The many medicinal, nutritional, industrial, and agricultural uses of Moringa oleifera are well-documented. These unique traits found in moringaalso make the species a valuable model system by which undergraduate students from non-agricultural majors may engage in plant-based research. This paper highlights a collaborative, problem-based learning approach that has been used to a great effect at Penn State University. Problem-based learning promotes a culture of curiosity, where discovery is valued and failure is embraced and used as a learning opportunity. Since 2010, undergraduate moringa-related research projects and activities have included: 1) moringa leaf drying under humid conditions; 2) design of a moringa harvester for application in Senegal; and 3) moringa cationic protein, functionalized sand for water treatment with recognition at the EPA P3 Sustainability Award. Evaluations and anecdotal evidence suggest that collaborative undergraduate research teams engaged around real-world moringa problems experience enhanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, the research conducted by the student teams has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge related to moringa culture and use.

Small Farm Resource Centers (SFRCs) coordinate trials on a central site as well as on fields of individual farmers. Their purpose is to evaluate, within the community, ideas that have been proven elsewhere and that show promise. SFRCs are not a new approach to agricultural development - variations on this theme have been in operation in many parts of the world for years. Yet an assessment of the regional efficacy of SFRCs is lacking. This project evaluated seven existing SFRCs in southeast Asia to illustrate the concept of the SFRC, assess outreach efficacy, and derive lessons learned. In the absence of a strong governmental or university-based extension system, SFRCs play a substantial role in smallholder farmer horticulture education and community development, particularly in reaching neglected or marginalized populations. Successful SFRCs showcase proven extension and outreach activities such as demonstrations and farmer-led cooperative research, while at the same time embracing new approaches for dealing with the unique constraints and opportunities of the locality. SFRCs represent an effective and successful agriculture and community development tool, particularly when they improve the link between local farmers and markets. To be effective, SFRCs should be sensitive to the local environment in which they operate and reflect the particular needs of the local communities. Overall, it is our opinion that SFRCs are adaptable and effective tools for meeting the changing needs of the clientele to whom they aspire to serve.

The potential of vegetative barriers to reduce dust and avian respiratory virus transmission from a 6-house commercial laying hen facility was evaluated in 3 trials using a combination spray vaccine for Newcastle disease virus (La Sota strain) and infectious bronchitis virus (Mass-Conn strains) as a model. Before each trial, 7-wk-old specific-pathogen-free chickens were placed in coops downwind of the exhaust fans of each house. Vegetative buffers (VEB) were planted between houses 2, 4, and 6 and their coops. Coops downwind of houses 1, 3, and 5 acted as non-VEB controls (CON). Dust accumulation was measured at all coops during each trial. Tracheal and cloacal swabs and blood samples from specific-pathogen-free birds and vegetation clippings or swabs and dust collection filters were collected to monitor virus transmission from the hen houses to the coops. Dust measures did not differ between VEB and CON coops in any trial. In addition, neither Newcastle disease virus nor infectious bronchitis virus could be detected from the vegetation or filters. Predominantly, no differences in virus spread could be detected between birds in the VEB and CON groups; however, the proportion of infectious bronchitis virus-positive serum samples was significantly greater from birds in the CON than in the VEB group (P = 0.003) at 21 d postvaccination in trial 3. Therefore, birds in the CON group were more accessible than those in the VEB group during virus transmission, and VEB of a significant size and density may have the potential to slow or reduce virus spread, or both, from commercial poultry farms.

