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Hyptis suaveolens is an exotic plant that has become established in Nigeria because it is grows vigorously and produces allelochemicals that adversely affect the growth of adjacent plants. In this study, we predict the distribution of Hyptis suaveolens in Nigeria using a Maximum Entropy modelling approach. Pearson correlations were used to select five bioclimatic variables to which type of soil and altitude were added to give a total of seven environmental variables that were then included in the MaxEnt model. This model predicts that Hyptis suaveolens can colonize 25%, 45% and 25% of the total land area in FCT, Nasarawa and the River States in Nigeria. In addition, Hyptis suaveolens in Nigeria grows mainly in sandy clay and sandy loam soils. Bioclimatic conditions most suitable for this species include temperatures between 26– 30 °C, 9–10 hour photoperiod, low altitudes of around 200–800 m and rainfall within the range of 200–800mm. The MaxEnt model indicates that Hyptis suaveolens is currently a threat to the survival of native species of plants in the North Central part of Nigeria. The MaxEnt model further reveals that because of its high adaptability and tolerance of changes in abiotic factors, Hyptis suaveolens is likely to invade a new environment, the humid forest zone in Nigeria. As this species can become very abundant, we recommend that its spread is monitored and controlled, particularly in areas of high suitability.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of serogroup A of Pasteurella multocida in Syrian Awassi sheep. Of 1630 samples collected from nasal swabs of healthy and pneumonic sheep (125 herds) and pneumonic sheep lungs, a total of 228 (13.9%) strains were isolated and identified as P. multocida subsp. multocida by phenotypic and biochemical characterisation. However, of them only 117 (51.3%) were identified as serogroup A of P. multocida when PCR assay with specific primers for serogroup A strains was applied. The highest rate of serogroup A isolation was from apparently healthy sheep (49.6%) with consideration that all lung isolates (23 isolates) belonged to serogroup A. Geographical and seasonal distribution showed that about 60% of positively isolated bacteria originated from Syrian desert (29 isolates) and central parts of semi-arid step zone (41 isolates). A significant increase (P≤0.05) in the rate of positive isolates was observed in winter as compared to spring. Pathogenicity tests of 10 isolates with 50 or 10 LD50 values showed that 5 isolates were able to induce symptoms of fowl cholera in challenge-exposed chickens indicating that migratory Awassi sheep might serve as a carrier for serogroup A of P. multocida and that ovine isolates may be virulent for local breed of chickens.

'Hop' (Humulus lupulus) cultivar trials were conducted at sites in three Virginia counties (Northampton, Chesterfield, and Madison) in response to demand by the craft beer industry for local ingredients. In 2016, a replicated study involving five cultivars (Cascade, Chinook, Newport, Nugget, and Zeus) was established on an 18-ft-tall trellis system at each site. Weather data influencing infectivity of downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora humuli) and powdery mildew (Podosphaera macularis), two economically important hop diseases, was collected, and to the extent possible, similar cultural practices were applied at each site. Climatic conditions favorable to P. humuli and P. macularis were present throughout the experimental period, and P. humuli infection was widespread at all sites starting from 2017. Among common pests, Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was the only one observed to cause significant damage. Unseasonably high rainfall in 2018 led to crop failure at all but the Northampton site, and harvesting was done at all sites only in 2017 and 2019. Yields (kilograms per hectare by weight) in 2017 were found to be >= 45% lower than second-year estimates for yards in the north and northwestern United States. Quality attributes (alpha and beta acids; essential oil) for cones harvested from the Chesterfield site were comparable to published ranges for 'Cascade' in 2019, but lower for the other cultivars. More work is needed to identify or develop cultivars better suited to conditions in the southeastern United States. The influence of terroir on quality of commercial cultivars produced in the region should also be examined. U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant [2015-38821-24384] Published version This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant (Agreement 2015-38821-24384).

Background Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the only two countries in the Arabian Peninsula that are yet to achieve malaria elimination. Over the past two decades, the malaria control programme in Saudi Arabia has successfully reduced the annual number of malaria cases, with the lowest incidence rate across the country reported in 2014. This study aims to investigate the distribution of residual malaria in Jazan region and to identify potential climatic drivers of autochthonous malaria cases in the region. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out from 1 April 2018 to 31 January 2019 in Jazan region, southwestern Saudi Arabia, which targeted febrile individuals attending hospitals and primary healthcare centres. Participants’ demographic data were collected, including age, gender, nationality, and residence. Moreover, association of climatic variables with the monthly autochthonous malaria cases reported during the period of 2010–2017 was retrospectively analysed. Results A total of 1124 febrile subjects were found to be positive for malaria during the study period. Among them, 94.3 and 5.7% were infected with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, respectively. In general, subjects aged 18–30 years and those aged over 50 years had the highest (42.7%) and lowest (5.9%) percentages of malaria cases. Similarly, the percentage of malaria-positive cases was higher among males than females (86.2 vs 13.8%), among non-Saudi compared to Saudi subjects (70.6 vs 29.4%), and among patients residing in rural rather than in urban areas (89.8 vs 10.2%). A total of 407 autochthonous malaria cases were reported in Jazan region between 2010 and 2017. Results of zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis showed that monthly average temperature and relative humidity were the significant climatic determinants of autochthonous malaria in the region. Conclusion Malaria remains a public health problem in most governorates of Jazan region. The identification and monitoring of malaria transmission hotspots and predictors would enable control efforts to be intensified and focused on specific areas and therefore expedite the elimination of residual malaria from the whole region.

ObjectiveShearing is one of the practices that is applied periodically to fiber producing animals, which can also alter resistance of animals to high temperatures in especially summer months. This study aimed to investigate effects of shearing on some physiological and hormonal parameters in Akkaraman sheep during summer season.Methods39 non-pregnant Akkaraman ewes (aged 1.5 years at the beginning of experiment) were used in this study. The 39 ewes were chosen randomly from the flock belonging to the Erciyes University and they were assigned to two groups as follows: 1) group A (n=20) designed as the control group, they were shorn and group B (n=19) designed as the experimental group, they were unshorn. Prior to the shearing (-1 day) and on days 1, 7, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 following the shearing, blood samples were taken from the vena jugularis of each sheep. Cortisol, β-Endorphin, growth hormone (GH), thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70) concentrations were determined using the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method. Body weight (BW), rectal temperature (RT), pulse rate (PR) and respiratory rate (RR) of each sheep were recorded at the same time. The data obtained were analyzed using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).ResultsStatistical analysis showed a significant effect of shearing x period interaction (pConclusionThe results showed that the thermoregulation abilities of sheep were affected by shearing treatment and the shorn ewes were more effected by heat stress. In conclusion, based on the data of this study, shearing can be considered as a necessary management practice that requires protection for sheep from the effect of heat stress.

Background: Present study was conducted to determine species composition of mosquitoes (larvae, pupae and adults) collected from ten different towns of Lahore from September 2014 to August 2015. Methods: Mosquito larvae, pupae and adults (male and female) were collected by using dippers and aspirators from September 2014 to August 2015 in different sites of Lahore comprising of ten towns i.e. Iqbal, Aziz Bhatti, Data Ganj Baksh, Gulberg, Nishtar, Ravi, Samanabad, Shalimar, Wagah, and Lahore Cantonment. Mosquito larvae and adults were identified by standard entomological keys. Diversity, richness and rarity of mosquito fauna were analyzed by the Shannon, Simpson and Margalef indices respectively. Results: In this study, a total of 8656 mosquitoes belonging to four genera namely Anopheles, Culex, Aedes and Man­sonia were identified. Among fifteen species collected, Cx. quinquefasciatus was the most abundant species in the city having 25.8% relative abundance. However An. culicifacies s.l. (sensu lato) was reported as the least abundant species with 0.22% relative abundance. The highest diversity of mosquitoes was shown in the month of August (H= 2.25) while the lowest diversity was recorded June (H= 1.43). Extensive sewage water supported the maximum abundance of Cx. quinquifasciatus in urban areas of this city. Conclusions: This study has significantly elaborated the monthly varying species composition of mosquito fauna of this city. Hence this research will help us to find out the control strategies of mosquito borne diseases in this region.

Flowering time is an important target for breeders in developing new varieties adapted to changing conditions. A new approach is proposed that uses Approximate Bayesian Computation with Differential Evolution to construct a pool of models for flowering time. The functions for daily progression of the plant from planting to flowering are obtained in analytic form and depend on daily values of climatic factors and genetic information. The resulting pool of models demonstrated high accuracy on the dataset. Day length, solar radiation and temperature had a large impact on the model accuracy, while the impact of precipitation was comparatively small and the impact of maximal temperature has the maximal variation. The model pool was used to investigate the behavior of accessions from the dataset in case of temperature increase by 0.05–6.00°. The time to flowering changed differently for different accessions. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the SNP value and the change in time to flowering revealed weak but significant association of SNP7 with behavior of the accessions in warming climate conditions. The same SNP was found to have a considerable influence on model prediction with a permutation test. Our approach can help breeding programs harness genotypic and phenotypic diversity to more effectively produce varieties with a desired flowering time.

