Low seed/nut productivity in cashew (Anacardium occidentale): Effects of self-incompatibility and honey bee (Apis mellifera) foraging behaviour

Summary

The roles of self- versus cross-pollination and honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) foraging behaviour in low nut yield of cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) were studied in NE Brazil in 1997 and 1998. It was shown that both self- and cross-pollination can set fruits in cashew, but most of fruits originating from self-pollination are shed 9–15 d after pollination, and fruits harvested are primarily from cross-pollination. Honey bees display foraging behaviour in cashew orchards conducive to cross-pollination, but in plantations originating from clonal material they failed to increase fruit yield despite cashew's dependence on insect pollination. It is concluded that cashew has a mechanism of selective abortion through which it discards self-pollinated fruits and that honey bees can contribute to increased fruit yield only when cashew trees of genetically diverse origin are found in the same orchard.     

Using landscape and depth gradients to decouple the impact of correlated environmental variables on soil microbial community composition

Simultaneously assessing shifts in microbial community composition along landscape and depth gradients allows us to decouple correlations among environmental variables, thus revealing underlying controls on microbial community composition. We examined how soil microbial community composition changed with depth and along a successional gradient of native prairie restoration. We predicted that carbon would be the primary control on both microbial biomass and community composition, and that deeper, low-carbon soils would be more similar to low-carbon agricultural soils than to high carbon remnant prairie soils. Soil microbial community composition was characterized using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and explicitly linked to environmental data using structural equations modeling (SEM). We found that total microbial biomass declined strongly with depth, and increased with restoration age, and that changes in microbial biomass were largely attributable to changes in soil C and/or N concentrations, together with both direct and indirect impacts of root biomass and magnesium. Community composition also shifted with depth and age: the relative abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria increased with both depth and restoration age, while gram-negative bacteria declined with depth and age. In contrast to prediction, deeper, low-C soils were more similar to high-C remnant prairie soils than to low-C agricultural soils, suggesting that carbon is not the primary control on soil microbial community composition. Instead, the effects of depth and restoration age on microbial community composition were mediated via changes in available phosphorus, exchangeable calcium, and soil water, together with a large undetermined effect of depth. Only by examining soil microbial community composition shifts across sites and down the soil column simultaneously were we able to tease apart the impact of these correlates environmental variables.     

Effects of rake angle of chisel plough on soil cutting factors and power requirements: A computer simulation

A computer simulation was conducted to predict the effects of rake angle of a chisel plough and soil bulk density on angle of soil failure plane, rupture distance, width of side crescent, frictional, overburden, cohesion and adhesion soil cutting factors, draft forces and drawbar power requirements. The experimental work was carried out in two locations. Soil of the first location was sandy clay with the soil bulk densities of 1.75 and 1.70 g/cm³ for firm and loose soil conditions, respectively, with an angle of internal friction of 30° and a surface friction angle of 20°, cohesion of 2.5 kN/m² and adhesion of 1.2 kN/m². Soil of the second location was clay loam with the soil bulk densities of 1.65 and 1.50 g/cm³ for firm and loose soil conditions, respectively, with an angle of internal friction of 34° and a surface friction angle of 23°, cohesion of 2.4 kN/m² and adhesion of 1.14 kN/m². The prediction showed that the angle of failure plane found to decrease with the rake angle. The rupture distance decreased with the rake angle from 15° to 55° and then increased as the rake angle increased over 55°. The width of the side crescent increased as the rake angle increased and the maximum value and the minimum value were recorded at 75° and at 15°. Values of frictional and overburden factors decreased as rake angle increased. The maximum and minimum values were recorded at 15° and 75°, respectively. The values of cohesion factor increased as rake angle increased. The maximum value was recorded at rake angle of 75° and the minimum value was recorded at rake angle of 15°. Adhesion factor was found to change inversely with the rake angle from 15° to 55° and then to change directly with the rake angle over 55°. The draft force decreased with the rake angle and reached its minimum value at 45° rake angle. Over 45°, the draft force increased and reached its maximum value at 75° rake angle. The draft increased with soil bulk density. The power required for moving the plough recorded the maximum value at rake angle of 15°, while the minimum value was recorded at 55° rake angle. The values of power increased with decrease of soil bulk density. The predicted values demonstrated some deviations from the experimental values of the draft force and the drawbar power.     

Dietary supplementation with Acanthopanax senticosus extract enhances gut health in weanling piglets

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Acanthopanax senticosus extract (ASE) as a dietary additive on gut health in weanling piglets by examining diarrhea frequency, intestinal microbiota and morphology. A total of 96 Duroc× (Landrace × Yorkshire) piglets weaned at 21 days of age with an average initial body weight (BW) of 5.6 ± 0.4 kg were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups with 4 duplicates of 8 piglets each. The piglets were fed basal diet to which had been added 0 or 1 g/kg of ASE, or 0.7 g/kg antibiotics, respectively. Fecal consistence was monitored twice daily and the frequency of diarrhea was calculated. On day 21 after the initiation of supplementation, 8 piglets were randomly selected from each treatment group (2 piglets per pen) and slaughtered. The jejunum, ileum, colon and cecum were then excised and fixed in 10% neutral formalin solution to determine villus height and crypt depth, after their contents were collected to determine microbiota. The results showed that dietary supplementation with ASE increased (P < 0.05) the density of bacterial populations that co-migrated with Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium lituseburens, but decreased (P < 0.05) those co-migrating with Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Ruminococcus forques, and E. coli O157:H7 in the PCR-DGGE profiling analysis when compared with the control group. The villus height of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum increased (P < 0.05) by 14.8, 13.7 and 10.0%, while the crypt depth decreased (P < 0.05) by 17.9, 9.1 and 12.1%, respectively, in response to dietary ASE supplementation. Additionally dietary supplementation with ASE or an antibiotic decreased (P < 0.05) the frequency of diarrhea by 55.6 and 52.2%, respectively, compared with the control group. In conclusion, these findings suggest that dietary supplementation with ASE could regulate the microbiota composition and maintain a normal morphology of gut mucosa in weanling piglets, thereby decreasing diarrhea that resulted from weaning stress.     

