Increased blood mRNA expression of inflammatory and anti-fibrotic markers in dogs with congestive heart failure

Inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling contribute to the development of congestive heart failure (CHF), but the pathogenesis is still incompletely understood. Therefore, whole blood samples from eight dogs without cardiac disease and eight dogs with CHF were investigated for mRNA expression of IL1β, IL2, IL4, IL6, IL8, IL10, TNFα, IFNγ, TGFβ1-3, MMP1, -2, -3, -9 and TIMP1-4 using quantitative PCR. Dogs with CHF had significantly higher IL1β (P=0.015), IL2 (P=0.043), MMP1 (P=0.031), TIMP3 (P=0.012) and lower TNFα (P<0.001), TGFβ3 (P=0.006), TIMP1 (P=0.015) and TIMP2 (P=0.011) mRNA levels. Increased pro-inflammatory IL1β and anti-fibrotic MMP1 and reduced pro-fibrotic TGFβ and TIMP1 and TIMP2 in dogs with CHF suggest progressive left ventricular remodeling. The reduction of TNFα and increase of immunomodulatory IL2 and TIMP3 might suggest control of the inflammatory response. A better understanding of inflammation and ECM remodeling in cardiac diseases may lead to novel treatment approaches.     

An attempt at implementing a holistic inclusive development model: Insights from Malaysia's land settlement scheme

This paper examines the influences of Malaysia's Federation Land Development Authority (FELDA) scheme in fostering inclusive rural development. Based on the model of holistic inclusive development, the paper investigates the performance of FELDA from four perspectives: social development, industrialisation, modernisation and basic needs. The main findings of the study indicate that, to a large extent, the scheme has successfully stimulated both the social and economic development of the community. Nonetheless, establishing a strong trust, social cohesion and rapport between the public authorities and community remain the main challenges in determining the success of this state‐led agenda. Moreover, keeping traditional values in the modern system will be the key principle for the sustainability of the programme if plans are made to adopt the scheme in other regions.     

Towards sustainable exhibits – application of an inorganic fertilization method in coral reef fish larviculture in an aquarium

Coral reef fish are collected from the wild and exhibited in aquaria worldwide. Some of the fish spawn in captivity; however, the eggs are usually neglected. In this study, we collected the eggs spawned naturally in the exhibit tanks, hatched and cultured them indoor in 2000‐L fibreglass tanks (initial density = 18 000 egg tank^?1). We applied an inorganic fertilization method commonly used in freshwater fish culture in raising these coral reef fish larvae. We maintained inorganic phosphorus concentration at 100 μg P L^?1 and inorganic nitrogen at 700 μg N L^?1 daily in the fertilized group (n = 4), while the control tanks (n = 4) were fed with rotifers (10 ind mL^?1). Chlorophyll a at particle sizes of both 0.45–20 μm and >20 μm, as well as NH₃‐N, NO₃‐N, and PO₄‐P concentrations were significantly higher in the fertilized group than the control. Zooplankton in the size groups of 10–50 μm (mainly flagellates) and 50–100 μm (mainly ciliates) were abundant (about 10~60 ind mL^?1) during 3–7 days in fertilized tanks. The average larval fish survival rate at 21 day after hatch in fertilized group was consistently higher than the control in two trials. The experiments demonstrated that the inorganic fertilization approach can be successfully adapted for coral reef fish culture in an aquarium to achieve sustainable exhibits.     

Spatial and temporal variations of two cyprinids in a subtropical mountain reserve – a result of habitat disturbance

Abstract –  We investigated the variations of population of two cyprinids, Varicorhinus alticorpus and Varicorhinus barbatulus , using long-term survey data (1995–2004) in the subtropical island of Taiwan. Fish abundance data showed that at the mainstem stations, V. barbatulus which used to dominate in the higher altitude had declined significantly, while V. alticorpus that used to occupy only the lower altitude had spread upward. However, at the tributaries, trend of the populations of V. barbatulus were not significantly different over time, while populations of V. alticorpus were absent at higher altitude but began to increase at lower altitude. Environmental parameters revealed that sporadic high turbidity was observed at the mainstem stations, but not at the tributaries. Images taken before and after typhoon also showed habitat destruction by debris flow at the mainstem stations. As some models predicted that suitable fish habitats will shrink because of increasing water temperature due to global warming, we showed that fish distribution may be affected by habitat disturbance due to intensified storms sooner than the actual increase of water temperature.     

Wind tunnel studies on spray deposition on leaves of tree species used for windbreaks and exposure of honey bees

A wind tunnel study was conducted to determine pesticide deposition on commonly used windbreak tree species used as spray drift barriers and associated exposure of honey bees. Although it has been known that windbreaks are effective in reducing chemical drift from agricultural applications, there is still an enormous information and data gap on details of the dependence of the mechanism on the biological materials of the barriers and on standardization of relevant assessment methods. Beneficial arthropods like honey bees are adversely affected by airborne drift of pesticides. A study was initiated by first establishing a wind tunnel to create a controlled environment for capture efficiency work. Suitable spray parameters were determined after a preliminary study to construct and develop a wind tunnel protocol. A tracer dye solution was sprayed onto the windbreak samples and honey bees located in the wind tunnel at various simulated wind speeds. Analysis of data from this work has shown that needle-like foliage of windbreak trees captures two to four times more spray than broad-leaves. In addition, it was determined that, at lower wind speeds, flying bees tend to capture slightly more spray than bees at rest.     

The Restricting Effects of Forest Certification on the International Trade of Wood Products

Forest certification has increased the cost of companies which has affected the international trade of wood products. This paper examines forest certification costs of companies, and based on this, uses partial equilibrium to analyze its trade restriction effects, and uses space price gradient field model to check whether it is a substitution for tariff barriers. Our conclusion shows that forest certification has restricted the trade of wood products due to its high certified cost, and clarifies that in the case of tariff reduction, trade of wood products are hindered by different levels and different costs of forest certification. This paper implies that efforts should be made to increase the amount of certified forests worldwide. It is necessary to lower the certified cost and important that government policy measures to support certification should include consideration of who bears the cost, support for aggregation of smallholder growers and improved communication in timber supply chains.