New strategies for estimation of cut and fill areas in road design with different ground cross-section offsets

Earthwork operations accounted for great amount of forest road construction costs. Any Optimization in planning road profile needs a reliable objective function that calculates earthwork volume in an appropriate time and accuracy. This study aimed at incorporating the shape of the ground cross sections in calculating cut/fill areas using three alternative methods including: Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and heuristic programming in MATLAB environment. The accuracy of results was validated via AutoCAD as a manual method for area calculation of road’s cross-section. Trapezoidal method applied to calculate the area of cut/fill in the heuristic method. Paired sample T-Test and statistical analysis (ANOVA) with confidence level of 0.95 indicated that the heuristic method not only reduced computing time but also provided accurate estimations as same as the manual AutoCAD based method. It can be concluded that although MLR and ANN estimations were as well as AutoCAD results within a reasonable time, they need to be retrained by adding, removing or changing entrance parameters.     

Expression of reproduction and antioxidant-related genes in crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus fed with dietary feed additives

We evaluated the impact of a combined vitamin E (vit E), a mixture of nucleotide (mixed-NT), Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis), arachidonic acid (AA), and yeast extract powder (YEP) supplementations on the relative mRNA expression of reproduction and antioxidant-related genes in red claw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus using an orthogonal design (L16 4⁵) plus control diet for 70 days feeding trial. Five factors with four levels: A, vit E ^{40, 160, 240, and 320 mg/kg diet}; B, mixed-NT ^{2, 4, 6, and 8 g/kg diet}; C, H. pluvialis ^{2, 4, 6, and 8 g/kg diet}; D, AA ^{5, 10, 15, and 20 g/kg diet}; E, YEP ^{2.5, 5, 10, and 15 g/kg diet} were studied. The relative mRNA expression of reproduction-related genes (vitellogenin (vtg) and fatty acid-binding protein (fabp)), and antioxidant-related genes (heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), glutathione peroxidase (gpx), glutathione S-transferase (gst), mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (mmnsod), and ferritin) in hemocyte, hepatopancreas, and ovary tissues were measured. There was a major depression in gene expression levels throughout the experimental diet at high vit E ^320 mg/kg level with other factors. Expression of antioxidant enzyme genes significantly increased in treatments of T9, T10, T11, and T12, while significantly decreasing in treatment of T13 and other treatment groups with high vit E ^320 mg/kg levels with the other factors. Gene expression of vtg and fabp demonstrated similar patterns to those of antioxidant genes. These results provide evidence that combined supplementations of vit E, mixed-NT, H. pluvialis, AA, and YEP with vit E ^240 mg/kg, mixed-NT ^8 g/kg, H. pluvialis ^4 g/kg, AA ^5 g/kg, and YEP ^10 g/kg may present a novel strategy for improving reproduction performance and antioxidant activities in RC-crayfish, C. quadricarinatus by the positive impact on the molecular level of reproduction and antioxidant genes.

     

Selenium content and distribution in cow's milk supplemented with two dietary selenium sources

The effect of two sources of Se, selenized yeast (Se-Y) and sodium selenite, added to total mixed rations (TMR) fed to cows on Se milk content and distribution in milk components was studied on three farms for 6 weeks. The maximal increase in milk Se was attained with Se-Y supplemented at 0.3 microg g(-1). The effect was immediate, with an increase of 9 microg L(-1) being observed after only 5 days, and remained steady until the last sample at day 40 of Se supplementation. Se distribution in milk components was constant, 53.6, 42.6, and 9.3% in whey, casein, and fat, respectively, and was unaffected by the form of supplementation. The effect of the level of Se-Y supplementation on milk Se was studied on two farms. Increasing dietary Se-Y from 0 to 0.5 microg g(-1) elevated milk Se content from 20 to 39 microg L(-1). Se-enriched cow's milk at different levels can be produced by varying dietary Se supplementation in the form of selenized yeast.     

Postharvest evaluation of natural coatings and antifungal agents to control <Emphasis Type="Italic">Botrytis cinerea</Emphasis> in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosa</Emphasis> sp.

Botrytis cinerea is a fungal pathogen that limits rose production and commercialization worldwide. Therefore, we evaluated a novel postharvest treatment against Botrytis cinerea in roses (Rosa sp. cv Vendela) using coating bases and antifungal agents of natural origin. Aloe vera pulp, cassava starch and gelatin were used as coating bases. Oregano essential oil (Origanum vulgare), thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris) and chitosan were used as natural antifungal agents. The coating bases were evaluated in different concentrations to observe effects of toxicity and opening diameter in rose buds. Gelatin and cassava starch coatings inhibited rose opening and showed petal damage in all concentrations tested. However, Aloe vera pulp at 25% allowed normal buds’ opening and no damage was observed, indicating that Aloe vera could be an ideal coating base for rose postharvest treatments. During in vitro assays, natural antifungal agents efficiently inhibited Botrytis cinerea growth in the concentrations tested. Further, mixture treatments of Aloe vera pulp (25%) with oregano essential oil (1%), thyme essential oil (0.1%) and chitosan (0.1%) showed independently neither damage nor opening inhibition in rose buds. Selected combinations of Aloe vera pulp and natural antifungal agents were applied in roses infected with Botrytis cinerea to evaluate their control of this pathogen. Unfortunately, the selected combinations did not reduce pathogen growth during postharvest treatments since they were similar to untreated controls. Further research has to be performed to find ideal combinations with Aloe vera that could inhibit B. cinerea during postharvest treatments in roses.     

Functional and genetic characterization of gas exchange and intrinsic water use efficiency in a full-sib family of Pinus pinaster Ait. in response to drought

Drought is an important environmental factor in Mediterranean ecosystems affecting seedling recruitment, productivity or susceptibility to fires and pathogens. Studying water use efficiency in these environments is crucial due to its adaptive value allowing trees to cope with low water availability. We studied the phenotypic variability and genetic control of intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE(i)) and related traits in a full-sib family of Pinus pinaster under drought imposition. We detected significant differences in WUE(i) between clones of the same family and moderate heritability estimates that indicate some degree of genetic control over this trait. Stomatal conductance to water vapor was the trait most affected by drought imposition and it showed the strongest influence in WUE(i). Stomatal conductance to water vapor and specific leaf area (SLA) were the traits with highest heritabilities and they showed a significant genetic correlation with WUE(i), suggesting that selection of needles with low SLA values will improve WUE(i) in this species by reducing water losses through stomatal control.