Asia Life Sciences

As the Philippine government continues to embrace the establishment of protected areas as a primary strategy for environmental conservation, livelihood difficulties have arisen in marginal areas where land and forest resources become scarce. This paper explores why the indigenous Tagbanua people, who commonly practice shifting agriculture (or swidden), are slowly moving towards sedentary agriculture due to socio-political and economic pressures at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan Island, the Philippines. A semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire is used to explore the factors that have given rise to this shift in land use production among Tagbanua. The limitations of access to forest areas, programs of government and non-government organizations, declining swidden productivity and growth of local markets have caused Tagbanua to opt for rice paddy and fruit farming. Current national park-related interventions are directed towards stabilizing swidden to prevent further expansion into the forest frontiers of buffer zones. Efforts from government and non-governmental organization have brought livelihood programs, dispersal of seedlings, draught animals, and seminars and trainings to facilitate the sedentary farming of Tagbanua. Currently, swidden is practiced as a means of land preparation for the expansion and establishments of fruit plantations, paddy rice cultivation and other intensified agriculture. However, this does not suggest that swidden is completely in demise. Although agricultural intensification is on the rise, swidden agriculture is still integrated into Tagbanua livelihood strategies.

Institutional and organizational measures contribute to the development of production. In the article, the method of calculating the non-linear economic performance efficiency of the organization of production, using known rules of elementary mathematics and the principles of the “golden section” segment and the “golden rectangle” for the construction of the “golden square” division of the parties on the principle of the “golden section”. The most important stage of production activities on planning service equipment is consideration of possible changes in the market situation. As company plan is a system of indicators of the values that the company intends to achieve in the future, performance will be contingent on many factors (organization and technical, economic).

The effects of coconut flour on blood lipid parameters in male domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L., 1758) were examined. Four to seven week-old rabbits (n = 28) were fed with different diets for 6 weeks. Seven animals were randomly assigned to each treatment group: Treatment 1 = 2, 600 kcal/kg of feed without coconut flour (A); treatment 2 = 2; 600 kcal/kg of feed with coconut flour (B); treatment 3 = 2,900 kcal/kg of feed without coconut flour (C) and treatment 4 = 2,900 kcal/kg of feed with coconut flour (D). At the start of the study, pretreatment blood serum lipid,(total cholesterol, HDL and, LDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol) concentrations of the rabbits in the four treatment groups, were not significantly different. By the end of week 6, fasting serum triacyl glycerol concentrations significantly decreased (P<0.01) in diets B and D. The fasting serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were not significantly different after subjecting the animals to the four diets. This finding provides a basis for studies in humans where any similar effects may have potential benefits in protecting against chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and heart disease.

Mosquito control which primarily uses insecticides, is being plagued by problems consisting of insecticide resistance and environmental effects. Thus, there is a need to find alternatives to chemical insecticides, hence this study. This laboratory experiment aimed to evaluate the larvicidal activity of coconut fatty alcohol sulfate (CFAS) on Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus 1762) in terms of the effects of increasing CFAS concentration and CFAS exposure time on larval mortality rates and determining the LD(50) of CFAS. Six to seven-day old larvae were subjected to 0, 1, 10, 100, 500 and 1000 ppm CFAS concentrations for 24 hr in the toxicity range finding test followed by the actual assay. the acute toxicity test. The latter exposed the larvae to CFAS concentrations of 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm for 24 hr. The results showed that an increase in concentration and exposure time to CFAS resulted to an increase in mortality rates and a 6 to 7-hr LD(50) of 200 ppm. Thus. CFAS can hinder larval growth and at the right dose can be a potential, alternative control agent for mosquitoes.

The present study was conducted to test for developmental integration and independence of the eyespots in the wings of the nymphalid butterfly Ypthima lisandra;Cramer 1792 by examining whether or not departures from symmetry co-vary among eyespot traits. In order to do this, trait asymmetry values (R-L) of eyespot characters were subjected to Spearman and Kendall's tests for rank correlations and to least squares linear regression. Results showed no clear-cut significant associations in trait asymmetry values of the eyespots found between the fore- and hind wings. Also, no trait co-variation was found between eyespots within each of the fore- and hind wings. Only the black and. gold ring elements of individual eyespots were shown to co-vary. The results of this study are suggestive of developmental independence of the different eyespots in Y. lisandra. Implications of the results of the study are discussed in the light of the diversification of butterfly wing elements.

