The Spanish toxic oil syndrome: Some explanations for the pathology and an appraisal of the similarities with other episodes of food adulteration

In 1981 in Madrid, a new disease was identified, and attributed to the fraudulent sale of adulterated, industrial-quality oil as olive oil. The competing hypotheses for the clinical symptoms and tissue changes are reviewed but it is also important to note the general similarities between this epidemic and those other incidents where food adulteration has presented an acute hazard.     

Relating cadmium concentrations in three macrophyte-associated freshwater invertebrates to those in macrophytes,water and sediments

We found that Cd concentrations in three species of macrophyte-associated invertebrates (the gastropods Bithynia tentaculata and Physa gyrina, and the amphipod Gammarus fasciatus) collected at twenty sites along the St. Lawrence River were correlated with Cd concentrations in their main food source, i.e. macrophytes and associated periphyton. Cd in these invertebrates was not significantly correlated with Cd concentrations in the sediments (even when corrections for iron oxide or organic carbon content were applied) or to calculated free-cadmium concentrations in the water. Cd levels in juveniles of B. tentaculata were very tightly linked to Cd concentrations in macrophytes, which is consistent with the close relationship that these organisms have developed with macrophytes. Linear models predicting Cd levels in juveniles of B. tentaculata from Cd levels in different macrophyte species were strong (R2 = 0.69-0.90). Analysis of covariance on these models showed no statistical difference of slope or intercept for any of the macrophyte species, except Vallisneria americana. We suggest that the macrophyte-periphyton complex is a key link in the transfer of cadmium to some aquatic invertebrates in the littoral zone of the St. Lawrence River and that macrophytes and their associated epiphytes should also be used as biomonitors.     

Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding

The international development community is off-track from meeting targets for alleviating global malnutrition. Meanwhile, there is growing consensus across scientific disciplines that fish plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security. However, this ‘fish as food’ perspective has yet to translate into policy and development funding priorities. We argue that the traditional framing of fish as a natural resource emphasizes economic development and biodiversity conservation objectives, whereas situating fish within a food systems perspective can lead to innovative policies and investments that promote nutrition-sensitive and socially equitable capture fisheries and aquaculture. This paper highlights four pillars of research needs and policy directions toward this end. Ultimately, recognizing and working to enhance the role of fish in alleviating hunger and malnutrition can provide an additional long-term development incentive, beyond revenue generation and biodiversity conservation, for governments, international development organizations, and society more broadly to invest in the sustainability of capture fisheries and aquaculture.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01451-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Blue–green water utilization in rice–fish cultivation towards sustainable food production

Integrated rice–fish culture is a competitive alternative to rice monoculture for environmental sustainability and food productivity. Compared to rice monoculture, rearing fish in rice field ecosystems could increase food (rice and fish) production from this coculture. Moreover, the water productivity of rice–fish coculture is considerably higher than that of rice monoculture, because of double cropping. Despite these benefits, rice–fish coculture has not yet been broadly practiced. One of the potential challenges for the wider adoption of rice–fish coculture is water management. There are two forms of water involved in rice–fish cultivation: (1) blue water–surface and groundwater, and (2) green water–soil water from rainfall. The aim of this article is to focus on key factors determining the adoption of rice–fish cultivation through the effective utilization of blue–green water. We suggest that the efficient application of blue and green water in rice–fish coculture could help confronting water scarcity, reducing water footprint, and increasing water productivity.     

日本第四次修订《食品、农业和农村基本法》及启示

日本政府2015年推出了《食品、农业和农村基本法》的第四次修订,以保证粮食供应和食品安全;推动集约化农业经营,保障农业收入稳定;推动农产品出口和农业技术创新;改善补贴政策,稳定农村人口作为下一阶段日本兴农政策的核心内容。我国农业发展面临许多与日本相似的问题,如农业经营规模小、效率低,务农收入低、人口显著减少等。在我国城镇化和农村劳动力老年化加速的背景下,分析和借鉴日本最新的兴农政策,提出对我国农业政策的若干启示:1以我国近期最新颁布的《食品安全法》和农药残留、化肥实施等国家标准的落实、健全为法制保障基础,推进农业标准化生产和规范化经营管理、建立食品生产全程可追溯机制、加强省县乡三级农产品和食品监测检验能力建设,以尽快提升我国食品安全水平;以培育需求和引导兴趣、技术支持、市场协助建设为手段,激励农户和消费者自主投入生态农业发展。2重点完善国家层面的发展战略统筹和政治、经贸、投资谈判支持,依靠政府的强力支持推动已起步的"一带一路"食品与农业投资发展势头,以壮大我国农产食品出口和农业海外发展。3近期以加强土地流转监管法律政策和财政金融配套扶持政策的建设为主,使支持力度集中于土地实际经营者,以有效提升新型规模化农业经营主体的数量和质量。4将农业补贴由集中于农业生产补贴向兼顾农户收入保障和生态保护、农业发展转移,将农户收入保障形式由财政补贴向保险保障转变,以求农业补贴和保险更高效、长久地兼顾农户收入保障和支持引领农业发展。     

Cadmium in soybeans and the relevance to human exposure

<正>Introduction Cadmium is considered a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC,1993)and the US National Toxicology Program(NTP,1997).Cadmium contamination of food crops is a persistent issue for both the agricultural industry as well as consumers.This is an issue for agriculture because cadmium can be present in soils naturally or as a result of industrial processes and can contaminate foods that are consumed by humans.Industrial     

Balancing Water Resources Development and Environmental Sustainability in Africa: A Review of Recent Research Findings and Applications

