Review: The strobilurin fungicides

The original article to which this Correction refers was published in Pest Management Science 58 (7): 649–662 (2002).Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of forage type and gibberellic acid on nitrate leaching losses

Nitrogen (N) leaching from soil into water is a significant concern for intensively grazed forage‐based systems because it can cause a decline in water quality and is a risk to human health. Urine patches from grazing animals are the main source of this N. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect that forage type and gibberellic acid (GA) application had on N leaching and herbage N uptake from urine patches on perennial ryegrass–white clover (RGWC), Italian ryegrass and lucerne. A lysimeter study was conducted over 17 months to measure herbage growth, N uptake and N loss to water beneath each of the three forage types with the following treatments: control, urine (700 kg N/ha) and urine with GA (8 g GA active ingredient/ha). Compared with RGWC (205 kg N/ha), N leaching losses were 35.3% lower from Italian ryegrass (133 kg N/ha) and 98.5% higher from lucerne (407 kg N/ha). These differences in leaching loss are likely to be due to winter plant growth and N uptake. During the winter months, Italian ryegrass had higher N uptake, whereas lucerne had lower N uptake, compared with RGWC. The application of GA had no effect on N leaching losses, DM yield or N uptake of forage treated with 700 kg N/ha urine.     

陕西关中地区小麦田禾谷缢管蚜对7种杀虫剂的抗性监测

为明确陕西关中地区麦蚜田间种群对杀虫剂的抗药性现状,采用浸叶法测定了兴平、礼泉、凤翔、岐山、扶风地区麦田禾谷缢管蚜种群对高效氯氰菊酯、溴氰菊酯、吡虫啉、异丙威、毒死蜱、阿维菌素、氟啶虫胺腈等7种杀虫剂的抗性水平。结果表明,禾谷缢管蚜对高效氯氰菊酯的抗性水平最高,其中凤翔种群对高效氯氰菊酯达到高水平抗性(抗性倍数为72.5),岐山和扶风种群对该药产生中等水平抗性(抗性倍数分别为31.4、29.9);5个地区的禾谷缢管蚜对溴氰菊酯、吡虫啉、毒死蜱、异丙威和阿维菌素的抗性水平较低,表现为敏感、敏感性下降或者低抗性;5个地区的试虫对氟啶虫胺腈均表现为敏感。分析认为,高效氯氰菊酯不适合用于关中地区禾谷缢管蚜防治,氟啶虫胺腈作为一种新型杀虫剂,可以在该虫防治中推广使用,吡虫啉、阿维菌素等其他几种杀虫剂可以在禾谷缢管蚜的防治中交替使用。     

基于优化Transformer网络的绿色目标果实高效检测模型

果园环境中,检测目标果实易受复杂背景、果实姿态和颜色等因素影响,为提高绿色目标果实检测的精度与效率,满足果园智能测产和自动化采摘要求,本研究针对不同光照环境和果实姿态,提出一种适于样本数量不足的绿色目标果实高效检测模型。该模型采用优化Transformer结构,首先借助卷积神经网络(Convolutional Neural Network,CNN)网络提取图像特征;然后输入编码-解码器生成一组目标果实预测框,最后通过前馈神经网络(Feed-forward Network,FFN)结构预测检测结果。在训练过程中,引入重采样法扩充样本数量,解决样本数量不足问题;引入迁移学习,加速网络收敛。分别制作苹果、柿子数据集用于模型训练。试验结果表明,经迁移学习后该模型训练效率大幅提高;与流行的目标检测模型相比,优化后的模型在检测绿色柿子与绿色苹果时,精度分别为93.27%和91.35%。该方法可为其他果蔬绿色目标检测提供理论借鉴。     

Bayesian methods for estimating pathogen prevalence within groups of animals from faecal-pat sampling

Pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter spp. have been implicated in outbreaks of food poisoning in the UK and elsewhere. Domestic animals and wildlife are important reservoirs for both of these agents, and cross-contamination from faeces is believed to be responsible for many human outbreaks. Appropriate parameterisation of quantitative microbial-risk models requires representative data at all levels of the food chain. Our focus in this paper is on the early stages of the food chain-specifically, sampling issues which arise at the farm level. We estimated animal–pathogen prevalence from faecal-pat samples using a Bayesian method which reflected the uncertainties inherent in the animal-level prevalence estimates. (Note that prevalence here refers to the percentage of animals shedding the bacteria of interest). The method offers more flexibility than traditional, classical approaches: it allows the incorporation of prior belief, and permits the computation of a variety of distributional and numerical summaries, analogues of which often are not available through a classical framework. The Bayesian technique is illustrated with a number of examples reflecting the effects of a diversity of assumptions about the underlying processes. The technique appears to be both robust and flexible, and is useful when defecation rates in infected and uninfected groups are unequal, where population size is uncertain, and also where the microbiological-test sensitivity is imperfect. We also investigated the determination of the sample size necessary for determining animal-level prevalence from pat samples to within a pre-specified degree of accuracy.     

The increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada

There is an increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada due to range expansion of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. The objectives of this article are to i) raise public awareness with the help of veterinarians on the emerging and expanding risk of Lyme disease across Canada, ii) review the key clinical features of Lyme disease in dogs, and iii) provide recommendations for veterinarians on the management of Lyme disease in dogs.     

Population pharmacokinetics of methadone hydrochloride after a single intramuscular administration in adult Japanese sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon)

ObjectiveTo assess the population pharmacokinetics of methadone in deer.Study designProspective non-randomized experimental trial.AnimalsTwelve healthy adult sika deer (nine males and three females).MethodsDeer received intramuscular administration of racemic methadone hydrochloride at 0.5 mg kg⁻¹ or 1 mg kg⁻¹. Plasma methadone and its metabolite 2-Ethylidene-1,5-Dimethyl-3,3-Diphenyl-Pyrolidine (EDDP) concentrations were determined by validated liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry methods, at times 0, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours. Population pharmacokinetics analysis was undertaken using a non-linear mixed effects modelling (NONMEM).ResultsA two-compartment linear disposition model best described observed time-concentration profiles of methadone and EDDP. Population parameter estimates of methadone were elimination clearance (17.3 L hour⁻¹), metabolic clearance (34.6 L hour⁻¹), volume of distribution of compartment 1 (216.0 L) and volume of distribution of compartment 2 (384.0 L). Population parameter estimates of EDDP were elimination clearance (121.0 L hour⁻¹), volume of distribution of compartment 3 (1.08 L) and volume of distribution of compartment 4 (499.5 L). The total clearance and total volume of distribution of methadone and EDDP were 51.9 L hour⁻¹, 121.0 L hour ⁻¹, 600.0 L and 500.6 L, respectively. The methadone terminal elimination half-life was 8.19 hours. No adverse effects were observed after methadone administration.Conclusions and Clinical relevanceFollowing intramuscular injection, methadone was characterized by a large total volume of distribution, high systemic clearance and intermediate terminal half-life in sika deer.     

Large-scale historical afforestation failure with Pinus cembra in the Swiss Prealps

New Forests - Between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, large-scale afforestation projects were undertaken in the Swiss Prealps. The Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.), an emblematic...     

Marennine,Promising Blue Pigments from a Widespread Haslea Diatom Species Complex

In diatoms, the main photosynthetic pigments are chlorophylls a and c, fucoxanthin, diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin. The marine pennate diatom Haslea ostrearia has long been known for producing, in addition to these generic pigments, a water-soluble blue pigment, marennine. This pigment, responsible for the greening of oysters in western France, presents different biological activities: allelopathic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and growth-inhibiting. A method to extract and purify marennine has been developed, but its chemical structure could hitherto not be resolved. For decades, H. ostrearia was the only organism known to produce marennine, and can be found worldwide. Our knowledge about H. ostrearia-like diatom biodiversity has recently been extended with the discovery of several new species of blue diatoms, the recently described H. karadagensis, H. silbo sp. inedit. and H. provincialis sp. inedit. These blue diatoms produce different marennine-like pigments, which belong to the same chemical family and present similar biological activities. Aside from being a potential source of natural blue pigments, H. ostrearia-like diatoms thus present a commercial potential for aquaculture, cosmetics, food and health industries.     

Structure of PTB bound to RNA: specific binding and implications for splicing regulation

The polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) is a 58-kilodalton RNA binding protein involved in multiple aspects of messenger RNA metabolism, including the repression of alternative exons. We have determined the solution structures of the four RNA binding domains (RBDs) of PTB, each bound to a CUCUCU oligonucleotide. Each RBD binds RNA with a different binding specificity. RBD3 and RBD4 interact, resulting in an antiparallel orientation of their bound RNAs. Thus, PTB will induce RNA looping when bound to two separated pyrimidine tracts within the same RNA. This leads to structural models for how PTB functions as an alternative-splicing repressor.