Household and homegarden characteristics in southwestern Bangladesh

Homegardens around the world often exhibit remarkable variation in composition and structure depending on the physiographic and climatic conditions of the area and a wide variety of household characteristics. This research investigated whether households’ contextual attributes have a quantitative and predictable relationship with homegarden vegetation structure from a total of 402 randomly selected households in southwestern Bangladesh. The central analytical tool to test the relationship between household characteristics and the homegarden vegetation structure was multiple regression. The moderate to low regression R ² values revealed that most household characteristics were not strong predictors of homegarden vegetation structure. Despite the weak explanatory power of the majority household characteristics, time spent and homestead size had the strongest relationship with species richness and income in a homegarden. Households being the main source of labor for a majority of households suggest that outside labor shortage would not influence homegarden vegetation structure. We suggest that women’s active participation in homegardening activities to reduce gender inequality in the family which will perhaps result in more diverse and economically viable homegarden. However, increasing population density and the concomitant fragmentation of landholdings to homesteads may create opportunity for homegarden promotion in Bangladesh. Our results of decreased species richness in the homegarden with improved roads and proximity to market support the general hypothesis of subsistence homegardens and did not reinforce the general fears of gradual decline in species richness due to a market economy. Household characteristics had no influence on the presence of IUCN Red Listed species in the homegarden, except for gender and education of the household head. However, most homegardeners were unaware about the status of red listed species, suggesting that occurrence of red listed species in homegardens was by chance. Thus, efforts to improve awareness and to save and conserve rare species from extirpation are needed.     

Developing capacity of forest users through participatory forest management: Evidence from Madhupur Sal forest in Bangladesh

Participatory forest management is credited for supporting social learning processes and fostering capacity of forest users for collaboration and collective actions. Despite more than a decade of practice, the empirical evidence substantiating the contribution of participatory management for the capacity development of forest users is scarce. This study assesses a participatory forest management program in Madhupur Sal forest, Bangladesh, by comparing the capacity of de-facto groups of participants and nonparticipants and identifies factors that influence the capacity development. Data were collected using a mixed method approach which combines both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Results indicate that participants differed from nonparticipants significantly in terms of various capacity dimensions related to collective actions. Extension services, credit support, trust within society, information and communication influence the level of capacities in tribal population to adapt and respond to changes. The initiatives to manage natural resources are likely to be more successful if the forest management program initiators consider several factors that influence the capacity development of resource users.     

Effects of different salinity and temperatures on the growth,survival, haematocrit and blood biochemistry of Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different salinities (0‰, 6‰ and 12‰) and temperatures (23, 27 and 31 °C) on the food consumption, growth, blood biochemistry and haematocrit of Goldfish. After 45 days of exposure to different salinities and temperatures, Goldfish showed a good adaptation to these salinities and temperatures in terms of blood biochemistry (glucose and triglyceride) and haematocrit. Salinities (0‰ and 6‰) and temperatures (23 and 27 °C) did not affect the weight gain, specific growth rate, final biomass and feed conversion rates, but these parameters were significant (P<0.05) at 12‰ salinity and 31 °C temperature. Plasma total protein levels decreased with the increase in salinity (P<0.05), while they were independent of temperature. In conclusion, Carassius auratus, a freshwater stenohaline fish, showed good growth in saline waters with maximum 12‰ salinity and 31 °C temperature.     

The acoustic response of three species of wood while immersed in three different liquids

Summary The interaction of small, dried samples of pine, redwood and yellow-poplar with toluene, water and formic acid was measured using acoustic emission (AE) sensors. The purpose of these experiments was to determine if the level of acoustic emissions could be correlated with the amount of swelling. The results indicate that acoustic emissions are well correlated with swelling. The level of AE was low when using a non-swelling solvent, toluene, and high with water and the super-swelling solvent, formic acid. Also, it is evident that both a species effect and a solvent effect exists when the solvent/wood interaction is measured using AE.This research was performed while the primary author was an employee of the Mississippi Forest Products Laboratory     

