In this study, testicular and ovarian structures of economically important edible Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) were histologically examined before and after reproduction in male and female individuals. Fourty eight (24 ♀, 24 ♂) adult frogs were collected from Gölbaşı Lake in Hatay. The average weight and length values of female frogs collected from nature were found to be 56.61±19.59 g and 79.54±7.07 mm; while, the average weight and length values of male frogs were 36.63±12.84 g and 69.29±9.15 mm, respectively. Frogs were brought to the frog farm established in Aydıncık and placed in breeding ponds with a width of 1m2. Frogs in the ponds were brought to the laboratory of Iskenderun Technical University in different periods, before breeding (March) and after breeding (June). Then, histological samples were taken from ovary and testis. The female frogs were determined ready for reproduction. Moreover, a large number of mature oocytes in the before breeding ovaries in vitellogenic stage, while after reproduction oocytes in primary structure and oocytes which have atresia status observed. Also, increase in the thickness of the theca layer was determined. In the male frog seminiferous tubules containing a large number of spermatogonia, spermatocyte, spermatid and a small number of spermatozoons including sperm bundles and leydig cells were found before reproduction. After the reproduciton, the density of spermatogonia, spermatocyte and spermatids were decreased; while, the density of spermatozoon and sperm bundle were increased in the seminiferous tubules. This study will contribute to the determination of mating and spawning in frog breeding by revealing the histological status of the gonad structure of P. ridibundus in the breeding process.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of equi-protein replacement of soybean meal with groundnut cake on immune status, haematology and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. A total of One hundred and twenty (120) Cobb’s day old chicks were randomly allocated to five (5) dietary treatments of three (3) replicates and eight (8) chicks per replicate in a completely randomized design. The Diet I was the control diet with 100% SBM as the major plant protein source while in other diets, SBM was replaced with 25, 50, 75 and 100% GNC in equi-protein basis and designated as Diets II, III, IV and V respectively. Feed and water were provided ad-libitum throughout the experimental period of 56 days. Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines were administered following a stipulated regime. At the end of the experiment two birds were randomly selected from each replicate and slaughtered. Blood and serum was collected for haematological analysis, serum bioassay and HA/HI tests to determine antibody titres against ND vaccines. All data collected were subjected to one-way analysis of variance using SPSS software package. Results showed that haematological parameters were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments in which birds fed 50% equi-protein replacement of SBM with GNC had better PCV, basophil, MCH and MCHC values compared to that of birds in the other dietary treatments. The antibody titres of experimental birds were not significantly different among treatment groups. The diet with 50% equi-protein replacement of SBM with GNC elicited the highest antibody titres of Log28 and Log210 after the 1st and 2nd ND vaccinations when compared to the other diets. The serum total protein, globulin, albumin, and glucose were significantly influenced by the dietary treatments. The present result indicate that 50% equi-protein replacement of SBM with GNC in diets is not detrimental to health status of broiler chickens.

In honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), aggression and aggressive behavior occur due to many reasons and the most important one is the genotype. However, regardless of genotype, a bee colony can have different levels of aggression at different times. If the bee’s aggression is not due to racial characteristics, this may indicate some problems in the colony. One of the most important reasons is the absence of queen bees in the colony, and the other is that the amount of nutrients in the hive has decreased to a critical level. Some other environmental effects are effective on bees’ aggression and aggressive behavior. In this study, the determination of the relationships between the aggression of four different honey bee genotypes (Carniolan, Caucasian, Black Sea and Muğla) in Samsun province in two different months (July, August) at different times of the day (09:00-13:00-17:00) was intended. For this purpose, a Log-linear model analysis was made. According to the findings, genotype, month and time, which are the main effects, and genotype × month interaction among the second-order interactions were found to be statistically significant, while genotype * hour and month × hour interactions were not significant. In Samsun province, it was determined that the Carniolan genotype was 7.846 times less, the Caucasian genotype 3.991 times and the Black Sea genotype 3.888 times less aggressive than the Muğla genotype. In addition, it was determined that the aggression in July was 1.185 times less than in August, and they were less aggressive in the daytime than in the evening and morning hours. It was determined that the Carniolan genotype was 2.04 times less aggressive than the Muğla genotype in July. Before and after the nectar flow seasons, studies to determine the aggression for all genotypes suitable for the regions will be a good source of information for beekeepers and researchers.

