Does Thyrinteina arnobia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) use different defense behaviours against predators?

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The efficiency of biological control programs with predators depends on knowing defense behaviour of caterpillars to avoid or to reduce predation. The...     

Quantitative dietary lysine requirement of juvenile striped bass Morone saxatilis

Two feeding trials of 8 and 10 weeks each were conducted to quantify the dietary lysine requirement of juvenile striped bass, Morone saxatilis. Diets in both experiments contained approximately 420 g crude protein kg^–1 and 13.4 MJ digestible energy (DE) kg^?1. L ‐Lysine‐HCl was added to the basal diet to yield five and six treatments in the two experiments. Diets in the first experiment were determined to contain 9.2, 14.1, 14.6, 19.9 and 21.0 g available lysine kg^?1 on a dry‐matter basis. Diets in the second experiment were determined to contain 14.8, 18.1, 21.3, 24.5, 27.6 and 30.9 g available lysine kg^?1 on a dry‐matter basis. Weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and apparent nitrogen utilization (ANU) were significantly (P < 0.05) improved by increasing dietary lysine concentrations to approximately 20 g kg^?1 of diet. Least‐squares regression analysis of weight gain and SGR in the first experiment indicated a minimum dietary lysine requirement of 20.1 ± 2 g kg^?1 dry diet. Least‐squares regression analysis of the same criteria measured in the second experiment yielded the following estimates of dietary lysine requirements (g kg^?1 dry diet): 19.8 ± 2.3 for weight gain, 21.7 ± 1.5 for SGR, 23.7 ± 3.5 for FCR and 18.6 ± 1.3 for ANU. From these results the minimum recommended dietary lysine requirement for optimal growth of juvenile striped bass is approximately 21 g kg^?1 dry diet which equates to 49 g kg^?1 dietary protein or 1.57 mg kJ^?1 DE. Although higher than that reported for hybrid striped bass, this requirement level is similar to those reported for many other fish species.     

Soil organic carbon fractions and humic substances are affected by land uses of Caatinga forest in Brazil

Caatinga is a Brazilian dry ecosystem that occupies around 1 million km² and is one of the largest tropical dry forests of the world. About 46% of the area that was originally covered has been deforested. Land use can cause pronounced reduction in soil carbon stocks that play a major role in the global carbon cycle. The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of the effect of land use on oxidizable carbon fractions, total carbon stocks and humic substances in different layers of soil in a Brazilian semi-arid region. We analyzed soils from tropical dry forest (TDF), forest succession with Anadenanthera falcata (ANA), with Tabebuia alba (TAB), secondary scrubby regeneration (SCR), and non-irrigated maize (MS). Forests showed larger fractions of more labile carbon, except for TDF. The most recalcitrant fraction of carbon stock, humin fraction stock, with the different land use decreased by 38–53% compared to TDF. Oxidizable carbon fractions, carbon stocks, and humic fraction stocks were able to differentiate the successional land uses and agricultural cover from TDF, mainly in the 0–5?cm layer. Our results show that changes in land use, especially with ANA forest succession, showed a larger labile carbon fraction, indicating easy decomposition and loss. Our results provide an alternative tool for the management of deforested areas in tropical dry caatinga ecosystems. This would contribute to the conservation of dry forest systems and could serve as guideline for sustainable management of agriculturally impacted caatinga areas.     

Vacuum Drying for Extending Litchi Shelf-Life: Vitamin C,Total Phenolics,Texture and Shelf-Life Assessment

In an attempt to obtain shelf-stable litchi fruit with preserved nutritional quality and good sensory features, quarters of peeled and pitted fruits were vacuum dried at 50, 60 and 70 °C at a constant pressure of 8.0 kPa. The product was assessed for its vitamin C, total phenolics and texture (hardness). In addition, the product with the best texture was assessed for its shelf-life by means of accelerated testing. Results suggest that vacuum dried litchi retained almost 70% of the vitamin C and total phenolics when compared to frozen fruits (control). Vitamin C and phenolic compounds content significantly decreased with drying, while no difference was found between different drying temperatures. Hardness increased with drying temperature. The sample dried at 70 °C presented crispness, which is a desired quality feature in dried fruit products. This sample was subjected to shelf-life evaluation, whose result suggests a shelf-life of eight months at 23 °C. Total color change (CIE ΔE₀₀) was the expiry criterion. Vacuum drying was a suitable technique for producing shelf-stable litchi fruit with good texture while preserving its desirable original nutrients. Consumption of vacuum dried litchi may be beneficial to health due to its remarkable content of phenolic compounds and vitamin C.     

