Early coconut distillation and the origins of mezcal and tequila spirits in west-central Mexico

No evidence exists of distillation in Mexico before European contact. The Philippine people in Colima established the practice in the 16th Century to produce coconut spirits. Botanical, toponymic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric data are presented indicating that agave distillation began in Colima, in the lower Armería-Ayuquila and Coahuayana-Tuxpan river basins, using Agave angustifolia Haw. and through adaptation of the Philippine coconut spirits distillation technique. Subsequent selection and cultivation of agaves led to their domestication and diversification. This did not take place in the lower river basins, where agave populations tended to disappear. The distillation technique spread to the foothills of Colima volcanoes and from there to all of western Mexico, leading to creation of tequila and other agave spirits. Two factors aided producers in avoiding strict Colonial prohibitions and were therefore key to the diffusion and persistence of agave spirits production: (1) clandestine fermentation in sealed, underground pits carved from bedrock, a native, pre-European contact technique; and (2) small, easy-to-use Philippine-type stills that could be hidden from authorities and allowed use of a broad range of agave species. Dedicated to Henry Bruman in honor of his contribution to the understanding of coconut and agave genetic resources history in America.     

Adaptive attributes of tropical forage species to acid soils II. Differences in shoot and root growth responses to varying phosphorus supply and soil type

Identification of plant attributes that improve the performance of tropical forage ecotypes when grown as monocultures or as grass+legume associations in low fertility acid soils will assist the development of improved forage plants and pasture management technology. The present work compared the shoot and root growth responses of four tropical forages: one grass and three legumes. The forages were grown in monoculture or in grass+legume associations at different levels of soil phosphate. Two infertile acid soils, both Oxisols, were used: one sandy loam and one clay loam. They were amended with soluble phosphate at rates ranging from 0 to 50 kg ha^‐1. The forages, Brachiaria dictyoneura (grass), Arachis pintoi, Stylosanthes capitata and Centrosema acutifolium (legumes), were grown in large plastic containers (40 kg of soil per container) in the glasshouse. After 80 days of growth, shoot and root biomass production, dry matter partitioning, leaf area production, total chlorophyll content in leaves, soluble protein in leaves, root length, and proportion of legume roots in grass+legume associations were determined. The grass, grown either in monoculture or in association responded more to phosphorus supply than did the three legumes in terms of both shoot and root production. At 50 kg ha^‐1 of phosphorus, the grass's yield per plant in association was greatly enhanced, compared with that of grass in monoculture. The increase in size of grass plants in association compared with that in monoculture may have been caused by reduced competition from the legumes. These differences in shoot and root growth responses to phosphorus supply in acid soils between the grass and the three legumes may have important implications for improving legume persistence in grass+legume associations.     

Silicon and salicylic acid in the physiology and yield of cotton

Silicon (Si) and salicylic acid (SA) foliar applications can benefit cotton yield especially if there is stress during cultivation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the foliar application of Si and SA on the photosynthetic variables and cotton yield. The experimental design used was randomized complete block, constituted by Si foliar application in potassium and sodium balanced silicate form (0 and 3.6?g L^?1 of Si) and SA (0 and 210?mg L^?1). The treatments were applied in three leaf sprays during the reproductive stage that coincided with water stress in tillage. Therefore, the Si foliar application associated with SA favors the physiological variables, increasing the photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and water use efficiency reflecting on the increase of cotton yield.     

Hematology, plasma chemistry, serology, and Chlamydophila status of the waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) on the Galapagos Islands.

Venipuncture was performed on 50 adult, free-ranging waved albatrosses (Phoebastria irrorata) on Espa?ola, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, to establish hematologic and plasma biochemistry reference ranges and to determine the prevalence of exposure to important domestic avian pathogens. Weights and plasma creatine phosphokinase activities differed significantly between males and females. Serum was tested for evidence of exposure to avian influenza, avian paramyxoviruses 1, 2, and 3, avian cholera, adenovirus groups 1 and 2, avian encephalomyelitis, Marek's disease, infectious bursal disease, and infectious bronchitis virus (Connecticut and Massachusetts strains). Of 44 birds, 29 (66%) seroreacted to adenovirus group 1, and four seroreacted to avian encephalomyelitis. Cloacal swabs were negative for Chlamydophila psittaci DNA.     

