MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WEATHER UNCERTAINTY IN EFFLUENT APPLICATION TO IRRIGATED CORN IN SEMIARID REGIONS

This study compares subsurface drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation with respect to expected returns, aquifer life, nutrient utilization and accumulation in the production of irrigated corn using swine effluent and fresh groundwater from a depleting aquifer in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Most of the equations estimated econometrically had heteroskedasticity problems and MLE was used. The econometric estimation of a PDF of ammonia volatilization dependent on amount of nitrogen applied, for each irrigation system, was successful and is the basis for developing a stochastic chain for the soil nitrogen carryover equation. The results of the stochastic dynamic programming model are still being developed and will be presented at the conference.Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Co‐existing monophasic teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a female dog

Ovarian teratomas are occasionally reported in dogs; the rarest type is the monophasic teratoma,composed of tissues originating from only one germ layer. Canine endometrial adenocarcinomas are also rare in dogs and mainly affect geriatric females. This report describes case of co-existing ovarian teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a 10-year old nulliparous female Boxer presented with lethargy, anorexia and purulent vaginal discharge. Abdominal ultrasonography evidenced pyometra and a mass in the left ovary. This was composed of a uniform whitish tissue with multiple cystic structures. The histology revealed an atrophy of the ovarian parenchyma, compressed by a proliferation of well-differentiated nervous tissue staining positively to vimentin, S100 and neuronal specific enolase (NSE), and negatively to keratin and inhibin. The left uterine horn, whose diameter was markedly increased, showed foci of endometrial cellular atypia, evident nucleoli and mitoses, at light microscopy. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of a coexisting ovarian monophasic teratoma and endometrial adenocarcinoma, two rare reproductive neoplasia in dogs

A Comparison of Phycocyanins from Three Different Species of Cyanobacteria Employing Resonance-Enhanced Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy

Resonance-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra are recorded for monomers and trimers of phycocyanin from three different cyanobacteria: Westiellopsis prolifica, Mastigocladus laminosus and Spirulina platensis. It is shown that upon aggregation from monomer to trimer the electronic structures of both the α84 and β84 chromophores are changed. The spectra of the trimers originating from S. platensis and M. laminosus are very similar to each other, but distinctly different from the spectrum of W. prolifica

Monitoring wolf populations using howling points combined with sign survey transects

Wolves respond to simulated howling, especially during the mating and breeding seasons. Simulated howling points are, therefore, commonly used by many wolf researchers around the world to estimate pack numbers in a given area. A large amount of information is available on various pack breeding areas in Asturias, the only region in north-western Spain where the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus, Cabrera 1907) is not classed as a game species. Wolf research began there in the early 1980s. We present the results of the latest study on population status, conducted between July and November, 2001. Using sampling transects to detect wolf scat and scratch marks and designated howling and observation points, twenty one (21) wolf packs were definitely located, with two others considered “likely”. Nineteen (19) packs were detected using howling points (n=314). The results of this study show that simulated howling points and sampling transects are reliable and inexpensive way of detecting wolf packs

Two new cases of de novo small supernumerary marker chromosomes (sSMC) detected at prenatal diagnosis

No Abstract

Caracterização de tipos polínicos transportados por abelhas em sistemas agroflorestais com dendê (Elaeis guineensis Jacq. - Arecaceae).

Diante da expansão econômica da dendeicultura no Brasil, a Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, em parceria com a empresa Natura, implementou Sistemas Agroflorestais (SAFs) nas zonas de ocorrência do dendê na localidade de Quatro-Bocas, Tomé-Açu/PA. A partir do Projeto?Sistemas Agroflorestais na Agricultura Familiar?, tendo como estudo integrante o subcomponente biodiversidade, objetivou-se identificar os grãos de pólen transportados por abelhas nesses SAFs, com o intuito de colaborar com informações acerca das preferências alimentares das abelhas em diferentes ambientes. As abelhas foram coletadas com armadilhas aromáticas em três sistemas com dendê, intitulados biodiversos, e em áreas adjacentes aos SAFs, denominadas de capoeira e pastagem degradada, acondicionadas em frascos de vidro contendo ácido acético e enviadas à equipe de Palinologia do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Por meio de sucessivas lavagens com ácido acético, os grãos de pólen foram removidos da superfície corporal dos animais e processados quimicamente pelo método de acetólise. Posteriormente, foram medidos, descritos e fotomicrografados em microscopia de luz. A partir do material analisado foi possível separar três grupos polínicos: pólen dos sistemas biodiversos; pólen da área de capoeira e pólen da área de pastagem degradada (ambas adjacentes aos sistemas biodiversos). Nos biodiversos foram identificados os tipos polínicos Anacardiaceae, Burseraceae e Convolvulaceae; na capoeira verificaram-se os tipos Anacardiaceae, Asteraceae e Fabaceae e na pastagem degradada os tipos Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae e Rutaceae. A família Anacardiaceae foi a melhor representada, destacando os gêneros Anacardium e Tapirira, como os mais frequentes em todas as três áreas, família esta considerada de grande valor apícolaEditores técnicos: Roberto Porro, Milton Kanashiro, Maria do Socorro Gonçalves Ferreira, Leila Sobral Sampaio e Gladys Ferreira de Sousa

