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Microb Biotechnol 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Fire and Applied Mycology Laboratory, Departments of Agroforestry Sciences and Vegetal Production and Natural Resources, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid (Palencia), Avda. Madrid 44, 34071, Palencia, Spain.

Cistus ladanifer scrublands, traditionally considered as unproductive, have nonetheless been observed to produce large quantities of king bolete (Boletus edulis) fruitbodies. These pyrophytic scrublands are prone to wildfires, which severely affect fungi, hence the need for fire prevention in producing C. ladanifer scrublands. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

World Agroforestry Centre, East & Southern Africa Region, 13 Elm Road, Woodlands, Lusaka, Zambia

Deforestation has a substantial impact on above ground biodiversity, but the response of below ground soil fungi remains poorly understood. In a tropical montane rainforest in southwestern China, plots were established along a forest degradation gradient ranging from mature and regenerated forests to open land to examine the impacts of forest degradation and deforestation on ecosystem diversity and function. Here, we evaluate the changes in below ground fungal diversity and community composition using a metabarcoding approach. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Independent Researcher, Ellison Consulting, Baar 6340, Switzerland.

PLoS One 2019 9;14(4):e0201329. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Engineering and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Uganda.

Vitellaria paradoxa provides many benefits to farmers within the Shea belt. However, increased threats to it necessitate its conservation, and one common approach is the practice of agroforestry. A number of studies have shown that Shea tree has influence on crop production, and yet, some of these studies were done using single season experiments or bioassays using mature Shea tree components. Read More

Sci Adv 2019 Apr 3;5(4):eaau2879. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.

Overexploitation is one of the main threats to biodiversity, but the intensity of this threat varies geographically. We identified global concentrations, on land and at sea, of 4543 species threatened by unsustainable commercial harvesting. Regions under high-intensity threat (based on accessibility on land and on fishing catch at sea) cover 4. Read More

PLoS One 2019 2;14(4):e0203238. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Institute of Grain Groups, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

Agroforestry is a common traditional practice in China-especially in the southern Xinjiang of Northwest China. However, the productivity of many agroforestry systems has been lower than expected in recent years, highlighting the need for an actionably deep mechanistic understanding of the competition between crops and trees. Here, three different fruit tree/wheat (jujube/wheat, apricot /wheat, and walnut /wheat) intercropping agroforestry systems were chosen to investigate influence of different fruit tree shade intensity on the growth, yield and quality of intercropping wheat. Read More

J Anim Sci Biotechnol 2019 15;10:30. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

1Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070 People's Republic of China.

Background: Haemonchosis is a major economic problem in goat production in humid, tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is caused by an abomasal nematode, , which is highly pathogenic in small ruminants The aim of this study was to identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that were associated with fecal egg counts (FEC) and could be used as markers to identify resistance to in goats.

Results: Ten novel variants in the , and genes were associated with FEC in goats with a nominal significance level of  < 0. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2019 Feb;30(2):472-480

Beijing World Hazard Preventing Tech Co. Ltd, Beijing 100048, China.

Taihang Mountains plays a key role in water supply for the North China Plain, even though it has the ecological disadvantages of less water and soil. Research on the vertical characteri-stics of water supply and demand in Taihang Mountains is beneficial for the sustainable management of the mountain ecosystem. Here, we quantitatively evaluated water provision in the Taihang Mountains using remote sensing data and InVEST model. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Fishing Engineering Course, State University of Amapá, Av. Presidente Vargas, no. 650, Mailbox 10, Macapa, Amapá, 68900-000, Brazil.

Aquaponics is a science that integrates animal aquatic production with vegetable culture in recirculating water systems. The performance of an aquaponics system using constructed semi-dry wetland with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) planted on treating wastewater of culture of shrimp Macrobrachium amazonicum was evaluated. Read More

J Food Sci Technol 2019 Feb 18;56(2):792-798. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

1Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558 Australia.