The potential of vegetative barriers to reduce dust and avian respiratory virus transmission from a 6-house commercial laying hen facility was evaluated in 3 trials using a combination spray vaccine for Newcastle disease virus (La Sota strain) and infectious bronchitis virus (Mass-Conn strains) as a model. Before each trial, 7-wk-old specific-pathogen-free chickens were placed in coops downwind of the exhaust fans of each house. Vegetative buffers (VEB) were planted between houses 2, 4, and 6 and their coops. Coops downwind of houses 1, 3, and 5 acted as non-VEB controls (CON). Dust accumulation was measured at all coops during each trial. Tracheal and cloacal swabs and blood samples from specific-pathogen-free birds and vegetation clippings or swabs and dust collection filters were collected to monitor virus transmission from the hen houses to the coops. Dust measures did not differ between VEB and CON coops in any trial. In addition, neither Newcastle disease virus nor infectious bronchitis virus could be detected from the vegetation or filters. Predominantly, no differences in virus spread could be detected between birds in the VEB and CON groups; however, the proportion of infectious bronchitis virus-positive serum samples was significantly greater from birds in the CON than in the VEB group (P = 0.003) at 21 d postvaccination in trial 3. Therefore, birds in the CON group were more accessible than those in the VEB group during virus transmission, and VEB of a significant size and density may have the potential to slow or reduce virus spread, or both, from commercial poultry farms.

prolonged incubation. HuO lytic titers were typically lower than those for Rb in the same sera.In 91 commercial drakes complete HuO lysis occurred in 14/91 (15%), ≥ 50% lysis in 51/91 (56%), but 7 (8%) sera were negative. Heating sera reduced lytic capacity for both HuO and Rb but not to the same degree. Nearly all HuO lytic capacity was removed after 10 min exposure to 57°C while the same treatment reduced Rb lytic capacity by only 50%.Chelation of Ca++ by EGTA interfered with Rb lysis suggesting inhibition of the classic complement pathway (CP) perhaps by interference at the C1 q-r-s levels. EGTA had little inhibitory effect on HuO lysis, supporting an alternate pathway (AP) mechanism. EGTA did not affect Rb agglutination. The addition of carbohydrates, especially melibiose and galactose, to diluents reduces both agglutination and lysis of Rb but has little effect on HuO lysis. This supports a role for anti-Gal as the antibody providing the substrate for CP lysis of Rb and tends rule out an antibody requirement for HuO lysis. Collectively these 2 systems seem to provide a convenient means for investigating innate and acquired immunity of ducks. Moreover the heterogeneity in lytic capacity for HuO of market age ducks may offer a screening tool for identifying those with a weak immunity.

The potential of vegetation to trap NH3 discharged from a layer house through the exhaust fans was evaluated at The Pennsylvania State University Poultry Education and Research Center in September 2005. Five tree species were planted in pot-in-pot containers in 5 rows downwind of the house fans and in 2 control rows upwind of the hen house. Each row included 1 plant (upwind) or 2 plants (downwind) per species per row. When measured with a photoacoustic NH3 detector at the same elevation as the fan (1.5 m), NH3 concentration decreased sharply with greater distance, from 51.54 ppm at 0 m (at the fan) to 1.89 ppm at 5.5 m (between row 2 and 3), 0.27 ppm at 10 m (after row 5), and 0 ppm at 50 m (control). This trend was also observed with the dosi-tubes and photoacoustic detector at the 0.3- and 3.0-m elevations. Significantly lower NH3 concentrations were recorded when the trees were present downwind of the fans compared with when the trees were removed (16.45 vs. 19.35 ppm), suggesting a portion of the atmospheric NH3 was being held by the plants. This was further supported by a marked decrease in foliar N status of the plants with greater distance from the source. Plant species also differed, with willow appearing to be the most responsive species and effective as an NH3 trap.

