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The experiment was conducted at the Agronomy farm RCA, Udaipur (Rajasthan) during kharif 2016 to study the bio-efficacy of biopesticides against pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Geyer). The results revealed that the treatment of neem oil (1%) proved most effective in reducing the pod damage up to 64.30 % followed by 59.98 and 53.79 per cent in Karanja oil (1%) and NSKE (5%), respectively. While the treatments of nirgundi oil (1%) proved to be the least effective and reduced pod damage up to 40.27%. The higher seed yield of cowpea was also obtained in the treatment of neem oil (1%), which gave 9.62 q/ha whereas, the minimum seed yield was obtained in the treatment with nirgundi oil (1%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Use of tobacco and its products are the single most preventable cause of death in the world. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of current tobacco use and identify associated factors among Rwandans aged 15–34 years. Methods: This study involved secondary analysis of existing data from the nationally representative WHO STEPwise approach to Surveillance of non-communicable diseases (STEPS) conducted in 2013 to explore the prevalence of tobacco use and its associated factors in Rwanda. Data of 3,900 youth participants (15–34 years old) who had been selected using multistage cluster sampling during the survey was analyzed. The prevalence of current smoking along with socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were determined and multivariable logistic regression was employed to identify independent factors associated with current tobacco use. Results: The prevalence (weighted) of current tobacco use (all forms) was 8% (95%CI: 7.08–9.01). The prevalence was found to be significantly higher among males, young adults aged 24–34, youth with primary school education or less, those from Southern province, people with income (work in public, private organizations and self-employed) and young married adults. However, geographical location i.e. urban (7%) and rural (8%) settings did not affect prevalence of tobacco use. Factors that were found to be associated with current tobacco use through the multivariate analysis included being male, aged 25 years and above, having an income, and residing in Eastern, Kigali City and Southern Province compared to Western province. Conclusion: The association between smoking and socio-demographic characteristics among Rwandan youth identified in this study provides an opportunity for policy makers to tailor future tobacco control policies, and implement coordinated, high-impact interventions to prevent initiation of tobacco use among the youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora palmivora is an oomycete that causes oil palm bud rot disease. To understand the molecular mechanisms of this disease, palm clones with contrasting responses (Ortet 34, resistant and Ortet 57, susceptible) were inoculated with P. palmivora, and RNAseq gene expression analysis was performed. The transcriptome was obtained by sequencing using Illumina HiSeq2500 technology during the asymptomatic phase (24, 72 and 120 hours postinfection, hpi). A simultaneous analysis of differentially expressed gene (DEG) profiles in palm and P. palmivora was carried out. Additionally, Gene Ontology (GO) and gene network analysis revealed differences in the transcriptional profile of the two ortets, where a high specificity of the pathogen to colonize the susceptible ortet was found. The transcriptional analysis provided an overview of the genes involved in the recognition and signaling of this pathosystem, where different transcription factors, phytohormones, proteins associated with cell wall hardening and nitrogen metabolism contribute to the resistance of oil palm to P. palmivora. This research provides a description of the molecular response of oil palm to P. palmivora, thus becoming an important source of molecular markers for the study of genotypes resistant to bud rot disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, high-resolution magnetometry surveys have led to the discovery of a special category of buildings–so-called ‘mega-structures’–situated in highly visible positions in the public space of Tripolye giant-settlements of the late 5th and first half of the 4th millennium BCE. In this paper we explore what these buildings actually are and how they can contribute to the understanding of the development of social space in Tripolye giant-settlements. For this investigation, we linked newly obtained excavation data from the giant-settlement Maidanetske, Ukraine, with a much larger sample of such buildings from magnetic plans obtained in the region between the Carpathian foothills and the Dnieper River. Accordingly, Tripolye mega-structures represent a particular kind of integrative building documented in many non-ranked ethnographic contexts. Based on our results we are interpreting that these buildings were used for various ritual and non-ritual activities, joint decision-making, and the storage and consumption of surplus. In Tripolye giant-settlements at least three different categories of mega-structures could be identified which most likely represent different levels of socio-political integration and decision-making. The emergence of this hierarchical system of high-level integrative buildings for the whole community and different low-level integrative architectures for certain segments of local communities was related to the rise of Tripolye mega-sites. The presence of different integrative levels most likely reflects the fusion of different previously independent communities in the giant-settlements. Later in the mega-site development, we observe how low-level integrative buildings increasingly lose their importance indicated by shrinking size and, finally, their disappearance. This observation might indicate that the power which was previously distributed across the community was transferred to a central institution. It is argued that the non-acceptance of this concentration of power and the decline of lower decision-making levels might be a crucial factor for the disintegration of Tripolye giant-settlements around 3600 BCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw retention is an effective method to conserve soil water content and improve soil carbon stocks. However, how soil carbon dynamics respond to different straw retention practices remains unclear. In this study, we investigated soil respiration and soil carbon sequestration at depths of 0–100 cm. We conducted a two-year field experiment with three crop rotation treatments and three straw retention treatments in northwest China. The straw retention treatments included no straw retention (NS), retention of half the straw (HS), and retention of the total amount of straw (TS). The crop rotations treatments included winter wheat plus summer soybean (WS), winter wheat plus summer maize (WM), and winter wheat plus summer fallow (WF). Mean soil respiration rates under WS, WM, and WF treatments were 5.14, 6.53, and 5.49 μmol·m-2·s-1; and 5.67, 5.47, and 6.03 μmol·m-2·s-1 under TS, HS, and NS treatments. The mean soil water content were 15.50%, 15.57%, and 15.74% under WS, WM, and WF rotations, and 15.81%, 15.41%, and 15.50% under TS, HS, and NS treatments. The soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration was higher with increased straw retention, and lower at deeper soil depths. Mean SOC concentrations under different rotations and straw treatments of TS, HS, and NS, respectively were as follows: WS: 6.91, 6.63, 6.39 g/kg; WM: 6.90, 6.72, 6.57 g/kg; and WF: 6.49, 6.52, 6.37 g/kg. Soil temperature was the main determinant of soil respiration rates. We conclude that WS rotation resulted in lower soil respiration, WM rotation resulted in a higher soil carbon sequestration potential, and WF rotation resulted in higher soil water content. However, continued, long-term monitoring is needed to confirm the effect of rotations and straw retention on soil respiration and carbon sequestration in dryland cropping systems in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial activities have a detrimental impact on the environment and health when high concentrations of pollutants are released. Phytoremediation is a natural method of utilizing plants to remove contaminants from the soil. The goal of this study was to investigate the ability of Cannabis sativa L. to sustainably grow and remediate abandoned coal mine land soils in Pennsylvania. In this study, six different varieties of industrial hemp (Fedora 17, Felina 32, Ferimon, Futura 75, Santhica 27, and USO 31) were grown on two different contaminated soil types and two commercial soils (Miracle-Gro Potting Mix and PRO-MIX HP Mycorrhizae High Porosity Grower Mix). Plants growing in all soil types were exposed to two environmental conditions (outside and in the greenhouse). Seed germination response and plant height indicated no significant differences among all hemp varieties grown in different soils, however on an average, the height of the plants grown in the greenhouse exceeded that of the plants grown outdoors. In addition, heavy metal analysis of Arsenic, Lead, Nickel, Mercury, and Cadmium was performed. The concentration of Nickel was 2.54 times greater in the leaves of hemp grown in mine land soil outdoors when compared to greenhouse conditions. No differences were found between expression of heavy metal transporter genes. Secondary metabolite analysis of floral buds from hemp grown in mine land soil displayed a significant increase in the total Cannabidiol content (2.16%, 2.58%) when compared to Miracle-Gro control soil (1.08%, 1.6%) for outdoors and in the greenhouse, respectively. Molecular analysis using qRT-PCR indicated an 18-fold increase in the expression of the cannabidiolic acid synthase gene in plants grown on mine land soil. The data indicates a high tolerance to heavy metals as indicated from the physiological and metabolites analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenotypic, biochemical and genetic variability was studied in M2-M5 generations of ethyl methansulfonat (EMS, 0.2%) mutagenized rapeseed lines generated from canola, ‘00’, B. napus cv. Vikros. EMS mutagenesis induced extensive diversity in morphological and agronomic traits among mutant progeny resulted in selection of EMS populations of B. napus- and B. rapa-morphotypes. The seeds of the obtained mutant lines were high-protein, low in oil and stabilized in contents of main fatty acids which make them useful for feed production. Despite the increased level of various meiotic abnormalities revealed in EMS populations, comparative karyotype analysis and FISH-based visualization of 45S and 5S rDNA indicated a high level of karyotypic stability in M2-M5 plants, and therefore, the obtained mutant lines could be useful in further rapeseed improvement. The revealed structural chromosomal reorganizations in karyotypes of several plants of B. rapa-type indicate that rapeseed breeding by chemical mutagenesis can result in cytogenetic instability in the mutant progeny, and therefore, it should include the karyotype examination. Our findings demonstrate that EMS at low concentrations has great potential in rapeseed improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(-)-Oleocanthal (oleocanthal) is a phenolic compound found in varying concentrations in extra virgin olive oil