EFFECT OF PETUNIA STOCK PLANT NUTRITIONAL STATUS ON FERTILIZER RESPONSE DURING PROPAGATION

Fertilization strategies during stock plant and cutting production are linked in terms of cutting nutrient levels and quality. Objectives were to evaluate (1) the effect of stock plant nutrition on tissue nutrient concentration and growth during vegetative propagation and (2) response to fertilizer during propagation for cuttings with 4 different initial tissue nutrient concentrations. ‘Supertunia Royal Velvet’ petunia stock plants were grown under constant fertigation of 0, 50, 100 or 200 mg nitrogen (N)^.L^?1 for 21 days. The 200 mg N^.L^?1 solution contained 150 nitrate (NO₃-N), 50 ammonium (NH₄-N), 24 phosphorus (P), 166 potassium (K), 40 calcium (Ca), 20 magnesium (Mg), 0.7 sulfur (S), 1.0 iron (Fe), 0.5 manganese (Mn), 0.5 zinc (Zn), 0.24 copper (Cu), 0.24 boron (B), and 0.1 molybdenum (Mo). Providing a complete fertilizer during propagation of petunia, beginning immediately after sticking of cuttings, reduces the risk of nutrient deficiency. Particularly in situations where fertilizer is not applied early during propagation, stock plants should be managed to ensure unrooted cuttings have adequate nutrient reserves.     

Soil organic carbon fractions and humic substances are affected by land uses of Caatinga forest in Brazil

Caatinga is a Brazilian dry ecosystem that occupies around 1 million km² and is one of the largest tropical dry forests of the world. About 46% of the area that was originally covered has been deforested. Land use can cause pronounced reduction in soil carbon stocks that play a major role in the global carbon cycle. The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of the effect of land use on oxidizable carbon fractions, total carbon stocks and humic substances in different layers of soil in a Brazilian semi-arid region. We analyzed soils from tropical dry forest (TDF), forest succession with Anadenanthera falcata (ANA), with Tabebuia alba (TAB), secondary scrubby regeneration (SCR), and non-irrigated maize (MS). Forests showed larger fractions of more labile carbon, except for TDF. The most recalcitrant fraction of carbon stock, humin fraction stock, with the different land use decreased by 38–53% compared to TDF. Oxidizable carbon fractions, carbon stocks, and humic fraction stocks were able to differentiate the successional land uses and agricultural cover from TDF, mainly in the 0–5?cm layer. Our results show that changes in land use, especially with ANA forest succession, showed a larger labile carbon fraction, indicating easy decomposition and loss. Our results provide an alternative tool for the management of deforested areas in tropical dry caatinga ecosystems. This would contribute to the conservation of dry forest systems and could serve as guideline for sustainable management of agriculturally impacted caatinga areas.     

Selective control of polyamide dyeing with acid dyes using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

The effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) in the dyeing of polyamide fabric was investigated under conditions that mimic industrial dyebaths where dye mixtures are used. The dyes used were Telon Red BN, Telon Yellow A-2R, and Telon Blue RR. The blue dye complexed with HPβCD whereas the other dyes did not do so under the conditions used. The dyeing results were compared with those obtained using a traditional retarding agent, Albegal B. The exhaustion dyeing data showed that HPβCD mainly affected the dyeing behavior of the blue dye that became encapsulated. In the case of the yellow and red dyes, changes in the overall kinetics of dyeing were observed, resulting in modified exhaustion profiles. In comparison, Albegal B retarded the blue dyeing process and increased the rate of exhaustion of the yellow dye while the exhaustion curve of red dye remained unchanged. The color uniformity of the dyed polyamide was improved when HPβCD was used. This resulted from the more controlled exhaustion rate during the critical phase of the dyeing process.     

