Human lymphocyte antigen reactivity modified by neuraminidase

Human lymphocytes treated with neuraminidase (from Vibrio cholera) are more susceptible to lysis with antiserums directed against HL-A antigens in the cytotoxicity test than are the corresponding cells incubated in buffer. Enzymetreated cells are also lysed by antibodies other than those directed against HL-A, but control cells are not. The extra sensitivity to antibody disappears after 2 to 6 days in tissue culture.     

Subsoiling effects on four pine seed orchard soils

Short- and long-term effects of subsoiling four soils were closely related to variations in soil structure and consistence. Penetration resistance decreased when shear failure was accomplished by fracturing. Plastic failure in a near saturated, clayey subsoil did not affect penetration resistance. Penetration resistance of a firm, clayey subsoil with weak to moderately strong structure was lower than presubsoiling levels 2 years after subsoiling. In soils with strong structure, fracturing may occur between peds, which in time settle back to their approximate original configuration. More intra-pedal fracturing probably occurs in soils with weaker structure, thus reducing average ped size and increasing interpedal macropore volume, even after settling. Subsoiling of a loose, sandy soil decreased penetration resistance for at least 4 months, but after 4 years no residual effect was found.Only in the sandy soil did subsoiling have any noticeable effect on soil moisture content. Vertical filling of the blade and mole channels with A1 horizon material resulted in increased moisture content in the mole channel 4 months after subsoiling. After 4 years, moisture content in the A1 horizon remained higher in the vicinity of the channel. This may be due to increased upward movement of water through the more highly organic A1 horizon material that had infiltrated along the blade channel.     

Adsorption of systemic fungicides and a herbicide by some components of plant tissues,in relation to some physicochemical properties of the pesticides

Lignin, an important component of plant tissues, adsorbed five systemic fungicides and one herbicide (carbendazim, triadimefon, nuarimol, triarimol, fenarimol and fluometuron) more strongly than bovine serum albumin, cellulose, ethylcellulose or sodium polygalacturonate. Significant correlations were found between the extent of the adsorption of the pesticides on the lignins extracted from three different plant species, and the log Poet (Poet is the octan-1-ol/water partition coefficient) of the compounds. The more lipophilic fungicides triarimol and fenarimol (log Poet about 2.6) were adsorbed to the greatest extent. Fluometuron, triadimefon and nuarimol (log Poet about 2.0) were moderately adsorbed, whereas carbendazim with the lowest log Poet (1.34 at pH 5.0), was adsorbed more than expected from its Poet value. The anomaly of carbendazim is discussed; it is ascribed to it's partial protonation at pH 5.0, whereas the other pesticides were non-ionised.     

Fine-scale effects of habitat loss and fragmentation despite large-scale gene flow for some regionally declining woodland bird species

Habitat loss and associated fragmentation effects are well-recognised threats to biodiversity. Loss of functional connectivity (mobility, gene flow and demographic continuity) could result in population decline in altered habitat, because smaller, isolated populations are more vulnerable to extinction. We tested whether substantial habitat reduction plus fragmentation is associated with reduced gene flow in three ??decliner?? woodland-dependent bird species (eastern yellow robin, weebill and spotted pardalote) identified in earlier work to have declined disproportionately in heavily fragmented landscapes in the Box-Ironbark forest region in north-central Victoria, Australia. For these three decliners, and one ??tolerant?? species (striated pardalote), we compared patterns of genetic diversity, relatedness, effective population size, sex-ratios and genic (allele frequency) differentiation among landscapes of different total tree cover, identified population subdivision at the regional scale, and explored fine-scale genotypic (individual-based genetic signature) structure. Unexpectedly high genetic connectivity across the study region was detected for ??decliner?? and ??tolerant?? species. Power analysis simulations suggest that moderate reductions in gene flow should have been detectable. However, there was evidence of local negative effects of reduced habitat extent and structural connectivity: slightly lower effective population sizes, lower genetic diversity, higher within-site relatedness and altered sex-ratios (for weebill and eastern yellow robin) in 10 × 10?km ??landscapes?? with low vegetation cover. We conclude that reduced structural connectivity in the Box-Ironbark ecosystem may still allow sufficient gene flow to avoid the harmful effects of inbreeding in our study species. Although there may still be negative consequences of fragmentation for demographic connectivity, the high genetic connectivity of mobile bird species in this system suggests that reconnecting isolated habitat patches may be less important than increasing habitat extent and/or quality if these need to be traded off.     