Salix matsudana is an important tree species for shelterbelt and barren hill afforestation in North China. Knowledge of the seasonal pattern of the stem radial growth (SRG) of S. matsudana and its response to environmental factors is crucial for understanding the tree growth and climate relationships in the increasingly warm and dry climate of North China. To this end, a field trial was conducted in a semi-arid area of North China, and the stem radial dynamics of eight sample trees at two sites (four trees per site) with different soil moisture regimes, as well as the meteorological and edaphic conditions, were monitored from May to October in 2016 and 2019. During the growing season, the daily mean air temperature was 1.69 °C higher in 2019 than in 2016, and the total precipitation was 179.2 mm lower in 2019 than in 2016. The results showed that the seasonal pattern of S. matsudana SRG was divided into the initial stage (stage 1), the rapid growth stage (stage 2), and ending stage (stage 3) in terms of the threshold of 0.02 mm day−1 (daily growth rate). The initiation of stage 2 in 2019 (day of year (DOY) 126) was 48 days earlier than that in 2016 (DOY 174). However, the date on which the maximum growth rate was reached occurred also 34 days earlier, indicating the co-occurrence of the positive effect of the higher temperature in 2019 than in 2016 on growth initiation in stage 1 as well as the negative consequences of the water deficit on tree growth in stage 2. Higher cumulative growth of S. matsudana at the high soil moisture site was monitored relative to the low soil moisture site throughout the trial, which could be attributed to differences in soil moisture and the initial stem size of the trees in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Temperature and soil moisture were the main factors restricting daily SRG, but the growth of S. matsudana subjected to prolonged summer water stress would be less significantly limited by soil moisture in stage 3. These results showed that the seasonal pattern of SRG of S. matsudana was closely related to the dynamics of the soil and climatic factors. Therefore, seasonal variation in growth-limiting factors should be considered when forecasting tree growth in response to climate change in North China.

This study was conducted to investigate parasitism of naturally occurring pentatomid eggs in rice crops in a Cerrado-Caatinga ecosystem during the rainy and dry seasons in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. Also, it provides information on the incidence and seasonality of parasitoid species. Parasitism was registered only during the rainy season, where Telenomus podisi (Ashmead, 1893) parasitized Oebalus poecilus (Dallas, 1851), Tibraca limbativentris (Stal, 1860) and Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1798) eggs. Additionally, Trissolcus urichi (Crawford, 1913) was collected from O. poecilus and T. limbativentris eggs. Ooencyrtus anasae (Ashmead, 1887) was found in O. poecilus eggs. Such findings provide information that can be used to supplement the management of pentatomid pests in the rice agroecosystems, in Piauí, Brazil. Made available in DSpace on 2021-07-07T13:03:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 New-records-egg-parasitoids.pdf: 1797918 bytes, checksum: 08d1d6cdf8fd445f7a7c7ec64094e37c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021

Objective: Hemoparasitism is a condition commonly found in animals and it exerts negatively on the health, production, reproduction, and performance of the affected animals. This study is aimed at determining the prevalence of different hemoparasites affecting cattle and sheep in Mosul, Iraq, and to deduce the effect of climatic factors on the occurrence of these hemoparasites. Materials and Methods: Blood samples from cattle and sheep that were submitted to the Parasitology Laboratory of the Veterinary Hospital of Ninavah between 2008 and 2018 were examined for the presence of blood parasites using the thin blood smear preparation. Data were analyzed using percentages (%), tabulations, and graphs. Spearmans rank correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of association between the occurrence of hemoparasites of cattle/sheep and each climatic variable. Results: Anaplasma spp. Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. were the hemoparasites detected among cattle and sheep in the study, with Theileria spp. been the most prevalent among cattle, while Anaplasma spp. was the most prevalent among sheep. There was no distinct pattern in the yearly and monthly prevalence of these hemoparasites among cattle and sheep. Rainfall and relative humidity negatively influenced the occurrence of hemoparasites infections, while temperature favored their occurrences. Conclusion: This study appears to be the first to evaluate the correlation between climatic vari¬ables and the prevalence of hemoparasites of cattle and sheep in Mosul, Iraq. Climatic variables influenced the abundance of hemoparasites of cattle and sheep in the study area. The outcome of this study will add to the existing knowledge on the effect of climatic factors on the occurrence of parasitic diseases of ruminants in Middle East. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2019; 6(4.000): 492-498]

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, family Phyllostomidae, and present a wide diversity of reproductive strategies. However, information on the reproductive biology of male bats is scarce, mainly in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Thus, this study evaluated the seasonal testicular histomorphometry of the bat Carollia perspicillata in fragments of the Atlantic Forest in Pernambuco state. To this end, adult males were collected, euthanized for removal of the testicles, and later submitted to a routine histological technique. Histomorphometric analysis included assessment of the areas of tubular and intertubular compartment occupation, as well as quantification of spermatocytes, rounded spermatids, elongated spermatids, and Sertoli and Leydig cells. Results indicated that this bat species presents reproductive seasonality, because significantly higher averages of the testicular parameters were observed in the rainy season, which is a period of greater availability of food resources. Such inferences indicate that there is a synchrony between peak spermatogenesis and hormonal inversion in the months of high precipitation; furthermore, a higher carrying capacity of the Sertoli cells is noted. C. perspicillata males possibly present greater sperm and androgenic activity in the rainy season, associated with increased tubular area and number of spermatogenic cells, as well as with the intertubular area and number of Leydig cells, respectively. RESUMO: Os morcegos pertencem a ordem Chiroptera, família Phyllostomidae, e apresentam ampla diversidade de estratégias reprodutivas. Entretanto, as informações relacionadas à biologia reprodutiva dos machos são escassas, principalmente no Nordeste do Brasil. Dessa forma, o trabalho avaliou a histomorfometria sazonal testicular de Carollia perspicillata em fragmentos de Mata Atlântica de Pernambuco. Para tanto, os machos adultos foram coletados, eutanasiados para a remoção dos testículos, e posteriormente submetidos à técnica histológica de rotina. As análises histomorfométricas avaliaram as áreas de ocupação do compartimento tubular e intertubular, assim como a quantificação dos espermatócitos, espermátides arredondadas, espermátides alongadas, células de Sertoli e de Leydig. Os resultados indicaram que a espécie apresenta sazonalidade reprodutiva, visto que maiores médias significativas dos parâmetros testiculares foram encontradas na estação chuvosa, que é um período de maior disponibilidade de recursos alimentares. Tais inferências indicam que existe uma sincronia entre o pico de espermatogênese e investimento hormonal nos meses de alta precipitação, atrelado a isso, nota-se ainda, uma maior capacidade de suporte das células de Sertoli. Os machos de C. perspicillata possivelmente apresentam uma maior atividade espermática e androgênica na estação chuvosa, associadas ao aumento da área tubular e do número de células espermatogênicas, assim como da área intertubular e do número das células de Leydig, respectivamente.

Climate change is producing an increase on extreme weather events around the world such as flooding, drought and extreme ambient temperatures impacting animal production and animal welfare. At present, there is a lack of studies addressing the effects of climatic conditions associated with energy intake in finishing cattle in South American feed yards. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of environmental variables and level of metabolizable energy intake above maintenance requirements (MEI) on performance and carcass quality of steers. In each experiment (winter and summer), steers were fed with 1.85 or 2.72 times of their requirements of metabolizable energy of maintenance. A total of 24 crossbred steers per experiment were used and located in four pens (26.25 m2/head) equipped with a Calan Broadbent Feeding System. Animals were fed with the same diet within each season, varying the amount offered to adjust the MEI treatments. Mud depth, mud scores, tympanic temperature (TT), environmental variables, average daily gain, respiration rates and carcass characteristics plus three thermal comfort indices were collected. Data analysis considered a factorial arrangement (Season and MEI). In addition, a repeated measures analysis was performed for TT and respiration rate. Mean values of ambient temperature, solar radiation and comfort thermal indices were greater in the summer experiment as expected (Plt;0.005). The mean values of TT were higher in steers fed with higher MEI and also in the summer season. The average daily gain was greater during summer v. winter (1.10±0.11 v. 0.36±0.06) kg/day, also when steers were fed 2.72 v. 1.85 MEI level (0.89±0.12 v. 0.57±0.10) kg/day. In summer, respiration rate increased in 41.2% in the afternoon. In winter, muddy conditions increased with time of feeding, whereas wind speed and rainfall had significant effects on TT and average daily gain. We conclude that MEI and environmental variables have direct effects on the physiology and performance of steers, including TT and average daily gain, particularly during the winter. In addition, carcass characteristics were affected by season but not by the level of MEI. Finally, due to the high variability of data as well as the small number of animals assessed in these experiments, more studies on carcass characteristics under similar conditions are required.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of Mannheimia haemolytica in Syrian Awassi sheep. Between 2008 and 2012, 1520 nasal swabs from pneumonic and apparently healthy sheep, and 110 pneumonic lungs samples were collected and subjected to bacteriological, biochemical and PCR assays. A total of 191 isolates (11.7%) were identified as M. haemolytica, 44 (2.7%) were M. ruminalis and 18 (1.1%) were M. glucosida. All 191 isolates of M. haemolytica gave an amplified product of 1146 bp size by PCR when lktaA primer was applied. The highest rate of M. haemolytica isolation was from pneumonic lungs tissue (21.8%) and pneumonic sheep (14.1%), and the lowest was from apparently healthy sheep (8.5%). Geographical and seasonal distribution of M. haemolytica showed that the majority of the isolates originated from sheep reared in the Syrian Desert (30%) and Euphrates basin (26.7%), and a significant increase (P≤0.05) in the rate of positive isolates in summer and winter as compared to spring. These findings indicate that M. haemolytica may play an important role in development of pneumonia in Syrian Awassi sheep, especially in eastern parts of Syria, where drought and shortage of rain hit these zones periodically.

