Brazil produces over than 70,000 ha of pineapple, being the world leader in pineapple production, and Minas Gerais State alone produces over than 600 kt/y. The pineapple is the marketable plant part, which represents only 23 % of the plant itself, and the remaining plant, stem, leaves, bark and crown, being considered an agroindustrial residue. This residue contains great amount of bromelain, a...

Presbytis chrysomelas chrysomelas endemic only in Sarawak and Kalimantan was categorized by IUCN as a critically endangered primate that require special attention from research and conservation perspectives. A qualitative study on ranging patterns of P. c. chrysomelas was conducted in the Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak. The study was conducted over a period of 13 months from December 2004...

Heterogeneity in fruit quality (size and taste) is a major problem in pineapple production chains. The possibilities were investigated of reducing the heterogeneity in pineapple in the field by pruning slips on selected plants, in order to promote the fruit growth on these plants. Slips are side shoots that develop just below the pineapple fruit during fruit development. Two on-farm experiments...

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular epidemiology of human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) in the Asia-Pacific region from 1997 through 2002. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP4 and VP1 genes of recent HEV71 strains indicates that several genogroups of the virus have been circulating in the Asia-Pacific region since 1997. The first of these recent outbreaks, described in Sarawak (M...

Fruit color and odor are the main features regulating the rate of fruit predation and dispersal. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of odor and color on fruit predators and dispersers. The present study was conducted in a 30ha area of secondary forest in Southeastern Atlantic Brazil. This area was divided into two transects, in which four points were marked with a 30m distance from...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Malaysian monofloral honey samples-acacia, pineapple and borneo honey-and compare them with tualang honey. Acacia and pineapple honey are produced by Apis mellifera bees while borneo and tualang honey are produced by Apis cerana and Apis dorsata bees, respectively. METHODS The physical pa...

Heterogeneity in fruit quality constitutes a major constraint in agri-food chains. In this paper the sources of the heterogeneity in pineapple in the field were studied in four experiments in commercial pineapple fields. The aims were to determine (a) whether differences in pineapple fruit quality among individual fruits are associated with differences in vigor of the individual plants within t...

Due to the increasing interest for healthy foods, the feasibility of using fresh-cut fruits to vehicle probiotic microorganisms is arising scientific interest. With this aim, the survival of probiotic lactic acid bacteria, belonging to Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus fermentum species, was monitored on artificially inoculated pineapple pieces throughout storage. The main nutritional, ...

BACKGROUND A major outbreak of human enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak in 1997 marked the beginning of a series of outbreaks in the Asia Pacific region. Some of these outbreaks had unusually high numbers of fatalities and this generated much fear and anxiety in the region. METHODS We established a sentinel surveillance programme for hand, foot and mouth disease...