Can glyphosate stimulate photosynthesis?

Gas-exchange and biomass growth was measured on barley plants sprayed with glyphosate in order to investigate what might cause the growth increase observed in low dose glyphosate treated plants. Gas-exchange over 7 days after spraying was measured together with photosynthesis/irradiance and photosynthesis/CO₂ curves. In addition, growth experiments at 100, 200, 400 and 800 ppm CO₂ were conducted. Dark respiration rates increased in response to the glyphosate treatment, but so did photosynthesis at doses of 11-45 g a.e. ha⁻¹. The increase in photosynthetic rates was mainly due to an increased efficiency of CO₂ fixation under irradiance and CO₂ saturated conditions. The photosynthesis measurements were confirmed by the growth experiments, where glyphosate growth stimulations were observed only at 400 and 800 ppm CO₂. It can, hence, be concluded that low glyphosate doses can stimulate photosynthesis, though the causes behind this increase is still not understood.     

Effect of Surfactant Structure on the Pasting Properties of Wheat Flour and Starch Suspensions

Systematic studies were performed on the effect of the surfactant alkyl chain length (10–16 carbon atoms) and the head group charge/structure (anionic, cationic, nonionic) on the pasting properties of wheat flour and starch aqueous suspensions by means of a Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA). An excellent agreement was observed between the effect of surfactants on the onset temperature of the pasting process (PT) and the time to reach peak viscosity (t_peak) of wheat flour and wheat starch suspensions. Moreover, a correlation was found between the effect of different surfactants on these two parameters. With the exception of the cationic surfactants (alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromides), the effect of surfactants (alkyl sulfates, maltosides, monoglycerides, and sucrose esters) was found to be strongly dependent on the surfactant chain length. Shorter chain surfactants (C10–C12) induced an earlier pasting, while longer chain surfactants (C14–C16) had the opposite effect. The effect of surfactants on PT and t_peak of flour suspensions was enlarged when the surfactant concentration was increased from ≈1% to 15% (w/w) on a dry starch basis.     

Discovery of Grain Sorghum Germ Plasm with High Uncooked and Cooked In Vitro Protein Digestibilities

Grain sorghum has been documented to have low protein digestibility relative to other cereal grains. Low protein digestibility of sorghum is most pronounced in cooked foods and is ranked slightly lower than corn as a feed grain. In this article, sorghum germ plasm is identified that has substantially higher uncooked and cooked flour in vitro protein digestibility than normal cultivars. Sorghum lines were found within a high-lysine opulation derived from the mutant P721Q that have ≈10–15% higher uncooked and ≈25% higher cooked protein digestibilities using a pepsin assay. Highly digestible sorghum grain showed little reduction in digestibility after cooking, compared to the large reduction that is typical of normal sorghum cultivars. Using the three-enzyme pH-stat method, we showed that the highly digestible lines had the same degree of peptide bond hydrolysis in ≈5 min, as was found in 60 min in the normal cultivar, P721N. Differences in protein digestibility were related to enyzme susceptibility of the major storage prolamin, α-kafirin, that comprises ≈50–60% of the total sorghum grain protein. Using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to track the pepsin digestion of α-kafirin, the highly digestible lines had ≈90–95% α-kafirin digested in 60 min compared to 45–60% for two normal cultivars. γ-Kafirin, a minor structural prolamin found mainly at the periphery of protein bodies, was also somewhat more digestible in the highly digestible sorghums. Highly digestible grain was of a floury kernel type, though recently this trait has been found in a modified background. More digestible protein from sorghum grain, that additionally is high in lysine content and has a fairly hard endosperm, could be of important benefit to populations who lack adequate protein in their diets, and may, pending further studies, prove to increase the value of sorghum as a feed grain.     

Granulocytic anaplasmosis in a horse from Saskatchewan

This report describes a case of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis in a horse from Saskatchewan. Morulae were visualized within blood neutrophils, and the diagnosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The organism was identified as the human pathogenic strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum by PCR and DNA sequencing of 3 independent genes.     

