Salinity guidelines for irrigation: Case studies from Water Research Commission projects along the Lower Vaal, Riet, Berg and Breede Rivers

A vast number of projects on salinity in irrigated agriculture were funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) during the past 40 years. However, due to the diversity of the projects it is virtually impossible to cover all  aspects thoroughly in a paper of limited length. Thus this review focuses mainly on projects along the Lower Vaal, Riet, Berg and Breede Rivers in South Africa. The results on the water quality of these rivers indicate that irrigation has led to the deterioration of water sources. There is a direct relationship between river water quality and soils irrigated. Fortunately, effective land-suitability guidelines were developed and applied during the establishment of the major irrigation schemes. This facilitated the management of soils under irrigation. The results from long-term irrigation case studies along the Lower Vaal River and Breede River show that the quality of soils can be improved. The opposite is also true where mismanagement occurred. Research on the salinity threshold of major crops (grapevines, wheat, maize, groundnuts, etc.) confirmed the empiric nature of the guidelines. It is suggested that a more dynamic approach be used for managing salinity under irrigation at farm level, i.e. the use of models. Amongst others, future research should focus on determining the spatial and temporal distribution of salt in irrigated soils.Keywords: crop response, electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption ratio, soil type, water qualit

Cloning and bioinformatics analysis of an ubiquitin gene of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Ubiquitin which has the function of selective protein degradation may play an important role in the regulation of insect growth and development. The coding sequence of an ubiquitin gene from the larvae of the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) named CsUB (GenBank Accession No. GU238420) was cloned by RT-PCR and sequenced in this study, with primers according to the sequences of ubiquitin genes  from Homo sapiens, Drosophila melanogaster and Lepidopteran insects. Sequence analysis showed that the length of the coding sequence is 228 bp, encoding 76 amino acids with calculated molecular weight of 8.50 kDa and the theoretical isoeletric point of 5.26. Signal sequence and transmembrane domain had not been found. Multiple sequence alignment indicated that CsUB gene sequence with other known gene sequences of invertebrates and vertebrates had a high degree of homology (more than 72% similarity) and a shorter genetic distance (lower than 0.360). During the genetic diversity analysis, the total of 104 polymorphic sites was detected from 18 ubiquitin gene sequences and 18 haplotypes were sorted. Abundant genetic diversity and strong codon usage bias were found by the haplotype diversity (1.000), average number of nucleotide differences (47.475), nucleotide diversity (0.20866), effective number of codons (44.526), codon bias index (0.559) and scaled Chi-square (0.779). The predicated secondary structure composition of CsUB protein had about 32.89% extended strands, 36.84% random colis, 15.79% alpha helixes and 14.47% beta turns. Subcellular localization analysis showed that CsUB protein of cytoplasm, cell nucleus, mitochondrion, cell skeleton and plasma membrane occupied about 47.80, 26.10, 17.40, 4.30 and 4.30%, respectively. Sequence, homology and structural analysis confirmed that CsUB gene was highly conserved during evolution and belonged to ubiquitin gene family. The results might provide some fundamental data for further studies on expressed characteristics and physiological functions of CsUB gene.Key words: Chilo suppressalis Walker, ubiquitin, gene cloning, bioinformatics

Prediction of salt balances in irrigated soils along the lower Vaal River, South Africa

In arid and semi-arid regions irrigation tends to degrade soil and water quality through salt accumulation with devastating effects on some crops. This is, according to irrigators, also the case along the lower Vaal River in South Africa. Properly calibrated and tested salinity models could assist the agricultural community in improving salinity management under irrigation.This paper reports on, firstly, salt balances of soils in this region being irrigated for different time periods, and secondly, salt content changes that can be expected as a consequence of future irrigation. Two empirical models, viz. a general and specific salt-balance model were used together with existing water- and soil-quality data to generate such information. The soils selected for this study had been irrigated for periods of between 17 to 53 years. Over these periods addition of salts as a result of farming practices varied between 79 and 280 t·ha-1, with irrigation water being the major contributor. Between 78% to 87% of the salts added to the soils had been leached from the root zone Despite these large amounts of salts that have been removed, certain irrigation practices have promoted the build-up of salts in some of the soils. The freely drained sandy soils irrigated by centre pivot are of particular interest. Poor management of this system can reduce crop yields. On account of inadequate leaching salts are building up to levels that impair the potential evapotranspiration level of maize. Predictions also show that irrigation should rather be withdrawn from soils with poor internal drainage properties, such as the Arcadia soil at Spitskop. In contrast, flood irrigation on certain duplex soils, such as the Valsrivier at Vaalharts, with relatively good internal drainage properties, can improve their quality.Keywords: drained soils, root zone, soil quality, undrained soils, water qualit

