46 research outputs found
Commune agroecosystem analysis to support decision making for water allocation for fisheries and agriculture in the Tonle Sap wetland system
The Project on Commune Agroecosystem Analysis to Support Decision Making for Water Allocation
for Fisheries and Agriculture in the Tonle Sap Wetland System was undertaken with the aim of
improving fisheries considerations in the Commune Agroecosystem Analysis (CAEA) process
undertaken in Cambodia, to facilitate better planning at the commune level. Under this project a
number of changes were made to the CAEA tools and process and pilot tested in an adaptive,
iterative manner in four communes – two that had conducted a CAEA previously and two that had
not. Results and analyses indicated that the project had significantly strengthened the manner in
which livelihoods, water resources and fisheries are now addressed by CAEA. The revised CAEA
guidance manual has also shown potential for having wider uptake, and a number of tools have
been used by several other projects within Cambodia
Virulence characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli isolates from humans in South Africa : 2006–2013
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates (N = 38) that were incriminated in
human disease from 2006 to 2013 in South Africa were characterized by serotype, virulence-associated
genes, antimicrobial resistance and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The isolates belonged
to 11 O:H serotypes. STEC O26:H11 (24%) was the most frequent serotype associated with human
disease, followed by O111:H8 (16%), O157:H7 (13%) and O117:H7 (13%). The majority of isolates were
positive for key virulence-associated genes including stx1 (84%), eaeA (61%), ehxA (68.4%) and espP
(55%), but lacked stx2 (29%), katP (42%), etpD (16%), saa (16%) and subA (3%). stx2 positive isolates
carried stx2c (26%) and/or stx2d (26%) subtypes. All pathogenicity island encoded virulence marker
genes were detected in all (100%) isolates except nleA (47%), nleC (84%) and nleD (76%). Multidrug
resistance was observed in 89% of isolates. PFGE revealed 34 profiles with eight distinct clusters that
shared 80% intra-serotype similarity, regardless of the year of isolation. In conclusion, STEC isolates
that were implicated in human disease between 2006 and 2013 in South Africa were mainly non-O157
strains which possessed virulence genes and markers commonly associated with STEC strains that
have been incriminated in mild to severe human disease worldwide. Improved STEC monitoring and
surveillance programs are needed in South Africa to control and prevent STEC disease in humans.The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa: Thuthuka (TTK13062619943),
Research Technology Fund (RTF14012762427), the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(GDARD Grants-2013-2015) and the South African Medical Research Council (Self-Initiated Research 2017-2019).https://www.mdpi.com/journal/toxinsam2019Paraclinical Science
Consumo de Savia por Melanerpes cactorum y su Rol en la EstructuraciĂłn de Ensambles de Aves en Bosques Secos
The White-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum) drills holes in branches and trunks to feed on sap flows, providing an energy-rich food resource for other birds. Here we describe ecological and behavioral traits of the White-fronted Woodpecker related to its sap-feeding habits in the semiarid Chaco of Argentina and explore the structure of the avian assemblage in relation to the sap resource. Sap consumption by the White-fronted Woodpecker and other sap-feeding species was strongly seasonal and positively associated with periods of resource scarcity. The White-fronted Woodpecker actively defended the sap wells from smaller birds. Specialist and facultative nectarivores that assimilate sucrose at a high rate represented an important proportion of sap-feeding birds. In this system of woodpecker, sap, and other sap-feeding species, each species’ consumption depends on its physiological and behavioral characteristics as well as on the availability of other food in the surrounding environment.Melanerpes cactorum perfora ramas y troncos de árboles y arbustos para consumir la savia que fluye de las perforaciones, posibilitando a otras especies de aves el acceso a un recurso de alto contenido energĂ©- tico. En este estudio describimos rasgos de la historia natural de M. cactorum relacionados con su alimentaciĂłn en el Chaco semiárido de Argentina e investigamos la estructuraciĂłn de ensambles de aves en torno al recurso savia. Para M. cactorum y las especies de aves que consumieron savia, el consumo de savia fue marcadamente estacional, posiblemente asociado a periodos de escasez de recursos. Melanerpes cactorum defendiĂł activamente las perforaciones ante algunas especies de aves cuya masa corporal fue menor a la de los carpinteros. Las especies nectarĂvoras especialistas y facultativas con alta tasa de asimilaciĂłn de sacarosa representaron una importante proporciĂłn de las aves que consumieron savia. En el sistema carpinteros–savia–aves consumidoras de savia, el consumo de este recurso depende de caracterĂsticas fisiolĂłgicas y comportamentales de las especies, como asĂ tambiĂ©n de la disponibilidad de otros recursos alimenticios en los ambientes que habitan.Fil: Nuñez Montellano, Maria Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de EcologĂa Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Blendinger, Pedro Gerardo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de EcologĂa Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Macchi, Leandro. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de EcologĂa Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Tucumán; Argentin
Essential oils as antibacterial agents against food-borne pathogens: are they really as useful as they are claimed to be ?
