The Effect of Atrophic Rhinitis (AR) on the Weight-gain of Swine

Atrophic rhinitis (AR) is an infectious disease of swine. Besides the most characteristic clinical symptom, nasal turbinate atrophy, it is presumed to result retarded growth rate as well. The present paper gives a brief overview of the scientific literature concerning the correlation between AR and weightgain. Pointing out some of the possible reasons of contradictory results on the topic is also attempted

Study of Morphological Features in Pre-Imaginal Honey Bee Impaired by Varroa destructor by Means of Computer Tomography

The honey bee (Apis mellifera L. 1778) is an essential element in maintaining the diversity of the biosphere and food production. One of its most important parasites is Varroa destructor, Anderson and Trueman, 2000, which plays a role in the vectoring of deformed wing virus (DWV) in honey bee colonies. Our aim was to measure the potential morphometric changes in the pre-imaginal stage of A. mellifera caused by varroosis by means of computed tomography, hence supplying evidence for the presumable role that V. destructor plays as a virus vector. Based on our results, the developmental disorders in honey bees that ensued during the pre-imaginal stages were evident. The total-body length and abdomen length of parasitized specimens were shorter than those of their intact companions. In addition, the calculated quotients of the total-body/abdomen, head/thorax, and head/abdomen in parasitized samples were significantly altered upon infestation. In our view, these phenotypical disorders can also be traced to viral infection mediated by parasitism, which was confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Capitalizing on a non-destructive method, our study reveals the deformation of the honey bee due to mite parasitism and the intermediary role this pest plays in viral infection, inside the brood cell

CT-supported analysis of the destructive effects of Varroa destructor on the pre-imaginal development of honey bee, Apis mellifera

International audienceThe ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is a most important health risk for European honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera) globally. There is a scarcity in experimental approaches addressing this issue by using computed tomography. Our purpose was to determine the decrease in the volume, surface, density and weight alteration triggered by V. destructor in pre-imaginal stages of A. mellifera using computer-based 3-D reconstruction technology. Computer tomography used in the current study proved to be sufficiently sensitive for the detection of V. destructor in comb cells. This non-invasive experimental setup revealed that the developing worker pupae have retained their volume and surface values, whereas the weight loss triggered by V. destructor was statistically confirmed. In addition, the disappearance of lower radiodensity tissues is shown to be due to mite parasitism, which can be primarily explained by haemolymph losses

X-ray based computed tomography, a non-invasive approach in order to assess the damage caused by Lamprodila festiva of hidden lifestyle

The cypress jewel beetle Lamprodila (Palmar) festiva is a wood-boring pest posing a major threat to the phytosanitary conditions of several coniferous trees. Its unprecedented European expansion has triggered serious plant protection concerns in several new habitats. Parts of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana injured by L. festiva were collected and analysed by computed tomography in order to study the dimensions of the cavities caused by L. festiva larvae as well as the larval positions. It is concluded that computer tomography representing a non-invasive approach is a promising tool for the visual depiction of the position and the physical parameters of the cavities formed. According to our experimental data, the penetration into the cypress caused by larvae and, inherently, its depth depends on the diameter of the branch. Additionally, the developing larvae appeared to keep distance from each other, which also depended on the diameter of the attacked branch. Our approach provides new data to the biological traits of the species. The main benefit that our imaging method furnishes is the exact, stress-free measurement method of the hidden developing stages. Its additional advantage is the indirect pest identification, which is based on the predetermined pest-specific damage characters

A tojásösszetétel, a keltethetőség, valamint a kikelő madarak fejlődése és termelése közötti összefüggések in vivo vizsgálata komputer tomográffal kettőshasznosítású tyúk genotípusokban = In vivo examination of the correlations between hen's egg composition, hatchability and hatched chick's development and production by means of computer tomography in dual-purpose genotypes

