Nitrogen and potassium fertilization affecting the plum postharvest quality

The goal of this research was evaluated the effects of potassium and nitrogen fertilization on the plum (Prunus salicina) fresh fruit quality and after cold storage. The experiment was carried out in a five year-old plum orchard 'Reubennel', located at Araucaria County, Parana State, Southern Brazil, in a Haplumbrept Soil. Potassium fertilizer was applied at 55 and 110 kg/ha/year of K2O, as KCl. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied at 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 kg/ha/year of N, as urea. It was used a split-plot design in a factorial scheme (2x5). One hundred plum fruits were harvested from each plot, in the same day, when 25 to 50% of the peel presented yellow-reddish color. At harvest and after 17, 27 and 37 days of storage at 0 ± 0.5 ºC, the flesh firmness, the total soluble solids, and the titratable acidity were assessed. Fresh fruit quality was affected by N application, with the best results obtained by applying 40 kg/ha/year of N. The N and K rate of 40 and 110 kg/ha/year, respectively, kept superior fruit quality during the storage. 'Reubennel' cold storage can not exceed 27 days. Fresh and stored 'Reubennel' plum fruit qualities depend on the N and K fertilizer rates.

Rooting and acclimatization of the Japanese plum tree, cv. América

Rooting and acclimatization are limiting steps in plant micropropagation, especially in woody plant species. This study aimed to evaluate the IAA and IBA effect on the in vitro rooting and acclimatization of micropropagated shoots of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cv. América. Shoots from 3 to 4 cm long were inoculated in MS medium with half salt and vitamin concentrations (MS/2) added with IAA and IBA (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mg L-1). After a 20-day period in in vitro cultivation, the shoots were evaluated, and then transferred to a greenhouse, and evaluated after 30 days. At the end of the in vitro cultivation period, no significant interactions were observed for number of roots per shoot and rooting percentage, but a significant effect was recorded for auxin type only, for which shoots grown in media added with IBA showed high values - 0.87 and 41.95%, respectively. A linear increase response from 1.45 to 5.75 cm was verified for root length of shoots cultivated in IBA medium; however, no significant effect was observed, and a 0.86 cm average root length per shoot grown in medium added with IAA was found. After 30 days of acclimatization period, the largest survival percentage was obtained from shoots cultivated in medium with 1 mg L-1 of IBA and IAA (88% and 92%, respectively). Although, IBA provided the highest in vitro rooting, most of the surviving shoots were those originated in IAA-added medium, probably because IBA promoted longer fibrous roots, less appropriate for transplant and soil fixation, as they are easily damaged. It was concluded that in vitro rooting with the addition of the highest IAA concentration (1 mg L-1) provided the greatest plant survival during the acclimatization period of the Japanese plum cv. América.

Mesozoic geology of Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.

Al Cap de Shirr e ff (Fig. 1) hi aflora una successió volcànica de com a mínim 450 m de potència, constituïda principalment per laves i, en menor proporció, bretxes vulcanoclàstiques (Fig. 2). Les laves són basalts olivínics subalcalins i andesites basàltiques, que generalment tenen un aspecte massiu. Tot i això, la successió volcànica localment forma una alternança decimètrica de nivells durs i tous, amb potències va r i a bles i presència local de discordances angulars i onlaps, que reflecteixen geometries deposicionals complexes. A la zona nord del Cap de Shirr e ff hi ha aflorament de bretxes vulcanoclàstiques d"aspecte massiu, que localment tenen intercalacions de laves...

Roaring lions and chirruping lemurs: How the brain encodes sound objects in space.

The dual-stream model of auditory processing postulates separate processing streams for sound meaning and for sound location. The present review draws on evidence from human behavioral and activation studies as well as from lesion studies to argue for a position-linked representation of sound objects that is distinct both from the position-independent representation within the ventral/What stream and from the explicit sound localization processing within the dorsal/Where stream.

First records and potential palaeoecological significance of Dianella (Xanthorrhoeaceae), an extinct representative of the native flora of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Easter Island, a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, is currently primarily covered by grasslands, but palaeoecological studies have shown the former presence of different vegetation. Much of its original biota has been removed during the last two millennia, most likely by human activities, and little is known about the native flora.Macrofossil and pollen analyses of a sediment core from the Raraku crater lake have revealed the occurrence of a plant that is currently extinct from the island: Dianella cf. intermedia/adenanthera (Xanthorrhoeaceae), which grew and disappeared at the Raraku site long before human arrival. The occurrence of Dianella within the Raraku sedimentary sequence (between 9.4 and 5.4 cal. kyr B.P.) could have been linked to the existence of favorable palaeoenvironmental conditions (peatland rather than the present-day lacustrine environment) during the early to mid Holocene. This finding contributes new knowledge about indigenous plant diversity on Easter Island and reinforces the usefulness of further macrofossil and pollen analyses to identify native species on Easter Island and elsewhere.

Study of Johnsons Glacier (Livingston Island, Antarctica) by means of shallow ice cores and their tephra and by analysis of 137Cs content

