Unambiguous identification of Ancylostoma caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala in Australian and New Zealand dogs from faecal samples

Hookworms (Ancylostomatidae) are well-known parasites in dogs due to their health impacts and zoonotic potential. While faecal analysis is the traditional method for detection, improvements in husbandry and deworming have decreased their prevalence in urban owned dogs. Drug resistance in Ancylostoma caninum is becoming a discussion point in small animal practices across the region. This study aimed to identify hookworm species present in Australian and New Zealand dogs using molecular techniques. The ITS-2 and isotype-1 β-tubulin assays were used to identify and quantify hookworm species. Results showed absence of coinfection in Australian samples from Greater Sydney region belonging either to A. caninum or Uncinaria stenocephala, while New Zealand samples were a mixture of A. caninum and U. stenocephala. The amplified isotype-1 β-tubulin sequences exhibited susceptibility to benzimidazole drugs. Rare mutations were identified in A. caninum and U. stenocephala sequences, representing a small percentage of reads. This study highlights the importance of molecular techniques in accurately identifying and quantifying hookworm species in dog populations.     

Die Fledermauswanze,Cimex dissimilis (Horvath) (Heteropt., Cimicidae), als Lästling in Paneeltafelhäusern

Bugs parasiting on boats burdensome in panel houses The troublesome occurrence ofCimex dissimilis (Horvath 1910) in tow new housing estates built of panel houses is recorded. The bugs parasiting on bats (Nyctalus noctula (Schreber)) seating in gaps on the southern and southwestern sides of the house crawled in the rooms bit men, soiled the bed linen, and were troublesome by their number.     

Waldbauliche Analyse einer freien Hochdurchforstung in ungepflegten Buchenstangenhölzern

Zusammenfassung Das Material der Arbeit bilden die Beobachtungsergebnisse von fünf Dauerversuchsreihen (DVR), die in 30–40j?hrigen ungepflegten Buchen-Reinbest?nden in der Slowakei (CSSR) angelegt wurden. Die Arbeit umfa?t eine waldbauliche Analyse der ersten zwei in Form einer freien Hochdurchforstung erfolgten Eingriffe. Das Durchforstungsintervall betrug 4 Jahre. Die freie Hochdurchforstung, die an den DVR der Forschungsanstalt für Forstwirtschaft in Zvolen angewandt wurde, soll folgende Arten der Phytotechnik miteinander verbinden: die positive Oberstandauslese, die positive Unterstandauslese, die negative, die Sanit?r- und die relative Reifeauslese. Hauptgegenstand der waldbaulichen Pflege stellen die sog. Erwartungs- bzw. Zielb?ume dar. Für die Auswahl wurden in der Arbeit Qualit?ts-, Dimensions- und Abstandskriterien herangezogen. In den ursprünglich ungepflegten Buchenstangenh?lzern überwog, was das Volumen betrifft, in den gesunden Best?nden bei beiden Eingriffen die positive Oberstandauslese. Durch sie werden die Erwartungsb?ume gef?rdert. Sie kommt in den gesunden Best?nden an erster Stelle zur Geltung. In den stark erkrankten Best?nden tritt bei der Auszeichnung der Durchforstung dagegen die sanit?re Auslese in den Vordergrund. Erst dann folgt die positive Oberstandauslese. In ungepflegten Stangenh?lzern bietet bei der Hochdurchforstung die versp?tete S?uberung keine Vorteile gegenüber der positiven Oberstandauslese.

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Summary The author discusses the results of thinning experiments in pure beech stands in the CSSR. This article deals with an evaluation of experimental results in 5 series of permanent sample plots, which were established in 30 to 40 year-old stands. The thinning interval in these experiments was invariably 4 years. The method being a free selection thinning involved the following operations: a positive selection thinning in the upper storey, a positive selection thinning in the understorey, a negative sanitary thinning and the relative maturity selection. The most important objective in thinnings is to promote the growth of those trees which are selected to be retained until the end of the rotation. In untended beech stands priority was given to positive selection in the upper storey, whereas sanitary selection played an important part in diseased stands. This sanitary selection thinning is subsequently followed by a positive selection thinning in the upper storey.

