Nutrient recapture from insect farm waste: Bioconversion with hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Hermetia illucens is an ecient bioconverter able to grow on various dierent organic materials, producing larvae, which are a good source of protein and fat with applications in the animal feed and biochemical industries. This fly's capacity to reduce huge amounts of waste presents an interesting opportunity to establish a circular food economy. In this study, we assessed the suitability of using organic wastes from cricket and locust farming to rear H. illucens. Larvae developed until adult emergence on all the wastes, with a mean survival of over 94%. Cricket waste allowed faster development of heavier larvae than locust waste. Substrate reduction was particularly interesting on cricket waste ( < 72%), while locust waste was only reduced by 33%. The nutritional composition of the larvae reflected that of the growing substrates with a high protein and fat content. These results demonstrate the potential of using H. illucens to reduce and valorise waste generated when farming various insects through the production of a larval biomass for use as a protein meal in animal feeds or industrial applications

Tagging the signatures of domestication in common bean (<i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i>) by means of pooled DNA samples

Background and Aims: The main aim of this study was to use an amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)-based, large-scale screening of the whole genome of Phaseolus vulgaris to determine the effects of selection on the structure of the genetic diversity in wild and domesticated populations. Methods: Using pooled DNA samples, seven each of wild and domesticated populations of P. vulgaris were studied using 2506 AFLP markers (on average, one every 250 kb). About 10 % of the markers were also analysed on individual genotypes and were used to infer allelic frequencies empirically from bulk data. In both data sets, tests were made to determine the departure from neutral expectation for each marker using an FST-based method. Key Results: The most important outcome is that a large fraction of the genome of the common bean (16 %; P &lt;0·01) appears to have been subjected to effects of selection during domestication. Markers obtained in individual genotypes were also mapped and classified according to their proximities to known genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of the domestication syndrome. Most of the markers that were found to be potentially under the effects of selection were located in the proximity of previously mapped genes and QTLs related to the domestication syndrome. Conclusions: Overall, the results indicate that in P. vulgaris a large portion of the genome appears to have been subjected to the effects of selection, probably because of linkage to the loci selected during domestication. As most of the markers that are under the effects of selection are linked to known loci related to the domestication syndrome, it is concluded that population genomics approaches are very efficient in detecting QTLs. A method based on bulk DNA samples is presented that is effective in pre-screening for a large number of markers to determine selection signatures

Hepatitis B vaccination failure in children with Diabetes Mellitus? The debate continues

The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of specific antibodies against HBsAg in diabetic children (IDDM) previously vaccinated against hepatitis B virus.110 diabetic children were retrospectively studied and 100 healthy controls were recruited. In all patients surface antigen, HBV core IgG, antibodies against HBV "e" antigen and quantitative HBV surface antibodies were detected. In 45 patients molecular typing of HLA alleles was performed. Metabolic control was evaluated as mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and all patients were compliant to insulin therapy.46 of 110 diabetic children (41.8%) and 16 of 100 healthy controls (16%) were found to have not anti-HBs antibodies (p0.0001). The mean antibody titer was found significantly-lower (p0.0001) in IDDM children than healthy controls. No correlation was found between antibody titer, age, duration of disease and HbA1c. We did not find any difference of gender, age, years of onset of the disease and metabolic control, between diabetics with anti-HBs antibodies and those without.Our data confirm the reduced seroprotection rate for HBV vaccination in diabetics. However it remains poorly clarify the real clinical significance of this result. In our study no diabetic children showed markers of HBV infection

Operação Mandacaru: descobrindo oportunidades e melhorando a qualidade de vida

Trabalho apresentado no II Congresso Nacional do PROJETO RONDON, realizado em Florianópolis, SC, no período de 23 a 25 de setembro de 2015 - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.A Operação Mandacaru do Projeto Rondon foi realizada no Estado do Ceará, região nordeste do país, de 17 a 31 de janeiro de 2015. A UTFPR, Câmpus Pato Branco participou da operação trabalhando com o conjunto B na cidade de Itapiúna. O Município localizado no início do sertão cearense, apresenta uma população de aproximadamente 20 mil habitantes. Uma região muito carente de recursos, que sofre com a falta de chuvas. Com o intuito de mostrar oportunidades para melhorar as condições de vida da população foram desenvolvidas oficinas de Empreendedorismo, Associativismo, Elaboração de Projetos para Captação de Recursos e a pedido da administração municipal uma palestra sobre o lixo, tamanha era a quantidade deste espalhada, tanto na cidade quanto no interior. A oficina de Associativismo foi trabalhada com o objetivo de estimular a organização, formalização e profissionalização de organizações associativas, abordando tópicos como o que é o Associativismo, para que serve, como funciona, quais os princípios e quais os benefícios que uma associação pode trazer para a sociedade, além da realização de uma dinâmica de identificação de formas de associação que poderiam ser criadas na comunidade local. Já, a oficina de Empreendedorismo foi ministrada com o objetivo de sensibilizar os participantes para ações empreendedoras. Foram abordados o conceito de empreendedorismo, perfil do empreendedor, levantamento de potencialidades e geração de ideias. A oficina de Elaboração de Projetos para Captação de Recursos foi desenvolvida com a finalidade de capacitar os gestores municipais na elaboração de projetos para captação recursos junto ao governo federal. A palestra do lixo teve como propósito conscientizar as pessoas a respeito dos perigos causados pelo lixo quando este não é descartado de forma correta. Visando estimular a comunidade a jogar o lixo no lixo, e não em qualquer lugar, foi desenvolvido um mutirão para recolher um pouco do lixo nas ruas. Para todos os trabalhos foram utilizados recursos como apresentações de power point e dinâmicas de grupos. No decorrer do desenvolvimento das oficinas pode-se observar a participação de pessoas de todas as idades, muitos com a curiosidade, por exemplo, de saber o que era uma oficina e o que era o Empreendedorismo. Isso por si só já valeria todo o esforço de qualquer rondonista. A população é carente de recursos, mas mais carente ainda de carinho e atenção e isso é demonstrado na participação e no envolvimento da comunidade. O rondonista ao mesmo tempo que ensina, aprende muito mais

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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