Fall and Spring Phosphorus Fertilization of Potato Using a Dicarboxylic Acid Polymer (AVAIL®)

A dicarboxylic acid polymer (AVAIL) modifies the soil immediately around fertilizer—potentially improving crop phosphorus (P) uptake efficiency and yield. Study objectives were to evaluate potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) response to seasonal applications of liquid and dry AVAIL blended P fertilizer on calcareous soils with low to moderate soil test P. Field experiments conducted 2005–2008 included comparisons of monoammonium phosphate (MAP; 11-52-0) broadcast and/or ammonium polyphosphate (APP; 10-34-0) liquid band applications with or without AVAIL in various fall or spring applications. AVAIL increased US No. 1 yields for selected P rate/source/timing combinations in each of the four years; increased United States No. 1 yields overall in 2006 and 2008; and increased total yield and yield of large (>284g) tubers in 2006. The greatest responses to AVAIL occurred on soils with high lime concentrations. No seasonal advantage was observed in any case.     

Systematic landscape restoration using integer programming

In some agricultural regions, reservation of remnant natural lands will not maintain the natural biodiversity and large-scale ecological restoration is required. Geographic planning for restoration is essential to obtain the maximum ecological benefit from the limited resources available for landscape restoration. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept that implements principles of systematic conservation planning, such as adequacy, representativeness, efficiency and flexibility, within an integer programming framework to identify geographic priorities for landscape restoration in a small catchment in South Australia. Integer programming ensures maximally efficient solutions that meet conservation targets in the form of minimum proportions (30%) and minimum areas (15 ha) of each environment type. However, the optimum solution identifies a system of scattered sites with an inadequate and impractical landscape structure. We propose a system of impedance surfaces that prioritise the spatial location of restoration towards improving landscape structure. Different options for systematic landscape restoration are assessed and the costs of spatial prioritisation of areas is found to be either optimal or very near optimal regardless of the impedances used. Thus, the cost of spatial prioritisation of sites for restoration in the landscape is negligible. We suggest the proposed methodology fits within a broader plan for landscape restoration and natural resource management.     

Disease of geese caused by a new herpesvirus

A goose flock farmed outdoors in south-eastern Queensland suffered an outbreak of peracute disease with high death rate (97%). Small button ulcers and large plaques overlying lymphocyte aggregates were present on the mucosa of the small intestine of affected birds. Small white foci of necrosis and focal haemorrhages were seen in the livers. Numerous intranuclear inclusion bodies were observed microscopically in hepatocytes and a herpesvirus which grew rapidly in chicken kidney cells was isolated from tissues. Duck virus enteritis (DVE) was suspected but DVE antiserums failed to neutralise the virus. Further serological studies with a limited range of known avian herpesviruses have failed to identify the virus. Experimental transmission resulted in high mortality in geese (100%), lower mortality in ducklings and nil mortality in chickens. Surveillance studies showed no evidence of infection in domestic and wild birds beyond the original farm and the infection appears not to have been established in the area. Wild ducks, which were frequent visitors to the farm dam, were considered the most likely source of the infection.     

Blood supply of the ovine adrenal gland and its relevance in adrenal autotransplantation

SUMMARY The arterial supply and venous drainage of 62 left and 5 right ovine adrenal glands is described, and the contribution of individual arteries to successful adrenal gland autotransplantation was evaluated. Arterial flow was measured by direct collection from the draining adrenal vein. Assessment of function of the transplanted adrenal gland was made from survival of the sheep and by the cortisol response to infusion of ACTH and the aldosterone secretory response to infusion of angiotensin II or potassium. For the left adrenal, the principal arterial supply was from the renal artery in 21 (34%), a lumbar artery in 32 (52%), and the anterior mesenteric artery in 3. The total blood flow was 5.0 ± SEM 0.4 mL/min, the flow from the renal branch 2.3 ± 0.3 mL/min, and the principal lumbar branch 2.6 ± 0.3 mL/min. Venous drainage from the left adrenal was via a major adrenal vein to the left renal vein, but additional tributaries to the renal vein were present in 26% . The arterial supply to the adrenal is regional and omission of a branch at transplantation could result in infarction of portion of the gland. By defining arterial supply and measuring blood flow, selection of the appropriate artery or multiple arteries can achieve an adrenal gland autotransplant survival of 90% .     

