Toxicity of biofungicide Timorex 66 EC to Cladobotryum dendroides and Agaricus bisporus

Twenty Cladobotryum dendroides isolates from Serbian Agaricus bisporus farms collected during 2003–2007, and the F56 strain of A. bisporus were tested in vitro for sensitivity to tea tree oil (Timorex 66 EC), a biofungicide, in comparison with prochloraz–manganese (Octave WP). The efficacies of tea tree oil and prochloraz–manganese were evaluated in a mushroom growing room, after application at standard product application rates and a combination of the two at respective proportion of 20:80%. Tea tree oil was considerably less toxic than prochloraz–manganese in vitro to C. dendroides isolates (ED₅₀ 112.9–335.8 mg l⁻¹) and A. bisporus F56 strain (98.0 mg l⁻¹), although neither fungicide was lethal to the pathogen. The biological efficiency of tea tree oil was higher than in treatments with the reference formulation of prochloraz–manganese. In our in vivo trials, no negative interference of the biofungicide with A. bisporus physiology was observed. Tea tree oil applied at the standard product application rate caused a significant reduction in cobweb disease levels in the A. bisporus growing room. Timorex 66 EC should be tested further in combination with other biofungicides to investigate the effectiveness of various mixtures for A. bisporus disease control.     

The effect of depurinized milk draught diet on rat serum uric acid, lipid status and haematological parameters

Hyperuricaemia and gout are closely related, but hyperuricaemia is an independent risk factor for endothelial damage, autoinflammation and haemodynamic abnormalities. Milk, generally known as a 'purine-free diet', is an essential protein source for patients suffering from hyperuricaemia and gout. As milk still contains different purine ribonucleotides, the new product, depurinized milk, almost free of purine nucleotides and uric acid, was produced. The potential effect of depurinized milk diet on serum uric acid (SUA) level, lipid parameters and blood haematological parameters was explored in rats after 72 h and 15 days, in relation to standard laboratory chow or the untreated milk diet. The beneficial effect on SUA was achieved when depurinized milk draught was given instead of standard chow for 72 h [28.39 ± 4.76 μm; p < 0.001 vs. standard diet (STD) 47.6 ± 6.12, vs. untreated milk diet 31.55 ± 8.50; p < 0.05] or as a supplement for STD for 15 days experiment (35.38 ± 6.40 μm; p < 0.05 vs. STD only 48.05 ± 4.32; vs. untreated milk + STD 46.02 ± 9.48). Depurinized milk diet significantly decreased the low density lipoproteins/high density lipoproteins (LDL/HDL) ratio (p < 0.001), triglycerides (p < 0.05) and leucocyte count (p < 0.001), while both milk draughts enhanced haemoglobin concentration (p < 0.01). In conclusion, considering the detrimental effect of persisting hyperuricaemia, the depurinized milk draught may meet the demand of healthy dairy product for population under hyperuricaemic risk.     

The Effect of the Uranium Content in the Tailings on Some Cultivated Plants

Uranium is a radiotoxic and chemotoxic heavy metal. Uptake and accumulation of U has been studied in plants native to uranium mine sites, but not in cultivated plants which are commonly consumed by humans. The objective of this study was better understanding of U uptake and accumulation in cultivated plants and whether different contents of uranium (U) in the substrate affect its concentration in plants and their dry matter mass. Two substrate variants for growing plants, which differed in the uranium content: solid wastes (tailings) and tailings mixed with sand (w/w 1:1). Large amounts of solid wastes (tailings) resulting from the exploitation and treatment of uranium ore from the closed uranium mine Gabrovnica–Kalna, on southeast of Serbia, contained generally 15.33 mg U/kg. In the experiment, three plant species (corn NSSC 231, sunflower N.S. Dukat, and green peas Smederevska Palanka) were grown in pots on the four substrate variants during 40 days. Substrate was suffused by drinking water (DW) and “uranium water” (UW), which issue out from the mine, contained 0,053 mg U/ dm³. Obtained results show that when UW was added to tailing concentration of U in plants increased. When the content of U in the substrate was lowered by adding sand, the concentration of U in plants decreased, though was significantly higher in comparison to the variants to which DW was added. Dry matter mass was higher in variants where UW was used. Concentration of U was significantly higher in root than in above-ground parts.     

The Content of As and Heavy Metals in TSP and PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> Near Copper Smelter in Bor,Serbia

The content of As and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cu) in total suspended particulate (TSP) and PM₁₀ at 3 locations (Park, Institute, and Jugopetrol) near the copper smelter in Bor (Serbia) has been analyzed within the period 2004 to 2015 with the aim of investigating the seasonal and spatial changes of those pollutants in the suspended particles. The content of As in TSP and PM₁₀ was over the annual EU limit value at all measuring points during the entire period of observation, while contents of Cd and Pb were periodically above the annual EU limits. There were no statistically significant seasonal changes between mean levels of the observed elements in the cold (October–March) and warm (April–September) periods during the year. A strong and moderate positive correlation was detected between the concentrations of each particular element (except Ni) at all measuring points. Additionally, Cd was the most enriched element followed by Pb, As, and Cu, while Ni was low-enriched. The constant air pollution with As particles, sometimes in concentrations even 20 times higher than the permitted annual value, requires urgent undertaking of concrete actions in order to reduce anthropogenic emission of suspended particles in Bor.     

