Genetic diversity and phylogeography of wild-sown and cultivated coconuts (Cocos nucifera L.)

The coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a pantropical strand plant, colonizing sandy insular beaches in the humid tropics. Cocos is a monotypic genus in the Cocoseae tribe (18/ca. 200 spp.) within the Arecaceae family. Phylogenetic studies support its sister relationship to Syagrus, a Neotropical genus, sharing a common ancestor about 35 MYBP, though the crown group age of Cocos is about 11 MYBP. Fossil evidence indicates that members of the Cocos lineage were present in South America, India, New Zealand and Australia. Coconuts are adapted to drift-dispersal by ocean currents; however, human activities both historically and today have also aided its spread and impacted its phenotypic and genetic structure. Coconuts are traditionally classified as 'Talls' or 'Dwarfs' based on tree habit. Morphological examination reveal two predominant fruit types, attributed to Polynesian terminology: niu kafa are characterized by their elongated, triangular fruits with large proportion of fibrous husk and niu vai, whose fruits are rounded with large proportion of liquid endosperm. The niu kafa form is interpreted as the naturally evolved coconut, under natural selection for dissemination by sea currents whilst the niu vai form evolved from domestication under human selection for greater volume of delicious coconut water. Here we investigate the genetic diversity of coconuts, the impact of domestication, introgression and the taxonomic implications for this species. We used polymorphic microsatellite markers on 1322 coconut samples representing phenotypic and genetic variation worldwide to examine the geographical location of the center(s) of domestication and its progenitors. Bayesian analyses of population structure revealed two major subpopulations corresponding to the Pacific and Indo-Atlantic oceanic regions. Haplotype networks based on chloroplast and nuclear markers are used as a complementary dataset to examine the coconut's phylogeography. (Texte intégral

A New Bispectral Test for Nonlinear Serial Dependence

Bispectrum, nonlinearity, time series analysis

Neonatal care practices in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative data.

BACKGROUND: Recommended immediate newborn care practices include thermal care (immediate drying and wrapping, skin-to-skin contact after delivery, delayed bathing), hygienic cord care and early initiation of breastfeeding. This paper systematically reviews quantitative and qualitative data from sub-Saharan Africa on the prevalence of key immediate newborn care practices and the factors that influence them. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching relevant databases and websites, contacting national and international academics and implementers and hand-searching reference lists of included articles. English-language published and unpublished literature reporting primary data from sub-Saharan Africa (published between January 2001 and May 2014) were included if it met the quality criteria. Quantitative prevalence data were extracted and summarized. Qualitative data were synthesized through thematic analysis, with deductive coding used to identify emergent themes within each care practice. A framework approach was used to identify prominent and divergent themes. RESULTS: Forty-two studies were included as well as DHS data - only available for early breastfeeding practices from 33 countries. Results found variation in the prevalence of immediate newborn care practices between countries, with the exception of skin-to-skin contact after delivery which was universally low. The importance of keeping newborn babies warm was well recognized, although thermal care practices were sub-optimal. Similar factors influenced practices across countries, including delayed drying and wrapping because the birth attendant focused on the mother; bathing newborns soon after delivery to remove the dirt and blood; negative beliefs about the vernix; applying substances to the cord to make it drop off quickly; and delayed breastfeeding because of a perception of a lack of milk or because the baby needs to sleep after delivery or does not showing signs of hunger. CONCLUSION: The majority of studies included in this review came from five countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda). There is a need for more research from a wider geographical area, more research on newborn care practices at health facilities and standardization in measuring newborn care practices. The findings of this study could inform behaviour change interventions to improve the uptake of immediate newborn care practices

The presence of coconut in southern Panama in pre-Columbian times: Clearing up the confusion

Background The pre-Columbian presence of coconut on the Pacific coast of Panama is attested by a number of independent written accounts. However, recent papers question their accuracy and conclude that coconut was introduced to the region by the Spaniards after their conquests. Scope In order to examine the value of such claims, an extensive search was conducted of the relevant historical accounts of coconut in America and in the Orient. Key Results The Spanish chronicler Oviedo (1478-1557) is found to have effectively used fruit and seed size to distinguish coconut from other palms. In addition, it is shown that he has been inaccurately faulted with incorrectly representing a cluster of coconuts. The original drawing, a cluster of a native Bactris, was in the marginalia and was only assigned to coconut after Oviedo's death. Finally, the location is identified of a coastal Panamanian site described by Pedro Mártir de Anglería and where tidal dispersal of coconuts was observed. Conclusions This previously overlooked evidence confirms the pre-historical presence of coconut in Panama. Genetic data indicate that it must have been brought there directly or indirectly from the Philippines. But when, where and by whom remains a subject of research. Further molecular marker studies, computer simulation of natural drift and archaeological research could contribute to this research. (Résumé d'auteur

The Mersey Estuary : sediment geochemistry

This report describes a study of the geochemistry of the Mersey estuary carried out between April 2000 and December 2002. The study was the first in a new programme of surveys of the geochemistry of major British estuaries aimed at enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the distribution of contaminants in estuarine sediments. The report first summarises the physical setting, historical development, geology, hydrography and bathymetry of the Mersey estuary and its catchment. Details of the sampling and analytical programmes are then given followed by a discussion of the sedimentology and geochemistry. The chemistry of the water column and suspended particulate matter have not been studied, the chief concern being with the geochemistry of the surface and near-surface sediments of the Mersey estuary and an examination of their likely sources and present state of contamination