oleocanthal has been shown to be active physiologically, benefiting several diseased states by conferring anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective benefits. Recently, we and other groups have demonstrated its specific and selective toxicity toward cancer cells; however, the mechanism leading to cancer cell death is still disputed. The current study demonstrates that oleocanthal, as well as naturally oleocanthal-rich extra virgin olive oils, induced damage to cancer cells’ lysosomes leading to cellular toxicity in vitro and in vivo. Lysosomal membrane permeabilization following oleocanthal treatment in various cell lines was assayed via three complementary methods. Additionally, we found oleocanthal treatment reduced tumor burden and extended lifespan of mice engineered to develop pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Finally, following-up on numerous correlative studies demonstrating consumption of olive oil reduces cancer incidence and morbidity, we observed that extra virgin olive oils naturally rich in oleocanthal sharply reduced cancer cell viability and induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization while oleocanthal-poor oils did not. Our results are especially encouraging since tumor cells often have larger and more numerous lysosomes, making them especially vulnerable to lysosomotropic agents such as oleocanthal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vegetable oil is an important source of fatty acids, and as palm oil being the highest consumed vegetable oil in many countries, its high saturated fatty acid content has led many concerns on cardiometabolic health. Dietary fatty acids has also been linked to affect glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This systematic review is aimed at critically evaluating the available evidence on the association of palm oil with the biomarkers of glucose metabolism as compared to other vegetable oils. Methods: We systemically searched PubMed, CENTRAL and Scopus up to June 2018. We searched for published interventional studies on biomarkers of glucose metabolism (defined as fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA, 2-hour post prandial glucose and HbA1C) that compared palm oil- or palm olein-rich diets with other edible vegetable oils (such as olive oil, canola oil and soybean oil). Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study risks of bias. Mean differences of outcomes were pooled for the meta-analysis. Results: We identified 1921 potentially eligible articles with only eight included studies. Seven randomised cross-over trials and one parallel trial were included. Study population were among young to middle-aged, healthy, non-diabetic, and normal weight participants. Intervention duration ranged from three to seven weeks, and fat substitution ranged from 15% to 20% energy. There were insignificant differences in fasting glucose when compared to partially hydrogenated soybean oil [-0.15mmol/L (-0.46,0.16) P = 0.33, I2 = 48%], soybean oil [0.05mmol/L (-0.09,0.18) P = 0.49, I2 = 0%] and olive oil [0.04mmol/L (-0.09,0.17) P = 0.76, I2 = 0%]. Insignificant effects were also seen on fasting insulin when compared to partially hydrogenated soybean oil [1.72pmol/L (-11.39,14.84) P = 0.80, I2 = 12%] and olive oil diet [-0.14pmol/L (-4.87,4.59) P = 0.95, I2 = 0%]. Conclusion: Current evidence on the effects of palm oil consumption on biomarkers of glucose metabolism is poor and limited to only healthy participants. We conclude that little or no additional benefit will be obtained by replacing palm oil with other oils rich in mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids for changes in glucose metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of tropical forests is recognized as one of the most important challenges for forestry, ecology and politics. Besides strict protection, the sustainable management of natural forests should be enhanced as a key part of the foundation for the maintenance of tropical rain forest ecosystems. Due to methodological reasons it has been complicated to attain reliable growth data to plan sustainable felling cycles and rotation periods. Tree ring analyses enable the estimation of growth rates over the entire life span of trees and their age as well as giving hints from forest dynamics in previous centuries. For tree ring analysis, stem disk samples were taken from three important commercial tree species (Cariniana micrantha, Caryocar villosum and Manilkara huberi) in the upland (terra firme) forests of the Precious Woods Amazon logging company near Itacoatiara, Brazil. Based on radiocarbon estimates of individual growth zones, the annual nature of tree rings was proven for the three species. Tree rings were measured and the results used together with height estimates to model diameter, height and volume growth. The age of the eldest tree, a C. micrantha, was 585 yrs with 165 cm in diameter. The species’ diameter increments range from 0.20±0.12 cm yr-1 to 0.29±0.08 cm yr-1. At first sight, this is considerably lower than increments reported from other Amazonian or African timber species. Considering the respective wood density there is no significant difference in growth performance of dominant timber species across continents. The interpretation of lifetime tree ring curves indicate differences in shadow tolerance among species, the persistence of individuals in the understory for up to 150 years and natural stand dynamics without major disturbances. Management criteria should be adapted for the measured growth rates as they differed considerably from the Brazilian standards fixed by laws (felling cycle of 25–35 years and a common minimum logging diameter of 50 cm). Felling cycles should be increased to 32–51 years and minimum logging diameters to 63–123 cm depending on the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pregnant women with metabolic risk factors are at high risk of complications. We aimed to assess whether a Mediterranean-style diet reduces adverse pregnancy outcomes in high-risk women.Methods and Findings: We conducted a multicentre randomised trial in 5 maternity units (4 in London and 1 in Birmingham) between 12 September 2014 and 29 February 2016. We randomised inner-city pregnant women with metabolic risk factors (obesity, chronic hypertension, or hypertriglyceridaemia) to a Mediterranean-style diet with high intake of nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fruits, vegetables, nonrefined grains, and legumes; moderate to high consumption of fish; low to moderate intake of poultry and dairy products; low intake of red and processed meat; and avoidance of sugary drinks, fast food, and food rich in animal fat versus usual care. Participants received individualised dietary advice at 18, 20, and 28 weeks' gestation. The primary endpoints were composite maternal (gestational diabetes or preeclampsia) and composite offspring (stillbirth, small for gestational age, or admission to neonatal care unit) outcomes prioritised by a Delphi survey. We used an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis with multivariable models and identified the stratification variables and prognostic factors a priori. We screened 7,950 and randomised 1,252 women. Baseline data were available for 593 women in the intervention (93.3% follow-up, 553/593) and 612 in the control (95.6% follow-up, 585/612) groups. Over a quarter of randomised women were primigravida (330/1,205; 27%), 60% (729/1,205) were of Black or Asian ethnicity, and 69% (836/1,205) were obese. Women in the intervention arm consumed more nuts (70.1% versus 22.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 6.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.3-10.6, p ≤ 0.001) and extra virgin olive oil (93.2% versus 49.0%; aOR 32.2, 95% CI 16.0-64.6, p ≤ 0.001) than controls; increased their intake of fish (p < 0.001), white meat (p < 0.001), and pulses (p = 0.05); and reduced their intake of red meat (p < 0.001), butter, margarine, and cream (p < 0.001). There was no significant reduction in the composite maternal (22.8% versus 28.6%; aOR 0.76, 95% CI 0.56-1.03, p = 0.08) or composite offspring (17.3% versus 20.9%; aOR 0.79, 95% CI 0.58-1.08, p = 0.14) outcomes. There was an apparent reduction in the odds of gestational diabetes by 35% (aOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.47-0.91, p = 0.01) but not in other individual components of the composite outcomes. Mothers gained less gestational weight (mean 6.8 versus 8.3 kg; adjusted difference -1.2 Kg, 95% CI -2.2 to -0.2, p = 0.03) with intervention versus control. There was no difference in any of the other maternal and offspring complications between both groups. When we pooled findings from the Effect of Simple, Targeted Diet in Pregnant Women With Metabolic Risk Factors on Pregnancy Outcomes (ESTEEM) trial with similar trials using random effects meta-analysis, we observed a significant reduction in gestational diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% CI 0.53-0.84, I2 = 0%), with no heterogeneity (2 trials, 2,397 women). The study's limitations include the use of participant reported tools for adherence to the intervention instead of objective biomarkers.Conclusions: A simple, individualised, Mediterranean-style diet in pregnancy did not reduce the overall risk of adverse maternal and offspring complications but has the potential to reduce gestational weight gain and the risk of gestational diabetes.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02218931. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Video games have grown in popularity since the 1970s, and tobacco imagery is present in a substantial subset of games, including those oriented to youth. Much like exposure to tobacco content in films, exposure to tobacco content in video games may influence smoking uptake and use; however, the tobacco industry’s role in facilitating or promoting the use of tobacco imagery in video games is unclear. We explored the industry’s interest in and use of video games to market their products to youth and young adults. Methods: We retrieved and analyzed archival tobacco industry documents. We supplemented information from the documents with current and archived versions of several brand and corporate websites and one website containing user-supplied information on video games. Results: Tobacco companies recognized the youth appeal and marketing potential of video games as early as 1980. Initial marketing ideas included incorporating video game themes into product packaging and design. More fully realized plans focused on incorporating video games into product promotions in bars, as a high visibility way to attract younger patrons and increase long-term marketing opportunities by generating names for tobacco company direct-marketing databases. Tobacco companies also incorporated video games into in-home product promotions, primarily as components of brand websites, in order to enhance brand image and generate repeat website traffic. A similar desire to attract and keep visitors led to discussions about the inclusion of video games on corporate youth smoking prevention websites, although only one company, Lorillard, followed through. Conclusions: Video game players are an attractive target market for tobacco companies. Video games, as used by these companies, facilitate consumer engagement with particular tobacco brands or particular corporate messages. Eliminating the use of video games as a promotional vehicle may require limiting tobacco marketing in both physical and online environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraud and misrepresentation in forest products supply chains is often associated with illegal logging, but the extent of fraud in the U.S. forest products market, and the availability of forensic expertise to detect it, is unknown. We used forensic wood anatomy to test 183 specimens from 73 consumer products acquired from major U.S. retailers, surveyed U.S. experts regarding their forensic wood anatomy capacity, and conducted a proficiency-testing program of those experts. 