Prevalence,intensity and histopathology of Zeylanicobdella arugamensis infestation on groupers reared on different aquaculture systems

The marine leech, Zeylanicobdella arugamensis, is a major threat to aquaculture in grouper-producing countries including Indonesia. This study aimed at investigating prevalence, intensity and histopathology of the ectoparasite in humpback and hybrid groupers cultured in different rearing systems. A total of 260 groupers (60 humpback groupers and 200 hybrid groupers) were used for samples. The marine leech was observed on skin, fins, gills and mouth, followed by histopathological assay on the skin tissue. The results showed that prevalence of the leech in both groupers was higher when they were cultured in the floating net cages compared with the hatchery, p < .05. Furthermore, humpback grouper had a higher prevalence than hybrid grouper when they were cultured in a similar system, p < .05. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference in intensity between the two groupers, p > .05. Within the hybrid groupers, the highest prevalence was obtained from hybrid groupers reared in the earthen ponds. Histopathological studies showed that the infected groupers exhibited inflammation, congestion and erosion of the epidermis layer. Hybrid grouper had more severe histopathological lesions in the skin tissues. These results suggested that species and type of aquaculture system had significantly determined the prevalence, intensity and severity of lesion in Z. arugamensis infestation.     

Risk factors for bovine mastitis in the Central Province of Sri Lanka

A study of the risk factors associated with mastitis in Sri Lankan dairy cattle was conducted to inform risk reduction activities to improve the quality and quantity of milk production and dairy farmer income. A cross-sectional survey of randomly selected dairy farms was undertaken to investigate 12 cow and 39 herd level and management risk factors in the Central Province. The farm level prevalence of mastitis (clinical and subclinical) was 48 %, similar to what has been found elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia. Five cow level variables, three herd level variables, and eight management variables remained significant (p?相似文献   

Effects of Varieties and Cooking Methods on Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Cooked Rice

To analyze the effect of different lowland rice varieties and different cooking methods on physical and chemical characteristics of cooked rice. A factorial randomized block design with two factors was used and each combination of the factors was repeated three times. The first factor was rice variety(Ciherang and Ciliwung) and the second factor was the cooking method(stovetop, boiling and steaming, and rice cooker). Results showed that Ciherang and Ciliwung varieties were classified into slender grain rice type with yellowred color. The amylose content of Ciherang was classified as moderate, while the amylose content of Ciliwung classified as low. The most abundant amino acid contained in Ciherang and Ciliwung varieties was glutamic acid. Statistical analysis showed that cooking method had significant effects on texture, lightness, chroma, hue and moisture content of cooked rice. Rice cooked with liwet method had the lowest texture value, lowest lightness value, highest chroma value, and highest moisture content.     

Estimating Crop Coefficient in Intermittent Irrigation Paddy Fields Using Excel Solver

The current study proposes a novel method using Excel Solver to estimate,from limited data,crop coefficient(Kc) in paddy fields under intermittent irrigation(II).The proposed method was examined in a field experiment conducted at Karang Sari Village,Bekasi,West Java,Indonesia during the first rice season of 2007/2008(December 2007 to April 2008) in the rainy season.As the control,continuous flooding irrigation(CF) was applied to the conventional rice cultivation fields.Based on the observed water storage,Excel Solver was used to estimate crop evapotranspiration.Estimated crop evapotranspiration was used to compute Kc value,then the average Kc values at each growth stage were compared with that for the CF treatment.The estimation method was evaluated by comparing estimated crop evapotranspiration and the crop evapotranspiration derived by the well established FAO procedure.Excel Solver estimated crop evapotranspiration accurately with R2 values higher than 0.81.Accordingly,more than 81% of the FAO crop evapotranspiration was described by the proposed method.Thus,Kc value could be well determined from those estimated crop evapotranspiration.Under the II treatment,the average Kc values were 0.70,1.06,1.24 and 1.22 for the initial,crop development,reproductive and late stages,respectively.These values were lower than those under the CF treatment for initial and crop development stages because of a minimal soil evaporation and intense dryness during these stages.However,average Kc values under the II treatment were higher than those under the CF treatment at the reproductive and late stages,indicating that the II treatment promoted more plant activity particularly for dry biomass production as indicated by a greater number of tillers per hill.     

