Ichthyosis and hereditary cornification disorders in dogs

The stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the epidermis, serves a crucial role in maintaining body hydration and protection from environmental insults. When the stratum corneum is injured or when the genetic blueprints are flawed, the body is at risk of dehydration, secondary infections and allergen sensitization. Advancements in veterinary dermatology have revealed a wide gamut of disease from relatively benign to lethal that specifically arise from flawed structural proteins, enzymes or lipids needed to create the corneocytes and lipid bilayers of the SC. Some conditions closely mimic their human counterparts while others are unique to the dog. This review will focus on forms of ichthyosis in the dog.     

Screening for low grain cadmium phenotypes in sunflower, durum wheat and flax

Cadmium (Cd) level in nonoilseed sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) grown on uncontaminated, alkaline soils has exceeded limits established in Northern Europe. Separate field experiments were conducted to investigate variability of grain Cd levels among sunflower, durum wheat and flax germplasm, and to seek an efficient screening method for future breeding. There were large variations in leaf Cd concentration among 200 sunflower lines. These lines performed more consistently for Cd uptake at the R5 stage than at the V8 stage across 4 locations with markedly differing soils. Cd concentration in V8 leaves was not related to Cd in grain. The positive correlation between R5 leaf Cd and kernel Cd level was obtained from nonoilseed hybrid (Sigco 954) (R²; = 0.74**), and 200 lines (R² = 0.44**) tested over 4 locations in 2 field trials, respectively. This indicates that an efficient and low cost screening method can be developed for genotype selection, but plants must be grown to the R5 stage. A preliminary evaluation of 30 durum wheat and 74 flax lines indicated large variations in grain Cd level of durum wheat and flax. Grain Cd concentration ranged from 0.11 to 0.34 mg Cd kg^-1 DW for durum wheat, and 0.14 to 1.37 mg Cd kg^-1 DW for flax, respectively. This variability indicates that breeding for low grain Cd in durum wheat and flax should be feasible. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Urban evictions,public housing and the gendered rationalisation of kampung life in Jakarta

The dispossession of urban communities across class and racial lines is a global phenomenon linked to the expansion of international investment in the development of ‘exemplary’ city space. However, city evictions are also historically informed and gendered processes which are continuous with past colonial and postcolonial urban rationalisation projects. Drawing on testimonies of women evictees in Jakarta, as well as interviews with public housing managers, this article details the gendered nature of the rationalisation of urban life in the context of a contemporary evictions regime. We argue that the rationalisation of urban space serves to sharpen the gender order by placing material constraints on women's roles, limiting their economic activities and defining them as hygiene‐responsible housewives. Further, and in turn, the limited provision of ‘rusunawa’ public housing, which we show to be a gendered spatial and social transition informed by state doctrine on the family, provides the state with justification for dispossession itself. Finally, women's everyday acts of refusal and resistance show not only that kampung forms of social life continue to be preserved in Jakarta, but also that rationalisation itself is a negotiated and contingent process.     

LED-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Spectral Analysis for the Early Detection and Monitoring of Cadmium Toxicity in Maize Plants

Chlorophyll fluorescence spectral analysis permits detection, monitoring, and evaluation of abiotic stresses upon healthy plants using illumination of a light source in the UV?CVIS spectral range. This technique indirectly assesses the amount of physiological stress caused by photosynthetic damage, specifically damage to photosystem II, in plants. The objective of this study was to detect the toxicity of cadmium in maize plants via spectral analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence. The analysis is noninvasive and nondestructive and is used to follow the temporal evolution of changes in the chlorophyll content and physiological state of Zea mays L. seedlings under cadmium stress. Conventional techniques were also used to evaluate the dry matter production and Cd accumulation in plant leaves. Plants exhibited a notable reduction in dry matter production and chlorophyll levels with the administration of increasing doses of Cd in the nutrient solution. The fluorescence analysis was sensitive to changes caused by Cd in maize plants, detecting damage caused by different treatments before visual symptoms were observed. This technique has a practical application and produces rapid results that can be used in the evaluation of Cd-induced stress in plants and the detection of areas contaminated by this element.     

Evaluation of survival of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Haemophilus parasuis in four liquid media and two swab specimen transport systems

OBJECTIVE: To determine duration and rates of recovery of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Haemophilus parasuis from 4 liquid media and 2 swab specimen transport systems and compare findings with those of Escherichia coli. SAMPLE POPULATION: One strain each of A pleuropneumoniae (biovar 1, serotype 1), H parasuis (serovar 5), and E coli (serotype O149:K91:H19). PROCEDURE: Strains were incubated in brain heart infusion broth supplemented with horse serum and other nutrients or in horse serum alone, with and without nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide in both instances, for 150 days at 4 degrees C or room temperature (21 degrees C). Similarly, strains were tested in Stuart and Amies transport systems after storage at room temperature for 8 days. RESULTS: Colony counts greater than those of the initial inoculum were observed after incubation in horse serum for A pleuropneumoniae but not for H parasuis. Overall, incubation at 4 degrees C in the 4 liquid media resulted in longer recovery duration and higher rates than at room temperature. Culture of H parasuis resulted in lower recovery rates and shorter durations of recovery than culture of A pleuropneumoniae, except for culture in horse serum. Haemophilus parasuis survived longer than A pleuropneumoniae in the transport systems, and all organisms survived longer in the Amies system. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Survival of A pleuropneumoniae and H parasuis indicated that horse serum prolongs survivability, which may result in exposure of more animals during a prolonged period. The Amies system might be a good choice for collection of clinical samples from animals, especially for recovery of H parasuis.