La bacteriosis del nogal es causada por Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis. En Zavalla (Santa Fe), la actividad nogalera se centra en la producción de plantas injertadas en vivero. El presente trabajo tuvo por objetivo cuantificar el efecto ambiental sobre el desarrollo epidémico de la bacteriosis del nogal en variedades susceptibles y de mejor comportamiento a la enfermedad y elaborar modelos matemáticos que permitan predecir la severidad de la misma. En la localidad de Zavalla se realizaron observaciones de severidad (Sev%) de la bacteriosis cada siete días en cuatro variedades de nogal (tres susceptibles (sus=1): Chandler, Davis y Tulare y una de mejor comportamiento: Franquette (sus=0)), desde el fin de la primavera hasta los últimos días de febrero (N=76) durante tres campañas (2010/11, 2011/12 y 2012/13). Las variables regresoras meteorológicas se calcularon en los respectivos lapsos de 15 días previos a cada observación de tasa de incremento diario epidémico (Tid%=Sev%t–Sev%t-1/7). Las variables mejor correlacionadas (rk: coeficiente de correlación de Kendall Tau-b) con los niveles de bacteriosis (severo:Tid% >0,1367; moderado a nulo: Tid%9 (días con precipitación>9mm; rk=0,434) y DMojro (días sin lluvia, con mojado atribuible al rocío por ocurrencia de humedad relativa del aire mayor a 82%; rk=0,326). El modelo logístico integrado por DPr>9 y DMojro clasificó correctamente 62 casos de los 76 analizados en las tres campañas (precisión de predicción: PPred=81,5%), permitiendo cuantificar el efecto ambiental en ambos tipos de variedades de nogal analizadas. El modelo integrado por DPr>9 y DMojt (suma los días de mojado por rocío (DMojro) con los originados por precipitación (DMojpr)) logró una precisión de predicción de 80,3%. Ambas variables meteorológicas estarían expresando el requerimiento de agua libre de la bacteria para la infección (DMojt) y de energía en las lluvias (DPr>9) para favorecer la dispersión bacteriana. Walnut Blight is caused by Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis. In Zavalla (Santa Fe), walnut production is focused on the grafted plants in nurseries. The objective of this work was to quantify the environmental effect on the epidemic development of walnut blight, in susceptible varieties and in varieties with better behaviour to the disease, and to develop mathematical models to predict the severity of the disease In the locality of Zavalla observations of severity (Sev%) of walnut blight were made every seven days in four walnut varieties (three susceptible (sus=1): Chandler, Davis and Tulare and one with better performance: Franquette (sus=0)), from the end of spring until the last days of February (N=76) , during three crop seasons (2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13). Weather regression variables were calculated in the respective 15-day periods prior to each observation of daily epidemic increase rate (Tid%=Sev%t-Sev%t-1/7). The variables best correlated (rk: Kendall Tau-b correlation coefficient) with bacterial levels (severe: Tid% >0.1367; moderate to nil) were Tid%9 (days with precipitation>9mm; rk=0.434) and DMojro (days without rain, with wetness attributable to dew due to the occurrence of relative air humidity greater than 82%; rk=0.326). The logistic model integrated by DPr>9 and DMojro correctly classified 62 cases of the 76 analyzed in the three crop seasons (prediction accuracy: PPred=81.5%), allowing to quantify the environmental effect in both types of walnut varieties analyzed. The model integrated by DPr>9 and DMojt (summing the days of wetting by dew (DMojro) with those originated by precipitation (DMojpr)) achieved a prediction accuracy of 80.3%. Both meteorological variables would be expressing the bacterial free water requirement for infection (DMojt) and energy requirement in rainfall (DPr>9) to provide bacterial dispersion. A bacteriose da nogueira é causada por Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis. Em Zavalla (Santa Fe), o cultivo da nogueira concentra-se na produção de plantas enxertadas em viveiro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi quantificar o efeito do ambiente no desenvolvimento epidêmico da bacteriose da nogueira em variedades susceptíveis e de melhor comportamento e elaborar modelos matemáticos que permitam prever a sua severidade. En Zavalla foram feitas observações da severidade da bacteriose (Sev%) a cada sete dias em quatro variedades de nogueiras (três susceptíveis (sus=1): Chandler, Davis e Tulare e uma de melhor comportamento: Franquette (sus=0)), desde o final da primavera até os últimos dias de fevereiro (N=76), durante três safras (2010/11, 2011/12 e 2012/13),. As variáveis de regressão meteorológica foram calculadas nos respectivos intervalos de 15 dias antes de cada observação da taxa diária de progresso da epidemia (Tid%=Sev%t-Sev%t-1/7). As melhores variáveis correlacionadas (rk: coeficiente de correlação de Kendall Tau-b) com a severidade da bacteriose (severo:Tid% >0,1367; moderado a nulo: Tid%9 (dias com precipitação>9mm; rk=0,434) e DMojro (dias sem chuva, com molhamento devido ao orvalho pela ocorrência de umidade relativa do ar maior que 82%; rk=0,326). O modelo logístico integrado por DPr>9 e DMojro classificou corretamente 62 casos dos 76 analisados nas três safras (precisão de previsão: PPred=81,5%), permitindo quantificar o efeito do ambiente em ambos os tipos de variedades. O modelo integrado por DPr>9 e DMojt (soma dos dias com molhamento foliar pelo orvalho (DMojro) com os originados por precipitação pluvial (DMojpr)) atingiu uma precisão de previsão de 80,3%. Ambas as variáveis meteorológicas estariam expressando a necessidade de água livre para a infecção (DMojt) e o efeito mecânico da precipitação pluvial (DPr>9) na dispersão bacteriana. Com o uso do melhor modelo podem ser reduzidas as pulverizações com bactericida. Fil: Seta, Silvana Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Santa Fe. Argentina Fil: Moschini, Ricardo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Clima y Agua; Argentina Fil: González, Miriam del Pilar. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Campo Experimental Villarino; Argentina.

AIM: The strength of species interactions is traditionally expected to increase toward the Equator. However, recent studies have reported opposite or inconsistent latitudinal trends in the bottom-up (plant quality) and top-down (natural enemies) forces driving herbivory. In addition, these forces have rarely been studied together thus limiting previous attempts to understand the effect of large-scale climatic gradients on herbivory. LOCATION: Europe. TIME PERIOD: 2018–2019. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: Quercus robur. METHODS: We simultaneously tested for latitudinal variation in plant–herbivore–natural enemy interactions. We further investigated the underlying climatic factors associated with variation in herbivory, leaf chemistry and attack rates in Quercus robur across its complete latitudinal range in Europe. We quantified insect leaf damage and the incidence of specialist herbivores as well as leaf chemistry and bird attack rates on dummy caterpillars on 261 oak trees. RESULTS: Climatic factors rather than latitude per se were the best predictors of the large-scale (geographical) variation in the incidence of gall-inducers and leaf-miners as well as in leaf nutritional content. However, leaf damage, plant chemical defences (leaf phenolics) and bird attack rates were not influenced by climatic factors or latitude. The incidence of leaf-miners increased with increasing concentrations of hydrolysable tannins, whereas the incidence of gall-inducers increased with increasing leaf soluble sugar concentration and decreased with increasing leaf C : N ratios and lignins. However, leaf traits and bird attack rates did not vary with leaf damage. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: These findings help to refine our understanding of the bottom-up and top-down mechanisms driving geographical variation in plant–herbivore interactions, and indicate the need for further examination of the drivers of herbivory on trees. This study was carried out with financial support from the French National Research Agency (ANR) in the frame of the Investments for the Future Programme, within the Cluster of Excellence COTE (Continental To coastal Ecosystems: evolution, adaptability and governance) (ANR-10-LABX-45). E.V.C. was funded by the BiodivERsA (BiodivERsA is a network of national and regional funding organisations promoting pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and offering innovative opportunities for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity) project SPONFOREST (Unraveling the potential of spontaneous forest establishment for improving ecosystem functions and services in dynamic landscapes) (BiodivERsA3-2015-58). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The influence of soil water content on Aleppo pine growth variability is analyzed against climatic variables, using satellite and modeled soil moisture databases. The study was made with a dendrochronological series of 22 forest sites in Spain with different environmental conditions. From the results of the correlation analysis, at both daily and monthly scales, it was observed that soil moisture was the variable that correlated the most with tree growth and the one that better identified the critical periods for this growth. The maximum correlation coefficients obtained with the rest of the variables were less than half of that obtained for soil moisture. Multiple linear regression analysis with all combinations of variables indicated that soil moisture was the most important variable, showing the lowest p-values in all cases. While identifying the role of soil moisture, it was noted that there was appreciable variability between the sites, and that this variability is mainly modulated by water availability, rather than thermal conditions. These results can contribute to new insights into the ecohydrological dynamics of Aleppo pine and a methodological approach to the study of many other species.

