Role of homestead forests in household economy and factors affecting forest production: a case study in southwest Bangladesh

Empirical information regarding the role of homestead forests in household economy is essential in understanding the importance of these resources. Identification of the factors that affect homestead forest production and understanding forest owners' attitudes toward key forest management issues have great significance in making appropriate policy responses to manage these resources on a sustainable basis. In Bangladesh, homestead forests are claimed to play an important economic role in rural livelihoods, but no reliable quantitative information exists. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of homestead forests in the household economy, examine if forest production and income vary across landholding size classes, to explore the relationships of homestead forest production with species richness, education level, and household size, and to assess the attitude of homestead forest owners toward key forest management issues. Results show that homestead forests contribute 15.9% of the household income and generate 51.4 man-days of employment per household per year. Production of homestead forests significantly varies across landholding size classes. It was observed that forest production depends significantly on species richness of homestead forests and the education level of forest owners. However, no such relationship was found between forest production and household size. The study revealed that farming families depend more on forest income than nonfarming families. Attitudes of forest owners toward key forest management issues differ significantly across landholding size classes. For example, although the majority of the forest owners prefer fruit species to timber species, the percentage of respondents decreased as the landholding size class increased, while the opposite trend was observed for timber species. The findings of this study suggest that diversification of forests and extension of education amongst forest owners would improve forest production. Furthermore, forest policy should address the concerns of the forest owners in different landholding classes and focus on their specific requirements to enhance sustainable forest management.     

Effects of topography and management history on natural forest recovery in abandoned forest after clear-cutting in Miyazaki, Japan

We investigated factors limiting the recovery of natural forest in former large-scale conifer plantations abandoned after clear-cutting in southwestern Japan. We analyzed forest recovery status (“recovered” sites covered by evergreen broad-leaved trees, and “unrecovered” sites covered by pioneer community or nonvegetated sites) using aerial photographs and field survey. We applied logistic regression analyses to evaluate the effects of topography, construction of harvesting roads, distance from remnant forest, stand condition before clear-cutting, and prior land-use history on forest recovery. Human factors, i.e., land use and clear-cutting age, were found to affect to forest recovery more than environmental factors such as topography. Harvesting roads had the strongest negative impact on forest recovery. Forest recovery after clear-cutting of young sugi plantations also took longer than after clear-cutting of old sugi plantations or evergreen broad-leaved forests. Furthermore, areas formerly utilized as meadows recovered less successfully than those that had been managed as coppices. The influences of these factors were thought to be promoted by the advance reproduction as the regeneration sources for forest recovery. The influence of stand age before logging suggested an effect of thinning, which might alter the abundance of advanced reproduction in the understory. However, distance from remnant forest appeared to be less important. An influence of topography was also detected, but this could be partly explained by the existence of advance reproduction in the understory in certain topographic positions. Thus, our analysis suggests that regeneration sources originating from advanced reproduction in plantations play a significant role for the recovery of natural forest after clear-cutting.     

Glycation and phosphorylation of beta-lactoglobulin by dry-heating: effect on protein structure and some properties

Beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) was glycated with maltopentaose and subsequently phosphorylated by dry-heating in the presence of pyrophosphate to investigate the structural and functional properties of phosphorylated beta-Lg. The circular dichroism spectra showed that the change of the secondary structure in the beta-Lg molecule by glycation and subsequent phosphorylation was small. The differential scanning calorimetry thermograms of beta-Lg showed that the denaturation temperature of the most stable domain was only slightly affected, whereas the retinol-binding activity of beta-Lg was somewhat reduced by glycation and subsequent phosphorylation. These results indicated that the conformational changes of the beta-Lg molecule by glycation and subsequent phosphorylation were mild. The anti-beta-Lg antibody response was somewhat reduced by glycation, but significant changes were not observed by phosphorylation. Although the stability of beta-Lg against heat-induced insolubility was improved by glycation alone, it was further enhanced by phosphorylation. The calcium phosphate solubilizing ability of beta-Lg was enhanced by phosphorylation following glycation.     

