Comparison of effectiveness of introduced barn owls,Tyto javanica javanica,and rodenticide treatments on rat control in oil palm plantations

Journal of Pest Science - In Peninsular Malaysia, barn owls (Tyto javanica javanica) have been utilized as biological control of rats since the 1960s. In this study, the impact of introduced barn...     

Aggregation of penaeid shrimp larvae due to microbial epibionts

Pseudomonas piscicida, Aeromonas formicans and Flavobacteria sp. were involved in aggregation of hatchery reared Penaeus stylirostris larvae. Aggregation was experimentally reproduced with pure cultures of these organisms at densities of 10⁴ cells per ml. Adding at least 3 μg/ml gentamycin, 10 μg/ml nalidixic acid, 0.1 μg/ml acridine or Cutrine Plus^®1 into test suspensions prevented aggregation of the shrimp larvae.     

Evaluation of drug-induced prostatic involution in dogs by transabdominal B-mode ultrasonography

The relative antiandrogen-induced prostate involution activity of the newly synthesized hydroxyflutamide pro-drug was compared with that of flutamide in 25 Beagles. Secondary antiandrogen activity of both drugs on the testes and mammary tissue was investigated. Daily oral administration of both compounds at 2 dosages (ie, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg of body weight) during a 7-week period was monitored by transabdominal ultrasonography of the prostate twice a week. Cross-sectional area estimates of the prostate gland calculated from oblique dorsoventral, and transverse sonographic measurements were diminished significantly in some of the treated dogs as early as day 14 of drug administration. All treated dogs had significant differences in reduction by day 47. Involution was related directly to dose (P less than 0.05), but no difference was observed between test compounds. Differences in secondary antiandrogen activity were not remarkable. Flutamide was not found to have any activity advantage in vivo over hydroxyflutamide. It was concluded that ultrasonography can be a highly effective means of monitoring prostate size, and of monitoring drug-induced involution over time.     

Evaluation of Air Pollution Burden from Contribution of Motorcycle Emission in Bangkok

This study investigated the relationship between exhaust emission from motorcycles and ambient air quality in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). The test result revealed that averagepollutant concentrations of the test motorcycles in terms of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide were 8.38, 16.69 and 0.04 g km^-1, respectively. The finding also indicated that two-stroke motorcycles emitted 1.5 and 5 times more carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission, respectively perkilometer driven than do four-stroke motorcycles. Four air sampling stations were strategically established to evaluate the air pollution problems in Bangkok arising from vehicle exhaust emission. Investigation was carried out to determine the correlation between average air pollutant concentration with different traffic configuration in each traffic zone of Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMA) during peak/non peak hours, day/night times and weekday/weekend. The average concentrationsof PM₁₀ particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide in Bangkok street air were found tobe 84.33 μg m^-3 (24 hr ave.), 7.05 mg m^-3 (8 hr ave.), 56.74 μg m^-3 (1 hr ave.) and 9.60 μg m^-3 (24 hr ave.), respectively.     

Feeding behavior under dark conditions in larvae of sutchi catfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pangasianodon hypophthalmus</Emphasis>

Sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus hatch with morphologically immature sensory organs; however, sensory organs develop rapidly with larval growth. Two-day-old larvae commenced ingesting Artemia nauplii. The larvae displayed many taste buds on the barbels, the head surface, and in the buccal cavity. Other sense organs were also well developed at this stage. Feeding experiments revealed that 2-day-old larvae ingested Artemia under both light and dark conditions, moreover, the larvae could ingest frozen dead Artemia. The ingestion rates for 4- and 7-day-old larvae were significantly higher under dark conditions than under light conditions. The rates using frozen dead Artemia were mostly higher than the rates using live Artemia. Therefore, feeding behavior under dark conditions is most likely not mediated by visual or mechanical senses, but rather by chemosensory senses, such as taste buds. Larval fish are vulnerable to predators; thus, if they can search for and eat food at night, they can avoid diurnal predators. The behavior observed here appears to represent their survival strategy. Moreover, these results suggest a new possibility that sutchi catfish larvae can be reared under dark or dim light conditions in order to improve survival and growth rates as in the case of African catfish Clarias gariepinus.     

