Vegetative Endocarditis Associated with Escherichia coli in a Dromedary Camel

Veterinary Research Communications -     

Integrated Soybean Pest Management in Micro River Basins in Brazil

A Soybean IPM system was deployed in large, continuous river basin areas. The system was designed to improve the productivity of the rural environment by restoring balance among pests and their natural enemies. The system was developed with the active participation of various governmental, industrial and academic institutions, and it was based on the main approaches utilized by the EMBRAPA soybean IPM program referred here as IPM-Soybean.The work of IPM-Soybean in microbasins is being implemented in five counties in Paraná state (Campo Mourão, Mamborê, Missal, Cambé and Toledo) in an area of approximately 18,020ha of soybean involving 343 producers at various stages of implementation. The results obtained in the Rio do Campo basin in Campo Mourão, after four years of IPM-Soybean, showed drastic changes in pest control practices. Mean number of insecticide applications per cropping year in the river basin fell from 2.8 (1993/94 season) to 1.23 four seasons later. Biological control of the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis, by Baculovirus anticarsia increased 57%, from 205ha treated with this biological product in the 1993/94 season to 2730ha in 1998. A mean of about 300,000 Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) adults were released per year to control soybean stink bugs. As a consequence of the parasitoid release and the use of more selective insecticides, the number of insecticide applications to control stink bugs was significantly reduced. After two soybean seasons with IPM-Soybean in the river basin, mean applications for stink bugs decreased from 0.81 before the program started to 0.09 in 1996. The mean number of applications in the region and the state respectively were 9.20 and 11.44 times greater. In 1997 and 1998, the results again showed very low population densities of stink bugs in the river basin area, with a consequent reduction in insecticide applications for the control of these pests. Furthermore there was a substantial improvement in the range of products used in this area for soybean pest control. Broad spectrum products, used in 97.5% of the applications before start of IPM-Soybean (1993/94), were replaced with more selective products, especially biologicals and growth regulators. The latter had rarely been used by the river basin producers before the study (0.6% of the applications), but they accounted for 35.8% of the applications after four seasons with IPM-Soybean. IPM-Soybean developed in river basins has resulted in a more stable control system that, in turn, provides greater long-term equilibrium between the pests and the natural enemies populations in these soybean producing areas.     

Variation of PGM and IDH isozymes for identification of alfalfa varieties

Growth habit, heading date and Vrn genotypewere examined for wheat landraces cultivated in China,Korea and Japan, to study their ecogeographicaldifferentiation in east Asia. Spring type landracesaccounted for 43.6% of the whole, and the frequencyvaried between the localities, being closely relatedto the degree of winter coldness. Spring typelandraces mainly adapted to north and south Chinawhere average January temperature is under –7 ^°Cand over 4 ^°C, respectively. On the contrary,winter type adapted to areas of average Januarytemperature from –7 ^°C to 4 ^°C. As toheading date, significant difference was not observedbetween spring and winter type landraces but betweenlocalities, and those cultivated in north China weresignificantly later in heading. It is thereforeindicated that spring type mainly adapts to areaswhere wheat is sown in spring to avoid frost injury,and where winter temperature is not low enough tovernalize winter type wheat. Genetic analysis forspring type landraces showed that the relativefrequency of four Vrn genes was different witheach other. Vrn3 was most widely and frequentlyfound among the four genes, followed by Vrn1 andVrn2. Only seven landraces proved to be thecarrier of Vrn4. The frequency was alsodifferent between localities. Genotype with Vrn1plus other dominant gene(s) adapted to spring sowingto avoid severely cold winter in north China, whilegenotype with only Vrn3 adapted to winter sowingin south China and southwest Japan. It is thereforeconcluded that at least three ecotypes, differing ingrowth habit and Vrn genotype, areallopatrically distributed in east Asia, as a resultof adaptation to winter coldness in each locality.     

