Effects of a high-protein diet versus dietary supplementation with ammonium chloride on struvite crystal formation in urine of clinically normal cats

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a high-protein diet versus dietary supplementation with ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) on struvite crystal formation in the urine of clinically normal cats by measuring the urine concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl)-insoluble sediment, urine pH, struvite activity product (SAP), number of struvite crystals in urine, and urine volume. ANIMALS: 23 healthy adult cats. PROCEDURE: Urine was fractionated by centrifugation with subsequent extraction of the sediment with 1 N HCl (study 1). Diets containing either 29% crude protein or 55% crude protein were fed to cats in a crossover trial of 3 weeks/period (study 2). Diets supplemented with either sodium chloride (NaCl) or NH4Cl were fed, by use of a 3 x 3 Latin-square design with 3 wk/period (study 3). In studies 2 and 3, urine samples were collected for the last 7 days of each period. RESULTS: The HCl-insoluble sediment contained Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein (THP; study 1). The high-protein diet (study 2) and dietary supplementation with NH4Cl (study 3) resulted in a decrease in urine pH, SAP, and the number of struvite crystals in urine. However, the high-protein diet decreased urine concentrations of HCl-insoluble sediment containing THP (study 2), in contrast to the NH4Cl supplementation that increased urine volume without a significant effect on the urine concentration of the HCl-insoluble sediment (study 3). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our results indicate that compared with dietary supplementation with NH4Cl, the high-protein diet is preferable as a urine acidifier for the prevention of struvite crystal formation in clinically normal cats.     

Clinical response of ovarian cysts in dairy cows after PRID treatment

We investigated the therapeutic effects of a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) on cystic ovarian disease (COD) and reproduction performance of cows. The possible influence of PRID on metabolic and/or health status was also examined. A total of 40 Holstein-Friesian cattle, with ovarian cystic structures, > or =2.5 cm in diameter, persisting for more than 7-14 days, without a corpus luteum (CL) were used for the study. PRID or placebos were inserted into the vagina for 12 days. Five animals lost the intravaginal device before removal and one was culled. Based on plasma progesterone concentration on the day of treatment, 20 (17 PRID and 3 placebos) of the remaining 34 cows had follicular cysts (progesterone < or =1 ng/ml) and 14 (10 PRID and 4 placebos) had luteal cysts (progesterone >1 ng/m l). Fourteen (82%) of the PRID-treated follicular cystic cows responded with formation of a CL within 14 days after treatment, and an overall conception rate of 53.8%. Likewise, 70% of the treated luteal cystic cows responded with CL formation and 71.4% conception rate. No significant differences were observed in hematocrit (Ht), white blood cell count and serum levels of glucose, blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase, between the day of PRID insertion and removal, in animals with follicular and luteal cysts. PRID treatment resulted in ovulation 2-4 days later and formation of a CL in cows that recovered.     

Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, Neospora caninum, Bovine leukemia virus, and Bovine viral diarrhea virus infection among dairy cattle and herds in Alberta and agroecological risk factors associated with seropositivity

A province-wide, cross-sectional seroprevalence and agroecological risk factor study of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), Neospora caninum (NC), Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), and Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDv) genotypes 1 and 2 (BVDv1 and BVDv2) infection in dairy cattle herds in Alberta was conducted. Among adults, the seroprevalence of MAP, NC, and BLV was 9.1%, 18.5%, and 26.9%, respectively. For MAP, based on a herd test cutpoint of 2 or more seropositive cows, 58.8% of herds were infected. Herd-level seroprevalence for NC and BLV was 98.7% and 86.7%, respectively, based on a herd-test cutpoint of 1 seropositive cow. Among unvaccinated dairy heifers, the seroprevalence for BVDv1 and BVDv2 infection was 28.4% and 8.9%, respectively, while herd-level infection was 53.4% and 19.7%. Seroprevalence for MAP varied moderately by agroecological region, whereas that for NC, BLV, and BVDv1 and BVDv2 did not. For MAP, aridity and soil pH (correlated features of the region) were also important.     

耐热枸杞新品种‘宁农杞9号’

‘宁农杞9号’是由内蒙古‘宁夏枸杞’生产园中发现的特异性单株经无性扩繁选育成的新品种。具有生长旺盛、自交不亲和、耐热、果粒大、等级率高等特点。平均单果质量1.06 g,纵横径比2.5,果肉厚1.8 mm,平均含籽数32个,鲜干比4.3 ~ 4.7;干果总糖452.8 mg · g-1,枸杞多糖21.4 mg · g-1,甜菜碱8.3 mg · g-1,类胡萝卜素2.245 mg · g-1。适宜在宁夏、青海、甘肃、新疆、内蒙古等宁夏枸杞适生区栽植。     

Leaf water relations in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus densiflora</Emphasis> Sieb. et Zucc. on different soil moisture conditions