62% of tested products (45 of 73) had one or more type of fraudulent or misrepresented claim. Survey respondents reported a total capacity of 830 wood specimens per year, and participants’ identification accuracy ranged from 6% to 92%. Given the extent of fraud and misrepresentation, U.S. wood forensic wood anatomy capacity does not scale with the need for such expertise. We call for increased training in forensic wood anatomy and its broader application in forest products supply chains to eliminate fraud and combat illegal logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial surface properties are important for interactions with the environment in which cells reside. Surface properties of lactic acid bacteria significantly vary and some strains can form strong emulsions when mixed with a hydrocarbon. Lactococcus lactis NCDO712 forms oil-in-water emulsions upon mixing of a cell suspension with petroleum. In the emulsion the bacteria locate at the oil-water interphase which is consistent with Pickering stabilization. Cells of strain NCDO712 mixed with sunflower seed oil did not stabilize the oil droplets. This study shows that the addition of either ethanol or ammonium sulfate led to cell aggregation, which subsequently allowed stabilizing oil-in-water emulsions. From this, we conclude that bacterial cell aggregation is important for emulsion droplet stabilization. To determine how bacterial emulsification influences the microbial transcriptome RNAseq analysis was performed on lactococci taken from the oil-water interphase. In comparison to cells in suspension 72 genes were significantly differentially expressed with a more than 4-fold difference. The majority of these genes encode proteins involved in transport processes and the metabolism of amino acids, carbohydrates and ions. Especially the proportion of genes belonging to the CodY regulon was high. Our results also point out that in a complex environment such as food fermentations a heterogeneous response of microbes might be caused by microbe-matrix interactions. In addition, microdroplet technologies are increasingly used in research. The understanding of interactions between bacterial cells and oil-water interphases is of importance for conducting and interpreting such experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current physical goods economy produces materials by extracting finite valuable resources without taking their end of the life and environmental impact into account. Mycelium-based materials offer an alternative fabrication paradigm, based on the growth of materials rather than on extraction. Agricultural residue fibres are inoculated with fungal mycelium, which form an interwoven three-dimensional filamentous network binding the feedstock into a lightweight material. The mycelium-based material is heat-killed after the growing process. In this paper, we investigate the production process, the mechanical, physical and chemical properties of mycelium-based composites made with different types of lignocellulosic reinforcement fibres combined with a white rot fungus, Trametes versicolor. This is the first study reporting the dry density, the Young’s modulus, the compressive stiffness, the stress-strain curves, the thermal conductivity, the water absorption rate and a FTIR analyse of mycelium-based composites by making use of a fully disclosed protocol with T. versicolor and five different type of fibres (hemp, flax, flax waste, softwood, straw) and fibre processings (loose, chopped, dust, pre-compressed and tow). The thermal conductivity and water absorption coefficient of the mycelium composites with flax, hemp, and straw have an overall good insulation behaviour in all the aspects compared to conventional materials such as rock wool, glass wool and extruded polystyrene. The conducted tests reveal that the mechanical performance of the mycelium-based composites depends more on the fibre processing (loose, chopped, pre-compressed, and tow), and size than on the chemical composition of the fibres. These experimental results show that mycelium-composites can fulfil the requirements of thermal insulation and have the potential to replace fosile-based composites. The methology used to evaluate the suitability and selection of organic waste-streams proved to be effective for the mycelium-material manufacturing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing seed oil content is one of the most important breeding goals for soybean due to a high global demand for edible vegetable oil. However, genetic improvement of seed oil content has been difficult in soybean because of the complexity of oil metabolism. Determining the major variants and molecular mechanisms conferring oil accumulation is critical for substantial oil enhancement in soybean and other oilseed crops. In this study, we evaluated the seed oil contents of 219 diverse soybean accessions across six different environments and dissected the underlying mechanism using a high-resolution genome-wide association study (GWAS). An environmentally stable quantitative trait locus (QTL), GqOil20, significantly associated with oil content was identified, accounting for 23.70% of the total phenotypic variance of seed oil across multiple environments. Haplotype and expression analyses indicate that an oleosin protein-encoding gene (GmOLEO1), colocated with a leading single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) from the GWAS, was significantly correlated with seed oil content. GmOLEO1 is predominantly expressed during seed maturation, and GmOLEO1 is localized to accumulated oil bodies (OBs) in maturing seeds. Overexpression of GmOLEO1 significantly enriched smaller OBs and increased seed oil content by 10.6% compared with those of control seeds. A time-course transcriptomics analysis between transgenic and control soybeans indicated that GmOLEO1 positively enhanced oil accumulation by affecting triacylglycerol metabolism. Our results also showed that strong artificial selection had occurred in the promoter region of GmOLEO1, which resulted in its high expression in cultivated soybean relative to wild soybean, leading to increased seed oil accumulation. The GmOLEO1 locus may serve as a direct target for both genetic engineering and selection for soybean oil improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) is a risk of parenteral nutrition (PN)-dependence. Intravenous soybean oil-based parenteral fat can exacerbate the risk of IFALD while intravenous fish oil can minimize its progression, yet the mechanisms by which soybean oil harms and fish oil protects the liver are uncertain. Properties that differentiate soybean and fish oils include α-tocopherol and phytosterol content. Soybean oil is rich in phytosterols and contains little α-tocopherol. Fish oil contains abundant α-tocopherol and little phytosterols. This study tested whether α-tocopherol confers hepatoprotective properties while phytosterols confer hepatotoxicity to intravenous fat emulsions. Utilizing emulsions formulated in the laboratory, a soybean oil emulsion (SO) failed to protect from hepatosteatosis in mice administered a PN solution enterally. An emulsion of soybean oil containing α-tocopherol (SO+AT) preserved normal hepatic architecture. A fish oil emulsion (FO) and an emulsion of fish oil containing phytosterols (FO+P) protected from steatosis in this model. Expression of hepatic acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), was increased in animals administered SO. ACC and PPARγ levels were comparable to chow-fed controls in animals receiving SO+AT, FO, and FO+P. This study suggests a hepatoprotective role for α-tocopherol in liver injury induced by the enteral administration of a parenteral nutrition solution. Phytosterols do not appear to compromise the hepatoprotective effects of fish oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castor bean is an important seed oil crop. Castor oil is a highly demanded oil for several industrial uses. Currently, castor bean varieties suffer from low productivity and high risk of insect pests and diseases. It is in urgent need to mine elite genes from wild materials for castor breeding. 29 pairs of polymorphic SRAP primers out of 361 pairs were used to analyse the genetic diversity of 473 wild castor materials from South China. 203 bands were amplified by the 29 pairs of primers, of which 169 bands were polymorphic, with a polymorphic percentage of 83.25%. With an average number of alleles per locus (Ap) of 1.801, average number of effective alleles per locus (Ae) of 1.713 and average percentage of polymorphic loci (P) of 90.04%, these primers were proven to be useful and effective. Nei’ genetic distance between the materials ranged from 1.04 to 25.02, with an average of 13.03. At the genetic distance of 25.02, the materials clustered into two major groups, consistent with the result of population structure analysis. However, more subgroups existed between 5.21 and 13.32. Although not all the materials from the same region were clustered in the same group, an obvious trend existed where the groups were related to regions to a great extent. Based on multiple indices, the genetic diversity of materials from Hainan was the lowest. However, there was not much difference between West Guangdong and Guangxi, although the former was slightly higher. Moderate genetic differentiation was observed in wild materials in South China. The genetic differentiation mainly occurred within population, with maximum differentiation in Guangxi, followed by West Guangdong and the minimum in Hainan. Nonetheless, there was an extensive geneflow between populations. The above results provided a direction for the conservation and breeding application of these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence that replacing saturated fat (SFA) with polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) lowers ischemic heart disease (IHD). In order to improve the population’s diet, the World Health Organization has called for the taxation of foods that are high in SFA. We aimed to assess the potential health gains of a European fat tax by applying the SFA intake reduction that has been observed under the Danish fat tax to six other European countries. For each country, we created a fat tax scenario with a decreased SFA intake and a corresponding increase in PUFA. We compared this fat tax scenario to a reference scenario with no change in SFA intake, and to a guideline scenario with a population-wide SFA intake in line with dietary recommendations. We used DYNAMO-HIA to dynamically project the policy-attributable IHD cases of these three scenarios 10 years into the future. A fat tax would reduce prevalent IHD cases by a minimum of 500 and 300 among males and females in Denmark, respectively, up to a maximum of 5,600 and 4,000 among males and females in