Toxicity of hexyl to<Emphasis Type="Italic">F. candida and E. crypticus</Emphasis>

Aim, Scope and Background  Hexyl is along with TNT a possible pollutant of ammunition contaminated soils. To assess the ecological risk of a pollutant biotests are obligatory to gain information of the effects on the habitat function of the contaminated soil. The effect of Hexyl was investigated using the standardised biotests for the springtailFolsomia Candida and the enchytraeidEnchytraeus crypticus. Method  The tests with Hexyl were performed in spiked standard soil (Lufa 2.2). The toxic endpoints were mortality (short-term test, exposure time 7 days) and reproduction rate (long-term test, exposure time 28 days). The effect on the reproduction was further investigated by transferring animals from contaminated soil material onto uncontaminated substrate. Then the number of offspring was determined for the collembola and the cocoon- and hatching rates for the enchytraeid. Results. The mortality of the collembola was not influenced by Hexyl, but the number of offspring was significantly reduced. On the bases of these data the influence of the contaminant on the fertility of the adults itself was investigated. Therefore a reproduction test was performed with adult springtails transferred from contaminated onto uncontaminated soil material. It was shown that the fertility of the adults was not affected by Hexyl indicating a strong lethal effect on the juveniles. In case of the enchytraeid the mortality as well as the reproduction was affected. The surviving enchytraeids turned yellow and rigid in the mortality tests. They were also reduced in size compared to individuals in the uncontaminated control soil material. Thus the cocoon and hatching rates of worms transferred from contaminated soil material onto agar-agar was further investigated. Indeed, the reproduction (both cocoon production and juvenile hatching) was affected by the contaminant. However, the effect was not as strong as might have been suggested by their change in colour and size. A rapid recovery of the worms was observed, too. Conclusion  Hexyl is toxic for the two terrestrial invertebrates, although in comparison to other explosives tested it is less toxic than TNT, but more toxic than the other explosives such as Hexogen (RDX) and Octogen (HMX) or TAT, the end product of the microbial reduction of TNT. So far, all these substances have only been tested with the luminescent bacteriaVibrio fischeri, for which Hexyl and TNT were classified as very toxic to aquatic organisms. With earthworms (Eisenia fetida andEisenia andrei) only TNT, Hexogen and Octogen have been investigated. TNT was also the most toxic of these substances. Outook  Hexyl is one of the main pollutants of ammunition-contaminated sites and has to be considered as a toxic compound. Therefore an assessment of its full ecological impact is necessary and should include tests with animals from different trophic levels as well as biotests with plants and microorganisms.     

Bioactivity and analysis of biophenols recovered from olive mill waste

Biophenols have attracted increasing attention during the past few years due to their biological activities and natural abundance and are potential targets for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Olive mill waste (OMW) is rich in biophenols and typically contains 98% of the total phenols in the olive fruit, making value addition to OMW an attractive enterprise. The phenolic profile of OMW is complex, yet this complexity has not been fully exploited in the valorization of the waste. Most work on the bioactivity of OMW has focused on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The analytical techniques used to identify and quantify active biophenols are also reviewed.     

Functional Properties of Gluten-Free Pasta Produced from Amaranth, Quinoa and Buckwheat

The use of amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat for the production of gluten-free pasta was investigated in the present study. The aim of the work was to produce pasta of good textural quality, in particular, low cooking loss, optimal cooking weight and texture firmness. The results demonstrated that pasta produced from amaranth had decreased texture firmness and cooking time, while pasta from quinoa mainly showed increased cooking loss. In buckwheat pasta the least negative effects were observed. By combination of all three raw materials to one flour blend in the ratio of 60% buckwheat, 20% amaranth and 20% quinoa, dough matrix was improved. After decreasing dough moisture to 30%, addition of an increased amount of egg white powder of 6% and addition of 1.2% emulsifier (distilled monoglycerides) texture firmness as well as cooking quality of gluten-free pasta produced from such a flour blend reached acceptable values comparable to wheat pasta.     