Prevalence of antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum and their clinical relevance in dogs in Munich, Germany

Although prevalences of antibodies against Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) and Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum have been reported to be high in the German dog population, the importance of the diseases caused by both agents is still not well characterized in a field situation.The aim of this study was (1) to determine the prevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl and A. phagocytophilum in dogs in Munich, Germany, and (2) to assess the clinical presentation and laboratory values of antibody-positive dogs and compare them to a negative control group. In total, 448 randomly selected dogs were screened for antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl and A. phagocytophilum with the SNAP 4Dx assay (IDEXX, Laboratories, Inc., USA). Dogs carrying antibodies against B. burgdorferi sl and/or A. phagocytophilum were classified as "positive"(n=100), the following 100 negative dogs served as control group. In both groups, physical examination and laboratory parameters were compared. 22 (4.9%) dogs had antibodies to B. burgdorferi sl, 78 (19.4%) to A. phagocytophilum, nine (2.0%) to both agents. Bernese Mountain Dogs had significantly more often antibodies against B. burgdorferi sl. Negative dogs were more often diagnosed as "healthy" compared to A. phagocytophilum antibody-positives that showed more often elevated body temperature and poor general condition; beyond that, there were no differences in clinical and laboratory abnormalities between both groups. Although dogs tested negative were more often considered healthy, there were no differences in parameters considered "specific" for both infections between dogs with and without antibodies. Hence, tests detecting antibodies against both agents are not able to detect animals with the clinical disease.     

Lipid oxidation in milk, yoghurt, and salad dressing enriched with neat fish oil or pre-emulsified fish oil

This study compared the oxidative stabilities of fish-oil-enriched milk, yoghurt, and salad dressing and investigated the effects on oxidation of adding either neat fish oil or a fish-oil-in-water emulsion to these products. Milk emulsions had higher levels of a fishy off-flavor and oxidized faster, as determined by the peroxide value and volatile oxidation products, than fish-oil-enriched yoghurt and dressing, despite the fact that dressings had a higher fish oil content and were stored at room temperature. Additionally, fish-oil-enriched yoghurt generally had higher oxidative stability than fish-oil-enriched dressings, irrespective of the mode of fish oil addition. Yoghurt thus seemed to be a good delivery system of lipids containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Different effects of adding fish oil either as neat fish oil or as a fish-oil-in-water emulsion were observed for milk, yoghurt, and dressing. Yoghurt and dressing enriched with neat fish oil were more stable than those enriched with a fish-oil-in-water emulsion, whereas milk enriched with neat fish oil was less stable than milk enriched with the fish-oil-in-water emulsion. Overall, it seemed that application of neat fish oil was a good option for preserving the final quality in yoghurt and dressings, but a pre-emulsion may still be considered for the fish oil enrichment of certain food products, for example, milk.     

Ascorbyl palmitate, gamma-tocopherol, and EDTA affect lipid oxidation in fish oil enriched salad dressing differently

The aim of the study was to investigate the ability of gamma-tocopherol, ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), and ascorbyl palmitate to protect fish oil enriched salad dressing against oxidation during a 6 week storage period at room temperature. The lipid-soluble gamma-tocopherol (220 and 880 microg g-1 of fish oil) reduced lipid oxidation during storage by partly retarding the formation of lipid hydroperoxides (PV) and by decreasing the concentrations of individual volatile oxidation products by 34-39 and 42-66%, respectively. EDTA (10 and 50 microg g-1 of dressing) was the most efficient single antioxidant, and overall peroxide values and volatiles were reduced by approximately 70 and 77-86%, respectively. Conversely, prooxidant effects were observed with a high concentration of ascorbyl palmitate (300 microg g-1 of fish oil), whereas a low concentration was slightly antioxidative (50 microg/g of fish oil). Finally, a combination of all three antioxidants completely inhibited oxidation during storage, indicating that the prooxidant effects of ascorbyl palmitate were reverted or overshadowed by EDTA and gamma-tocopherol.     

A school salad bar increases frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among children living in low-income households

OBJECTIVE: To measure change in fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among elementary-school children after the introduction of a salad bar programme as a lunch menu option in the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) reimbursable lunch programme in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). DESIGN: A cross-sectional sample of children was interviewed before and after a salad bar intervention (1998 and 2000, respectively) utilising a 24-hour food recall questionnaire. Frequencies of F&V consumption were calculated. SETTING: The evaluation took place in three LAUSD elementary schools participating in the salad bar programme and the USDA reimbursable lunch programme. SUBJECTS: Three hundred and thirty-seven children in 2nd-5th grade (7-11 years old). RESULTS: After the salad bar was introduced, there was a significant increase in frequency (2.97 to 4.09, P < 0.001) of F&V consumed among the children studied. The increase in frequency of F&V consumed was almost all due to an increase during lunch (84%). Mean energy, cholesterol, saturated fat and total fat intakes were significantly lower in the children after the salad bar was introduced in the schools compared with the intakes in the children before the salad bar was introduced.Conclusion: A salad bar as a lunch menu option in the USDA reimbursable lunch programme can significantly increase the frequency of F&V consumption by elementary-school children living in low-income households.