Systems perspectives are fundamental in driving technological improvements and yield-enhancing strategies that improve agricultural productivity. These can resolve farmerʼs problems and are important pathways for sustaining food and nutritional security for human welfare in Asia. The essential determinants of this objective are the capacity to efficiently manage the natural resource base (land, crops, animals, and water) to resolve constraints to farming systems, and notably the integration of multiple research and development (R&D) issues through all levels of formal and non-formal learning systems. Both formal and informal education systems are important, with the former relating more to universities and colleges, and the latter to the intermediate level. Graduates from this level have the primary responsibility of introducing improved technologies and change to farmers, mainly along production and disciplinary pathways.The traditional research–extension–farmer model for technology delivery is no longer acceptable, due to “top down” extension functions and prescriptions, ineffectiveness to cope with the dynamics of production systems, complex interactions within the natural resources, effects of climate change and globalisation. There are also reservations on the technical capacity and skills of extension agents, constraints identification, methods for technology diffusion and dissemination, and innovative use of beneficial technological improvements that can directly respond to the needs of small farmers, and impact on subsistence agriculture. Agricultural education and systems perspectives are therefore an overriding compelling necessity which transcends prevailing limitations to waning agriculture and rural growth. Their wider recognition and applications provides an important means to maximise efficiency in the potential use; of the natural resources, increase engagement and investments in agriculture, promote ways to become more self-reliant in the development of crucial new technologies and intensification. These together can meet the challenges of the future and overcome the legacy of continuing poverty, food and nutritional insecurity. Asian farming systems, with their diversity of crops and animals, traditional methods, multiple crop-animal interactions, numerous problems of farmers present increasingly complex issues of natural resource management (NRM) and the environment. Many if not all of these can only be resolved by interdisciplinary R&D, which overcomes a major weakness of many R&D programmes presently and in the past. Improved education and training is a powerful and important driver of community-based participation aimed at enhancing sustainable food security, poverty reduction and social equity in which the empowerment of women in activities that support organising themselves is also an important pathway to enhance self-reliance and their contribution to agriculture. A vision for the future in which improved agricultural education in a systems context can provide the pathway to directly benefit the revitalisation of agriculture and agricultural development is proposed with a three-pronged strategy as follows:
Define policy for the development of appropriate curricular for formal agricultural education that provides strong multi-disciplinary orientation and improved understanding of the natural resources (land, crops, animals and water) and their interactions
Organise formal degree education and specialisation at the university level that reflects strong training in understanding of agricultural systems; systems perspectives, methodologies and their application, and
Define non-formal education and training needs that can be intensified at different levels, including the trainin of trainers as agents of change.
Marine mammal searches were opportunistically conducted during the East Coast Johor Scientific Expedition (ECJSE) on 21-30 May 2012, on a live-on-board (LOB) diving vessel, MV BLACK PEARL. The expedition was designed mainly to survey coral reef ecosystems and water quality. Daylight visual observations of the sea were undertaken during sailing and stopping/anchored from the most upper open-deck of the vessel. The survey resulted in two sightings of long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis), each at Pulau Aur and Pulau Tinggi. Both observations were brief (< 5 minutes) and were made when the vessel was anchored. Based on anecdotal evidences, skeletal remains and previous surveys, the vulnerable dugong, Indo-Pacific bottlenose, Indo-Pacific humpback, Irrawaddy and long-beaked common dolphins, the false killer and pygmy killer whales, and the baleen whales are known to occur in the East Coast Johor waters, at least occasionally. The low sighting rate with marine mammals during this survey is highly likely caused by the survey design and also may be due to the environmental conditions and ecological factors. Dedicated and periodical boat and aerial surveys for marine mammals need to be conducted to determine species diversity and to understand the seasonality, habitat use, and social interactions of the marine mammal populations in the area. The findings will be most useful for marine park and fisheries authorities to plan conservation management strategies for marine mammals and promote their conservation through eco-tourism activities.