the UK. Thereby, the prevented IHD cases under a fat tax scenario would correspond to between 11.0% (in females in the Netherlands) and 29.5% (in females in Italy) of the prevented IHD cases under a guideline scenario, which represents the maximum preventable disease burden. Henceforth, our quantification of beneficial health impacts makes the case for the policy debate on fat taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to maintain high yields and protect the environment, the replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic ones has received increasing attention in recent years. A 2-year field experiment (2015–2016) was carried out to assess the effects of substituting equal amounts of mineral fertilizer with organic manure on the yield, dry matter (DM), and nitrogen (N) uptake of spring maize (Zea mays L.) and on the mineral N (Nmin) distribution in the soil profile. The treatments included chemical fertilizer; different amounts of maize straw, cow manure, and chicken manure; and an unfertilized control (CK). Compared with the chemical fertilizer treatments, equal amounts of substitutions with cow manure or chicken manure increased production, and a 25% nutrient substitution resulted in the best yield increase. Straw return had no effect on maize production, and 100% straw return resulted in reduced production. The N accumulation and DM content both exhibited a slow-fast-slow growth trend throughout the various growth stages, and the average N uptake and DM accumulation in response to the treatments followed the order of chicken manure > cow manure > chemical fertilizer > straw return > CK. The Nmin content in the profile not only increased as the Nmin application rate increased but also showed greater increases at certain depths than at the surface, indicating that excessive N led to leaching. These results suggest that an appropriate proportion of organic substitution not only provides enough nutrients but also improves the soil environment and leads to increased yields. This technique represents a practical method of continuously increasing production and reducing the risk of N leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) must be validated among the population of interest due to the specificities in dietary habits, culture and food in each country of the Mediterranean region. The objective of this study was to determine the relative validity and reproducibility of a 157 item semi-quantitative FFQ among Lebanese adult population. Material and methods: Dietary intake was assessed through dietary recalls, a FFQ with food items, and traditional recipes from the Mediterranean cuisine. Validity of the FFQ was measured by comparing the intake of calories, macro and micronutrients to the mean values derived from three dietary recalls (DR). Reproducibility of the FFQ was evaluated after repeating the same FFQ among the participant after a four-month period. Results: 114 healthy adults aged between 18 and 60 years of which 52.6% are men participated in this study. 53 of these adults participated in the reproducibility study. Intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) between the two FFQ measurements ranged from 0.822 for sodium to 0.998 for energy indicating excellent reproducibility. The FFQ showed slightly higher intakes than the dietary recalls for most of the nutrients and foods reaching 2.1% for nutrients (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and 18% for food groups (olive oil). Correlation coefficients ranged between 0.783 (sodium) and 0.996 (carbs) for nutrients and between 0.906 (fish) and 1 (fruits and nuts) for food groups, with a significant p value (p = 0.038 for folate). Cross-classification of nutrients into quartiles showed that more than 81% of the participants were classified in the same quartile. Misclassifications were low for most nutrients with one to three persons misclassified at the extreme quartiles. Conclusion: The FFQ used in this research contained western and Mediterranean type of dishes and foods. Statistical analysis showed good reproducibility and validity of the tested tool in a heterogeneous sample of adults living in a Mediterranean country. It is a useful tool for future investigations and strategies promoting the comeback of this traditional diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts between biodiversity conservation and resource production can be mitigated by multi-objective management planning. Optimizing management for multiple objectives over larger land areas likely entails trading off the practicability of the process against the goodness of the solution. It is therefore worthwhile to resolve how large areas are required as management planning regions to reconcile conflicting objectives as effectively as possible. We aimed to reveal how the extent of forestry planning regions impacts the potential to mitigate a forestry-conservation conflict in Finland, represented as a trade-off between harvest income and deadwood availability. We used forecasted data from a forest simulator, a hierarchy of forestry planning regions, and an optimization model to explore the production possibility frontier between harvest income and deadwood. We compared the overall outcomes when management was optimized within the different-sized planning regions in terms of the two objectives, the spatial variation of deadwood, and the optimal combinations of management regimes. Increasing the size of the planning regions did produce higher simultaneous levels of the two objectives, but the differences were most often of the magnitude of only a few percentages. The differences among the scales were minor also in terms of the spatial variation in deadwood availability and in the optimal management combinations. The conflict between timber harvesting and deadwood availability is only marginally easier to mitigate at large spatial scales than at small forest ownership scales. However, regardless of the spatial scale of planning, the achievable solutions may not be good enough to safeguard deadwood-dependent biodiversity without active deadwood creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflorescence patterns of ultraviolet (UV) absorption and UV-reflection are attractive to many insect pollinators. To understand whether UV inflorescence cues affect the attraction of nectar-foraging mosquitoes, we worked with the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens and with two plant species exhibiting floral UV cues: the tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, and the common hawkweed Hieraciumm lachenalii. Electroretinograms revealed that Cx. pipiens eyes can sense UV wavelengths, with peak sensitivity at 335 nm. Behavioural bioassays divulged that UV inflorescence cues enhance the attractiveness of inflorescence odour. In the presence of natural floral odour, female Cx. pipiens were attracted to floral patterns of UV-absorption and UV-reflection but preferred uniformly UV-dark inflorescences. Moreover, Cx. pipiens females preferred UV-dark and black inflorescence models to UV-dark and yellow inflorescence models. With feathers and pelts of many avian and mammalian hosts also being UV-dark and dark-coloured, foraging Cx. pipiens females may respond to analogous visual cues when they seek nectar and vertebrate blood resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present two-year study, an attempt was made to estimate the grain yield, grain nutrient uptake, and oil quality of three commonly grown maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids fertilized with varied levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Results obtained from both the experimental years indicated that application of 125% of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) recorded maximum grain yield (10.37 t ha-1; 124% higher than control). When compared with 100% RDF, grain yield reduction with nutrient omission was 44% for N omission, 17% for P omission, and 27% for K omission. Nitrogen uptake was increased with increasing NPK levels up to 150% RDF that was statistically at par (p ≥ 0.01) with 125% RDF. Increasing trend in P and K uptake was observed with successive increase in NPK levels up to 125% RDF, above which it declined. The protein content was significantly higher in grains of var. P 3396 with 125% RDF. Nutrient management has significant (p ≤ 0.01) role in the grain oil content. Saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic and arachidic acid) content decreased, and unsaturated fatty acid (oleic, linoleic and linolenic acid) increased with increasing NPK levels. The average oleic acid desaturation and linoleic acid desaturation ratios were increased with increasing NPK levels up to 100 and 125% RDF, respectively. However, average monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA): poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), saturated: unsaturated as well as linoleic: linolenic acid ratios were increased on receiving 75% RDF, and beyond that it showed decreasing trend. The omission of K had the highest inhibitory effect on corn oil quality followed by N and P omission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of hempseed in the diet of laying hens was evaluated at 0, 30, 60 and 90 g/kg concentrations. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of dietary treatment on the performance of hens, the physical characteristics of egg quality, the concentrations of α- and γ-tocopherol and the carotenoid and cholesterol contents of egg yolks, together with the breaking strength of tibial measurements. In light of the obtained results, our study aimed to address the optimal dietary level of hempseed in laying hen diets. Lohmann Brown hens (n = 240) were divided into 4 dietary treatment groups (6 cages per treatment) with 10 hens per cage. