Comparative antiviral and proviral factors in semen and vaccines for preventing viral dissemination from the male reproductive tract and semen

Many animal and human viruses are disseminated via semen, but there is little information on how to measure and stimulate protective antiviral immunity in the male reproductive tract and semen. This information is important since successful vaccination through the stimulation of protective immune responses could be a mechanism to prevent viral contamination of semen and subsequent wide spread viral dissemination. Even control of the infection by shortening the duration of viral shedding and lowering the viral load in semen would lessen the chances of viral dissemination through this route. This review will highlight the current knowledge of immunity in the male reproductive tract and summarize 'antiviral' as well as 'proviral' factors in semen such as cytokines, cells, antibodies, antimicrobial peptides, enzymes, hormones and growth factors. These factors must provide a fine balance between 'immunosuppression' in semen needed to protect sperm viability and 'immunocompetency' to prevent pathogen contamination. The review will also suggest continuing challenges to researchers for preventing viral dissemination via semen and propose a large animal model for continued research in this important area.     

Artificial radionuclides in waters of the lower section of the river Ebro (Northeast Spain)

The river Ebro, in Northeast Spain,discharges into the Mediterranean Sea after flowingthrough several large cities and agricultural, miningand industrial areas. The Ascó nuclear power plant(NPP) is located in the lower river section andcomprises two pressurised-water reactor (PWR) units,from which low-level liquid radioactive waste isreleased to river waters under authority control.During the period 1989 to 1993, we carried out 29sampling campaigns in order to determine ³H,⁹⁰Sr, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, ²³⁸Pu and^239,240Pu in Ebro river waters at differentlocations, both upstream and downstream from theAscó NPP. ³H, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Csactivities showed large variability as they rangedfrom <1.4 to 117±3 Bq L^-1, <0.27 to22±1 mBq L^-1 and <0.36 to 35±1mBq L^-1, respectively. This behaviour, especiallyremarkable for tritium, was due to the detection oftank releases travelling downstream. Thecharacteristic NPP ¹³⁴Cs/¹³⁷Cs ratio wasfound to be 0.61±0.02 (N = 22). In the estuarinearea, ¹³⁷Cs traces from Mediterranean waters wereobserved and relatively enhanced tritium activitiesmight possibly be present due to the accumulation ofactivity in the estuary. ⁹⁰Sr and ^239,240Puactivities were homogeneous both in respect to timeand space, showing mean activities 6.9±0.2 mBq L^-1 (N = 10) and 1.36±0.10 mBq m^-3 (N = 3), respectively. These levels couldonly be attributed to nuclear weapons fallout leachedby continental waters, as the impact from the plantappears to be negligible and no other sources arepresent in the area.     

M.T. Arts and B.C. Wainman: Lipids in Freshwater Ecosystems

Water, Air, &; Soil Pollution -     

From common to rare: The case of the Mediterranean common dolphin

Although overfishing has been recognized as responsible for the decline of major fish stocks, it has been less easy to demonstrate its indirect and detrimental effects on marine mammals, particularly dolphins. Competition with fisheries for the same food resources has been hypothesized to have led to the decline of several species of dolphins, including the endangered Mediterranean short-beaked common dolphin. Based on an ecosystem model for the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, a former hotspot for common dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea, we investigated the effect of increasing fishing effort on common dolphins, its prey and on marine biodiversity and we evaluated the outcomes of different fisheries closures (1 – closure of the purse seine fishery, 2 – closure of purse seine, trawl and beach seine fisheries, 3 – entire area closed to fisheries) ran between the years 2011 and 2030. Our results showed that local fisheries have negatively impacted the marine biodiversity of the ecosystem causing sharp declines of common dolphins and major fish stocks and weakening the robustness of the marine food web. The implementation of fisheries closures would gradually recover fish stocks, while common dolphins would increase more pronouncedly only if the study area was to be closed to all fisheries. As shown in this study, common dolphins have reflected ecosystem changes and degradation over time. Ensuring the survival of dolphin populations is thereby essential to enhance marine ecosystems and ensure sustainable fishing.     

Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Salinity Stress on Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) and Mungbean (Vigna Radiata (L.) Wilczek) Grown in a Controlled Environment

As water for irrigation purposes becomes increasingly scarce because of climate change and population growth, there is growing interest in regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) as a way to improve efficiency of water usage and farm productivity in arid and semi‐arid areas. Salinity is also becoming an important problem in these same regions. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of RDI and salt stress on two legumes crops, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek); previous work showed contrasting responses to RDI by these two crops under field conditions. The seed and biomass yields of both crops were reduced as a result of increasing water deficit stress; however, mungbean was able to maintain the same proportion of its biomass in reproductive structures and maintain its harvest index under stress, whereas common bean’s decreased. In addition, photosynthesis in mungbean was higher than in common bean and higher at the same levels of transpiration. Finally, salinity stress did not affect the water potential, harvest index or the specific leaf weight of either crop. There were no interactions between salinity and crops or RDI levels, which suggest that the two crops do not differ in their response to salinity stress, and that RDI levels do not modify this response.     

Legume Production and Irrigation Strategies in the Aral Sea Basin: Yield,Yield Components,Water Relations and Crop Development of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

With world population expected to reach 9.2 billion people by 2050, improved irrigation methods will be needed to increase the productivity of agricultural land and improve food supply worldwide. The objective of this work was to examine the effect of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) and alternate furrow irrigation (AFI) on the yield and yield components of two legume species (common bean and mungbean) produced as a second crop following winter wheat in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Water relations and crop development were also examined. The research was conducted during two successive growing seasons in the Fergana valley. Production of mungbean using the severe stress RDI treatment in combination with AFI resulted in the highest yields with the lowest quantity of applied water in 2004. In addition, yields of common bean in the moderate stress treatment were not different from the recommended schedule, although irrigation events were decreased from 4 to 2. AFI did not reduce yields, and it did not interact with RDI to reduce yields further. In general, mungbean yields were higher than those of common bean. The combination of AFI and RDI can allow legume production with reduced water inputs.     

Evaluation of Fatty Acid Enrichment of Live Food for Yellowtail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus Larvae

Abstract— The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of varying dietary levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in Live prey on the standard length, specific growth rate, survival, and fatty acid composition of yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus larvae. Two experiments were conducted utilizing rotifers and Artemiu enriched with live algae ( Isochrysis galbana or Nannochloris oculata ) or commercial preparations (Aquagrow Advantage, Aquagrow Advantage plus Aquagrow arachidonic acid, and Algarnac 2000). Larval growth and fatty acid composition were evaluated during the rotifer, B rachionus plicatilis , and Artemia feeding periods and survival rates were calculated at the termination of each trial (18 or 20 d after hatching). In general, prey enriched with the commercial products contained higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, n-3 HUFA, and × HUFA than those enriched with live algae. The addition of arachidonic acid to the Aquagrow Advantage enrichment medium significantly increased the amount of this fatty acid in rotifers but not in Artemia . At the end of the growth trials, larval standard length was highest when larvae were fed prey enriched with I. galbanu (6.4 mm) or commercial preparations (6.7–7.1 mm) versus N. oculatu (5.2 mm). Furthermore, larvae fed prey enriched with commercial preparations had significantly ( P < 0.05) higher survival rates (2.2-5.9%) than those fed prey enriched with live algae (1.1-1.4%). These results suggest that yellowtail snapper larvae require dietary levels of HUFA beyond those achieved by enriching prey with live N. oculata or I. galbana