Characterization and transcriptional regulation of Stachybotrys elegans mitogen-activated-protein kinase gene smkA following mycoparasitism and starvation conditions.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways play an important role in the development and conidiation of fungal pathogens on their hosts and the sensing of host-derived cues. Mycoparasitism is a fungus-fungus interaction comprising host-pathogen cross talk. Until now, only little information is available on the role of the MAPK signaling pathway during this interaction.

Isolation and characterization of indigenous endophytic bacteria associated with leaves of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars.

Aims: To isolate and characterize indigenous bacterial endophytes from cultivars of switchgrass and study their antimicrobial and growth promoting potential.

Methods And Results: The diversity, molecular and biochemical characterizations of indigenous and culturable bacterial endophytes residing in leaves of switchgrass have not been studied previously. This study describes the characterization of 31 bacterial endophytes from three switchgrass cutlivars: Cave-in Rock, Blue Jacket and Tecumseh.

In-storage psychrophilic anaerobic digestion: acclimated microbial kinetics.

In-storage psychrophilic anaerobic digestion develops by microbial acclimation in covered swine-manure storage tanks, producing CH4 and stabilizing organic matter. To optimize the system's performance, the process kinetics must be understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate kinetic parameters describing the major stages in the digestion process, and to investigate the effect of temperature acclimation on these parameters.

Improving the determination of moisture in edible oils by FTIR spectroscopy using acetonitrile extraction.

A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) method developed for the analysis of moisture in edible oils using dry acetonitrile as the extraction solvent was re-examined with the objective of improving its overall sensitivity and reproducibility. Quantitation was based on the H-O-H bending absorption at ∼1630 cm(-1) instead of the bands in the OH stretching region, fewer interferences being an issue in the former as opposed to the latter region. In addition, a spectroscopic dilution correction procedure was developed to compensate for any miscibility of oil samples with acetonitrile, and gap-segment 2nd derivative spectra were employed to minimise the associated possibility of spectral interferences from absorptions of the oils.

Prediction of child health by household density and asset-based indices in impoverished indigenous villages in rural Panamá.

Chronic infection over a 16-month period and stunting of preschool children were compared between more spatially dense versus dispersed households in rural Panamá. Chronic protozoan infection was associated with higher household density, lower household wealth index, poor household water quality, yard defecation, and the practice of not washing hands with soap before eating. Models for chronic diarrhea confirmed the importance of household wealth, water quality, sanitation, and hygiene practices.

Hemocyte-hemocyte adhesion and nodulation reactions of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella are influenced by cholera toxin and its B-subunit.

Nodulation, the lepidopteran insect immune response to large numbers of microbes in the blood (hemolymph) consists of the coordination of the blood cell (hemocyte) types the granular cells and plasmatocytes in terms of granular cell-bacteria adhesion and hemocyte-hemocyte adhesion (microaggregation). Hemocyte-microbe adhesion is influenced by the secondary messenger, cAMP, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase A. In the present study, cholera toxin, an AB5 protein known to indirectly stimulate adenylate cyclase, is used to examine the hemocyte responses to glass, bacteria and hemocyte-hemocyte microaggregates.

High-dose supplemental selenite to male Syrian hamsters fed hypercholesterolaemic diets alters Ldlr, Abcg8 and Npc1l1 mRNA expression and lowers plasma cholesterol concentrations.

The aim of the present study was to elucidate possible cholesterol-lowering mechanism(s) of high-dose supplemental Se in the form of selenite, a known hypocholesterolaemic agent. Male Syrian hamsters (four groups, ten per group) were fed semi-purified diets for 4 weeks containing 0.1 % cholesterol and 15 % saturated fat with selenite corresponding to varying levels of Se: (1) Se 0.

Effect of pulsed electric field on the rheological and colour properties of soy milk.

The effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatments on rheological and colour properties of soy milk were evaluated. Flow behaviour, viscosity and rheological parameters of PEF-treated soy milk were monitored using a controlled stress rheometer. For PEF treatments, electric field intensity of 18, 20 and 22 kV cm(-1) and number of pulses of 25, 50, 75 and 100 were used.

Simultaneous mobilization of macro- and trace elements (MTEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds from soil with a nonionic surfactant and [S,S]-ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) in admixture: PAH compounds.