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. The level of nutrients in all diets (wheat-corn) was well balanced. The dietary metabolisable energy was adjusted using rapeseed oil. The addition of 30 g/kg of hempseed to the diet significantly increased (P˂0.001) egg production and egg mass. Alpha-tocopherol increased significantly (P = 0.002) only in the case of the 60 g/kg hempseed level (101 mg/kg dry matter (DM) versus 83 mg/ kg DM in the control group). In contrast, the level of γ-tocopherol increased gradually from 11 mg/kg DM in the control to 29, 39 and 43 mg/kg DM at the 30, 60 and 90 g/kg levels of dietary hempseed, respectively. The concentrations of beta carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein in egg yolks were not influenced by the dietary treatment. Hempseed at 90 g/kg (P = 0.036) decreased egg shell thickness without affecting its strength. The addition of hempseed decreased (P˂0.001) the cholesterol concentration in the egg yolks in all experimental groups. The addition of 30, 60 and 90 g hempseed increased (P˂0.001) the breaking strength of the tibia to 354, 352 and 350 N, respectively, compared to 297 N in the control group. The highest level of hempseed in the diet positively influenced the Ca concentration in the tibia (P = 0.021). The concentration of P in the tibia was negatively affected in the 60 to 90 g/kg hempseed treatments (P˂0.001). Eggs are a significant source of α-tocopherol. Based on our results, there is a possibility for enrichment of egg yolks with γ-tocopherol, with all of its associated health benefits, by the addition of hempseed to the diet of laying hens. Another significant benefit of hempseed is its effect on the breaking strength of the tibia, which can help with crucial problems in the commercial breeding of laying hens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding which tobacco products adolescents use first can lead to insights for tobacco prevention interventions and policies. We used cross-sectional data from high school students who reported ever using a tobacco product from the 2017 North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 1,053). In multivariable regressions, we examined how demographic and psychosocial factors were associated with adolescents’ first product tried and how first product tried was associated with current tobacco use (i.e., no use, use of a single product, use of multiple products) and frequency of tobacco use. Cigarettes (34.8%) and e-cigarettes (33.7%) were the most frequently reported first products tried, followed by cigars (15.6%), smokeless tobacco (10.7%), waterpipe (4.0%), and other tobacco products (i.e., pipe tobacco or some other tobacco product) (1.2%). Demographic differences in adolescents’ first product tried existed, with Black adolescents having higher odds of initiating tobacco use via cigars (aOR: 6.17, 95% CI: 3.75, 10.14). Adolescents who initiated tobacco use via cigars (aOR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.31, 4.13) or smokeless tobacco (aOR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.18, 5.04) had higher odds of being a multiple current tobacco product user, whereas adolescents who initiated tobacco use via e-cigarettes (aOR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.93) had lower odds of being a multiple current tobacco product user. Additionally, adolescents who initiated tobacco use via smokeless tobacco had higher odds of currently using at least one tobacco product frequently (aOR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.48), while adolescents who initiated tobacco use via e-cigarettes had lower odds of currently using at least one tobacco product frequently (aOR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.70). These findings suggest that most adolescents reported initiating tobacco use via cigarettes or e-cigarettes and that trying certain products first (e.g., cigars, smokeless tobacco) was associated with higher odds of multiple current tobacco product use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliance of the aquafeed industry on marine resources has to be reduced by innovative approaches in fish nutrition. Thus, a three-factorial approach (fish oil reduced diet, phytochemical genistein, and temperature reduction) was chosen to investigate the interaction of effects on growth performance and tissue omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) levels in juvenile sea bream (Sparus aurata, 12.5 ± 2.2 g). Genistein is a phytoestrogen with estrogen-like activity and thus LC-PUFA increasing potential. A decrease in the rearing temperature was chosen based on the positive effects of low temperature on fish lipid quality. The experimental diets were reduced in marine ingredients and had a fish oil content of either 6% dry matter (DM; F6: positive control) or 2% DM (F2: negative control) and were administered in the plain variant or with inclusion of 0.15% DM genistein (F6 + G and F2 + G). The feeding trial was performed simultaneously at 23°C and 19°C. The results indicated that solely temperature had a significant effect on growth performance and whole body nutrient composition of sea bream. Nevertheless, the interaction of all three factors significantly affected the fatty acid compositions of liver and fillet tissue. Most importantly, they led to a significant increase by 4.3% of fillet LC-PUFA content in sea bream fed with the diet F6 + G in comparison to control fish fed diet F6, when both groups were held at 19°C. It is hypothesized that genistein can act via estrogen-like as well as other mechanisms and that the dietary LC-PUFA content may impact its mode of action. Temperature most likely exhibited its effects indirectly via altered growth rates and metabolism. Although effects of all three factors and of genistein in particular were only marginal, they highlight a possibility to utilize the genetic capacity of sea bream to improve tissue lipid quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils are heterogeneous and microbial spatial distribution can clearly indicate the spatial characteristics of the soil carbon and nitrogen cycle. However, it is not clear how long-term fertilization affects the spatial distribution of microbial biomass in fluvo-aquic soil. We collected fluvo-aquic soil samples (topsoil 0–7.5 cm and sub-topsoil 7.5–20 cm) using a spatially-explicit design within three 40.5 m2 plots in each of four fertilization treatments. Fertilization treatments were: cropping without fertilizer inputs (CK); chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer (NPK); chemical fertilizer with straw return (NPKS); and chemical fertilizer with animal manure (NPKM). Variables included soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), and MBC/MBN. For both soil layers, we hypothesized that: microbial biomass was lowest in CK but with the largest spatial heterogeneity; and microbial biomass was highest in NPKM and NPKS but with the lowest spatial heterogeneity. Results showed that: (1) Fertilization significantly increased MBC and MBN more in topsoil than sub-topsoil but had no MBC/MBN changes. (2) The coefficient of variation (CV) and Cochran's C showed that variation was largest in CK in topsoil and NPK in sub-topsoil and that variation of topsoil was generally lower than in sub-topsoil. The sample size of the three variables was largest in CK in topsoil but had little variation among the other treatments. (3) The trend-surface model showed that within-plot heterogeneity varied substantially with fertilization (NPKM = NPK > NPKS > CK), but Moran’s I and the interpolation map showed that spatial variability with fertilization followed the order NPK > NPKS > CK = NPKM at a fine scale in topsoil. In sub-topsoil, the trend-surface model showed that within-plot heterogeneity followed the order NPKM = CK > NPK > NPKS and that the fine-scale pattern was NPKM>NPK = NPKS>CK. MBC had the highest spatial heterogeneity among the three variables in both soil layers. Our results indicate that the application of organic fertilizer (straw or manure) reduced the variation of MBC and MBN but increased the spatial variability of MBC and MBN. The spatial variation of the three variables was MBC > MBN > MBC/MBN regardless of whether variation was considered at the plot-scale or the fine-scale in both layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mandatory fortification of edible oil (soybean and palm) with vitamin A was decreed in Bangladesh in 2013. Yet, there is a dearth of data on the availability and consumption of vitamin A fortifiable oil at household level across population sub-groups. To fill this gap, our study used a nationally representative survey in Bangladesh to assess the purchase of fortifiable edible oil among households and project potential vitamin A intake across population sub-groups. Data is presented by strata, age range and poverty–the factors that potentially influence oil coverage. Across 1,512 households, purchase of commercially produced fortifiable edible oil was high (87.5%). Urban households were more likely to purchase fortifiable oil (94.0%) than households in rural low performing (79.7%) and rural other strata (88.1%) (p value: 0.01). Households in poverty were less likely to purchase fortifiable oil (82.1%) than households not in poverty (91.4%) (p <0.001). Projected estimates suggested that vitamin A fortified edible oil would at least partially meet daily vitamin A estimated average requirement (EAR) for the majority of the population. However, certain population sub-groups may still have vitamin A intake below the EAR and alternative strategies may be applied to address the vitamin A needs of these vulnerable sub-groups. This study concludes that a high percentage of Bangladeshi population across different sub-groups have access to fortifiable edible oil and further provides evidence to support mandatory edible oil fortification with vitamin A in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oat (Avena nuda L.) is a nutritious grain crop, rich in dietary fibers and phytochemicals. Application of efficient nitrogen (N) sources and dose is very important to obtain higher crop productivity and to achieve environmental sustainability. The exploitation of natural beneficial microbes and organic nitrogen in combination with chemical nitrogen would be effective to boost soil N for plant uptake. Hence, a field experiment was conducted during 2016 and 2017 with the aim to ameliorate the use of chemical N (CN) with organic nitrogen (ON) and microbial fertilizer (MBF) without compromising the productivity of oat. T1 = control, T2 = 100% CN, T3 = 100% CN+MBF, T4 = 75% CN+ 25% ON+MBF, T5 = 50% CN+ 50% ON+MBF, T6 = 100% ON+MBF, T7 = 100% ON were the treatments. 50% CN + 50% ON + MBF treatment proved to be an efficient combination regarding enhanced biomass and grain yield, nitrogen uptake and NUE as compared to rest of the treatments in both years. During the critical stages of the crop, when most of the applied CN was leached from the top 20 cm soil depth, a substantial N came from the PM mineralization through enhanced microbial activity by the addition of MBF. Lastly, the application of ON supplemented with MBF improved the rhizosphere soil properties, i.e. mineral N concentration, total N (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), soil respiration rate and enzymatic activity. A balanced and source conscious application of CN, ON and MBF reduced N losses and added a substantial amount of N into the soil N pool. We concluded that organic N combined with chemical N and MBF proved to be effective in improving soil properties ensuring less N loss and increasing oat production in the semi-arid region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the physicochemical variability in rapeseed oil from different varieties during each refining process is lacking. Our purpose was to investigate the physicochemical properties, micronutrients and oxidative stability of the oil extracted from the five varieties of rapeseeds during their different stages of refining process. Increase in the acid value, peroxide value and p-anisidine value were detected in the refining, while content of tocopherols, sterols, β-carotene and phenols, which are regarded as important nutritional compounds diminished. Moreover, the loss rate of total phytosterols of all oils during neutralization (9.23–7.3%) and deodorization (9.97–8.27%) were higher than that of degumming (3.01–0.87%) and bleaching (2.75–1.18%). Deodorization affected total tocopherols contents the most, followed by bleaching, neutralization and degumming. There was a remarkable reduction in total content of phenol, β-carotene and oxygen radical absorbance of all oils during refining. The accumulated information can be used in looking for the optimum condition to meet the basic requirements for oil and minimize micronutrients losses so as to increase their market value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emulsifiers are added to enhance product stability to obtain a satisfactory shelf-life. For this reason, stable emulsions that do not form