Changing Food Consumption and Nutrition Intake in Kazakhstan

Food resource is an important bond that connects human beings and nature. In this study, we investigated the changes in food consumption and nutrition intake in Kazakhstan from a spatial and temporal perspective, from 2001 to 2018. The data were obtained from the Bureau of Statistics, international organizations and our social interview work. After the start of the 21st century, it was found that per capita food consumption significantly increased; however, the consumption of crop, vegetables and milk decreased. Per capita meat consumption was similar in both urban and rural areas. However, some food consumption showed differences between urban and rural areas. Changes of food consumption quantity and structure also had some effects on nutrient intake and the proportion of nutrients. Per capita energy intake in the national, urban and rural areas all increased remarkably. The energy intake changes in eastern states increased much more than that in western states. Protein intake in rural and urban areas was similar; however, the gap between carbohydrates and fat intake in urban and rural areas increased. The intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat in different states showed the same trend. Food consumption and nutrition intake are affected by economic, social and ecological factors.

Development and Implementation of a Hybrid Online and In-Person Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Curriculum for Native American Parents: The FRESH Study

The Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health (“FRESH”) study is an Indigenous-led intervention to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native American children. As part of this study, we developed a hybrid (online and in-person) food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for the parents of these children. This 16-week curriculum was developed to promote household- and community-level healthy eating and food sovereignty practices to parents of preschool-aged children residing in Osage Nation, Oklahoma. A total of 81 parent/caregivers participated in the curriculum component of the FRESH study, with a median age of 34 years (range: 23–54 years). Most study participants were female (88.9%) and less than half (45.7%) had an annual household income of more than US$50,000. Most were married or had a significant other (76.5%) and worked full-time (65.4%). The median total number of children in the home <18 years of age was three (range: 1–8). Participation among the 94 parents was 56% during the first week and was 12% in the final week. Having some college or technical training (vs. having a college degree) and having an annual household income of US$20,000–US$50,000 (vs. more than US$50,000) were associated with fewer sessions attended ( p = 0.004 and 0.02, respectively) Being married (vs. not) was associated with higher attendance ( p < .0001). Participation in a hybrid food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for parents was generally low, but income, education, and marital status were associated with curriculum participation. Our research adds to the literature by describing the development and implementation of this curriculum and recommendations for future research incorporating Indigenous approaches to health.

Perspectives on Salmon Aquaculture: Current Status, Challenges and Genetic Improvement for Future Growth

With an estimated global value of US$15.6 billion, farmed salmonids represent a precious food resource, which is also the fastest increasing food producing industry with annual growth of 7% in production. A total average of 3,594,000 metric tonnes was produced in 2020, behind Chinese and Indian carps, tilapias and catfishes. Lead producers of farmed salmonids are Norway, Chile, Faroe, Canada and Scotland, stimulated by increasing global demand and market. However, over the last 2 years, production has been declining, occasioned by effects of diseases as well as rising feed costs. Over the last year, production has declined sharply due to effects of covid-19. This chapter reviews the species in culture, systems of culture, environmental footprints of salmon culture, and market trends in salmon culture. Burden of diseases, especially Infectious pancreatic Necrosis, Infectious salmon anemia and furunculosis, as well as high cost of feed formulation, key challenges curtailing growth of the salmon production industry, are discussed. A review is made of the international salmon genome sequencing effort, selective breeding for disease resistance, and the use of genomics to mitigate challenges of diseases that stifle higher production of salmonids globally.

Risk of Human Exposure to the Intestinal Schistosome, Schistosoma mansoni, across Seasons along the Senegal River

