Pathologic changes in the lungs of deer spontaneously infected with nematodes from the Protostrongylidae family]

Lungs of 30 animals of the red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) attacked by parasitic helminths were submitted to a histological examination, and the changes which were caused by the nematodes of Protostrongylidae family were estimated. The lungworm Varestrongylus sagittatus (Mueller, 1891) creates hatching tubercles of a dark-red or yellow-green and even ochre colour. The lobular catarrhal bronchopneumonia is a histological correlate. In hatching tubercles there are located adult nematodes, ova of 46 x 27 microns and larvae of the 1st stage. For the infection of the Elaphostrongylus cervi nematodes (Cameron, 1931), the typical changes are those of the character of disseminated interstitial pneumonia. In the pulmonary tissue affected in such a way, there are numerous haemorrhages often visible microscopically. In the capillaries of interalveolar septa there are ova of E. cervi that reach up to 83 microns in dependence on the degree of their development and in alveoli there are larvae of the 1st stage. Adults do not occur in lungs.     

Study of force distribution in the citrus tree canopy during harvest using a continuous canopy shaker

Mechanical harvesting is increasingly being employed in the citrus industry of Florida because of the faster and efficient harvesting it provides with comparatively lower cost when compared to manual harvesting. Continuous canopy shakers are the only mechanical harvesters commercially used in Florida. The main concerns regarding the use of these machines are damage to tree and detrimental effect on next year yield. Because of these concerns, only a very low percentage (6-7%) of the acreage is being harvested mechanically. To improve these machines and address the growers’ concerns, experiments were conducted to study the force and acceleration distribution on the tree branches and fruits. The acceleration was measured at different locations in the canopy using tri-axis accelerometers attached to the branch and data was recorded using ZigBee^® transceivers. The distribution of force and acceleration along an individual branch in trees of two different sizes were studied at three different tine angles and frequencies of the shaker. Both distributions were modeled using the Curve Fitting Toolbox™ of Matlab^®. The results suggested that the force was higher for the fruits inside the canopy than the ones at the edges. It was also observed that the maximum force required to remove the fruit mechanically was only 18% of the traditionally measured fruit detachment force. The force along the branch was found to be Gaussian in nature and the acceleration along the branch was found to be exponential.     

Identification of candidate genes for blood metabolites in Iranian chickens using a genome-wide association study

1. In order to identify loci associated with metabolic traits, a genome-wide association study was carried out in a chicken F2 population derived from a reciprocal cross between Iranian Urmia indigenous chickens and Arian broiler line using Illumina 60K Chicken single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BeadChip.

2. Six traits including plasma level of triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol (Chol), glucose (Glu), total protein, albumin (Alb) and globulin (Glo) were recorded. The association between the identified SNPs and metabolic traits was estimated by general linear model (GLM) and compressed mixed linear model (CMLM).

3. A total of 38 SNPs were identified at the genome-wide significant and suggestive levels, of which 5 SNPs reached a 5% Bonferroni genome-wide significance (P < 2.58E-6) for TG, Alb and Glo through CMLM, and 21 SNPs were significantly associated with TG, Chol, Glu, Alb and Glo through GLM.

4. Gene ontology showed that these SNPs were located within or near the candidate genes responsible for metabolic traits.

5. In conclusion, the identified candidate genes provided novel information for molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic traits. These findings are important in marker-assisted selection in the chicken breeding scheme.     

Serum constituents analyses in dairy cows: effects of duration and temperature of the storage of clotted blood

We studied the effects of storage time and temperature of clotted whole blood on the amounts of 17 analytes in bovine blood serum. Serum separated after blood was allowed to stand for 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24h at room temperature or on ice. Results obtained for phosphorous, magnesium, urea, cholesterol, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), triglyceride, albumin, total protein and gamma-glutamyletransferase (GGT) were not influenced by storage at room temperature or on ice for as long as 24h. Duration of the clotted whole blood storage had a significant effect on calcium, glucose concentrations, creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and temperature had a significant effect on glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, CK and bilirubin concentrations.     

The effect of in planta TIBA and proline treatment on somatic embryogenesis of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.)

