Effect of fasting duration on clinical pathology results in Wistar rats

Background: Fasting is an important preanalytical factor that may affect the interpretation of hematology and clinical biochemistry data in toxicology or pharmacology studies. Limited information is available on how the results may be affected by different durations of fasting. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of fasting duration on clinical pathology results in male and female rats and to determine an optimum fasting time for preclinical studies. Methods: Male and female Wistar rats (10 each per group) were fasted for 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 hours. Changes in body weight and in the results of routine CBC and clinical chemistry analysis were evaluated by 1‐way ANOVA. Results: Body weight was significantly decreased by 4 hours of fasting in all rats, and hemoglobin concentration was significantly increased at 16 hours in male rats. Serum glucose and triglyceride concentrations in both sexes and cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein‐C concentrations in female rats were also significantly decreased beginning at 16 hours. The creatinine concentration was increased in females after 16 hours of fasting. Serum alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase activities were significantly decreased after 8 hours in males and 16 hours in females. Conclusions: Fasting‐induced changes in clinical pathology results were consistent with hemoconcentration and altered nutrition and metabolic function. Most changes occurred at 16 hours, with minimal subsequent changes. Hence, a 16‐hour fasting duration may be recommended for preclinical studies involving clinical pathology measurements.     

Identification of a 66 kDa Haemonchus contortus excretory/secretory antigen that inhibits host monocytes

A 66 kDa adult Haemonchus contortus excretory/secretory (E/S) antigen was identified in Western blot by reaction with sera from the infected goats. The protein was purified from the adult worm extract and E/S products by anion exchange and ConA-Sepharose chromatography. The purified protein inhibited monocyte function in vitro as judged by decreased production of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide in the culture medium. The protein also caused proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The absence of protein in the free living L3 larvae suggests that the expression of this protein coincides with the adaptation to the parasitic life. A correlation of antibody titre and worm burden was observed in the infected goats with higher antibody levels in high worm burdened animals. Anti-protein antibody caused loss of adult worm motility in vitro resulting in the death of the parasite. The fact that the protein is recognized by the host together with in vitro killing of adult parasites by antibodies makes this protein a promising candidate for vaccination trial.     

Local knowledge and management of simpukng (forest gardens) among the Dayak people in East Kalimantan,Indonesia

Among the Dayak people in East Kalimantan, simpukng (“forest gardens”) are an important component of their traditional farming systems. Simpukng is managed secondary forests in which selected species of fruits, rattan, bamboo, timber and other plants are planted. While most are owned by families and passed down from one generation to the next, some are managed on a communal basis. Complex customary Dayak rules exist that control the use and inheritance of these forests that help to avoid over-exploitation of resources. There is clear gender division of labour among Dayak in the management of simpukng that provide a range of products – for household consumption and sale and for customary rituals – fruits, vegetables, medicines, fire wood, honey, rattan, bamboos, and timber. Local knowledge about the more highly valued species are discussed. These indigenous forest garden systems are currently under threat from large-scale mining and logging activities; conflicts between local and external agencies are unfortunately frequent. This paper examines the development and management of simpukng in four Dayak villages in East Kalimantan and their implications on sustainable management of natural resources, with particular emphasis on the role of local knowledge of some of the more highly valued species and the current challenges faced by these communities in maintaining their traditional agroforest management practices.     

Effect of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Trichoderma viride on soil health, yield and N-economy of sugarcane cultivation under subtropical climatic conditions of India

