The low intestinal and hepatic toxicity of hydrolyzed fumonisin B1 correlates with its inability to alter the metabolism of sphingolipids

Fumonisins are mycotoxins frequently found as natural contaminants in maize, where they are produced by the plant pathogen Fusarium verticillioides. They are toxic to animals and exert their effects through mechanisms involving disruption of sphingolipid metabolism.Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is the predominant fumonisins in this family. FB1 is converted to its hydrolyzed analogs HFB1, by alkaline cooking (nixtamalization) or through enzymatic degradation. The toxicity of HFB1 is poorly documented especially at the intestinal level. The objectives of this study were to compare the toxicity of HFB1 and FB1 and to assess the ability of these toxins to disrupt sphingolipids biosynthesis. HFB1 was obtained by a deesterification of FB1, with a carboxylesterase. Piglets, animals highly sensitive to FB1, were exposed by gavage for 2 weeks to 2.8 µmol FB1 or HFB1/kg body weight/day. FB1 induced hepatotoxicity as indicated by the lesion score, the level of several biochemical analytes and the expression of inflammatory cytokines. Similarly, FB1 impaired the morphology of the different section of the small intestine, reduced villi height and modified intestinal cytokine expression. By contrast, HFB1 did not trigger hepatotoxicity, did not impair intestinal morphology and slightly modified the intestinal immune response. This low toxicity of HFB1 correlates with a weak alteration of the sphinganine/sphingosine ratio in the liver and in the plasma. Taken together, these data demonstrate that HFB1 does not cause intestinal or hepatic toxicity in the sensitive pig model, and slightly disrupts sphingolipids metabolism. This finding suggests that conversion to HFB1 could be a good strategy to reduce FB1 exposure

Effects of Time of Day and Sleep Deprivation on Motorcycle-Driving Performance

The aim of this study was to investigate whether motorcycle handling capabilities – measured by means of the efficiency of emergency manoeuvres – were dependent on prior sleep deprivation and time of day. Twelve male participants voluntarily took part in four test sessions, starting at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m., following a night either with or without sleep. Each test session comprised temperature and sleepiness measurements, before three different types of motorcycling tests were initiated: (1) stability in straight ahead riding at low speed (in “slow motion” mode and in “brakes and clutch” mode), (2) emergency braking and (3) crash avoidance tasks performed at 20 kph and 40 kph. The results indicate that motorcycle control at low speed depends on time of day, with an improvement in performance throughout the day. Emergency braking performance is affected at both speeds by time of day, with poorer performance (longer total stopping distance, reaction time and braking distance) in the morning, and also by sleep deprivation, from measurements obtained at 40 kph (incorrect initial speed). Except for a tendency observed after the sleepless night to deviate from the initial speed, it seems that crash avoidance capabilities are quite unaffected by the two disturbance factors. Consequently, some motorcycle handling capabilities (stability at low speed and emergency braking) change in the same way as the diurnal fluctuation observed in body temperature and sleepiness, whereas for others (crash avoidance) the participants were able to maintain their initial performance level despite the high levels of sleepiness recorded after a sleepless night. Motorcycle riders have to be aware that their handling capabilities are limited in the early morning and/or after sleep deprivation. Both these situations can increase the risk of falls and of being involved in a road accident

