Small-scale forestry development in Leyte,Philippines: The central role of nurseries

This paper presents results of survey research into the role of the forestry nursery sector in the development of smallholder forestry in Leyte, Philippines. Seedling production in the province is basically carried out by three categories of nurseries: individual, communal and the government. Seedlings in the government nurseries are primarily raised for free distribution to landholders but the extension scheme fails to reach the majority of the smallholder farmers. Seedling demand of landholders is mostly catered for by the more numerous and accessible individual and communal nurseries. However, problems of capital outlay, sources and supply of germplasm, technical knowledge in nursery management for both timber and fruit trees and low sales are among the major impediments in the sustainability of small-scale nurseries. Most of the communal nurseries fail to sustain the operation after the withdrawal of supporting agencies. Knowledge on site-species matching is needed not only by small-scale nursery operators but also by the managers of government nurseries. It is concluded that the seedling industry in the province is not well established and there is a need to organise better the overall nursery system so as to improve the availability of seedlings and promote appropriate site and species combinations.     

Development and Implementation of a Forest Nursery Accreditation Policy at a Local Level in Leyte, Philippines

Through a series of workshops with the stakeholders including nursery operators, tree farmers, staff of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local government units and the academe, a forestry seedling nursery accreditation policy was developed. The resulting policy was subsequently implemented by the municipal government of Palompon, Leyte. The accreditation policy encouraged nursery operators to follow smallholder-based best management practices for tree nurseries. Implementation of the nursery accreditation policy improved farmers’ knowledge and skills in the production of high quality seedlings, encouraged adoption of BMP for forest nurseries, provided additional source of income for the farmers, enabled members of the groups operating the communal nursery to forge closer relationship with each other, encouraged utilization of farmers’ free time in productive activities, developed farmers’ confidence in producing high quality planting materials, and gained for the farmers favourable attention from various organizations and groups. The Bennett’s hierarchy of project outcomes showed that the implementation of accreditation scheme achieved high levels of outcomes, indicating that it led to substantial improvements in the lives of the farmers.     

Effect of source germplasm and season on the in vivo haploid induction rate in tropical maize

For in vivo production of doubled haploid (DH) lines in maize, the rate of haploid induction is of crucial importance. Maternal haploid induction depends primarily on the inducer used as a pollinator. However, the source germplasm used as a maternal parent and the environmental conditions for induction may also influence haploid induction and these aspects have not been examined in tropical maize so far. The objectives of our study were to (i) monitor the variation for haploid induction rate (HIR) among diverse source germplasm in tropical maize, (ii) determine the relative importance of general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities for HIR, and (iii) investigate the influence of summer and winter seasons and genotype × season interactions on this trait. Ten inbreds were mated in a half diallel design. The resulting 45 F₁ single crosses were pollinated with the haploid inducer hybrid RWS × UH400 during the summer 2008 and winter 2009 seasons in a lowland tropical environment in Mexico. HIR of the single crosses averaged over seasons ranged from 2.90 to 9.66% with an overall mean of 6.74%. Mean HIR was significantly (P < 0.01) higher during the winter (7.37%) than summer season (6.11%). Significant (P < 0.01) variation was observed due to GCA effects of parental inbreds of single crosses but not for SCA, GCA × season and SCA × season interactions. Our study underpins that a higher HIR in tropical maize can be obtained by selecting appropriate source germplasm and undertaking pollination under favorable environmental conditions.     

Origin and evolution of prebiotic organic matter as inferred from the Tagish Lake meteorite

The complex suite of organic materials in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites probably originally formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar protoplanetary disk, but was subsequently modified in the meteorites' asteroidal parent bodies. The mechanisms of formation and modification are still very poorly understood. We carried out a systematic study of variations in the mineralogy, petrology, and soluble and insoluble organic matter in distinct fragments of the Tagish Lake meteorite. The variations correlate with indicators of parent body aqueous alteration. At least some molecules of prebiotic importance formed during the alteration.     

Correlation of magnetic resonance images with anatomic features of the equine tarsus

OBJECTIVE: To correlate anatomic features of the equine tarsus identified in plastinated sections with images obtained via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). ANIMALS: 4 horses. PROCEDURE: MRI (1.5-Tesla magnet) of the tarsus was performed on the pelvic limbs of 4 clinically normal horses following euthanasia. After imaging, tarsocrural joint spaces and vasculature were injected with colored latex. Sagittal and transverse sections of the tarsi were plastinated to facilitate interpretation of MR images. RESULTS: Relevant anatomic structures were identified and labeled on the plastinated tissue slices and corresponding MR images. Results indicated high correlations between MRI findings and those of plastinated sections. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The data obtained provided certain reference standards for normal anatomic structure sizes and positions in the equine tarsus. This information may aid future physiologic or clinical studies of this joint.     

Toward the Identification of Novel Antimicrobial Agents: One-Pot Synthesis of Lipophilic Conjugates of N-Alkyl d- and l-Iminosugars

In the effort to improve the antimicrobial activity of iminosugars, we report the synthesis of lipophilic iminosugars 10a–b and 11a–b based on the one-pot conjugation of both enantiomeric forms of N-butyldeoxynojirimycin (NBDNJ) and N-nonyloxypentyldeoxynojirimycin (NPDNJ) with cholesterol and a succinic acid model linker. The conjugation reaction was tuned using the established PS-TPP/I₂/ImH activating system, which provided the desired compounds in high yields (94–96%) by a one-pot procedure. The substantial increase in the lipophilicity of 10a–b and 11a–b is supposed to improve internalization within the bacterial cell, thereby potentially leading to enhanced antimicrobial properties. However, assays are currently hampered by solubility problems; therefore, alternative administration strategies will need to be devised.     

KIT-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumours in two Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica)

Gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumours from two Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) were examined grossly, histologically and immunohistochemically. One neoplasm was a 1.5 kg tan multinodular cavitated mass in the forestomach. The other tumour was a firm mural mass 1.2 cm in diameter in the colon. Microscopically, both tumours were formed mainly by spindle shaped cells arranged in closely packed interlacing fascicles. Neoplastic cells in both tumours labelled positively for KIT (CD117), vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin. These findings suggest that both neoplasms were gastrointestinal stromal tumours and most likely to be derived from the interstitial cells of Cajal or their progenitor cells.