Crown allometry and growing space requirements of four rare domestic tree species compared to oak and beech: implications for adaptive forest management

European Journal of Forest Research - Rare domestic tree species are increasingly being viewed as promising alternatives and additions to current main tree species in forests facing climate change....     

Correction to: Silvicultural prescriptions for mixed-species forest stands. A European review and perspective

European Journal of Forest Research -     

Immediate Impact of the Flood (Bohemia, August 2002) on Selected Soil Characteristics

In August 2002 extreme floods affected Bohemia a part of the Czech Republic, along Vltava and Labe rivers. After the flood had culminated, soil samples of arable and meadow soil (flooded and control-non-flooded) have been collected in the surroundings of the cities of ?eské Budějovice (CB, South Bohemia, the Vltava river, the upper flood stream) and Ústí nad Labem (UL, the Labe river, the lower flood stream). Different parameters of arable soils have been affected more significantly than those of meadow soils. Soil texture e.g. has been shifted from sandy loam to loam (CB) and clay loam (UL). Organic carbon, total phosphorus and nitrogen contents have been increased as well as the content of some hazardous elements such as arsenic. A shift of soil pH from 6.1 to 4.8 has been noticed in CB and an opposite one from 5.1 to 7.1 was measured in UL. Available phosphorus decreased in CB by 56% while a four-fold increase was measured in UL. Chlorinated organic pesticides level was significantly reduced, but that of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) increased up to the maximum values of legal limits. The UL arable soil also became heavily contaminated by PAH. The CB arable soil demonstrated high microbial activity, while UL arable soil suffered under stress conditions in this respect. The flooded meadow soils became covered with a layer of drifted soil sediment, which retained enhanced content of the PAH's different hazardous elements, and, in addition, the soil aeration was reduced.     

Suprachiasmatic nucleus vasopressin messenger RNA: circadian variation in normal and Brattleboro rats

In situ hybridization of an oligonucleotide probe complementary to vasopressin messenger RNA (mRNA) in sections from normal or Brattleboro rat hypothalami revealed hybridization densities in each of three vasopressin-rich nuclei: the supraoptic, paraventricular, and suprachiasmatic. When entrained to a daily light-dark cycle, each rat strain displayed diurnal variation in hybridizable mRNA in the suprachiasmatic, but not in the supraoptic or paraventricular nuclei. The higher values for suprachiasmatic mRNA in the morning correlate well with previously elucidated morning increases in vasopressin immunoreactivity in the cerebrospinal fluid. These results support the utility of in situ hybridization techniques for elucidating physiological influences on regional peptidergic function, are consistent with a prominent role for vasopressinergic suprachiasmatic neurons in generating the cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin rhythm, and suggest that regulation of this mRNA rhythm is not dependent on release of intact peptide.     

Characterization of Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) incidence and new variants from ornamentals

We analyzed the spreading and persistence of PSTVd variants in several ornamentals in the territory of the Czech Republic. The pool of PSTVd variants detected in Solanum jasminoides, S. muricatum, Datura sp. and Brugmansia sp. was biolistically transferred to Matricaria chamomilla, Argyranthemum frutescens and Diascia sp., species which we found as sensitive hosts for PSTVd from ornamentals. The PSTVd pool showed sequence changes and increased variation after its transfer to potato, suggesting a wide adaptation potential of PSTVd in this crop. Potato exhibited genotype-dependent leaf and spindle tuber symptoms, when inoculated with the sap from S. jasminoides infected with the predominant and sequence-stable PSTVd-S1.     

Ivermectin: its effect on the immune system of rabbits and rats infested with ectoparasites.

The influence of subcutaneously administered ivermectin on the specific immune response was studied in rabbits infested with mites (Psoroptes cuniculi) and in rats infested with lice (Polyplax spinulosa). A pronounced specific antibody activity and a change in immunoblotting pattern was observed in rabbits after the ivermectin treatment. However, in rats the antibody activity decreased and the profile of specific antibodies, tested by immunoblotting, remained the same as before the treatment. The specific immune response in rabbits artificially immunized with whole-body Psoroptes cuniculi extract was not affected by ivermectin. It was concluded that ivermectin has no direct effect on the immune response of rabbits and rats and that the enhanced immune response in the mite-infested rabbits was caused by the massive release of antigens associated with the synchronous death of the mites.