First report of Seville root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hispanica) infecting tobacco in the Brazil

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is one of the major nonfood crops in the Southern of Brazil. During 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 crop seasons, Root Knot...     

Hepatitis E virus in Cuba: A cross-sectional serological and virological study in pigs and people occupationally exposed to pigs

Surveillance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in risk groups is an important strategy to monitor its circulation pattern and to timely detect changes thereof. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of HEV infections in pigs and humans from different regions of the country, to identify risk factors for increasing anti-HEV IgG prevalence and to characterize HEV strains. The presence of anti-HEV antibodies was assessed by commercial ELISA in serum samples from the general population, farm and slaughterhouse employees, as well as pigs sampled in the three regions of Cuba from February to September 2016. Overall, individuals with occupational exposure to swine or swine products (70/248, 28.2%) were 4 times more likely to be seropositive compared to the general population (25/285, 8.7%; OR: 4.18; p < .001). Within the risk group, risk factors included age, number of years working in a professional activity with direct exposure to swine, geographic region and distance between residence and closest professional swine setting, while wearing gloves had a protective effect. Prevalence of total anti-HEV antibodies in swine was 88.2% (165/187) and HEV RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 9.2% (16/173) swine stools. All HEV strains sequenced clustered within genotype 3. Some strains clearly belonged to subtype 3a, while another group of strains was related with subtypes 3b and 3 k but partial HEV sequences did not allow unequivocal subtype assignment. These findings suggest that the high HEV exposure in Cuban individuals with swine-related occupations could be due to enzootic HEV in certain regions, direct contact with infectious animals or their products as well as environmental contamination.     

Canine squamous cell carcinoma: Electrochemotherapy association with surgery and correlation with overall survival

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an important malignancy in dogs, due to its incidence and clinical presentation, which can be of locally aggressive single or multiple lesions with a metastatic potential. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate SCC response to treatment, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics, disease-free interval and overall survival time. 54 dogs with histopathologically diagnosed SCC were included in this study. Their mean age was 9.16 years with a range of 1–14 years. Of the 54 animals in the study, 34 (65.4%) had white skin and white fur coats. There was a significant correlation between fur coat colour and the development of tumours in areas of sun exposure (p = .001). Animals with tumours in areas of the body exposed to the sun had longer overall survival time than animals with tumours in areas not associated with sun exposure (p = .001). Surgery combined with electrochemotherapy (ECT) yielded a survival rate 32% higher than using a surgical approach alone (HR = 0.32, p = .038, IC = 0.11–0.94). ECT, with or without surgery, had an objective response rate of 90.9%. Local lymph node and/or distant site metastasis at diagnosis, or at some point during follow-up, occurred in 34.6% (18/52) of animals. Animals with tumours in sun exposed locations had more aggressive histopathological characteristics but had longer overall survival time. This is probably due to individualised therapeutic treatment with both surgery and ECT.     

Histomorphological changes between short and long days in ovary guanacos (Lama guanicoe)

This is the first morpho-histological comparison of guanaco ovaries between reproductive (long-days) and non-reproductive (short-days) seasons, and oestrogen receptor-alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ) detection. Different stages of follicle development were found in the cortical area, but no corpus luteum was detected. The size and frequency of antral follicles and large atretic follicles were higher in long-day ovaries than short-days, consistent with ovarian activity in this season. Differential expression of ERα and ERβ was observed in follicles at different stages of development between short and long days. These data reveal histological and molecular differences between reproductive and non-reproductive seasons of guanaco ovaries.     

Parsimonious Covering Probability Model for Turbogenerator Vibration Faulty Diagnosis

The turbogenerator vibration faults have the character of variety. Many faults often occur synchronously. This paper introduces a diagnosing model based on parsimonious covering theory and probability. A model for turtogenerator's fault diagnosis is proposed. The availability of this method is proved by two fault diagnosis examples of turbogenerator. The results show that the model proposed can be used for multi_fault diagnosis together. It may make up shortage for some of expert systems and neural networks in some aspect. From the practice,this model has higher reliability and practicability.     

The relative sensitivity to plant water stress during the reproductive phase of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Summary The relative sensitivity of the cotton plant to water stress throughout the growing season was determined to identify when irrigation will have the greatest beneficial effect. Daily plant water stress for 72 different data sets of water applications was correlated to corresponding yield criteria. The magnitude of significant correlation was interpreted as the degree of sensitivity. Plant water stress during square formation and early flowering resulted in fewer bolls to reach maturity, but this detrimental effect was cancelled by the development of bigger bolls due to greater lint growth. This resulted in better seedcotton and lint yields. Flower and boll senescence which resulted from water stress during flowering peak, however, inhibited seedcotton and lint yields. The most pronounced inhibiting effect stress had on yields, was during boll development well after the end of effective flowering, when it inhibited boll development. Stress during ripening of the bolls increased lint and boll development and consequently enhanced yields. When limited quantities of water is available, preference should be given to irrigation during boll development, then by irrigation when the first flowers appear, followed by irrigation during peak flowering. Water should be withheld from opening of the first bolls.     

The effect of over-irrigation on the growth and production of Gossypium hirsutum

Summary A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of overirrigation on the growth characteristics and production of cotton. Over-irrigation, resulting in saturated soil conditions, was achieved by flood irrigation at different levels of soil water depletion on a soil with a low percolation rate. The highest seedcotton and lint yields were obtained from plants that did not experience over-irrigation at any time during the growing season; similar yields were obtained from plants that only experienced moderate over-irrigation after the onset of flowering (Table 9). The yield response could be related to branch growth, flowering rate and length of growing season (Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8).