Antiproliferative and Antimicrobial Potentials of a Lectin from Aplysia kurodai (Sea Hare) Eggs

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in lectins from marine invertebrates. In this study, the biological activities of a lectin protein isolated from the eggs of Sea hare (Aplysia kurodai) were evaluated. The 40 kDa Aplysia kurodai egg lectin (or AKL-40) binds to D-galacturonic acid and D-galactose sugars similar to previously purified isotypes with various molecular weights (32/30 and 16 kDa). The N-terminal sequence of AKL-40 was similar to other sea hare egg lectins. The lectin was shown to be moderately toxic to brine shrimp nauplii, with an LC₅₀ value of 63.63 µg/mL. It agglutinated Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells and reduced their growth, up to 58.3% in vivo when injected into Swiss albino mice at a rate of 2 mg/kg/day. The morphology of these cells apparently changed due to AKL-40, while the expression of apoptosis-related genes (p53, Bax, and Bcl-XL) suggested a possible apoptotic pathway of cell death. AKL-40 also inhibited the growth of human erythroleukemia cells, probably via activating the MAPK/ERK pathway, but did not affect human B-lymphoma cells (Raji) or rat basophilic leukemia cells (RBL-1). In vitro, lectin suppressed the growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and U937 cells by 37.9% and 31.8%, respectively. Along with strong antifungal activity against Talaromyces verruculosus, AKL showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sonnei, and Bacillus cereus whereas the growth of Escherichia coli was not affected by the lectin. This study explores the antiproliferative and antimicrobial potentials of AKL as well as its involvement in embryo defense of sea hare.     

A Growth Performance and Nonlinear Growth Curve Functions of Large- and Normal-Sized Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

This study aimed to evaluate the differences between the growth patterns of large- and normal-sized Japanese quail strains and their F₁ progeny, by fitting their growth parameter values to five nonlinear regression growth models (Weibull, Logistic, Gompertz, Richards, and Brody). The Richards model presented the best fit for both sexes of the large-sized quail strain, whereas the Gompertz model presented the best fit for both sexes of the normal-sized quail strain, based on goodness-of-fit criteria (higher adjusted R² and lower Akaike and Bayesian information criteria). Both sexes of F₁ birds derived from the cross between normal-sized females and large-sized males were best fitted by the Richards model. In contrast, growth parameters of the F₁ birds derived from the cross between large-sized females and normal-sized males were best fitted to the Gompertz model. The data could be fitted nearly as well to the Weibull and Logistic models as to the Richards and Gompertz models. The Brody model presented the poorest fit for the growth parameter values. The results indicated that the Richards and Gompertz models could best describe the growth characteristics of both large- and normal-sized quails. Moreover, the observed growth pattern of the F₁ birds was likely inherited from the male parental strain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study comparing the growth curves of the reciprocal F₁ generations with their parental strains in quails.     

RELEVANCE OF A RAPID APPRAISAL APPROACH TO IDENTIFY LOCALLY AVAILABLE FEED INGREDIENTS TO SMALL-SCALE NILE TILAPIA (Oreochromis niloticus L.) AQUACULTURE

Applications of a rapid appraisal approach to identify locally available feed ingredients in feed formulation, production, and socio-economics of Nile tilapia aquaculture in Bangladesh are discussed. Three diets of 35%, 30%, and 25% crude protein were formulated using locally available ingredients, and their essential amino acid profiles were assessed for Nile tilapia. Six production scenarios were constructed using these diets and two culture periods of 100 and 150 days were considered. The production scenarios with 35% protein yielded the highest productivity and profitability over the 150-day culture period followed by the 30% protein scenario. Identification of locally available ingredients and their application in small-scale Nile tilapia aquaculture may lead to: (1) increased availability of inexpensive sources of fish production for poor people; (2) increased fish consumption; (3) increased self employment and involvement of women in productive activities; and (4) increased household income to reduce poverty.