Background: Schistosomiasis is an emerging disease associated with changes to the environment that have increased human contact rates with disease-causing parasites, flatworms that are released from freshwater snails. For example, schistosomiasis remains a major public health problem in Northern Senegal, where prevalence in schoolchildren often reaches 90%. Aim: This study focuses on the impact of seasonality on the risk of human exposure (RHE) to Schistosoma mansoni, defined as the total number of cercariae (the free-living life stage that infects humans) shed from all Biomphalaria pfeifferi snails collected at a site using standardized methods. We focus on RHE because it is rarely quantified and a recent study demonstrated that snails stop shedding cercariae when snail densities increase and thus per capita snail resources become limited [2], suggesting that densities of snails might not be directly proportional to RHE to schistosomes. Method: We sampled four water access points in three villages every other week during the early (Dry1) and later dry seasons (Dry2) and the rainy season, quantifying the abundance of infected and non-infected snail intermediate hosts, cercariae released per infected snail, and water chemistry. We used simple and multiple linear regressions to assess how seasonality and environmental parameters affect non-infected and infected snail abundance and RHE. Results: Although RHE was found across all seasons, the abundance of infected and non-infected snail intermediate hosts and cercariae, as well as prevalence (23.71%), were all highest in the rainy season. In the rainy season, RHE was positively associated with the density of snail hosts and their periphyton food resource. Conclusion: Although previous studies have examined the influence of seasonality on snail densities, few studies have explored the effects of seasonality on cercarial densities, which is the primary source of infection to humans. Our study demonstrates that cercarial densities are greater in the rainy season than in the early or late dry seasons. Given that cercarial densities directly pose risk of infection to humans, unlike non-infected or infected snails, these finding should help to inform decision making and schistosomiasis control efforts in West Africa.

Food habits of two species of tube-nosed bats, Murina hilgendorfi and Murina ussuriensis, in Hayakawa, central Japan

Knowledge of food habits is essential for understanding the life history of a species; however, such information about the enigmatic Murina genus of bats is little known. In this study, we examined the food habits of Murina hilgendorfi and Murina ussuriensis over four years in Hayakawa, central Japan, using traditional morphological fecal analysis. Fragments of arthropods of six orders (five identified families), and of five orders (five identified families), were found in the feces of M. hilgendorfi and M. ussuriensis, respectively. Both species consumed wingless arthropods (caterpillars and spiders), insects that rarely fly (ground beetles and bush crickets), or diurnal insects (dragonflies and hoverflies; i.e., that are resting at night) during the night, which is a clear indication of gleaning behavior in these bats. In spring, the large-bodied M. hilgendorfi more frequently consumed hard-bodied insects such as beetles and bush crickets, whereas the small-bodied M. ussuriensis more frequently consumed soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars, moths, spiders, and dipterans, suggesting that the body size difference influences their food habits, which may have contributed to food resource partitioning between these closely related bats. For M. hilgendorfi, beetles were the main prey in spring and autumn, while caterpillars and grasshoppers were more frequently consumed in spring and autumn, respectively, suggesting that they may have changed prey items according to seasonal fluctuations in food availability. To our knowledge, this study provides the first record of differences in the food habits of these two species.

Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment of Paper Mill Effluent Waste Water

Aquatic ecosystem has been reported to be the universal sufferer of pollution caused by direct exposure of industrial discharges which causes severe genotoxic damages to aquatic flora and fauna. Researchers have found that fish have been extensively harmed by such exposure compared to other aquatic fauna. As living organisms directly depend on fish as a food resource, hence the study of mutagenicity induced have been extensively important not only for safety of aquatic organisms but also for safety of other living organisms too. Micronucleus (MN) assay has been continuously used in the evaluation of DNA damage. Mutagenic and genotoxic studies employed this methodology to evaluate possible carcinogenic risk due to exposure to harmful xenobiotics in including aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to monitor the level of genotoxicity induced in fishes due to exposure to local paper mill effluent by using micronucleus assay as a biomarker. Fish were exposed to different concentrations of PME as 10%, 25% and 50%. Variation of body weight, survivality rate and percentage of micronucleated PCEs were analyzed. One-way anova was performed and data were expressed as Mean± S.E. Consecutive dose dependent and time dependent increase of toxicity was recorded in PME compared to negative and positive control (Mitomycin C). Our study supported the carcinogenic and chromosomal damage induced in aquatic organisms specially in fishes due to direct exposure of industrial discharges; also, the importance of MN test as an effective indicator for testing genotoxicity in fishes was confirmed.