A laboratory study was conducted to assess the feasibility of a washing process with nonionic surfactant in combination with EDDS for the simultaneous mobilization of MTEs and PAH compounds from a field-contaminated soil. Unit processes consisting of complexometric extraction and surfactant-assisted mobilization were combined with reagent regeneration and detoxification steps to generate innocuous products. Thirty minutes of ultrasonic mixing of the soil with a combination of 20 mL L(-1) surfactant suspension and a sparing quantity (2 mmol) of EDDS mobilized virtually all of the benzo[α] pyrene (B(a)P) and chrysene (Cry) and an appreciable portion of the burdens of Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, lesser amounts of the As and Cu, but only small quantities of Al and Fe.

Simultaneous mobilization of trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds from soil with a nonionic surfactant and [S,S]-EDDS in admixture: metals.

This study evaluated the efficacy of soil washing with a nonionic surfactant (Brij98) in combination with a complexing reagent (ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid, [S,S]-EDDS) for the simultaneous mobilization of macro- and trace elements (MTEs) and PAH compounds from a field-contaminated soil. Soil fractionation studies indicated that an appreciable fraction of the Al, Ca, Cu, Fe and Mn was associated with the residual fraction but that much of the other trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) might be susceptible to soil washing. Ultrasonically aided mixing of the field contaminated soil with Brij98 and a sparing quantity (2 mmol) of [S,S]-EDDS, simultaneously mobilized virtually all of the benzo[α]pyrene {B(a)P} and chrysene (CRY) and appreciable quantities of the trace elements (Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) burdens.

Sorption and desorption of salinomycin sodium in clay, loamy sand, and sandy soils.

Salinomycin sodium (BIO-COX) is polyether ionophore, commonly used in the poultry industries for the prevention of coccidial infections and promotion of growth. Salinomycin sodium (SAL-Na) is very toxic, and may be fatal, if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin than many other antibiotics, thus evaluating their fate in the soil environment is of importance. Sorption of SAL-Na was measured in clay, loamy sand, and sandy soil at different pH 4, 7, and 9, and desorption with phosphate buffer (pH 7) using batch equilibration technique.

Balancing shifting cultivation and forest conservation: lessons from a "sustainable landscape" in southeastern Mexico.

Shifting cultivation is often perceived to be a threat to forests, but it is also central to the culture and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. Balancing agriculture and forest conservation requires knowledge of how agricultural land uses evolve in landscapes with forest conservation initiatives. Based on a case study from Quintana Roo, Mexico, and remote sensing data, we investigated land use and land cover change (LUCC) in relation to accessibility (from main settlement and road) in search of evidence for agricultural expansion and/or intensification after the initiation of a community forestry program in 1986.

Infant and young child feeding in the Peruvian Amazon: the need to promote exclusive breastfeeding and nutrient-dense traditional complementary foods.

The study objective was to understand the role of traditional Awajún foods in dietary quality and the potential impacts on growth of Awajún infants and young children 0-23 months of age. Research took place in April and May of 2004, along the Cenepa River in six Awajún communities. Anthropometry estimated nutritional status for 32 infants (0-23 months).

The N-terminal amphipathic region of the Escherichia coli type III secretion system protein EspD is required for membrane insertion and function.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli is a causative agent of gastrointestinal and diarrheal diseases. These pathogenic E. coli express a syringe-like protein machine, known as the type III secretion system (T3SS), used for the injection of virulence factors into the cytosol of the host epithelial cell.

Diarrhea and novel dietary factors emerge as predictors of serum vitamin B12 in Panamanian children.

Background: The role of gastrointestinal infection as a factor determining vitamin B12 status in populations with low intake of animal-source foods is unclear.

Objective: To determine dietary adequacy and serum concentrations of vitamin B12 in an extremely impoverished indigenous population of Panamanian children aged 12 to 60 months, and to identify predictors of both dietary and serum vitamin B12.

Methods: A previous community-based survey provided the usual dietary intake and personal, household, and infection (Ascaris and diarrheal disease) information for 209 weaned children.

Food waste treatment in a community center.

For urban community composting centers, the proper selection and use of bulking agent is a key element in not only the cost but also the quality of the finished compost. Besides wood chips (WC) widely used as BA, readily usable cereal residue pellets (CRP) can provide biodegradable carbon and sufficient free air space (FAS) to produce stabilizing temperatures. The objective of the present project was to test at a community center, the effectiveness of CRP in composting food waste (FW).

A highly saturated fat-rich diet is more obesogenic than diets with lower saturated fat content.

