Modelling interception loss from evergreen oak Mediterranean savannas: Application of a tree-based modelling approach

In a previous study, it was shown that an isolated, fully saturated tree-crown behaves like a wet bulb, allowing evaporation of intercepted rainfall to be estimated by a simple diffusion equation for water vapour. This observation was taken as the basis for a new approach in modelling interception loss from savanna-type woodland, whereby the ecosystem evaporation is derived by scaling up the evaporation from individual trees, rather than by considering a homogeneous forest cover. Interception loss from isolated trees was estimated by combining the aforementioned equation for water vapour flux with Gash's analytical model. A new methodology, which avoids the subjectivity inherent in the Leyton method, was used for estimating the crown storage capacity. Modelling performance was evaluated against data from two Mediterranean savanna-type oak woodlands (montados) in southern Portugal. Interception loss estimates were in good agreement with observations in both sites. The proposed modelling approach is physically based, requires only a limited amount of data and should be suitable for the modelling of interception loss in isolated trees and savanna-type ecosystems.     

Intestinal antiinflammatory activity of a lyophilized infusion of Turnera ulmifolia in TNBS rat colitis

Turnera ulmifolia is a plant popularly known in Brazil and South America as chanana. Some species of Turnera are widely used in folk medicine for different types of inflammatory diseases. In this study, the preventive intestinal antiinflammatory activity of a lyophilized infusion obtained from the aerial parts of T. ulmifolia was tested in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) model of rat colitis. The results obtained revealed that pretreatment to colitic rats with the extract, at 250 and 500 mg/kg, significantly attenuated the colonic damage induced by TNBS. This beneficial effect was associated with an improvement in the colonic oxidative status, since the infusion prevented the glutathione depletion that occurred as a consequence of the colonic inflammation. On the other hand, this antioxidant activity was confirmed in in vitro studies. In conclusion, the preventive effect exerted by the lyophilized infusion of T. ulmifolia in the TNBS model of rat colitis is probably related to its antioxidant properties, due to its flavonoids content.     

Medium Light and Medium Roast Paper-Filtered Coffee Increased Antioxidant Capacity in Healthy Volunteers: Results of a Randomized Trial

We compared the effects of medium light roast (MLR) and medium roast (MR) paper-filtered coffee on antioxidant capacity and lipid peroxidation in healthy volunteers. In a randomized crossover study, 20 volunteers consumed 482?±?61?ml/day of MLR or MR for four weeks. Plasma total antioxidant status (TAS), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), oxidized LDL and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT) activity were measured at baseline and after the interventions. MLR had higher chlorogenic acids-(CGA; 334?mg/150?mL) and less caffeine (231?mg/150?ml) than MR had (210 and 244?mg/150?ml, respectively). MLR also had fewer Maillard reaction products (MRP) than MR had. Compared with baseline, subjects had an increase of 21 and 26?% in TAS, 13 and 13?% in CAT, 52 and 75?% in SOD, and 62 and 49?% in GPx after MLR and MR consumption (P?相似文献   

Validation of a thermal threshold nociceptive model in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps)

Objectives

To validate a thermal threshold (TT) nociceptive model in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and to document TT changes after administration of morphine.

