Resistance and resilience of soil biological indicators: A case study with multi-walled carbon nanotube

Soil ecosystem is experiencing stresses due to climate change, and soil inhabitants try to demonstrate their inherent resistance and resilience against those stresses. Application of nanomaterials as agricultural inputs could bring shifts in resistance and resilience patterns of soil microbes and associated enzymes, especially under short-term heat stress. With this background, the impacts of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the resistance and resilience of soil biological indicators were evaluated. An incubation experiment was conducted with varied MWCNT concentrations (0, 50, 100, 250, and 500 mg kg^-1 soil) for 90 d after 24-h heat stress at 48 ±2 ℃ to assess the impacts of MWCNT on soil enzyme activities and microbial populations vis-à-vis their resistance and resilience indices under short-term exposure to heat stress. Enzyme activities were reduced after exposure to heat stress. Resistance indices of enzyme activities were enhanced by MWCNT application on day 1 after heat stress, whereas there was no recovery of enzyme activities after 90-d incubation. Like soil enzyme activities, resistance index values of soil microbial populations followed the similar trend and were improved by MWCNT application. Multi-walled carbon nanotube has the potential to improve resistance indices of soil enzyme activities and microbial populations under heat stress, although they could not recover to their original state during periodical incubation after heat stress. This study helps to understand the relative changes of biological indicators under MWCNT and their ability to withstand heat stress.     

Role of biotechnology in forest disease research and management in Canada: synthesis1

This article describes the most important biotechnological research in major tree diseases of Canadian forests and discusses the role of biotechnology in the management of forest diseases. A brief information on Canada's forest resources and the damage caused by these diseases is also included.     

Armillaria root rot: Artificial inoculation and development of the disease in greenhouse1

Inoculation of five softwood provenances have revealed that they vary considerably with regard to their percent infection, percent mortality, severity of disease symptoms and progress of infection. Sitka spruce was the most susceptible species and served as a better substrate for further development of mycelium and rhizomorphs as compared to Norway and black spruces and Scots pine. The fungus always entered through uninjured surface of root collar and/or roots, the latter with more than 2 mm diameter. There was a conspicuous reduction m the total and annual growth in height in A. mellea-infected seedlings.     

Pharmacokinetics following intravenous administration and pharmacodynamics of cefquinome in buffalo calves

Disposition following single intravenous injection (2 mg/kg) and pharmacodynamics of cefquinome were investigated in buffalo calves 6–8 months of age. Drug levels in plasma were estimated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The plasma concentration–time profile following intravenous administration was best described by a two-compartment open model. Rapid distribution of cefquinome was evident from the short distribution half-life (t _½α ?=?0.36?±?0.01 h), and small apparent volume of distribution (Vd_area?=?0.31?±?0.008 L/kg) indicated limited drug distribution in buffalo calves. The values of area under plasma concentration–time curve, elimination half-life (t _½β ), total body clearance (Cl_B), and mean residence time were 32.9?±?0.56 μg·h/mL, 3.56?±?0.05 h, 60.9?±?1.09 mL/h/kg, and 4.24?±?0.09 h, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration of cefquinome were 0.035–0.07 and 0.05–0.09 μg/mL, respectively. A single intravenous injection of 2 mg/kg may be effective to maintain the MIC up to 12 h in buffalo calves against the pathogens for which cefquinome is indicated.     

Remediation of Fly Ash Dumpsites Through Bioenergy Crop Plantation and Generation: A Review

Utilization of fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion in thermal power plants, is a sustainable use of waste for power generation. Discarding fly ash as waste in landfills/ash ponds may not only be regarded as a loss of valuable land and essential nutrients, but also pose a significant health hazard due to fine air-borne particles and leaching of heavy metals. The presence of essential macro- and micronutrients and its porosity make fly ash an excellent soil amendment for plant growth as an organic nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) supplementation. As harmful heavy metals make fly ash unsafe for agronomy, bioenergy crop plantation and energy generation from different thermochemical conversions of the biomass would be an ideal method for coal fly ash utilization through which carbon-neutral fuel can be generated from fossil fuel, thus reducing climate change impact. This review summarizes the development of bioenergy plantation and silviculture at fly ash dumpsites with an integrated phyto-bio-rhizo-mycoremediation approach and assesses utilization of the valuable biomass for thermal energy, electricity, and biofuel generation with inclusion of a SWOT analysis (a strategic technique typically used to help identify the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat). Bioenergy crop production through integrated phytomanagement can generate billions of dollars of wealth from waste and provides a sustainable solution for fly ash management, with environmental, economic, and social benefits.     

