Does white wine qualify for French paradox? Comparison of the cardioprotective effects of red and white wines and their constituents: resveratrol, tyrosol, and hydroxytyrosol

It is generally believed that the French paradox is related to the consumption of red wine and not other varieties of wine, including white wine or champagne. Some recent studies have indicated that white wine could also be as cardioprotective as red wine. The present investigation compares the cardioprotective abilities of red wine, white wine, and their principal cardioprotective constituents. Different groups of rats were gavaged with red wine, white wine, resveratrol, tyrosol, and hydroxytyrosol. Red wine and its constituent resveratrol and white wine and its constituents tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol all showed different degrees of cardioprotection as evidenced by their abilities to improve postischemic ventricular performance, reduce myocardial infarct size and cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and reduce peroxide formation. It was discovered in this study that although each of the wines and their components increased the enzymatic activities of the mitochondrial complex (I-IV) and citrate synthase, which play very important roles in oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis, some of the groups were more complex-specific in inducing the activity compared to the other groups. Cardioprotective ability was further confirmed by increased expression of phospho-Akt, Bcl-2, eNOS, iNOS, COX-1, COX-2, Trx-1, Trx-2, and HO-1. The results of this study suggest that white wine can provide cardioprotection similar to red wine if it is rich in tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol.     

Charcoal and smoke extract stimulate the soil microbial community in a highly weathered xanthic Ferralsol

The influence of charcoal and smoke condensates (pyroligneous acid, PA) on microbial activity in a highly weathered Amazonian upland soil was assessed via measurements of basal respiration (BR), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and exponential population increase after substrate addition. PA extracts are commonly used for fertilizer or as pest control in Brazil, where phosphorus (P) availability and nitrogen (N) leaching are among the most severe limitations for agriculture. Microbes play an important role in nutrient cycling and solubilizing of phosphate. BR, microbial biomass, population growth and the microbe's efficiency (expressed by the metabolic quotient) increased linearly and significantly with increasing charcoal concentrations (50, 100 and 150 g kg⁻¹ soil). Application of PA caused a sharp increase in all parameters. We suppose that the condensates from smoke contain easily degradable substances and only small amounts of inhibitory agents, which could be utilized by the microbes for their metabolism.     

The role of nickel on somatic embryogenesis in Setaria italica L. in vitro

Nickel (0.13, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/l) increased the efficiency of somatic embryogenesis in leaf base and mesocotyl derived calli of Setaria italica. A lower concentration of nickel in the culture media promoted long-term maintenance of embryogenic calli that regenerated into plantlets. The plants obtained from embryogenic calli grown on Ni-containing medium showed tolerance to nickel. The growth of embryogenic callus was the maximum at 1.5 mg/l as compared to a lower or a higher concentration of Ni. Use of nickel may help in the induction of high frequency somatic embryogenesis in Setaria italica. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Identification and pathogenicity study of emerging fish pathogens Acinetobacter junii and Acinetobacter pittii recovered from a disease outbreak in Labeo catla (Hamilton, 1822) and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) of freshwater wetland in West Bengal,India

The disease outbreaks in aquaculture system of wetlands are the major cause of fish mortality. Among various bacterial septicaemic diseases, fish mortality caused by Acinetobacter spp. is recently reported in different fish species. Fish disease outbreak was investigated in a wetland of West Bengal, India to identify the aetiological factors involved. The moribund fish were examined and subjected to bacterial isolation. Two bacterial causative agents were identified as Acinetobacter junii and Acinetobacter pittii by biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA gene amplification. Both the isolates were oxidase‐negative, nitrate‐negative, catalase‐positive and indole‐negative. The molecular identification using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis further confirmed the two Acinetobacter spp. with 97%–99% similarity. The antibiotic resistance patterns of these two bacteria revealed that both of them were resistant to β‐lactam, cefalexin, cephalothin, amoxyclav, cefuroxime, cefadroxil, clindamycin, vancomycin and penicillin. In addition, A. pittii was also resistant to other antibiotics of cephams group such as ceftazidime and cefotaxime. In the challenge experiment, both A. junii and A. pittii were found to be pathogenic with LD₅₀ of 1.24 × 10⁵ and 1.88 × 10⁷ cfu/fish respectively. Histopathological examination of gill, liver and kidney revealed prominent changes supporting bacterial septicaemia. The investigation reports for the first time on concurrent infection by A. junii and multidrug‐resistant (MDR)‐A. pittii as emerging fish pathogens to cause severe mortality in Labeo catla and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix in a freshwater wetland.     

