Effect of drought on diameter increment of Quercus ilex, Phillyrea latifolia, and Arbutus unedo in a holm oak forest of NE Spain

The present study was carried out to elucidate the drought growth responses of Quercus ilex L., Phillyrea latifolia L., Arbutus unedo L., and other accompanying woody species of the Mediterranean holm oak forest. We submitted holm oak forest stands in Prades mountains (NE Spain) to a 2-year experimental drought. We reduced soil water availability about 15% by plastic strips and funnels that partially excluded rain throughfall and by ditch interception of water runoff. Mean stem diameter increment showed a great variation depending on the species. A. unedo had larger growth rates than Q. ilex and P. latifolia, but it was also the species that experimented the highest growth reduction in the drought plots (77%), suggesting a higher drought sensitivity than Q. ilex (55%) and P. latifolia (no drought effect). The growth reduction was specially marked in the larger trees. Aboveground stand biomass increment, estimated from stem diameter by allometric relationships, was 1.9 Mg ha⁻¹ per year in the control plots. The 15% reduction in the upper soil moisture produced 42% reduction in this biomass increment. In the drier conditions predicted in this Mediterranean area in the frame of climate change, an important reduction of growth rates can be hence expected, accompanied by a gain of dominance of drought-tolerant species such as P. latifolia in detriment of more mesic species such as Q. ilex.     

Detection of Incipient Germination in Malting Barley with a Starch Viscosity Method and a Proposed Ethanol Emission Method

The risk of germination loss during storage in two‐row malting barley can be reduced by identifying grain lots that have undergone incipient germination (IG) during harvest. A method based on starch viscosity that utilizes a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) is currently available for IG analysis. A new potential method, based on the measurement of ethanol emission (EE) from whole barley, may be more efficient and less expensive than the RVA procedure. Three storage experiments were performed: experiments 1 and 3 at 25°C and 80% rh, and experiment 2 in unheated, uninsulated buildings. Decline in germination energy (GE) varied from <1% to about 80% during storage. In experiments 1 and 3, R² for GE loss (expressed as [weeks to 5% loss of GE]^0.2) versus EE was 0.76 in both cases, whereas R² for GE loss versus RVA viscosity was 0.64 and 0.68, respectively. In experiment 2, the greatest loss of GE was associated with high temperatures and relative humidity in July and August. EE performed as well as RVA in the prediction of germination loss in all three trials. Although further evaluation of the EE method is required, it appears to be a promising alternative to the RVA technique.     

Detection of ruminant meat and bone meals in animal feed by real-time polymerase chain reaction: result of an interlaboratory study

The commercialization of animal feeds infected by prions proved to be the main cause of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Therefore, feed bans were enforced, initially for ruminant feeds, and later for all feeds for farmed animals. The development and validation of analytical methods for the species-specific detection of animal proteins in animal feed has been indicated in the TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) Roadmap (European Commission. The TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy) roadmap. URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/roadmap_en.pdf, 2005) as the main condition for lifting the extended feed ban. Methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) seem to be a promising solution for this aim. The main objective of this study was to determine the applicability of four different real-time PCR methods, developed by three National expert laboratories from the European Union (EU), for the detection and identification of cattle or ruminant species in typical compound feeds, fortified with meat and bone meals (MBM) from different animal species at different concentration levels. The MBM samples utilized in this study have been treated using the sterilization condition mandatory within the European Union (steam pressure sterilization at 133 degrees C, 3 bar, and 20 min), which is an additional challenge to the PCR methods evaluated in this study. The results indicate that the three labs applying their PCR methods were able to detect 0.1% of cattle MBM, either alone or in mixtures with different materials such as fishmeal, which demonstrates the improvement made by this technique, especially when compared with results from former interlaboratory studies.     

Different drought-adaptive capacity of a native Patagonian tree species (Nothofagus pumilio) resulting from local adaptation

European Journal of Forest Research - The resistance of different genotypes to abiotic stress may be due to genetic effects and/or to phenotypic plasticity allowing them to acclimate to variable...     

Mate choice of an endogeic earthworm revealed by microsatellite markers

Endogeic earthworms are difficult study subjects due to the cryptic medium in which they live; thus, only the behaviour of epigeic and anecic earthworms has been studied before. We used microsatellite markers as a tool to elucidate the mate choice processes of Hormogaster elisae, an endogeic earthworm. It was shown to normally mate with two partners, preferably of the same size that are found in close proximity thereby eliminating the need for long-distance dispersion, which could explain the previously observed high genetic differentiation between populations. The genetic analyses of the sperm within each of its four spermathecae showed a uniform distribution with no signs of differential storage of sperm from different partners.     

