Theileria orientalis: a review

Theileria orientalis (also known historically as T. sergenti and T. buffeli) is responsible for benign or non-transforming theileriosis, and exerts its major effect through erythrocyte destruction. The life cycle of T. orientalis is essentially similar to that of other Theileria species, except that the schizonts do not induce transformation and fatal lymphoproliferation. The pathogenesis of anaemia as a result of infection is not clearly established and may be multifaceted. Clinical signs of weakness, reluctance to walk and abortion are early but non-specific indications of disease, particularly if accompanied by a history of cattle being moved. Physical examination may reveal pallor (pale eyes, vaginal mucosa), pyrexia, and elevated heart and respiratory rates. T. orientalis is an economically important parasite of cattle in New Zealand, Australia and Japan, especially where naïve animals are introduced into an endemic area or in animals under stress. Increased awareness of the risks posed by the parasite is required to enable management practices to be implemented to minimise its impact.     

Refugee impact on collective management of forest resources: a case study of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal's Eastern Terai region

This article analyzes the relationship between forest resources, refugees, and the host population. The findings of the research suggest that the host population are heavily dependent on the local forest for their daily needs such as fuelwood, timber, grazing area, fodder for domestic animals, foods, and medicine in addition to cultural and esthetic needs. The forest has also been relied upon for agricultural needs such as manufacture of agricultural tools, maintenance of irrigation water systems, erosion control, and fertilizer needs. The forest was under a sustained demand as any other Terai forest of Nepal. After the arrival of refugees in 1992, the demand for forest resources increased substantially. Initially, the construction of the refugee camps decreased the total forest area and also required some felling of trees. More significantly, the refugees themselves became active users of the forest resource, which generated extra pressure on the forest and created scarcity of forest resources. Before the arrival of the refugees, forest management and monitoring of illegal use of the forest resources were carried out by the government through its local forester office. The local residents were active users of the forest resources, but were passive in managing and maintaining the forest resource. However, competition from the refugees instilled a desire in the local population to safeguard and protect the dwindling resource against the external threat by creating the Humse Dumse Community Forest.     

Policies Affecting Forestry Entrepreneurship

Many demand and supply-side policies impede or foster forestry entrepreneurship. A study was conducted to consolidate existing knowledge on policies influencing forestry entrepreneurship in Finland, Norway, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and the USA, and to draw conclusions on these impeding and fostering factors. From the country studies it was difficult to find common structures on policies affecting forestry entrepreneurship. This is understandable because most policies in forestry are aimed at supporting sustainable forest management, wood production and ecological services of the forests rather than entrepreneurship as such. Despite the high variety of policies applied in the study countries, it can be concluded that strict public control on forests’ use and management potentially impedes forestry entrepreneurship. While these policies assist to correct market failure and to promote sustainability of forest management, they may also result into unnecessary and ineffective regulations that limit the opportunities for forestry entrepreneurship. A common feature promoting the demand for forestry entrepreneurship in some of the countries studied is the strong emphasis on forestry cooperatives, which were important institutions to support small-scale forestry entrepreneurship. In many study countries, different ad hoc programs are implemented to find new economic and entrepreneurial opportunities aside from the current use of wood and forests. Subsidies and tax incentives are commonly applied to reduce risks from making forestry investments or otherwise increase the economic return from timber production.     

Continuum contraction of tension wood fiber induced by repetitive hygrothermal treatment

Wood Science and Technology - Tension wood, when kiln-dried, is likely to deform hugely, which is probably caused by a gelatinous layer of the gelatinous fiber. To elucidate the mechanism behind...     

Financial performance of diverse levels of early competition suppression and pre-commercial thinning on loblolly pine stand development

New Forests - Competition suppression within loblolly pine plantations (Pinus taeda L.) is typically carried out within the first 2 years of a plantation, but competition control for longer...     

Comparison of Antral and Preantral Ovarian Follicle Populations Between Bos indicus and Bos indicus‐taurus Cows with High or Low Antral Follicles Counts

The objective was to compare populations of antral and pre‐antral ovarian follicles in Bos indicus and Bos indicus‐taurus cows with high and low antral follicle counts. Nelore (Bos indicus, n = 20) and Nelore X Angus (1/2 Bos indicus‐taurus, n = 20) cows were subjected to follicular aspiration without regard to the stage of their oestrous cycle (day of aspiration = D0) to remove all follicles ≥3 mm and induce growth of a new follicular wave. Ovaries were examined by ultrasonography on D4, D19, D34, D49 and D64, and antral follicles ≥3 mm were counted. Thereafter, cows were assigned to one of two groups: high or low antral follicular count (AFC, ≥30 and ≤15 antral follicles, respectively). After D64, ovaries were collected after slaughter and processed for histological evaluation. There was high repeatability in the numbers of antral follicles for all groups (range 0.77–0.96). The mean (±SD) numbers of antral follicles were 35 ± 9 (Bos indicus) and 38 ± 6 (Bos indicus‐taurus) for the high AFC group and 10 ± 3 (Bos indicus) and 12 ± 2 (Bos indicus‐taurus) follicles for the low AFC. The mean number of preantral follicles in the ovaries of Bos indicus‐taurus cows with high AFC (116 226 ± 83 156 follicles) was greater (p < 0.05) than that of Bos indicus cows (63 032 ± 58 705 follicles) with high AFC. However, there was no significant correlation between numbers of antral and preantral follicles.     