Characterization of Agro-diversity by Seed Storage Protein Electrophoresis： Focus on Rice Germplasm from Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

The characteristics of 48 rice varieties from Uttarakhand Himalaya,India were detected by morphological and biochemical markers.The grains of the selected rice varieties varied in their morphological(grain length,grain width and grain weight)and biochemical characters(sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis,SDS-PAGE).Based on the presence of 70,65,60,57,37-39,22-23,13 and 10 kDa protein bands in the 48 rice varieties,seven types of profiles were identified.An unweighted pair group average ...     

Micropropagation of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla [Raf.] Sarg.) from embryonic explants

An in vitro propagation protocol is described for western hemlock, an important forestry species in Canada. For shoot bud induction, embryonic explants were placed initially on one-third strength Schenk and Hildebrandt medium containing 5 M N⁶-benzyladenine (BA) or 5 M BA in combination with either 5 M kinetin or 5 M 2-isopentenyl adenine for 14 days. The explants were transferred to basal medium without cytokinins for 3 weeks, and then to basal medium containing 0.05% activated charcoal. Elongating shoots were subcultured every 4 weeks on charcoal medium. Shoots, 10 mm in stem height, were rooted either in agar or sterilized peat/perlite (1:1). Up to 70% of the shoots formed roots when they were transferred to the latter, moistened with 1/2 strength Gresshoff and Doy medium containing 5 M -naphthaleneacetic acid. About 90% of the plantlets survived transfer to greenhouse conditions.     

Habitat use of ponies and cattle foraging together in a coastal dune area

Grazing by large ungulates has been chosen as a management tool in scrub-dominated dune reserves at the Belgian coast. Due to morphological and physiological differences between cattle and ponies, differences in foraging behaviour and habitat use are expected, and these may result in a different impact on the spatially heterogeneous and nutrient-limited ecosystem. Grazing behaviour and habitat use of Shetland ponies and Highland cattle, grazing together in a coastal dune area (60 ha) were investigated at various levels of the foraging hierarchy (habitat, vegetation type, sward height and diet). Habitat use overlap was high in all seasons; both cattle and pony spent most of their grazing time in the grass-dominated habitat. However, Shetland ponies concentrated their grazing activity more on the grass-dominated habitat than did cattle. Cattle spent a greater proportion of their grazing activity in woodland and scrub, compared to the ponies. Foraging activity in woodland and scrub is strongly influenced by season. Within the grass-dominated habitat both species preferred foraging in the grasslands and avoided open vegetation and moss dunes. Within the grasslands, cattle grazed less on the short swards than did ponies. Both cattle and ponies predominantly foraged on graminoids, though there are minor differences between both species and among seasons. Browsing of woody plants occurred only by cattle. Where grazing management has been implemented to maintain dune grasslands and to avoid further invasion by scrub, a combination of cattle and ponies appears to be adequate. Ponies are suitable for maintaining grasslands, but they have no impact on invading scrub. Cattle have an impact on scrub development, both by direct consumption of various shrub species and by opening initially closed scrub.     

Photostability of rebaudioside A and stevioside in beverages

The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill, Inc. have initiated the development and commercialization of the Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) derived sweetener rebaudioside A. Efforts were focused on high purity rebaudioside A (>97% by HPLC), commonly known as rebiana. In the course of the development program, extensive stability studies were carried out on rebiana, all supporting good stability for use in all food and beverage applications, including conditions where rebiana-sweetened beverages were exposed to light. Our findings on rebiana light stability refute those of an earlier study that suggested rebaudioside A to be unstable to sunlight exposure, while the structurally homologous stevioside is stable. We replicated the earlier study and found no significant photodegradation for either rebaudioside A or stevioside.     

Rice straw recycling: A sustainable approach for ensuring environmental quality and economic security

One of the major challenges in Asian countries is the effective management of rice straw. To ensure food security for their ever-growing population, Asian countries grow more rice, leading to increasing rice straw generation. Burning of rice straw, a common practice, is detrimental to both environmental and human health. However, if managed effectively, rice straw has the potential to safeguard the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems and to uplift the economic security of the population de...     

Assessment of genetic diversity,population structure and phytochemical variations in Polygonatum cirrhifolium (Wall.) Royle: an endangered medicinal herb

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Polygonatum cirrhifolium (Wall.) Royle is an important medicinal herb of the family Asparagaceae used to cure several ailments. The rhizome of the species...