Defining the Agricultural Biotechnology Policy of the Philippines

Agricultural biotechnology offers a whole new range of possibilities to solving the problems that impinge on the productivity of the agriculture sector and its ability to feed the growing human population. Worldwide, amidst reactions from environmental groups opposing genetic engineering and its products, the global area for insect-protected transgenic or genetically modified crops and their adoption by the farmers are growing. This Policy Notes takes a look at the world trends in biotechnology today, the benefits that can be derived from it, and the biotechnology policy of and developments in the Philippines.biotechnology, genetic engineering, plant breeding

A Century of Rice Innovations

Rice innovations are technologies and practices extensively adopted so as to change production practices and productivity. This paper documents the changes in rice productivity, policy and institutions in the last 100 years and identifies the technological change that may have affected rice productivity. One hundred years has totally changed rice production practices and improved productivity. Technical innovations that helped improved rice productivity include irrigation, pest management notably, the management of locust outbreaks, fertilization, modern varieties, farm mechanization, improved rice milling and crop rotation. Irrigation increased productivity and the total annual area planted to rice. More technologies associated with irrigated lowland rice cropping were developed and disseminated subsequently rice productivity in irrigated areas is higher than in other areas

A review of trends in the distribution of vector-borne diseases : is international trade contributing to their spread ?

Il est difficile de déterminer spécifiquement la part des échanges commerciaux dans l'extension observée de certaines maladies, car de multiples facteurs liés à la transformation des habitats et des interfaces entre les vecteurs et les hôtes sont à considérer. De fait, si les opportunités d'introduction de pathogènes par des animaux infectés, par des produits d'origine animale ou par des arthropodes vecteurs sont probablement fréquentes, l'installation d'un système vectoriel dans une zone vierge reste exceptionnelle. Sur la base d'exemples avérés, les spécificités écologiques et épidémiologiques de quelques maladies vectorielles dont l'extension a été ou pourrait être modifiée par les échanges commerciaux sont revues ici. Sont également plus finement analysés les risques liés à certains flux commerciaux de bétail, et les risques associés à des extensions récentes de populations vectorielles. Finalement, l'enjeu de la surveillance et de la régulation sanitaire des échanges est rappelé, en insistant sur la nécessité de mieux appréhender les populations vectorielles et de se préparer aux défis de situations parfois très imprévisibles qui nécessitent une grande réactivité, y compris dans les aspects réglementaires (Résumé d'auteur

Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects cyclic vole population regulation processes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Vertical variations of Atmospheric Methane (CH4) concentrations over selected cities in Iraq based on AIRS data