Fascioliasis is a freshwater snail-borne zoonotic disease. The Northern Bolivian Altiplano is a very high altitude endemic area where the highest human prevalences and intensities have been reported. Preventive chemotherapy by treatment campaigns is yearly applied. However, liver fluke infection of cattle, sheep, pigs and donkeys assures endemicity and consequent human infection and re-infection risks. A One Health action has therefore been implemented. Activity concerns lymnaeid vectors and environment diversity. Studies included growth, egg-laying and life span in laboratory-reared lymnaeids. Different habitat types and influencing factors were assessed. All populations proved to belong to Galba truncatula by rDNA sequencing. Analyses comprised physico-chemical characteristics and monthly follow-up of water temperature, pH and quantity, and lymnaeid abundance and density. Population dynamics in the transmission foci differed. Mean environmental temperature was lower than fluke development minimum temperature threshold, but water temperature was higher, except during winter. A two generations/year pattern appeared in permanent water habitats, and one generation/year pattern in habitats drying out for months. The multidisciplinary control measures can be extended from one part of the endemic area to another. These studies, made for the first time at very high altitude, constitute a baseline useful for fascioliasis control in other countries. Resumo A fasciolíase é uma doença zoonótica transmitida para os humanos por formas evolucionárias de Fasciola hepatica oriundas de limneídeos infectados. O Altiplano Boliviano Norte é uma área endêmica de altitude muito alta, onde foram relatadas as maiores prevalências e intensidades em infecções humanas. A quimioterapia preventiva por campanhas de tratamento é aplicada anualmente. No entanto, infecção por Fasciola hepatica em bovinos, ovelhas, suínos e asininos garante endemicidade e consequentes riscos de infecção e reinfecção humana. Portanto, ações norteadas no conceito “One Health” foram implementadas. As atividades envolveram os limneídeos e a avaliação da diversidade de ambientes. Os estudos incluíram o crescimento, postura de ovos e expectativa de vida de limneídeos criados em laboratório, bem como a avaliação da influência dos diferentes hábitats. Todas as populações foram identificadas como Galba truncatula por meio do sequenciamento de rDNA. As análises incluíram características físico-químicas e acompanhamento mensal da temperatura, pH, quantidade da água, abundância e densidade de limneídeos. A dinâmica populacional nos focos de transmissão diferiu. A temperatura ambiente média foi mais baixa do que o limite mínimo de temperatura do desenvolvimento do helminto, mas a temperatura da água foi mais alta, exceto durante o inverno. Um padrão de duas gerações/ano apareceu em hábitats com água permanente, enquanto um padrão de uma geração/ano foi observado em habitats que ficam secos durante meses. Os resultados permitem concluir que as medidas multidisciplinares de controle podem ser estendidas de uma parte da área endêmica para outra. Esses estudos, realizados pela primeira vez em altitudes muito elevadas, constituem uma base útil e extrapolável para o controle da fasciolíase.

Agromyzidae (Insecta: Diptera) is a cosmopolitan family of acalyptrate flies, with almost 3,000 species worldwide distributed. Most species are leaf miners on a large number of plants. Among them, Liriomyza Mik, 1894 is a large genus of leaf-miner species that can cause significant damage to economically important crops and is considered agricultural pests, such as Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, 1938 and Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard, 1926), which are herein investigated. The present study deals with the impact of climatic factors (temperature, humidity, and precipitation), seasonality, and parasitoid abundance on leaf-miner infestation during one year in five cultivated crops in Northeastern Brazil. Climatic factors for instance had different effects on L. sativae populations in melon and watermelon crops. Larval abundances were greater during the dry season for both species, L. sativae and L. huidobrensis, and abundance of adult parasitoids followed the increase of mining larvae.

International audience; The new coronavirus (CoV), called novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), belongs to the Coronaviridae family which wasoriginated from the sea market in Wuhan city in China, at the end of the year 2019. COVID-19 and severe acute respiratorysyndrome (SARS) are belonging to the same family (Coronaviridae). The current outbreak of COVID-19 creates public concernand threats all over the world and now it spreads out to more than 250 countries and territories. The researchers and scientists fromall over the world are trying to find out the therapeutic strategies to abate the morbidity and mortality rate of the COVID-19 pandemic. The replication, spreading, and severity of SARS-CoV2 depend on environmental settings. Noteworthy, meteorological parameters are considered as crucial factors that affect respiratory infectious disorders, although the controversial effectof the meteorological parameter is exposed against COVID-19. Besides, COVID-19 accelerates the pathogenesis of the neurological disorders. However, the pathogenic mechanisms between COVID-19 and neurological disorders are still unclear. Hence,this review is focused on the genomics and ecology of SARS-CoV2 and elucidated the effects of climatic factors on theprogression of COVID-19. This review also critically finds out the vulnerability between COVID-19 and neurological disordersbased on the latest research data.

SUMMARYAlthough viral acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are a major public health problem in tropical low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and there is growing evidence showing their relationship with meteorological parameters, studies performed in these countries are scarce. In an analytical cross-sectional study, we determined which of the main meteorological parameters (temperature, absolute humidity, rainfall, wind speed, and solar radiation) predicted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity in a population of hospitalized children with ALRI during a 5-year period, from January 2009 to December 2013. Out of a total of 4559 children included in the study (mean age 9·2 ± 8·5 months), 2953 (64·8%) presented RSV infection during the 3-month period from March to May. In the multivariate analysis, after controlling for absolute humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation, temperature [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 2·25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·11–4·53,P= 0·024], and rainfall (IRR 1·01, 95% CI 1·00–1·02,P= 0·044) were independently associated with the monthly number of RSV infections. In conclusion, in Bogota, the capital of a tropical LMIC lying slightly above the equator, RSV activity peaks in the 3-month period from March to May, the main rainy period of the year in the city. In addition, rainfall and temperature are the two most important meteorological parameters that are independently associated with RSV activity in hospitalized children with ALRI in the city.

Background Phenology data collected recently for about 300 accessions of Vigna radiata (mungbean) is an invaluable resource for investigation of impacts of climatic factors on plant development. Results We developed a new mathematical model that describes the dynamic control of time to flowering by daily values of maximal and minimal temperature, precipitation, day length and solar radiation. We obtained model parameters by adaptation to the available experimental data. The models were validated by cross-validation and used to demonstrate that the phenology of adaptive traits, like flowering time, is strongly predicted not only by local environmental factors but also by plant geographic origin and genotype. Conclusions Of local environmental factors maximal temperature appeared to be the most critical factor determining how faithfully the model describes the data. The models were applied to forecast time to flowering of accessions grown in Taiwan in future years 2020-2030.