Daily consumption of nuts is recommended as a part of a healthy diet as they contain protein and are rich in beneficial fatty acids and essential nutrients. The nutritional qualities of nuts are affected by their fatty acid composition and other factors such as maturity. Oil oxidative stability is important to determine nut nutritional quality in terms of fatty acid composition over storage. Read More

Planta 2019 Mar 23. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

International Tree Foundation, 1 Kings Meadow, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0DP, England, UK.

Main Conclusion: Over the last 25 years, the process of domesticating culturally-important, highly-nutritious, indigenous food-tree species. Integrating these over-looked 'Cinderella' species into conventional farming systems as new crops is playing a critical role in raising the productivity of staple food crops and improving the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers. This experience has important policy implications for the sustainability of tropical/sub-tropical agriculture, the rural economy and the global environment. Read More

J Cell Mol Med 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Department of Neural Engineering and Biological Interdisciplinary Studies, Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are highly attractive for cell-based therapies in tissue repair and regeneration because they have multilineage differentiation capacity and are immunosuppressive. However, the detailed epigenetic mechanisms of their immunoregulatory capacity are not fully defined. In this study, we found that Mysm1 was induced in ASCs treated with inflammatory cytokines. Read More

Mycologia 2019 Mar 11:1-11. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

a Laboratorio de Biotecnología Misiones, Instituto de Biotecnología Misiones, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas , Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Ruta 12 Km 7.5 , CP 3300 , Posadas , Misiones , Argentina.

Agroforestry industries in the world generate lignocellulosic wastes that can be a huge problem of pollution, or the wastes can be used for different biotechonological applications such as substrates for microorganism growth and enzyme production. Fungi such as Aspergillus niger can grow in almost every substrate and produce hydrolytic enzymes such as endoxylanases, giving added value to agroforestry wastes generated by industries in the northeast of Argentina. In this context, the aim of this work was to use agroforestry wastes as substrates for the production of endoxylanases by Aspergillus niger and to optimize nitrogen sources and physical variables for the highest endoxylanase activity. Read More

Rev Environ Health 2019 Mar;34(1):35-56

Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.

Background Understanding the role of environmental toxicant exposure on children's development is an important area of inquiry in order to better understand contextual factors that shape development and ultimately school readiness among young children. There is evidence suggesting negative links between exposure to environmental toxicants and negative physical health outcomes (i.e. Read More

Sex Transm Infect 2019 Mar 6. Epub 2019 Mar 6.

Child and Adolescent Health and Maternal Health, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, Beijing, China

Objective: We investigated syphilis prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, as well as potential risk factors. Our principal hypothesis was that syphilis would be associated with the use of recreational drugs such as methamphetamines.

Methods: From April to October 2013, we used several methods to recruit MSM in Qingdao, collecting demographic/behavioural information via self-administrated questionnaires. Read More

R Soc Open Sci 2018 Sep 19;5(9):181168. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, South Australia, Australia.

The relationship between β-diversity and latitude still remains to be a core question in ecology because of the lack of consensus between studies. One hypothesis for the lack of consensus between studies is that spatial scale changes the relationship between latitude and β-diversity. Here, we test this hypothesis using tree data from 15 large-scale forest plots (greater than or equal to 15 ha, diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) across a latitudinal gradient (3-30) in the Asia-Pacific region. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2019 Mar 4;191(4):203. Epub 2019 Mar 4.

Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India.

Population growth, urbanization, and changing land use/cover practices are responsible for the loss of ecosystem services of wetlands around the world. The present study investigated wetland degradation that occurred in the Western Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India. The land use/cover change maps between 2001 and 2016 derived from remotely sensed imagery showed that the Pong Dam wetland is severely affected due to anthropogenic pressure posing risks of habitat destruction within its catchment area. Read More

Int J Agric Sustain 2019 20;17(1):34-48. Epub 2018 Dec 20.

Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Many studies detail constraints deemed responsible for the limited adoption of new technologies among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. By contrast, here we study the conditions that led to the remarkably fast spread of improved chickpea varieties in Ethiopia. Within just seven years, the adoption rate rose from 30 to 80% of the farmers. Read More

Geoderma 2019 Mar;337:413-424

The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK.

X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) is widely applied for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of soil mineralogy. In recent years, high-throughput XRPD has resulted in soil XRPD datasets containing thousands of samples. The efforts required for conventional approaches of soil XRPD data analysis are currently restrictive for such large data sets, resulting in a need for computational methods that can aid in defining soil property - soil mineralogy relationships. Read More

Food Chem 2019 Jul 15;286:459-466. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Trieste, via L. Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy. Electronic address:

Quantitative analyses of mono-p-coumaroylquinic acids (pCoQAs) and total chlorogenic acids (CGAs) in green coffee commercial lots of C. arabica, C. canephora and C. Read More

J Dairy Sci 2019 Apr 22;102(4):2941-2953. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Institute for Animal Science and Technology, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the transfer of the most widely used antibiotics in dairy goats from milk to cheese as well as their effect on the cheese-making process and cheese characteristics during ripening. Antibiotic-free milk was spiked individually with 7 veterinary drugs (amoxicillin, benzylpenicillin, cloxacillin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and oxytetracycline) at an equivalent concentration of the European Union maximum residue limit. Spiked goat milk was used to make mature Tronchón cheeses, which were analyzed at 0, 30, and 60 d of maturation to determine pH, chemical composition, proteolytic and lipolytic activities, and color and textural properties. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2019 Apr 22;26(11):11140-11152. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory, School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

The aim of this work is to convert agroforestry residue to a novel adsorbent (M-1CTA-SDS-BT) used for adsorptive benzene sequestration from aqueous solution. In this study, the anionic surfactant-coated-cationized banana trunk was synthesized and characterized for batch adsorption of benzene from aqueous solution. The surface morphology, surface chemistry, surface area, and pore properties of the synthesized adsorbents were examined. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Feb 22;9(1):2544. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

IGEPP, INRA, AgroCampus Ouest, Université Rennes 1, F-35653, Le Rheu, France.

Coffee berry disease (CBD), which is widespread in Africa, has been responsible for massive yield losses of Coffea arabica. In Cameroon, C. arabica is mainly planted in agroforestry systems on smallholder farms, where low incomes hinder the use of chemicals to manage the disease. Read More

PLoS One 2019 19;14(2):e0200118. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria, Carolyn House, Croydon, United Kingdom.

Most crop simulation models require the use of Genotype Specific Parameters (GSPs) which provide the Genotype component of G×E×M interactions. Estimation of GSPs is the most difficult aspect of most modelling exercises because it requires expensive and time-consuming field experiments. GSPs could also be estimated using multi-year and multi locational data from breeder evaluation experiments. Read More

Trends Ecol Evol 2019 Apr 8;34(4):282-286. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Electronic address:

Ecological intensification aims to increase crop productivity by enhancing biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, while minimizing the use of synthetic inputs and cropland expansion. Policies to promote ecological intensification have emerged in different countries, but they are still scarce and vary widely across regions. Here, we propose ten policy targets that governments can follow for ecological intensification. Read More

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci 2019 Jan 4. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effect of diet supplementation with rubber seed oil and flaxseed oil on serum fatty acids profile, oxidation stability of serum and milk, and immune function of dairy cows.

Methods: Forty-eight mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows were randomly assigned to one of four treatments for 8wk, including basal diet (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 4% rubber seed oil (RO), 4% flaxseed oil (FO) or 2% rubber seed oil plus 2% flaxseed oil (RFO) on a DM basis.

Results: Compared with CON, all the oil groups increased the levels of trans-11 C18:1 (vaccenic acid, VA), cis-9, trans-11 C18:2 (conjugated linoleic acid, CLA) and C18:3 (α-linolenic acid, ALA) in serum. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2019 Feb 10;4(1). Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Department of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, UPO, Kumasi 00233, Ghana.

