Ovine coccidia in Papua New Guinea

Eimeria oocysts were found in 89% of fecal samples collected from the rectum of 75 sheep from 3 locations in Papua New Guinea. Eighty five percent of the hosts which were positive for coccidia had multiple infections with up to 6 different species of Eimeria. In order of decreasing predominance in the 67 Eimeria-positive samples the species were: E. ovina (72%); E. parva (58%); E. ovinoidalis (48%); E. ahsata (45%); E. crandallis (39%); E. faurei (28%); E. intricata (24%); E. granulosa (4%). Fecal oocyst counts showed the highest mean of 1252 oocysts per gram (o.p.g.) for E. parva and a maximum of 8000 for E. ovina.     

Determination of inter- and intra-species genetic relationships among six Eucalyptus species based on inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR)

Eucalyptus is the most economically important hardwood plantation tree cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to evaluate genetic relationships within and between individuals of six Eucalyptus species. A total of 583 loci (265 to 1535 bp) were amplified from 149 individuals belonging to the six Eucalyptus species using seven ISSR primers (two to three nucleotide repeats anchored with one or two nucleotides at the 3' or 5' region). The ISSR fragments indicated significant polymorphism and genetic diversity among the individuals. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis revealed the occurrence of wide genetic diversity among populations of E. tereticornis Sm., E. camaldulensis Dehnh. and E. urophylla S.T. Blake and narrow genetic diversity among populations of E. citriodora Hook. and E. grandis W. Hill ex Maiden. Genetic diversity was high in E. tereticornis Sm. (47.27%) and low in E. citriodora (18.64%). Maximum Nei's genetic identity (0.897) was observed between E. camaldulensis and E. tereticornis species, whereas maximum genetic diversity (0.286) was found between individuals of E. citriodora and E. grandis.     

Ultraviolet irradiation of DNA in vitro and in vivo produces a 3d thymine-derived product

A new thymine-derived product was separated from DNA irradiated with utlraviolet light in vitro and in vivo. This compound was mistaken to be thymine homodiner (T=T) by other workers because it is chromatographically indistinguishable from T=T in most eluents. It has absorbancy maximums at 312, 312, and 300 millimicrons in neutral, pH 2, and pH 11 aqueous solutions, respectively. When it is irradiated in aqueous solution with wavelengths of 360 and 313 millimicrons its spectrum reverts to one similar to that of thymine. Therefore, at least three thymine-derived products can be detected in ultraviolet irradiated DNA, namely the homodimer, a material with absorbancy maximum at 312 millimicrons, and a "minor" product suggested by others to be a dimer of cytosine and thymine. In cells, the latter two are formed in aboult equal amounts. While these three products were shown to exist in the acid hydrolyzates of ultraviolet irradiated DNA, a material with absorbancy maximum at about 310 millimicrons was demonstrated to form in ultraviolet irradiated DNA without further treatment. The magnitude of this spectral increase varied directly with the incrcase in the adenine-thymine contents in the DNA as shlown by differential transmittance spectra of the irradiated Micrococcus lysodeikticus, calf thymus, Bacillus cereus, and Hemophilus influenzae DNA.     

Handle,fit and pressure comfort of silk/hybrid yarn woven stretch fabrics

Hybrid yarn was produced by twisting silk with nylon covered lycra yarn. Silk of 20 D in warp and hybrid yarn in weft was woven to develop lustrous woven stretch fabrics for sari blouse. Silk and hybrid yarn fabrics were produced in three different weaves namely plain, crepe and sateen. An in-depth study was carried out to understand the effect of weave on thermal comfort; low stress mechanical properties, total hand value and stretch properties. Nine blouses (3 samples× 3 figures) were constructed from three different woven stretch materials for fit assessment and objective pressure comfort test. The effect of fabric weave, low stress mechanical properties, total hand value and stretch properties on fit and pressure comfort of silk/hybrid yarn stretch fabrics were analyzed. Sateen weave silk/hybrid yarn stretch fabric shows higher total hand value, stretch properties and better thermal comfort properties. Sateen and crepe weave stretch fabrics provided good fit. Sateen weave fabric exerted lower clothing pressure value in the range of 3-12 mmHg at all body locations in standing position and in different postures.     

Options for converting a clone trial of Eucalyptus camaldulensis into a clonal seed orchard considering gain,fertility and effective clone number

We evaluated a clone trial comprised of 20 ramets each of 40 Eucalyptus camaldulensis clones for growth and fertility at 4 years of age. The clones differed significantly in growth with 65–100 % survival in 38 clones while two clones had low survival(40 and 10 %).Fecundity was high and fertility variation low, as indicated by the sibling coefficient value(W = 1.4) with 55 % of clones contributing 80 % of the fruits. Thinning strategies were considered to convert the clone trial to a clonal seed orchard and enhance both gain and diversity in seed crop.When clones were selected based on growth without considering fertility, truncation selection(to retain clones with higher DBH than the trial mean value) would give 8 %gain, but 59 % reduction in effective population size(Ne).Gain and predicted diversity(Ne) was highest when ramets were selected in linear proportion to the breeding value of each clone. Mass selection with the same intercept(for DBH) as truncation selection would give a moderate 3 %gain, but over two times higher predicted Nethan truncation selection. When fertility of retained trees was considered after thinning, mass selection would yield 52 %effective contribution from the orchard trees compared to only 30 % contribution from truncation selection and linear thinning. Higher representation of superior clones in linear thinning and mass selection would lead to greater fertilityvariation and over 30 % reduction in effective clone number(Nc) from that predicted(Ne, assuming equal fertility among ramets) before thinning.     