Aim of study: This study was conducted to determine climatic conditions conducive for the spread and persistence of microsporidian infection of Rugispora istanbulensis in elm leaf beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola.Area of study: The samples were collected from May to September between 2013 and 2015 in İstanbul.Material and Methods: Each month a hundred of X. luteola individuals were dissected and a total of 1500 beetle examined with the light microscope for three years. In this study, all statistical analyzes carried with the SPSS 21 (SPSS Inc. 1989-2012) software program.Main results: The results indicated that the year 2014 was the most intensive year of microsporidiosis with a frequency rate of 21.48%. There was a strong correlation between the frequency of microsporidiosis and humidity (r = 0.455, P, Çalışmanın amacı: Bu çalışma, karaağaç yaprak böceği, Xanthogaleruca luteola Muller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) 'da bir mikrospor türü olan Rugispora istanbulensis enfeksiyonunun yayılımı ve oluşumu için uygun iklim koşullarının belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır.Çalışma alanı: Çalışma örnekleri 2013-2015 yıllarının Mayıs ile Eylül ayları arasında İstanbul’dan toplandı.Materyal ve Yöntem: 2013-2015 yılları arasında her ay 100 X. luteola bireyi disekte olacak şekilde 3 yıl boyunca toplamda 1500 örnek ışık mikroskobu kullanılarak incelendi. Bu çalışmadaki tüm istatiksel analizler SPSS 21 (SPSS Inc. 1989-2012) adlı istatistik programı kullanılarak gerçekleştirildi.Sonuçlar: 2014 yılı çalışma yılları arasında %21,48 mikrosporidiosis oranı ile en yoğun mikrospor enfeksiyonunun görüldüğü yıl olarak tespit edildi. Yapılan korelasyon analizlerine göre, nem ile microsporidiosis arasında güçlü bir korelasyon olduğu tespit edildi (r = 0.455, P

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and correlates of Leptospira IgG antibodies in backyard pigs in the northern Mexican state of Durango. We performed a cross-sectional study of 305 backyard pigs. Anti-Leptospira IgG antibodies were detected using microscopic agglutination assay (MAT) with a panel of 12 Leptospira antigens. Results: Overall, antibodies against Leptospira (any of the 12 Leptospira serovars examined) were found in 186 (61.0%) of the 305 pigs studied. Seropositive pigs were found on 80 (70.2%) of the 114 properties surveyed. The predominant serovar was Leptospira interrogans Pomona (n = 55); followed by Leptospira noguchii Lousiana and Leptospira santarosai Tarassovi (n = 53 each); L. interrogans Bataviae (n = 47); Leptospira biflexa Semaranga and L. interrogans Hebdomadis (n = 36 each); L. interrogans Pyrogenes (n = 30); L. interrogans Djasiman (n = 20); Leptospira borgpetersenii Ballum (n = 11); L. noguchii Panama and L. interrogans Canicola (n = 5 each); and L. borgpetersenii Mini (n = 2). Logistic regression showed that seropositivity was associated with low (

Summary Estimations of honeybee colony winter losses in Poland have been carried out at Warsaw University of Life Sciences since 2008 (in 2008 they concerned the two winters of 2006/07 and 2007/08), using a preliminary questionnaire in 2008 and the standardized COLOSS questionnaire since 2009. During the first years of the survey, concerning the period of autumn 2006 - spring 2012, the multimode method of data collection was used, and beekeepers sent in between 393 and 769 questionnaires a year. Overall, the number of participants increased, but in particular voivodeships it fluctuated. The estimated overall winter colony loss in Poland was low during the winter of 2006/07 (10%) and quite low during the winter of 2008/09 (11.5%). In other years it was substantially higher reaching 15.2% in 2007/08, 14.8% 2009/10, as much as 18.3% in 2010/11 and then down to 15.8% in 2011/12. A similar pattern of average losses was observed, but each year, excluding the winter of 2010/11, at least 50% of beekeepers reported acceptable losses of only up to 10%. During the analysis of the spatial pattern of overall losses, some data which could blur the pattern were eliminated. The results suggest that such climatic factors as a warm autumn but also high summer precipitation, followed by low winter temperatures influenced the spatial distribution of the losses.

Background One of the major public health challenges in the field of communicable diseases consists of being able to predict where and when a population is at risk of being infected by a pathogen. In the case of vector-borne diseases, such predictions often require strong ecological knowledge of the vector life-cycle and the environmental conditions promoting or preventing its establishment and maintenance. In this study, we analyse how climatic factors influence the abundance and phenology of the Lyme borreliosis vector Ixodes ricinus in a Swiss temperate forest, based on a long-term monthly observation over a period of 15 years (2000 and 2014). Results Our results show that questing nymph density significantly decreased during the study period in the sampling area. Although the analyses of climatic variables point out the relative importance of air temperature, relative humidity and saturation deficit on nymph questing activity, the global trends followed by these variables over the study period failed to fully explain the observed decline. However, nymph phenology was additionally explained by the presence of climatic thresholds that limit the questing behaviours of ticks. Most notably, we found that the presumed upper threshold of air saturation deficit, which strongly limits the increase of questing nymph density and is typically reached in the middle of spring, was reached significantly earlier and earlier over years. Conclusions In addition to phenology per se, the use of climatic thresholds may help to predict the presence and abundance of questing ticks in Lyme borreliosis endemic areas. Tick sensitivity to temperature or saturation deficit thresholds also suggests that extreme climatic events more than global trends may affect tick population dynamics. These two points may be of high importance in epidemiological short-term as well as long-term predictions. However, the highly unexplained variability in nymph density underlines the need for further studies that include other factors such as tick host abundance or tick microhabitats, two potentially influent factors that were not assessed in the present study. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2876-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Wild grapevine, Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris is considered as a rare species in Europe and Iran and possesses restricted distribution due to threatening factors. Natural populations of wild grapevine in the north of Iran were evaluated in three wild areas of coastal and plains areas of Miankaleh, submontane areas of Amol and the forest patches of Kojour and a cultivated sample of crop grapevine, V. v. subsp. vinifera in Babolsar. A total of 41 anatomical traits and important ecological factors such as soil and climatic variables were investigated and included in further analyses. Anatomical characteristics of leaf blade and petiole had the most important impact on the separation of wild and the cultivated taxon. All the soil and climatic factors, particularly altitude and annual rainfall were significant between studied stations. Mean temperature of the warmest month along with soil clay and calcareous percentage had the highest effect and relationship with the anatomical traits. Based on the current result, anatomical characters can be used for separation between wild and cultivated populations. They are also effective in separation of different populations of wild grapevine. Quantitative anatomical changes in the studied populations are reflection of the different soil and climatic conditions of their habitat.

Biocrusts are an essential soil surface cover at drylands where ecosystems are especially fragile to soil degradationprocesses due to climatic peculiarities. In the present work, (micro)biological and physicochemical properties indic-ative of soil functionality were studied in two different biocrust types dominated byDipolschistes diacapsisandLepraria isidiataand in underlying soil at two different depths (SL1, soil layer right below the biocrusts, and SL2,soil layer underlying SL1) at the Tabernas desert (southeast Spain). The influence of climatic factors (rainfall andtemperature) and general soilproperties on the (micro)biological properties were also analyzed in different envi-ronmental (climatic) conditions over a period of two years. PERMANOVA analyses showed significant statisticaldifferences (Pseudo-F = 63.9; P (perm) = 0.001) among biocrust and soil layers. Throughout the study period, en-zyme activities involved in C, N, and P cycles; microbial biomass-C; basal respiration; and several properties directlyrelated to ecosystem productivity (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, concentration of ammonium and nitrate)were higher in both biocrust types than in the underlying soil layers, showing that biocrusts improved soil functionsrelated to nutrient cycling. These properties progressively diminished in successive soil layers under the biocrusts(biocrusts > SL1 > SL2). Biocrusts showed greater similarity to each other and to SL1 than to SL2 in (micro)biologicalproperties. A distance-based linear model analysis showed that total organic carbon, rainfall, pH, mineralized N-NH4+, and total nitrogen were the most important variables for predicting (micro)biological soil properties inbiocrusts. Different biochemical behavior between the biocrusts and successive underlying soil layers has beenfound in wet periods. After rainfall periods, the biocrusts showed important peaks in basal soil respiration and in en-zyme activities involved in C and P cycles. Nevertheless, soil biochemical properties hardly showed any peak in SL1anddidnotchangeinSL2despitesoilmoisturebeinghigherinthesoillayersbelowthebiocrusts.Correlationanal-yses corroborated the existence of different relationships between soil moisture and enzymatic activities. In biocrusts, soil moisture showed a greater number of significant positive correlations with enzymes such asβ-glucosidase, invertase, and phosphomonoesterase among others, whereas in SL1 it was only correlated with cellu-lase and in SL2 with dehydrogenase. A change in rainfall regime, as predicted by models based on climate changein arid and semiarid zones, could affect the activity of soil enzymes in the biocrusts and underlying layers, thus ag-gravating the degradation of these fragile dryland ecosystems., This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and FEDER, through the project CGL2017-88734-R (BIORESOC) MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE, the FEDER-Junta deAndalucía Research Projects: RESTAGRO (UAL18-RNM-A021-B) andRestoration of Abandoned Agricultural Soils in Semiarid Zones toImprove Productivity and Soil Quality and Enhance Carbon Sequestra-tion (P18-RT-4112), and by the Xunta de Galicia by the projectIN607A 2017/6. Isabel Miralles is grateful for funding received fromthe Ramón y Cajal Research Grant (RYC-2016-21191) from the SpanishMinistry of Economy,Industry andCompetitiveness (MINECO)and Raúl Ortega thanks his postdoctoral contract HIPATIA of the University of Almería Research Plan.

the article describes a chinch bug Kleidocerys resedae (Panzer, 1797) as a pest of deciduous trees. The main purpose of the work is to determine the percentage of damaged deciduous trees of different types, which were damaged by the pest bug and the influence of climatic factors on their numbers. The main work results are the following: calculated percentage of the trees leaf blades damage, the researcher has indicated the percentage of deciduous trees, damaged by bugs, presented a phenocalendar of a chinch bug development and the occurrence of pests’ frequency in number. The author concluded that the main limiting factor, affecting the increase in the number of bugs is a high moisture level in Almaty.

