Feasibility and repeatability of thermal quantitative sensory testing in normal dogs and dogs with hind limb osteoarthritis-associated pain

The objectives of this study were to determine whether thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST) can be performed in client-owned dogs, is repeatable and whether QST differs between normal dogs and dogs with hind limb osteoarthritis (OA). This clinical, prospective, observational study used clinically normal dogs (n = 23) and dogs with OA-associated hind limb pain (n = 9). Thermal QST was performed in standing dogs using a high-powered light source delivered by a previously validated system. Dogs were tested on two occasions, 2 weeks apart. Five tests were performed on each hind limb at each time point. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the effects of leg, time point and OA/normal status on thermal threshold latencies (TTL). Additionally, paired t tests were used to compare the TTL of left and right limbs within groups and between time points.Thermal thresholds were successfully measured in 32 client-owned dogs without prior training. TTL were significantly different between normal and OA dogs (P = 0.012). There was no difference between limbs (P = 0.744) or time periods (P = 0.572), when analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance, and no interactions between group and limb, visit and limb, or visit and group. In conclusion, thermal thresholds can be measured in client owned dogs with no prior training and are repeatable from week to week. Further data are required to determine if OA results in thermal hypoalgesia as measured at the distal hind limb and whether this is an indication of central sensitization.     

Impact of intensive agricultural management on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the humid tropics

ABSTRACT

The concern about global climate change continues to increase research interest regarding carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the soil. This is based on their role in maintaining soil fertility, which can instead be a source of greenhouse gas emissions if not managed properly, while threatening food security. Humid tropical conditions enable intensive agricultural cultivation with various cropping systems to fulfill the demand for agriculture products. Such climate accelerates the soil organic matter decomposition rate so that it strongly influences soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics. However, inappropriate implementation of intensive agricultural systems that does not consider the balance between carbon and nitrogen input and output, negatively affects soil fertility, mainly decreasing soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen, changing the composition of carbon and nitrogen owing to the loss of soil organic matter through erosion and leaching, thus, causing soil degradation. Mitigation strategies can be performed by using organic matter and crop residue, crop rotation and improvement of crop pattern, soil tillage and fertilization, cover crops and mulch. Sustainable land management for maintenance of soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen dynamics should be locally and globally developed and adopted for a more sustainable agricultural system. Recovery of soil capacity to accumulate carbon is a strategic step to reduce the impact of climate change. Hence, an intensive study on efficient soil organic carbon management is required to improve food production and mitigation of climate change to attain sustainable development goals in 2030.     

Does tree species composition control soil organic carbon pools in Mediterranean mountain forests?

We compared soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and stability under two widely distributed tree species in the Mediterranean region: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) at their ecotone. We hypothesised that soils under Scots pine store more SOC and that tree species composition controls the amount and biochemical composition of organic matter inputs, but does not influence physico-chemical stabilization of SOC. At three locations in Central Spain, we assessed SOC stocks in the forest floor and down to 50 cm in the mineral in pure and mixed stands of Pyrenean oak and Scots pine, as well as litterfall inputs over approximately 3 years at two sites. The relative SOC stability in the topsoil (0-10 cm) was determined through size-fractionation (53 μm) into mineral-associated and particulate organic matter and through KMnO₄-reactive C and soil C:N ratio.Scots pine soils stored 95-140 Mg ha⁻¹ of C (forest floor plus 50 cm mineral soil), roughly the double than Pyrenean oak soils (40-80 Mg ha⁻¹ of C), with stocks closely correlated to litterfall rates. Differences were most pronounced in the forest floor and uppermost 10 cm of the mineral soil, but remained evident in the deeper layers. Biochemical indicators of soil organic matter suggested that biochemical recalcitrance of soil organic matter was higher under pine than under oak, contributing as well to a greater SOC storage under pine. Differences in SOC stocks between tree species were mainly due to the particulate organic matter (not associated to mineral particles). Forest conversion from Pyrenean oak to Scots pine may contribute to enhance soil C sequestration, but only in form of mineral-unprotected soil organic matter.     

Mars-like soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the dry limit of microbial life

The Viking missions showed the martian soil to be lifeless and depleted in organic material and indicated the presence of one or more reactive oxidants. Here we report the presence of Mars-like soils in the extreme arid region of the Atacama Desert. Samples from this region had organic species only at trace levels and extremely low levels of culturable bacteria. Two samples from the extreme arid region were tested for DNA and none was recovered. Incubation experiments, patterned after the Viking labeled-release experiment but with separate biological and nonbiological isomers, show active decomposition of organic species in these soils by nonbiological processes.     

Efficiency of DNA typing methods for detection of smoked paprika "pimenton de la vera" adulteration used in the elaboration of dry-cured Iberian pork sausages

The purpose of this work was to develop a PCR method for the identification of smoked paprika "Pimento?n de la Vera" adulteration with paprika elaborated from varieties of pepper foreign to the la Vera region, in central western Spain. Three autochthonous varieties of pepper, Jaranda, Jariza, and Bola, and the varieties Papri Queen, Papri King, Sonora, PS9794, and Papri Ace, foreign to the La Vera region, were used in the study. Analyses of the ITS and 5.8S rDNA, RAPD-PCR, SSR, and ISSR were tested. RAPD-PCR, SSR, and ISSR analyses allowed differentiation among the varieties of paprika analyzed. There was no difference in the sequence of ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2. In addition, with the RAPD-PCR primers S13 and S22, two molecular markers were obtained of 641 and 704 bp, respectively, which allowed all of the smoked paprika varieties to be differentiated from paprikas elaborated with the five foreign varieties. These two molecular markers were investigated as a basis for detecting the adulteration of smoked paprika with paprika elaborated from foreign varieties of pepper.