Elevated glucocorticoid levels during stressed conditions have been demonstrated to impair reproductive function in rats. In our previous study investigating the dose-related effects of corticosterone (CORT) on the fertilising capacity of epididymal sperm in surgically-manipulated rats, we found that 25 mg/kg/day of CORT given subcutaneously for seven consecutive days significantly decreased the number of implantation sites and increased intrauterine embryonic loss compared to controls. Based on these findings, the current study aims to elucidate the possible mechanisms of action of CORT-induced stress on impaired sperm fertility in rats. Results of the present study showed that compared to controls, 25 mg/kg/day of CORT given subcutaneously for 7 consecutive days significantly increased the level of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) with corresponding attenuated levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activities. Plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and testosterone levels were also found to be decreased in CORTtreated rats. These findings suggest that CORT-induced oxidative stress and exert an inhibitory effect at the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, as evidenced by increased lipid peroxidation, reduced enzymatic antioxidant activities, and decreased testosterone production. These subsequently result in decreased fertilising capacity of epididymal sperm leading to poor pregnancy outcomes.
The paper seeks to assuage the fears and worries over living modified organisms (LMOs). It describes how any research carried out on LMOs as well as any release activity on LMOs for public use in Malaysia is controlled by the Biosafety Act 2007. Stringent risk assessment of the LMO and its product/s is carried out to eradicate or minimize the negative effects of these on animal and human health, and to biological diversity and the environment. In contrast, no such risk assessment is carried out on introduced exotic species, or on the products of other types of technology, with the exception of pharmaceuticals. Examples are given comparing risk assessment on LMOs and exotic species.
Stem cells from human extracted deciduous teeth (SHED) have the ability to multiply much faster and double their population in culture at a greater rate, indicating that it may be in a more immature state than other type of adult stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from human primary molars were isolated and cultured in media supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum. The MSCs were confirmed using CD 105 and CD 166 and the identification of the osteoblast cells were done using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Differentiated osteoblast cells (DOC) were characterized by alkaline phosphotase and von Kossa staining followed by immunocytochemistry staining using osteocalcin and osteonectin antibodies. Further validation of SHED was done by RT-PCR to detect the presence of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) and discoidin domain tyrosine kinase-2 (DDTK-2) transcripts, while the presence of Runx-2 mRNA was used to characterize DOC. The results showed that SHED was found positive for CD 105 and CD 166 and could differentiate into osteoblast, bone forming cells. The findings revealed the presence of distinct MSC population which had the capability to generate living human cells that could be a possible source for tissue engineering in the future.
This paper reports the mechanical properties of cement composite boards made using wood-wool from a lesser known Malaysian timber species. A total of 108 specimens were fabricated using Portland cement (Type I) and wood-wool from Kelampayan (Neolamarckia cadamba). The cement to wood ratio of the specimens was 2 to 1 by weight. The aim of the study was to determine the density; flexural, compressive and tensile strength of wood-wool cement composite boards (WWCCB) by studying boards with wood-wool sized 1.5 mm, 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm and board thickness 25 mm, 50 mm and 75mm. The physical and mechanical properties of the boards were evaluated according to ASTM D 1037-96a (Standard testing method for evaluating properties of wood-based fibre and particle panel materials) and MS934:1986. Results showed that mechanical properties of WWCCB were greatly influenced by the density; as the density decreased, the mechanical strengths also decreased. However, the strength properties of the composite boards did not display a similar trend when subjected to different types of loading conditions. The compressive strength increased with thicker boards (50 mm and 75 mm) but the modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture declined as the thickness of the board was increased.
