Using Leaf Mass per Area as predictor of light interception and absorption in crop/weed monoculture or mixed stands

The partitioning of light absorption is difficult to assess in natural or cultivated mixed vegetation canopies. Previous research has shown that it is possible to estimate light absorption in monospecific canopies from the Leaf Mass per Area (M_A), which is closely related to the prevailing light conditions experienced by the leaf during its development.The effectiveness of this approach in assessing light partitioning at individual plant level was tested on monospecific and mixed crop/weed plots. Canopy absorbed PAR (APAR) was estimated in monocultures or 1:1 mixed stands of Abutilon theophrasti Medicus and Glycine max L. (soybean) using a relationship between intercepted PAR (IPAR) and M_A, calibrated at individual leaf level against incident light measurements. The accuracy of estimates was evaluated through comparison with APAR calculated from incident light measurements taken independently at various heights at whole canopy level.The use of the experimentally assessed relationship of IPAR vs. M_A provided acceptable absorption estimates. The average departure of estimates from measurements, expressed as Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), was 10.2%. By comparison, a numerically optimized version of the model that excluded the effects of experimental errors in single-leaf PAR measurements, yielded estimates with an average RMSE of 4.8%. The lower accuracy of the estimates based on the experimental IPAR-M_A relationship was due to experimental error but also to a high sensitivity of the M_A-based estimates to the model coefficients.M_A variability in monoculture or mixed canopies was confirmed to be highly dependent on the PAR distribution, so M_A is potentially suitable for use as a predictor of light absorption. However, due to the sensitivity of the model, a high experimental accuracy in IPAR-M_A assessment as well as in M_A and LAI distribution has to be guaranteed in order to perform reliable estimates by this method.     

Comparison of real-time PCR with conventional PCR and culture to assess the efficacy of a live attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis in commercial leghorn chicks vaccinated under field and laboratory conditions

The efficacy of a live attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium Megan Vac 1 vaccine (MV1) was evaluated against Salmonella Enteritidis in chicken pullets with the use of PCR and culture methods. Two hundred Hyline W-32 white leghorn chicks were obtained from a local hatchery and divided into four treatment groups. Two of the groups served as positive and negative controls. The MV1 vaccine was administered to the chicks in the remaining two groups at 1 and 35 days old by either the coarse spray (field) or the oral route (laboratory) method. The chicks were challenged with a high dose of a Salmonella Enteritidis strain at 10 wk old and euthanatized 3 days postinoculation. Samples for PCR analysis were collected prior to enrichment, after pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water (BPW) and after primary enrichment from the ceca, liver, and spleen. None of the samples tested yielded positive results for the Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine strain by either the culture or PCR methods. Results from the standard culture method showed that vaccinating the birds with MV1 reduced the counts of Salmonella Enteritidis recovered from the challenged birds. In addition, fewer pre-enriched samples tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis among the challenged groups that were vaccinated when compared to the unvaccinated challenged group. Under the conditions of this study, MV1 was unable to prevent colonization of other internal organs such as the liver and spleen. Real-time PCR was significantly more sensitive than conventional PCR (C-PCR) prior to enrichment, but after enrichment the sensitivities of the two methods were similar. Enrichment significantly increased the sensitivity of both PCR methods for the detection of Salmonella Enteritidis in cecal samples, but did not significantly increase the sensitivity for detection of Salmonella Enteritidis in liver and spleen samples that were pre-enriched in BPW. There was no significant difference between the laboratory or field vaccination methods with respect to either the prevalence of Salmonella Enteritidis isolation or the bacterial loads in culture-positive samples. Collectively, the data suggest that MV1 offered some protection against Salmonella Enteritidis in commercial layer chick pullets under the conditions of this study. Given the labor and time required to perform the C-PCR and culture methods, the real-time PCR method may prove to be a more useful method to use in diagnostics.     

Effects of castration-induced visceral obesity and antioxidant treatment on lipid profile and insulin sensitivity in New Zealand white rabbits

Molecular mechanisms, responsible for the impaired insulin-sensitivity state due to the obesity are not fully understood in both humans and animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of castration-induced visceral obesity and the influence of two antioxidants on constituents of blood lipid profile and insulin sensitivity in New Zealand white rabbits. Twenty-six clinically healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were used in the experiment and were divided into 3 groups: first group (CI, n = 7) - castrated-obese and treated with antioxidants “Immunoprotect” for 2 months; second group (CO, n = 7) - castrated-obese; third group (NC, n = 12) - control group (non-castrated, non-obese). At the end of the follow-up period of 2 months after castration an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was performed after a 12-h fasting period as the blood samples for determination of glucose and insulin and their kinetic parameters were obtained at 5 and 0 min before and at 5, 10, 30, 60 and 120 min after the infusion of the glucose. The constituents of lipid profile, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) were also assessed in the overnight fasting blood samples. The body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), amount of the visceral fat (VF) and VF/BW ratio were both measured and calculated before the IVGTT and at the end of the experimental period. All measured markers of obesity (BW, BMI, VF, VF/BW) were significantly higher in both groups of castrated rabbits than in the control group. Apart HDL-C, the plasma concentrations of all constituents of lipid profile (TG, TC, HDL-C) were the highest in CO group. There were generally no differences between CI and NC groups for the same traits. After glucose injection blood glucose concentrations and glucose and insulin kinetic parameters were considerably higher (except of glucose elimination rate) in CO rabbits than in NC ones. Castrated rabbits treated with “Immunoprotect” showed lower fasting plasma insulin and improved glucose kinetics dynamics than CO rabbits, but commensurable values of glucose and insulin kinetics parameters than NC group. The results of the current study clearly indicated that castration-induced visceral obesity affected negatively the lipid profile and insulin sensitivity and/or responsiveness. Treatment with antioxidant supplementation, consisted of d-limonene and vitamin E, improved blood lipid profile, fatty liver, glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in obese rabbits. In addition, based on our results we may suggest that castrated male New Zealand white rabbits might be considered as an appropriate animal model to study various metabolic abnormalities related to visceral obesity, such as dyslipidemia and impaired insulin sensitivity.     