The effect of in planta TIBA and L-proline onin vitro seedlings and cell culture of sugar beet was investigated. Sterilized seeds were grownin vitro on 1/2 MS medium supplemented with 0 or3 mg/l TIBA. Calli obtained on young leaves cultured on MS medium containing 1 mg/l BAP, were used for the initiation of cell suspension cultures using MS basal composition supplemented with 0 or 50 mM proline. Aliquots of 1 ml from cell suspension culture were inoculated onto the first somatic embryo induction MS medium containing TIBA 0.5 mg/l, BAP 1.0 mg/l, and proline at 0 or 50 mM. After three weeks of culture, embryogenic calli were transferred to the second embryo induction medium supplemented with NAA and BAP at 0.2 and 0.5 mg/l, respectively. The frequency of somatic embryos of calli obtained from in plantaTIBA together with proline treatments on average was20 which was higher than that of the other treatments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Response of baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) seedlings to liming and NPK application

The definition of nitrogen doses for baru species becomes necessary because each forest species responds differently to nitrogen fertilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate baru seedlings' response to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilization and liming. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in a randomized blocks design, arranged in a 5 × 2 factorial scheme, being the factors consisted of five doses of nitrogen in covering (0, 75, 150, 225, and 300 mg dm^?3) and substrate with and without limestone and PK, with four replications. At 60 days after transplanting, the plant height, stem diameter, number of leaflets, leaf area, shoot dry mass, chlorophyll content, N content in the leaves, root length, root volume, root dry mass, height/stem diameter ratio, shoot dry mass/root dry mass ratio, and Dickson quality index were evaluated. The substrate with liming influences positively the root dry mass. Nitrogen and PK fertilization promote increase in the relative chlorophyll content and N concentration in the leaves.     

Functionalization of graphene nanosheets and its dispersion in PMMA/PEO blend: Thermal,electrical, morphological and rheological analyses

Graphene nanoplatelet (GnP) was chemically functionalized by amine groups for improvement of compatibility in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blend. PMMA/PEO (90/10) nanocomposites with non-functionalized GnP and functionalized GnP (FGnP) were prepared by solution casting method. Successful grafting of amine groups on the GnP surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the dispersion state of FGnP was better than that of GnP in PMMA/PEO nanocomposites. The effects of FGnP and GnP on rheological, thermal and electrical properties of PMMA/PEO nanocomposites were investigated by various methods. The results indicated that the FGnP-based nanocomposites had higher storage modulus, glass transition temperature and thermal stability as compared to the GnP-based nanocomposites. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites with FGnP was better than that of GnP-based nanocomposites. The higher conductivity was attributed to homogeneous and well dispersion state of FGnP in PMMA/PEO nanocomposites.     

柑橘黄龙病热处理防治技术研究进展

柑橘黄龙病正在中国、巴西和美国等地广泛传播,急需快速、有效的田间防治技术。热水和湿热空气处理对柑橘病苗和嫁接枝条有脱毒作用,在温室环境中对病苗木进行光照热疗,可以减少黄龙病病菌数量,促进其健康生长并有效延长产果寿命。该文针对柑橘黄龙病防治技术的研究现状,综述了基因改良育种、苗木脱毒、化学防治、物理防治和生物防治等方法,结合热疗法在微生物和昆虫杀灭中的广泛应用,分析了田间热处理防治技术研究中存在的主要问题,提出了研究柑橘黄龙病病菌热处理温度阈值和对应时间、建立田间黄龙病病情快速诊断和热处理防治效果评价体系、研究热处理对黄龙病病菌抑制和消杀机理以及不同传热介质在柑橘树体的传热过程和特性、建立黄龙病田间快速热处理系统、研究黄龙病综合防治方法等建议,可为进一步研究柑橘黄龙病田间防治技术提供参考。     

Development of a yield monitoring system for citrus mechanical harvesting machines

A load cell based yield monitoring system was developed for the Oxbo citrus mechanical harvesting machines. The yield monitoring system consisted of a GPS receiver, a mass flow sensor and data processing and storage units. The mass flow sensor consisted of four load cells attached to a carbon-fiber plate which sensed the impact force created by the oranges hitting the plate. A mathematical model was developed to relate the impact force to fruit mass. Laboratory tests were conducted on a test rig that replicated the flow of oranges to measure the accuracy of the system under a controlled environment. The system performed very well under laboratory conditions (R ² = 0.99 and an average error of 3.3%). In addition, a field test was conducted in a citrus orchard in Florida to evaluate the performance of the system under field conditions. Of the 72 rows used in the field test, the first 10 rows were used to calibrate the computed weight. A correlation of R ² = 0.97 between the actual weight and the computed weight was found from the field data with an average error of 7.81%.