Carbon dynamics in small tropical catchments under preserved forest and cacao agroforestry systems

Agroforestry Systems - Inland waters such as streams that receive carbon from terrestrial landscapes usually have a net heterotrophic metabolism and emit significant amounts of CO2 to the...     

First report of Enterocytozoon bieneusi from dairy cattle in Argentina

Fecal specimens were obtained from a total of 70 dairy calves less than two months old on 11 municipalities in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After removal of fecal debris by sieving and sucrose flotation, specimens were subjected to PCR to detect the presence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi. PCR revealed a 14.3% of prevalence for E. bieneusi with 10 positive calves from 7 municipalities. Gene sequence analysis conducted in all samples positives by PCR revealed the presence of six genotypes; four previously reported in cattle as well as humans (D, I, J, and BEB4), one never reported in cattle before but previously reported in humans (EbpC), and one novel genotype (BEB10). These results constitute the first molecular characterization of E. bieneusi in Argentina, and suggest a potential risk of zoonotic transmission in this area.     

Assessment of attenuated Salmonella vaccine strains in controlling experimental Salmonella Typhimurium infection in chickens

Salmonella hold considerable promise as vaccine delivery vectors for heterologous antigens in chickens. Such vaccines have the potential additional benefit of also controlling Salmonella infection in immunized birds. As a way of selecting attenuated strains with optimal immunogenic potential as antigen delivery vectors, this study screened 20 novel Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine strains, differing in mutations associated with delayed antigen synthesis and delayed attenuation, for their efficacy in controlling colonization by virulent Salmonella Typhimurium, as well as for their persistence in the intestine and the spleen. Marked differences were observed between strains in these characteristics, which provide the basis for selection for further study as vaccine vectors.     

肠道微生物区系中与肉鸡生产性能相关菌属的鉴定

肠道菌群对家禽健康与营养具有潜在的影响,其对宿主能量代谢的调节作用可能与饲料转化率的变化有关。本文在简述肠道微生物功能,家禽肠道微生物的形成与分布,影响肠道微生物区系平衡因素的基础上,鉴定肠道微生物区系中与肉鸡生产性能相关的特定菌属。     

Expert knowledge for translating land cover/use maps to General Habitat Categories (GHC)

Monitoring biodiversity at the level of habitats and landscape is becoming widespread in Europe and elsewhere as countries establish international and national habitat conservation policies and monitoring systems. Earth Observation (EO) data offers a potential solution to long-term biodiversity monitoring through direct mapping of habitats or by integrating Land Cover/Use (LC/LU) maps with contextual spatial information and in situ data. Therefore, it appears necessary to develop an automatic/semi-automatic translation framework of LC/LU classes to habitat classes, but also challenging due to discrepancies in domain definitions. In the context of the FP7 BIO_SOS (www.biosos.eu) project, the authors demonstrated the feasibility of the Food and Agricultural Organization Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) taxonomy to habitat class translation. They also developed a framework to automatically translate LCCS classes into the recently proposed General Habitat Categories classification system, able to provide an exhaustive typology of habitat types, ranging from natural ecosystems to urban areas around the globe. However discrepancies in terminology, plant height criteria and basic principles between the two mapping domains inducing a number of one-to-many and many-to-many relations were identified, revealing the need of additional ecological expert knowledge to resolve the ambiguities. This paper illustrates how class phenology, class topological arrangement in the landscape, class spectral signature from multi-temporal Very High spatial Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery and plant height measurements can be used to resolve such ambiguities. Concerning plant height, this paper also compares the mapping results obtained by using accurate values extracted from LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) data and by exploiting EO data texture features (i.e. entropy) as a proxy of plant height information, when LIDAR data are not available. An application for two Natura 2000 coastal sites in Southern Italy is discussed.     

Factors (type,colour, density,and shape) determining the removal of marine plastic debris by seabirds from the South Pacific Ocean: Is there a pattern?

