Origin and distribution of facial nerve anatomy in van cats

This study aims to reveal the morphological properties of facial nerve and the middle ear in Van cats. Study material was composed of 6 female Van cats. Dissections were performed under a Zoom Stereo Microscope. There was no plexus buccalis in Van cats. The chorda tympani was observed to pass through an opening in the tympanic cavity, emerge through a small opening just behind the retroarticular process, and join the lingual nerve. A rounded anatomical formation with a size of 2.75 ± 0.3 mm was found to be located within the mastoid process of the temporal bone between the facial nerve and the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. The stapes nerve was not present. The geniculate ganglion was very prominent and about 1.00 mm high. The deep petrosal nerve was observed to emerge from the plexus tympanicus. The bulla tympanica was 18.96 ± 0.10 mm long, 13.03 ± 0.20 mm wide and 13.16 ± 0.20 mm high. After leaving the mandibular nerve, the n.tensoris tympani coursed caudally around the a.maxillaris, formed an ansa, entered the tympanic cavity through the canalis musculotubarius and reached an end in the m. tensor tympani. Due to the scarcity of studies on the middle ears of Van cats, it is thought that this study will fill a gap in the field of veterinary anatomy.     

Reckoning social forestry in Bangladesh: policy and plan versus implementation

The history of scientific forest management in Bangladesh datesback to the nineteenth century with defined forest policiesand laws. Due to various socio-economic and socio-politicalfactors, forest cover of the country reduced drastically andall such policy initiatives proved ineffective. Although traditionalforest management objectives covered a wide range from economicbenefit to ecological stability, these have never been attainedfully. Huge population and limited land area compelled policymakers to think about alternatives to traditional forest management.One alternative, social forestry, was introduced in Bangladeshin early 1980s and has proved to be extremely successful. Whiletraditional forest management resulted in a net loss of forestresource cover, social forestry on the other hand, is playinga vital role in the expansion of forest cover (40 387 ha ofnew forest cover and 48 420 km new strip plantation since themid-1980s) benefiting thousands of poor people. Results showthat during the last four years (2000–2003) more than23 000 individuals benefited from the final felling of differentsocial forestry plantations (woodlot, agroforestry and stripplantation). This generated a total income of US$ 5.6 millionfor the government and US$ 5.3 million for participants plusUS$ 1.2 million for the Tree Farming Fund – a 10 per centdepository reserve to sustain the practice in the long run.Although average individual final returns (US$ 223 person^–1)are not so attractive, some people got about US$ 5000 to US$8500 from final felling, sufficient to improve their standardof living and social position. Despite the success so far achieved,social forestry in Bangladesh still suffers from various institutionaldeficiencies like organization, skilled manpower, legitimateusufruct rights, peoples' participation from policy to implementationand clear budgetary arrangements. Besides, until now the roleof relevant actors is not well defined in all the steps of socialforestry practice in Bangladesh. Unless the participants aregiven clear legitimate usufruct rights, they will remain scepticaltowards this programme. They should have good and meaningfulaccess from planning to implementation. In the context of institutionaldevelopment, there are governmental policy guidelines and a20-year Master Plan for Bangladesh. Although some steps havebeen partially completed, there is still much to do to complywith forest policy guidelines and the Master Plan. It is shownthat in the last seven years (1995/96–2001/2002) onlyUS$ 15.41 million a^–1 has actually been spent againstan allocated sum of US$ 68.37 million a^–1. Therefore,if the intention is to institutionalize social forestry in Bangladesh,government and policy makers should actively come forward. Otherwisethe full potential of social forestry in Bangladesh will notbecome a reality.     

单翼迷宫式滴灌带的关键参数与灌水均匀度的响应关系

为探究单翼迷宫式滴灌带坡度、进水压力和铺设长度对灌水均匀度的影响,以3种单翼迷宫式滴灌带为研究对象,以灌水均匀度作为评价指标,采用UL₉(3⁴)均匀正交设计试验,比较了3种不同流量的单翼迷宫滴灌带在进水压力、铺设长度和坡度作用下的灌水均匀度的变化规律。经直观分析、方差分析和多重比较进行综合评价,再由SPSS和PPR对试验数据进行数学建模。结果显示,3种单翼迷宫式滴灌带灌水均匀度的外界因素排序均为压力>坡度>长度,相比于SPSS、PPR所建立的模型具有更高的精度。研究成果不仅为灌水均匀度计算与预测提供了理论依据,还对各学科试验优化设计、高维数据建模分析提供了有效的解决方案。     

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Indonesian Aromatic Rice Varieties (Oryza sativa L.) Using RAPD

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - In this research, we investigated genetic diversity of 21 rice genotypes (Oryza sativa L.) assessed using 38 decamer RAPD primers. A total of 405 bands...     

Seasonal and temporal changes in species use of the landscape: how do they impact the inferences from multi-scale habitat modeling?

