The effect of levamisole on sheep trachea alone and with trichlorfon combination

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of levamisole and levamisole-trichlorfon combination on isolated sheep trachea. Contraction was achieved with levamisole concentrations (10(-8)-10(-3) M) on tracheal strips of adult sheep (> 1 year of age). Pretreatment with trichlorfon (10(-7) M)-levamisole (10(-7) M) decreased the pD2 and E(max) of Ach when compared to levamisole pretreatment (p < or = 0.01). Pretreatment with levamisole (10(-7) M), decreased the E(max) (p < or = 0.01) and pD2 (p < 0.05) of bethanechol concentrations (10(-8)-10(-3) M) significantly. Pretreatment with atropine (10(-6) M) decreased the E(max) of levamisole (10(-4) M) significantly (p < 0.05). To conclude, levamisole acted mainly on the muscarinic receptors of the sheep trachea and this effect was partly inhibited by atropine. Adverse interaction was present between levamisole and trichlorfon.     

Effects of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract on growth,blood biochemistry,immunity, antioxidant,digestive enzymes and liver histopathology of rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss

This research was designed to determine the effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract on growth, blood biochemistry, immunity, antioxidant, digestive enzymes and liver histopathology of rainbow trout. In a 40‐day diet experiment, rainbow trout was fed with the experimental diets containing 0.4, 0.7, 1 and 3 g/kg of rosemary. 0.4 and 0.7 g/kg rosemary extracts had no significant effect on all parameters studied (p > .05). The growth performance (SGR and WG) and feed utilization (FCR and FER) of the fish increased with the increase in the rate of rosemary in the feed (p < .001). Additionally, only the final weight levels were significant at the linear level (p < .05). Rosemary's 1 and 3 g/kg doses increased total protein, trypsin, amylase, lipase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), lysozyme, total immunoglobulin (IG) and white blood cell (WBC) levels when compared to control group. However, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased significantly (p < .001). Moreover, these doses of rosemary caused a significant reduction in steatosis of liver hepatocytes compared to the control group. In conclusion, the present study showed that rosemary may be useful in reducing the stress effects by increasing the growth, antioxidant, digestive enzymes and immunity levels, as well as reducing the rate of steatosis in the liver of rainbow trout.     

Effect of various dietary vitamin A levels on growth performance and immune response of tilapia (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oreochromis niloticus</Emphasis>)

Six purified vitamin-free casein-based diets were formulated to contain six levels vitamin A at 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 IU·kg⁻¹, respectively. Tilapias (initial mean weight: 7.73±0.03 g) were fed the diets in quadruplicate aquaria to apparent satiation twice daily for 10 weeks. No differences in mortality, weight gain, or feed efficiency ratio (FER) were observed among the groups. Liver vitamin A levels reflected dietary vitamin A levels. Immune parameters, such as hemoglobin levels, total cell count, red blood cell count, total serum protein, and serum lysozyme activity, did not vary with the dietary vitamin A levels. White blood cell counts of fish in 2000 IU·kg⁻¹ diet groups were significantly higher than that in other diets groups. Serum complement activities of fish in 2000 and 4000 IU·kg⁻¹ vitamin A diet groups were also higher than those in other diet groups. After the 14-d challenge test, the mortality and antibody titer were similar among the treatments. The results indicated that dietary vitamin A inclusions did not affect the immune response of Oreochromis niloticus.     

Total energy loss assessment for trickle lateral lines equipped with integrated in-line and on-line emitters

The accurate evaluation for the pressure head distribution along a trickle (drip) irrigation lateral, which can be operated under low-pressure head, dictates to precisely determine the total energy (head) losses that incorporate the combined friction losses due to pipe and emitters and, the additional local losses, sometimes called minor losses, due to the protrusion of emitter barbs into the flow. In routine design applications, assessment of total energy losses is usually carried out by assuming the hypothesis that minor losses can be neglected, even if the previous experimental studies indicated that minor losses can become a significant percentage of total energy losses as a consequence of the high number of emitters (with reducing the emitter spacing) installed along the lateral line. In this study, first, simple mathematical expressions for computing three energy loss components—minor friction losses through the path of an integrated in-line emitter, the local pressure losses due to emitter connections, and the major friction losses along the pipe—are deduced based on the backward stepwise procedure, which are quickly implemented in a simple Excel spreadsheet, to rapidly evaluate the relative contribution of each energy loss component to the amount of total energy losses. An approximate combination formulation is finally proposed to evaluate total energy drop at the end of the lateral line. For practical purpose, two design figures were also prepared to demonstrate the variation of total friction losses (due to pipe and emitters) with emitter local losses, and the variation of pipe friction losses with emitter minor friction losses, versus different emitter spacing ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 m, and various total number of emitters, regarding two kinds of the integrated in-line emitters. Comprehensive comparison test covering two design applications for different kinds of integrated in-line and on-line emitters indicated that the present mathematical model is simple, can be easily adaptable, but sufficiently accurate in all design cases examined, in comparison with the alternative procedures available in the literature.     