Clinical, Serologic, and Parasitologic Follow-Up after Long-Term Allopurinol Therapy of Dogs Naturally Infected with Leishmania infantum

Canine leishmaniasis usually is treated with antimony compounds, but frequent relapses, adverse effects, high costs, and development of resistance to long-term antimonial therapy emphasize the importance of searching for alternative antileishmanial drugs. Allopurinol was used at a dosage of 10 mg/kg/day PO to treat 10 dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum for a period of 2-24 months. Nine dogs recovered within 2-6 months of chemotherapy, and no relapses were observed during the treatment of up to 20 months. However, 3 of 4 dogs relapsed after treatment was discontinued. These dogs again recovered clinically when therapy was resumed. Parasite-specific immunoglobulin concentrations (IgG2) were high in all dogs before therapy and remained high even in clinically cured dogs during or after therapy. On the other hand, specific IgG1 reactions, which have been shown to be detectable in symptomatic animals, persisted in 7 dogs for long periods after clinical recovery. Three of these dogs relapsed within 2-4 weeks after interrupting therapy. However, 1 dog with no detectable specific IgG1 reaction at the end of therapy did not relapse in the following 4 months. Parasites could be detected in 8 of 9 dogs after clinical improvement by in vitro cultivation or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of lymph node aspirates. In 4 of these dogs, parasites also were detected in blood samples by PCR. Hence, these clinically cured dogs must be regarded as reservoirs of Leishmania and allopurinol cannot be recommended in endemic areas.     

High-resolution Greenland ice core data show abrupt climate change happens in few years

The last two abrupt warmings at the onset of our present warm interglacial period, interrupted by the Younger Dryas cooling event, were investigated at high temporal resolution from the North Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. The deuterium excess, a proxy of Greenland precipitation moisture source, switched mode within 1 to 3 years over these transitions and initiated a more gradual change (over 50 years) of the Greenland air temperature, as recorded by stable water isotopes. The onsets of both abrupt Greenland warmings were slightly preceded by decreasing Greenland dust deposition, reflecting the wetting of Asian deserts. A northern shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone could be the trigger of these abrupt shifts of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, resulting in changes of 2 to 4 kelvin in Greenland moisture source temperature from one year to the next.     

Evaluation of serological tests for detecting tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) antibodies in animals

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in animals is not well understood yet. TBE virus (TBEV) serology in several host species could be valuable for epidemiological analyses in the field as well as for the detection of clinical cases. However, performance and suitability of the available test systems are not well assessed. Therefore, we evaluated two commercial TBEV-ELISA kits in a pilot study and compared them for their suitability in veterinary applications. For this purpose, we tested 163 field collected goat sera and evaluated the results by serum neutralization test (SNT) as "gold standard". Twenty-eight SNT positive sera (17.2%) were detected. The best suited ELISA kit was used for determination of a species-specific cutoff for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, mice, dogs, rabbits and monkeys with defined sera from animals without known or with improbable contact to TBEV. The level of non-specific ELISA results does not only differ between animal species but may also be influenced by the age of the tested animals. The number of sera which tested false positive by ELISA was higher in older than in young sheep. In order to obtain defined polyclonal sera as references, two dogs, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits and pigs each, as well as one horse and 90 mice were immunized four times with a commercially available TBEV vaccine. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that commercial TBEV-ELISA kits are suitable for application in veterinary medicine for both, verification of clinical TBE cases and epidemiological screening. However, positive ELISA results should be verified by SNT. Only a very low number of false negative ELISA-results were found.     

Local-level criteria and indicators: an Aboriginal perspective on sustainable forest management

As tools for improving the sustainability of forest management,criteria and indicator (C&I) frameworks have grown in popularityover the last decade. Such frameworks have been largely derivedfrom top-down approaches to determining critical measures offorest management success. While useful, they fail to capturemany C&I of critical importance to local populations, whoexperience forest management strategies first hand and who havetheir own definitions of sustainability. Using archival materials,our research begins to identify one First Nation's forest valuesand compares these local-level C&I with three well-knownC&I frameworks for sustainable forestry. We demonstratethat local-level definitions can provide additional C&I,as well as additional levels of detail to C&I that theyshare with the national and international frameworks. Both arecrucial to developing strategies for sustainable managementthat meet local as well as broader needs and desires.     

An Improved In Vitro Culture Procedure for Embryoids Derived from Isolated Microspores of Rape (Brassica napus L.)

An in vitro culture technique was developed that allowed the effective culturing of embryos derived from isolated microspores of rape (Brassica napus L.). The method consists of the use of microspores from buds at well-defined development stages, the use of a double-layer culture medium containing activated charcoal and the incubation of embryoids in culture flasks on a shaker. These culture modifications, together with the growing of embryoids on solid medium with high agar concentration, resulted in a high frequency of embryoids growing directly into plants.