Detection and identification of the maize bushy stunt phytoplasma in corn plants in Brazil using PCR and RFLP

Plants of corn (Zea mays L.) exhibiting symptoms of stunting and leaf reddening were assayed for the presence of phytoplasma gene sequences through the use of phytoplasma rRNA and ribosomal protein gene and maize bushy stunt (MBS) phytoplasma-specific oligonucleotide primers in polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Polymorphisms in 16S rDNA amplified from diseased plants were those characteristic of phytoplasmas classified in the16S rRNA gene group 16SrI, subgroup IB, of which MBS phytoplasma is a member. Amplification of ribosomal protein (rp) gene sequences in PCR primed by phytoplasma-specific primers confirmed presence of a phytoplasma in the diseased plants. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of the amplified phytoplasma rp gene sequences were similar or identical to those observed for a known strain of MBS phytoplasma. In separate PCR, an MBS-specific oligonucleotide pair primed amplification of a MBS-characteristic DNA from templates derived from the diseased corn. Our data provide the first firm evidence for the presence of maize bushy stunt phytoplasma in corn in Brazil.     

Temporal and Spatial Changes in Spruce Bark Acidity at the Scale of the Czech Republic in the Last Two Decades,and the Current Abundance of Epiphytic Lichen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypogymnia physodes</Emphasis>

Two large-scale national monitoring campaigns investigating changes in spruce bark extract acidity and long-term monitoring of bark acidity along elevation transects have been carried out in the Czech Republic. The investigations have revealed significant average changes in the pH values of bark extracts (4 g: 16 ml) from 2.35 to 2.60 between 1989 and 1995, and from 2.60 to 3.25 between 1995 and 2005. In comparison with 1990, the H⁺ concentrations in bark extracts had decreased by 10–15% in 1995 and by 70% in 2005. National emissions of acidic compounds were reduced by about 58% (1995) and 62% (2005), and the mean annual H⁺ deposition was reduced by about 60% (1995) and by about 80% (2005). However, neither inventoried current absolute amounts nor specific regional amounts of emitted acidic pollutants correlated significantly with bark acidity in 1995 and 2005. Bark acidity was not significantly affected by the elevation of the sampling plots or by the average tree defoliation. Along the altitudinal transects, considerably defoliated trees near the top of mountain ridges showed permanently lower bark acidity than trees lower down the mountain slopes. Significant differences in average bark acidity were found between defined mountain, highland and lowland elevation zones. In 2005, the epiphytic lichen Hypogymnia physodes was found at almost all sampling plots, with the exception of the most industrialised areas of two coal basins. The abundance of the lichen correlated significantly and negatively with spruce bark acidity and with total nitrogen and copper concentrations in moss growing at the bark sampling plots in 2005.     

Myelomeningocoele and a dermoid sinus-like lesion in a French bulldog

A 2-year-old male French bulldog was presented for investigation of lumbosacral pain and hindlimb ataxia associated with urinary and fecal incontinence. Survey radiography, myelography, and computed tomography images were suggestive of a dermoid sinus with associated spina bifida. Surgical intervention led to a resolution of pain and neurological deficits. Histopathological analysis of the excised tissue was compatible with a myelomeningocoele of the 7th lumbar vertebra.     

Carbon and nitrogen dynamics along the log bark decomposition continuum in a mesic old-growth boreal forest

Narrowing the uncertainties in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics during decomposition of coarse woody debris (CWD) can significantly improve our understanding of forest ecosystem functioning. We examined C, N and pH dynamics in the least studied CWD component—tree bark in a 66-year-long decomposition chronosequence. The relative C concentration decreased by ca. 32% in pine bark, increased by ca. 18% in birch bark and remained stable in spruce and aspen bark. Nitrogen increased in bark of all tree species. In conifer bark, it increased along with epixylic succession. Over 45 years, the relative C/N ratio in bark decreased by 63 and 45% for coniferous and deciduous species, respectively. Bark pH did not change. Due to bark fragmentation, the total C and N amounts in bark of individual logs of aspen, birch, pine and spruce decreased at average rates of 0.03, 0.02, 0.26 and 0.05 year^?1, and 0.02, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.03 year^?1, respectively. At the forest stand level, the total amounts of C and N in log bark were 853 and 21 kg ha^?1 or 11.2 and 45.5% of the C and N amounts stored in downed logs and ca. 2.3–3.8 and 2.2–2.4%, respectively, of total C and N amounts stored in forest litter. In boreal forests, decomposing log bark may act as a long-term source of N for wood-inhabiting communities.