Bilateral laryngeal paralysis in the horse

Four two-year-old Thoroughbreds suffered an acute gastrointestinal illness shortly after dosing with mineral oil which was thought to have been contaminated with an organophosphate compound. Three weeks later all four were noted to be dyspnoeic and endoscopic examination showed that they had developed bilateral laryngeal paralysis. Two of the horses died during severe bouts of dyspnoea six and eight months later and the third was killed shortly thereafter. Examination of the left and right recurrent laryngeal nerves from these horses showed a severe loss of myelinated fibres distally, especially in the left nerve. A similar but less severe lesion was seen in other long peripheral nerves, including the phrenic and digital nerves of the third horse. The spinal cord in two horses showed evidence of mild axonal degeneration which was not related to a particular tract or location. The fourth horse had bilateral laryngeal paralysis two years later. The acute clinical signs and delayed neurological sequelae seen in these horses were strongly suggestive of accidental organophosphate toxicity.     

Evaluation of soybean germplasm conserved in NIAS genebank and development of mini core collections

Genetic variation and population structure among 1603 soybean accessions, consisted of 832 Japanese landraces, 109 old and 57 recent Japanese varieties, 341 landrace from 16 Asian countries and 264 wild soybean accessions, were characterized using 191 SNP markers. Although gene diversity of Japanese soybean germplasm was slight lower than that of exotic soybean germplasm, population differentiation and clustering analyses indicated clear genetic differentiation among Japanese cultivated soybeans, exotic cultivated soybeans and wild soybeans. Nine hundred ninety eight Japanese accessions were separated to a certain extent into groups corresponding to their agro-morphologic characteristics such as photosensitivity and seed characteristics rather than their geographical origin. Based on the assessment of the SNP markers and several agro-morphologic traits, accessions that retain gene diversity of the whole collection were selected to develop several soybean sets of different sizes using an heuristic approach; a minimum of 12 accessions can represent the observed gene diversity; a mini-core collection of 96 accession can represent a major proportion of both geographic origin and agro-morphologic trait variation. These selected sets of germplasm will provide an effective platform for enhancing soybean diversity studies and assist in finding novel traits for crop improvement.     

Commercialization decisions and the economics of introduction

Summary A commercial horticultural industry that establishes plant-breeding nurseries for an exotic species throughout a regional economy will expand until the marginal profit of the last nursery established is zero. However, a regional government concerned with social welfare will take into account not only the profits of the horticultural industry but also any expected costs of an accidental invasion. The latter costs will consist of the discounted expected social damages due to an increase in the rate of invasion over time and the increase in expected damage cost per hectare caused by an additional nursery. A government can employ an “introducers' pay” tax equal to the latter social costs to ensure that the plant breeding industry establishes the optimal number of nurseries. We illustrate this outcome with the example of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) in North America. In the absence of any tax, the horticultural industry will establish n = 3528 nursery operations, and the expected damages from invasion are US$ 28.2 million per year. With the tax, only n = 300 nurseries are established but the expected damages from invasion are reduced to US$ 1.3 million per year. Although profits for the horticultural industry are lower from the tax, the net gains in overall social welfare more than offset the losses. Although these results are illustrative only, they show that the problem of plant invasives initiated by commercial operations is amenable to standard economic analysis and solutions, such as implementation of an “introducers' pay tax”.     

Malachite green influence on calcium (45Ca2+) absorption by sorghum root tips

Malachite green (MG) [N‐[4‐[[4‐dimethylamino)phenyl] phenyl‐methylene]‐2,5‐cyclohexadien‐l‐yl idene] ‐N‐methyl‐methanarninium chloride] (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 mM) was evaluated for influence on calcium (⁴⁵Ca²⁺) absorption by 1‐cm root‐tips of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. cv GP‐10, SC283, SC574, and Funk G522DR]. Calcium (⁴⁵Ca²⁺) absorption was significantly decreased in all four cultivars at 0.1 mM. LD₅₀’s were Funk G522DR (0.15 mM), GP10 (0.25 mM), SC283 (0.30 mM), and SC574 (0.31 mM).     

Enabling Conditions for Successful Community Forest Enterprises

In search of sustainable forest landscapes that reduce poverty and mitigate climate change, many countries have adopted a forest policy model that encourages community forest enterprise (CFE). This paper draws on international experience from the Forest Connect alliance, involving teams supporting small forest enterprises in 12 countries with more than 800 associate members from 60 countries. The hypothesis emerging from this alliance is that three main enabling conditions are required for successful CFEs: accessible commercial forest rights; processes of enterprise-oriented social organisation; and infusion of competitive business skills. Having established criteria and indicators of successful CFE, this paper critically examines a series of eight national and sub-national case studies (for Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, Mozambique and Nepal) to test this central hypothesis. Findings demonstrate a clear association between the implementation of these three enabling conditions and indicators of successful CFE. Examples from Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk (Nepal) and Monapo (Mozambique) illustrate the importance of ensuring these conditions. The paper concludes by drawing a number of policy implications about how to foster the enabling conditions necessary for successful CFE.