Consumer perceptions of food safety risk: Evidence from a segmentation study in Albania

Albania is facing serious problems with the national food safety control system in terms of legislation, control and enforcement. The objective of this paper is to analyse consumer perceptions about safety of small ruminant meat in Tirana, in a context of weak enforcement of the food safety system. Applying two-step clustering analyses, consumers were classified in four socio-demographic clusters, and it was found that the cluster composed of female consumers with lower education and income levels, and the two clusters composed of male consumers perceive consumed meat as safe. Consumers in the cluster composed of females with university education and higher income are, on average, more concerned with current meat safety measures and tend to place more trust in the veterinarian stamp on meat carcasses rather than in local butchers.     

Generalized functions of biomass expansion factors for conifers and broadleaved by stand age,growing stock and site index

Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and/or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are required to account for their direct human-induced carbon emissions and removals including those from forestry and other land use related activities. In most European countries, the forestry related greenhouse gas inventories are largely or exclusively based on converting tree volume data from national forest inventories to biomass using biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEFs). However, country specific data for many species are often lacking, which considerably increases the uncertainties of the greenhouse gas inventories. The focus of this research was to develop, using internationally published datasets that cover a large geographical area, an extended set of generalized curves of such biomass expansion factors for several species or species groups by age, growing stock and site index.     

Enteroendocrine profile of α-transducin immunoreactive cells in the gastrointestinal tract of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

In vertebrates, chemosensitivity of nutrients occurs through the activation of taste receptors coupled with G-protein subunits, including α-transducin (G_αtran) and α-gustducin (G_αgust). This study was aimed at characterising the cells expressing G_αtran immunoreactivity throughout the mucosa of the sea bass gastrointestinal tract. G_αtran immunoreactive cells were mainly found in the stomach, and a lower number of immunopositive cells were detected in the intestine. Some G_αtran immunoreactive cells in the stomach contained G_αgust immunoreactivity. Gastric G_αtran immunoreactive cells co-expressed ghrelin, obestatin and 5-hydroxytryptamine immunoreactivity. In contrast, G_αtran immunopositive cells did not contain somatostatin, gastrin/cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide-1, substance P or calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in any investigated segments of the sea bass gastrointestinal tract. Specificity of G_αtran and G_αgust antisera was determined by Western blot analysis, which identified two bands at the theoretical molecular weight of ~45 and ~40 kDa, respectively, in sea bass gut tissue as well as in positive tissue, and by immunoblocking with the respective peptide, which prevented immunostaining. The results of the present study provide a molecular and morphological basis for a role of taste-related molecules in chemosensing in the sea bass gastrointestinal tract.     

Response of common wheat varieties to organic and conventional production systems across Italian locations,and implications for selection

Specific breeding for organic systems may help reduce their yield gap relative to conventional systems by exploiting genotype × system (GS) interaction. Likewise, specific breeding for distinct subregions within a region could capitalize on genotype × location (GL) interaction. Grain yield and test weight of common wheat varieties were evaluated under organic and conventional systems in ten locations spanning from northern to southern Italy, with the objectives of: (i) comparing production systems; (ii) investigating the extent of GS and GL interactions and their relationship with genotypic and environmental characteristics; and (iii) preliminarily comparing, in terms of predicted selection gains, different strategies to cope with GS and GL effects. These effects were investigated in the 2-year Data set 1 including seven genotypes. GS effects were also assessed in the annual Data sets 2 and 3 including 13 and 11 genotypes, respectively. The yield reduction of organic systems relative to conventional ones averaged 28% in Data set 1, 29% in Data set 2 and 14% in Data set 3. Organic systems also tended to a modest test weight reduction. Genetic correlations between systems ranged from high to very high (0.88 ≤ r_g ≤ 0.98) for yield and test weight, owing to nil or limited GS interaction. Broad-sense heritability tended to be higher in conventional systems than organic ones for yield in two data sets (mainly due to lower experimental error) while being similar in the two systems in the other cases. Predicted selection gains suggested nil (yield) or very modest (test weight) advantage of direct selection in organic systems relative to indirect selection in conventional systems, when targeting organic systems. The scope for selection only in conventional systems was reinforced when comparing predicted gains for selection scenarios which target both systems in relation to their foreseeable marketing importance. GL effects for yield and test weight were significant and were modeled by additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis. Site classification based on GL effects for yield revealed a larger subregion A including northern and central Italy and a smaller subregion B comprising southern Italy, accordingly with previous, independent studies. Yield selection only in subregion A (with indirect selection gain for subregion B) implied slightly higher predicted gain for A (+4%) and much lower gain for B (−24%) relative to independent, direct selection in each subregion. Selection for specific geoclimatic subregions may have greater importance than selection for specific production systems.     

Pathogenicity determinants in smut fungi revealed by genome comparison

Biotrophic pathogens, such as the related maize pathogenic fungi Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum, establish an intimate relationship with their hosts by secreting protein effectors. Because secreted effectors interacting with plant proteins should rapidly evolve, we identified variable genomic regions by sequencing the genome of S. reilianum and comparing it with the U. maydis genome. We detected 43 regions of low sequence conservation in otherwise well-conserved syntenic genomes. These regions primarily encode secreted effectors and include previously identified virulence clusters. By deletion analysis in U. maydis, we demonstrate a role in virulence for four previously unknown diversity regions. This highlights the power of comparative genomics of closely related species for identification of virulence determinants.     

基于ERS-1/2和Envisat ASAR数据的大区域森林制图研究

分别利用1995—2000年的ERS-1/2串行数据和2005年的Envisat ASAR数据对我国东北林区进行森林制图研究。针对ERS-1/2数据相干模型,采用一种不依靠地面实况数据而是基于MODIS植被连续覆盖产品进行训练的方法,从而实现进行大区域森林蓄积量分级制图的目的。分级制图包括0～20、20～50、50～80和80 m3/hm2 4个蓄积量等级。基于Envisat ASAR数据,采用面向对象的分类方法,进行自动化森林和非森林分类处理。基于2005年Landsat TM-5分类结果的交叉验证表明:这2种传感器SAR数据均可用于大区域森林制图。2期森林制图结果为进一步的森林变化分析以及制图更新研究提供支持。