Endotherms dissipate heat to the environment to maintain a stable body temperature at high ambient temperatures, which requires them to maintain a balance between heat dissipation and water conservation. Birds are relatively small, contain a large amount of metabolically expensive tissue, and are mostly diurnal, making them susceptible to physiological challenges related to water balance and heat dissipation. We compiled total evaporative water loss (TEWL) measurements for 174 species of birds exposed to different temperatures and used comparative methods to examine their relationships with body size, ambient temperature, precipitation, diet, and diel activity cycle. TEWL in the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) was associated primarily with body mass and activity phase. Larger and more active-phase birds, with their higher metabolic rates, lost more water through evaporation than smaller, resting-phase birds, particularly at higher thermal exposures. However, maximum temperature of the natural habitat became an important determinant of TEWL when birds were exposed to temperatures exceeding the TNZ. Species from hotter climates exhibited higher TEWL. Adaptation to arid climates did not restrict evaporative water loss at thermal conditions within the TNZ, but promoted evaporative water loss at exposures above the TNZ. The TEWL of granivores, which ingest food with low water content, differed little from species with other food habitats under all thermal conditions. The effects of environmental covariates of TEWL were dissimilar across thermal exposures, suggesting no evidence for a tradeoff between water conservation in the TNZ and heat dissipation at exposure to higher temperatures. Thus, birds may be able to acclimate when climate change results in the need to increase heat dissipation due to warming, except perhaps in hot, arid environments where species will need to depend heavily upon evaporative cooling to maintain homeothermy.

To optimize Drosophila suzukii rearing and establish mass rearing its local parasitoids, this washing method collects pupae from wheat germ diet. The diet consists of purified water (480 ml), raw wheat germ (100 g), table sugar (45 g), Brewer's yeast (35 g), and maize flour (30 g). Preparation requires stirring and boiling all ingredients for 7 minutes, then cooling to room temperature. Implementation of the method allows collecting clean pupae and compiling them into a smaller space, so it helps mass rearing D. suzukii and its parasitoids. Additionally, it could facilitate execution of other ideas with potential to control the pest, among them, the sterile insect technique and sterile insect technique + entomopathogenic fungi.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary electrolytic balance (dEB) and addition of sodium bicarbonate to drinking water on carcass and meat quality of pigs. Sodium bicarbonate was used to adjust dEB to 140, 200 and 280 mEq/kg for T1, T2 and T, respectively. 144 Landrace*Duroc male pigs were allocated at 4 per pen and used until 105 kg liveweight. At the end pigs were kept in the same pens and diets for a week during which sodium bicarbonate rich water was supplied to a half of them. Therefore the experimental design was split in a factorial 2x3 and treated water was administered until slaughter. Forty-eight pigs were selected and sent to the slaughterhouse in order to evaluate the effect of experimental treatments on carcass and meat quality parameters. Enriched water significantly increase urine pH, hot and cold carcass weight and killing-out percentage (P<0.01). However did not affect fat or loin depth, lean meat percentage or chilling losses as well as meat quality parameters. pH of muscles Semimembranosus (SM) or Longissimus thoraccis (LT) measured at 45 min were not affected by dEB. However meat pH measured after 24 h statistically increased in both SM (P<0.01) and LT muscles (P<0.05). Pigs fed with low dEB showed a pH indicating meat with a tendency to become acid (5.5<pH<5.6) whereas meat from pigs of the other 2 groups has good ability to be consumed fresh or transformed. Electrical conductivity of SM muscle also indicated better meat quality of pigs fed medium and high dEB (P<0.05). Drip loss from the meat was also strongly reduced as a consequence of dEB (P<0.02). Meat from pigs fed low dEB lost the double of water than meat from pigs fed medium or high dEB. It can be concluded that dEB supplementation could positively affect meat quality parameters like pH 24h, electrical conductivity or drip losses. All these parameters were improved using finishing diets with a medium (200 mEq/kg) or high dEB (280 mEq/kg). Sodium bicarbonate in drinking water before slaughter did not seem to affect meat quality parameters. Nevertheless, it seems that it could improve carcass weight or killing-out percentage but those results need to be confirmed in other trials.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of pond management on fish feed, growth, yield, survival, and water and effluent quality, during tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) juvenile production. Fish were distributed in nine 600 m² earthen ponds, at a density of 8 fish per m²; the rearing period was 60 days. Three different pond management were applied: limed and fertilized (LimFer), limed (Lim), and natural (Nat). Fish were fed with a commercial ration containing 34% crude protein three times daily. There were no significant differences in fish growth or yield. Three main items found in tambaqui stomach were insect, zooplankton and ration, without a significant difference among treatments in proportion. Alkalinity, hardness, and CO2 were greater in LimFer and Lim ponds. Chlorophyll a, transparency, ammonia, nitrite, temperature, and dissolved oxygen of pond water were not significantly different among treatments. Biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, ammonia, and nitrite were significantly greater in effluents from LimFer ponds. Pond fertilization should be avoided, because growth and yield were similar among the three pond management systems tested; besides, it produces a more impacting effluent.<br>O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do manejo de viveiro sobre a alimentação, crescimento, produtividade, sobrevivência, qualidade da água e do efluente, durante a recria do tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Os peixes foram distribuídos em nove viveiros de 600 m², à densidade de 8 peixes por m², e criados por 60 dias. Foram aplicados três diferentes manejos de viveiro: com calagem e fertilizante (LimFer), com calagem (Lim) e natural (Nat). Os peixes foram alimentados três vezes ao dia, com ração comercial com 34% de proteína bruta. Não houve diferença significativa no crescimento e na produtividade. Os três principais itens encontrados no estômago do tambaqui foram inseto, zooplâncton e ração. Não houve diferença significativa na proporção desses itens entre os tratamentos. Alcalinidade, dureza e CO2 foram maiores nos viveiros LimFer e Lim. Clorofila a, transparência, amônia, nitrito, temperatura e oxigênio dissolvido da água dos viveiros não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos. Demanda bioquímica de oxigênio, fósforo total, ortofosfato, amônia e nitrito foram significativamente maiores nos efluentes do tratamento LimFer. A fertilização dos viveiros deve ser evitada, pois o crescimento e a produtividade foram similares entre os manejos testados; além disso, a fertilização produz um efluente mais impactante.