يوفر مسبار الأشعة تحت الحمراء (AIRS) المحمول على القمر الصناعي EOS / Aqua قياسات متنوعة لتوزيع الميثان (CH4) عند مستويات ضغط مختلفة في الغلاف الجوي للارض. يركز هذا البحث على تحليل الاختلافات الرأسية لبيانات السلاسل الزمنية لـ (CH4) نسبة الخلط الحجمي (VMR) عند أربعة مستويات ضغط قياسية SPL (925 و 850 و 600 و 300 hPa)  في طبقة التروبوسفير فوق ست مدن في العراق من كانون الثاني 2003 إلى أيلول 2016.  تظهر نتائج تحليل المتوسط الشهري لبيانات السلاسل الزمنية لـ CH4VMR زيادة كبيرة بين عامي 2003 و 2016 ,وخاصة بين 2009 و2016؛ كانت القيم الادنى في عام 2003 بينما القيم الاعلى كانت في عام 2016. التوزيع الرأسي لـ (CH4) كان مرتفعًا نسبيًا في المدن الواقعة في شمال العراق (السليمانية والموصل) أكثر من المدن الاخرى، خاصة تلك التي في غرب العراق (الرطبة والنجف). أعلى متوسط شهري لـ CH4VMR والانحراف المعياري كان في السليمانية (1871± 21.92 ) ppbv عند 925 hPa ، بينما اقل متوسط كان في الرطبة (1812.81±37.3) ppbvعند 300 hPa . الموصل لديها ثاني أعلى متوسط وانحراف معياري بعد السليمانية ، خاصة في المستويات الدنيا SPL (925 و 850hPa ) من التروبوسفير أكثر من بقية المدن المختارة. يظهر التباين الموسمي لـ CH4VMR الشهري ، المتوسط من 2003 إلى 2016 ، قيمًا مرتفعة بين كانون الثاني و آب مع ذروة بين آب وأيلول وينخفض بشكل كبير بين تشرين الاول و كانون الاول مع زيادة طفيفة في تشرين الثاني. يُظهر تحليل الاتجاه طويل المدى لـ CH4VMR الشهري لكل SPL (925 ، 850 ، 600 و 300 ) hPa فوق المدن الست قيمًا موجبة بمتوسط معدلات نمو لكل SPL تساوي (2.9٪ و 3.1٪ و 3.6٪ و 3.9٪ ) ، على التوالي. تشير هذه النتائج إلى أن قياسات الأقمار الصناعية كانت فعالة في تحديد مقدار زيادة CH4 فوق العراق والتي قد تساهم في الزيادة العالمية لـ CH4 في الغلاف الجوي للأرض.The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on EOS/Aqua satellite provides diverse measurements of Methane (CH4) distribution at different pressure levels in the Earth's atmosphere. The focus of this research is to analyze the vertical variations of (CH4) volume mixing ratio (VMR) time-series data at four Standard pressure levels SPL (925, 850, 600, and 300 hPa) in the troposphere above six cities in Iraq from January 2003 to September 2016. The analysis results of monthly average CH4VMR time-series data show a significant increase between 2003 and 2016, especially from 2009 to 2016; the minimum values of CH4 were in 2003 while the maximum values were in 2016. The vertical distribution of CH4 was relatively high in the cities located in the north of Iraq (Sulaymaniyah and Mosul) more than other cities, especially these in western Iraq (Rutba and Najaf). The highest monthly mean of CH4VMR and standard deviation (SD) was in Sulaymaniyah (1871.11±21.92) ppbv at 925 hPa, while the lowest was in Rutba (1812.81±37.3) ppbv at 300 hPa. Mosul has the second-highest mean and SD next to Sulaymaniyah, especially at the lower levels SPL (925 and 850 hPa) of troposphere more than the rest of selected cities. The seasonal variation of monthly CH4VMR, averaged from 2003 to 2016, shows high values between January and August with a peak between August and September and it declines significantly between October and December with a slight increase in November. Long term trend analysis of monthly CH4VMR at each SPL (925, 850, 600, and 300) hPa above the six cities shows positive values with average growth rates for each SPL equal to (2.9 %, 3.1%, 3.6 %, and 3.9%), respectively. These results indicate that satellite measurements were effective in determining the magnitude of increased CH4 over Iraq that may contribute to the global increase of CH4 in the earth’s Atmosphere

Agricultural Biotechnology Research and Development in the Philippines: The Need for a Strategic Approach

This paper examines the capacity of the Philippines to join and benefit from the biotechnological revolution. It reviews world trends and issues and Philippine agricultural biotechnology R&D contents, directions and management using published literature, annual reports, symposia proceedings, thesis manuscripts, papers written by individuals, project listings provided by pertinent agencies, and limited field visits and interviews. The paper has three parts. Part I presents the scope of biotechnology applications in agriculture. Part II discusses world trends and issues in biotechnology. Part III presents the state of the art in and an analysis of agricultural biotechnology R&D in the Philippines

Detection of Leishmania infantum DNA mainly in Rhipicephalus sanguineus male ticks removed from dogs living in endemic areas of canine leishmaniosis

Background: Sand flies are the only biologically adapted vectors of Leishmania parasites, however, a possible role in the transmission of Leishmania has been proposed for other hematophagous ectoparasites such as ticks. In order to evaluate natural infection by Leishmania infantum in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks, taking into account its close association with dogs, 128 adult R. sanguineus ticks removed from 41 dogs living in endemic areas of canine leishmaniosis were studied. Methods: Individual DNA extraction was performed from each tick and whole blood taken from dogs. Dog sera were tested for IgG antibodies to L. infantum antigen by ELISA and L. infantum real-time PCR was performed from canine whole blood samples and ticks. Results: Leishmania infantum PCR was positive in 13 ticks (10.1%) including one female, (2.0%) and 12 males (15.2%), and in only five dogs (12.2%). Male ticks had a significantly higher infection rate when compared to female R. sanguineus. The percentage of L. infantum seroreactive dogs was 19.5%. All but two PCR positive dogs were seroreactive. Leishmania infantum PCR positive ticks were removed from seropositive and seronegative dogs with a variety of PCR results. Conclusions: This study demonstrates high prevalence of L. infantum DNA in R. sanguineus ticks removed from L. infantum seropositive and seronegative dogs. The presence of L. infantum DNA was detected mainly in male ticks possibly due to their ability to move between canine hosts and feed on several canine hosts during the adult life stage. Additional studies are needed to further explore the role of R. sanguineus ticks and in particular, male adults, in both the epidemiology and immunology of L. infantum infection in dogs in endemic areas

