Effects of thinning and canopy type on growth dynamics of Pinus sylvestris: inter-annual variations and intra-annual interactions with microclimate

We assessed the effects of thinning (0, 20 and 30 % extraction of basal area) and canopy type (pine–beech vs. pine plots, beech accounting for 12 % of total basal area) on radial growth of dominant and codominant Scots pine at inter-annual scale and on microclimatic conditions, radial growth and xylogenesis 9 years after thinning at intra-annual scale. Thinning weakly affected pine growth, which was enhanced 3 years after harvesting. Over time, a gradual reduction in pine growth in mixed canopy relative to pure canopy occurred only in unthinned plots apparently due to beech expansion. Indeed, 9 years after thinning, a higher seasonal radial increment and a greater number of tracheids were produced under pine canopy in the unthinned plots, whereas no differences between canopy types were observed in the thinned plots. Radial increment and tracheid production were mainly affected by tree water status (air and soil humidity, throughfall). The differences of tree water status caused by treatments, and plausibly disparities in tree size and tree-to-tree competition, were the main drivers explaining the patterns observed for radial increment and xylogenesis. Our results suggest that the negative effects of beech competition on Scots pine growth in similar mixed forest may be controlled to some extent by thinning.     

Thermographic medium-far ground-based proximal sensing for in-field wheat Stagonospora nodorum blotch detection

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Thermal imaging is a potential remote sensing tool for estimating fungal wheat diseases. This study for the first time investigated the suitability of...     

Brassica oleracea L. Var. costata DC and Pieris brassicae L. aqueous extracts reduce methyl methanesulfonate-induced DNA damage in V79 hamster lung fibroblasts

Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC leaves and Pieris brassicae L. larvae aqueous extracts were assayed for their potential to prevent/induce DNA damage. None of them was mutagenic at the tested concentrations in the Ames test reversion assay using Salmonella His(+) TA98 strains, with and without metabolic activation. In the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase mutation assay using mammalian V79 fibroblast cell line, extracts at 500 μg/mL neither induced mutations nor protected against the mutagenicity caused by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). In the comet assay, none of the extracts revealed to be genotoxic by itself, and both afforded protection, more pronounced for larvae extracts, against MMS-induced genotoxicity. As genotoxic/antigenotoxic effects of Brassica vegetables are commonly attributed to isothiocyanates, the extracts were screened for these compounds by headspace-solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. No sulfur compound was detected. These findings demonstrate that both extracts could be useful against damage caused by genotoxic compounds, the larvae extract being the most promising.     

Further knowledge on the phenolic profile of Colocasia esculenta (L.) Shott

Colocasia esculenta (L.) Shott, commonly called taro, is an ancient species selected for its edible tuber. Its huge "elephant ear" like leaves are also consumed in sauces and stews or as soups. Forty-one phenolic metabolites (11 hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and 30 glycosylated flavonoids) were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS(n)) in the leaves of two C. esculenta varieties cultivated in Azores Islands. To our knowledge, 34 of the 41 phenolic compounds are being reported for the first time in this species. Phenolics quantification was achieved by an HPLC-DAD accurate and sensitive validated method. Although the qualitative profile of the two varieties is quite similar, quantitative differences were observed between them. "Giant white" and "red" varieties (local denomination) contain, respectively, ca. 14 and 21% of phenolic acids, 37 and 28% of flavones mono-C-glycosides, 42 and 43% of flavones di-C-glycosides, 3 and 4% of flavones mono-C-(O-glycosyl)glycosides, and both of them ca. 2% of flavones di-C-(O-glycosyl)glycosides and 2% of flavones-O-glycosides. Luteolin-6-C-hexoside was the compound present in higher amounts in both varieties. The established phenolic profile is an added value for the authenticity and quality control of C. esculenta and may be useful in the discrimination of its varieties.     

Addressing the Dilemmas of Measuring Amylose in Rice

Amylose content is a parameter that correlates with the cooking behavior of rice. It is measured at the earliest possible stages of rice improvement programs to enable breeders to build the foundations of appropriate grain quality during cultivar development. Amylose is usually quantified by absorbance of the amylose‐iodine complex. The International Network for Quality Rice (INQR) conducted a survey to determine ways that amylose is measured, reproducibility between laboratories, and sources of variation. Each laboratory measured the amylose content of a set of 17 cultivars of rice. The study shows that five different versions of the iodine binding method are in use. The data show that repeatability was high within laboratories but reproducibility between laboratories was low. The major sources of variability were the way the standard curve was constructed and the iodine binding capacity of the potato amylose used to produce the standard. Reproducibility is much lower between laboratories using a standard curve of potato amylose alone compared with those using calibrated rice cultivars. This study highlights the need to standardize the way amylose is measured, and presents research avenues for doing so.     

Sponges and Their Symbionts as a Source of Valuable Compounds in Cosmeceutical Field

In the last decades, the marine environment was discovered as a huge reservoir of novel bioactive compounds, useful for medicinal treatments improving human health and well-being. Among several marine organisms exhibiting biotechnological potential, sponges were highlighted as one of the most interesting phyla according to a wide literature describing new molecules every year. Not surprisingly, the first marine drugs approved for medical purposes were isolated from a marine sponge and are now used as anti-cancer and anti-viral agents. In most cases, experimental evidence reported that very often associated and/or symbiotic communities produced these bioactive compounds for a mutual benefit. Nowadays, beauty treatments are formulated taking advantage of the beneficial properties exerted by marine novel compounds. In fact, several biological activities suitable for cosmetic treatments were recorded, such as anti-oxidant, anti-aging, skin whitening, and emulsifying activities, among others. Here, we collected and discussed several scientific contributions reporting the cosmeceutical potential of marine sponge symbionts, which were exclusively represented by fungi and bacteria. Bioactive compounds specifically indicated as products of the sponge metabolism were also included. However, the origin of sponge metabolites is dubious, and the role of the associated biota cannot be excluded, considering that the isolation of symbionts represents a hard challenge due to their uncultivable features.