Evaluation of cercarial antigen for the serodiagnosis of fasciolosis in experimentally and naturally infected sheep

The value of cercarial antigen for diagnosis of experimental and natural sheep fasciolosis was studied by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and enzyme linked immunotransfer blot (EITB). In ELISA, the antibody levels of experimentally infected sheep with Fasciola gigantica appeared at 2 weeks post infection (PI), gradually increased till 7 weeks PI and nearly remained at the same level from 7 to 13 weeks PI (the end of experiment). Also, the sensitivity and specificity of cercarial antigen for diagnosis of naturally sheep fasciolosis were 100 and 90%, respectively.In EITB, in the sheep experimentally infected with F. gigantica, the band of 32.5kDa molecular weight polypeptide appeared at 2 weeks PI and continued till the end of experiment. Also, the cercarial antigen recognized 32.5kDa molecular weight band with all sera from naturally infected sheep with fasciolosis (n = 25). This band did not cross-react when tested with sera from infected sheep with Cysticercus tenuicollus (n = 20). This study suggests that, the 32.5kDa molecular weight polypeptide could be used as sensitive and specific epitope for the serodiagnosis of sheep fasciolosis.     

Wild pistachio tree (Pistacia mutica) in the Qalajeh forest region of western Iran

Wild pistachio tree (Pistacia mutica) is considered the most important species in the Zagros forests. It can adapt to unfavorable environmental conditions. To find the suitable ecological conditions for pistachio species, we investigated different environmental factors such as gradient, aspect and position of the slopes through the distribution area. Frequency of pistachio trees in the north and northwest of Qalajeh forests was 36.4% and 1%, respectively. Maximum (32%) and minimum (13%) number of wild pistachio trees were in 30%–60% and >120% slope classes, respectively. The most number and least number of pistachio trees were found at elevations of 1100–1200 m and 2200–2300 m, respectively. The percentage of pistachio canopy coverage was 10. The average percentage of herbaceous coverage was 6.5. Pistachio trees of diameter per hectare at breast height (DBH) >20 cm numbered 5 while average number of pistachio trees was 8 per hectare. Pistachio seedlings per hectare averaged 3.5. The number of other species per ha was 7 trees. The effect of aspect on other species was not significant (p=0.151). Slope class and geographical aspect did not affect regeneration (p=0.275 and p=0.111, respectively). Pistachio plays an important economic role in semi-arid areas, therefore it is essential to protect and restore Qalajeh forests through participation by government and local people.     

Phenotyping a diversity panel of quinoa using UAV-retrieved leaf area index,SPAD-based chlorophyll and a random forest approach

Given its high nutritional value and capacity to grow in harsh environments, quinoa has significant potential to address a range of food security concerns. Monitoring the development of phenotypic traits during field trials can provide insights into the varieties best suited to specific environmental conditions and management strategies. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a promising means for phenotyping and offer the potential for new insights into relative plant performance. During a field trial exploring 141 quinoa accessions, a UAV-based multispectral camera was deployed to retrieve leaf area index (LAI) and SPAD-based chlorophyll across 378 control and 378 saline-irrigated plots using a random forest regression approach based on both individual spectral bands and 25 different vegetation indices (VIs) derived from the multispectral imagery. Results show that most VIs had stronger correlation with the LAI and SPAD-based chlorophyll measurements than individual bands. VIs including the red-edge band had high importance in SPAD-based chlorophyll predictions, while VIs including the near infrared band (but not the red-edge band) improved LAI prediction models. When applied to individual treatments (i.e. control or saline), the models trained using all data (i.e. both control and saline data) achieved high mapping accuracies for LAI (R²?=?0.977–0.980, RMSE?=?0.119–0.167) and SPAD-based chlorophyll (R²?=?0.983–0.986, RMSE?=?2.535–2.861). Overall, the study demonstrated that UAV-based remote sensing is not only useful for retrieving important phenotypic traits of quinoa, but that machine learning models trained on all available measurements can provide robust predictions for abiotic stress experiments.

     

Evaluation of various hCG treatment strategies applied to domesticated pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) broodstock on nest-spawning performance

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of hCG injections on reproductive efficiency by hCG treatment in both male or female brooders of domesticated pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) in the first generation. The study consisted of four treatments based on hormone injection to male or female brooders including T1: both sexes were injected, T2: only females were injected, T3: only males were injected, and T4: without hormone injection. Each treatment which included 14 males and 12 females were introduced to a single rectangular concrete tank with one spawning nest for each mate (a total of 12 nests per tank). Fish were injected by a single dose of 200 IU/kg hCG before transferring to mating tanks. After mating, nests containing fertilized eggs were transferred to circular concrete tanks for incubation and hatching of embryos. According to the results, treatments T3 and T4 did not respond to hormonal stimulation and no fish were spawned. Treatments T1 and T2 showed a positive response to hormone injection. Latency time, fertilization rate, and hatching rate showed no significant difference between T1 and T2 (P?>?0.05), but the number of responded females was significantly higher in T2 (P?<?0.05). The results of the present study demonstrated that it is possible to perform the semi-artificial propagation of domesticated pikeperch via injecting with 200 IU/kg hCG just to females, without the need for hormonal stimulation for males.