Effect of Fertilizer Application and Interplanted Cassava on Growth and Yield of Plantain in Oil Palm Based System

Due to the slow growth and long gestation period of oil palm farmers are often faced with challenges of weed control before oil palm canopy closure hence the need to introduce plantain as component crop with the oil palm. A two years trial was conducted in in Ovia North East LGA, Edo State, Nigeria (Latitude 6.636oN, 6.909oN and Longitude 6.182oE, 6.364oE) to evaluate the effect of NPKMg fertilizer and interplanted cassava on growth and yield of plantain in oil palm based system. The treatment consisted of NPKMg fertilizer as the main block treatment (with and without NPKMg fertilizer) and crop combinations [oil palm/plantain (OPP) and oil palm/plantain/cassava (OPPC)] as sub block treatments. The treatments were laid out in split block arrangement in RCBD replicated thrice. Data were collected on plantain plant height, number of leaves/pseudostem, leaf area index, number of suckers/pseudostem, number of days to 50% flowering of main psuedostem and first ratoon plants, number of days to first appearance of peeper sucker from main pseudostem, number of leaves at flowering from main pseudostem and first ratoon plants, finger weight (kg/bunch), finger circumference/finger (cm), finger length/finger (cm), number of fingers/bunch, biomass weight (t/ha), number of bunches/ha and bunch yield (t/ha). NPKMg fertilizer significantly increased (p<0.05) the growth and number of sucker produced. Plantain planted in OPP combination had taller plant and more number of suckers (first ratoon plant and second ratoon plant, respectively) relative to those in OPPC combination while plantain planted in OPPC combination lead to delayed appearance of peeper suckers, delayed fruiting of plantain and resulted to 18, 15.8, 1.6, 6, 8.3 and 12 % increase (p<0.05) in plantain bunch weight, finger weight, finger circumference, finger length, number of fingers and biomass weight, respectively relative to those in oil palm/plantain (OPP) combination.

Estimation of stature from little finger length and formulation of regression equation in both sexes

Estimation of stature or height of a person is subject to variations during life due to muscular relaxation and elasticity of intervertebral discs, but could be still valuable in identification. Stature of an individual may reduce as age advances after 30 years due to natural senile degeneration. The stature will be reduced by 0.6mm per year after thirty. The identification of the dead body and corpus delicti is important before sentence is passed in murder trials. The present study was carried in the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, ESIC Medical College, Kalburagi. Total 140 students (70 males and 70 females) from ESIC Medical College, Kalburagi were randomly selected for the study. The present study “Estimation of stature from little finger length and formulation of regression equation in both sexes” is taken with the aim, to determine correlation between stature and little finger length of a person and develop regression formulae to estimate stature from little finger length for both male and female sexes separately. The results of this study showed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the little finger length and the stature. In this study females shows strong correlation between little finger length and stature compared to males. The regression equation developed in the study can be used to estimate stature of a person efficiently with SE of 6.6289 and 6.5957 in males for right little finger and left little finger respectively and SE of 6.3239 and 5.3946 in females for right little finger length and left little finger length respectively.

Morphological features of the chiasma tendinum and its relation with surface landmarks and pulleys: a cadaveric study

Aim Chiasma tendinum (Camper’s chiasm) is of great importance in the delicate movements and stability of the fingers and takes place poorly in the literature. This study aims to reveal the morphometric details of the chiasma tendinum in relation with pulleys and other relevant structures. Materials and methods Palm and 2nd to 5th fingers of 10 (6 male, 4 female) formalin fixed cadavers were used bilaterally. After determining the superficial reference points on the fingers, the skin and the tendon sheath were incised, and then measurements of chiasma tendinum and related tendons were performed. The measurements were analyzed with respect to fingers, genders, and sides. Finally, the types of chiasma tendinum were identified and then grouped as symmetrical, asymmetrical, and pseudo chiasm. Results Pulley and chiasma tendinum positions were correlated with finger length (p < 0.01). Pulley lengths were significantly less in females. Asymmetrical chiasma tendinum types were found in 45% of the fingers. In most comparisons, values for fifth finger were significantly different than that of other fingers and chiasma tendinum types differed according to fingers and gender. The case of no fiber exchange was observed only in the 5th finger in 15%. Conclusion Findings related to the prediction of location of the pulleys and chiasma tendinum according to the superficial signs, awareness of cases where one of the two arms of the flexor digitorum superficialis is extremely thin and no fiber exchanges that may be risk factors for spontaneous tendon rupture may help provide more accurate approaches in relevant clinical applications.