Grassland responses to grazing disturbance: plant diversity changes with grazing intensity in a desert steppe

This study quantifies the impact of four different grazing regimes (heavy, moderate, light and ungrazed) on the vegetation dynamics of rangeland ecosystems along the southern boundary area of the Mu Us Desert, China. As the grazing intensities decreased, the soil quality, canopy cover, height, density, above‐ and below‐ground biomass, litter, root/shoot ratio and native plant (Aneurolepidium dasystachys) and grass abundances significantly increased; the above‐ground biomass of grasses increased, but the above‐ground biomass of forbs decreased. Ungrazed grassland has significantly improved from grasslands experiencing three other levels of grazing pressure, especially in the grassland biomass. Species richness increased as the grazing intensity decreased in the grazing grasslands, but peak species richness appeared under moderate and light grazing against lower productivity. Grazing exclusion causes desirable transitions in plant communities of desert steppe rangelands. Therefore, appropriate and efficient grazing exclusion is an available way to counteract local grassland degradation and promote rangeland sustainability.     

Gill Reaction to Pollutants from the Tamiš River in Three Freshwater Fish Species,Esox lucius L. 1758, Sander lucioperca (L. 1758) and Silurus glanis L. 1758: A Comparative Study

The study evaluated the effects of waterborne pollutants from the Tami? River on gill histology and possible differences in gill reaction patterns between three freshwater fish species, pike Esox lucius L. 1758, pike‐perch Sander lucioperca (L. 1758) and wels catfish Silurus glanis L. 1758 from the Tami? River. Gills from analysed fish species showed moderate to intense histopathological alterations. The most frequent progressive alteration was hyperplasia of epithelium, whereas the most frequent regressive alteration was epithelial lifting. Circulatory disturbances were most often manifested in the form of hyperaemia. During comparative analysis, differences in gill indices, reaction and alteration indices, as well as in gill and filament prevalence between analysed species, were observed. Although all analysed fish species did show both progressive and regressive alterations, there was a significant difference in the level of expression of these reaction patterns. Gill index obtained for pike clearly stands out as the lowest. Wels catfish showed the highest progressive reaction index, significantly higher in comparison with the other two species (P < 0.05), while pike‐perch showed the highest regressive reaction index, also significantly higher in comparison with the other species (P < 0.001). These results may implicate species‐specific gill reactions and thus present a useful tool for better understanding toxic mechanisms of various pollutants.     

Echocardiographic and electrocardiographic examination of clinically healthy, conscious ferrets

Objectives : To assess the feasibility of performing electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography on conscious ferrets and to establish reference values for this species under these conditions. Methods : End‐systolic and end‐diastolic left ventricular (LV) diameters, LV and interventricular septal thicknesses were measured by M‐mode echocardiography, while left atrial, aortic and pulmonary trunk diameters were determined by two‐dimensional echocardiography in 46 ferrets. In some animals the maximum velocities of blood flow in the aorta and the pulmonary trunk were also measured by spectral Doppler. ECG examinations were performed by using limb leads both in right lateral recumbency and in the so‐called “hanging” position. In the course of the ECG examinations (n=43), the occurrences, directions, durations and amplitudes of the P, QRS and T waves and the duration of the PR‐ and QT intervals were recorded for all six leads. Results : ECG and echocardiography were successfully performed on non‐sedated ferrets in 90 and 96% of the cases, respectively. Males were significantly heavier and had larger cardiac dimensions compared to females. Clinical Significance : Performance of both echocardiography and ECG are feasible techniques in conscious ferrets, and reference values are now available for future comparisons.     

Reproductive seasonality in Saanen goats kept under tropical conditions

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed to verify the reproductive seasonality in Saanen goats from distinct parity orders (nulliparous, primiparous, and pluriparous) throughout an...     

Osteological Development of the Garfish (Belone belone) Larvae

Garfish, Belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761) is an elongate, slander fish inhabiting the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. These fish from the Belonidae (Actinopterygii) family have important commercial value for Croatian fisheries. Samples for research were collected from experimental hatching in the Novigrad Sea. Preparation techniques included fixation in buffered formalin, trypsin clearing and staining with alcian blue and alizarin red. As little is known of garfish osteology and bone morphology, the main goal of this study was to describe ossification process in garfish fry. At hatching, no skeletal structure is present. Newly-hatched larvae also had no osteological elements. Ossification started at 7 day post-hatching (DPH) [total length (TL) 18 mm] with head bones and vertebral neural arch. Head skeleton continued to develop mostly over the period from 7 to 10 DPH. At 21 DPH (TL 49 mm), ossification process seemed to be finished, but it was not possible to distinguish borders of all bones. The primary interest of our research was to understand the growth dynamics as well as transformation of supporting body elements from cartilage to bone. At the end, developmental characteristics and functional aspects of this formation in different fish species are discussed.     

白三叶基因工程改良研究进展

白三叶（Trifolium repens L.）作为优良牧草和地被植物具有重要的应用价值。但其耐盐碱、干旱能力差等原因致使应用受到广泛限制,转基因技术的快速发展为白三叶种质创新提供了有效技术手段,为开展白三叶分子育种奠定了基础。本文就近30年来有关白三叶组织培养、转化方法、转基因遗传改良方面的研究进展进行了综述,并对其应用进行了展望。