Innovative methods in soil phosphorus research: A review

Phosphorus (P) is an indispensable element for all life on Earth and, during the past decade, concerns about the future of its global supply have stimulated much research on soil P and method development. This review provides an overview of advanced state‐of‐the‐art methods currently used in soil P research. These involve bulk and spatially resolved spectroscopic and spectrometric P speciation methods (1 and 2D NMR, IR, Raman, Q‐TOF MS/MS, high resolution‐MS, NanoSIMS, XRF, XPS, (µ)XAS) as well as methods for assessing soil P reactions (sorption isotherms, quantum‐chemical modeling, microbial biomass P, enzymes activity, DGT, ³³P isotopic exchange, ¹⁸O isotope ratios). Required experimental set‐ups and the potentials and limitations of individual methods present a guide for the selection of most suitable methods or combinations.     

Equine herpesvirus 1‐associated ulcerative dermatitis in a horse

This case report describes the clinical and histopathological findings of an infection caused by equine herpesvirus‐1 (EHV‐1) in a horse showing respiratory signs and a papular, crusted and ulcerative dermatitis involving mucosae. This diagnosis was supported by real‐time PCR positive for EHV‐1 on nasal swabs and tissues.     

A comparative proteomic study of plasma in feline pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis to identify diagnostic biomarkers: A pilot study

While pancreatitis is now recognized as a common ailment in cats, the diagnosis remains challenging due to discordant results and suboptimal sensitivity of ultrasound and specific feline pancreatic lipase (Spec fPL) assay. Pancreatitis also shares similar clinical features with pancreatic carcinoma, a rare but aggressive disease with a grave prognosis. The objective of this pilot study was to compare the plasma proteomes of normal healthy cats (n = 6), cats with pancreatitis (n = 6), and cats with pancreatic carcinoma (n = 6) in order to identify potential new biomarkers of feline pancreatic disease. After plasma protein separation by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, protein spots were detected by Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 staining and identified by mass spectrometry. Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1), and apolipoprotein-A1 precursor (Pre Apo-A1) appeared to be differentially expressed, which suggests the presence of a systemic acute-phase response and alteration of lipid metabolism in cats with pancreatic disease. Future studies involving greater case numbers are needed in order to assess the utility of these proteins as potential biomarkers. More sensitive proteomic techniques may also be helpful in detecting significant but low-abundance proteins.     

Bird assemblages as bio-indicators of water regime management and hunting disturbance in natural wet grasslands

Responses of the waterbird community to the management regime of a wet grassland system (primarily small changes in the water regime but also hunting disturbance) in a large floodplain lake, Grand-Lieu, were studied during three consecutive years (winter and spring in 1998-2000). These temporarily flooding grasslands (1100 ha) constituted a very important feeding area by supporting large flocks of waterbird species (52 regular spp., totalling up to 14?250-22?850 birds). A global similar seasonal pattern in the presence of waterbird species was recorded whatever the year. The March-May period was a key phase with the maximum species richness (42-48 spp.) and the maximum abundance (30-40% of the total according to year, essentially Anseriformes). Late in spring Ciconiiformes and to a lesser extent some waders exploit this feeding area. Nevertheless some changes in bird assemblages were exhibited according to the management regime (a decreasing spring water level from 1998 to 2000, and an exceptional hunting ban in January 2000, instead of an usual stop in late February). The hunting disturbance clearly limited diurnal accessibility of ducks to wet grasslands in January and February 1998 and 1999. Also, the duck population in flooding grasslands increased by 55-65% in January 2000 when hunting was prohibited and in the same time the richness species grew from 14-19 spp. up to 23 spp. in 2000. The overall impact of a high spring water level on waterbirds as in 1998 and to a lesser extent in 1999 (with respectively 54 and 35 cm of mean water level against 25 cm in 2000) was an increase in diving fish-eating birds and larger flocks of resting gulls. Conversely these conditions, notably a reduced period with a spring water level under 25 cm in spring (20 days in 1998-1999 instead of 40 days in 2000) were adverse to numerous ground-feeding waterbirds (Ciconiiformes and waders) that require shallow waters. This study showed that limitation of human disturbance and moderate flooding of wet grasslands can increase their attractiveness for numerous species of high conservation status.     