The emergence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), nearly a decade ago with worldwide distribution, was believed to be of zoonotic origin from bats with dromedary camels as intermediate hosts. There is a likelihood of other domestic livestock serving as intermediate hosts for this virus. The presence of coronaviruses, closely related to MERS-CoV in Ghanaian bats, presented the opportunity to test the hypothesis of transmissibility of this virus through domestic livestock species. Read More

J Environ Manage 2019 Apr 4;236:163-181. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

El Colegio de La Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) Unidad Campeche, Av. Rancho Polígono 2-A, Ciudad Industrial, 24500, Lerma Campeche, Campeche, Mexico.

Browsing of forest frontiers by cattle in sub-tropical landscapes is detrimental to ecosystem health, but essential to smallholder livelihoods. We described a silvopastoral landscape, searching for browsed plants to assess how much of the forest is actually used for this end, and also searching for potential new useful species for silvopastoral purposes. The first objective was accomplished through a floristic description, making observations of individuals with browsing marks. Read More

PLoS One 2019 31;14(1):e0211221. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Tanah Air Beta, Batu Karu, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia.

Interpreting discourses among implementers of what is termed a "landscape approach" enables us to learn from their experience to improve conservation and development outcomes. We use Q-methodology to explore the perspectives of a group of experts in the landscape approach, both from academic and implementation fields, on what hinderances are in place to the realisation of achieving sustainable landscape management in Indonesia. The results show that, at a generic level, "corruption" and "lack of transparency and accountability" rank as the greatest constraints on landscape functionality. Read More

PLoS One 2019 30;14(1):e0210050. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Despite progress in fighting undernutrition, Africa has the highest rates of undernutrition globally, exacerbated by drought and conflict. Mobile phones are emerging as a tool for rapid, cost effective data collection at scale in Africa, as mobile phone subscriptions and phone ownership increase at the highest rates globally. To assess the feasibility and biases of collecting nutrition data via computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) to mobile phones, we measured Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and Minimum Acceptable Diet for Infants and Young Children (MAD) using a one-week test-retest study on 1,821 households in Kenya. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Jan 29;9(1):908. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Rothamsted Research, Sustainable Agriculture Sciences Department, North Wyke, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK.

A decline in pasture productivity is often associated with a reduction in vegetative cover. We hypothesize that nitrogen (N) in urine deposited by grazing cattle on degraded pastures, with low vegetative cover, is highly susceptible to losses. Here, we quantified the magnitude of urine-based nitrous oxide (NO) lost from soil under paired degraded (low vegetative cover) and non-degraded (adequate vegetative cover) pastures across five countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region and estimated urine-N emission factors. Read More

J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2019 Jan 28;15(1). Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China.

Background: The ethnic groups in Gilgit-Baltistan have been utilizing local resources in their centuries-old traditional healing system. Most tribes within these ethnic groups still rely on traditional healing systems. We aim to understand the current status, uses, and abundance of medicinal plants, associated traditional knowledge, and trade. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 22;662:276-286. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Department of Science and Agroforestry Technology and Genetics, Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, Albacete, Spain.

The growth and survival of plants in semiarid Mediterranean forests can be improved through the benefits conferred by thinning, a forest management practice that removes trees and reduces the competition between the remaining ones. Here, we evaluate the impacts of induced drought (the exclusion of 25% of the natural rainfall for 5 years) and thinning, and their interaction, with the objective of determining whether the thinning of Holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) modulates the resistance of the soil microbial community to drought. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2019 Jan 18;8(1). Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Laboratory of Plant Stress Response, Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0795, Japan.

Soil pH, either low (acidity) or high (alkalinity), is one of the major constraints that affect many biochemical and biological processes within the cell. The present study was carried out to understand the oxidative damage and antioxidant defense in wheat ( L. cv. Read More

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Chang 2019 21;24(1):147-163. Epub 2018 Mar 21.

Southeast Asia Regional Programme, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Jl. CIFOR, Situgede, Sindang Barang, Bogor, 16115 Indonesia.

