Arsenic(V) Adsorption onto Biogenic Hydroxyapatite: Solution Composition Effects

This study qualifies and quantifies the effects of pH, hardness, alkalinity, salinity and bone calcination temperature related with the adsorption of As(V) onto biogenic hydroxyapatite (HAPb) obtained from cow-charred bones. Arsenic contamination of surface and subsurface waters is widely extended in Argentina. It is a problem of major concern, particularly in rural and suburban areas where there are not water treatment plants for supplying of drinking water. HAPb is a natural material, whose absorbent properties can be used for the design of low-cost technologies for As(V) abatement in water. In this work HAPb has been characterized by physical and chemical analysis (XRD, SEM, EDAX, BET, and electrophoretic mobility). A Plackett–Burman screening experimental design allowed us to determine the main variables affecting the efficiency of As(V) sorption onto HAPb. Based on these variables and with a design of higher order we developed a model of the system to study its behaviour. Data collection was planned through a Doehlert experimental design and a back propagation artificial neural network was used to work it out. Results showed that salinity is the major variable affecting the efficiency of the As(V) immobilization process but pH and hardness should be taken into account because of associations among them.     

Evolution of flavanols, anthocyanins, and their derivatives during the aging of red wines elaborated from grapes harvested at different stages of ripening

Several red wines were elaborated to assess the effect of the degree of grape ripening on wine color and on the levels of flavanol and anthocyanin compounds, which are chiefly responsible for the wine color attributes. Two different cultivars and three different degrees of ripening were studied in two consecutive years. The wines were aged for 1 year in American oak barrels of medium-high char followed by 6 months in the bottle. The results showed that the wines made from more mature grapes had generally higher free anthocyanin content, and during aging the decrease of the free anthocyanins and flavanols took place in conjunction with an increase in the levels of the anthocyanin derivatives or "new pigments", which are responsible for maintaining color intensity and adding violet hues in aged wines. From the results obtained, it seems to be clear that the characteristics and composition of grapes harvested later (7-8 days in this region and for these varieties) than the usual time are quite beneficial to obtaining quality aged wines. The phenolic composition of wines made from the last harvested grapes is mainly responsible for the stability of their color, which is extremely important in product acceptance with a significant increase hence of product quality.     

A New Simple Method for the Evaluation of Mineral Elements in Different Oilseeds

A method for the analysis of seven mineral contents—that is, potassium (K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu)—was investigated in some oilseeds like flax, sesame, pumpkin, quinoa, and yellow mustard. X-ray Spectral Analysis method with Spectrometer EDX-900HS was used for the analytical concentrations of the macro and micro elements of the oilseeds. A relatively high level of Zn content was found in sesame and pumpkin seeds, while the highest level of Fe content was found in mustard seeds. Regarding the macro elements (K, Ca, and P) content, the highest levels of concentration were found in flax and mustard seeds. The highest values of Cu were obtained in sesame seeds while those of Mn were in pumpkin and brown flax seeds. The results showed that the method is a reliable and simple analytical procedure to characterize mineral elements in oilseeds with a very high analytical performance.     

Do multipurpose companion trees affect high value timber trees in a silvopastoral plantation system?

Establishment of native timber trees on deforested land may contribute to the livelihood of farmers, to improved ecosystem services and to increased greenhouse gas uptake. Here, we present a new silvopastoral planting design to assess species performance and interspecific competition or facilitation effects among native timber and multipurpose trees in Central America. Two timber species, Tabebuia rosea and Cedrela odorata, were established in three low-density planting regimes allowing combined tree and future livestock production: (1) solitary planting, (2) companion planting with Guazuma ulmifolia, and (3) companion planting with the nitrogen-fixing Gliricidia sepium. We quantified survival, growth and reforestation potential of the two timber species subjected to the different planting regimes for the first 2 years after establishment. Nitrogen concentration as well as stable nitrogen and carbon isotope composition (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) of leaves of the timber saplings were determined. T. rosea showed higher survival and better growth than C. odorata under varying environmental conditions (soil, concomitant vegetation). Performance of the timber saplings was unaffected by either companion species. Planting regimes had no effect on foliar nitrogen concentration and δ¹⁵N of the two timber species, although δ¹⁵N values indicated nitrogen fixation activity in G. sepium trees. Planting regimes affected foliar δ¹³C values in T. rosea. δ¹³C values were significantly higher in solitarily growing individuals, suggesting lower exposition to water stress conditions in saplings surrounded by companion species. As we found positively correlated growth traits among timber and multipurpose trees, a combined planting may benefit farmers by providing additional goods and services.     