The German Romantic landscape has been interpreted as the implementation of pantheism, representation of German nationalism, and spirit of Romanticism, all of which pursued the unknown world or sublime. However, this paper examined the influence of the 17th century Dutch landscape in the German Romantic landscape. Particularly, it focused on Caspar David Friedrich’s landscape and how it reflects the Calvinistic view of nature and the attitude of Protestant meditation as depicted in Dutch emblem, books and contemporary poetry. Friedrich’s use of meditating figures, staffage figures, and vanitas motifs demonstrated the influence of the 17th century Dutch landscape paintings.

This study was performed with 18-year old Manchurian firs (Abies holophylla Max.) that were planted under the canopies of 40-50-year-old red pine (Pinus densiflora) stands in Gyeongju, Korea. The objective was to investigate and define relationships between the above- and below-ground biomass of young A. holophylla trees growing under different canopy densities. The influence of aspect was also investigated. Five A. holophylla were selected to represent each of the east-facing, west-facing, and valley plain stands, giving a total of 15 trees under investigation. The total height, base diameter, stem and branch measurements were taken to estimate above-ground biomass. Below-ground biomass was estimated by the total number, length, and weight of roots as well as the height and weight of the tap root. The relationships between the above-ground and below-ground biomass were determined for each tree and compared. A highly significant (p<0.05) correlation was observed between the above- and below-ground biomass. The relationship between the growths of the trees was found to have been significantly dependent on the intensity of the solar radiation, slope direction, and tree aspects. Biological and abiological factors were also found to have correlation to tree growth. The only non-significant correlation was between the height of the roots above-ground and the total number, length, and weight of the roots below ground. Base diameter, which is very easy to measure, was more appropriate as a predictor of biomass of 18-year-old A. holophylla trees compared to total height. Total height had the lowest correlation coefficient with biomass and therefore, was not sufficient as a predictor of the biomass. The above- and below-ground biomass data generated from this study provides valuable baseline data for the management of these trees.

In order to elucidate the pattern of morphological divergence, meristic and morphometric characters of white goby (Glossogobius giuris Hamilton 1822) in Laguna de Bay (Laguna Province), Taal Lake (Batangas Province) and Naujan Lake (Oriental Mindoro Province), Southern Luzon, Philippines were compared. Univariate analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in some morphometric characters including head dimensions (HW, HL, J, Post), trunk dimensions (Prel, Pre2, SA, PPL, VFA, CPL, BWAF, BDVF) and fin lengths (CFL, VFL, AFB) among the three sites. Multivariate analysis determined significant variability of the three populations (p<0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical variate analysis (CVA) identified SA, Prel, PPL, VFL and VFA as the main contributors of population differentiation. Derived classification functions correctly grouped an average of 69% individuals for female samples into their a priori groups which showed that Laguna de Bay female specimens are the most variable among the collection sites. Meanwhile, an average of 89% individuals were correctly grouped among male specimens which showed that Laguna de Bay specimens were completely separated from Taal Lake specimens. Meristic data, however, were found to be significantly different (p<0.05) in some characters including LLS, CR, PR and AR. Morphological variations of G. giuris among the selected sites could be due to geographic isolation and the differences of habitat.

The study aimed to determine some body parameters of white goby (Glossogobius giuris Hamilton 1822) in Taal Lake (Batangas Province, Philippines). The parameters used were total body weight, total body length and fecundity. The fecundity of the gravid female G. giuris was studied for a period of three months (June to August). The highest mean values of body weight and length were observed in July and August while the highest mean value of fecundity was observed in June. Moreover, the results showed that for June neither body weight nor body length of G. giuris affects fecundity while in July, the body length affects fecundity and for August, the body weight affects fecundity. This study clearly showed that there is a significant difference in the fecundity of G. giuris with respect to the different sampling months.

