Nitrogen Mobility at the Sediment-Water Interface of Lake Maracaibo,Venezuela     

de Medina  Hilda Ledo  Marín  Julio César  Gutiérrez  Elizabeth  Morales  José 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2003,145(1-4):341-357

Nitrogen is one of the two most important elements in the metabolism of aquatic ecosystems. At low concentrations it can limit primary productivity and when present at very high concentrations it can participate in the eutrophication process of these environments. The mechanism of nitrogen transport in sediments is almost unknown, nevertheless it is of vital importance for establishing mass balances in aquatic systems. In the study presented here, we assessed the nitrogen flux in sediments of the central part of tropical Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, in particular with regard to dissolved oxygen concentrations. Experiments were performed under laboratoryconditions in a batch system, and at varying dissolved oxygenregimes (aerobic and anaerobic). Every two days, during 3 months,overlying water samples were taken to analyze nitrite, nitrate,ammonium and Kjeldahl total nitrogen. Average release rates oftotal nitrogen were 0.86 in aerobic, and 1.06 mmol N m^-2 d^-1 in anaerobic systems corresponding to 41.7% of total N input to the lake. The behavior of nitrogen was strongly influenced by nitrate concentrations under aerobic conditions, and by organic nitrogen under anaerobic conditions during the course of the experiment. A major trend for the release of organic nitrogen during anaerobic conditions, and of nitrate, during aerobic conditions, was observed. Also fluxes of NO₃ ^-, NH₄ ⁺, organic N and Total N across the sediment-water interface were measured. In anaerobic conditions, which are predominant in the hypolimnetic cone of LakeMaracaibo, denitrification was estimated to be 0.02 mmol N m^-2 d^-1, which corresponds to 1.89% of the total N released from sediments.This is to our knowledge the first study of nitrogen fluxes insediments from Lake Maracaibo. The laboratory data presented herereflects conditions in the lake when major nutrients accumulation occurs.  相似文献   

Toxic Effects of Fluoride Ion on Survival, Reproduction and Behaviour of the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca)     

??lvaro Alonso  Julio A. Camargo 《Water, air, and soil pollution》2011,219(1-4):81-90

Inorganic fluoride concentrations in aquatic ecosystems have been significantly increased by several human activities during the last decades. However, there is still relatively scarce information about its toxicity to freshwater animals, especially at long-term exposures. The aim of our study is to assess the short-term (4?days) and long-term (28?days) fluoride (F^?) toxicity to the aquatic snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum on the basis of several endpoints, including survival, reproduction (number of newborn and embryos) and behaviour (time to start movement). One control and five actual fluoride concentrations were used in triplicate (49.2, 47.0, 122.5, 194.6 and 281.4?mg?F^?/L) for the short-term (4?days) bioassay. LC50 value at 96?h was 58.5?mg?F^?/L, which is a relatively high value in comparison with previous published data on freshwater invertebrates. One control and three actual fluoride concentrations were used in quadruplicate (4.6, 9.5 and 16.2?mg?F^?/L) for the long-term (28?days) bioassay. None of the fluoride treatments increased mortality in comparison to control after 28?days of continuous exposure. Fluoride reduced the mean total and alive number of newborns per surviving adult after 28?days of exposure (at mean concentrations of 9.5 and 16.2?mg?F^?/L) respect to control. The number of embryos with shell was reduced by the highest concentration (16.2?mg?F^?/L). The behavioural activity (e.g. time to start normal movement) was affected by the highest fluoride concentration during the long-term bioassay. Our results show that fluoride is toxic at short- and long-term exposures, causing mortality (at short term) and affecting reproduction and behaviour (at long term). Additionally, field fluoride levels, corresponding to test fluoride concentrations (mean values ranged from 4.6 to 16.2?mg?F^?/L) have been found in fluoride-polluted ecosystems, either by natural or anthropogenic causes. Therefore, fluoride pollution may potentially affect natural population of invertebrates.  相似文献   

Diagnosis of clinical cases of the nervous form of Maedi-Visna in 4- and 6-month-old lambs     

Benavides J  García-Pariente C  Ferreras MC  Fuertes M  García-Marín JF  Pérez V 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2007,174(3):655-658

