| 1. |
- El-Seedi, Hesham, et al.
(author)
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Insights into the Role of Natural Products in the Control of the Honey Bee Gut Parasite (Nosema spp.)
- 2022
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In: Animals. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2615. ; 12:21
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The honey bee is an important economic insect due to its role in pollinating many agricultural plants. Unfortunately, bees are susceptible to many pathogens, including pests, parasites, bacteria, and viruses, most of which exert a destructive impact on thousands of colonies. The occurrence of resistance to the therapeutic substances used against these organisms is rising, and the residue from these chemicals may accumulate in honey bee products, subsequently affecting the human health. There is current advice to avoid the use of antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and other drugs in bees, and therefore, it is necessary to develop alternative strategies for the treatment of bee diseases. In this context, the impact of nosema diseases (nosemosis) on bee health and the negative insults of existing drugs are discussed. Moreover, attempts to combat nosema through the use of alternative compounds, including essential oils, plant extracts, and microbes in vitro and in vivo, are documented.
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| 2. |
- Lira, Jaime, et al.
(author)
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Ancient DNA reveals traces of Iberian Neolithic and Bronze Age lineages in modern Iberian horses
- 2010
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In: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 19:1, s. 64-78
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multiple geographical regions have been proposed for the domestication of Equus caballus. It has been suggested, based on zooarchaeological and genetic analyses that wild horses from the Iberian Peninsula were involved in the process, and the overrepresentation of mitochondrial D1 cluster in modern Iberian horses supports this suggestion. To test this hypothesis, we analysed mitochondrial DNA from 22 ancient Iberian horse remains belonging to the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages, against previously published sequences. Only the medieval Iberian sequence appeared in the D1 group. Neolithic and Bronze Age sequences grouped in other clusters, one of which (Lusitano group C) is exclusively represented by modern horses of Iberian origin. Moreover, Bronze Age Iberian sequences displayed the lowest nucleotide diversity values when compared with modern horses, ancient wild horses and other ancient domesticates using nonparametric bootstrapping analyses. We conclude that the excessive clustering of Bronze Age horses in the Lusitano group C, the observed nucleotide diversity and the local continuity from wild Neolithic Iberian to modern Iberian horses, could be explained by the use of local wild mares during an early Iberian domestication or restocking event, whereas the D1 group probably was introduced into Iberia in later historical times.
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| 3. |
- Myrdal, Janken, et al.
(author)
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Scandinavia
- 2011. - 1
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In: Agrarian change and crisis in Europe, 1200-1500. - London : Routledge. - 9780415895781 ; , s. 204-249
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 4. |
- Azeem, Muhammad, et al.
(author)
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Chemical composition and antifeedant activity of some aromatic plants against pine weevil (Hylobius abietis)
- 2020
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In: Annals of Applied Biology. - : Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 0003-4746 .- 1744-7348.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The pine weevil Hylobius abietis is an important pest causing severe damage to conifer seedlings in reforestation areas in Europe and Asia. Plants that have no evolutionary history with the pine weevil are of special interest in the search for compounds with a strong antifeedant activity. Thus, the essential oils of nine aromatic plants, viz Amomum subulatum, Cinnamomum tamala, Curcuma longa, Laurus nobilis, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum majorana, Origanum vulgare, Syzygium aromaticum and Trachyspermum ammi were extracted by hydrodistillation. The essential oil constituents were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and antifeedant properties towards the pine weevil were assessed using choice feeding bioassay. The essential oils of C. longa, O. majorana, S. aromaticum and T. ammi showed an excellent antifeedant activity towards the pine weevil for 24 hr, whereas the essential oil of other plants showed the activity for 6 hr. There was a positive correlation between the amount of benzenoid compounds and the antifeedant activity of the essential oils. This study suggests that pine weevil non-host plant compounds have potential to be used for the protection of seedlings against pine weevil feeding. However, further study will be needed to explore the antifeedant activity of individual components and oils in the laboratory as well as in the field.
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| 5. |
- Askar, Raad, et al.
(author)
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Bioavailability of subcutaneous and intramuscular administrated buprenorphine in New Zealand White rabbits
- 2020
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In: BMC Veterinary Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1746-6148. ; 16:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundBuprenorphine is one of the most used analgesics for postoperative pain in rabbits. The recommended dose in rabbits (0.01–0.05 mg/kg) is the same for intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), and subcutaneous (SC) administration, despite lack of pharmacokinetic data. Five male and five female New Zealand White rabbits (mean ± SD body weight 3.1 ± 0.3 kg) were administered 0.05 mg/kg buprenorphine by the IV, IM and SC routes and 0.1 mg/kg by the SC route, in a cross-over design with two-week wash-out periods between treatments. Blood was collected before, and up to 8 h post buprenorphine injection, for determination of serum levels by UPHLC-MS/MS.ResultsThe area under the time concentration curve (AUC0-t) was lower after SC (398 ± 155 ng/mL/min) than IM (696 ± 168 ng/mL/min, p < 0.001) and IV (789 ± 189 ng/mL/min, p < 0.001) administration. The maximum serum concentration was lower after SC (2.2 ± 1.4 ng/mL) than after IM (11 ± 3.2 ng/mL) administration (p < 0.001). The bioavailability was lower after SC (50 ± 19%) than after IM (95 ± 21%) administration (p = 0.006). The elimination half-life was longer after SC (260 ± 120 min) than after IM (148 ± 26 min, p = 0.002) as well as IV (139 ± 33 min) injection (p < 0.001). An increase in the SC dose from 0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg resulted in an increase in the area under the time concentration curve of 50% in female (p = 0.022) and 165% in male rabbits (p < 0.001). The bioavailability did not change in the females (36 ± 14%, p = 0.6), whereas it increased in the males (71 ± 23%, p = 0.008).ConclusionsThe lower bioavailability of 0.05 mg/kg buprenorphine after SC administration could explain the lack of efficacy seen in clinical pain studies in rabbits, using this route. For immediate pain relief, IV or IM administration is therefore be recommended, whereas SC administration may be useful to sustain analgesic serum levels, once efficient pain relief has been achieved. The current data do not support an increase in dose to compensate for the lower SC bioavailability.
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| 6. |
- Barthel, Stephan, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Biocultural Refugia : Combating the Erosion of Diversity in Landscapes of Food Production
- 2013
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In: Ecology & Society. - 1708-3087. ; 18:4, s. UNSP 71-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is urgent need to both reduce the rate of biodiversity loss caused by industrialized agriculture and feed morepeople. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of places that harbor traditional ecological knowledge, artifacts, and methodswhen preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services in landscapes of food production. We use three examples in Europe ofbiocultural refugia, defined as the physical places that not only shelter farm biodiversity, but also carry knowledge and experiencesabout practical management of how to produce food while stewarding biodiversity and ecosystem services. Memory carriersinclude genotypes, landscape features, oral, and artistic traditions and self-organized systems of rules, and as such reflect adiverse portfolio of practices on how to deal with unpredictable change. We find that the rich biodiversity of many regionallydistinct cultural landscapes has been maintained through different smallholder practices developed in relation to localenvironmental fluctuations and carried within biocultural refugia for as long as millennia. Places that transmit traditionalecological knowledge and practices hold important lessons for policy makers since they may provide genetic and culturalreservoirs — refugia — for the wide array of species that have co-evolved with humans in Europe for more than 6000 thousandyrs. Biodiversity restoration projects in domesticated landscapes can employ the biophysical elements and cultural practicesembedded in biocultural refugia to create locally adapted small-scale mosaics of habitats that allow species to flourish and adaptto change. We conclude that such insights must be included in discussions of land-sparing vs. land-sharing when producingmore food while combating loss of biodiversity. We found the latter strategy rational in domesticated landscapes with a longhistory of agriculture
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| 7. |
- Charisiadou, S., et al.
(author)
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Coastal aquaculture in Zanzibar, Tanzania
- 2022
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In: Aquaculture. - : Elsevier. - 0044-8486 .- 1873-5622. ; 546
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study provides an overview of the multi-sectoral coastal aquaculture development in Zanzibar (Tanzania) over the last thirty years based on empirical evidence from interviews, field observations, policy reports and literature reviews. Despite the immense potential of aquaculture for food and livelihoods, only seaweed farming has so far established into commercial-scale production. This activity is dominated by women and became widespread in the early 1990s as a small but regular source of income. However, seaweed farming constraints such as frequent seaweed die-offs, as well as economic and institutional constraints inhibit its development. Other types of aquaculture activities such as fish farming, mud crab fattening, half-pearl farming, sea cucumber farming and sponge and coral cultures are under development with limited production or in experimental stages. Common constraints among these activities are economic limitations, lack of technical infrastructure and skills, small and irregular production, and limited trade and market availabilities. At the same time, there is a lack of sufficient management and monitoring systems, while there are no formal regulations or clear strategies to boost aquaculture at the national level. In addition, new aquaculture initiatives are often dominated by donor-driven projects instead of local entrepreneurships. This situation does not encourage engagement in aquaculture and thus such activities are outcompeted by other already established sectors (e.g. agriculture and fisheries). We conclude that aquaculture has great potential to evolve due to high environmental capacity. Nevertheless, achieving profitable production and a stronger commitment within local communities, as well as developing effective mariculture governance through support mechanisms and clear strategies to boost the sector at the national level, are essential for sustainable mariculture development in Zanzibar.
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| 8. |
- Dornelles, André Zuanazzi, et al.