Paronatrema boholano Eduardo, n. sp. from the skin and gills of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith 1828 caught off Bohol, Philippines is described and illustrated. It is characterized by a body consisting of two parts, an almost cylindrical and thicker anterior part and an expanded and ovate and dorso-ventrally flattened posterior part; well-developed and muscular suckers, acetabulum having accessory suckers; highly branched, tightly packed and almost tube-like and extensive testes, reaching anteriorly to middle of acetabulum; small branching and tube-like ovary; medially confluent vitellaria; presence of a muscular sac enclosing the distal portion of the vas deferens, a tubular genital sinus and a more posterior position of the genital pore. The histological features of the muscular organs (oral sucker, pharynx and acetabulum) as observed in median sagittal section are described. Paronatrema boholana is differentiated from the only two species of the genus, P. vaginicola Dollfus 1937 and P. mantae Manter 1940. This is the first report of the genus Paronatrema Dollfus 1937 and a parasite from the whale shark in the Philippines.

Macromia Rambur 1842 is a large genus of the family Corduliidae (Odonata: Anisoptera). Only one species, Macromia cingulata Rambur, has been reported from Pakistan. A species of this genus, Macromia moorei Selys 1874 was collected and identified from Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This particular discovery represents a new record of genus Macromia from the said district/region of Pakistan as well the second species recorded from this country.

Intrapopulational variation in the shapes of the carapace and telson of the Indo-Pacific mole crab Hippa pacifica Dana 1852, collected from a sandy beach in Magoong, Linamon, Lanao del Norte, Philippines was analyzed using the tools of geometric morphometrics. Differences in carapace pigmentation were observed indicating genetic polymorphism in the population and possible adaptation to avoid predation. Principal component analyses of relative warp data revealed that some gravid mole crabs have morphologically distinguishable carapace and telson shapes, indicating possible correlations between the carapace shapes, telson and fecundity.

The hammock-web spider, Erigone autumnalis Emerton 1882 is re-described based on two males, a female and six spiderlings collected from date palms in Ras Tanura Province, eastern Saudi Arabia in November 2016. It is newly recorded in Saudi Arabia.

The Betta fish from the family of Osphronemidae are commercially important ornamental fish in South East Asian countries. This fish is commonly known as fighting fish in Malaysia. In the present work, Betta pi (Bpi8) was molecularly characterised by analysis of their 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene sequences. Using fish fin as a source of genomic DNA for PCR amplification of the 18S rDNA, it yielded expected amplicon size of ~1.7 kb. This study reports the phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA for Betta pi which formed a unique monophyletic cluster. This work may allow the study of evolution of this commercially important fish in Malaysia and its evolutionary position among other eukaryotes. With the knowledge on molecular ecology and diversity within the Betta fish populations, this will provide better understanding of the fish population identification in relation to its distribution; hence, better conservation measures can be designed and taken by policy makers and park managers to protect natural heritage.

Prolactin and growth hormone levels in the pouch tissues and pouch fluid at different stages of gestation of male seahorse, Hippocampus barbouri Jordan and Richardson 1908, were determined by immunohistochemistry and radio immunoassay (RIA). Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the presence of these two hormones whereas the more sensitive radio immunoassay detected prolactin only in the early and late gestation stages and growth hormone in all stages. Prolactin clearance in the pouch fluid during the mid-stage of gestation may be due to prolactin binding to osmoregulatory receptors in the pouch tissues to prevent the hyposmoregulatory activity of growth hormone.

Philippine species of the genus Phyllhermannia Berlese 1916 are taxonomically treated, including six new species, as follows: P. ababa Corpuz-Raros, P canlaonensis Corpuz-Raros, P. longipediseta Corpuz-Raros, P. malindangensis Corpuz-Raros, P. samarensis Corpuz-Raros and P. vermicula Corpuz-Raros. All species are described and illustrated and a key is provided for all 10 species recorded from the country.

