Prebiotic Mannan Oligosaccharide Diet Improves Health Status of the Digestive System of Marron,Cherax tenuimanus (Smith 1912)

The aim of this experiment was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with mannan oligosaccharide (MOS; BioMos, Alltech, USA) on the gut microbiota and histology of marron, Cherax tenuimanus. Marron were fed six different diets supplemented with 0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.8% of MOS for a duration of 112 days. Total bacteria in the gut were highest when marron were fed diets which included 0.1% to 0.4% BioMos, whereas total bacteria/Vibrio spp. ratio was highest in the marron fed 0.4% BioMos diet only. The marron fed 0.2% and 0.4% BioMos diets showed normal morphology and higher densities of microvilli, and thicker layer of gut epithelium than other inclusion rates. The results suggest that application of 0.2% to 0.4% of MOS in the diet improves digestive system health in marron.     

The estimate of world demand for Pangasius catfish (Pangasiusianodon hypopthalmus)

ABSTRACT

This research described in this article aimed to investigate international market potentials for Pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus). The monthly export data from Vietnam, which accounts for more than 95% of the global export value, in the period 2007 to 2014, were used to estimate a non-linear Inverse Almost Ideal Demand System of the seven market regions. Prices in all markets are found very inflexible, with own-price flexibilities on ?0.200 to ?0.917, or ?0.419 on average, revealing the option of expanding global production and export without inducing a substantial price reduction. Consumers in all markets except Latin America evaluate Pangasius as a necessary good, indicating that the Pangasius industry is relatively little affected by recessions and booms in the world economy. The major markets are substitutes for each other; therefore, if demand at one market region is reduced, the presence of substitution leads suppliers to find other markets. The results reveal that demand provides stable framework conditions for the Pangasius industry.     

A Natural Forest of Commercial Timber Species: Logging or Not Logging

Most tropical forests outside protected areas have been or will be selectively logged because the timber industry is a main income-generating resource for many developing countries. Therefore, understanding the composition of commercial timber species and logging types is key for sustainable forest management in countries like Vietnam as they move toward fulfilling Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) agreements. Seven 1-ha plots were surveyed in the Central Highland of Vietnam, and 18 commercial tree species from these plots, whose timber is widely used by local people for housing and furniture making and timber is easily sold at local markets for high prices, were analyzed. In total, 151 tree species with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of ≥?10 cm were recorded. The 18 commercially valuable species assessed in this study accounted for 33.2% of all stems (total of 524 stems ha^?1 for all species), 47.1% of basal area (total of 34.35 m² ha^?1 for all species), and 50.8% of aboveground biomass/AGB (total of 262.68 Mg ha^?1 for all species). Practicing diameter-limit harvesting of all commercially valuable species with DBH of ≥?40 cm, which is widely performed in Vietnam, will reduce the number of stems by 7%, basal area by 31.6%, and AGB by 38.2%. Because such harvesting practices cause severe ecological impacts on the remaining forest, logged forests may require >?40 years to recover the structure status of a pre-logged forest. In addition, the recovery of the 18 commercially valuable species may require a much longer time because they comprised 33.2% of stems. Permission for logging natural forests should be given in Vietnam to sustain lives of local communities, where logging has been prohibited. However, alternative harvesting systems, such as reduced-impact logging systems, should be considered. The systems selected must simultaneously generate economic returns for local people and respect the REDD+ agreements with regard to protecting biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions.     

Medicinal plants popularly used in the Brazilian Tropical Atlantic Forest

A survey of medicinal plants used by rural and urban inhabitants of the three cities of the Tropical Atlantic Forest, Region of Vale do Ribeira, State of S?o Paulo, Brazil was performed by means of 200 interviews with medicinal plant users and extractors and, traditional healers. One hundred fourteen herbal remedies were recorded and the following information reported: Latin, vernacular and English names, plant part used, forms of preparation and application of the herbal remedies, medicinal or food uses, areas of plant collection, economic importance (when available) and other data.     

Mechanical and barrier properties of cross-linked soy and whey protein based films

Sterilized biofilms based on soy protein isolate (SPI, S system) and a 1:1 mixture of SPI and whey protein isolate (WPI, SW system) were achieved through the formation of cross-links by means of gamma-irradiation combined with thermal treatments. The effect of the incorporation of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and poly(vinyl alcohol) was also examined. gamma-Irradiation combined with thermal treatment improved significantly the mechanical properties, namely, puncture strength and puncture deformation, for all types of films. Irradiated formulations that contain CMC behave more similarly as elastomers. CMC showed also significant improvements of the barrier properties, namely, water vapor permeability, for irradiated films of the S system and for non-irradiated films of the SW system.     

Assessing the impact of climate change on the land hydrology in Taiwan

The gradually increased temperature resulting from the enhanced greenhouse effects has been found to be an important factor of changes to the global climate which in turn might significantly affect the Earth's hydrological cycles. The possible outcomes of warming climate are changes of precipitation, surface runoff, evapotranspiration, and frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts. However, such changes at the global scale may not reflect the variations on a regional scale, and more so at the local scale. In this study, a physically based water balance model was applied to study the impact of climate change on the land hydrology, focusing on trends of surface runoff, evapotranspiration, and infiltration in Taiwan. Model forcing of composite temperatures and precipitations were generated by a weather generation model in association with nine climate change scenarios, including outputs of equilibrium experiments and special reports on emissions scenarios, from the IPCC. Although discrepancies among different climate change scenarios are significant, the trend of more extreme precipitations and surface runoffs were observed in most scenarios' runs. The increase of evapotranspiration in both wet and dry seasons is persistent among different scenarios throughout the island due to the projected consistently higher temperature. Although the trends of infiltration for wet and dry seasons are opposite in curtain scenarios, a decreased yearly infiltration was found in most cases as the result of increased precipitation intensity and more evapotranspiration. Timely adaption measures for water resources managements and natural hazard mitigations are required to face these changes of land hydrology components under changing climate.     

