Die Jagd im klassischen Hellas

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Near-synchronous interhemispheric termination of the last glacial maximum in mid-latitudes

Isotopic records from polar ice cores imply globally asynchronous warming at the end of the last glaciation. However, 10Be exposure dates show that large-scale retreat of mid-latitude Last Glacial Maximum glaciers commenced at about the same time in both hemispheres. The timing of retreat is consistent with the onset of temperature and atmospheric CO2 increases in Antarctic ice cores. We suggest that a global trend of rising summer temperatures at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum was obscured in North Atlantic regions by hypercold winters associated with unusually extensive winter sea ice.     

Use of geophysical methods for the study of sandy soils under Campinarana at the National Park of Viruá, Roraima state,Brazilian Amazonia

Purpose

The vegetation of the Campinaranas occurs in humid areas with hydromorphic sandy soils at the Amazon region. Thus, the determination and in situ monitoring of moisture content in Campinarana soils, besides the detection of subsurface layers are key measures for studying these soil–vegetation systems. Also, the application of ground penetrating radar (GPR) in deep sandy sedimentary sequence of Amazonia is a promising tool to enhance the knowledge on depositional and soil formation features.

Materials and methods

We studied representative soils of the Campinaranas at the National Park of Viruá, state of Roraima (Brazilian Amazonia), through the use of geophysical methods (soil moisture sensors and GPR). The study was applied in four sandy soils. Besides chemical and physical analysis of soils, soil moisture sensors were installed for monitoring during an entire hydrological year (2010/2011), and performed the calibration of sensors , coupled with imaging of the soil along transects with GPR.

Results and discussion

As a result of calibration of the soil moisture sensors we obtained a general equation with an R ² greater than 0.9. There is an influence of soil moisture content and soil temperature in the distribution of vegetation types in Campinaranas. The use of GPR identified some determinants characteristics in these soils for the differentiating the Campinaranas, represented by spodic and C horizons.

Conclusions

The spodic horizons in soils under Forest Campinarana provided potential errors in the determination of soil moisture, requiring calibration data for the precise use of this device. The investigation of the soil through the GPR showed interesting results, which allowed continuous visualization of the main soil horizons along transects in the phytophysiognomies of Campinaranas.     

Temperature regime of some soil types in Georgia

The thermal regime of the different soil types of Georgia has been studied on the basis of soil temperature records obtained at 60 weather stations in 1947–1995. It is shown that the thermal conductivity and temperature gradients in the soil profiles depend on the soil type. In the upper 0–20 cm of the soils in the intermontane depressions, the lowest temperature gradients in the summer are typical of the red ferrallitic soils (0.5–1.1°C/dm), and the highest gradients are observed in the chernozems of eastern Georgia (1.0–1.3°c/dm). The soil temperature gradients are especially high in the late spring (1.4–1.8°c/dm), when the atmospheric convection is formed. In the mountains, the lowest gradients in the summer are observed in the cinnamonic soils (0.4–0.9°c/dm), and the highest gradients are established in the brown forest soils (0.5–1.3°c/dm). The redistribution of the temperatures in the deeper layers depends on the soil texture. The lowest temperature gradient is in the soils of Telavi (3.1°c/m), where a stony layer is found at the depth of 60 cm, which causes the good heating of the deep layers. The highest gradients are seen in the clayey and loamy soils of western (Chakva, 3.8°c/m) and eastern (Tbilisi, 3.9°c/m) Georgia. This is probably related to the high water content in the heavy-textured soils.     

Infestation in the dog by the paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus — 5. Treatment

In this study the value of drugs administered with hyperimmune serum in the treatment of advanced disease produced by Ixodes holocyclus was compared under controlled conditions. All control dogs died rapidly whereas one dog survived and 3 dogs died after receiving hyperimmune serum alone. When promethazine hydrochloride was administered with hyperimmune serum 2 dogs recovered rapidly while the remaining 2 died. Administration of dexamethasone and hyperimmune serum allowed 3 dogs to survive while administration of phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride in conjunction with hyperimmune serum allowed rapid recovery of all 4 dogs. Phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride, an alpha-adrenergic blocking drug, was chosen because of its potential to attenuate the arterial hypertension previously reported (Ilkiw et al 1988). The survival of all dogs together with the rapid return to normality indicated that this drug was beneficial in the treatment of dogs with advanced signs of tick paralysis.     

Hemophagocytosis and Histoplasma‐like fungal infection in 32 cats

Histoplasmosis is one of the most common systemic fungal diseases in cats from the United States. It commonly causes respiratory or disseminated disease and is often associated with one or more cytopenias. Here, we describe 32 cats in which a Histoplasma‐like fungal infection was associated with concurrent hemophagia in at least one sample site, commonly spleen, bone marrow, liver, and/or lymph node. The degree of hemophagia was characterized as moderate or marked in the majority of cases, and in all cases, there was a predominance of phagocytized mature erythrocytes. A few cases also had macrophages with phagocytized erythroid precursors, platelets, and/or neutrophils. Complete blood count results were available for 25 cats, and cytopenias were common (20/25), including solitary anemia (10), anemia and thrombocytopenia (5), solitary neutropenia (2), pancytopenia (2), and anemia and neutropenia (1). Bone marrow samples were only available in a small subset of cases, preventing the further assessment of the causes of the cytopenias. Hemophagocytosis has been previously reported in cats with neoplastic diseases and a cat with calicivirus infection, and likely occurs with other conditions as well, such as hemorrhage or hemolysis. Results of this report suggest that systemic fungal disease is an additional differential to consider when there is hemophagia in a feline cytology sample.     

