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Publikasjoner

NIBIOs ansatte publiserer flere hundre vitenskapelige artikler og forskningsrapporter hvert år. Her finner du referanser og lenker til publikasjoner og andre forsknings- og formidlingsaktiviteter. Samlingen oppdateres løpende med både nytt og historisk materiale. For mer informasjon om NIBIOs publikasjoner, besøk NIBIOs bibliotek.

2008

Sammendrag

Studies regarding the environmental impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are hampered by the lack of tools to localize and quantify ENPs in water, sediments, soils, and organisms. Neutron activation of mineral ENPs offers the possibility of labeling ENPs in a way that avoids surface modification and permits both localization and quantification within a matrix or an organism. Time-course experiments in vivo also may be conducted with small organisms to study metabolism and exposure, two aspects currently lacking in ecotoxicological knowledge about ENPs. The present report explains some of the prerequisites and advantages of neutron activation as a tool for studying ENPs in environmental samples and ecologically relevant organisms, and it demonstrates the suitability of neutron activation for Ag, Co/Co3O4, and CeO2 nanoparticles. In a preliminary experiment with the earthworm Eisenia fetida, the dietary uptake and excretion of a Co nanopowder (average particle size, 4 nm; surface area, 59 m(2)/g) were studied. Cobalt ENPs were taken up to a high extent during 7 d of exposure (concentration ratios of 0.16-0.20 relative to the ENP concentration in horse manure) and were largely retained within the worms for a period of eight weeks, with less than 20% of absorbed ENPs being excreted. Following dissection of the worms, Co-60 was detected in spermatogenic cells, cocoons, and blood using scintillation counting and autoradiography. The experimental opportunities that neutron activation of ENPs offer are discussed.

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Three unsprayed coffee farms (farm 1, 2 and 3) were studied for the natural occurrence of the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana in Hypothenemus hampei populations throughout the rainy season of 2004 (July-November) and 2005 (July-December). B. bassiana infections were found during most sampling dates in both years, on all three farms. The B. bassiana infection levels were higher in 2005 than in 2004 with mean prevalence of 12.1 % and 2.7%, respectively. No consistent significant differences in infection level between farms were found in any of the years. B. bassiana infection levels fluctuated widely throughout the season, and peaked at 13.5% on farm 3 in 2004 and at 44.0% on farm 1 in 2005. The H. hampei population was significantly higher in 2004 than in 2005, with 6.9% of the berries infested in 2004 and only 0.7% in 2005. In both years, the H. hampei infestation level was significantly higher on farm 2. No consistent significant differences in H. hampei infestation levels were found between sampling dates on any of the farms. H. hampei infestation levels fluctuated throughout both seasons, and peaked at 15.3% on farm 2 in 2004 and 2.2% on farm 2 in 2005. No consistent density dependent correlation between H. hampei infestation level and B. bassiana infection level was found. Correlations between climatic conditions and R bassiana or H. hampei were not found. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sammendrag

Alpha-cypermethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid, is used as an insecticide in agricultural settings and is increasingly replacing organophosphates and carbamates because of lower application rates and lower toxicity to mammals. Because very little is known about the acute and chronic toxicity of this compound for soil-living organisms, the present study investigated acute and sublethal toxicity of alpha-cypermethrin for four terrestrial invertebrate species in an agricultural soil from Norway. Bioassays with the earthworm Eisenia fetida, the potworm Enchytraeus crypticus, the springtail Folsomia candida, and the land snail Helix aspersa were performed according to slightly modified versions of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris, France) or International Organization for Standardization (Geneva, Switzerland) guidelines and resulted in median lethal concentrations of greater than >1,000 to 31.4 mg/kg and sublethal no-observed-effect concentrations of 2.51 to 82 mg/kg. A high acute to chronic ratio was found, especially in the earthworms. Interspecies differences in sensitivity may be explained by differences in exposure and differences in metabolization rate. When based on measured pore-water concentrations, terrestrial species overall appear to be approximately one order of magnitude less sensitive than aquatic species. Effect assessments conducted according to European guideline for risk assessment of pesticides reveal that assessments based on acute toxicity tests are not always conservative enough to determine environmentally safe concentrations in soil. Mandatory incorporation of sublethal toxicity data will ensure that in regions with temperate climate, the effects of pesticides on populations of soil-living organisms are unlikely.