The genetic diversity of ayam ketawa (Gallus gallus domesticus, Linneaus, 1758) in Bangkalan District, Madura Island, Indonesia

Abinawanto, Zulistiana T, Lestari R, Dwiranti A, Bowolaksono A. 2021. The genetic diversity of ayam ketawa (Gallus gallus domesticus, Linneaus, 1758) in Bangkalan District, Madura Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3145-3155. Ayam Ketawa, a variation of Gallus gallus domesticus Gallus gallus domesticus, comes from Sidendreng-Rappang (Sidrap) District, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Apart from Sidrap, ayam ketawa farms are also found in Bangkalan District, on the island of Madura, Indonesia. Ayam ketawa from Bangkalan District often wins national level contests. Therefore, the research was carried out with the aim of knowing the genetic diversity of ayam ketawa in Kamal Subdistrict, Socah Subdistrict, and Burneh Subdistrict, based on bioacoustic, morphometric, and barcoding DNA analysis. The studied ayam ketawa consists of dangdut and slow types. The longest duration (6.00 ± 3.0) seconds was shown by ayam ketawa from Kamal Subdistrict, while the highest number of syllables (7.20 ± 5.80) came from Socah Subdistrict. The results of the Mann-Whitney test showed that eight morphological characters were significantly different (P <0.05) between ayam ketawa population in Kamal and Burneh subdistricts, namely body weight, femur length, shank length, shank circumference, wing length, comb height, third finger length, and breastbone length. Four morphological characters differed significantly (P <0.05) between ayam ketawa population in Kamal and Socah subdistricts, namely shank length, wing length, third finger length, and sternum length. Three morphological characters were significantly different (P <0.05) between the Burneh and Socah subdistricts population, namely body weight, femur length, and shank circumference. The analysis results of DNA Barcoding gene of the Cytochrome Oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) showed a genetic distance ranging from 0.025 to 1.872.

Impact of postural variation on hand measurements: Three-dimensional anatomical analysis

In this article, the impact of postural variations on hand anthropometry and distribution of skin strain ratios has been investigated. The literature suggests the glove fit directly affects hand functions. However, gloves currently manufactured based on a static posture failed to provide optimum fit. Workers often do not wear protective gloves due to discomfort caused by improper design, which increases the risk of hand injury. Full-color three-dimensional scans of the hands are captured with thirty healthy subjects (20 females, 10 males) to analyze the hand measurements and skin deformation with various postures. 42 of the 57 hand dimensions were found to have significant differences (p >0.05) related to hand posture. The skin strain ratios further suggest that the slant of the web space, dorsal-length and surface area should be increased, while the angles of the web space and length of the palm reduced to advance glove patterns. This research contributes to constructing gloves with optimum fit, performance, and comfort. Results show that in consideration of hand postures, the angle of the slant of web space between digits 2 and 5 and the finger length on the dorsal side should be increased, whilst the finger length on the palm side should be reduced in glove pattern design. Gloves currently constructed based on a splayed posture cannot provide a good fit. Consideration should be given to hand measurements in dynamic postures.

The phenotype characteristics and decline population of Sawang duck in Sawang Village, Karimun Regency, Riau Islands Province

Sawang duck is one of Indonesia's local dual-purpose type ducks due to the offspring of Tsaiya ducks originating from Taiwan. Tsaiya ducks enter the Sawangarea, brought by residents from Singapore around 1955 and subsequently bred in the Sawang Village, adapting to the environment and the local farming. This research was conducted in August-December 2018. Primary data on the qualitative, morphometric, and potential feed were taken in Sawang Village, Karimun Regency, Riau Islands Province. Currently, Sawang duck is only found in Sawang Village, maintained by two farmers. Secondary data of potential areas and poultry populations were obtained from the Department of Food and Agriculture of Karimun Regency, and proximate analysis was carried out at the Ruminant Nutrition Laboratory, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Andalas University. The research method was conducted by survey with census sampling techniques. The Sawang duck has a diversity of colors for feather, skin, beak, and shank. The morphometric decrease was indicated by bodyweight of 1,450 ± 119.52 grams, femur length of 7.41 ± 1.62 cm, tibia length of 9.94 ± 0.51 cm, length of shank 4.38 ± 0.25 cm, third finger length 6.36 ± 0.90 cm, maxilla length 5.21 ± 0.16 cm, backbone length 20.13 ± 1.13 cm, wing bone length 26.65 ± 1.70 cm, bone length chest 10.63 ± 0.80 cm, and shank circumference 1.24 ± 0.10 cm. Efforts to preserve ducks Sawangneed to be considered so that their existence is not destroyed by exploiting the existing area's potential.