Profiling and quantification of isoflavonoids in kudzu dietary supplements by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

The kudzu vine (Pueraria sp.) is a rich source of isoflavones. Dietary supplements based on kudzu have become commercially available. In the present study, liquid chromatography coupled with negative and positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and diode array detection (DAD) has been used for the detection and characterization of isoflavonoids in kudzu dietary supplements (KDS). The MS/MS spectrum of the protonated ion of puerarin showed characteristic product ions of the C-glycoside unit itself, whereas daidzin generated an abundant Y(0)(+) aglycon ion in its product ion spectrum. A base peak due to the loss of 120 Da [M + H - 120](+) is the diagnostic ion for C-glycosides. Neutral loss scans allowed for the detection of other C- and O-glycosides in the methanolic extract of KDS, and their structures have been proposed. The concentration of isoflavonoids in the methanolic extract of commercially available KDS was quantified by using DAD-HPLC. Puerarin, rather than daidzin, was the most abundant component (8.44-30.60 mg/capsule) in commercially available KDS.     

Understanding the role of urban forests for migrants – uses,perception and integrative potential

Worldwide migration and integration are current issues facing big cities. Immigrants and their descendants represent an important percentage of today's urban populations. Different policies ranging from labour markets to education, housing or health policies address the specific needs of this part of society. However, public policy and planning concepts related to urban forests rarely focus on immigrants. Very few studies investigate the recreation patterns of immigrants despite the potential influence of their different cultural backgrounds on their perceptions or preferences regarding urban woodlands. In addition, urban woodlands could potentially play a role in the social integration of migrants into the society due to being an element of nature with a strong symbolic identification potential and also a public space for social interactions. This paper discusses the results of a qualitative enquiry carried out in Freiburg, Germany, involving migrants from Turkey, the Balkan countries and Russia-Germans. The results point towards many differences in their recreational use patterns and their perception of urban forests, especially between the Turkish interviewees and the other two groups. Furthermore, the results suggest that the emotional attachment to forests can play diverse roles in the identification process of immigrants to their host country. Finally, social interactions were depicted in the interviews as being an important aspect of a forest visit. Nevertheless, social contact between forest visitors seemed to remain mostly on a ‘small-talk’ level.     

Plant‐available N:P alters root litter N recycling in a Mediterranean tree–grass ecosystem

Background: Nitrogen deposition can cause an ecosystem‐level shift in available N (nitrogen) to P (phosphorus) availability. However, most plant N nutrition is from edaphic sources rather than deposition and in seasonally dry grassland systems, root litter is the predominant nutrient source. Aims: We were interested how litter turnover and altered nutrient recycling from dead biomass can compensate for these shifts in ecosystem stoichiometry. Methods: We studied a Mediterranean savanna amended with N or NP treatments three years prior. We measured root and plant‐available soil N:P stoichiometry in two micro‐habitats: open pasture and beneath oak canopies. ¹⁵N‐labelled root litter incubated in topsoils without litterbags was used to trace uptake of litter N by herbaceous strata roots. Results: Since fertilization, NP added sites have become relatively P enriched, resulting in lower N:P ratios in living roots than either when N was added alone or control sites. Total litter‐derived ¹⁵N uptake by roots was proportional to root ingrowth response but higher in the NP than N treatment, indicating a higher N demand when N and P were added together. We observed more ¹⁵N uptake by plants under tree canopies, indicating a tighter nutrient recycling loop in these micro‐habitats in contrast to treatment level ‘fertility' trends. Conclusions: Root stoichiometry responded to manipulated soil nutrient availability and N uptake was altered as plants attempted to compensate for nutrient availability imbalances, indicating that these ecosystem perturbations have long term effects on nutrient cycling which can propagate to whole system function. This was also related to functional community‐level adaptions between micro‐habitats with under canopy communities more able to take advantage of the litter nutrient source.