Molecular characterization and variability analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apple scar skin viroid</Emphasis> in India

Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) infection is a major limitation to apple fruit quality and causes huge economic losses. In surveys of apple orchards in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, fruits with dappling symptoms were noticed. ASSVd was detected from these fruits and molecularly characterized. Ten clones from three isolates were sequenced, of which seven were new sequence variants of ASSVd. The clones had significant sequence variability (94–100%) with each other. Variability was more common in the pathogenic domain of the viroid genome. Four of the clones were 330 nucleotides (nt) long, and the other six had an additional nucleotide. Phylogenetic analysis showed close affinity of the present isolates with some Chinese and Korean isolates. The study reports seven new variants of ASSVd and also provides the first molecular evidence of viroid infection (ASSVd) in apple in India.     

Pharmacokinetics of transdermal flunixin in sows

The objective of this study was to describe the pharmacokinetics (PK) of flunixin in 12 nonlactating sows following transdermal (TD) flunixin (3.33 mg/kg) and intravenous (IV; 2.20 mg/kg) flunixin meglumine (FM) administration using a crossover design with a 10‐day washout period. Blood samples were collected postadministration from sows receiving IV FM (3, 6, 10, 20, 40 min and 1, 3, 6, 12, 16, 24, 36, and 48 hr) and from sows receiving TD flunixin (10, 20, 40 min and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hr). Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to determine plasma flunixin concentrations, and noncompartmental methods were used for PK analysis. The geometric mean ± SD area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) following IV injection was 26,820.59 ± 9,033.88 and 511.83 ± 213.98 hr ng/ml for TD route. Mean initial plasma concentration (C₀) was 26,279.70 ± 3,610.00 ng/ml, and peak concentration (C_max) was 14.61 ± 7.85 ng/ml for IV and TD administration, respectively. The percent mean bioavailability of TD flunixin was 1.55 ± 1.00. Our results demonstrate that topical administration is not an efficient route for delivering flunixin in mature sows.     

Identification and Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DJ1990 on Tail and Fin Rot Disease in Spotted Snakehead

Tail and fin rot disease (TFRD) is a big issue in the production of spotted snakehead, Channa punctata Bloch. The aims of the present study were to isolate and identify the bacterial pathogen causing TFRD, to detect histopathological changes in tissues (fin, tail, liver, and kidney), and to ascertain the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolate. Out of six bacterial isolates, only the isolate DJ1990 was found to be the causal candidate of TFRD in C. punctata. Identical histopathological changes were detected in tail, fin, liver, and kidney under light and scanning electron microscope in both collected diseased fish and artificially infected fish. The isolate was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain DJ1990 (National Center for Biotechnology Information Ace. No. KX709967) based on the biochemical characterization tests and 16S rDNA sequence‐based phylogeny analysis. Artificial challenge test demonstrated that the strain DJ1990 was highly virulent (100% mortality at 48 h of postinjection period at the concentration of 1.5 × 10⁷ CFU/g of body weight) for C. punctata. The isolate exhibited sensitivity to the broad‐spectrum antibiotics but was resistant against aztreonum. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. aeruginosa as a TFRD‐causing candidate in C. punctata.     

Armillaria root rot: Influence of soil nutrients and pH on the susceptibility of conifer species to the disease1

Seedlings growing on soil with nutrient deficiency and a lower pH were smaller and less vigorous than the seedlings growing on non-deficient soil with a comparatively higher pH. A higher percentage of roots and seedlings were infected and more seedlings died on soil with nutrient deficiency and a lower pH than on non-deficient soil with a higher pH. Non-vigorous seedlings also contacted infection earlier and showed more mycelial growth than the vigorous seedlings. Roots of vigorous seedlings showed more resinosis and callus formation, indicating resistance during the establishment of the fungus on the host. Alterations in the level of nutrients in vigorous and non-vigorous infected seedlings were generally similar.