Somatic Coliphage Profiles of Produce and Environmental Samples from Farms in Northern México

Somatic coliphages were quantified in 459 produce and environmental samples from 11 farms in Northern Mexico to compare amounts of somatic coliphages among different types of fresh produce and environmental samples across the production steps on farms. Rinsates from cantaloupe melons, jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, and the hands of workers, soil, and water were collected during 2011–2012 at four successive steps on each farm, from the field before harvest through the packing facility, and assayed by FastPhage MPN Quanti-tray method. Cantaloupe farm samples contained more coliphages than jalapeño or tomato (p range <0.01–0.03). Across production steps, jalapeños had higher coliphage percentages before harvest than during packing (p = 0.03), while tomatoes had higher coliphage concentrations at packing than all preceding production steps (p range <0.01–0.02). These findings support the use of targeted produce-specific interventions at multiple points in the process of growing and packing produce to reduce the risk of enteric virus contamination and improve food safety during fruit and vegetable production.     

Soil moisture determines the effectiveness of two urease inhibitors to decrease N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O emission

Among the mitigation strategies to prevent nitrogen (N) losses from ureic fertilizers, urease inhibitors (UIs) have been demonstrated to promote high N use efficiency by reducing ammonia (NH₃) volatilization. In the last few years, some field experiments have also shown its effectiveness in reducing nitrous oxide (N₂O) losses from fertilized soils under conditions of low soil moisture. An incubation experiment was carried out with the aim of assessing the main biotic mechanisms behind N₂O emissions once that the UIs N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamid (NBPT) and phenil phosphorodiamidate (PPDA) were applied with Urea (U) under different soil moisture conditions (40, 60 and 80 % water-filled pore space, WFPS). In the same study we tried to analyze to what extent soil WFPS regulates the effect of these inhibitors on N₂O emissions. The use of PPDA in our study allowed us to compare the effect of NBPT with that of another commercially available urease inhibitor, aiming to see if the results were inhibitor-specific or not. Based on the results from this experiment, a WFPS (i.e. 60 %) was chosen for a second study (i.e. mesocosm experiment) aiming to assess the efficiency of the UIs to indirectly affect N₂O emissions through influencing the pool of soil mineral N. The N₂O emissions at 40 % WFPS were almost negligible, being significantly lower from all fertilized treatments than that produced at 60 and 80 % WFPS. When compared to U alone, NBPT+U reduced the N₂O emissions at 60 % WFPS but had no effect at 80 % WFPS. The application of PPDA significantly increased the emissions with respect to U at 80 % WFPS whereas no significant effect was found at 60 %. At 80 % WFPS, denitrification was the main source of N₂O emissions for all treatments. In the mesocosm study, the application of NBPT+U was an effective strategy to reduce N₂O emissions (75 % reduction compared to U alone), due to a lower soil ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) content induced by the inhibitor. These results suggest that adequate management of the UI NBPT could provide, under certain soil conditions, an opportunity for mitigation of N₂O emissions from fertilized soils.     

Virus Genome Quantification Does not Predict Norovirus Infectivity After Application of Food Inactivation Processing Technologies

When determining the effect of food processing on the infectivity of any contaminating virus, it is necessary to distinguish unambiguously between infectious and non-infectious viruses present. However, this can be difficult in the particular case of noroviruses (NoVs) because no reliable cell culture model is available. The aim of this study was to assess the use of molecular methods—RT real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and enzymatic treatment (ET) coupled to RT-qPCR—to quantify the infectivity of NoV after application of various inactivating food-processing technologies. RT-qPCR and ET-RT-qPCR gave significantly different (P < 0.01) results concerning the reduction in viral genome counts by all inactivation procedures and conditions used, except for HHP treatment at 600 MPa for 5 min. These findings indicate that the ET prior to RT-qPCR has an effect on the estimation of the reduction of virus genome counts, and may eliminate genomes of affected virus particles. However, no correlation was found between the results obtained by ET-RT-qPCR and those obtained by cell culture. Therefore, the effect is presumably only partial, and not adequate to allow accurate estimation of virus inactivation. Consequently, our results indicate that the quantification of virus genomes by PCR, regardless of prior ET, is not adequate for establishing virus inactivation and/or infectivity. In addition, our results also illustrate that the general effect of virus inactivation is not directly correlated to effects on the integrity of virus genome and protein capsid. Presumably, inactivation by food processing is the consequence of effects on proteins involved in adhesion and invasion stages.     

