Influence of field an landscape characteristics on condition, reproductive potential and activity density of two carabid beetles in winter oilseed rape

1. Es wurde der Einfluss von Feld- und Landschaftsparametern auf den Ernährungszustand, die potentielle Reproduktionsleistung und Aktivitätsdichte von Amara similata und Poecilus cupreus in Rapsfeldern untersucht. 2. Die Feldparameter, die in die Studie Eingang fanden, waren die Bodenzahl, der Bodenbearbeitungsindex, die Pflanzenbedeckung im November, die Bestandesdichte der Rapspflanzen sowie die Schädlingslänge (als Maß für die verfügbare Beute im Feld). Die Landschaftsparameter wurden auf acht verschiedenen Radien um jedes Untersuchungsfeld gemessen. Sie umfassten den Anteil an Ackerflächen, an Flächen mit überwiegend holzigen Pflanzen, an Flächen mit Brachen, an Flächen mit Rapsfeldern, an Siedlungsflächen, sowie die Länge an Straßenrändern, die Länge an Hecken und den Shannon-Wiener Diversitätsindex. Außerdem wurde die Distanz zum nächsten Wald, zur nächsten Brache, zum nächsten Trockenrasen und zum nächsten Rapsfeld ermittelt und in die Studie miteinbezogen. 3. Die Schädlingslänge beeinflusste den Ernährungszustand und die Aktivitätsdichte beider Arten und Geschlechter signifikant (positive Beziehung für den Ernährungszustand, negative für die Aktivitätsdichte). Zusätzlich wurde der Ernährungszustand der weiblichen A. similata signifikant positiv von der Bestandesdichte, der Ernährungszustand der männlichen A. similata signifikant positiv von der Bodenzahl und die Aktivitätsdichte beider Geschlechter von P. cupreus signifikant negativ von der Bodenzahl beeinflusst. Die Oocytenzahl von A. similata zeigte einen signifikant negativen Zusammenhang mit der Distanz zur nächsten Brache. Weiterführende Regressionen mit den Abundanzen der Rapsschädlinge Meligethes aeneus, Ceutorhynchus napi und Dasineura brassicae zeigten, dass für die Erklärung des Ernährungszustandes und der Aktivitätsdichte der männlichen A. similata und beider Geschlechter von P. cupreus sowohl M. aeneus als auch C. napi von Bedeutung sind. 4. Bei der gleichzeitigen Analyse von sowohl Feld- als auch Landschaftsparametern durch allgemeine lineare Modelle, zeigte sich in acht von zehn Fällen, dass die Schädlingslänge der meist erklärende Faktor in Hinblick auf Ernährungszustand, potentielle Reproduktionsleistung und Aktivitätsdichte von A. similata und P. cupreus ist. Die Landschaftsparameter, aufgenommen auf verschiedenen räumlichen Skalen, waren für deren Erklärung deutlich weniger wichtig.1. The common carabid beetles, Amara similata and Poecilus cupreus, were investigated in oilseed rape (OSR) fields according to the influence of field and landscape characteristics on their condition, reproductive potential and activity density. 2. The soil index, stand density, soil cultivation index, plant cover and pest length (as a proxy for prey density) were considered as field parameters. Landscape parameters comprised the percentage of crop area, woody area, fallows, OSR fields, settlements, the length of roadside strips and of hedgerows and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, all measured at eight different radii around each study field. Moreover, the distances to the next fallow, dry near-natural grassland, forest and OSR field were included. 3. Pest length influenced the condition factor (CF) and activity density of both species and sexes significantly (positive response for CF, negative for activity density). Furthermore, the CF of female A. similata was significantly positively influenced by stand density, the CF of male A. similata by soil index. In P. cupreus activity density of both sexes was significantly related to soil index. Oocyte numbers of A. similata were significantly negatively related to the distance to the next fallow. When analysing exclusively the influence of the OSR pests Meligethes aeneus, Ceutorhynchus napi and Dasineura brassicae, the abundances of M. aeneus and C. napi were most important in explaining the CF and activity density of both carabid species and sexes, except the CF of female A. similata. 4. In eight of ten cases analysing simultaneously the influence of field and landscape parameters by General Linear Models, pest length proved to be the most important parameter explaining the CF, reproductive potential and activity density of A. similata and P. cupreus. Landscape characteristics at various spatial scales were far less important

α-chloralose poisoning in a cat

A five-year-old domestic cat with acute unexplainable neurological signs was presented for postmortem examination. Clinically, the cat showed an acute onset of ataxia, depressed mentation and continuous twitching/ seizure activity in the morning after having been outside overnight. Despite immediate treatment, the cat# progressed within 24 hours to a comatose state, opisthotonus and severe miosis unresponsive to light. Given a poor prognosis, euthanasia was elected. Gross findings were disappointing and consisted of a nonspecific lung oedema and congested lungs and spleen. Surprisingly, within the stomach and intestines, fragments of cockshafers were found. Histological examination confirmed the gross findings and additionally showed evidence of mild brain oedema, but failed to identify a cause for the severe clinical signs. In a final attempt to solve the case, a urine sample was tested for toxic substances and it was found to contain a significant amount of α-chloralose. This finding was unexpected

