Effect of bovine lactoferrin feeding on lipopolysaccharide-induced metabolic and hormonal disturbances in preruminant calves

One of the biological functions of bovine lactoferrin (LF) is modulation of the host defense system, including cytokine production and immune response. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of oral administration of LF in calves on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced metabolic and hormonal changes in inflammatory response. Thirty Holstein calves at 4 day of age were given one of three oral doses of LF (0, 1, 3 g/day) for 10 days (?10 day to ?1 day). They were injected i.v. with LPS (50 ng/kg bodyweight) the day (day 0) after the end of LF treatment. Plasma samples were obtained on ?10, 0 day (immediately before LPS injection), and at 2, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after LPS injection. Plasma tumor necrosis factor‐α concentrations at 2 h after LPS treatment were lower (P < 0.05) in LF 1 g/day‐fed claves compared with LF 0 g/day (control) calves. On day 0 there were no significant group differences in plasma LF concentration. Plasma concentration of haptoglobin in control calves was elevated by LPS injection. In LF groups, plasma haptoglobin concentrations slightly increased after LPS injection, but those levels at 6–24 h were lower (P < 0.05) than in the control group. The LF treatment inhibited (P < 0.05) the reduction of plasma ferrin concentration in calves following LPS challenge. The concentration of plasma aspartate aminotransferase in calves treated with LF was lower (P < 0.05) than in control calves at 24–96 h after LPS treatment. The concentration of plasma insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) in all groups was decreased by LPS treatment, while in the LF groups the IGF‐1 level was higher (P < 0.05) than in the control group. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone and insulin concentrations in LF groups were lower (P < 0.05) than in control calves at 2 h after LPS injection. These data suggest that LF has a substantial anti‐inflammatory effect on the modulation of the host defense system in preruminant calves.     

Lime-nitrogen application reduces N2O emission from a vegetable field with imperfectly-drained sandy clay-loam soil

Abstract

We studied the effect of lime-nitrogen (calcium cyanamide, CaCN₂) application on the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from a vegetable field with imperfectly-drained sandy clay-loam soil. Lime-nitrogen acts as both a pesticide and a fertilizer. During the decomposition of lime-nitrogen in the soil, dicyandiamide (DCD), a nitrification inhibitor, is formed, and as a result lime-nitrogen application may mitigate N₂O emission from the soil. The study design consisted of three different nitrogen-application treatments in field plots with a randomized block design. The nitrogen application treatments were: CF (chemical fertilizer), LN (all nitrogen fertilizer applied as lime-nitrogen), and CFD (chemical fertilizer containing DCD). Soil nitrification activity was lower in the LN and CFD plots than in the CF plots, and nitrification was inhibited for a longer period in the LN plots than in the CFD plots. In the LN plots, N₂O emission was lower than those of other treatments from 20 to 40 days after fertilization, a period when large peaks of N₂O emission were observed after rainfall in the CF and CFD plots. Cumulative N₂O emission over 63 days in the CF plots (mean ± standard deviation: 30.2 ± 14.4 mg N₂O m^?2) and CFD plots (24.3 ± 10.8 mg N₂O m^?2) was significantly higher than that in the LN plots (10.7 ± 1.2 mg N₂O m^?2; P < 0.05). Our results suggested that lime-nitrogen application decreased N₂O emission by inhibiting both nitrification and denitrification.     

Influences of aluminum ions on the determination of zpc (zero point of charge) of variable charge soils

Influence of Al dissolution on soil ZPC (zero point of charge) measured by a potentio-metric titration (PT) method and a modified salt titration (STPT) method was examined using two strongly weathered soils from Thailand and two volcanic ash soils from Japan. The amount of dissolved Al ions increased with the increase in the concentration of a supporting electrolyte for the strongly weathered soils, while the increase was negligible for the volcanic ash soils.

ZPC value of the strongly weathered soils determined by the PT method was lower than that by the STPT method, due to the greater Al dissolution associated with the higher electrolyte concentration used in the PT method. Al ions adsorbed onto the soil surface would shift the ZPC to a higher pH value not as a result of the formation of hydroxy Al polymers, but due to the blocking of permanent negative charge sites, which could otherwise lower the ZPC. The σp value, as a measure of permanent charge or the amount of 11 or O11 adsorbed by a soil required to attain the ZPC, could be used to describe this phenomenon.

In the STPT method, the salt concentration was not high enough to causc a significant Al dissolution at the ZPC, which is considered to be a more suitable condition than in the PT method because the ZPC value can be evaluated at a low salt concentration as in the ease of field conditions for crop production. Thus, the STPT method is rccommendcd for the determination of the ZPC.     