Comparison of glycerol, lactamide, acetamide and dimethylsulfoxide as cryoprotectants of Japanese white rabbit spermatozoa

The rabbit is considered to be a valuable laboratory animal. We compared glycerol, lactamide, acetamide, and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as cryoprotectants in egg-yolk diluent of ejaculated Japanese white rabbit spermatozoa for improvement of sperm cryopreservation methods. Rabbit semen was frozen with 1.0 M glycerol, lactamide, acetamide, or DMSO in plastic straws. Forward progressive motility and plasma membrane integrity of the post-thaw spermatozoa were examined. The rate of forward progressive motile spermatozoa in lactamide (37.8 +/- 3.0%) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than in glycerol (17.0 +/- 3.3%). In addition, the rates of sperm plasma membrane integrity in lactamide and acetamide (35.9 +/- 3.3% and 30.2 +/- 3.0%, respectively) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than in glycerol (17.0 +/- 2.6%). The results indicate that 1.0 M lactamide and acetamide have higher cryoprotective effects than 1.0 M glycerol for cryopreservation of Japanese white rabbit spermatozoa.     

Toll-like receptor 2 and 9 are expressed and functional in gut-associated lymphoid tissues of presuckling newborn swine

To clarify the crucial role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR9 in immature gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), we focused on the expression of TLR2 and TLR9 and the immune responses induced by their ligands in the GALT of presuckling newborn swine. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that TLR2 and TLR9 mRNA were expressed at detectable levels in all tested tissues (heart, thymus, lung, spleen, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, ileal Peyer patches (Pps), and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN)). In particular, in immature intestinal tissues and GALT, TLR2 and TLR9 mRNA were expressed at higher levels in ileal Pps and MLN than in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. We confirmed that the TLR2 and TLR9 proteins were also highly expressed and that their ligands were preferentially recognized by TLR2- or TLR9-expressing cells in the MLN and ileal Pps. Zymosan, CpG2006, and lactic acid bacteria could promote mitogenesis and production of multiple cytokines by the MLN and ileal Pps. In addition, double immunostaining for cytokeratin 18 and either TLR2 or TLR9 revealed that both TLR2 and TLR9 are strongly expressed in the columnar membranous (M) cells. Interestingly, while the apical membrane of the columnar M cells strongly expressed TLR2 protein and preferentially recognized zymosan, both "TLR2 expression on the apical membrane" and "TLR2-mediated zymosan binding" were negligible in neighboring enterocytes. These results indicate that TLR2 and TLR9 allow MLN and ileal Pps to respond to a variety of bacterial components immediately after birth, thereby providing newborns with a host defense system.     

Improvement in isolation and identification of food-derived peptides in human plasma based on precolumn derivatization of peptides with phenyl isothiocyanate

For the isolation and detection of food-derived peptides in blood, an approach based on the derivatization of peptides with phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) was developed. This approach allows hydrophilic peptides to be resolved and specifically detected by reversed-phase (RP) HPLC. For the rapid capturing and clarification of peptides in human plasma, solid-phase extraction by using a mini spin column (5 mmx5 mm) packed with a strong cation exchanger was used. The clarified peptide fraction was further fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The peptides in the SEC fractions were derivatized with PITC, and the derivatives were resolved by RP-HPLC by using an ammonium acetate buffer or a trifluoroacetic acid system. An automatic peptide sequencer based on Edman degradation with a modified program can directly analyze the resolved derivatives. Some synthetic peptides and food-derived peptides in human plasma were successfully isolated and identified by this approach.     