Sensitivity of Seeds to Chemical Mutagens,Detection of DNA Polymorphisms and Agro-Metrical Traits in M1 Generation of Coffee (Coffea arabica L.)

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Coffee (Coffea Arabica L.) is threatened by biotic and abiotic stresses. Nevertheless, the breeding of Arabica coffee is restricted due to its low...     

Effect of electrical stunning at slaughter on the quality of farmed turbot (Psetta maxima)

Food quality aspects of farmed turbot (Psetta maxima) were compared following two methods of slaughter: the current commercial method, by immersion in an ice slurry, which is then dewatered after approximately 20 min, or by first humanely, electrically stunning the fish using a prototype commercial stunner, before immersion in an ice slurry, which is dewatered after 20 min. Quality was assessed for up to 10 days of storage on ice following slaughter. No differences were found between the slaughter methods in terms of an overall carcass quality: overall appearance, haemorrhage, damage, burst gall bladder, staining of the body cavity by leakage from the gut or damage to the spine. No detectable difference was found between the treatments using the industry standard freshness scoring system, the Quality Index Method. Both groups of fish were classified as ‘Fresh’ after 10 days of storage on ice. Using objective measurements of colour, no differences between fish from either treatment were found in fillet colour. Changes in flesh pH were similar in electrically stunned and traditionally killed fish with a mean pH (±SE) at 2 h post‐mortem of 6.80±0.027 declining to 6.44±0.032 at 24 h post‐mortem. Humane electrical stunning of turbot at slaughter neither detectably improved nor decreased product quality as measured between 1 and 10 days of storage on ice.     

Use of atropine to reduce mucosal eversion during intestinal resection and anastomosis in the dog

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether atropine altered the degree of mucosal eversion during jejunal resection and anastomosis in the dog. STUDY DESIGN: Part I: Prospective, blinded, randomized, controlled study using a therapeutic dose (0.04 mg/kg systemic) of atropine. Part II: Prospective, unblinded, assigned, controlled study using a pharmacologic (0.04 mg/kg local arterial) dose of atropine. ANIMALS: Part I: Twenty-two young adult female Beagle dogs used during a nonsurvival third-year veterinary student surgical laboratory (small intestinal resection and anastomosis). Part II: Ten young adult female Beagle dogs used immediately after completion of a nonsurvival third-year veterinary student orthopedic surgical laboratory. METHODS: Part I: Dogs were randomly assigned to receive either atropine (0.04 mg/kg), or an equal volume of saline, given intramuscularly (premedication) and again intravenously prior to intestinal resection. Part II: In each dog, atropine (0.04 mg/kg)/saline was alternately given in the proximal/distal jejunum. RESULTS: Part I: There was no clinically or statistically significant difference between systemic atropine and saline solution on the degree of jejunal mucosal eversion after resection. Part II: There was a statistically significant decrease in jejunal mucosal eversion with atropine compared with saline solution when injected into a local jejunal artery. CONCLUSION: Systemic atropine (0.04 mg/kg) does not alter the degree of jejunal mucosal eversion during resection and anastomosis. Jejunal intraarterial atropine (0.04 mg/kg) reduced jejunal mucosal eversion during resection and anastomosis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The clinical usefulness and consequences of jejunal arterial atropine administration to reduce mucosal eversion remain to be determined.     

Use of a Japanese quail fibrosarcoma cell line (QT-35) in serologic assays to determine the antigenic relationship of avian metapneumoviruses.

The ability of a Japanese quail fibrosarcoma cell line (QT-35) to support the replication of avian metapneumoviruses belonging to the 3 subgroups A (14/1 virus), B (Colorado virus), and C (Hungary virus) enabled the development of assays for the detection and evaluation of virus-specific antibodies. On the basis of the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), plaque reduction neutralization assay (PRNA), immunofluorescent assay (IFA), and Western blot analysis, some degree of antigenic cross-reactivity was observed between prototype viruses belonging to each of the 3 subgroups A, B, and C. The antigen produced in QT-35 cells was found to be superior with respect to its reactivity with virus-specific antibodies, as determined when used in ELISA and IFA. Standardization of both the input virus and the virus-specific antibodies in PRNA enabled a more detailed analysis of the antigenic relationship between these viruses. Specifically, it was observed that 14/1 virus shared more neutralizing regions with Hungary and Colorado viruses than did either of these viruses with 14/1 virus. In addition, Hungary virus shared comparatively fewer neutralizing epitopes with the Colorado virus than did 14/1 virus. Western blot analysis of the reactivity patterns of virus antigen, produced in QT-35 cells, with subgroup-specific antibodies identified a cross-reactive protein migrating at approximately 18 kD. These assays and the information from the Western blot will enable further analysis of avian metapneumovirus isolates to determine antigenic relationships.