Identification and ecology of alternative insect vectors of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ to grapevine

Bois noir, a disease of the grapevine yellows complex, is associated with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' and transmitted to grapevines in open fields by the cixiids Hyalesthes obsoletus and Reptalus panzeri. In vine-growing areas where the population density of these vectors is low within the vineyard, the occurrence of bois noir implies the existence of alternative vectors. The aim of this study was to identify alternative vectors through screening of the Auchenorrhyncha community, phytoplasma typing by stamp gene sequence analyses, and transmission trials. During field activities, conducted in Northern Italy in a vineyard where the bois noir incidence was extremely high, nine potential alternative insect vectors were identified according to high abundance in the vineyard agro-ecosystem, high infection rate, and harbouring phytoplasma strains characterized by stamp gene sequence variants found also in symptomatic grapevines. Transmission trials coupled with molecular analyses showed that at least eight species (Aphrodes makarovi, Dicranotropis hamata, Dictyophara europaea, Euscelis incisus, Euscelidius variegatus, Laodelphax striatella, Philaenus spumarius, and Psammotettix alienus/confinis) are alternative vectors of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' to grapevines. These novel findings highlight that bois noir epidemiology in vineyard agro-ecosystems is more complex than previously known, opening up new perspectives in the disease management

Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun UDC 636.4 CORRELATION BETWEEN CERTAIN PARAMETERS OF PIG CARCASS QUALITY IN UNCONVENTIONAL HOUSING SYSTEMS **

Abstract: Major qualitative parameters of Landrace pig carcasses are presented in this paper. Phenotypic correlation between cracass quality indices and meat yield of carcass sides was investigated. Fatteners included in this research (117) were reared in non-conventional conditions, on deep litter, and as litter straw was used. Meat yield of pig carcass sides was evaluated on the slaughter line using the «two point » method (Džinić et al. 2004) and mathematical model using FOM-device (defined by Petrović et al. 1996). Meat yield of carcass sides estimated using FOM was 56,29%, and by method of »two points « 53,16%. Of basic quality parameters of pig carcasses the strongest correlation assesed using FOM device was established between meat yield of carcass side and thickenss of fat tissue – LF and RF, and using the method of two points, between meat yield of carcass side and thickness of fat tissue- X1 i X2. Established correlations were negative, strong and statistically significant (-0,85**;-0,87** and-0,97**;-0,77**). Results of the assessment of quality of pig carcasses obtained using method of two points (53,16%) and by instrumental method on right carcass sides using FOM device (56,29%) differed, which indicates need to develop new equations for evaluation/assessment of share of muscle tissue in pig carcasses

Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun UDC 637.5 QUALITY INDICATORS: CARCAS SIDE AND MEAT QUALITY OF PIGS OF DIFFERENT GENOTYPES

Abstract: In the paper, lean meat and quality of meat from pigs of 5 different genotypes were investigated: pure Landrace breed (L), genotype A; two hybrid combinations (Large Yorkshire x Landrace) x Duroc (LY x L) x D, genotype B; (Large Yorkshire x Landrace) x Pietrain (LY x L) x P, genotype C; and tow recurrent mating combinations: (Large Yorkshire x Landrace) x Large Yorkshire (F1 x LY, genotype D) and (Large Yorkshire x Landrace) x Landrace (F1 x L, genotype E). Relevant indicators of lean meat were analyzed early post mortem and by method of partial dissection on cooled left carcass sides according to recommendation of EU. By analysis of obtained results it was established that the best indicator of lean meat of pig carcass sides mass of muscle tissue in four main parts. This conclusion derives from the fact that fatteners (genotype C) which had the greatest mass of muscle tissue in four main parts (15,33kg) also had the highest lean meat share in leg, shoulder, back-loin part (BLP) and belly-rib part (BRP) (69,67%, 57,71%, 54,42 % and 44,99%) and highest share of muscle tissue in carcass sides when any of the mentioned investigation methods was applied (51,23 and 60,73%) compared to fatteners of other investigated genotypes. The quality of meat was investigated by determination of its technological quality and chemical composition of the MLD. Technological quality and chemical composition of MLD meat exhibited significant (*p<0,05) differences in WBC and pigment content between genotypes B and C, as well as B and E. Average values for content of ashes and share of pigments corresponds with average values characterizing muscles of normal properties. By analysis of obtained results we can conclude that fatteners of genotype E had the highest meat yield in carcass sides, but of slightly lower quality, which indicates the need for further work on improvement of meat quality. Key words: quality indicators, quality of carcass/carcass sides and meat, evaluation methods, genotype174 O. Kosovac et al

Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun UDC 637.53 THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FIXED FACTORS ON PIG CARCASS QUALITY AND MEAT TRAITS

was to investigate the effect of the sire breed (Swedish landrace and Large Yorkshire) and sex (female animals and male castrates) on quality of carcass and pig meat. Established fat thickenss was the highest at withers (33,21 mm) and the thinnest at rump in the center of m. gluteusa medius (18,48 mm). Sire breed had influence (p<0,01) on back fat thickness in the central part, whereas sex influenced (p<0,05) backfat thickenss at withers. Lean meat of Swedish Landrace progeny established by partial dissection EU was 52,91 % and according to current Regulation 42,89 % and it was higher compared to progeny (SLxLY) whose sires were Large Yorkshire breed. Established difference in share of meat between sire breeds by application of these two methods was 10,02 and 8,83 %. Higher share of meat (EU 53,20 %) was established in female progeny by 2,27 % in comparison to male progeny (p<0,05). Also, sire breed influenced (p<0,05 and p<0,01) pH, water binding capacity, softness and thickenss of muscle fibre, whereas the sex influenced (p<0,01) colour of musculus longissimus. Sire breed and sex had no influence on investigated chemical traits of m. longissimus (p>0,05)

Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun UDC 636.082 THE ROLE OF PH VALUES IN PORCINE REPRODUCTIVE TRACTS OF MALE AND FEMALE INDIVIDUALS**

**Original scientific paper Abstract: For а long time, in practice, and science, has been known that pH values of sperm and vagina are important for successful fertilization. In this investigation this fact was confirmed, and the goal was to investigate the role of pH values through whole reproductive tract of male and female individuals: testis, rete testis, epididymis, ductus deferens, Cowper’s gland, vesicula seminalis, prostata, corpus cavernosus, corpus spongiosus, epitel tissu

A New Domain Independent Keyphrase Extraction System ⋆

Abstract. In this paper we present a keyphrase extraction system that can extract potential phrases from a single document in an unsupervised, domain-independent way. We extract word n-grams from input document. We incorporate linguistic knowledge (i.e., part-of-speech tags), and statistical information (i.e., frequency, position, lifespan) of each n-gram in defining candidate phrases and their respective feature sets. The proposed approach can be applied to any document, however, in order to know the effectiveness of the system for digital libraries, we have carried out the evaluation on a set of scientific documents, and compared our results with current keyphrase extraction systems.

Muramyl dipeptide responsive pathways in Crohn’s disease: from NOD2 and beyond

Crohn's disease (CD) is one of main disease entities under the umbrella term chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The etiology of CD involves alterations in genetic, microbiological, and immunological factors. This review is devoted to the role of the bacterial wall compound muramyl dipeptide (MDP) for the activation of inflammatory pathways involved in the pathogenesis of CD. The importance of this molecule is underscored by the fact that (1) MDP, which is found in most Gram-negative and -positive bacteria, is able to trigger several immunological responses in the intestinal system, and (2) that alterations in several mediators of the MDP response including-but not restricted to-nucleotide oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) are associated with CD. The normalization of MDP signaling is one of several important factors that influence the intestinal inflammatory response, a fact which emphasizes the pathogenic importance of MDP signaling for the pathogenesis of CD. The important aspects of NOD2 and non-NOD2 mediated effects of MDP for the development of CD are highlighted, as well as how alterations in these pathways might translate into the development of new therapeutic strategies