The nervous form of Maedi-Visna (MV) infection was diagnosed in four lambs aged 4 and 6 months, belonging to three different Assaf flocks that were managed intensively for milk and meat production. The animals presented with hindleg ataxia that rapidly progressed to complete recumbency. Lesions consisted of a moderate to severe non-purulent encephalitis affecting mainly the cerebellar peduncles. MV virus was demonstrated in the damaged tissues by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. The investigation demonstrated that the clinical presentation of the nervous form of MV which is reported to occur in adult sheep can also be observed in young animals.  相似文献   

Identification of Staphylococcus aureus strains negative for enterotoxins A, B and C isolated from bovine mastitis in México     

Gómez C  Pinal L  Franco J  Carrillo JM  Ramírez J 《Veterinary immunology and immunopathology》2007,117(3-4):249-253

A total of 41 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus obtained from bovine mastitis in 7 different states in Mexico were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of encoding genes for enterotoxins A, B and C. The oligonucleotides were designed by specific regions of the sea, seb, sec genes. Surprisingly, none of the isolates presented the prospective amplification bands when they were run on agarose gels. On the contrary, reference strains CECT 976 SEA; CECT 5191 SEB; and CECT 4465 SEC showed the prospective amplification products. In order to confirm these results, enterotoxin production A, B, C, D, and E was determined by enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA) using a MiniVIDAS system, on 15 Staphylococcus aureus selected at random from among the 41 isolates. None of the analyzed strains was positive to the test, whereas reference strains enterotoxins producing: CECT 976 SEA; CECT 5191 SEB; CECT 4465 SEC, CECT 4466 SED; CECT 5192 SEE produced concentrations of the toxins detected for this technique. The role of enterotoxins in the pathogenicity of S. aureus in bovine mastitis in Mexico is discussed.  相似文献   

Alterations on the growth and ultrastructure of Leishmania chagasi induced by squalene synthase inhibitors     

Granthon AC  Braga MV  Rodrigues JC  Cammerer S  Lorente SO  Gilbert IH  Urbina JA  de Souza W 《Veterinary parasitology》2007,146(1-2):25-34

Leishmaniasis is an important disease in widely dispersed regions of the world. In South America, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is mainly caused by Leishmania chagasi. The morbidity associated with the infection is high, and death may occur in some untreated patients. Treatment has been based upon pentavalent antimonial drugs for more than half a century and problems, including development of resistance to antimonials and lack of efficacy against VL/HIV co-infections, have emphasized the need for new drugs. Squalene synthase (SQS) is an essential enzyme for the biosynthesis of protozoal sterol molecules. In this work, nineteen synthetic quinuclidines, potentially inhibitors of SQS, were tested against promastigote forms of L. chagasi and the IC50 values of the compounds were determined. The most active compounds had IC50 values of around 30 nM and induced complete growth arrest and cell lysis at sub-micromolar concentrations. We analyzed the morphological structure of the parasites treated with these compounds by transmission electron microscopy of thin sections. Treated parasites showed significant ultrastructural changes, which varied from discrete alterations to total destruction of the cells, depending on the drug concentration and the time of incubation. One important change observed was a typical swelling of the unique and highly branched mitochondrion, where the inner membrane lost its organization. There was an increase in the number of autophagosomal structures. Changes in the organization of the nuclear chromatin and alterations in the flagellar pocket and flagellar membrane were also observed.  相似文献   

Aggressiveness of Fusarium oxysporum and F. verticillioides isolates on stone and scots pine under greenhouse conditions     

Jaime Olaizola  Juan A. Pajares  Thomas R. Gordon  Julio J. Diez 《Forest Pathology》2023,53(5):e12831

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Stone pine (Pinus pinea) are two important species used in re-forestation that are subject to damage by damping-off fungi in forest nurseries. Twenty-two isolates of Fusarium oxysporum and F. verticillioides from diseased seedlings of eight different hosts were tested for aggressiveness on seeds and seedlings of both pine species, including the effects on seedling emergence and mortality. Scots pine was more susceptible to damping-off than Stone pine, as indicated both by reduced seedling emergence and elevated seedling mortality. The impact of F. oxysporum and F. verticillioides on seeds and seedlings did not differ significantly for either pine species. Our findings support previous studies that found that these are damping-off pathogens on the studied pines. Whereas most isolates proved to be pathogenic, some isolates of both Fusarium species showed to be non-pathogenic.  相似文献   

Genetic diversity of papaya (Carica papaya L.) F5 recombinant inbred lines using the Ward-MLM strategy     