Relationship of intra- and interpopulation tropical maize single cross hybrid performance and genetic distances computed from AFLP and SSR markers

Two sets of tropical maize inbred lines, one derived from the BR-105 population and another derived from the BR-106 population, were assayed for Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism's (AFLP) and for Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR), in order to investigate genetic distances among lines and their relationship to heterotic group assignment and single cross yield performance. Genetic distances were on average greater for interpopulation than intrapopulation crosses for both AFLP and SSR. Cluster analysis was in agreement with the original assignment for heterotic groups. Inbred line 16, derived from BR-106, was assigned to the BR-105 set, in agreement with single cross yield performance from intra- and interpopulation crosses. However, the same pattern was not observed for SSR where another two lines from BR-106 were also assigned to the BR-105 set. Correlation coefficients of genetic distances (GD) with F₁ grain yield and heterosis were high for BR-106 ×BR-106 crosses (0.91^** and 0.82^** for AFLP and SSR, respectively), moderate for BR-105 × BR-105 crosses (0.52^* for AFLP and SSR) and low for BR-105 × BR-106 crosses (0.29 and 0.16 for AFLP and SSR, respectively). The lower correlation at interpopulation level was due to the smaller range of GD caused probably by a previous selection for combining ability. General results showed that the AFLP molecular marker is efficient in assigning maize lines to heterotic groups and that AFLP-based GD is suitable for predicting the maize single cross performance for intrapopulation crosses of broad-based populations. The efficiency of SSR in assigning lines to heterotic groups and for predicting single cross performance was smaller than AFLP. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reduction de l'oxyde nitreux dans les sols de rizieres du senegal: Mesure de l'activite denitrifiante

A new method to estimate the rate of denitrification in soil was developed, and two different activities were measured: (1) the initial (or true) denitrifying activity of the soil under prevailing conditions; (2) the potential denitrifying activity induced by the addition of N₂O. Less than 50 g of soil, saturated with water, were incubated anaerobically at 37°C, with a known amount of N₂O, and the disappearance of N₂O was followed by gas chromatography. In 25 paddy soils of Senegal, a highly positive rank correlation was found to exist between the denitrifying activity measured by chromatographic and respirometric methods, under the same conditions of incubation with either N₂O or NO₃^? as the hydrogen acceptor. By the N₂O reduction method, it was found that there was no initial denitrifying activity in the rhizosphere of 3-week-old rice.     

A comparative regional analysis of the status of aquatic resources with respect to acid deposition

A national scale assessment of the effects of acid deposition on aquatic resources is currently unavailable for the United States. A more limited assessment has been performed in three potentially sensitive geographical regions the Adirondack Mountains of New York, the Southern Blue Ridge Province of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, and the Upper Midwest of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. A series of questions organized the assessment, and historical and current data from each region were employed to address the questions. Where possible, independent data sets were used singly and in combination within a given case study area, to respond to the questions and to provide an estimate of confidence. Conclusions among regions were also compared. In general, the impact of acid deposition on aquatic resources is difficult to detect, but positive correlations between atmospheric deposition and effects do exist. Thus, there is evidence to suggest that acid deposition is at least partially responsible for the acidification of aquatic resources. The extent of acidification, however, varies from region to region. The Adirondacks appear to represent the region of greatest impact, but independent studies indicate that the area of acidified lakes is a small percentage of the total resource. Despite the observation of minimal damage, application of damage estimates from the Adirondacks to other regions would be inappropriate. Future Assessments will seek to predict the rate of acidification of watersheds with other regional characteristics under alternative loading scenarios.     

Metabolism of glycitein (7,4'-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-isoflavone) by human gut microflora

Gut microbial disappearance and metabolism of the soy isoflavone glycitein, 7,4'-dihydroxy-6-methoxyisoflavone, were investigated by incubating glycitein anaerobically with feces from 12 human subjects. The subjects' ages ranged from 24 to 53 years with a body mass index (BMI) of 20.9-25.8 kg/m(2) (mean BMI = 24.0 +/- 1.1 kg/m(2)). Glycitein disappearance followed an apparent first-order rate loss. Fecal glycitein disappearance rates for the subjects segregated into three different groups described as high (k = 0.67 +/- 0.14/h), moderate (k = 0.34 +/- 0.04/h), and low (k = 0.15 +/- 0.07/h) glycitein degraders (p < 0.0001). There was no dose effect on the disappearance rates for each subject from 10 to 250 microM glycitein (average k = 0.32 +/- 0.03/h, p > 0.05). Four putative glycitein metabolites, characterized by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (electrospray ionization using positive ionization mode), were dihydroglycitein, dihydro-6,7,4'-trihydroxyisoflavone, and 5'-O-methyl-O-desmethylangolensin. Two subjects produced a metabolite tentatively identified as 6-O-methyl-equol, and one subject produced daidzein as an additional metabolite of glycitein. These results show that glycitein is metabolized by human gut microorganisms and may follow metabolic pathways similar to other soy isoflavones.