in the outdoor landscape. Resistance breeding has been frustrated by the occurrence of races of the causal pathogen Diplocarpon rosae. Races from Germany, North America and the UK have been characterized and maintained in a pathogenic state. However, these races were characterized using independent sets of host genotypes and are referenced using different nomenclatures. In the present study, a total of 15 D. rosae isolates from these locations, as well as Belgium and Italy, were inoculated to a common set of 15 rose cultivars in replicated, detached leaf trials. Baby Love^TM (cv. Scrivluv) was resistant to all isolates except for one originating from the UK. The rose cultivars Mrs Doreen Pike (Ausdor) and Hansa were resistant to all isolates except for one originating from Minnesota, USA. No rose genotype was universally susceptible. A total of 11 pathogenic races were differentiated based on their unique host ranges and were assigned an international race nomenclature. Nine cultivars are proposed as the first standard set of differential genotypes for characterization of D. rosae races.     

Effects of dietary supplementation with an organic source of selenium on characteristics of semen quality and in vitro fertility in boars

Semen characteristics in boars fed organic or inorganic sources of Se were assessed in 3 experiments. Crossbred boars were randomly assigned at weaning to 1 of 3 dietary treatments: I) basal diets with no supplemental Se (control), II) basal diets with 0.3 mg/kg of supplemental Se from an organic source (Sel-Plex, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, KY), and III) basal diets supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg of supplemental Se from sodium selenite (Premium Selenium 270, North American Nutrition Co. Inc., Lewisburg, OH). For Exp. 1, semen was collected from boars (n = 10/dietary treatment) on 5 consecutive days at 15 mo of age. Effects of treatment × day were detected for the proportions of progressively motile (P = 0.02) and rapidly moving (P = 0.03) spermatozoa, and measures of sperm velocity, including path velocity of the smoothed cell path (P = 0.05) and average velocity measured in a straight line from the beginning to the end of the track (P = 0.05). Negative effects of day of semen collection on sperm motility were least pronounced in boars fed Sel-Plex. Experiment 2 was conducted when boars were 17 mo of age, and semen was collected (n = 10 boars/dietary treatment), diluted in commercially available extenders, and stored at 18°C for 9 d. Effects of treatment × day were detected for percentages of motile (P = 0.01) and static (P = 0.01) spermatozoa, amplitude of lateral head displacement (P = 0.02), frequency with which the sperm track crossed the sperm path (P = 0.04), straightness (P = 0.01), and average size of all sperm heads (P = 0.03). In general, sperm cells from boars fed Sel-Plex were better able to maintain motility during liquid storage compared with boars fed sodium selenite. For Exp. 3, semen was collected from boars (n = 6/dietary treatment) at 23 mo of age, and spermatozoa were evaluated at d 1 and 8 after semen collection using in vitro fertilization procedures. There was a tendency for an effect (P = 0.11) of dietary treatment on fertilization rate with Sel-Plex-fed boars having the greatest value (70.7%). The results of this study suggest that there are positive effects of dietary supplementation with Sel-Plex on boar semen characteristics and that organic Se supplementation may help ameliorate the negative effects of semen storage on characteristics of sperm motility.     

Variability associated with the official USDA sampling plan used to inspect export wheat shipments for Tilletia controversa spores

The variability associated with estimating the true concentration of teliospores of dwarf bunt ( Tilletia controversa ) per 50 g of wheat (TC concentration) in an export wheat shipment was studied by measuring the TC concentration in 16 test samples (50 g) taken from each of 137 export shipments. The variability among the 16 TC test sample results, as measured by the standard deviation, was found to increase with TC concentration. The functional relationship was approximately linear in a full-log plot and regression analysis was used to determine the coefficients of the regression equation. Using statistical theory, the regression equation was modified to predict the standard deviation among test sample sizes other than the 50 g size used in this study. The standard deviation and coefficient of variation associated with using a 50 g test sample to estimate the true TC concentration of a wheat shipment with 2000 spores per 50 g were estimated to be 1062·8 and 53·1%, respectively. Increasing test sample size to 1600 g reduced the standard deviation and coefficient of variation to 187·9 and 9·4%, respectively.     

A census of maerl beds in Irish waters

1. Records of maerl beds in Irish waters were compiled from the following sources: Admiralty Charts, published/unpublished ecological/geological accounts, and personal communications/observations. 2. Geographic and depth distributions of maerl records in Irish waters are discussed. Two main areas, Galway Bay–Connemara and South West Ireland, were identified as harbouring the highest concentrations of confirmed records, with maximum depth of confirmed records being approximately 25–30 m. 3. Deposits shown as ‘crl’ markings on older Admiralty Charts may refer to maerl and are situated at greater depths (to 95 m) and are further offshore than confirmed deposits (to 32 m), the latter being based on more recent observations. 4. Although the precise number of maerl beds in Irish waters cannot be assessed from the available records, the minimum number of larger beds (>1 km²), based on confirmed records only, is 35–40 beds located in 18 areas. In addition, along the south‐west coastline numerous smaller spatial aggregations (as small as 1–5 m²) occur. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Magna Charta of Environmental Legislation: A historical look at 30 years of NEPA-Forest Service Litigation

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 changed the landscape of natural resource management by requiring federal agencies to assess the environmental consequences of their proposed actions and to include the public in their decision-making processes. Of all federal agencies in the United States, the Forest Service prepares the most Environmental Impact Statements under NEPA. The U.S. Forest Service manages the National Forest System, public forestlands comprising approximately 9% of the United States land area. The overall objectives of this study were to (1) determine the litigants, success rates, and management activities disputed for NEPA litigation involving the Forest Service from 1970 to 2001 and (2) examine differences and patterns in cases among the U.S. District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts. Methods include a historical analysis of published court cases and results show an increasing trend in the number of NEPA-Forest Service cases in the federal courts. Environmental groups were the most common litigants in NEPA-Forest Service cases and timber harvesting, management plans, and endangered species were the subject of the majority of cases in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Forest Service won a preponderance of cases in which they were involved with success rates of 60% in U.S. District Court, 57% in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and 100% in the U.S. Supreme Court.