Insecticidal and anti-microbial activity of bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of lignin,cellulose, and hemicellulose

Journal of Pest Science - Conflicting views regarding synthetic pesticides include the successful use as pest management tools for agriculture and forestry on one hand and the threats to components...     

PLUS: a regional groundwater assessment and ranking tool

There has been interest within the pesticide regulatory community in developing a tool that can provide estimates of potential pesticide exposure in shallow groundwater across an intended use area. Therefore, industry initiated an investigative project based on the PRZM 3.12 model, which uses regional soils and weather in an easy to use interface. The goal of this proof-of-concept is to facilitate the refinement of groundwater exposure estimates. The focus of this paper is to report the effectiveness of the tool as a regional estimator of potential groundwater contamination.     

Detection of ruminant meat and bone meals in animal feed by real-time polymerase chain reaction: result of an interlaboratory study

The commercialization of animal feeds infected by prions proved to be the main cause of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Therefore, feed bans were enforced, initially for ruminant feeds, and later for all feeds for farmed animals. The development and validation of analytical methods for the species-specific detection of animal proteins in animal feed has been indicated in the TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) Roadmap (European Commission. The TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy) roadmap. URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/biosafety/bse/roadmap_en.pdf, 2005) as the main condition for lifting the extended feed ban. Methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) seem to be a promising solution for this aim. The main objective of this study was to determine the applicability of four different real-time PCR methods, developed by three National expert laboratories from the European Union (EU), for the detection and identification of cattle or ruminant species in typical compound feeds, fortified with meat and bone meals (MBM) from different animal species at different concentration levels. The MBM samples utilized in this study have been treated using the sterilization condition mandatory within the European Union (steam pressure sterilization at 133 degrees C, 3 bar, and 20 min), which is an additional challenge to the PCR methods evaluated in this study. The results indicate that the three labs applying their PCR methods were able to detect 0.1% of cattle MBM, either alone or in mixtures with different materials such as fishmeal, which demonstrates the improvement made by this technique, especially when compared with results from former interlaboratory studies.     

Processes affecting the dissipation of the herbicide isoxaflutole and its diketonitrile metabolite in agricultural soils under field conditions

Two-year field dissipation studies were conducted in three soil types in Minnesota to examine the processes affecting the dissipation of the herbicide isoxaflutole and its phytotoxic diketonitrile metabolite (DKN) under relatively cool, wet soil conditions. Plots of cuphea were treated with isoxaflutole and potassium bromide, a nonsorbed, nondegraded tracer. Replicate soil cores were collected six times during the growing season to a depth of 1 m, and the bromide or herbicide concentration was measured in each of five depth increments. The dissipation half-life (DT50) of isoxaflutole + DKN was 8-18 days in each soil. Bromide and herbicide concentrations were low at depths >40 cm throughout the study, and herbicide concentrations in soil 100 days after application were usually undetectable. Simulation modeling using Hydrus-1D for the loam soil suggested that plant uptake was an important mechanism of dissipation.     

Identification and characterization of a novel whitefly-transmitted member of the family potyviridae isolated from cucurbits in Florida

ABSTRACT A novel whitefly-transmitted member of the family Potyviridae was isolated from a squash plant (Cucurbita pepo) with vein yellowing symptoms in Florida. The virus, for which the name Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) is proposed, has flexuous rod-shaped particles of approximately 840 nm in length. The experimental host range was limited to species in the family Cucurbitaceae, with the most dramatic symptoms observed in squash and watermelon, but excluded all tested species in the families Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Solanaceae. The virus was transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) but was not transmitted by aphids (Myzus persicae). Infection by SqVYV induced inclusion bodies visible by electron and light microscopy that were characteristic of members of the family Potyviridae. Comparison of the SqVYV coat protein gene and protein sequences with those of recognized members of the family Potyviridae indicate that it is a novel member of the genus Ipomovirus. A limited survey revealed that SqVYV also was present in watermelon plants suffering from a vine decline and fruit rot recently observed in Florida and was sufficient to induce these symptoms in greenhouse-grown watermelon, suggesting that SqVYV is the likely cause of this disease.     

Detecting and quantifying marijuana metabolites in serum and urine of 19 dogs affected by marijuana toxicity

Veterinarians diagnose marijuana toxicity based on clinical signs and history, or in conjunction with an over-the-counter (OTC) human urine drug screen. With the legalization of recreational marijuana use becoming more prevalent in the United States, a more accurate test to aid in the diagnosis of canine marijuana toxicity is needed. We collected urine and serum samples from 19 dogs with confirmed or suspected marijuana toxicosis from multiple veterinary hospitals and analyzed them with a novel UPLC-MS/MS method. Calibrations from 0.1 to 100 ng/mL and QC materials were prepared. Samples were extracted, purified, and eluted with solid-phase extraction. Urine samples were tested with an OTC human urine drug screen. The limit of detection (LOD) and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) ranges for marijuana metabolites in serum were 0.05–0.25 ng/mL and 0.1–0.5 ng/mL, respectively. In urine, the LOD and LLOQ ranges for the metabolites were 0.05–0.1 ng/mL and 0.1–0.5 ng/mL, respectively. In serum, median and range of metabolite concentrations (ng/mL) detected included: THC, 65.0 (0.14–160); 11-OH-Δ⁹-THC, 4.78 (1.15–17.8); 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC, 2.18 (0.71–7.79); CBD, 0.28 (0.11–82.5); and THC-glucuronide, 2.05 (0.72–18.3). In the 19 urine samples, metabolite: creatinine (ng: mg) values detected included: THC, 0.22 (0.05–0.74); 11-OH-Δ⁹-THC, 0; 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC, 1.32 (0.16–11.2); CBD, 0.19 (0.12–0.26); THC-COOH-glucuronide, 0.08 (0.04–0.11); and THC-glucuronide, 0.98 (0.25–10.7). Twenty of 21 urine samples tested negative for THC on the urine drug screen. All 19 serum samples contained quantifiable concentrations of THC using our novel UPLC-MS/MS method. Utilizing a UPLC-MS/MS method can be a useful aid in the diagnosis of marijuana toxicosis in dogs, whereas using an OTC human urine drug test is not a useful test for confirming marijuana exposure in dogs because of the low concentration of THC-COOH in urine.