To study the effect of climatic factors on Taverniera glabra species distribution in Iran rangelands, climatic variables were selected and factors affecting species distribution were evaluated using factor analysis. Then a spatial distribution map was prepared for all these factors throughout Iran. Factor analysis showed that 9 factors included: temperature, relative humidity, winter precipitation and summer precipitation, partly cloudy days, average wind speed, thunder and snowy days with eigenvalues greater than 1, explained 29.71, 22.32, 9.58, 7.52, 6.80, 6.22, 4.25, 3.69, 2.22 percent of variance, respectively and 92.35% of total variance. Finally, the climatic factors of temperature, relative humidity, average wind speed and thunderstorm were identified as the most important factors affecting distribution of vegetation types which Taverniera glabra are dominant species. Furthermore temperature, summer precipitation, average wind speed and thunderstorm factors affecting on distribution of vegetation types in which Taverniera glabra are accompanied species. The results showed that these climatic factors caused distribution of Taverniera glabra in the South East of Iran.

the article describes a noctuid moth Cosmia affinis as a pest of deciduous trees. The main purpose of the work is to determine the percentage of damaged deciduous trees of different types, which were damaged by the pest noctuid moth and the influence of climatic factors on their numbers. The main work results are the following: calculated percentage of the trees leaf blades damage, the researcher has indicated the percentage of deciduous trees, damaged by noctuid moth, presented a phenocalendar of a noctuid moth Cosmia affinis development and the occurrence of pests’ frequency in number.

Background Rodent-borne hantaviruses (genus Orthohantavirus) are the etiologic agents causing two human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Euroasia; and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North and South America. In South America fatality rates of HPS can reach up to 35%–50%. The transmission of pathogenic hantaviruses to humans occurs mainly via inhalation of aerosolized excreta from infected rodents. Thus, the epidemiology of HPS is necessarily linked to the ecology of their rodent hosts and the contact with a human, which in turn may be influenced by climatic variability. Here we examined the relationship between climatic variables and hantavirus transmission aim to develop an early warning system of potential hantavirus outbreaks based on ecologically relevant climatic factors. Methodology and main findings We compiled reported HPS cases in northwestern Argentina during the 1997–2017 period and divided our data into biannual, quarterly, and bimestrial time periods to allow annual and shorter time delays to be observed. To evaluate the relationship of hantavirus transmission with mean temperature and precipitation we used dynamic regression analysis. We found a significant association between HPS incidence and lagged rainfall and temperature with a delay of 2 to 6 months. For the biannual and quarterly models, hantavirus transmission was positively associated with lagged rainfall and temperature; whereas the bimestrial models indicate a direct relationship with the rainfall but inverse for temperature in the second lagged period. Conclusions/Significance This work demonstrates that climate variability plays a significant role in the transmission of hantavirus in northwestern Argentina. The model developed in this study provides a basis for the forecast of potential HPS outbreaks based on climatic parameters. Our findings are valuable for the development of public health policies and prevention strategies to mitigate possible outbreaks. Nonetheless, a surveillance program on rodent population dynamics would lead to a more accurate forecast of HPS outbreaks., Author summary Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a Pan-American emerging disease with a high mortality rate caused by a rodent-borne virus. In Argentina, almost half of the HPS infections occur in the northwestern endemic region. Most of the reported cases (75%) developed severe respiratory insufficiency, of which 30% required mechanical ventilation and 15% with a fatal outcome. In this study area, nearly half of the population is below the poverty line, particularly in rural areas, where most infections occur. Since there are no vaccines currently available nor specific therapeutic treatments, prevention of hantavirus infection involves mainly environmental management practices and educational campaigns. Our results provide a framework for the planning and implementation of early public health prevention campaigns based on the significant relationship between hantavirus outbreaks and delayed climatic variables.

The quality of seeds is influenced by the climatic conditions of the production field. The identification of characteristics of the best forage seed fields allows the improvement of the sector. In this study, the aim was to identify climatic characteristics of producing regions that may affect the physical and physiological quality of Brachiaria brizantha cv. BRS 'Piatã' seeds. Seeds from 10 lots were evaluated for purity, other seeds, mass of a thousand seed, water content, germination, dormancy, emergence, seedling emergence in sand and seedling emergence in the field. Temperature and precipitation data of each production field from flowering to harvest were obtained. The means of treatments were compared by the Scott-Knott test at 5% probability. In order to discriminate which environmental factors influenced seed quality, multivariate statistical analysis was applied through Principal Component Analysis. It was concluded that production fields with temperatures above 30 °C in flowering, threshing and harvesting periods are related to the production of 'Piatã' grass seeds of lower physical and physiological quality. Fields with accumulated rainfall above 500 and 137 mm in the flowering and harvesting period, respectively, are unfavorable to seed vigor. RESUMO A qualidade das sementes é influenciada pelas condições climáticas do campo de produção. A identificação das características dos melhores campos de sementes de forrageiras permite o aprimoramento do setor. Neste estudo, objetivou-se identificar características climáticas das regiões produtoras que podem afetar as qualidades física e fisiológica de sementes de Brachiaria brizantha cv. BRS 'Piatã'. Sementes de 10 lotes foram avaliados quanto à pureza, outras sementes, massa de mil sementes, teor de água, germinação, dormência, emergência, primeira contagem de emergência de plântulas em areia e emergência das plântulas em campo. Foram obtidos os dados de temperatura e precipitação de cada campo de produção desde o florescimento até a colheita. As médias dos tratamentos foram comparadas pelo teste de Scott-Knott, a 5% de probabilidade. Para discriminar quais fatores ambientais influenciaram a qualidade das sementes aplicou-se a análise estatística multivariada através da Análise de Componentes Principais. Concluiu-se que campos de produção com temperaturas acima de 30 °C nas épocas de florescimento, degrana e colheita estão relacionados à produção de sementes de capim-piatã de menor qualidade física e fisiológica. Campos com precipitações pluviométricas acumuladas superiores a 500 e 137 mm no período de florescimento e colheita, respectivamente, são desfavoráveis ao vigor das sementes produzidas.

Details on growth and yield for cassava planted on different dates are useful for determining suitable genotypes for particular growing seasons. Our aim was to study growth and yield of cassava planted on different dates. Four cassava genotypes (Kasetsart 50, Rayong 9, Rayong 11 and CMR38-125-77) were evaluated using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications in six growing periods (20 Apr, 25 May, 30 June, 5 Oct, 10 Nov and 15 Dec 2015-2016) at Khon Kaen, Thailand. Soil properties were determined prior to planting, and crop traits and weather data were recorded. The six planting dates had a statistically significant effect on all crop traits. Low temperatures and solar radiation related to low biomass accumulation rates and short periods of linear phases for total crop and storage root dry weights with the 30 June planting date. CMR38-125-77 is likely to be a good genotype with respect to total crop and storage root dry weights at final harvest for almost all growing dates, except for the 20 Apr. Leaf area index (LAI) at 120, 240 and 300 days after planting (DAP), specific leaf area (SLA) at 120 DAP, storage root growth rate (SRGR) during 300-360 DAP and leaf growth rate (LGR) during 60-120 and 300-360 DAP were the components for the physiological determinants of total crop and storage root dry weight. The relationship between these physiological traits and storage root could be useful for cassava breeding.

Winter oilseed rape (WOSR) production is dependent on weather conditions, but is also characterized by low nitrogen (N) use efficiency. The objectives of this study were to: (i) evaluate sources of variability for the seed yield and oil content of four rapeseed cultivars under the influence of three sowing dates (SD trial) and five nitrogen dosages (N trial) during four growing seasons, (ii) understand year-related interactions and the effect of climatic variables in different growth stages, and (iii) assess the presence of interactions cultivar by year (C &times, Y) and treatment by year (T &times, Y). Six climatic factors were observed, during germination, overwintering, budding, flowering and ripening. The mixed effect split-plot analysis of variance was used, as well as factorial regression models. The C &times, Y interaction was the most important for the oil content in both trials. The precipitation at budding stage (75.8%), relative air humidity at overwintering (63.3%) and flowering stage (53.0%) accounted for the highest proportion of T &times, Y interaction for the seed yield, as well as precipitation at flowering (92.0%) and ripening (85.0%) for the oil content. Water availability was the main determinant of the seed yield and/or oil content accompanied with cooler temperatures during the seed development. The study successfully dissected the effect of year-related climatic variables on the agronomical traits in winter rapeseed. Based on this, appropriate agronomic practices can be applied at specific growing stages to ensure a high seed and oil yield.

