Central fatigue and nycthemeral change of serum tryptophan and serotonin in the athletic horse

Background  

The serotonergic system is associated with numerous brain functions, including the resetting of the mammalian circadian clock. The synthesis and metabolism of 5-HT in the brain increases in response to exercise and is correlated with high levels of blood-borne tryptophan (TRP). The present investigation was aimed at testing the existence of a daily rhythm of TRP and 5-HT in the blood of athletic horses.     

Mixtures of organic amendments and biochar promote beneficial soil microbiota and affect Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae,Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia minor disease suppression

The use of soil fumigants and fungicides to control soilborne pathogens is reduced due to awareness of their negative drawbacks. Long-term application of such agrochemicals negatively affects soil microbiota and reduces natural soil suppressiveness. We investigated long-term impacts of biochar and not-pyrogenic organic amendment (OAs: manure, alfalfa straw and glucose), on disease suppression compared with conventional management in three pathosystems: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae (FOL)–lettuce, Rhizoctonia solani–tomato and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum–lettuce, by conditioning soil for 2 years. Soil analyses included pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, C:N ratio, N-NO₃⁻, N-NH₄⁺, cation exchange capacity, available phosphorus, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺, fluorescein diacetate (FDA), and total and active limestone. Soil microbiota was characterized by combining BIOLOG EcoPlates with next-generation sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes. Soil amended with OAs generally suppressed disease by S. sclerotiorum and FOL compared to fumigants and synthetic fertilizers. However, the incidence of R. solani infection was lower in soil treated with synthetic fertilizers than soil amended with OAs. EC, pH, C:N, N-NO₃⁻, N-NH₄⁺, FDA and BIOLOG were significantly correlated with disease, depending on pathosystem. Bacterial richness and diversity, presence of some genera like Acidobacteria, Chloracidobacteria, Solibacteres, Anaerolineae, Nitrospira and Deltaproteobacteria were negatively related to disease incidence of FOL and S. sclerotiorum, whereas damping-off caused by R. solani was negatively affected by the presence of Flavobacterium and Chitinofagha. Therefore, we concluded that long-term application of OAs can effectively improve soil suppressiveness and reduce disease incidence against root pathogens, although the effects vary considerably depending upon pathosystem.     

‘Microbigation’: delivery of biological control agents through drip irrigation systems

The uniform and precise application of microbial particles close to the target organism and to the plant to be protected can increase the success of a biological control treatment. The use of systems or technologies which are usually available in agriculture could influence the acceptability of biocontrol agents by farmers, and enlarge the market. A pilot system was realized using dripper lines, drippers, filters and other tools commonly used in irrigation and precision agriculture in the greenhouse to evaluate their suitability for applying and distributing microbial biocontrol agents. Conidial suspensions of marketed or marketable agents were used, i.e. Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Trichoderma harzianum and Paecilomyces lilacinus. The experiments carried out demonstrated that conidial suspensions (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) can pass through the drippers without causing clogging, regardless of their size, and remained viable. The term ‘microbigation’ is here proposed for this kind of microbial application technique.     

Efficacy of metalaxyl for blue mould control and its persistence on tobacco

Foliar sprays of metalaxyl, benalaxyl, and cymoxanil plus mancozeb gave better control of blue mould (Peronospora tabacina) than mancozeb alone applied as a spray, or metalaxyl applied to the soil. Before flue-curing, the mean values of metalaxyl residues in tobacco leaves were significantly higher from foliar spray treatments (5.09 μg g⁻¹), than from soil treatments (0.93 μg g⁻¹). Residues had decreased after flue-curing (foliar spray treatment 2.51 μg g⁻¹; soil treatment 0.69 μg g⁻¹), especially on samples taken in September. Curing considerably reduced metalaxyl residues in all cases. Residues of mancozeb ranged from 59.5 to 224.2 μg g⁻¹ before flue-curing and from 11.0 to 22.1 μg g⁻¹ after flue-curing. All these residues were calculated on a dry weight basis. Imidazolidine-2-thione (ethylenethiourea) residues from mancozeb were always below the sensitivity limit of the method used.     

Fruit Branding: Exploring Factors Affecting Adoption of the New Pear Cultivar ‘Angelys’ in Italian Large Retail

‘Angelys’ is a new brand of pear cultivar, produced and marketed under the trademark license model called “Club variety.” The main aim of this article was to evaluate factors triggering a potential interest in Italian large-scale retail regarding the marketing of ‘Angelys’ and how large-scale retailers would exploit it to enhance their market potential. An explorative analysis approach was applied via in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews with major Italian large-scale retail fruit purchase managers. The results show that although sensory properties, handling features, and Italian origin are highly appreciated by professional customers, the need to sell at a premium price might limit the interest of retailers for this new variety. Finally, implications and recommendations for academics and operators are discussed.     

