Safety and efficacy of clavulanate-potentiated amoxycillin in pigeons (Columba livia)

Pigeons treated orally with 125 mg clavulanate-potentiated amoxycillin for seven days showed no adverse reactions. The drug had a marked depressive effect on the faecal flora but this had returned to normal 10 days after cessation of treatment. When administered to pigeons with an experimental Staphylococcus aureus infection of the feet no clinical response was apparent and there was no evidence of a diminution in the inflammatory process.     

Development of a forest certification standard compatible with PEFC and FSC's management requirements. A case study from Greece

Greece currently has no national forest certification standard.This paper explains how a draft forest management standard forGreece was developed to be compatible with both the Forest StewardshipCouncil and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certificationschemes requirements. The draft standard was tested in two contrastingforest areas to investigate its ease of operation, to indicatenecessary refinements to the standard and to reveal major areasof weakness in current forest management practices. Field testingshowed that the standard was operationally efficient and thatrelatively few changes to the standard were necessary. Majorweaknesses in current management practices were identified asbreaches of health and safety, poor training of forest workersand inadequate consultation with stakeholders.     

Three-year growth studies of Leucaena leucocephala (1094) and L. pulverulenta (1001) at two spacings in Texas

The productivity of Leucaena leucocephala and a superior L. pulverulenta family were examined over a 3-year period at spacings (1.5 m×1.5 m and 1.5×3.0 m) chosen to compare two mechanical weeding operations. Leucaena pulverulenta was examined since faster-growing families of this cold-hardy, low-mimosine leucaena species were recently identified. There was no significant difference in yields between the species (P = 0.9060) but there was a significant difference between spacings (P = 0.0491). There was no significant spacing×species, species×year or spacing×year interaction. The annual growth rates for the first, second, and third seasons' growth for L. leucocephala were 3.73, 10.11 and 6.00 t ha⁻¹ at the close spacing and 3.03, 7.14 and 5.04 for the wider spacing. The annual growth-rates for the first, second and third seasons' growth for L. pulverulenta were 2.03, 8.35 and 8.31 t ha⁻¹ at the close spacing and 1.25, 9.38 and 5.29 at the wider spacing. Despite the fact that L. leucocephala froze to the ground in the first and second winter when L. pulverulenta was nearly undamaged, the L. leucocephala coppice resprout was greater than the second year's growth for L. pulverulenta.     

Novel plasmodesmata association of dehydrin-like proteins in cold- acclimated Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea)

Dehydrins are proteins associated with conditions affecting the water status of plant cells, such as drought, salinity, freezing and seed maturation. Although the function of dehydrins remains unknown, it is hypothesized that they stabilize membranes and macromolecules during cellular dehydration. Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea L.), an extremely freeze-tolerant woody plant, accumulates dehydrin-like proteins during cold acclimation and the presence of these proteins is correlated with increased freeze tolerance (Karlson 2001, Sarnighausen et al. 2002, Karlson et al. 2003). Our objective was to determine the location of dehydrins in cold-acclimated C. sericea stems in an effort to provide insight into their potential role in the freeze tolerance of this extremely cold hardy species. Abundant labeling was observed in the nucleus and cytoplasm of cold-acclimated C. sericea stem cells. In addition, labeling was observed in association with plasmodesmata of cold-acclimated vascular cambium cells. The unique association of dehydrin-like proteins with plasmodesmata has not been reported previously.     

Above- and belowground biomass measurements in an unthinned stand of Sitka spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea sitchensis</Emphasis> (Bong) Carr.)

Reporting carbon (C) stocks in tree biomass (above- and belowground) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should be transparent and verifiable. The development of nationally specific data is considered ‘good practice’ to assist in meeting these reporting requirements. From this study, biomass functions were developed for estimating above- and belowground C stock in a 19-year-old stand of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.). Our estimates were then tested against current default values used for reporting in Ireland and literature equations. Ten trees were destructively sampled to develop aboveground and tree component biomass equations. The roots were excavated and a root:shoot (R) ratio developed to estimate belowground biomass. Application of the total aboveground biomass function yielded a C stock estimate for the stand of 74 tonnes C ha⁻¹, with an uncertainty of 7%. The R ratio was determined to be 0.23, with an uncertainty of 10%. The C stock estimate of the belowground biomass component was then calculated to be 17 tonnes C ha⁻¹, with an uncertainty of 12%. The equivalent C stock estimate from the biomass expansion factor (BEF) method, applying Ireland’s currently reported default values for BEF (inclusive of belowground biomass), wood density and C concentration and methods for estimating volume, was found to be 60 tonnes C ha⁻¹, with an uncertainty of 26%. We found that volume tables, currently used for determining merchantable timber volume in Irish forestry conditions, underestimated volume since they did not extend to the yield of the forest under investigation. Mean stock values for belowground biomass compared well with that generated using published models.     

PEG bulking of wood cell walls as affected by moisture content and nature of solvent

Movement of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1000 from wood cell lumens into adjacent cell walls was studied for different cell wall moisture contents (MCs) and PEG solvents; relative amounts of PEG that penetrated into the cell walls were estimated by Raman microscopy. It was shown that samples treated with PEG from chloroform solution adsorb less PEG than samples treated with PEG-water solution even in the case of samples with open cell wall structure near fibre saturation point MC. Reconditioning of PEG-chloroform treated samples at high relative humidities enhanced PEG bulking of cell walls, but not to the maximum amounts observed with PEG-water treatments. Raman microscopy was a useful tool for estimating relative PEG amounts in the cell walls.     

Childhood cancer in Texas counties with moderate to intense agricultural activity

With few established risk factors, cancer remains the second leading cause of death for children in the U.S. Agricultural pesticide use is one of many suspected factors that may contribute to the etiology of childhood cancer. This study tests the hypothesis that birth in Texas counties with moderate to intense agricultural activity increases childhood cancer risk. This case-control study analyzed 6974 cases and controls ages 0 to 14, identified through the Texas Cancer Registry and Texas birth records, respectively. Exposure data were obtained from the Census of Agriculture. Percent cropland in the county of birth and total county-specific pesticide exposure incorporating the EPA's carcinogenicity classification served as surrogates for pesticide exposure. Cancer sites examined include: all cancers, leukemia, lymphoma, CNS tumors, and several specific subsites. Elevated, although not statistically significant, ORs for the association between birth in counties with > or =50% cropland were produced for all CNS tumors (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.9-1.8), astrocytoma (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 0.8-2.2), and PNET (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.7-2.5). A similar pattern was not observed using the index of total county-specific pesticide exposure. Although imprecise, these exposure assessment methods represent novel applications of agricultural census data. Although a pattern of increased risk was observed between percent cropland and CNS tumors, this study's results do not support an association between birth in Texas counties with moderate to intense agricultural activity and childhood cancer. Due to study limitations, such an association should not be ruled out. Future research should incorporate individual-level data from various sources to increase precision and decrease misclassification in the exposure assessment.