Correlations of the phenolic compounds and the phenolic content in some Spanish and French olive oils

The total content of phenolic compounds (TAP) in 29 different monocultivar olive oil samples from France (Aglandau and Tanche) and Spain (Cornicabra, Picual, and Verdial) was assessed by the colorimetric Folin-Ciocalteu method. Also, individual phenolic compounds were determined and quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The French olive oil samples had a lower TAP compared to Spanish samples. The quantity of individual phenolics was similar except for pinoresinol, which was lower in the French olive oil samples. TAP moderately correlated to the sum of quantified compounds (r = 0.64 and p < 0.01) Partial least-squares (PLS) regression analysis emphasized the importance of hydroxytyrosol and the total amount of quantified phenolic compounds by LC-MS in the prediction of the total amount of phenolic compounds as determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The amount of alpha-tocopherol was generally different among the cultivars (Tanche > Picual > Verdial > Aglandau > Cornicabra). Of all quantified phenolic compounds in French olive oil samples, only luteolin correlated well to the altitude of the olive orchards (r = 0.76, p < 0.01).     

Analysis of Wild Raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.): Optimization of the Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction of Phenolics and a New Insight in Phenolics Bioaccessibility

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - A simple and efficient ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) technique was developed in order to find optimal conditions for the extraction of total phenolic...     

Living with lethal PIP3 levels: viability of flies lacking PTEN restored by a PH domain mutation in Akt/PKB

The phosphoinositide phosphatase PTEN is mutated in many human cancers. Although the role of PTEN has been studied extensively, the relative contributions of its numerous potential downstream effectors to deregulated growth and tumorigenesis remain uncertain. We provide genetic evidence in Drosophila melanogaster for the paramount importance of the protein kinase Akt [also called protein kinase B (PKB)] in mediating the effects of increased phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) concentrations that are caused by the loss of PTEN function. A mutation in the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of Akt that reduces its affinity for PIP3 sufficed to rescue the lethality of flies devoid of PTEN activity. Thus, Akt appears to be the only critical target activated by increased PIP3 concentrations in Drosophila.     

Antibacterial activity of Achillea clavennae essential oil against respiratory tract pathogens

The essential oil of Achillea clavennae was investigated for its antibacterial activity against some respiratory tract pathogens. Maximum activity was observed against Klebsiella pneumoniae and penicillin-susceptible and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. The oil also exhibited strong activity against Gram (-) Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Gram (+) Streptococcus pyogenes was the most resistant to the oil.     

Characterization of two unknown compounds in methanol extracts of rosemary oil

In this study, two unknown compounds in rosemary oil, containing 3% carnosic acid and 0.3% carnosol, were identified and characterized. After methanol extraction, purification, and analysis by reversed-phase HPLC and LC-MS, a recovery of 92% (+/-8%) of carnosic acid was obtained, but no carnosol was found. However, two unknown compounds with a molecular weight of 330.2 and 302.2 were consistently detected. From additional LC-MS-MS, (1)H NMR, and elemental analyses, it became clear that the first compound (M(w) = 330.2) could not be carnosol. It was hypothesized that it originated from the breakdown of the intramolecular bond of carnosol, followed by the addition of a water molecule. Possibly, an unsaturated double bond was formed after dehydration. Assuming that this compound was an intermediate in the conversion to rosmanol, the second unknown compound (M(w) = 302.2) may have resulted from the breakdown of the intramolecular bond of rosmanol. Similarly, an unsaturated double bond may have been formed. After splitting off carbon oxide, a detectable molecule with a molecular weight of 302.2 was observed.     

Influence of chemically modified short hemp fiber structure on biosorption process of Zn2+ ions from waste water

Short hemp fibers, acquired as a waste from textile industry, were used as an efficient biosorbent for removal of zinc ions from polluted water. In order to obtain the material with better sorption properties, short hemp fibers were subjected to oxidative and alkali treatment. The following factors that may influence the sorption properties of short hemp fibers were examined: fiber structure and morphology were characterized by iodine sorption, water retention and scanning electron microscopy, while specific surface area was determined by BET method. Additionally, the amount of carboxyl groups was determined by calcium-acetate method, and the point of zero charge of the short hemp fibers samples was determined by the solid addition method. Biosorption of zinc ions was evaluated through the total uptake capacity, equilibrium and kinetic data. Obtained data were analyzed by nonlinear Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, as well as pseudo-first and pseudo-second order kinetic models, and the best fitting model was chosen using Akaike information criterion. Chemical modification, used in this work, leads to structural and morphological changes of short hemp fibers, and improvement of their sorption properties. It was found that sorption properties of short hemp fibers are predominantly influenced by surface acidity and the amount of functional groups, while fiber structure and specific surface area have a secondary role in the biosorption of zinc ions. Akakike information criterion values showed that biosorption of zinc ions on all tested hemp fiber samples obey the pseudo-second order adsorption kinetics, while experimental isotherm data fit better with Langmuir model. Biosorption of zinc ions on the hemp fibers is a predominantly chemical process, which mainly follows the mechanism of ion exchange on acidic functional groups, and occurs through the fast surface adsorption, intraparticle diffusion and final equilibrium stage.