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A possible cost-effective real-time patch spraying implementation against seed-propagated broad-leaved weeds in cereals is a camera mounted in front of the tractor taking images at feasible distances in the direction of travel, on-board image analysis software and entire boom switched on and off. To assess this implementation, manual weed counts (0.25 m(2) quadrats) in a 1.5 m x 2 m grid, were used to simulate camera outputs. Each quadrat was classified into 'spray' and 'not spray' decisions based on a threshold model, and the resulting map defined the 'ground truth'. Subsequently, 'on/off' spraying at larger control areas where sizes were given by the boom width and image distance, and spraying decision controlled by weed status at the single quadrat simulating the camera's view, were simulated. These coarser maps were compared with 'ground truth', to estimate mapping error (area above threshold not sprayed), spraying error (area below threshold sprayed), total error (sum of mapping and spraying error) and the herbicide reduction. Three levels of the threshold model were tested. Results were used to fit models that predict errors from boom width and image distance. Size of control area did not on average affect the magnitude of the simulated herbicide reductions, but the bigger the control area the higher the risk that the simulated herbicide reduction deviate from the reduction in 'ground truth'. Mean simulated herbicide reductions were 42-59%, depending on threshold level. Only minor differences due to threshold level were seen for mean mapping and spraying errors at given spraying resolutions. Using original threshold level and image distance 2 m, predicted total errors for boom widths 2 m, 6 m, 20 m and 40 m would be 6%, 10%, 16% and 17%, respectively. Results indicate that control area should not exceed about 10 m 2 if acceptable total error is maximum 10%.

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A 2 x 2 factorial continuous experiment was conducted with 28 Norwegian Red dairy cows in early lactation to compare milk content of phytoestrogens when feeding ad libitum white clover (WCS) or red clover (RCS) grass silages prepared from the second and third cut without and with 10 kg/d supplementation of a standard concentrate. The cows were offered either RCS or WCS for 88 d (period 1) and thereafter a mixed red clover-white clover-grass silage for 48 d (period 2). Total dry matter intake and milk yield were not affected by forage type but increased with concentrate supplementation. Intake of isoflavones was several times greater in RCS than in WCS, whereas intake of lignans was greater in WCS. Concentrate supplementation reduced the intake of most phytoestrogens. Compared with WCS, RCS diets yielded milk with a greater content of flavonoids, whereas milk from WCS diets had greater contents of the mammalian lignans enterodiol and enterolactone. The content of the isoflavan equol was particularly high in RCS diets. There was no apparent carryover effect of clover type on milk phytoestrogen content because there was no difference in content between the silage treatments 3 wk after the cows were transferred to the same silage diet (period 2). Concentrate supplementation reduced the milk contents of the flavonoids equol, biochanin A, and daidzein and increased the content of mammalian lignans. The effects of silage type and concentrate supplementation on milk contents of the individual phytoestrogens were related to the intake of the compound or its precursor, except for the effect of concentrate on mammalian lignans, for which the intake of the known precursors was also reduced. Overall, this study shows that feeding cows with silage containing red clover increases the milk content of flavonoids at both low and high concentrate supplementation levels, and decreases the content of nonflavonoids such as mammalian lignans, when compared with silage containing white clover. The increased content of phytoestrogens in milk may be important when the health benefits of milk are studied.

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Progenies from a natural stand of Picea abies planted on a forest site with heterogeneous growth conditions were characterized for genetic and environmental control of internodal and whorl branch formation and lammas growth. The progenies studied were 27 years old from seed and planted in a randomized complete block experiment. Internodes and whorls studied were located in the top section of the trees. Significant genetic variation (p<0.01) was found for a number of internodal and whorl branches. Block means for the length of internodes, a strong indicator for the site index in respective blocks, were correlated strongly with branch dimensions (r >= 0.90), intermediately with the frequency of lammas growth (r = 0.81) and number of branches in whorls (r = 0.68), and only weakly with the number of internodal branches per length unit of internode (r = 0.25). A strong environmental effect on branch dimensions was supported by the relative size of variance components. The results show that the environmental effect expressed by site index dominates the control of branch dimensions, while the number of branches is under stronger genetic control in P. abies.

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The Gram-positive bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus is the causal agent of bacterial wilt and ring rot of potato. So far, only two proteins have been shown to be essential for virulence, namely a plasmid-encoded cellulase CelA and a hypersensitive response-inducing protein. We have examined the relative expression of CelA and eight putative virulence factors during infection of potato and in liquid culture, using quantitative real-time PCR. The examined putative virulence genes were celB, a cellulase-encoding gene and genes encoding a pectate lyase, a xylanase and five homologues of the Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis pathogenicity factor Pat-1 thought to encode a serine protease. Six of the nine assayed genes were up-regulated during infection of potato, including celA, celB, the xylanase gene, and two of the pat genes. The pectate lyase gene showed only slightly elevated expression, whereas three of the five examined pat genes were down-regulated during infection in potato. Interestingly, the two up-regulated pat genes showed a noticeable sequence difference compared to the three down-regulated pat genes. These results reveal several new proteins that are likely to be involved in Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus pathogenicity.

Sammendrag

The present distribution and host plant preferences of the polyphagous pest species Liriomyza sativae, L. huidobrensis, L. trifolii and L. bryoniae within the different provinces of Vietnam is discussed. For each species also the possible further spread within Vietnam is discussed.