To elucidate the differences in the leaf water relations of Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc. growing in different soil moisture conditions, we examined the pressure-volume curve and the diurnal changes in the stomatal conductance, the transpiration rate, and the leaf water potential. The leaf water relations were compared using field-grown 40-year-old pine trees growing on the upper and lower parts of a slope. We also compared the leaf water relations of potted 4-year-old saplings growing at pF 4.2 and pF 1.8 soil moisture levels for almost 1 year. The values of the ratio of symplasmic water at turgor loss point to symplasmic water at saturated point (V_p/V_o) and bulk modulus of elasticity () of both the adult trees on the upper part of the slope and the potted saplings growing on pF 4.2 soil moisture were higher than those values of both the adult trees on the lower part of the slope and the potted saplings growing on pF 1.8 soil moisture, respectively. The field-grown adult tree and the potted saplings growing under long-term water stress tended to reduce their stomatal conductance in response to the acute soil drying. It is suggested that P. densiflora growing under long-term water stress rapidly closed its stomata in response to soil drying and avoided losing water, and could also rapidly absorb water with reducing water loss because of the decrease in the leaf pressure potential derived from the high values.     

Comparison of stand dynamics after dieback caused by pine wilt disease among pine forests with different management regimes in western Japan

In pine forests damaged by pine wilt disease, in western Japan, the effect of protection regimes of pine trees on the stand dynamics were examined in the following four stands: (1) lightly damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in operation for protecting pine trees; (2) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in place for protecting pine trees; (3) severely damaged stand (age 50 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees; (4) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees. All the stands had been abandoned before the pine wilt disease damage. The understory structure of the severely damaged stand with no protection procedure was similar to that of the lightly damaged stand. Frequent invasion by tree species and acceleration in the growth of understory trees occurred after the dieback in the selective cutting stand. These results suggest that a deficiency in the canopy layer caused by the dieback resulted in low disturbance intensity in the early stages after the dieback, but the selective cutting increased the intensity by the reduction in the understory as well as the canopy layer. The intensity of the disturbance in the selective cutting stands was larger in the younger stand because it had a higher density of selectively cut pine trees. The different stand structure of pine forests occurred after the dieback because the intensity of the disturbance varied as a result of the selective cutting operation and the stand age.     

Effects of single-tree and group selection harvesting on the diversity and abundance of spring forest herbs in deciduous forests in southwestern Ontario

Selection harvesting, by mimicking natural disturbance regimes of eastern deciduous hardwood forests, has been applied as a sustainable management practice that combines wood production with biodiversity conservation. However, the effects of this technique on understory herbs are unclear, particularly for spring ephemerals which have been suggested as sensitive to disturbance. Here, we experimentally assess the immediate effects of single-tree and group selection harvesting on spring ephemeral richness, diversity and abundance in deciduous forests of southwestern Ontario, Canada. Spring herbs were quantified in 4 m² plots before and one growing season after harvesting and compared to similar uncut, reference stands. The percent of species lost was significantly higher in reference than harvested plots. Mean species richness significantly increased after harvesting, predominately due to an increase in spring–summer species. Increases in the diversity of early spring flowering species were significantly greater in the group selection plots than reference plots. At the community level, no species appeared to be vulnerable to harvesting, and ordination analysis indicated that post-harvest communities were primarily determined by pre-harvest community composition. Furthermore, no species declined in abundance in response to harvesting, and overall percent cover increased proportionately more in single-tree selection plots than in group selection or reference plots. While harvesting appears to have negligible effects on spring ephemerals immediately following harvest, we recommend additional studies over longer time frames to assess possible successional effects and to discriminate treatment induced changes from naturally high yearly variation in species composition.     

Variations in relative stomatal and biochemical limitations to photosynthesis in a young blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) plantation subjected to different weed control regimes

Foliar gas exchange and carbon (delta(13)C) and oxygen (delta(18)O) isotope ratios were measured in a young blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis Sm.) plantation subjected to four weed control treatments defined by the width of the weed-free strip maintained for the first 12 months after planting. Treatments were: 2-m-wide weed-free strip (50% of plot area, 2.0MWC), 1.5-m-wide weed-free strip (37.5% of plot area, 1.5MWC), 1-m-wide weed-free strip (25% of plot area, 1.0MWC) and no weed control (NWC). Our objectives were to determine (1) if decreasing the width of the weed control strip (decreasing herbicide use) affected growth and leaf photosynthesis of the plantation, and (2) the effects of the weed control regimes on variations in relative stomatal and biochemical limitations to photosynthesis. Trees in the 1.0MWC treatment had lower foliar light-saturated photosynthetic rate (A(sat)) than trees in the 2.0MWC treatment. An increase in metabolic limitation was responsible for the decrease in A(sat) in the 1.0MWC trees, which was also partly confirmed by the isotopic data. Compared with trees in the 1.0MWC, 1.5MWC and 2.0MWC treatments, A(sat) of NWC trees was significantly lower, a difference that was attributable mainly to stomatal limitation and to a lesser extent to biochemical limitation. The results support the conclusion that different weed control regimes cause differences in relative stomatal and biochemical limitations to plantation photosynthesis. This report contributes to a growing body of literature on competition for soil resources between trees and weeds. Our results highlight the usefulness of the stable isotopic method in supporting analysis of the response of net photosynthesis to varying intercellular CO(2) concentration for determining the relative stomatal and non-stomatal limitations to photosynthesis under experimental conditions in the field.