Most attention in quantifying carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from tropical peatlands has been on large-scale plantations (industrial timber, oil palm ()), differing in drainage and land-use practices from those of smallholder farms. We measured subsidence and changes in bulk density and carbon organic content to calculate CO emissions over 2.5 years in a remnant logged-over forest and four dominant smallholder land-use types in Tanjung Jabung Barat District, Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia: (1) simple rubber () agroforest (> 30 years), (2) mixed coconut () and coffee gardens () (> 40 years), (3) mixed betel nut () and coffee gardens (> 20 years), and (4) oil palm plantation (1 year). Read More

PLoS One 2019 16;14(1):e0210356. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Agroforestry and Plant Biochemistry and Proteomics Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.

Transcriptome analysis is widely used in plant biology research to explore gene expression across a large variety of biological contexts such as those related to environmental stress and plant-pathogen interaction. Currently, next generation sequencing platforms are used to obtain a high amount of raw data to build the transcriptome of any plant. Here, we compare Illumina and Ion Torrent sequencing platforms for the construction and analysis of the holm oak (Quercus ilex) transcriptome. Read More

Viruses 2019 01 9;11(1). Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Previous Institution: Institute of Virology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, 53127 Bonn, Germany.

Known human coronaviruses are believed to have originated in animals and made use of intermediate hosts for transmission to humans. The intermediate hosts of most of the human coronaviruses are known, but not for HCoV-NL63. This study aims to assess the possible role of some major domestic livestock species as intermediate hosts of HCoV-NL63. Read More

PLoS One 2019 11;14(1):e0210557. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Department of Agroforestry, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Cocoa agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve biodiversity and provide environmental or ecological benefits at various nested scales ranging from the plot to ecoregion. While integrating organic practices into cocoa agroforestry may further enhance these potentials, empirical and robust data to support this claim is lacking, and mechanisms for biodiversity conservation and the provision of environmental and ecological benefits are poorly understood. A field study was conducted in the Eastern Region of Ghana to evaluate the potential of organic cocoa agroforests to conserve native floristic diversity in comparison with conventional cocoa agroforests. Read More

PLoS One 2019 9;14(1):e0209260. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Bamako, Mali.

Two field experiments were conducted at Ellembelle and Jomoro districts in the Western region of Ghana where rubber cultivation is a predominant farming activity. The objective of the study was to assess the effect of rubber and plantain intercropping systems on selected soil properties. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. Read More

PLoS One 2019 9;14(1):e0209182. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.

Heat stress decreases milk yield and deleteriously alters milk composition. Reduced feed intake partially explains some of the consequences of heat stress, but metabolic changes in the mammary tissue and liver associated with milk synthesis have not been thoroughly evaluated. In the current study, changes of protein abundance in the mammary tissue and liver between heat-stressed cows with ad libitum intake and pair-fed thermal neutral cows were investigated using the iTRAQ proteomic approach. Read More

Plant Mol Biol 2019 Feb 2;99(3):251-264. Epub 2019 Jan 2.

Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.

Key Message: The genetic linkage map for green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) contains 1201 DNA markers in 23 linkage groups spanning 2008.87cM. The green ash map shows stronger synteny with coffee than tomato. Read More

Food Res Int 2019 Jan 2;115:54-64. Epub 2018 Aug 2.

University College Dublin, School of Agriculture and Food Science, Dublin 4, Ireland. Electronic address:

Animal production factors can affect the sensory quality of lamb meat. The study investigated the effect of diet composition and duration of consumption on the proximate analysis, volatile profile and sensory quality of lamb meat. Ninety-nine male Texel × Scottish Blackface lambs were raised at pasture for 10 months before being assigned in groups of 11 to one of the following treatments: 100% Silage (S) for 36 (S36), 54 (S54) or 72 (S72) days; 50% Silage - 50% Concentrate (SC) for 36 (SC36), 54 (SC54) or 72 (SC72) days; 100% Concentrate (C) for 36 (C36) or 54 (C54) or 72 (C72) days. Read More

Ecol Evol 2018 Dec 10;8(23):11582-11595. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Food Security and Safety, Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology North-West University Mmabatho South Africa.

