Characterisation of Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from foals and from immunocompromised human patients

The cultural, morphological, biochemical, serological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility of 25 Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from lungs and lung abscesses of pneumonic foals and 5 R. equi strains isolated from immuno-compromised human patients were examined. All R. equi strains showed common cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics both with conventional tests and on the basis of their enzyme profile. The R. equi strains examined were resistant to penicillins with the exception of ampicillin, to sulphamethazine and several strains also to sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim. All strains were susceptible to erythromycin and rifampicin. The strains isolated from humans showed somewhat higher rate of antibiotic resistance to penicillin, cefotaxime, kanamycin, streptomycin, lincomycin, and oxytetracycline. The overwhelming majority (96%) of the equine isolates belonged to serotype 1 in Prescott's serotyping system, while the human isolates could not be serotyped.     

Bacillary band ultrastructure of the fish parasite Capillaria pterophylli (Nematoda: Capillariidae)

In Capillaria pterophylli Heinze, 1933, two lateral bacillary bands extend along the whole body in female and male worms. A ventral bacillary band is present in females only. The bacillary bands consist of glandular and non-glandular cells, in the region between the nerve ring and the end of the stichosome, ciliated sense receptors in tight connection with gland are present.     

Nitrogen balance in barrows fed low-protein diets supplemented with essential amino acids

This study was conducted to determine the effect of addition of essential amino acids (EAA) to low-protein diets on N balance in barrows. Thirty barrows (Duroc × Yorkshire) with an initial BW of 36 kg were fed 5 corn- and soybean meal-based diets containing 13.6 to 18.2% crude protein (CP) for 10 d in a randomized complete block design. The 18.2% CP diet was formulated without addition of EAA (Lys, Met or Thr). The other diets contained 13.6 to 16.5% CP and were supplemented with EAA to provide 0.83% true digestible lysine equal to that in the 18.2% CP diet. Fecal, urinary, and total N excretion as well as N retention (g/d) decreased with decreasing dietary CP level (P < 0.01). The apparent digestibility of N was almost the same for the 18.2 and 16.5 CP diets, but the value was 2% higher (P = 0.07) than that for the 13.6% CP diet. These findings indicate that, compared with the 18.2% CP diets, supplementation with three EAA to the lowest-protein diets (13.6 CP) is inadequate for maximum intestinal protein digestion, amino acid absorption, or tissue protein deposition in growing barrows.     

Note: First record of the eucalyptus gall wasp<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ophelimus maskelli</Emphasis> and its parasitoid,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Closterocerus chamaeleon</Emphasis>, in Turkey

The Eucalyptus gall waspOphelimus maskelli (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eulophidae: Ophelimini) and its introduced parasitoidClosterocerus chamaeleon (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eulophidae: Entedoninae) are recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean and Aegean Regions of Turkey. Some morphological characters of adult and larva ofO. maskelli and larva ofC. chamaeleon are described and illustrated. Distributions of the two wasps collected in Turkey are given. Results indicate that the biological control agent,C. chamaeleon, has spread over 1,300 km in the 16 months since its initial release.     

Prediction of multinomial probability of land use change using a bisection decomposition and logistic regression

Land use change is an important research area in landscape ecology and urban development. Prediction of land use change (urban development) provides critical information for making the right policies and management plans in order to maintain and improve ecosystem and city functions. Logistic regression is a widely used method to predict binomial probabilities of land use change when just two responses (change and no-change) are considered. However, in practice, more than two types of change are encountered and multinomial probabilities are therefore needed. The existing methods for predicting multinomial probabilities have limits in building multinomial probability models and are often based on improper assumptions. This is due to the lack of proper methodology and inadequate software. In this study, a procedure has been developed for building models to predict the multinomial probabilities of land use change and urban development. The foundation of this procedure consists of a special bisection decomposition system for the decomposition of multiple-class systems to bi-class systems, conditional probability inference, and logistic regression for binomial probability models. A case study of urban development has been conducted to evaluate this procedure. The evaluation results demonstrated that different samples and bisection decomposition systems led to very similar quality and performance in the developed multinomial probability models, which indicates the high stability of the proposed procedure for this case study.     

Allelopathic potential of watermelon tissues and root exudates

Allelopathic potential of watermelon in hydroponic culture was investigated using the continuous root exudates trapping system (CRETS). Laboratory bioassays and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used for quantification of phytotoxins in different plant tissues and root exudates collected using XAD-4 resin. Seedling growth of both watermelon and lettuce was significantly inhibited by watermelon root exudates and the degree of inhibition increased with increasing concentration of exudates. Root exudates had inhibitory effects throughout the experiment and these were most pronounced during the period 41–50 days after transplanting. Inhibitory effects of various plant tissues were demonstrated using the bioassay tests. Frulic acid was the dominant component found using HPLC and the amounts of allelochemicals found in the plant extracts were correlated with the bioassay results using the Petri dish test. The results indicate that the allelopathic potential of watermelon may play an important role in the phenomenon referred to as ‘soil sickness’.     

UV-B radiation increases paraquat tolerance of two broad-leaved and two grass weeds in relation to changes in herbicide absorption and photosynthesis

Depletion of the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere leads to increasing UV‐B radiation on the earth's surface with potential effects on the response of plants to different stresses. Abutilon theophrasti, Amaranthus retroflexus, Digitaria sanguinalis and Chloris virgata are common weeds encountered in most arable fields in China. The effectiveness of herbicides used in controlling these weeds needs to be evaluated with increased UV‐B radiation. Seedlings of these four weeds were therefore grown under ambient and elevated UV‐B radiation to compare the efficacy of paraquat, a commonly used contact herbicide. Irrespective of species sensitivity to radiation, the elevated UV‐B radiation decreased the effectiveness of paraquat. Net photosynthesis rate was adversely affected except for D. sanguinalis, while the chlorophyll content was significantly reduced in A. retroflexus and C. virgata. UV‐B treatment increased the leaf surface wax and decreased the absorption of ¹⁴C‐paraquat in A. theophrasti, D. sanguinalis and C. virgata. These results suggest that the response of weeds to paraquat or the use of the herbicide may be affected by increased UV‐B radiation, to the extent that larger doses may be required to achieve desired effects. This may have damaging consequences for the environment.