Migration Inhibition Studies on Peripheral Leukocytes and Lymph Node Cells from Ruminants with Fascioliasis

Delayed type hypersensitivity against antigens of Fasciola hepatica has been repeatedly documented in infected hosts. Evidence has been presented to suggest that the delayed reactivity may develop earlier in the regional lymph nodes of the parasitized organ than in other lymph nodes of the body (Soulsby 1971).     

Nitrate leaching from an organic dairy crop rotation: the effects of manure type, nitrogen input and improved crop rotation

Abstract. Four management systems combining high and low livestock densities (0.7 and 1.4 livestock units ha⁻¹) and different types of organic manure (slurry and straw based FYM) were applied to an organic dairy crop rotation (undersown barley – grass–clover – grass–clover – barley/pea – oats – fodder beet) between 1998 and 2001. The effects of the management systems on crop yields and nitrate leaching were measured. In all four years, nitrate leaching, as determined using ceramic suction cups, was higher in the three crops following ploughing of grass–clover than under the barley or grass–clover. Overall, no significant differences in nitrate leaching were observed between the management systems. However, the replacement of the winter wheat crop used in the earlier experimental period (1994–97) by spring oats with catch crops in both the preceding and succeeding winters reduced nitrate leaching compared with the earlier rotation. Increasing the livestock density, which increased manure application by c. 60 kg total N ha⁻¹, increased crop yields by 7 and 9% on average for FYM and slurry, respectively. Yields were 3–5% lower where FYM was used instead of slurry. The experiment confirmed the overriding importance of grassland N management, particularly the cultivation of the ley, in organic dairy crop rotations.     

Optimising quality-parameters of apple cv. ‘Pigeon’ by adjustment of nitrogen

To improve the productivity and quality of the apple cultivar ‘Pigeon’ the influence of 5 fertigation levels (14, 42, 70, 112, 224 mg N/l) and 3 widths of herbicide strip (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 m) were investigated on growth, yield and post-harvest quality/colour development of fruit. ‘Pigeon’ apples are picked when ca. 20% of the fruit skin has turned red, the fruit are then exposed to a sunning period on the orchard floor of 2–3 weeks to enhance red colour development (80% red skin); however the internal quality deteriorates during this period. Fruit drop occurs if fruit are left on the tree to develop colour. This study focused on how to reduce the length of the post-harvest sunning period to maximise both colour development and fruit quality. It was demonstrated that 14 mg N/l resulted in a low yield, small fruit, low vegetative growth, and low N content in leaf dry matter, but good fruit colour development. Excessive N fertigation (224 mg N/l) did not produce the significantly highest yield or the largest fruit, but it did enhance vegetative growth and resulted in less fruit colouration. N fertigation influenced optimal picking date; higher N fertigation delayed the time of picking, and increased the incidence of green fruit. Fruit from the high-N treatments required more days of post-harvest sunning to obtain the comparable red skin colour than fruit from the lower N-treatments. However, when all treatments were picked at ca. 20% fruit coloration it was not possible to reduce the length of post-harvest sunning period by N-supply. Most of the post-harvest colour development occurred within the first 6–9 days following harvest; colour developed on both sides but was enhanced on the shade side of the fruit. The shade side of the fruit had a greater potential for better red colour development than the blush side of the fruit.     

Simulated maternal pre‐spawning stress affects offspring's attributes in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar (Linnaeus, 1758)

In fish hormones are released into the nutritive yolk sac during oogenesis in quantities that mirror female plasma levels, thus implying a potential for the maternal endocrine state at spawning to affect offspring characteristics. In the present study, mature female Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were given intraperitoneal cortisol implants to investigate potential impacts of simulated stress on offspring ontogeny. Maternal cortisol levels reduced fertilization success and affected several offspring characters: lowered initial survival rates, impaired growth early in life and increased prevalence of morphological abnormalities in adult individuals. In addition, offspring from cortisol administered females displayed increased locomotor activity in an acute confinement test. These results suggest that developmental trajectories of salmon offspring can be considerably altered if their mothers experience severe stress during the final stages of gametogenesis. The present findings may have conceptual and applied ramifications as they demonstrate a mechanism that links the maternal environment to subsequent viability of the progeny.     

Use of computer‐assisted image analysis for semi‐quantitative histology of the hepatopancreas in whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei (Boone)

Despite the increasing use of novel molecular techniques in pathology, histology remains the standard method for monitoring tissue alterations and for assessing pathology. Histopathological evaluation is generally laborious and subjective with risk of discrepancies in semi‐quantitative scoring between pathologists. In contrast, computer‐assisted image analysis (CAIA) is potentially faster, more objective and thus suitable for routine screening. Limited research has been carried out on CAIA in crustacean histopathology, and the methods described were not fully automated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop CAIA in whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) for the study of the hepatopancreas. Paraffin sections were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibodies WSH8 against haemocytes and counterstained with Mayer′s haematoxylin for detection of haemocytes and B‐cell vacuoles, and modified toluidine blue protocol was used for detection of F‐cells; frozen sections were stained with Oil Red O for detection of lipid droplets within R‐cells. Visiopharm^® software was used to develop and validated protocols for the quantification of morphological parameters (areas of haemocyte infiltration, F‐cells, B‐cell vacuoles, lipid droplets and their ratios to total tissue area and total lumen area). These protocols enable the future use of CAIA for determination of the nutritional and pathological condition of this organ.     

