Drivers,challenges and opportunities of forage technology adoption by smallholder cattle households in Cambodia

Forage technology has been successfully introduced into smallholder cattle systems in Cambodia as an alternative feed source to the traditional rice straw and native pastures, improving animal nutrition and reducing labour requirements of feeding cattle. Previous research has highlighted the positive impacts of forage technology including improved growth rates of cattle and household time savings. However, further research is required to understand the drivers, challenges and opportunities of forage technology for smallholder cattle households in Cambodia to facilitate widespread adoption and identify areas for further improvement. A survey of forage-growing households (n = 40) in July–September 2016 examined forage technology adoption experiences, including reasons for forage establishment, use of inputs and labour requirements of forage plot maintenance and use of forages (feeding, fattening, sale of grass or seedlings and silage). Time savings was reported as the main driver of forage adoption with household members spending approximately 1 h per day maintaining forages and feeding it to cattle. Water availability was reported as the main challenge to this activity. A small number of households also reported lack of labour, lack of fencing, competition from natural grasses, cost of irrigation and lack of experience as challenges to forage growing. Cattle fattening and sale of cut forage grass and seedlings was not found to be a widespread activity by interviewed households, with 25 and 10% of households reporting use of forages for these activities, respectively. Currently, opportunities exist for these households to better utilise forages through expansion of forage plots and cattle activities, although assistance is required to support these households in addressing current constraints, particularly availability of water, if the sustainability of this feed technology for smallholder cattle household is to be established in Cambodia.     

Interactions between different media and follicle‐stimulating hormone supplementation on in vitro culture of preantral follicles enclosed in ovarian tissue derived from collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu Linneaus, 1758)

The aim was to verify the effect of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) supplementation to α‐MEM+ or TCM199+ media on the in vitro development of ovarian preantral follicles (PFs) derived from collared peccaries. Ovaries (n = 5 pairs) were collected and divided into fragments destined to control group (non‐cultured) or treatments that were cultured for 7 days. The PFs morphology, growth and activation were evaluated by classical histology. The immunohistochemistry markers Ag‐NOR and PCNA were used for nuclear proliferation analysis, and the picrosirius red labelling was used for ovarian extracellular matrix (ECM) evaluation. After 7‐day culture, only the TCM199+ treatment maintained the proportion of intact PFs similar to day 1 (63.2%), but no differences were found among treatments (p > .05). In addition, a significant increase in the growing follicles proportion was verified for all the treatments, indicating follicular activation (p > .05). By the Ag‐NOR analysis, only the TCM199+/FSH maintained the nuclear proliferation similar to the first day (p > .05). The picrosirius red staining revealed that the ECM remained intact in all the treatments (p > .05). We suggest the use of TCM199+ medium supplemented of FSH for the in vitro development of peccaries PFs under 7‐day culturing conditions.     

Evaluation the effect of subchronic feeding of transgenic cotton line (CKC1) on the faecal microbiota of albino rabbits

Recent studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between the intestinal microbiota and the host health. As such, consumers are increasingly becoming more concerned about the potential effect of certain foods/feeds, particularly of transgenic origin on the gut microbiota. Although the European Food Safety Authority has recommended in their guidelines, to study the effect of transgenic food/feed on host-microbiota, yet, few studies have focused on the evaluation of such effects mainly due to culturing difficulties. Therefore, this study was intended to evaluate the potential adverse effects of transgenic diet consumption on some specific gut microflora (Lactobacillus group, Bifidobacterium genus, Escherichia coli subgroup and Enterococcus genus) of rabbits. A total of forty-eight rabbits were randomly assigned into four groups and fed a diet containing a variable proportion of transgenic cottonseeds at 0, 20, 30 and 40% inclusion level, respectively. Changes in the specific or total faecal bacterial population were monitored at five different experimental stages (i.e. 0, 45, 90, 135 and 180 days) using both the traditional plate count method (TM) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). No significant differences (p > .05) were observed concerning numbers of specific bacteria or total bacteria between the control and experimental groups, though qPCR showed numerically higher values in terms of 16S rRNA gene copies as compared to the values obtained from TM. However, such numerical differences were biologically insignificant (p > .05). Similarly, no significant variations were noticed in the calculated B/E (log₁₀ copies of Bifidobacterium per g faces/log10 copies of E. coli genome per g faeces) ratios in all the groups. All the ratios were in the range of 1.24 to 1.30 throughout the experiment, indicating a good balance of intestinal microflora and greater resistance to intestinal disorders. It is therefore concluded that feeding transgenic cottonseeds could not adversely affect the gut microflora of rabbits during a long-term study.     

Use of intralesional cisplatin to successfully treat distal limb haemangiosarcoma in a foal

A 4-month old, 200 kg, grey warmblood colt presented for a firm, non painful mass on the distal medial aspect of the left third metatarsus. Excisional biopsy revealed a diagnosis of haemangiosarcoma. Equine haemangiosarcoma is uncommon and only limited reports of successful treatment are available. The prognosis for survival is therefore considered to be poor. After two separate incidences of recurrence with incomplete excision of the tumour, intralesional treatment with cisplatin without excision or debulking was performed on three separate occasions. Intralesional cisplatin injection was performed at monthly intervals for three treatments. Four years post treatment with cisplatin, the horse remained in remission. This case report describes the diagnostic and treatment challenges for successful treatment of a primary haemangiosarcoma on the distal limb of a warmblood foal using intralesional cisplatin chemotherapy.     

节本增效是提高粮食综合生产能力的有效途径

为探讨粮食增产、农民增收的有效途径,结合国家农业部在永修实施的"水稻综合生产能力科技提升试点行动"项目,选择推广7项节本增效综合配套技术,从而使项目核心区比非项目区增产12.8%,幅射区比非项目区增产5.8%,取得了较好的经济、社会和生态效益.     

基于形态谱和形状特征的平面四杆机构设计方法

连杆轨迹曲线与连杆机构参量之间存在着复杂的非线性关系,用具有旋转、缩放、平移不变特性的形状谱和几何参数作为联合特征,描述了连杆轨迹曲线的结构形态特征和整体形状特征,并构建曲线形态的识别、比较方法,实现了连杆轨迹曲线描述最小的数据冗余;利用人工神经网络拟合了连杆轨迹曲线与连杆机构之间的非线性关系,获取与预期轨迹最为吻合的连杆曲线参数,实现了机构的快速综合设计.以512幅连杆曲线图像为学习库,64幅图像为工程测试样本的实验数据说明了本文方法的可行性,并分析了误差产生的原因.     

Real-time adaptive irrigation scheduling under a limited water supply

The problem of real-time irrigation scheduling under limited water supply is considered. The goal is to develop an irrigation operation policy which maximizes crop yields and is responsive to current season changes in weather and other variables. Because irrigation decisions are sequential and dependent on crop and soil water status, and also because crop yields can only be known at the end of the season, the decisions are arrived at by a two-stage process. In the first or the design stage, irrigations are planned for the entire season at weekly intervals using historical data and an optimal irrigation scheduling model. In the second stage, the decisions for the subsequent weeks are revised each week after updating the status of the system with real time data up to that week and solving the irrigation optimization model once again for the new conditions. Thus, each week an irrigation decision is made, the entire planning horizon is kept in view. The procedure is illustrated by application to a case study.     

5%马灵乳油防治稻飞虱的田间药效试验

稻飞虱(Nilaparvata lugens Stal)是以稻属为食的单食性昆虫,刺吸稻株汁液危害水稻。建瓯全市水稻种植面积约3.5万hm2,稻飞虱年发生面积0.9万hm2,近几年来已成为建瓯市水稻的主要害虫之一。