Changes in soil and water quality at sediment–water interface of Penaeus vannamei culture pond at varying salinities

The health of the pond environment in shrimp farming is important for sustainable and profitable aquaculture, in which sediment–water interface is the most important influencing area. With this objective, the key parameters of water and sediment at the interface was studied in shrimp ponds with varying salinities and compared with the surface water and soil to understand the variations and the underlying causes. Total ammonia nitrogen and total alkalinity were higher in water at the interface as compared to surface water, whereas pH, nitrite, oxide forms of nitrogen (NO₃), phosphorus (PO₄) and oxidizing bacteria were observed to be lower. There was no significant difference with respect to macrominerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium between water at the interface and surface. These changes are profoundly influenced by the uppermost 1.0‐cm thick sediment layer, where the maximum transition of nutrients takes place with the water column. The outcome of the study highlights the effectiveness of water sampling for metabolites at the interface, which reflects at an early stage any potential deterioration of pond environment, which will help the farmer to initiate timely mitigation measures.     

Tillage and nitrogen management effects with sequential and ready-mix herbicides on weed diversity and wheat productivity

In this experiment, weed management was studied in zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) wheat with and without crop residue and nitrogen (N). The treatment ZT with crop residue retention (R) and 75% of required N plus GreenSeeker? (GS)-aided N management (ZTRNGS) resulted in a reduction of density and dry weight of weeds compared to CT and ZT without residue. Sequential application of pendimethalin and sulfosulfuron (PMT-SSF) reduced the weed density and dry weight compared to the weedy check (WC). Importantly, the richness and diversity indices were high in ZTRNGS and in WC treatments. Greater wheat grain (5.11 t/ha) and biomass yield (13.31 t/ha) were observed in ZTRNGS than CT without residue and blanket split application of N (CTN). The treatment ZTRNGS recorded 14.1% and 16.9% higher gross and net returns, respectively, over CTN. This study demonstrates that surface retention of crop residue in ZT is more useful than residue incorporation under CT for effective weed control, improving crop yield and profitability.     

Using chemical seed dormancy breakers with herbicides for weed management in soyabean and wheat

Variable dormancies result in periodicity in the germination of weeds and make weed control a repetitive practice. Under some conditions, repeated applications of selective herbicides can lead to the dominance of perennial weeds like Cyperus rotundus . Our hypothesis was that applying a chemical dormancy breaker (DB ) plus herbicide mixture would better control a mixture of weed species. Three experiments were designed to develop a cost‐effective DB treatment and to evaluate its dose with herbicides tank‐mixtures for effective weed management. KNO ₃ and gibberellic acid GA ₃ as dormancy breakers offered comparable effects, but KNO ₃ was more economical than GA ₃. KNO ₃ at a 6% concentration was more effective in promoting weed germination than a 3% concentration in soyabean. A combination of KNO ₃ (6%) and pre‐emergence pendimethalin 0.75 kg a.i. ha^?1 + imazethapyr 0.10 kg a.i. ha^?1 controlled annual weeds by 99% and reduced C. rotundus growth by 83%. This treatment gave significantly higher soyabean yield and net returns. Similarly, a tank‐mixture comprising of clodinafop 0.06 kg a.i. ha^?1 + metsulfuron 0.006 kga.i. ha^?1 was more effective against weeds than pre‐emergence tank‐mix application of pendimethalin 0.75 kg a.i. ha^?1 + carfentrazone‐ethyl 0.02 kg a.i. ha^?1 and isoproturon 0.75 kg a.i. ha^?1. The use of pre‐emergence tank‐mixture of pendimethalin 0.75 kg a.i. ha^?1 + imazethapyr 0.10 kg a.i. ha^?1 should exhaust seed/tuber bank if repeated and reduce the application cost of herbicides by 50% and the dose, residue and cost of pendimethalin by 25%.