Molecular cytogenetic characterisation of a mosaic add(12)(p13.3) with an inv dup(3)(q26.31 --> qter) detected in an autistic boy

BACKGROUND: Inverted duplications (inv dup) of a terminal chromosome region are a particular subset of rearrangements that often results in partial tetrasomy or partial trisomy when accompanied by a deleted chromosome. Associated mosaicism could be the consequence of a post-zygotic event or could result from the correction of a trisomic conception. Tetrasomies of distal segments of the chromosome 3q are rare genetic events and their phenotypic manifestations are diverse. To our knowledge, there are only 12 cases reported with partial 3q tetrasomy. Generally, individuals with this genomic imbalance present mild to severe developmental delay, facial dysmorphisms and skin pigmentary disorders. RESULTS: We present the results of the molecular cytogenetic characterization of an unbalanced mosaic karyotype consisting of mos 46,XY,add(12)(p13.3) [56]/46,XY [44] in a previously described 11 years old autistic boy, re-evaluated at adult age. The employment of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and multicolor banding (MCB) techniques identified the extra material on 12p to be derived from chromosome 3, defining the additional material on 12p as an inv dup(3)(qter --> q26.3::q26.3 --> qter). Subsequently, array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) confirmed the breakpoint at 3q26.31, defining the extra material with a length of 24.92 Mb to be between 174.37 and 199.29 Mb. CONCLUSION: This is the thirteenth reported case of inversion-duplication 3q, being the first one described as an inv dup translocated onto a non-homologous chromosome. The mosaic terminal inv dup(3q) observed could be the result of two proposed alternative mechanisms. The most striking feature of this case is the autistic behavior of the proband, a characteristic not shared by any other patient with tetrasomy for 3q26.31 --> 3qter. The present work further illustrates the advantages of the use of an integrative cytogenetic strategy, composed both by conventional and molecular techniques, on providing powerful information for an accurate diagnosis. This report also highlights a chromosome region potentially involved in autistic disorders

Temperature but not leptin prevents semi-starvation induced hyperactivity in rats: implications for anorexia nervosa treatment

The hypothesis linking hyperactivity with weight loss associated hypoleptinemia in anorexia nervosa gained momentum after a study showing that leptin suppressed semi-starvation induced hyperactivity in rats. Alternatively, ambient temperature is a key modulating factor of activity in semi-starved rats. The aim of the study is to compare the efficacy of leptin with increased ambient temperature in the prevention of hyperactivity in semi-starved rats. 74 Sprague-Dawley male rats were employed in two experiments with the difference residing in the length of baseline. After an extended (28 days), or shorter (14 days) baseline with free access to food and the running wheel, housed at 21 degrees C, animals were either ad-lib feed or food restricted (60% of food ingested during previous week) and infused with same amount of leptin at 21 degrees C, 25 degrees C, or vehicle at 21 degrees C, 25 degrees C and 32 degrees C for a week. Animals housed at 32 degrees C significantly reduced wheel running and weight loss during food restriction while animals given leptin did not yield no differences in activity or weight loss. Moreover, unlike animals housed at 32 degrees C, body temperature of leptin infused animals housed at 21 degrees C was significantly reduced during food restriction. Furthermore, leptin treated rats without a preceding stable pattern of activity displayed a severe dysregulation of circadian rhythm in activity and a collapse of body temperature. Housing temperature plays a more critical role than leptin in the regulation of semi-starvation induced hyperactivity in rats, which may be of relevance for the management of hyperactivity in anorexia nervosa