The present study tested the hypothesis that a saturated fatty acid (SFA)-rich diet is more obesogenic than diets with lower SFA content. In 8 female Sprague-Dawley rats fed a low-SFA canola or a moderate-SFA lard-rich diets at 67% of energy for 26 days, body weight gain, final body weight, obesity index, and food and energy intake were comparable. Twenty-nine rats were fed canola or high-SFA butter-rich diets (67% of energy) or chow for 50 days; then high-fat feeding was followed by ad libitum low-fat feeding (27% of energy) for 28 days and by a food-restricted low-fat diet for 32 days.

Temporal dynamics of epidermal responses of guppies Poecilia reticulata to a sublethal range of waterborne zinc concentrations.

This study assessed the histological changes in the epidermis of guppies Poecilia reticulata induced by waterborne zinc (Zn). Laboratory-reared P. reticulata fry were maintained individually in separate vessels containing artificial water (8 microg l(-1) Zn) to which 0, 15, 30, 60 or 120 microg l(-1) Zn was added.

Parasite fauna of Etheostoma nigrum (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) in localities of varying pollution stress in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada.

Parasite communities were examined in johnny darters (Etheostoma nigrum) collected from five localities in the St. Lawrence River in southwestern Quebec: two reference localities, one polluted locality upstream of the Island of Montreal and downstream of industrial and agricultural activity, and two polluted localities downstream of the Island of Montreal in the plume from the wastewater treatment facility. Twenty-four helminth species were found.

Compost mixture influence of interactive physical parameters on microbial kinetics and substrate fractionation.

Composting is a feasible biological treatment for the recycling of wastewater sludge as a soil amendment. The process can be optimized by selecting an initial compost recipe with physical properties that enhance microbial activity. The present study measured the microbial O(2) uptake rate (OUR) in 16 sludge and wood residue mixtures to estimate the kinetics parameters of maximum growth rate mu(m) and rate of organic matter hydrolysis K(h), as well as the initial biodegradable organic matter fractions present.

Antioxidant Supplements Improve Profiles of Hepatic Oxysterols and Plasma Lipids in Butter-fed Hamsters.

Hypercholesterolemic diets are associated with oxidative stress that may contribute to hypercholesterolemia by adversely affecting enzymatically-generated oxysterols involved in cholesterol homeostasis. An experiment was conducted to examine whether the cholesterol-lowering effects of the antioxidants selenium and α-tocopherol were related to hepatic oxysterol concentrations. Four groups of male Syrian hamsters (n = 7-8) were fed high cholesterol and saturated fat (0.

Methodological consideration of story telling in qualitative research involving indigenous peoples.

Background: The use of storytelling in qualitative research involving Inuit compliments the oral tradition of Inuit culture. The objective of the research was to explore the use of qualitative methods to gain understanding of the experience of living with diabetes, with the ultimate goal of better formulating health care delivery and health promotion among Inuit.

Methods: In-depth interviews were analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis, open coding, and structured narrative analysis.

The effect of composting on the degradation of a veterinary pharmaceutical.

Composting has been identified as a viable means of reducing the environmental impact of antibiotics in manure. The focus of the present study is the potential use of composting on the degradation of salinomycin in manure prior to its field application. Manure contaminated with salinomycin was collected from a poultry farm and adjusted to a C:N ratio of 25:1 with hay material.

Pilot-scale vermicomposting of pineapple wastes with earthworms native to Accra, Ghana.

Pineapple wastes, an abundant organic waste in Accra, Ghana, were vermicomposted using native earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg) collected from the banks of streams and around bath houses of this city. Triplicate pilot-scale vermidigesters containing about 90 earthworms and three other control boxes with no earthworms were fed pineapple pulp or peels, and the loss of wet mass was monitored over 20 weeks. In a second experiment, a 1:1 mixture of pineapple peels and pulp (w/w) was fed to triplicate pilot-scale vermicomposters and control boxes during a 20 week period.

A novel wire mesh "cell" for studying lipid oxidative processes by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

A novel infrared (IR) sample handling accessory has been developed to monitor and study oxidation processes of edible oils under moderate temperature conditions by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. A reusable stainless steel mesh IR "cell" was designed and evaluated from the standpoint of mesh size, transmission characteristics, its ability to entrap oil, and techniques to apply sample and normalize path length so as to obtain good quality, reproducible spectra. The concept is to entrap oil within the mesh by means of its inherent surface tension and to take advantage of the high surface area provided by the mesh to facilitate rapid oxidation of the oil by air at ambient or slightly elevated temperatures without having to resort to more extreme temperature conditions to track oxidative changes in real time.