HIGH FIELD STRENGTH (4.7T) MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF HYDROCEPHALUS IN AN AFRICAN GREY PARROT (PSITTACUS ERITHACUS)

Hydrocephalus was diagnosed in a juvenile African Grey parrot by high-field strength (4.7-Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Excellent anatomic detail was achieved, and there was severe dilation of all ventricles. Relative obstruction was localized to the level of or beyond the outflow of the fourth ventricle. There have been several reports of hydrocephalus diagnosed postmortem in psittacines (i.e., hook-billed parrots), however, this is the first report of an antemortem diagnosis in a psittacine using high-field strength MRI.     

Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Generation of Ammonia in Different Bedding Materials Used for Horse Keeping

Bedding material is an important factor in determining stable air quality in terms of ammonia formation. The objective of this study was to analyze different bedding materials used for horse stables under standardized conditions, to determine which material is best suited for improving the climate of a stable. The particular concern was a reduction in gaseous ammonia concentrations. Therefore, the following materials were examined: wheat straw, wood shavings, hemp shives, linen shives, wheat straw pellets, and paper cuttings. Twelve containers were constructed in an environmentally controlled room, and the same material was placed into two containers, with the amount of material used being determined by its carbon content. A defined ratio of horse manure/urine mixture was added daily to each container over a period of 14 days. The concentrations of gaseous ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and water vapor were measured continuously above the bedding within the containers. Means of gaseous ammonia were found to be 178.0 mg/m³ for wheat straw, 155.2 mg/m³ for wood shavings, 144.6 mg/m³ for hemp, 133.7 mg/m³ for linen, 60.3 mg/m³ for straw pellets, and 162.6 mg/m³ for paper cuttings. In conclusion, the results of this study have shown that straw pellets are suitable for horse stables, not only to improve air quality but also, first and foremost, in relation to ammonia binding and ammonia transformation within the bedding material, respectively. However, straw pellets may also have disadvantages. The high substrate temperatures that were measured in straw pellets could favor the growth of pathologic germs that can adversely affect animals' health.     

Cytoplasmic-nucleargenic effects in the C121 (Athens) Zea mays L. inbred with three cytoplasms

Summary Seeds of the long-time maize (Zea mays L.) inbred CI 21 (Athens) were prepared with the following cytoplasms: GA 199 and GT 112. Each source of cytoplasm as the female parent was corssed to the CI 21 (A) as the pollen parent. The F₁, as the female, was backcrossed successively to the CI 21 (A) genotype until the CI 21 (A) nucleus was substituted into each of the cytoplasms. Thus, each cytoplasmic source of seed assumed to have the same nuclear genotype.The cytoplasms were compared in all possible combinations for one year with 10 replications. Among the characters studied, significant differences were obtained for the following: effect of herbicide, reaction to Fusarium sp., silking on a given day, tasseling, plant height, ear height, lodging, number of ears, and yield.These results revealed a favorable interaction of GA 199 cytoplasm with the CI 21 (A) genotype for desirable characters. Apparently, plasmon-sensitive effects caused the unfavorable results. Results from these experiments also provide further support for cytoplasmic effects on agronomic characters in maize.Part of the dissertation submitted by the senior author to the Dep. of Agronomy, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.     

Interpreting the spatio-temporal patterns of sea turtle strandings: Going with the flow

Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of specific mortality sources is crucial for management of species that are vulnerable to human interactions. Beachcast carcasses represent an unknown fraction of at-sea mortalities. While a variety of physical (e.g., water temperature) and biological (e.g., decomposition) factors as well as the distribution of animals and their mortality sources likely affect the probability of carcass stranding, physical oceanography plays a major role in where and when carcasses strand. Here, we evaluate the influence of nearshore physical oceanographic and wind regimes on sea turtle strandings to decipher seasonal trends and make qualitative predictions about stranding patterns along oceanfront beaches. We use results from oceanic drift-bottle experiments to check our predictions and provide an upper limit on stranding proportions. We compare predicted current regimes from a 3D physical oceanographic model to spatial and temporal locations of both sea turtle carcass strandings and drift bottle landfalls. Drift bottle return rates suggest an upper limit for the proportion of sea turtle carcasses that strand (about 20%). In the South Atlantic Bight, seasonal development of along-shelf flow coincides with increased numbers of strandings of both turtles and drift bottles in late spring and early summer. The model also predicts net offshore flow of surface waters during winter - the season with the fewest relative strandings. The drift bottle data provide a reasonable upper bound on how likely carcasses are to reach land from points offshore and bound the general timeframe for stranding post-mortem (< two weeks). Our findings suggest that marine turtle strandings follow a seasonal regime predictable from physical oceanography and mimicked by drift bottle experiments. Managers can use these findings to reevaluate incidental strandings limits and fishery takes for both nearshore and offshore mortality sources.     

