We examined the pasteurization effect of superheated steam containing micro-droplets of hot water (Aqua-gas, 115 deg C), superheated steam (120 deg C, 180 deg C) and hot water (100 deg C) to control Bacillus subtilis spores on the potato surface. Decimal reduction times of B, subtilis spores with the heating media were 2.8, 5.0, 6.3 and 6.8 minutes respectively. In case of the Aqua-gas, almost 90% of the spores were presumably washed away from the potato surface by condensed steam and the micro-droplets within 2.5 minute. After the condensation of the steam on the potato stopped, the potato surface was subsequently pasteurized effectively by the Aqua-gas since the surface was kept wet by the micro-droplets and it was heated with high temperature steam. To examine the pasteurization effect of actually cooking with these heating media, kakuni (boiled pork belly with soy sauce) and gyusuji (boiled beef tendon with soy sauce) were cooked using the Aqua-gas (115 deg C) , superheated steam (180 deg C) and a gas stove. The bacterial numbers of the food cooked with the superheated steam and the gas stove increased to more than 103CFU/g after 5 days of storage at 10 deg C. In contrast, the bacterial numbers of the samples cooked with the Aqua-gas were maintained at less than 300 CFU/g during storage.

O juvenil do segundo estádio (J2) de Meloidogyne spp. gasta sua reserva energética corporal de formas diferentes sob condições variadas de temperatura e umidade do solo, chegando à incapacidade de parasitismo vegetal. Desta forma, objetivou-se neste trabalho estudar o efeito da incubação de J2 de M. incognita em solo com níveis de umidade e temperaturas diferentes, além do borbulhamento da suspensão do inóculo na infectividade desses J2 em tomateiro. A infectividade dos J2 armazenados no solo em tomateiros decresceu significativamente entre as temperaturas estudadas durante o período de seis dias. Maior (P<0,01) infectividade ocorreu com J2 armazenados no solo a 8 ºC e menor a 28 ºC. Também o decréscimo da umidade do solo de 30% para 5% causou redução significativa na infectividade. Dentre as temperaturas do solo estudadas, apenas a 28 ºC ocorreu redução da infectividade, quando se usou solo seco comparado com o úmido, chegando a aproximadamente 98% de redução a partir de 4 dias de armazenamento. A imobilização dos J2 mantidos em água aumentou com o período de armazenamento, com o aumento da temperatura e com o borbulhamento da água. A infectividade dos J2 armazenados na água decresceu com o aumento da temperatura e com o borbulhamento, porém a 8 ºC o borbulhamento não afetou a imobilização dos J2. | The second stage juvenile (J2) of Meloidogyne spp. spend the storaged energy of the body, differently, when living in variable conditions of soil temperatures and humidities approaching to the incapability of plant parasitism. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the storage of J2 of M. incognita in soil at different levels of humidity and temperature, besides water bubbling of inoculum suspension on the infectivity of starved J2 in tomato. The infectivity of J2 in tomato decreased significantly among storaged temperatures during the period of six days in soil. Greatest (P<0,01) infectivity occurred when J2 was storaged at 8 ºC and least at 28 ºC. When soil humidity decreased from 30% to 5% the J2 infectivity was significantly reduced. Among all storaged temperatures tested, only at 28 ºC occurred reduction of J2 infectivity in dry soil (5%) compared to humid (30%), approaching to 98% reduction from 4 days storage of J2. When J2 was storaged in water, its mobility decreased along the storage period, following the same trend with the temperature and water bubbling increased. The infectivity of J2 storaged in water decreased as the temperature and the water bubbling increased. However at 8 ºC the water bubbling did not affect the J2 mobility.

The community structure of the decapod crustaceans inhabiting Le Danois Bank (Cantabrian Sea, NE Atlantic Ocean) was studied on two cruises performed in October 2003 and April 2004. Otter and beam-trawls were used to collect this fauna. At depths ranging between 455 and 1048 m, we found distinct decapod assemblages on the bank summit and deeper in the inner basin (between the bank and the continental shelf). The faunal discontinuity between these groups appeared at around 600 m (e.g. between 612 and 642 m in the basis of species replacement). The summit assemblage was characterized by low diversity (in terms of number and relative abundances of species) and by the dominance of hermit crabs (Pagurus alatus, Anapagurus laevis, Pagurus excavatus), the crangonid Pontophilus spinosus and the squat lobster Munida sarsi. Species characterizing the deeper assemblage, which was richer in terms of diversity, were Munida tenuimana, Parapagurus pilosimanus, Pontophilus norvegicus, the crab Geryon trispinosus and a number of bathypelagic shrimps (Sergia robusta, Acanthephyra pelagica and Pasiphaea tarda). Changes in decapod composition characterized by multidimensional scaling analyses were correlated with different variables, e.g. %mud and %organic matter (OM), temperature and salinity close to the bottom. Among those the %OM and %mud in sediments affected decapod distributions the most. The summit of the bank was covered by fine sediments with low proportion of mud (13.9–29.3%) and OM (2.55–3.50%). By contrast, sediment of the inner basin had a higher proportion of OM and mud (64.1–84.2%; 6.26–7.00%, respectively). The low proportion of mud at the summit of Le Danois Bank may explain the absence or scarcity of burrowing species (e.g. the lobster Nephrops norvegicus, the shrimps Calocaris macandreae and Alpheus glaber and the crab Goneplax rhomboides), that are dominant at similar depths (400–500 m) in the upper muddy assemblage on the mainland-continental slope in the Bay of Biscay (44–46°N). The dominance of certain species on the summit of submarine mounts can probably be related to their biology and feeding ecology. For example, pagurids are deposit feeders, even consuming marine snow (e.g. Chl-a identified in guts of Pagurus alatus), and they have low gut fullness (probably indicating a capacity to withstand long periods under starvation), that would favour their adaptability to a rather unpredictable habitat such as Le Danois Bank summit. Regarding prey availability, zooplankton/micronekton and infauna distributed around Le Danois Bank showed different depth-related patterns. Among zooplankton, mesopelagic decapods, mysids, and fishes were absent at the bank summit, while euphausiids exhibited high abundances over the summit. No significant trends with depth were found for infauna abundance, and for instance polychaete densities were similar both at the summit and the inner basin. Therefore, prey availability was lower for summit assemblages regarding zooplankton/micronekton. Patterns in mean size vs. depth were species specific for decapods, and the possible role of the bank summit as a recruitment area was not general for the whole decapod assemblage. | No

Forty per cent of the world population is settled in coastal zones, where much of industrial needs and world's food are produced. The influence of the sea on the environment and human livelihood is not restricted to the coastline- and mangrove belt. Indeed, its influence can be found up to 50 km further inland. Brackish water creates an environment in which continuous and dynamic flux impinges upon the stability of agricultural production systems and concomitant livelihood strategies. Most common management interventions fail to recognize the diversity of rural livelihoods in the coastal zones, and the environmental consequences for water quality and aquatic biodiversity. To address the diverse stakeholder interests and complex multi-scale upstream-downstream interactions, the Challenge Program on Water and Food Number 10 (CPWF #10) project started in 2004 with the aim of developing appropriate rice-aquaculture production systems to increase land and water productivity for improved food security and livelihoods suited to the different environments across the land water interface of two deltaic plains; the Mekong River Delta (Vietnam) and Indus-Gangetic Delta (Bangladesh).