Plant growth,photosynthetic pigments,and nitrate assimilation in symbiotic mutants of garden pea

A set of 21 pea (Pisum sativum L.) non‐nodulating mutants and a supernodulating mutant were compared to the parental cv. ‘Finale’ by leaf nitrate reductase activity, nitrogen (N) content in the shoot, content of photosynthetic pigments, and growth. The plants were cultivated asymbiotically at the growth‐saturating nitrate (NO3) level (10 mM) to detect the nitrate assimilation faults. Both positive and negative deviations were revealed in all traits, indicating pleiotropy of symbiotic mutations and/or the deleterious effects of multiple mutations. Only four mutants were indistinguishable from the control plants by all traits. The supernodulating line RisfixC demonstrated lower shoot growth and increased N content in the shoot, in spite of the asymbiotic cultivation.     

Fate of N and C from labelled plant material: Recovery in perennial ryegrass–clover mixtures and in pore water of the sward

The belowground C and N dynamics leading to organic and inorganic N leaching from perennial ryegrass–clover mixtures are not well understood. Based on the hypothesis that four different plant materials would degrade differently, a 16 months field experiment was conducted to determine (i) the source strength of labelled plant residues in dissolved inorganic N (DIN) and dissolved organic N (DON) in pore water from the plough layer, and (ii) the plant uptake of organically bound N. Litterbags containing ¹⁴C- and ¹⁵N-labelled ryegrass or clover roots or leaves were inserted into the sward of a ryegrass–clover mixture in early spring. The fate of the released ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N was monitored in harvested biomass, roots, soil, and pore water percolating from the plough layer. No evidence of plant uptake of dual-labelled organic compounds from the dual-labelled residues could be observed. N in pore water from the plough layer during autumn and winter had a constant content of dissolved organic N (DON) and an increasing content of dissolved inorganic N (DIN). A positive correlation between aboveground clover biomass harvested in the growth season and total-N in pore water indicated that decaying roots from the living clover could be a major source of the 10 kg N ha⁻¹ being lost with pore water during autumn and winter. The presence of ¹⁵N in pore water shifted from the DON fraction in autumn to the DIN fraction in late winter, with strong indications that ¹⁵N originated from the living ryegrass. However, ¹⁵N in pore water originating from plant residues only constituted 1.5% of the total dissolved N from the plough layer.     

Nitrogen and sulphur management: challenges for organic sources in temperate agricultural systems

Abstract. A current global trend towards intensification or specialization of agricultural enterprises has been accompanied by increasing public awareness of associated environmental consequences. Air and water pollution from losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), are a major concern. Governments have initiated extensive regulatory frameworks, including various land use policies, in an attempt to control or reduce the losses. This paper presents an overview of critical input and loss processes affecting N and S for temperate climates, and provides some background to the discussion in subsequent papers evaluating specific farming systems. Management effects on potential gaseous and leaching losses, the lack of synchrony between supply of nutrients and plant demand, and options for optimizing the efficiency of N and S use are reviewed. Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer inputs and the equitable re-distribution of nutrients from manure are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting a need for innovative research that is also targeted to practical approaches for reducing N and S losses, and improving the overall synchrony between supply and demand.     

Concentration of volatile fatty acids in digesta samples obtained from healthy cows and cows with cecal dilatation or dislocation

OBJECTIVE: To compare concentrations of acetic, propionic, butyric, and i- and n-valerianic acids in digesta samples obtained from the rumen, cecum, proximal loop of the ascending colon (PLAC), and rectum of healthy cows and cows with cecal dilatation or dislocation (CDD). ANIMALS: 20 cows with CDD and 20 healthy cows. PROCEDURE: Samples were collected from all sites during surgical correction of CDD and also from the rectum 1, 2, and 3 days after surgery (group CDD). Samples from healthy (control) cows, matched on the basis of diet and milk yield, were obtained at a slaughterhouse. Concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) were analyzed by use of gas chromatography. Absolute concentration of each VFA was additionally corrected for pH to allow calculation of the concentration of undissociated VFA. RESULTS: Absolute concentration and concentration of the undissociated form of all analyzed VFA were significantly increased in samples collected from the cecum and PLAC of cows in group CDD, compared with concentrations for control cows. Within 3 days after surgery, significant decreases of the absolute concentration of butyric, i- and n-valerianic acids, and undissociated i- and n-valerianic acids were evident in samples obtained from the rectum of group-CDD cows. Concentrations of VFA in samples obtained from the rectum during surgery correlated with corresponding VFA concentrations in samples obtained from the PLAC. CONCLUSIONS: Concentrations of VFA are increased in the cecum and PLAC of cows with CDD. However, the role of increased concentrations of VFA in the etiopathogenesis of CDD is unknown.