Digestion and metabolism of low and high residual feed intake Nellore bulls

Understanding the reasons why animals of similar performances have different feed requirements is important to increase profits for cattle producers and to decrease the environmental footprint of beef cattle production. This study was carried out aiming to identify the associations between residual feed intake (RFI) and animal performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood metabolites related to energy balance of young Nellore bulls during the finishing period. Animals previously classified as low (n?=?13) and high RFI (n?=?12), with average initial body weight of 398 kg and age of 503 days were used. Cattle were fed a high energy diet and were slaughtered when rib fat thickness measured by ultrasound between the 12th and 13th ribs reached the minimum of 4 mm. A completely randomized design was adopted, being data analyzed with a mixed model that included the random effect of slaughter group, the fixed effect of RFI class, and linear effect of the covariate feedlot time. No differences were found (p?>?0.10) between RFI classes for performance, dry matter, and nutrients intake. However, dry (p?=?0.0911) and organic matter (p?=?0.0876) digestibility tended to be lower, and digestibility of neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (p?=?0.0017), and total digestible nutrients (p?=?0.0657) were lower for high RFI animals, indicating lesser capacity of food utilization. Difference between low and high RFI animals was also found for blood cortisol at the end of the trial (p?=?0.0044), having low RFI animals lower cortisol concentrations. Differences in the ability to digest food can affect the efficiency of transforming feed into meat by Nellore cattle.     

Toxic effects of domoic acid in the seabream Sparus aurata

Neurotoxicity induced in fish by domoic acid (DA) was assessed with respect to occurrence of neurotoxic signs, lethality, and histopathology by light microscopy. Sparus aurata were exposed to a single dose of DA by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 0, 0.45, 0.9, and 9.0 mg DA kg(-1) bw. Mortality (66.67 ± 16.67%) was only observed in dose of 9.0 mg kg(-1) bw. Signs of neurological toxicity were detected for the doses of 0.9 and 9.0 mg DA kg(-1) bw. Furthermore, the mean concentrations (±SD) of DA detected by HPLC-UV in extracts of brain after exposure to 9.0 mg DA kg(-1) bw were 0.61 ± 0.01, 0.96 ± 0.00, and 0.36 ± 0.01 mg DA kg(-1) tissue at 1, 2, and 4 hours. The lack of major permanent brain damage in S. aurata, and reversibility of neurotoxic signs, suggest that lower susceptibility to DA or neuronal recovery occurs in affected individuals.     

A stable Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli GFP‐tagged strain reveals a new colonization niche in sugarcane tissues

Ratoon stunting disease (RSD), caused by the bacterium Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx), is one of the most economically important diseases of sugarcane worldwide. Because knowledge on the interaction of Lxx with its host at the microscopic level is limited, the development of tools to monitor Lxx during the colonization process could shed new light on the processes that control disease development. In this investigation, a transformation protocol was optimized and a mutant Lxx strain engineered that stably expressed the gfp gene in sugarcane tissues. In vitro, the growth of the mutant did not differ from that of the wild type. Also, plants inoculated with both strains showed comparable growth and development when analysed 180 days after inoculation (dai). Fluorescence microscopy of roots, stalks, meristems and leaf tissues of Lxx‐GFP‐inoculated plants was performed at 180 dai. In the leaves, Lxx‐tagged cells were observed within the xylem vessels as has been described before but, in addition, they were found in a new niche within the host tissues, in the mesophyll and in the bundle sheath cells surrounding the vascular system. This finding indicates that Lxx is able to move from the xylem to the parenchyma of the leaf cells. This first report of an Lxx mutant expressing a heterologous gene revealed that colonization of sugarcane by this pathogen is not limited to the xylem vessels as commonly reported.     

Meta-analysis of the effects of endoparasites on pig performance

A meta-analysis was carried out in order to study the effects of endoparasites on the performance of growing pigs. Criteria that should be considered for the publication selection were: (1) the health challenge caused by parasites; (2) pig in growing phase; (3) presentation of the nutritional composition of the diets and (4) animal performance. Meta-analysis followed three sequential analysis: graphical, correlation and variance-covariance. The group that were infected with parasites had an average daily feed intake 5% lower than that the control group (2044 vs. 2147 g d(-1); P<0.001), their average daily weight gain was also 31% lower (665 vs. 987 g d(-1); P<0.001) and their feed conversion ratio was 17% superior than that of the control group (3.07 vs. 2.62; P<0.001). The variance decomposition demonstrated that 59% of the reduction in weight gain was explained by the reduction in their feed intake, as well as a 6% reduction being due to parasites.