Sustainable development in Africa is dependent on increasing use of the continent’s water resources without significantly degrading ecosystem services that are also fundamental to human wellbeing. This is particularly challenging in Africa because of high spatial and temporal variability in the availability of water resources and limited amounts of total water availability across expansive semi-arid portions of the continent. The challenge is compounded by ambitious targets for increased water use and a rush of international funding to finance development activities. Balancing development with environmental sustainability requires (i) understanding the boundary conditions imposed by the continent’s climate and hydrology today and into the future, (ii) estimating the magnitude and spatial distribution of water use needed to meet development goals, and (iii) understanding the environmental water requirements of affected ecosystems, their current status and potential consequences of increased water use. This article reviews recent advancements in each of these topics and highlights innovative approaches and tools available to support sustainable development. While much remains to be learned, scientific understanding and technology should not be viewed as impediments to sustainable development on the continent.     

Dominance rank,resource availability,and reproductive maturation in female savanna baboons

Summary Ten years of data collected from a population of savanna baboons, Papio cynocephalus anubis, residing near Gilgil, Kenya were analyzed to ascertain the extent to which social and ecological factors influence reproductive maturation in females. First sexual swelling occurred at an average age of 4.79 years and first birth occurred at an average age of 6.92 years. Age at first menses was significantly correlated with age at first sexual swelling, but age at first sexual swelling was not a good predictor of age at first birth. The amount of rainfall in the 6 months preceding first sexual swelling and resource availability were significantly correlated with age at first sexual swelling. When ecological factors were taken into account, dominant females had an earlier age at onset of puberty, but not an earlier age at first birth, than did subordinate females. We suggest that nutritional and social stress operate at the same physiological level to disrupt GnRH pulsatility and retard reproductive maturation in some females. Given that socioecological variables modify the timing of life history events related to fitness in female baboons, the task for the future is to unravel how socioecological factors influence different life history components and generate variation in lifetime reproductive success. Correspondence to: F.B. Bercovitch     

Mineral constituents in Leccinum scabrum from lowland locations in the central Europe and their relation to concentration in forest topsoil

Leccinum scabrum is an edible mushroom common in European regions in the northern hemisphere. Macro and trace mineral constituents such as Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, P, Rb, Sr and Zn were studied in L. scabrum and in the top soil collected from the same location underneath soil substratum. The “pseudo-total” and labile (extractable fraction of minerals) were measured to get insight into the levels, distribution between the morphological parts of fruiting bodies, potential for their bioconcentration by mushroom and evaluated for human exposure via consumption of the mushroom. The sampling sites include the Dar?lubska Wilderness, Trójmiejski Landscape Park, Sobieszewo Island, Wdzydze Landscape Park and outskirts of the K?trzyn town in Mazury from the norther part of Poland. Median values of K, Rb and P concentrations in dehydrated L. scabrum were for caps in range 27,000–44,000 mg kg^?1, 90–320 mg kg^?1 and 6,200–9,100 mg kg^?1, and followed by Mg at 880–1,000 mg kg^?1, Ca at 48–210 mg kg^?1 and Al at 15–120 mg kg^?1. The median concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in caps were in range 15–27 mg kg^?1 db 38–140 mg kg^?1, 5.3–27 mg kg^?1 and 130–270 mg kg^?1. For Ba and Sr, concentrations on the average were at ～1 mg kg^?1, and almost equally distributed between the caps and stipes of the fruiting bodies. L. scabrum mushrooms were low in toxic Ag, Cd, Hg and Pb, for which the median values in dried caps from five locations were, respectively, in range 0.48–0.98 mg kg^?1 (cap to stipe index, Q_C/S, was 2.5–4.1), 1.0–5.8 mg kg^?1 (Q_C/S 2.9–3.8), 0.36–0.59 mg kg^?1 (Q_C/S 1.6–2.7) and 0.20–0.91 mg kg^?1 (Q_C/S 1.2–1.9). Substantial variations in the concentrations of the “pseudo-total” fraction (extracted by aqua regia) or labile fraction (extracted by 20% solution of nitric acid) of the elements determined in forest topsoils were noted between some of the locations examined. The elements K, P, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Na, Rb and Zn can be considered as those which were bioconcentrated by L. scabrum in fruiting bodies, while the rates of accumulation varied with the sampling location.     

Predation, scramble competition, and the vigilance group size effect in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)

In socially feeding birds and mammals, as group size increases, individuals devote less time to scanning their environment and more time to feeding. This vigilance “group size effect” has long been attributed to the anti-predatory benefits of group living, but many investigators have suggested that this effect may be driven by scramble competition for limited food. We addressed this issue of causation by focusing on the way in which the scan durations of free-living dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) decrease with group size. We were particularly interested in vigilance scanning concomitant with the handling of food items, since a decrease in food handling times (i.e. scan durations) with increasing group size could theoretically be driven by scramble competition for limited food resources. However, we showed that food-handling scan durations decrease with group size in an environment with an effectively unlimited food supply. Furthermore, this food-handling effect was qualitatively similar to that observed in the duration of standard vigilance scans (scanning exclusive of food ingestion), and both responded to changes in the risk of predation (proximity of a refuge) as one might expect based upon anti-predator considerations. The group size effects in both food-handling and standard scan durations may reflect a lesser need for personal information about risk as group size increases. Scramble competition may influence vigilance in some circumstances, but demonstrating an effect of competition beyond that of predation may prove challenging. Received: 22 September 1998 / Received in revised form: 1 February 1999 / Accepted: 14 February 1999