Inhibition of denitrification and N2O emission by urine-derived benzoic and hippuric acid

Hippuric acid (HA) in cattle urine acts as a natural inhibitor of soil N₂O emissions. As HA concentration varies with diet, we determined critical HA levels. We also tested the hypothesis that the inhibition occurs because the HA breakdown product benzoic acid (BA) inhibits denitrification rates. During a 64-day incubation, we quantified emissions from artificial urine varying in HA, BA and glycine (Gly) concentrations, added to a sandy pasture soil. Increasing HA concentration from 0.4 to 5.6 mmol kg⁻¹ soil significantly decreased the average N₂O flux by 54%. At 3.9 mmol kg⁻¹ soil, denitrification levels were 50% reduced for BA as compared to Gly. We conclude that HA inhibits both denitrification and N₂O emission, at least partly through a BA mechanism.     

Cytochrome b gene sequence and structure of Pyrenophora teres and P. tritici-repentis and implications for QoI resistance

Resistance to QoI fungicides in Pyrenophora teres (Dreschsler) and P. tritici-repentis (Died.) Dreschsler was detected in 2003 in France and in Sweden and Denmark respectively. Molecular analysis revealed the presence of the F129L mutation in resistant isolates of both pathogens. In 2004, the frequency of the F129L mutation in populations of both pathogens further increased. The G143A mutation was also detected in a few isolates of P. tritici-repentis from Denmark and Germany. In 2005, the F129L mutation in P. teres increased in frequency and geographical distribution in France and the UK but remained below 2% in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Ireland. In P. tritici-repentis, both mutations were found in a significant proportion of the isolates from Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The G143A mutation conferred a significantly higher level of resistance (higher EC50 values) to Qo inhibitors (QoIs) than did the F129L mutation. In greenhouse trials, resistant isolates with G143A were not well controlled on plants sprayed with recommended field rates, whereas satisfactory control of isolates with F129L was achieved. For the F129L mutation, three different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), TTA, TTG and CTC, can code for L (leucine) in P. teres, whereas only the CTC codon was detected in P. tritici-repentis isolates. In two out of 250 isolates of P. tritici-repentis from 2005, a mutation at position 137 (G137R) was detected at very low frequency. This mutation conferred similar resistance levels to F129L. The structure of the cytochrome b gene of P. tritici-repentis is significantly different from that of P. teres: an intron directly after amino acid position 143 was detected in P. teres which is not present in P. tritici-repentis. This gene structure suggests that resistance based on the G143A mutation may not occur in P. teres because it is lethal. No G143A isolates were found in any P. teres populations. Although different mutations may evolve in P. tritici-repentis, the G143A mutation will have the strongest impact on field performance of QoI fungicides.     

Community Partners for Healthy Farming Intervention Research

The purpose of the Community Partners for Healthy Farming Intervention Research (CPHF-IR) program is to implement and evaluate existing or new interventions for reduction of agriculture-related injuries, hazards, and illnesses. Objectives include the development of active partnerships between experienced researchers, communities, workers, managers, agricultural organizations, agribusinesses, and other stakeholders. Specific intervention projects were selected by the competitive review process in response to a request for proposals. The second series of projects (funded 2000-2003) targeted: improved ergonomics for handling grapes (CA) and for small-scale berry growers (WI, IA, MI, MN), engineering controls (KY, VA, SC) and training (IN) related to tractors, private-sector financial incentives for safety (IA, NE), and reducing eye injuries in Latino farmworkers (IL, MI, FL). Partners have provided their unique resources for accessing the target population, planning, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation. They have produced useful engineering controls, educational and motivational tools, and helped build infrastructure for promoting agricultural health as essential to sustainable agriculture. Additional outcomes have included: increased interest among participants in collaborating in further research, the feasibility of Latino lay health advisors as active partners in research, and the value of process evaluation of a partnership to enhance intervention sustainability. NIOSH is utilizing the model created for Simple Solutions: Ergonomics for Farm Workers, a document related to earlier CPHF-IR projects, for a comparable document for construction in both English and Spanish. This program has confirmed that such partnerships can produce not only sustainable interventions but also products and models with the potential to expand farther geographically than originally anticipated and even into other sectors, e.g., for primary prevention among healthcare workers and adolescents, and to introduce public health in social studies and language classes.     

The role of mentoring in public health nutrition workforce development. Perspectives of advanced-level practitioners

OBJECTIVE: To explore the nature, role and utility of mentoring in the development of competence in advanced-level Australian public health nutritionists. DESIGN: Qualitative study using in-depth interviews. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Eighteen advanced-level public health nutritionists working in academic and practice settings in Australia. RESULTS: The attributes and career pathways of the subjects were consistent with previous findings. Dissatisfaction with clinical practice was a key reason for choosing a career in public health. Experiential learning, postgraduate education and mentoring from both peers and senior colleagues were the most significant contributors to competency development. The subjects supported mentoring as an important strategy for public health nutrition workforce development and articulated the characteristics and models important for mentoring relationships in public health nutrition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests mentoring was an important part of competency development for advanced-level public health and community nutritionists in Australia. Mentoring programmes based on experiential learning may assist in developing public health nutrition workforce competence.     

Suckling behavior,performance, and Kleiber index in calves of different genetic groups under shaded and unshaded environments

Tropical Animal Health and Production - According to previous studies, lamb mortality is high in the Ethiopian highlands. The present study aims to evaluate the execution of preventive sheep herd...     

Dietary Aloe vera components’ effects on cholesterol lowering and estrogenic responses in juvenile goldfish, Carassius auratus

Aloes are now considered a very interesting source of bioactive compounds among which phytosterols should play a major role. The present study is an attempt to investigate the hypocholesterolemic activity of Aloe vera associated with its impact on the reproductive status of juvenile goldfish. Therefore, the short- and long-term effects of feeding supplementary diet containing aloe components (20 mg aloe/g diet; 2 %) on plasma lipids, plasma vitellogenin, and hepatic estrogen receptor α/β1 mRNA levels in goldfish were examined. Results of GC–MS for phytosterols show high abundance of β-sitosterol in freeze-dried powder of Aloe vera whole leaves. Moreover, a 2 % aloe powder dietary supplement was not found estrogenic in juvenile goldfish after either 7- or 30-day treatment, but was consistent in plasma hypocholesterolemic effects following long-term exposure. The present data further support that plasma cholesterol modulation induced by phytosterols may not be related to estrogen-like activity.     

Coalitions: partnerships to promote agricultural health and safety

Throughout the 1990s, a variety of partnerships and community-based organizations have been formed with the primary mission to promote agricultural safety and health. These groups are altruistic, creative, energetic, and provide critical perspectives for improving the safety and health of the agricultural workforce at the local, regional, and national levels. These coalitions have been created as a result of philanthropic support, public funding, grassroots interest, and personal experiences with agricultural injuries andfatalities. They are playing important roles in collaborating with researchers and in reaching the individual agricultural communities. They have been instrumental in conducting needs assessments and are critical to the development and implementation of successful surveillance programs and interventions. Outreach and dissemination of research findings and other safety and health information to target audiences are strengths of these diverse coalitions. This article will focus on primarily community-based coalitions, providing an overview of the development, foci, membership activities, and contributions or impact of these groups during the 1990s and the challenges in maintaining and sustaining the coalitions. This information should be useful to those seeking to understand the activities of existing coalitions and identify potential partnerships for future activities.