Dryland agriculture and rangeland restoration priorities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is threatened by rangeland degradation.A quantitative visual analysis of Google Earth Imagery was used to systematically locate,characterize and quantify the current extent of rangelands in Afghanistan degraded as a consequence of dryland agriculture.Climate data were used in conjunction with dryland agriculture locations to establish a climate envelope comprised by temperature and mean annual precipitation to create a geographical mask known to contain dryland agriculture.Within this mask we created a grid of 100 km2 cells that we analyzed individually to access dryland agriculture extent.Climatic limits to sustainable dryland agriculture and areas of high restoration priority were also assessed as was the distribution of rain-fed agriculture with respect to the location of traditional migration routes for extensive livestock producers.The extents of agriculture in Afghanistan,at both upper and lower elevations,correlated most closely with mean annual temperature(MAT) at the upper elevation limits,and with mean annual precipitation(MAP) at the lower elevation limits.In total,dryland agriculture comprised 38,980 km2 of former native rangeland.Conversion was highest in the northwestern,northern and northeastern provinces of Herat,Badghis,Faryab,Jawzjan,Sar-e-Pul,Samangan,Balkh,Baghlan,Kunduz,Takhar and Badakhshan,with the highest percentage of conversion occurring in Takhar.An MAP value of <400 mm is perceived by farmers as the current climatic limit to sustainable dryland agriculture across the northern regions of the country.Uder this MAP value,approximately 27,677 km2 of converted rangeland met the need for restoration priority.Climate projections indicate that Afghanistan will become warmer and drier in the coming decades.One consequence of this trend is that the MAP threshold of <400 mm to sustainable dryland agriculture will become obsolete in the coming decades.Restoration of currently converted rangelands is needed to restore critical grazing areas as is the adoption of prudent range management policies to prevent further land degradation and support a vital livestock industry.Food security is at stake as the conversion of rangelands to unsustainable rain-fed agriculture may leave large tracks of land unusable for either agriculture or livestock production.     

Disseminated candidiasis secondary to fungal and bacterial peritonitis in a young dog

Objective – To describe a severe case of bacterial sepsis and disseminated candidiasis in a previously healthy dog.
Case Summary – Fungal sepsis was identified in a 2-year-old dog following intestinal dehiscence 4 days after abdominal surgery. Septic peritonitis was identified at admission and evidence of dehiscence at the previous enterotomy site was found during an exploratory laparotomy. Both gram-positive cocci and Candida albicans were cultured from the abdominal cavity. Candida sp. was also subsequently cultured from a central venous catheter. Euthanasia was performed due to failure to respond to therapy. Fungal organisms, morphologically consistent with Candida spp., were found in the lungs and kidney on postmortem histopathologic examination indicating disseminated candidiasis.
New or Unique Information Provided – Candida peritonitis is a well-recognized entity in humans and contributes to morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Abdominal surgery, intestinal perforation, presence of central venous catheters, and administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics are all considered to be suspected risk factors. This report describes the first known case of systemic candidiasis occurring secondary to Candida peritonitis and bacterial sepsis in a critically ill dog.     

Serum total thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone concentrations in dogs with behavior problems

The aim of this case controlled study was to determine whether dogs with behavioral problems have evidence of abnormal thyroid function on routine screening tests for hypothyroidism. The hypothesis of the study was that thyroid function, as assessed by serum total thyroxine (TT4) and serum thyroid stimulating hormone (thyrotropin) (TSH) concentrations, is normal in most dogs with behavioral problems. Concentrations of TT4 and TSH in 39 dogs with behavior problems presenting to a veterinary behavior referral clinic (abnormal behavior group), were compared with TT4 and TSH concentrations in 39 healthy control dogs without behavior problems presenting to 5 community veterinary practices (control group). Dogs in the control group were matched for age and breed with the abnormal behavior group. Dogs with behavioral problems had higher TT4 concentrations than dogs without behavioral problems (t-test: t = 2.77, N = 39, P = 0.009), however none of the TT4 values were outside the reference range. There was no significant difference in TSH concentration between the 2 groups. Two dogs with behavior problems and 1 dog without behavior problems had results suggestive of hypothyroidism. All other dogs were considered to be euthyroid. There was no evidence to support a diagnosis of hypothyroidism in the majority of dogs with behavior problems in this study. The higher concentration of TT4 in dogs with behavior problems suggests, however, that alteration in thyroid hormone production or metabolism may occur in some dogs with behavior problems. Further studies that include additional indicators of thyroid status such as serum total triiodothyronine, serum, free thyroxine, and anti-thyroid antibody concentrations are necessary to further evaluate the significance of this finding.     

