Coldness index does not indicate the upper limit of evergreen broad-leaved forest on a subtropical island

Many ecologists in East Asia consider that Kira’s coldness index (CI) of ?10 °C month agrees well with the northward and upward limits of evergreen broad-leaved forest (EBLF). It is of interest to establish whether CI is an effective indicator of the upper limit of EBLF in a tropical-to-temperate transitional island. A case study in Taiwan was conducted through a comparison of CI layers with field vegetation information. The results from spatial analysis revealed that the location of CI = ?10 isotherm was approximately 3,381 m a.s.l., within the Abies zone. The analysis of plots showed that vegetation near CI = ?10 isotherm was evergreen coniferous pure forest with 99.9 % relative dominance. The CI = 0 isotherm lay at approximately 2,594 m a.s.l., close to the boundary between the Tsuga–Picea and upper Quercus zones, with the CI = 0 isotherm in the transformation zone between evergreen coniferous and broad-leaved trees. However, the vegetation near CI = 0 isotherm tended more toward coniferous forest showing a total relative dominance of 78.26 %. The two-way cluster dendrogram of vegetation plots revealed identical results. The preceding evidence, combined with the spatial pattern of 3,564 plots along CI and elevation gradients, made it clear that CI did not indicate the upper limit of EBLF in Taiwan. Other information on the CI criterion are discussed. To explore the differentiation of altitudinal vegetation, further research should be made to connect ecoclimatic factors such as effective warmth index with information from vegetation plots.     

The assessment of rill irrigation and perforated pipes for Lowland paddy rice under the system of rice intensification (SRI)

Paddy and Water Environment - Irrigated paddy rice needs new strategies and tools to improve water use efficiency and productivity by applying just enough to sustain production with huge savings on...     

Systemic trichomoniasis in a squab operation.

Systemic trichomoniasis was responsible for severe morbidity and mortality in a commercial squab operation. Squabs of 1 to 3 weeks of age were primarily affected. Extensive caseous necrosis of the liver, heart, lung, and intestinal mesentery was observed grossly. Histologically, extensive heterophilic inflammation surrounded the necrotic areas and was observed perivascularly in areas that were uninvolved grossly. Numerous trichomonads were demonstrated in affected tissues with Bodian's silver stain.     

Duration of immunity in foxes vaccinated orally with ERA vaccine in a bait.

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) vaccinated orally with the ERA strain of rabies vaccine in a bait were challenged after 83 mo. Ten of 11 foxes that had seroconverted following vaccination resisted challenge with a virulent rabies virus which produced clinical signs of rabies in 6 of 6 unvaccinated foxes. Five of 11 vaccinated animals retained titers of rabies virus neutralizing antibody throughout the period. Although 6 of 11 had no detectable antibody at the time of challenge, 5 of these 6 resisted challenge and had an anamnestic response, as indicated by elevated titers of antibody when measured at day 77 postchallenge. These results show that foxes can be immunized successfully with a single oral dose of ERA vaccine, probably with protection against a lethal rabies challenge, for at least 7 y.     

A dominant antigenic epitope on SARS-CoV spike protein identified by an avian single-chain variable fragment (scFv)-expressing phage

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly emergent human disease, which requires rapid diagnosis and effective therapy. Among antibody sources, immunoglobulin Y (IgY) is the major antibody found in chicken eggs and can be used as an alternative to mammalian antibodies normally used in research and immunotherapy. In this study, phage-expressing chicken monoclonal scFv antibody was chosen and characterized with phage display antibody technology. Truncated fragments of SARS-CoV spike protein were cloned in pET-21 vector and expressed in BL-21 Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells. After purification, the purity of these recombinant spike proteins was examined on SDS-PAGE and their identity verified with Western blot analysis using anti-his antibodies and sera from convalescent stage SARS-CoV-infected patients. Using these bacteria-derived proteins to immunize chickens, it was found that polyclonal IgY antibodies in the egg yolk and sera were highly reactive to the immunogens, as shown by Western blot and immunocytochemical staining analysis. A phage displaying scFv library was also established from spleen B cells of immunized chicken with 5 x 10(7) clones. After four panning cycles, the eluted phage titer showed a 10-fold increase. In sequence analysis with chicken germline gene, five phage clones reacted, with large dissimilarities of between 31 and 62%, in the complementarity-determining regions, one dominant phage 4S1 had strong binding to fragment Se-e, located between amino acid residues 456-650 of the spike protein and this particular phage had significantly strong binding to SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells. Based on the results, we conclude that generating specific scFv-expressing phage binders with the phage display system can be successfully achieved and that this knowledge can be applied in clinical or academic research.     

Antiinflammatory flavonoids from Artocarpus heterophyllus and Artocarpus communis

The antiinflammatory activities of the isolated flavonoids, including cycloartomunin (1), cyclomorusin (2), dihydrocycloartomunin (3), dihydroisocycloartomunin (4), cudraflavone A (5), cyclocommunin (6), and artomunoxanthone (7), and cycloheterohyllin (8), artonins A (9) and B (10), artocarpanone (11), artocarpanone A (12), and heteroflavanones A (13), B (14), and C (15) from Artocarpus communis and A. heterophyllus, were assessed in vitro by determining their inhibitory effects on the chemical mediators released from mast cells, neutrophils, and macrophages. Compound 4 significantly inhibited the release of beta-glucuronidase and histamine from rat peritoneal mast cells stimulated with P-methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine (compound 48/80). Compound 11 significantly inhibited the release of lysozyme from rat neutrophils stimulated with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP). Compounds 8, 10, and 11 significantly inhibited superoxide anion formation in fMLP-stimulated rat neutrophils while compounds 2, 3, 5, and 6 evoked the stimulation of superoxide anion generation. Compound 11 exhibited significant inhibitory effect on NO production and iNOS protein expression in RAW 264.7 cells. The potent inhibitory effect of compound 11 on NO production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages, probably through the suppression of iNOS protein expression.     

Schisandrin B protects against solar irradiation-induced oxidative injury in BJ human fibroblasts

The effects of schisandrin B (Sch B) and its analogs on solar irradiation-induced oxidative injury were examined in BJ human fibroblasts. Sch B and schisandrin C (Sch C) increased cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) level and protected against solar irradiation-induced oxidative injury. The photoprotection was paralleled by decreases in the elastases-type protease activity and matrix-metalloproteinases-1 expression in solar-irradiated fibroblasts. The cytochrome P-450-mediated metabolism of Sch B or Sch C caused ROS production. The results suggest that by virtue of its pro-oxidant action and the subsequent glutathione antioxidant response, Sch B or Sch C may offer the prospect of preventing skin photo-aging.