Antiestrogenic activity of anthropogenic and natural chemicals

A number of natural and man-made chemicals possess antiestrogenic activity, i.e. they antagonize a broad spectrum of estrogen-induced responses in vertebrates. Examples of antiestrogens include dioxin, furan and PCB congeners, certain PAHs, pesticides and indol-3-carbinol derivatives. Major mechanisms of antiestrogenicity are antagonistic action of chemicals at the estrogen receptor, or binding of chemicals to the arylhydrocarbon (Ah) receptor and subsequent interaction with estrogen-responsive genes. Toxicological consequences resulting from antiestrogenic activity have not been conclusively demonstrated to date, although antiestrogenic compounds could critically affect sensitive reproductive and developmental processes.     

Monitoring of the Phytosanitary State of Navarra's Forests, Spain

Between 1988 and 1993 six surveys on the condition of forests in Navarra (North Spain) were carried out. The results, relating to 408 trees in 17 sampling points, showed that the overall percentage of damaged trees increased from 2.86% in 1988 to 18.6% in 1993, which indicates a general large-scale deterioration of forest condition. Among the most common groups of trees, the most severely affected species were Quercus faginea, Quercus robur and Pinus sylvestris. Furthermore, it was observed that defoliation and discoloration processes did not occur randomly between stand trees, but the trees that were damaged one year (1992) were more predisposed to suffer damage in the next year (1993).     

Diel Variability of Water Quality in a Tropical Polluted Bay

The objective is to describe and quantify the diel variability of water quality in a tropical coastal system, Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Water samples were collected in spring and neap tide cycles over 24 h periods at three strategic sites. A pollution gradient was evident between the sampling sites. The average fecal coliform values decreased from 10⁶ (site 3, most polluted) to 10¹ (site 1, less polluted). Organic matter mineralization was found in a similar gradient to organic pollution. However, complete nitrification was only found associated to regions where the water quality was better. Variability in this data set was determined mostly by the pollution gradient observed, and by tidal influence as well. The poor water quality indicates that the bay undergoes severe environmental stress. However water renewal promoted by tidal action was an important mechanism in diluting the pollution, improving water quality even in ebb tides and in the inner channels. The significance of micro-scale changes in water quality assessment in Guanabara Bay was confirmed, as well as the importance of these strategic sampling sites, reinforcing the importance of these measurements in monitoring programs.     

Fire and explosion hazards during filling/emptying of tanks

Loading and unloading operations produce 8% of all accidents which occur in process plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials. A survey of 738 accidents was performed, allowing the identification of the accident type distribution and of their cause. Some considerations on flammable mixtures are also presented, and the procedures to avoid these mixtures occurring when filling or emptying a tank are briefly discussed.     

Effects of paternal care on reproductive success in the polygynous spotless starling Sturnus unicolor