Storage of maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) culture medium after harvesting fruit bodies is an effective pretreatment for ethanol conversion

The storage of spent maitake culture medium (SMCM) under various conditions was investigated as a potential pretreatment of SMCM for increased ethanol conversion. When SMCM was stored at 25°C for 12?weeks, the glucose yield by enzymatic saccharification increased from 22 to 52%. Selective degradation of lignin and hemicellulose occurred in SMCM during storage. The optimal storage temperature of SMCM was at the active growing temperature of maitake mycelium, which is between 25 and 30°C. Storage of SMCM under anaerobic conditions did not increase the glucose yield compared to non-stored conditions. The glucose yield from the SMCM stored for 4?weeks at 25°C was increased by about 30% with either NaOH or vibrating ball milling pretreatment. After 12?weeks of storage, the glucose yield from SMCM without any other pretreatment was higher than that of non-stored SMCM with additional pretreatments. An ethanol yield of 42.1% was obtained from SMCM stored for 12?weeks by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, which was comparable to yields after NaOH (41.3%) or vibrating ball milling (44.1%) pretreatments. Therefore, storage of SMCM is a very useful pretreatment for bioethanol production.     

Bioactivities of extracts from Chamaecyparis obtusa branch heartwood

In order to find new utilization method of woody wastes, we examined the bioactivities of extracts from branch heartwood of Chamaecyparis obtusa (hinoki) and compared to extracts from trunk heartwood. The bioactivities examined were antifungal activities against four fungi (Trametes versicolor, Fomitopsis palustris, Trichoderma virens, Rhizopus oryzae), and bioassay with brine shrimp (Artemia salina) which shows any allelopathic activities not measurable with fungi. Antifungal activities were observed in the hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of branch and trunk heartwood. The hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of branch and hexane extract of trunk showed strong lethality against brine shrimp. The yields of the active extracts of branch were much more than that of trunk. The identified compounds in the active extracts of branch were germacra-1-(10),5-dien-4??-ol, t-cadinol, t-muurolol, hinokiresinol, and hinokinin. Hinokiresinol and t-muurolol showed strong antifungal activities. Hinokiresinol showed bioactivities against T. virens, R. oryzae and brine shrimp. Germacra-1-(10),5-dien-4??-ol was lethal to brine shrimp. Germacra-1-(10),5-dien-4??-ol and hinokiresinol were minor components in trunk heartwood, but major components in branch. These qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the branch heartwood could be a valuable chemical resource because it contains large amounts of antifungal and allelopathic compounds.     

Male rats respond to their own alarm pheromone

Pheromones are defined as substances released from an individual (donor) that influence a second individual (recipient) of the same species. However, it is unclear whether mammalian pheromones can affect the donor itself. To address this question, the effect of self-exposure to an alarm pheromone was examined. Exposure to the alarm pheromone resulted in an enhanced anxiety response, which was not different between recipients that perceived their own pheromone and those that perceived another individual's pheromone. The present results suggest that the alarm pheromone influences the emotional system of the recipient as well as induces similar anxiogenic effects on the donor rat that released the alarm pheromone. This is the first evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of mammalian pheromone self-exposure.     

The secretory pattern and source of immunoreactive prolactin in pregnant African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants

The objective of the present study was to define the secretion of prolactin (PRL) in pregnant African and Asian elephants. Levels of immunoreactive (ir-) PRL in serum and placental homogenates were measured by a heterologous radioimmunoassay (RIA) based on an ovine and human RIA system, and the localization of ir-PRL in the placenta was detected by immunohistochemistry using anti-human PRL. Circulating ir-PRL clearly showed a biphasic pattern during pregnancy in African and Asian elephants. Serum levels of ir-PRL started to increase from the 4 - 6th month of gestation and reached the first peak level around the 11-14th month. A second peak of circulating ir-PRL levels was observed around the 18-20th month of gestation followed by an abrupt decline after parturition. In contrast, in a case of abortion of an African elephant, the second peak of ir-PRL was not observed, and the levels remained low for about four months until parturition. The weight of the fetus delivered at the 17th month of gestation was 23.5 kg, which was quite small compared with normal fetuses in previous reports. Ir-PRL was detected in placental homogenates, and immunolocalization was observed in trophoblasts in both the African and Asian elephants, indicating that the placenta is the source of ir-PRL during pregnancy in elephants. The present results clearly demonstrated that circulating ir-PRL shows a biphasic pattern during normal pregnancy and that the placenta appears to be an important source of circulating ir-PRL during pregnancy in both African and Asian elephants.