New Data to the Knowledge on the Corticolous Mite Fauna in Hungary (Acari: Prostimata, Astigmata, Oribatida)

Authors give a report on the results of the regular collections made between 1990 and 1998 on ornamental trees and shrubs,on streets, in parks, in green spaces of housing estates, in private gardens and in arboreta. A total of 19 corticolous mite species were found belonging to 14 families.Michaelopus corticalis (Michael,1885), Hericia hericia Robin,1868, Eupalopsis maseriensis (Canestrini et Fanzago, 1876), Mediolata vandergeesti (Gomaa et Bolland,1982), Cunaxoides kielczewskii Michocka, 1982, and Neophyllobius spec.nov. are reported for the first time for the Hungarian fauna. Hemisarcoptes budensis Fain et Ripka, 1998, M.corticalis and Cheletogenes ornatus (Canestrini et Fanzago,1876) were the most frequent species in the acarofauna associated with scale insects

Phosphorus nutrition.

Trials reported on: 85 NA 34, 85 NA 35, 85 NO 63, 85 BA 34, 85 BA 36, 85 BA 37, 76 WH 9, 84 E 31, 84 M 63, 84 NO 69, 77 MT 2, 78 BA 7, 65 A 1, 69 WH 15

Temporal and spatial variations in the abundance and population structure of the spined loach (Cobitis taenia), a scarce fish species: implications for condition assessment and conservation

Effective conservation of protected species requires accurate estimates of the status of their populations. In the UK, this led to the production of a series of sampling protocols to establish the status of designated species against predetermined conservation objectives: a process known as 'condition assessment'. Condition assessments involve comparisons of various parameters, invariably including abundance and/or population structure, of the target species against criteria that are judged to be indicative of viable populations.This study investigated temporal and spatial variations in the abundance and population structure of spined loach (Cobitis taenia), a scarce species indigenous to Europe and central Asia. Specifically, the study compared the density, number of age classes and percentage contribution of the 0+ year age class of spined loach between day and night, months, years and locations.There were marked diel, seasonal, annual and spatial variations in the density, number of age classes and percentage contribution of 0+ year spined loach. Such phenomena are important because monitoring programmes conducted at inappropriate times of day or year, or with insufficient frequency or geographical coverage, could lead to inaccurate assessments of the condition of protected populations and, consequently, to inadequate conservation measures. Notwithstanding, there were few impacts on the condition assessments of the spined loach populations because at least one of the parameters invariably failed to satisfy the population condition assessment criteria.A prerequisite for successful conservation is an effective monitoring programme. It is therefore essential that surveys to assess the condition of populations of protected species are designed with due consideration of their diel behaviour, breeding season, life span and habitat use. It is recommended that the monitoring protocol and condition assessment criteria for spined loach are amended, and that surveys are conducted by trawling, in late summer, at least every 3-4years

Suplementacao energetica e energetico-proteica para vacas em lactacao durante a epoca da seca.

bitstream/item/90984/1/CT-08-Suplementacao-energetica.pd

Residual value of phosphate fertilizers.

Trial 84M63 Residual value of phosphate fertilizers. Location: South Carrabin Block of Merredin Research Station. 4th successive crop on new land. Trial has shown that the effectiveness of the different types of rock phosphate were about the fifth to one tenth as effective as the fresh (triple) superphosphate applied in 1984. The effectiveness of the superphosphate, decreased by 60 between year 1 and 2, and by a further 10-15% by 1987. This experiment will continue as pasture for 1988 and 1989, and will be re-cropped in 1990. The experiment is also assessing soil testing for P. but soil test data as yet incomplete. Trial 85BA Residual value of superphosphate for lupins, barley and wheat. Location: Badgingarra Research Station In the experiment, 6 levels of superphosphate were applied to a previously untreated plots once only, in May 1985, 1986 or 1987. The residual value of this P was measured in 1987, using lupins, barley and wheat, relative to the P applied in 1987. Trial 85BA35 Residual value of superphosphate for lupin:oat:wheat rotation. Each year, 6 rates of superphosphate are applied once only to previously untreated plots, in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 or 1989. Lupins are sown on the plots in the year the P is applied, oats are sown in the second year, followed by wheat in the third year, lupins in the fourth year, oats the fifth year etc. The aim is to measure the residual value of superphosphate for the lupin:oats:wheat system recommended for these soils. Trial 85BA37 Effectiveness of granular and finely ground reactive apatite rock phosphate compared with superphosphate. Location: Badgingarra Research Station. Four levels of each fertilizer (superphosphate, granular North Carolina rock phosphate (NCRP), and the same sample of granular NCRP ground to give medium and finely ground NCR?) were applied to the soil surface in mid May 1985 and incorporated into the top 10 cm of soil when the plots were sown in late May with Chittick lupins in 1985, Mortlock oats in 1986 and Jacup wheat in 1987. In 1986 and 1987, four levels of superphosphate were applied once only in each year to plots that were not treated with P fertilizer in previous years, so that the effectiveness of the 1985 fertilizer dressings could be calculated relative to fresh superphosphate applied in 1986 and 1987. Trial 86NO1 Residual value of superphosphate. Location: North Cunderdin. Levels of superphosphate applied once only in May 1986. The residual value of superphosphate measured using Medicago polymorpha cv. Serena or Trifolium subterraneum cvv. Dalkeith and Northam (50/50 mixture by seed weight)