Why is cannibalism less frequent when larvae of sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus are reared under dim light?

Survival rates of the larvae of sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus are reported to be three times higher under dim conditions (0.1 lx) than those under 100 lx. In this study, larval behaviour of sutchi catfish was examined under various light intensities (<0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 lx) using a CCD camera to understand why survival rates vary under different light intensities. Five‐day‐old larvae showed significantly higher swimming activity under <0.01, 0.1 and 1 lx than those under 10 and 100 lx. On the other hand, the larvae showed significantly higher aggressive behaviour under 10 and 100 lx; swimming larvae attacked resting individuals more frequently under 10 and 100 lx than those under 0 and 0.1 lx. Aggressive behaviour was considered to induce lesions, inflicted by the sharp teeth of attacking larvae, on larval skin surfaces. It is considered that the chemical substances would generate from injured skin surfaces then acted as stimuli, causing the cannibalistic behaviour in other fish around the injured fish. This study provided evidence that the observed higher survival rates depended on lower frequency of aggressive behaviour under dark or dim conditions. It is therefore recommended that larval rearing of sutchi catfish be conducted under dim (less than 1 lx) conditions.     

Schisandrin B co-treatment ameliorates the impairment on mitochondrial antioxidant status in various tissues of long-term ethanol treated rats

The effect of schisandrin B (Sch B) on long-term ethanol-induced oxidative stress in various rat tissues was investigated. Long-term ethanol treatment increased reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) level in plasma. The ethanol-induced oxidative stress was assessed by mitochondrial glutathione and α-tocopherol levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, malondialdehyde (mtMDA) production and heat shock protein (Hsp) 25/70 levels. Liver was most susceptible to oxidative stress with a significant increase in mtMDA production. Long-term Sch B treatment enhanced mitochondrial antioxidant status in a tissue non-specific manner. Sch B co-treatment ameliorated the alterations in plasma ROM levels, mtMDA production and Hsp 25/70 expression in rat tissues.     

Passive infrared camera measurements demonstrate modest effect of mechanically induced internal voids on Dracaena fragrans stem temperature

The use of infrared cameras as a tree diagnostic device was proposed on the basis that internal defects reduce thermal conductivity and surface temperatures, but existing research has failed to demonstrate a clear connection between these two features. Consequently, two experiments were designed to evaluate the effect of internal voids on stem surface temperature. Cylindrical voids were created in 5 cm diameter stems of Dracaena fragrans by mechanically removing internal tissue. In each experiment, the dimension of internal voids varied among five experimental treatments with two controls. Infrared (IR) images were collected by directly focusing the camera on the stem surfaces concealing internal voids. Infrared images were analyzed using a concurrent mixed methods approach, including qualitative image evaluation and quantitative surface temperature analysis. In each experiment, IR image evaluation revealed a noticeable reduction in surface temperature around the largest void size (3.8 cm). Analyses of linear temperature trending and surface temperature mostly corroborated the visual evaluation. The average temperature above the largest void size was 0.4–0.6 °C lower than other treatments, which remained substantially similar to one another. Overall, these results suggest the technique is exclusively able to identify relatively large internal defects occupying at least 76% of the stem cross-sectional area.     

Fate of ochratoxin A during vinification of Semillon and Shiraz grapes

Semillon and Shiraz grapes containing ochratoxin A (OA) were obtained by inoculation of bunches on the vine with Aspergillus carbonarius. Citric acid content was greater in the inoculated grapes than in healthy grapes. Samples were collected throughout vinification of these grapes and the OA content was quantified using a stable isotope dilution liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method. The mass of processed and waste streams during vinification was also noted. Reduction in the amount of OA in juice and wine occurred at every solid-liquid separation stage. The OA concentration (microg/kg) in white and red wine after racking was 4% and 9%, respectively, of that in crushed grapes. This corresponds to 1% and 6% of the total OA content that was initially present in the inoculated grapes. The OA content was divided between solid and liquid phases at each stage of vinification. OA did not appear to be transformed either chemically or biologically by yeast during fermentation, rather was discarded with the marc, juice lees, and gross lees.