Context

Multi-scale approaches to habitat modeling have been shown to provide more accurate understanding and predictions of species-habitat associations. It remains however unexplored how spatial and temporal variations in habitat use may affect multi-scale habitat modeling.

Objectives

We aimed at assessing how seasonal and temporal differences in species habitat use and distribution impact operational scales, variable influence, habitat suitability spatial patterns, and performance of multi-scale models.

Methods

We evaluated the environmental factors driving brown bear habitat relationships in the Cantabrian Range (Spain) based on species presence records (ground observations) for the period 2000–2010, LiDAR data on forest structure, and seasonal estimates of foraging resources. We separately developed multi-scale habitat models for (i) each season (spring, summer, fall and winter) (ii) two sub-periods with different population status: 2000–2004 (with brown bear distribution restricted to the main population nuclei) and 2005–2010 (with expanding bear population and range); and (iii) the entire 2000–2010 period.

Results

Scales of effect remained considerably stable across seasonal and temporal variations, but not the influence of certain environmental variables. The predictive ability of multi-scale models was lower in the seasons or periods in which populations used larger areas and a broader variety of environmental conditions. Seasonal estimates of foraging resources, together with LiDAR data, appeared to improve the performance of multi-scale habitat models.

Conclusions

We highlight that the understanding of multi-scale behavioral responses of species to spatial patterns that continually shift over time may be essential to unravel habitat relationships and produce reliable estimates of species distributions.

     

Digestibility,growth and pigmentation of astaxanthin,canthaxanthin or lutein diets in Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish,Melanotaenia parva (Allen) cultured species

New cultured ornamental fish namely Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish Melanotaenia parva (Allen) run into reduced of colour performances when reared in the aquaria, consequently, fish feed must be added with carotenoids as a pigment source. The aim of this study was to evaluate the digestibility, growth and pigmentation of astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and lutein in diet. Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter, lipid, protein, carotenoids, growth and pigmentation were studied in twenty fish after 14 and 56 days of observation. The single‐dose supplementation of 100 mg/kg of astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, or lutein diets on fish was fed by apparent satiation. The basal diet without carotenoids was used as control. The result showed that the ADC of carotenoids of test diets was higher compared to control. Fish fed astaxanthin diet had higher survival rate (96.67 ± 2.89%), colour measurements of lightness (57.60 ± 7.46%), a*‐values (4.66 ± 1.20), total carotenoids content in skin (33.75 ± 5.02 mg/kg) and muscle (2.16 ± 0.74 mg/kg). Astaxanthin also increased the growth after 14 days (2.00% ± 0.19%/days) but there was no significantly different at the end of experiment. The yellowish‐orange colour performance was more rapidly achieved by fish fed astaxanthin diet after 28 days experimentation. These values suggested that dietary carotenoids were required and astaxanthin diet was superior to other diets for skin pigmentation of Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish.     

Calcitriol Treatment Attenuates Uric Acid-Induced Kidney Injury via Super Oxide Dismutase-1 (SOD-1) Upregulation and Fibrosis Reduction

Background:Hyperuricemia induces nephropathy through the mediation of oxidative stress, tubular injury, inflammation, and fibrosis. The high uric acid level is associated with the reduction of vitamin D levels. However, the reno-protective effects of this vitamin in hyperuricemia condition remain unknown. This study aimed to elucidate calcitriol treatment in a uric acid-induced hyperuricemia mice model. Methods:Uric acid (125 mg/kg BW) was administered intraperitoneally for 7 (UA7) and 14 (UA14) days. Calcitriol (0.5 g/kg BW) was intraperitoneally injected for the following seven days, after 14 days of uric acid induction (UA14VD7 group). The control group received NaCl 0.9%, by the same route. Serum creatinine was measured using calorimetric method, and uric acid levels were assessed using enzymatic calorimetric assay. Tubular injury and fibrosis were assessed using PAS and Sirius red staining. RT-PCR and qRT-PCR were carried out for the analyses of SOD-1, Collagen-1, and TGF-1 mRNA expression in the kidney. Immunostaining of SOD-1 was performed to detect its expression in the kidney. Results:Uric acid and creatinine levels markedly increased in UA14 groups, followed by an exacerbation of tubular injury. RT-PCR revealed the upregulation of Collagen-1 and TGF-1, along with the downregulation of SOD-1. Calcitriol treatment attenuated the injury with reducing uric acid and creatinine levels, as well as tubular injury. This was associated with lower Collagen-1 and TGF-1 mRNA expression compared to the UA7 and UA14 groups. SOD-1 was upregulated in epithelial cells in the UA14VD7 group. Conclusion:Calcitriol treatment after uric acid induction may attenuate kidney injury through upregulation of SOD-1 and downregulation of Collagen-1 and TGF-1 gene expression. Key Words: Fibrosis, Hyperuricemia, Kidney injury, Superoxide dismutase-1, Vitamin D