Effect of silvicultural treatments on growth,fertility and capsule traits in seedling seed orchards of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus camaldulensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. tereticornis</Emphasis>

The effects of nutritional treatments and the flowering promoter Paclobutrazol™ on tree growth and fertility were studied in unpedigreed seedling seed orchards (SSOs) of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. tereticornis at two locations in southern India. At Pudukkottai, a semi-arid site in Tamil Nadu State, five treatments were applied: (1) untreated control, (2) nitrogen (two doses of urea at 217 g N/tree), (3) nitrogen plus phosphorus (two doses of 312 g single superphosphate), potassium (two doses of 83 g muriate of potash) and trace elements (two doses of 10 g sodium borate and 25 g zinc sulphate), (4) pollarding trees at 4 m height with application of N, P, K and trace elements, (5) drenching with the flowering promoter Paclobutrazol (0.25 ml active ingredient per cm of stem girth) along with N, P, K and trace elements. At Panampalli, a higher-rainfall site in Kerala State, only treatments 1, 2 and 3 were applied. Four replicates of treatment plots sized 18 m × 18 m, with 22–32 trees per plot were set up in each orchard in randomized complete block designs. Untreated plots of E. camaldulensis and E. tereticornis at Pudukkottai displayed 12 and 21% fertile trees, respectively, in the first year of monitoring, while at Panampally the percentage of fertile trees in untreated E. camaldulensis plots was higher at 72%, and that of E. tereticornis similar at 23%. Both species attained greater stem diameter at breast height at age 9 years at the higher-rainfall location but there was no significant impact of fertilizer application on 9-year diameter at either site. Diameter was reduced by pollarding and Paclobutrazol application at Pudukkottai. Only Paclobutrazol produced a significant increase in fertility in both species for four successive years, increasing the percentage of fertile trees to 59 and 71%, respectively, for E. camaldulensis and E. tereticornis 1 year after application. The number of capsules produced per tree also increased significantly with Paclobutrazol application, although the difference was comparatively less by the fourth year. The number of capsules per umbel did not differ significantly between locations, whereas the germination rate varied between treatments although no consistent trends were observed.     

Karanj protein isolate prepared from karanj seed cake: Effect on growth,body composition and physiometabolic responses in Labeo rohita fingerlings

A protein isolate was prepared from karanj seed (KPI) with 921.2 g protein/kg seed, which contained a negligible amount of anti‐nutritional factors and a balanced amino acid composition, especially rich in methionine. For 60‐day feeding trial, five isonitrogenous (300 g/kg CP) and isocaloric (15 MJ DE/kg) diets were formulated by replacing soybean protein isolate (SPI) on protein equivalent basis, KPI‐0 (control, 0 g/kg KPI); KPI‐25 (replacing 250 g/kg SPI protein with KPI); KPI‐50 (replacing 500 g/kg SPI protein with KPI); KPI‐75 (replacing 750 g/kg SPI protein with KPI) and KPI‐100 (replacing 1,000 g/kg SPI protein with KPI) for the feeding of L. rohita. The weight gain percentage, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were not significantly (p > .05) varied among the KPI fed and control groups. A significantly higher hepatosomatic index was recorded in the control and KPI‐25 groups compared with other groups. The whole‐body compositions, except ether extract, did not differ significantly (p > .05) among the groups. Digestive (amylase, protease, lipase and alkaline phosphatase) and metabolic enzyme activities (hexokinase, transaminases and lactate dehydrogenase) and glycogen stores were not significantly affected, whereas intestinal alkaline phosphatase differed significantly (p < .05). The RNA–DNA ratio was significantly (p < .05) higher in the KPI‐75 group. Thus, the study revealed that KPI can completely replace SPI protein at 191 g/kg inclusion level in the diets of L. rohita fingerlings.     

An all-silicon passive optical diode

A passive optical diode effect would be useful for on-chip optical information processing but has been difficult to achieve. Using a method based on optical nonlinearity, we demonstrate a forward-backward transmission ratio of up to 28 decibels within telecommunication wavelengths. Our device, which uses two silicon rings 5 micrometers in radius, is passive yet maintains optical nonreciprocity for a broad range of input power levels, and it performs equally well even if the backward input power is higher than the forward input. The silicon optical diode is ultracompact and is compatible with current complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processing.