Landscape structure affects the prevalence and distribution of a tick-borne zoonotic pathogen

Background Landscape structure can affect pathogen prevalence and persistence with consequences for human and animal health. Few studies have examined how reservoir host species traits may interact with landscape structure to alter pathogen communities and dynamics. Using a landscape of islands and mainland sites we investigated how natural landscape fragmentation affects the prevalence and persistence of the zoonotic tick-borne pathogen complex Borrelia burgdorferi(sensu lato), which causes Lyme borreliosis. We hypothesized that the prevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) would be lower on islands compared to the mainland and B. afzelii, a small mammal specialist genospecies, would be more affected by isolation than bird-associated B. garinii and B. valaisiana and the generalist B. burgdorferi (sensu stricto). Methods Questing (host-seeking) nymphal I. Ricinus ticks (n = 6567) were collected from 12 island and 6 mainland sites in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and tested for B. burgdorferi(s.l.). Deer abundance was estimated using dung transects. Results The prevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) was significantly higher on the mainland (2.5%, 47/1891) compared to island sites (0.9%, 44/4673) (P < 0.01). While all four genospecies of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) were detected on the mainland, bird-associated species B. garinii and B. valaisiana and the generalist genospecies B. burgdorferi(s.s.) predominated on islands. Conclusion We found that landscape structure influenced the prevalence of a zoonotic pathogen, with a lower prevalence detected among island sites compared to the mainland. This was mainly due to the significantly lower prevalence of small mammal-associated B. afzelii. Deer abundance was not related to pathogen prevalence, suggesting that the structure and dynamics of the reservoir host community underpins the observed prevalence patterns, with the higher mobility of bird hosts compared to small mammal hosts leading to a relative predominance of the bird-associated genospecies B. garinii and generalist genospecies B. burgdorferi (s.s.) on islands. In contrast, the lower prevalence of B. afzelii on islands may be due to small mammal populations there exhibiting lower densities, less immigration and stronger population fluctuations. This study suggests that landscape fragmentation can influence the prevalence of a zoonotic pathogen, dependent on the biology of the reservoir host

Modelagem da adsorção de azul de metileno sobre resíduo de casca de banana modificada por Hidróxido de Sódio.

O setor industrial utiliza na fabricação de produtos, corantes sintéticos devido avantagens em relação a corantes naturais. (G.Z.Kysas 2013).No entanto por conta daalta solubilidade ,os corantes sintéticos estão entre as substâncias que mais poluem ossistemas aquáticos. (G.Z.Kysas 2013).Um adsorvente de baixo custo adequado para remoção de corantes deve obedecer aalguns requisitos: (i) remoção eficiente de uma grande variedade de corantes; (ii) altacapacidade e velocidade de adsorção; (iii) alta seletividade para concentraçõesdiferentes e (iv) tolerância para uma grande variedade de condições do efluente (pH;temperatura, etc.) (Bailey, 1999).No objetivo de purificar efluentes de maneira simples e barata, levantou-se a hipótese dea casca de banana ser utilizada como um adsorvente de baixo custo, já que a mesma éum resíduo da agroindústria

Evaluation and In-House Validation of Five DNA Extraction Methods for PCR-based STR Analysis of Bloodstained Denims

One type of crime scene evidence commonly submitted for analysis is bloodstain on denim. However, chemicals (e.g., indigo) used to produce denim materials may co-purify with DNA and hence, affect subsequent DNA analysis. The present study compared five methods (e.g., standard organic, organic with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), modified FTA™, organic/Chelex®-Centricon®, and QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit-based procedures) for the isolation of blood DNA from denim. A Short Tandem Repeat (STR)-based analysis across two to nine STR markers, namely, HUMvWA, HUMTH01, D8S306, HUMFES/FPS, HUMDHFRP2, HUMF13A01, HUMFGA, HUMTPOX, and HUMCSF1PO, was used to evaluate successful amplification of blood DNA extracted from light indigo, dark indigo, indigo-sulfur, pure indigo, sulfur-top, and sulfur-bottom denim materials. The results of the present study support the utility of organic/Chelex®-Centricon® and QIAamp® Kit procedures in extracting PCR-amplifiable DNA from five different types of denim materials for STR analysis. Furthermore, a solid-based method using FTA™ classic cards was modified to provide a simple, rapid, safe, and cost-effective procedure for extracting blood DNA from light, dark indigo and pure indigo denim materials. However, DNA eluted from bloodstained sulfur-dyed denims (e.g., sulfur-top and sulfur-bottom) using FTA™ procedure was not readily amplifiable