Mycobacterial disease in a population of 339 cats in Great Britain: II. Histopathology of 225 cases, and treatment and outcome of 184 cases

This study investigated 339 cases of feline mycobacterial infection, with histopathology findings from 225 cases, and treatment and outcome information from 184 cases. Tissue samples from cats with cutaneous lesions or suspicious masses at exploratory laparotomy were submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for mycobacterial culture over a 4-year period to December 2008. The study reviewed the files for information about histopathology, treatment and outcome, and blindly reviewed histopathological changes (including staining for acid-fast bacteria [AFB]) in a sub-set of 45 cases. When a cat is suspected of having a mycobacterial infection, accurate identification of the species involved helps to determine possible treatment options and prognosis. The study confirmed that histopathology and the presence of AFB are useful tools in the recognition of mycobacterial infection. Unfortunately, they did little to help determine the species of mycobacteria involved. The study identified a group of cats that were negative for AFB at the primary laboratory, but from which mycobacteria could be cultured; commonly Mycobacterium bovis or Mycobacterium microti. The study also identified a group of cats which where culture negative, despite typical signs of mycobacterial infection and positive AFB staining. Many cases responded favourably to treatment (56% of the cases where information was available), and many cats gained complete remission (42%). However, relapses were common (64%) and often followed by pulmonary and/or systemic spread that may have resulted from treatment with short courses of single drugs. This study shows that the diagnosis and treatment of feline mycobacteriosis is complex and challenging.     

Extraction of water‐soluble organic matter from mineral horizons of forest soils

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is involved in many important biogeochemical processes in soil. As its collection is laborious, very often water‐soluble organic matter (WSOM) obtained by extracting organic or mineral soil horizons with a dilute salt solution has been used as a substitute of DOM. We extracted WSOM (measured as water‐soluble organic C, WSOC) from seven mineral horizons of three forest soils from North‐Rhine Westphalia, Germany, with demineralized H₂O, 0.01 M CaCl₂, and 0.5 M K₂SO₄. We investigated the quantitative and qualitative effects of the extractants on WSOM and compared it with DOM collected with ceramic suction cups from the same horizons. The amounts of WSOC extracted differed significantly between both the extractants and the horizons. With two exceptions, K₂SO₄ extracted the largest amounts of WSOC (up to 126 mg C kg^–1) followed by H₂O followed by CaCl₂. The H₂O extracts revealed by far the highest molar UV absorptivities at 254 nm (up to 5834 L mol^–1 cm^–1) compared to the salt solutions which is attributed to solubilization of highly aromatic compounds. The amounts of WSOC extracted did not depend on the amounts of Fe and Al oxides as well as on soil organic C and pH. Water‐soluble organic matter extracted by K₂SO₄ bore the largest similarity to DOM due to relatively analogue molar absorptivities. Therefore, we recommend to use this extractant when trying to obtain a substitute for DOM, but as WSOM extraction is a rate‐limited process, the suitability of extraction procedures to obtain a surrogate of DOM remains ambiguous.     

Proton release by N2‐fixing plant roots: A possible contribution to phytoremediation of calcareous sodic soils

With a world‐wide occurrence on about 560 million hectares, sodic soils are characterized by the occurrence of excess sodium (Na⁺) to levels that can adversely affect crop growth and yield. Amelioration of such soils needs a source of calcium (Ca²⁺) to replace excess Na⁺ from the cation exchange sites. In addition, adequate levels of Ca²⁺ in ameliorated soils play a vital role in improving the structural and functional integrity of plant cell walls and membranes. As a low‐cost and environmentally feasible strategy, phytoremediation of sodic soils — a plant‐based amelioration — has gained increasing interest among scientists and farmers in recent years. Enhanced CO₂ partial pressure (P_CO2) in the root zone is considered as the principal mechanism contributing to phytoremediation of sodic soils. Aqueous CO₂ produces protons (H⁺) and bicarbonate (HCO₃^‐). In a subsequent reaction, H⁺ reacts with native soil calcite (CaCO₃) to provide Ca²⁺ for Na⁺ Ca²⁺ exchange at the cation exchange sites. Another source of H⁺ may occur in such soils if cropped with N₂‐fixing plant species because plants capable of fixing N₂ release H⁺ in the root zone. In a lysimeter experiment on a calcareous sodic soil (pH_s = 7.4, electrical conductivity of soil saturated paste extract (EC_e) = 3.1 dS m^‐1, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) = 28.4, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) = 27.6, CaCO₃ = 50 g kg^‐1), we investigated the phytoremediation ability of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). There were two cropped treatments: Alfalfa relying on N₂ fixation and alfalfa receiving NH₄NO₃ as mineral N source, respectively. Other treatments were non‐cropped, including a control (without an amendment or crop), and soil application of gypsum or sulfuric acid. After two months of cropping, all lysimeters were leached by maintaining a water content at 130% waterholding capacity of the soil after every 24±1 h. The treatment efficiency for Na⁺ removal in drainage water was in the order: sulfuric acid > gypsum = N₂‐fixing alfalfa > NH4NO3‐fed alfalfa > control. Both the alfalfa treatments produced statistically similar root and shoot biomass. We attribute better Na+ removal by the N₂‐fixing alfalfa treatment to an additional source of H⁺ in the rhizosphere, which helped to dissolve additional CaCO₃ and soil sodicity amelioration.     