Studies conducted on the various geometric properties of skeletons of water bodies have shown highly promising results. However, these studies were made under the assumption that water bodies were static objects and that they remained constant over time. Water bodies are actually dynamic objects; they go through significant spatio-temporal changes due to drought and flood. In this study, the characterization of skeletons of simulated drought and flood of water bodies was performed. It was observed that as the drought level increased from 1 to 9, the average length of the skeletons decreased due to reduction in the size of the water bodies and increase in the number of water bodies. As the drought level increased from 9 to 15, the average length of the skeletons increased further due to vanishing of small water bodies. Flood caused an increase in the average length of the skeletons due to merging of adjacent water bodies. Power law relationships were observed between the average length of the skeletons of the simulated drought/flood and the level of drought/flood. The scaling exponent of these power laws which was named as a fractal dimension, indicated the rate of change of the average length of the skeletons of simulated drought/flood of water bodies over varying levels of drought/flood. However, errors observed in the goodness of fit of the plots indicated that monofractals were not sufficient to characterise the skeletons of simulated drought and flood of water bodies. Multifractals and lacunarity analysis were required for more accurate characterisation.
A survey on the diversity of marine macrogastropoda
in Pulau Songsong, Pulau Bidan and Pulau Telor on the
Northern Straits of Malacca was conducted. Specimens
were collected on rocky shores following NaGISA protocol
and the number of marine macrogastropod were recorded.
Distances and the number of the same species were
converted into Relative Abundance unit (individuals per
100 m2
). A total of 15 species of marine macrogastropoda
were found from seven families namely Neritidae,
Trochidae, Ceriitidae, Littorinidae, Turbinidae, Muricidae
and Potamididae. Seven macrogastropoda species were
newly recorded from these three islands. Morula marginatra
was the most dominant species and Pulau Songsong had
the highest genera and species diversity among the three
islands. (Copied from article).
In agricultural systems, animals play a very important multifunctional role for developing communities
throughout the world. This is reflected in the generation of value-added products like meat, milk and eggs for food security; socio-economic benefits like increased income, security and survival, and an infinite variety of services such as the supply of draught power and dung for soil fertility. However, and despite this importance, the situation is awesome since the projected total meat and milk consumption levels in 2020 are far in excess of anticipated supply, and projections of both meat and milk will have to be doubled by 2050 to meet human requirements. Strategies for productivity growth from animals are therefore urgent, and are discussed in the context of the scenario of waning agriculture, extreme poverty and hunger, food crisis, the current contributions from the components of the animal industries, prevailing constraints, opportunities and strategies for improved production. Current trends suggest that the non-ruminant pig and poultry industries will continue to contribute the major share of meat and all of egg production to meet projected human needs. With ruminants by comparison, overall meat production continues to come mainly from the slaughter of numbers. Strategic opportunities exist for maximising productivity in improved production systems. These include targeting rainfed areas, development of small farms, integrated crop-animal systems, intensive application of productivity-enhancing technologies, promoting intensive use of crop residues and expanding the R&D frontiers with interdisciplinarity and farming
systems perspectives. The issues, together with increased investments and institutional commitment, provide for expanded animal production systems and productivity which can forcefully impact on improved human welfare in Asia in the immediate tomorrow.
The receptor-interacting protein 140 (RIP 140) is a well known nuclear repressor and has been shown to be crucial for female reproduction and metabolism. However, the function of this repressor in developmental processes is still unknown. We conducted a study to investigate the expression patterns of RIP 140 in developing zebrafish embryos. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that RIP140 was highly expressed in the eye, swim bladder, reproductive and metabolic organs of adult zebrafish. During embryogenesis, RIP 140 mRNA was continuously expressed throughout all the developmental stages with the highest expression at 24 hours of post-fertilization (hpf). Furthermore, in situ hybridization whole-mounts revealed that the expression of this gene was mainly localized in the eyes, mid-brain, pectoral fin buds and somites. Therefore, this present study has provided a starting point for future investigations to examine the role of RIP 140 in the development of these organs.