Contrast-enhanced fluid-attenuated inversion recovery vs. contrast-enhanced spin echo T1-weighted brain imaging

In humans, contrast-enhanced fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging plays an important role in detecting brain disease. The aim of this study was to define the clinical utility of contrast-enhanced FLAIR imaging by comparing the results with those with contrast-enhanced spin echo T1-weighted images (SE T1WI) in animals with different brain disorders. Forty-one dogs and five cats with a clinical suspicion of brain disease and 30 normal animals (25 dogs and five cats) were evaluated using a 0.2 T permanent magnet. Before contrast medium injection, spin echo T1-weighted, SE T1WI, and FLAIR sequences were acquired in three planes. SE T1WI and FLAIR images were also acquired after gadolinium injection. Sensitivity in detecting the number, location, margin, and enhancement pattern and rate were evaluated. No lesions were found in a normal animal. In affected animals, 48 lesions in 34 patients were detected in contrast-enhanced SE T1WI whereas 81 lesions in 44 patients were detected in contrast-enhanced FLAIR images. There was no difference in the characteristics of the margins or enhancement pattern of the detected lesions. The objective enhancement rate, the mean value between lesion-to-white matter ratio and lesion-to-gray matter ratio, although representing an overlap of T1 and T2 effects and not pure contrast medium shortening of T1 relaxation, was better in contrast-enhanced FLAIR images. These results suggest a superiority of contrast-enhanced FLAIR images as compared with contrast-enhanced SE T1WI in detecting enhancing brain lesions.     

The effect of recumbency and hindlimb position on the lumbosacral interlaminar distance in dogs: a cadaveric computed tomography study

Objective

To examine the effect of sternal or lateral recumbency, with or without cranial extension of the hindlimbs, on the distance between the dorsal lumbosacral laminae in dogs.

Differentiation and functional connection of vascular elements in compatible and incompatible pear/quince internode micrografts

Micrografts of internodes excised from in vitro grown pear plants (Pyrus communis L. cv. 'Bosc' (B) and cv. 'Butirra Hardy' (BH)) and quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill. East Malling clone C (EMC)), were cultured aseptically to test the effectiveness of their functional vascular reconnection in relation to incompatibility-compatibility relationships that these genotypes exhibit in the field. The incompatible heterograft (B/EMC) showed a marked delay in internode cohesion compared with the autografts (both B/B and BH/BH) and the compatible heterograft (BH/EMC). Even when fused, the translocation of [14C]-sorbitol from upper to lower internode was lower in B/EMC micrografts than in the other combinations. Epifluorescence studies performed with carboxyfluorescin, a specific phloem probe, indicated that the limited translocation was caused by a delay in the establishment of functional phloem continuity between the two internodes. In the B/EMC combination, new differentiated tracheary elements (TE) in the parenchyma tissue at the graft interface between the two internodes were not detected until 30 days after grafting, whereas in the BH/EMC heterograft and both autografts, new xylem connections appeared to cross the interface 20 days after grafting. Immunohistochemical detection (terminal nick-end labeling assay) of the number of cells undergoing nuclear DNA fragmentation at the graft interface confirmed that the limited and delayed TE differentiation in B/EMC heterografts was associated with a decrease in the activity of programmed cell death processes involved in the differentiation of TE.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine organisms from the Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined by an HPLC method with fluorescence detection in bivalves (Mitylus galloprovincialis), cephalopods (Todarodes sagittatus), crustaceans (Aristeus antennatus), and fish (Mullus surmeletus, Scomber scombrus, Micromesistius poutassou, and Merluccius merluccius) caught in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and benzo(k)fluoranthene were detected, at different concentrations, in all of the examined marine organisms, whereas benzo(a)pyrene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene were found only in Mediterranean mussels. Of mussels collected in winter 71.43% exceeded the maximum residual levels (MRL) fixed for the benzo(a)pyrene in European Regulation 208/2005/EC, whereas all samples collected in summer reported values lower than this limit. In comparison to the other marine organisms, the mussels showed the highest PAH concentrations (p < 0.01). Fish showed total PAH levels lower than those of cephalopods and, in particular, European hake showed the lowest values (6.06 ng/g of fresh weight).     

LC/ESI/MS method for the quantitative detection of guazatine residues in cereals

Guazatine is a fungicide used in agriculture to control a wide range of seed-borne diseases of cereals and other vegetable foods. In this work, a LC-ESI-MS method was developed for the quantitative detection of guazatine residues in maize and hard wheat. Quantitative data were determined for the residues of the main diamines, triamines, and tetramines that cover more than 87% of the total contents of the mixture. The mean recoveries from the fortified cereals at 0.050 mg/kg ranged from 81 to 86%, with the coefficients of variation (CVs) ranging from 0.9 to 5.5% (n = 5). At 0.025 mg/kg, the recoveries ranged from 78 to 87%, with the CVs ranging from 0.8 to 6.3% (n = 5). The limits of quantification have been estimated to be 0.010, 0.004, 0.002, 0.002, 0.005, and 0.002 mg/kg, respectively, for GN, GG, GNG, GGN, GGG, and GGGG in maize and hard wheat (S/N ratio >10).