Aproximadamente, el 30% de la población mundial vive en tierras donde el agua es escasa y la sequía constituye un serio peligro natural. Extensas partes de África, el Norte de China, India, Oriente Medio, el área Mediterránea, el oeste de los Estados Unidos, así como algunas regiones de México, Perú, Chile Argentina y la mayor parte de Australia se caracterizan por la escasez de agua. La sequía y el hambre sufridas en parte de Etiopía durante el presente año 2000, demuestran la vulnerabilidad de las sociedades que carecen de un acceso técnico a sus reservas de agua así como de una capacidad estructurada para la producción de alimentos. No obstante, otros países tecnológicamente avanzados también se están aproximando lenta pero irremisiblemente a un peligroso nivel de vulnerabilidad, debido a que están agotando sus recursos hídricos por una gestión no sostenible de los mismos. Las reservas mundiales de alimento son muy pequeñas. En el caso de aparecer sequías severas y simultáneas tanto en las grandes llanuras centrales de Norte América (el área principal parta la producción de reservas de grano para el mercado mundial), como en china e India (las dos naciones más pobladas de la Tierra), podría llegarse al agotamiento completo de las reservas mundiales de alimento, y producirse hambruna a gran escala en regiones que dependen para su mantenimiento de la importación de aquéllos. ¿Cómo puede aumentarse la seguridad en el abastecimiento de agua y alimentos a la luz de un escenario tan catastrófico como el presentado? En primer lugar y sobre todo, es necesario un cambio de política, y pasar de la actual sobreexplotación no sostenible de los recursos convencionales de agua a una gestión sostenible de los mismos. Una estructura tarifaria para el agua que refleje fielmente su valor económico real es un elemento crucial para un uso eficiente y sostenible de la misma. El desarrollo técnico de fuentes alternativas de recursos hídricos constituye otra estrategia importante. Los efluentes urbanos e industriales deben reciclarse de forma sostenible para preservar la calidad tanto del agua como del suelo, a la vez que posibilitan una nueva fuente de agua para la agricultura. La desalación de agua salobre y de mar puede suponer otra nueva fuente alternativa de agua para los sectores urbano e industrial, y posteriormente, también como agua reciclada para la agricultura. Finalmente, deben prepararse planes detallados de contingencia ante sequías a escala tanto nacional como local, con el fin de gestionar adecuadamente los periodos de escasez, de tal modo que éstos causen el menor daño posible a la economía y la sociedad.

The susceptibility of lipids to oxidation is a major cause of quality deterioration in food emulsions. The reaction mechanism and factors that influence oxidation are appreciably different for emulsified lipids than for bulk lipids. This article reviews the current understanding of the lipid oxidation mechanism in oil-in-water emulsions. It also discusses the major factors that influence the rate of lipid oxidation in emulsions, such as antioxidants, chelating agents, ingredient purity, ingredient partitioning, interfacial characteristics, droplet characteristics, and ingredient interactions. This knowledge is then used to define effective strategies for controlling lipid oxidation in food emulsions.

In operant conditioning experiments, two methods are commonly used to motivate laboratory rats to perform designated tasks. The first is restricting food so that rats are forced to lose 20% of body weight within one week, followed by maintenance at 80% of the baseline weight for the remainder of the experiment. The second is restricting access to water to 15 min in each 24 h period. These methods are effective in motivating the animals. There is, however, little information available on the effects on performance in tests of behaviour that are not related to operant conditioning. In addition, it is not clear if these commonly used methods of food and water restriction will lead to physiological stress as indicated by an elevation of serum corticosterone. Male rats were either food-restricted to reduce and maintain their weight at 80% of baseline weight, or were restricted to 15 min access to water every 24 h. Activity in the open field was significantly greater in food-restricted rats than in water-restricted or control rats, but freezing behaviour was similar in all experimental groups. Food-restricted rats had a higher mean serum corticosterone level than water-restricted and control rats 37 days after the start of the experimental period. These data suggested that chronically restricting food and maintenance of body weight at 80% of baseline body weight led to significant behavioural changes and physiological stress. In contrast, water restriction did not lead to changes in behaviour or corticosterone levels. A second experiment was conducted to compare the effects of food restriction to 80% of baseline body weight, as described above, with a less stringent protocol in which test rats were initially reduced to 80% of baseline weight, but were then maintained at 80% of an ad libitum fed control rat's weight. Serum corticosterone levels and adrenal gland weights were measured after the initial week of forced weight loss and after maintenance for 21 days. Forced loss of 20% of body weight in the first week led to significantly increased serum corticosterone levels and adrenal gland weights compared to ad libitum fed controls. Serum corticosterone levels and adrenal gland weights in rats maintained at 80% of their initial body weight for 21 days remained higher than ad libitum fed control rats. However, rats maintained at 80% of an ad libitum fed control rat's weight did not differ from control rats in serum corticosterone levels or adrenal gland weights at the end of the 21-day study period. Adjustment of the feeding regimen in this manner eliminated physiological evidence of chronic stress.

Au sommaire de cet article: intérêt d'une gestion globale de l'eau. Les usages de l'eau dasn les IAA. Caractéristiques des effluents des IAA. Audit préliminaire. Mise en place d'indicateurs. Connaissance des réseaux d'évacuation d'eau. Optimisation des circuits d'eaux propres. Production plus sobre. Optimisation des nettoyages. Prévention des pollutins accidentelles. Sensibilisation du personnel. Traitements ultérieurs

The emulsifying properties of six commercial milk protein products were studied. The products were separated into one of two groups depending on whether they contained aggregated (micellar) casein or disordered protein (casein or whey protein). Disordered proteins had a greater emulsifying ability than aggregated proteins. Dispersion of aggregated protein in dissociating buffer improved the emulsifying ability. Comparison of emulsion properties in simple oil-in-water emulsions with those in a model coffee whitener formulation showed that the lower emulsifying ability of aggregated protein could be partially compensated by other ingredients.

Brent geese Branta bernicla spring fattening around Agerø, Denmark, alternate between feeding on saltmarshes and submerged Zostera beds in Limfjorden. It appeared from field observations that these alternations depended on the water level in Limfjorden. A model was developed to assess the impact of water level fluctuations on the habitat use. A second model was developed to estimate the impact of water level on Zostera availability. The first model was successful in demonstrating that fluctuations in water levels had considerable influence on habitat use by the brent geese, i.e. they fed on Zostera at low water levels and on saltmarshes during high water levels, particularly so in early spring, and that the switch between habitats occurred within a narrow water level span of ca 30 cm. The second model demonstrated that the switch between habitats could be explained by lowered availability of Zostera as water levels increased. By combining the output from the two models, differences between years could partly be explained by differences in Zostera availability in the early spring period (21 March ‐ 25 April), whereas a more complicated situation was detected later in spring (26 April ‐ 31 May). The models presented may be considered as tools in investigations of habitat use and carrying capacity of seagrass beds in non‐tidal areas, where birds' access to feeding areas regularly may be hindered by high water levels.

Siberian sturgeon weighing 50 ±5 g, cultured in cages stocked at 45 specimens/m3 density and placed in cooling water, were fed Dan-ex 2545 trout feed for 112 days. Experimental treatments differed in the amount of ascorbic acid + glucose mixture (1 : 9) added to the feed. The mixture was applied, in individual treatments, in doses of 0; 1; 5; and 10 g/kg feed, corresponding to ascorbic acid doses of 0; 0.1; 0.5; and 1 g/kg feed. The highest mixture doses resulted in a significant increase in the fish body fat level; however, no significant effect on fish growth was observed.