Seroprevalence and comparison of isolates of endometriotropic bovine herpesvirus-4.

Sixty-eight cases of suppurative, ulcerative endometritis associated with Bovine Herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) in postparturient dairy cows (62 Holsteins and 6 Jerseys, mean age 4.2 years) were confirmed by a combination of histopathology, fluorescent antibody assays, electron microscopic evaluation of uterus, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All cases occurred in the 3- to 28-day postpartum period, and histologic lesions among various cows were consistent when compared with postpartum interval. The endometrial lining epithelium was necrotic and ulcerated from 3 to 7 days postpartum, with only mild inflammation in the lamina propria and submucosa. From 1 to 4 weeks postpartum, the ulcers were confluent to diffuse. Epithelium was replaced by fibrinonecrotic, suppurative mats, resulting in severe bacterial pyometra by day 24. Seroprevalence to BHV-4 in one dairy with a history of 18 mortality cases was 36% (107 of 296). In a random sample of 8 cows from this herd, none had serologic titers in blood sampled 2 weeks prepartum, but 3 of 8 seroconverted with significant titers of 1:8 to 1:16 at 2 weeks postpartum. By 10 weeks postpartum, all 8 cows returned to negative serologic status. Two of 6 cats from the premises also had positive titers. Random serum samples taken from 480 dairy cattle at sale barns indicated 76 (16%) were positive by serum neutralization. Clinical signs, postparturient timing, and histologic lesions were very similar to those previously reported in Belgium with BHV-4. But sequence analysis of PCR products of the glycoprotein B region of 4 separate field isolates of endometriotropic BHV-4 suggests these field isolates were more closely related to the North American nonvirulent strain DN-599 than to the endometriotropic European strain V.     

鳞翅目蛾类卵形态的比较研究

利用显微观察并描述了鳞翅目亚麻篱灯蛾、驼波尺蛾、榆绿天蛾、雪毒蛾、灰双纹螟、尖锥额野螟、银锭夜蛾、荒夜蛾卵壳的形态特征。结果表明，不同种类蛾卵受精孔的数目；受精孔区花饰的形状、数目、排列方式；气孔的位置与排列均存在明显的差异，这些差异为卵的分类提供了依据。     

Genetic variability and inheritance of aluminium tolerance as indicated by long root regrowth in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.)

The objective of this study was to quantify the genetic variability and determine the inheritance of Al tolerance in lucerne (or alfalfa) using a 4-parent diallel mating design. Regrowth root length (RRL), along with root length (RL) and total root length (TRL), was measured to indicate relative Al stress response using a hydroponic system in a 3 μM Al solution at pH 4.5. A diallel analysis indicated the significance of general combining ability (gca) variance for RRL but not the specific combining ability (sca) variance; the same result was obtained for TRL but not for RL. For both RRL and TRL, genetic variance appeared to be more important than the environmental variance. For RRL, a strong but non-significant correlation was indicated between parental performance and their gca effects; while mid-parent heterosis and/or over-dominance were detected, as associated with the expressed sca effects in several combinations. These results suggest the complex genetic nature and expression of Al tolerance in the 4-parent diallel crossing system tested. Al-tolerant parent, GAAT‘S’, was the most promising parent, conferring the highest gca effects for RRL as well as for other two characters. The existence of significant gca variance in RRL may also suggest the feasibility of improving Al tolerance through enhanced root regrowth using phenotypic recurrent mass selection to pyramid desirable Al-tolerant genes, focussing on parental lines and/or elite individual plants expressing long regrowth roots.     

Location and the Innovation Performance of Commercial GIS Companies

This paper looks at the role of firm size, location, and in‐house research and development (R&D) in the innovation performance of U.S. firms in the commercial geographic information systems (GIS) industry. Data from a survey of 300 GIS firms are presented. The results suggest that innovation‐intensity varies directly with in‐house R&D spending (scaled as a proportion of company sales), but inversely with company size (total employment). Significant regional variations in the innovation performance of GIS firms are identified. It is argued that the geography of innovation is influenced by the spatial distribution of young and/or small firms, in that R&D‐productivity is found to vary inversely with company size. An important finding is that creative inputs to support innovation are almost evenly divided between internal and external sources. A surprising result is that the academic community is not viewed as a particularly important source of new ideas for innovative firms. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the survey data for future empirical work on the GIS sector.     

Regrowth forests on abandoned agricultural land: A review of their habitat values for recovering forest fauna

Human land use has modified the structure and function of terrestrial landscapes throughout much of the world, with cropping and livestock grazing the major drivers of landscape change. In many tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and Mediterranean regions, regrowth forests regenerate naturally on abandoned agricultural land if human disturbance declines. With the exception of some tropical forest literature, the broader ecological and conservation literature has largely ignored the potential of regrowth forests to facilitate passive landscape restoration and the recovery of fauna communities in fragmented agricultural landscapes. This paper addresses this deficiency by reviewing the available global evidence of fauna recovery in regrowth forest from 68 papers, identifying the main gaps in current knowledge, and providing directions for further research. The majority of reviewed studies focus on regrowth in tropical regions, which often contain large areas of mature forest. Species’ utilisation of regrowth forest is highly variable and is particularly influenced by land-use history, an important determinant of the structural and compositional characteristics of regrowth forests. While site-scale (<1 ha) forest structure and floristic diversity were frequently studied, only 11 studies considered the spatial configuration and context of habitat patches and just two studies explicitly considered landscape structure. Based on this review, six key research questions are posed to direct future research on this important issue. We conclude that a broader perspective of the role of regrowth forest in the landscape is required if we are to realise the potential benefits of regrowth forest for passive landscape restoration and fauna conservation and recovery.     

Ellagitannins,flavonoids, and other phenolics in red raspberries and their contribution to antioxidant capacity and vasorelaxation properties

Analysis of extracts of Glen Ample raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) by gradient, reverse phase HPLC with diode array and tandem mass spectrometry identified eleven anthocyanins, including cyanidin-3-sophoroside, cyanidin-3-(2(G)-glucosylrutinoside), cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-sophoroside, pelargonidin-3-(2(G)-glucosylrutinoside), and pelargonidin-3-glucoside. Significant quantities of an ellagitannin, sanguiin H-6, with an M(r) of 1870 were detected along with lower levels of a second ellagitannin, lambertianin C, which has an M(r) of 2804. Other phenolic compounds that were detected included trace levels of ellagic acid and its sugar conjugates along with one kaempferol- and four quercetin-based flavonol conjugates. Fractionation by preparative HPLC revealed that sanguiin H-6 was a major contributor to the antioxidant capacity of raspberries together with vitamin C and the anthocyanins. Vasodilation activity was restricted to fractions containing lambertianin C and sanguiin H-6.     

Modelling the Vertical Transport of Pollutants by Fronts

A quantitative study of the amount of air transported between the boundary layer and the free atmosphere is important for understanding air quality and upper tropospheric ozone, which is a greenhouse gas. Frontal systems are known to be an effective mechanism for the vertical transport of pollutants. Numerical experiments have been performed with a simple two-dimensional front model to simulate vertical transport of trace gases within developing cold fronts. Three different trace gases experiments have been done numerically according to the different initial fields of trace gases such as aerosol, ozone and H₂O₂. Trace gas field tilts to the east while the front tilts to the west. Aerosol simulation shows that pollutants can be transported out of the boundary to altitudes of about 10 km. The stratospheric ozone is brought downwards in a tropopause fold behind of the frontal surface. The meridional gradient in trace gas (H₂O₂) can cause a complicate structure in the trace field by the meridional advection.