Metabolic energy budgeting (MEB) was used to evaluate evolution over 30 years (1980–1981 to 2010–2011) in New Zealand southern North Island ‘hill country’ sheep and beef cattle systems. MEB calculates energy required by animals for body weight maintenance, weight gain or loss, pregnancy, and lactation to estimate the system feed demand and thereby provide a basis for calculating feed conversion efficiency. Historic production systems were reconstructed and modeled using averaged data from industry surveys and data from owners’ diaries of three case-study farms and reviewed for patterns of change over time. The modeling indicated that pasture productivity was 11% lower and herbage harvested was 14% lower in 2010–2011 than in the early 1980s. This productivity decline is attributable to warmer, drier summer weather in recent years. However, primarily through increased lambing percentage, feed conversion efficiency based on industry data improved over the study period from 25 to 19 kg feed consumed per kg lamb weaned, while meat production rose from 137 to 147 kg per ha per year. Similar improvements were observed for the three case farms. The New Zealand MEB model was found effective for analysis of tropical beef production systems in Sabah, Malaysia.
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. is a type of perennial grass that possesses great medicinal values. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of the plant crude extract from seven different solvents (acetone, chloroform, diethyl ether, ethanol, ethyl acetate, methanol, and n-pentane) was investigated against some pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus pneumonia) using disc diffusion method and thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) bioassay for plant-SPE extracts against Aspergillus niger. Crude extraction showed that ethanolic extraction produced highest yield (7.065 %) followed by methanolic (5.420 %) and chloroform (3.550 %) extraction. The lowest yield was obtained from n-pentane extraction (0.500 %). The antimicrobial study revealed broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity from ethanol (7.0-10.0 ± 0.0-1.0 mm) and ethyl acetate (7.0-12.0 ± 0.0-1.0 mm) extracts against all of the bacterial pathogens. Both methanol and acetone extracts showed activity to B. cereus (8.0 ± 0.0 mm) and B. subtilis (7.0 ± 0.0 mm), while chloroform extract showed activity to B. subtilis (7.0 ± 0.0 mm) and S.pyogenes (8.3 ± 0.6 mm), respectively. Diethyl ether extraction showed activity only to S. pyogenes (7.3 ± 0.6 mm), while no activity was observed from n-pentane extraction. Great antimicrobial activity were observed for both ethyl acetate and ethanol SPE-based extracts (SBE) with size of inhibition ranging from 8.0 ± 0.0 mm to 15.7 ± 0.6 mm for ethyl acetate SBE and 8.0 ± 0.0 mm to 13.0 ± 0.0 mm for ethanol SBE. No significant antimicrobial activity was observed from thin-layer chromatographic bioassay against A. niger.
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of fertilizer application and successive harvesting on phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities of Cynodon dactylon, a medicinal Bermuda grass in Sabah (Malaysia). Three fertilizers of two nitrogen concentrations were used in the experiment. The grass was harvested successively three times at five-weeks interval. Grass treated with 25 kg N/ha/month from the first harvest was found to have the highest clipping yield. Successive harvesting decreased the dry matter production of the grass irrespective of N concentration applied. Total saponin and alkaloid contents of the grass were increased by a combination treatment of fertilizer type × rate × harvesting; total flavonoid content was increased by fertilizer type × harvesting treatments; however, total phenolic content was not affected by any of the treatment or combination of the treatments. Both of the antioxidant assays (DPPH and FRAP) indicated that antioxidant activity of the grass was increased by fertilizer rate × harvesting treatments. There was a significant correlation found between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities, suggesting that these two secondary metabolites may contribute to the antioxidant property of the grass. Overall, the obtained data indicated that the described treatments could be used to manipulate the production and accumulation of bioactive compounds of C. dactylon.
Tetragonula laeviceps sensu lato (s.l.) Smith 1857 has the most complicated nomenclatural history among the Tetragonula genera. The objective of this study was to investigate whether T. laeviceps s.l. individuals with worker bees are grouped in the same or nearly the same morphological characteristics and have similar COI haplotype cluster groups. A total of 147 worker bees of T. laeviceps s.l. were collected from six sampling sites in Sabah (RDC, Tuaran, Kota Marudu, Putatan, Kinarut and Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA)), but only 36 were selected for further studies. These specimens were first classified according to the most obvious morphological characteristics, i.e., hind tibia color, hind basitarsus color and body size. Group identification was based on morphological characteristics important for distinguishing the four groups within T. laeviceps s.l. The four groups of T. laeviceps s.l. had significantly different body trait measurements for the TL (total length), HW (head width), HL (head length), CEL (compound eye length), CEW (compound eye width), FWLT (forewing length, including tegula), FWW (forewing width), FWL (forewing length), ML (mesoscutum length), MW (mesoscutum width), SW (mesoscutellum width), SL (mesoscutellum length), HTL = (hind tibia length), HTW (hind tibia width), HBL (hind basitarsus length) and HBW (hind basitarsus width) (p < 0.001). Body color included HC (head color), CC (clypeus color), ASC (antennae scape color), CFPP (Clypeus and frons plumose pubescence), HTC (hind tibia color), BSC (basitarsus color), SP (leg setae pubescence), SP (Thorax mesoscutellum pubescence), SPL (thorax mesoscutellum pubescence length) and TC (thorax color) (p < 0.05). The most distinctive features of the morphological and morphometric characteristics measured by PCA and LDA biplot that distinguish Group 1 (TL6-1, TL6-2 and TL6-3) from the other groups were the yellowish-brown ASC and the dark brown TC. Group 2 (haplotypes TL2-1, TL2-2 and TL2-3 and TL4-1, TL4-2 and TL4-3) had a dark brown ASC and a black TC, while Group 3 (haplotypes TL11-1, TL11-2 and TL11-3) had a blackish-brown ASC, a black TC and the largest TL, FWW and FWL. As for phylogenetic relationships, 12 out of 36 haplotypes showed clear separation with good bootstrap values (97–100%). The rest of the haplotypes did not show clear differentiation between subclades that belonged together, regardless of their morphology and morphometric characteristics. This suggests that the combination of DNA barcoding for species identification and phylogenetic analysis, as well as traditional methods based on morphological grouping by body size and body color, can be reliably used to determine intraspecific variations within T. laeviceps s.l.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.