     

Über die Wirkung von Bacillus thuringiensis in Kombination mit dem synthetischen Pyrethroid Ambusch auf Operophthera brumata,Tortrix viridana und die Insektenfauna eines Eichenbestandes

In order to increase the effect of the biopreparation Thuricide HP, we mixed it with pyrethroid Ambusch, a substance highly effective against insects possessing satisfactory parameters as regards toxic residua. Using aerial application, we tested Thuricide HP as a 0.5% suspension in a dose of 1 kg in 200 l water per one ha, the same dose of the preparation combined with a sublethal dose of Ambusch (8 ml/ha, i. e., 2 g of effective substance), and Ambusch in a dose of 120 ml/ha, i. e., 30 g of effective substance/1 ha. The mortality of larvae ofO. brumata andT. viridana attained 61% after the application of Thuricide HP, 83% after Thuricide HP combined with Ambusch, 96% after treatment with Ambusch. As indicated by our results, the biopreparation killed only larvae of Lepidoptera, while pyrethroid effected the entire spectrum of insect species colonizing the crowns of the treated stand. A combination of the biopreparation with a sublethal dose of pyrethroid was sufficiently effective against the pest, with a decreased effect on the remaining insect species.     

Comparison of postharvest practices used for cereal straw decomposition in a clay loam soil

ABSTRACT

During 2008–2011, model field experiments were carried out at the Joni?k?lis Experimental Station of Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry on a clay loam Endocalcaric Endogleyic Cambisol. The study was aimed to establish the comparison of various postharvest practices (mineral nitrogen fertiliser alone or together with a bioactivator Penergetic k, livestock slurry, red clover biomass and straw incorporation in the soil by a stubble cultivator at a 10 cm depth) on the acceleration of the initial (nine-month period) decomposition of winter wheat straw. During this period, straw mass decomposition intensity was 20.7–29.1%, carbon (C) concentration decreased by 6.5–22.8%, while an increase in nitrogen (N) by 1.1–2.2 times was observed. The highest straw decomposition rate was recorded when after straw incorporation autumn was warm and humid. That year straw mass C to N ratio (C/N) was 38–46. Under less-favourable autumn conditions, the highest decomposition of straw was achieved, having applied mineral N (with and without Penergetic) and livestock slurry and having incorporated the straw in the soil (C/N = 40–55). A slower decomposition rate was observed for the straw spread on the soil surface with mineral N addition or on undersown red clover.     

Bergmann glial AMPA receptors are required for fine motor coordination

The impact of glial neurotransmitter receptors in vivo is still elusive. In the cerebellum, Bergmann glial (BG) cells express α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) composed exclusively of GluA1 and/or GluA4 subunits. With the use of conditional gene inactivation, we found that the majority of cerebellar GluA1/A4-type AMPARs are expressed in BG cells. In young mice, deletion of BG AMPARs resulted in retraction of glial appendages from Purkinje cell (PC) synapses, increased amplitude and duration of evoked PC currents, and a delayed formation of glutamatergic synapses. In adult mice, AMPAR inactivation also caused retraction of glial processes. The physiological and structural changes were accompanied by behavioral impairments in fine motor coordination. Thus, BG AMPARs are essential to optimize synaptic integration and cerebellar output function throughout life.     