Enhancement of Short Text Clustering by Iterative Classification

Short text clustering is a challenging task due to the lack of signal contained in such short texts. In this work, we propose iterative classification as a method to b o ost the clustering quality (e.g., accuracy) of short texts. Given a clustering of short texts obtained using an arbitrary clustering algorithm, iterative classification applies outlier removal to obtain outlier-free clusters. Then it trains a classification algorithm using the non-outliers based on their cluster distributions. Using the trained classification model, iterative classification reclassifies the outliers to obtain a new set of clusters. By repeating this several times, we obtain a much improved clustering of texts. Our experimental results show that the proposed clustering enhancement method not only improves the clustering quality of different clustering methods (e.g., k-means, k-means--, and hierarchical clustering) but also outperforms the state-of-the-art short text clustering methods on several short text datasets by a statistically significant margin.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figure

Anti-nausea effects and pharmacokinetics of ondansetron, maropitant and metoclopramide in a low-dose cisplatin model of nausea and vomiting in the dog: a blinded crossover study

Nausea is a subjective sensation which is difficult to measure in non-verbal species. The aims of this study were to determine the efficacy of three classes of antiemetic drugs in a novel low dose cisplatin model of nausea and vomiting and measure change in potential nausea biomarkers arginine vasopressin (AVP) and cortisol. A four period cross-over blinded study was conducted in eight healthy beagle dogs of both genders. Dogs were administered 18 mg/m2 cisplatin intravenously, followed 45 min later by a 15 min infusion of either placebo (saline) or antiemetic treatment with ondansetron (0.5 mg/kg; 5-HT3 antagonist), maropitant (1 mg/kg; NK1 antagonist) or metoclopramide (0.5 mg/kg; D2 antagonist). The number of vomits and nausea associated behaviours, scored on a visual analogue scale, were recorded every 15 min for 8 h following cisplatin administration. Plasma samples were collected to measure AVP, cortisol and antiemetic drug concentrations

The value of baseline 18F-sodium fluoride and 18F-choline PET activity for identifying responders to radium-223 treatment in castration-resistant prostate cancer bone metastases.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether baseline 18F-sodium fluoride (NaF) and 18F-choline PET activity is associated with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) global and individual bone metastases' DWI MR imaging response to radium-223 treatment. METHODS: Thirty-six bone-only mCRPC patients were prospectively recruited from three centers. Whole-body (WB)-MRI with DWI and 18F-NaF and 18F-choline PET/CT were performed at therapy baseline and 8-week intervals. In each patient, bone disease median global (g)ADC change between baseline and follow-up was calculated. Additionally, up to five bone target lesions per patient were delineated and individual median ADC change recorded. An ADC increase > 30% defined response per-patient and per-lesion. For the same targets, baseline 18F-NaF and 18F-choline PET SUVmax were recorded. Mean SUVmax across patient targets was correlated with gADC change and lesion SUVmax with per-lesion ADC change. RESULTS: A total of 133 lesions in 36 patients (14 responders) were analyzed. 18F-NaF PET per-patient mean SUVmax was significantly higher in responders (median = 56.0 versus 38.7 in non-responders; p = 0.008), with positive correlation between SUVmax and gADC increase (rho = 0.42; p = 0.015). A 48.7 SUVmax threshold identified responders with 77% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Baseline 18F-NaF PET per-lesion SUVmax was higher in responding metastases (median = 51.6 versus 31.8 in non-responding metastases; p = 0.001), with positive correlation between baseline lesion SUVmax and ADC increase (rho = 0.39; p < 0.001). A 36.8 SUVmax threshold yielded 72% sensitivity and 63% specificity. No significant association was found between baseline 18F-choline PET SUVmax and ADC response on a per-patient (p = 0.164) or per-lesion basis (p = 0.921). CONCLUSION: 18F-NaF PET baseline SUVmax of target mCRPC bone disease showed significant association with response to radium-223 defined by ADC change. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: 18F-sodium fluoride PET/CT baseline maximum SUV of castration-resistant prostate cancer bone metastases could be used as a predictive biomarker for response to radium-223 therapy. KEY POINTS: • 18F-sodium fluoride PET baseline SUVmax of castration-resistant prostate cancer bone metastases showed significant association with response to radium-223. • Baseline 18F-sodium fluoride PET can improve patient selection for radium-223 therapy. • Change in whole-body DWI parameters can be used for response correlation with baseline 18F-sodium fluoride PET SUVmax in castration-resistant prostate cancer bone metastases