With the aim of monitoring the dynamics of the Livingston Island ice cap, the Departament de Geodinàmica i Geofísica of the Universitat de Barcelona began ye a r ly surveys in the austral summer of 1994-95 on Johnsons Glacier. During this field campaign 10 shallow ice cores were sampled with a manual ve rtical ice-core drilling machine. The objectives were: i) to detect the tephra layer accumulated on the glacier surface, attributed to the 1970 Deception Island pyroclastic eruption, today interstratified; ii) to verify wheter this layer might serve as a reference level; iii) to measure the 1 3 7Cs radio-isotope concentration accumulated in the 1965 snow stratum; iv) to use the isochrone layer as a mean of verifying the age of the 1970 tephra layer; and, v) to calculate both the equilibrium line of the glacier and average mass balance over the last 28 years (1965-1993). The stratigr a p hy of the cores, their cumulative density curves and the isothermal ice temperatures recorded confi rm that Johnsons Glacier is a temperate glacier. Wi n d, solar radiation heating and liquid water are the main agents controlling the ve rtical and horizontal redistribution of the volcanic and cryoclastic particles that are sedimented and remain interstratified within the g l a c i e r. It is because of this redistribution that the 1970 tephra layer does not always serve as a ve ry good reference level. The position of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) in 1993, obtained by the 1 3 7Cs spectrometric analysis, varies from about 200 m a.s.l. to 250 m a.s.l. This indicates a rising trend in the equilibrium line altitude from the beginning of the 1970s to the present day. The va rying slope orientation of Johnsons Glacier relative to the prevailing NE wind gives rise to large local differences in snow accumulation, which locally modifies the equilibrium line altitude. In the cores studied, 1 3 7Cs appears to be associated with the 1970 tephra laye r. This indicates an intense ablation episode throughout the sampled area (at least up to 330 m a.s.l), which probably occurred synchronically to the 1970 tephra deposition or later. A rough estimate of the specific mass balance reveals a considerable accumulation gradient related to the increase with altitude.

Populations of breeding birds in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Data about breeding populations of birds in the Antarctica are rare and fragmented. Thus, information about the status of the breeding populations of Antarctic birds is crucial given the current scenario of climate change, which is particularly acute in Antarctica. This paper presents new information about the populations of the Antarctic tern Sterna vittata, the kelp gull Larus dominicanus, the southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus, the Antarctic skua Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi, the chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarctica and the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua on Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands). We used line transects counts to estimate both densities and numbers of nests of the different species. We estimate that there are 398.96 birds km-2 of southern giant petrels (2793 individuals), 62.4 birds km-2 of Antarctic tern (3746 individuals) and 269.1 birds km-2 of kelp gull (1884 individuals). Furthermore, we found 15 nests of Antarctic skua in 25 km2, from which we can estimate that 6091 birds must breed on Byers Peninsula. We also censused two colonies of gentoo penguins (3000 and 1200 pairs) and 50 pairs of chinstrap. Compared to previous estimates, gentoo penguins seem to have increased whereas chinstrap penguin have decreased. Finally, the populations of Antarctic tern, southern giant petrel and kelp gull have stabilized or slightly increased.

Back to the island of calm: mallorcan human traditional medicine and ethnobotany

This study reveals that a successful ethnobotanical survey can take place still nowadays, even close to one of the hotspots of tourism in the Mediterranean coast. This is the first approach in this field entirely based on interviews with local people in Mallorca. An amount of 235 informants has been inquired from all the 53 municipalities of the island. The data collected have been analyzed from the botanical and ethnographical points of view, and managed using the online platform of our research team (details at www.etnobiofic.cat). The Mallorcan ethnopharmacopoeia includes 255 plant taxa referring more than 150 medicinal use categories. Ethnomedical queries as the one here presented contribute to the knowledge of the traditional use of plants of the island and appreciate the benefits of this knowledge, applied to the present and future of its society.

Back to the island of calm: Mallorcan human traditional medicine and ethnobotany

This study reveals that a successful ethnobotanical survey can take place still nowadays, even close to one of the hotspots of tourism in the Mediterranean coast. This is the first approach in this field entirely based on interviews with local people in Mallorca. An amount of 235 informants has been inquired from all the 53 municipalities of the island. The data collected have been analyzed from the botanical and ethnographical points of view, and managed using the online platform of our research team (details at www.etnobiofic.cat). The Mallorcan ethnopharmacopoeia includes 255 plant taxa referring more than 150 medicinal use categories. Ethnomedical queries as the one here presented contribute to the knowledge of the traditional use of plants of the island and appreciate the benefits of this knowledge, applied to the present and future of its society.

Sexual dimorphism of sonic apparatus and extreme intersexual variation of sounds in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae): first evidence of a tight relationship between morphology and sound characteristics in Ophidiidae

Many Ophidiidae are active in dark environments and display complex sonic apparatus morphologies. However, sound recordings are scarce and little is known about acoustic communication in this family. This paper focuses on Ophidion rochei which is known to display an important sexual dimorphism in swimbladder and anterior skeleton. The aims of this study were to compare the sound producing morphology, and the resulting sounds in juveniles, females and males of O. rochei.Results: Males, females, and juveniles possessed different morphotypes. Females and juveniles contrasted with males because they possessed dramatic differences in morphology of their sonic muscles, swimbladder, supraoccipital crest, and first vertebrae and associated ribs. Further, they lacked the ‘rocker bone’ typically found in males. Sounds from each morphotype were highly divergent. Males generally produced non harmonic, multiple-pulsed sounds that lasted for several seconds (3.5 ± 1.3 s) with a pulse period of ca. 100 ms. Juvenile and female sounds were recorded for the first time in ophidiids. Female sounds were harmonic, had shorter pulse period (±3.7 ms), and never exceeded a few dozen milliseconds (18 ± 11 ms). Moreover, unlike male sounds, female sounds did not have alternating long and short pulse periods. Juvenile sounds were weaker but appear to be similar to female sounds.Conclusions: Although it is not possible to distinguish externally male from female in O. rochei, they show a sonic apparatus and sounds that are dramatically different. This difference is likely due to their nocturnal habits that may have favored the evolution of internal secondary sexual characters that help to distinguish males from females and that could facilitate mate choice by females. Moreover, the comparison of different morphotypes in this study shows that these morphological differences result from a peramorphosis that takes place during the development of the gonads

2 duettoa : [Sound the trumpet]

Soitinnus : lauluäänet (2), piano.