Intensive cropping and exhaustive nature of sugarcane–wheat–rice cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia have led to the depletion of soil organic carbon content and inherent soil fertility resulting in a serious threat to the sustainability of these production systems. Bioagents like Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus and Trichoderma viride have great potential to restore soil fertility and promote sugarcane growth. Field experiments, therefore, have been conducted to study the integrated effect of bioagents (G. diazotrophicus and T. viride), Farm Yard Manure (FYM) and fertilizer N on sugarcane rhizosphere, crop yield and N economy for two crop cycles during 2004–2006 and 2005–2007 crop seasons at Lucknow, in the middle Indo-Gangetic plain region. Both bioagents could survive and colonize sugarcane rhizosphere and FYM improved their colonization. Enhanced soil microbial population and microbial carbon (SMC) and nitrogen (SMN) with increasing N level were probably due to more available N in the soil. FYM/bioagents amendment further enhanced the microbial carbon. The uniform increase in the fraction of SMC and SMN of total organic carbon indicated that immobilization/mineralization was being maintained in the soil where enhanced microbial biomass might act later as a source of nutrients.Bioagents ammended FYM enhanced the uptake of N, P and K in sugarcane at all the levels of fertilizer N. It was mainly due to the enhanced nutrient availability in the rhizospheric soil as the soil organic C and available N, P and K content increased with the application of bioagents/FYM. A saving of 76.3 kg N ha⁻¹ was envisaged by the use of G. diazotrophicus inoculated FYM with marginal (2.4 t ha⁻¹) decline in the cane yield. Application of T. viride enriched FYM, however, brought economy in the use of fertilizer N by 45.2 kg ha⁻¹ and also increased the yield by 6.1 t ha⁻¹compared to the control treatment. Overall, strategic planning in terms of an integrated application of these bioagents/manures with fertilizer N will not only sustain soil fertility but will also benefit farmers in terms of reducing their dependence and expenditure on chemical fertilizers.     

Downy mildew resistance in opium poppy: resistance sources,inheritance pattern,genetic variability and strategies for crop improvement

Downy mildew (DM) caused by Peronospora arborescens is the most destructive disease of opium poppy which assumes considerable importance in India and other poppy growing countries. The present study was aimed at identification and evaluation of stable resistance sources of DM in opium poppy. Furthermore, genetic variability and inheritance pattern of DM resistance has also been studied which can help in making strategy for crop improvement. Evaluation of 35 selected germplasm accessions of opium poppy under glasshouse and field conditions during the three consecutive years (2004–2005 to 2006–2007) resulted in identification of two genotypes (I-14 and Pps-1) as highly resistant and stable sources for DM resistance. Genetic studies of DM resistance revealed polygenic control with the dominance of susceptibility over resistance. Significant reciprocal differences were found largely due to maternal transmission of DM resistance indicating the involvement of cytoplasmic genes in addition to nuclear control. Analysis of genetic variability and selection parameters indicated predominance of additive effects for DM resistance and other yield contributing traits. Multivariate analysis resulted in classification of 35 selected accessions into 11 different clusters revealing very high level of diversity among the genotypes. Cluster analysis suggested that hybridization program involving genotypes from cluster V (which included highly resistant genotypes Pps-1 and I-14) and cluster IX (which included highly susceptible Jawahar-16 having good economically important traits like seed yield) could be expected to give best recombinants for improvement in terms of DM resistance and high seed and straw yield in opium poppy. Analysis of selection parameters like heritability and genetic advance also suggested that simple selection methods will be effective in stabilizing resistance traits following hybridization with high yielding genotypes.     

10年生府竹丛生竹的离体无性繁殖

用10年生丛生竹的节片通过离体腋笋增殖和生根产生出府竹小苗。不同季节对无菌培养物的建立、腋芽发萌和初代培养的影响很大。3片丛生林中,无菌培养物的建立有差别,但腋芽发萌没有差别。用加有31.06uM BA和2.85um IAA的MS液体介质,最大的增值率为3.18;用加有20~25um IBA MS液体介质,离体生根率为66.7~77.8%。用不同的植物生长素,生根所用的天数也不同,而IBA液能在短期促进生根,仅仅为2-3周。成功炼苗后,在装有土壤、沙子和农家肥塑料袋里,离体繁殖的小苗成活率为90%,大约有2000株小苗用于野外栽植。     

Socio-Economic and Scientific Impact Created by Whitefly-Transmitted,Plant-Virus Disease Resistant Tomato Varieties in Southern India

Research carried out to assess the impact of open-pollinated Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV)-resistant tomatoes and hybrids on the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers in Southern India is described and discussed. Three high-yielding ToLCV-resistant tomato varieties were developed initially using conventional breeding and screening techniques involving inoculation by ToLCV-viruliferous whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. In 2003 and 2004, respectively, these varieties were released officially by the Karnataka State Seed Committee and the Indian Ministry of Agriculture through notification in the Gazette of India. From 2003 to 2005, eleven seed companies bought breeder seed of the ToLCV-resistant varieties and used them to begin breeding F₁ hybrids from them. Socio-economic studies carried out to assess the benefits obtained from growing the ToLCV-resistant varieties found that farmers could gain up to 10 times the profit by growing the ToLCV-resistant varieties compared to the pre-existing ToLCV-susceptible varieties. Adoption of ToLCV-resistant tomatoes was also associated with reduced pesticide use. Extra income from tomato sales was prioritised by farmers to pay for children's education, better nutrition and medicines. In a joint effort with the commercial seed sector in India, a promotional field day was organised in 2007. As well as the three ToLCV-resistant varieties, 62 ToLCV-resistant hybrid tomatoes were exhibited during a farmer-field day by 17 commercial seed companies and several public institutes. Tomatoes with ToLCV-resistance are now grown widely in South India and seeds of the three open-pollinated varieties have been distributed to more than 12 countries. In 2007, a conservative estimate of the financial-benefit to cost of the research ratio was already more than 837:1.     