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements and cognitive decline: Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies

10.1007/s12603-011-0010-zJournal of Nutrition, Health and Aging15132-3

Genomic studies of the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) : [Abstract P0225]

The evolutionary history of the monotypic coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is intriguing and its geographical origin remains unknown. The coconut is the quintessential strand plant, colonizing sandy coastal beaches and islands in the humid tropics and is well adapted for flotation and natural dispersal by oceanic currents. This palm has also been disseminated by humans for millennia through voyages of exploration and establishment of trade routes across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This long-term human interaction with the coconut has altered its phenotype and the lack of a universal domestication trait has obscured the putative wild phenotype. Developments in molecular techniques such as next generation sequencing may well prove useful in elucidation of the coconut's origin. Here we propose to apply NGS to multi-loci molecular markers for 20 populations (188 individuals), sampled worldwide to examine the phylogeography, phylogeny, lineage sorting and discovery of polymorphisms for understanding the evolutionary history of the coconut. We will perform parallel tagged sequencing (PTS) for barcoding multiple samples and use the Illumina platform for high throughput sequencing. (Texte integral

Malaysia as a culinary tourism destination : international tourists’ perspective / M. Shahrim Ab. Karim, Bee-Lia Chua and Hamdin Salleh

This study was conducted to determine Malaysia’s current food image and food attribute satisfaction from international tourists’ points of view and subsequently assess their overall satisfaction with the eating experience and behavioral intention. The results indicated that Malaysia possesses clear images of ‘core food value’, ‘Malaysian food specialty’, and ‘Malaysian food uniqueness’ but is rather unclear on the images of ‘food and dining atmosphere’ and ‘features of Malaysian food’. Tourists’ satisfaction with ‘quality and value of food’ and ‘accessibility convenience’ were relatively higher than ‘dining atmosphere’ and ‘culinary tourism products’. Regression analyses revealed that food images and food attributes’ satisfaction significantly predicted tourists’ overall satisfaction, and the overall satisfaction revealed a significant relationship with tourists’ behavioral intentions. Implications for managers who are involved in food tourism are posited

Progesterone And Prostaglandin F2α Induce Species-Typical Female Preferences For Male Sexual Displays In Cope\u27s Gray Treefrog (Hyla Chrysoscelis)

Endocrine systems play critical roles in facilitating sexual behavior in seasonally breeding vertebrates. Much of the research exploring this topic has focused on the endocrine correlates of signaling behavior in males and sexual proceptivity in females. What is less understood is how hormones promote the expression of the often complex and highly selective set of stimulus–response behaviors that are observed in naturally breeding animals. In female frogs, phonotaxis is a robust and sensitive bioassay of mate choice and is exhibited by gravid females during the breeding season. In stark contrast, females exhibit low phonotactic responsiveness outside the breeding season, but the administration of hormones can induce sexual proceptivity. Here we test the hypothesis that manipulation of a minimal set of reproductive hormones—progesterone and prostaglandin F2α—are capable of evoking not only proceptive behavior in non-breeding females, but also the patterns of intraspecific selectivity for male sexual displays observed in gravid females tested during the breeding season. Specifically, we investigated whether preferences for faster call rates, longer call durations, and higher call efforts were similar between breeding and hormone-treated females of Cope\u27s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). Hormone injections induced patterns of selective phonotaxis in non-breeding females that were remarkably similar to those observed in breeding females. These results suggest that there may be an important contribution of hormonal pleiotropy in regulating this complex, acoustically-guided sexual behavior. Our findings also support the idea that hormonal induction could be used to evaluate hypotheses about selective mate choice, and its underlying mechanisms, using non-breeding females

Proteasome inhibition alleviates prolonged moderate compression-induced muscle pathology

Background: The molecular mechanism initiating deep pressure ulcer remains to be elucidated. The present study tested the hypothesis that the ubiquitin proteasome system is involved in the signalling mechanism in pressure-induced deep tissue injury. Methods. Adult Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to an experimental compression model to induce deep tissue injury. The tibialis region of the right hind limb was subjected to 100 mmHg of static pressure for six hours on each of two consecutive days. The compression pressure was continuously monitored by a three-axial force transducer within the compression indentor. The left hind limb served as the intra-animal control. Muscle tissues underneath the compressed region were collected and used for analyses. Results: Our results demonstrated that the activity of 20S proteasome and the protein abundance of ubiquitin and MAFbx/atrogin-1 were elevated in conjunction with pathohistological changes in the compressed muscle, as compared to control muscle. The administration of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 was found to be effective in ameliorating the development of pathological histology in compressed muscle. Furthermore, 20S proteasome activity and protein content of ubiquitin and MAFbx/atrogin-1 showed no apparent increase in the MG132-treated muscle following compression. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the ubiquitin proteasome system may play a role in the pathogenesis of pressure-induced deep tissue injury. © 2011 Siu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex