Detection of a Phytoplasma Associated with Grapevine Flavescence dorée in Clematis vitalba

About 40 different species of wild herbaceous and woody plants were collected in underbrush close to a vineyard where Flavescence dorée (FD) has been reported for several years. Polymerase chain reaction assays were carried out using DNA extracted from leaves of each species for the detection of the presence of phytoplasmas. Only samples of Clematis vitalba were found to be infected with phytoplasmas. Restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing data of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene and of a non-ribosomal DNA fragment FD9 revealed that the phytoplasma isolate was identical to that causing FD in the nearby vineyard. The isolate identified in the clematis is the same as the FD-C phytoplasma found in grapevine in north-east Italy.     

Roe enhancement of Paracentrotus lividus: Nutritional effects of fresh and formulated diets

Sea urchin gonads are exploited both for gastronomic and scientific purposes; thus, the production of large and mature gonads is essential. Natural populations of the Mediterranean Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus are subject to increasing fishing efforts, due to continuous intensification of consumptions. Aquaculture practices may represent an answer, but the availability of artificial feeds accelerating the production of high‐quality gonads in terms of size, taste, colour, firmness, maturity and viability of gametes is critical to boost the productions. The accessibility of cheap and effective feeds promoting the fattening of gonads and the quality of gametes is still a bottleneck slowing down the expansion of echinoculture practices. This investigation is aimed at enabling the development of this strategic sector, by comparing the dietetic effects of fresh foods and a commercial feed for aquaculture, to four newly formulated feeds. The protein contents of diets were strongly related to the GSIs. The abundance of fatty acids appeared inversely related to the viability of embryos and abnormalities of larvae. The features of an ideal diet for this sea urchin were defined, based on the results of experimental trials, and the need for increasing levels of plant‐derived proteins during the grow‐out period was demonstrated.     

High Temperature and Humidity Effect on Biochemical Characteristics of Organically-Grown Parsnip Roots Compared to Garlic Bulbs

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Functional food with high concentrations of monosaccharides and antioxidants is important for quick replenishment of energy reserves and rehabilitation after...     

Application of a low-cost RGB sensor to detect basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) nutritional status at pilot scale level

Precision Agriculture - In this work, basil plants were fertilized with 0, 2.5 mM and 10 mM nitrogen (with different NO3?/NH4+ ratios), and then monitored using a low-power...     

A Submarine Journey: The Pyrrole-Imidazole Alkaloids

In his most celebrated tale “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, Oscar Wilde stated that “those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril”. This sentence could be a prophetical warning for the practitioner who voluntarily challenges himself with trying to synthesize marine sponge-deriving pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids. This now nearly triple-digit membered community has been growing exponentially in the last 20 years, both in terms of new representatives and topological complexity – from simple, achiral oroidin to the breathtaking 12-ring stylissadines A and B, each possessing 16 stereocenters. While the biosynthesis and the role in the sponge economy of most of these alkaloids still lies in the realm of speculations, significant biological activities for some of them have clearly emerged. This review will account for the progress in achieving the total synthesis of the more biologically enticing members of this class of natural products.     

Column Elution Experiments on Volcanic Ash: Geochemical Implications for the Main Ethiopian Rift Waters

