Sexual Dimorphism of Head Size in Phrynocephalus przewalskii: Testing the Food Niche Divergence Hypothesis

Sexual size dimorphism （SSD） is a general phenomenon in lizards, and can evolve through sexual selection or natural selection. But natural selection, which was thought to operate mainly through reducing the competition be- tween the two sexes （niche divergence hypothesis）, gave rise to a lot of controversy. We tested the niche divergence hypothesis in the toad-headed lizard Phrynocephalus przewalskii by comparing diet composition and prey sizes between males and females. The species was found to be sexual dimorphic, with males having relatively larger snout-vent length, head width, head length, and tail length, while females have relatively larger abdomen length. Based on analysis of 93 studied stomachs, a total of 1359 prey items were identified. The most common prey items were formicid, lygaeid and tenebrionid. The two sexes did not differ in the relative proportions of prey size categories they consumed and the dietary overlap based on prey species was high （O = 0.989）. In addition, the meal size, the volume or any maximal dimension of the largest prey item in the stomach was not explained by the sexes. According to our results, food niche divergence might not play an important role in the SSD evolution ofP. przewalskii.

Are Family Table Foods Appropriate for Infants? Comparing the Nutritional Quality of Homemade Meals Adapted from the Family’s Table Foods and Those Specially Prepared for Infants

The Brazilian Ministry of Health recommends that by 8 months of age, children should eat the same types of foods consumed by the other members of the family. Thus, this study sought to evaluate whether the nutritional composition of meals specially prepared (SM) for children aged 7 to 18 months in low-income families was superior to that of meals adapted (AM) from the family’s table foods. Protein, fat, carbohydrate, energy, dietary fiber, iron, sodium and sodium chloride values, were determined by chemical analyses and compared to dietetic guidelines. The infants’ hemoglobin levels were also investigated. In total, sixty samples of the infants’ lunch meal (51 AM and 9 SM) were taken for during a home visit. The values of protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and energy of the AM were significantly lower, while the sodium and sodium chloride values were significantly higher, compared to those of the SM. The AM also contained significantly more water. No differences were seen with regard to iron values. Sodium chloride amounted for most of the sodium content. Neither the SM nor AM was adequate in terms of iron and sodium. All SM were adequate for protein and fat, whereas AM showed significantly more samples with inadequate energy levels. SM fell within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range, while AM fell below the lower value for fat and slightly above the upper value for carbohydrate. The prevalence of anemia was 60% in the study population (36/60). In conclusion, meals adapted from the family’s table foods showed a lower nutrient density and a less balanced macronutrient range when compared to meals specially prepared for infants. The main nutritional shortcomings, for both AM and SM, were the extremely low content of iron and the high content of sodium.

Food web structure and trophic levels in a saltwater pond sea cucumber and prawn polyculture system

The food sources of aquacultured Apostichopus japonicus and the trophic levels of organisms in a sea cucumber（A. japonicus） and prawn（Penaeus japonica） polyculture system in a saltwater pond in Zhuanghe, Liaoning Province were examined using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Across organisms, δ13C ranged from（–25.47±0.20）‰ to（–16.48±0.17）‰（mean±SD）, and δ15N ranged from（4.23±0.49）‰ to（12.44±0.09）‰. The δ13C and δ15N contents of A. japonicus, P. japonica and Fenneropenaeus chinensis were comparatively higher than those of other organisms. Values of δ13C and δ15N revealed that P. japonica, Hemigrapsus sanguineus and Neomysis japonica comprised the largest component of the diet of A. japonicus. The mean trophic level of the organisms in this saltwater pond polyculture system was（2.75±0.08）. P. japonica, A. japonicus, F. chinensis,Synechogobius hasta and Neomysis japonica were in the 3rd trophic level（2–3）; jellyfish, H. sanguineus and zooplankton were in the 2nd trophic level（1–2）; and Enteromorpha prolifera, benthic microalgae, periphyton and suspended matter primarily consisting of phytoplankton, bacteria and humus were in the primary trophic level（0–1）.

Antioxidant Action of Rosemary and Oregano Extract in Pre-Cooked Meat Hamburger

The main goal is to compare the antioxidant potential of rosemary and oregano natural extracts in precooked beef burger by assessing the lipid oxidation extent and sensory analysis. Five formulations (F) of hamburger were prepared from beef and mechanically separated as follows: meat containing sodium erythorbate (F1);deodorized rosemary extract (F2);oregano extract (F3);rosemary plus oregano extracts (F4) and without antioxidant addition, denominated control formulation (CF). The samples were frozen at ?18°C for 24 hours, then submitted to heat treatment in an electric oven with internal controlled temperature of 75°C, and again frozen for a period of 30 days. The lipid oxidation extent (determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances— TBRS) was evaluated at 0, 15 during 30 days. After heating in plate to temperature of 75°C, the samples were submitted to color, taste and odor evaluation by 40 untrained tasters. The formulations F1, F2 and F4 presented lower concentrations of TBRS, whereas CF at day zero already showed very high values, indicating oxidation of the product. The samples showed good acceptance in the sensorial analysis.

Quantitative Estimation of γ-Glutamylethylamide in Commercially Available Made Teas [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, Theaceae] in Kenya

A study was carried out to quantitatively estimate the L-theanine content in 19 teas commercially available in the Kenyan market by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The test tea samples analyzed were green (n = 4), black (n = 8) and flavored (n = 7) teas from different origins viz., Kenya (n = 4), Uganda (n = 2), Tanzania (n = 5), Rwanda (n = 4), Cameroon (n = 1) and Sri-Lanka (n = 2) commercially available in the Kenyan market. The estimated Limit of Detection (LOD) of the current method was 0.01% L-theanine. The L-theanine content ranged from below the detection limit (<0.01% L-theanine) to 1.60% L-theanine on a dry weight (d.w) basis. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the L-theanine contents of black, green and flavoured teas. Rwandan green tea contained the highest L-theanine content with 1.60% d.w. whereas six of the seven flavoured teas had very low theanine levels (<0.01%) that could not be quantified by the current method.

Organic Vegetables Quality Arising from the Brazilian Family-Run Farm

The present study has its aim to evaluate the different dimensions of organic vegetables quality from the Brazilian family-run farm, especially the evaluation of composition, antioxidant activity, microbiological characteristics and pesticide residues. There were evaluated carrot, broccoli, kale and white cabbage grown by organic farmers in the highlander region of Rio de Janeiro state. There were determined humidity, lipids grade, total protein content, mineral residues (ashes), soluble and insoluble fibers, soluble solids, total acidity, pH, and pesticide residues. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical removal. Among the analyzed vegetables, the effectiveness of the antioxidant capacity was obtained, in decreasing order, by broccoli, kale, white cabbage and carrot. According to the microbiological parameter, evaluated vegetables have shown satisfactory sanitary quality. Pesticide residues were not found above the detection limit for both authorized and unauthorized analyzed crops.

Performance and microbial community of a membrane bioreactor system--Treating wastewater from ethanol fermentation of food waste

In this study, a lab-scale biological anaerobic/anaerobic/anoxic/membrane bioreactor （A3-MBR） was designed to treat wastewater from the ethanol fermentation of food waste, a promising way for the disposal of food waste and reclamation of resources. The 454 pyrosequencing technique was used to investigate the composition of the microbial community in the treatment system. The system yielded a stable effluent concentration of chemical oxygen demand （202 ± 23 mg/L）, total nitrogen （62.1 ± 7.1 mg/L）, ammonia （0.3 ±0.13 mg/L） and total phosphorus （8.3 ± 0.9 rag/L）, and the reactors played different roles in specific pollutant removal. The exploration of the microbial community in the system revealed that： （1） the microbial diversity of anaerobic reactors A1 and A2, in which organic pollutants were massively degraded, was much higher than that in anoxic A3 and aerobic MBR; （2） although the community composition in each reactor was quite different, bacteria assigned to the classes Clostridia, Bacteroidia, and Synergistia were important and common microorganisms for organic pollutant degradation in the anaerobic units, and bacteria from Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were the dominant microbial population in A3 and MBR; （3） the taxon identification indicated that Arcobacter in the anaerobic reactors and Thauera in the anoxic reactor were two representative genera in the biological process. Our results proved that the biological A3-MBR process is an alternative technique for treating wastewater from food waste.