Motivations for Sharing Bushmeat with an Urban Diaspora in Indigenous Australia

The hunting and trade of bushmeat is a significant issue. The sharing of marine bushmeat between Australian Torres Strait Islanders and their mainland urban diaspora was documented from a diaspora perspective by collecting quantitative and qualitative data from communities in three mainland cities. Motivations for sharing dugong and turtle meat were almost exclusively cultural and mostly occurred when a diaspora member visited Torres Strait, when Torres Strait Islanders visited their mainland family, during Islander ceremonies, or when goods were exchanged as gifts. Each respondent consumed relatively little dugong and turtle meat (<1–2% of annual meat consumption, or < 1 kg per person per annum). Sharing bushmeat strengthened social capital and reinforced cultural identity. Harnessing the social capital generated from the sharing of bushmeat to engage the urban diaspora in dugong and turtle management activities in the Torres Strait could enhance the legitimacy and effectiveness of such initiatives.     

Morus alba L. and Morus nigra L. Leaves as a Promising Food Source of Phenolic Compounds with Antioxidant Activity

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Bioactivity of mulberry has been widely described, but mostly related to its fruits, while studies with leaves are scarce. Herein, in this study leaves of two...     

Surface modification of wood using friction

The potential of linear vibration friction as an innovative means of producing increases in both surface density and surface hardness was explored. The influence of processing pressure and time on the degree of surface densification, surface hardness and surface elasticity was investigated. It was found that surface hardness (measured as Brinell hardness) was positively correlated with densification ratio. Furthermore, surface elasticity, that is the ability of the surface to recover elastically after indentation during the Brinell hardness test, could be increased by up to 33% depending on the degree of surface densification. The temperature rise due to friction was also studied. During processing, it was found that the temperature rise on both the radial and tangential surfaces was positively correlated with the processing pressure and time.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> conservation and genetic diversity of three populations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium mustelinum</Emphasis> Miers ex Watt

Gossypium mustelinum Miers ex Watt is a native from Northeastern Brazil and belongs to the primary gene pool of the cultivated cotton. The unique places where the species was known to occur were visited to plan ex situ and in situ preservation. Two populations at Caicó became extinct, and only eleven individuals were found. At Jaguarari, although one population became extinct, a new one was localized with approximately 500 adult plants, where a fence avoided cattle feeding. The population from Macururé consisted of 28 plants protected from animals by thorns of Bromelia laciniosa Mart. ex Schult. f. Thirteen SSR primer pairs amplified 40 alleles, among which 30% were exclusive of one of the populations. The genetic differences between populations represented 58.3% of the total genetic variation observed. The high genetic distances are likely to be caused by geographical isolation as well as by the small number of individuals which contribute to new generations, and consequential genetic drift.     

Evaluation of ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) clones

‘Tonda di Giffoni’ is among the most highly appreciated Italian hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars. Due to its round kernels and excellent processing quality, it was awarded a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from the European Union. To identify clones expressing improved nut and production qualities, a ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ clonal selection programme was conducted across hazelnut orchards in the Irno valley of Italy from 1995 to 2006. One hundred different clones were selected and propagated in a replicated trial under similar climate, soil, and cultural conditions. From this work, the 29 best clones were identified and from 2006 to 2008 their agronomic and pomological characteristics were observed. Microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to successfully confirm true-to-type identity of the clones. Traits evaluated included flowering time (anthesis), bud break, suckering, trunk diameter, nut and kernel characteristics and productivity (yield). Best linear unbiased predictions for clone means and estimates of intraclass correlation coefficient were obtained using R environment, lme4 and ggplot2 packages. Five clones superior to that of the standard of ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ were identified in this study. Furthermore, yield and number of suckers produced showed sufficient variability to likely be exploited for breeding. The selected clones express features useful for both growers and the processing industry and will be propagated and planted in hazelnut orchards for further study and commercial production.     

Measurement of serum myoglobin concentrations in horses by immunodiffusion.

Quantitative immunodiffusion in one dimension was performed in 6-mm Duran tubes containing a 1% Nobel agar solution and various dilutions of antisera. A series of dilutions of pure myoglobin in equine sera as well as plasma from horses with rhabdomyolysis were tested. Standard curves were prepared of the migration distance of the formed precipitate from the meniscus of the gel after 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours. The clearest line of precipitate was formed with a 1:20 dilution of antisera in agar. Standard curves were nonlinear and plasma myoglobin could be detected at 2 micrograms of myoglobin/ml or greater. The test was optimal, with an error of 5.6%, when read at 24 hours at approximately 25 C. Tubes with agar could be stored for 6 months at 4 C without affecting the accuracy of the test. The specificity of myoglobin for skeletal or cardiac muscle, and its rapid clearance from serum after muscle necrosis, make it ideally suited for evaluating acute muscle damage and for testing the susceptibility of horses for rhabdomyolysis following an exercise test.     

SIRT1-dependent modulation of methylation and acetylation of histone H3 on lysine 9 (H3K9) in the zygotic pronuclei improves porcine embryo development

Background: The histone code is an established epigenetic regulator of early embryonic development in mammals.The lysine residue K9 of histone H3(H3 K9) is a prime target of SIRT1, a member of NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase family of enzymes targeting both histone and non-histone substrates. At present, little is known about SIRT1-modulation of H3 K9 in zygotic pronuclei and its association with the success of preimplantation embryo development. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of SIRT1 activity on H3 K9 methylation and acetylation in porcine zygotes and the significance of H3 K9 modifications for early embryonic development.Results: Our results show that SIRT1 activators resveratrol and BML-278 increased H3 K9 methylation and suppressed H3 K9 acetylation in both the paternal and maternal pronucleus. Inversely, SIRT1 inhibitors nicotinamide and sirtinol suppressed methylation and increased acetylation of pronuclear H3 K9. Evaluation of early embryonic development confirmed positive effect of selective SIRT1 activation on blastocyst formation rate(5.2 ± 2.9% versus 32.9 ± 8.1% in vehicle control and BML-278 group, respectively; P ≤ 0.05). Stimulation of SIRT1 activity coincided with fluorometric signal intensity of ooplasmic ubiquitin ligase MDM2, a known substrate of SIRT1 and known limiting factor of epigenome remodeling.Conclusions: We conclude that SIRT1 modulates zygotic histone code, obviously through direct deacetylation and via non-histone targets resulting in increased H3 K9 me3. These changes in zygotes lead to more successful pre-implantation embryonic development and, indeed, the specific SIRT1 activation due to BML-278 is beneficial for in vitro embryo production and blastocyst achievement.     

Pathways for resilience in Mediterranean cork oak land use systems

Context

Loss of woodlands and degradation of vegetation and soil have been described for all Mediterranean-type ecosystems worldwide. In the Western Iberian Peninsula, overexploitation of evergreen cork oak land use systems has led to soil erosion, failures in oak recruitment, and loss of forests. Degraded and dry sites are quickly colonised by pioneer heathland rockrose (Cistus spp.) shrubs forming highly persistent patches.

Aims

Although traditionally shrublands have been considered as a transient successional state, we present evidence that they can represent persistent alternative states to former cork oak forests.

Review trends and conclusions

We first describe how Mediterranean vegetation evolved in the Iberian Peninsula and the role of fire and long-term human management as main disturbances. We then discuss alternative pathways through state-and-transition models indicating the ecological and land use variables that halt cork oak regeneration and recruitment and drive vegetation transitions towards persistent shrublands. Unless concerted management actions and restoration programmes are undertaken, the cork oak land use systems will not be sustainable.