Short-Term Evaluation in Growing Rats of Diet Containing Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ia12 Entomotoxin: Nutritional Responses and Some Safety Aspects

The Cry1Ia12 entomotoxin from a Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis strain is currently being expressed in cotton cultivars to confer resistance to insect-pests. The present study aimed to assess the effects of a diet containing Cry1Ia12 protein on growing rats. A test diet containing egg white and Cry1Ia12 (0.1% of total protein) as a protein source was offered to rats for ten days. In addition, an acute toxicity bioassay was performed in rats with a single oral dose of the entomotoxin (12 mg/animal). No adverse effects were observed in the animals receiving the test diet when compared to those receiving a control diet (egg white). The analysed parameters included relative dry weight of internal organs, duodenum histology, blood biochemistry, and nutritional parameters. The results of the acute toxicity test showed no mortality or behaviour alteration. Thus, Cry1Ia12 toxin at the tested concentration does not cause deleterious effects on growing rats when incorporated in the diet for 10 days

Lying about the Valence of Affective Pictures: An fMRI Study

The neural correlates of lying about affective information were studied using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methodology. Specifically, 13 healthy right-handed Chinese men were instructed to lie about the valence, positive or negative, of pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) while their brain activity was scanned by a 3T Philip Achieva scanner. The key finding is that the neural activity associated with deception is valence-related. Comparing to telling the truth, deception about the valence of the affectively positive pictures was associated with activity in the inferior frontal, cingulate, inferior parietal, precuneus, and middle temporal regions. Lying about the valence of the affectively negative pictures, on the other hand, was associated with activity in the orbital and medial frontal regions. While a clear valence-related effect on deception was observed, common neural regions were also recruited for the process of deception about the valence of the affective pictures. These regions included the lateral prefrontal and inferior parietal regions. Activity in these regions has been widely reported in fMRI studies on deception using affectively-neutral stimuli. The findings of this study reveal the effect of valence on the neural activity associated with deception. Furthermore, the data also help to illustrate the complexity of the neural mechanisms underlying deception

Resource Selection and Its Implications for Wide-Ranging Mammals of the Brazilian Cerrado

Conserving animals beyond protected areas is critical because even the largest reserves may be too small to maintain viable populations for many wide-ranging species. Identification of landscape features that will promote persistence of a diverse array of species is a high priority, particularly, for protected areas that reside in regions of otherwise extensive habitat loss. This is the case for Emas National Park, a small but important protected area located in the Brazilian Cerrado, the world's most biologically diverse savanna. Emas Park is a large-mammal global conservation priority area but is too small to protect wide-ranging mammals for the long-term and conserving these populations will depend on the landscape surrounding the park. We employed novel, noninvasive methods to determine the relative importance of resources found within the park, as well as identify landscape features that promote persistence of wide-ranging mammals outside reserve borders. We used scat detection dogs to survey for five large mammals of conservation concern: giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), jaguar (Panthera onca), and puma (Puma concolor). We estimated resource selection probability functions for each species from 1,572 scat locations and 434 giant armadillo burrow locations. Results indicate that giant armadillos and jaguars are highly selective of natural habitats, which makes both species sensitive to landscape change from agricultural development. Due to the high amount of such development outside of the Emas Park boundary, the park provides rare resource conditions that are particularly important for these two species. We also reveal that both woodland and forest vegetation remnants enable use of the agricultural landscape as a whole for maned wolves, pumas, and giant anteaters. We identify those features and their landscape compositions that should be prioritized for conservation, arguing that a multi-faceted approach is required to protect these species