Plant virus infection development as affected by heavy metal stress

The work was focused on the investigation of possible dependencies between the development of viral infection in plants and the presence of high heavy metal concentrations in soil. Field experiments have been conducted in order to study the development of systemic tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection in Lycopersicon esculentum L. cv. Miliana plants under effect of separate salts of heavy metals Cu, Zn and Pb deposited in soil. As it is shown, simultaneous effect of viral infection and heavy metals in tenfold maximum permissible concentration leads to decrease of total chlorophyll content in experiment plants mainly due to the degradation of chlorophyll a. The reduction of chlorophyll concentration under the combined influence of both stress factors was more serious comparing to the separate effect of every single factor. Plants' treatment with toxic concentrations of lead and zinc leaded to slight delay in the development of systemic TMV infection together with more than twofold increase of virus content in plants that may be an evidence of synergism between these heavy metal's and virus' effects. Contrary, copper although decreased total chlorophyll content but showed protective properties and significantly reduced amount of virus in plants.     

Extramedullary hematopoiesis in a case of benign mixed mammary tumor in a female dog: cytological and histopathological assessment

Backgroud  

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is defined as the presence of hematopoietic stem cells such as erythroid and myeloid lineage plus megakaryocytes in extramedullary sites like liver, spleen and lymph nodes and is usually associated with either bone marrow or hematological disorders. Mammary EMH is a rare condition either in human and veterinary medicine and can be associated with benign mixed mammary tumors, similarly to that described in this case.     

Breeding performance of Indian Sarus Crane Grus antigone antigone in the paddy crop agroecosystem

The breeding performance of the Indian Sarus Crane Grusantigone antigone Linn. was studied in the agriculturallandscape of Gujarat, India during 1996. Detailed records of a total of22 nests were compiled from egg-laying till fledging. Eleven clutches(50.0%) produced at least one chick. Ten clutches (45.45%) weredestroyed due to various mortality factors, and one clutch (4.50%)failed to hatch. Of the 10 pairs whose clutches were destroyed, at leastfour renested. Renesting in the wild was reported for the first time.Egg destruction was mainly due to flooding (12.20%), predation (21.95%)and conflicts with farmers (14.64%). Predation accounted for 31.58% ofchick mortality. The egg and chick mortality factors identified wereunique to the agricultural ecosystem. The number of chicks that hatched andof chicks fledged per nest did not differ significantly in differentmicrohabitats. Hatching success was higher in non-cultivableagricultural marshland (68.18%) compared to paddy cultivated marshland(38.48%), mainly due to human disturbance and higher predation risk.Overall breeding success was 19.51%. Juveniles comprised only 8.96% ofthe total number of Sarus Cranes sighted during the post-breedingperiod. One of the causes of poor breeding performance in theagricultural landscape was increasing conflict with the farmers, whosuffer economic loss due to nesting in the crop field. If compensated,farmers may help in Sarus Crane conservation efforts.     

Regeneration of plantlets in Sapindus trifoiatus L

Continuous production of healthy plantlets of Sapindus trifoliatus L. was achieved via somatic embryos from long term cultures of an embryogenic mass (EM). A highly embryogenic culture of S. trifoliatus L. was obtained by recurrent embryogenesis from somatic embryos cultured on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with kinetin (2.3 microM) and benzyladenine (8.8 microM). The cultures could be maintained without reduction of embryogenic competence for more than 20 months by subculture at 4 week intervals. About 90% mature somatic embryos on transfer to basal MS medium, germinated to plantlets, of which more than 70% survived when transferred to a sand and soil mixture in green house.     

Effects of waterbirds on water quality

The effect of cormorants, egrets, herons and a species of duck were studied on the eutrophication of Bhanderaj and Pandloli reservoirs in Matar tahsil of Kheda district, Gujarat, India. The quantity of consumed food and of excrement were estimated. The Little Cormorants (1000 pairs and their fledglings) inhabiting the area of reservoir complex took up 11.8 tonnes of N and 3.9 tonnes of P, while the Cattle Egrets and Pond Herons together took up 13.47 tonnes of N and 3.98 tonnes of P in 1999. The effect of fish-eating cormorants, egrets and herons can be quantified better than those of coots which feed only on plant materials.     

Studies on the partial characterization of extracted glycosaminoglycans from fish waste and its potentiality in modulating obesity through in-vitro and in-vivo

Glycoconjugate Journal - Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are bioactive polysaccharides or glycoconjugates found in the fish waste having significant health impacts. In the present study it has been...     

Oogenesis in the date stone beetle, Coccotrypes dactyliperda, depends on symbiotic bacteria

Abstract.  It has been suggested that sex ratio distorting symbionts are involved in the sex determination and female-biased sex ratios observed in strongly inbred scolytid beetles. Coccotrypes dactyliperda (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) is a species in which mother-son- and sib-mating occur inside the date seeds it inhabits, and the sex ratios produced are highly skewed toward females. In the present study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques and antibiotic treatments are applied to determine the possible role of Bacteria in this system. PCR with primers specifically designed to target the 16S rDNA gene in all Bacteria reveals the presence of Wolbachia and Rickettsia in control beetles, but not in antibiotic-treated individuals. Virgin females fed with antibiotics lay no eggs, and no sign of oogenesis is detected compared with all-male progeny of virgin control females. Mated females fed with antibiotics lay significantly fewer eggs than control females, with a strong effect of female age at the time of antibiotic feeding on the number of eggs laid. The study suggests that symbiotic bacteria are not involved in female-biased sex ratios but are required for oogenesis in C. dactyliperda . The specific role each of the bacteria ( Wolbachia and Rickettsia ) plays in the oogenesis remains to be determined.     

Skeletal Metastases in Pancreatic Cancer: A Retrospective Study and Review of the Literature

Background: Skeletal metastases represent an underappreciated site of metastasis in patients with pancreatic cancer. Previous reports have estimated the prevalence to range from 5 percent to 20 percent. With the use of gemcitabine and novel targeted agents such as erlotinib, there has been a modest increase in survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. As such, it is anticipated that previously uncommon occurrences such as skeletal metastases will become more frequent.     

Yield and quality of forage maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) with different levels of subsurface drip irrigation and plant density

The scarcity of water in arid and semiarid regions of the world is a problem that every day increases by climate change. The subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and changes in population density of plants are alternatives that can be used to make a sustainable use of water. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the combination that allows for an increased corn performance and efficient use of water without losing the quality of forage. Three different irrigation levels were applied through a system of a SDI at three different densities of forage maize plants in an arid region. The results demonstrated that by applying different levels of water, either enough or lack of soil moisture is created, which is directly reflected in crop yield, and its determining variables such as green forage and dry matter yield, and nutritional quality. The irrigation level to a 100% of potential evapotranspiration (PET), at a density of 80000 plants/ha, increased yield of green forage to 57664 kg/ha; crude protein was 8.59%, while the rest of the quality parameters decreased. This study allowed to conclude that the irrigation level was the major factor in the response of the crop.