Background: The reports of numerous outbreaks of whiteflies from different parts of the world have increased its medical importance. The aim of this study was to determine relationship between environmental changes and climatic factors with the outbreak of the whitefly population in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Methods: This study was carried out in urban areas of Tehran, where the increasing population of whiteflies was re­ported frequently during 2018. In order to entrap the whiteflies, 20 yellow sticky cards smeared with white refined grease were installed on the trunks of the trees at twice per month as trapping time intervals. The captured flies were transferred and conserved in cans containing 70% alcohol and were counted accurately under a stereomicroscope. To determine the relationship between air quality index, precipitation, air temperature and air humidity as environmental and climatic factors with the abundance of whiteflies, change point analysis and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) was used. Results: The most density of white flies per trap was 256.6 and 155.6 in early October and late September respectively. The number moved closer to zero from November to April. The population of whiteflies was inversely correlated with the level of air quality index (p= 0.99) and precipitation (p= 0.95), and it had a direct correlation with the high temper­ature. Also, the population of whiteflies had a direct correlation with the level of air humidity in the first half of the year Conclusion: According to these findings, during spring and summer from early May to early October.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of seasonal variation on canopy size, and the effect of canopy size on light penetration of &lsquo, Rayong 9&prime, cassava under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Rayong 9 was planted under two water regimes in a randomized complete block design with four replications in May and November for two years. At final harvest, years were significantly different (p &le, 0.05) for biomass, shoot dry weight, and harvest index and contributed to large portions of total variations in shoot dry weight (56.8%) and HI (44.5%). Planting date was a significant source of variations in all measured characters, and it contributed to the largest portions of variations in biomass, storage root dry weight and storage root fresh weight (46.1&ndash, 60.9%). Water regimes were not significantly different for most characters except for harvest index (p &le, 0.01). The canopy of the crop planted in May grew rapidly in early growth stages in the rainy season and then slowly after the rainy season. The canopy of the crop planted in November grew rapidly in the middle to the late growth stages. Irrigation did not significantly increase root yield although it slightly increased canopy development, leaf area index (LAI), light penetration and photosynthesis. Irrigation at the late growth stages of the crop planted in May significantly increased storage root yield. Irrigation at these growth stages helped maintain canopy development, LAI and light penetration.

Background Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) have similar symptoms to those caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The modes of transmission and dynamics of time series data still remain poorly understood. Climatic factors have long been suspected to be implicated in impacting on the number of cases for these epidemics. Currently, only a few models satisfactorily capture the dynamics of time series data of these two viruses. Our objective was to assess the presence of influence of high incidences between the viruses and to ascertain whether higher incidences of one virus are influenced by the other. Methods In this study, we used a negative binomial model to investigate the relationship between RSV and HMPV while adjusting for climatic factors. We specifically aimed at establishing the heterogeneity in the autoregressive effect to account for the influence between these viruses. Results In this study, our findings showed that RSV incidence contributed to the severity of HMPV incidence. This was achieved through comparison of 12 models with different structures, including those with and without interaction between climatic factors. The models with climatic factors out-performed those without. Conclusions The study has improved our understanding of the dynamics of RSV and HMPV in relation to climatic cofactors thereby setting a platform to devise better intervention measures to combat the epidemics. We conclude that preventing and controlling RSV infection subsequently reduces the incidence of HMPV.

Photosynthesis performance during early vegetative growth is an important physiological trait determining yield of cassava, but limited information is currently available for the tropical savanna climate of Asia. Diurnal photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence of the three-month-old plants of four commercial cassava genotypes (Rayong 9, RY9, Rayong 11, RY11, Kasetsart 50, KU50 and CMR38-125-77) grown under irrigation, were investigated in three seasons i.e., rainy, cool and hot. The mean daily net photosynthetic rate (Pn) across genotypes in the rainy season (11.75 &micro, molCO2/m2/s) was significantly lower than that in the cool season (14.60 &micro, molCO2/m2/s). Daily mean Pn in the hot season was 14.32 &micro, molCO2/m2/s. In the rainy season, maximum photochemical quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) and effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (&Phi, PSII) were significantly higher than the other seasons, while electron transfer rate (ETR) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were significantly lower. Genotypic variation was observed during the hot season in which RY11 had the highest and CMR38-125-77 the lowest mean daily Pn. The prominent mechanism to avoid damages from stress during afternoon in the hot season was to reduce leaf temperature by enhancing transpiration for RY11, to close stomata early for RY9, and to increase NPQ for CMR38-125-77.

Background Accurate prediction of crop flowering time is required for reaching maximal farm efficiency. Several models developed to accomplish this goal are based on deep knowledge of plant phenology, requiring large investment for every individual crop or new variety. Mathematical modeling can be used to make better use of more shallow data and to extract information from it with higher efficiency. Cultivars of chickpea, Cicer arietanum, are currently being improved by introgressing wild C. reticulatum biodiversity with very different flowering time requirements. More understanding is required for how flowering time will depend on environmental conditions in these cultivars developed by introgression of wild alleles. Results We built a novel model for flowering time of wild chickpeas collected at 21 different sites in Turkey and grown in 4 distinct environmental conditions over several different years and seasons. We propose a general approach, in which the analytic forms of dependence of flowering time on climatic parameters, their regression coefficients, and a set of predictors are inferred automatically by stochastic minimization of the deviation of the model output from data. By using a combination of Grammatical Evolution and Differential Evolution Entirely Parallel method, we have identified a model that reflects the influence of effects of day length, temperature, humidity and precipitation and has a coefficient of determination of R2=0.97. Conclusions We used our model to test two important hypotheses. We propose that chickpea phenology may be strongly predicted by accession geographic origin, as well as local environmental conditions at the site of growth. Indeed, the site of origin-by-growth environment interaction accounts for about 14.7% of variation in time period from sowing to flowering. Secondly, as the adaptation to specific environments is blueprinted in genomes, the effects of genes on flowering time may be conditioned on environmental factors. Genotype-by-environment interaction accounts for about 17.2% of overall variation in flowering time. We also identified several genomic markers associated with different reactions to climatic factor changes. Our methodology is general and can be further applied to extend existing crop models, especially when phenological information is limited. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-019-1685-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No ambiente tropical, o arroz é produzido nas regiões Norte, Nordeste e Centro-Oeste e ocupa 13,2% da área total cultivada. Apesar de ser responsável por somente 20% da produção nacional, o arroz cultivado no ambiente tropical apresenta importantes contribuições para a segurança alimentar no Brasil. Neste estudo, objetivou-se identificar os riscos climáticos e definir os melhores períodos com baixos riscos de semeadura para o arroz irrigado no estado do Tocantins. Para isso, o modelo de simulação da cultura do arroz, ORYZAv3, foi parametrizado e validado. De acordo com os resultados obtidos por meio da simulação da produtividade do arroz irrigado pelo modelo de simulação ORYZAv3, o aumento do risco climático de 30% (70% de sucesso) para 20% (80% de sucesso) reduz a janela de semeadura de outubro a dezembro. Entretanto, para se obter o potencial produtivo das cultivares de arroz irrigado, é recomendado a semeadura de outubro a meio de novembro. Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-15T02:20:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 raes-2021.pdf: 862615 bytes, checksum: 1cb4566c7e0cb019fa935ad51fb130fe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021 Edição especial.

This work augments research on masting for the economically important tropical tree Carapa guianensis Aublet, specifically on whether determinants of mast years vary regionally, spatially, and due to longer term ENSO climate patterns. Longer term measurements (an 11-year period in Acre and Roraima, 4 years and 8 months in Amapá) from three regions of the Brazilian Amazon allowed for the analysis of whether climate cues were regionally consistent for this species. We used generalized linear mixed models, to determine which factors were significant in predicting whether trees would produce in a given year and to model the seed production quantity. We found a positive effect of increasing the diameter at breast height (dbh) on the quantity and likelihood of seed production. Our results also suggested that ecosystems and climate cues may jointly affect seed production. In flooded forests, increases in dry season rainfall had a negative impact on the likelihood of seed production whilst none of the precipitation variables investigated influenced the quantity of seeds produced. In drier terra firme forests in Acre with extended dry seasons, increases in dry season precipitation had significant and positive impacts on both the likelihood and the quantity of seed production. Our results illustrate the importance of considering plant habitat and climate to better understand individual and regional differences in seed production and their responses to inter-annual climate variation.