Ocimum basilicum seed extracts were found to possess significant anti-ulcer activity against ethanol-induced ulceration in experimental animal models. Three groups of adult male rats were used, with each group consisting of six rats. Oral administration of absolute ethanol to rats pre-treated with 10% Tween 20® (Group 1) produced extensive haemorrhagic lesions of the gastric mucosa. Rats orally pre-treated with O. basilicum extract suspended in 10% Tween 20® (Group 2) or cimetidine in 10% Tween 20® (Group 3), 30 min before oral administration of absolute alcohol had significantly reduced (p
The effects of anticipated climate change and the potential impact on animal production are discussed in the context of varying biophysical features, agro-ecological zones (AEZs), ecosystems, land use, and responses in animal genetic diversity and production. The AEZs in Asia have great diversity in their links to food production in crop-animal small farm systems, the poverty complex and livelihoods of the poor. In these environments. climate change effects on animals were mediated through heat stress, water availability, quantity and quality of the available feed resources, type of production system and productivity. The responses to heat stress are tabulated and they vary according to species, breeds within-species, AEZs, physiological and nutritional status, genetic potential and multifunctionality. Among ruminant production systems, dairy production was especially vulnerable to heat stress. Interestingly in India, buffalo numbers owned largely by the landless and small farmers in the semi-arid and arid regions have grown twice as fast as the buffalo population in the irrigated areas. The implications and strategies to cope with climate change involve mitigation, adaptation and policy. The principal strategy is targetting to the reduce on in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the agricultural sector from enteric fermentation and manure, and ways to intensify C sequestration. An important link is that of breeding and conserving indigenous animal genetic resources as a means to mitigate climate change, with associated benefits to the trade of live animals and animal products. Improved integrated tree crops-ruminant systems are an important pathway to enhance C sequestration. The opportunities for research and development (R&D) are enormous and they would need policy support and large investments to provide improved understanding of ways to ensure sustainable animal production systems. Coping with the totality of the effects and impact of climate change constitutes the challenges for agricultural R&D and the improved livelihood of the resource-poor in the future.
Linear stability analysis was used to investigate the onset of Marangoni convection in a two-layer system. The system comprised a saturated porous layer over which was a layer of the same fluid. The fluid was heated from below and the upper free surface was deformable. At the interface between the fluid and the porous layer, the Beavers-Joseph slip condition was used and in the porous medium the Darcy law was employed to describe the flow. Predictions for the onset of convection were obtained from the analysis by the perturbation technique. The effect of surface deformation and depth ratio, z (which is equal to the depth of the fluid layer/depth of the porous layer) on the onset of fluid motion was studied in detail.
The increased human demand for animal proteins in Malaysia is led by several factors: population growth, urbanisation, income growth and changing consumer preferences. Meeting the projected increased demand in the future is an awesome and challenging task. Presently, the non-ruminant poultry and pig industries, mainly private sector led, make the most significant contribution to total animal protein supplies, and inefficient ruminant production systems lag well behind. The strategy for promoting productivity growth to increase animal protein supplies from ruminants requires concerted efficient natural resource management that can target specific production systems. Two distinct economic opportunities are the development of oil palm-based cattle and goat production. The value addition to oil palm cultivation due to the beneficial crop-animal-soil interactions are enormous. The prerequisites are inter-disciplinary efforts, holistic systems, participatory community-based research and development that are needs-based and address constraints, increased research investments, institutional commitment and a policy environment that can enhance total factor productivity in the future.
The natural environment embraces agriculture and all its components-crops, animals, land, water,
forestry and fisheries. It is the most important user of environmental resources, made more complex
by the interactions of the various systems, biophysical elements and their implications. Increased food
production, especially of animal protein supplies are unable to meet current and projected future needs
for humans, including about 15 %of the world population being malnourished. Agriculture is currently
waning, and a coordinated and concerted technologically-driven transformation is necessary. Poorly
managed agriculture for example, can lead to serious environmental degradation and exacerbate
poverty. Land and water are considered to be the most limiting factors in the future. Non- irrigated
rainfed areas can be divided into high potential and low potential areas; the former offers considerable
promise to expand food production. This paper argues for increased Research and Development (R&D)
focus that can maximise improved natural resource management(NRM), and whether agricultural
development can maximise productivity yields .Other opportunities include expanding crop–animal
production systems in less favoured areas (LFAs), intensifying land use for silvopastoral systems in
rainfed areas , and enhance carbon sequestration. Ruminants can be used as an entry point for the
development of LFAs, and the presence of about 41.5% of the goat population found in the semi-arid/
arid AEZs X provides good opportunities for expanding food security and human well-being. Communitybased
interdisciplinary and systems approaches are essential to provide the solutions. The legacy of
continuing malnutrition and food insecurity must be overcome by effective development policy, multidonor
resource allocation, governance and political will that target food insecurity and poverty. The R&D
agendas and resource allocations are compelling, but dedicated vision can lead the way for sciencedriven
sustainable environment, efficiency in NRM, and self-reliance to the extent possible , in harmony
with nature and the environment.
