Fuels from biomass: integration with food and materials systems

The development of fuels from biomass can lead naturally to dispersed facilities that incorporate food or materials production (or both) with fuel production, forming adaptive systems that can be modified to meet evolving needs and constraints. The technology that is appropriate to each system needs to be worked out, taking into account associated food and materials opportunities in order to decrease the ultimate cost of energy delivered to the consumer. I analyze possible systems based on sugarcane, corn, and guayule.     

Stability of abdominal fat and meat of broilers: Effect of duration of feeding antioxidants 1

1. The α‐tocopherol (AT) content of abdominal fat and fat stability increased as a function of the duration of α‐tocopheryl acetate (ATA) feeding in broilers fed on diets containing either 40 g acidulated soyabean‐oil soapstock (ASS) or tallow/kg. A linear relationship was observed between AT content of the adipose tissue and its stability with both types of fat supplements.

2. The stabilities of carcass fat and meat of 9‐week‐old broilers fed on diets containing ASS with 300 mg ethoxyquin (EQ)/kg or diets containing tallow with 20 mg ATA/kg from weeks 5 to 9 were comparable with those obtained by feeding these antioxidants and fats throughout the growth period.

3. ATA added to a diet containing ASS, and EQ, added to a diet containing tallow did not improve meat stability despite such an effect on adipose tissue when fed for 9 weeks. The results emphasise the importance of using the dietary antioxidant appropriate to the fat supplement to improve carcass stability.     

Mercury residues in breast muscle of wild ducks, 1970-71.

Samples of breast muscle from 327 ducks collected from October 1970 to March 1971 in the conterminous United States were analyzed for total mercury by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury levels for the entire collection ranged from less than 0.01 to 3.91 ppm wet weight with a median of 0.10 ppm. Twenty-five ducks had levels equalling or exceeding the 0.5 ppm guideline for fish and shellfish established by the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Dabbling ducks, which are shallow-water feeders and mostly vegetarian in fall, winter, and spring, usually had lower levels than diving and sea ducks. Levels were generally higher in ducks collected in areas where environmental mercury levels were known to be greater than in ducks from nonsuspect areas. Despite the mobility of the ducks, levels seemed more closely linked to local environmental contamination than to various factors associated with large geographic areas.     

Construction of a cDNA library of Bemisia tabaci for use in the ''yeast two-hybrid screen'' method

Bemisia tabaci was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean part of Croatia in 2000. It was found in glasshouses in the agricultural area between the towns of Trogir and Omis, on the following crops: Euphorbia pulcherrima , Thunbergia grandiflora , Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Solanum melongena (aubergine), Phaseolus spp. (beans), Ficus carica (fig), Rubus spp. and several weeds of the families Asteraceae and Solanaceae . In 2001, monitoring for the pest was organized all over the country, in each of the 21 counties. In each county, there were several monitoring points so that all the major vegetable and flower producers were included. A special effort was made to record the spread of B. tabaci in the region where it was first found, bearing in mind that optimal conditions for outdoor spread exist along the Adriatic coast. Yellow sticky traps and visual inspection are used to monitor for B. tabaci . Eradication measures are being applied, and regulatory measures have been taken to prevent further spread of B. tabaci to continental parts of Croatia.     

Purification and some properties of Papaya meleira virus, a novel virus infecting papayas in Brazil

'Meleira', or 'sticky disease', is currently the most damaging papaya disease in the mid-eastern Brazilian growing regions. Consistent disease transmission via latex injection, presence of similar isometric particles in the laticiferous vessels of diseased plants, and detection of double-stranded DNA in naturally and experimentally infected papaya trees suggest that a virus is the causal agent. Conclusive evidence for viral aetiology was previously lacking, mostly because every attempt to purify the putative virus from infected papayas had failed. Following the successful purification and partial characterization of the meleira virus, healthy papaya seedlings injected with purified virus particles later developed typical symptoms of the disease. Negatively stained, isometric, full and 'empty' purified virus particles measured 42 and 38 nm, respectively. The viral genome was a single dsRNA molecule of about 12 kbp. Several capsid proteins, ranging in size from 14·4 to 45 kDa, were consistently revealed by PAGE. Papaya meleira virus (PMeV) appears to represent a novel group of viruses, with no known similar counterpart among known plant-, vertebrate-, invertebrate- or prokaryote-infecting viruses.