Catfish which is an important component of global freshwater aquaculture production is also prone to a wide range of diseases resulting in economic losses. Improvement of the immune status of catfish is a promising preventive approach to control disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fermented earthworms as a feed additive on the non-specific immune response of walking catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Earthworms were fermented by inoculation with a bacterial mixture of Bacillus spp. and Lactococcus raffinolactis. The study featured a completely randomized design, with five treatments in quadruplicate. The various treatments consisted of fermented earthworms supplemented (FE) at at 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% (w/w). Catfish with an average weight of 15 g were stocked at a density of 50 fish per 50 L/tank, reared for 2 months, and fed thrice a day at a feeding rate of 3% of total boby weight. The parameters observed included phagocytic activity (PA), phagocytic index (PI), extracellular respiratory burst, leucocyte differentiation, super oxide dismutase (SOD), natural agglutination, leucocrit, and hematocrit. Results showed that that FE supplemented at 2.5% significantly increased the respiratory burst activity, hematocrit, PA, PI, SOD, and leucocyte differentiation (P?<?0.05) but did not affect natural agglutination. The results collectively suggest that FE as a feed additive is an effective and applicable strategy to improve the non-specific immunity of catfish.
Leaf area index (LAI) is an important parameter to identify the water balance in forested watershed as a biological factor
influencing directly on the evapotranspiration in the forest area. The purpose of this study was to estimate the LAI in a
small forested watershed in summer and winter by applying the Terra/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
(ASTER) data to the LAI estimation method. In this study, the estimation was based on the absorption and scattering processes
of the solar radiation in the vegetation canopy and the spectral reflectance characteristics of soil vegetation. First, we
estimated LAI based on Price’s model by application of ASTER data on the forested watershed located in the Tenzan Mountains
of Saga, Japan. To validate the results of LAI estimation, secondly, we compared them to the measured LAI obtained by a plant
canopy analyzer (LAI-2000) on the observation area inside the target region. This study showed that the LAI estimation method
was a feasible and accurate method as indicated by the high relationship (r = 0.97) between LAI derived from ASTER data and LAI measured by LAI-2000. This paper is the first report on LAI estimation
using Terra/ASTER data based on Price’s model and field investigation. This LAI estimation method is a reliable and applicable
method. 相似文献
This study aims to investigate the variation in occurrence of white-belly rice kernel(WBRK) and white-core rice kernel(WCRK) among different positions within a panicle. Twenty-four M4 mutants involved in four panicle types, namely the compact, intermediate, loose, and chicken foot panicle were used. They derived from a japonica rice cultivar Wuyujing 3. Considerable differences in morphological characters existed among the four types of panicle, especially in panicle length, the secondary branch number and ratio of grain number to total branch length. Marked differences were found in WBRK and WCRK among different positions within a panicle for all types of panicle. In general, grains located on the primary rachis and top rachis branches had higher WBRK and WCRK percentage than those on the secondary rachis and bottom rachis branches. WCRK exhibited larger variation among grain positions than WBRK did. Moreover, there was a significant difference in WCRK/WBRK among grain positions within a panicle, with primary rachis and top rachis branches having higher values than the secondary and bottom rachis. In addition, panicle type showed no significant effect on the pattern of WBRK and WCRK occurrence within a panicle. The results indicated the difference in mechanism of WBRK and WCRK formation in grain position within a panicle, and are valuable for breeding and agronomic practices aimed at lowering chalky grain rate. 相似文献