First report of downy mildew of carnation caused by Peronospora dianthicola in Japan

Yellowish lesions with downy, gray growth developed on the leaves of carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus) in a greenhouse in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, in March 2011. We identified the fungus on diseased plants as Peronospora dianthicola on the basis of the morphologies of the conidia, conidiophores, and oospores. To confirm pathogenicity of the fungus, we inoculated healthy plants with a conidial suspension of the fungus, and the plants developed the same signs and symptoms as the naturally infected plants. We then reidentified P. dianthicola from the diseased lesions. This is the first report of downy mildew of carnation in Japan.     

Trace toxic elements in agricultural soil and sediment in the biggest estuarine area,northern Vietnam

Paddy and Water Environment - Soil quality, especially its toxic elements content, plays an important part in clarifying the sustainability of an estuarine ecosystem. In this study, six toxic...     

Corynespora blight of sweet pepper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annuum</Emphasis>) caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corynespora cassiicola</Emphasis> (Berk. &; Curt.) Wei

In 2004, Corynesopra cassiicola was isolated from dark brown spots on leaves and fruits and from black blights on stems of sweet pepper plants in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. The isolated fungus was then used to inoculate sweet pepper plants and subsequently reisolated from the plants with dark brown spots and black blights, showing that C. cassiicola is a new pathogen causing Corynespora blight on sweet pepper plants. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases as accession numbers AB366649 (TS-C11), AB366650 (TS-C21), AB366651 (TI-C32) and AB366652 (TI-C51)     

Distribution of avirulence genes <Emphasis Type="Italic">avrA</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">popP1</Emphasis> in 22 Japanese phylotype I strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ralstonia solanacearum</Emphasis>

Sequence analysis of hrp loci and effector genes in the flanking regions showed significantly high similarities between two phylotype I strains of Ralstonia solanacearum, GMI1000 and Japanese strain OE1-1. Further sequence analysis of the distribution of avrA and popP1, known as determinants of a hypersensitive response (HR) induction on Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), in 22 Japanese phylotype I strains revealed that all strains had one of the two distinct avrA alleles and that 10 strains had an identical popP1 but the other 12 did not. After infiltration of tobacco leaves, more than half of these 22 strains elicited HR. In combination with the ability to induce HR, avrA and popP1 are thus not likely to be the sole determinants of HR in Japanese phylotype I strains.     

Molecular typing of Japanese strains of Ralstonia solanacearum in relation to the ability to induce a hypersensitive reaction in tobacco

The genetic diversity of 120 Ralstonia solanacearum strains isolated from a variety of host plants across Japan was assessed on the basis of hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco leaves and phylogenetic analyses of endoglucanase gene egl, hrpB, and gyrB. Phylogenetic analysis of egl revealed that only three strains belonged to phylotype IV, and 117 strains belonged to phylotype I. Partial sequences of HrpB were identical among phylotype I strains except for one strain. Analyses using the partial nucleotide sequences of the gyrB and egl gene fragments grouped phylotype I strains into 11 gyrB and 8 egl types, respectively, whereas analyses using the partial amino acid sequences of GyrB and Egl grouped phylotype I strains into 4 GyrB and 5 Egl types, respectively. Using multilocus sequence typing of GyrB and Egl, we identified 10 unique sequence types within the Japanese phylotype I strains. Strains belonging to the GyrB42 or GyrB66 type caused wilt in tobacco, and strains belonging to GyrB2 or GyrB9 type elicited HR, demonstrating that HR induction in tobacco is genetically differentiated in the Japanese strains of R. solanacearum.     

Effect of swaying motion of floating vegetation on wind-induced entrainment phenomenon in closed water body

When floating vegetation grows on the water surface in a closed water body, the vegetation counteracts the magnitude of the wind acting on the water surface, and affects the fluid flow and the water quality variation in it. In this study, in order to investigate the counteraction effect of the luxuriant growth of floating vegetation on the fluid flow and water quality in the closed water body, we conducted hydraulic experiments on wind-induced flow with density stratification using a wind tunnel test tank and imitated vegetation. We used imitated vegetation made from polystyrene foam plates instead of using real floating vegetation. And we experimentally considered the effect of the vegetation using the concept of the wind-induced entrainment phenomenon. In particular, we focused the effect of the occupation rate and the swaying motion of vegetation. The results indicated that the swaying motion of imitated floating vegetation had an effect on the scale of entrainment. In addition the results had the same tendency as the previous study on the wind-induced entrainment phenomenon.