Termites have gained importance as major pests in cocoa agroforests. Proper identification of termite species and knowledge on their functional diversity are the first steps in developing environmentally compatible management strategies. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of termite species richness in different cocoa agroforests is related to responses by termite functional groups to changes in shade management. Read More

Food Chem 2019 Apr 22;278:636-643. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

GI-1716, Agroforestry Engineering Department, EPSE, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain.

Vineyard management can influence the growth and yield components in the vineyards and therefore on the grape and wine quality. In this work, a chemical study was conducted (2014-2015) to examine the effect of fertigation on chemical composition of Albariño. A control (Rain-fed) and fertigation (60% and 100%) treatments were apply at same irrigation depth, where fertigation 100% is complete nutrient requirements to Albariño trellis system in this location (Rias Baixas AOC, NW Spain). Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 20;655:1342-1354. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) House, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri P.O. Box 1041-00621, Nairobi, Kenya.

Long-term changes in average temperatures, precipitation, and climate variability threaten agricultural production, food security, and the livelihoods of farming communities globally. Whilst adaptation to climate change is necessary to ensure food security and protect livelihoods of poor farmers, mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can lessen the extent of climate change and future needs for adaptation. Many agricultural practices can potentially mitigate GHG emissions without compromising food production. Read More

J Exp Bot 2018 Dec 20. Epub 2018 Dec 20.

Rice Research Institute, Yunnan Agriculture University, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China.

Hybrid weakness is a post-zygotic hybridization barrier frequently observed in plants, including rice. In this study, we describe the genomic variation among three temperate japonica rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) varieties 'Aranghyangchalbyeo' ('CH7'), 'Sanghaehyangheolua' ('CH8') and 'Shinseonchalbyeo' ('CH9'), carrying different hybrid weakness genes. Read More

Front Psychol 2018 4;9:2344. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

With increased urbanization, ecological challenges such as climate change and loss of biodiversity, and stress-related disorders globally posing a major threat to public health and wellbeing, the development of efficient multiple-use strategies for urban green spaces and infrastructures is of great importance. In addition to benefits such as climate and water regulation, food production, and biodiversity conservation, green spaces and features have been associated with various health and wellbeing outcomes from a psychological perspective. Research suggests links between exposure to green environmental qualities and restoration from psycho-physiological stress and attention fatigue, promotion of physical activity, increased neighborhood satisfaction and even reduced mortality. Read More

MycoKeys 2018 6(43):75-90. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

During studies of microfungi on para rubber in Thailand, we collected a new species on twigs which we introduce herein as with support from phylogenetic analyses of LSU, ITS and TEF1 sequence data and morphological characters. is distinct from other known taxa by its conidial measurements, number of pseudosepta and lack of a hyaline tip to the apical cell. Read More

Nanomaterials (Basel) 2018 Dec 5;8(12). Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA), EPS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Carretera de Cuarte s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain.

One of the challenges to continue improving polymeric membranes properties involves the development of novel chemically modified fillers, such as nitrogen-rich 2-D nanomaterials. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has attracted significant interest as a new class of these fillers. Protonation is known to afford it desirable functionalities to form unique architectures for various applications. Read More

PLoS One 2018 18;13(12):e0199488. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Université du Faso (UFA), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The success of terrestrial carbon sequestration projects for rural development in sub-Saharan Africa lies in the (i) involvement of local populations in the selection of woody species, which represent the biological assets they use to meet their daily needs, and (ii) information about the potential of these species to store carbon. Although the latter is a key prerequisite, there is very little information available. To help fill this gap, the present study was undertaken in four pilot villages (Kou, Dao, Vrassan and Cassou) in Ziro Province, south-central Burkina Faso. Read More