Antineoplastic activity of selected constituents of Duguetia glabriuscula

The cytotoxic effects of seven constituents isolated from Duguetia glabriuscula were evaluated against Hep2 human larynx carcinoma cells. The cytotoxicity exhibited by beta-sitosterol was as strong as that of cis-platin. (+)-Alloaromadendran-10,14beta-diol caused inhibition of cellular growth with IC50 values lower than 25 microg/ml, a feature that was considered as revealing significant activity. Polycarpol showed borderline cytotoxicity, whereas the other compounds were inactive.     

Effects of pine processionary caterpillar Thaumetopoea pityocampa contact in dogs: 41 cases (2002-2006)

The pine processionary caterpillar, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, is considered an emerging pine pest in Mediterranean countries, with high medical relevance. In recent years, adverse reactions reports in humans following contact with T. pityocampa have been increasingly reported. Dogs living in pinewood areas are also frequently exposed to the caterpillar. This work consisted on a retrospective study of 41 cases of lepidopterism. All dogs presented drooling, dysphagia, submandibular lymphadenomegaly and clinical signs of pain. The animals were distributed in three groups, according to the time span from exposure to the caterpillar until presentation: up to 2 h (group 1), 2-5 h (group 2) and more than 5 h (group 3). All animals from groups 2 (n = 5) and 3 (n = 9), and eight dogs from group 1 (n = 27) developed lingual necrosis. Lepidopterism coursed through a predictable clinical pattern. The evolution was mainly dependent on the time span between exposure to the caterpillar and medical intervention, which should take place earlier than 2 h from exposure.     

Effects of a deep container on morpho-functional characteristics and root colonization in Quercus suber L. seedlings for reforestation in Mediterranean climate

In the last decades, reforestation and afforestation programs are being carried out mainly with containerized seedlings. Container design determines the morphological and physiological characteristics of seedlings. However, container characteristics are often the same for plant species with very different growth strategies. The most commonly used nursery containers are relatively shallow and limit tap root growth; consequently, species relying on the early development of a long tap root to escape drought, such as those of the Quercus genus, might need to be cultivated in deep containers. The aim of this paper was to compare the morphological and physiological characteristics of Quercus suber L. seedlings cultivated in shallow containers (CCS-18, depth 18 cm) with seedlings cultivated in deep containers (CCL-30, depth 30 cm). Both container types used were made of high-density polyethylene, cylindrical in shape, open-bottomed, with a diameter of 5 cm, two kinds of vertical ribs on the inside wall showing a cultivation density of 318 seedlings/m². At the end of nursery culture, the seedlings cultivated in the CCL-30 deep container presented a longer tap root, higher shoot and root biomass and higher Dickson Quality Index (DQI). Moreover, the CCL-30 seedlings showed a higher root growth capacity (RGC), they reached deep substrate layers faster and they presented higher root hydraulic conductance. These morpho-functional advantages improved the CCL-30 seedling water status, which was expressed by higher stomatal conductance during an imposed drought period.     

Chemical Composition and Starch Digestibility of Different Gluten-free Breads

The increasing demand for gluten-free products has favoured the design of numerous gluten-free bakery products which intended to mimic the quality characteristics of wheat bakery products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional pattern of gluten-free breads representative of the Spanish market for this type of products. The protein, fat and mineral content of the gluten-free breads showed great variation, ranging from 0.90 to 15.5 g/100 g, 2.00 to 26.1 g/100 g and 1.10 to 5.43 g/100 g, respectively. Gluten-free breads had very low contribution to the recommended daily protein intake, with a high contribution to the carbohydrate dietary reference intake. Dietary fiber content also showed great variation varying from 1.30 to 7.20 g/100 g. In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of starch showed that the most predominant fraction was the rapidly digestible starch that varied from 75.6 to 92.5 g/100 g. Overall, gluten-free breads showed great variation in the nutrient composition, being starchy based foods low in proteins and high in fat content, with high glycaemic index.     

Effect of Different Combinations of Cryoprotectants on In Vitro Maturation of Immature Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Oocytes Vitrified by Straw and Open‐Pulled Straw Methods

This study was designed to evaluate effects of different combinations of cryoprotectants on the ability of vitrified immature buffalo oocytes to undergo in vitro maturation. Straw and open‐pulled straw (OPS) methods for vitrification of oocytes at the germinal vesicle stage also were compared. The immature oocytes were harvested from ovaries of slaughtered animals and were divided into three groups: (i) untreated (control); (ii) exposed to cryoprotectant agents (CPAs); or (iii) cryopreserved by straw and OPS vitrification methods. The vitrification solution (VS) consisted of 6 m ethylene glycol (EG) as the standard, control vitrification treatment, and this was compared with 3 m EG + 3 m dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 3 m EG + 3 m glycerol, and 3 m DMSO + 3 m glycerol. Cryoprotectants were added in two steps, with the first step concentration half that of the second (and final) step concentration. After warming, oocyte samples were matured by standard methods and then fixed and stained for nuclear evaluation. Rates of MII oocytes exposed to CPAs without vitrification were lower (54.3 ± 1.9% in EG, 47.5 ± 3.4% in EG + DMSO, 36.8 ± 1.2% in EG + glycerol and 29.9 ± 1.0% in DMSO + glycerol; p < 0.05) than for the control group (79.8 ± 1.3%). For all treatments in each vitrification experiment, results were nearly identical for straws and OPS, so all results presented are the average of these two containers. The percentages of oocytes reaching telophase‐I or metaphase‐II stages were lower in oocytes cryopreserved using all treatments when compared with control. However, among the vitrified oocytes, the highest maturation rate was seen in oocytes vitrified in EG + DMSO (41.5 ± 0.6%). Oocytes cryopreserved in all groups with glycerol had an overall low maturation rate 19.0 ± 0.6% for EG + glycerol and 17.0 ± 1.1% for DMSO + glycerol. We conclude that the function of oocytes was severely affected by both vitrification and exposure to cryoprotectants without vitrification; the best combination of cryoprotectants was EG + DMSO for vitrification of immature buffalo oocytes using either straw or OPS methods.     