This research was planned to study the contribution of fishing and fishery-related activities, and identify its threats. Primary data were collected from the Kano locality around the Alwero reservoir through a questionnaire survey, field observation, and Focus Group Discussions. Both purposive and simple random sampling procedures were adopted in this study. The result revealed that fisheries and fish-related activities are benefiting the society as a source of employment opportunities, income, provision of food that is rich in nutrients (protein), reliable household income (average annual household income contributed by fishing and fish-related activities being 611.8 USD and 69.3 USD, respectively). Besides, the result also indicated that fishing is being performed by less experienced people, who are using traditional fishing gear and preservation methods, and there is also a serious problem of overexploitation. The regression result indicated that fish price and preservation techniques have affected the average annual household income significantly. The study provided more information on the importance of fishing and its related activities to a household in the Kano locality at Abobo district. It identified overfishing as the major anthropogenic activity threatening the fish abundance and diversity in the reservoir.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical, bioactive and textural properties of oleaster fruits grown in different locations of Turkey. The oleaster fruits were obtained from Aksaray, Niğde and İzmir cities and their crumb and crust parts were analyzed individually and freshly. In terms of color, the crust and crumb of oleaster fruits from İzmir had the darkest color with L* values of 46.81 ± 4.06 and 78.91 ± 4.97 among all tested fruits from different locations, respectively. Total of phenolic (TP), flavonoid (TF) and tannin (TT) content (C) and as well antioxidant activities (AA) of oleaster fruits were determined for the crust and crumb of oleaster fruits. The highest TPC (22.30±1.75 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DM), TFC (16.24±1.49 mg catechin equivalent/g DM) and AA (14.05±0.55 μmol trolox equivalent/g DM) by DPPH were found in the crust of Aksaray oleaster fruits. In addition, the crumb of Aksaray oleaster fruit had the highest TPC (16.44±1.67 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DM) among the crumbs of oleaster fruits from different locations. Furthermore, there was no significant difference among the texture of crust and crumb of oleaster fruits obtained from different locations. Results showed the growing location of oleaster fruits had a significant influence on the physical and bioactive properties of fruits. Also, this study indicated that oleaster fruits were rich in bioactive compounds; therefore, they could be incorporated into foods to design functional foods.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were preferred to grow in aquaponics due to their high and fast productivity growth. However, limited research was conducted on the impact on different inorganic substrates’ growth performance in aquaponics. In this study, lettuce’s growth performance was determined in four different kinds of inorganic substrates in Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) aquaponics by measuring final weight, daily growth rate, stem diameter, plant and root lengths, leaf number per plant and shoot/root ratio. Polyester fiber, rock wool, zeolite, and gravel were used as inorganic substrate materials. A constant flow rate of 0.3 L/min was maintained using with a submersible pump motor. At the end of the study, the African catfish’s feed conversion ratio was estimated to be 0.66, while the specific growth rate (SGR) was 2.3%. Total lettuce yields for polyester fiber, rock wool, zeolite and gravel were obtained as 5.072,22 kg/m2, 4.934,03 kg/m2, 6.067 kg/m2, and 5.382,64 kg/m2 respectively. There were statistically significant differences for daily growth rate between the inorganic substrates that the significantly highest values were recorded in the zeolite. The results revealed that initial plant length and shoot/root ratio were the significant factors on the growth performance for lettuce in aquaponic system tested. The best lettuce yield performance was observed in zeolite substrate but, economically available option was found as gravel for hydroponic troughs.

In July 2017, three specimens of an alien fish species were caught by the amateur fishermen in Kızılırmak River at Sivas city center. One of the fish specimens was taken from the fishermen for ichthyologic examination. The morphological, metric (23 features) and meristic characters (13 features) of this specimen were determined. The alien fish is with ovoid shape and flattened laterally. Mouth is in a sub-ventral position. The tooth row is double. Teeth formula are 3,2 / 2,3 (at first row on maxil) and 2 / 2 (at second row on maxil), 3,3 / 3,4 (at first row on mandibul), 1,1 (at second row on mandibul). The number of rakers on the first gill arch is 33. The scale numbers in line lateral are 107 (on right side) and 103 (on left side). The number of branched rays of dorsal, anal, pectoral, and ventral fins are 14, 24, 14, and 7; respectively. As a result of the evaluation of morphological, metric and meristic characters, it was decided that the alien fish caught from Kızılırmak was Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) belonging to the Characidae family. This species is also called as the small-scaled pacu. P. mesopotamicus is not among to native fish fauna of Kızılırmak. It is a fish species which originated from South America and is a tropical freshwater fish. These alien fish specimens which were caught by the amateur fishermen, probably translocated from a hobbyist aquarium to this aquatic system. Both directly and indirectly, invasive fishes affect a wide range of native organisms from zooplankton to mammals across multiple levels of biological organizations ranging from the genome to the ecosystem. This study is the first scientific record for Sivas aquatic systems related to alien fish species.

In this study, the effects of grape seed extract on insulin, adiponectin and resistin levels in diabetic rats were aimed to investigate. Weight of about 300-350g 7-8 weeks 32 female Wistar Albino rats were used. Weight of about 300-350g 7-8 weeks 32 female Wistar Albino rats randomly divided into four groups of eight each: control group (C), group with diabetes (DM), grape seed extract group (GSE), diabetes mellitus and grape seed extract group (DM+GSE). The diabetic group 45 mg/kg single dose of streptozotocin was administered intraperitoneally, and the grape seed extract groups (DM+GSE and GSE) grape seed extract was given orally every day with an intragastric tube for 20 days (0.6 ml/rat). Blood samples were taken from the hearts of rat’s end of the experiment. The sera obtained were used for insulin, adiponectin and resistin analysis measured via ELISA with commercial kits. The insulin and adiponectin levels of the rats in the diabetes + grape seed extract group were found to be higher than those in the diabetes group. There was no significant change in the resistin level differences between the groups. As a result; It is possible to say that grape seed extract has an increasing effect on insulin level and adiponectin levels of diabetic rats are decreased due to diabetes and it has no significant effect on resistin levels. Detected by the positive effects of grape seed extracts, it may be useful to use for the regulating of the diabetes in human.

For many seeds, cold press technology generates higher quantities of cakes than seed oils, which are concentrated in proteins. Valorization of the cakes could offer a viable strategy to manufacture protein fortified foods with comparable characteristics as the conventional products. Here, black cumin, grape seed and pumpkin seed protein concentrates were prepared based on an alkaline extraction-isoelectric precipitation technique. The influence of protein concentrate addition on the flour, dough and bread characteristics were investigated for textural profile, gluten quality and visual characteristics including color attributes. While the interactions between gluten and seed proteins were mostly weak, some of the physicochemical attributes differed significantly. In terms of volume and visual characteristics, pumpkin seed protein concentrates enriched bread demonstrated similar characteristics as the controls, while black cumin or grape seed protein concentrate enriched wheat flours were more resistant and less extensible than the controls. Similarities and differences between controls and protein enriched gluten-free or gluten-bearing bread were discussed.