Spermatotoxic effects of α-chlorohydrin in rats

This study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of α-chlorohydrin (ACH) on epididymal function and antioxidant system in male rats. The test chemical was administered to male rats by gavage at doses of 0, 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg/day for 7 days. Twenty-four male rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups, with six rats in each group. Spermatotoxicity was assessed by measurement of reproductive organ weight, testicular sperm head count, epididymal sperm motility and morphology, histopathologic examination, and oxidative damage analysis in rats. At 30 mg/kg/day, an increase in the incidence of clinical signs, epididymis weight, and gross necropsy findings of the epididymis, a decrease in the sperm motility, and an increased incidence of histopathological changes of the epididymis were observed in a dose-dependent manner. At 10 mg/kg/day, an increased incidence of clinical signs and histopathological changes and decreased sperm motility were observed. In the oxidative damage analysis, an increase in the malondialdehyde concentration and a decrease in the glutathione content and glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities in the epididymal tissue were detected at ≥3 mg/kg/day. The results show that graded doses of ACH elicit depletion of the antioxidant defense system and that the spermatotoxicity of ACH may be due to the induction of oxidative stress

Fumonisin B1 Toxicity in Grower-Finisher Pigs: A Comparative Analysis of Genetically Engineered Bt Corn and non-Bt Corn by Using Quantitative Dietary Exposure Assessment Modeling

In this study, we investigate the long-term exposure (20 weeks) to fumonisin B1 (FB1) in grower-finisher pigs by conducting a quantitative exposure assessment (QEA). Our analytical approach involved both deterministic and semi-stochastic modeling for dietary comparative analyses of FB1 exposures originating from genetically engineered Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-corn, conventional non-Bt corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) derived from Bt and/or non-Bt corn. Results from both deterministic and semi-stochastic demonstrated a distinct difference of FB1 toxicity in feed between Bt corn and non-Bt corn. Semi-stochastic results predicted the lowest FB1 exposure for Bt grain with a mean of 1.5 mg FB1/kg diet and the highest FB1 exposure for a diet consisting of non-Bt grain and non-Bt DDGS with a mean of 7.87 mg FB1/kg diet; the chronic toxicological incipient level of concern is 1.0 mg of FB1/kg of diet. Deterministic results closely mirrored but tended to slightly under predict the mean result for the semi-stochastic analysis. This novel comparative QEA model reveals that diet scenarios where the source of grain is derived from Bt corn presents less potential to induce FB1 toxicity than diets containing non-Bt corn

Zearalenone and Reproductive Function in Farm Animals

Farm animals are exposed to zearalenone through the feed because of the widespread occurrence of this mycotoxin in cereals and clinical reproductive disorders due to mycotoxin effects are often reported in farm animal species. This review describes the metabolism, the mechanistic aspects, the clinical reproductive symptoms and the in vitro effects on functional parameters of oocytes and sperm cells induced by zearalenone and its derivatives in farm animals. The studies on in vitro effects allow to understand the action mechanisms of mycotoxins and, sometime, to explain the in vivo symptoms. The impairment of semen quality and female reproductive function induced by zearalenone could be a factor responsible for the reproductive failure in farm animals

Expression of HSP47 in Usual Interstitial Pneumonia and Nonspecific Interstitial Pneumonia

BACKGROUND: Heat shock protein (HSP) 47, a collagen-specific molecular chaperone, is involved in the processing and/or secretion of procollagens, and its expression is increased in various fibrotic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether quantitative immunohistochemical evaluation of the expression levels of HSP47, type I procollagen and α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) allows the differentiation of idiopathic usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) from UIP associated with collagen vascular disease (CVD) and idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). METHODS: We reviewed surgical lung biopsy specimens of 19 patients with idiopathic UIP, 7 with CVD-associated UIP and 16 with idiopathic NSIP and assigned a score for the expression of HSP47, type I procollagen and α-SMA in type II pneumocytes and/or lung fibroblasts (score 0 = no; 1 = weak; 2 = moderate; 3 = strong staining). RESULTS: The expression level of HSP47 in type II pneumocytes of idiopathic UIP was significantly higher than in CVD-associated UIP and idiopathic NSIP. The expression of HSP47 in fibroblasts was significantly higher in idiopathic UIP and idiopathic NSIP than in CVD-associated UIP. The expression of type I procollagen in type II pneumocytes was significantly higher in idiopathic UIP than in idiopathic NSIP. The expression of type I procollagen in fibroblasts was not different in the three groups, while the expression of α-SMA in fibroblasts was significantly higher in idiopathic UIP than in idiopathic NSIP. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the existence of different fibrotic pathways among these groups involved in the expression of HSP47 and type I procollagen

Variation in The Vitamin D Receptor Gene is Associated With Multiple Sclerosis in an Australian Population

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in accumulating neurological disability. The disorder is more prevalent at higher latitudes. To investigate VDR gene variation using three intragenic restriction fragment length polymorphisms (Apa I, Taq I and Fok I) in an Australian MS case-control population, one hundred and four Australian MS patients were studied with patients classified clinically as Relapsing Remitting MS (RR-MS), Secondary Progressive MS (SP-MS) or Primary Progressive MS (PP-MS). Also, 104 age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls were investigated as a comparative group. Our results show a significant difference of genotype distribution frequency between the case and control groups for the functional exon 9 VDR marker Taq I (p_Gen = 0.016) and interestingly, a stronger difference for the allelic frequency (p_All = 0.0072). The Apa I alleles were also found to be associated with MS (p_All = 0.04) but genotype frequencies were not significantly different from controls (p_Gen = 0.1). The Taq and Apa variants are in very strong and significant linkage disequilibrium (D' = 0.96, P < 0.0001). The genotypic associations are strongest for the progressive forms of MS (SP-MS and PP-MS). Our results support a role for the VDR gene increasing