We estimated the frequency of presumed sources of maize transgenes and the rates of seed replacement and diffusion using data from the nationally representative 2002 Mexico Rural Household Survey (ENHRUM) [14].
We assessed and compared the extent of aflatoxin contamination in the three sources of maize in the region (homegrown, purchased, and relief) in 2005 and 2006 when all three sources of maize were collected from households and tested.
This study is the first to explore the potential sources of aflatoxin exposure by comparing levels in the various sources of maize available to this high risk population.
A previous study by Lewis et al. (2005) describing sources of maize found in local markets showed that homegrown maize may not remain within the household of a farmer after harvest.
We defined the sources of maize as a) homegrown: maize grown on the household farm where it will be consumed; b) purchased: maize bought from local market vendors, which could be locally grown, imported, or a blend of both; and c) relief: maize provided by the Kenyan government or a nongovernmental organization as part of relief efforts.
We used mixed linear models to investigate the association between aflatoxin concentration in maize samples and selected items from the questionnaire, including source of the maize, geographic location of the household (e.g., division and village), and questions measuring aflatoxin awareness.
It is possible that case patients (or the family members of deceased case patients) may have recalled the amount, source, and quality of maize that was consumed differently than did controls.
Z. nicaraguensis, noteworthy for its tolerance to a waterlogged environment and for its stable expression of a reproductive pathway [6], could be a useful source of germplasm for maize breeding, specifically, for breeding flooding-tolerant maize accessions through wide cross [5], [7].
The experimental diets consisted of three-phase feeding program and four sources of fiber (maize fiber, soybean fiber, wheat bran fiber and pea fiber) were evaluated in each phase, including 10%, 20% or 30% of fiber source in the different phase feeding diets, respectively.