Carotenoids from Marine Microalgae: A Valuable Natural Source for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases

Epidemiological studies have shown a relation between antioxidants and the prevention of several chronic diseases. Microalgae are a potential novel source of bioactive molecules, including a wide range of different carotenoids that can be used as nutraceuticals, food supplements and novel food products. The objective of this review is (i) to update the research that has been carried out on the most known carotenoids produced by marine microalgae, including reporting on their high potentialities to produce other less known important compounds; (ii) to compile the work that has been done in order to establish some relationship between carotenoids and oxidative protection and treatment; (iii) to summarize the association of oxidative stress and the various reactive species including free radicals with several human diseases; and (iv) to provide evidence of the potential of carotenoids from marine microalgae to be used as therapeutics to treat or prevent these oxidative stress-related diseases.     

A Therapeutic Potential for Marine Skeletal Proteins in Bone Regeneration

A vital ingredient for engineering bone tissue, in the culture dish, is the use of recombinant matrix and growth proteins to help accelerate the growth of cultivated tissues into clinically acceptable quantities. The skeletal organic matrices of calcifying marine invertebrates are an untouched potential source of such growth inducing proteins. They have the advantage of being ready-made and retain the native state of the original protein. Striking evidence shows that skeleton building bone morphogenic protein-2/4 (BMP) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) exist within various marine invertebrates such as, corals. Best practice mariculture and the latest innovations in long-term marine invertebrate cell cultivation can be implemented to ensure that these proteins are produced sustainably and supplied continuously. This also guarantees that coral reef habitats are not damaged during the collection of specimens. Potential proteins for bone repair, either extracted from the skeleton or derived from cultivated tissues, can be identified, evaluated and retrieved using chromatography, cell assays and proteomic methods. Due to the current evidence for bone matrix protein analogues in marine invertebrates, together with the methods established for their production and retrieval there is a genuine prospect that they can be used to regenerate living bone for potential clinical use.     

Spasmolytic Effect of Caulerpine Involves Blockade of Ca2+ Influx on Guinea Pig Ileum

In this work, we investigated the spasmolytic effect of caulerpine, a bisindole alkaloid isolated from marine algae of the Caulerpa genus, on guinea pig ileum. Our findings indicated that caulerpine inhibited phasic contractions induced by carbachol (IC₅₀ = 7.0 ± 1.9 × 10⁻⁵ M), histamine (IC₅₀ = 1.3 ± 0.3 × 10⁻⁴ M) and serotonin (IC₅₀ = 8.0 ± 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ M) in a non-selective manner. Furthermore, caulerpine concentration-dependently inhibited serotonin-induced cumulative contractions (pD′₂ = 4.48 ± 0.08), shifting the curves to the right with E_max reduction and slope of 2.44 ± 0.21, suggesting a noncompetitive antagonism pseudo-irreversible. The alkaloid also relaxed the ileum pre-contracted by KCl (EC₅₀ = 9.0 ± 0.9 × 10⁻⁵ M) and carbachol (EC₅₀ = 4.6 ± 0.7 × 10⁻⁵ M) in a concentration-dependent manner. This effect was probably due to inhibition of Ca²⁺ influx through voltage-gated calcium channels (Ca_V), since caulerpine slightly inhibited the CaCl₂-induced contractions in depolarizing medium without Ca²⁺, shifting the curves to the right and with E_max reduction. According to these results, the spasmolytic effect of caulerpine on guinea pig ileum seems to involve inhibition of Ca²⁺ influx through Ca_V. However, other mechanisms are not discarded.     

Release of doxycycline through cellulose acetate symmetric and asymmetric membranes produced from recycled agroindustrial residue: Sugarcane bagasse

Cellulose acetate is one of the components employed in drug controlled-release systems in the form of membranes. The aim of this study was to examine the controlled-release of doxycycline employing cellulose acetate symmetric and asymmetric membranes as matrices. The cellulose triacetate was produced from sugarcane bagasse through a homogeneous acetylation reaction, using acetic acid as the solvent, acetic anhydride as the acetylating agent and sulfuric acid as the catalyst. The viscosity average molecular weight of the cellulose acetate produced was 39,000 g mol⁻¹. The symmetric membranes were produced using a system solvent of dichloromethane/ethanol (9:1, v/v) and the asymmetric membranes were produced from the same solvent system and 10% of water. For the formulation of both, 5% of doxycycline was used. The membranes were characterized by thermal analysis (DSC and TGA) and scanning electron microscopy SEM. The release of doxycycline through cellulose triacetate matrices was examined using spectrophotometric analysis in the ultraviolet-visible region, at 275 nm. The results revealed that asymmetric membranes release 80% of the drug in 100 min, while symmetric membranes release 14% of the drug during the same time interval.     

