Search results for "Hunger"

2021

Gammarid amphipods are a crucial link connecting primary producers with secondary consumers, but little is known about their nutritional ecology. Here we asked how starvation and subsequent feeding on different nutritional quality algae influences fatty acid retention, compound-specific isotopic carbon fractionation, and biosynthesis of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the relict gammarid amphipod Pallaseopsis quadrispinosa. The fatty acid profiles of P. quadrispinosa closely matched with those of the dietary green algae after only seven days of refeeding, whereas fatty acid patterns of P. quadrispinosa were less consistent with those of the diatom diet. This was mainly due…

2010

The diversity–stability hypothesis states that current losses of biodiversity can impair the ability of an ecosystem to dampen the effect of environmental perturbations on its functioning. Using data from a long-term and comprehensive biodiversity experiment, we quantified the temporal stability of 42 variables characterizing twelve ecological functions in managed grassland plots varying in plant species richness. We demonstrate that diversity increases stability i) across trophic levels (producer, consumer), ii) at both the system (community, ecosystem) and the component levels (population, functional group, phylogenetic clade), and iii) primarily for aboveground rather than belowground pr…

Grasslands of Northern Europe and the Baltic States

2020

This chapter deals with the grasslands of Northern Europe (Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), with a focus on natural and semi-natural grasslands of the lowlands, thus treating arctic-alpine and strongly intensified types only marginally. At present, grasslands cover ca. 7% of the study region, half of which are natural grasslands (mostly arctic-alpine, to a smaller extent also azonal and extra-zonal) and the other half secondary grasslands created by human land use (livestock grazing or haymaking). Both grassland categories have high importance for biodiversity in many taxa. However, particularly the secondary grass…

Soil feedback does not explain mowing effects on vegetation structure in a semi-natural grassland

2009

Due to its ability to create aboveground conditions that favour plant diversity, mowing is often used to preserve the high conservation value of semi-natural species-rich grasslands. However, mowing can also affect belowground conditions. By decreasing plant carbon supply to soil, mowing can suppress the activity of soil decomposers, diminish plant nutrient availability and thus create a feedback on plant growth. In this study, we first documented the effects of three-year mowing on plant community structure in a species-rich grassland. We found that mowing decreased the total areal cover of woody plants and increased the total cover of leguminous forbs. At the species level, mowing further…

2019

We constructed a food-based diet quality score (DQS) and examined its association with obesity measures, eating styles and nutrient intakes. Participants were 3592 individuals (764 dizygotic [DZ] and 430 monozygotic [MZ] twin pairs) from the FinnTwin16 study. The DQS (0–12 points) was constructed from a short 14 item food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measures and eating styles were self-reported. Nutrient intakes were calculated from food diaries completed in a subsample of 249 individuals (45 same-sex DZ and 60 MZ twin pairs). Twins were analyzed both as individuals and as twin pairs. The DQS was inversely associated with body mass index (β = −0.12, per one-unit increase in DQS,…

2019

Global changes promote the spread of infectious diseases worldwide. In this context, tropical urogenital schistosomiasis is now permanently established in Corsica since its first emergence in 2013. The local persistence of the tropical pathogens (schistosomes) responsible for urogenital schistosomiasis at such latitudes might be explained by (i) the presence of its intermediate host, the snail Bulinus truncatus, (ii) the recurrent local reseeding of schistosomes by their vertebrate hosts (either human or animal) every summer, and/or (iii) the maintenance and survival of schistosomes within their snail hosts over winter. In this study we conducted an ecological experiment to assess the abili…

Assessment of allyl isothiocyanate as a fumigant to avoid mycotoxin production during corn storage

2016

The occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in foods modify sensorial properties and represents a health risk for consumers, and the use of natural antimicrobials may be an alternative to reduce this problem. The objective of this study was evaluate the potential of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) in inhibit the production of mycotoxins in corn kernels by Aspergillus parasticus, Fusarium tricinctum, Fusarium verticillioides, Alternaria alternata and Gibberela zeae. Kernels were treated with gaseous AITC at 50, 100 or 500 μL/L during 48 h in hermetic flasks. Then, flasks were opened for 24 h and 100 g of corn were inoculated with 105 conidia/g of either fungal species. Flasks were kept at 23 °…

2017

Nitrogen sources in the must are important for yeast metabolism, growth, and performance, and wine volatile compounds profile. Yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) deficiencies in grape must are one of the main causes of stuck and sluggish fermentation. The nitrogen requirement of Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolism has been described in detail. However, the YAN preferences of non-Saccharomyces yeasts remain unknown despite their increasingly widespread use in winemaking. Furthermore, the impact of nitrogen consumption by non-Saccharomyces yeasts on YAN availability, alcoholic performance and volatile compounds production by S. cerevisiae in sequential fermentation has been little studied. With…

Outside-host predation as a biological control against an environmental opportunist disease

2017

Abstract Environmentally growing opportunist pathogens are a common threat to human health and food production. Due to environmental growth of the pathogen, these diseases are difficult to control with disinfectants and antibiotics. Thus, there is a need for sustainable and effective control methods against environmentally growing opportunist diseases. Predation is often a major limiting factor in the outside host environment. Here we propose that it could be used in the biological control of these diseases. We introduce a novel epidemiological model for environmentally growing opportunists combining pathogen growth within-host (SI model) and outside-host into classical predator-prey model.…

2020

Sleep problems reported by parents affect 20% to 30% of infants. Few studies focused on the longitudinal association between infant feeding practices and sleep, especially in France. Analyses were based on 8,696 infants from the French national birth cohort ELFE. Collection of feeding practices from birth to 10 months allowed for the identification of trajectories of use of baby cereals and thickened formula by group‐based trajectory modelling and calculation of duration of any breastfeeding (BF) and age at complementary feeding introduction (CFI) excluding baby cereals. Total sleep duration (TSD), night waking (NW) and sleep onset difficulties (SOD) were reported at age 1. Associations bet…