Conserving copalillo: The creation of sustainable Oaxacan wood carvings

Most accounts of the effect of the global marketplace on deforestation in Africa, Asia, and Latin America emphasize the demand for timber used in industrial processes and the conversion of tropical forests to pastures for beef cattle. In recent years, numerous scholars and policymakers have suggested that developing a market for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) might slow the pace of habitat destruction. Although increased demand for NTFPs rarely results in massive deforestation, the depletion of the raw materials needed to make particular products is common. Many rural households in the Mexican state of Oaxaca have prospered over the past three decades through the sale of brightly-painted, whimsical wood carvings (alebrijes) to international tourists and the owners of ethnic arts shops in the United States, Canada, and Europe. This paper examines a promising project aimed at providing Oaxacan alebrije-makers with a reliable, legal, and sustainable supply of wood. The ecologists, artisans, merchants, and forest owners involved in the project face formidable obstacles. Gaining permission to harvest wood from land belonging to Oaxacan communities requires the negotiation of a complex social, legal, economic, and political landscape. Artisans’ decisions about where to obtain wood rest largely on price, quality, and reliability of the supplier; they are willing to pay a premium for ecologically sustainable wood only if the additional cost can be passed on to consumers. Nonetheless, a group of carvers has begun to buy sustainably harvested wood. This arrangement has economic advantages for both the alebrije-makers and the owners of the forests where the wood is produced. Michael Chibnik is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa. He has conducted fieldwork in Belize, Peru, Mexico, and in various parts of the United States. His research interests include economic anthropology, artisans, work organization, agricultural decision-making, and political ecology. He is the author of Crafting Tradition: The Making and Marketing of Oaxacan Wood Carvings (University of Texas Press, 2003) and Risky Rivers: The Economics and Politics of Floodplain Farming in Amazonia (University of Arizona Press, 1994), and editor of Farm Work and Fieldwork: American Agriculture in Anthropological Perspective (Cornell University Press, 1987). Dr. Silvia E. Purata is a Mexican ethnoecologist based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She is a member of People and Plants International, an organization that works to integrate conservation and the use of natural resources. Purata has conducted research on the methods indigenous peoples use to extract non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in tropical forests and the fate of such systems in varying socioeconomic circumstances. She has also been working on the promotion of forest certification in the Selva Maya.     

A selective activity-dependent requirement for dynamin 1 in synaptic vesicle endocytosis

Dynamin 1 is a neuron-specific guanosine triphosphatase thought to be critically required for the fission reaction of synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Unexpectedly, mice lacking dynamin 1 were able to form functional synapses, even though their postnatal viability was limited. However, during spontaneous network activity, branched, tubular plasma membrane invaginations accumulated, capped by clathrin-coated pits, in synapses of dynamin 1-knockout mice. Synaptic vesicle endocytosis was severely impaired during strong exogenous stimulation but resumed efficiently when the stimulus was terminated. Thus, dynamin 1-independent mechanisms can support limited synaptic vesicle endocytosis, but dynamin 1 is needed during high levels of neuronal activity.     

Effect of aging on lees and of three different dry yeast derivative products on Verdejo white wine composition and sensorial characteristics

A study was made of the effect of aging on lees and of three different commercial yeast derivative products of different composition and degree of purification on the phenolic compounds, color, proteins, polysaccharides, and sensorial characteristics of white wines. The results obtained showed that the lees and yeast derivative products can interact or adsorb some of the phenolic compounds present in wines, reducing their concentration. This reduction depends on the treatment applied, the phenolic compound analyzed, and the stage of vinification or aging process. The use of lees and yeast derivative products can reduce the color intensity and the browning of the wines immediately following treatment. The monosaccharide and polysaccharide content of yeast derivative products depends on the manufacturing process and degree of purification of the product, both of which have an influence on wine treatments. After 6 months in the bottle, both the aging on lees and the treatment with commercial yeast derivative products gave rise to wines with better sensorial characteristics than in the case of the control wines.     

Mycobacterium microti infection in the cat: a case report, literature review and recent clinical experience

OVERVIEW: Mycobacterium microti infection is infrequently described in cats in the veterinary literature. It can be one of a large number of possible differential diagnoses in a feline patient with dermal nodules and non-healing draining ulcers, and can occasionally spread to involve the lungs and/or other areas of the body. CASE SUMMARY: This report describes the clinical signs, eventual diagnosis and variable response to treatment in a cat in Switzerland with recurrent cutaneous M microti infection. Only after several diagnostic and therapeutic attempts, over more than 2 years, was the species of Mycobacterium finally identified and targeted therapy given. PRACTICAL RELEVANCE: For any cat in which there is even a low suspicion of mycobacterial infection, the authors recommend that an aggressive diagnostic approach is taken. Tissue specimens should be collected and frozen early on, and, as soon as acid-fast bacilli are detected, samples should be sent to a mycobacterial reference laboratory for definitive identification. LITERATURE REVIEW: A review of the literature relating to the aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis and management of M microti infection in cats and dogs is included. This is supplemented with clinical and therapeutic experience gained from this case and other, unpublished cases managed over the past 15 years by one of the authors (DGM).