For males of socially polygynous avian species like the spotless starling, there may exist a trade-off between investing in paternal care and controlling several nests. To determine how the intensity of paternal care affects reproductive success per brood sired or expressed as the total number of young raised in all nests controlled by the same male, it is necessary to manipulate paternal care. Testosterone (T) has been shown to depress the tendency for males to care for their young, and induces them to acquire more mates. The effects of paternal care on reproductive success were studied by treating certain male starlings with exogenous T and others with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (CA), and comparing the parental behavior of T- and CA-males throughout the breeding season with that of controls. CA-males fed their chicks more during the first week after hatching than T-males, with controls feeding at intermediate rates, both on a per nest basis and as total effort for all nests controlled by the same male. Paternal feeding rates during the first week of chick life had a significant positive effect on the number of fledged young. The hormone treatment significantly affected the number of chicks raised per nest, CA-males having a higher breeding success per nest than T-males, and controls showing intermediate levels of success. There was no significant effect of treatment on total reproductive success attained by males throughout the season. In the polygonous spotless starling, the intensity of paternal care of young affects reproductive success per nest positively but not on a seasonal basis. Received: 6 February 1999 / Received in revised form: 30 June 1999 / Accepted: 11 July 1999     

Effects of sex-associated competitive asymmetries on foraging group structure and despotic distribution in Andean condors

Phenotype-limited interference models assume competitive asymmetries among conspecifics and unequal sharing of resources. Their main prediction is a correlation between dominance status and patch quality: dominant individuals should preferentially exploit better-quality habitats. We tested assumptions and predictions of the phenotype-limited interference model in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus), a New World vulture with strong sexual size dimorphism (males are 30–40% heavier than females). We recorded searching birds in habitats differing in quality: mountains and plains. We also observed scavenging behaviour at 20 sheep carcasses, and videotaped 5 of them. Intraspecific hierarchy at carcasses was based on size: males dominated females and, within each sex, older birds dominated younger ones. Adult males and juvenile females occupied extreme positions in the feeding hierarchy. Aggression was directed at those individuals belonging to lower hierarchical levels. In high-quality areas (mountains), more condors arrived at carcasses. Juvenile females were more often observed searching in low-quality areas (plains), far from breeding areas and main roost sites. GLM analyses of individual behaviour showed that the hierarchy did not influence time of arrival, but low-ranking individuals spent more time at carcasses, especially if the number of condors at arrival was high. Additionally, low-ranking condors spent less time feeding at carcasses when individuals of higher hierarchical levels were present. On the other hand, the number of condors present had a positive effect on feeding rates of dominant individuals, probably because of a reduction in individual vigilance. These results support most of the assumptions and predictions of the phenotype-limited distribution model, although a spatial truncated distribution between phenotypes was not observed. Asymmetric feeding pay-off, unequal parental roles and sexual selection constraints could favour sexual divergence in body size in Andean condors. Received: 6 April 1998 / Accepted after revision: 11 July 1998     

Within-plant allocation of a chemical defense in Secale cereale. Is concentration the appropriate currency of allocation?

Summary. The among-leaves allocation of DIBOA, a hydroxamic acid associated with plant resistance, in the shoot of rye (Secale cereale) was evaluated over the vegetative development of the plant. The appropriateness of using the concentration of secondary metabolites, DIBOA in this case, as the parameter to evaluate defense allocation in plants is discussed. Both biological and statistical arguments are put forward to suggest that allocation of chemical defenses should refer to absolute content and not to concentration. Results showed that leaf age was significantly linked to leaf concentration of DIBOA, young leaves having higher concentrations. In contrast, leaf content of DIBOA, our proposed currency of allocation, was not significantly higher in younger leaves. Furthermore, a regression analysis showed that the DIBOA content of leaves was better explained by the leaf relative biomass (proportion of shoot biomass) than by leaf biomass itself. It is suggested that, rather than leaf age, leaf relative biomass is the major factor determining DIBOA allocation in rye shoots. It is proposed that studies addressing within-plant defense allocation should use chemical defense content as the currency, emphasizing the major factors driving this process and its underlying mechanisms. Likewise, it is proposed that studies aiming at characterizing optimal patterns of plant defense should use chemical defense concentration as the currency, and be accompanied by evaluations of the actual resistance against herbivores of the plant parts analyzed, together with the effect on plant fitness. Received 19 February 1999; accepted 28 April 1999.