The use of mobile devices with multi-tag technologies for an overall contextualized vineyard management

This paper describes a Viticulture Service-Oriented Framework (VSOF) which turns around context elements or tags that are placed in the field and which can be decoded by mobile devices such as mobile phones or PDAs. The tags are used to automatically associate a field location to the relevant database tables or records and also to access contextual information or services. By pointing a mobile device to a tag, the viticulturalist may download data such as climatic data or upload information such as disease and pest incidence in a simple way, without having to provide coordinates or any other references, and without having to return to a central office. This work is part of an effort to implement a large-scale distributed cooperative network in the Douro Demarcated Region in Northeast Portugal, a region in which the effort makes particular sense due to the extremely variable topography and mesoclimates. The possibility of exchanging contextualized information and accessing contextualized services in the field, using well-known devices such as cell phones, may contribute to increase the rate of adoption of information technology in viticulture, and contribute to more efficient and closer-to-the-crops practices.     

Tunneling into a single magnetic atom: spectroscopic evidence of the kondo resonance

The Kondo effect arises from the quantum mechanical interplay between the electrons of a host metal and a magnetic impurity and is predicted to result in local charge and spin variations around the magnetic impurity. A cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope was used to spatially resolve the electronic properties of individual magnetic atoms displaying the Kondo effect. Spectroscopic measurements performed on individual cobalt atoms on the surface of gold show an energetically narrow feature that is identified as the Kondo resonance-the predicted response of a Kondo impurity. Unexpected structure in the Kondo resonance is shown to arise from quantum mechanical interference between the d orbital and conduction electron channels for an electron tunneling into a magnetic atom in a metallic host.     

Phytotoxity of Fusarium subglutinans culture filtrates on in vitro plantlets and calli of resistant and susceptible pineapple (Ananas comosus)

Various concentrations of culture filtrates from Fusarium subglutinans were tested for their effect on in vitro multiplication of plantlets and regeneration from calli of pineapple. The cultivars tested were the resistant Perolera and Spring and the susceptible Perola and Smooth Cayenne. The culture filtrate reduced shoot formation of in vitro plantlets and regeneration of plants from calli derived from the susceptible cultivars but plantlets and calli from resistant plants showed resistance. These results show the potential for culture filtrates of F. subglutinans to provide a method of in vitro screening of pineapple for resistance to the pathogen.     

Chlorella vulgaris Extracts as Modulators of the Health Status and the Inflammatory Response of Gilthead Seabream Juveniles (Sparus aurata)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of short-term supplementation, with 2% Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) biomass and two 0.1% C. vulgaris extracts, on the health status (experiment one) and on the inflammatory response (experiment two) of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). The trial comprised four isoproteic (50% crude protein) and isolipidic (17% crude fat) diets. A fishmeal-based (FM), practical diet was used as a control (CTR), whereas three experimental diets based on CTR were further supplemented with a 2% inclusion of C. vulgaris biomass (Diet D1); 0.1% inclusion of C. vulgaris peptide-enriched extract (Diet D2) and finally a 0.1% inclusion of C. vulgaris insoluble fraction (Diet D3). Diets were randomly assigned to quadruplicate groups of 97 fish/tank (IBW: 33.4 ± 4.1 g), fed to satiation three times a day in a recirculation seawater system. In experiment one, seabream juveniles were fed for 2 weeks and sampled for tissues at 1 week and at the end of the feeding period. Afterwards, randomly selected fish from each group were subjected to an inflammatory insult (experiment two) by intraperitoneal injection of inactivated gram-negative bacteria, following 24 and 48 h fish were sampled for tissues. Blood was withdrawn for haematological procedures, whereas plasma and gut tissue were sampled for immune and oxidative stress parameters. The anterior gut was also collected for gene expression measurements. After 1 and 2 weeks of feeding, fish fed D2 showed higher circulating neutrophils than seabream fed CTR. In contrast, dietary treatments induced mild effects on the innate immune and antioxidant functions of gilthead seabream juveniles fed for 2 weeks. In the inflammatory response following the inflammatory insult, mild effects could be attributed to C. vulgaris supplementation either in biomass form or extract. However, the C. vulgaris soluble peptide-enriched extract seems to confer a protective, anti-stress effect in the gut at the molecular level, which should be further explored in future studies.