Effects of dietary humic acid on growth performance,haemato‐immunological and physiological responses and resistance of Rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss to Yersinia ruckeri

This study investigated the effects of dietary humic acid sodium salt on growth performance, haemato‐immunological and physiological responses, and resistance of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss to Yersinia ruckeri. The experimental fish were divided into four groups; three of them were fed with humic acid incorporated diets (0.3% H3, 0.6% H6, 1.2% H12) and an additive free basal diet served as the control. Growth performance and haematological parameters of rainbow trout were not affected by humic acid supplemented diets (p > 0.05). However, dietary humic acid especially with 0.6% incorporation significantly increased stomach pepsin, intestinal trypsin and lipase activities p < 0.05. Following 60 days of feeding trial, fish were challenged with Yersinia ruckeri for 20 days. At the end of the challenge period, significantly higher (p < 0.05) survival rates were found in the 6% humic acid group compared to all other experimental treatment. Thus humic acid might replace antibiotics in diets for rainbow trout to control yersiniosis.     

Compositions and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of two Hypericum species from Turkey

The chemical compositions of essential oils obtained from Hypericum hyssopifolium var. microcalycinum and Hypericum lysimachioides var. lysimachioides were analysed by using GC and GC-MS. Caryophyllene oxide was found to be the major component. The essential oils of both Hypericum species showed antimicrobial activity against nine microorganism at a concentration of 60 to 80 microg/ml.     

Determination of Volume of Alaska Pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) by Image Analysis

The objective of this study was to develop two methods to predict the volume of whole Alaska pollock and to compare the results with the experimentally measured volumes. One hundred fifty-five whole pollock, obtained from a Kodiak processor, were individually immersed in a graduated cylinder equipped with an outflow tube to catch the displaced water as a result of immersion. The weight of the water was recorded. Then the fish were placed in a light box equipped with a digital video camera, and the side view and top view recorded (2 images for each fish). A reference square of known surface area was placed by the fish. A cubic spline method to predict volume by integration of cross-sectional area slices based on the top and side views and an empirical equation using dimensional (length L, width W, depth D) measurements at three locations of the fish image were developed. The R² value for the correlation between the L × W × D versus measured volume was 0.987. The best R² for the correlation of the predicted volume by the cubic spline method versus the measured volume was 0.99. Image analysis can be used reliably to predict the volume of whole Alaska pollock.     

The effects of Saw palmetto on flumethrin-induced lipid peroxidation in rats

In the present study, 40 male Wistar albino rats were used and divided into 4 groups. The first group served as the control group; the second group was administered Saw palmetto extract at the dose of 20 mg/kg/bw; the third group was administered flumethrin at the dose of 15 mg/kg/bw; and the fourth group was administered a combination of 20 mg/kg/bw Saw palmetto extract and 15 mg/kg/bw flumethrin, for 21 days, orally. After the trial period, blood and tissue (liver, kidney and brain) samples were taken from the rats. Saw palmetto extract did not cause significant alterations in plasma and tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, serum and tissue nitric oxide (NO) levels, erythrocyte and tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities when compared to the controls (p > 0.05). Flumethrin led to increased plasma and tissue MDA levels, serum and tissue NO levels, tissue GSH-Px activities and decreased erythrocyte and tissue SOD and CAT activities, and erythrocyte GSH-Px activity, compared to the controls (p < 0.05). The flumethrin and Saw palmetto extract combination increased erythrocyte SOD activity and decreased brain GSH-Px activity as compared to flumethrin (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it was determined that Saw palmetto extract did not cause any negative effect on the prooxidant-antioxidant balance. While flumethrin stimulated lipid peroxidation; Saw palmetto extract at the dose of 20 mg/kg/bw did not exhibit enough antioxidant effect in rats.     

Reference evapotranspiration based on Class A pan evaporation via wavelet regression technique

Accurate estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) is important for water resources engineering. Therefore, a large number of empirical or semi-empirical equations have been developed for assessing ET₀ from numerous meteorological data. However, records of such weather variables are often incomplete or not always available for many locations, which is a shortcoming of these complex models. Therefore, practical and simpler methods are required for estimating the ET₀. In this study, the efficiency of a wavelet regression (WR) model in estimating reference evapotranspiration based on only Class A pan evaporation is examined. The results of the WR model are compared with those of three pan-based equations, namely the FAO-24 pan, Snyder ET₀ and Ghare ET₀ equations and their calibrated versions. Daily Class A pan evaporation data from the Fresno and Bakersfield stations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in California, USA, are used in the study. The WR model estimates are compared against those of the FAO-56 Penman–Monteith equation. Results showed that the WR model is capable of accurately predicting the ET₀ values as a product of pan evaporation data.     

Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis of the palmer drought indices

The aim of the paper is to employ Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis to drought indices including Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI), Palmer Moisture Anomaly (Z) Index (Z-Index), Weighted Palmer Drought Severity Index (WPDSI), and Water Deficit (P-PET) Index and to compare their resultant spatial patterns across Turkey. In this respect, the PDSI, PHDI, Z, WPDSI, Aridity Index (AI) and P-PET Index values are calculated based on observed monthly temperature and precipitation values of the 96 Turkish meteorological stations for the 1929-2009 period, and gridded available water holding capacities (AWHC) in 1-m soil depth are extracted from the soil data sets of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Centre (ORNL DAAC). By considering the strong match among the PDSI, PHDI, and WPDSI based on the results of the patterns of the first EOFs (EOF1) with the highest eigenvalue, we suggest that using and applying one of these drought indices could be adequate for a drought analysis in Turkey. On the other hand, it is evident that the significant results from the EOF2, EOF3 and EOF4 loadings of the PHDI and WPDSI indices have a similar pattern across Turkey. Therefore, with respect to the geographical autocorrelation and magnitudes of the loading values, it is explained that the PDSI and WPDSI in particular could have originated from the same physical process, and one may have a preference for the effective usage of a combination of PDSI, PHDI and Z-Index. Consequently, in a multi-purpose medium- and long-term drought management plan for Turkey or in any country having similar climatic and physical geographical conditions, using one of the three drought indices along with the Z-Index could be acceptable for successful applications.