Mandibular degloving injury in an Arabian filly

A 6-month-old Arabian filly escaped its handler while being led and slipped on pavement. The referring veterinarian recognized severe, soft tissue damage to the filly’s lower jaw and referred the filly to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for surgical management.     

Effect of dietary energy source and level on serum growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, growth and body composition in beef heifers

Effects of fiber vs starch energy supplements on endogenous growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and animal performance from weaning to breeding age were evaluated in 18, 9-mo-old beef heifers. Heifers had ad libitum access to wheat silage plus an average daily supplement intake of 1) 4.08 kg corn-soybean meal (SBM) (high energy-starch, HS), 2) 4.54 kg soyhulls (SH)-SBM (high energy-fiber, HF) or 3) 1.36 kg SH-SBM (low energy-fiber, LE). Serum samples were collected via jugular puncture every 10 d and were analyzed for IGF-1 by RIA. On d 45 and d 176, four heifers per treatment were fasted 18 h and serial blood samples collected via jugular cannulas every 15 min for 6.5 h. Arginine (.5 g/kg BW) was administered intravenously (ARG) to induce release of GH, and four additional samples of blood were collected. Samples were analyzed by RIA for GH. Mean fasted GH (6.4 +/- .4, 8.3 +/- .4 and 13.8 +/- .4 ng/ml for HS, HF and LE, respectively) varied with energy source and level (P less than .01). Mean GH following ARG was higher (P less than .01) in heifers receiving LE (46.2 +/- 4.7) than in those receiving HS and HF (23.5 +/- 4.4 and 24.1 +/- 4.6 ng/ml). Basal GH concentration and peak amplitude were higher (P less than .05) in LE than in HS and HF treatments. Diet did not influence number or frequency of GH peaks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Alternaria alternata in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cv. Acala: Effects on gas exchange,yield components and yield accumulation

The effect ofAlternaria alternata on gas exchange proceses, on total yield and on yield components in cottonGossypium hirsutum cv. Acala SJ-2, was examined under field conditions. Variations in disease severity levels were achieved by using three fungicide treatments (Fentin Acetate). Disease developed more rapidly on the upper canopy layer (>661 cm height) than on lower ones. Infections were not accompanied by leaf shedding. The main effect of the disease was a reduction on bolls' number. A significant increase in seedcotton and lint yield, as compared to the untreated control, was achieved by applying fungicides. It was found that omitting early and late applications was not followed by significant yield reduction. Alternaria leaf spot reduced photosynthetic rate more and transpiration rate less, than could be explained by the extent of infected leaf area alone.Samenvatting Het effect vanAlternaria alternata op fotosynthese en transpiratie, opbrengstcomponenten en totale opbrengst bij katoen (Gossypium hirsutum L.) werd onderzocht onder veldomstandigheden. Verschillen in aantastingsniveaus werden verkregen door fungicide (fentin acetaat) behandelingen. De ziekte ontwikkelde zich het snelst boven in het gewas (> 60 cm). Infectie ging niet gepaard met bladval. Het belangrijkste effect van de ziekte vormde een afname van het aantal vruchtdozen (bolls). Een significante toename van zaadkatoen (seedcottton) en van vezels (lint) ten opzichte van de onbehandelde controle werd verkregen door toediening van fungiciden. Achterwege laten van vroege en late bestrijdingen had geen significante opbrenstverlaging tot gevolg.A. alternata verlaagde de fotosynthesesnelheid meer en de transpiratiesnelheid minder dan verklaard kon worden uit de geïnfecteerde oppervlakte van het blad.     

Comment on "Computational improvements reveal great bacterial diversity and high metal toxicity in soil"

Gans et al. (Reports, 26 August 2005, p. 1387) provided an estimate of soil bacterial species richness two orders of magnitude greater than previously reported values. Using a re-derived mathematical model, we reanalyzed the data and found that the statistical error exceeds the estimate by a factor of 26. We also note two potential sources of error in the experimental data collection and measurement procedures.