Insecticidal and anti-microbial activity of bio-oil derived from fast pyrolysis of lignin,cellulose, and hemicellulose

Journal of Pest Science - Conflicting views regarding synthetic pesticides include the successful use as pest management tools for agriculture and forestry on one hand and the threats to components...     

Sulfate--a candidate for the missing essential factor that is required for the formation of protein haze in white wine

Protein haze formation in white wine is dependent on the presence of both wine protein and other unknown wine components, termed factor(s) X. The ability to reconstitute protein haze upon heating artificial model wine solutions (500 mg/L thaumatin, 12% ethanol, 4 g/L tartaric acid) to which candidate components were added was employed to identify factor(s) X. No protein haze was formed in the absence of additives. The individual or combined addition of caffeic acid, caftaric acid, epicatechin, epigallocatechin-O-gallate, gallic acid, or ferulic acid at typical white wine concentrations did not generate protein haze. However, PVPP fining of commercial wines resulted in a reduction in protein haze, suggesting that phenolic compounds may play a modulating role in haze formation. To elucidate the nature of the unknown factor(s) wine was fractionated and fractions were back-added to model wine and tested for their essentiality. Wine fractions were generated by ultrafiltration, reverse-phase chromatography, and mixed-mode anion-exchange and reverse-phase chromatography. The only purified fraction containing the essential component(s) was free of phenolic compounds, and analysis by mass spectrometry identified sulfate anion as the dominant component. Reconstitution with KHSO4 using either commercially available thaumatin or wine proteins confirmed the role of sulfate in wine protein haze formation. The two main wine proteins, thaumatin-like protein and chitinase, differed in their haze response in model wines containing sulfate. Other common wine anions, acetate, chloride, citrate, phosphate, and tartrate, and wine cations, Fe(2+/3+) and Cu(+/2+), when added at typical white wine concentrations were not found to be essential for protein haze formation.     

Determination of capsaicinoids in habanero peppers by chemometric analysis of UV spectral data

A novel spectrophotometric method for the determination of capsaicinoids in habanero pepper extracts is described that does not require prior analyte separation. The method uses partial-least-squares (PLS-1) multivariate regression modeling techniques in conjunction with ordinary UV absorption spectral data obtained on alcoholic extracts of habanero peppers (Capsicum chinese). The PLS-1 regression models were developed by correlating the known total concentration of the two major capsaicinoids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) in the extracts as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with the spectral data. The regression models were subsequently validated with laboratory-prepared test sets. The validation studies revealed that the root-mean-square error of prediction varied from 4 to 8 ppm, based on the results obtained from models prepared from nine test sets. Once a regression model has been developed and validated, analyses of the extracts can be accomplished rapidly by ordinary spectrophotometric procedures without any prior separation steps.     

Evaluation of Likelihood of Co-Occurrence of Erwinia amylovora with Mature Fruit of Winter Pear

ABSTRACT Phytosanitary concerns about fire blight prohibit export of U.S.-grown pears to some countries without this disease. To examine these concerns, we evaluated the potential for co-occurrence of Erwinia amylovora with mature, symptomless winter pear fruit by inoculation experiments and by survey of commercial orchards. Immature pear and apple fruit were inoculated in orchards with E. amylovora strain 153N as resuspended lyophilized cells or as ooze from diseased tissues. Regardless of inoculum source, population size of Ea153N on fruit declined by an order of magnitude every 3 to 4 days during the first 2 weeks after inoculation; at 56 days after inoculation, Ea153N was not detected, except on 1 of 450 fruit with 4 colony forming units (CFU). After inoculation of flowers, calyx-end survival of Ea153N on pear and apple fruit declined from high populations at petal fall to a few cells at harvest, with no detection of the pathogen after a 7-week cold storage. Migration of Ea153N into symptomless pear fruit from diseased branches was evaluated by enrichment assay and nested polymerase chain reaction of internal fruit core tissues; these assays failed to detect the pathogen in healthy fruit from diseased trees. At harvest, E. amylovora could not be detected on 5,599 of 5,600 fruit of d'Anjou pear sampled from commercial orchards in major production areas of the Pacific Northwest; one fruit yielded 32 CFU of the pathogen. Postharvest, mature pear fruit contaminated with Ea153N and subsequently wounded required a dose of >10,000 cells at the wound site to allow for persistence of the pathogen through a 7-week-cold storage. We conclude that epiphytic E. amylovora shows similar survival characteristics on both pear and apple fruit, this pathogen is not an endophyte within mature symptomless pear fruit, its presence is exceptionally rare on commercially produced fruit, and that epiphytic survival of E. amylovora through a postharvest chilling period is unlikely given the unrealistically high population size required for persistence.     