A strategy for the characterization of minute chromosome rearrangements using multiple color fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome-specific DNA libraries and YAC clones

The identification of marker chromosomes in clinical and tumor cytogenetics by chromosome banding analysis can create problems. In this study, we present a strategy to define minute chromosomal rearrangements by multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome painting probes derived from chromosome-specific DNA libraries and Alu-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of various region-specific yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) clones. To demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy for the characterization of chromosome rearrangements unidentifiable by banding techniques, an 8p+ marker chromosome with two extra bands present in the karyotype of a child with multiple anomalies, malformations, and severe mental retardation was investigated. A series of seven-color FISH experiments with sets of fluorochrome-labeled DNA library probes from flow-sorted chromosomes demonstrated that the additional segment on 8p+ was derived from chromosome 6. For a more detailed characterization of the marker chromosome, three-color FISH experiments with library probes specific to chromosomes 6 and 8 were performed in combination with newly established telomeric and subtelomeric YAC clones from 6q25, 6p23, and 8p23. These experiments demonstrated a trisomy 6pter6p22 and a monosomy 8pter8p23 in the patient. The present limitations for a broad application of this strategy and its possible improvements are discusse

Molecular Cloning of a New Immunomodulatory Protein from Anoectochilus formosanus which Induces B Cell IgM Secretion through a T-Independent Mechanism

An immunomodulatory protein (IPAF) was purified and cloned from Anoectochilus formosanus, an Orchidaceae herbal plant in Asia. The major targeting immune cells of IPAF and its modulating effects toward B lymphocytes were investigated. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) was conducted to clone the IPAF gene, and the obtained sequence was BLAST compared on the NCBI database. MACS-purified mouse T and B lymphocytes were stimulated with IPAF and the cell proliferation, activation, and Igs production were examined. IPAF comprised a 25 amino acids signal peptide and a 138 amino acids protein which was homologous to the lectins from Orchidaceae plant. IPAF selectively induced the cell proliferation in mouse splenic B lymphocytes but not T lymphocytes. The IPAF-induced B cells exhibited increased CD69 and MHC class II expression, and a dose- and time-dependent enhancement in IgM production. These results suggested potential benefits of IPAF to strengthen the humoral immunity

Assessment of low-dose cisplatin as a model of nausea and emesis in beagle dogs, potential for repeated administration

Cisplatin is a highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy agent, which is often used to induce nausea and emesis in animal models. The cytotoxic properties of cisplatin also cause adverse events that negatively impact on animal welfare preventing repeated administration of cisplatin. In this study, we assessed whether a low (subclinical) dose of cisplatin could be utilized as a model of nausea and emesis in the dog while decreasing the severity of adverse events to allow repeated administration. The emetic, nausea-like behavior and potential biomarker response to both the clinical dose (70 mg/m2) and low dose (15 mg/m2) of cisplatin was assessed. Plasma creatinine concentrations and granulocyte counts were used to assess adverse effects on the kidneys and bone marrow, respectively. Nausea-like behavior and emesis was induced by both doses of cisplatin, but the latency to onset was greater in the low-dose group. No significant change in plasma creatinine was detected for either dose groups. Granulocytes were significantly reduced compared with baseline (P = 0.000) following the clinical, but not the low-dose cisplatin group. Tolerability of repeated administration was assessed with 4 administrations of an 18 mg/m2 dose cisplatin. Plasma creatinine did not change significantly. Cumulative effects on the granulocytes occurred, they were significantly decreased (P = 0.03) from baseline at 3 weeks following cisplatin for the 4th administration only. Our results suggest that subclinical doses (15 and 18 mg/m2) of cisplatin induce nausea-like behavior and emesis but have reduced adverse effects compared with the clinical dose allowing for repeated administration in crossover studies

Fabrication of Densely Packed AlN Nanowires by a Chemical Conversion of Al2O3Nanowires Based on Porous Anodic Alumina Film

Porous alumina film on aluminum with gel-like pore wall was prepared by a two-step anodization of aluminum, and the corresponding gel-like porous film was etched in diluted NaOH solution to produce alumina nanowires in the form of densely packed alignment. The resultant alumina nanowires were reacted with NH3and evaporated aluminum at an elevated temperature to be converted into densely packed aluminum nitride (AlN) nanowires. The AlN nanowires have a diameter of 15–20 nm larger than that of the alumina nanowires due to the supplement of the additional evaporated aluminum. The results suggest that it might be possible to prepare other aluminum compound nanowires through similar process