MALDI‐MS Lipid Profiles of Oocytes Recovered by Ovum Pickup from Bos indicus and 1/2 indicus × taurus with High vs Low Oocyte Yields

The aim of the present study was to compare the lipid profile in oocytes of indicus and 1/2 indicus × taurus cows with high and low antral follicle count (AFC)/oocyte yields. After an OPU procedure (D0), antral follicles ≥3 mm were counted by ultrasonography (D4, 19, 34, 49, 64), and cows were assigned to groups with either high AFC (≥30 follicles; indicus, NH group; 1/2 indicus × taurus, AH group) or low AFC (≤15 antral follicles; indicus, NL group; 1/2 indicus × taurus, AL group). The lipid profiles of the oocytes were determined by MALDI‐MS. For GI, GII and GIII oocytes, the indicus samples tend to cluster separately from the 1/2 indicus × taurus samples. The lipid species [PC (P‐38:5) + H]⁺ and/or [PC (P‐36:2) + Na]⁺, [PC (38:2) + H]⁺, [PC (38:5) + Na]⁺ and [TAG (60:8) + NH⁴]⁺ were more abundant in indicus (NH and NL groups) than 1/2 indicus × taurus. The higher lipid content in the indicus oocytes likely reflects differences in the rate of lipid metabolism and may contribute to oocyte competence and embryo development.     

Contrasting the financial efficiency of agroforestry practices in buffer zone management of Madhupur National Park, Bangladesh

This research contrasts the financial profitability of different agroforestry practices in community-based buffer zone management of Madhupur National Park (MNP), Bangladesh. This park is the second largest in Bangladesh and subjected to enormous anthropogenic pressure and land rights-related conflicts. This paper reports the different agroforestry practices of villagers in different modules of the buffer zone of MNP, identified by a participatory research approach. It then assesses the profitability of each module on the basis of cost–benefit analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, and annualized income. Results indicate three agroforestry systems were being practised in the buffer zone by the participants: agro-silviculture, agro-silvo-horticulture, and combined woodlot and agroforestry. Among these modules, agro-silvo-horticulture was the most profitable, followed by agro-silviculture then combined woodlot and agroforestry. We recognize that not all of the participants can practise intensive agroforestry; our results suggest that the community-based buffer zone management strategy for MNP would benefit from prioritizing agroforestry practices where possible. This will lead to more successful buffer zone management for the conservation of natural forests while supporting the development of local resource-dependent communities.     

Genetic parameters for EUROP carcass traits within different groups of cattle in Ireland

The first objective of this study was to test the ability of systems of weighing and classifying bovine carcasses used in commercial abattoirs in Ireland to provide information that can be used for the purposes of genetic evaluation of carcass weight, carcass fatness class, and carcass conformation class. Secondly, the study aimed to test whether genetic and phenotypic variances differed by breed of sire. Variance components for carcass traits were estimated for crosses between dairy cows and 8 breeds of sire commonly found in the Irish cattle population. These 8 breeds were Aberdeen Angus, Belgian Blue, Charolais, Friesian, Hereford, Holstein, Limousin, and Simmental. A multivariate animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters within the Holstein sire breed group. Univariate analyses were used to estimate variance components for the remaining 7 sire breed groups. Multivariate sire models were used to formally test differences in genetic variances in sire breed groups. Field data on 64,443 animals, which were slaughtered in commercial abattoirs between the ages of 300 and 875 d, were analyzed in 8 analyses. Carcass fat class and carcass conformation class were measured using the European Union beef carcass classification system (EUROP) scale. For all 3 traits, the sire breed group with the greatest genetic variance had a value of more than 8 times the sire breed group with least genetic variance. Heritabilities ranged from zero to moderate for carcass fatness class (0.00 to 0.40), from low to moderate for carcass conformation class (0.04 to 0.36), and from low to high for carcass weight (0.06 to 0.65). Carcass weight was the most heritable (0.26) of the 3 traits. Carcass conformation class and carcass fatness class were equally heritable (0.17). Genetic and phenotypic correlations were all positive in the Holstein sire breed group. The genetic correlations varied from 0.11 for the relationship between carcass weight and carcass fatness class to 0.44 for the relationship between carcass conformation class and carcass fatness class. Carcass weight and classification data collected in Irish abattoirs are useful for the purposes of genetic evaluation for beef traits of Irish cattle. There were significantly different variance components across the sire breed groups.