Three new species of Phyllhermannia are described from the Philippines, viz., P curvata Corpuz-Raros & Gruezo n. sp., P filipina Corpuz-Raros & Gruezo n. sp. (= P. kanoi, non Aoki 1959) and P leytensis Corpuz-Raros & Gruezo n. sp. Comparisons of notogastral chaetotaxy among Philippine and extra-Philippine species show two patterns based mainly on differences among the anterior c- and d-setae. Chaetotaxy of leg segments is detailed for P. filipina compared with other Philippine species and shown. to be an additional source of taxonomic characters for species identification in the genus. Four species are transferred from Hermannia or Hermannia (Phyllhermannia) as follows: Phyllhermannia dinghuensis (Lu & Wang) n. comb., P fungifer (Mahunka) n. comb., P. heterotricha (Mahunka) n. comb. and P. neotricha (Woas) n. comb.

Tilapias originating from Africa and the Middle East were first considered for culture as food fishes in Africa in the 1920s. Nineteen species of tilapias have been cultured. Of these species, the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) became the predominant species cultured in the 20(th) century. In addressing the major drawback of prolific breeding in ponds which results in poor growth of tilapias due to overcrowding, techniques for monosex culture, use of predatory fishes, hybridization and hormonal sex reversal have been developed by scientists. The important milestones in the development of tilapia farming in 1924-1949 were the application of population control techniques-for tilapias in ponds with manual sexing for monosex (male) culture and use of fish predators and the accidental discovery of the Tilapia mossambica (Oreochromis mossambicus) in East Java, Indonesia in 1939 which marked the first introduction of the tilapia to Asia. In the 1950s and 1960s, the major developments in tilapia farming included the chance discovery of the all-male hybrids of the male T mossambica (Zanzibar strain later identified as T hornorum) and female T mossambica (Malayan strain) in 1958,and the pioneering work on induced sex reversal of tilapias which is considered the most effective and practical for population control of mouth-brooding tilapias. Further work on producing tilapia hybrids with high male percentages (e.g. male T aureus x.female T. niloticus in Israel and T Mossambicus x T niloticus in Taiwan) was done in the late sixties. The 1970s was marked with the development of hormonal sex reversal technology, the commercialization of tilapia cage culture, the use of hapas for breeding tilapias and the preeminence of Taiwan in commercial hybrid tilapia production. Tilapia farming "took off" in Southeast Asia in the 1980s. In this decade, three major conferences on tilapia were held which spearheaded cooperation and technology transfer. The other major milestones were the commercialization of the hormonal sex reversal technology, the emergence of the red tilapia, the development of breeding techniques for O. niloticus and the preeminence of the Philippines as the world's largest producer of farmed tilapias. The last decade of the 20(th) century firmly established tilapia farming in world aquaculture and placed tilapia as one of the top 10 species contributing more than one million metric tons to global production. The major developments were the increasing demand for tilapia fillets ill the United States, the emergence of industrial tilapia fanning in Africa and South America, the genetic improvement of O. niloticus and the expansion of brackishwater tilapia culture in the Philippines. China became the world's largest. producer of farmed tilapia in the 1990s and major supplier of tilapias in markets of the United States. Filipino scientists and fishfarmers have significantly contributed to the development of hormonal sex reversal technology, the development of breeding techniques for O. niloticus, the development of tilapia cage culture, the genetic improvement of O. niloticus and the expansion of brackishwater tilapia culture. As an aquaculture food commodity of economic and global importance, the tilapia is considered as the most promising farmed fish in the 21(st) century. Tilapia fanning has a bright future and will continue,to spread and be intensified with various culture,systems particularly in Asia and South America. Expansion of brackishwater tilapia culture is expected in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. Tilapia farming worldwide needs further support for research and development, market diversification and the adoption of responsible practices for sustaining its phenomenal progress in the 21(st) century.

The Japanese imperialist invasion in the 1930s greatly strengthened the nationalism of the Chinese people. Numerous university students were greatly angered by the brutalities of the wartime Japanese imperialists and resisted with aggressive demonstrations and class absences. Mei Yi-Qi (1889-1962), the President of Tsinghua University, took a leading role in denouncing the Japanese imperialists and their use of provocative force. Nevertheless, he asked students to stop demonstrating and return to their classes by stating that “The best way to save the nation is devotion to learning.” It does not mean that Mei Yi-Qi had a dual personality or had succumbed to political power. Rather, despite his profound desire to improve, guide and protect the world, as an educator, he valued the safety of students above all things. He further objected to the student movement due to his concern for possible rash actions by the students. Although Mei valued the great patriotic fervor of the students, he tried to prevent them from joining any one political faction and acting violently.

