Relative palatability and efficacy of brodifacoum-25D conservation rodenticide pellets for mouse eradication on Midway Atoll

Invasive mice (Mus spp.) can negatively impact island species and ecosystems. Because fewer island rodent eradications have been attempted for mice compared to rats (Rattus spp.), less is known about efficacy and palatability of rodenticide baits for mouse eradications. We performed a series of bait acceptance and efficacy cage trials using a standard formulation of brodifacoum-based rodenticide on wild-caught mice from Sand Island, Midway Atoll, to help inform a proposed eradication there. Mice were offered ad libitum brodifacoum pellets along with various alternative food sources, and a “no choice” treatment group received only bait pellets. Mortality in the no choice trial was 100%; however, when offered alternative foods, mice preferred the alternative diets to the bait, leading to low mortality (40%). Because there was concern that the bittering agent Bitrex® in the formulation may have reduced palatability, we conducted a subsequent trial comparing brodifacoum bait with and without Bitrex. Mortality in the with-Bitrex treatment group was slightly higher, indicating that the bittering agent was not likely responsible for low efficacy. Laboratory trials cannot account for the numerous environmental and behavioral factors that influence bait acceptance nor replicate the true availability of alternative food sources in the environment, so low efficacy results from these trials should be interpreted cautiously and not necessarily as a measure of the likelihood of success or failure of a proposed eradication.

Probiotics as an Alternative Food Therapy

Antibiotics have been responsible for the evolution of multidrug-resistant microbes. The side-effects of existing drugs and increased treatment costs have led to nutraceuticals gaining popularity. Nutraceuticals have therapeutic applications due to the ability of the probiotics to be viable in encapsulated pills and drinks. Due to their ability to exclude carcinogenic microorganisms by limiting the nutrients available and by competing for receptors nutraceuticals are useful against cancers. Nutraceuticals are useful against diabetes by controlling the genes involved in the insulin-signaling pathway. The future perspective for nutraceuticals includes an increase in production, reduction in manufacturing cost, and enhanced benefits.

Multiple Understandings of Sustainability among Alternative Food Organizations in Geneva

Alternative Food Organizations (AFOs) seek to establish more sustainable practices in the food system. However, they might hold different conceptualizations of sustainability. Hence, we miss an overview of AFOs’ conceptualizations of sustainability that allows grasping their overall transformative potential. In this paper, we analyze a broad range of AFOs active in food production, distribution, and consumers’ advocacy to examine to what extent they share a common understanding of sustainability. Our empirical analyses focus on the Swiss canton of Geneva, we build on organizational survey data and detailed coding of the discourses published on their websites. We find that the environmental dimension of sustainability is more prominent and that weak and strong conceptualizations of sustainability are equally present in AFOs’ discourses. However, important differences appear between food producers and distributors. The former have a multidimensional and strong conceptualization of sustainability, while the latter focus on fewer dimensions and a weak conceptualization. In spite of these differences, AFOs interact within a small but heterogeneous network.

Acute oral toxicity of zinc phosphide: an assessment for wild house mice in Australia

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of zinc phosphide (ZnP) for broadacre control of wild house mice in Australia is being reported by growers as increasingly variable. Have mice become less sensitive over time or are they taking a sub-lethal dose and developing aversion? In this laboratory study the sensitivity of groups of wild caught and an outbred laboratory strain of mice was assessed using oral gavage of a range of ZnP concentrations. The willingness of mice to consume ZnP-coated grains was then determined. RESULTS: Each mouse group had very similar LD50 values (72 to 79 mg ZnP per kg body weight) which are significantly higher than previously reported. Time to death post-gavage ranged between 2.5 to 48 h. ZnP coated grains (50 mg ZnP per kg grain) presented in the absence of alternative food were consumed and 94 percent of wild mice died. Mice provided with alternative food and ZnP coated wheat grains (either 25 or 50 mg ZnP per kg grain) consumed toxic and non-toxic grains, and mortality was lower (33 to 55 percent). If a sublethal amount of ZnP coated grain was consumed, aversion occurred mostly in the presence of alternative food. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of wild house mice to ZnP in Australia is significantly lower than previously assumed. Under laboratory conditions ZnP coated grains coated with a new higher dose (50 mg ZnP per kg grain) were readily consumed. Consumption of toxic grain occurred when alternative food was available but was decreased. It is important to assess the efficacy of the higher ZnP dose per grain under natural field conditions, especially when background food is low.

A Novel Neutral and Mesophilic β-Glucosidase from Coral Microorganisms for Efficient Preparation of Gentiooligosaccharides

β-glucosidases can produce gentiooligosaccharides that are lucrative and promising for the prebiotic and alternative food industries. However, the commercial production of gentiooligosaccharides using β-glucosidase is challenging, as this process is limited by the need for high thermal energy and increasing demand for the enzyme. Here, a putative β-glucosidase gene, selected from the coral microbial metagenome, was expressed in Escherichia coli. Reverse hydrolysis of glucose by Blg163 at pH 7.0 and 40 °C achieved a gentiooligosaccharide yield of 43.02 ± 3.20 g·L−1 at a conversion rate of 5.38 ± 0.40%. Transglycosylation of mixed substrates, glucose and cellobiose, by Blg163 consumed 21.6 U/0.5 g glucose/g cellobiose, achieving a gentiooligosaccharide yield of 70.34 ± 2.20 g·L−1 at a conversion rate of 15.63%, which is close to the highest yield reported in previous findings. Blg163-mediated synthesis of gentiooligosaccharides is the mildest reaction and the lowest β-glucosidase consumption reported to date.

Diversity of alternative food plants traded in the Kranggan Mas Traditional Market, Bekasi District, West Java Province, Indonesia

The market is the main place for buying and selling alternative food plants and its rich in local wisdom. This study aims to explain the diversity of alternative food plant that are traded in the traditional market of Kranggan Mas, Bekasi District and their potential as healthy food ingredients. The research was conducted with an ethnobotanical approach with surveys, interviews and participations observation. The respondents were all traders who traded alternative food plants. The data was qualitative analysis includes grouping plants based on benefits, families, and parts used. A total of 12 species belonging10 genera and 8 families of plants as alternative food are traded in the Kranggan Mas traditional market. A total of 7 species of food are available every day and 4 species are available seasonally. The part of used are tuber (82%) and fruits (18%). Dioscorea alata and Artocarpus altilis are foodstuff ingredients that are still very potential to be developed and cultivated because both species are easy to find in the surrounding environment and its uses as shade and living fence. The Dioscorea alata has compounds dioscorine which has activity to reduce hypertension, so that its recommended for postmenopausal women.

Pupuk Terhadap Kandungan Proksimat dan Mineral pada Suruhan Peperomia pellucida

<p>Suruhan plant is one of the plants that has properties for treatment in various diseases such as diabetes mellitus, headache, fever, and rheumatism. In addition to traditional medicine, people usually use plants as an alternative food that is consumed by sautéing or consumed directly. The plant contains antioxidants, antimicrobials and anticancers. The leaves have flavonoids, alkaloids. Proximate content analysis is important to be used as data on the content of a foodstuff. One way to increase the content to be more useful is by cultivating using organic fertilizer. The purpose of this research is to find out the influence of organic fertilizers on the content of proximate, minerals on the plants. the method used was descriptive quantitative. Based on the results showed that on the content of proximate and minerals in the commission plants given organic fertilizer obtained water content of 26.60%, ash content of 16.80%, fat content of 2.58%, protein content of 13.86%, carbohydrates 40.16%, iron (Fe) 18.74 ppm, calcium (Ca) 255.92 ppm.</p>