Utilization of the genetic resources of wild species to create a nontransgenic high flavonoid tomato

Flavonoids represent a large and important group of plant natural products that are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. Epidemiological studies have shown the health benefits of a diet high in flavonoids. However, the dietary intake of flavonoids in most western populations is limited, creating a need to find alternative food sources for these polyphenolic secondary metabolites. The domestication of many of our cultivated food crops has resulted in alterations in the biosynthetic pathways of many essential micronutrients and vitamins through inadvertent counterselection against nutritional traits in favor of agronomic ones. Flavonoids are nearly absent from fruits of cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), a major vegetable in human diets. Previous attempts to restore the flavonoid pathway in tomato fruits have been limited to transgenic strategies, suggesting that the problem was intractable through traditional methods. Here, we describe for the first time a nontransgenic metabolic engineering approach to developing a high flavonoid tomato using a wild tomato species (Lycopersicon pennelliiv. puberulum) and demonstrate the opportunities for restoring functional pathways using the genetic resources of wild species, resulting in production of healthier foods.     

UN ECE ICP Materials: Dose-Response Functions on Dry and Wet Acid Deposition Effects After 8 Years of Exposure

The main results of the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials, including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) are summarised. The 8-year field exposure programme involves 39 test sites in 12 European countries and in the United States and Canada. Dose-response functions (DRF) expressing the effect of dry and wet deposition as individual terms have been obtained for a wide range of materials including bronze, copper, weathering steel, zinc, aluminium, nickel, tin, stone materials, paint coatings and glass materials. The DRF's includes parameters that are easily available on different geographical scales and can be used for mapping areas of increased corrosion rates and for calculation of costs.     

Redox potential of bulk soil and soil solution concentration of nitrate,manganese, iron,and sulfate in two Gleysols

While the reduction of nitrate‐N, Mn(III,IV), Fe(III), and sulfate‐S in soil has been studied intensively in the laboratory, field research has received only limited attention. This study investigated the relationship between redox potential (E_H) measured in bulk soil and concentrations of nitrate, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, and sulfate in the soil solution of two Gleysols differing in drainage status from the Marsh area of Schleswig‐Holstein, Northern Germany. The soils are silty‐sandy and developed from calcareous marine sediments. Redox potentials were monitored weekly with permanently installed Pt electrodes, and soil solution was obtained biweekly by ceramic suction cups from 10, 30, 60, and 150 cm depth over one year. Median E_H at 10, 30, 60, and 150 cm depths was 470, 410, 410, and 20 mV in the drained soil and 500, 480, 30, and –170 mV in the undrained soil, respectively. A decrease in E_H below critical values was accompanied in the soil solutions (pH 7.4 to 7.8) by disappearance of nitrate below 0 to 200 mV, appearance of Mn²⁺ below 350 mV, and Fe²⁺ below 0 to 50 mV. Both metals disappeared from soil solution after aeration. In the sulfide‐bearing environment of the 150 cm depth of the undrained soil, however, the sulfate concentrations were highest at such E_H values at which sulfate should be unstable. This discrepancy was reflected in the fact that at this depth bulk soil E_H was about 400 mV lower than soil solution E_H (250 mV). When investigating the dynamics of nitrate, Mn, and Fe in soils, bulk soil E_H provides semi‐quantitative information in terms of critical E_H ranges. However, in sulfidic soil environments the interpretation of E_H measured in bulk soil is uncertain.     

Influence of repeated prescribed burning on the soil fungal community in an eastern Australian wet sclerophyll forest

A long-term prescribed burning experiment, incorporating replicated plots that receive burning biennially (2 yr burn) or quadrennially (4 yr burn) and unburned controls, has been maintained in a wet sclerophyll forest at Peachester, Queensland, Australia since 1972. In 2003 we extracted DNA from soil collected from the experimental plots and investigated the influence of the burning on the soil fungal community by comparing denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles of PCR-amplified partial rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1). Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) of the DGGE profiles of the upper 10 cm of the soil profile grouped the data strongly according to treatment, indicating that both burning regimes significantly altered fungal community structure compared to the unburned controls. In contrast, no obvious trend was observed for soil from a depth of 10-20 cm of the profile. Sequencing of selected DGGE bands found no obvious patterns of presence/absence of taxonomic groups between the treatments. Analysis of soil nitrogen and carbon by mass spectrometry indicated that total soil C and N, along with both gross and net N mineralisation, were significantly lower in 2 yr plots compared to control and 4 yr plots.     

Megaparks for metapopulations: Addressing the causes of locally high elephant numbers in southern Africa

Conservation management options for southern African elephants range from local to regional scales. Here we review these options and argue in favour of actions that will deal with the causes rather than symptoms of elephant numbers that are locally high. Metapopulation theory ensures population persistence, while our approach extends this in order to stabilise elephant numbers regionally. By allowing for the development and maintenance of regional sinks, we may also limit numbers in sources. This application of the metapopulation metaphor is a powerful ecological platform from which to manage elephant numbers and impact through southern Africa. Our approach engages the causes of the apparently high abundance of elephants in parts of southern Africa. It moves away from the practice of dealing only with numbers (symptoms) when managing the impact of elephants on other species. While providing an ecological basis for the development of elephant management options, this needs to be melded with social, political and economic realities through southern Africa. In this regard we are encouraged by the ongoing development of several Transfrontier Conservation programmes and Peace Parks across the region.     

Extracutaneous viral inclusions in psittacine beak and feather disease

Thirty-five birds that died with naturally acquired psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) were necropsied to identify extracutaneous viral inclusions. Inclusions were found in various tissue sections from 34 of 35 birds. By immunoperoxidase staining, intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were shown to contain PBFD viral antigen. Inclusion-bearing lesions were widely disseminated but often closely associated with the alimentary tract. Lesions within the palate, esophagus, crop, intestine, bursa of Fabricius, and liver probably serve as sources for viral shedding into the feces.