Study of the effects of climate change on upper tree limit has mainly focused on the diversity of tree species as a result of the ability of species to tolerate temperature and moisture changes as well as some effects of disturbance regime changes. The tree species diversity changes due to climate change has been analysed via gap model and biodiversity indices. Gap models are individually based on simulations of establishment, growth, and mortality of each tree on the forest plot. Input ecological data for model calculations have been taken from the permanent research plots located in primeval forests in mountainous regions in Slovakia. The results of regional scenarios of the climatic change for the territory of Slovakia have been used, from which the values according to the CGCM3.1 (global) model, KNMI and MPI (regional) models. Model results for conditions of the climate change scenarios suggest a shift of the upper forest limit to the region of the present subalpine zone, in supramontane zone. The most significant tree species diversity changes have been identified for the upper tree line and current belt of dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) occurrence. Hill’s index of biodiversity in the upper forest line increased by 30 – 35% for horizon of 2050, resp. by 45 – 50% modeled for the horizon of 2075. Calculated values of Shannon’s index show an even higher increase due to climate change. For horizon 2050 is a roughly of three fold increase and horizon for 2075 by almost fivefold increase in the value of the index. Results from the gap model indicate the increase of tree species diversity 2 – 2,5 times.

Resumo. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a diversidade de membracideos associados ao cacaueiro e determinar a sazonalidade das especies mais comuns, em duas areas sombreadas, no municipio de Linhares, Estado do Espirito Santo, Brasil. Para as amostragens foram utilizadas doze armadilhas tipo bandeja amarela, instaladas aleatoriamente em cada area, espacadas entre si por 30 metros e colocadas sobre estacas de madeira a uma altura de 1 metro acima do nivel do solo. O material foi coletado semanalmente durante o periodo de agosto/2011 a julho/2012. Amostras de frutos, ramos e folhas que continham posturas, ninfas e adultos das cigarrinhas foram coletadas e mantidas em laboratorio para a eventual emergencia de parasitoides e catalogacao das especies. Por meio de armadilhas foram coletados 16.094 exemplares de membracideos pertencentes a 30 especies, sendo 58,7 % na primeira area (com 70 % de sombra) e 41,3 % na segunda area (60 % sombra). A especie mais abundante foi Horiola picta (Coquebert) compreendendo 87,2 % do total coletado. Plantas de cacaueiro sao confirmadas como hospedeiras de H . picta , Membracis tectigera Olivier, Membracis dorsata Fabricius, Membracis mimica Walker, Anobilia sp., Phormophora maura (Fabricius), Leioscyta pulchella Funkhouser e Enchenopa squamigera (Linnaeus). Parasitoides pertencentes as familias Mymaridae e Trichogrammatidae (Hymenoptera) foram obtidos de ovos de H. picta , Anobilia sp., L . pulchella , M. tectigera e P. maura . Biodiversity and Sazonality of Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae) in Cocoa Abstract. The aim of this study was to identify the treehoppers diversity associated with cocoa plantation and to determine the seasonality of the most common species in two shaded areas, in the municipality of Linhares, Espirito Santo State, Brazil. For the sampling, twelve yellow-tray traps were randomly set in each area, spaced from one another in 30 m., placed on wooden stakes at a height of 1.0 m. above ground level. Weekly the collected material was taken during August/2011 to July/2012. Also samples of fruits, branches and leaves containing postures, nymphs, and adults of the treehoppers were collected and maintained in the laboratory for the eventual emergence of parasitoids and cataloging of the species. Through the traps were collected 16,094 exemplars of treehoppers belonging to 30 species, of which, 58.7 % in the first area (70 % shade) and 41.3 % in the second area (60 % shade). The most abundant species was Horiola picta (Coquebert) comprising 87.2 % of the total collection. Cocoa trees are confirmed to be the host plant of H . picta , Membracis tectigera Olivier, Membracis dorsata Fabricius, Membracis mimica Walker, Anobilia sp., Phormophora maura (Fabricius), Leioscyta pulchella Funkhouser and Enchenopa squamigera (Linnaeus). Parasitoids belonging to the families Mymaridae and Trichogrammatidae (Hymenoptera) were obtained from the eggs of H. picta , Anobilia sp., L . pulchella , M. tectigera and P. maura .

Background: An understanding of the factors that affect the abundance of 'Anopheline' species provides an opportunity to better understand the dynamics of malaria transmission in different regions. Chabahar, located south east of Iran, is the most malarious region in the country. Objective: The main aim of this study was to quantify the spatiotemporal Anopheles population dynamics, response to climatic conditions in Chabahar. Methods: Satellite-based and land-based climatic data were used as explanatory variables. Monthly caught mosquitoes in 6 village sites of Chabahar were used as dependent variable. The spatiotemporal associations were first investigated by inspection of scatter plots and single variable regression analysis. A multivariate linear regression model was developed to reveal the association between environmental variables and the monthly mosquito abundance at a 95% confidence level ('P' ≤ 0.5). Findings: Results indicated that Anopheles mosquitoes can be found all year in Chabahar with 2 significant seasonal peaks from March to June (primary peak) and September to November (secondary peak). Results of the present study showed that 0.77 of yearly mosquito abundance emerges in the thermal range of 24°C to 30°C and the humidity range of 0.70 to 0.80 in Chabahar. Conclusion: According to the developed multivariate linear model, 0.88 of temporal variance of mosquito abundance, nighttime land surface temperature, and relative humidity of 15 Universal Time Coordinated (18.30 Iran) are the main drivers of mosquito population dynamics in Chabahar.

Technological quality of wheat is defined by physical and chemical indicators of quality and its baking properties. To make wheat a commodity, there are certain requirements to be met, defined by minimum values of trade quality indicators. As hexaploid wheat, spelt (Triticum spelta L.) belongs to a group of alternative cereal grains high in gluten, and its flour is therefore used for making most pastries. Due to its high nutritional value, spelt flour is used to enhance the quality or flavour of wheat bread and other bakery products. Two-year research was conducted during 2011 and 2012 to investigate protein content in crops grown on the Eutric Cambisol soil type. The research was conducted on two spelt cultivars: Hungarian Ekö 10 and Serbian NS Nirvana. The results showed that NS Nirvana averaged a statistically significantly higher proteins content (16.76%) than Hungarian cultivar Ekö 10 (15.65%). Climatic factors, temperatures, the intensity of light and duration of seed filling had an impact on the investigated parameter. Tehnološki kvalitet pšenice definisan je fizičkim i hemijskim pokazateljima kvaliteta i pecivnim osobinama. Da bi pšenica bila predmet trgovine potrebno je da zadovoljava određene uslove koji su definisani minimalnim vrednostima pokazatelja prometnog kvaliteta. Heksaploidna pšenica krupnik (Triticum spelta L.) pripada grupi alternativnih žita koja ima visok sadržaj glutena, te se od njegovog brašna uspešno pravi većina peciva. Zahvaljujući visokoj hranljivoj vrednosti brašno krupnika koristi se kao poboljšavač kvaliteta i ukusa pšeničnog hleba i drugih hlebno-pekarskih proizvoda. Dvogodišnja istraživanja izvedena su tokom 2011. i 2012. godine u cilju ispitivanja sadržaja proteina na zemljištu tipa gajnjača. Ispitivane su dve sorte krupnika: mađarske sorta Ekö 10 i srpska NS sorta Nirvana. Rezultati su pokazali da je NS sorta Nirvana imala u proseku statistički značajno veći sadržaj proteina (16.76 %) u odnosu na mađarsku sortu Ekö 10 (15.65 %). Klimatski faktori temperatura, intenzitet svetlosti i dužina trajanja faze nalivanja zrna imali su uticaj na ovaj ispitivani parametar.

One of the most important factors in the study of photosynthesis is the state of the pigment Fund of the photosynthetic apparatus. Under different climatic and natural conditions, photosynthetic activity will tend to the maximum values. In the conditions of the South of Eastern Siberia, coniferous stands are most widespread, the stability and biological productivity of which directly depends on the realization of photosynthetic potential during the growing season. The study presents the analysis of the dynamics of the content of photosynthetic apparatus pigments of common pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) at optimal moisture and unfavorable soil humidity during vegetation season. The material was selected at the experimental site located on the outskirts of Irkutsk (the territory of SIFIBR SB RAS). The content of chlorophyll a and b in needles was determined using the SF 56 spectrophotometer in an extract with acetone during the vegetation periods under study. Photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide by needled shoots of the pine and spruce of the second year of lifespan was recorded by a multi-channel unit mounted on the basis of the IK gas analyzer “Infralyt-4”. Two types of coniferous photosynthesis strategies are shown under different humidification conditions. It was found that under different conditions of soil moisture during the growing season in coniferous trees, the dynamics of chlorophyll content in light-harvesting complexes of photosystem II has several periods of increase.