Effects of habitat disturbance on mixed species bird flocks in a tropical sub-montane rainforest

Despite their vulnerability to forest disturbances in the Neotropics, the consequences of forest perturbation on mixed species flocks are poorly understood in the threatened Southeast Asian rainforests. We examined the effects of local-scale habitat disturbance on mixed species flocks along an escalating gradient of anthropogenic modification (i.e., forest interior, forest edge, and urban) in a sub-montane tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia that is presently experiencing low intensity development. Mixed species flocks in the forest interior and forest edge habitats (9.3 ± 2.3 and 8.4 ± 2.3, respectively) had significantly higher number of species than those observed in the urban habitat (5.1 ± 1.7). Flock participation was influenced by environmental characteristics (e.g., canopy cover). Flocking species sensitive to habitat disturbance were likely to be from the Families Corvidae, Nectariniidae, and Sylviidae; had narrow to restricted altitudinal ranges; and were exclusively dependent on primary forest and understory microhabitats. We conclude that sub-montane mixed species flocks are affected by even small scale urbanization and that they, particularly with species richness as a parameter, can be used as effective ecological indicators. With the looming development pressure on the sub-montane/montane habitats in Peninsular Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region, urgent conservation actions are needed for the preservation of their biotas.     

Temperature and body weight affect fouling of pig pens

Fouling of the solid lying area in pig housing is undesirable for reasons of animal welfare, animal health, environmental pollution, and labor costs. In this study the influence of temperature on the excreting and lying behavior of growing-finishing pigs of different BW (25, 45, 65, 85, or 105 kg) was studied. Ten groups of 5 pigs were placed in partially slatted pens (60% solid concrete, 40% metal-slatted) in climate respiration chambers. After an adaptation period, temperatures were raised daily for 9 d. Results showed that above certain inflection temperatures (IT; mean 22.6 degrees C, SE = 0.78) the number of excretions (relative to the total number of excretions) on the solid floor increased with temperature (mean increase 9.7%/ degrees C, SE = 1.41). Below the IT, the number of excretions on the solid floor was low and not influenced by temperature (mean 13.2%, SE = 3.5). On average, the IT for excretion on the solid floor decreased with increasing BW, from approximately 25 degrees C at 25 kg to 20 degrees C at 100 kg of BW (P < 0.05). Increasing temperature also affected the pattern and postural lying. The temperature at which a maximum number of pigs lay on the slatted floor (i.e., the IT for lying) decreased from approximately 27 degrees C at 25 kg to 23 degrees C at 100 kg of BW (P < 0.001). At increasing temperatures, pigs lay more on their sides and less against other pigs (P < 0.001). Temperature affects lying and excreting behavior of growing-finishing pigs in partially slatted pens. Above certain IT, pen fouling increases linearly with temperature. Inflection temperatures decrease at increasing BW.     

Effect of thinning intensity on tree growth and temporal variation of seed and cone production in a Pinus koraiensis plantation

Thinning of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) is used to facilitate timber and cone production. The present study in Northeast China investigated the effects of thinning intensity on individual tree growth, temporal variation in cone yield, and seed quality in Korean pine plantation. In 2005, five thinning intensity levels (none, extreme, heavy, moderate and light) were set in 15 permanent plots in a 32-year-old Korean pine plantation at Mengjiagang Forest Farm, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. We recorded tree growth and seed cone production from 2013 to 2016, i.e., from 8 to 11 years after thinning. Except for height growth, thinning increased tree growth (diameter at breast height and crown size) and improved cone yield. The extreme thinning treatment (to 300 trees per hectare) resulted in the largest tree diameter, tree volume, crown size and 4-year cone production per tree. The highest cone yield per tree in the mast year (2014) was observed when stands were thinned to 500 trees per hectare (heavy thinning). Although the best cone and seed quality and the largest cone and seed mass per tree were recorded in the heavily thinned stand, no significant differences were found between heavy and moderate thinning stands (750 trees per hectare). At the stand level, the moderately thinned stand had the highest basal area, stock volume and seed cone production per stand. Our results suggest that thinning to 750 trees per hectare will improve timber and cone productivity in 40-year-old P. koraiensis stands.     

Comparative analysis of local and improved practices used by farmer seed production schools in Vietnam

Farmer seed production schools in combination with participatory field experimentation might be effective instruments to enhance the skills of farmers to produce high-quality seed in the informal seed system in Vietnam. Four hundred twenty nine, unreplicated on-farm experiments were carried out in four different provinces and analyzed by the farmer seed production schools. These experiments consisted of two adjacent seed production plots: one with common local practice and one with improved practice. Differences between the two plots in yield and profit were assessed. Averaged across provinces, yields of the “improved practice plots” were 0.43 Mg ha⁻¹ higher in the wet season and 0.78 Mg ha⁻¹ higher in the dry season than the “local practice plots”. In the Nam Dinh and Nghe An provinces more hills per m², more input of potassium and muck, and fewer seedlings per hill at transplanting contributed to the higher yields in the “improved practice plots”. In the provinces Binh Dinh and Dong Thap, using a drum seeder for sowing, reduced seed rate, less input of nitrogen fertilizer and more potassium contributed to the yield advantage of the “improved practice plots”. The profit of the improved practice plots was 212 US$ ha⁻¹ higher than the profit in the local practice plots. Rice growers can benefit from lower seed rates, better yields and higher prices when grains are sold as seeds. These findings may direct the seed policies and extension approaches in Vietnam.