Functional Characteristics of Extruded Blends of Whey Protein Concentrate and Corn Starch

The aim of this work was to study the effects of extrusion barrel temperature (70–180°C), feed moisture (18–30%), pH (3–8), different proportions of corn starch (75–95%), and whey protein concentrate (WPC, 80% protein concentration) (25–5%) on the preparation of functional blends. Expansion index (EI), bulk density (BD), compression force (CF), color, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), gel strength (GS), syneresis of the gel, and in vitro digestibility were evaluated. Barrel temperature and the proportion of WPC had significant effects on BD; at higher temperatures, BD was lower. Feed moisture and pH had significant effects on EI; with lower moisture and higher pH, the EI increased. An interaction of barrel temperature and feed moisture had an effect on WAI; at lower moisture content, the temperature effect was nonexistent, whereas at higher temperatures and feed moisture content, the WAI increased. The pH level had a significant effect on WSI, showing high WSI when lower pH levels were used. Color analysis showed that higher protein content and pH generated higher δE values; low feed moisture and low pH resulted in gel syneresis. Higher in vitro digestibility was obtained when a higher WPC proportion and pH were used. Extruded WPC-CS blends under alkaline and acidic conditions were affected by the preparation of diverse formulations that potentially can be used in foods to improve some functional and protein content.     

Factors controlling the water repellency induced by fire in calcareous Mediterranean forest soils

Water repellency (WR) is a property affected by fire and of crucial importance in the hydrological behaviour of soils after burning. In dry Mediterranean areas knowledge of the factors that control the development of water repellency by fire is of particular interest. We examined such factors in two calcareous soils, a Regosol and a Luvisol, representative of forest areas of southeast Spain. Heating temperature (200–500°C), vegetation type (Rosmarinus officinalis, Pinus halepensis and Brachypodium retusum), quantity of vegetation litter (control, low and high) and type of soil were selected as factors for assessing the WR induced by fire. The two soils exhibited markedly different WR responses after heating, the Regosol being much more susceptible than the Luvisol. Characteristics such as organic matter and clay content seem to determine the different WR responses to heating. We found that the type and quantity of vegetation litter also control the persistence of induced WR. In general, the order of increasing WR was Brachypodium < Pinus < Rosmarinus, and larger amounts of litter induced more WR. Maximum values of WR, most of them classified as severe (901−3600 s), were found in the range of 300−350°C, whereas beyond this temperature WR was destroyed. These results show that water repellency induced by combustion could be limited by environmental factors such as vegetation type and availability of litter, and that soil type and its characteristics also play a decisive role.     

Evolution of the aroma profile of sherry wine vinegars during an experimental aging in wood

Changes in the aroma profile of five Sherry wine vinegars submitted to an experimental static aging in wood were followed along 24 months. Eighteen volatile compounds were determined by GC-FID. The results were subjected to multivariate analyses: principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. The aroma profile of vinegar can be useful to discriminate vinegars produced from different substrates or with different aging times. During the experimental aging, volatile compounds such as methyl acetate, methanol, diacetyl, and gamma-butyrolactone underwent significant concentration increases. Moreover, the initial ethanol content of vinegars is a factor in the final aromatic richness. The formation of ethyl acetate stood out in samples with an initial ethanol content of approximately 2 alcoholic degrees.     

Melanoidins exert a weak antiradical activity in watery fluids

The Maillard reaction has a dramatic impact on the overall acceptance and nutritional quality of most of the foods consumed daily in European countries. Melanoidins are polymeric structures formed in the last stage of the Maillard reaction with nearly unknown effect on the human health. The antiradical activity of several melanoidins isolated from model systems and coffee has been studied. A novel antiradical efficiency concept has been applied to describe the antiradical activity in an aqueous medium by bleaching the radical cation N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD(*)(+)). Melanoidins exerted a significantly lower antiradical activity than classical antioxidant compounds (tannic acid, ferrulic acid, caffeic acid, gallic acid, and Trolox) in an aqueous medium. Significant differences have been observed according to the type of amino acid used as reactant during the formation of the melanoidin structure and the antiradical efficiency exerted.     

