Computer networking for scientists

Scientific research has always relied on communication for gathering and providing access to data; for exchanging information; for holding discussions, meetings, and seminars; for collaborating with widely dispersed researchers; and for disseminating results. The pace and complexity of modern research, especially collaborations of researchers in different institutions, has dramatically increased scientists' communications needs. Scientists now need immediate access to data and information, to colleagues and collaborators, and to advanced computing and information services. Furthermore, to be really useful, communication facilities must be integrated with the scientist's normal day-to-day working environment. Scientists depend on computing and communications tools and are handicapped without them.     

The function of an MBC-releasing deposit of benomyl and thiophanates in plant roots and soil

A comparative study has been made on the effects of short-term treatment versus long-term treatment with benomyl and three thiophanates with regard to distribution of fungitoxicant (MBC, or EBC) within plants and their protection against fungal diseases. In both treatments, plants were exposed to the fungicides for two days and then transplanted to garden soil; long-term treated plants received an additional supply of fungicide as a daily drench for one week.Results of short-term treatment of cucumber seedlings and tomato plants provided additional proof for the hypothesis, that MBC derivatives, substituted at N-1 in the benzimidazole nucleus, are retained to some extent on or in the roots, and gradually converted to MBC which then moves into the aerial parts of the plant. Correlation of infection with concentration of fungitoxicant within leaves showed 0.35 g/g fresh weight to be the limiting concentration for symptom expression of cucumber powdery mildew. Only with benomyl was MBC to be released long enough into the aerial parts of the plant to protect leaves, unfolding after termination of the treatment, for some weeks.With long-term treatment, a concentration of MBC (or EBC) sufficient for protection was found with all fungicides in all above-ground parts of the plant until the end of the experiment. Thus, a reservoir of fungicide in the planting medium guarantees a continuous supply of fungicide only then may new growth be efficaciously protected.Samenvatting Een vergelijkend onderzoek werd ingesteld naar de effecten van kortdurende behandedeling tegenover voortgezette behandeling met benomyl en drie thiophanaten wat betreft de verdeling van de eigenlijke fungitoxische verbinding (MBC, respectievelijk EBC) in planten en hun bescherming tegen schimmelziekten. Bij beide behandelingen werden de planten gedurende twee dagen aan de fungiciden blootgesteld en daarna in tuingrond geplant; in het geval van de voortgezette behandeling werd dagelijks gedurende één week een hoeveelheid fungicide in het gietwater toegevoegd.De resultaten van de kortdurende behandeling van komkommerzaailingen en tomateplanten ondersteunden de hypothese, dat MBC-derivaten, die op de N-1 plaats in de benzimidazoolring gesubstitueerd zijn, tot op zekere hoogte in de wortels worden vastgelegd, waar ze geleidelijk in MBC worden omgezet en vandaar als zodanig naar de bovengrondse delen worden getransporteerd. Correlering van infectie met concentratie van het MBC in de bladeren liet zien, dat 0,35 g/g vers gewicht de grensconcentratie is, waarboven geen symptomen van komkommermeeldauw meer optreden. Alleen in het geval van benomylbehandeling werd MBC voldoende lang naar de bovengrondse delen vervoerd om ook die bladeren die zich na beëindiging der behandeling ontplooiden, gedurende enkele weken te beschermen tegen meeldauw.Bij voortgezette behandeling werd de genoemde concentratie met alle fungiciden in alle bovengrondse plantedelen tot het einde van de onderzoeksperiode gehandhaafd. Klaarblijkelijk garandeert een zekere voorraad van het fungicide in de grond een continue toevoer van het fungicide aan de plant; alleen onder die omstandigheden kunnen nieuwgevormde plantedelen doeltreffend worden beschermd.     

Molecular biology of avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus

Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) is an alphaherpesvirus that causes an economically important chicken disease, which results in delayed growth, reduced egg production, and also frequently in death of the animals. After acute infection of the upper respiratory tract, the virus can establish latency in the central nervous system, and subsequent reactivations can lead to infection of naive chickens. For prevention of ILT, conventionally attenuated live vaccines are available. However, these vaccine strains are genetically not characterized, and reversions to a virulent phenotype occur. Although molecular analyses of ILTV are hampered by the lack of an optimal cell culture system, the complete nucleotide sequence of the ILTV genome has recently been elucidated, and several ILTV recombinants lacking nonessential, but virulence determining genes have been constructed. Animal trials indicated that genetically engineered stable gene deletion mutants are safe alternatives to the current vaccine strains. Furthermore, since live ILTV vaccines are suitable for fast and inexpensive mass administration, they are promising as vectors for immunogenic proteins of other chicken pathogens. Thus, immunization with ILTV recombinants expressing avian influenza virus hemagglutinin was shown to protect chickens against ILT and fowl plague. Using monospecific antisera and monoclonal antibodies several virion proteins of ILTV have been identified and characterized. Since they include immunogenic envelope glycoproteins, these results can contribute to the improvement of virus diagnostics, and to the development of marker vaccines.     

Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest,Germany

The Black Forest is considered to be a rather unfavorable area, having a short vegetation period, low mean annual temperatures, high precipitation, and a pronounced relief. These conditions do not favor agricultural land use and thus it is widely accepted that people only began using the land intensively during the Middle Ages. In this integrated study 17 soil profiles, two peat bogs and a database of archaeological finds were used to reconstruct past land use impacts on the environment. AMS–¹⁴C datings of charcoals, luminescence datings of colluvial deposits, archaeological finds and pollen records indicate land use already during the Neolithic. This pre‐medieval land use might be related to seasonal settlements dominated by pastoralism and the use of wood or bedrock to build settlements and infrastructure or as energy supply. There is new evidence of human activity dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age, which is a discrepancy to the absence of archaeological finds in the direct vicinity of the studied sites. With the beginning of the Middle Ages land use practices changed, most likely with the expansion and intensification of agricultural land use, which coincides with the increasing use of natural resources in the Black Forest. Hence, the main phases of colluvial deposition date to the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Increased contents of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, or Zn in medieval colluvial deposits might indicate smelting or mining, even though there are no known archeological sites pointing to such activities nearby. Whereas the pattern of colluvial deposition in the southeastern Black Forest points to distinct, but local land use in pre‐medieval times and to intensified and widespread land use since the Middle Ages, thick and multi‐layered colluvial deposits indicate intensive land use in the neighboring Baar region since the Neolithic. The different land use patterns of these two regions originate from the rather favorable conditions for agriculture in terms of soils, climate, and topography in the Baar region compared to the unfavorable conditions in the Black Forest.     

Pretreatment leukocyte ratios and concentrations as predictors of outcome in dogs with cutaneous mast cell tumours

Leukocyte ratios correlate with outcome in several human cancers. Little is known about their prognostic significance in mast cell tumour (MCT). The aim of the study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of pretreatment leukocyte concentrations and their ratios in dogs with MCT for survival. Medical records of 92 dogs with MCT were retrospectively reviewed. Tumour diagnosis was made by tumour biopsy or fine‐needle aspirate. Only dogs without prior treatment were included. Eosinophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and neutrophil concentration were obtained by ADVIA 2120? (Siemens Healthcare, Vienna, Austria). Neutrophil‐to‐eosinophil ratio (NER), lymphocyte‐to‐monocyte ratio (LMR) and neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were calculated from collected leukocyte concentrations. Relative eosinophil concentration (REC), NER (P < 0.001), NLR (P = 0.001) and LMR (P < 0.001) were significant prognostic factors for outcome in univariate analysis. REC (P = 0.008) and NER (P = 0.001) remained independent predictors of survival in multiple analyses. Leukocyte concentrations and ratios, especially REC and NER may serve as prognostic indicators in MCT.     

Growth performance of hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis) fed with commercial pike perch and trout diets

Two commercial trout diets (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and one commercial pike perch diet (Sander lucioperca) were fed to hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis) (mean initial weight ± SD of 60.7 g ± 12.1; mean initial length SD of 17.2 cm ± 1.1) for 69 days at rations of approximately 1% average body weight. While final body weight (FBW), final length (FBL) and condition factor (Cf) were not significantly influenced by diets, specific growth rate (SGR) in hybrid striped bass fed with the pike perch diet (1.15) was significantly higher than those fed with either of the two trout diets (1.04 and 1.07). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) in hybrid striped bass fed with the pike perch diet (1.0) was significantly lower than the FCR in hybrid striped bass fed with either of the two trout diets (1.1 and 1.2). When hybrid striped bass (mean initial body weight: 65.7 ± 4.5 and 127.7 ± 2.9 g) were fed with the pike perch diet twice per day until satiation for 52 days, the SGR was 1.7 and 1.15% d^?1 in fishes with an average body weight of 116 and 183 g, respectively. Present results demonstrate that growth performance in hybrid striped bass can be improved when fishes are fed with commercial pike perch diets rather than using commercial trout diets as is the current practice.

     

Biogenetic studies in Mentha x piperita. 1. deuterium-labeled monoterpene ketones: synthesis and stereoselective analysis.

Pulegone, menthone, and isomenthone isotopomers are synthesized as regioselectively deuterated d(5)- and d(8)-stereoisomers. Deuterium-labeled menthone and isomenthone enantiomers are analyzed using enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The deuterated stereoisomers of menthone and isomenthone are separated from the unlabeled menthone and isomenthone on a glass capillary column, coated with 50% octakis(2, 3-di-O-butyryl-6-O-tert- butyldimethylsilyl)-gamma-cyclodextrin in OV 1701vi as the chiral stationary phase. These deuterium-labeled monoterpene ketones are proved to be highly valuable substrates in biosynthetic studies of terpenoid compounds.     

Biosynthesis of menthofuran in Mentha x piperita: stereoselective and mechanistic studies.

Mentha x piperita shoot tips and first leaf pair were fed with aqueous solutions of [(2)H(2)]- and [(2)H(2)]/[(18)O]-labeled pulegone. The essential oil was analyzed by solid phase microextraction and enantioselective multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. After feeding experiments with labeled pulegone racemate, both labeled (S)-menthofuran and (R)-menthofuran were detectable simultaneously together with genuine (R)-menthofuran. It could be shown that both labeled pulegone enantiomers are converted by Mentha x piperita to the corresponding labeled menthofuran enantiomers, favoring the labeled analogue of the nongenuine (S)-pulegone. The oxygen in menthofuran is introduced by enzymatic oxidation of pulegone, as concluded from feeding experiments with mixed labeled [(2)H(2)]/[(18)O]pulegone.