Evaluation of Annual Companion Crops for the Establishment of Perennial Forage Crops in Eastern Canada

The use of companion crops when establishing perennial forages is desirable as it often reduces weed growth and increases forage biomass in the seeding year. In eastern Canada, oat (Avena sativa L.) is the main species used as companion crop; although other species are used, they have not been systematically evaluated. A field study was established in 2019 at three sites in Québec, Canada, to contrast the use of six annual species as companion crops for the establishment of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.)-timothy (Phleum pratense L.) mixtures. Species evaluated include berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lamarck), forage pea (Pisum sativum L.), forage oat, Japanese millet [Echinochloa esculenta (A. Braun) H. Scholz], and sudangrass [Sorghum × drummondii (Nees ex. Steud.) Millsp. & Chase]. The control treatment consisted of the perennial species seeded without companion crop. Treatments were seeded at three dates (mid-May to early-June, mid-June to early-July, and early August) and evaluated during the seeding year based on biomass production and botanical composition. Overall, across sites, for the first two seeding dates, highest annual forage yields were observed with sudangrass, Japanese millet, and oat as companion crops. The use of these species increased yields by 1.8 to 2.5 Mg ha-1 on a dry matter basis (DM) compared to the control which yielded an average of 3.7 Mg DM ha-1. For the early August seeding, response varied significantly across sites. Annual yields were the highest with the use of oat at two sites (avg. of 2.4 Mg DM ha-1), whereas no differences between treatments were observed at the other site. Companion crop species which maximized total forage yields in the seeding year often reduced weed biomass, but also that of perennial species. The impact of treatments on the survival of perennial forages and their production during the first post-seeding year will be presented in a later publication

Environmental and Recycling aspects of Plastics Containing Brominated Fire Retardants

The use of brominated flame retardants in plastics materials has raised many questions about their impact on health and safety of people as well as on the environment. The Dead Sea Bromine Group has addressed these topics and has undertaken several programs to provide the market with useful data showing the good contribution of brominated flame retardants in everyday life. These projects have been undertaken on flame retarded grades of plastics such as high impact polystyrene (HIPS), ABS and PBT. The outcome is showing that brominated flame retardant and plastics containing them pose no risk to the health of the general population from exposure. Environmental studies already made show that brominated flame retardants are not a threat against the environment. Moreover, analyses performed show that the brominated flame retardants are in full compliance with the requirements of the German (Dioxin) Ordinance and EPA TSCA 40 766.25 Final Rule requirements and pose no risk in matter of brominated dioxins and dibenzofurans. Finally, plastics (such as polyester and styrenics) containing brominated flame retardants are also easily recyclable, able to withstand at least five recycling cycles. This new information is confirming that brominated flame retardants can play an important role for a better protection of our environment. They are indeed usually considered as the most efficient ones to reduce the risk of fires and the quantity of accompanying toxic fumes

Bovine Herpesvirus Type 1 Glycoprotein H Is Essential for Penetration and Propagation in Cell Culture

Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) glycoprotein H (gH) is a structural component of the virion which forms a complex with glycoprotein gL. To study the role of BHV-1 gH in the virus infectious cycle, a gH null mutant was constructed in which the gH coding sequences were deleted and replaced by the Escherichia coli lacZ cassette. The BHV-1 gH null mutant was propagated in trans-complementing MDBK cells, stably transfected with plasmid pMEP4 containing the BHV-1 gH gene under the control of the inducible mouse metallothionein promoter. Experiments with the BHV-1 gH null mutant showed that gH is essential in the infectious cycle of the virus and is specifically involved in virus entry and cell-to-cell spread. The lack of infectivity of virions devoid of gH is not due to a defect in attachment. Moreover, PEG-induced fusion of virions to target cells provides evidence that BHV-1 gH is required for virion penetration

Cold-Adapted Enzymes: From Fundamentals to Biotechnology

Psychrophilic enzymes produced by cold-adapted microorganisms display a high catalytic efficiency and are most often, if not always, associated with high thermosensitivity. Using X-ray crystallography, these properties are beginning to become understood, and the rules governing their adaptation to cold appear to be relatively diverse. The application of these enzymes offers considerable potential to the biotechnology industry, for example, in the detergent and food industries, for the production of fine chemicals and in bioremediation processes