The availability of different mineral waters, some with indications of therapeutic properties, makes it necessary to investigate their interaction with nutritional habits. Objective: To analyze the nutritional profile before and after 10 days of ingestion of hypothermic water enriched with minerals in hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: Fifteen hypertensive adults (73% women), 47.9±7.7 years old, were randomly divided into a control group (CG; n=7) and an experimental group (EG; n=8). For 10 days, subjects ingested hypothermic mineral-enriched water or placebo mineral water, with an amount established at 75% of: 1500ml + 20ml * body weight. Participants were instructed to maintain their eating habits. Macro and micronutrients were calculated by the DietPro® 5i software with the information obtained from the 24-hour recalls applied before and after the ingestion of mineral water. Results: For both groups, there were no significant differences between the macro and micronutrients of the diet assessed before and after the intervention. When compared pre- and post-intervention, there were also no differences between them, except for fiber where the amount consumed by the CG in the post-intervention was greater than that consumed by the EG (p=0.034). There was a trend towards an association between caloric intake and body weight at the beginning of the intervention (p=0.071). Conclusion: There was no change in relation to diet before and after 10 days of ingestion of hypothermal water enriched with minerals, suggesting that consumption of this type of water does not interfere with the dietary pattern. However, studies involving a greater number of participants and a longer period of consumption are necessary.

Abstract People in Mexico speak of the medicinal properties of Moringa oleifera (“moringa”), but they know less about its nutritive properties. A qualitative, participatory approach was utilized to explore the use of moringa as a vegetable in Agua Caliente Nueva, Jalisco, by enrolling 14 female participants (mothers over 18) who were nutritional gatekeepers of the family and were responsible for preparing family meals using moringa leaves. Participants prepared meals with moringa and participated in semi‐structured interviews to record their perceptions of foods, shopping habits, and knowledge and experience using moringa. The study objectives were to assess the regional acceptability and feasibility of introducing a readily available and nutritious plant into diets, and to examine whether moringa could potentially serve as part of a solution to the double burden of malnutrition in Mexico. Findings suggest that given its ability to thrive in this dry tropical region, moringa has the potential to be recognized as a viable component in the traditional diet in this small “ejido” communal farming community.

Information is presented about the prey consumed by the two-stripped garter snake Thamnophis hammondii in a mountain oasis in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The diet of this threatened snake includes the Baja California treefrog Pseudacris hypochondriaca curta (native species), as well as an exotic fish: the red bellied tilapia Tilapia sp. cf. zilli. This exotic species has become invasive in Baja California Sur oases, displacing native fishes and becoming an important dietary resource to T. hammondii.