Effects of Vermicompost and Vermiwash on Plant,Phenolic Content,and Anti-oxidant Activity of Mexican Pepperleaf (Piper auritum Kunth) Cultivated in Phosphate Rock Potting Media

The aim of this investigation was to determine the effect of vermicompost, vermiwash, and phosphate rock on plant, total phenols, flavonoids, and anti-oxidant activity in Piper auritum Kunth leaves. P. auritum plants were obtained from cuttings and were planted according to the Box-Behnken experimental design with three repetitions at the central point. The factors and levels were vermicompost (10, 20, and 30 g plant^?1), vermiwash (5, 10, and 15 mL plant^?1), and phosphate rock (1, 2, and 3 g plant^?1). Plant growth parameters (plant height, stem diameter, leaves number) and chlorophyll content were measured 1 month after treatment applications. Total phenols, total flavonoids, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity was measured after 4 months. Vermicompost, vermiwash, and phosphate rock had no statistically significant effect on plant growth. Plant height, stem diameter, leaves number, chlorophyll, innermost number, fresh weight stem, fresh weight leaves, fresh weight root, dry weight stem, dry weight leaves, and dry weight root were not different among treatments. Total phenolic compounds were statistically affected for both vermiwash and phosphoric rock (p < 0.05) and the anti-oxidant activity decreased by vermicompost addition. The application of 15 mL plant^?1 vermiwash, 1 g phosphate rock, and 20 g vermicompost plant^?1 increased the total phenol content.     

Multielemental Determinations in Chocolate Drink Powder Using Multivariate Optimization and ICP OES

In this work multivariate experiments were conducted to optimize the operating conditions for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) for multielemental determinations in chocolate drink powder. The operating conditions were investigated using a 2(3) central composite design, where the variables studied were radio frequency power, nebulization flow rate, and auxiliary argon flow rate. The effects of these parameters on plasma robustness and on signal to background ratio (SBR) were considered in parallel, allowing the evaluation of robustness and detectability using few and fast experiments to select the best conditions for the determination of the analytes. In this case, the proposed experiments were applied to the optimization of a method aimed at the determination of Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, V, and Zn in chocolate drink powder. The compromise conditions that allowed obtaining a robust and sensitive analytical method were radio frequency power of 1200 W, nebulization flow rate of 0.6 L/min, and auxiliary argon flow rate of 0.3 L/min. Using these conditions, recoveries between 95 and 105% and relative standard deviations lower than 5% were obtained for the majority of the analytes. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of 15 samples of chocolate drink powder. The highest concentrations of metallic species were found in diet and light products.     

Gelatinization and Retrogradation Kinetics of High‐Fiber Wheat Flour Blends: A Calorimetric Approach

The impact of dietary fiber (DF) mixtures on dough thermal properties needs to be investigated when designing high‐fiber wheat bread. Effects of flour replacement at different levels (6–34%) by soluble (inuline [FN]), partially soluble (sugar beet [FX], pea cell wall [SW]), and insoluble (pea hull [EX]) DF on wheat dough thermal profiles have been investigated by simulating baking, cooling, and storage in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) pans. In general, DF incorporation into water‐flour systems delayed endothermic transition temperatures for both gelatinization and retrogradation phenomena except for the peak temperature (T_p) of retrogradation. With some exception, the pattern of the enthalpy of amylopectin retrogradation was lower and slower (lower constant of proportion, k) over 10 days of storage in gelatinized hydrated flour‐fiber blends when compared with control without DF. FX, a partially soluble fiber, provided major effects on gelatinization (T_p decrease and ΔH increase) and retrogradation kinetics (the Avrami exponent, n, increase). Single presence of EX allowed a significant reduction in the Avrami exponent n leading to slower kinetics for amylopectin retrogradation when included in the blends.