Automated VHF-Radio Telemetry Reveals Resource-Driven Site Utilisation Patterns in a Small-Bodied, Highly Mobile Bird (Erythrura Gouldiae)

BackgroundInformation on site utilisation and movement is essential for managing species' resource requirements. Collecting these data requires frequent location sampling of multiple individuals, which can be challenging for small-bodied animals due to the often-large size of animal-borne satellite-based telemetry devices. We show how coded VHF-radio nano-transmitters and an array of passive receivers to collect location data at sufficient frequency and accuracy can be utilised to test whether the highly mobile and small-bodied Gouldian finch adheres to optimal foraging theory within a landscape of high spatiotemporal heterogeneity.MethodsCoded VHF-radio nano-transmitters (0.23 g wt.) were attached to 38 Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae; < 12g bd. wt). Tagged birds were then detected by an array of 6 passive VHF-radio receivers (~ 530 m detection range) spread over 120 km2. We tracked the tagged birds during two sessions corresponding with high and low abundance of their primary food resource (Sorghum spp. seed). The mean and total duration that an individual spent within any receiver detection field (residence time) were used as dependants in a generalised linear mixed model approach within a Bayesian framework to assess the influence of tracking session, life stage, receiver site, and release site. Network analysis revealed the importance of specific areas for the finches within the receiver array using the proportional time a bird spent within any receiver's detection field and the movement between adjacent detection fields. ResultsThe daily mean and total duration that a tagged individual spent within a receiver detection field decreased by ~50% between periods of high and low seed availability, while the extent of movements across the landscape increased with a decline in seed resources. These data support the hypothesis that the Gouldian finch adheres to optimal foraging theory to survive periods of food scarcity. ConclusionsThe data collected via passive telemetry technology support the hypothesis that the Gouldian finch adheres to optimal foraging theory and uses alternative behavioural strategies to survive periods of food scarcity. Specifically, we found that Gouldian finches reduced the time spent foraging within a patch, increased the frequency of transit flights among patches, and expanded the size of their activity space as grass resources declined.

Very Small Home Ranges of Two Gravid European Brown Bears during Hyperphagia

In September 2019, two gravid female brown bears (Ursus arctos) were captured and equipped with GPS/GSM collars in Paklenica National Park (Croatia). Home ranges during hyperphagia were analyzed to describe the spatiotemporal requirements. Mean seasonal home ranges were very small with 9.2 km2 and 7.5 km2 (Brownian Bridge Movement Model 95%). During the tracking period, both bears used different territories and showed little to no use of overlapping area. The bears in our study spent a considerable time in proximity of artificial feeding sites, indicating a probable use of these structures as a food resource (mean 15.7% and 30.7%). Furthermore, the bears approached very close to human structures such as 8.9 m and 4.4 m. As most encounters between humans and bears occur during hyperphagia, it is important to offer refugia from human disturbance, especially as the National Park is not only used by residents, but also by tourists. To adapt management according to the animal’s needs, further studies should include more individuals from different age and sex classes. Both females were gravid. It remains unclear whether gravidity has an effect on the home range and should be further investigated.

Molecular Survey of Viral Poultry Diseases with an Indirect Public Health Significance in Central Ethiopia

The importance of poultry production is globally increasing, in Ethiopia as well, where high-quality protein and contained costs make poultry a valuable food resource. However, this entails some problems linked to rural, backyard and intensively reared flock proximity and pathogen circulation. This study is aimed at monitoring the presence of important viral pathogens in poultry (infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV)) in Ethiopia. Respiratory and cloacal swabs and bursa of Fabricius and kidney imprints on FTA cards were collected in 2021 from 16 farms and tested for IBV, aMPV, NDV and IBDV. One farm was positive for IBDV, resulting in strains similar to those present in vaccines, belonging to genogroup A1a; two farms were positive for IBV but, due to sensitivity limits, only one sample was sequenced, resulting in a 4/91-like strain (GI-13); a layer farm tested positive for NDV with a Lasota-like vaccine strain. These findings suggest a low presence of these pathogens, probably due to the implementation of vaccination strategies, which is also testified by the detection of vaccine strains. A close diagnostic activity should be implemented on a routine basis in order to monitor pathogen circulation, ameliorate biosecurity measures and protect animal health and production levels.