Chitosan-Based Films with 2-Aminothiophene Derivative: Formulation,Characterization and Potential Antifungal Activity

In this study, films of chitosan and 2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carbonitrile (6CN), a 2-aminothiophene derivative with great pharmacological potential, were prepared as a system for a topical formulation. 6CN-chitosan films were characterized by physicochemical analyses, such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the antifungal potential of the films was evaluated in vitro against three species of Candida (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis). The results of the FTIR and thermal analysis showed the incorporation of 6CN in the polymer matrix. In the diffractogram, the 6CN-chitosan films exhibited diffraction halos that were characteristic of amorphous structures, while the micrographs showed that 6CN particles were dispersed in the chitosan matrix, exhibiting pores and cracks on the film surface. In addition, the results of antifungal investigation demonstrated that 6CN-chitosan films were effective against Candida species showing potential for application as a new antifungal drug.     

Feeding responses of juvenile shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) fed at different frequencies under laboratory conditions

In shrimp farms, food partitioning during the course of the day is contradictory, ethology studies may help in determining the proper frequency. Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles were placed in 30 L aquariums (41 m⁻²), exposed to a 12:12 h light–dark cycle. Feeding was provided at 10% of biomass three, four and seven times per day, with observations made in 15 min h⁻¹ windows, initiated after the ration was offered. Latency to access the feeding tray and to start eating was recorded using instantaneous focal sampling and digestive tract filling (DTF) by the continuous focal method. Weight gain was recorded at the end of the experiment. We performed seven repetitions, with 28 individuals observed for 33 days for each treatment (490 h of observation). The three-times offering induced less latency for accessing the tray and for ingesting the feed as well as a higher DTF when compared with the other frequencies. Animals fed three and four times had similar weight gains, and were greater than those fed seven times. Our results indicate that a more spaced food offering stimulates the search for and ingestion of feed. As compared with other frequencies, the three-times-per-day option assumes lower labour costs and a more efficient use of the feed.     

Energy and water balance measurements for water productivity analysis in irrigated mango trees, Northeast Brazil

Crop water parameters, including actual evapotranspiration, transpiration, soil evaporation, crop coefficients, evaporative fractions, aerodynamic resistances, surface resistances and percolation fluxes were estimated in a commercial mango orchard during two growing seasons in Northeast Brazil. The actual evapotranspiration (E_a) was obtained by the eddy covariance (EC) technique, while for the reference evapotranspiration (E₀); the FAO Penman–Monteith equation was applied. The energy balance closure showed a gap of 12%. For water productivity analysis the E_a was then computed with the Bowen ratio determined from the eddy covariance fluxes. The mean accumulated E_a for the two seasons was 1419 mm year⁻¹, which corresponded to a daily average rate of 3.7 mm day⁻¹. The mean values of the crop coefficients based on evapotranspiration (K_c) and based on transpiration (K_cb) were 0.91 and 0.73, respectively. The single layer K_c was fitted with a degree days function. Twenty percent of evapotranspiration originated from direct soil evaporation. The evaporative fraction was 0.83 on average. The average relative water supply was 1.1, revealing that, in general, irrigation water supply was in good harmony with the crop water requirements. The resulting evapotranspiration deficit was 73–95 mm per season only. The mean aerodynamic resistance (r_a) was 37 s m⁻¹ and the bulk surface resistance (r_s) was 135 s m⁻¹. The mean unit yield was 45 tonne ha⁻¹ being equivalent to a crop water productivity of 3.2 kg m⁻³ when based on E_a with an economic counterpart of US$ 3.27 m⁻³. The drawback of this highly productive use of water resources is an unavoidable percolation flux of approximately 300 mm per growing season that is detrimental to the downstream environment and water users.