Preface

Publishers Note

Publisher's Announcement     

Host species barriers to influenza virus infections

Most emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from animal reservoirs; to contain and eradicate these diseases we need to understand how and why some pathogens become capable of crossing host species barriers. Influenza virus illustrates the interaction of factors that limit the transmission and subsequent establishment of an infection in a novel host species. Influenza species barriers can be categorized into virus-host interactions occurring within individuals and host-host interactions, either within or between species, that affect transmission between individuals. Viral evolution can help surmount species barriers, principally by affecting virus-host interactions; however, evolving the capability for sustained transmission in a new host species represents a major adaptive challenge because the number of mutations required is often large.     

Synchrony, waves, and spatial hierarchies in the spread of influenza

Quantifying long-range dissemination of infectious diseases is a key issue in their dynamics and control. Here, we use influenza-related mortality data to analyze the between-state progression of interpandemic influenza in the United States over the past 30 years. Outbreaks show hierarchical spatial spread evidenced by higher pairwise synchrony between more populous states. Seasons with higher influenza mortality are associated with higher disease transmission and more rapid spread than are mild ones. The regional spread of infection correlates more closely with rates of movement of people to and from their workplaces (workflows) than with geographical distance. Workflows are described in turn by a gravity model, with a rapid decay of commuting up to around 100 km and a long tail of rare longer range flow. A simple epidemiological model, based on the gravity formulation, captures the observed increase of influenza spatial synchrony with transmissibility; high transmission allows influenza to spread rapidly beyond local spatial constraints.     

Evaluating strawberry breeding selections for postharvest fruit decay

Fruit from the annual replicated yield assessments for the USDA-ARS strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duchesne ex Rozier) breeding program at Beltsville, MD, 2007 and 2008, were evaluated for postharvest decay development after storage at 5 °C. Generalized linear genotype × year mixed model analysis of covariance with overdispersed binomial distribution, logit link function, and Laplace optimization method was used to determine the relationships between postharvest proportion decay and storage period (SP), season’s harvest number (HN), and genotype-specific harvest number through the season; conditioned on the confounding of harvest with SP. To determine if limiting analyses to replicates (plot × harvest combinations) with a minimum number of berries would increase statistical precision, concurrent analyses were conducted using data from replicates with more than: zero, three, and six berries. Limiting data to genotypes for which more than three or more than six berries could be evaluated, resulted in loss of data and reduced statistical power. Within the range of SP observed, 13–19 days, consistency among genotypes of the linear relationship between SP and logit postharvest proportion decay, unless strongly influenced by a confounded harvest effect, indicated all SP in the range tested provided equivalent ability to discern genotypes. The significant genotype × HN interaction effect indicated maximizing the number of harvests was preferable to limiting to a few “informative” harvests. The significant genotype × year interaction effect indicated the decision to release a genotype as a cultivar will demand multiple years of evaluation. Making determinations each year to discard genotypes or use them as parents for postharvest quality was best facilitated by the simple process of calculating arithmetic genotypic means for each harvest date separately, charting the results, and using the charts to visually assess genotypic performance trends across harvests.     

Crystal structure of a lipid G protein-coupled receptor

The lyso-phospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate modulates lymphocyte trafficking, endothelial development and integrity, heart rate, and vascular tone and maturation by activating G protein-coupled sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors. Here, we present the crystal structure of the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 fused to T4-lysozyme (S1P(1)-T4L) in complex with an antagonist sphingolipid mimic. Extracellular access to the binding pocket is occluded by the amino terminus and extracellular loops of the receptor. Access is gained by ligands entering laterally between helices I and VII within the transmembrane region of the receptor. This structure, along with mutagenesis, agonist structure-activity relationship data, and modeling, provides a detailed view of the molecular recognition and requirement for hydrophobic volume that activates S1P(1), resulting in the modulation of immune and stromal cell responses.