The adverse effects of prolonged and rampant usage of chemical insecticides in controlling the population of vector arthropod have caused the development of resistance among vector populations as well as non-target organism. Application of plant extracts could be alternative sources for mosquito control. The present study assessed larvicidal activities of methanol extracts of leaf and stem of Jacaranda mimosifolia Don (Family: Bignoniaceae), Melaleuca cajuputi Powell (Family: Myrtaceae), Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) Nicholson (Family: Bignoniaceae), Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers (Family: Bignoniaceae) and Tabebuia rosea Toll (Family: Bignoniaceae) against dengue vectors, Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae) sp. Among plants tested, M. cajuputi exhibited the most effective with the highest mortality against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Leaf extracts showed significantly higher larvicidal effects in relative to stem extracts. The findings also revealed that Ae. aegypti is the most susceptible compared to Ae. albopictus. LC50 values of M. cajuputi leaf extracts were 183.35mg/L and 191.82mg/L against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus respectively. These studies suggest leaf extracts of M. cajuputi have moderate potential as larvicidal against vector larvae of Aedes mosquitoes.
Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to injury in crashes with heavy vehicles due to substantial differences in vehicle mass, the degree of protection and speed. There is a considerable difference in height between motorcycles and trucks; motorcycles are viewed by truck drivers from downward angles, and shorter distances between them mean steeper downward angles. Hence, we anticipated that the effects of motorcycle conspicuity treatments would be different for truck drivers. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of motorcycle conspicuity treatments on the identification and detection of motorcycles by truck drivers. Two complementary experiments were performed; the first experiment assessed the impact of motorcycle sensory conspicuity on the ability of un-alerted truck drivers to detect motorcycles, and the second experiment assessed the motorcycle cognitive conspicuity to alerted truck drivers. The sensory conspicuity was measured in terms of motorcycle detection rates by un-alerted truck drivers when they were not anticipating a motorcycle within a realistic driving scene, while the cognitive conspicuity was determined by the time taken by alerted truck drivers to actively search for a motorcycle. In the first experiment, the participants were presented with 10 pictures and were instructed to report the kinds of vehicles that were presented in the pictures. Each picture was shown to the participants for 600ms. In the second experiment, the participants were presented with the same set of pictures and were instructed to respond by clicking the right button on a mouse as soon as they detected a motorcycle in the picture. The results indicate that the motorcycle detection rate increases, and the response time to search for a motorcycle decreases, as the distance between the targeted motorcycle and the viewer decreases. This is true regardless of the type of conspicuity treatment used. The use of daytime running headlights (DRH) was found to increase the detection rate and the identification of a motorcycle by a truck driver at a farther distance, but effect deteriorates as the distance decreases. The results show that the detection rate and the identification of a motorcyclist wearing a black helmet with a reflective sticker increases as the distance between the motorcycle and the truck decreases. We also found that a motorcyclist wearing a white helmet and a white outfit is more identifiable and detectable at both shorter and longer distances. In conclusion, although this study provides evidence that the use of appropriate conspicuity treatments enhances motorcycle conspicuity to truck drivers, we suggest that more attention should be paid to the effect of background environment on motorcycle conspicuity.