Is 2D:4D the most sexually differentiated among finger-length ratios? Answers from a meta-analysis

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually differentiated trait of human hand anatomy which presently is frequently used in anthropological, biomedical, and psychological studies as a putative (retrospective and indirect) marker for prenatal androgen levels. Apart from the traditionally studied 2D:4D ratio, five further finger-length ratios can be constructed for the human hand (2D:3D, 2D:5D, 3D:4D, 3D:5D, 4D:5D). These have been probed by only a minority of digit ratio studies. It is not firmly established whether all of these finger-length ratios actually exhibit sex differences and whether 2D:4D indeed is the most sexually differentiated among them. To clarify these questions, a meta-analysis on studies reporting data from mixed-sex samples on all six finger-length ratios of the right and left hands in healthy normals was conducted. This study inclusion criterion was satisfied by 18 independent samples (including two unpublished), representing 4198 individuals (1989 men and 2209 women), seven countries (Australia, Austria, China, Greece, Jamaica, the UK, and the USA), different age bands (child, young adult, and adult samples), and different finger-length measurement methods (from printouts of flatbed-scanned images or photocopies of the hands or direct measurements). The meta-analytical results showed that men invariably had lower finger-length ratios than women. Although these sex differences were significant for all six finger-length ratios, effects were not strong, but rather ranged from small (d=-0.21, for right-hand 4D:5D) to medium (d= 0.44, for right-hand 2D:4D). 2D:5D was equally sexually differentiated as 2D:4D. Sex differences for finger-length ratios calculated from nonadjacent fingers (2D:4D, 2D:5D, 3D:5D) generally were somewhat more pronounced than for those calculated from adjacent fingers (2D:3D, 3D:4D, 4D:5D). Discussed are practical consequences of these findings for digit ratio research.

Understanding the associations of prenatal androgen exposure on sleep physiology, circadian proteins, anthropometric parameters, hormonal factors, quality of life and sex among healthy young adults – BOAT international, multicentre study protocol (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Background The ratio of second finger length to fourth finger length (2D:4D) is considered to be a negative correlate of prenatal androgen exposure and a positive correlate of prenatal oestrogen. Therefore males, on average, have a lower value of 2D:4D ratio as compared to females. Coincidentally, various brain regions are sensitive to prenatal androgen exposure, and their function in adulthood may be influenced by these prenatal actions of sex hormones. An example of such a brain region is the preoptic area which is involved in sleep and sexual functions. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between prenatal androgen exposure (indicated by the 2D:4D ratio) and various physiological (sex hormone levels, sleep-wake parameters), psychological (mental health), as well as sexual parameters in young healthy adults. Methods The study consists of two phases: 1. In Phase I, we will conduct a survey-based study and anthropometric assessments (including 2D:4D ratio, body mass index) in healthy young adults. Using validated questionnaires, we will collect self-report data on sleep quality, sexual function, sleep chronotype, anxiety and depressive symptoms. 2. In Phase II, a sub-sample of Phase I will have polysomnography, physiological and genetic assessments. The sample recruited to this phase will comprise 100 healthy adults in each institution involved. Sleep architecture data will be obtained using a portable polysomnography. Venous blood will be drawn before and after polysomnograpy night and urine sample will be obtained in the morning. The level of testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, melatonin and circadian regulatory proteins (CLOCK, TIM, PER) and a few miRNAs expression level, will be measured. The rest and activity cycle will be monitored using an actigraphy for a 7 days period. Discussion The impact of the study may help to better understand the role of plausible prenatal androgen exposure on sleep physiology, mental health and sexual quality of life in young adults.