A kutatási program keretében kidolgoztuk a tyúktojások CT vizsgálatának metodikáját. Meghatároztuk a legjobban értékelhető felvételek elkészítéséhez szükséges technikai paramétereket és az egyidejűleg vizsgálható tojások számát. A tojások sárgája arányának meghatározásához egy új szoftvert fejlesztettünk, ami lehetővé tette a keresztmetszeti képek gyors és automatikus értékelését. Megállapítottuk, hogy a kisebb sárgája, azaz nagyobb fehérje aránnyal rendelkező tojásokból nagyobb súlyú csibék kelnek mindkét ivarban. A kakasok esetében a nagyobb fehérje arányú tojásokból kelt madarak a testsúlybeli fölényüket a hizlalás végéig megőrizték, míg a jércék kelési súlyában megfigyelt különbségeket a hizlalás végén már nem lehetett kimutatni. A keltetőtojások sárgája aránya szignifikáns hatással volt viszont a jércék testzsírtartalmának nevelés alatti alakulására, ami kihatással volt a későbbi termelésükre. A kutatás során megállapítottuk, hogy a tyúktojások összetétele a CT használatával pontosabban becsülhető, mint a korábban alkalmazott TOBEC módszerrel. A tojások összetétele szignifikáns hatással van a csibék kelési súlyának és testösszetételének alakulására, ami kihatással van a későbbi fejlődésükre és ezen keresztül a termelésükre. Mindezek alapján indokoltnak tűnik a tojásösszetétel in vivo meghatározásának további pontosítása, a tojásösszetétel, a keltethetőség, valamint a kikelő madarak fejlődése és termelése közötti összefüggések további tisztázása érdekében. | In the frame of this research project the methodology of CT examination of hen’s eggs was developed. The optimal technical parameters and the number of simultaneously scanable eggs were determined in order to obtain the best quality CT images for the evaluation. For the fast and automatic determination of yolk ratio a new software was developed. By separating eggs with different predicted yolk ratios it was established that chicks hatched from eggs with low yolk – high albumen – content had higher liveweight at hatching in both sexes. This higher liveweight was also observed at the end of the rearing period in the case of the cocks, but it was not observable in the case of the pullets. However, the yolk content of the eggs had a significant effect on the body fat content of the pullets, which affected the latter production of these birds. During this research work it was also established that the predictability of the composition of hen’s eggs is more accurate by means of the CT than it was formerly by means of the TOBEC method. The composition of the eggs has a significant effect on the liveweight and body composition of the chicks at hatching, which has an effect on their latter development and production. Therefore, based on these results it seems to be necessary to improve the accuracy of the in vivo prediction of egg’s composition in order to clarify the correlations between egg composition, hatchability and hatched bird’s development and production more precisely

COMPARISON OF SPECIES-RICH COVER CROP MIXTURES IN HUNGARIAN WINEYARDS

Sustainable floor management has played an important role in viticulture recently. Intensive agricultural practices of past decades - like mechanical cultivation on steep slope vineyards - endanger the vineyards. Suboptimal inter-row and undervine floor management, especially coupled with extreme weather conditions can lead to heavy soil degradation. In addition, because of climate change we anticipate heavier rainstorms, which can accelerate degradation of the soil. In Hungarian viticulture, preservation of soil moisture is extremely important because of the low amount of annual precipitation (sometimes less than 500 mm per year) and evapotranspiration from June to August is typically higher than precipitation (Bauer et al., 2004). Therefore, the use of cover crops in the inter-row can be beneficial, particularly on steep slopes and in case of organic farming to provide environmentally friendly soil management. One of the most often used soil management methods in the vineyards of Hungary is mechanical cultivation. But when this is used too often or inadequately, several negative effects can be observed: dry soil caused by increased evapotranspiration, deteriorating soil structure, increased erosion and nutrient losses (Bauer et al., 2004; Aljibury and Christensen, 1972; Dijck et al., 2002). Continuous mechanical soil management can also lead to topsoil and subsoil compaction from long-term traffic (Ferrero et al., 2005; Zanathy, 2006). For soil covering, several materials (e.g. straw, reed, sedge) or cover crops can be used. The species-rich cover crop mixture helps to not only to prevent erosion and provide easier of cultivation, but has a positive effect on soil structure, soil fertility and ecosystem functioning. The growth of the roots is influenced by soil structure, so the growth of the grapevine is also influenced by compaction and soil moisture (Wheaton et al., 2008). Requirements for a suitable cover crop species are as follows: it should save the soil from erosion and compaction caused by the movement of workers and machines and it should not compete significantly with the grapevines. In addition of these parameters, the optimal mixture contains local species from local provenance