Detection of hypoglycin A in the seeds of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and box elder (A. negundo) in New Zealand; the toxin associated with cases of equine atypical myopathy

CASE HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: During April and May 2014 four horses aged between 5 months and 9 years, located in the Canterbury, Marlborough and Southland regions, presented with a variety of clinical signs including recumbency, stiffness, lethargy, dehydration, depression, and myoglobinuria suggestive of acute muscle damage. Two horses were subjected to euthanasia and two recovered. In all cases seeds of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) or box elder (A. negundo) were present in the area where the horse had been grazing.

LABORATORY INVESTIGATION: The samaras (seeds) of some Acer spp. may contain hypoglycin A, that has been associated with cases of atypical myopathy in Europe and North America. To determine if hypoglycin A is present in the samaras of Acer spp. in New Zealand, samples were collected from trees throughout the country that were associated with historical and/or current cases of atypical myopathy, and analysed for hypoglycin A. Serum samples from the four cases and four unaffected horses were analysed for the presence of hypoglycin A, profiles of acylcarnitines (the definitive diagnosis for atypical myopathy) and activities of creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase.Markedly elevated serum activities of creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase, and increased concentrations of selected acylcarnitines were found in the case horses. Hypoglycin A was detected in the serum of those horses but not in the healthy controls. Hypoglycin A was detected in 10/15 samples of samaras from sycamore maple and box elder from throughout New Zealand.

DIAGNOSIS: Cases of atypical myopathy were diagnosed on properties where samaras containing hypoglycin A were also found.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Sycamore and box elder trees in New Zealand are a source of hypoglycin A associated with the development of atypical myopathy. If pastured horses present with clinical and biochemical signs of severe muscle damage then the environment should be checked for the presence of these trees. Horses should be prevented from grazing samaras from Acer spp. in the autumn.     

Vesicles Cytoplasmic Injection: An Efficient Technique to Produce Porcine Transgene‐Expressing Embryos

The use of vesicles co‐incubated with plasmids showed to improve the efficiency of cytoplasmic injection of transgenes in cattle. Here, this technique was tested as a simplified alternative for transgenes delivery in porcine zygotes. To this aim, cytoplasmic injection of the plasmid alone was compared to the injection with plasmids co‐incubated with vesicles both in diploid parthenogenic and IVF zygotes. The plasmid pcx‐egfp was injected circular (CP) at 3, 30 and 300 ng/μl and linear (LP) at 30 ng/μl. The experimental groups using parthenogenetic zygotes were as follows: CP naked at 3 ng/μl (N = 105), 30 ng/μl (N = 95) and 300 ng/μl (N = 65); Sham (N = 105); control not injected (N = 223); LP naked at 30 ng/μl (N = 78); LP vesicles (N = 115) and Sham vesicles (N = 59). For IVF zygotes: LP naked (N = 44) LP vesicles (N = 94), Sham (N = 59) and control (N = 79). Cleavage, blastocyst and GFP+ rates were analysed by Fisher's test (p < 0.05). The parthenogenic CP naked group showed lower cleavage respect to control (p < 0.05). The highest concentration of plasmids to allow development to blastocyst stage was 30 ng/μl. There were no differences in DNA fragmentation between groups. The parthenogenic LP naked group resulted in high GFP rates (46%) and also allowed the production of GFP blastocysts (33%). The cytoplasmic injection with LP vesicles into parthenogenic zygotes allowed 100% GFP blastocysts. Injected IVF showed higher cleavage rates than control (p < 0.05). In IVF zygotes, only the use of vesicles produced GFP blastocysts. The use of vesicles co‐incubated with plasmids improves the transgene expression efficiency for cytoplasmic injection in porcine zygotes and constitutes a simple technique for easy delivery of plasmids.     

Chemical,physical and micromorphological properties of termite mounds and adjacent soils along a toposequence in Zona da Mata,Minas Gerais State,Brazil

Little is known about the effects of neotropical mound-building termites in soil chemical and physical properties. The influence of soil termite activity on soil characteristics was studied by assessing chemical, physical and micromorphological properties of a toposequence of Latosols (Oxisols). Soil samples were collected from the walls and inner parts of termite mounds and also from adjacent soil. A high diversity of termite genera was found in the mounds along the toposequence, together with the inquiline termites and other soil-dwelling arthropods. Chemical analyses showed that pH and the contents of organic C and N, P, Ca and Mg were significantly higher in termite mounds compared with adjacent areas, with an inverse trend for Al content. Significant differences in pH and exchangeable Al were observed between soil and mound across the slopes. The mound density across the landscape was higher at the upper slope segment, followed by the hill top, middle slope and lower slope segments. Considering a lifespan of 30 years and dimensions of termite mounds found in the toposequence we conclude that the textural and chemical uniformity of Latosols may be increased, following the pedobiological turnover during mound building, with local rates varying from 2.1 to 7.5 m³ ha^− 1.