Vettorazzi  Julio Cesar Fiorio  Santa Catarina  Renato  Poltronieri  Tathianne Pastana de Sousa  Miranda  Daniel Pereira  Santana  Josefa Grasiela Silva  Ramos  Helaine Christine Cancela  Pereira  Messias Gonzaga 《Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution》2021,68(8):3333-3343

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - The development of segregating populations in papaya allows the development of new high fruit yield and excellent fruit quality pure line or hybrid cultivars....  相似文献   

Tolerance of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) Plants to Partial Defoliation     

Casierra-Posada  Fánor  Briceño-Pinzón  Iván David  Carreño-Patiño  Julio Alexander 《Gesunde Pflanzen》2021,73(4):427-434

Vegetables in the tropics are grown continuously throughout the year due to the favorable climate. Unfortunately, leafy vegetables are often damaged because of slugs and snails. These mollusks and other herbivores cause different levels of defoliation to plants which can significantly impact their growth, production, and quality of the harvested product. A study was carried out in order to artificially simulate the effect of a loss in foliar area caused by these pests. The impact of severe artificial defoliation in spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea) was evaluated in Tunja, Colombia. Under greenhouse conditions and after transplanting, the plants had 75% of their leaf area removed. This procedure was repeated weekly on newly emerging leaves while a control group of plants was left intact. 71 days after transplanting, the plants were harvested, and the leaf area and dry weight of the plants were measured with which some allometric variables were calculated to express growth. Variables such as the number of leaves, plant height, total dry weight, relative growth ratio, leaf weight ratio (LWR), and root to shoot ratio (R:S) were unaffected by defoliation while leaf area, leaf area ratio (LAR), and specific leaf area (SLA) were reduced with the partial removal of the leaf area. The partial defoliation resulted in an increased partial biomass of the leaves. These results suggest that spinach plants have a moderate tolerance to partial defoliation.

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Effects of thinning and canopy type on growth dynamics of Pinus sylvestris: inter-annual variations and intra-annual interactions with microclimate     

Irantzu Primicia  J. Julio Camarero  J. Bosco Imbert  Federico J. Castillo 《European Journal of Forest Research》2013,132(1):121-135

We assessed the effects of thinning (0, 20 and 30 % extraction of basal area) and canopy type (pine–beech vs. pine plots, beech accounting for 12 % of total basal area) on radial growth of dominant and codominant Scots pine at inter-annual scale and on microclimatic conditions, radial growth and xylogenesis 9 years after thinning at intra-annual scale. Thinning weakly affected pine growth, which was enhanced 3 years after harvesting. Over time, a gradual reduction in pine growth in mixed canopy relative to pure canopy occurred only in unthinned plots apparently due to beech expansion. Indeed, 9 years after thinning, a higher seasonal radial increment and a greater number of tracheids were produced under pine canopy in the unthinned plots, whereas no differences between canopy types were observed in the thinned plots. Radial increment and tracheid production were mainly affected by tree water status (air and soil humidity, throughfall). The differences of tree water status caused by treatments, and plausibly disparities in tree size and tree-to-tree competition, were the main drivers explaining the patterns observed for radial increment and xylogenesis. Our results suggest that the negative effects of beech competition on Scots pine growth in similar mixed forest may be controlled to some extent by thinning.  相似文献   

Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling grain size and shape in the D genome of synthetic hexaploid wheat lines     

Yuki Okamoto  Anh T. Nguyen  Motohiro Yoshioka  Julio C.M. Iehisa  Shigeo Takumi 《Breeding Science》2013,63(4):423-429

Synthetic hexaploid wheat is an effective genetic resource for transferring agronomically important genes from Aegilops tauschii to common wheat. Wide variation in grain size and shape, one of the main targets for wheat breeding, has been observed among Ae. tauschii accessions. To identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for grain size and shape variation in the wheat D genome under a hexaploid genetic background, six parameters related to grain size and shape were measured using SmartGrain digital image software and QTL analysis was conducted using four F₂ mapping populations of wheat synthetic hexaploids. In total, 18 QTLs for the six parameters were found on five of the seven D-genome chromosomes. The identified QTLs significantly contributed to the variation in grain size and shape among the synthetic wheat lines, implying that the D-genome QTLs might be at least partly functional in hexaploid wheat. Thus, synthetic wheat lines with diverse D genomes from Ae. tauschii are useful resources for the identification of agronomically important loci that function in hexaploid wheat.  相似文献