This study aimed to explore the role of Yangwoohoe Korea Branch in supporting the Japanese colonial government’s wartime food policies. As an extra-governmental body under the Meiji Japan’s Army Ministry, Yangwoohoe in Japan contributed to the development of Japanese military diets and the dissemination of the concept of economic and efficient nourishment among civilian population in Japan. A main focus was placed on how the scientific knowledge and the idea of economy and efficient nourishment-fundamental concept of the Japanese military diet - was popularized in colonial Korea. Yangwoohoe Korea Branch was established under the influence of the colonial government and military in 1938 with the purpose of mitigating the wartime food shortage in Korea. From the outset, the Korean Branch was deeply involved in people’s dietary reforms in accordance with the wartime food policies of the colonial government, developing food resources, proposing substitute foods, and nutrition education. The Korean Branch played an important role in promoting the wartime austerity policy of the colonial government, spreading nutritional scientific concepts and knowledge to the Korean people.

Econometric forecasting of crop production is significant in supporting policy decisions regarding unemployment and economic growth. The present study examined the current status of grape production which is mostly used for wine production in South Africa. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was developed for forecasting wine production. Box and Jenkins Linear Time Series Model, which involves ARIMA (p, d, q) was applied. The present study has shown that the best-fitted model for grape production series was ARIMA (2, 1, 3). The Poisson correlation results revealed a strong, positive and significant relationship between annual rainfall, grape production and wine production. The annual production series of grapes from 1970 to 2015 showed an increasing trend while forecasting of grape production between 2017 and 2024 showed a decreasing trend. The model revealed a good performance in terms of explaining and forecasting and variability capabilities. This study has also shown that grape production could decline due to structural policy reforms and this may increase unemployment in South Africa.

The genus Basiceremaeus Corpuz-Raros 1979 is revised and redescribed; including B. upelbensis Corpuz-Raros, the type species; B. babalus Corpuz-Raros 1979; B. makilingensis Corpuz-Raros 1979; B. rosaeus (Corpuz-Raros 2004), a new combination from Leptocepheus and B. bangladeshensis Corpuz-Raros & Gruezo, new species. The first four species, all from the Philippines, are diagnostically described including some leg characters which were not given in their original descriptions. A key to the five species is provided.

Octodurozetes Mahunka 1993 is reviewed as a valid genus of the oribatid family Xylobatidae. Octodurozetes epimeralis n. sp. is described as new to science and O. pseudovermiseta (Corpuz-Raros 1979) is redescribed as a new combination from Pilobatella Balogh and Mahunka (Haplozetidae). A key to known Octodurozetes species is provided. A related genus, Polillozetes with neotichous aggenitals, is also described as new to science, with P. aggenitalis as type species. Both Octodurozetes species come from Mt. Makiling in Laguna Province, Luzon Island while P. aggenitalis is from Polillo Island off the southeastern part of Luzon.

For the first time, the eggs of a species of the Indian genus Linshcosteus are described for morphometric analysis during development by compound microscopy. Linshcosteus karupus Galvão et al. 2 002 w as r ecently d escribed f rom n ear K alakkadu, T amil Nadu State, south India. The incubation period recorded for the eggs studied under summer and winter conditions were 17.85±0.23 and 27.15±0.48 days, respectively. The morphometric observation made on the oviposition day for whole length, body length, maximal width and operculum width were 1.31±0.001, 1.20±0.001, 0.75±0.001, 0.43±0.001 mm, respectively for summer season, while for winter season also similar readings were recorded. As the days of oviposition progressed, the embryo in the fertilized eggs developed and the morphometric values of eggs increased significantly. Those eggs which were studied under summer climatic condition, the eye spots were developed on the 8th day after oviposition and distance between them was recorded 0.90±0.001 mm, which increased significantly after the 12th and 16th days after oviposition to 0.94±0.000 and 0.97±0.000 mm, respectively. Whereas for winter season, the eye spot was developed on the 12th DAO, and it also showed significant changes as it further developed.