(author)
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Transformation archetypes in global food systems
- 2022
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In: Sustainability Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1862-4065 .- 1862-4057. ; 17:5, s. 1827-1840
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Food systems are primary drivers of human and environmental health, but the understanding of their diverse and dynamic co-transformation remains limited. We use a data-driven approach to disentangle different development pathways of national food systems (i.e. ‘transformation archetypes’) based on historical, intertwined trends of food system structure (agricultural inputs and outputs and food trade), and social and environmental outcomes (malnutrition, biosphere integrity, and greenhouse gases emissions) for 161 countries, from 1995 to 2015. We found that whilst agricultural total factor productivity has consistently increased globally, a closer analysis suggests a typology of three transformation archetypes across countries: rapidly expansionist, expansionist, and consolidative. Expansionist and rapidly expansionist archetypes increased in agricultural area, synthetic fertilizer use, and gross agricultural output, which was accompanied by malnutrition, environmental pressures, and lasting socioeconomic disadvantages. The lowest rates of change in key structure metrics were found in the consolidative archetype. Across all transformation archetypes, agricultural greenhouse gases emissions, synthetic fertilizer use, and ecological footprint of consumption increased faster than the expansion of agricultural area, and obesity levels increased more rapidly than undernourishment decreased. The persistence of these unsustainable trajectories occurred independently of improvements in productivity. Our results underscore the importance of quantifying the multiple human and environmental dimensions of food systems transformations and can serve as a starting point to identify potential leverage points for sustainability transformations. More attention is thus warranted to alternative development pathways able of delivering equitable benefits to both productivity and to human and environmental health.
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| 9. |
- Eklöf, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Impact of stump harvest on run-off concentrations of total mercury and methylmercury
- 2013
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In: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 290, s. 83-94
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forest harvesting operations have been reported to increase the levels of both total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in runoff water and downstream biota. Mobilization of such harmful substances by logging may pose ecological risks that may be influenced further by site preparation and stump harvest. Stump harvest is currently being explored as a method to increase the supply of biofuels. In this catchment study we investigated the effects of stump harvest, in comparison with ordinary site-preparation, on the runoff concentrations of THg and MeHg as well as several other chemistry parameters. Both treatments were also compared with unharvested reference catchments. Water samples from watercourses draining these catchments were analyzed for various variables including THg, MeHg, total organic carbon, absorbance and total suspended solids. One year of pre-treatment data, starting when the treated areas were just logged, and 2 years of post-treatment data, after stump harvest or site-preparation, were collected with a sample frequency of twice a month. The concentrations of THg and MeHg in the treated areas were decreasing after both stump harvest and site preparation relative to the reference catchment. Further, our results indicate that stump harvest has not caused increased concentrations of any of the studied parameters in relation to traditional site preparation. Two factors are proposed to be responsible for the lack of response to stump harvest and site preparation; (1) the areas are still undergoing recovery from the former logging which may have led to greater Hg export and/or (2) there is variability among sites in how they respond to forestry operations, depending on the biogeochemical and hydrological status of the area. Although no forestry response caused by stump harvest or site preparation was found, we noted that the concentrations of both THg and especially MeHg were high (median THg: 4.5-10.4 ng L-1, median MeHg: 0.7-2.1 ng L-1) in all catchments both before and after treatment, compared to other studies. Variables indicating the organic carbon content were the ones most strongly correlated to the variation of both THg and MeHg in the PLS models based on the dataset from the whole sampling period and all catchments. The relatively high concentrations of THg and MeHg during the study period appeared to be more influenced by organic carbon, but also hydrology and temperature as well as possibly the initial logging rather than by the soil disturbance caused by either stump harvest or site preparation.
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| 10. |
- Khalifa, Shaden A. M., et al.
(author)
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Recent insights into chemical and pharmacological studies of bee bread
- 2020
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In: Trends in Food Science & Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0924-2244 .- 1879-3053. ; 97, s. 300-316
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Bee bread is a product of the fermentation of a mixture of pollen, nectar and bee saliva that is inoculated by a wide range of bacteria and yeasts necessary for fermentation after storage in comb cells. Bee bread is regarded as the chief protein resource that bees can utilize, especially for feeding of larvae and adults. Since ancient times, bee bread has been used in different cultures for several nutritional and therapeutic purposes.Scope and approach: In this review, we attempt to highlight the possible biological activities, chemical components, methods of isolation and structure of bee bread in addition to its food supplement value and/or medical applications.Key findings and conclusions: Bee bread has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiradical, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. The basic chemical components of bee bread include carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins, as well as minerals, fatty acids and other substances such as enzymes, natural antibiotics, antioxidants and hormones. Bee bread is considered to be a beneficial food supplement. In recent years, there has been significant interest in the use of bee bread to treat many illnesses.
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