peroxides nor change the fatty acid composition of food, as well as safe treatments to obtain them, are aspects of utmost importance. High-pressure homogenization is a conventional approach to prepare emulsions because of its high efficiency. In addition, the beneficial effects of ultrasound on the processing efficiency are known. Therefore, the impact of high-pressure homogenization (30 MPa, 50M Pa) or ultrasound power (270 W) on the emulsion stability and emulsifying properties of 5% coconut oil-in-water emulsion were discussed in this study. The complexes (3:7and 4:6, by weight) of propylene glycol alginate and xanthan gum were selected as emulsifier. The apparent viscosity, particle size and distribution, emulsifying properties and ζ–potential of 5% coconut oil-in-water emulsion before and after ultrasound treatment or high-pressure homogenization were investigated and compared. The micro structure of the emulsion was observed under the fluorescence microscope. The experimental results showed that both high-pressure homogenization and ultrasonic treatment effectively reduced the apparent viscosity, average droplet size and narrowed the distribution range of the emulsion, compared with the pre-emulsion. However, aggregation in the emulsion appeared only after being subjected to high-pressure homogenization, while the emulsion made by the ultrasound treatment remained stable during 30 days storage. In conclusion, this study provides valuable information regarding emulsion preparation methods that can be feasible in food and beverage industries, demonstrating a better performance of ultrasound in optimizing and extending food shelf-life in food and beverage industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) in the mare is an unknown process. In a non-pregnant mare on day 14 post-ovulation (PO), prostaglandin F2α (PGF) is secreted by the endometrium causing regression of the corpus luteum. Prior to day 14, MRP must occur in order to attenuate secretion of PGF. The embryo is mobile throughout the uterus due to uterine contractions from day of entry to day 14. It is unknown what signaling is occurring. Literature stated that infusing oil or placing a glass marble into the equine uterus prolongs luteal lifespan and that in non-pregnant mares, serum exosomes contain miRNA that are targeting the focal adhesion (FA) pathway. The hypothesis of this study is embryo contact with endometrium causes a change in abundance of focal adhesion molecules (FA) in the endometrium leading to decrease in PGF secretion. Mares (n = 3/day) were utilized in a cross-over design with each mare serving as a pregnant and non-pregnant (non-mated) control on days 9 and 11 PO. Mares were randomly assigned to collection day and endometrial samples and embryos were collected on the specified day. Biopsy samples were divided into five pieces, four for culture for 24 hours and one immediately snap frozen. Endometrial biopsies for culture were placed in an incubator with one of four treatments: [] an embryo in contact on the luminal side of the endometrium, [] beads in contact on the luminal side of the endometrium, [] peanut oil in contact on the luminal side of the endometrium or [] the endometrium by itself. Biopsies and culture medium were frozen for further analysis. RNA and protein were isolated from biopsies for PCR and Western blot analysis for FA. PGF assays were performed on culture medium to determine concentration of PGF. Statistics were performed using SAS (P ≤ 0.05 indicated significance). The presence of beads on day 9 impacted samples from pregnant mares more than non-pregnant mares and had very little impact on day 11. Presence of oil decreased FA in samples from pregnant mares on day 9. On day 11, oil decreased FA abundance in samples from non-pregnant mares. Embryo contact caused multiple changes in RNA and protein abundance in endometrium from both pregnant and non-pregnant mares. The PGF secretion after 24 hours with each treatment was also determined. On day 9, there was no change in PGF secretion compared to any treatments. On day 11, presence of peanut oil increased PGF secretion in samples from non-pregnant mares. In samples from non-pregnant mares, presence of an embryo decreased PGF secretion compared to control samples from non-pregnant mares. Results revealed that while beads and peanut oil may impact abundance of FA RNA and protein in endometrial samples, it does not appear to impact PGF secretion. Conversely, embryo contact for 24 hours with endometrium from a non-pregnant mare causes a decrease in PGF secretion. These results suggest that it is not just contact of any substance/object causing attenuation of PGF secretion, but the embryo itself is necessary to decrease PGF secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is an increased need to understand how e-cigarette flavors may contribute to e-cigarette uptake and use among youth. We examined the relationship between perceived ease of flavored e-cigarette use and e-cigarette use susceptibility and progression among a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth never tobacco users. Methods: The wave 1 (2013–2014) and wave 2 (2014–2015) surveys of PATH Study were used. Youth never tobacco users (ages 12–17) who reported whether flavored e-cigarettes were easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 (n = 6,983) were included in the study. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between perceived ease of using flavored e-cigarettes (wave 1) and e-cigarette use outcomes including e-cigarette use susceptibility (wave 1) and e-cigarette initiation and past-30-day use (wave 2). Results: Overall, 21.2% of the sample perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes; and 28.9% of the sample were susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and 7.5% and 2.0% initiated e-cigarettes and used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at wave 2, respectively. Among those who perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use, 41.0% were susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and 10.6% and 3.4% initiated and used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at wave 2, respectively. Perceiving flavored e-cigarettes as easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 was positively associated with e-cigarette use susceptibility at wave 1 (AOR = 1.43, CI = 1.21, 1.69), and e-cigarette initiation (AOR = 1.32, CI = 1.12, 1.67) and past-30-day use (AOR = 1.25, CI = 1.10, 2.47) at wave 2. Conclusions: Perceiving flavored e-cigarettes as easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes may lead to e-cigarette use progression among youth never tobacco users. Determining the factors (including e-cigarette marketing and specific e-cigarette flavors) that lead to perceived ease of using flavored e-cigarettes would inform efforts to prevent and curb youth e-cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Standardised tobacco packaging has been, and remains, a contentious policy globally, attracting corporate, public health, political, media and popular attention. In January 2015, the UK Government announced it would vote on draft regulations for the policy before the May 2015 General Election. We explored reactions to the announcement on Twitter, in comparison with an earlier period of little UK Government activity on standardised packaging. Methods: We obtained a random sample of 1038 tweets in two 4-week periods, before and after the UK Government’s announcement. Content analysis was used to examine the following Tweet characteristics: support for the policy, purpose, Twitter-user’s geographical location and affiliation, and evidence citation and quality. Chi-squared analyses were used to compare Tweet characteristics between the two periods. Results: Overall, significantly more sampled Tweets were in favour of the policy (49%) in comparison to those opposed (19%). Yet, at Time 2, following the announcement, a greater proportion of sampled tweets opposed standardised packaging compared to the period sampled at Time 1, prior to the announcement (p<0.001). The quality of evidence and research cited in URLs linked at Time 2 was significantly lower than at Time 1 (p<0.001), with peer-reviewed research more likely to be shared in positive Tweets (p<0.001) and in Tweets linking to URLs originating from the health sector (p<0.001). The decline in the proportion of positive Tweets was mirrored by a reduction in Tweets by health sector Twitter-users at Time 2 (p<0.001). Conclusions: Microblogging sites can reflect offline policy debates and are used differently by policy proponents and opponents dependent on the policy context. Twitter-users opposed to standardised packaging increased their activity following the Government’s announcement, while those in support broadly maintained their rate of Twitter engagement. The findings offer insight into the public health community’s options for using Twitter to influence policy and disseminate research. In particular, proliferation of Twitter activity following pro-public health policy announcements could be considered to ensure pro-health messages are not overshadowed by anti-regulation voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural expansion is one of the leading causes of deforestation in the tropics and in Southeast Asia it is predominantly driven by large-scale production for international trade. Peninsular Malaysia has a long history of plantation agriculture and has been a predominantly resource-based economy where expanding plantations like those of oil palm continue to replace natural forests. Habitat loss from deforestation and expanding plantations threatens Malaysian biodiversity. Expanding industrial plantations have also been responsible for drainage and conversions of peatland forests resulting in release of large amounts of carbon dioxide. The demand for palm oil is expected to increase further and result in greater pressures on tropical forests. Given Malaysia’s high biophysical suitability for oil palm cultivation, it is important to understand patterns of oil palm expansion to better predict forest areas that are vulnerable to future expansion. We study natural forest conversion to industrial oil palm in Peninsular Malaysia between 1988 and 2012 to identify determinants of recent oil palm expansion using logistic regression and hierarchical partitioning. Using maps of recent conversions and remaining forests, we characterize agro-environmental suitability and accessibility for the past and future conversions. We find that accessibility to previously existing plantations is the strongest determinant of oil palm expansion and is significant throughout the study period. Almost all (> 99%) of the forest loss between 1988 and 2012 that has been converted to industrial oil palm plantations is within 1 km from oil palm plantations that have been established earlier. Although most forest conversions to industrial oil palm have been in areas of high biophysical suitability, there has been an increase in converted area in regions with low oil palm suitability since 2006. We find that reduced suitability does not necessarily restrict conversions to industrial oil palm in the region; however, lack of access to established plantations does. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pictures of farm animals and their husbandry systems are frequently presented in the media and are mostly connected to discussions surrounding farm animal welfare. How such pictures are perceived by the broader public is not fully understood thus far. It is presumable that the animalsʼ expressions and body languages as well as their depicted environment or husbandry systems affect public perception. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test how the evaluation of a picture showing a farmed pig is influenced by portrayed attributes, as well as participants’ perceptions of pigs’ abilities in general, and if connection to agriculture has an influence. In an online survey, 1,019 German residents were shown four modified pictures of a pig in a pen. The pictures varied with regards to facial expression and body language of the pig (ʽhappyʼ versus ʽunhappyʼ pig) and the barn setting (straw versus slatted floor pen). Respondents were asked to evaluate both the pen and the welfare of the pig. Two Linear Mixed Models were calculated to analyze effects on pig and pen evaluation. For the pictures, the pen had the largest influence on both pig and pen evaluation, followed by the pigʼs appearance and participants’ beliefs in pigs’ mental and emotional abilities, as well as their connection to agriculture. The welfare of both the ʽhappyʼ and the ʽunhappyʼ pig was assessed to be higher in the straw setting compared to the slatted floor setting in our study, and even the ʽunhappy pigʼ on straw was perceived more positively than the ʽhappy pigʼ on slatted floor. The straw pen was evaluated as being better than the slatted floor pen on the pictures we presented but the pens also differed in level of dirt on the walls (more dirt in the slatted floor pen), which might have influenced the results. Nevertheless, the results suggest that enduring aspects of pictures such as the husbandry system influence perceptions more than a momentary body expression of the pig, at least in the settings tested herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current extinction crisis leaves us increasingly reliant on captive populations to maintain vulnerable species. Approximately one third of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are living in semi-captive conditions in range countries. Their relationship with humans stretches back millennia, yet elephants have never been fully domesticated. We rely on the expertise of traditional handlers (mahouts) to manage these essentially wild animals, yet this profession may be threatened in the modern day. Here, we study the handling system of semi-captive timber elephants in Myanmar; the largest global semi-captive population (~5 000). We investigate how recent changes in Myanmar may have affected the keeping system and mahout-elephant interactions. Structured interviews investigated changes to mahout attitude and experience over the last two decades, as perceived by those who had worked in the industry for at least 10 years (n = 23) and as evaluated in current mahouts (n = 210), finding mahouts today are younger (median age 22yrs), less experienced (median experience 3yrs), and change elephants frequently, threatening traditional knowledge transfer. Mahout-elephant interactions manifested as 5 components (‘job appreciation’; ‘experience is necessary’; ‘human-elephant interaction’; ‘own knowledge’; ‘elephant relationship’), according to Principal Components Analysis. Experienced mahouts and mahouts of bulls and younger elephants were more likely to agree that ‘experience is necessary’ to be a mahout. Mahouts with difficult elephants scored lower on ‘human-elephant interaction’ and a mahout’s perception of their ‘own knowledge’ increased with more experience. Our finding of change in terms of mahout experience, age and commitment in the largest semi-captive elephant population suggests need for formal training and assessment of impacts on elephant welfare; these are findings applicable to thousands of elephants under similar management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of past forest use traditions are crucial in both understanding the present state of the oldest European forests, and in guiding decisions on future forest conservation and management. Current management of Poland’s Białowieża Forest (BF), one of the best-preserved forests of the European lowlands, is heavily influenced by anecdotal knowledge on forest history. Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge of the forest’s past in order to answer questions about its historical administration, utilisation, and associated anthropogenic changes. Such understanding can then inform future management. This study, based on surveys in Belarussian and Russian archives and a preliminary field survey in ten forest compartments of Białowieża National Park, focuses on culturally-modified trees (CMTs), which in this case are by-products of different forms of traditional forest use. Information about the formation of the CMTs can then be used to provide insight into former forest usage. Two types of CMTs were discovered to be still present in the contemporary BF. One type found in two forms was of 1) pine trees scorched and chopped in the bottom part of the trunk and 2) pine trees with carved beehives. A second type based on written accounts, and therefore known to be present in the past (what we call a ‘ghost CMT’), was of 3) lime-trees with strips of bark peeled from the trunk. Written accounts cover the period of transition between the traditional forest management (BF as a Polish royal hunting ground, until the end of the eighteenth century) and modern, “scientific” forestry (in most European countries introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century). These accounts document that both types of CMTs and the traditional forest uses responsible for their creation were considered harmful to “rational forestry” by the nineteenth-century forest administration. Thus the practices which created CMTs were banned and the trees gradually removed from the forest. Indeed, these activities drew the attention of forest administrators for several decades, and in our view delayed the introduction of new, timber-oriented, forest management in the BF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soy protein and fish oil are food components that decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies demonstrated that these food components reduced serum cholesterol levels and suppressed hepatic lipogenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms of action of these food components remain unclear. Ten classes of serum lipoprotein profiles showed that dietary tofu, a soybean curd, suppressed cholesterol absorption, while fish oil reduced most of the lipoprotein classes in rats. Tofu and fish oil both halved the level of the lipoprotein class LAC1 (LDL-anti-protease complex), a 15-nm LDL-anti-protease complex, which is speculated to be a cause of atherosclerosis. Moreover, a global transcriptome analysis revealed that tofu inhibited the mRNA expression of genes involved in hepatic lipogenesis, while fish oil stimulated that of genes related to fatty acid degradation. Therefore, tofu and fish oil independently regulate lipid metabolism. The decrease observed in LAC1 may have been due to reduced cholesterol absorption in the tofu diet group and the interference of lipogenesis via the activation of polyunsaturated fatty acid detoxification in the fish oil group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant oil utilization in aquafeeds is still the most practical option, although it decreases the content of the nutritionally highly valuable omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA) in fish. Phytoestrogens and their metabolites are putatively able to affect genes encoding proteins centrally involved in the biosynthesis of EPA and DHA due to their estrogenic potential. Thus, the aim of the study was to screen the potential of the phytoestrogens to stimulate the biosynthesis of EPA and DHA in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Additionally, the potential effects on growth performance, nutrient composition and hepatic lipid metabolism in rainbow trout were investigated. For that, a vegetable oil based diet served as a control diet (C) and was supplemented with 15 g/kg dry matter of biochanin A (BA), daidzein (DA), genistein (G) and equol (EQ), respectively. These five diets were fed to rainbow trout (initial body weight 83.3 ± 0.4 g) for 52 days. Growth performance and nutrient composition of whole body homogenates were not affected by the dietary treatments. Furthermore, feeding EQ to rainbow trout significantly increased DHA levels by +8% in whole body homogenates compared to samples of fish fed the diet C. A tendency towards increased DHA levels in whole body homogenates was found for fish fed the diet G. Fish fed diets BA and DA lacked these effects. Moreover, EQ and G fed fish showed significantly decreased hepatic mRNA steady state levels for fatty acyl desaturase 2a (delta-6) (fads2a(d6)). In contrast, carnitine palmitoyl transferases 1 (cpt1) hepatic mRNA steady state levels and hepatic Fads2a(d6) protein contents were not affected by the dietary treatment. In conclusion, when combined with dietary vegetable oils, equol and genistein seem to stimulate the biosynthesis of DHA and thereby increase tissue DHA levels in rainbow trout, however, only to a moderate extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the application of a region-focused saturation mutagenesis and randomization approach, protein engineering of the Cal-A enzyme was undertaken with the goal of conferring new triglyceride selectivity. Little is known about the mode of triglyceride binding to Cal-A. Engineering Cal-A thus requires a systemic approach. Targeted and randomized Cal-A libraries were created, recombined using the Golden Gate approach and screened to detect variants able to discriminate between long-chain (olive oil) and short-chain (tributyrin) triglyceride substrates using a high-throughput in vivo method to visualize hydrolytic activity. Discriminative variants were analyzed using an in-house script to identify predominant substitutions. This approach allowed identification of variants that exhibit strong discrimination for the hydrolysis of short-chain triglycerides and others that discriminate towards hydrolysis of long-chain triglycerides. A clear pattern emerged from the discriminative variants, identifying the 217–245 helix-loop-helix motif as being a hot-spot for triglyceride recognition. This was the consequence of introducing the entire mutational load in selected regions, without putting a strain on distal parts of the protein. Our results improve our understanding of the Cal-A lipase mode of action and selectivity. This holistic perspective to protein engineering, where parts of the gene are individually mutated and the impact evaluated in the context of the whole protein, can be applied to any protein scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing amounts of crop residues are being returned to croplands. Understanding nitrogen (N) availability in crop residues under various N fertilization regimes is important in optimizing N management. Pot experiments were conducted to investigate the contribution, fate and residual effects of urea and maize residue-N using a 15N isotope technique. Four N regimes were tested: three basal–topdressing ratios of N applied as urea (100–0, 75–25, 50–50) and one basal application of 75% N as urea and 25% N as manure (75U+25M). An average of 31.4% wheat N uptake was