Estimation of dwarf green bean water use under semi-arid climate conditions through ground-based remote sensing techniques

Determination of temporal and spatial distribution of water use (WU) within agricultural land is critical for irrigation management and could be achieved by remotely sensed data. The aim of this study was to estimate WU of dwarf green beans under excessive and limited irrigation water application conditions through indicators based on remotely sensed data. For this purpose, field experiments were conducted comprising of six different irrigation water levels. Soil water content, climatic parameters, canopy temperature and spectral reflectance were all monitored. Reference evapotranspiration (ET₀), crop coefficient K_c and potential crop evapotraspiration (ET_c) were calculated by means of methods described in FAO-56. In addition, WU values were determined by using soil water balance residual and various indexes were calculated. Water use fraction (WUF), which represents both excessive and limited irrigation applications, was defined through WU, ET₀ and K_c. Based on the relationships between WUF and remotely sensed indexes, WU of each irrigation treatments were then estimated. According to comparisons between estimated and measured WU, in general crop water stress index (CWSI) can be offered for monitoring of irrigated land. At the same time, under water stress, correlation between measured WU and estimated WU based on CWSI was the highest too. However, canopy-air temperature difference (T_c − T_a) is more reliable than others for excessive water use conditions. Where there is no data related to canopy temperature, some of spectral vegetation indexes could be preferable in the estimation of WU.     

Nutritional value of frass from black soldier fly larvae,Hermetia illucens,in a channel catfish,Ictalurus punctatus,diet

Frass is the by‐product of the larval meal industry and includes larval waste, exoskeleton sheds and residual feed ingredients. Experimental frass was derived from the larvae of black solder flies fed distillers' dried grains with solubles and had a protein and fat content of 216 and 60 g/kg, respectively. A 10‐week study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary levels of frass on growth, feed utilization, and body proximate and mineral composition of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Five diets containing 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 g frass per kg diet were fed to channel catfish (5.24 ± 0.04 g) in quadruplicate aquaria to apparent satiation twice daily. Final weight gain was significantly increased in fish fed diets containing frass at levels from 100 to 300 g/kg. Fish fed diets without frass, and with 300 g/kg frass, showed the lowest and highest feed intake, respectively. Feed and protein efficiencies, however, were significantly lower in fish fed frass at levels of 200 g/kg and higher compared to the control diet. Survival, whole‐body composition and mineral content were not affected by frass. In summary, black soldier fly larval frass has potential as a protein source or just an ingredient for enhancing palatability of catfish diets.     

Screening of chemical composition and antifungal and antioxidant activities of the essential oils from three Turkish artemisia species

The compositions of essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia santonicum, and Artemisia spicigera by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC-MS, and a total of 204 components were identified. The major components of these essential oils were camphor (34.9-1.4%), 1,8-cineole (9.5-1.5%), chamazulene (17.8-nd%), nuciferol propionate (5.1-nd%), nuciferol butanoate (8.2-nd%), caryophyllene oxide (4.3-1.7%), borneol (5.1-0.6%), alpha-terpineol (4.1-1.6%), spathulenol (3.7-1.3%), cubenol (4.2-0.1%), beta-eudesmol (7.2-0.6%), and terpinen-4-ol (3.5-1.2%). The antifungal activities of these essential oils were tested against 11 plant fungi and were compared with that of a commercial antifungal reagent, benomyl. The results showed that all of the oils have potent inhibitory effects at very broad spectrum against all of the tested fungi. Pure camphor and 1,8-cineole, which are the major components of the oils, were also tested for antifungal activity against the same fungal species. Unlike essential oils, these pure compounds were able to show antifungal activity against only some of the fungal species. In addition, the antioxidant and DPPH radical scavenging activities of the essential oils, camphor, and 1,8-cineole were determined in vitro. All of the studied essential oils showed antioxidant activity, but camphor and 1,8-cineole did not.     

Sunn pest problems in Central Anatolia and the role of wheat varieties in integrated control

Wheat production is a major source of income for most people and forms the backbone of the economy in Central Anatolia, Turkey. Sunn pest, known in Turkey since 1927, is one of the most harmful pests of wheat in this region where the infested area has reached 0.3 million ha and the cost of chemical application has reached US$ 2 million per year. Two species of Eurygaster, E. maura and E. austriaca, are prevalent in the region. Observations of tests carried out on different genotypes under natural field conditions and controlled greenhouse tests showed variable response of wheat to sunn pest. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.