Catchment-wide interactive effects of anthropogenic structures and river levels on fish spawning migrations

Worldwide, rivers are extensively fragmented by anthropogenic structures, reducing longitudinal connectivity, inhibiting migration and leading to severe declines in many fish populations, especially for diadromous species. However, few studies have determined the effects of annual differences in hydrology on catchment penetration past barriers to spawning habitats. We investigated the upstream spawning migration of 120 (n = 61 & 59) acoustic tagged river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) across two contrasting (dry and wet) years in the River Yorkshire Ouse, England. Overall, significantly more lamprey reached spawning habitat (76% vs 39%) and penetrated significantly further upstream (median [km] from release, 53.9 vs 16.8) in the wet year than the dry year. Passage at weirs was almost exclusively during elevated river levels, which directly and collectively influenced catchment-wide distribution, especially in the dry year. Indeed, higher proportions entered two upper tributaries in the wet year (9.8% vs 27.1% and 9.8% vs 30.5%), due to increased passage efficiencies at the two main river weirs (60.5–87.5% and 54.5–83.8%), and reached assumed spawning locations 66.5% and 10.9% quicker. By contrast, there was no difference in numbers of lamprey entering, or time taken to arrive at assumed spawning location, in the two lower river tributaries between years. Our study supports the landscape-scale paradigm for ecosystem restoration because of the observed catchment-level effects of hydrology and barrier distribution on fish migration. Connectivity restoration for migratory fish should be implemented at a catchment scale, with planning incorporating spatial information regarding accessibility to key habitats to reap the largest gains

Pediatric Cushing disease: disparities in disease severity and outcomes in the Hispanic and African-American populations.

BackgroundLittle is known about the contribution of racial and socioeconomic disparities to severity and outcomes in children with Cushing disease (CD).MethodsA total of 129 children with CD, 45 Hispanic/Latino or African-American (HI/AA) and 84 non-Hispanic White (non-HW), were included in this study. A 10-point index for rating severity (CD severity) incorporated the degree of hypercortisolemia, glucose tolerance, hypertension, anthropomorphic measurements, disease duration, and tumor characteristics. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, local obesity prevalence, estimated median income, and access to care were assessed in regression analyses of CD severity.ResultsThe mean CD severity in the HI/AA group was worse than that in the non-HW group (4.9±2.0 vs. 4.1±1.9, P=0.023); driving factors included higher cortisol levels and larger tumor size. Multiple regression models confirmed that race (P=0.027) and older age (P=0.014) were the most important predictors of worse CD severity. When followed up a median of 2.3 years after surgery, the relative risk for persistent CD combined with recurrence was 2.8 times higher in the HI/AA group compared with that in the non-HW group (95% confidence interval: 1.2-6.5).ConclusionOur data show that the driving forces for the discrepancy in severity of CD are older age and race/ethnicity. Importantly, the risk for persistent and recurrent CD was higher in minority children

A novel method for identifying coded tags recorded on aquatic acoustic monitoring systems.

Aquatic biotelemetry increasingly relies on using acoustic transmitters ('tags') that enable passive detection of tagged animals using fixed or mobile receivers. Both tracking methods are resource-limited, restricting the spatial area in which movements of highly mobile animals can be measured using proprietary detection systems. Transmissions from tags are recorded by underwater noise monitoring systems designed for other purposes, such as cetacean monitoring devices, which have been widely deployed in the marine environment; however, no tools currently exist to decode these detections, and thus valuable additional information on animal movements may be missed. Here, we describe simple hybrid methods, with potentially wide application, for obtaining information from otherwise unused data sources. The methods were developed using data from moored, acoustic cetacean detectors (C-PODs) and towed passive receiver arrays, often deployed to monitor the vocalisations of cetaceans, but any similarly formatted data source could be used. The method was applied to decode tag detections that were found to have come from two highly mobile fish species, bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and Twaite shad (Alosa fallax), that had been tagged in other studies. Decoding results were validated using test tags; range testing data were used to demonstrate the relative efficiency of these receiver methods in detecting tags. This approach broadens the range of equipment from which acoustic tag detections can be decoded. Novel detections derived from the method could add significant value to past and present tracking studies at little additional cost, by providing new insights into the movement of mobile animals at sea

Genetic susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus protects against cerebral malaria in mice.

Plasmodium falciparum has exerted tremendous selective pressure on genes that improve survival in severe malarial infections. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that is six to eight times more prevalent in women of African descent than in women of European descent. Here we provide evidence that a genetic susceptibility to SLE protects against cerebral malaria. Mice that are prone to SLE because of a deficiency in FcγRIIB or overexpression of Toll-like receptor 7 are protected from death caused by cerebral malaria. Protection appears to be by immune mechanisms that allow SLE-prone mice better to control their overall inflammatory responses to parasite infections. These findings suggest that the high prevalence of SLE in women of African descent living outside of Africa may result from the inheritance of genes that are beneficial in the immune control of cerebral malaria but that, in the absence of malaria, contribute to autoimmune disease