Smoke-derived taint in wine: the release of smoke-derived volatile phenols during fermentation of Merlot juice following grapevine exposure to smoke

The release of smoke-derived volatile phenols during the fermentation of Merlot grapes, following grapevine exposure to smoke, has been investigated. The concentrations of guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-ethylphenol, and eugenol were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and found to increase throughout the winemaking process. Only trace levels (< or = 1 microg/L) of guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol could be detected in free run juice derived from the fruit of smoked vines; the highest levels, 388 microg/L and 93 microg/L, respectively, were observed in the finished wine. Control wine (derived from fruit of unsmoked vines) contained 4 microg/L guaiacol, with the volatile phenols either not detected or detected at only trace levels (< or = 1 microg/L) throughout fermentation. The role of enzyme and acid catalyzed hydrolysis reactions in releasing smoke-derived volatile compounds was also investigated. The volatile phenols were released from smoked free run juice by strong acid hydrolysis (pH 1.0) and enzyme (beta-glucosidase) hydrolysis, but not mild acid hydrolysis (juice pH 3.2-3.7). Guaiacol was again the most abundant smoke-derived phenol, present at 431 microg/L and 325 microg/L in strong acid and enzyme hydrolysates, respectively. Only trace levels of each phenol could be detected in each control hydrolysate. This study demonstrates the potential for under-estimation of smoke taint in fruit and juice samples; the implications for the assessment of smoke taint and quantification of volatile phenols are discussed.     

The Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska: Gray Literature (1891–2010)

The Ogallala Aquifer is a key water resource for several U. S. states. TransCanada, a Canadian company, proposes to construct the Keystone XL pipeline to transport tar sands crude oil from Alberta to refineries in Texas; one proposed route would bury the pipeline in the Aquifer, raising water quality and environmental concerns. A rich inventory of information about the Aquifer predates the current controversy. This article presents a key subset of an extensive, ongoing bibliography: 128 citations to gray literature about the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska, which are inaccessible online and/or held in only a few libraries. The authors present several examples to illustrate the relevance of this gray literature to current events, comment on difficulties encountered during the bibliographic harvest and the identification of this subset, and reiterate the need for planned preservation through digitization of historical (print) gray literature.     

Legacy Contamination of River Sediments from Four Decades of Coal Mine Effluent Inhibits Ecological Recovery of a Polluted World Heritage Area River

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution - A revised environmental licence that authorises the disposal of coal mine effluent has reduced the severity and spatial extent of water pollution and associated...     

Intraspecific somatic and sexual hybridisation between dihaploid lines of Solanum tuberosum L.: evaluation of morphological traits and resistance to late blight Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary in the foliage

Intraspecific tetraploid somatic and sexual hybrid plants have been resynthesised following protoplast fusion and by sexual crosses between two dihaploid potato (Solanum tuberosum) lines each possessing complementary agronomic traits. The dihaploid PDH 40 possesses good tuber shape and yield but has foliage susceptibility to late blight (Phytophthora infestans). On the other hand, the dihaploid PDH 727 possesses resistance to blight in the foliage but has a low yield of small and irregular shaped tubers. Since it was only possible to use a partial selection strategy based on culture media to facilitate recovery of somatic hybrid plants-further morphological and esterase isozyme based characterisations were performed to identify somatic hybrid plants from amongst the non-hybrid plant material. When the blight resistance of both the intraspecific somatic and sexual hybrid plants was assessed there was no significant difference in the mean resistance value and it was intermediate between those of their parents. However, the range of resistance was much wider among the sexual hybrids than among the plants derived from somatic fusion. An assessment of tuber yield between tetraploid sexual and somatic hybrids showed no significant difference and it was higher than that of either parent value. The implication of these results in the context of potato genetics and breeding is discussed.     

Nitrogen release from air‐dried biosolids for fertilizer value

Mineral‐N production by air‐dried biosolids was measured in an Australian tenosol type soil with two moisture conditions over 70 days, using a controlled laboratory incubation procedure. The biosolids were from both air‐drying pans and stockpiles. Inorganic‐N components (NH₄‐N, NO₃‐N and NO₂‐N) were present in all biosolids, with higher concentrations in samples from air‐drying pans compared with stockpiles of 1 yr age. Nevertheless, significant production of NO₃‐N occurred in moist soil amended with all air‐dried biosolids. In contrast, saturated soil amended with air‐dried biosolids generally showed a net loss of inorganic‐N compounds during incubation, presumably owing to denitrification. In the saturated soil, only biosolids from air‐drying pans provided NO₃‐N production from existing NH₄‐N. The results indicated that biosolids from air‐drying pans provided the most robust production of NO₃‐N, compared with aged material from the stockpiles, owing to the reduced N content and increased stability of the organic fraction in stored biosolids. However, the rates of N‐mineralization in the tenosol soil were substantially lower than reported for more fertile soil types and most of the organic‐N content of the biosolids remained undegraded by day 70. The biosolids thus may substantially remain to provide improved properties of soil, such as structure and water‐holding capacity. The results suggest that anaerobically digested biosolids from air‐drying pans are potentially highly consistent products that could be effective replacements for inorganic‐N fertilizer in agricultural production.