Distribution of antibodies against porcine circovirus type-2 (PCV2) in single site and multi-site farrow-to-finish farms in Brazil

A comparative serologic study was performed in seven single site (SS) farrow-to-finish farms and four multi-site (MS) farrow-to-finish farms, with or without post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). In each farm, 30 blood samples were collected for each category of the production cycle: sows, farrowing crate, nursery, grower pigs, and finishing pigs. Sera were evaluated for the presence of antibodies to porcine circovirus type-2 (PCV2) via immunoperoxidase monolayer assay. Serologic profiles for PCV2 were different between SS and MS farms. Seroconversion following the decline in maternal antibodies occurred at a later stage on SS farms (grower pigs) than MS farms (nursery pigs). MS farms tended to have lower antibody titers than SS farms in the categories of sow, piglet, and nursery, while higher antibody titers were found in grower pigs. Characterization of serologic profiles for different farms may provide important information for the adoption of vaccination programs.     

Factors affecting the transfer of immunoglobulin G1 into the milk of Holstein cows

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 concentrations in milk from Holstein cows was measured to determine if transfer and concentration was influenced by production factors (lactation number, stage of lactation, daily milk production), milk composition (milk fat, protein, lactose, and total solids content) or by serum IgG1 concentration. Two hundred and ninety-nine Chinese Holstein cows were randomly selected from four herds containing a total of more than 1600 lactating animals. The concentration of IgG1 in the milk and serum was determined by ELISA.Milk IgG1 concentrations varied between 0.030 and 0.614 mg/mL and significantly correlated with lactation number, stage of lactation, daily milk production and somatic cell count. The IgG1 mass was found to highly correlate with lactation number, stage of lactation, daily milk production and milk protein content. Lactation number had the highest positive direct relationship with IgG1 concentration.     

Acanthopanax senticosus extract as a dietary additive enhances the apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids in weaned piglets

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) extract as a dietary additive on serum contents and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of amino acids (AA) in weaned piglets. In Exp. 1, 60 piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 5.64 kg were randomly assigned into 3 treatment groups who received maize-soybean-based diets supplemented with 0 or 1 g/kg of AS extract or 0.2 g/kg of colistin (n = 20 in each group). Blood samples were randomly collected from 5 piglets per group on days 7, 14 and 28 after the initiation of supplementation to determine the serum contents of free AA. In Exp. 2, 12 barrows with an average initial BW of 7.64 kg were also randomly assigned into 3 dietary treatment groups after being surgically fitted with a simple T-cannula at the terminal ileum. Samples of terminal ileal digesta were collected on day 7 for analysis of the AID of AA. The data showed that the serum contents and AID of most AA in the AS extract-supplemented group gradually increased by 15.3–80.8% and 4.1–30.8%, respectively, as the experiment proceeded in comparison with the colistin-supplemented group and/or control group. In conclusion, these findings indicated that AS extract could enhance the digestion and absorption of AA, which may be a potential mechanism of growth promotion.     

土壤润湿性受土壤特性及土地使用的影响

Depth distribution of soil wettability and its correlations with vegetation type, soil texture, and pH were investigated under various land use (cropland, grassland, and forestland) and soil management systems. Wettability was evaluated by contact angle with the Wilhelmy plate method. Water repellency was likely to be present under permanently vegetated land, but less common on tilled agricultural land. It was mostly prevalent in the topsoil, especially in coarse-textured soils, and decreased in the subsoil. However, the depth dependency of wettability could not be derived from the investigated wide range of soils. The correlation and multiple regression analysis revealed that the wettability in repellent soils was affected more by soil organic carbon (SOC) than by soil texture and pH, whereas in wettable soils, soil texture and pH were more effective than SOC. Furthermore, the quality of SOC seemed to be more important in determining wettability than its quantity, as proofed by stronger hydrophobicity under coniferous than under deciduous forestland. Soil management had a minor effect on wettability if conventional and conservation tillage or different grazing intensities were considered.     

Geographical and plant genotype effects on the formation of arbuscular mycorrhiza in Avena sativa and Avena nuda at different soil depths

We have examined the influence of host plant genotype and geographical characters on the vertical distribution pattern of arbuscular mycorrhiza associated with Avena. The degree of colonization of oat roots at different soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40, 40–50 cm) was compared among three habitats from lower to higher altitude and six different cultivars in one specific habitat. Altitude had no impact on the percentage of root length colonized by mycorrhiza. However, oats growing at the higher altitudes formed more abundant arbuscules and vesicles within their roots. Plant genotype showed a significant influence on the percentage of root length colonized and abundance of arbuscules and vesicles, and there was much greater colonization of naked oat than of husk oat (common oat). The vertical distribution pattern of mycorrhizal root length was similar in terms of geographical and genotypic aspects, with the most extensive root colonization occurring in the topsoil and decreasing with increasing soil depth. However, the percentage of root length colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) remained at about 20% colonization at a depth of 40–50 cm. Intraradical structures also showed a decreasing trend with increasing soil depth. The results suggest that an AMF “gene bank” may persist in the subsoil, and this may facilitate the ecological restoration of degraded agricultural areas.     