1. While floating near the sea surface plastic debris interacts with a number of external factors, including many different organisms. Seabirds have the most extensive documented history of interactions with plastics, through ingestion, entanglement, and nest construction.
2. In the present study, eight seabird species from the South Pacific Ocean were used as a proxy to determine potential patterns of removal of marine plastic debris, and three hypotheses were tested in relation to their feeding habits and nesting areas.
3. Plastics from abiotic compartments (Chilean continental coast, South Pacific Gyre, and Rapa Nui beaches) and biotic compartments (surface-feeding seabirds, diving seabirds, and nesting areas) were compared, according to their type, colour, shape, and density.
4. Continental beaches had a relatively wide range of colours and shapes, with many non-buoyant plastics. Samples from the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) beaches comprised mainly hard, rounded, buoyant, and white/grey plastics.
5. These results indicate that the composition of floating plastics from terrestrial sources changes during transport with oceanic currents, reducing the proportion of prey-like plastics present in the subtropical gyres.
6. The stomach contents of surface-feeding and diving seabirds were dominated by hard, white/grey, and round plastic items, similar to plastics from the SPG, suggesting non-selective (accidental or secondary) ingestion.
7. Nesting areas had a more variable composition of brightly coloured plastics, suggesting a pattern of selective removal of plastics by seabirds, probably from oceanic sources.
8. The present study reveals extensive interactions of seabirds with plastics on a broader scale, which is highly relevant given that the impacts of plastics on seabirds are increasing worldwide, compromising their efficient conservation.

     

肠道微生物区系中与肉鸡生产性能相关菌属的鉴定

正肉鸡的胃肠系统在提高饲料转化率方面发挥着极其重要的作用,它参与分解日粮组分、吸收营养物质及将机体代谢物排出体外。肉鸡肠道具有独特的微生物生态系统,可与肉鸡形成共生关系。肠道微生物可使宿主完全消化日粮成分,是细菌密度最高的生态系统,含有有益菌、有害菌和良性菌等,因而可对动物健康与营养造成潜在的影响。日粮营养物质摄入的速度、宿主的免疫应答状态及肠道结构等均可影响肠道微生物;同时日粮组分、宿主免疫或肠道结构     

Characterisation of thirteen cowpea landraces from Umbria (Italy). Strategy for their conservation and promotion

Thirteen landraces of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. subsp. unguiculata cv. gr. Unguiculata) have been morphologically and agronomically characterised as part of a plan for safeguarding and protecting plant biodiversity typical of Lake Trasimeno (Umbria, central Italy). Sixty plants per accession were scored for plant vigour, growth habit, flower colour, days to flowering, days to first mature pod, pod length, total number of pods produced, seed colour pattern, 100 seed weight, total seed yield and virus susceptibility. With the exception of vigour and growth habit, all landraces appeared to be well differentiated from one another for all the characters considered. Strategies and problems related to their in situ conservation are discussed.     

ROS and 9-oxylipins are correlated with deoxynivalenol accumulation in the germinating caryopses of Triticum aestivum after Fusarium graminearum infection

Wheat germinating caryopses may represent a starting point for the Fusarium Head Blight disease; however, only few studies concern the defence repertoire of wheat caryopses against fungal challenge. The germinating caryopses of two wheat commercial varieties (Blasco and Sagittario), differentially susceptible to FHB in the field, were inoculated with F. graminearum and the redox status in the interaction milieu, oxylipin production, the expression profile of some host-defence related genes, and programmed cell death in the aleuronic layer, were analysed. In Sagittario, the redox balance was profoundly modified and 9-oxylipins accumulated during fungal contamination. In this variety, F. graminearum produced a high quantity of deoxynivalenol whilst programmed cell death, also through metacaspases activation, was enhanced in the aleuronic layer of its caryopses. In Blasco, the expression of tolerance factors such as Pathogenesis-Related-protein1, glucosyl-transferase and glutathione transferase genes was up-regulated consequent to infection. Results show that unscavenged ROS and 9-oxylipins may be related to deoxynivalenol accumulation in the germinating caryopses of wheat after F. graminearum infection.