Marigold Leaf Spot Caused by Alternaria tagetica New to Japan

In October 1998, a disease causing mainly foliar necrotic lesions was found on African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and French marigold (T. patula) grown in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Similar lesions also developed on stems and flowers, resulting in early blight of the affected organs. Plants with numerous lesions withered rapidly. A mitosporic fungus isolated repeatedly from the diseased plants was identified as Alternaria tagetica and demonstrated to cause the disease. The disease, as well as the fungus, is new to Japan. We propose the name “hanten-by?”, which means leaf spot in Japanese, for this disease. Received 5 April 2000/ Accepted in revised form 31 May 2000     

Middle upper beak fracture in a Red-crowned crane that completely recovered with external skeletal fixation

An adult Red-crowned crane in captivity that had a displaced compound fracture of the middle upper beak caused by an accident was treated by using Type I-a external skeletal fixator (ESF). The ESF that was equipped with a unilateral epoxy putty fixator and with five half-pins was fixed on the premaxilla bone. The crane with the ESF on the beak was able to feed smoothly by itself. The ESF was removed 49 days after the first surgery. Beak malocclusion, which was observed in the latter half period of fixing, spontaneously improved within one month after removal of the ESF. This is the first successful case of repair of an upper beak fracture in a Red-crowned crane.     

Tumour necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand induces apoptosis in canine hemangiosarcoma cells in vitro

Tumour necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an apoptosis‐inducing cytokine that shows potential therapeutic value for human neoplasms, and is effective in some canine tumours; however, its potential for killing canine hemangiosarcoma (HSA) cells is unknown. Thus, we evaluated the proapoptotic effect of TRAIL in nine canine HSA cell lines. Cells (JuA1, JuB2, JuB2‐1, JuB4, Re11, Re12, Re21, Ud2 and Ud6) were cultured with three recombinant human TRAILs (rhTRAILs): TRAIL‐TEC derived from Escherichia coli, TRAIL‐TL derived from mammalian cells and isoleucine zipper recombinant human TRAIL (izTRAIL) containing an isoleucine‐zippered structure that facilitates trimerization. TRAIL‐TEC did not decrease the cell viability in any of the cell lines tested, whereas the other two rhTRAILs effectively decreased the viability of all cell lines as assessed by the WST‐1 assay. In canine HSA cells, izTRAIL induced apoptosis more effectively than TRAIL‐TL. In JuB4, Re12, and Ud6 cells, izTRAIL increased the activation of caspase‐3 and caspase‐8 and caused poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase degradation. Moreover, izTRAIL treatment increased the proportion of Annexin V+/ Propidium iodide (PI)? apoptotic cells and nuclear fragmentation in izTRAIL‐sensitive cells. These results show that rhTRAIL can induce apoptosis in canine HSA cells, but the sensitivity of TRAIL was different depending on the cell lines. Therefore, TRAIL could be an effective therapeutic agent against canine HSA, but the specific mechanism of resistance should be determined to clarify under what conditions this treatment would be most effective.     

Anthracnose of Nemesia strumosa Caused by Colletotrichum fuscum

Severe wilt with spots and/or leaf and stem blight were found on a scrophulariaceous flowering plant, Nemesia strumosa, grown in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, in February 1999. Wilted plants had numerous lesions and died early. A mitosporic fungus isolated repeatedly from the diseased plants was identified as Colletotrichum fuscum and was demonstrated to cause the disease. N. strumosa is a new host for C. fuscum, which has been known to attack foxglove (Digitalis spp.). The present disease was named “anthracnose of N. strumosa” as a new disease. Received 10 October 2000/ Accepted in revised form 11 January 2001     

Estimation of potassium and magnesium flows in animal production in Dianchi Lake basin,China

The objectives of this study were to estimate and evaluate potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) budgets and flows of animal production in the basin of Dianchi Lake, China. Feed sampling and farmer interviews were conducted in field surveys. The supplies of K and Mg from local and external feeds and the retention, production and excretion of animals were calculated individually for dairy cows, fattening pigs, breeding sows, and broilers and laying hens. The K and Mg flows on a regional level were estimated using the individual budgets. At the individual level, in dairy cattle, the K and Mg supplied from local feeds accounted for large parts of the total nutrient intakes, whereas in the other animal categories most of the K and Mg in the feeds depended on external resources. Our findings also suggested that excessive Mg intake resulted in high Mg excretion and low use efficiency in dairy cattle and fattening pigs. At the regional level, the K and Mg amounts of manure produced and applied in the area (K: 339 and Mg: 143 t/year) exceeded those used as local feeds. Our results imply the animal production potentially increased the K and Mg loads in the regional agriculture system.     

Quantitative structure-activity study of herbicidal N-aryl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalimides and related cyclic imides

The quantitative relationship between structure and inhibitory activity against the root growth of sawa millet of 30 N-aryl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalimides and 88 related N-aryl cyclic imide compounds (3-aryl-1,5-tetramethylenehydantoins, 4-aryl-1,2-tetramethylenetriazolidine-3,5-diones, and their thiocarbonyl analogs) was analyzed by means of physicochemical parameters of the aryl substituents and regression analysis. The results showed that, in each series of these classes of compounds, the position-specific steric effects of aromatic substituents, as represented by Verloop's STERIMOL values, are highly important in determining the inhibitory potency of the compound.     

Bacteriological evaluation of composted manure solids prepared from anaerobic digested slurry for hygienic recycled bedding materials for dairy cows

Changes in mastitis‐causing pathogens, pH and water content in composted manure solids (CMS) prepared from digested slurry were evaluated during turning at 2‐day intervals for 8 days (C1–C4). The numbers of streptococci, coagulase‐negative staphylococci and coliforms were 2.6 × 10¹, 1.7 × 10² and 1.0 × 10¹ colony‐forming units (cfu)/g in CMS (C4) (summer), and these counts were markedly lower (P < 0.05) than those in CMS (C0 and C1). The bacterial counts ranged from 10¹ to 1.7 × 10² cfu/g in CMS (C4) (summer) and were within approved levels, <1 × 10⁶ cfu/g, indicating a minimal mastitis risk. The temperatures in CMS (C1–C4) increased to 63°C–74°C in summer and 67°C–70°C in winter. The mean pH values in CMS (C0–C4) were 9.2 in summer and 8.7 in winter, and water contents ranged from 61.7% to 69.6% in summer and 73.2% to 66.2% in winter. The significant decrease of pathogenic bacteria in CMS appears to be closely related to temperature >63°C for 8 days, pH 8.7–9.2, and water content 62% to 73%. This study demonstrates that prepared CMS has value as a recycled material with the potential to alleviate udder health issues in dairy cows.