Correlation of Plasma Insulin Concentration with Laminitis Score in a Field Study of Equine Cushing's Disease and Equine Metabolic Syndrome

This study aimed to investigate endocrinologic test values and the response to treatment of two commonly encountered causes of endocrinopathic laminitis, equine Cushing's disease (ECD) and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), in a veterinary practice setting. In particular, the study aimed to determine whether insulin concentration correlated to the severity of clinical laminitis in horses with EMS or ECD. Twenty-five horses were included in the study and assigned to one of three groups: ECD (n = 6), EMS (n = 10), and controls (n = 9). Blood samples were collected at an initial visit and then at regular intervals for the next 12 months. Plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), cortisol, and insulin and serum concentrations of glucose and total thyroxine (T4) were obtained. Horses with ECD had significantly higher plasma ACTH concentrations than EMS horses or controls. Horses with EMS and ECD both had significantly higher plasma insulin concentrations than control horses, which was correlated with the Obel grade of laminitis (r = 0.63). After treatment, there was a trend for a reduction in plasma ACTH concentration in horses with ECD. A program of diet and exercise for horses with EMS resulted in reductions in both plasma insulin concentrations and bodyweight, which was variable, depending on the individual. There was a significant correlation between the change in plasma insulin concentration and Obel grade of laminitis (r = 0.69). This study has highlighted the importance of baseline plasma insulin concentration as a potential indicator of the susceptibility of horses to laminitis and the response to a program of diet and exercise.     

Variations of plant and soil 87Sr/86Sr along the slope of a tropical inselberg

? From the summit downslope a granitic inselberg in French Guiana, soils and vegetation evolve from bare granite covered by cyanobacteria, to a savannah-type vegetation on thin patchy sandy accumulations, then to a low forest on shallow young soils and to a high forest on deep highly weathered ultisols.

? We have used element budgets and Sr isotopic variations in soils and plants to investigate the mineral nutrient supply sources of the different plant communities.

? Granite and atmospheric deposition have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 1.3 and 0.71, respectively. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of cyanobacteria (0.72) suggests granite weathering by cyanobacteria crusts. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of the savannah-type vegetation is 0.73 and varies between 0.75 and 0.76 in the low and high forest leaf litter regardless of soil depth, age and degree of impoverishment.

? These almost constant ratio suggest that forest Sr comes from rainwater and from the summit of this inselberg, where it is released and redistributed along the slope, by surface flow, lateral redistribution of litter, and mineral particles. However, because of its very low content in the rock and soils, Ca is supplied to plants by atmospheric deposition.

     

Increased expression of GAPDH protein is not indicative of nitrosative stress or apoptosis in liver of starved rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Short-term starvation has been linked to in vivo protein degradation in liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). However, it is unclear whether this proposed increase in protein degradation is followed by programmed cell death (apoptosis) in liver of starved trout. A preliminary study in our laboratory revealed an isoform of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein that increased 4.5-fold in liver of starved trout. GAPDH is a glycolytic enzyme involved in other cellular functions, including apoptosis. Increased intracellular nitric oxide (NO) promotes nuclear translocation of GAPDH that is associated with increased apoptosis in mammals. If GAPDH protein is associated with apoptosis in rainbow trout, it could potentially be used as a biomarker of cellular stress in liver of teleost fish species. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increased GAPDH protein expression in liver of starved rainbow trout is associated with NO-induced apoptosis. Targeted proteomic analysis using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to determine the level of GAPDH in nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cell lysates. Dot blot and DNA fragmentation analyses were conducted to evaluate protein S-nitrosylation and apoptosis, respectively. Results showed that cytoplasmic GAPDH was 3.4-fold higher in liver of starved versus fed rainbow trout but could not be detected in nuclear fractions. Starvation significantly reduced hepato-somatic index but had no effect on iNOS protein expression, protein S-nitrosylation, or apoptosis. Our results indicate that starvation promoted significant reduction in liver mass that was not associated with increased apoptosis or NO-induced stress and that greater GAPDH concentration in liver of starved rainbow trout was located primarily in the cytoplasm.     

Fin cell cryopreservation and fish reconstruction by nuclear transfer stand as promising technologies for preservation of finfish genetic resources

Domestication is a long-term process during which wild fish are acclimated to farming conditions and hopefully are reproduced over several generations, possibly using selective breeding. Preservation of the genetic diversity of the original population, together with that of the ongoing selection steps, is important for ecological and economical purposes. Cryobanking of reproductive cells is one answer to meet this need. In fish, however, only sperm can be cryopreserved as neither oocytes nor embryos are capable of handling the freeze-thawing stress. In this review, we explore to what extent diploid cells obtained from fin pieces can be used for the preservation of both parental genomes. The main parameters, which should be under control to ensure proper production of fin cells in culture and to enable cryopreservation of the material are described. After cryobanking of such non-reproductive cells, fish can be reconstructed using the nuclear transfer technology whose potentials and difficulties are discussed. The gametes produced by the fish reconstructed after somatic cells nuclear transfer are different to some extent from the gametes obtained after the direct transplantation of primordial germ cell or spermatogonial germ cells into host embryos or larvae. However, in some cases, only somatic cells can be obtained in quantities which would be compatible with strain restoration purposes. From the knowledge available today, it is reasonable to expect that nuclear transfer becomes available for fish reconstruction, even if restricted to high-tech biotechnology facilities. Therefore, cryobanking of fin somatic cells can be farsightedly considered for high-throughput diploid genome conservation.