Original articleMost studies evaluating the use of essential oils
(EO) as antibacterial agents focus mainly on minimal
inhibitory concentrations (MIC) rather than minimal bactericidal
concentrations (MBC). In this work, we compared
MICs and MBCs of EO from condiment plants commonly
used in Mediterranean Europe, namely Origanum vulgare,
Salvia lavandulaefolia, Salvia officinalis, Salvia sclarea
and Rosmarinus officinalis, aiming to evaluate their
application as disinfecting agents in minimally processed
produce. Outbreaks-related pathogens such as Listeria
monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yarrowia
lipolytica were used. Results showed that all EO were able
to reduce bacterial growth in all bacterial strains tested,
particularly O. vulgare. However, fewer EO exhibited
bactericidal activities, and were only effective against one
or two bacterial strains, hence eliminating the possibility to
use them as broad range disinfectants. Furthermore, the
necessary concentrations were too high for food application.
Hence, our work suggests the need to evaluate MBC
rather than MIC and questions EO usefulness in controlling
undesired microorganisms. Overall, and despite the large volume of data published on EO, results obtained were not
very encouraging for a realistic application on produce and
question the viability of EOs as disinfecting agents in foodinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
Relation between fruit density and B-carotene content in ripe mango
P-carotene content is one of the main factors that determines the nutritional quality and orange color of ripe mango fruit. lt is known as the pro vitamin A. and it is generally the predominant carotenoid in ripe mango. Currently, fresh fruit sector demands a reliable non destructive indicator to better predict the nutritional quality of ripe mango, and especially in terms of P-carotene content. Fruit density has been applied in horticulture sector to predict dry matter or maturation stage of mango. lt would interesting to know if it can be a relevant non-destructive indicator of the carotenoid content in fruits Therefore. the aim of this study was to identify the relationship between mango density and P-carotene content at the ripe stage. Mangoes [cv. 'Kent'), from Ivory Coast. Peru, and Brazil were selected from a manga importer in France at a green mature stage [day 0J. Then, all mangoes were ripened at 18 °C and 80% of relative humidity. Color of ripe mango pulp and p-carotene contents were assessed 11 and 15 days after [day 0) corresponding to a ripe stage of consumption. Fruit density was significantly correlated to the pulp color and p-carotene contents of ripe mangoes, whatever the origin [p-value < 0.05). Mango fruits with a high density were characterized by high value of Chroma. lower value of Hue angle, and high contents in P-carot ene. P-carotene content was found in range of [92-307 µg1.00g.FM-1] for low density mango, and in range of [365-924 µg.100g.FM-1] for high density mango . So, fruit density, measured at the green-mature stage, could be a reliable indicator to predict the nutritional quality of mango fruit at the ripening stage, which is extremely useful for fresh fruit sector for grading or sorting mango fruit early in the supply chain