A chamber study was conducted to evaluate the growth response and leaf nitrogen (N) status of four plant species exposed to continuous ammonia (NH3) for 12 weeks (wk). This was intended to evaluate appropriate plant species that could be used to trap discharged NH3 from the exhaust fans in poultry feeding operations before moving off-site. Two hundred and forty bare-root plants of four species (Juniperus virginiana (red cedar), Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (thornless honey locust), Populus sp. (hybrid poplar), and Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass) were transplanted into 4- or 8-L polyethylene pots and grown in four environmentally controlled chambers. Plants placed in two of the four chambers received continuous exposure to anhydrous NH3 at 4 to 5 ppm while plants in another two chambers received no NH3. In each of the four chambers, 2 to 4 plants per species received no fertilizer while the rest of the plants were fertilized with a 100 ppm solution containing 21% N, 7% phosphorus, and 7% potassium. The results showed that honey locust was the fastest-growing species. The superior growth of honey locust among all species was also supported by its total biomass, root, and root dry matter (DM) weights. For all species there was a trend for plants exposed to NH3 to have greater leaf DM than their non-exposed counterparts at 6 (43.0 vs. 30.8%; P = 0.09) and 12 wk (47.9 vs. 36.6%; P = 0.07), and significantly greater (P ≤ 0.05) leaf N content at 6 (6.44 vs. 3.67%) and 12 wk (7.05 vs. 3.51%) when exposed to NH3. Numerically greater leaf DM due to NH3 exposure was also consistently measured in poplar at both sampling periods. Hybrid poplar, as well as honey locust and reed canary grass, deposited 1.5 to 2-fold greater N in their leaves than red cedar tissues as a result of NH3 exposure compared to non-exposed plants. Regardless of the effect of NH3 on foliar color and damage score of the plants, the increase of foliar N content (g 100 g−1 of fresh foliage weight) after NH3 exposure at 6 and 12 wk was 0.45 and 0.87 for grass,1.25 and 1.34 for locust, and 2.67 and 6.09 for poplar. However, only honey locust likely benefited from ambient NH3 as indicated by its consistent leaf color quality and lower damage score, compared with other species that were adversely affected by atmospheric NH3.

Educational objectives of capstone courses such as critical-thinking and problem-solving skills are among the most cited needs in curriculum revitalization efforts. Sponsored competitions present an important vehicle for achieving these educational objectives. Opportunities such as the Greenhouse of the Future Competition provide students a diverse range of critical experiences not easily simulated in traditional classroom settings. The objective of the competition was to provide an opportunity for US university students to conceptualize, design, integrate, fabricate, and demonstrate innovative greenhouse or controlled environment ideas. The students achieved a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction by converting their ideas into proposals, developing proposals into experiments, tracking the data generated by the experiments and translating that data into a meaningful communication locally and to the scientific community at large. Most of these important learning experiences would have remained as components of the project even if the team had not advanced as the winning entry.

SUMMARY Chub and eels were experimentally infected via intermediate hosts harbouring cystacanths, with Pomphorhynchus laevis alone, or Acanthocephalus anguillae alone, or simultaneously with mixtures of both species in varying proportions, and sampled at 7, 56 or 112 days post-infection. Examination of chub revealed that both species showed low establishment and growth rates, differing markedly from British field data, where chub is apparently one of the most important hosts, and preventing further meaningful experiments. Both species showed higher establishment rates in eels, but A. anguillae both grew faster and matured to a greater extent than P. laevis , reflecting field data. No evidence of any interactions, competitive or otherwise, was found in the mixed infections in eels at low or high infection levels. The results were interpretated with regard to British field data and current theories of the role of interspecific competition in structuring fish helminth communities.

Threshold density levels were investigated experimentally in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, for the acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis. Fifty small fish 120-150 mm long were infected with 50 cystacanths each every 4 weeks for 16 weeks, and samples of up to 10 fish examined at 1, 5, 9, 13 and 17 weeks after the original infection. The mean intestinal length was found to have increased significantly over this period, from a mean of 125 to 173 mm and the mean number of parasites recovered increased after each interval of 4 weeks, and significantly from 19.30 to 86.40 per fish over the 17 weeks. The distribution of the parasites in the alimentary tract of O. mykiss was unaltered, indicating that the favourable region for establishment had remained unchanged. The failure to detect any manifestations of competition is discussed, and the relevance of conventional approaches to experimental investigations of both intra- and interspecific competition in fish was queried, and contrasted to the situation in birds and mammals.

SUMMARY Rainbow trout were infected simultaneously with cystacanths of the two acanthocephalan species Pomphorhynchus laevis and Acanthocephalus anguillae in the laboratory. Infections consisted of varying proportions of the two species (from 0 to 100%) at low (20 cystacanths) and high (60 cystacanths) levels. Fish were sacrificed at 7, 56 and 112 days post-infection (p.i.) and the parasites recovered. At low-level infections there was a high degree of overlap in the range of intestine occupied by the two species (44·12 %) and no evidence for interspecific competition affecting either species. At high-level infections the establishment of both species was unaffected by the presence or number of individuals of the other species. The survivorship and the range of intestine occupied by A. anguillae were found to be reduced in the presence of P. laevis . The interaction was one-sided, as P. laevis remained unaffected by A. anguillae , and so indicated interference competition. The possibility that both intraspecific and interspecific competition are implicated in explaining the distribution of the two species in the British Isles is discussed.

The current distributions of the freshwater fish acanthocephalans Pomphorhynchus laevis and Acanthocephalus anguillae are described and shown to be discontinuous and mutually exclusive, both regionally and locally, in the British Isles. An hypothesis is erected to account for this pattern. It is suggested that as the continental freshwater cyprinids colonized post‐glacial mainland Britain via the eastward‐flowing rivers and the Thames‐Rhine link, they brought with them both species of acanthocephalan. The present, more extensive distribution of P. laevis in the British Isles and Ireland is explained by (1) early formation of a marine strain that colonized the Baltic and North Sea and estuaries of North Sea rivers, (2) later transfers of infected barbel to other English rivers from the R. Thames by man, and (3) transfers to Ireland of infected cyprinids from England by man. Different and restricted availability of preferred definitive and intermediate hosts subsequently resulted in the formation of distinct strains in England and Ireland. The distribution of A. anguillae can be explained by similar anthropogenic influences, but since its definitive and intermediate hosts are more widely available, strain formation has not yet been detected. Competitive interactions between the two parasites in the intestine of the definitive hosts are thought to be responsible for their mutual exclusiveness.

A brief note upon the physical characteristics of three cases of phenylpyruvic oligophrenia may be of interest for comparison with other cases. The three patients have been under special observation for 2½ years, and are the only definite cases discovered in an examination of 2,300 mental defectives of both sexes, all ages and all grades.

Journal Article A CASE OF CUTANEOUS AND CONJUNCTIVAL DIPHTHERIA. Get access R. M. BATES, F.R.C.S., D.P.M. R. M. BATES, F.R.C.S., D.P.M. Medical Officer, Stoke Park Colony Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology and Syphilis, Volume 51, Issue 2, 1 February 1939, Pages 76–79, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1939.tb10652.x Published: 01 February 1939

6 USDA-NRCS-Big Flats Plant Materials Center, Corning, NY 14830. Abstract Trees have been planted for many years in agriculture settings for windbreaks and shade purposes. A new, but largely untested benefit may be as a visual screen for combating neighbor issues, as a barrier for flies, and as a filter for fan emissions from poultry and livestock farms. This field study sought to evaluate the potential of trees planted around commercial poultry farms to trap NH3, the gas of greatest environmental concern to the poultry industry. Four plant species (spruce, poplar, streamco willow, and hybrid willow) were planted in front of the exhaust fans of eight commercial farms from 2003 to 2004. In 2005 because temperature (T) can be a stressor for trees, T was monitored with data loggers among the trees in front of the exhaust fans (11.4 m to 17.7 m) and at a control distance away from the fans (≥48 m) during all four seasons in Pennsylvania. Poplar and spruce foliage samples were taken in August 2005 from one turkey and two layer farms for dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) analysis. The two layer farms had poplar plantings and all three farms had spruce. The results showed that farm type had a significant effect on plant leaf DM but not leaf N. Although poplar had less foliage DM compared to spruce (41.3 vs. 50.1%), it contained greater N (3.43 vs. 2.46%). Plant location clearly showed greater foliar DM and N levels among those plants near the fans compared with controls, 51.0 vs. 40.4% and 3.61 vs. 2.28%, respectively. Greater foliar DM may have resulted from the plants' capacity to trap NH3-N emitted by the exhaust fans resulting in better N status in the tissues, growth and biomass of the plant, or desiccation of the plants from the proximity of the fans. However, the difference in foliar DM and N concentrations due to species, location, and the interaction of the two factors was unlikely correlate with ambient T. Summer T were similar in front of the fans and at a control distance away from the fans on all farms (25.80 vs. 25.32C-layer 1, 25.92 vs. 25.53C-layer 2, and 25.45 vs. 25.54C-turkey) suggesting no greater T stress associated with fan proximity.