Type IV fimbrial subunit protein ApfA contributes to protection against porcine pleuropneumonia

ABSTRACT: Porcine pleuropneumonia caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae accounts for serious economic losses in the pig farming industry worldwide. We examined here the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the recombinant type IV fimbrial subunit protein ApfA as a single antigen vaccine against pleuropneumonia, or as a component of a multi-antigen preparation comprising five other recombinant antigens derived from key virulence factors of A. pleuropneumoniae (ApxIA, ApxIIA, ApxIIIA, ApxIVA and TbpB). Immunization of pigs with recombinant ApfA alone induced high levels of specific serum antibodies and provided partial protection against challenge with the heterologous A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 9 strain. This protection was higher than that engendered by vaccination with rApxIVA or rTbpB alone and similar to that observed after immunization with the tri-antigen combination of rApxIA, rApxIIA and rApxIIIA. In addition, rApfA improved the vaccination potential of the penta-antigen mixture of rApxIA, rApxIIA, rApxIIIA, rApxIVA and rTbpB proteins, where the hexa-antigen vaccine containing rApfA conferred a high level of protection on pigs against the disease. Moreover, when rApfA was used for vaccination alone or in combination with other antigens, such immunization reduced the number of pigs colonized with the challenge strain. These results indicate that ApfA could be a valuable component of an efficient subunit vaccine for the prevention of porcine pleuropneumonia.     

The Pollution Load by Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Cetina River

The objective of the investigations of the Cetina River, located in southern Croatia, was to record specific characteristics and properties of the Cetina waters at nine stations. In addition to measurements undertaken in the Cetina River, the water quality of its most significant springs and tributaries, such as Kosinac, ?ilovka, Studenci and Mala Ruda, Velika Ruda and Grab, has also been measured. The water quality in the Cetina watershed has been evaluated in the following storage reservoirs: Peru?a, Bu?ko Blato and Pran?evi?i. The nitrogen compounds and phosphorus concentrations have been estimated at all these sampling sites over a 3-year period (2005–2008). Concentration levels at the Cetina-Vinali? sampling site for total N (from August 2005 to December 2008) ranged from 0 to 1.759 mg/L, for NH₃–N from 0 to 0.374 mg/L, for NO₃–N from 0.063 to 0.916 mg/L and for PO₄–P from 0 to 0.099 mg/L. The results prove that the Cetina-Vinali? sampling site is not polluted by nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. The river section from Trilj to the Pran?evi?i dam, where the water is used for the water supply of Omi?, Makarska and Dalmatian islands, has been polluted by wastewater because the majority of agricultural area, roads, industry and settlements are located upstream of it. The highest concentration for total N of 1.128 mg/L and of 1,527 total coliforms in 100 mL, expressed as a mean value for a 3-year period of investigations, was found at the sampling site Trilj. The results of concentration changes at the ?ikotina La?a and Cetina Radmanove Mlinice sampling sites show no regularities. The highest concentration for total N of 0.941 mg/L was measured at the Cetina Radmanove Mlinice during 2007. The highest concentration for NO₃–N of 0.916 mg/L was measured at the same sampling site. According to the investigations of the water quality of the Cetina springs and tributaries, the bacteriological most polluted river spring is Kosinac, and the bacteriological most polluted river tributary is Grab. With reference to the water quality in the Cetina storage reservoirs, it may be concluded that the lowest quality standard has been found within the Pran?evi?i storage reservoir regarding nitrogen compounds and phosphorus concentration levels.     

Small-scale distribution of extracellular enzymes, fungal, and bacterial biomass in Quercus petraea forest topsoil

The small-scale distribution of activities of extracellular laccase, Mn-peroxidase, endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase, β-glucosidase, endoxylanase, β-xylosidase, chitinase, and acid phosphatase were studied in the litter (L) and organic (H) horizons of Quercus petraea forest soil and related to the distribution of microbial biomass. Geostatistical analysis showed that the spatial autocorrelation of the enzyme activities and soil microbial biomass measured as phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and ergosterol content occurred at similar scales, typically in the range of tens of centimeters. The size of the spatial structures differed between the L and H horizons; for most of the studied enzymatic processes, litter exhibited a higher spatial variability (smaller autocorrelation distances). The distribution of several enzymes, including laccase, Mn-peroxidase, and some hydrolases, reflected the distribution of fungal biomass. Polysaccharide hydrolases exhibited similar spatial distribution patterns in the L horizon, and their activity coincided with a high fungal/bacterial biomass ratio.