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of farmers on rodent pests and their management in the lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Philippines

A survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of 100 rice farmers and 50 coconut farmers was conducted in the coastal lowland agro-ecosystems of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Luzon, Philippines to identify current rodent management practices and to understand the extent of rat damage and the attitudes of farmers to community actions for rodent management. Pests were most commonly listed as one of the three most important rice and coconut production constraints. Other major crop production constraints were typhoons and insufficient water. Farmers consider rats to be the major pest of coconut and of rice during the wet season rice crop, with average yield losses of 3.0% and 13.2%, respectively. Rice and coconut farmers practised a wide range of rodent management techniques. These included scrub clearance, hunting and trapping. Of the 42 rice farmers and 3 coconut farmers that applied rodenticides to control rodents, all used the acute rodenticide, zinc phosphide. However, only ten rice farmers (23.8%) applied rodenticides prior to the booting stage and only seven farmers (15.6%) conducted pre-baiting before applying zinc phosphide. The majority of farmers belonged to farmer organisations and believed that rat control can only be done by farmers working together. However, during the last cropping season, less than a third of rice farmers (31.2%) applied rodent management as a group. In order to reduce the impact of rodents on the farmers of the coastal lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, integrated management strategies need to be developed that specifically target the pest rodents in a sustainable manner, and community actions for rodent management should be promoted.     

Characterizing the Economic Value and Impacts of Wild Pig Damage on a Rural Economy

Wild pigs are a free-ranging invasive species capable of inflicting significant damage on rural property. Wildlife management personnel may benefit from understanding the negative societal impact of wild pigs. A statewide mail survey of randomly selected landowners was conducted in rural Tennessee counties known to have wild pigs. The economic value of damage caused by wild pigs in 2015 in these counties was estimated at $26.22 million, whereas the cost incurred in control and eradication was $2.09 million. Input-output modeling of damage in these counties on the state’s economy showed $32.8 million in lost industrial output, $4.6 million in lost labor income, and 332 jobs or job equivalents affected. Findings are useful in understanding the types of damage, and the extent of these impacts on the rural economy. They could also facilitate comparing the expected benefit with the cost of control programs in Tennessee and comparable areas facing similar invasions from wild pigs.     

Expression of kit ligand and insulin‐like growth factor binding protein 3 during in vivo or in vitro development of ovarian follicles in sheep

Expression of Kit ligand (KL) and insulin‐like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP3) genes was studied at different in vivo and corresponding in vitro stages of development of the ovarian follicles in sheep. The expression of both KL and IGFBP3 was significantly higher in the primordial follicles relative to any other stage of development. Compared to the other stages, the KL expression in the cumulus cells from in vivo grown large antral follicles and that of IGFBP3 in COCs’ isolated from large antral follicles matured in vitro for 24 hr were significantly higher. In the oocytes from in vivo grown ovarian follicles, the expression of KL was the same at all the stages of development. Insulin‐like growth factor binding protein 3 expression was also the same in the oocytes at all the stages of the development except for a significantly lower expression in those from antral follicles. The expression of KL in the cumulus cells decreased significantly in the in vitro grown early antral follicles but did not change further as the development progressed. The expression of IGFBP3 in the cumulus cells from in vitro grown ovarian follicles appeared to increase as the development progressed although the increase was not significant between any two consecutive stages of development. In the oocytes in in vitro grown ovarian follicles, the expression levels of KL and IGFBP3 genes did not change with development. It is concluded that (i) KL and IGFBP3 genes follow specific patterns of expression during ovarian folliculogenesis and (ii) in vitro culture of preantral follicles compromises the development potential through alterations in the stage‐specific patterns of expression of these and other developmentally important genes.