Immunity Traits in Pigs: Substantial Genetic Variation and Limited Covariation

BACKGROUND: Increasing robustness via improvement of resistance to pathogens is a major selection objective in livestock breeding. As resistance traits are difficult or impossible to measure directly, potential indirect criteria are measures of immune traits (ITs). Our underlying hypothesis is that levels of ITs with no focus on specific pathogens define an individual's immunocompetence and thus predict response to pathogens in general. Since variation in ITs depends on genetic, environmental and probably epigenetic factors, our aim was to estimate the relative importance of genetics. In this report, we present a large genetic survey of innate and adaptive ITs in pig families bred in the same environment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Fifty four ITs were studied on 443 Large White pigs vaccinated against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and analyzed by combining a principal component analysis (PCA) and genetic parameter estimation. ITs include specific and non specific antibodies, seric inflammatory proteins, cell subsets by hemogram and flow cytometry, ex vivo production of cytokines (IFNα, TNFα, IL6, IL8, IL12, IFNγ, IL2, IL4, IL10), phagocytosis and lymphocyte proliferation. While six ITs had heritabilities that were weak or not significantly different from zero, 18 and 30 ITs had moderate (0.1<h2≤0.4) or high (h2>0.4) heritability values, respectively. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between ITs were weak except for a few traits that mostly include cell subsets. PCA revealed no cluster of innate or adaptive ITs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that variation in many innate and adaptive ITs is genetically controlled in swine, as already reported for a smaller number of traits by other laboratories. A limited redundancy of the traits was also observed confirming the high degree of complementarity between innate and adaptive ITs. Our data provide a genetic framework for choosing ITs to be included as selection criteria in multitrait selection programmes that aim to improve both production and health traits

Managerial Views of Corporate Impacts and Dependencies on Ecosystem Services : A Case of International and Domestic Forestry Companies in China

A line of research is emerging investigating the private sector impacts and dependencies on critical biodiversity and ecosystem services, and related business risks and opportunities. While the ecosystem services narrative is being forwarded globally as a key paradigm for promoting business sustainability, there is scarce knowledge of how these issues are considered at managerial level. This study thus investigates managerial views of corporate sustainability after the ecosystem services concept. We analyse interviews conducted with 20 managers from domestic and international forestry companies operating with a plantation-based business model in China. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data, with a focus on four key areas: (1) interviewee familiarity with the ecosystem services concept; (2) their views of corporate dependencies and impacts on ecosystem services; (3) related business risks and opportunities; and (4) viability of existing instruments and practices that can be employed in detecting and addressing business impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services. Through an inductive approach to the empirical findings, we refined a framework that holds operational value for developing company response strategies to ecosystem services impact/dependence assessment, ensuring that all issues are addressed comprehensively, and that related risks and opportunities are properly acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Forest landscape ecology and global change: an introduction

Forest landscape ecology examines broad-scale patterns and processes and their interactions in forested systems and informs the management of these ecosystems. Beyond being among the richest and the most complex terrestrial systems, forest landscapes serve society by providing an array of products and services and, if managed properly, can do so sustainably. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the field of forest landscape ecology, including major historical and present topics of research, approaches, scales, and applications, particularly those concerning edges, fragmentation, connectivity, disturbance, and biodiversity. In addition, we discuss causes of change in forest landscapes, particularly land-use and management changes, and the expected structural and functional consequences that may result from these drivers. This chapter is intended to set the context and provide an overview for the remainder of the book and poses a broad set of questions related to forest landscape ecology and global change that need answers

Assessing stakeholder agreements: a new research focus for CIFOR's plantation programme in Southeast Asia

The total amount of industrial plantations around the world is still small compared with the total are of global forests, but plantation forestry in the tropics is expected to increase quickly because of growing demand for timber and the depletion of wood from natural forests. Forestry plantations in the tropics have a comparative advantage over temperate plantations in terms of potentially higher yields. Tropical countries are trying to encourage greater private-sector investment in forestry plantations and downstream wood industries. In many countries, however, land ownership and access is disputed by a variety of stakeholders. A major challenge for plantation companies is to reach agreements with these stakeholders to ensure a supply of raw material. Agreements between plantation companies and communities or other stakeholders offer a means of meeting the different objectives of various groups. Yet, in actual forest planning decisions, some stakeholders have more power than the others. This is especially true when large international companies are dealing with local communities whose residents may have little understanding of what an agreement entails. In such a context whether agreements are sustainable is questionable. CIFOR's Plantation Programme is engaged in research to develop tools and methods for assessing and monitoring the viability of such agreements between plantation companies and other stakeholders