derived from urea, 9.2% from maize residue, and 59.5% from the soil in the first season. During the growing stages of wheat, maize residue contributed 0.3–4.8% and 3.1–13.2% to soil mineral and microbial biomass N, respectively, and those originated from urea was 1.0–4.2% and 4.6–16.8%, respectively. Regarding the fate of urea and residue-N after the first season, 35.9% and 16.9% of urea-15N and residue-15N were recovered by wheat, 28.1% and 46.9% remained in the soil, and 36.0% and 36.2% were lost. The contribution of urea to crop N uptake and N recovery efficiency increased, while that of residue-N decreased with increasing proportion of topdressing N. Substituting 25% mineral N with manure decreased the urea-15N loss without negative effects on crop dry matter and N uptake. Residual urea-15N and maize residue-15N from the previous season contributed 3.9% and 3.0% to summer maize N uptake. Additionally, 29.3% of residue-15N remained in the soil after the second season, while only 18.6% of urea-15N remained. Our study suggests that fertilizer and crop residue are actively involved in soil N transformation and plant N nutrition, emphasizing the capacities of organic residues to sustainably supply nutrients. Considering the utilization of both N fertilizer and maize residue, we may suggest a 75–25 split in N fertilizer application, but more appropriate options need to be further assessed under different cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of medicinal plants and their derivatives is increasing, and approximately one-third of all traditional herbal medicines are intended for wound treatment. Natural products used in these treatments include vegetable oils, which are rich in essential fatty acids. Once in contact with an ulcerative surface, the oil reaches the blood and lymphatic vessels, thus eliciting systemic effects. Objective: This study evaluated the local and possible systemic effects of essential fatty acids (sunflower oil) applied topically to rat wounds. Methods: Cutaneous punch wounds (6 mm) were produced on the dorsa of 30 rats. Saline (SS), mineral oil (MO) or essential fatty acid (EFA) solutions were applied topically. Healing was evaluated after 2, 4 and 10 days (n = 5 per group) by visual and histological/morphometric examination, second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, and cytokine and growth factor quantification in the scar tissue (real-time PCR) and in serum (ELISA). Results: MO/EFA-treated animals had higher IGF-1, leptin, IL-6 and IFN-γ mRNA expression and lower serum IL-6 levels than the control (SS/MO) animals. SHG analysis showed no difference in collagen density between the animals treated with MO and EFA. Conclusion: EFA treatment induces topical (observed by local IGF-1, leptin, IL-6 and IFN-γ production) and systemic effects, lowering IL-6 levels in the serum. As the oil is widely used to shorten ulcer healing time, studies are needed to evaluate the treatment safety and possible undesired effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlations between growth and wool traits in response to canola and flaxseed oil supplementation were evaluated in Australian prime lambs. Sixty dual-purpose prime lambs including purebred Merino and crossbred lambs were allocated to one of five treatments of lucerne hay basal diet supplemented with isocaloric and isonitrogenous wheat-based pellets. Treatments were: no oil inclusion (Control); 2.5% canola oil; 5% canola oil; 2.5% flaxseed oil and 5% flaxseed oil, with lamb groups balanced by breed and gender. Each lamb was daily supplemented with 1kg of pellets and had free access to lucerne hay and water throughout the 7-week feeding trial, after a 3-week adaptation. Individual animal basal and supplementary pellet feed intakes were recorded daily, while body conformation traits, body condition scores and liveweights were measured on days 0, 21, 35 and 49. The lambs were dye-banded on the mid-side and shorn before commencing the feeding trial and mid-side wool samples were collected from the same dye-banded area of each lamb at the end of the experiment. Correlations between wool quality traits and lamb performance were non-significant (P>0.05). Oil supplementation had no detrimental effect on lamb growth and wool quality traits (P > 0.05). Gender significantly affected wither height gain and fibre diameter. There were significant interactions between oil supplementation and lamb breed on chest girth. The correlations between clean fleece yield (CFY) and other wool quality traits were moderate ranging from 0.29 to 0.55. Moderate to high correlations between fibre diameter (FD) and other wool quality traits were detected (0.46–0.99) with the strongest relationship between FD and wool spinning fineness (SF). The relationship between CFY and wool comfort factor (CF) were positive, while negative relationships between CFY and the others were observed. A combination of 5% oil supplementation and genetics is an effective and strategic management tool for enhancing feed efficiency and growth performance without negative effects on wool quality in dual-purpose lamb production. This is a good outcome for dual-purpose sheep farmers. It essentially means the absorbed nutrients in supplemented lambs yielded good growth performance without any detrimental impact on wool quality; a win-win case of nutrient partitioning into the synthesis of muscle and wool without compromising either traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is undergoing important changes in order to meet sustainable soil management with respect to biodiversity (namely agroecology). Within this context, alternative solutions to mineral fertilizers such as agricultural biostimulants are thus promoted and being developed. The mechanisms by which some soil biostimulants sustain soil biological functioning and indirectly increase crop yields are still unknown. Our goal in the present study was to demonstrate if and to what extent the application of a soil biostimulant affects the soil heterotrophic microbial communities that are involved in organic matter decomposition and carbon mineralization. We hypothesized that the addition of a biostimulant results in changes in the composition and in the biomass of soil microbial communities. This in turn increases the mineralization of the organic matter derived from crop residues. We performed soil microcosm experiments with the addition of crop residues and a biostimulant, and we monitored the organic carbon (orgC) mineralization and the microbial biomass, along with the microbial community composition by sequencing 16S rRNA gene and ITS amplicons. The addition of a soil biostimulant caused a pH neutralizing effect and simultaneous enhancement of the orgC mineralization of crop residues (+ 400 μg orgC g-1 dry soil) and microbial biomass (+ 60 μg orgC g-1 dry soil) that were linked to changes in the soil microbial communities. Our findings suggest that the soil carbon mineralization enhancement in the presence of the biostimulant was supported by the specific recruitment of soil bacteria and fungi. Whereas archaea remained stable, several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of indigenous soil bacteria and fungi were enriched and affiliated with known microbial decomposers such as Cytophagaceae, Phaselicystis sp., Verrucomicrobia, Pseudomonas sp., Ramicandelaber sp., and Mortierella sp., resulting in lower soil microbial richness and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of fluorescence spectroscopy has been utilized for the characterization of three types of canola oil samples: the first type was obtained by dissolving its seeds in hexane solvent, the second by cold press method, and the third from eight commercial brands. Fluorescence spectra from all samples have been acquired by using excitation wavelengths from 280 to 420 nm with step of 10 nm to investigate their valuable ingredients. The emission bands at 375, 525 and 673 nm that represent vitamin E/beta-carotene and chlorophyll, are present only in canola oil samples extracted by chemical and cold press methods and absolutely absent from all commercial brands. The emission band at 440 nm appearing only in the commercial oil brands, is assigned to oxidized products of isomers of vitamin E and fatty acids. In addition, the effect of temperature on the canola oil extracted by cold press method has been investigated which showed that up to 180 oC it does not lose much of its natural molecular composition. However, it showed a trend of thermal oxidation with rise of temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiome studies focused on ecologically relevant vertebrate models like reptiles have been limited. Because of their relatively small home range, fast maturation, and high fecundity, lizards are an excellent reptilian terrestrial indicator species. For this study we used the green anole, Anolis carolinensis, to assess the impact of military relevant contaminants on fecal microbiome composition. Fourteen day sub-acute exposures were conducted via oral gavage with 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and inorganic lead at doses of 60 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. Body weights and food consumption were monitored and fecal samples were collected for high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analytical chemistry at days 0 and 15. At the end of the study, liver and gut were harvested for body burden data. Chemical analysis confirmed accumulation of TNT, TNT transformation products, and lead in liver tissue and fecal samples. Bacterial community analysis of fecal material revealed significant differences between day 0 and day 15 of TNT exposed anoles with an operational taxonomic unit (OTU) within the genus Erwinia representing 32% of the microbial community in TNT exposed anoles. Predictable changes in gut microbiome composition could offer an easily assayed, noninvasive biomarker for specific chemical exposure providing enhanced scientific support to risk assessments on military installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil recently began granting timber concessions in public forests to promote sustainable forest use. The effectiveness of this strategy hinges on the design and implementation of the concessions themselves as well as their competitive position within the logging sector as a whole. There is, however, a lack of information on the competitive interaction between legal and illegal logging and its effects on concessions profits. We address this knowledge gap by using a spatially explicit simulation model of the Amazon timber industry to examine the potential impact of illegal logging on timber concessions allocation and profits in a 30-year harvest cycle. In a scenario in which illegal logging takes place outside concessions, including private and public “undesignated” lands, concession harvested area would decrease by 59% due to competition with illegal logging. Moreover, 29 out of 39 National Forests (≈74%) would experience a decrease in harvested area. This “leakage” effect could reduce concession net rents by up to USD 1.3 Billion after 30 years. Federal and State “undesignated” lands, if not adequately protected, could have 40% of their total volume illegally harvested in 30 years. Our results reinforce the need to invest in tackling illegal logging, if the government wants the forest concessions program to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]