Column laboratory experiments were employed to assess the leaching behaviour of pyroclastic glassy ash deposits collected in the central Main Ethiopian Rift, where surface and groundwater resources are affected by fluoride (F^?) pollution, which is the cause of an endemic disease (fluorosis) in the local community. To elucidate the source of F^? and simulate the water–rock interaction processes, as well as quantify its distribution within different grain sizes, the pyroclastic ash was analysed by XRF, XRD and SEM and separated into coarse and fine fractions. Three columns were filled with raw (unsieved), coarse (63 μm–2 mm) and fine (<63 μm) fraction, respectively, and flushed with synthetic rain water in saturated conditions. Very fast F^? leaching was observed in the fine fraction column at the start of the experiment, while in the other two columns, F^? was slowly released; in addition, a strong accumulation of F^? was found in the fine fraction. The effect was more pronounced in the fine fraction column due to the available effective adsorbing surface area. Subsequent to elution experiments, the columns were characterised via moment analysis of tracer test. Finally, flow and transport modelling (MODFLOW-2000 and MT3DMS) was employed to compute the amount of F^? adsorbed onto the solid phase, comparing the calculated conservative transport of F^? and the observed concentrations. The results of this study suggest that fluoride is a fundamental constituent of the glass phase (about 0.3 wt.%) and that it is released during the incongruent dissolution of glassy particles. Dissolution of coatings on glass particles could provide an additional contribution to the geochemistry of the interacting fluids. These processes are more effective in the fine fraction due to a much higher reactive (specific) surface area.     

Prediction of milled maize fumonisin contamination by multispectral image analysis

Mycotoxin contamination is a major concern to the maize industry worldwide. Despite the several strategies that have been exploited in an attempt to reduce the severity of this problem, during conducive years, severely contaminated lots are still introduced in the maize processing chain affecting the general quality and safety of the product. As chemical analysis is laborious, time consuming and equipment dependent, more convenient methods are needed for the early identification of contaminated lots. Here a novel approach based on image analysis that provides fast response with minimal equipment and effort is presented. Maize samples were grounded and imaged under 10 different LED lights with emission centered at wavelengths ranging from 720 to 940 nm. The digital images were converted into matrices of data to compute comparative indexes. A three layers feed-forward neural network was trained to predict mycotoxin content from the calculated indexes. The results showed a significant correlation between predictions from image analysis and the concentration of the mycotoxin fumonisin as determined by chemical analysis. The technique developed produces reliable contamination estimates within few minutes and can be readily used to assist lot selection in various steps of the maize processing chain.     

Efficacy of a combination of imidacloprid 10%/permethrin 50% versus fipronil 10%/(S)-methoprene 12%, against ticks in naturally infected dogs

Preventing tick bites is a fundamental step towards reducing the impact of tick-borne protozoal, bacterial and viral diseases (TBDs) in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of imidacloprid 10%/permethrin 50% and of fipronil 10%/S-methoprene 12% against ticks in naturally infected dogs and to assess methodological parameters to calculate drug efficacy on tick immature stages.

From July to August 2004, 45 privately owned dogs of various sexes, ages, breeds, coat length and habits were enrolled in a trial carried out in an area (radius approximately 50 km) in Southern Italy. Three homogeneous groups (both for dog population and tick population) were formed: 15 dogs treated with imidacloprid 10% and permethrin 50% spot-on (group A), 15 dogs treated with fipronil 10% and methoprene 12% spot-on (group B) and 15 untreated dogs (group C). The dogs in each group were then sub-grouped according to their age and weight. Two different treatments were administered (time 0 and +28 days) to groups A and B, and the dogs were checked weekly for tick infestation until day +56 post-treatment (p.t.). Twenty-four areas distributed on the whole body surface were examined for ticks at each follow-up, while only at time 0 and at day +56 p.t., ticks were collected from the dogs and identified.

For the immature stages a semi-quantitative method was adopted and the load of immature stages was evaluated and grouped into four classes up to day +56 p.t. when the mean number of immature ticks (MIT) for each infection class was evaluated.

All the adult ticks collected were identified as brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus). Immature stages were first compared at day +28 p.t.. The efficacy of both products used in groups A and B on adult ticks was high and generally very similar. Conversely, the efficacy of imidacloprid 10% and permethrin 50% against immatures was higher than that of fipronil 10% and methoprene 12% throughout the observation period with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) at day +28 p.t. (i.e. group A = 98.52%, group B = 72.40%).

On the whole, in analysing the efficacy of both products against adult plus immature ticks, it was found that the combination of imidacloprid 10% and permethrin 50% was more effective than fipronil 10% and methoprene 12%, with the differences being statistically significant at day +28 p.t. (group A = 98.43%, group B = 77.56%).