Drought increases Norway spruce susceptibility to the Eurasian spruce bark beetle and its associated fungi.

Drought affects the complex interactions between Norway spruce, the bark beetle Ips typographus and associated microorganisms. We investigated the interplay of tree water status, defense and carbohydrate reserves with the incidence of bark beetle attack and infection of associated fungi in mature spruce trees. We installed roofs to induce a 2-yr moderate drought in a managed spruce stand to examine a maximum of 10 roof and 10 control trees for resin flow (RF), predawn twig water potentials, terpene, phenolic and carbohydrate bark concentrations, and bark beetle borings in field bioassays before and after inoculation with Endoconidiophora polonica and Grosmannia penicillata. Drought-stressed trees showed more attacks and significantly longer fungal lesions than controls, but maintained terpene resin defenses at predrought levels. Reduced RF and lower mono- and diterpene, but not phenolic concentrations were linked with increased host selection. Bark beetle attack and fungi stimulated chemical defenses, yet G. penicillata reduced phenolic and carbohydrate contents. Chemical defenses did not decrease under mild, prolonged drought in our simulated small-scale biotic infestations. However, during natural mass attacks, reductions in carbon fixation under drought, in combination with fungal consumption of carbohydrates, may deplete tree defenses and facilitate colonization by I. typographus.

Laparoscopic nephrectomy with single-portal access Gelpoint®in swines

PURPOSE: To analyze the viability of using Gelpoint® (single-port access) to make partial and total nephrectomy in pigs and to describe the technical difficulties found during these surgical procedures. METHODS: Ten pigs (Landrace specie) with 20kg in average were distributed in two groups. Group A: total right nephrectomy and Group B: partial left nephrectomy. The procedures were performed inside the Surgical Technique Room from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Parana (PUCPR). RESULTS: In Group A, time to single-port insertion varied from one to two minutes and total time of the procedures were 20.4±8.2 minutes. Bleeding was under than 20 mL in 70% of animals. Time of instrument excision was 20.7±12 seconds and time of hilum dissection was 3.9±2.2 minutes. In Group B, after total contralateral nephrectomy two surgical procedures were not concluded due to bleeding. In this group, time of surgery was 6.8±4.2 minutes. With the exception of the second surgery, the highest blood volume loss was 50 mL. The mean excision time was 22.3 ± 22.3 seconds. CONCLUSION: Total and partial nephrectomy through umbilical single-access using GelPoint® was feasible and safe in pigs.