Genomic relationships between wild and cultivated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica oleracea</Emphasis> L. with emphasis on the origination of cultivated crops

Wild taxa in Brassica oleracea L. play an important role to improve cultivated crops, but the genomic relationships between wild and cultivated forms have not been well clarified. An overall survey of genomic relationships among 39 accessions covering 10 wild and 7 cultivared types in B. oleracea was performed using amplified fragment length polymorphism and simple sequence repeat. The cultivated types were clustered together with B. oleracea ssp. oleracea, B. incana, B. bourgeaui, B. montana, B. cretica and B. hilarionis, while 4 wild taxa from Sicily, B. rupestris, B. insularis, B. macrocarpa and B. villosa formed the other group. It implies the low possibility that current B. oleracea crops originated in Sicily.     

Using Cs‐137 fingerprinting technique to estimate sediment deposition and erosion rates from Yongkang depression in the karst region of Southwest China

Understanding the erosion and deposition rates is very important for designing soil and water conservation measures. However, existing methods of assessing the rates of soil loss present many limitations and are difficult to apply to in karst areas, and there is still very little data in this areas. Karst depressions comprise geomorphologically important sources and sinks for sediments and can provide the long‐term history records of environmental changes. But there have been few similar studies focused on its sediments in the world. In this paper, the Cs‐137 technique was employed to estimate the sediment deposition rate of karst depression to assess the surface erosion. The results indicate that the average deposition rate, deposition amount and specific deposit yield for the Yongkang catchments since 1963 were estimated to be 4·32 mm y⁻¹, 3·16 t y⁻¹and 20·53 t km⁻² y⁻¹, respectively. The results obtained were consistent with the actual monitoring data of local runoff plots, and confirm the validity of the overall approach. So it was suggested that the mean specific sediment yields of 20 t km⁻² y⁻¹ can be representative of the soil loss rates in the regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Negative priming effect on mineralization in a soil free of vegetation for 80 years

The priming effect (PE) is a complex process corresponding to a modification of mineralization rates of soil organic matter (SOM) following inputs of fresh organic matter (FOM). The priming effect can be either positive or negative (i.e. an acceleration or retardation of SOM decomposition) and is controlled by several factors such as microbial community composition, SOM chemical structure and nutrient availability. The first objective of our experiment was to study negative or positive PE of stabilized SOM. The second was to identify the role of FOM decomposers in the PE of stabilized SOM. We incubated, for 39 days, a fallow soil free of vegetation for 80 years amended with ¹³C‐cellulose and inoculated with a FOM‐decomposing community. The soil contained stabilized SOM. The PE of the stable organic matter was always negative and tended to be more negative when the FOM‐decomposing community was added. This suggests that for this particular soil, SOM mineralization was not limited by energy. Moreover, as the inoculation of a FOM‐decomposing community led to a more negative PE, we assume that the FOM‐decomposing community facilitated the access of FOM to the indigenous bare soil community.     

Evidence of the role of climate control and reversible aging processes in the fate of diuron in a Mediterranean topsoil

The availability of pesticides in the soil is one of the factors that determine their mobilization and transport in runoff and groundwaters. In this paper, we aim to better understand the change in pesticide availability with increasing residence time in the soil. The relative contributions of degradation and sorption to the overall fate of molecules were examined, as was the remobilization of residues from the topsoil in water. The experiment was undertaken in undisturbed soil micro‐lysimeters under natural climatic conditions for 1 year. We applied ¹⁴C‐diuron to the soil surface to trace its residues in water‐extractable (W), methanol‐only‐extractable (MO) and non‐extractable (N) fractions and in runoff waters. Mass‐balance calculations were fitted to the observed data to determine the quantities degraded or transferred within and between each of the compartments studied. Losses of diuron residues in runoff declined exponentially from 473 to 4 µg l⁻¹ in 1 year. After 80 days, sorption of diuron residues in the soil was significant, as was degradation in the W and MO pools. Losses in runoff were small because of sparse rainfall. The following 140 days corresponded to a humid period with increased degradation in both W and MO pools. A redistribution from the MO towards the W pool occurred, probably because of intense rainfall at that time, leading to an apparent desorption of diuron residues. This was the most important result, suggesting that ageing processes should not be considered irreversible over time. The last phase of change, which occurred during winter, was slow. Leaching processes appeared to be of minor importance for diuron, with the surface layer containing more than 84% of diuron residues.     

Physicochemical and ecotoxicological evaluation of estuarine water quality during a dredging operation

Purpose

Most of the information concerning the effects of contaminated sediments on estuarine organisms deals with the impacts of bed forming sediments. The ecotoxicological potential at the time of a dredging operation is more difficult to assess, and few studies have dealt specifically with resuspended contaminated sediments. The aim of this study was to determine whether release of contaminants through sediment resuspension during a dredging operation in the Itajaí-açu estuary (Brazil) changed the water quality classification and had an ecotoxicological impact on the near-field water column during the critical moment of this operation.

Materials and methods

Waters from two sites (control and dredged sites) were analyzed for physicochemical parameters before, during, and after a dredging operation. In parallel, a short-term, sensitive battery of biotests (bacteria, algae, and daphnids) was performed with water samples before and during this operation according to the ISO bioassay protocols.

Results and discussion

No short-term toxicity was observed with waters collected before or during the dredging operation. The results showed that desorption of contaminants from suspended particles of sediments with a low level of contamination during a dredging operation lowered the water quality in the near-field water column but that this did not promote significant acute toxicity effects on the organisms tested.

Conclusions

More detailed studies are needed (e.g., the question of the reliability of biotests under turbulent, particle-rich conditions) to fully understand this complex issue regarding water column ecotoxicity during the whole dredging operation and to support decisions on the management of dredging activities.