Cultivation of Gracilaria (Rhodophyta) in shrimp pond effluents in Brazil

Shrimp aquaculture produces a large amount of waste, including nitrogen and phosphorus. To investigate the utilization of those elements as sources of nutrients for the growth of the red seaweed, Gracilaria sp. J. Agardh, an experiment in shrimp pond effluents was carried out over a period of 5 months. The biomass varied significantly (P < 0.01), reaching a maximum of 2540 g m^?2 and a minimum of 380 g m^?2. The mean was 1418 ± 708 g m^?2. The higher biomass values occurred during the first 15 days and sometimes exceeded the initial inoculum by 190%. According to the results, production of 23.93 t ha^?1 year^?1 (dry weight) can be expected. anova showed significant differences in RGR (relative growth rate) values (P < 0.05). RGR varied from 8.8% per day to 1.8% per day. The fluctuation of nutrients was mainly influenced by pond fertilization frequency, with NH₄ being the most abundant nutrient. Correlations between RGR and environmental parameters during the study period were not significant (P > 0.05). We conclude that Gracilaria sp. can be cultivated in shrimp ponds effluents. However, despite this relative success, it is necessary to perform some adjustments regarding the utilized cultivation technique.     

Tracing trophic pathways through the marine ecosystem of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

1. The structure of food webs provides important insight into biodiversity, organic matter (OM) pathways, and ecosystem functioning.
2. Stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) was used to characterize the trophic structure and the main OM pathways supporting food webs in the Rapa Nui coastal marine ecosystem.
3. The trophic position of consumers and isotopic niche metrics were estimated for different assemblages (i.e. mesozooplankton, emergent zooplankton, reef invertebrates, reef fishes, pelagic fishes, and seabirds). Furthermore, the relative importance of different OM sources (i.e. macroalgae, zooxanthellate corals, and particulate OM [POM]) was assessed for heterotrophic consumers using Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR).
4. Results show a clear pattern of ¹³C and ¹⁵N enrichment from small-sized pelagic and benthic invertebrates, to reef and pelagic fishes, and seabirds. Most invertebrates were classified as primary consumers, reef fishes as secondary consumers and pelagic predators and seabirds as tertiary and quaternary consumers.
5. Isotopic niche metrics indicate a low trophic diversity for pelagic assemblages (mesozooplankton and pelagic fishes), in contrast to reef fauna (invertebrates and fishes), whose higher trophic diversity suggest the exploitation of a wider range of trophic resources. Overlapping of standard ellipses areas between reef invertebrates and reef fishes indicates that both assemblages could be sharing trophic resources.
6. Mixing models results indicate that POM is the main trophic pathway for mesozooplankton, macroalgae (Rhodophyta) for emergent zooplankton, and a mix of coral-derived OM and Rhodophyta for coral reef assemblages such as macrobenthos and reef invertebrates. In contrast, POM contribution was notably more important for some pelagic fishes and seabirds from upper trophic levels.
7. This study provides key elements for conservation efforts on coral reefs, management planning and full-implementation of the recently created Rapa Nui Multiple Use Marine Protected Area.

     

Resistant Starch Formation in Tortillas from an Ecological Nixtamalization Process

The objective of this work was to study the formation of resistant starch (RS) in tortillas from an ecological nixtamalization process compared with the traditional nixtamalization process. The RS increased through all the steps of tortilla production. It was found that the increase of the RS corresponds mainly to the formation of RS5 (V‐amylose‐lipid complex), but in tortillas two major types of RS coexist: RS5 and RS3 (retrograded starch). In general, tortillas from the ecological nixtamalization process gave higher values of protein, lipids, total dietary fiber, insoluble fiber, soluble fiber, and RS compared with tortillas from the traditional nixtamalization process and commercial flour. The highest glycemic index (GI) occurred in the tortillas from commercial flour, whereas tortillas from 0.4% CaCO₃ and 0.6% CaSO₄ were classified as medium‐GI (GI 50–70). Tortillas from 0.6% CaCl₂ had the lowest value of GI. The ecological nixtamalization processes caused significant differences in quality and nutritional properties of tortillas.