Effects of suspended solids in the survival and haematological parameters of pacu juveniles (Piaractus mesopotamicus) in a biofloc technology culture system

This study determined the effects of total suspended solids (TSS) on pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) culture in a biofloc technology (BFT) system by performing two experiments. Experiment 1 evaluated the LC50-96 h of pacu at seven TSS levels (0, 1500, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 mg L^?1). Experiment 2 evaluated haematological variables (glucose, pH, haematocrit, haemoglobin, erythrocytes and haematimetric indices) in juveniles exposed to five different sublethal TSS concentrations (0, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg L^?1) for 5 days. Treatments below 5000 mg L^?1 did not cause mortality, and the LC50-96 h of TSS was estimated at 5477 mg L^?1. The TSS concentrations that caused mortality in pacu juveniles were extremely high and rarely maintained in culture systems. Exposure to high TSS concentrations (mainly 750 and 1000 mg L^?1) increased blood glucose, pH, heamatocrit, erythrocytes, haemoglobin values and haematimetric indices on the first day. On the fifth day, most of the evaluated parameters stabilized at different TSS concentrations. In conclusion, pacu exposed to high TSS concentrations for short periods may undergo physiological changes, and TSS concentrations below 250 mg L^?1 are recommended for its culture in a BFT system.     

Assessment of attenuated Salmonella vaccine strains in controlling experimental Salmonella Typhimurium infection in chickens

Salmonella hold considerable promise as vaccine delivery vectors for heterologous antigens in chickens. Such vaccines have the potential additional benefit of also controlling Salmonella infection in immunized birds. As a way of selecting attenuated strains with optimal immunogenic potential as antigen delivery vectors, this study screened 20 novel Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine strains, differing in mutations associated with delayed antigen synthesis and delayed attenuation, for their efficacy in controlling colonization by virulent Salmonella Typhimurium, as well as for their persistence in the intestine and the spleen. Marked differences were observed between strains in these characteristics, which provide the basis for selection for further study as vaccine vectors.     

Influence of artificial insemination on the reproductive performance of Farfantepenaeus paulensis in conventional and unisex maturation systems

The application of artificial insemination techniques as a way to overcome the lack of mating of the closed thelycum Farfantepenaeus paulensis under large scale conditions is reported. The performance of artificially inseminated females (49.4±11.6 g) maintained in conventional versus unisex maturation systems was compared. Groups of unilaterally eyestalk-ablated females were artificially inseminated with one compound spermatophore soon after molting. The percentage of fertilized spawns increased from 26% before the use of artificial insemination to 57% afterwards. The reproductive performance of inseminated females held in conventional or unisex maturation systems showed no significant differences. Artificial insemination was considered a practical approach to overcome the lack of mating of F. paulensis under large-scale conditions with acceptable reproductive performance. The results also indicate the possibility of holding females separately from males, which could mean significant improvements in maturation systems through the increase in the stocking density of spawning females.     

Swimming performance,whole body ions,and gill Al accumulation during acclimation to sublethal aluminium in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Juvenile rainbow trout (2–5 g) were chronically exposed (for 22 days) to acidified softwater (Ca²⁺ = 25 Eq/l, pH 5.2) in the presence or absence sublethal Al (30 g/l). Al-exposed fish (5.2/Al group) suffered 20% whole body Na⁺ and Cl^– losses and a 30% reduction in the maximum sustainable swimming speed (U_crit) over the initial 7 days. These disturbances were approximately 2 fold greater than those observed in the fish exposed to low pH alone (5.2/0 group). However, whole body ion levels were completely restored in the 5.2/Al fish by day 22, whereas they merely stabilized at a new reduced level in the 5.2/0 group. Increased resistance to acutely lethal Al (200 g/l at pH 5.2) was observed from day 17 onwards in the 5.2/Al fish. Despite this acclimation and recovery of whole body ions, U_crit remained significantly lower than in the 5.2/0 group throughout. Growth on a restricted diet of 1% body wt. /day was normal in the 5.2/0 group compared with controls maintained in pH 6.5 softwater, whereas 5.2/Al fish suffered a 50% reduction in growth rate on the same diet. The 5.2/Al fish accumulated large amounts of Al on the gills, reaching an initial peak after 4 days, followed by a decline at 7 days, and a secondary rise thereafter. Therefore acclimation and recovery of whole body ionic status was not associated with a reduction in the gill Al burden. Some of the metabolic costs of acclimation to Al, namely a continued impairment of swimming speed and growth, are discussed in light of the physiological and structural changes reported to occur at the gills.